A barnacle clings to a solid surface with refusal to let go. Our faith is in the Lord. He is our Steadfast Immovable Rock. Psalm 62:2 says, “He only in my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.”

In 1997 I bought an old mobile in a well established mobile park for seniors. One of my new neighbors made a comment something like this: if ever one of these mobiles caught fire, the whole place would burn down.

I was the first mobile on the right as one entered the park. I had just learned a new way of warfare. One night it was tested. I was awakened in the night with red strobing lights circling on my ceiling. 

I crept out of bed and went to the front room. I bent down to look out my window. Across from me a ball of fire plumed up. A mobile across from me and down two was on fire. Fear gripped my heart. 

There is an account of David’s mighty men in 2 Samuel 23. I want to focus on one man. Verse 10 says that Eleazar, “…arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day…”

Does the hand of your heart stick to the sword of the Spirit when the enemy roars in your face? Do you have Scripture tucked away to whip out in times of temptation? When tempted to be fearful, we can whip out Psalm 56:3. It says, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in  You.”

After my ravine fall in 1977, I would periodically go into temporary paralysis in the night. I learned to wield my sword with the last part of the verse. If I acknowledged the first part, my body would shut down further. However, as I quoted the last part over and over, my body would calm through another lesson in trust.

In 1993 I heard a testimony of missionaries who taught their little children to say, “I’m a child of God, and the evil one cannot touch me,” whenever they encountered evil presences in their room at night. Why? The enemy always looks for ways to infiltrate and destroy families.

1 John 5:18-19 says, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”

Note: A believer is no longer bound in the habitual continuous patterns of sin. Our sins are intentional choices. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it.” Verse 11 says, “…reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul Yonggi Cho said, “I pray and I obey.” Whatever the Lord calls us to pray for, we need to take it seriously. Have you ever had a person’s name flit across your mind? That is a call to pray for them. Their drawn battle line is like a set trap. Maybe at that moment they are facing an irresistible temptation, a strategic decision, a broken expectation, devastating news, or a troubled relationship. Intercede without question.

Praying Scripture when we don’t know what to pray for fortifies the one He called us to pray for. I love Nahum 2:1. It is a great description for the power of intercession. It says, “He who scatters has come up before your face. Man the fort! Watch the road! Strengthen your flanks! Fortify your power mightily.”

In Ephesians 6:18 Paul included prayer as part of the armor of God. It says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

There is an account in 1 Chronicles 20 that caught my attention as I read it. Verse 10 says, “When Joab saw that the battle line was against him before and behind…” he split up his army. He told his brother, Abishai, that if the Styrians were too strong for him, then Abishai should come and help him. Yet, if the people of Ammon were too strong for his brother, then he would go and help him. Teamwork is another term we could use for intercession.

Read his words carefully. Verse 13 says, “Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” In Ezekiel 22:30 God called for an intercessor. We gain our understanding of what intercession is through the words, “…stand in the gap before Me…” A gap in the walk of a believer leaves them open to the work of the enemy against them.

A person who is walking in deception does not know that they are deceived! Paul included intercession as part of God’s armor. Righteous prayer is agreeing with God. Prayer aligns our heart with His purposes for our lives and others. Ephesians 6:18 says, ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

Our place of intercession is on our heart-knees before our Intercessor. Hebrews 7:25. In Hebrews 4:15 it says that our High Priest, “…was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Remember how Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil? He was at His weakest point.

Verse 16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” This is a call for both our personal needs and the needs of those we are interceding for.

This was my newspaper article the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. I forgot to post it for you.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner on Tuesday. I was thinking about how our actions need to agree with our words and body language. 1 Corinthians 13 is often called the love chapter. Verse 1 says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”

An experienced drummer can greatly enhance the harmony of a musical piece. However, when a child gets ahold of a set of drumsticks, it can sound like chaos.

Harmonic rhythm is very soothing to our hearts. God created our bodies to function efficiently throughout every aspect of our lives.

Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

He uses our interpersonal relationships to train us in His righteousness. That means, He will use conflict, adversity, and tensions to conform our thoughts, purpose, and actions to His will and ways. Here is one of His ways with our words. Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” 

The opposite of that can be found in Proverbs 18:21. It says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Death words demean. They tear down rather than build up. They destroy rather than heal.

Death words are usually spoken in anger, rage, disgust, or rejection. Whereas life words encourage, strengthen, build up, and affirm. They are truth spoken in love.

Proverbs 17:22 stated two ways: it says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” 

Here is another contrast of living in harmony or chaos. Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” Paul wrote an antidote to anxiety in Philippians 4:6. It says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

Doesn’t God already know? Yes, He does. However, He wants us to pour out our heart’s cries to Him, and then release them. He alone has the power to carry our heavy burdens.

Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Note: when we carry a burden that is not ours to carry, we become anxious. Our focus is on our impotent inability, rather than His supernatural power to meet all our needs.

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” When our trust is in ourselves, the burden will become oppressive.

Jesus came to set us free from the things that have oppressively crushed us. Luke 4:18 in the Amplified says, “…to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity).”

How do we combat death words that have been spoken over us? How do we build ourselves up when we have been crushed by words or actions? I love this example from David’s life. He and his army of men were returning from battle. Their city had been
burned with fire. No one was around. He and his men were physically exhausted.

The sight they took in with their eyes caused them to weep until they had no more strength to weep. Then they turned on David. They even thought to stone him! What did David do?

1 Samuel 30:6 says, “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

First David inquired of the Lord to get clear direction. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.”

The Lord is our Source. Asking the Lord what to do is a life skill. Maintaining harmony requires a heart that trusts in God no matter what our circumstances are. Interpersonal relationships can be chaotic or harmonic. The choice is ours ~ always we have a choice of how we will react or respond.

Ezekiel 22:30 says, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Though this was written about Israel, we can apply it to ourselves.

When we choose to hide, a small gap is formed. The more we do things in our own strength, ignoring God’s way to victory, the more the gap widens. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”

Hidden sin blocks our communion with the Lord. He never leaves, we are the ones who depart. Hebrews 3:12 says, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.”

Here is the power of accountability, and an intercessor who stands in the gap for you. Verse 13 says, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

How do we live in the wisdom afforded by accountability? First we need to humble our hearts and acknowledge we need help. The body of Christ was designed for shoulder to shoulder combat. We have an unseen enemy who works through cunningly devised schemes.

Accountability’s wisdom is to maintain a heart of integrity. The words that we speak emerge from a heart rooted in God’s word. His word will not return to Him void. However, when we continually resist applying it to our personal lives, we will have no inner strength to resist satan’s wily deceptions.

Accountability’s wisdom is to find someone to stand in the gap for you. Our hidden sin opens the way for intruders whose mission is to deceive. That ‘hole’ in our testimony can be covered through intercessory prayer. 

James 1:14 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” We also saw in Samson’s life what happened when he disobeyed ~ enticed and entrapped.

Scripture has built-in companion accountability, as well as personal. Galatians 6:1 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.”

In Psalm 119:9-11, the psalmist used the word young man. It pertains to everyone through a personal application. I’m going to paraphrase. How can I resist all temptations? By hiding God’s word in my heart so that I will not disobey it and sin against Him. Verse 10 says, “With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments.” David chose to disobey. Daniel purposed to obey. Both were heart decisions.