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When you burn sage around your house for the purpose of altering or cleansing the atmosphere, you're saying that you trust in this more than you trust in the name of Jesus Christ.
If you are a Christian, then you must know that you can plead the blood of Jesus Christ over your home and no demon, no evil spirit will enter.
But when you burn sage, you're saying, "I would rather use sage than trust in Jesus."
Dream catchers.
A dream catcher is an object that is deeply rooted in Native American culture.
Its purpose is to keep nightmares away from a sleeper and to allow only the good dreams to get to them.
Some even look at these objects as a symbol of spirituality and protection.
Commonly, dream catchers are placed above people's beds or in a window.
And really, people intend to use them under the assumption that they will manipulate the spirit world.
But when it comes to this, remember that the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians warns Christians living in an extremely pagan culture.
He warns them not to be ruled by superstition and magic all in the name of various idols.
1 Corinthians 8:verses 5-6 it even says for even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth as indeed there are many gods and many lords yet for us there is but one God the Father from whom all things came and for whom we live and there is but one Lord Jesus Christ through whom all things came and through whom we live.
When a person places objects like dreamcatchers in their home. They are giving consent to whatever spirit is attached to these objects to influence them.
In the end, you'll find that the devil is behind this kind of object which is supposedly meant to be a good thing.
The devil is a giver of false help.
A dream catcher will not chase away evil spirits or dreams.
Satan comes imitating as an angel of light.
So you need to be very aware of this occultic or demonic entertainment.
What types of movies are in your home?
What kinds of posters are up?
What kind of video games are your kids purchasing and playing?
What type of board games are in your garage?
Believe it or not, certain objects invite certain spirits.
Media providers are no longer shy about presenting content with ties to the demonic world.
Many entertainers now, young and old freely speak about their involvement in new age, in witchcraft, and in the occult.
So listen, if you have posters of certain movies that are linked to the supernatural, if you have memorabilia or merchandise from a show related to the occult, get rid of these things.
Remember, Satan is the great deceiver.
He is an expert at making the dangerous seem benign.
He loves to make dark things seem attractive.
He is a liar.
His intent is to deceive and destroy and lure you away from where God wants you to be.
Scripture calls believers to be sanctified, to be in the world but not of the world, to be set apart and not engaged in that which does not honour the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are other items too that you need to get rid of in the category of books.
This is any new age material, occultic material, books related to sorcery, magic, and supernatural manifestations.
All of these books need to be burned.
Here's an interesting story that you can find in the book of Acts, chapter 19.
The Apostle Paul is in Ephesus preaching the gospel boldly.
God's hand is on Paul, and he is able to perform powerful miracles.
These unusually powerful miracles included instances when handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people and they were healed of their diseases and evil spirits were expelled.
And so Paul was doing the work of God.
But a group of men saw this and they wanted to imitate this power.
They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation saying,"I command you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out."
These men who were actually sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva were doing something dangerous.
They were essentially playing in the spiritual realm without God's covering.
Now, one day, these seven sons went to cast out a demon.
However, the evil spirit replied to them and said, "I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you?"
Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
Now, after this happened, the story spread to all those living in Ephesus, and the people were all seized with fear.
But the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour.
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
A number who had practiced sorcery, that is the use of magic, they all brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire.
The point of this story is that when you come to Christ, all sinful practices must be burned away, especially those things related to the use of magic.
So it doesn't matter how much you enjoyed reading a book or what it taught you.
As a Christian, we ought to get rid of any books that are occultic in nature.
We ought to destroy any kind of spell books or incantation books.
And we need to get rid of manifestation books.
Statues
The final type of objects that l'd like to highlight to you are statues, sculptures, ornaments that are idolic in nature.
In a Christian home, we have to be very careful when decorating with statues and sculptures.
Some items represent gods from other religions.
Some items are part of rituals and sacrifices for the occult or witchcraft.
Some items are prayed over and a spirit is dedicated to them.
And you'll find that they will most certainly have a spirit attached to them.
Other items are replicas of objects that can be found in pagan temples.
All around the world, people create different atmospheres.
They invite a presence into their home through the objects and the activity that takes place.
And some people do this without realizing it.
But as children of God, what kind of atmosphere can we create if we begin to sincerely worship Jesus Christ?
What kind of atmosphere can we create if we begin to speak, to read, to hear, and play the word of God?
Proverbs 3:33 says, "The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the just."
God blesses the home of the just.
He blesses the home of the upright and righteous.
My heart's cry concerning my home is that Lord, the environment that I'm in the most, the place where l spend the most of my time, let it be filled with your presence. The place where l lay my head down to sleep, let it be filled with your presence, Jesus. If I am in the living room, let your presence be found there. If I'm in the kitchen, let your presence be found there. Wherever I go or even wherever I've been, let the spirit of God linger in that place and let the people who are in my home encounter you.
Now join with me in prayer and let's ask the Lord to open our eyes so that we can be discerning.
Let's pray for the power of the Holy Ghost to move so strongly in our lives and to destroy every evil altar that we've built in our hearts, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
Father God, we come to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
We come to you in prayer today seeking forgiveness.
Lord, we repent from our ways.
We repent from our old sinful habits and passions.
Father. in agreement with everyone reading / listening, I ask that you would move within our hearts and in our lives.
Lord, tear down every idolatrous image that we have kept in our eyes.
Cast out every passion, everything and everyone who seeks to be placed above you.
Lord, remove them from our lives.
Remove all idols that seek to challenge the position of Jesus Christ in our lives.
We declare that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and he reigns in our lives.
We declare that Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords and he rules in our lives.
Jesus Christ, he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
It's all about you, Lord Jesus.
It has always been about you. and it will forever be about you, my Lord.
Psalm 135:verses 15-18 say, "The idols of the nations are silver and gold made by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, nor is their breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
There is only you, Jehovah, Abba, Father, Elohim, the great l am.
All other idols, all other man-made gods, they're powerless.
They are dead and weak and useless.
Which is why our worship and adoration is to you, the most high God, the God who speaks truth, the God who is living and eternal, the one who holds all power and knows all things and is in all places at all times. A limitless and majestic God. To you and you alone be all glory and honor and praise. God, you're bigger and greater than anything on this earth. You alone are worthy of our attention. You deserve our affection and our devotion.
Dear God, open our eyes so that we can see what is evil in our hearts and remove it. Lord, open our eyes so that we can live according to your word and be obedient to your word that says in Exodus 20: verses 3-6, "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water, under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For l, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers, upon the children, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. "
Lord, help us to keep your commandments.
Help us. And Lord, please purge our hearts.
God, I ask that you would tear down every evil altar and destroy every carved image in our hearts.
God, give us eyes only for Jesus Christ.
Give us minds that are focused only on Jesus Christ.
And Lord, give us a strong desire to be followers and disciples of Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, your word tells me that out of the heart spring the issues of life.
Help me to have a heart that is devoted to you, Father.
A heart that is focused on living a life that pleases you.
Luke 12: verses 33 and 34 says, "Sell what you have and give alms. Provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail. Where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
May you be my heart's treasure, Lord.
May you be my heart's delight. Father, help me to love heavenly things instead of earthly possessions.
Hebrews 13:5 says, "Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Lord, give me a heart that's content, a heart that rejoices with all that you've blessed me with.
God, I know that I may not have all of the silver and gold that this world can offer, but I have you, Lord Jesus, and you're all that I need.
Father, your word in Matthew 15:8 says, "These people draw near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."
Lord, please don't let this be said of me.
I pray that I would never be someone who simply honours you with my lips, but my heart is elsewhere.
Father, help me to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
Change me from the inside out.
Lord, I glorify your name, Jesus.
I know that you are the soon coming King.
I bless your name, Lord, and I thank you for listening to this prayer.
In Jesus Christ's name l pray.
Amen.
I want to talk to you about a man who had everything. He had a beautiful family. He had a beautiful wife. He had wealth. And above all else, he was a man who feared God.
This man is Job. And we all know Job's story.
But today, l'd like to point out a few things you may not have considered regarding his story.
We can take so many lessons from Job.
We learned that no matter how good you are, how upright you are, no matter how prim and proper you are as a Christian, trouble can and wil come your way.
There's no denying that.
We all learn that when all appears to be lost, when the devil looks to have got your back against the wall, if you continue to have faith in God, then the battle is not over.
The story of Job also teaches us that God allows his children to face tough and challenging situations in order for him to be glorified in the end.
God shows us through Job that he can restore that which looks to have been lost.
He can anoint and bless you with a double portion.
All of these are important lessons for us to learn from, to understand, and to use as reference points when we encounter our own difficulties.
But I want to draw your attention to the devil.
I want you to learn about how the enemy fights against believers because when you can identify how the enemy attacked Job, you'll better be prepared to recognize an attack in your own life.
Now for you to understand the context of the situation between God, Job, and Satan, you have to know that the devil's theory was that no man serves God without personal material gain.
The devil was of the mind that if God didn't bless those that serve him, those people wouldn't serve.
In fact, the devil went as far as believing that if God didn't bless those that served him, those people would curse and hate God.
The Bible says in Job 1: verses 10 and 11, "Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has on every side?
You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face."
The devil believed that should God remove his hand from Job's hands, and if he were to lose his possessions, Job would then curse God to his face.
Now, we all know how the story goes.
God gave Satan permission to touch all that Job had except for his life.
And I want you to pay attention to the means in which the devil touched Job's life.
Job 1, verse14 to18, reads, and there came a messenger to Job and said the oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword and I alone have escaped to tell you.
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said,"The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword. And I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house. And behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead. and I alone have escaped to tell you.
I want you to take note of the three agents used of the devil here.
The devil used the Sabeans and the Chaldeans to bring down Job. The lesson here is that Satan can use other people in order to attack you.
The second agent is the elements. Verse 16 says, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them." Verse 18 then goes on to read, "Behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house."
So the devil used people.
He used the Sabeans and the Chaldeans and then he used the weather elements.
He used fire and wind in order to strike Job.
And if you read Job 27, the Bible reads, "So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome soores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head."
The devil used disease.
He attacked Job with illness from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet.
Now, in all of Job's story, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is in Job 13 verse 15 where he says this about God.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before him.
Think about what measure of faith, what measure of assurance you need to have to be able to say the words, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him."
Those are fighting words.
Those are strong words.
No matter what comes, no matter what happens to me, I will trust in Jesus Christ .
Dear readers s, I pray to have faith like Job.
Faith that stands in the face of total despair, total loss and destruction, but still say, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him."
how I desire to reach that level of maturity as a Christian.
How I pray that when my season of testing comes, Lord, help me to plant my feet, to square my shoulders, roll up my sleeves, and boldly confess.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.
And so with this understanding, let us pray.
Dear Lord, give us faith.
Master, heavenly Father, thank you for helping us through the many seasons of life.
Thank you for your love, for a perfect and pure love, the love that never ends.
Thank you for your powerful daily presence in our lives.
Dear Lord, we praise you and we thank you today because your eyes are watching over us and your ears are open to our prayer.
Thank you for being faithful and for being with us through the uncertainty of deep waters.
Thank you for being with us even through the flames of trials and through the pain of hard losses.
Lord, thank you for being our Comforter.
Through every weakness and hard place, your strength is displayed in our lives.
May you continue to strengthen us, King Jesus.
Give us the type of faith that can move mountains.
Help us to depend on you and to completely trust you.
Fill us with your joy and the peace of your Spirit.
Direct our hearts and minds toward you.
Let your strength alone sustain us.
Teach us to come to you daily in faith.
Your word in Luke 17:5 says, "And the apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith.
Lord, increase our faith. touch each and every one of us and strengthen our faith.
Lord Jesus, you are the King of kings and your word says the righteous shall live by faith.
Mold us in your image and fill our hearts with faith in you.
Your word in Mark 11:22- 24 says, "So Jesus answered and said to them, have faith in God, for assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Guide our actions so that we can live by faith.
Cleanse our thoughts of impurities, dear God.
Keep our eyes fixed on you and you alone.
Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
And the life I now live in the flesh, I live in faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Lord, this life is no longer mine, but I will live this life through you and for you.
I set aside my will and I choose to submit to your will.
I set aside my priorities and I choose to prioritize you.
I choose to follow you, Lord Jesus, and not anyone else or anything else in this world.
Work within me, Lord Jesus.
Purge my heart of anything that displeases you.
Remove pride from within me.
Remove any jealousy or envy.
Remove any attraction to uncleanliness.
I pray that I may be drawn to holiness.
I pray that I may be drawn to pure things, to good things, things that are above and not of this earth.
Give me a mind that is focused on you, a mind that loves to meditate on your word.
Ephesians 4:4 says, "And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
I pray that the Holy Spirit will help me to put on the new self, the regenerated and renewed nature of Christ.
You are my hiding place, Lord Jesus, and my faith is in you.
It's only you that will protect me from trouble and surround me with the songs of deliverance.
You are my keeper, Lord.
The one who watches over me and my family.
The one who provides for me and my family.
I pray that as I begin each day and even as I end each day, may you be first in all that I do.
I pray, Father, that I may always abide under your shadow, under your divine care and protection.
Help me not to be shaken or to stagger in my faith, but instead to be firm on the foundation that is your word.
I thank you for listening to my prayer.
In Jesus' name, I pray.
Blood
The average human adult body has about 5 Liters of blood circulating through it.
Blood is literally life to the body.
Red blood cells carry oxygen and carbon dioxide.
White blood cells help defend the body against disease and infection.
Platelets help stop bleeding.
Plasma carries blood cells and other components and it supports the immune system.
So you see, blood is significant to the body.
Blood is also significant in the Bible.
In the book of Genesis, we're told how one day Cain suggested to his brother Abel, "Let's go out into the fields."
And while they were there in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel, and he killed him.
Afterward, the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother? Where is Abel?"
Cain responded, saying, "I don't know. Am Imy brother's guardian?
But the Lord said, "What have you done? Listen, your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. "
Think of that.
God said, "Your brother's blood cries out."
In the book of Exodus, the children of Israel were instructed to take the blood of a lamb and put it on the two doorposts and the lentil of the houses.
And God told them that "the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when l see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."
Then in the final days before Jesus was crucified, he sat with his disciples for the last supper.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat. This is my body."
Then he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
And then finally, Jesus was crucified at a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull.
I want you to imagine this scene.
Here's Jesus Christ, the lamb of God, hanging on a cross.
Soldiers had mocked him.
They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.
They twisted a crown of thorns and they pushed it into his head and they gave him a reed in his right hand.
And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews."
And it was there on the cross that Jesus shed his innocent blood for our sins.
And now we can call on the blood of the precious lamb of God.
We can call on it for protection, for redemption, for salvation, and even to disarm the devil.
So you see from these four examples, ¹ Cain and Abel, ² the Passover in Exodus, ³ the last supper, and ³ the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, you can begin to see that blood is a significant component not only in this physical life, but spiritually also.
Now, for a moment, I want you to think about your own family bloodline.
What is in your bloodline both physically and spiritually?
Every living person is a part of a family.
Whether they are close with their families or not, whether they even know their families or not, it doesn't change the fact that if you are alive, you came from somewhere.
You had earthly parents, you had grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and siblings.
So like it or not, we're all a part of a family network.
And being a part of a family unit, it comes with many blessings.
It comes with things like unconditional love and support.
It comes with structure and empathy and compassion.
However, for someone else, being part of a family can bring unwanted things into your life.
Certain families come with old baggage.
Other families come with a lack of structure, a lack of love.
Sometimes being a part of a family for some people will come with unwanted things, curses even.
One biblical example of this that comes to my mind is the family of Abraham.
Abraham's family line was plagued with lies, deceit, polygamous relationships, and they all caused a great deal of strife in the family.
Abraham lied twice about his wife being his sister just to avoid trouble.
His son Isaac did the same thing about his wife Rebecca.
Isaac's son, Jacob, whose name literally means deceiver.
He had an entire lifetime affected by his deceptions.
Jacob's children tried to murder their younger brother, Joseph, and they ended up selling him into slavery, and they lied about it for 20 years.
Do you see a pattern?
Do you see what kind of old baggage followed this bloodline?
But dear reader-listener, let me tell you something.
There is a bloodline that can erase every curse.
It can erase every evil and every demonic thing that may be attached to your family tree.
That bloodline comes from the blood of Jesus Christ.
I simply want to encourage you today to pray over yourself.
Pray over your family.
Speak the blood of Jesus Christ over your own life and invite God to do a new thing.
Invite God to bring healing into your family.
Invite him to bring unity within your family.
Invite him to break every chain that holds you back.
Ask him to crush every evil spirit that may seek to bind you.
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Lord Jesus, right now we invite your presence into our lives.
We welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives.
At this time, I pray for each and everyone under the sound of my voice.
And Father, I declare your word that tells us that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and rescues them.
I pray and declare Psalm 121:7. The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your life.
I pray and declare Proverbs 18:10. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is safe.
We call on you, Lord Jesus Christ.
We run to you, Lord. We find refuge and protection in your presence.
And so we plead the blood of Jesus Christ over our homes, our families, our health, and the works of our hands.
Should the enemy come to try to steal from us, may he find the angel of the Lord to be standing guard around us.
Should the enemy come and try to destroy us, I pray that he will be blinded and that there will be confusion in his camp.
King Jesus, we trust in you.
We trust in your blood , for your blood has miraculous wonder working power.
Let there be a great move of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
May we experience restoration.
May we experience freedom and liberty.
May we experience victory in Jesus' name.
I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over everything l am connected with.
And even as I pray at this moment, Lord, I ask that you would meet the needs of every individual reading right now. You would meet the needs of every family that is reading and listening right now, we believe that nothing is impossible with you, Lord.
Nothing is too difficult.
Your blood, it can cleanse us from all sin.
Your blood, it can make us clean and whole again.
Your blood can restore health in our bodies, Lord.
It can heal the troubled heart.
It can set free every soul that is in bondage.
Your blood can heal.
It can restore love, joy, and peace in broken homes.
It can reunite families and restore marriages.
Your blood will protect us.
It will deliver us from the snare of the fowler.
Lord Jesus, we look to you to be our shield and our protection.
Protect us from the terror of the night.
Defend us from the arrows that fly by day.
Protect us from the pestilence that stalks in darkness.
Lord Jesus, you are our dwelling place.
When we call, you're the God who answers.
When we're in trouble, you're the God who rescues and delivers.
Indeed, Lord Jesus, your word says a thousand may fall at your side, 10,000 at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
We praise you for this promise.
We praise you for this blessed assurance.
We look to you and put our hope in you, Lord.
We praise you for being an able helper.
We praise you for being our loadbearer.
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