Praying for Others

James 5:16

Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Praying for Others

               Something many of us may overlook is the need for body ministry and prayer.  As a functioning body of Christ our participation in the function of the body has relatively little to do with what we do in church and a whole lot more to do in our daily lives and relationships. 

               James brings forth the point that we are all about ministering and praying for one another.  We are one another’s confidants and encouragers.  The power of our ministry within the body of Christ is seen through prayer.  Christ gave the mandate to pray and believe with all confidence, because He has imparted His power and authority unto us.  In Luke 10:19 Jesus says, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”  The body of Christ grows strong not because we are all individual islands struggling upon our own journey.  We grow strong because we have one another’s backs.  We should be able to rely upon one another, go to each other for prayer and council and encourage one another in the Lord.  We should be able to confess our sins to one another without the fear of judgement and condemnation, but knowing that we are all weak in our flesh and we reinforce one another in the fear and obedience to Christ. 

               Let us build those relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ where we are a continual support and encouragement for one another.  We are a body, a family and functioning unit interlocked and inter-working with the other members of the body that in all things Christ is lifted up and the body of Christ is built up.  It is in our ministry to others that we receive our needs and our healing.  We all must continually be flowing and moving in His life and His truth, so that He can fill us with all that He is.  Each one of us walking in the Spirit, is an expression of the life and attributes of Christ.  He is among us, ministering to us and through us because we all manifest various aspects, gifts and abilities that He has imparted through us for ministry.  We are all ministers of His grace.  Be sensitive to your place in functioning and operating out of His life.  You are an essential and critical part of His body. 

Blessings,

#kent

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His Temple

2 Chronicles 6:18-21
“But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 19 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. 20 May your eyes be open toward this temple day and night, this place of which you said you would put your Name there. May you hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 21 Hear the supplications of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place; and when you hear, forgive.”

His Temple

Solomon referred to the temple, which he had built and dedicated to the Lord. We know that in time that temple was destroyed, but it was but the shadow of the temple that God was building for His habitation and dwelling. 1 Corinthians 6:17-18 says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” We so often take for granted who we are in Christ and loose spiritual sight of what God has created us to be. The church is no longer about buildings and glorious edifices built to the glory of God. God is not interested in inhabiting wood and stone. He is interested in inhabiting human spirits and souls. When He does come within our hearts and makes His abode with us, He wants us to realize that our body is no longer our own, but His habitation. Holiness and righteousness has entered in. No longer is this body for our glory, but for His. All of these bodies, now sanctified unto Christ are built and joined together in Him. 1 Peter 2:4-5 says, “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are the building blocks of God spiritual temple and His life. We are living stones that are an organism formed of God, living and breathing in the earth to express Him and be His habitation.
1 Peter 1: 15-17 says, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” Holiness has come and taken up residence within us. The Father is reminding us that we are no longer common or unclean, but the blood of the Lamb has sanctified us. As God’s sanctified and redeemed ones we have the responsibility to recognize that we are His holy vessels and live accordingly unto His glory. God warns us about what we do with our bodies and what we join them with. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
17″Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18″I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
This is what the Lord is speaking unto us in this hour, to come apart and be separated unto Him. We are not of this world. Our values and purpose do not coincide with the values and purpose of this world. He is telling us to take note, we are not our own, but we have been bought with a price. We have been purchased and set apart unto God for His purposes and for His glory. That is our destiny and calling. We must be careful that we do not dishonor Him by not fully respecting and living according to His holy life that indwells us. Our God is a jealous God and He has set us apart for Himself. Our body is His temple and we must honor Him in it in all of our ways and living. He is the Lord God and He will not share His glory with another. Honor yourselves as His holy temple and live your lives accordingly.

Blessings,
#kent

A Sobering Word from the Lord

Joel 3:9-16
Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say,
“I am strong!”
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD!
12 “Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.
16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

A Sobering Word from the Lord
There shall be a day of mourning and sorrow for the sun shall not shine by day, nor the moon by night. Spiritual darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people. The Lord is with His own. Many stand in the valley of decision. They need to act quickly and not hesitate.
The Morning Star was given to bring light into the world, but the world received it not. People will cry out for light, but none will be found. They will stumble for lack of vision and knowledge of the Lord. The Lord in His grace has poured out the blessing of His grace and salvation, making it know unto every nation, tribe and tongue. The nations will be brought into the Valley of Judgement and Valley of Decision. “Choose this day whom you will serve. Before you are life and death. Choose this day who you will serve, for you stand in the Valley of Separation.
The Lord will thunder out of Zion. He will sit in judgement of all who have profaned His name and His people. You do not want to hear the hard things I have to speak. You want your ears tickled with blessing and good words. I have many rich and wonderful things for you My people, but you must not withdraw in fear and unbelief at the fires of purification that stand before you.
You worship My Son in this season and that is good, but so many are content to keep Him the infant child and fail to see Him mature into the warrior King. You have become content on the milk and Christ remains the infant in your hearts. Woe to them that give suck in this day for you have fed milk when by such time many of you should be mature and partaking of the meat of the Word. Pray that your flight be not winter when all is spiritually cold and dead. Oh My people, come into the fullness of your calling. Put aside the frivolous things that consume your time and resources. It is a time when the kingdom of God is to come into the earth and your kingdom is so polluted. Purify your hearts ye double-minded. Make straight the way of the Lord. The times are upon you and you continue to tarry in their season. The trumpet has sounded and the alarm has gone forth, but still you sit in your complacency and slumber. Awaken My people and arise to the marvelous calling that is before you. Become spiritually alert and astute to what I am about to bring to pass. Know that I am with you if you are in Me, but so many have strayed from the hedge my protection, because they have been rebellious and disobedient in their hearts. Their affections are far from me.
Today I am calling unto you, “Return unto Me!” Soon the door closes and those who are not prepared will not come in. This is the day of your reconciliation, forgiveness and restoration. Respond to the season of My compassion and mercy. Darkness is coming, enter in while you have the light. Hide yourself in the shadow of My wing and I will cover you there. I am purging and preparing My people for this time of darkness and for a time you will be hidden. The time of My judgement is at hand, be sober, vigilant and pray in the Holy Ghost. Turn your heart from all impurity and defilement of flesh and spirit. Come unto Me with a broken and contrite heart and I will not turn you away. My Risen Son stands at the gate awaiting My Word to go forth. Ready your hearts for your Redeemer cometh.

Blessings,
#kent

Hinderances

Galatians 5:7
Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

Hinderances

This word hinder in the Greek is “egkoptō” which literally means ” to cut into, to impede one’s course by cutting off his way.” The question the Lord is asking us today is what is hindering us? What is interrupting our road to walking in His will and purpose?
There are many things that can come into interrupt and cut us off from walking and fulfilling the purpose and destiny that we are called too. Let’s just touch on a few and this by no means exhaustive so there are many others that could be added to the list. Scripturally we will address a few of them.
In Luke 11:52 Jesus addresses a major hindrance, ” Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” One of the greatest hindrances we have in the Church today is religious knowledge and true spiritual ignorance. Our way of thinking is so often skewed, even among grace believing churches, to still hinder our identity of who we are in Christ. We are still looking and seeking to change the man of sin which we were, rather than walking in the identity of the new creation man which we are and are maturing into. It is our paradigm and way of thinking that is one of the major obstacles. Even John the Baptist wanted to hinder Jesus from being baptized because he didn’t consider himself worthy. Wrong thinking. If Jesus hadn’t considered him worthy He wouldn’t come to him to baptized. Peter wanted to hinder Jesus from the cross. Jesus rebuked satan working through him, because it was a hindrance to His mission and purpose. Satan will always try and cut you off from your purpose and destiny, because his purpose to “kill, steal and destroy.”
What hindrances are you encountering today in your spiritual walk? One area might be in your marriage. Peter addresses this one in 1 Peter 3:7, ” Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with [them] according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.” “Them” here being your spouse and ladies take this to heart as well. How is satan best able to get to us more than through the ones we live with. If he can cause contention, frustration, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness and irritation we fall into his trap of contending with the very one that God has placed into our lives that we are intended to be the heirs of salvation with. This is our partner not our enemy. The enemy is the one you are allowing to work through you as you give place to your flesh and emotion rather than to the spirit and the love of God. Yes, we are going to have our differences, we all do. The art of a magician is to distract you so that he may deceive you into thinking something that isn’t true. That is the craftiness and whiles of the devil. Discern your true enemy and unite your heart in love to defeat your common foe who is out to destroy you, your marriage and interrupt you communion and relationship with Christ. Unite yourselves in the spirit of Christ and reconcile yourselves through His love that your prayer and communion with the Father is not hindered. This speaks to men primarily because we must realize that women, as general rule, are more emotional and a man should be aware of what the influences in the home environment are and deal with them by the Spirit.
The final one we will address today are the hindrance that satan places before us. 1 Thessalonians 2:18, “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.” Satan will always try to cause interruptions in you fulfilling your obedience to your destiny and calling. Here is where we must come into knowing our authority as a believer standing in the full armor of God, praying and making intercession, but also specifically declaring and taking authority through Word and the authority of the name of Jesus. There will be spiritual conflicts. When those hindrances come and in whatever form they may come, know who you are in Christ. Walk in the power and authority of the Spirit. Know that even though you may not immediately see things happening in the natural realm that doesn’t mean things aren’t taking place first in the dynamics of the spiritual realm. Hold fast your faith and confidence and do as Hebrews 12:1-3 commands us, ” Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Blessings,
#kent

The Old Locked Gate

The Old Locked Gate

Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Our old habits and ways are hard to break,
We have best intentions of changing our ways,
But the pathway out runs into an old locked gate.
The gate of our old self bids us stay.

We keep praying, “God change me, deliver me from sin”,
But it has been done and the keys are in our hands.
The keys are the authority, the faith and the Christ within.
When we fall down, by His strength we arise and stand.

His grace is sufficient for all our needs,
When trials overtake us, it is His strength we lean upon.
When our hearts and lives are broken we fall on bended knee,
We cry out in darkness till morning’s light brings a new song.

He is ever working in us in ways we don’t even see.
Our adversity is often the answer to the prayer we prayed,
It is causing us to press into Jesus and find Him in our need.
His Calvary unlocks our gate and causes our past to fade.

Replacing old habits and ways are often very hard,
But we must put in their place the lessons from above,
It is standing steadfast in faith and remaining on our guard.
It is remaining one with Him and being the expression of His love.

Blessings,
kent