Chat – Page 23 – Hope for Complete Healing

How a Pure Heart is a Godly Heart

What is a pure heart, and how does a pure heart contribute to living a godly life? Psalm 119:9(ESV) states, “How can a young man keep his way pure [stay on the path of purity]? By guarding it [living] according to your word.” [NIV in brackets] NAS says, “By keeping it according to Your Word.” The pronoun “it” refers to our way, journey, or life.

How do you guard your way or live according to God’s Word?

The only way to keep our way pure is to have a pure heart. To have a pure heart, you need pure thoughts. Heart means inner man, mind, and will, which also refers to the soul. The Webster dictionary says the soul is also our mind, emotions, and will. Some people credit the soul as containing our sense of morality and conscience with the functions of thinking and willing.

Pure thoughts could be thinking good about people, even those we disagree with or do not particularly like. Think pure thoughts about the opposite sex instead of obscene imaginations. 2Timothy 2:22 states, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” How are you pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace? I covered this in my last post called How to Pursue and Achieve Godly Character.

Pure thoughts lead to godly life choices. For example, godly people choose to view movies and TV shows or read material that generates pure thoughts. In Psalms 101:3a, King David said, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;” Make this verse your priority to protect your mind from wicked and evil words and images because when your thoughts are pure, then your heart will be pure. Matthew 15:19-20a states, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” Therefore, if you want to live a pure and godly life, fill your mind with God’s Word and live according to what you know is God’s will.

For example, if you think an unkind thought about someone or you want to complain, it will inevitably come out of your mouth. Purify wrong thinking using God’s Word. Colossians 3:13 states, “[Bear] with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” So I ask God to forgive me for my critical attitude, complaining, and not bearing with those who irritate me. Then I obey the command to forbear, forgive, and find something to be thankful about.

Only as we obey biblical truth and put off our old self with its wrong thinking and false beliefs then put on a new self in the righteousness and holiness of God can we have godly thoughts and love others well (see Ephesians 4:17-32 and Colossians 3:5-17). 1Peter 1:22-23 states, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” The living and abiding Word of God is Jesus. John 1:1-2, 14 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 14) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” When we are born again of the Spirit (John 3:3-6), we receive the Holy Spirit of Jesus and get a new life. Only through Jesus Christ’s divine power in us can we love from a pure heart and live godly lives, which I covered extensively in my last post.

What blocks us from loving with a pure heart?

Something pure has no contaminates. A pure gem has no marks or imperfections. The number one contaminate of our hearts is resentment from unfair and unkind words and actions done against us. Read my related post called How to Recognize and Eliminate Emotional Cancer. Pride is another contaminate. Read the related post called #1 Destroyer of All Relationships and the Solution. Other contaminates in our hearts can be offenses, unforgiveness, guilt, fear, fleshly desires, worldliness, etc. I wrote a post on how to love from a pure heart called Love from a Pure Heart. I also wrote two posts on why and how to purify your heart Why Heal Your Heart and Purify Your Soul? and Five Steps to Heal Your Heart and Purify Your Soul. You also might like to read Three Steps to Renew Your Mind (Part Two)

If our hearts are contaminated by sin and worldliness, then we can’t seek God with all our hearts. Psalm 119:10 states, “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments [Word]! What keeps us from seeking God with all our heart and soul? The answer is basically anything that distracts us from obeying God’s Word. It could be worldly activities, TV, sin, grief, unforgiveness, curses, wrong thoughts, false beliefs, worries, etc. We need to remove the blocks in our heart before we can seek God with all our hearts. To learn how to remove blocks in your heart, read my short book on my website called Hope For Complete Healing.

Conclusion

Why should we have a pure heart and live godly lives? We will be blessed. Psalm 119:2-3 states, “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!” One of the best ways to purify your soul and live a godly life is to memorize scripture and practice them. Psalm 119:11 states, “I have stored [hidden] up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” On the one hand, we know what we need to do; on the other hand, what is our plan to achieve the task of storing God’s Word in our hearts?

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

How to Pursue and Achieve Godly Character

Have you admired people who were excellent at what they did and do? How can we achieve excellence of character? The first discipline is to train to be excellent, and the second discipline is to pursue your goals. I have been writing a series of posts on how to achieve the goal of godliness. Why should we pursue the goal of being godly and holy? 2Peter 3:10-11 explains, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness.”

The first post in this series covered what being godly was. The second post explained how to train to be godly. The third post described how contentment with godliness increases independence, time, and wealth. The fourth post admonishes us not to seek riches and how being rich distracts us from pursuing the character of God. In this post, you will learn what and how to achieve godliness; God’s divine nature.

Why Should I Pursue Godly Attributes?

To accomplish the objective of being godly, we need to pursue God’s virtues by striving for or seeking to acquire moral excellence, which is right thinking and acting. I want to finish where I started in the last post. 1Timothy 6:10-11 states, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. Through this craving, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs [griefs]. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” And In 2Timothy 2:21–22,the Apostle Paul explains, “Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the Master, ready for every good work. So, flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” To be a vessel of honor and have a pure heart, you first must pray to put off (repent of) dishonoring lustful passions that contaminate your heart and then pursue and put on righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

You pursue righteousness by putting your faith in Jesus Christ’s ability to help you do what is right because He is your righteousness (Rom. 1:17; 3:22).
Pursue faith by reading God’s Word and memorizing Scripture (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 13:7).
Pursue love by putting off pride and forgiving those who sin against you (Mat. 6:12–14; 1Cor. 13:4–7).
Pursue peace by giving all your problems to God, trusting Him, and forgiving. If possible, you are to also live peaceably with everyone (Rom. 12:18; Heb. 12:14).

How To Pursue and Achieve the Virtues of God

The Apostle Peter’s instructions in the following passage give us hope for achieving godliness, excellence, and holiness. Read 2Peter 1:3–11 slowly and meditate on each prepositional phrase.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire [lusts].

For this very reason, make every effort [diligently pursue] to supplement [add to]your faith with

virtue [moral excellence; goodness], and virtue with

knowledge [of God and His truth], and knowledge with

self-control [self-rule or self-discipline], and self-control with

steadfastness [perseverance, patience, and endurance], and steadfastness with

godliness [be like God], and godliness with

brotherly affection [kindness], and brotherly affection with love.

8) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.

For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A promise is an assurance we can claim as ours. This passage promises we will never fall if we diligently pursue and practice faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, kindness, and love. Verse 8 guarantees that if we possess these qualities, we will not be ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Peter tells us to be diligent, which means to apply ourselves to accomplish something. 2Peter1:3–11 is full of many incredible truths. I encourage you to read a conservative commentary of this passage for a better understanding. Memorize these verses, so you don’t forget to do them because they are vital to being victorious over the unseen battles for your mind. Remember, God has given you His divine power through Jesus Christ, and you can partake of His divine nature through the promises found in the Bible. How fantastic is that!

Conclusion

To be excellent at anything, you need to train yourself to improve and then pursue your goals. Also, pursuing godliness makes us a vessel for honorable use. Thankfully, we have God’s divine power to help us achieve the virtues of God and His divine nature. Achieving godly character and excellence should be our number one priority because one day, we will stand before God and what will He find in you? Will you be ashamed?

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All verses are from the English Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. No part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of eight prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a person making the request.

How to Balance Wealth and Contentment

1Timothy 6:9-11 states, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. Through this craving, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs [griefs]. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.”

The temptations, snares, and senseless and harmful desires the devil creates for those who want to get rich could be sensuality, worldliness, pride, greed, covetousness, stealing, selfishness, drug and alcohol use, adultery, and so on. Power and self-importance are the most prevalent snares of pursuing riches. Remember, Satan is an opportunist and will seek to bring destruction through the areas of your life that are not submitted to God.

The desire to be rich most often leads to the sin of greed. Greed is having an excessive desire for more money or possessions. Timothy Keller said in his book God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life that “The greedy find ways to justify dishonest financial dealings to themselves, and there is no better way than to say that it will benefit your family or your household.” Yet greed destroys relationships and families. I have seen this firsthand, especially if a family member gambles or is a workaholic, which are strongholds that can be broken down.

All Desires Begin as a Thought

The love of money is an unseen battle many people fight, even poor people, which begins as a thought within our control. Matthew 6:24 states, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Also, Ecclesiastes 5:10 states, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.” And, Hebrews 13:3 states, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'” If you realize you love money more than God, then take that thought captive and say a prayer of repentance and submission to Him.

Luke tells the story of a rich man who wanted to know how to inherit eternal life. He claimed he kept all the commands of God, but Jesus addressed what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Luke 18:18-24 states, “When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Luke 18:22-24). This passage is difficult to read because our wealth and possessions distract us from loving God with all my heart and loving others.

How do you know if you love money more than God? You will need to ask God to search your heart because our hearts are deceitful (Jer. 17:9-10). We also think we are more righteous than we are. Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:25, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” Your answer to the following questions will reveal if you have a balanced attitude between wealth and contentment.

How would you react if you lose all your wealth and possessions?
If God said to give your wealth and possessions away, could you?
Are you trusting in your wealth for security, or are you trusting in God to provide all you need? Proverbs 11:28 states, “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.”

Is Being Wealthy Wrong?

Wealth is a gift from God (Deut. 8:17-18), and Ecclesiastes 5:19 states, “Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.” Also, 1Timothy 6:17 states, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” When we desire to please God, He will richly provide us with everything to enjoy, but if a person is not seeking God, they are tempted to sin. 2Chronicles 12:14 explains, “And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.”

If God has blessed you financially, remain submitted to God since you are only a steward of what He has given to you. Paul tells us to pursue godliness along with righteousness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness (1Tim. 6:10). Pursue means to stay focused and strive to gain what you want. More about how to do this in my next post.

Before warning about the perils of desiring to be rich, Paul tells Timothy in 1Timothy 6:6-8, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Read How Contentment with Godliness Increases Independence, Time, and Wealth for my explanation of these verses.

Conclusion

It comes down to greed versus gratitude and contentment. What controls your attitude and thoughts will influence your actions. Are you grateful for the wealth God has given you, or are you greedy for more? Are you content with pleasing and loving God, or do you want more for a greater sense of security and self-importance? You can balance wealth with contentment when you have submitted all you have to God and are grateful.

ALL THOUGHTS ARE WITHIN OUR CONTROL

What Controls Your Thoughts?

How Contentment with Godliness Increases Independence, Time, and Wealth

What is the difference between a content person and a person who wants to be rich? Are you the rare person who is content with only the necessities for living? Why do we always want more and better things? To be honest, I struggle in the area of contentment. I think, if only I had this or that, then I will be happy. Do you struggle with contentment too?

The post called What is Godliness? explains what godliness is. The post called How To Train To Be Godly? describes how to train yourself for godliness and why. In this post, we will explore the benefit of being content with godliness. This post was challenging to write, and you may find it difficult to read.

Is Contentment the Evidence of Godliness?

1Timothy 6:6-8 states, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these, we will be content.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1Tim.6:6). The context for this verse is because the false prophets thought being godly would help them get wealth. The Apostle Paul tells Timothy that he will have great gain when he is content and godly.

Webster’s dictionary defines contentment as being happy enough (satisfied) with what one has or is and not desiring something more or different. For example, Jesus was content with food and clothing, but can we? We also need a place to live, but do we need two or three places to live? We need a vehicle to get places, but do we need a Lamborghini? I learned that what you have must be cared for and maintained. I discovered that worldly things distract us from pure devotion and service to God because our commitments and possessions control how we spend our time and money. A higher-paying job often comes with more time commitments and stress that distracts from time with God and fellowship with other believers. The Apostle Paul wrote the following to Titus about worldly passions and purity in Titus 2:11-14:

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

When we believed and are saved from God’s wrath for sin through Jesus Christ, His Spirit, called the Holy Spirit, enters our hearts. The Holy Spirit helps us “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions” through His divine power so we can “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.” The Holy Spirit also purifies us as God’s possession, so we can do good works.

Can we remove all worldly things and activities from our lives and love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27)? Is it possible to give up watching ungodly television, or watching the depressing news, or movies that glorify wickedness? Yes, with the help of the Holy Spirit in us.

My husband and I decided to minimize our possessions and be content with less. The question you ask for each item you pick up is, “How does this bring value to my life.” Donate the things that will have more meaning to another person. Do you know how hard that is to do? I became so attached to what I have that I wonder if they are idols in my life. Reducing your possessions to only what is necessary for living or ministry is freeing. I find it interesting that Paul makes the distinction that “we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” What possessions are distracting you from pure devotion to God? 2Corinthians 11:3 states, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” Ask God to search your heart and mind (Jer. 17:9-10) to reveal your idols and if your possessions are possessing you.

Conclusion

Contentment with godliness is a great gain because we are free to focus on loving God and serving Him and others. When we are content with minimal possessions, we gain independence, time, wealth, and so on. When we are content, we no longer have to spend our time and money on worthless, vain things that need maintenance and storage.

How To Train To Be Godly?

1Timothy 4:7-8 states, “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

First, let’s look at the context and why the Apostle Paul wrote this instruction to Timothy. The first five verses warn that some Christians will listen to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons and leave the faith and then teach heresy. They will try to convince people not to eat foods created by God, such as meat, because the animal may be a reincarnated human spirit, which is a myth. These false teachers may try to tell you not to marry, yet the truth is, God created marriage and called it good, so we are to be thankful for all the good things God created for our benefit.

Second, what is a myth? Dictionary.com (5/2021) says a myth is a traditional or legendary story, often about an imaginary or fictitious thing or person. A myth can also be an unproved or false collective belief used to justify a social institution [or cult]. Some Bible versions translate the Greek word as a fable, which is a story not based on the fact [truth]. The New International version says to have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales. The New American Standard says they are worldly fables fit only for old women. We should not give our time and attention to worldly myths but rather cultivate purity and seek to please God and become more holy.

How do you train yourself for godliness?

When you train for something, you make an effort to learn and practice to improve your knowledge and skill. In verse six, we are to train ourselves to be godly, that is, to think godly thoughts based on the truth of God’s Word. In my post called What Controls Your Thoughts?, I explain how our thoughts control our beliefs, and our beliefs create feelings, and we express our feelings in our behavior. So when we discipline ourselves to think God-pleasing thoughts, we will believe what is true and display godliness. Dictionary.com (05/2021) says godliness is the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness.

When you physically train, you discipline yourself to exercise and increase your strength and endurance every day. You can’t occasionally exercise when you feel like it and expect to be physically fit. In the same way, you can’t expect to be godly if you are not reading the Bible every day. Joshua 1:8 states, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” We need to train our thoughts to focus on the truth of God’s Word and practice doing what God says we are to do to succeed in staying in godly shape. James 1:25 states, “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty [love¹], and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing [what he does].” Paul admits that physical training has some benefits, but godliness has a more significant benefit.

How does godliness benefit us in the present life and the life to come?

When we live godly lives, Christ’s love controls us (2Cor. 5:14-15). A person who trains themselves to be godly puts off their old habits, thinking, and resentments that derail their spiritual progress and develops new habits, righteous beliefs, and love that help them succeed (Eph. 4:22-24). Physical exercise only benefits our physical body and allows us to be successful in doing temporary physical things. But spiritual exercises benefit us in the physical world by causing us to succeed in all we do. And spiritual discipline prepares us to stand before God in the eternal spiritual world.

Spiritual exercises are praying, praising God, and pondering Scripture day and night. Then we are to do good and turn from evil, knowing we will receive a reward for all we do while in our physical body. 2Corinthians 5:10 states, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

1. Law of liberty is love: Gal. 5:13; Rom. 13:8,10]oJam. 2:8.

What is Godliness?

I have been pondering this question for years. Webster’s dictionary (1957) defines godliness as being godly, which is 1. of or from God; divine 2. devoted to God. Dictionary.com (2021) says godliness is the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness. Because of my abusive past, I did not fit the description of godliness. I was angry, controlling, impatient, and insecure. When God healed my soul wounds, I was free to focus on His way of living in love instead of living out of my past hurts. I share how God heals our inner wounds and painful memories in my online book.

What does the Bible say godliness is?

Paul writes to Timothy the following in 1Timothy 3:14-16. “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” From this passage, we learn that:

— Godliness is a mystery.

— The person of Jesus Christ represents godliness.

— Godly is the way to behave in the church of the living God.

— Godliness is demonstrated by how we think.

— We train ourselves to be godly.

— Godliness benefits us in the present life and the life to come.

1Timothy 6:3-5 states, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” We learned that:

— Godliness is the sound teaching of Jesus Christ.

— Ungodly people crave controversy, quarreling, dissension, friction, and so on with people.

— Ungodliness is depraved (corrupt) and deprived (robbed) of the truth.

— False teachers think godliness will bring financial gain.

1Timothy 6:6-11 states, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” What we have learned:

— Contentment is the evidence of godliness.

— Godliness does not desire to be rich.

— We are to pursue godliness along with righteousness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness.

2Timothy 3:5 states, “Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” We learn from this verse that there is power in godliness, as explained in 2Peter 1:3. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”

2Peter 3:10-11 states, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness.”

Conclusion

Over the next few posts, I will dissect and delve into each of these passages in more detail and provide additional scriptural explanations. I would like to know your thoughts, so please leave a comment because I am only a student of God’s Word and have not attained complete understanding. I like the fact that the Apostle Paul admits that godliness is a mystery.

HOW TO STAND FIRM AGAINST AN UNSEEN ENEMY

What does it mean to stand firm against an unseen enemy? Who is my unseen enemy? Ephesians 6:10-13 states, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” You cannot withstand against evil spirits in your own strength. Many of the girls in my County Jail Bible study say they are determined not to return to drugs and alcohol. But sadly, those who did not commit their lives to God and rely on Him for strength return several months later. The devil is always seeking to tempt us to depend on ourselves or an idol instead of God.

How We Have Strength To Stand Firm

Memorize Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” God strengthens those who abide in Him as a branch abides in the vine and receives strength from the vine. John 15:5 states, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” We stay connected to the Spirit of God (the vine) through praying, praising, and pondering scripture. To abide means to stand fast, remain, dwell, or remain attached to something. Abiding with God includes memorizing Scripture passages, praying about everything with thanksgiving, and loving Him and others by serving them (Gal. 5:13-14 and Deut. 11:13).

It is worth repeating; the devil’s strategy is to separate you from God, who is your strength. The devil used this strategy when he tempted both Eve and Jesus, and he hasn’t changed. Eve did not take the tempting thought captive to disobey God, and humanity is still suffering the consequences. Jesus was victorious over the devil’s lies by taking the tempting thoughts captive and using Scripture to defeat the devil. Because Jesus defeated the devil and did not sin, now we can enjoy the benefit of life through righteousness in Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:11).

The more Biblical truth you know, the stronger spiritually you will be. For example, Satan puts a deceptive thought into your mind that you are weak, and God won’t help you. What do you do? You can believe the lie and live a defeated life. Or you can command the lie to be gone from your mind in Jesus’ name and speak the truth that you can do all things through Christ, who is your strength (Philippians 4:13). I can’t possibly list all the lies the devil will put into your mind. But if you memorize the truths in God’s Word, you will recognize the lies of the enemy.

Examples of God’s Power in The Old Testament

Exodus 14:13 states, “And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.’” Fear causes you to run away to escape a threat. No matter what you are facing now or are going to face, God is bigger and can work a miracle in your life, but you must stand firm in His strength and on His truth.

Another great Old Testament example is the story of King Jehoshaphat, who was outnumbered by his enemy. He humbles himself before God and seeks His help. God tells Jehoshaphat in 2Choronicles 20:17, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.” I don’t know what battles you are facing or will face, but I know God is for you, not against you. I memorized Isaiah 41:10, which states, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I spoke this truth out when I was going through a tremendous battle at a previous job. Reminding myself of God’s truth helps me stand firm against the unseen attacks of the unseen enemy.

How to Stand Firm

1Corinthians 16:13 states, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” 1Corinthians 1:24b also tells us to stand firm in our faith. We grow stronger in our faith when we read God’s Word (Rom. 10:17). You can’t stand firm against the unseen battles of temptations and deceptions without the knowledge of the truth. The belt of truth and the rest of the armor of God help you stand firm in your faith. Ephesians 6:13 states, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” But you have to put it on every day through prayer. See the post called PUTTING ON THE ARMOR OF GOD PRAYER MODEL.

Galatians 5:1 states, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” The devil does not want us to be free from our passions, immoral and impure thoughts, greed, coveting, anger, etc. He wants to keep us in bondage to our sin, but we are to stand firm by submitting to God, not the devil’s temptations and lies. James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Read my post HOW TO DESTROY THE DEVIL’S WORK IN YOUR LIFE to know how to stand up to the devil and make him run.

Conclusion

This following Scripture passage clarifies what the devil does and what we need to do not to get devoured. 1Peter 5:8-9a states, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” Many Christians do not resist and are defeated by the unseen enemy. If you are a victim of the devil and allowed him to put you in bondage again, Jesus wants to set you free again, look up and pray for His help and strength to get out of the pit. Psalm 40:2 states, “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” Memorize all the Scripture verses in this post so you can remind yourself to be watchful and to resist the wrong thoughts the devil puts in your mind and stand firm in your faith.

My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Image by Lorraine Cormier from Pixabay

Spiritual Warfare 8: MEMORIZE TO STRENGTHEN YOUR ARMOR AND FIGHT EFFECTIVELY

Do you wish you knew more Bible verses by memory? Do you struggle with remembering Scripture verses? In this post, I explain why memorizing is essential, how to improve your memory, and how to practice and recall what you have learned.

Why should I memorize Scripture?

The armor of God is useless without having an arsenal of Bible verses memorized.
Jesus used Scripture to overcome the devil’s temptations in the wilderness (Matt. 4), and that is the only way we will overcome temptations too.
Never forget that we are always in a spiritual war, whether or not we know it.
Memorizing Scripture makes us stronger and encourages spiritual growth.
It allows you to have gospel truths ready at all times, whether your day brings you temptation, heartache, or a friend in need of encouragement.
You can experience God’s perfect peace by having His promises written on your heart and ready to claim.
Memorized Scripture helps you be victorious over sin and all the devil’s attacks. Psalm 119:11 states, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Scripture memory will also help you gain confidence in witnessing.

Put off the “I Can’t Memorize” Myth

If you believe the lie that you can’t memorize or remember anything, take those wrong thoughts captive and put them out of your mind and heart in Jesus’ name. Our words have the power to create new thoughts and beliefs. Isaiah 42:9 states, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare [speak]; before they spring forth [happen], I tell you of them.” Speak out loud and bind in the truth that you can do all things through Christ (Phil. 4:13) and that you have the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2:16b) and can memorize and remember scriptural truths.

Put Off the “I don’t have time” Myth

You may think that this is a lot of work, and you don’t have the time. Guess what? I bet you don’t have the time to exercise either. To stop making this myth a reality, loose from your mind the wrong thoughts that you do not have time to memorize or exercise. Next, bind into your mind the truth that memorizing scripture is essential for spiritual health and strength. Also, memorized Bible verses will help me win the unseen battles with the temptation and deceptive thoughts the demonic world entices me to believe. Bind in the truth that just as physical exercise is essential for a healthy, strong mind and body, memorizing scripture makes you stronger spiritually. I combined memorizing and exercising because I am a kinesthetic learner. 1Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV) states, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

You can walk 30-45 minutes each day and memorize scripture as you walk. If I don’t walk that day, then I made a reading stand out of cardboard for my elliptical machine to memorize scripture while I work out. I am confident that you can come up with many other combinations. You can also download the Bible to your MP3 player, iPod, or cell phone and then listen to the scriptures. Hit pause to recite what you just heard, and rewind to hear the verse or verse chunk again until you can recite it perfectly (or near perfectly). You can listen to the scripture while driving, doing chores, or exercising.

Practice the scriptural principles you have memorized

Practice doing and sharing what you memorized to reinforce long-term memory. The following scriptures instruct us to practice the Word of God. Meditate on each verse.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! –Psalms 111:10

Practice these things, immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress. –1Timothy 4:15

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. –Hebrews 5:14

For if you practice these qualities [faith, moral excellence (virtue), knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love] you will never fall [stumble].” –1Peter 1:10

If we say we have fellowship with Him [Jesus] while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. –1John 1:6

But whoever does what is true [practices the truth; or lives by the truth] comes to the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. –John 3:21

The more you practice something, the better you become at it. For example, I had a problem of complaining, so I memorized Philippians 4:8 and 1Thessalonians 5:16-18. When I wanted to get upset and complain, I would recall and practice these principles to resist the temptation to be irritated and speak destructive words. But these verses are useless if I do not practice capturing my negative thoughts before they go into my heart and come out of my mouth. Memorizing scripture is not beneficial until you practice what you have internalized and transform wrong thoughts, attitudes, or behaviors. Ephesians 4:22-24 states, “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” We also purify our souls when we obey and practice the truth as described in 1Peter 1:22a, which states, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth.” Because 1Peter 2:11 states, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”

First, pray and ask God to help you hide His Word in your heart, so you don’t forget it.

Repetition is the key to retaining the verse in long-term memory. Small steps of obedience can make a significant impact. Try the following to help you mentally internalize the Word of God.

Write the verse on a whiteboard or type it on the computer, then eliminate words until you can write, type, or recall it from memory five to ten times.
Carry your verse(s) with you. When you are waiting in line or at a red light, go over and recite your verse or verses.
Turn it into a song.
Turn it into a prayer.
Draw a picture or a series of images to represent the verse.

Psalm 91:9-12

Memorize in phrases and associate a picture that depicts the expression.
Write the verses on index cards and make each phrase a different color. Post these around your house in places you go most (your bed, above your light switch, your bathroom mirror, etc.)

How to Begin

I like to memorize a chapter at a time, and Psalm 91 was the first chapter I learned. I still remember it because I turned it into a prayer and made a picture board like the one above. I also recite it often. To create my memorization list, I first went to Biblegateway.com, selected the Bible version, and searched for the scripture I wanted to memorize. Next, I copied and pasted it into a “Word” document. I found it easier to break up the scripture in verse chunks, and then after each chunk, include some keywords from each verse that would trigger my memory. The following are two examples I use.

Christ Is Our Example—1 Peter 2

²¹For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

²²who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;

²³and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

²⁴and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds, you were healed.

²⁵For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

²¹-called-purpose-suffered-example-follow,
²²-sin-deceit-mouth
²³-reviled-suffering-entrusting-judges
²⁴– bore-cross-die-live-healed
²⁵-straying-Shepherd-souls

OR you can do the following, which also works well.

1 Peter 4:8-12

⁸To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;

⁹not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

¹⁰For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
¹¹“He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it.
¹²“For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

⁸To sum up, a o y b har, sym, bro, kin, a hu i sp;
⁹not returning evil f ev o in f in, b gi a bl ins; f y we ca f t v pur th y mi in a bl.
¹⁰For, “The one w de li t lo a s go da, mu ke h to fr ev a h li fr sp de.
¹¹He must turn aw fr ev a d go; H m se pe a pu i.
¹²For the eyes o t L a to t ri, a H ea at t th pr, B t fa o t L i ag th w d ev.”

Repetition is the key to recall. I would repeat each section until I could recite the verses without looking at the aids. The next day I would again recite the same verses before memorizing the next set of verses. I also found it helpful to say the verses backward. It was also beneficial to review the Scripture memorized earlier that day before going to bed and then meditating on them until I went to sleep. In doing this, you are meditating on scripture day and night, just as King David recommends in Psalm 1:2-3 states, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

What I Learned From Researching Other Memorizing Methods

From https://seedtime.com/memorize-bible-verses/. Not everyone memorizes things the same, but if you’re curious to know how I was able to memorize 500 verses a year, this is it:

Work on one verse at a time – not multiple verses.
Read the verse aloud 20 times – don’t rush through this part.
Read the verse aloud once, then speak the verse once from memory (10 times).
Quote the verse without mistakes 5 times in a row. Once you can do this, move to the next verse.
When you think you have it down, recite the verse(s) for your family and friends!

Sometimes going through the process would take 15 minutes per verse; other times, it would be about 20 minutes per verse. It’s not about spending a certain number of minutes – it’s about repetition and using your eyes, ears, and voice to get each verse down.

From https://www.navigators.org/resource/how-to-memorize-scripture/. Many thousands of people have shared that this system was what finally worked for them after years of trying other approaches. It has been curated by The Navigators based on experience helping people of all ages grow in Christ since the 1930s.

4 Steps to Memorizing More Scripture

Step 1: Pick an area of gospel truth you’re motivated to understand more deeply

Step 2: Dig into the context

Find the verse in your Bible and read the paragraph before and after it.
Use this context to gain a clear understanding of what the verse means. You may want to read the verse in other Bible translations or consult a commentary.
Read the verse through several times thoughtfully, aloud or in a whisper. This will help you grasp the verse as a whole. Each time you read it, say the topic, reference, verse, and then the reference again out loud.
Discuss the verse with God in prayer, and ask for His help memorizing Scripture.

Step 3: Memorize in bite-sized pieces

Memorize the topic and reference first.
Next, memorize only the first phrase of the verse. Once you can recite the topic, reference and first phrase from memory several times, continue to add each additional phrase, one by one.
Consider why each word was selected as you memorize it.
Think about ways the verse applies to you and your daily circumstances.
Writing the verse out can be helpful. This deepens its impression in your mind.

Step 4: Review with friends

Review the verse immediately after learning it, incorporate it into your prayers, and repeat it frequently over subsequent days to others. This step is crucial for fixing the verse firmly in your mind because we tend to forget things recently learned.
Invite a friend to memorize with you! Set a time each week to check-in and review verses. In just ten minutes, you can give each other enough accountability to grow by leaps and bounds in your love for God and knowledge of His Word.
Review! Review! Review! Repetition is the best way to engrave the verses on your memory.

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected, and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF for the Psalm 91 picture memorizing form. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Check out my first book on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

If you read my book and find it helpful, please leave a review. Also, if you want to do a Bible study with it, email me and ask for a free PDF of the leader’s guide. The PDF will have suggested discussion questions after each section. Quick links to all the scriptures in the endnotes for you to review or to copy and paste into your notes. Website links to review supporting material. Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com

Spiritual Warfare 7: HOW TO MAKE PRAYER YOUR AROUND-THE-CLOCK SECURITY GUARD

Since evil spirits are invisible, wouldn’t it be great to have an invisible around-the-clock guard who can warn you of a spiritual attack and protect you? Ephesians 6:18 states, “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication [requests] for all the saints.” Prayer is a forgotten part of God’s armor, but it is essential for using the rest of the armor because that is where spiritual warfare is fought.

When you pray, you become connected to the Spirit of God, called the Holy Spirit, who lives in your soul/heart. The Holy Spirit can see the evil spirits attack and warn you and then help you be victorious when you have the armor of God on. Prayer is how we draw strength from God and rely on Him to protect us. Praying is the key that “activates” the armor. When you don’t rely on God through prayer, you will lose every spiritual battle. I have written many posts on prayer, which you can find in Posts about Prayer.

Unanswered prayer is a spiritual battle we all face. Because evil spirits know that prayer is powerful and connects us to God’s power and the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Therefore, they will put doubts, distractions, and deceptions into your mind to keep you from praying. So, we need to be alert. 1Peter 5:8 states, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” He mainly attacks our minds through deception and temptations, which I covered in the last nine spiritual warfare posts.

I. How do you pray constantly?

Ephesians 6:18 states, “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication [requests] for all the saints.” I believe praying at all times means always being mindful to turn every thought into prayer. For example, if you see an ambulance, pray for the paramedics and the injured or sick in the ambulance. If someone cuts you off on the highway, pray a blessing of safe travel for them. As you look at the people you walk by, intercede for them. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, the Apostle Paul encourages us to “pray without ceasing.” And Romans 12:12 states we are to “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” So if I think about someone, I will pray for them at that moment. I immediately turn my concerns over to God instead of thinking about them and being tempted to be anxious. When I am having trouble with something, I seek God for help and guidance. If I am tempted to be angry, I ask God to take the anger from my heart and give me peace. When I walk by my refrigerator and see the missionary pictures, I will pray for them as I go about my kitchen tasks. And so on.

II. What do you think it means to “pray at all times in the Spirit”?

There are several ideas about what it means to pray in the Spirit. One scholar said, that “praying in the spirit means to be directed by the spirit to pray for certain things and for certain people.¹” Albert Barnes said in his commentary that “praying in the Spirit is to pray with His aid.” Romans 8:26 states, “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Those in the charismatic circle say praying in the spirit means we pray in “tongues” (a spiritual language). The book of Acts explains how people spoke in tongues, a few places are in Acts 2:4, 2:38, 19:6. 1Corinthians 14:1-2 states, “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.” 1Corinthians 14:14 states, “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.”

We receive the Holy Spirit of God the moment we put our faith in Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. Some biblical scholars say you can have another “baptism/filling of the Spirit” as a separate event given as a gift from God when we ask for it (Luke 11:13). Regardless of what terminology you use, there seem to be separate Holy Spirit infilling events, which causes controversies in some churches.

III. What does it mean to be alert in prayer?

We are to stay alert through prayer because prayer is our guard that protects our thinking. After all, that is where we fight the spiritual war (2Cor. 11:3). When we are not praying, our guard is down, and we become vulnerable to Satan’s unseen attacks. Even Jesus often went alone up into the hills or some other desolate place to pray (Luke 5:16). He knew He needed to commune with His Father.

We, too, need the help of God our Father in heaven to fight against Satan and all the demonic forces of darkness. 2Corinthians 10:4-5 states, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” The weapons of our warfare are God’s armor and His power through the spoken word. My short book on this website explains how to use prayer to destroy wrong thinking, false beliefs, and strongholds. DISCOVER A NEW REALITY.

We can talk to God about anything; besides, He knows everything and is always with us (Ps. 94:11, 139:2-4). God wants us to make requests because He wants to answer our prayers. Isaiah 65:24 states, “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

IV. What do you think it means to “keep alert with all perseverance, making supplications [requests] for all the saints?”

First, to “keep alert” means to watch for opportunities. Second, “with all perseverance” means never becoming discouraged or disheartened and not growing weary of making requests for others. Third, “saints” are those who are the children of God. The following Scriptures call believers in Jesus Christ saints: Ephesians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; and Colossians 1:2.

Prayer also involves worship and thankfulness for all God has blessed us with, or thankfulness for the various truths and promises found in the Bible. Praying at all times is easy when you abide in Jesus Christ (John 15) by letting your mind dwell on Him and not on things of the earth. Note, we do not have to be perfect for God to answer our prayers. We need to humble ourselves by abiding (remain in and dwell) through prayer in the heavenly place with Christ and in the Word of God.

2 Chronicles 7:14 states, “If My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Conclusion

Most people are told to set aside time for prayer every day, which is a good practice. Jesus took time for prayer. But praying all the time is a different discipline. Though both prayer methods require mental discipline. I can’t stress enough that through prayer, you stay connected to God, who is your refuge in times of trouble and will protect you from the evil one (2Thes. 3:3). Psalm 91:9-10 states, “Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent [dwelling].” When you pray continually, you are dwelling with your Lord.

Footnotes:

McDonald, William. (1995) Believers Bible Commentary

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Spiritual Warfare 6: HOW FAITH OFFERS FULL PROTECTION

Have you ever been in a snowball fight as a kid or threw little rocks and sticks at each other? It helped to have a trashcan lid to shield and deflect the snowballs or sticks. Maybe you looked for something to hide behind for some relief for a short while until someone found you. In this post, you will learn why you need the shield of faith and when and how to use it.

The problem with spiritual warfare is that we don’t see what is coming in our direction or when it will come. It is safe to assume we will continually fight a spiritual war for our souls. Consequently, we need to stand firm in our faith. Without faith, we are vulnerable to every empty philosophy, temptation, and deception hurled at us. A warrior’s shield is the first layer of protection.

In my last post, I explained that we should expect spiritual war because “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1John 5:19b). The Bible says we need the shield of faith to protect us from the fiery arrows the unseen enemy shoots at us. Ephesians 6:16 states, “In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Because you can’t physically see the invisible flaming darts, you need to keep the shield of faith up. Faith protects you from the following:

Darts of doubt are designed to destroy your convictions and knowledge of the truth;
- Arrows of temptation are designed to weaken your resolve to die to sin and to be holy as God is holy.
- Missiles of accusation are designed to make you feel insecure, rejected, and worthless.
- Flaming arrows of condemnation for things you have done in the past that would keep you in bondage to shame and guilt. Guilt keeps you in despair and makes you ineffective.
- Thoughts of failure and rejection.

What is faith?

When I think about faith, I think of a warm, secure, peaceful place for my mind to dwell. In that safe place, I have no worries, fears, anger, and so on. I have peace when I trust God has a purpose and is in control. I trust that He will work everything out for my good because I love Him (Romans 8:28). The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” I could not see how God would work out all the problems I was facing when I became a single mother. But I decided to put my hope in Him and stay tight with Him through prayer and praise. The other choice was to become depressed and angry about how unfair life was. When I put my trust in God and claimed His promises during my divorce, I saw God do many miracles, which strengthened my faith. You can read my story WHAT IS INNER LIFE TRANSFORMATION? My Story.

Hebrews 11:6 explains, “And without faith it is impossible to please him [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Though you do not physically see spirits, you can observe the evidence. For example, you can see the destructive force of evil in a person’s life who has yielded to the influence of evil spirits. Peace and life are evidence that a person has yielded their mind and heart to God (Rom. 8:6).

Faith became a shield for me as long as my mind was on the things above where my savior, Jesus Christ, is. Colossians 3:1-2 states, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” When I think about the things on the earth, I become anxious, especially when I watched the news. I feel peaceful and secure when I think of God’s goodness and sovereignty over the affairs of our country and my life.

When I am anxious, I often will recite Psalm 91, then I immediately relax and feel peace, especially at night when my mind can’t stop thinking about life’s worries. You can read the series of posts I wrote on Psalm 91 in Psalm 91 Posts. 2Samuel 22:31, Psalms 18:30, and Proverbs 30:5 states, “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” We take refuge in God through praying, praising, and pondering Scripture.

Faith believes that God will do what He promised He will do. Luke 1:37 states, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Faith is the childlike trust that what God has promised, He will do. You put your spiritual shield of faith into action by claiming God’s faithfulness to keep His promises. See my post about the 15 promises we can trust God to keep. However, the shield of faith is useless if you do not meditate on or memorize God’s Word. As you memorize Scripture and claim God’s promises, you are strengthening your shield of faith so the fiery arrows from the devil cannot penetrate your mind.

Why do we need the shield of faith?

1. The shield of faith protects your mind from deception. Often, people unwittingly put their faith in lies from the devil, such as “I will never succeed” or “I am not worthy to be loved,” which produces sorrow and, many times, destructive thoughts. Your faith in Jesus and applying the living water of truth extinguishes the devil’s darts of lies and accusations. The allegations and enticements seem so real that many people believe them and try to build their lives upon them. Satan’s lies are empty and destructive.

2. The shield of faith will strengthen the faith of others who are struggling. People grieving a loss are the most susceptible to spiritual attack? It could be a loss of health, a job, a loved one, and so on. When you are in a community of believers, they can cover you with their shield of faith through prayer and encourage you to keep your hope in God’s promises. Also, Hebrews 10:24-25 states, “And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” The faith of other believers encourages ours when we are in a battle, helping us stand firm. For example, when soldiers stand close together and lock their shields, they form a barrier against an attack. Do not forsake going to church. Satan will throw all kinds of offenses at you, so you quit going to church, which will weaken your faith to fight the spiritual battle he wages to take your soul.

In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter denied knowing Jesus three times because he was alone and his faith was weak. God’s Word says that Satan comes before God to accuse us. Read Job 1:6-12 to learn how Satan asked permission to test Job’s resolve to fear God and not sin. We will learn more about the power of prayer in the next post.

3. The shield of faith helps you believe in God’s promises. Trials and temptations will cause you to either have faith in God or doubt His promises and mentally dwell in the pit of despair. When trials test our faith, and we resist the temptation to worry or despair, we will become stronger. James 1:2–4 states, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials [temptations] of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness[endurance, patience].And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Three different words describe what testing of our faith produces: steadfastness, endurance, and patience. All are necessary to be victorious in the unseen spiritual battles. For example, read about Paul’s thorn in the flesh in 2Corinthians 12.

Steadfastness means firm, fixed, settled, or established, or constant and not changing.
Endurance is the ability to last, continue, or remain, or the ability to stand pain, distress, fatigue, etc.
Patience is to bear or endure provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

Where do we get faith?

First, you need to get the shield of faith from Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 states, “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Second, we get faith from reading the Bible. Romans 10:17 states, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.” So, when you study God’s Word and pray daily, your shield of faith is up, and the devil’s arrows bounce off. But when you miss time reading God’s Word and praying, your protection is down, making you vulnerable to Satan’s temptations and lies. You will lose spiritual strength and protection when you don’t read your Bible and pray daily.

Conclusion

Daily prayer: I take up my shield of faith to block the fiery arrows of condemnation, accusation, temptations, doubts, and flattery of the enemy. I believe that God loves me, cares about me, and is the shield that protects me from evil. I will strengthen my faith by meditating on Scripture day and night. (Eph. 6:16; Rev. 12:9; 1John 3:1; 1Peter 5:7; 2Thes. 3:3; Rom. 10:17)

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My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.