Praise Requires Preparation

Anything in life that you will excell in requires preparation. College, technical institutions, seminary, life experiences (learning to ride a bike, learning to read, preparing to give a speech or sermon) all prepare individuals for success. One can tell when an individual has not prepared themself. There is a disconnect with the audience or evident failure in their finished product. It is the same with our worship. Preparation in the Lord must be evident in order to receive ALL of your blessings! Your mind and your heart must be a conduit for the Holy Spirit to use in order to produce effective results. Witnessing and ministering to the saved and more importantly to the unsaved is our sole responsibility as Christians. In order to be effective, we must be knowledgeable and wise to present Christ in an introductory manner so as not to frighten them with condemnation and persecution. We must introduce a ground breaking technique.

This prepares the way of the individual for obtaining a more in-depth understanding of the oracles of God. Jesus prepared the world in his flesh form for what was to come through spiritual the realm. His mission on earth was to reveal the purpose of our Heavenly Father by showing us how to acquire abundant life. Jesus' journey was marked with compassion and humility to leave us with a recorded daily instructional guide for spiritual living-the Bible. He denounced sin by refusing to participate in it. He showed love in order for us to offer love. He died in the flesh to show humanity the temporal side of life. His main goal was to show that anyone who proclaimed life by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior and denounced flesh/death would indeed inherit the kingdom by gaining eternal life.

Preparation is mandatory for anything that we do in Jesus' Name. When we pray, we must know the promises of God in order to have a conversation with HIM. Prayer is our direct line of communication with God. When we petition God for one of our many, never-ending requests, we must pray in the spirit of God which allows us access to the Holy of Holies. This is only done if you have relationship with God. In order to ask God for something you must have the faith to believe that if you pray in His will then you will be blessed with your heart's desires. So how do we display this faith? Praise! Yes praise Him for what He has done, what He is doing, and more importantly what He will do! Your praise is your weapon in seasons of adversity, distress, and grief. It is your exclamation mark for everything that is right and wrong in your life. Your praise should be complete with preparation. How do you approach the Lord (who is our advocate)? It should be with praise (thanking Him for who He is in the universe and your life, with meekness and humility through repentance and atonement for your sins, and with supplication by reducing self and defering all things to unto Him. This is your preparational praise to advance yourself in His Kingdom on earth as it is His will in Heaven.

So prepare yourself to prepare to praise your way through your circumstances. Jesus is only a prayer away! Have a blessed season that is accentuated by your praise! Much praise, much power...

Familiar Spirits

Have you ever heard the ancestral adage, “If you lie, you’ll steal and if you steal, you’ll kill”? These particular individuals were thought by our ancestors to pose a threat to our familial environments. People who fell into this class were labeled worthless, shiftless, dangerous and never to be trusted. In other words, these are the individuals who will stop at nothing to accomplish their demonic agendas. In the spiritual world, there are two forces: the Holy Spirit and demonic spirits. Demonic spirits work in concert with each other. Because they are not of God, they need a team to do what God can do with one! This “team” represents a vast collection of spirits. The term “familiar spirits” defines a collection of demonic forces created to interfere with the purpose and plans of God. Have you ever heard this statement, “If you tell one lie, then you’ve got to tell another one to cover up for the first one”? As His “elect” we’ve been destined in this life to be tossed and driven by experiencing trouble on every side. Demonic foot soldiers use spiritual strongholds that target the saved to prevent us from honoring God by living a holy life. For example, a lying spirit is usually accompanied by other spirits to strengthen the works of deception. A liar will often bear the fruit of the spirits of manipulation, deception, profanity, pride, and self-righteousness. The bible tells us that we will know them by the fruits they bear.

As Christians we must always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us. God created the Holy Spirit for our comfort after the death of Jesus Christ. The “Comforter” was sent to assist us with daily righteous living. God provided us with a weapon that far exceeds anything we could do in the flesh regarding demonic spirits. Be mindful that we war NOT in flesh but with spiritual principalities in high places. “High places” does not apply to our homes, jobs, organizations and our church relationships! This greatest weapon for destroying “familiar spirits” is PRAYER! Ask the Lord to sharpen your gift of discernment such that when you’re faced with spiritual lions (loud, obnoxious bullies), tigers (sneaky, and spiteful people) and bears, (lazy, shifty, and unlearned), you will know to pray a prayer of correction, promise and prosperity for that misguided soul. Remember to address situations/people with love as you would want correction. Love covers a multitude of sin. Get ready to experience God on a higher level. Your strength is obtained by the reading and hearing of God’s word which will equip you with a fervent and effectual prayer life. Wage war on the enemy through prayer to destroy attacks from “familiar spirits”. God is waiting for you to use the authority He has invested in you!

Blessings Delayed Are Not Blessing Denied

What do you do when you're waiting for God to answer you? Do you become anxious, frustrated, agitated, confused, or even angry? Sometimes God does sow a season of patience into our lives to complete a perfect work. Rome was not built in a day and neither was your salvation. Jesus labored on earth and suffered on the cross that you and I would have everlasting life. Therefore our individual ministeries will reflect our labor of love as well. In order to witness effectively to others regarding the importance of accepting God's seasons of patience, we must first experience seasons in which patience is being applied. God gives us an abundance of scripture that assures us by His command to be patient. Let patience have its perfect work in your life to provide a balance in receiving God's timely blessings.

During your prayer, focus and meditation time, read the book of Daniel chapters 9 and 10 to witness blessings delayed are not blessings denied. The prince of Persia has been given (by God of course) the ability to delay our blessing for 21 days-3 full weeks! Be blessed by these scriptures as they will provide illumination and revelation to many of our prayer requests. Remember God's timing is not ours. But His promises apply to all that belong to Him. Be of good cheer during trying times and wait on the Lord. Your blessings are truly on the way!

Representatives of Christ?

Are you drawing individuals to Christ or is your behavior turning the unsaved away? Are you witnessing in love? Or are you beating people over the heads with your bible? Are you speaking on a level that the unsaved understand? Or are you so holier than Thou, that you offend and degrade people with your conversations that contain ONLY scriptures? Think about these questions for a moment. Why? Your answers will determine exactly what type of soul-winner you really are. Our job is to sow seeds that will win souls over to Christ. John 1:8...we are not that Light (Jesus) but we were sent to bear witness of that "Light", Yet how do we offer Christ successfully without judgement and persecution from others as well as experiencing any embarrassment on our parts?

First we must recognize who we are in Christ. We must be firmly established in our faith in order to give a defense for the hope that is within us. People judge God according to the behavior of His children. Is this right? Well in part, the answer is yes and no. People judge according to what they SEE! Is this fair? No, but we deal with an accusatory world led by the enemy. Again, should people judge God according to our behavior? Yes because we are supposed to be images of Christ. People accuse or slander God (God's children) by what they consider as unholy conduct of the "saved". Just as God's word is there for the saved, the enemy's intent is to destroy the image of God. He does this by offering temptation/sin into our spirits to cast negativity and doubt. Satan wants to present God as a liar by keeping the unsaved ignorant and by tempting the saved.

For example, I cannot speak love for my neighbor and in anger construct acts of violence against him. I cannot claim righteous living by lusting and/or sleeping with my neighbor's spouse. I cannot speak holy and conveniently curse. I cannot be forgiven unless I am willing to forgive those who have done things against me. These billboard acts of sin speak against God in a world that is already looking to condemn Him. Therefore we must be extremely careful on how we present ourselves. Remember we represent God and Christ. Be a beacon of light for the "Light" this week on your journey to save souls!

Spiritually Speaking!

Have you ever considered the power of your tongue? Do you speak love, prosperity and blessings into your life and into the lives of others? Or are you one of those persons that speak negativity, doubt and chronic grief ? Proverbs 18:21 states...Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat of its fruit. This scripture empowers us to accept that we can invoke blessings or curses upon our lives.

As Christians we must believe that our tongue can forecast fruit resulting in productive seasons. Yet the flip side is also true. I can speak infirmities such as failure and constant unhappiness through my lack of faith in God to do all things. How awesome is that? God says that I can literally speak powerfully anointed blessings upon my life and into the lives of those that believe in Jesus Christ! This is an area in which we all fall short. Why? We've become a part of the world that we are not supposed to embrace. Sure we are to operate effectively and productively in the world but we are not supposed to fall prey to the ills of an unsaved world.

Our adversary is so cunning until he ensnares us most of the time without us knowing it! I simply believe we do not willingly disobey or deny God. However our actions contradict us. We say things like, "I wish I could" or "that will never happen for me", "I don't deserve that" .... and so on. We talk ourselves right out of God's Will for our lives. And if we aren't the culprits, then we let unsaved people's words and dismal outlook on life apply and shape our destiny. We begin to walk in defeat and miss out on God's blessings. I challenge each of you to be transformed into "Chasing A Better You" by shaping your today to totally believe God's Word and eat of its fruit!

Chasing A Better You by Traci Blalock Phillips

I'm Traci Phillips and welcome to "Chasing a Better You"! My blog is an avenue produced to promote spiritual empowerment for individuals who are seeking to develop and/or enhance their relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Prayerfully these posts will provide the insight necessary to effect change in your life. Keep up with me each week for my personal thoughts, words of encouragement and scripture to illuminate your God-given path to spiritual success! As God continues to fill my cup with the Holy Spirit, I invite you to join me in a "fill your cup experience".