Tag: #Christianity

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Holy Hunger

Dear Friends,

What are you hungry for? Five years ago the first “Boldly For Him Blog” was birthed. Part of my assignment is to be numbered among an army of modern day Holy Spirit Led Scribes. Lovers of God who are called to “Rightly Divide the Word of Truth,” (ref.) 2nd Timothy 2:15 (b). To feed this hungry world with written manna from the Heart of God!

As you read this re-released “Anniversary Blog,” that I originally wrote for another site, my prayer is that a, “Holy Hunger” will stir within you!

To, “Be Strong and Live Free…….Boldly For Him!”

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Much Love,

-Clare-

“It’s Time to Eat!” Years ago, one of my former Pastors told the congregation a humorous story that I never forgot. He was visiting a senior home preparing to preach a message when all of a sudden, one of the resident ladies stood up and said, “It’s time to eat!” In “the twinkling of an eye,” there was a mass exodus to the dining room, and he was left standing by himself with Bible in hand. The natural hunger of these precious seniors overrode their desire for God. All too often, like these seniors, our natural appetites prevail over our spiritual needs. The result? God’s Word goes un-touched in our lives. When this happens, we must develop a “Holy Hunger” for God and His Word. How? By not allowing ourselves to become “Superficial Seekers.”

Superficial Seekers

My friend, if you and I live life on our terms and not God’s Terms, we become “Superficial Seekers.” People who strive for “Spiritual Food” through natural means alone.

John 6:27 (TPT);


“Why would you strive for food that is perishable and not be passionate to seek the food of eternal life, which never spoils? I, the son of Man, Am ready to give you what matters most, for God The Father has destined Me for this purpose.”


Jesus addresses a group of “superficial seekers” who witness His miracles and healing power. They are among the five thousand miraculously fed when He multiplies five barley loaves and two small fish. Though their stomachs are satiated, their souls are empty. They do not develop a “Holy Hunger” for “The Bread of Life,” Jesus Christ. Their empty souls keep them from recognizing that The Son of God is offering to them, “what matters most.” These “superficial seekers” are more concerned with what is in Jesus’ Hand rather than what is in His Heart! They learn to feast on “The Diet of Compromise!”

The Diet of Compromise


Merriam Webster Dictionary:
DIET = Habitual nourishment
Oxford Languages Dictionary:
COMPROMISE = accept standards that are lower than is desirable.


One way to frustrate the Word of God in our lives is to choose “The Diet of Compromise!” By ‘accepting standards that are lower than desirable’ in our Christian walk, spirit, soul, and body, we no longer recognize our undeniable need for “The Bread of Life,” Jesus Christ.

John 6:35-37 (TPT);


“Jesus said to them, I Am The Bread of Life. Come every day to Me, and you will never be hungry. Believe in Me, and you will never be thirsty.” “Yet I’ve told you that even though you’ve seen Me, you still don’t believe in Me.” “But everyone My Father has given to Me, they will come. And all who come to Me, I will embrace and will never turn them away.” What a strong Bible verse! 


The enemy of “Holy Hunger” is “The Diet of Compromise.” We compromise our faith through unbelief, which leads us to frustrate The Word of God in our lives! By tolerating a spiritually substandard diet of compromise, we introduce “spiritual parasites” into our system (our walk with God.)

Spiritual Parasites

“Spiritual Parasites” of the “self-life” undoubtedly interfere with the digestion of God’s Word. Potentially leading us into situations that could cost us our lives!

Galatians 5:19-21 (TPT);


“The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography,” “chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions,” “being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the Kingdom Realm of God!”


The “Spiritual Parasites” mentioned in the previous scriptures spoil our “Holy Hunger” for God and His Written Word. By continually consuming a “Diet of Compromise,” “spiritual septic shock” sets into our walk with God. This action is where the vital signs of our “Eternal Life in God” begin to shut down! What a severe condition my friend, let’s not take this lightly!

A Question of the Heart

Galatians 5:9 (TPT);


“Don’t you know that when you allow even a little lie into your heart, it can permeate your entire belief system?”


It is so important that we pause here and ask ourselves the following question of the heart:


What anti-Christ lie (spiritual parasite) may be depleting my heart of a “Holy Hunger” for God and His Written Word?


My friend, it is crucial that we honestly answer this question of the heart. It exposes what we believe to be accurate about the responsibility that we have in our relationship with God and His Holy Written Word (The Bible).

Hebrews 4:12-13 (TPT);


“For we have the Living Word of God, which is full of energy, like a two-mouthed sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet. It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts.” “There is not one person who can hide their thoughts from God, for nothing we do remains a secret, and nothing created is concealed, but everything gets exposed and defenseless before His Eyes, to whom we must render an account.”

A Prayer of the Heart


My heart’s prayer for us as we openly and honestly come before The Lord is this:

“I say and decree that every spiritual parasite that has caused us to be anemic by blocking the digestion of God’s Word in our lives be Gone In Jesus Name! I now speak to our hearts and call forth a “Holy Hunger” to ignite, as we passionately pursue God through His Holy Written Word in Jesus Name!”

Signs of Life


My friend, digesting and speaking “The Living Word of God,” resuscitates our “Spirit Man!” “Signs of Life” appear with a “Holy Hunger” for God and His Written Word! It’s time to rejoice!

Psalm 34:8-10 (MEV);


“Oh, taste and see that The Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” “Oh, fear The Lord, you, His saints; for the ones who fear Him will not be in need.” “The young lions are in want and suffer hunger, but the ones who seek The Lord will not lack any good thing.”


No longer “Superficial Seekers,” WE ARE BIBLE STRONG!
“It’s Time to Eat,” my friend!…. The Bread of Life!

John 6:51 (TPT);


The Bible says, “I Alone Am This Living Bread that has come to you from Heaven. Eat this Bread, and you will live forever. The living Bead I give you is My Body, which I will offer as a Sacrifice so that all may live.”

“Be Strong and Live Free……..Boldly For Him!”

© 2022 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Photo: Priscilla DuPreez
 

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Cities of Light

Matthew 5:14 (AMPC);

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

As Born Again Believers in Jesus Christ, we are literally “Cities of Light!” Beacons of Hope to a lost and dying world! When the world sees us, they should see “The Light” of Jesus Christ beaming from our lives!

John 8:12 (AMPC);

“Once more, Jesus addressed the crowd. He said I Am The Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have The Light which is Life.”

Living in “The Light of God” keeps us from “walking in darkness,” Playing spiritual, “Hide and Seek.”

HIDE AND SEEK

Matthew 5:15-16 (TPT);

“And who would light a lamp and then hide it in an obscure place? Instead, It’s placed where everyone in the house can benefit from its light.” “So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others so that the commendable things you do will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in Heaven.”

It’s not the time to play “Hide and Seek” with our light! Nor is it a time to “dim our light” in fear, living “low beam” lives of compromise. As Christ-followers, we are to be “Bold Cities of Light” Shining Brightly For The Kingdom of God, wherever we go! Rejecting the pull of the world to revel in sins darkness where we used to roam. God has called us “Cities of Light” to “A Mission of Light!” To live so brightly in the world that “the commendable things we do” for The Kingdom of God is easily recognized. “Then they will give their praise to our Father in Heaven!”

Ephesians 5:11 (TPT);

“And don’t even associate with the servants of darkness because they have no fruit in them; instead, reveal Truth to them.

A MISSION OF LIGHT

Ephesians 5:8-9 (TPT);

“Once your life was full of sin’s darkness, but now you have the very Light of our Lord shining through you because of your union with Him. Your mission is to live as children flooded with His Revelation-Light!” “And the supernatural fruits of His Light will be seen in you-Goodness, Righteousness, and Truth.”

The wattage of God’s Revelation-Light that Heaven has deposited into one Born Again Believer’s Heart as a “City of Light” is beyond Atomic, my friend! It is CATACLYSMIC to the realm of darkness! Why?…… Because” God is Light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all!” Ref. 1st John 5 (b).

When The All-Consuming Light of God shows up on the scene through our lives, Powered by His “Goodness, Righteousness and Truth,” darkness is exposed, and people are saved from the “sleep of death!” The result?……our “Mission of Light” is accomplished in Jesus’ Name! To God Be The Glory! My friend, we must not forget that He has entrusted us with “The Language of Light” that we can successfully carry out the “Mission of Light.”

THE LANGUAGE OF LIGHT

Ephesians 5:13-14 (TPT):

“Whatever The Revelation Light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul.” “This is why the Scripture says, “Arise, you sleeper! Rise from your coffin, and The Anointed One will Shine His Light into you!”

As “Cities of Light,” it is our vital privilege to become fluent in “The Language of Light.” Why?…… Because of this Divine Principle of Truth:

“The Language of Light Speaks Loud and Clear In The Darkest of Nights.”

As “Cities of Light,” we are meant to speak, “The Language of Light” Loud and Clear to The Darkest Night of an unbeliever’s soul!

Indeed, at a time and hour when Earth least expected it, “The Language of Light Spoke Loud and Clear!” When Jesus Christ Breathed His Final Earthly Breathe and said, “IT IS FINISHED,” REF. JOHN 19:30 (B); CALVARY BECAME THE SIMULTANEOUS CATACLYSMIC EXPLOSION IN HEAVEN, ON EARTH, AND IN THE SPIRIT REALM THAT OBLITERATED THE POWER OF DARKNESS ONCE AND FOR ALL!

At that Divine, Heaven Appointed Moment, every man, woman, and child that would ever say yes to Jesus Christ as LORD and SAVIOR have the opportunity to become an unconquerable, “City of Light!” With the power to pierce darkness by speaking, “The Language of Light!” Which is “The Language of Revelation Truth and Freedom” that brings the dead back to life, spirit, soul, and body! My friend, we can now speak “The Language of Light” into the darkness of men’s souls, as we rule with “The Government of Light!”

THE GOVERNMENT OF LIGHT

Isaiah 9:6-7 (MEV);

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us, a Son is given, and The Government shall be upon His Shoulder. And His Name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” “Of the increase of His Government and Peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to order it and to establish it with Justice and Righteousness, from now until forever. The zeal of The Lord of Hosts will perform this.”

In The Kingdom of Heaven, there is a “Government of Light,” and the ruling class is YOU and me!

Matthew 28:18-20 MEV);

“Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on Earth.” “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in The Name of The Father and The Son and of The Holy Spirit,” “teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.” And remember, I Am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

“The Great Commission,” described for us in Matthew 28, is still our Commission today, my friend. God has vested us as “Cities of Light” with “His Authority!” Why?…. To work, THROUGH US, to be “The increase of His Government and Peace.” This impartation is how The Kingdom of Heaven perpetuates, of which there “Shall be no end!” Glory to God! As Born Again Believers, WE ARE “The zeal of The Lord of Hosts” who performs HIS WILL on Earth as “It is in Heaven!” How?…. Through our obedience to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

As “Cities of Light,” there is a powerful principle of Truth that equips you and me to rule and reign within “The Government of Light,” and we find it in 1st Timothy 6:12 (MEV);

“Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are called and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

“Cities of Light,” “Fight The Good Fight of Faith!”

The Apostle Paul knew that by learning how to “Fight The Good Fight of Faith,” you and I keep the “Light” of God’s Presence Shining Bright in our lives! My friend, we are the only ones who can dim that “Light.” God through His Son Jesus Christ paid a GREAT PRICE for you and me To Be His Called, “Cities of Light,” The most incredible “Light Show,” (displays of His Power and Governmental Authority) that this world would EVER witness and encounter! “Not by might, nor by power, but By His Spirit.” (Ref. Zechariah 4:6.b)

REFUGE FOR LIFE

Has your light dimmed, my friend?

Have you grown weary “Fighting the Good Fight of Faith?”

If so, let me encourage you with THIS LIGHT FILLED TRUTH:

1st John 4:4 (MEV);

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He Who is in you is Greater than he who is in the world.”

“AS A CITY OF LIGHT, YOU ARE A REFUGE FOR LIFE!”…..And, “He Who is in you is Greater than he who is in the world!”

In John 10:10, part (b), Jesus states, “I came to give life and life more abundantly.” Part of that abundant overcoming life works through us as “Cities of Light!” “Refuges of Life” filled with the same CATACLYSMIC POWER that Jesus Christ walked the Earth with!

My friend, where will those in darkness find “The Light of Life,” “A Refuge for their souls? God is encouraging us not to fear, quit, or be intimidated! As the “Eternal Flame” of God’s Presence and Power shines brightly within us, “The Language of Light” will speak loud and clear through us!

Now is the time to:

Be Strong and Live Free as “Cities of Light”…….Boldly For Him!

© 2022 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Photo:Timo Volz

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Breaking Bitterness

Hebrews 12:15 (TPT);

“Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s Grace. And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many.”

While preparing to write this blog, I heard the following statement from The Holy Spirit:

“YOU MUST BREAK BITTERNESS BEFORE IT BREAKS YOU!”

Stunned, I realized then that this is an urgent warning to all of us from The Heart of God!

What Is Bitterness?

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, Someone bitter is angry and unhappy because they cannot forget bad things that happened in the past.

How Does Bitterness Break Us?

First and foremost, bitterness will cause us to miss the revelation of God’s Grace, as stated in Hebrews 12:15. Without a revelation of God’s Grace, His Love will not be a tangible reality to us, and we will never be able to comprehend or receive true forgiveness for our sins. We will also be unable to extend Christ-Like Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness toward another individual who has sinned against us. Living in this perpetual state of un-forgiveness creates an atmosphere of torment in our souls and will manifest in our lives. This heavy load of bitterness then becomes a beast of burden that we carry around within us, and it will eventually break us.

Matthew 11:28-30 (TPT);

“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me, I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.” “Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me.” “For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”

This Word is Good News, my friend! Though the weight of bitterness will continually try to break us, God has an answer for us as we learn His Ways.

How Do We Break Bitterness?

Through Forgiveness!

The Oxford Languages Dictionary offers a simple and concise definition of the word forgive.

FORGIVE = Stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for (an offense, flaw, or mistake).

Matthew 6:14-15 (TPT);

“And when you pray, make sure you forgive the faults of others so that your Father in Heaven will also forgive you.” “But if you withhold forgiveness from others, your Father withholds forgiveness from you.”

This scripture is astounding! You and I can cause GOD TO WITHHOLD HIS FORGIVENESS FROM US, WHILE OUR PRAYERS GO UN-HEARD! When we choose to withhold forgiveness from someone who has hurt us or that we perceived has hurt us, we are planting a root of bitterness within our hearts. Unforgiveness keeps our prayers from effectively being heard by God! By not breaking bitterness, we forge a, “Barrier of Bitterness” over our hearts that repel the Love of God and His Blessings from flowing freely in our lives. Ultimately, if we refuse to identify and repent of bitterness, we will reject God and His Plan for our life!

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (MEV);

“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” “Then you shall call upon Me, and you shall come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” “You shall seek Me and find Me when you shall search for Me with all your heart.”

Bitterness is spiritual cancer that can spread quickly by stealing our future and killing our hope. Thus, causing trouble and poisoning the hearts of many, starting with ours! A poisoned heart is a divided heart. It is imperative that you and I consciously recognize and BREAK BITTERNESS BEFORE IT BREAKS US! The survival rate of the God Given relationships in our lives depends on our willingness to forgive decisively and quickly.

Recently I heard a teaching from a well-respected, trusted minister of The Gospel who shares some valuable eye-opening insight regarding the root of bitterness. He described bitterness as undeveloped murder. Another way that he put it is, bitterness is murder in diapers. This minister then went on to relay a story that impacted me. During his ministry, he had counseled two different people on two different occasions, who were believers. They came to him for help to break free from the root of bitterness. However, these individuals were so consumed with the “Spirit of Bitterness,” that they both ended up killing people and are now in jail after rejecting his help! My friend, These brutal acts of murder are a sobering account of “The Root of Bitterness” in action.

1st John 3:15 (TPT) describes the minister’s tragic story for us;

“Everyone who keeps hating a fellow Believer is a murderer,” and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”

The message from The Lord is loud and clear, my friend. We must ”Break Bitterness Before It Breaks Us!”

1st John 4:20-21 (MEV);

“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” “We have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

What Barriers of Bitterness are weighing you down?

Is there anyone, or perhaps even yourself that you need to forgive?

Are you, “Breaking Bitterness or is it Breaking You?”

If Breaking Free From Bitterness has been a battle for you, please join me in the following prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I recognize today that I have been carrying the heavy burden of the sin of bitterness and un-forgiveness. I come to You and lay it down at Your feet. Please forgive me for walking in bitterness and un-forgiveness toward_________________(name the person or persons).

By an act of my will, I release them now and choose to forgive them for hurting me. Father God, If I have unknowingly hurt someone, I ask that you bring their name to me now, and I ask that you forgive me for hurting them in Jesus’ Name! Direct may path to restitution for the pain and hurt that I have caused them in this situation.

Lord, I now receive the total cleansing, healing, strength, and refreshing that comes from Your Presence as I walk with an upright heart before You, in Jesus’ Name! Amen! I Love You, Lord!

II Chronicles 7:14 (AMPC);

“If My people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”

Be Strong and Live Free as you Break Bitterness………….. Boldly For Him!

© 2021 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Photo: Niel Taelman

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Bricks or Blood?

Have you ever had God ask you a question then immediately follow with an answer that completely caught you off guard?  I have!  Several weeks ago, there was an undeniable pull to go into intercessory prayer with my husband Mark.  As we began to pray, I sensed the Tangible Presence of The Holy Spirit, so I asked Mark to start praying and declaring prophetically what he was seeing.  Suddenly, after praying for about ten to fifteen minutes, there was a shift in the atmosphere, and out of my mouth came the question of The Lord, “Bricks or Blood?….. You choose!….Bricks or Blood?

Stunned by the question that The Holy Spirit had just posed to both of us, we stood quietly and reverently yielding to The Lord.  As we pressed into His Presence, The Lord began revealing to me by the Spirit, the desperation and conversations going on in the Body of Christ.  I saw and heard many leaders concerned about “what they perceived” as, “momentum lost” during the pandemic shutdown.

The Lord continued to reveal to me that, “The current temptation for our lives was to pick up the Bricks of “human effort” and “self-accomplishment” devoid of the Power and Presence of The Living God.”  A Power and Presence that had so graciously, sacrificially, and freely been given to each one of us through The Shed Blood of Jesus Christ at Calvary.  I could see that leaders were being pushed and pushing to “hurry up” and “make up” for lost time and re-build what they thought the enemy had breached in their lives, businesses, and ministries.  All of this “Brick Work” activity was being dangerously ramped up without stopping to consider the True Clear Leadership Voice, Guidance, and Timing of The Holy Spirit.  He then led me to the following passage of scripture to illustrate what He was sharing with me;

Exodus 5:1-23 (AMPC);

“Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus says The Lord, The God of Israel, Let My People go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.”  “But Pharaoh said, Who is The Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?  I know not The Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”  “And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go, we pray you, three days journey into the desert and sacrifice to The Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”  “The king of Egypt said to Moses and Aaron, Why do you take the people from their jobs?  Get to your burdens!” “Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens!”  “The very same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, “You shall no more give the people straw to make brick; let them go and gather straw for themselves.”  “But the number of the bricks which they made before you shall require of them; you shall not diminish it in the least.  For they are idle; that is why they cry, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.”  “Let heavier work be laid upon the men that they may labor at it and pay no attention to lying words.”  “The taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers and they said to the people, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.”  “Go get straw where you can find it, but your work shall not be diminished in the least.”  “So the people were scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather the short stubble instead of straw.” “And the taskmasters were urgent, saying, Finish your work, your daily quotas, as when there was straw.”  “And the Hebrew foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, Why have you not fulfilled all your quota of making bricks yesterday and today, as before?” “Then the Hebrew foremen came to Pharaoh and cried, Why do you deal like this with your servants?”  “No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, Make bricks!  And behold, your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your people.”  “But [Pharaoh] said, You are idle, lazy, and idle!  That is why you say, Let us go and sacrifice to The Lord.”  “Get out now and get to work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the full quota of bricks.”  “And the Hebrew foremen saw that they were in an evil situation when it was said, you shall not diminish in the least your full daily quota of bricks.”  “And the foremen met Moses and Aaron, who was standing in the way as they came forth from Pharaoh.”  “And the foremen said to them, The Lord look upon you and judge because you have made us a rotten stench to be detested by Pharaoh and his servants and have put a sword in their hand to slay us.”  “Then Moses turned again to The Lord and said, O Lord, why have You dealt evil to this people?  Why did you ever send me?”  “For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he has done evil to this people, neither have You delivered Your people at all.”

Beware, fellow believers, the objective of the “Pharaoh spirit” is to push us into becoming a “taskmaster” an oppressor of ourselves AND others.  If we allow this to happen we will become a “beast of burden”, reproducing other “beast’s of burdens” as we begin to demand of those in our spheres of influence that they:

“Hurry Up and Finish their work, after all, enough time has been lost during the pandemic and we have a lot MORE WORK to catch up on!  This is no time to rest!  “Go Get Your Bricks,” before all is lost!”

The result of all this Brickwork?

An exhausted depleted family, business, or ministry on the verge of collapse!

Friends, when we get caught up in this demonically driven frenzy, we will no longer recognize God as The True, “Author and Finisher of our faith.” Ref. Hebrews 12:2. This makes it virtually impossible for us to lead, train, and mentor others through The Guidance of The Holy Spirit.  Instead, “The Bricks” of our leadership decisions, produces “Mausoleums of death” rather than “Temples of Life”

How does this happen?

By sacrificing our own, “Times of refreshing” in The Lord and ignoring The Voice and Leadership of The Holy Spirit as He Rejuvenates and Speaks to our hearts.

Romans 8:14 (AMP) says;

“For all who are ALLOWING themselves to be led by The Spirit of God are sons of God.”

The Holy Spirit is a True Gentleman!  He will not force the plan of God on our lives, or our ability to “see” that plan, we must CHOOSE to be LED and FOLLOW the Plan of God for our life.  As we REST in The Presence of God while listening and yielding to The Voice of The Holy Spirit and choosing to follow the instructions that He Gives us, we mature and develop into effective, men and women of God, “sons of God,” as the above scripture states.

Why is it so important to follow The Holy Spirit’s Guidance and learn to live a “Life in The Spirit as a son of God?”

Romans 8:15-16 (TPT) holds the key that unlocks the door to this very important answer;

“And you did not receive the spirit of religious duty, leading you back into the fear of never being good enough.  But you have received the Spirit of Full Acceptance, enfolding you into The Family of God.  And you will never feel orphaned, for as He Rises Up Within us, our spirits join Him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!”  “For The Holy Spirit makes God’s Fatherhood real to us as He Whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

My friend, it is only through the Power and Discernment of The Holy Spirit that we learn how to recognize and reject the “Brick Mentality” which is rooted in the “fear of never being good enough.”

As we continually confront and defeat the thoughts of rejection that challenge the truth of “God’s Fatherhood” in our lives, we overcome this stronghold of fear.  This Vital Victory opens up our hearts to recognize and receive the “Spirit of Full Acceptance,” which, “enfolds us into The Family of God.”  This is where True Freedom, Joy, and Peace begins in our, “Born Again” walk with God and the relationship we have with ourselves and others.

As we learn to trust God and lay down the bricks of oppression, we understand, “The Language of The Blood” which continually speaks, “forgiveness.” Ref. Hebrews 12:24. As we freely accept and choose to “speak forgiveness,” over our lives and others, the reality of The redemption of The Blood of Jesus takes root in our lives releasing the “The Joy of The Lord” to become “Our Strength and our Stronghold.” Ref. Nehemiah 8:10. Now with eager tender affection, we can shout, “Beloved Father,” as we receive the “sweet something” that, “The Holy Spirit Whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

So now Mighty Warriors of The Most High God The Choice is yours.

Bricks or Blood?……. You Choose!

The Bricks of human effort outside of God or The Redemptive Life in The Spirit through The Blood of Jesus Christ?

Choose The Blood of Jesus Christ which Speaks of Redemption and you will…..

“Be Strong and Live Free…..Boldly For Him!”

Galatians 5:16-18 (TPT);

“As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic Life and Power of The Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.”  “For your self-life craves the things that offend The Holy Spirit and hinder Him from Living Free within you!  And The Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self-life from dominating you!  So then the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of The Spirit.”  “But when you are brought into The Full Freedom of The Spirit of Grace, you will no longer be living under the dominion of the law, but SOARING ABOVE IT!

 

© 2020 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Picture by: Majid Gheidarlou

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What Color Is God?

*This month I have the honor of having my husband Mark Matthews guest blog for me.  I believe that you will find the word that he has written relevant, insightful and transforming as he addresses a topic that has recently been widely discussed and debated.

-Clare- 

 

The little boy looked into his mother’s eyes and asked the obvious question of the current times.  Mom, what is racism?  The mother of the bright-eyed 5-year-old paused to make sure that her response would answer her son’s inquiring mind.  Well, son, it is hatred and the belief that some people are better because of where they were born or the color of their skin.  “Mom, did God make all people”?  Yes, son! What color is God, mom?  The million-dollar question that every person who has ever heard about God has wondered.

There is something about God that might surprise you.  He loves to reveal Himself to mankind.  With God there is no containment when it comes to the Love that he has shed abroad for His creation through His Son Jesus Christ.  Did you know that God is as infinitely small as He is Large?  There is no place that you can go without running into God. If you run one direction and never turned back when you stop, God will be there.

To know God, you have to acknowledge that He is.  God is a Spirit, and He has an Image. John 4:24 (KJV) says, “God is Spirit, and all those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and truth.”  God made mankind a three-part person.  We have a body, we have a soul, and we have a human spirit. Our body is an earth suit. Our soul is made up of our mind, our will, and our emotions.  When we surrender our hearts to God, Our human spirit is born again by the Spirit of God. From this point forward, we are recognized by God as His son or daughter and a citizen of Heaven.  We are a Spirit-filled being temporarily living on earth.  

 Gen 1: 26-27 (ESV), “Then God said, let us make man in our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and the cattle and all of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.  God created man in His image, in the image of God, He created him; male and female. He created them.” 

It is hard for us to reconcile in our minds that God has never made a mistake.  The world looks at you through the eyes of inspection.  God looks at you through The Eyes of Reflection.  He does not see imperfection He sees a one of a kind creation made in His Image.  He says I did not have one of you, so I made one of you.

Like this five year old you might be wondering what color is God? God is flawless.  He is the color of perfection.  When you look into a flaw-less diamond or precious jewel, you experience multiple dimensions at one time.  The color, light, and facets that make up the prisms of the diamond all interact in concert to perform a radiant expression of beauty. No matter how many times you look at that diamond, you will discover something new every time, yet it is still the same diamond.  The diamond never changed, the prisms never changed, but one thing changes every time, and that is the light. Remove the light, and the diamond looks lifeless and dull, cover it in mud, and you can’t even tell if it is glass or the real deal. 

1 John 1:5 (ESV) states, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”

The conflict that we are witnessing in the world today is about control, it is not about restoration from racism.  The enemy has made a power play of manipulation that has taken vindication hostage, right when justice was preparing to shine”.

Real love understands that tension must have restraint.  Apart from God, you can’t do anything of lasting value.  He knows the difference between the real and the counterfeit because He does not make cheap glass. 

If you could look into God’s Eyes, you would discover that whichever direction He moves or looks, you see your color and reflection in His Presence.  The moment you recognize God, you feel right at home, because He is your Heavenly Father.  Instantly Everything about Him reflects Himself in you, that is why whatever color you are on earth looks like God! 

How could God make so many people with so many different colors and they all look like Him?

The comforting answer, 

“God’s foundation color is love, not ethnicity.”

Revelation 4: 3,5 (TPT) “His appearance was sparkling like crystal and glowing like a carnelian gemstone.  Surrounding the throne was a circle of green light like an emerald rainbow! V – 5a, And pulsing from the throne were blinding flashes of lighting, crashes of thunder, and voices.”  

The color of your skin is God’s expression, His Robe of Love that frames the destiny that He has given you.  Like a fine Diamond the flawless facets of His presence reflects a Son like brilliance through your life, as you choose to walk in the “ministry of reconciliation”. 

Friends, God is forever near, and “He is our present help in times of trouble.” Ref. (Ps 46:1.) We all have a choice to make.  Which side of history will you be counted on?  Will you be remembered as the group who makes history and ushers in the love of God, or will you be numbered in the group who tried to erase history?  

Jesus is the Only Way that true peace and reconciliation will ever be found. Col 1:17 (ESV); “And He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together!”

Search your heart, don’t be hesitant to ask God if there is any animosity or prejudice residing within your heart, that will get in the way of His Love for you and others. 

Act 17:26 (MEV) “He has made from one blood every nation of men to live on the entire face of the earth, having appointed fixed times and the boundaries of their habitation”.

I want to thank my beautiful wife, Clare, a student of the Word of God for inviting me to be the first guest blogger on Boldly for Him.  Thank you, my love! “Be Strong and Live Free…. Boldly For Him!”

 

Mark Matthews

 

© 2020 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

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“A Banner Love”

The unthinkable happened, with the verdict guilty, the decision was sealed.  Now it would take The Blood of His First Born Son to eradicate the penalty of death caused by the sin of man.

It wasn’t that long ago that God walked with Adam in “the cool of the day”, sharing His Thoughts, Plans, and Dreams for man.  Now with Eyes Full of Tears, He watched with Love and Compassion as the man and woman whom He had created, “In His Very Own Image” were driven from their home.  The first, “eviction” had occurred and now their home, “Eden,” the Beautiful Garden that God Had “Planted” for them was left without a caretaker.  Oh, how God would miss the fellowship of His Beloved Creation!  Adam, the first “man” and his wife Eve, the first “woman,”  would now be removed from His Presence, as a result of their disobedience.

What sin did Adam and Eve commit, that drove them from Eden?

It was the “sin” of unbelief and rebellion against the commandment of The Lord.

In Genesis 2:15-17 (AMP) we read the commandment of The Lord God to Adam.  A commandment that Adam and his wife Eve would later go on to violate;

“And The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it.”  “And The Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;” “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

The devastating “fall of man”, has forever been recorded for us in Genesis 3:1-8 (NKJV);

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”  “And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;” “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”  “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  “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.  She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”  “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”  “And they heard the sound of The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from The Presence of The Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Beguiled by the language of rebellion that the enemy spoke, and enticed by the lust of their eyes, Adam and Eve desired and partook of the fruit that God had commanded them to stay away from.  Now for the first time in recorded human history, fear and shame shrouded God’s creation with a vice grip of death, that squeezed their Holy Innocence from them.

The awareness that Adam and his wife Eve had of their transgression caused them to, “hide themselves from The Presence of The Lord God among the trees of the garden.”  You see my friend their, “willful” sin created a “Spiritual Homelessness” a “Vacancy of Heart” that had evicted them from, “Eden” the garden home that God had planted for them.

The domino effect of the original sin of Adam and Eve was staggering.  It would go on to affect everyone who would ever be born on the face of the Earth.  Thank God that He had a Holy, Divine Plan put in place long before you and I were born, to Redeem Man back to his original relationship with God.

What is this Plan?

This Holy, Divine Plan is called, “SALVATION” and His Name is JESUS CHRIST!  We read about This, “Banner Love”, this Gift of Salvation in;

John 3:16-17 (TPT);

“For this is how much God Loved the world-He gave His One and Only, Unique Son as a Gift.  So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience Everlasting Life.”  “God did not send His Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be it’s Savior and rescue it!”

This is Good News for you and me, my friend!  Remember what happened back in the Garden of Eden?  Adam and Eve sinned and through that sin, introduced, “everlasting death”.  Now through our believing upon “Jesus Christ” His Son, our “Savior,” we all receive, “Everlasting Life,” as we are rescued from the effects of eternal damnation, which is eternal separation from God!

This is God’s “BANNER LOVE” for you and me Redemption through His Son Jesus Christ!

What do we do with this, BANNER LOVE?

So glad you asked!  Colossians 3:12-14 (TPT) gives us the answer;

“You are always and dearly loved by God!  So robe yourselves with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy.  Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all.  Be gentle and humble, un-offendable in your patience with others.”  “Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ.  If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them.”  “For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues.  Love becomes the mark of True Maturity.”

My friend since, “Love becomes the mark of True Maturity”, then we must ask ourselves the following question;

“Am I a spiritual adult”?

Ouch!  A question from The Lord that hits home for all of us!  I know that there have been many times that I have personally felt the “pinch”, the “grief” of The Holy Spirit when I did not respond in a manner where love was “supreme” toward others or even towards myself.  When this happens in our lives, it is so important to recognize, “Why” The Holy Spirit is Grieved.  You see my friend, when, “love reigns supreme through our lives”, we are the most like God!  We become, Spiritual Adults by choosing to live from a “Banner Heart” as we Advance The Kingdom of Heaven with every thought, word, and action!  This is how His, “Banner Love” is seen and reproduced in our lives, Glory To God!

On the other hand, when love does not “Reign Supreme” in our lives, we are then giving way to our, “old Adam self” living like the enemy and reproducing death with every thought, word, and action.  This type of behavior is extremely detrimental to our lives and very harmful to The Kingdom of Heaven.

Why is this behavior so detrimental to our lives and harmful to The Kingdom of Heaven?

Simply put, when we make choices contrary to the characteristics of Christ-likeness in our lives, we are choosing to create a “hard heart” rather than choosing to live from a “Banner Heart.”  An unrepentant “hard heart” will eventually lead you and others away from The Presence of God.

What is the solution to a “hard heart”?

To receive God’s “Banner Love” for our lives as the scriptures state in John 3:16-17 (TPT).  When we make this decision and choose daily to live for The Kingdom of Heaven we will then develop a strong, immovable, unshakeable, “Banner Heart,”  able to disciple others because we ourselves have been discipled in the ways of God.

The next step is to follow the instructions that The Lord has given us in Colossians 3:12-14 (TPT) and, “Robe ourselves with The Virtues of God.”

What are the Virtues of God that make up this Robe?

Holiness, Mercy, Understanding, Compassion, Kindness, Gentleness, Humbleness, Un-offendable, Patient, Tolerant and Forgiving.

This, my friend, is the Glorious Robe of His “Banner Love”, which was wrapped around The Tree of Calvary for you and me!  Jesus Christ is His Name and when you receive Him, you will never be the same.  He was Bruised and Beaten for every one of your sins, diseases, and iniquities, with The Blood of Jesus you have been Washed and made Clean. Now you are in The Kingdom of God Family!  Righteous, Free and Totally Healed…..So “Be Strong and Live Free” in Perpetual Victory With The Power and Strength of “The Banner Love” of Calvary!

AMEN and AMEN!

 

© 2020 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Picture by: Brandon Morgan

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“A Banner Life”

Banners have long been used since ancient Biblical times for a variety of reasons.  To declare the identity of a people, to signify a hard-fought won a victory or for the surrender of an enemy during a military campaign, to name a few.  As modern-day Believers and Soldiers in the Army of The Lord, we are to recognize Jesus Christ as, “Jehovah Nissi,” “THE LORD IS MY BANNER,” denoting our trust and allegiance in The One True Living God.  He is The ONLY TRUE SOURCE for our deliverance when confronting life’s battles.  He Is The God “Who will never leave us nor forsake us”, no matter what may come our way!  Ref. Deuteronomy 31:6

King David The Psalmist declares this powerful truth for us in Psalm 20:1-5 (NKJV);

“May The Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of The God of Jacob defend you;”  “May He send you help from the sanctuary, And strengthen you out of Zion;” “May He remember all your offerings, And accept your burnt sacrifice.” “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose.” “We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our Banners”!  May The Lord fulfill all your petitions.”

If there was anyone who knew first hand the Power of “Jehovah Nissi,” “The Lord Is My Banner,” it was King David.  In all of the tests and trials that he went through, he continually called upon The Name of The Lord and was delivered!  King David lived a “Banner Life” by putting his trust in God, even in the face of costly failures and seemingly impossible situations.

We read about one of those seemingly impossible situations in 1st Samuel 30:1-7 (AMP);

“Now when David and his men came home to Ziklag on the third day, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South (the Negeb) and Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and had burned it with fire.”  “And had taken the women and all who were there, both great and small, captive.  They killed no one, but carried them off and went on their way.”  “So David and his men came to the town, and behold, it was burned, and their wives and sons and daughters were taken captive.”  “Then David and the men with him lifted their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.”  “David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.”  “David was greatly distressed for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters.  But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

In these verses of scripture my friend, we learn a life-changing lesson, one that David walks out for us so beautifully, and that is this;

“A Banner Life begins with making a banner decision that ultimately leads to a fruitful, “Banner Life” filled with, ”Banner Years”!

As demonstrated in the life of King David, a life well lived for The Kingdom of Heaven is not a “perfect life’ free of faults and failures, it is a “faithful life” that continually gets up in obedience, in the midst of trials, temptations and mis-steps through the Overcoming Strength of The Lord Most High, The One True God to, “Pursue overtake and recover all.”  Notice that is exactly what David did at Ziklag, though his men spoke of stoning him, he chose to encourage himself in The Lord second by second, minute by minute and hour by hour.  This, my friend, is an example of a “Banner Decision” being made under tremendous pressure!

The remarkable payoff?  We read about it in 1st Samuel 30:17-20 (AMP);

“And David smote them from twilight even to the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except 400 youths who rode camels and fled.”  “David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken and rescued his two wives.”  “Nothing was missing, small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; David recovered all.”  “Also David captured all the flocks and herds [which the enemy had], and the people drove those animals before him and said, This is David’s spoil.”

What a day of Divine Dramatic Reversal for David, he went from being a grieving, distressed leader fearing for his life by the hands of his men who “spoke of stoning him;” (which is rather ironic when you think of the fact that earlier in his youth he slew the Giant Goliath with one smooth stone); to an overcoming hero who led the way in “recovering all” that the enemy had taken from them.  The people even chose to set aside the flocks and herds of the enemy and declare it as, “David’s spoil.”  In other words, those who were once against David were now for David, ensuring that he was highly honored and well taken care of.

How did David accomplish this mighty feat….and why wasn’t “the spoiler” (the enemy) able to disrupt David’s Divine Breakthrough?

The answer to this important question can be found in 1st Samuel 30:7-8 (AMP) which reveals The Source of David’s Epic Victory;

“David said to Abiathar the Priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray you, bring me the ephod, And Abiathar brought him the ephod.”  “And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue this troop?  Shall I overtake them?  The Lord answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail to recover all.”

After all of the years of miraculous feats done by David in The Name of The Lord, he did not rely on his strength or his understanding, he continued to draw near to God and wait upon Him with a “Banner Heart.”  A heart that is positioned in a place of humility and obedience to receive from The Lord.

David did not allow the memories of past victories and the former strategies that The Lord had given him to cloud his expectation and hearing of a “Fresh Word” from The Lord.  Whats more David did not put the responsibility for his authority on a word from Abiathar the Priest to guide him in this dire situation.  David’s intimacy and friendship with the Lord gave him the confidence to don “His Ephod,” and wait until he received the “Banner Word” of The Lord for his situation.  This, my friend, is how David won all of his, “Banner Victory’s” time and time again throughout each season of his life!

The donning of “The Ephod” which was a holy sacred garment used by King’s and Priest’s in ancient Biblical times to set themselves apart to hear the instructions and guidance of The Lord, was significant for David.  Why?….because the heart that beat under that ephod was a “Banner Heart,” that was set on hearing and obeying the Lord His God, no matter what the consequences were!

How did God view a heart like David’s?
We find the answer to that question in Acts 13: 21-22 (AMP);

“Then they asked for a King; and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin for forty years.” “And when He had deposed him, He raised David to be their king; of him He bore witness and said, I have found David son of Jesse a man after My Own Heart, who will do all My Will and carry out My program fully.”

Whose program are we carrying out in our lives? Ours?….Or The Lord’s?

For us, today, “The Banner of The Lord” written upon the tablet of King David’s heart in The Holy Scriptures, is a continual reminder of an overcoming, “Banner Life.”  You see my friend a “Banner Life” will always be lived from a “Banner Heart.”  A heart that is inclined to hear The Heartbeat of Heaven through The Voice of The Holy Spirit as He shares the secret truths and mysteries that God is longing to share with each one of us that call Him Abba Father!  Therefore my friend, “WE MUST NEVER ALLOW OUR, “HEART” TO BEAT AFTER ANOTHER god!

God, Himself states this truth so clearly for us in Exodus 20:3;

“You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.”

Let’s take a few minutes here and ask ourselves the following life-changing questions, I encourage you to write your answers down in a private place where you and The Lord can work it out.

What is written upon the tablet of my heart?

1. Am I living a “Banner Life” life from a “Banner Heart”?…..Or does my heartbeat after another god?

2. Do I recognize Jesus Christ as, “Jehovah Nissi” “The Lord Is My Banner”….. If not, why?

3. What course corrections do I need to make, if any, to keep my heart beating in line with God’s Will for my life?

My friend, when God sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to Calvary as our “Everlasting Banner of Life,” that was and IS His Eternal Heartbeat of Love for a lost and dying world.  A Heartbeat that you and I as believers in Christ Jesus cannot ignore! We must remember that every act of obedience in sharing The Goodness of God with those around us is an act of love that keeps this Heavenly Heartbeat alive and well and beating strong for The Glory of God!

This, my friend, is how we live a “Banner Life”, that will leave a “Banner Legacy”……
“Strong and Free….Boldly For Him”!

Psalm 60:4 (NKJV);

“You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the Truth.”

 

© 2020 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Picture by: Ben White

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“Alive And Well”

“Christ’s Resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the Place of All Power, Honor, and Authority!” “Yes, feast on all the treasures of the Heavenly Realm and fill your thoughts with Heavenly Realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.” Colossians 3:1-2 (TPT)

At the beginning of 2019, The Lord instructed me to write two specific blogs to start the New Year. January’s title is, “The Expected End” and February’s title is, “Inner-Action”.  Now as we have come to the last month of the decade, and are about to embark on what I believe will be a “Whole New Era” for the Body of Christ in the coming years; The Lord redirected my attention back to these two blogs.

As I re-read what He had to share with us through these writings, I became keenly aware that these blogs encapsulate what He is now saying to us through this last, “Boldly For Him” blog of the year. With 2019 quickly coming to a close, The Lord wants us to know that as we approach 2020, that no matter where we are or what we may be currently facing, that as Born Again Believers in Jesus Christ, the reality of our, “Expected End” is that we are, ”Alive And Well”, In Him as we recognize, renew, develop and mature our, “Inner-Action” to the truths that are shared with us in Colossians 3:1-2 (TPT).

To fully grasp what The Lord is now saying through this blog, I think it’s important for me to refresh us on the definition of “Inner-Action.”

Inner-Action = The relationship between the mind, the will and the emotions and how they are displayed in an individual’s life through their interaction with God and others.

You see my friend we are entering a time where everything that can be challenged will be challenged regarding what we believe about our identity In Jesus Christ. It is an Era, a decade, a time that will see much fruit as well as much loss within The Body of Christ. Why?….. because of the very pressure that is coming in the days ahead that will cause many to continue to be deceived, stumble and fall in their individual and corporate walk with The Lord. That is why it is so important my friend that you and I, “fill our thoughts with Heavenly Realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.”  Ref. Col 3:2 (TPT) 

What we learn and who we learn from can greatly affect what we believe about our God Given identity In Christ Jesus. So much so that the Apostle Paul gave the following instructions to his spiritual son Timothy who was an Evangelist and Pastor in the ancient town of Ephesus:

2nd Timothy 2:15 (AMP);

“Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.”

The Word of God and the Truths that have been “Rightly Divided” and “Accurately Taught” to us must become so “Deeply Rooted Within Us”, that no matter what distraction, adversity or challenge may come our way; we are confident that we can live our lives as one who is “Alive and Well” because of the TRUTH that “Christ’s Resurrection IS OUR Resurrection too!” Ref. Col 3:1 (TPT)  

Understanding and accurately applying this passage of scripture in Col 3:1-2, in our daily walk, as Believers is paramount to a healthy, “Inner-Action” with God and others. An overcoming “Inner-Action” that will lead to Total Victory in every area of our lives, Spirit, soul, and body, in the coming days ahead. To God Be The Glory!

How does this Biblical Principle work in our lives?  

Colossians 3:3-4 (TPT) gives us the answer;

“Your crucifixion with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away with God in Christ.” “And as Christ, Himself is seen for Who He Is, who you are will also be revealed, for YOU ARE NOW ONE WITH HIM IN HIS GLORY.”

This is not just a figure of speech my friend these are the Words of God Himself and the REALITY of Who We Are In Christ Jesus! According to the Word of God, we as Believers, have “severed the tie to this life.”  Meaning we no longer are bound or have any obligation whatsoever to live a defeated life of sin, sickness, poverty, shame, etc.!

Can this be proven by the Word of God? 

Yes, let’s see what He has to say to us in Colossians 3:5-9 (TPT);

“Live as one who has died to every form of sexual sin and impurity. Live as one who died to diseases, and desires for forbidden things, including the desire for wealth, which is the essence of idol worship.” “When you live in these vices you ignite the anger of God against these acts of disobedience.” “That’s how you once behaved, characterized by your evil deeds. But now it’s time to eliminate them from your lives once and for all-anger, fits of rage, all forms of hatred, cursing, filthy speech, and lying.” “Lay aside your old Adam-self with its masquerade and disguise.”

God went to great lengths for you and me my friend to be, “Alive and Well” through the Crucifixion of His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior! You see, Calvary not only Confronted, but CALVARY also DEFEATED EVERY FORM of sin, sickness, poverty, and disease for all men, for all time…PERIOD! Calvary did not console the enemy, by fearing him and accepting his slander against the Shed Blood of Jesus Christ. Calvary Confronted and Cast the evil works of the enemy out forever!

This is The Resurrection Power of 1st Peter 1:24 (TPT);

“He carried our sins in His body on the Cross so that we would be dead to sin and live for righteousness, Our INSTANT healing flowed from His Wounding.”

Therefore my friend, you and I as believers in Christ Jesus are not to console the enemy by fearing him and caving in when he attacks us with sin, sickness, poverty, and disease, we are to confront him with The Living Word of God and cast him out of our lives, spirit, soul, and body! It is not through our strength that we do this, it is through “The Blood of Jesus Christ”, that was Shed At Calvary. My friend, it is “The Good News” of His Resurrection Power that RESIDES WITHIN US that gives us, as Believers in Christ Jesus, the AUTHORITY AND THE RESPONSIBILITY to Confront and Cast out the devil and all of his evil works from EVERY area of our lives!

Did God give me this responsibility?

YES! Jesus Himself tells us about this “Priceless Privilege” in the following passages of scripture:

 John 14:12-14 (TPT); 

“I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in Me, will do the Same Mighty Miracles that I do—Even Greater Miracles than these because I go to be with My Father!” “For I will do whatever you ask Me to do when you ask Me in My Name. And that is how the Son will show what the Father is really like and bring Glory To Him.” “Ask Me anything in My Name, and I will do it for you!”

Mark 16:16-18 (TPT);

“Whoever believes the Good News and is baptized will be saved, and whoever does not believe the Good News will be condemned.” “And these miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will drive out demons in the power of My Name. They will speak in tongues.” “They will be supernaturally protected from snakes, and from drinking anything poisonous. And they will lay hands on the sick and heal them.”

Never doubt my friend the Power of The Name of Jesus spoken out of your mouth as a Believer in Jesus Christ! It is the same power and authority that was given to the first Disciples! As modern-day Believers it is our turn to do what these Forefathers of Faith did, to take the healing power of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world, to “lay hands on the sick and heal them”, this includes laying hands on yourself!  This Mandate is how we perpetuate the Eternal Message of Calvary! A Precious “Blood Bought” Message that Forever Speaks that, WE ARE, “Alive and Well” and Empowered to,

“Be Strong and Live Free…..Boldly For Him!”

 

© 2019 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

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“But I Wasn’t Racing!”

“I wasn’t racing!”  “It doesn’t matter, I won!”  “But I wasn’t racing!”  “It doesn’t matter, I won!”  This loud and insistent exchange between two young siblings took place years ago in a crowded crosswalk in Honolulu, Hawaii.  As Mark and I passed them by, we couldn’t help but smile at the older brother’s insistence that he had “won” some obviously “imaginary race” against his younger sister.  After all, she wasn’t “racing” pronounced “wacing” because she was missing a few front teeth!  Oh, the woes of sibling rivalry!

As I have reflected numerous times throughout the years, over this amusing and seemingly innocent inter-change between brother and sister, The Lord started to reveal to me the underlying current that the enemy was cunningly at work with to try to capture this young boy’s heart.  The purpose?  To keep him frantically competing in some “imaginary race” for the rest of his life.

In Hebrews 12:14-15 (TPT); we receive some practical life-saving advice from The Lord.

“In every relationship be swift to choose peace over competition, and run swiftly toward Holiness, for those who are not Holy will not see the Lord.”  “Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s Grace.  And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many.”

My friend, there is a “Code of Conduct” that The Lord is introducing to us in these scriptures, “Swift Peace over Competition,” with ourselves and others.  Notice that the first three words of the above scripture are, “In every relationship.”  This includes the relationship that we have with ourselves.  God knows that we can’t be, “swift to choose peace over competition” if we are not first, at peace within ourselves.

Like this young boy, if you and I choose to look at everyone around us as a competitor to be conquered, rather than a relationship to be nurtured, we will run a race of, “unholy competitiveness” against them, which will produce negative results.  Running our life’s race with others in this manner will cause us to miss the Heavenly revelation of God’s Grace in our lives and the lives of those around us; fast-tracking us on a road to self-destruction.  This will eventually make a way for a “root of bitterness” to begin to sprout within us that will cause trouble and poison the hearts of many.”

Why is it so important for us to adhere to this God Given, “Code of Conduct” with ourselves and others?

You see my friend when we choose God’s instructions of, “swift peace over competition” we create an atmosphere of “Grace” that nurtures those around us.  This allows these precious relationships that The Lord has entrusted to us too, “Safely Flourish” in their God-given gifts and talents with confidence and ease.  This Divine harmony produces a cohesive unity, a “Oneness” that Jesus Himself prayed for us to have in John 17:21-23 (TPT);

“I pray for all of them to be joined together as one even as You and I, Father, are joined together as One.  I pray for them to become One with Us so that the world will recognize that You sent Me.”  “For the very Glory that You have given to Me, I have given to them so that they will be joined together as One and experience the same Unity that we enjoy.”  “You live fully in Me and now I live fully in them so that they will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that You have sent Me, for they will see that you love each one of them with the same passionate love that You have for Me.”

Friend’s as we choose to cooperate with a “Holy Oneness”, we bring the “Revelation” and “Protection” of God’s Grace into the center of our relationships.  This “Guardrail of Grace,” keeps us running our life’s race with a Divine Pace of Peace, void of fleshly striving.  This Divine Pace of Peace produces within us an intimate place of Holiness with The Lord!  This Sacred Holiness gives us the strength to choose, “swift peace over competition,” every time!  Glory To God!

On the contrary, when we feel insecure and threatened by the calling, gifts, and talents of others we will view them through the fear based, imaginary lens of “unholy competitiveness.”  This “unholy competitiveness” creates within us a striving and “bitter heart” that leads to an “unholy desire” to diminish their value and worth as a called individual of God.  An individual who like us my friend has been made in His Very Image!  Though we may not recognize it, at the core of this heart action is an attempt to, “Silence God.”

How do we Silence God?

By suppressing and discrediting the gifts and callings that He has placed on another individual’s life.  This is how God loses The Strength of His Voice to the world as we attempt to Silence Him, His Movement and His Purpose through the voice and ministry of another Brother and Sister in Christ.  A voice and ministry that God Himself planned, established and set in place in order to Advance His Kingdom.  My friend, attempting to “Silence God” disrupts the Peace and Perfect Unity that, “Oneness” that Jesus prayed for you and me to have.

How does this happen?

The same way it happened to lucifer, in Isaiah 14:13-14 (AMP);

“And you said in your heart, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit upon the mount of assembly in the uttermost North.”  “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like The Most High.”

Like lucifer, if we are driven by a striving “unholy competitiveness,” “We will say in our heart, I will exalt my life above the plans and purposes of God; I will sit in God’s place and judge the callings of my brothers and sisters in Christ because, “It doesn’t matter, I won!”  ALL they have is MINE!  I will ascend above everyone that I know, there is no one greater than me, I will make myself like The Most High.”

The pride of lucifer’s heart gave birth to a destructive “unholy competitiveness” against God.  This rebellion poisoned the hearts of a third of the angels, dooming them forever to the eternal lake of fire, as they were cast from The Presence of God!  Let us not make the same mistake my friend running our life’s journey with a carnal, destructive “unholy competitiveness” that attempts to silence God while leading others astray, thus breaking fellowship with The Lord.

Before we run one more step, let’s ask ourselves the following questions:

1. Like the young boy in the crosswalk, Am I racing in an “imaginary race.”

2. Who am I racing against?  Why?

3. Have I participated in advancing the Kingdom of God by cultivating, promoting and releasing the gifts, talents, and callings of others without guile?

4. How can I better walk in, “the ministry of reconciliation” with my brothers and sisters in Christ?

Our God-given influence is greater than we think my friend!  The Lord is adamant that we protect the “Oneness” that “Holy Unity” that will show all men that we are Passionately loved by Him.  This is how we strengthen the Body of Christ and Advance His Kingdom.

My friend, if you are ready to join me in protecting the “Oneness.” that “Perfect Unity,” that Jesus prayed for us to have as we relinquish any “unholy competitiveness” from our life, then I invite you to make this declaration in the following prayer of repentance and reconciliation.

Please pray out loud with me: 

“Father God search my heart.  Any seed of “unholy competitiveness” that would cause a “bitter root” to grow within me and poison the hearts of others I repent of now to You.  Through the Shed Blood of Jesus Christ, I call it uprooted in Jesus Name!

I say and decree that every word and action of “unholy authority” that I have spoken or acted upon that has undermined, hurt and hindered the calling and progress of my brother or sister in Christ, I repent and ask you, Lord, to reverse that damage over every area of their life in Jesus Name!

Father God remove any curse that I have spoken over my life, and the lives of others.  Lord, any person that I have poisoned by spreading gossip, hurt or bitterness, would you please bring them to my heart, and show me how to address those words and actions for the sake of their restoration.  I repent of this sin!  Lord, I now decree Blessing over their life.

Thank You Father God for Your Divine Cleansing and Healing of my spirit, soul and body in The Name Of Jesus!  Lord, with Great Joy and Expectation, I receive The Complete and Manifest Victory for all of these areas that I have repented for and requested of You.  Father God, as a Cleansed Vessel I am now ready to report for active duty for my Kingdom Assignment.  To God Be The Glory!  Amen and Amen!

With The Holy Spirit Wind Beneath Our Wings we can now run as God taught us to run in 1st Corinthians 13:13 (TPT);

“Until then, there are three things that remain; faith, hope, and love yet love surpasses them all.  So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.”

This, my friend, is how you and I Run Strong and Free in Perfect Unity……..Boldly For Him!

 

© 2019 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Photo: Ben White

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Where is the Love?

His t-shirt read, “Love is for Losers.”  In the few short seconds that it took for me to open the car door and get in, he walked by a cigarette in hand wearing body piercings that demanded attention.  As I drove away I started praying for this young man, wondering what events shaped his life to the point of disfiguring his body?  You see, long before the message was written on his t-shirt, it was written on his heart.  It was obvious to see that this young man had been deeply wounded by, “looking for love in all the wrong places.”

“Looking for Love in all the wrong places” is not just a lyric line from a popular song written by Johnny Lee; it is also a “poison arrow” of destruction shot by a deadly Cupid. My friend the enemy of our soul is constantly looking for ways to lead you and me into places of self-deception and self-destruction as we go, “Looking for Love in all the wrong places!”

Just ask Samson, Judges 16:4-7 (AMP) gives us insight into this tragic one-sided love story;

“After this, he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.”  “And the lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, “Entice” him and see in what his great strength lies and by what means we may “Overpower” him that we may “Bind” him to “Subdue” him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”  “And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray you, wherein your great strength lies, and with what you might be bound to subdue you.”

The four-prong strategy that the enemy used to take Samson out and ultimately destroy him is revealed within the above scriptures, they were to, “Entice, Overpower, Bind, and Subdue” him.  God wants us, my friend, to not only become aware of this strategy, But He also wants us to be on guard against the enemy using these same “poison arrows” of destruction against us!  To accurately recognize and identify the enemy’s tactics, I have written out for our knowledge the definition for each of these poison arrows of destruction.

Entice = To attract artfully or adroitly or by arousing hope or desire.
implies the presenting of an attraction so strong that it overcomes the restraints of
conscience or better judgment.

Overpower = To overcome by superior force.  To affect with overwhelming intensity.

Bind = To make secure by tying.  To confine, restrain, or restrict as if with bonds.
To constrain with legal authority.
To wrap around with something to enclose or cover.

Subdue = To conquer and bring into subjection : Vanquish.
To bring under control especially by an exertion of the will:  Curb.
To bring (land) under cultivation.
To reduce the intensity or degree of Tone Down.

How long do you think it took for these “poison arrows” to pierce the sight of Samson’s eyes, both Spiritually then naturally?

Though we don’t know the exact number of days, we are given a glimpse as we read Judges 16:16 (AMP);

“And when she pressed him day after day with her words and urged him,  he was vexed to death.”  

In this true story of fatal lust, Delilah is a young woman who is being used by the enemy to carry out an evil plan.  Like the constant drip of a leaky faucet, Delilah erodes at Samson’s resolve to guard, “The Source” of his God-given strength.  This strength was the key to Samson’s identity as a Nazirite, a called Deliverer and Judge in The Kingdom of Heaven.

The seduction unfolds in Judges 16:17 (AMP);

“Then he told her all his mind and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my birth. If I am shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”  (ENTICED).

Who or what may be a Delilah in your life my friend?  What valuable information have you been enticed to give up?

Remember my friend the ultimate goal of the enemy is to stop you and me.  To blind our spiritual sight so that he can subdue our God-given calling.  It is so important that you and I recognize that our God-given calling is also our spiritual Identity in The Kingdom of Heaven, and the key to our assignment here on earth.  We must remember that like Samson we have been called to be “Deliverers” for The Kingdom of God. Modern-day Deliverers of Healing, Hope, Peace, Joy, Wisdom, Strength, and most importantly, Modern Day Deliverers of the Salvation Message of Jesus Christ; as we have been Saved, Delivered and Healed!

Never allow the “Enticements” of this world cause you to uncover, “The Source” of your God-given strength.

With the seduction of Samson’s life and calling now complete, we read about this deeply sad moment of Biblical History in Judges 16:19-20 (AMP);

“And she made Samson sleep upon her knees, and she called a man and caused him to shave off the seven braids of his head.  Then she began to torment [Samson], and his strength went from him.”  “She said, The Philistines are upon you, Samson!  And he awoke out of his sleep and said, I will go out as I have time after time and shake myself free.  Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him.”  (OVERPOWERED).

Don’t fall asleep upon the knees of the enemy and don’t toy with your weakness.  Notice that Samson said, “I will go out as I have time after time and shake myself free.”  As the scriptures record throughout Judges chapters 14-16, Samson had repeatedly given in to his desire for ungodly women and did not deny himself.  He was deceived into thinking that there were no repercussions for his insatiable and unholy appetite.  Samson insisted on living a lifestyle of, “Looking for Love in all the wrong places”, and it cost him everything!

Judges 16:21 (AMP) records the painful repercussion of Samson’s sin against God;

“But the Philistines laid hold of him, bored out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with [two] bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in prison.”  (BOUND) and (SUBDUED).

Where have you been looking for love my friend?  Has a “Delilah” laid hold of you, deprived you of your “Spiritual Sight” and subdued your life?  Can you still “see and seize” your God-given assignment?

Samson went from a Supernaturally Promised Child, God Appointed Judge and Deliverer of Israel, to a depleted sightless prisoner.  His life is an example of a powerful man of God who became reckless with his Anointing.

Judges 16:28 (AMP) reveals the state of Samson’s heart at the time of his death;

“Then Samson called to the Lord and said, O Lord God, [earnestly] remember me, I pray You, and strengthen me.  I pray You, only this once, O God, and let me have one vengeance upon the Philistines for both my eyes.”

Judges 16:30 (AMP) gives us the dramatic account of Samson’s final feat of supernatural God-given strength;

“And Samson cried, Let me die with the Philistines!  And he bowed himself mightily, and the house fell upon the princes and upon all the people that were in it.  So the dead whom he slew at his death were more than they whom he slew in his life.”

You and I don’t have to “die with the Philistines”, (our enemies) my friend!  We can choose to resist the Delilah’s that tempt us, repent for our sins and receive restoration for our losses.

James 4:7-8 (TPT) provides the “Way of Escape” for us;

“So then, surrender to God.  Stand up to the devil and resist him and he will turn and run away from you.”  “Move your heart closer and closer to God, and he will come even closer to you.”  “But make sure you cleanse your life, you sinners, and keep your heart pure and stop doubting.”  “Feel the pain of your sin, be sorrowful and weep”!  “Let your joking around be turned into mourning and your joy into deep humiliation.”  “Be willing to be made low before the Lord and He will exalt you!”

You can escape Mighty Deliverer friend!  Seize your Strength in God, as you choose to, Be Strong and Live Free……Boldly For Him!

 

© 2019 Clare Matthews – Boldly For Him. “All Rights Reserved.”

Photo by Aziz Acharki