VIRTUAL SPIRITUAL JUMPSTART- WEEK 1
“Are You Treading Water?” “Overwhelmed?”
“Need To Refocus?” “Friends or Family in Trouble?”
“Are You Treading Water?” “Overwhelmed?”
“Need To Refocus?” “Friends or Family in Trouble?”
INTRO
All the time that I have spent in specific Bible Studies or Seminars with friends, my husband or sometimes total strangers over the last 25 years, spoke healing into my life. These times helped me to grow both spiritually and emotionally. I am at a place in my life, because of personal circumstances, maybe like some of you, where there is not the possibility of meeting weekly in a group (or even with my own husband) to study together or attending a seminar. Instead, I felt led to create a “Virtual Bible Study” here. Maybe you will join me each week, maybe just once. Maybe you will comment and share your thoughts below or maybe not. My prayer is you will receive at least one truth to apply to your life and circumstances and that it will help you on your life journey.
I believe it will help anyone to commit verses to memory so you can call upon them in times of need. Even if you are not a Christian, but seeking improvement in your life, the Bible is full of wisdom and good advice which is time tested. If you don’t want to add the reference, you could post most in your workplace without anyone even realizing they are scripture (if that is an issue). In fact, my Tip 1 is to take the weekly key verses in red (and perhaps one that they bring to mind as you study) and physically write them down on paper (or as an alert on your phone and computer if that will help it appear in front of your eyes more often). Print them on post-it notes, index cards or if you’re crafty, as calligraphy in a pretty frame. Post them all over your life—on your bathroom mirror, shower wall, fridge or coffee machine, dash of your car, work cubicle. Put them wherever your routine carries you most often every day. You will commit them to memory by repeating them to yourself every time you see them. If you know a song which has the verse in its lyrics, play it daily etc. In other words, IMMERSE yourself in these truths of scripture! (Most of the verses will be in King James because that is what I trust and have memorized for 20 years, but feel free to either copy them here or write the verses in the translation you have and understand best!)
This study is based on the principles of a book that I bought 7 years ago. It is dog-eared, highlighted in various colors and well-worn because I have reread it so many times that I have now lost count. But I chose it because, though all the Bible Studies I have participated in gave me nuggets of gold to use in my life, this book was a GOLD MINE of principles for me. My prayer is that it will be the same for you. The title is “SATAN, You Can’t Have My Children” by Iris Delgado. I highly recommend purchasing your own copy. The title may sound scary if you have never considered “spiritual warfare” (“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood [humans]…” Ephesians 6:12, KJV) before but I challenge you to keep reading. If you no longer have children (or grandchildren) to pray for, substitute your spouse’s name, a sibling or close friends name. You may even want to say, “SATAN, you can’t have my Life (my Home, my Business etc.). Make this statement daily. These principles apply to all those people and relationships we treasure and pray for in our lives, including ourselves.
The idea of “Spiritual Warfare” may be as novel an idea to you as it was for me 7 years ago. I was taught, as a child, that there were good people and bad people and I should surround myself with the good and stay away from the bad. Now, there is Biblical and practical basis for surrounding yourself with those people who breathe peace, joy and encouragement into your life and minimizing contact with those who create confusion, bring bad influence and discourage. There is also Biblical basis for breathing peace, joy and encouragement into our own AND other people’s lives every day and anytime you have the opportunity to do so. So…what I am saying here is, change your perception of the enemy. Don’t look at people as the enemy. View the enemy as the evil itself and Satan, not the person, and let’s help each other be released from the bonds of the enemy in our lives. (“…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8KJV).
Let’s keep each other and ourselves from being “devoured!”
The core of this study will be the well-known principle that “knowledge is power”? You can expand that to “scripture knowledge is more power” (i.e. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”, Hosea 4:6, KJV). I believe the more scripture you know and apply every day (Tip 2: apply), the more of God’s power is released into your life. If by providence, this post gets circulated to you and you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus or don’t even know what that is. You can create that forever relationship and be a recipient of His power in your life right now by simply asking Jesus to make Himself known to you and acknowledging the truth of these 3 verses (key words to concentrate on in bold):
Back to Spiritual Warfare-WEEK 1. Scriptures for reflection:
Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) says “For the word of God is quick [living], and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” As you reflect on this verse, remember that God’s Word is more powerful than our own. When we include scriptures in our prayers, we remind Satan of God’s power in our lives; we encourage ourselves with the truth of God’s Word, and we agree with God about the truth in His Word. Pray scriptures daily over those you cherish. Pray scriptures daily over your own shortcomings and attitudes. Carry Scripture with you as you go through your daily routine. Add them permanently to your “doorposts” (Deuteronomy 11:19-20). "You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…” As I switched channels today, I heard TD Jakes say, “God’s Word is eternal because He is an eternal God…” That truth spoke to me. God’s Word, even the principles of the Old Testament are useful eternally. This verse in Deuteronomy is as important for us today as it was for the Jews when they found themselves in a foreign land or as captives. They needed to remember God’s truths and so do we.
Immerse your environment with God’s Word and don’t be ashamed of it.
It is truth. It will set you free. It will bless you!
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4). We are assured of victory because Jesus was victorious and we are running on His power not our own. We can be defeated if we act on our own power, but we can be victorious if we depend on “Almighty” power. Remember that we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation but He is of no use to us unless we daily release our power to His power. Let the Holy Spirit direct you. Trust me that it is a daily action. We are fallible humans and creatures of pride and habit. We, by nature wish to do things in our own power and get credit for as many successes as possible. Start giving credit to God and waiting for His direction and His power. Release your decisions to Him. He is working EVERYDAY all around you. Look for what He is doing and get involved. Adjust your day. Make your plans into His plans and the power of God will come into your life and circumstances. Take your eyes off everything else and place them on God. You will need to refocus over and over onto God because if you are like most people, your focus will keep coming back to yourself and your circumstances. That’s where your posted verses will come in. They will remind of you of God’s truth and refocus your mind with the right thoughts—the truths of God.
Don’t be deceived by your own thoughts.
Live your life going through your day led by truth—God’s truth!
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (1 Timothy 1:7, KJV). This is a very important verse for Spiritual Warfare. Fear is paralyzing. Fear backs us in a corner and makes us unusable. Fear prevents us from fulfilling the potential God put in us. It hinders us from helping those we love reach the potential God place in them. But this verse makes it clear that fear is NOT from God. Therefore, defuse it. Fear is from Satan. Fear is sometimes from wrong thinking. Rebuke it. When I become paralyzed by fear from a circumstance, I have learned to say to myself,
“STOP SATAN! I am not listening to you.”
Then I look for a verse that encourages me. (See the benefit of being surrounded by scripture?) I repeat it over and over until the fear subsides. Sometimes there are real reasons that fear overcomes us. Maybe someone is very ill or we are in a life-threatening situation. We won’t remember to look for a verse. That’s why some important verses should be committed to memory. For me it is the 23rd Psalm. Because I memorized it as a small child, I never forget it. When I have been so overcome by my circumstances that I cannot even manage the words to pray, I have repeated that Psalm over and over. I have repeated it all night long when I could not sleep and during traumatic experiences when I could not think
God’s Word diffuses fear. According to 1 Timothy 1:7, we must use the love and power of “sound thinking.” Our own thinking is not always sound. But God’s Word is always sound. That’s why we must speak God’s Word to ourselves (and others in need of inspiration). God’s Word will always diffuse our fears and refocus our thinking to the rights thoughts and truth.
Focus on the truth in God’s Word today!
All the time that I have spent in specific Bible Studies or Seminars with friends, my husband or sometimes total strangers over the last 25 years, spoke healing into my life. These times helped me to grow both spiritually and emotionally. I am at a place in my life, because of personal circumstances, maybe like some of you, where there is not the possibility of meeting weekly in a group (or even with my own husband) to study together or attending a seminar. Instead, I felt led to create a “Virtual Bible Study” here. Maybe you will join me each week, maybe just once. Maybe you will comment and share your thoughts below or maybe not. My prayer is you will receive at least one truth to apply to your life and circumstances and that it will help you on your life journey.
I believe it will help anyone to commit verses to memory so you can call upon them in times of need. Even if you are not a Christian, but seeking improvement in your life, the Bible is full of wisdom and good advice which is time tested. If you don’t want to add the reference, you could post most in your workplace without anyone even realizing they are scripture (if that is an issue). In fact, my Tip 1 is to take the weekly key verses in red (and perhaps one that they bring to mind as you study) and physically write them down on paper (or as an alert on your phone and computer if that will help it appear in front of your eyes more often). Print them on post-it notes, index cards or if you’re crafty, as calligraphy in a pretty frame. Post them all over your life—on your bathroom mirror, shower wall, fridge or coffee machine, dash of your car, work cubicle. Put them wherever your routine carries you most often every day. You will commit them to memory by repeating them to yourself every time you see them. If you know a song which has the verse in its lyrics, play it daily etc. In other words, IMMERSE yourself in these truths of scripture! (Most of the verses will be in King James because that is what I trust and have memorized for 20 years, but feel free to either copy them here or write the verses in the translation you have and understand best!)
This study is based on the principles of a book that I bought 7 years ago. It is dog-eared, highlighted in various colors and well-worn because I have reread it so many times that I have now lost count. But I chose it because, though all the Bible Studies I have participated in gave me nuggets of gold to use in my life, this book was a GOLD MINE of principles for me. My prayer is that it will be the same for you. The title is “SATAN, You Can’t Have My Children” by Iris Delgado. I highly recommend purchasing your own copy. The title may sound scary if you have never considered “spiritual warfare” (“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood [humans]…” Ephesians 6:12, KJV) before but I challenge you to keep reading. If you no longer have children (or grandchildren) to pray for, substitute your spouse’s name, a sibling or close friends name. You may even want to say, “SATAN, you can’t have my Life (my Home, my Business etc.). Make this statement daily. These principles apply to all those people and relationships we treasure and pray for in our lives, including ourselves.
The idea of “Spiritual Warfare” may be as novel an idea to you as it was for me 7 years ago. I was taught, as a child, that there were good people and bad people and I should surround myself with the good and stay away from the bad. Now, there is Biblical and practical basis for surrounding yourself with those people who breathe peace, joy and encouragement into your life and minimizing contact with those who create confusion, bring bad influence and discourage. There is also Biblical basis for breathing peace, joy and encouragement into our own AND other people’s lives every day and anytime you have the opportunity to do so. So…what I am saying here is, change your perception of the enemy. Don’t look at people as the enemy. View the enemy as the evil itself and Satan, not the person, and let’s help each other be released from the bonds of the enemy in our lives. (“…your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8KJV).
Let’s keep each other and ourselves from being “devoured!”
The core of this study will be the well-known principle that “knowledge is power”? You can expand that to “scripture knowledge is more power” (i.e. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…”, Hosea 4:6, KJV). I believe the more scripture you know and apply every day (Tip 2: apply), the more of God’s power is released into your life. If by providence, this post gets circulated to you and you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus or don’t even know what that is. You can create that forever relationship and be a recipient of His power in your life right now by simply asking Jesus to make Himself known to you and acknowledging the truth of these 3 verses (key words to concentrate on in bold):
- We (and you) are all sinners saved by His grace (receiving something we don’t deserve) and because of His mercy (not receiving something we do deserve). (“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” Romans 3:23-24, KJV)
- God, because He loves us so much, sent Jesus to die as a substitute for our sin (just as someone on death row may deserve death but gets a pardon!) “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. “(Romans 8:5-6, KJV)
- This pardon by God is a free gift…there is nothing you can do to earn it. There are no good works to accumulate or preparations to do first to receive it. You can receive it right now, no matter who you are, where you are, what you previously believed or what you’ve ever done. “…the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b, KJV).
Back to Spiritual Warfare-WEEK 1. Scriptures for reflection:
Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) says “For the word of God is quick [living], and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…” As you reflect on this verse, remember that God’s Word is more powerful than our own. When we include scriptures in our prayers, we remind Satan of God’s power in our lives; we encourage ourselves with the truth of God’s Word, and we agree with God about the truth in His Word. Pray scriptures daily over those you cherish. Pray scriptures daily over your own shortcomings and attitudes. Carry Scripture with you as you go through your daily routine. Add them permanently to your “doorposts” (Deuteronomy 11:19-20). "You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…” As I switched channels today, I heard TD Jakes say, “God’s Word is eternal because He is an eternal God…” That truth spoke to me. God’s Word, even the principles of the Old Testament are useful eternally. This verse in Deuteronomy is as important for us today as it was for the Jews when they found themselves in a foreign land or as captives. They needed to remember God’s truths and so do we.
Immerse your environment with God’s Word and don’t be ashamed of it.
It is truth. It will set you free. It will bless you!
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4). We are assured of victory because Jesus was victorious and we are running on His power not our own. We can be defeated if we act on our own power, but we can be victorious if we depend on “Almighty” power. Remember that we receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation but He is of no use to us unless we daily release our power to His power. Let the Holy Spirit direct you. Trust me that it is a daily action. We are fallible humans and creatures of pride and habit. We, by nature wish to do things in our own power and get credit for as many successes as possible. Start giving credit to God and waiting for His direction and His power. Release your decisions to Him. He is working EVERYDAY all around you. Look for what He is doing and get involved. Adjust your day. Make your plans into His plans and the power of God will come into your life and circumstances. Take your eyes off everything else and place them on God. You will need to refocus over and over onto God because if you are like most people, your focus will keep coming back to yourself and your circumstances. That’s where your posted verses will come in. They will remind of you of God’s truth and refocus your mind with the right thoughts—the truths of God.
Don’t be deceived by your own thoughts.
Live your life going through your day led by truth—God’s truth!
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (1 Timothy 1:7, KJV). This is a very important verse for Spiritual Warfare. Fear is paralyzing. Fear backs us in a corner and makes us unusable. Fear prevents us from fulfilling the potential God put in us. It hinders us from helping those we love reach the potential God place in them. But this verse makes it clear that fear is NOT from God. Therefore, defuse it. Fear is from Satan. Fear is sometimes from wrong thinking. Rebuke it. When I become paralyzed by fear from a circumstance, I have learned to say to myself,
“STOP SATAN! I am not listening to you.”
Then I look for a verse that encourages me. (See the benefit of being surrounded by scripture?) I repeat it over and over until the fear subsides. Sometimes there are real reasons that fear overcomes us. Maybe someone is very ill or we are in a life-threatening situation. We won’t remember to look for a verse. That’s why some important verses should be committed to memory. For me it is the 23rd Psalm. Because I memorized it as a small child, I never forget it. When I have been so overcome by my circumstances that I cannot even manage the words to pray, I have repeated that Psalm over and over. I have repeated it all night long when I could not sleep and during traumatic experiences when I could not think
God’s Word diffuses fear. According to 1 Timothy 1:7, we must use the love and power of “sound thinking.” Our own thinking is not always sound. But God’s Word is always sound. That’s why we must speak God’s Word to ourselves (and others in need of inspiration). God’s Word will always diffuse our fears and refocus our thinking to the rights thoughts and truth.
Focus on the truth in God’s Word today!