Laughter as Warfare

Today during my time with the Lord he asked me to laugh at the enemy. I found that very strange initially but soon I was laughing pretty good. Then I found in his word where God laughs at the enemy:

Psalm 2:4

The One enthroned in heaven laughs;

the Lord scoffs at them.

and again:

Psalm 59:8

But you, O LORD, laugh at them;

you scoff at all those nations.

and yet again:

Psalm 37:13

but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

God uses laughter as a weapon to put the devil in his place. To remind him that he can do all in his power but in the end he will still fail. One thing we have to understand about the devil is that even when he wins he has still lost because the blood of Jesus can make it all right again and because in the end, he has a reserved place in the lake of fire. What a relief for us who are born again. It does not matter how badly you have sinned or been involved with the enemy, Jesus can wash away your sin, guilt and reproach and make you white as snow. Then safe under the wings of the Lord you can point at the enemy and together with God laugh at him knowing his end.

Don't let the devil intimidate you. When he tries to, you go ahead and laugh at him. Laugh hard and long and let him know that your God is mighty to save and he never sleeps nor slumbers. It is well with your soul. Go on now. Have a good laugh at the devils expense!!

Freedom of the Mind!

This morning I got up to read my Bible and the pages just fell open to Proverbs Chapter 4. My eyes fell on the title "Wisdom is Supreme." I said a prayer and began reading it. Then I heard the Lord say to me "First Worship me, so that your spirit can open up and be receptive to my word." So I began to do that. As I began to worship I began to see the picture of a large spider sitting on the top of my forehead. Its long legs came down to just above my eyes and the rest covered my brain. Clearly it had made its home here and had spread a web all over my brain. My brain was so covered in web, it looked like it was wrapped up in clear nylon wrap.

I immediately began to pray and rebuke that spirit. I prayed for my brain and my mind not fully understanding why this spirit was attacking my mind. After I had prayed, I felt a real physical freedom, like my mind exhaled and was free for the first time in a long time. Then God began to remind me of the vision I had a few years ago where I was taken up to heaven and the Spirit of God lay his hand on my forehead and imparted wisdom to me. This spider spirit had come to ensure that the wisdom God had imparted on me would not be my portion.

As I continued praying for my mind the words "Frontal Lobe" kept coming to mind. First, the Holy Spirit had laid his hand on my forehead where the frontal lobe is located. Secondly, the spider was sitting on this same lobe. So I did a small study on the functions of the frontal lobe and this is what I discovered:

• The front part of frontal lobe is involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality and a variety of executive functions or “higher cognitive functions” including behavior and emotions
• It is responsible for the enthusiasm and drive, social nerves, behavior, reaction to varying situations, capacity to plan ahead and the occupation of skills in language.
• The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions.
• The frontal lobes are involved in motor function, problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social and sexual behavior.
• Front part of the brain; involved in planning, organizing, problem solving, selective attention, personality and a variety of "higher cognitive functions" including behavior and emotions.

With my calling in business these are all the skills I need to become extraordinary in my field. This nasty spirit was inhibiting all that. And guess what? The frontal lobe also has executive function meaning that it acts as a command center for other cognitive (mental) processes. It sends messages and inhibits or overrides others.

The executive functions are often invoked when it is necessary to override responses that might otherwise be automatically elicited by stimuli in the external environment. For example, on being presented with a potentially rewarding stimulus, such as a tasty piece of chocolate cake, a person might have the automatic response to take a bite. However, where such behaviour conflicts with internal plans (such as having decided not to eat chocolate cake while on a diet), the executive functions might be engaged to inhibit that response.

Basically, where naturally you would conform to the image of this world, the executive functions of the frontal lobe kick in so that you don't do what the world expects of you. Instead, you reach into the word of God in your spirit and override the natural instincts so you can do what God would have you do. Transformation, by the renewing of your mind!!!!

Some of those functions include:

1. Those that involve planning or decision making.
2. Those that involve error correction or troubleshooting.
3. Situations where responses are not well-rehearsed or contain novel sequences of actions.
4. Dangerous or technically difficult situations.
5. Situations that require the overcoming of a strong habitual response or resisting temptation

This is everything one has to deal with in business and that I am currently facing. I thank God for a mind that is free to receive his wisdom in every one of these situations. Now I can be an even greater light to my generation. God is awesome!!

Do NOT Conform Any Longer

Romans 12:2

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

I have read that verse many times before. I have heard preachers expound on it on various topics but I have never heard it, the way I did today. Today the Spirit of God spoke to me loud and clear as I studied money and giving and said just that first part of the verse.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world..."

I heard it as a command. I am no longer to think about money the way the world does. I am no longer to handle money the way the world does. I am to look to God for guidance on how to think and handle finances. The New living translation puts the second part of that sentence as follows:

"...but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think."

I must let him transform me. I must let him change my thought process. I must yield to God if I am to excel in the grace of giving. It is a radical place to be. A radical way to live. To those who are perishing it is foolishness, but to those who are looking to eternal life, this is pure wisdom and light.

May the God of all light illuminate our hearts, spirits, souls and minds so that we are transformed by him in our thinking and in our attitudes towards money and giving. And from today we conform no longer. We stop thinking about finances the way this world does and take a new approach. A Jesus approach.

Getting Our Minds Straight!

Yesterday I mentioned that I felt as if I had just been sucked into God's Gulf Stream current and that he was carrying me swiftly along with him as he went about his business. I am learning about another dimension of giving that goes beyond anything I have ever known. Until now I thought I was a giver, but looking at the Bible I find others who out gave me by much. My heart is now crying out to God for the grace of giving. Oh, that I may excel in the grace of giving!

God has called each one of us that is in the marketplace and strategically placed us where we are so that he can direct the wealth of the wicked into our hands through commerce. But what is the purpose of this wealth? Is it just so that we may live large and eat well and say "This is how the Lord honors those that love him!" I think not. I believe that God wants to bring this wealth into our hands so that we can make his world right again. We must have the mindset that the money belongs to him, and that we are only managers of his silver and his gold.

Haggai 2:8

'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty.

That said, we must therefore look at the work of our hands as a ministry. This is our calling. This is our ministry and we are anointed for it. The word anointing means "set aside for divine use" that means that we have been set aside for the holy use of the Lord in the marketplace.

Many times I have shared with you the scriptures found in Isaiah 45:1-7 and have told you often that this is my mandate in life. However, I have never fully understood how God intended to give me the "hidden treasures in secret places." Further, he says that he will set open doors before me so that gates are not shut. I just couldn't figure out how he was going to do that. Until yesterday. Finally, my eyes were opened. I felt like this person who had been staring at a wall, trying to find the secret passageway that led to the treasure. I knew that there was a secret passageway, but I just couldn't find it. So I stood there and just kept staring at the wall and asking God to reveal it.

Well, I found the secret passage way. Here it is:

Understanding that I am the steward and God is the owner of all the wealth he puts in my hand. Therefore I must always seek him for direction on HOW TO SPEND IT.

Understanding that he puts it in my world so that I can transform the world around me and make Christ known. Wealth is for spiritual and social transformation.

Understanding that this world is not my home and therefore this is not where I should pile my treasures. My treasures must be piled up in heaven where rust and moth cannot destroy.

Once you begin to get this concept, you will feel yourself sucked into God's current and the light bulb will go on in you as well.

Entering God's Current

I don't even know where to begin. In the next few days, maybe weeks, I will be blogging on giving more than usual. God is shedding so much light in that area. I am seeking more knowledge and wisdom in the area of giving because I know that if I can set my mind right, all these things shall be added unto me. And not just that, but I will be piling up for myself treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy.

I have heard it said before, "Find out where God is working and join him there" but I have never fully understood it. Jesus also said In Jn 5:17 "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." I have always wondered what that meant, and where exactly is God working and how can I join him. God is shedding light on that as well. We serve a mighty God. An awesome God who allows us to work with him on projects that are bigger than ourselves.

I feel like I have entered the current of the Lord. In the movie "Finding Nemo" all the sea creatures are migrating and little Nemo is swimming his little fins off when finally they get to the gulf stream undersea current and everyone stops flapping their fins. They just relax and let the current carry them effortlessly to where they are going. I feel like I have entered God's current and he is now carrying me effortlessly and swiftly to where I need to be. I will explain this as I move forward.

Giving is the Key. Giving is the true mark of a follower of Jesus Christ. If you say you love Jesus and are not a giver, you need to re-evaluate your salvation. Sela!