Don't be afraid of the Deep!

1 Corinthians 2: 9-10
  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

As a child i can remember going to the creek close to where we lived. I can remember playing in the shallow water, watching the older kids and adults swinging from the rope swing into the deeper water. I can remember being scared to go and do it myself, but as I grew older I finally had the courage to try it for myself. What a feeling it was, jumping from that rope into the deep water! That was where the fun was at, how come I had been missing out all of those years? It is the same way with our walk with God. When we are young in our walk, we try to stay in the shallows, to afraid or unsure about venturing out into the deep, but as we mature that's where we need to be.

The Holy Ghost shows us the deep things of God while we pray and fast and through His Word. This is where we should stay in our spiritual walk. I know myself in times past have left too early from a deep move of the Holy Ghost while in prayer. Maybe if i would have just tarried a little longer i wouldn't have missed what the Lord was trying to impart into my spirit.

Luke 5:4-6
  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

Peter told the Lord, " Master we have been out here in the deep all night and nothing has happened." It might just be me, but i feel like the Lord was telling him that maybe if he had stayed out in the deep a little longer he would have gotten what the Lord wanted him to have!

I know the deep places are somewhere we're not used to, somewhere that makes us uncomfortable, but when we are out of our comfort zone that's where the growing takes place! Let's not be afraid to launch out into the deep!

First Bind the Strong Man

We all can recall the story of Samson, the strongest man in the Bible. How he was bound by new rope that had never been stretched, but he broke it off like it was thread. Samson could not be bound physically, but he was bound spiritually by his own lustful desires that eventually lead to his fall.

  The pursuit of our own worldly and lustful desires still plague men of God today. Some might think, or say, " It'll be ok, I'm not hurting anything, or anyone but myself." But how true is that? Not very, we do not realize that as the High Priest of our home we are the main defense that stands in the door, protecting our family from the evil one. 

  Mark 3:27 KJV 

  No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and  THEN SPOIL HIS HOUSE.

  What will you allow to bind you, while the enemy has his way in your home? What in this world is worth that? I've been there, I let my guard down, stopped praying, stopped reading, and eventually turned from God and started pursuing my own worldly desires. Thought only I was hurting me, but then I started seeing my family suffer. My wife would lay down at night crying and pleading for me to take my place as the spiritual leader in our home again. I watched as the enemy attacked my children with sickness, all the while I was left feeling helpless and could do nothing to help because i was bound. I was bound while the enemy had free reign in my house.

  Do not think it can't happen to you, 1 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV) says, " Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."  We must stay strong, always in prayer and fasting, studying the Word. It isn't just our lives, our families depend on us. I hope this helps someone today that may be struggling, you're never too far from God no matter what you've done. It's never too late to turn it around. I love you all, stay strong brothers and be blessed.

 

Speak Life

Ezekiel (KJV)

37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,

² And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
³ And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.

 We've all been there, in our valley. It's a place no one likes to be, but it is necessary for growth in our relationship with our Lord. Oftentimes we don't see that the valley is here for this very reason. Our fallen nature tends to always try to look for the bad in a situation. Everything looks bleak, or "dead" to us. In this passage God shows Ezekiel a valley full of dry bones, no life exists there, or so it seems. When God asks him can these bones live, he basically replies, "I'm not sure."

 Why do we always accept our situations for what they look like, or seem to be? We should be like Ezekiel, and tell our Lord that even though it looks bad to me, you know God what it really looks like.

Ezekiel 37
⁴ Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
⁵ Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

All that we see in our situation is death, nothing lives, it's a dead end, we're not getting anywhere. God sees life! While we're down, and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, our Lord is wanting us to speak life into that situation!

 Ezekiel 37
⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.
⁸ And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
⁹ Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

 When we speak life into our situation, as commanded by God, life happens! The situation in your life is not dead! Listen to and obey the voice of God, speak life.

 

Proverbs 18:21Amplified Bible (AMP)

²¹ 
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words. 

 I love you all, be blessed, and speak life!