Trends

I am noticing a trend these days.    Many dear people who have gone on holidays  have come back under attack instead of refreshed.  This should not be so!

I wouldn't have put it together if it hadn't been happening so consistently.   People getting hurt, accidents,  disappointments coming back, weariness about the work load, frustration that things aren't changing fast enough...  it's been a real onslaught!

So.... better late than never let's claim God's promises for our friends and families.

Thank you Lord that our friends and families get refreshed when they go on holidays.  Let them come back pumped up with the good things You want to do at church.  Lord, help us all to remember the good things that are happening at our churches and not the things that irritate us. Ignite passion in our hearts for all you want to do.  Help us to keep our hearts clean and to extend mercy, grace and forgiveness to others.   Help us to communicate effectively and give us wisdom about what to do and how much to do.  Thank you Lord that because we love your word, nothing can cause us to stumble or take offense.  Thank You Lord for healing every person that has been hurt in any way.   Help us Lord to not become weary in our outreach because we know this is Your work and your kingdom. Amen!

On the good side 6 un-churched people asked Jesus into their hearts in the last few weeks and many have been healed of all kinds of back problems and arthritis. 
 
Bless you!
Brenda Gale Thompson

p.s.   Let's claim refreshing because, "He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed!" (ref. Prov. 11:25)

Psalm 149 Updated

Hi there.   I got a warning last week about binding and loosing spirits and how we should be very careful about what we bind and loose.  I agree.  We need Holy Spirit's guidance. However, when you have gone after the spirit and it just keeps coming back... we might want to look deeper and make sure that there are not legal rights that the spirit has, that allow it to come back to harass, torment or afflict you. 

You want to:
1. Ask the Lord to forgive you and your family members for any ungodly thoughts, words and actions.

2. Forgive them and yourself. "Lord I forgive myself and all my family members and I know you do too."

3. "Father, in Jesus' name I break all curses and the effects of all curses that have come upon my family and myself."

4. "I ask Holy Spirit to fill us radically and to bless them and myself physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, and relationally."


5. "I command every evil spirit that has been harassing my family to be bound, gagged and muzzled now in Jesus' name.  I ask the Lord to send angels to take these evil spirits to dry places to be dealt with by Jesus."

So you've done all this and the attack abates for a bit then starts up again.  Don't lose heart! 
Plan B is... we know that if you want to stop a war you take out the opposing general.  Without a commander the soldiers will give up quickly.  So there is a newer stream of Christian thought that teaches about binding the wicked kings to win the fight.

I guess my caution is to make sure that the repentance and forgiveness has been done first before you start binding up wicked ruling spirits.

Here's an interesting video by James Goll on the subject of binding wicked kings with a good preface.
http://www.enmedia.org/VideoMessages/tabid/230/VideoId/114/Default.aspx


If you can determine to praise the Lord at all times then you will be just fine.
Here is a link to a song I wrote about Psalm 149.  You will like it, and it will help you memorize this psalm.
http://greatcommissionhow2s.blogspot.com/2010/12/psalm-149.html
  
This teaching is not complete by far.  As I get more revelation and teaching that works in the trenches, I will post and apprise you.  I want you walking in great, great victory.  I want the witches and warlocks to get really nervous when you walk into a Walmart or grocery store.  After all, we are here to enforce his victory and 'make all his enemies his footstool' (ref. Heb. 10:13)  Those precious people probably haven't seen a strong Christian... yet!

I declare you are blessed and highly favored by  the greatest king of all, Jesus!
Big hugs,
Brenda Gale Thompson

Forgiveness is...

A wise man said, "Forgiveness is not saying that what they did is okay or somehow tolerable."  You know how we somehow think that we are the weaker if we ask for forgiveness first.  This is a wrong assumption.  When you ask for forgiveness first or try to make the first move it means that you value the relationship more than the other person.

Somehow, we think that offering forgiveness is accepting what the person did. That's wrong too.

Forgiveness is deciding to turn it over to a higher court.  It's giving the hurt, the situation to the true judge.  "He said vengeance is mine, I will repay." (ref. Heb. 10:30)

This might seem powerless at first but trust me, I have seen the hurt that unforgiveness has caused people.  In Mathew 18 we read about the unjust servant who would not extend forgiveness to someone who owed him a little bit of money and yet he had been forgiven a lifetime's earnings.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”  (Mat. 18:32-35)


We can see how important it is for us to walk in forgiveness by Jesus' response to the servant.  He got handed over to the jailers to be tortured.  Hopefully, he woke up and remembered the power of the blood of Jesus and repented!  This is serious stuff!  As a ministry worker,  most of the time we have to deal with unforgiveness when we pray for people.  It's the number one reason why Christians don't receive healing.

That's something to think about.  How long do you want to have those headaches or arthritis for?  How long do you want to suffer with fibro mialgia?     Let the wake up bells ring loud and clear and let's make haste to forgive all the people we think we have a right to hold offense against.

That's the fastest way to walk in divine healing.   Let's say it together, "Father, please forgive them.  They know not what they do."

Thank You Lord that it's only by your grace and mercy that I am not doing ten times worse things than what they've done.
Thank You Lord that your love is poured out into our hearts by Holy Spirit.

Thank You Lord for the mercy and grace you have shown me in us in our lives.  Thank You Lord that your love never fails.  Thank you Lord that we choose to bless all the people that have hurt us.  Don't let the devil win in anybody's life!  Let us be your vessels of love and mercy to a hurting world, in Jesus' name we ask. Amen!

Now you're on the right track.  We walk by faith and not by feelings.  If you keep speaking the truth long enough eventually your feelings will change and line up with the Kingdom of God.  That's reason to shout!  Hallelujah!

Bless you real good!
Brenda Gale Thompson

p.s. Please share is you like this article

Beating Bitterness

I have experienced the impact of bitterness in my life and to tell you the truth -- I hate it. Bitterness is the result of a deep seated anger towards someone over something done in the past that has not been forgiven.
It is very dangerous.

The Bible warns us to be careful so that a root of bitterness doesn't spring up defiling many (ref: Hebrews 12:15) You see, bitterness doesn't just affect you, it affects everyone you come into contact with and taints all your conversation and actions. That should be warning enough to forgive yet so many people struggle to forgive.

You know what I mean. How many times has someone wronged you, or taken advantage of you and you think, I've forgiven them so many times! Lord how much do I have to take???

Then I remember an old song about 70 x 7. It is all about how many times Jesus said we should forgive someone in one day. (Matthew 18:22) The hard part for me is trying to tell if they have repented. We must give them the benefit of the doubt and forgive.

Hard to do, I know. You know how the world says, do it to me once, shame on you. Do it to me twice, shame on me -- for letting you do it to me. So what do you do when the person has done it to you five times? Even 20 times? Forgive so you might be sons/daughters of the Most High God.

I remember telling the Lord once, "I can't trust this person," as if that would be excuse enough to not forgive.

You know what Holy Spirit told me? He said, "You can trust me." That shut down that line of defense.

So we must trust Holy Spirit to look after us and believe the promise that all things will work together for our good, to those who love and serve the Lord." (Rom. 8:28)

I think that a lack of forgiveness, which leads to bitterness, is because we don't really trust that God can and will turn the situation around for us. If we really trusted that God could and would turn it around for us, so that we would eventually win, it would make forgiving a lot easier.

Well God's turned around other situations for me so that I come out smelling like roses, so since God can't lie and He doesn't change, I know He will do what His word says. (Titus 1:2, Malachi 3:6)

Time to go bless some people that have hurt me. Let's say this out loud, "Lord, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing. Bless them, help them come to the light of Your love. I release anyone that I might have anything against, in Jesus name. Now I'm going to watch you work Lord and You show me how you are going to turn this into a blessing for me. Amen!"

Gift After Gift

I was reading the Gospel of John a couple of weeks ago and it keeps coming back to my remembrance. It goes, "We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift. We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding-- all this came through Jesus, the Messiah." John 1:16-17

I want to write a song about this. Imagine, we live off of His generous bounty! I never thought of life like that. I took so much for granted when it was all a gift. Oh the love of God, that we should be called the Sons of God! Such amazing love -- the Message translation brings it out in a whole, new way.

I love the next verse where it talks about endless knowing and understanding. I was a child who got told to be quiet because I asked too many questions. In Heaven we will never be told to shut up and we can keep learning forever. That really appeals to me.

I remember the time I just cried out to the Lord, "I want to sit and watch you run the whole show!" Oh, that blessed me so much! He wants to show us how to do the stuff. Amazing! I wouldn't be bothered with the likes of me some days!

I remember a time when I messed up really big and I thought, "Oh no, there's no way I'll ever fulfill my destiny after this screw up." After wallowing around in self pity for a while, I started to worship and I felt Holy Spirit drop into my heart, "My love and plans go on forever."

I was so thrilled! It doesn't matter how badly we mess up, God always has a back up plan.

I don't understand why my Dad was taken away from me suddenly, without warning and I don't understand why I missed a great full-time job because of the funeral; but I know that He who called me is faithful and He will complete that which He has started in me.

I know He's trustworthy... I know He's worthy of all my trust-- even when I don't understand it with my limited perspective. He'll give me beauty for ashes and somehow He'll turn it to good.

I do know I had a great dad for 48 years and many people I didn't know told me what a gift he was to their lives too.

Ultimately, "I Thank You Lord for so many gifts in my life. Open my eyes to see the gifts you have given me and help me to appreciate them every day, in new ways.
Amen."