Troy A. Brewer's Blog, page 334
April 11, 2017
SNOWY DAY BATTLES
God is giving you a legacy to be proud of. Keep following Him and you will go far! Places that are uncomfortable will, in the end, bring you great comfort. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings, but trust God to increase you at just the right time.
SNOWY DAY BATTLES
The Bible tells us King David had some interesting friends. They were called his Mighty Men because of their daring exploits. Although you would think survival was at the top of their to-do list, their actions show otherwise.
Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.
– 2 Samuel 23:20
If Benaiah had been interested in his own survival, he would have passed by that pit on his tiptoes and never looked back. Instead, he was interested in living big and doing daring things that brought honor to his king.
He didn’t run for comfort because of the cold. He wasn’t shrinking in a corner because the enemy was bigger, stronger, faster and had huge claws and teeth. He jumped into that pit and battled a lion in the snow, with uncertain footing and no advantages. He jumped in because his focus was overcoming incredible odds.
Benaiah far surpassed the other warriors around him because he wasn’t there to survive. His goal was to live at a higher level. That takes real courage.
Would it be said of you that you “performed great exploits” in your life? Will your children or great-great grandchildren talk of the risks you took to bring honor and souls to your King Jesus?
If you want to live at that higher level and go great things for your savior, you cannot be concerned with self preservation. In fact, survival is the enemy of upgrade. Remember, in the Promised Land, you go after the territory you want. You step into your battle for better and God will back you up.
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO STOP SURVIVING AND DARE TO DO GREAT THINGS FOR YOUR KING. BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. ADVANCING TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF PROMISE IS WORTH THE PURSUIT!
From my book Living Life /Forward
Snowy Day Battles
God is giving you a legacy to be proud of. Keep following Him and you will go far! Places that are uncomfortable will, in the end, bring you great comfort. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings, but trust God to increase you at just the right time.
SNOWY DAY BATTLES
The Bible tells us King David had some interesting friends. They were called his Mighty Men because of their daring exploits. Although you would think survival was at the top of their to-do list, their actions show otherwise.
Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man from Kabzeel, who had done many deeds. He had killed two lion-like heroes of Moab. He also had gone down and killed a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day.
– 2 Samuel 23:20
If Benaiah had been interested in his own survival, he would have passed by that pit on his tiptoes and never looked back. Instead, he was interested in living big and doing daring things that brought honor to his king.
He didn’t run for comfort because of the cold. He wasn’t shrinking in a corner because the enemy was bigger, stronger, faster and had huge claws and teeth. He jumped into that pit and battled a lion in the snow, with uncertain footing and no advantages. He jumped in because his focus was overcoming incredible odds.
Benaiah far surpassed the other warriors around him because he wasn’t there to survive. His goal was to live at a higher level. That takes real courage.
Would it be said of you that you “performed great exploits” in your life? Will your children or great-great grandchildren talk of the risks you took to bring honor and souls to your King Jesus?
If you want to live at that higher level and go great things for your savior, you cannot be concerned with self preservation. In fact, survival is the enemy of upgrade. Remember, in the Promised Land, you go after the territory you want. You step into your battle for better and God will back you up.
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO STOP SURVIVING AND DARE TO DO GREAT THINGS FOR YOUR KING. BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. ADVANCING TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF PROMISE IS WORTH THE PURSUIT!
From my book Living Life /Forward
A VALUE FOR LIVING
God is working out areas of shame and failure for your good. He has made you more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus who loves you!
A VALUE FOR LIVING
Do you want a closer walk with God and a clear path to your Kingdom purpose? Know this: your value for self preservation is actually the enemy of your upgrade.
What?!? You heard me. Your need to survive is in direct contrast to your need to live. And no, living and surviving are not the same thing!
If you have a huge focus on survival, you will never move forward. Your fear of failure and love of comfort and the status quo, will hold you back. How do you deal with a fear of failure?
You must have a higher value for living your life than for protecting it. Jesus said it this way:
Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on…”
– Luke 12:22
He is not saying don’t make a plan or don’t take responsibility for your life. What Jesus is saying is don’t live your life as a survivor!
You see, we have to have a higher value for overcoming than we have for surviving. You are not called “more than a survivor,” or “joint survivors with Jesus.” Your heavenly Father calls you a warrior and an overcomer.
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER’S VOICE. HE CALLS YOU AN OVERCOMER. LET GO OF YOUR FEAR AND FOCUS ON LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL. DON’T BE A SURVIVOR.
From my book Living Life /Forward
April 9, 2017
MARKED FOR LIFE
God has placed you here for a reason. He has marked His identity on your heart and the hearts of your children as well. No matter how far you or your child may be from the Lord, He is tugging at your heart strings to live the life He has planned for you. He will not relent making sure you know you are His child and have great purpose.
MARKED FOR LIFE
About 2,600 years ago, there lived an inconspicuous young man. He was the son of Israel’s high priest – a preacher’s kid, and like most PKs, his plan for his life didn’t include the ministry.
God showed up and changed that plan in a very big way.
While young Jeremiah’s daddy was famous in his generation, Jeremiah would be one of the most famous preachers who ever lived. His ministry was so powerful, we are still reading his words today.
The reason I bring him up is because, at the beginning of the book of Jeremiah, he records something you just have to read:
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
– Jeremiah 1:4-5
Here is God introducing Himself to this young man and making him an offer he can’t refuse. He essentially says, “Don’t you try to tell me who you are not. Let me tell you who you are! You are mine and I’ll prove it!” God then points out two pieces of evidence.
1. Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. That means that before there was ever a plan on earth for the making of Jeremiah, there was a plan in heaven for what he would do and an identity for who he would be. God took the formation of Jeremiah very personally, just as he does your child. Know this: God knows your child this same way.
2. Before you were born I sanctified you. To sanctify something means to mark it. God put something on him, that all the days of Jeremiah’s life, he would be set apart from the rest of the world – holiness. Holiness literally means to be set apart for God. Jeremiah wouldn’t be able to interpret it at first, but any time he wandered from God, he would feel it. He would yearn for God.
Moses did. He woke up one day after 40 years of living with the devil himself and realized he was on the wrong team. He knew his identity was not with Egypt, but with the Hebrew slaves.
The same thing happened to you, didn’t it? While you were in the world getting drunk, high, prideful or defeated, there was something inside you that said, “I was not marked for this.”
You can trust God that while your child was being formed, He marked your baby so that, sooner or later, one way or another, Jesus was going to win that precious life. Count on it. Prepare and pray for it.
“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments…”
– Deuteronomy 7:9
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO CLAIM YOUR CHILDREN FOR THE LORD. ASK HIM TO SET THEM APART AND TO HEAR THE CALL OF JESUS ON THEIR LIVES.
From my book: Soul Invasion
April 8, 2017
HOLD ON TIGHT!
Today is the day to persevere in goodness toward others, even if they speak against you. Knowing who you are in Christ will help you to rise above the fray.
HOLD ON TIGHT!
With mobs rising and good being mistaken as evil, you had better hold on tight to the Word of God in these confusing days.
Test the mettle of everything you hear. Why? Just because something is considered good, does not make it godly.
In these final days, you will be challenged to believe that life is death and death is life. You will be tempted more than any generation in history to give up on goodness. You must be prepared to throw out the supernatural bastard of evil and hold on to the legitimate sonship of Jesus Christ, and His ultimate goodness!
But test everything; hold fast to what is good.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
– Romans 12:9
Do you see that loving good goes hand in hand with loving truth? If you do not hold on to what is true and genuine, you will not hold on to what is good. You will let go of it for your own selfish, destructive ambition.
You see, truth and goodness are so attached, we are commanded to think about both!
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
– Philippians 4:8
Want to recognize the Godly from the so-called good? Think on the good things listed above. Test the mettle of whether it’s true, noble, right or pure. If it’s not, it’s not of God.
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness.
– Isaiah 5:20
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO THINK ABOUT TRUE, NOBLE, RIGHT AND PURE THINGS. GET YOUR MIND SET RIGHT FOR THE BATTLE AT HAND!
TEST THE METTLE OF “GOOD” THINGS TO KNOW IF THEY ARE “GODLY” THINGS!
From my book: Good Overcomes Evil
April 7, 2017
THE BELT OF TRUTH
Immerse yourself in the truth of God’s Word. Proclaim and declare the Lord’s goodness over yourself and your house. You are a warrior!
THE BELT OF TRUTH
I love to read about the Full Armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6. As a true Texan and warrior for Jesus, the armor not only has deep meaning for me, it is a motivation to go after Kingdom upgrade and advance the Gospel.
Though we like to talk about the sword, the shield, helmet and breastplate, there’s not a lot of talk about the piece of the armor that may just be the most important – the Belt of Truth.
The reason truth is seen as a belt in this scripture is because truth is what holds all your armor together under pressure. Surprisingly, God says the belt of truth is the first piece of armor you put on and that you should “gird your loins” with it.
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
–1 Peter 1:13
Remember, the Bible tells you that your loins are between your ears.
See, the mind is a reproductive organ. What you think becomes your words, attitudes and actions. If you are fearful, you will reproduce fear in all you say and do to the detriment of others. If you think about your past, your failures, or the enemies surrounding you, you will reproduce those things in your life.
Truth has everything to do with your mind. If you’re going to armor up, God says truth is the way to hold yourself together when the battle for your mind heats up.
What truth is that? First, the truth of scripture – that Jesus is God, He became a man, died for your sins and rose again to give you a place at His Father’s family table. Second, the truth of who you are to God – His beloved child, a warrior who need not fear because no weapon fashioned against you shall prosper.
However, for that to happen, you must hold your thought life together with the belt of truth. And remember, facts and truth are different. Facts are temporary. Truth is eternal and never changes.
It may be a fact that your spouse left you, but it’s the truth that God knows who you are and what you are worth. The nightly news gives you the facts, as does the doctor after a checkup. However, only the Holy Spirit gives you the truth.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
– John 16:13
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO MAINTAIN TRUTH IN THE MIDST OF YOUR MESS. BE PREPARED FOR THE ENEMY’S ATTACK BY PROTECTING YOUR MIND AND SPIRIT WITH THE TRUTH OF WHO JESUS IS AND WHO YOU ARE IN HIM!
From my book: Soul Invasion
THE LIE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
Allow the precious Holy Spirit to guide you and give you the boldness to draw the line. Speak the truth that will bring glory to God.
THE LIE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
The Lord has a holy hatred for the portrayal of His glory as something shameful. That’s why some of the biggest warnings in the Bible tell us to be super careful that we don’t call evil “good” and good “evil.”
“How long, O you sons of men, will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness and seek falsehood?”
– Psalm 4:2-3
You don’t call worthless things glorious and shameful things wonderful without God saying, “Really?” If you have no value for what’s real, if you have no value for the truth, you will lose your value for what is good.
Be on guard in these final days, because under the disguise of political correctness, good is being called evil more and more.
Today, the world calls women becoming men and men becoming women “good.” It believes that no matter what sex a person is, they should choose the bathroom they identify with, and that killing an unborn baby is a “choice,” a right and a freedom. This is “good” in the world of political correctness where all should be equal. The world will tell you that to disagree is evil, unloving and ultimately, un-Christian.
Why? They will tell you that Jesus wanted all to be equal, therefore they are doing what Jesus would do. Baloney!
Here on earth, we are not created equal. Some are beautiful, some are not. Some are talented, others are not. Some are born to wealthy families or in successful nations, others are not. I have news for you if you are going to survive the onslaught of political correctness: LIFE IS NOT FAIR!
Read the Psalms. They are a testimony to how unfair this fallen world really is. Do not fall for the PC line that says what once was good is now evil because we have to make things fair or equal here on earth.
The only place where things are fair, equal and right is in Heaven when we become like Christ. Until then, keep testifying to a dying world that Jesus is the answer. Continue to present the truth no matter how many times you are called “evil” or “shameful.”
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
– Romans 1:24-25
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO VALUE GOODNESS. BE PREPARED TO DEFEND GOODNESS AGAINST POLITICAL CORRECTNESS AND THOSE WHO WISH TO DEEM “GOOD” AS “EVIL.”
From my book: Good Overcomes Evil
PARKED IN THE RIGHT SPOT
Align yourself to the assignment God has called you to, then step into the process that will move your destiny. When you accept who God has made you to be, your positive outcome will accelerate.
PARKED IN THE RIGHT SPOT
Dec. 1, 1955 could have been a typical day, but because the right person with the right character was in the right place at the right time, it was a day that changed the nation.
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man who demanded it, she was physically tired from a long day at work. She was also spiritually and emotionally full of enough strength to push America out of the stone age of racism.
The rest of Rosa’s story is history – her arrest and trial, the 381-day Montgomery bus boycott and the Supreme Court ruling in November of 1956 that segregation on transportation is unconstitutional.
Sometimes heroes come in small packages. Her fight was not just for her race, but also for everyone who is in love with what is right and hates what’s wrong. I thank God that Rosa didn’t miss that bus!
Tiny Rosa Parks was able to do what God had destined her to do because she was willing to be who God called her to be. Her character and strength put her into that world changing bus seat. Her belief in God was at the core of everything she did. Because it was, He could use her.
What about you? Are you of the right character? If you’re not, being at the right place at the right time is not enough.
If you want the front of the bus, the middle of the road or the back of the church – if you want to push others out of the way jockeying for a position of greatness – you have a long way to go. Only obedience to God can put you in the amazing places and situations where you can change the world.
Go after obedience! Work for Godly character and let Jesus set you up to make a difference by putting you in the right place in the right time.
Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
– Esther 4:14
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DELVE INTO THE WORD. GET TO KNOW JESUS AND THE GIFTS HE HAS GIVEN YOU. AS YOU DO, YOU WILL PREPARE YOURSELF TO BE USED FOR HIS PURPOSES.
From my book: Best of the Brewer
MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY
The Lord sees your diligence in pursuing Him. Things that try to stand in the way of your pursuit are temporary and will pass. Be flexible. Focus on Him and His eternal love for you to overcome anything thrown your way.
MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY
Some years ago, a friend of mine organized a big pastor’s conference in Costa Rica. Just a few feet south of Nicaragua, it was an excellent place for pastors to gather.
Usually, when this friend puts together a crusade or conference, thousands of people come, but not this time. Only 30 or so people showed up. I could tell he was very disappointed when the people he worked with did not do what they said they would in getting the word out.
Before we went in to bless the socks off of the small crowd, he said something that changed my life. “Blessed are the flexible.”
We preached for two days like there were 1,000 pastors present, and as the Holy Spirit would have it, that conference was a game changer for some of those pastors. It was for me as well because those four words kept echoing in my mind.
Was I a flexible person? Would I have handled that situation differently? Gulp! I was a “my way or the highway” type of guy. In how many situations was I not a blessing or had missed my own blessing because of my infamous inflexibility?
I needed a serious soul invasion. What about you? Is your rigidity with your family, job or belief system so ingrained that you’re missing blessings and maybe even throwing curses at others? You don’t have to think hard about that – just look back to the last few Sundays.
What kind of hell broke loose on Saturday night or Sunday morning to keep you from praising God with your tribe at church? At my house, cars don’t start, kids bicker and fight, important items are lost, and all manner of chaos and miscommunication goes down right as we’re trying to hit the road.
Now, that’s just a small example. Here’s a bigger one.
I once saw a woman healed of blindness at a conference. She had prayed for healing at hundreds of times. Can you imagine what the devil must have thrown her way to keep her from going to church that night? My hunch is, she was flexible. Whatever problems arose, she let them fall away and went into the Lord’s presence. Because of it, she was forever changed.
You see, God is looking for people who can truly roll with the punches, because life throws a lot of them, especially when you’re trying to do His will. The devil is looking for an opportunity to sucker punch you away from bringing heaven to earth, so he messes with your plans.
Don’t let him! Learn to be flexible and keep your eyes on Jesus Christ. He will make sure the blessings flow.
Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
– Proverbs 13:10
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO PRAY FOR DISCERNMENT. ASK GOD TO UNVEIL THE PLANS OF THE ENEMY SO YOU CAN DODGE THE PUNCH AND FOCUS ON LIVING FOR THE KINGDOM! BLESSED ARE THE FLEXIBLE.
From my book: Soul Invasion
MENTAL TURF WARS
The helmet of salvation – what an awesome mighty tool! Never take it off. Wear it always to protect your thoughts from attacks of the enemy.
MENTAL TURF WARS
There is a glass case at Ft. Stewart where artifacts from Desert Storm are on display. One of the most interesting is a Kevlar helmet.
This U.S. Army issued helmet weighs only three pounds and cost around $90, but it bears the scars of a 7.62 AK-47 bullet. It took a direct hit and the young man wearing it survived the attack. Had he not been property dressed for battle at that exact moment, he would have been a casualty of war.
It’s the same way with you and me.
Why do you need to have a tough spiritual helmet? Because a blow to the head disorients you. It causes you to be confused.
That’s why you need the “Helmet of Salvation” issued to you by the Lord.
Every battle you fight should be with a perspective of who you are in Christ and who Jesus has called you to be. The devil will try to disorient you by telling you that you are who people have always said you are. He will shame you into thinking you are impotent. That’s called a head blow.
The devil will also try to confuse you with the recollection of past failures and bad choices – another head blow.
The devil will try to overwhelm you with the memory of terrible things that have happened to you, and will tell you that God will not help you. Head blow!
If you fight the devil on any of those three turfs, you will lose every single time. So how does the Helmet of Salvation work? It gives you the perspective of salvation.
When the devil says, “I know who you really are, loser,” you can say, “I am saved. That makes me the righteousness of God through Christ.” When the devil says, “I know what you’ve done,” you can deflect the attack by saying, “I am a new creature in Christ.”
When the devil reminds you of past pains, hurts and abuse, you can put on your helmet and say, “Devil, what you meant for evil, God has turned to good. I’m saved and my life is getting better and better.”
Fight your battles on the turf of the truth from the perspective of salvation. The devil can only have your mind if you let him. You will not be a casualty of war!
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…
– Ephesians 6:17-18
TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO KNOW THAT THE DEVIL DOESN’T OWN YOUR MIND. IT WAS PURCHASED WITH A PRICE – THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. PROTECT THE PROPERTY OF THE KING BY PREPARING FOR THE DAILY BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND. PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION AND STAND!
From my book: Soul Invasion
Troy A. Brewer's Blog
- Troy A. Brewer's profile
- 27 followers
