I love to think about the word pictures in Psalm 149:6-9. It says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment—this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!”

Our praise: executes vengeance, punishments, binds with chains those who stand against our God and His ways. Think of what is taking place in the nations right now in our time of history. Yet, Psalm 2:4 says, “He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision.” 

I use this verse in spiritual warfare. I say something like: Lord, let those who oppose You and Your ways hear Your laughter of derision in heaven and cause them to shake in their boots in terror!

Psalm 119:7 says, “I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.” We learn about the Lord as we daily read through His word. He declares Himself to those who love Him.

John 14:21 says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

Manifest in the Greek means to cause to shine, to appear, come to view, reveal, exhibit, make visible, present oneself in the sight of another, be conspicuous. How does the Lord do this? Through His word.

Psalm 25:14 Amplified says, “The secret ( of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner) meaning.”

1 Corinthians 2:10 Amplified says, “Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through his Spirit, for the (Holy) Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God (the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny).”

I don’t know about you, but I want to know the way the Lord works. Psalm 119:27 is the verse I’m memorizing right now. It says, “Make me understand the way of Your precepts; so shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.” Let us stand, and keep on standing, through wielding our mighty weapons of meditating and praise!

In 2016 the Lord would wake me up and give me what He wanted me to meditate on. It was often just a phrase from a verse. He gave me rich insights. When I got up in the morning I started typing the things that He had given me. As I typed He added verses and definitions.

In seven and one half months He gave me 35 short ebooks. From those ebooks, He had me compile seven ebooks into one paperback. That work all stopped abruptly with a severe brain injury 1/2/17. The work did not start up again until 2019.

Recently I have begun to memorize again. Before now it has been such a struggle. However, I am doing something that I have not done before. I am meditating as I am repeating each phrase of the verse. The repetition is seeding His word into my heart.

I’m not going for a long term word perfect. He is perfecting my thoughts as I am working at memorizing. The operative word for me is ‘working’ because it is a process. When I was young, memorizing was part of my life. I am actively taking back that ground.

All temptation to sin is spiritual warfare. Where does the warfare take place? In our thoughts. The battlefield is our mind. Our enemy lost at the cross. He was defeated. Colossians 2:15 says, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”

Yet, our enemy uses myriad forms (wiles) in an effort to regain control through his fiery dart lies. Ephesians 6:11 is our instruction. It says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” The Greek for these schemings is travesty. We might better understand it as deceptive measures.

James 1:14 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” That means that there was some hidden desire that was percolating through our thoughts.

How do we meditate? Through our thoughts. We can easily see why satan would war against our mind through lies. 2 Corinthians 10:3 reminds us that, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.”

Verse 4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” Here is a verse that I just memorized that set these thoughts into motion.

Psalm 119:23 says, “Princes also sit and speak against me, but Your servant meditates on Your statutes.” Who are these princes? Ephesians 1:21 was in reference to the Lord Jesus who is seated, “…at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”

Here is another verse about them. Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Meditating on God’s word seeds it into our heart. It begins to spread out and take over real estate. It expands our capacity to hold truth, and squeezes out any negative thought patterns that have set themselves up against the knowledge of God. It is His hidden word that allows us to meditate anytime of the day or night, and in any and all circumstances.

What Guards Your Emotional Blocks?

In my first book, “Freedom! From Past Hurts” there is a chapter called Concealed Rage. We often use rage to guard our buried hurts. If a person get’s too close to what we have buried, we lash out as a warning to stay away.

The Bible has several verses about our spirit being wounded. Proverbs 15:13 says, “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken.” 

Proverbs 18:14 says, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Here is a part of a new song about bones.

Rejoicing Bones

When I thought about my circumstances I became gloomy inside.  My heart was getting heavy and my peace destroyed. Then in Your Word You revealed the secret of health. My bones are affected when my heart is in despair.

You said renew your mind. Rejoice in Me. I change not. There’s no shadow in Me. No matter what happens I remain the same.

So I turned my gaze from what was dragging me down. I looked to You my victorious One. My heart began to rise like yeast in dough and my mouth opened in song.

What drags us down? Whatever we bury is still very active in our thought process. Proverbs 23:7 says that as we think in our heart, that is what we become. A broken spirit is a heart in despair.

Unresolved issues lead to dis-ease. They are a constant drain on our immune system. We become more susceptible to germs in our environment. Here is an interesting section of verses to consider.

Psalm 41:1 says, “Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” Verse 3 says, “The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.”

When we serve another when they cannot serve themselves, it releases numerous neurotransmitters that enhance health. The reverse would be true if we withhold.  Proverbs 3:27 says, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.” 

James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

The world system is focused on getting. Proverbs 11:25 says, “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” Acts 20:34 says, “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

What makes a heart more merrier than to be able to freely give of yourself. It is time to confess and release our emotional blocks that suppress our spirit. Covetousness is sin, The Lord is the Giver of all things. 

In your greatest emotional need, if you will give out, you will find untold blessings. It will break any cycle of depression, anxiety, worry, or fear, and reverse the dis-ease that is destroying your spiritual, emotional, and physical health.

How do we process from emotional blocks to the freedom we are called to walk in? The key is to confess our covetousness as sin. The 10th commandment was ‘you shall not covet.’ However, it goes back to the first commandment that we are not to allow anything to usurp God’s place in our heart. 

That is exactly what an emotional block is. It is blocking the Lord’s work that is needed for true heart healing. We are not in control of any event in our lives. We will be sinned against because we live in a fallen world.

The first sin was coveting. Eve saw something that she was forbidden to eat. Yet, God’s words of warning were ignored because the serpent’s words were couched in deceit. He set a question in her mind. Have you ever noticed that when you are told not to do something, that there is this niggling opposition inside?

Romans 1:18 sets the record really straight for us. It says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”

Suppress means to hold down. Every born again believer has the Holy Spirit within them. John 14:17 says, “The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Psalm 15:2 says, “He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.” This is our key every time we are tempted to suppress the truth. We must come in the opposite spirit and express it! It is the truth that is ours by experience that keeps us free.

Truth that is printed on a page is only that. It becomes a living truth when we believe it for ourselves, and work it into our thoughts process. Psalm 119:16 says, “I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” The truths in God’s word need to line our heart’s walls like wallpaper.

When we are sinned against, the seed of covetousness is sown. The seed is designed to penetrate and sow discontent in our heart. Covetousness is one of satan’s strongest weapons. It is very invasive and destructive. 

God’s love is a redeeming love. He redeems all things. Nothing we have gone through has been in vain. He uses every experience to draw us to Himself. Jeremiah 31:3 says, “…Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” Amazing.

Something comes up unexpectedly that we don’t want to deal with. We often, though unconsciously, emotionally block it through coveting. Coveting takes away our focus from the emotional pain. We reach out for an alternative in our mind. It might be food, or social media. It will be anything other than what we are facing.

Stress seems to have been at an all time high with the worldwide pandemic. Many have allowed their minds to emotionally block the present by replacing it with something they deem not stressful. Yet, in reality we are going against God’s way. What does stress do? It overwhelms our central nervous system.

Psalm 61:1-2 says, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

Here is a new song about handling stress God’s way.

Song of the Altar

In the midst of adversity when trouble surrounds me. I come into Your presence and I build an altar. I remember how You met me time and time again and I bow in worship.

Nothing can overtake me when I hide in You. Nothing can overwhelm me when I look to You. I set my eyes on You and I gaze into Your face. I bask in the love of Your eyes full of grace.

No one can comfort me like You O Lord. I will make Your presence my abiding place as I hide in You from the tempest of this storm. Yes I’ll hide in You as I bow and worship at Your feet.

Many of David’s Psalms were written at a time of stress in his life. What does Psalm 23:1 say? “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” It is when we want and don’t get that covetousness can sneak in.

Myriad times Scripture recorded Paul in want. Yet he learned how to be content in the midst of those wants. Philippians 4:11 says, “…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” Content means to be satisfied. There is only One Satisfier. 

Jeremiah 31:14 says, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.” The next time you long for something, I encourage you to memorize Psalm 107:9 so it is in your heart reservoir. Quote it and immediately your heart will refocus on the Lord. It says, “He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” 

Twice goodness is mentioned as relating to filling a heart need. Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.” Trust carries over into expectation. 

Psalm 62:5 says, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” When we block our emotional pain through covetousness, our expectation is towards some ‘thing’ that we don’t have.

The crux of coveting is not being content with what we have, so we want what we don’t have. It is all a setup that started in the garden. We have an enemy that dangles his hook, seeking to catch us off guard. His bait is lust that lures our flesh out of hiding.

Have you ever taken fresh baked bread out of the oven? Then you know that you have to let it cool before you can cut into it. The Holy Spirit gave me fresh bread the other day. I’ve been waiting for it to cool (percolate in my spirit) before I could cut into it and share it with you. 

This is piecemeal as He continues to disclose this insight about covetousness. Let’s go back to the garden. Genesis 3:6 says, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate it…”

Note that Eve saw, took, and ate. She coveted it and took it. After she and Adam ate the forbidden fruit, what did they do? They hid. This pattern of covetousness plunged all of mankind onto satan’s hook.

Jesus said in John 14:30, “…the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” Why do we hide what we take through covetousness? Achan did. Think of robberies, drug dens, affairs, sex and human trafficking, and our last election.

Joshua 9 is the story of how the Gibeon men deceived the leaders of the children of Israel. What did they covet? Verse 24 was their answer when Joshua asked them why they did what they did. It says, “…we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.” They coveted safety for their lives, even though they would be placed in servitude. 

Here is something else to consider. First to note is in verse 14. It is a present warning to us. It says that they were deceived because, “…they did not ask counsel of the Lord.” We error in everything that we do independent of God.

Second to note were Joshua’s chilling pronouncements over those who planned their deception. Verse 23 says, “Now therefore, you are cursed and none of you shall be freed from being slaves…” They became slaves to the curse. Do you have something that has you enslaved?

Have you ever felt like you were cursed? Verse 20 says of the leader’s decision, “…we will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” Later in history Saul killed them. What was the result? You can read about it in 2 Samuel 21:1-9.

Proverbs 26:2 says, “Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight.” If you have suffered calamity after calamity, or one disaster after another, you might ask the Holy Spirit if you have broken any vows that you made before the Lord.

Joshua 8 is such a unique chapter. It recorded God’s great military strategy that overthrew the children of Israel’s enemy. It also clearly states, how that in every situation we face, God’s present strategy is in place. We cannot rely on the way that He delivered us in the past.

Prayer is not a prescribed formula. It requires a heart that is ready to listen to what the Spirit is saying. The letters to the churches in Revelation give us great instruction for our present day. Revelation 2:7 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches….” In each one He said what He would give as something special to those who would overcome. 

Remember Jesus’ words in John 16:33, “…be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Romans 8:37 says, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” 

We are called with a holy calling. We are more than adequately equipped to fight off the enemy of our soul with God’s armor and His ways. One of His ways is through setting up prayer ambushes. 

In Joshua 8:3 it says, “…Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night.” These men had to be ready to act the moment they were given the signal. That required they were to be alert and NOT occupied with anything else on their minds. Attentive. Watching. Alert. Ready. Valor means great courage in the face of danger.

Verse 18 says that Joshua stretched out his spear at the command of the Lord. Verse 19 says, “So those in ambush arose quickly out of their place; they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and hurried to set the city on fire.” Note the words: arose quickly, ran, and hurried. There was not a moment’s hesitation on their part. They were ready and able to obey in the moment.

Have you ever been occupied with doing something, and you get a thought in your mind to pray for someone? Our immediate action to pray is like an ambush. We don’t know what is happening, but we are ready as attentive warriors to battle on behalf of the one the Lord has brought to mind.

When the Lord intercepts our thoughts with an assignment to pray, it is a call to immediate action. If we are talking to someone, we need to say, ‘Let’s stop and pray right now. The Lord just brought ___ to mind.’ It only takes a moment to respond. Often my hands are full of something and I just hold still and pray.

Think of what it would be if all of the body of Christ was praying for the same thing. What an ambush that would be! The enemy would have no clue where the opposition to his work was coming from. He has no visible target because prayer is a spiritual weapon.

Psalm 149:5-6 is about us ~ God’s children with His mighty weaponry. Verse 7-9 says, “To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment—this honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!” Let us take up arms and join together in ambush through prayer for our nation and other nations who are under attack.

Achan brought sin into the whole camp of Israel. Here are his words. Joshua 7:21 says, “When I saw…I coveted them and took them. And there they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent…” 

Why did he hide them? He knew that he had violated God’s command, so he could not keep them in the open. Achan’s sin affected everyone around him. They brought him, his family, and his livestock to the Valley of Achor. Achor means trouble. They were stoned. Then the corpses, and the things he had hidden, were burned with fire.

Here is the folly. I’ve asked myself these questions so I am sharing them with you. Hidden sin is sneaky. Have you coveted something and then hid it? What about not forgiving as you were forgiven? Instead you coveted revenge and buried it in your heart. Have you coveted your own will, and when it was crossed you buried anger? Buried anger is just a fleshly tantrum waiting in the shadows to express itself.

What emotional trouble have you buried because you coveted the benefit of hoping it would go away? Here are some telltale signs: walking on eggshells covets peace at all costs, seeking to control because you covet your way, or being a workaholic because you covet financial security. Coveting anything keeps us in spiritual bondage.

Mark 4:22 says, “For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.” This is wonderful news! The Holy Spirit is able to lead us into the light of truth that will set us free.

Hosea the prophet was instructed to take a harlot as his wife. The Lord wanted to help Israel understand how that departing from Him was harlotry. The book of Hosea revealed God’s love for His people. 

I encourage you to read it as though He was speaking to your heart. There is always hope. There is no sin that Jesus did not bear on His body. There is nothing that we have done that He has not redeemed. When we confess our sin? 1 John 1:9 says that He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness.

Hosea 2:14-15 recorded beautiful pictures of His redeeming love. It says, “Therefore, behold I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. 

I will give her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”

Your Valley of Achor was the springboard to expose your hidden sins. Your confession will bring you right to that door of hope that is opened for you to step through. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

We know that in the body of Christ that we are all members. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” Just as our natural body has many members, each member is part of the whole.

As I read Joshua 7, I noted again that though Achan sinned alone, God’s anger affected all the children of Israel. Verse 1 says, “But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan…took of the accursed things.”

In Joshua 6:18, God laid out His specific instructions. It says, “And you, by all means, abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.”

Have you ever considered that your disobedience to God’s word affects all of the body of Christ? That is a heart shaking truth. Verse 13 says, “…you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

Church, we are here. We are living this out in our country. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says that we are to humble ourselves and pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. Until we do that He will not heal our land. 

1 Peter 4:17 says, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

1 Corinthians 12:25 says, “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” One of the ways we can do that is Galatians 6:1. It says, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

Accountability is the undergirding for walking in heart integrity. What do you do when no one is watching? That is the fruit borne from your character or lack of it. Achan’s lack of character brought destruction. Proverbs 11:3 says, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.”

Paul urged his readers to be proactive. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in faith. Test yourselves…” The Lord allowed satan to test Peter. He was sifted as wheat is sifted. The chaff of denial was brought out of hiding.

The Holy Spirit is our Excellent Diagnostic Technician. We can go before Him and ask Him to search our heart. He will reveal the hidden (accursed) things that are alloy, which constantly weaken our faith. Hidden sin will keep us from being able to stand against the enemy of our soul, individually and collectively as the body of Christ.

What Does Your Soul Long For?

I am in the process of memorizing verses in Psalm 119. Verse 20 says, “My soul breaks with longing for Your judgments at all times.” There is something about memorizing that drives truth deeper into our heart.

As I am repeatedly speaking this verse out loud, it brings conviction every time. I cannot truthfully say, ‘at all times’ and that is what challenges me. How do I live out this verse in my life?

At the same time frame in which I am memorizing this verse, I came to a part in my homework book that meshed with this verse. I’m paraphrasing so I don’t violate copyrights. 

What fruit do others see as evidence of your heart’s devotion to the Lord? Outward fruit is the manifestation of the inward thoughts. The source of our roots determine what type of fruit we bear.

In my homework book it used the words: captivate, captured, and captivated. Does that describe my heart in my relationship with the Lord? Is Song of Solomon 5:1 Amplified a reality for me?

I read it as though the Lord is speaking of me. It says, “..Drink, yes, drink abundantly of love, O precious one (for now I know you are Mine, irrevocably Mine! With His confident words still thrilling her heart…”

I am typing out my thoughts as I am thinking this through. In the first 22 verses of Psalm 119, here are the ways that identify God’s word: law, testimonies, precepts, statutes, commandments, word, and judgments. 

John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

As I mull this over, here is my conclusion. At all times our heart should break with longing for the Lord. He is His word no matter what word is used. He is the One who has captured our heart through His death on the cross. Our heart becomes His dwelling place when we accept Him as our Savior and Lord.

We don’t obey a set of rules like a robot. In our love relationship with Him, our heart longs to do as He has written, because He is the Giver. His word is our greatest gift to lead us into righteousness. That is our path of progressive sanctification. It is the process through which our thoughts, purpose, and actions are continually being conformed to His will and His ways.

Parenthesis are mine, and depict the new way my heart can now read this Psalm of 176 verses! Psalm 119:16 says, “I will delight myself in (You) Your statutes; I will not forget (You) Your word.” Verse 92 is a truth I lived in through this last brain injury. It says, “Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction.”

I can experientially put in ‘You’ for ‘Your law’ because I couldn’t read my Bible. After three weeks my soul was breaking with longing for His word. I had to wait for someone to read it to me. I also had a CD of verses that a friend recorded for me of ones that I requested. It was my relationship with the Lord that kept me from perishing in that affliction.