BE DETERMINED – Powerful Revelation From Nehemiah May 4, 2012

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.”

“If you start building, you will soon be battling; so, be prepared!”

Under the Lord’s prompting, I am again studying Nehemiah. I want to share some powerful revelation from Warren Wiersbe that is timeless and always worth reviewing. Warren Wiersbe has a Bible commentary known as the “BE” series. Each book of the Bible is reviewed and his commentaries on each book are titled “BE _________”.  The book of Nehemiah is “BE DETERMINED”. Below is an excerpt that I’m certain will bless you.  All of Mr. Wiersbe’s commentaries are amazing. BE BLESSED!

From BE DETERMINED:

“When things are going well, get ready for trouble, because the enemy doesn’t want to see the work of the Lord make progress. As long as the people in Jerusalem were content with their sad lot, the enemy left them alone; but, when the Jews began to serve the Lord and bring glory to God’s name, the enemy became active.

Opposition is not only an evidence that God is blessing, but it is also an opportunity for us to grow. The difficulties that came to the work brought out the best in Nehemiah and his people. Satan wanted to use these problems as weapons to destroy the work, but God used them as tools to build His people. “God had one Son without sin,” said Charles Spurgeon, “but He never had a son without trial.”

When Sir James Thornhill was painting the inside of the cupola of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, at one point he finished an area and stepped back to view it. Had he gone back one step more, he would have fallen from the scaffolding and perhaps killed himself. Seeing the situation, a friend seized one of the brushes and rubbed paint over a part of the picture. The artist rushed forward to protect his work, and at the same time, his life was saved. When the picture of our life or ministry is not all we think it ought to be, perhaps the Master Artist is rescuing us from something far worse and preparing us for something far better.

Nehemiah Chapters 4 to 6 describe at least nine different tactics that the enemy used to try to stop the work on the walls.  First, they attacked the Jewish people with ridicule (4:1-6) and plots of war (vv. 7-9). This resulted in difficulties within the Jewish ranks: discouragement (v. 10), fear (vv. 11-23), and selfishness (5:1-19). When attacks on the people failed to stop the work, the enemy then started to attack their leader, Nehemiah. They tried compromise (6:1-4), slander (vv. 5-9), threats (vv. 10-14) and intrigue (vv. 17-19); but none of these devices worked either. Nehemiah was “steadfast and unmovable” and led his people to finish the work in fifty-two days! When the enemy fails in his attacks from the outside, he then begins to attack from within.

Referring to Satan, Paul wrote, “For we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor. 2:11). This chapter presents four of Satan’s devices for opposing the Lord’s work, and it also tells us how God’s people can be steadfast and defeat the enemy.

Under Nehemiah’s gifted leadership, the people completed the rebuilding of the walls. Now all that remained to do was the restoration of the gates and the strengthening of the community within the walls. Since Sanballat and his friends had failed miserably in their attempts to stop the people from working, they decided to concentrate their attacks on Nehemiah. If they could eliminate him, or even discredit him, they could mobilize their allies living in Jerusalem (Neh. 6:17-18) and take over the city.

The average person doesn’t realize the tremendous pressures and testings that people experience day after day in places of leadership. Leaders are often blamed for things they didn’t do and criticized for things they tried to do. They are misquoted and misunderstood and rarely given the opportunity to set the record straight. If they act quickly, they are reckless; if they bide their time, they are cowardly or unconcerned. Referring to the pressures of leadership, President Harry Truman wrote in Mr. Citizen, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!”

People in places of spiritual leadership not only have the pressures that all leaders face, but they must also battle an infernal enemy who is a master deceiver and a murderer. Satan comes either as a serpent who deceives or a lion who devours (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Peter 5:8), and Christian leaders must be alert and spiritually equipped to oppose him. It behooves God’s people to pray earnestly, not only for those in civil authority (1 Tim. 2:1-3), but also for those in places of spiritual authority. If Satan can defeat a Christian leader, he can cripple a whole ministry and discredit the cause of Christ.

The enemy’s main purpose was to generate fear in the heart of Nehemiah and his workers (Neh. 6:9, 13-14, 19), knowing that fear destroys faith and paralyzes life. Adolph Hitler wrote, “Mental confusion, contradiction of feeling, indecisiveness, panic; these are our weapons.” Both Jesus (Luke 13:31-35) and Paul (Acts 21:10-14) had to face the specter of fear, and both overcame it by faith.

Nehemiah didn’t listen to the enemy’s lies. He and the people completed the wall and hung the gates in only fifty-two days, much to the chagrin of their adversaries (Neh. 6:15-16).

Satan used four strategies in attacking Nehemiah, strategies that he still uses against spiritual leaders today.

1. Compromise: The enemy will offer to “help” (Neh 6:1-4)
2. Slander / False Accusation: The enemy will try to discredit leader’s character (Neh 6:5-9)
3. Conspiracy / Threats: Opposition & pressure from all around (Neh 6:10-14)
4. Intrigue: Secret plotting even after it appears victory was attained (Neh 6:15-19)”

I pray you are blessed and encouraged by Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on this portion of Nehemiah and would consider reading it in it’s entirety!

BE DETERMINED!

GROW UP with Spiritual Growth Hormones April 14, 2012

Eph 4:11-16

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by  craftiness  in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

God doesn’t measure TIME, he measures GROWTH. (Graham Cooke)

As I navigate through life with the Lord, I have learned to understand that every situation that comes my way (good or bad) has the potential to cause me to GROW in my relationship with Him. While I definitely grow during good times, I find that the difficult times bring the most noticeable growth and preparation for the next level. Those difficult times cause me to know God in a more profound way than I ever could have otherwise.

I looked up the Greek words for GROW and GROWTH in the above Scripture and they mean TO ENLARGE. The Greek word for MATURE means to BECOME COMPLETE. So Paul is telling us above that God’s intention for us is to BECOME COMPLETE and be ENLARGED into all aspects of Christ. Therefore, GROWTH is intended to ENLARGE US TOWARD CHRIST-LIKENESS.

With the conception of Radical Infusion (www.radicalinfusion.org), the preparation and gestation of this ministry has brought me (and continues to bring me) much GROWTH – and it isn’t always easy.

Like a woman with child, I have been stretched to new levels. There is some awkwardness and discomfort like I imagine a woman might feel, especially if she is carrying her first child. Like a protective mother, I am more cautious and on guard to ensure the security and safety of my child. I’ve heard pregnant women complain that everyone they meet wants to touch their belly, even complete strangers. I’m finding a similar experience in birthing this ministry.

What I am noticing most, however, is the personal growth inside of me and my ability to deflect the enemy’s schemes. I can more clearly see the plot set against me to get me out of the Spirit and into my flesh. The enemy doesn’t want me to walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Every time I have a new breakthrough, I now anticipate the onslaught of the enemy’s attacks.

These attacks come though many avenues and are not always direct, so spiritual discernment is critical. The most stealthy attacks, I’m finding, come through old mindsets that I have already been healed from. The enemy spent years deceiving me in certain ways which were very effective for a long time, but God was faithful to reveal my deception. However, we can get comfortable in our new found freedom and he will try to catch us off guard. Those old deceptions are one of the most likely places the enemy will try to attack.

It’s very exciting lately to recognize the growth that has happened in my life through being washed in the Word by the renewing of my mind and being cleansed in His presence. I can still recognize those old “default” response systems that used to plague my life and keep me bound, as they try to take the lead at every opportunity. But today I count it all joy as I know that each difficulty, each challenge, each attack that comes my way, is simply designed to grow me (ENLARGE ME TOWARD CHRIST-LIKENESS) even more.

In pondering this with the Lord, I imagined the attacks & challenges (which God allows) to be as an injection of GROWTH HORMONES… something that can benefit me, not hinder me. So I looked up growth hormones and here’s what I found:

• Growth hormones regulate development.
• Growth hormones are needed for normal growth in children.
  
• In adults, growth hormones are needed to maintain the proper amounts of body fat, muscle, and bone.
  
• In adults, low or absent growth hormones can also cause emotional symptoms, such as tiredness and lack of motivation.

So here are some conclusions and points for you to ponder:

1. Growth hormones (attacks/challenges) regulate your spiritual development.
2. Growth hormones (attacks/challenges) are needed and normal, and should be expected.
3. Growth hormone injections (attacks/challenges) are not easy or fun to get, but they are intended to strengthen you, bring you balance and make you more like Jesus.
4. Low or absent growth hormones (a wrong perspective of attacks/challenges, or attempts to avoid growing) can cause emotional symptoms such as tiredness and lack of motivation (sounds like depression to me.)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance (CHEERFUL, HOPEFUL CONSTANCY).  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (LIKE CHRIST). James 1:2-5

Hello Friends! I have exciting news! March 17, 2012

Hello Friends!

I am excited to announce that on Saturday, April 21st I will officially be launching a new ministry called RADICAL INFUSION (http://www.radicalinfusion.org/What-is-Radical-Infusion-.html).

I will be hosting and teaching my first-ever One-Day Conference and I need your help!

Here’s how:

• Please PRAY: It is so important this event be covered in prayer!
• Please ATTEND: Your support would mean so much to me, plus I guarantee you will never be the same!
• Please REGISTER: It’s FREE but registration is required. http://radicalinfusion.eventbrite.com/ (there will be $5 cash lunches available from Chick-fil-A so registration is important for us to know how many to order)
• Please SHARE: Tell everyone you know; invite your friends, forward this email or create your own; “like” and share our facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/radicalinfusion); tweet about us on twitter (and follow us too @radicalinfusion); and posters and postcards are available if you would like to distribute them at your church or in your circle of friends.

This is something God has shown me would happen for a long time, and it’s finally here.

I pray you will join me on April 21^st for YOUR Radical Infusion!

Blessings to all,

Mary

info@radicalinfusion.org

321-2-DO-A-180

(321-236-2180)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

Do You Have An Orphan Spirit? February 25, 2012

We often hear people talk about James 1:27:

James 1:27

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

We also often limit this to what we understand of orphans and widows in the natural. But the reality is that many people fall into this category if we would only have eyes to see.

By looking at the definition of the original Greek, we can see more clearly:

ORPHANS: those of uncertain affinity, parentless, comfortless, fatherless

(To be of uncertain affinity means not being connected on common ground; not belonging anywhere or to anyone specific.)

WIDOWS: those who are deficient, lacking a husband, having a chasm, vacancy, impassable interval, gape or gulf

These definitions in a spiritual sense, include many more people than one would realize.

In pure and undefiled religion, these are the people we are instructed to visit.

VISIT: to inspect; to select; by extending ourselves, go see and bring relief

But too often we don’t recognize them when they are right in front of us.

• They are in your church
• They are on your job
• They live in your neighborhood
• They could be in the mirror
• Many have grown up in two-parent homes
• Many have never been married
• Many have been divorced
• Many have been ostracized for various reasons such as race, social class or gender
• Many have lost loved ones other than a spouse

We cannot identify them by traditional definitions. We must identify them by their FRUIT. This orphan spirit is crippling many inside and outside of the church today… it is like a hidden shard of glass that has the potential to cut them, make them bleed and make them unable to walk in their destiny.

Could you or someone you know be struggling with an orphan spirit?

There is hope!

John 14:18 says:

I will not leave you as orphans (with uncertain affinity, parentless, comfortless, fatherless); I will come to you.

Rom 8:14-17

…those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship (placed into immediate kinship; adoption) And by him we cry, “Abba,  Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…

John 8:32

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Come and learn the CHARACTERISTICS of the ORPHAN SPIRIT and other HIDDEN SHARDS OF GLASS so you can be FREE to be all God has called you to be.

www.radicalinfusion.org

 

Heed the Watchman November 10, 2011

Ezekiel 33

Renewal of Ezekiel’s Call as Watchman

¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, ³ and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, ⁴ then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. ⁵ Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. ⁶But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

⁷ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. ⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for^[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. ⁹ But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

¹⁰ “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of^[b] them. How then can we live?”’ ¹¹ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

¹² “Therefore, son of man, say to your people, ‘If someone who is righteous disobeys, that person’s former righteousness will count for nothing. And if someone who is wicked repents, that person’s former wickedness will not bring condemnation. The righteous person who sins will not be allowed to live even though they were formerly righteous.’ ¹³ If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered; they will die for the evil they have done. ¹⁴ And if I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but they then turn away from their sin and do what is just and right— ¹⁵ if they give back what they took in pledge for a loan, return what they have stolen, follow the decrees that give life, and do no evil—that person will surely live; they will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins that person has committed will be remembered against them. They have done what is just and right; they will surely live.

¹⁷ “Yet your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. ¹⁸ If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, they will die for it. ¹⁹ And if a wicked person turns away from their wickedness and does what is just and right, they will live by doing so. ²⁰ Yet you Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to your own ways.”

Jerusalem’s Fall Explained

²¹ In the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month on the fifth day, a man who had escaped from Jerusalem came to me and said, “The city has fallen!” ²²Now the evening before the man arrived, the hand of the LORD was on me, and he opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer silent.

²³ Then the word of the LORD came to me: ²⁴ “Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.’ ²⁵ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? ²⁶ You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?’

²⁷ “Say this to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. ²⁸ I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. ²⁹ Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.’

³⁰ “As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.’ ³¹ My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. ³² Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.

³³ “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

Stepping Out Into My New Assignment…!!! September 27, 2011

This week marks the beginning of a new season for me! As many of you already know, after a few months of much prayer and fasting, my season at Hope Church (a church I helped start – http://www.Hope-Church.tv ) has come to an end. This decision did not come easily as I have been under the leadership of my pastor Maurice Stargell for 2 ½ years, and both he and Hope Church are very dear to my heart (and always will be!). I have experienced so much growth and healing during this past season and been blessed by probably the best preaching/teaching I’ve ever heard!! (thank God for podcasts…lol)

But beginning this week I am now an official member of the Atlanta Dream Center under the leadership of Pastor Paul Palmer (http://www.atldreamcenter.com ). I have no idea what my assignments here will look like but I am certain I have been positioned by God for my good and His great glory! I am very excited to see what the future holds. There is nothing more exciting or satisfying than obedience to God!

As I step into this new season, I am reminded of a blog post from May 2010 (a few months before I got my job at Atlanta Outreach Project (http://www.atlantaoutreach.org ). While I definitely was about to face a new thing with starting a new job, I knew there would be even more on the horizon. Lately I’m feeling like I’m ready to step into another level of “newness” which, of course, can be somewhat intimidating! This reminder has encouraged me greatly!

Perhaps you too are embarking on something NEW and need some encouragement for the journey! But don’t forget… DON’T FEAR THE NEW THING! –> CLICK HERE TO READ THE PREVIOUS POST

Better Get Ready… PREPARE: Adjust and Align August 26, 2011

God has been showing me some things about this topic lately through some books He has led me to read, but when I woke up this morning before my feet hit the floor I heard this loud and clear:

In 2012 God is going to realign church government for those who have ears to hear. Proper governmental alignment is necessary for the next release of POWER. Preparation has already begun.

He spoke to me about ALIGNMENT a few weeks ago. (Click here to read that word: http://maryloveslife.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/prophetic-alignment/)

The call for PREPARATION is a call for ALIGNMENT, just as it was before:

A voice of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” Matt 3:3

Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, allowing him to ADJUST and ALIGN us in proper biblical alignment so we the church can be useful vessels to reveal His glory. Tradition, status quo and normal have to go. We must be open to RADICAL ADJUSTMENTS if we want to see RADICAL POWER. (Read more about making adjustments here: http://maryloveslife.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/caution-total-surrender-to-christ-may-cause-controversy/)

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.” Joel 2:28-32