Good morning God. Thank You for this day! Thank You for all of the blessings you continuously pour out on my family, friends, co-workers, and me. Thank You for the hedge of protection that You have placed around each and every one of us. Thank You for Your presence in our lives, Lord Jesus. Thank You for making me aware of Your presence in my life. Each time I look back over my life I can see that You were always present, You never left me. There is nowhere I could go to escape Your presence. You revealed this truth to David and it was written “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” Psalm 139:8 ESV. Thank You, Jesus, for this truth being revealed to me. Thank You for showing me that the more I give up to You from this world and the desires of my flesh, the more I gain from You in my spirit. “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24 ESV. Lord Jesus, I ask that my desire is to do Your will. Lord Jesus, I ask that in everything I do, and in anything that feels like a trial that You will give me the strength I need to pray like You prayed to Your Father, “Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’” Matthew 26:42 ESV. Thank You, Jesus! Praise You, Lord! Bless You, Lord Jesus! I ask all these things in Jesus’ mighty, holy, and precious Name, Amen.
“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” -Attributed to Albert Einstein. Whether Albert Einstein actually said this or not, it appears that he said something similar to this, but maybe not as philosophical? As I read, and re-read this quote several times over this last week, I’ve thought about it, meditated on it, and I’ve watched many videos that confirm this thought. I can only speak for myself, you may choose to think whether the following is also true for you. I had been “brainwashed” from a very early age by society. My family didn’t know they were “programming” me because to do so would have required them to know and be conscious of the fact that they had been “programmed” in a similar manner. My parents tried and I am thankful for all they did for me. My parents brought my brothers and me up in church and we went to church regularly for as long as I can remember. My parents sacrificed financially to send me to a Christian school. The different churches I attended growing up and the Christian school I attended planted seeds in my life, but I would not realize the fruits that were to come from these seeds until much later in my life. My parents did their best to shield my brothers and me from what most would call the “real” world for as long as they could. While I was given good seeds that were in the process of producing roots and I was acquiring some of the tools and spiritual weapons that I would need along the way, I had very little understanding of what to do with the knowledge I was gaining and the tools and spiritual weapons I was receiving. I might have heard that there was a spiritual war, but did I have any idea what that really meant? And today, as I type this, while I may have a better understanding of the spiritual war taking place, do I fully understand it yet? I believe the spiritual war we are in started with and continues with a single word “desensitization,” if the enemy can desensitize us to conform to this world it may add to the illusion that he is winning the war. I believe one of the greatest weapons of the enemy at this time is the media. In my experience, it is very rare to receive news from the mainstream media that provides anything beyond doubt, fear, and worry. Also, from what I’ve seen, Hollywood generally does a pretty fantastic job of desensitizing us to the evil of this world. Even though I was learning about God, I was still very much living in and of this world. My weekly diet up until a couple of years ago was a massive consumption of fleshly desires and maybe 1%, if I was being generous, consisted of spiritual desires. The use of the term spiritual desires would probably be giving me more credit than I’m due. If I’m honest with myself, I don’t think that I even understood that I had spiritual desires, I was going through the motions, more than anything. If we continue to allow ourselves to be programmed by the world and continue to indulge in the desires of our flesh, we will remain enslaved in the world system. I believe that it is only once we’ve met Jesus and understand who He is and what He has done for us, that we can understand better why we are called to live in this world, but not of it. I believe that Jesus wants us to know the truth, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 ESV. Does knowing the truth change anything in our physical world? Maybe, but I believe that knowing the truth changes our perception of our reality and shows us that our freedom is in Christ Jesus. I believe Jesus showed us who we are and what we are capable of if we follow Him. The question today then, is reality an illusion? I believe that our reality is formed by what we have been taught is real and our life experiences that have reinforced our idea of reality. If reality is an illusion, can we change our reality? I believe that I have changed my reality by changing what it is that I think about. I’ve changed what it is that I think about by first realizing what it is that I’m thinking about rather than having no control over my thoughts and letting my thoughts run wild. Next, I changed my diet to make sure that I feed my spiritual desires more than the desires of my flesh, which has increased the desires of my spirit. I needed to change my diet because I wasn’t strong enough to feed my spirit truth while mainly consuming the things of this world, maybe you won’t need to change your diet. Maybe you are stronger than me, I don’t know you, but I’m getting to know me and I can only share with you what I’ve needed to do. The things that I have had to change along my journey to continue to build my relationship with Jesus and help others realize the freedom that Jesus desires for us. I hope and pray that if you’ve made it this far and still do not know who Jesus is or what He has done for you, I pray that you will encounter Jesus of Nazareth and that He will change your reality, as He has and continues to change mine. -A humble warrior in God’s army
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:5-6 ESV
Our Father, who art in Heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen. -The Lord’s prayer
Destroying the kingdom of satan with the Holy Spirit 