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Author: Hope

Come To The Altar

Come To The Altar

This post is for those that have been waiting for such a long time for desires to be fulfilled.

Genesis 22:1-12 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

God gave a promise to Abraham that he would give him a son, but Abraham and Sarah had to wait 25 years for the son that they had longed for to be born. Then came a time where God asked Abraham to sacrifice this only beloved son.

I don’t know about you, but man, can you imagine actually sacrificing someone or something that is so dear to you?

Let me tell you what I have experienced concerning this in my life.

I had to fight through many issues in my life concerning self-worth and rejection. The biggest longing in my heart was to marry someone that would love me for me and would stay with me through thick and thin. Like many of us, I had my fair share of dissappointment in men and I was just tired of looking for someone.

I made a deal with the Lord where I told to Him I am done looking for someone and that I give it over to Him to choose my person because I obviously don’t know what I am doing and I don’t know what is good for me. I gave Him permission to pick my husband. I did write a little list with the things I would like in my husbands appearance, but I left his character up to God.

Two years went by and I only focussed on my relationship with God – I stopped looking for someone, I just carried on with my life. Long story short, I went to a new church one Sunday when I saw a guy walking up and down the aisle. I will never forget the evil pride that manifested in me and I had a thought pop up in my mind that I could never love a man like that. Hahaha, really!

As time passed by I got to talk and spend time with this man. We were in the youth group together and we spent time with one another at home church every Wednesday night. I started developing feelings for him. He was not like anyone I would’ve usually been attracted to, but oh man, he was exactly the right person for me. Everytime we were together, he would speak the things that were in my heart. God really started touching my hardened heart. I was 17 at that time and, he was 19.

After a year of dating God asked me to place him on the altar. The same way Abraham had to sacrifice Isaac, his only, beloved son. I was scared because it meant that I had to give over that which I had longed for for so many years and that which was very dear to me. I did wrestle with the Lord about this, but I gave my boyfriend back to God and I allowed God to interfere and remove him from my life if we were not meant to be. I chose to trust the Lord with this because I had asked Him to help me after all.

My boyfriend was not removed from my life, Praise Jesus. We got married after 3 years of dating.

After our first child was born, I found my self-worth issues surfacing badly and I struggled to keep my head up. At that time, I would hide behind my husband. I would not speak to people, he would, I would not start a conversation, he would. He was my hero, my rock, my protector etc. Then God came again with the request: “Will you lay him down on the altar?” Again? The blood drained out of me and fear took hold of my heart. Why? I need my husband, he is helping me and keeping me safe – I can’t lose him so why would God ask me this?

This time, I wrestled hard and long with the Lord, but because I loved the Lord, I placed my husband on the altar. I must add, it was done with fear and trembling.

God taught me why He asked me to place my husband on the altar. First of all, he was exactly what I needed in my life, but he became an idol to me. I had placed expectations on him to save me and help me get through my emotional pain. That was unfair towards my husband because it is not his place. I would’ve destroyed my husband by putting these high expectations on him and not allowing the Lord to heal me. I was placing my husband before the Lord. God was testing my heart, just like he did with Abraham. He was testing me to see if I can trust Him with my pain. To see if I would choose Him above my husband, so that He could be first in my life.

My husband and I have been married for 23 years now and we love each other more and more daily. We understand that we are not each others saviours and we don’t place these expectations on one another. When we have emotional pain, we talk about it, but we take it to Jesus and we only allow Him to heal it.

One other altar moment in my life was when our daughter went through a really rough time when she turned 12. For about 3 years she was in a bad spot. It was in that time that I realised that I couldn’t do anything for her, I couldn’t save her. I, in fact, made it worse by trying to save her; by controlling her and situations around her.

Then I had that moment again; the Lord tugged at my heart, and told me that it is safer for her and myself to allow Him to interfere. I had been trying to fix and help her, but in the process, I had been busy making a bigger mess.

I took a little pebble from my garden and I said to the Lord that this is my daughter and I give her back to Him. This wasn’t easy for my mommy’s heart. I had to back off, completely. Step back and allow God to touch her. All I had to do was to stop trying to fix her or trying to reprimand her and to love her unconditionally instead; even if she was behaving badly. The rest was in God’s hands.

Our amazing Abba Father has truly done what He is so good at – He touched her. Things in her just started changing and our relationship started changing as well.

She is such an amazing young lady with such a compassionate, gentle heart. Man, our Abba is good. He just needed me out of the way. He needed me to trust Him with her.

Beloved, the altar is your safe place. It is a dreadfully scary place, because it requires you to lay down all those very important things, those very desired things and those very longed for and awaited things. Give it over to the Lord and allow Him to release or remove it from you.

Let’s look at that scripture again. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ So he said, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

Abraham had to sacrifice Isaac, he had to trust God that He knew best and that God will let it all work out. He obeyed God and He held unto God’s promise that He will make Isaac a great nation. He was willing to offer Isaac up to the Lord because he believed God could be trusted with his and Isaac’s life.

My moments at the altar were the times where my heart was tested severely, where I had to choose God’s way above my way, where I allowed Him to have His perfect will in my life because He knows exactly what I need. Not my will, but His will be done.

There were and still are many altar moments in my life; I have learnt to embrace the altar. Every situation is different and I can’t say it gets easier, but what I know for sure is that this is where I am kept safe. Never has the Lord let me down! Everything has always worked out the way it should have.

Psalm 37:5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Micah 7:7   But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Beloved, the things that we want or desire can so easily become an idol and all we see is that very thing infront of us and we lose sight of our Lord. This is when we especially need to go to the altar and start sacrificing these things so that God can intervene in our affairs.

Will you take the risk to lay down those desires you carry, the things that you so dearly love and those things you so dearly want to change? Will you allow Abba Father to take charge and intervene in your life? If it is a husband, a wife, a baby, a rebellious child or a position. Whatever it is. I invite you to lay it down. He will bless you for choosing Him first. Faith pleases God.

I invite you to come to the altar so that Abba can release to you exactly that which He knows you need.

Let us pray: Father, I confess that I am scared of the altar. I have set my heart so much on ………………………………………… (insert applicable things that you desire). I know that my eyes have been on this for a long time and that it has become an idol to me. This is all I can think off, my mind is bombarded with thoughts on this. I repent and ask forgiveness for loosing sight of You and only having this in mind. Father, I am scared of being dissappointed. I am scared of loss and I ask forgiveness, I know that it means that I don’t trust You, I repent. Jesus, I choose You. I have been waiting, I have been trying by myself to make things work out, but it doesn’t work and I can’t change anything. Will you please intervene? I choose to place …………………………………………. on the altar, I choose to allow you to take over in the name of Jesus Christ. I trust that You know best for me and that You will let Your will be done, in Jesus name I pray. Amen and amen.

NOW WE WAIT ON THE LORD!!!

The War Within

The War Within

Let us take a look at the war between our spirit and our soul. The war within ourselves.

First of all let me give you a quick tour on how we are put together. We have a spirit (this is Not Holy Spirit), a soul and a body.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

BODY – Our body is that which we can see in a mirror.

SOUL – Is our mind, will and emotions. This is the place that needs deliverance. This is where the strongholds of the enemy are built. The war rages in our minds.

Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

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Therefore, our body and soul are areas that we are in touch with. This is called our flesh.

SPIRIT – We can’t see our spirit.

John 3:6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

Our spirit cannot be accessed in any natural way. God communicates with our spirit. The spirit is the place where all of the life and power of God flows through. The only way to discern spiritual truth is through the Word of God. The Word of God is the mirror to show you what your spirit is like. You cannot go by your body or soul (will, mind and emotions) to know what your spirit is like.

We constantly have this battle going on between our spirit and soul (the flesh). Holy Spirit ministers to, or guides our spirit in truth and life. Therefore our spirit wants to do that which is from God, but our soul (which carries the lies of the enemy) wars against our spirit and tries to take the wheel.

Galations 5:16-17 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another…

Here we can see the problem. Our spirit (which is influenced by Holy Spirit) and flesh (body and soul) are constantly at war with one another.

The soul responds to outward things (that which we literally see and experience) like people’s words, their behaviour towards us, violence, pain, trauma etc. We tend to get caught up in all the negativity that surrounds us and we become, hopeless, fearful, angry, sad and the list goes on and on.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

We take captive every thought (soul) that is in contradiction with the word of God. The times when our thoughts are packed with negativity and evil desires, this is when we need to resist and choose to live by the spirit (which carries Holy Spirit’s influence).

Our spirit (this is not Holy Spirit, it is your spirit), carries that which is of God, that which the word of God speaks of. That which looks completely different than what the world looks like through our souls eyes.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.

Our spirit hooks into that which is lifegiving, as this scripture above reads.

The problem is that our spirit is often overridden by our soul. Our soul overrides our spirit and we end up in a lot of misery and dissappointment because we live by what is seen through the souls eyes and not by what is unseen, which is looking through the spirit’s eyes. Our soul responds to the bad and ugly. We have to get to a place where we live by the spirit and not by the soul. It is going to require us to make a decision and to engage our will to follow it through in everything we do: to behave and respond to things in the way that word of God directs us to: To live our lives according to the word of the Lord and not according to our selfish, rebellious nature. For example, it is easy to get angry and respond in an unneccessary manner (this is when we operate through our soul dictating to us), but it is much more difficult to choose to be a peacemaker as the word of God directs (which is our spirit). We chose to follow Jesus and we love Him, therefore we want to do things His way. We cannot live double lives where we do a bit of evil and a bit of good. We don’t love Jesus half-half, we love Him completely!

This is how we war against ourselves, to force into submission that which our soul is dictating to us (that which is in contradiction to God’s word) by reverting to the word of God. Don’t agree with the negative report of the devil, immediately respond in positivity and that which God’s word says. If you don’t know what the word says about a situation you face, find all scriptures you can on that topic and start proclaiming it over your situation. Our souls receive many negative messages from the enemy and we often come into agreement with the devil. This is when we have to violently come against death that wants to creep in by proclaiming God’s word and feeding ourselves with life, so that our spirit can rise up and take charge over our soul.

Therefore we have to start getting fit in the spirit by getting to know God’s word better so that life can flow through us.

Let’s summarize:

Our spirit that carries the very essence of God, is supposed to override that which the soul dictates to us; that which is negative and evil. We have to allow our spirit to immediately override our soul when negativity comes. Instead of being bitter, we choose to forgive and we choose to love. That is how God’s word directs us. The soul is packed with lies of the devil and the soul needs deliverance, by the washing of the word. A brainwashing or reprogramming with that which is life, the word (Bible) of the Lord. The way to get to that place is to will the soul into submission to the spirit. I always say, ‘I have to push against myself”. This is exactly what is needed. It is not a once off thing. It is daily choosing to bend our soul into submission to that which is life and not death. That which is Holy and acceptable to God. That which is true!

This is how we die to self! Die to wanting to swear when we are angry, die to running to alcohol when there is too much pain, die to shouting at your children when you are under pressure, die to stubborness, rebellion and wanting to do things my way etc.

Beloved, choose today to die to self! Die to what your soul’s selfish desires are whispering to you. Let’s allow only life to flow from and through us.

Let’s pray – Father, my soul is too much in the way, I have allowed the enemy to use my soul to dictate to me. I ask forgiveness for not spending time in Your word and pondering on that which is lifegiving. Forgive me for entertaining that which is negative and miserable and agreeing with it. I want to be lifegiving to others and I want life to dwell within me. Forgive me for allowing death to dwell within me because I ponder on that which brings death. Please wash me with Your blood and cleanse me from death. I welcome You Holy Spirit, come in and breathe new life into my being and please help me to catch myself when I come in agreement with the enemy of my soul. I choose to feed my spirit with that which is Christ. Help me to make my spirit so strong in the word of God so that when trouble comes I will be able to resist and stand against the enemy. In Jesus name I pray. Amen and amen.

I Am Who You Say I Am

I Am Who You Say I Am

Mmmmm, something to ponder on! I am who God says I am. Does that ring true to you?

Today, I would like for us to really ponder on this. Who does God say I am? Who do I think or believe I am? Is it in contradiction with God’s word or is it in line with what God’s word says? If it is in contradiction with His word then it means I am believing a lie, isn’t it?

I want to share with you what God showed me many years ago. He spoke to me about Gideon. Judges 6:11 – Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon was beating wheat in the wine press [instead of the threshing floor] to [hide it and] save it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valour”.

Why would God say to Gideon he is a mighty man of valour? I mean, valour means to have great courage in the face of danger. Seriously, Gideon is hiding away, very scared, the Medianites are coming!

Here is what was really going on there. The Lord spoke to Gideon and called him, “mighty man of valour.” Why? Well, this is what God saw when He looked at Gideon – inside (his spirit) and not his outside condition. This is what God had deposited in Gideon’s spirit while He was knitting him together in His mother’s womb – to be strong and courageous; to be a man who has great courage in the face of danger! Gideon’s name actually means “he who cuts down”. Gideon just didn’t know it yet; he was not aware of what God had placed inside of him. He didn’t know that God created him to be the one to bring deliverance to the nation and wipe out idolatry.

God had to give him a bit of a nudge by using this title to address him, “might man of valour”. His spirit had to hear it and be reminded of it. Then, Gideon’s soul – his mind – got in the way. He was looking at the circumstances and at how scary the enemy looked and he was overcome by fear. Fear dictated to him that he would not be victorious and that which the Angel was telling him was a lie. Fear made a lot of noise. That is why he first asked for a sign; he was not sure that it was God speaking to him. Fear was still whispering in the back of his mind (keep in mind, in those days Holy Spirit wasn’t indwelling, Jesus hadn’t died yet).

22 When Gideon realized [without any doubt] that He was the Angel of the Lord, he declared, “Oh no, Lord God! For now I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face [and I am doomed]!” 23 The Lord said to him, “Peace to you, do not be afraid; you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and named it The Lord is Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah, of the Abiezrites.

It was after Gideon had “come to his senses”; realising that God is in his midst; and he has seen the God of peace, face to face; that he went and did what he was instructed to do. Gideon had an encounter with God. All of a sudden that which God had deposited in him kicked in, and he took up the call that God had placed over his life. Later in the chapter, in verse 34, it says, “that the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon” and he blew the trumpet and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. In another translation it says that “Holy Spirit wrapped himself around Gideon” and took charge over him. In the commentaries you will read that Holy Spirit clothed Gideon (like a glove over a hand) with zeal, strength and might. Exactly that which Gideon needed to accomplish his task – Holy Spirit power, not his own power.

If you have ever been scared of doing what God told you to do, remember Gideon and pray that Holy Spirit will wrap himself around you and take charge over you. Do we need to be scared when God has a specific task for us? Do we run away because we think He can’t use us? Maybe because we just don’t believe we’re wired for it. Gideon didn’t take up his calling because he didn’t think he was able; he did not look to the one who enables us.

So who does God say you are? First of all, we are called sons and daughters if we have given our hearts to Him. Do we believe it? Because if we don’t, we need a brainwashing, a reprogramming. It means that we have been bombarded with lies from the enemy and we believed them. Lies where the enemy used people (or ourselves) against us to make us feel unqualified, inadequate, weak, ugly, fat etc. We can not afford to entertain the deception and lies that the enemy throws our way through people or even our own thoughts. What does God say? People do not define us; you do not define yourself. God defines you. You are His workmanship, His Spirit enables you to execute His missions. You just need to be His hands and feet and be available for Him to use.

God has placed his scrolls in our spirits that carry His words and purposes for our lives. A blueprint from heaven with all the information we need to know who we are created to be and what we are supposed to do for His kingdom. Our war is always between our spirit and soul. The soul hooks into that which is seen; all the trouble; all the chaos and pain in the world; all the violence etc. We allow the soul to dictate that we are doomed and then fear takes over. Our spirit on the other hand carries the heart of heaven, our spirit knows where LIGHT is and it wants to follow, but the soul overrides our spirit because we allow it. We need to get the soul in submission to our spirit. This is done by packing ourselves with the word of God and conforming to it and not to the world’s view of things. We do not live by sight but by faith, which is of the kingdom of heaven.

Beloved, are you ready to pick up that which God has called you to be and to recieve from Him who He says you are? Are you willing to reject what fear is dictating to you and walk in Abba Father’s will for you?

Today I want to say to you son and daughter of the Most High God. ARISE SPIRIT OF VALOUR!!! Get up, Your king is waiting for you to take your place and to not be overcome by the enemy. The spirit of the overcomer (Holy Spirit) rests upon you and you have everything you need to be truimphant.

I want to bless your spirit with the word of the Lord for you –

Psalm 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

John1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Let us pray: Abba Father I bring to You all that I am and all that I am created to be. I repent for running away and laying down the calling and purpose for my life. I have allowed fear to dictate to me who I am. I ask forgiveness and I ask that you will cleanse me with Your blood. I choose today to pick up that which is mine, I pick up my call, I pick up my purpose and I pick up my birthright. I ask that you will cleanse it all with Your blood and pour fresh oil upon it. Holy Spirit please help me when fear wants to override my spirit. Help me to stand and not run away. I ask that You would wrap yourself around me and take charge over me so that I can overcome in Jesus name. Come Lord Jesus come, lead me in Your paths. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen and amen.