Shielded With Favor!

“Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12 NIV)

Who are the righteous who can make such a claim? Everyone who loves The Lord and obeys His Word! The righteous are not perfect people, but they are righteous because of His righteousness, not their own.

We cannot become righteous of our own accord. If we could do it on our own, His grace would be wasted upon us. We are not saved because we are so good, but because He is so good. And because He loves us and made us His righteousness when we come to Him and obey, He surrounds us with His favor like a shield.

Imagine that! Picture a shield like the ones earlier soldiers carried to protect them from spears and arrows and other objects. This shield has “God’s Favor” written upon it and all who Believe and obey Him, shall wear it like a second skin and nothing by any means shall be able to pierce it! Glory to God!

His favor–moves mountains, opens the seas, and delivers us from the evil one.

His favor–opens doors no man can close and closes doors no man can open.

His favor–provides us with wisdom and insight to do all things well with His guidance.

His favor–brings back to our remembrance all He has taught us and shows us things to come.

His favor–empowers us with Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside–speaking to our hearts at every turn.

Know that you are loved and highly favored–surrounded by it and wear it like the shield it is, knowing you can hold your head high, no matter what your circumstances are and know victory is yours!

Thank You, Lord for favor and the boldness to wear it proudly throughout the day so that everyone will know, I am Yours and You are mine.

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Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner?

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Peter reminds every born-again believer to stay alert clear-headed so we’ll know when we see the enemy at work. He identifies our enemy as “the devil”–the one who was thrown out from heaven–the one who was and is angry with God for creating us out of love (his creation was for function–the singing angel)–the one who has determined within himself to destroy all of mankind, by any means possible and he’s succeeding–at least with those who are not paying attention.

The devil prowls–-stalking those who seem befuddled and who stumble at the least bit of adversity and are not operating with a clear mind.

The devil roars–making enough noise to drown out a person’s ability to hear God clearly and what God is saying and unfortunately, many are listening to the roar that drowns the still, small voice of Holy Spirit, who is trying to protect us, but we do not hear.

The devil devours–with some people, he simply swallows them up whole–those who have never believed God, the work on the cross, or in the Risen Savior.  With others, he eats hungrily, ravenously, because he can’t get enough of the gullible and fearful and every time he devours someone, he is strengthened in his resolve to have us all for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. He seeks a weakness in our character and speaks to our minds, influencing thoughts and what we continue to think about we will eventually act upon and then once he has convinced us to live outside the safety net of those who are preaching and teaching The Word in Truth, he pounces–blinding eyes from seeing Truth and Light, and stopping up ears from hearing truth, tearing us from limb to limb and then he sits–only for a moment, licking his chops, enjoying the havoc and chaos, he’s created and when he has fully digested us, he moves onto the next person.

And this is why we–Born-Again Believers–must always be suited up, ready for battle–with our heads and hearts protected from the onslaught of negativity and rebellion fueled by the devil. Now, we’ve already been told what to look for so we can recognize the devil at work: he lies, steals, kills, destroys, and is a master of deception.  When we know The Word, have an intimate Relationship with the Father and Hear Holy Spirit when He speaks, we will never be food on the devil’s dinner table–we are neither breakfast, lunch nor dinner, for we are fully persuaded and convinced, no weapon (none of the devil’s attempts to cause us to fall) formed against us shall ever prosper!

Remember–the weapons we use are not carnal–man’s creation, but spiritual and they are more than capable of bringing down strongholds and overthrowing wickedness in high places. Stand tall, in full armor, with the shield of faith and The Word as sword–at the ready and move forward–knowing the battle is not ours; it is the Lord’s and we win–victory in Jesus!