Mark DeJesus's Blog, page 135

6 Gifts a Dad Can Bring to His Family

We are experiencing generations that have been deeply affected by fatherlessness and carry woundedness stemming from poor father relationships. These wounds affect how we see ourselves, our lives and even our relationship with God, who wants us to know Him as Father. 

The Scriptures speak of restoring the father relationship in the land. Malachi prophesied about the hearts of the fathers being restored to the hearts of the sons. This is so key for there to be true healing in the land. As a matter of fact, much of the destruction that is in the land often stems back to the lack of fathers and the lack of healthy fathering that people have experienced or not experienced. 

For the fathers out there who seek to make a change, you need to know that all of ministry begins in the home. The restoration begins in our own households. This can often be the most challenging thing for a man, especially because it has not been modeled for us. It can be a lot easier to invest solely at work and put our energy there, because being an effective dad is a foreign concept. 

To all dads who want to grow, here are some imperative things that only you can bring to your household. If you will notice, having a job and providing are not on this list. That is assumed. Many men leave it at that. Even the unbelievers do that. We must recognize our high calling as men to make a significant impact into the homes God has given us.

1. Watch Over Your Own Heart

You cannot bring a healthy you to the home if you have not spent time letting God father you and show you the path of life. In our daily stresses, men have been trained to unwind before television and hobbies, but have little experience in knowing how to refuel with God in solitude. You must realize that developing a healthy time of solitude with God will be a gift that you bestow to your family.

Action Step: Have a daily, non-negotiable time set aside with God. 

2. Be Present and Engaged in Your Home

Parents can get so bogged down with the chores of the house that we can forget the relational investments of the home. As a dad, your presence is so key. Just being relationally present is incredibly powerful. Too many times, dads become overwhelmed with having to perform as a dad, when in reality, your kids are not impressed by you being a “super-dad,” whatever that means. They just want you. 

The activities you do with your children are not the most important. It is your presence that is the most important. This means shutting of the computer, putting the cell phone down and just enjoying who your children are. Being present means you have eyes on them and what their needs are. You begin to study them, seeing what makes them tick. What makes them sad? What moves them? What are they passionate about? What is God saying to you about your children? What potential do you sense over their life? 

Engaging your home and being present makes you an effective watchman over the house. Every man has been called to be a spiritual leader in his home, watching over how each member is doing and finding ways to serve their health and healing.

Action Step: Be mindful to be more present when you come home from work. 

3. Speak Important Words Your Home Needs to Hear. 

I remember sitting down with a dad who was struggling to connect with a rebellious daughter. A thought from the Holy Spirit rose up in me as I said to him, “You have the most powerful voice in your daughter’s life. Don’t let any one, including the enemy, steal that from you.” Satan has been stealing the voice of the fathers for centuries, because he knows that empowering words spoken from a father to a child will breed seeds of spiritual greatness in them. He also knows if a man remains silent or speaks from his own brokeness, that will pierce his child and remain for a lifetime. 

We have all been deeply affected by what our fathers said or did not say. You can make the change by speaking these powerful things to your children every day: 

“I love you.”
“I am so proud of you.”
“I am so glad you are my child.”
“I love being your dad.”
“I believe in you. You can do it.”
“I see amazing potential in you.”
“You have what it takes.”
“You are a beautiful girl.”
“You are a handsome boy.”

Action Step: Make time every day to speak empowering words to your family. 

4. Initiate Authentic Spiritual Growth by Example

We have all experienced parents who told us a way to live, but did not live it themselves. Instead of putting an emphasis on all the rules you want your children to live by, why not just live them out in your example? Instead of telling your children to be obedient, live as a obedient son before Father God that they can see? Then teach from what you live. Instead of telling your kids to pray, let them catch you praying. Let them catch you reading the word. Allow your children to see that you are getting healing in your own life. You are not above the standard of the Scriptures. Be willing to repent for where you blow it and manifest ways of sin in the house. 

Action Step: In what way can you model spiritual growth in your home?

5. Love Your Wife and Fight for Her

This one should actually be at the top of the list. A classic mistake that parents make is putting the highest priority on the children, while the life of the marriage takes a back seat. This is actually ungodly order. The marriage comes first in all things. Your children will receive the blessing of a healthy marriage that is cultivated more than anything else. Too many marriages are allowed to become roommate scenarios, where couples simply tolerate one another for the sake of the kids. Yet the children will spiritually take in the unhealthy relationship of dad and mom. Just because they do not hear the arguments or see the nasty interactions, does not mean they are not receiving the reprocusions of that in the home. 

Husbands, it is our top priority in the home to cultivate a healthy relationship with our wives. We must fight for her. The fight for our wives did not end when we asked for her hand in marriage. Every day of our life, we must make it a priority to fight for her health, her sanity, her peace and to love her in all things.

Action Step: In what way do you need to fight for your wife more? In what way do you need to stand in for your family spiritually? 

6. Initiate Spiritual Experiences 

When it comes to the spiritual health of your home, it is not the job of your church to feed their spiritual growth. They ought to be an overflow for what is already happening in the house. This means that we as men must lead the way in praying with our children and praying over our children. You must be the one to spiritually battle over the wars that go on over those in your home. You must take your stance in prayer and intercession, contending for the health and well being of the house. We must allow God to teach us how to create spiritual experiences in our homes where our children can carry God with them as they grow up and out. 

Here are some things that you can do to initiate spiritual experiences for your children: 

Create special occasions and celebrations during transition times in your child’s life. (Examples: becoming a teenager, becoming a man, getting a driver’s license, turning 18, graduating, etc.)
Take your child to meet authorities in certain things. (Examples: established business people, strong ministry leaders, community leaders, authors, etc.) Let them come and ask questions.
Take your child to conferences with you and engage the experience together.
Find the passion of your child and find resources you can experience together that they will be excited about.

Question: What action steps can you take today to see a change occur in your home? 

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10 Ways to Combat Self-Hate

Do you truly love and accept who you are? Can you look in the mirror and like what you see?

The Bible teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Matthew 22:39) This means that we can only love in direct proportion to how we have processed love and acceptance for ourselves. Anytime someone struggles to love others properly, we can be sure there is a realm of self-hate at work within, keeping the flow of love from operating. Ephesians tells that a man who love his wife loves himself. (Ephesians 5:28) We can also know from this verse that a man who does not love his wife does not love himself.

If we do not face the self-hatred issues of our heart, we will struggle with anger and bitterness issues towards those close to us. Worse yet, we will drown in a sea of inward torment.

Many people who are not willing to face their own self-hared battles end up fabricating acts of love, so that no one will see their inward struggle with self-hatred. Too often we perform in life to cover up for our lack of love and acceptance of who we are.

True Love Squashes Self-Hate

In driving out the work of hate, we welcome the flow of God’s love to come and change lives. The love of God needs to be received in ourselves. Combating self-hatred involves gaining a deep revelation of God’s love and truly accepting that once and for all. We cannot listen to the enemy’s thoughts that seek to block that reception of love.

1 Corinthians 13 is the guide on the power of love that can drive out the work of hate that keeps you from loving and liking you. Here are 10 ways we can combat self-hatred and receive love for ourselves.

1. Be patient with yourself.

love is patient…

One of the cornerstone of love is patience. Patience expresses the mindset of love. When you are patient with someone else, you are exercising the work of love towards their life. The key is, are you patient with yourself? Do you allow yourself time to grow up, or are you constantly impatient with your journey, wishing you were at some point you are not currently at? Maybe today would be a good time to start exercise patience with yourself. It would even be great to speak words of patience out loud. Being patient with yourself is a great way you can learn to be your own best friend.

2. Be kind to yourself.

love is kind . . . 

The second cornerstone of love is kindness. Patience acts as a buffer in relationship, helping someone to feel accepted in their journey. Kindness is intentional actions of love towards someone. Do you intentionally think and say things that are kind towards yourself? Most people spend their day listening to thoughts about themselves that are harsh, accusing, guilt-ridden and down right abusive. If you were to document your thoughts about yourself from the day, would they be uplifting and encouraging? Where can you begin thinking and speaking towards yourself in such a way that is kind? Be kind, you are the only version of you that you have.

3. Stop comparing yourself.

Love does not envy . . . 

The worst thing you can do with your brokeness is to compare yourself to any other person. This is always a trap. Whether you feel better about yourself in comparison to someone else or worse than them, you still fall into the trap of the enemy. The saddest thing about comparing yourself to any other person is that you lose the value of who you are on this planet in your own uniqueness. The only image you should compare yourself to is the image God says that you are. Good news: He is patient with you in growing towards that image!

4. Drop the need to draw attention to yourself.

Love does not parade itself. . . 

In our brokeness, we can end up doing things to draw attention to ourselves. We do things to elicit attention, with the hopes that people will love us. The problem is that this excessive neediness will drain people, causing them at times to retreat from us. This reinforces the thoughts of rejection and self-hate that say we are worthless and unlovable. When we stop doing things to draw out love from people, we give them room to love us out of their own initiation. Which leads me to the next point . . .

5. Position yourself to receive from others.

Love is not puffed up . . . 

People who do not love themselves have a hard time receiving love from others. Loving words or acts of affection do not penetrate into their hearts. When we do not receive love from those who genuinely want to love us, we engage the work of pride that keeps us from humbly receiving what others seek to give us. Next time someone says something loving, instead of immediately changing the subject or throwing back a complement to them, take in and appreciate the love expression. Humble your heart to receive from those who you may have been resistant to in the past.

6. Take care of yourself.

Love does not behave rudely . . .

Combating self-hate must be intentional. We must live and behave in such a way that we honor and value our heart, mind and body. Self-hate drives us to live a busy life with no regard for the condition of our heart. Whenever we act rudely towards someone, we show no value for who they are. But how often are we rude towards ourselves, where we come into agreement with the enemy by not valuing who we are?

7. Break selfish tendencies.

Love does not seek its own . . . 

When proper self-love is not present, we can become a very self-centered and selfish generation, thinking of only ourselves. People who carry self-love know that the love they have been given works best when it is given away. As love is given out, more is available form heaven.

8. Get self-anger out of your life.

Love is not provoked. . . 

I worked hard all my life to not react to abusive people by passing it on. The problem is that I stuffed that anger down, making me an enemy to myself in anger. So whenever problems would arise, I would not blame others, I would just take the hit on myself. This is an toxic way to deal with problems in life. I have learned that this is a tactic of satan to keep me from being kind and patient towards myself.

9. Cast down all evil assumptions against yourself.

Love sees no evil . . . 

People say they are their own worst enemy. That is a lie. God did not create you to be an enemy to yourself.

You have an enemy, but that enemy is not you. Satan is very keen at releasing thoughts and impressions that sound like your own, locking you into a self vs. self battle. He is your enemy.

When you have proper self-love, it is not that you do not see evil at all. It just means the evil is not your constant obsessive focus. You recognize there is evil in you, but you are not obsessed with it. Love puts evil in its proper context, because only in love can evil be driven out thoroughly. Without it, we get into legalistic attempts to get free.

10. Get happy for what God says about you!

Love rejoices in the truth . . . 

When was the last time you celebrated you? We spend so much time trying to be something or attempting to go somewhere, but very little time expressing joy of what God has done and who He has made us to be. Do you spend time rejoicing over what God’s word says about you? If not, today would be a great day to start this habit. Join the party that heaven is already having over you and celebrate!

Question: Which way can you apply today to receive more of God’s love for yourself? 

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Take the Limits Off! Part 3: The Trap of Fearful Forecasting [Audio Teaching]

When we are damaged, wounded or discouraged in life, fear can easily come in, keeping us from seeing our future through a lens of hope. We become bound to seeing our future through the lens of dread and we forebode, anticipating everything bad that could happen. 

Foreboding Defined: a fearful apprehension; a feeling that something bad will happen a dreaded forecast

If we are not careful, we will think this constant foreboding is a form of discernment. 

A  foreboding spirit is the opposite of hope and faith. God always seeks to cultivate in us a heart that receives his love, holds on to hope and walks it out by faith. A foreboding spirit keeps us locked from stepping into a joyful heart in all circumstances. 

Goal of Foreboding Thinking: to keep you bound where you are and steal:

your ability to have joy
to embrace good things with joy (without fear)
to embrace a good future

When good comes its hard to receive it. . . .

Foreboding zaps us from being able to embrace and experience true joy. We become so deeply trained in this stronghold that we think we are living in good discernment. We become moved to think that if we don’t embrace good things and have joy in our circumstances, then we will prevent ourselves from being hurt or disappointed. The longer we live with this, the harder it becomes to embrace joy for our lives. 

Are you led more by Murphy’s Law than you are the law of how God thinks?

Click the player below or use the download link to listen this powerful teaching.

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[Audio Teaching] Take the Limits Off! Part 3: The Trap of Fearful Forecasting

When we are damaged, wounded or discouraged in life, fear can easily come in, keeping us from seeing our future through a lens of hope. We become bound to seeing our future through the lens of dread and we forebode, anticipating everything bad that could happen. 

Foreboding Defined: a fearful apprehension; a feeling that something bad will happen a dreaded forecast

If we are not careful, we will think this constant foreboding is a form of discernment. 

A  foreboding spirit is the opposite of hope and faith. God always seeks to cultivate in us a heart that receives his love, holds on to hope and walks it out by faith. A foreboding spirit keeps us locked from stepping into a joyful heart in all circumstances. 

Goal of Foreboding Thinking: to keep you bound where you are and steal:

your ability to have joy
to embrace good things with joy (without fear)
to embrace a good future

When good comes its hard to receive it. . . .

Foreboding zaps us from being able to embrace and experience true joy. We become so deeply trained in this stronghold that we think we are living in good discernment. We become moved to think that if we don’t embrace good things and have joy in our circumstances, then we will prevent ourselves from being hurt or disappointed. The longer we live with this, the harder it becomes to embrace joy for our lives. 

Are you led more by Murphy’s Law than you are the law of how God thinks?

Click the player below or use the download link to listen this powerful teaching.

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Getting Out of Emotional Spirals

Years ago I loved watching a television show by British adventurer Bear Grylls, star of Man vs. Wild. In this TV series, he would confront certain elements in nature and show the viewers how to survive the most demanding of circumstances. In one of my favorite episodes, he demonstrated to the viewer how to escape if one is ever found trapped in quick sand. I went onto my computer, searched all the online references I could find and they all confirmed what he demonstrated.

As I watched Mr. Grylls demonstrate the precise technique to getting out of quick sand, something leaped up in my thinking: Sinking in quicksand is the same thing as feeling sorry for yourself. What quicksand does is what self-pity will do to you. 

A Counterfeit Coping

Self-pity is the quicksand of hell, but it can be hard to notice at first.

Everyone reading this has gone through some form of struggle and disappointment. Things get hard, with no immediate answers that will fix everything.

In the shadows of this heart-ache, self-pity comes in when we feel like no one is comforting us. We even believe the lie that God is not comforting us, so self-pity comes as a counterfeit to get us to feel sorry for ourselves. We believe the thought that says, “if no one will have pity on me, then I will have pity for myself.”

The problem is that when you enter this way of thinking, you sink further into your all your pain and struggles.

Self-pity will keep you from seeing hope or being able to access encouragement. It will block you from healing and from being delivered in any area of your life. It takes a handful of battles and then hits a domino effect to make it seem like EVERYTHING is going wrong.

Getting Free from Quicksand and Self-Pity

I noticed the steps in getting free from quicksand is the same in getting free from self-pity. I have listed the steps below with my own thoughts added.

1. Remain calm. (This is always helpful.) 

2. Shed excess weight. (Whatever spirals you or keeps you in self-pity.) 

3. Keep as still as possible until your feet touch solid ground. Most patches of quicksand are only knee deep. If you start going deeper than your thighs, lay back so that you will float better on the top of the quicksand. (Get some grounded thinking that is solid and steady. Gratitude, thanksgiving, love, peace, hope are examples of some.) I have found that thanksgiving is the greatest antidote to self-pity. 

4. Get out with slow, deliberate motions. This is very hard work! Extracting yourself from a larger patch of quicksand can take hours. (It is hard work getting out of self-pity and victim living. Take one step at a time and be determined to get free. No one can want this more than you.) 

5. Work towards the next known bit of solid ground. (One step of truth at a time. You may need to move back to the last things you know God showed you. Be obedient to that.) 

6. Pull yourself out. Once you’ve reached solid ground, pull yourself out of the mess. (God gives us what we need. People can encourage you. But at the end of the day, you have to pull yourself out of this mess! You can do it!) 

Question: Is feeling sorry for yourself keeping you from your next level of freedom?

The outline on how to get free from quicksand was from ehow.com

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[Audio Teaching] Take the Limits Off! Part 2: The False Coping of Self-Pity

Confront one of the greatest hinderances to getting healed and breaking free!

No one likes to admit that they have self-pity working in their life. Listen to this life-changing teaching that will help you take your freedom back.

In a day and age where there is opposition and impossibilities are everywhere, self-pity provides a counterfeit way to cope; stealing your hope and keeping you stuck in taking action.

Learn some powerful insights to help you discern if self-pity is keeping you from breaking through and overcoming.

Listen Here or Download:

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When You Have Had Enough

Why nothing will change unless you want it bad enough.

One of the saddest experiences in life is when you try to help someone who deep down, does not really want to change. They come to the gate, saying they want change, but their attitude and life choices reflect a different story.

What we are often saying is that “we want to change” but “we don’t want to be uncomfortable.” Yet the only way to pursue dynamic change is to step into the unknown, facing the enemies and opposition to our transformation like a mighty determined warrior. Facing discomfort is not a problem to a warrior, because he has true change set in his sights.

Awakening The Warrior Within

The picture above from the movie 300 shows the spiritual tenacity we should all carry as believers for change—both in our own lives and in the land around us. Imbedded in your spiritual DNA is a warrior—someone capable of bringing the power of the Kingdom of God, while destroying the works of darkness. This identity cannot manifest through a passive heart, but one full of life and passion. The heart of a warrior seeks change into all that God has available!

For too many, the warrior has been sapped from their life. They have either lost a vision of the spiritual war around them or they lost passion in themselves somewhere along the way. This drains the determination to change, because the warrior within needs to rise up if we really want to see change in our lives and in the world.

In order for change to occur, we must come to a sober awareness of what it takes for a warrior to enter into a true place of change and transformation.

Qualities of Warriors Who Walk into Change
1. No One Can Want Your Change More than You Do. 

The heart of a warrior knows that motivation and passion must come from within. We cannot rely on another person for the desire to change. If we wait for it to simply fall on us, we may end up waiting a lifetime, wasting years where we could be pouring out to the world.

The moment someone wants change more than you do, the relationship can become codependent and false-burden bearing for them. Many people get angry and offended because someone didn’t help them the way they wanted them to. But at the end of the day, they are not the primary source of responsibility for change in your life. You have to want change more than anyone else around you. From this place, everything flows. No one can give you the “want to.” This must be a work within your own heart that is fed and guarded.

2. You Probably Wont Change Until Its Hurts Enough That You Have To.

The reality is that so many are looking for comfort more than anything else. Change is not as high of priority, because we become accustomed to things just happening for us and being easy. We have so many luxuries in life that we forget the sweat and persistent work that goes into seeing things come to be.

In losing the warrior spirit, we have been lulled into a deep sleep, wanting to relax more than to become spiritually fit. Our condition of passivity has allowed destruction to wreak havoc around us, but we are often too tired and not awake enough to even notice. We only react when the issues really hit the fan and start creating massive eruptions. At this point, its almost too late. Thank God, because of His grace, we get continual chances to wake up and show up as a warrior.

The majority of people that seek for help, from a pastor, counselor, therapist or coach are often at a deep threshold of pain that could have been avoided if they faced the issue a long time ago. The big problem we have to face is that most of the time we have no interest in changing or improving ourselves, because we just want to remain comfortable. We’ll change if its easy, but it doesn’t work that way.

The reason the warrior does not rise up is because we want to avoid discomfort at all costs. Yet the world of change is only welcome to those who are willing to break out of what is comfortable to pursue the greater potential in their life.

We also have to ask ourselves at this stage, do I really want to change, or am I just looking to alleviate the pain in my life? If change is what we are looking for, then discomfort is not a deterrence, because we have our eyes on the bigger picture for our life—dynamic  transformation.

3. You Have to Expect Resistances to Change. 

Any kind of massive change is going to illicit spiritual resistance. Our enemy has no desire to relent in pushing us back from our God-given potential. So when we decide to make a change—whether its to become more spiritually alert, lose weight, be more present at home, face fear, break out of lethargy, overcome depression—you have to expect there will be opposition.

There will come all kinds of distractions to keep you from your God-given potential. You will encounter road blocks, feelings of loss of desire, lack of motivation, discouragement and more. Many Christians believe when this occurs that it must mean its not God’s will or something. This is because they have lost the understanding of war—fighting the battle and staying the course.

When resistance comes, we have to see it as an opportunity for the warrior to rise up and grow to new levels. A warrior is not just saying, “God change this circumstance” but “change me!” When we personally grow and change, the situations will have to shift under the transformation that is taking place in our lives. 

Please know, your determination will be tested. Your full potential will be opposed. You will be fought at many turns, but in the end, God wants the powerful warrior that you are to rise up and manifest.

In the Scriptures, Paul’s call was that we understand what it means, not only to be warriors that conquer, but to be more than conquerers. 

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37 NKJV

Warrior, rise up and let change be ushered in!

Question: How bad do you want to change? Which one of the 3 points do you need to have a greater awareness about in your life? 

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[Audio Teaching] Take the Limits Off! Part 1: Exposing the Victim Mindset

Overcoming Three Key Enemies of Breakthrough 

This teaching is a must have for every believer, especially for those who seem to be stuck and unable to move forward in victory. This is a very relevant teaching that will help to unlock major hindrances that keep us from transformation, healing and freedom. All three of these blocks will face every person at some point in life.

This first part exposes the first block: the victim mindset. Listen and see if the victim mentality is keeping you from blasting forward in your freedom.

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7 Common Blocks to Freedom

Most of time, being healed and delivered comes by a work of process. Although we all crave to experience that moment where something is completely broken off our lives instantly, we must not despise the process. It is through the journey where God loves to grow us in relationship; leading us out of bondage and into the land of freedom.

Because many can often despise the process, we can end up bypassing some very simple, yet profound keys to walking in wholeness, freedom and healing.

Most of being delivered is not complicated, but it is funny how we can often miss these simple precepts.

Here are 7 common blocks that keeps people from being delivered, healed or freed:

1. Not breaking the agreement. 

The enemy has access wherever there is agreement. Many will seek to be delivered, yet there is a place where they are in agreement with a way of thinking that keeps the bondage intact. Whatever the bondage is, there is often a place of agreement in our hearts and minds that gives that oppression in our thoughts room to operate.

This is the power of repentance, which breaks agreement with the enemy. When we repent, we are literally turning from a certain way of thinking and moving towards God’s way of thinking. Repentance is a full circle change of breaking the agreement with the enemy and giving God’s thoughts freer access to our being. It also gives us authority to drive out the works of darkness, because we no longer have an contract of agreement anymore.

2. Not dying to an issue. 

A stronghold has power in us  when we have not died to a particular issue. Jesus spoke of “dying to self” and “losing ourselves” as a way of showing us that full surrender is the only way to live in the Kingdom. Satan’s desire is to keep things alive in us that are meant to die.

Quite often the enemy has access because we are still alive to something in our desires that we need to be dead to. We can often be prone to fear of what people think because we have not truly died to the critical opinions of man. We may be tormented with a fear of finances because we have not died to the driving desire to have wealth and status. We may struggle with an anger issue because we have not died to the need to defend ourselves all the time. The examples are endless, but when we die to the passions that satan has established in the world, we kill the attraction we can bring to the enemy’s devices.

Where do you need to die more, so that God can resurrect those areas in His design? I have even found that some people struggle with deliverance because they have not had a heart connected born again experience. They said a quick prayer because someone told them to, but not because there was a heart surrender in the person’s heart. When we enter in, we die, so that who God says we are can resurrect.

3. Not experiencing the Father’s love. 

The majority of the stronghold’s that people face today stem back to not understanding or experiencing the love of God, especially in who He is as Father. The Bible speaks of God’s love being so powerful that it will even “cast out” fear. (1 John 4:18) This means that a spirit of fear will be cast out simply from a revelation of the love of God coming into a person’s heart and life.

When we do not have a personal experience with love from God, we struggle to love and accept ourselves. We will then continually battle in being able to love others as God designed us to. Wherever love is not present, brokeness resides, giving the enemy access to torment us.

4. Not releasing the burden. 

There are many things that we carry in our lives that we should not. The journey of life for most is a lot heavier than it should be, simply because they have not released unto God the issues of life. They are weighed down with stresses, worries and cares that keep them from walking the journey with the greater ease that Jesus spoke of when He said, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30)

Great deliverance comes when we learn to speak to God about the issues of our life and release the pressure of them onto Him. This is spoken of in many actions, such as, “casting your cares on God” (1 Peter 5:7), “entering in His rest” (Hebrews 4), “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6) and “do not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34).

Every day, we must learn to release the issues of life to God, or else we become entangle by our enemy’s attempts to burden us. Not only can we struggle with the daily pressures of life, we will carry the garbage of others upon ourselves. It seems like I watch more and more people carrying the sins and bad decisions of others upon their own shoulders. This position keeps us from rest and gives the enemy room to keep us bound.

5. Not humbling yourself. 

God is very generous in giving grace to the humble. But there will be great resistance in heaven if we carry a work of pride, stubbornness or rebellion in our hearts. God says that He “resists the proud” (James 4:6 & 1 Peter 5:5). This shows us that if we have pride in our hearts, we do not have a devil problem, we have a God problem. It is pointless engaging in spiritual warfare to become delivered if we have not learned to humble ourselves and allow God to be the boss of every area of our life.

6. Not being spiritually active. 

Many never climb to higher places of spiritual freedom in their life simply because they are spiritually out of shape. Not only does our culture struggle an with obesity issue, we are also bound by a spiritual obesity in our land. We take in a lot of thoughts, teachings and conferences, but we fail in taking daily action for our freedom, so we get spiritually fat.

To ALL believers, God has an action plan to lead you into healing and freedom. But there must be a daily spiritual investment we engage in our daily lives. Many Christians have a very passive approach to their walk, especially because they are used to getting many things without much price being paid. So they think most of heaven will just drop on them with little effort, contending or sacrifice. This passivity has lulled many into a spiritual coma, while the war of the these days takes out many sleepy believers.

No one can want your freedom and healing more than you do. Today may be the day to wake up to God and engage the war that you have been avoiding.

7. Not forgiving. 

I find it interesting how believers look at forgiveness as something that is optional, as though we have a say as to whether or not we should forgive someone. God has absolutely laid out a way that all our sins can be forgiven. There is only one “catch” to this; one that many believers forget. You can be cleansed and forgiven of sin. But you must forgive others with the same forgiveness you have been given.

Unforgiveness is the number one block to healing. God plainly says that if we do not forgive others, forgiveness for us will not be given. (Matthew 6:15) This is one of the strongest and sobering teachings you can find in Scripture. Yet when we walk in the delivering power of forgiveness, we gain the blessing of God’s cleansing power over our lives.

Question: Which area do you need to address in your own walk? Which block can be one we can easily fall into? 

Comments: 7 Common Blocks to Freedom.

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Why We Cannot Ignore the Health of Our Hearts

God’s highest priority and focus is on dealing with the heart. In order for Him to work on our hearts, He has to first touch the broken areas.

Most people do not realize they carry a broken heart, mainly because we have not been taught how to recognize it.

We live in a modern culture that emphasizes drivenesss and constant forward motion, not recognizing the importance of taking time to deal with the voids and hurts within. We are taught subliminally to “get over it” and move on.

Down the road, however, we find ourselves dealing with physical and mental illness that we cannot seem to conquer, while we wonder what is wrong. Our culture is built upon being driven to just keep on going, without recognizing where love has been absent and where genuine hurt has been, so that true recovery and healing can be established.

Broken Heart = Wherever Love Has Not Been Present

Remember, when recognizing the broken heart, we are not only speaking of someone who is weeping on the side of the road–in what we would observe as obvious brokenness. What we are dealing with is any area of our life where proper love is not present. This is the breeding ground of a broken heart.

Taking Care of the Heart

The spiritual heart is an interesting place, because it is the treasured seat of our dreams and passions.  Yet it also carries the pain of the past, our hurt and our tears. Out of the heart is where we truly express relationship. it is how we truly experience life.

Most people carry deep walls around their hearts because of unresolved brokeness that has never been addressed. We wonder why we often struggle to feel true emotion, yet we have tolerated a lifestyle that does not allow healing.

If I was to get to know you, it would not take too long to see what your broken heart issues are. Usually they revolve around how our parents loved us or did not love us. In addition to this, other triggers for a broken heart are in our fractured relationships. Marriages, dating experiences, workplace interactions, and friendships are the primary arenas where we experience broken heartedness.

Please understand that opening up our hearts to receive healing is not always an easy thing. There is often a lot of fear and anger involved with opening up that must be faced. In fact, our future health and peace depends on it. We must all come to a place where we allow God to give us the courage to open our hearts, so that He can heal us and so that we can once again approach relationships without walls.

Question: Where is there unresolved brokenness  in your heart that God can begin to address today? 

Comments: Why We Cannot Ignore the Health of Our Hearts.

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