Tuesday, July 26, 2011

All the Single Ladies...

A poem? Seriously. I haven't written a poem since I was 13. But that feeling thing that happens when I write a song, a chapter, a Blog, it showed up. I am old enough to know that it's the Holy Spirit. I argued. Tried to put music to it. Gave up. So here is my first poem in 23 years. It's dedicated to all my single ladies, all my single ladies, Oh, Oh, Oh....

THE Man

He is not in the emptiness of a tryst. Or the control of a fist.
He is not even in the softness of a first kiss.

He is not in search of milk for free. Or voluptuous arm candy.
He is not smitten by lashes & chemistry.

No. He. The He. He-man. He-ro.
He looks deeper.

He is. In pursuit of you. By way of The Way.

He is seeking first The Kingdom.
He is walking down a road toward Proverb 31.
He is running straight into your destiny.

Will you be there? Where are you?
Wallowing in impatience?
Soaking in insecurity?
Or bathing in Esther's anointing of Preparation? Expectation?

God's ways are higher ways.
God's thoughts are greater thoughts.
God's plans are better plans.
God's man is THE Man.

Friday, July 15, 2011

True Authority

When authority is given to you what do you do with it? I am often amused (& annoyed) at how just a tiny bit of "authority" can change a person's attitude completely. And I'm not talking about being given a gun & a badge. I mean a clipboard. Some people are so power hungry that the slightest amount of "power" turns into some crazy-eyed dictator! So with that said, some believers have bought into the lie of the enemy that you have to choose between authority & humility. If the enemy can convince you of that farce then he's put you in a place of defeat. See, he fully understands your authority. Do you?
Jesus came to this earth to completely destroy the works of darkness. He exposed Satan's tactics & lies. He gave us the complete war-plan of the our enemy & then explained that He (Jesus) had already won the EVERY battle, so all we need to do is walk in that victory! But instead of doing that we allow the enemy to plant thoughts, fears, circumstances, etc in our lives & then we just live with it...until we can get to glory-land, hallelujah. Well, let let me remind you of YOUR AUTHORITY AS A BELIEVER! Christ is our example in all things, right? Phil. 2:5-11 tells us to take on Christ's attitude in all things. So what does that mean? He was the Son of God. He NEVER became anything else. He simply made the humble decision to to live inside of "flesh". But He was always the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha, Omega, the Beginning, the End, the Door, the Way, the Truth, the Life! None of that changed! That is one of the ways He overcame the flesh for us! He lived it. He walked it. He tasted it. He felt it. But He NEVER submitted to it! Flesh submitted to His AUTHORITY! He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, but He answered with the Authority of the Word! The very same weapon we have access to today! He declared "IT IS FINISHED!" on the cross. What was finished? Everything. Everything we face, have faced, or will ever face was over! Jesus tell us in the Book of John that in this life we will face tribulation & difficulty. But He didn't stop with that sentence! He finished it up with "But be of good cheer for I have overcome the world & stripped it of its ability to harm you!"(AMP) Don't you see? Christ walked into the pit in those 3 dark days that His body lay in that tomb. He TOOK the keys of death, hell, & the grave. Keys represent authority! Remember where Jesus said He was giving us the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven? That we now have the authority to bind & to loose? (Matt. 16:19) We must begin to walk in that authority! Phil. 2 goes on to say that Christ humbly came to the earth. He gave up His divine privileges. He took the position of a slave...therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor! He gave Him The Name that is above every other name! At the sound of that Name every knee has to bow (to the authority of The Name)! Every knee in Heaven, on earth, & under the earth! Satan knows the authority we have through The Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, & the New Covenant that we now have access to through Christ! Here's the difference in Christ's attitude & the attitude of flesh: Jesus had authority wrapped in humility! When we choose to submit to the One through which we have all this Spiritual Power, then we cannot be stopped by anything hell tried to throw at us! It is only when we walk with pride & arrogance that we will fall flat on our face & succumb to the attacks of the enemy. How do you know the difference? It's all about who gets the glory for your victories! Verse 11 of Phil. 2 says "Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father". When The Father receives ALL glory, then you know that your authority is based on your relationship with Jesus, not in some pseudo clipboard kind of "power". Don't allow the enemy to torment you anymore with what he tells you he is going to do in your life. Remind Him that "It is written..." & greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world! Simply put: Satan, IT IS FINISHED!