Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-11.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
What is the reason people stray away from the truth that sets them free? From the best and safest place to be? It is to My little flock that I have given the Kingdom with joy. I shine on you and you shine back on Me with the light that long ago shone into the darkness when I said, “light be!”
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6.
In the Garden of Gethsemane the night He was betrayed and Peter denied Him three times and all the other disciples except John deserted My Son, Jesus had told them a very important aspect of prayer that if they had done what He told them would have saved them a lot of heartache and pain. Do you remember what it was? But the more important question is, “do you do it?”
And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41.
If it is the spirit in you that is willing and it is the flesh that is weak, then to be strong to not stray you must feed your spirit to control and starve the flesh to submit.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.
My Words are spirit and life. So you know they are spirit food to make you strong so you will not stray. It is My strength in you that will keep you strong and when you connect with it by faith it becomes your strength. And I give you the armor of light, My very own armor, which is actually being clothed in My Word, who is Jesus, so clothed in Christ, that you are strong to bring down strongholds.
The devil is not strong, he is not a source of power, he can only operate by getting hold of your dominion authority and power. He can only operate in the earth realm by taking someone captive to do his will, which is to steal, kill, and destroy. And if you will note that is what the nations or the people do that allow him to enter and take over their hearts. They come in with promises to make all one and all well off but they end up oppressing the people for their gain as they steal, kill, and destroy their freedom, their prosperity and finally their lives either as brainwashed slaves to their ideologies or as prisoners locked up for independent thinking, but ultimately this turns on them and they themselves who oppressed and destroyed end up destroying themselves. And that is the devil’s tactics—to get you to destroy others and then turn and destroy yourself, as he did with Judas.
I do not want you unaware of the devil’s tactics that you may not be taken in. He prowls about looking for someone to devour but he cannot devour anyone or do anything to you unless you permit it. And how do you permit it? By listening to and agreeing with his lies. And how do you know if you have fallen for his lies? If you are saying things that are contrary to My Word, for My Word is absolute truth so anything you say that is contrary to what I say about you or about things in the world is a lie. And lies never produce anything good. In fact, they produce fear, worry, doubt, unbelief, sickness, pain, offense, lust, depression, and eternal death. If your life is plagued by any one of those things you have permitted the devil to take a stronghold in you.
It is time to get him out.
The primary weapon against lies that will take them down without a battle is the truth. In court once you establish by clear and convincing evidence what the truth is in any given matter, the matter is settled and the case is closed. There is no need for further argument. The truth trumps any lie, it treads it underfoot.
But to win in that way, you have to know the truth and be unshakeable by what appears in your body or life to contradict the truth. You have to just keep standing calmly on the truth and simply saying to the contrary pain, lack, illness, fear, etc. “Oh no you don’t! I know better. I have been redeemed from the curse of the law of sin and death by the blood of Jesus and He bore my illness and carried away my pains. You have no place in Me and I refuse to tolerate you. I command you spirit of pain (name whatever is coming against you) out and stay out in the Name of Jesus! And the you cast all your cares on Me and then thank Me with joy even before you see the truth manifest. And I for My part will perform a miracle for you.
My part is the power, your part is to connect by faith. And true faith is nothing but joy, for if you really know I am putting everything right that was wrong you will have no worry, no fear, no depression and only joy. When you get full of the Holy Spirit there is no room for anything but joy. And My joy is your strength. If you are filled with joy you are not weak, you are not frustrated, you are not depressed and you will not stray away, for when you have joy in Me you have no desire to go off and try something else. When you know you have the best you are at rest.
How do you get filled with the Holy Spirit? I tell you in more places than one, but you get filled with the Holy Spirit when you walk in the spirit and that is when you lift you heart up to enthrone Me in your life and you do that by singing songs of joyful praise and thanksgiving. That will shift the mood from oppression, confusion, and depression to freedom, clarity, and joy.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Ephesians 5:18-20.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Colossians 3:15-17.
My Word is truth and it tells you that you enter My gates with thanksgiving, My courts with joyful songs of praise, and the Holy of holies in worship. Worship is the flow of love from My heart to your heart and in your heart it becomes an overflowing wellspring of delight leaping back up to Me as we sing and shine together. Worship is a powerful link between you and Me of agreement where My image is again your image. It is the place where each is well pleased in the other and each is the other’s beloved.
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. Song of Songs 6:3.
It is then My promises and My goodness become your reality, your foundation and mainstay. They become your shield and buckler, your helmet of Salvation, your sword of the Spirit, and your footgear of the good news of peace. You become confident and bold to respond to any weapon formed against you to take it down with the truth and tread that lying serpent underfoot as you just walk right on to your high calling in Christ. You just refuse to budge off your rock of truth.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit. Ephesians 6:10-17.
Do you see that every piece of armor is about knowing My Word and making it your protection, your direction, you answer, and your weapon and defense? Stand firm and firm you will be for My Word will hold you up. But to stand up against the devil you must know My Word. My people perish for lack of knowledge. There is no excuse, however, for not knowing My Word because it is available to you on every electronic device, at every bookstore, and on numerous apps and at most bookstores.
I love you. Seek My strength and you find that in My peace, My joy, and My Word and these are all yours in Christ Jesus in overflowing measure, you have only to receive them by faith and put a guard on your heart. My everlasting Covenant with you is confirmed by My Word in your mouth and My Spirit in and upon you. With My Word and My Spirit you have everything you need to have everything good, beautiful, precious, and eternal.