Psa. 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Matt. 21:16 And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

 

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Psalm 8:2 contains a remarkable divine strategy which was later quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21:16. The harassing accusations of the devil would be able to be silenced by the praises of God’s people. This strategy is so powerful that even young children could execute it with demon-binding effectiveness.

Note: the Psalmist declares that the purpose of praise is to “still the enemy and the avenger”.

Most Christians are completely unaware that their daily life is the center of controversy in the spirit realm. They don’t realize that their troubles often result from satanic conflicts, for which they hold the key. Feelings of obscurity and insignificance are part of Satan’s poisonous weapons-of-the-mind, designed to confuse you in battle, and keep you from realizing that you are at the center of a great struggle, and fighting in a crowded arena.

Satan stands against you and accuses you before God, raising challenges against your rights as a child of God.

· He continually points out your faults and by them, questions your right to the will of God.

· He always seeks to maneuver you into defending yourself on the merits of your own righteousness.

· This he hopes you will do rather than to rely upon your position of grace with Jesus, and overthrow the devil’s accusations with the praises of God.

But always remember 3 things:

1. Regardless of whether people notice your struggles, your actions have significant consequences upon beings that want to use you as a pawn.

2. Everything God’s Word declares about the children of God is true about you, regardless of your circumstances or how you feel.

3. You can silence the devil’s claims against you without ever having to defend yourself. Simply lay claim to your relationship with Jesus and give praise to Him as your Lord. You will slap the devil’s mouth shut every time.

Spiritual progress is a WAR; all else is the outcome of it.

Here are some facts to keep in mind:

You must wage the battle that YOU are at the center of.

2 Cor. 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

You are always on display.

Eph. 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Heb. 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Your earthly struggles are the result of battles with spirit beings. The cause of trouble upon earth is conflict in the heavenlies

Eph. 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Until Michael the Archangel is ordered by God to expel Satan from the heavenlies (Rev. 12:7-10), Jesus has given the responsibility of resisting, binding and restricting his activity on earth, to you.

Matt. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matt. 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus came to earth, lifted us to citizenship in His Kingdom and placed His authority upon the Church. Now that the “keys of the kingdom” are with us, something you do on earth is going to have an impact in the heavenly realm.

Is. 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

To be ignorant of these things only exposes you to Satan’s harassing attacks, and eventual bondage.

2 Cor. 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

 

So a Christian, you go through your days giving little thought to how significant your life is. You seldom consider the impact you are having on the conflicts of the heavenly realm. Yet consider this, that God has arranged to have Jesus’ victory over Satan administered through your obedience and praise!

· Every time you choose God’s will over your own;

· every time you lift praise to the Lord instead of complaining;

· every time you trust God for provision rather than worry;

· every time you turn to the Father’s mercy rather than remain frozen in condemnation…

…you deny the devil his victory and you enforce the will of God over him. Good for you! Your simple acts of obedience to God give power to your praise of Him, and make you very dangerous to the devil.

Matt. 21:16 (Ps 8:2) And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise…,that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Stay On The Path!

Nick Champlin

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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James 1:2 Consider (command w/ official authority) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

 

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Let’s begin with a quick review of the essential purpose of joy: To take command and overcome trying temptations through joy.

Joy arises when faith exerts itself over circumstances. That is the key to gladness…

Psa. 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee…

Joy begins, not with a feeling of happiness, but with a change of mental focus, a shift from considering the circumstances to remembering God’s Word of promise…

Before joy is ever a feeling it begins as a thought, a remembrance…

Recalling the goodness and greatness of God, which lies beyond what you see, is step one. And for this you must know His Word…

In other words, we rejoice in the Truth, not in our circumstances…

 

Let’s assume that you find yourself in the middle of a typical set of uninspiring circumstances. Remember the “fog” we spoke about yesterday, and how it shrinks your world down to seeing only the immediate images of your trial. The realities of God’s blessings become obscured, and typical of navigating through fogs, all your attention is focused on what’s right in front of you. So how do you begin to bring joy into the situation?

First you realize that joy will not arise from your situation, it must arise from within you. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, a force of God, if you will, that resides within you, as God’s child. So you don’t need to find joy, it simply requires an act of authority on your part to release it. You begin with step one, then two…three…four and finally, step five. Joy most definitely is a disciplined progression. And here it is:

We shared this point yesterday. It is the critical start-point of joy. It begins with knowing and recalling the wonderful works and promises of God.Sometimes we need to stop in the middle of a trial, and cast our thoughts out beyond the fog, to behold the vast universe that God has made; the universe He has stretched out and the detail with which He maintains the order of every system. And we are more valuable to Him than all the material of this celestial terrarium in which we dwell.

 

David said: “O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you…(Psa. 42:6)”

 

 

Remember God. Think about what the Word says concerning His goodness and faithfulness. Recall His credibility and the deeds that confirm it. This 2^nd step requires that you understand something about God. To recall His faithfulness you must have a revelation about His goodness. Though Moses had seen God’s acts of power, the first time it’s recorded that Moses worshipped God occurs when God reveals the glory of His goodness to Him.

Ex. 34:6-8 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord! The Lord! A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin… And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth and worshiped.

We cannot worship, nor can we begin to exercise joy in the Lord until we have a revelation of His goodness. It is remembering God’s goodness that gives joy a reason to exert itself. Moses was able to rejoice in the Lord even when Israel could not seem to stay faithful. The Israelites under Moses shrank back from facing God because they only saw His acts of power. But Moses understood God’s essential nature. Therefore Moses could sustain himself with joy while the children of Israel died in their fears, though both faced the same trying circumstances.

Psa. 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.

Once you have focused on God, remembered His goodness and mercy; then it’s time to verbally acknowledge His Truth, as superior to your circumstances. So many of David’s Psalms are a wonderful mixture of Him laying out his dilemma and then contrasting it with declarations of God’s goodness and help. At that point it was like David was counseling himself out loud. And that’s exactly what he was doing!

 

1 Sam. 30:6 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.

 

Joy will always spring from your own preaching of the Truth. At this point joy begins to exert it’s authority over the claims of your temptations. And the Truth-declarations of your rejoicing are alone, the only force that can defeat your temptations.

 

Psa. 27:5-6 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

 

Now it’s time to give thanks to the Lord…out loud. Innumerate your blessings. Look outside the unpleasantness of your immediate trial and as you remember God’s goodness, thank Him for each blessing, as though you were holding it in your hand. And joy will see to it that you do. David knew that ‘going to church’ and thinking about God, or even complaining to God was not enough. True deliverance comes through praise and thanksgiving:

 

Psa. 69:29-31 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Thy salvation, O God, set me securely on high. I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving. And it will please the LORD better than an (sacrifices) ox or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

 

Step Five: Praise

Finally after focusing on God, remembering His goodness, acknowledging His Truth, and thanking Him for it, joy is arising! Now you’re ready to praise God with temptation-busting power. Nehemiah said, “The joy of the Lord is YOU’RE strength”. And this is how the joy of the Lord arises in you and becomes your joy…your strength. This is how praising God lifts you up and defeats Satan’s strategies against you. When you follow these 5 steps to joy you will overcome rather than being overcome by your trials.

 

Psa. 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes you have ordained strength because of your enemies, that you might paralyze the enemy and the avenger.

 

Matt. 21:16 And Jesus said to them, Yea; have you never read, Out of the mouth of babes you have perfected (ordained) praise?

 

By rejoicing through trials with the Truth of the Word, He has ordained our deliverance. God’s blessing of joy to every Christian is so powerful and impartial that the only way for us to be defeated is to simply keep us from rejoicing in the Lord.

 

Stay On The Path!

Nick Champlin

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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James 1:2 Consider (command w/ official authority) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

 

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Joy occurs when faith exerts itself over circumstances. That is the key to gladness. It’s not waiting for favorable circumstances, but rejoicing because you already have  favor with God in the midst of your circumstances. You REJOICE then you ARE glad. That’s how it works.

Psa. 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee…

But HOW does one do that in the middle of life’s trying times, particularly when you are surrounded by unhappiness and drowning in bad news??!Admittedly, it takes a certain level of spiritual maturity, great discipline and focus to rejoice in the midst of trials and temptations. But as difficult as it may seem, every Christian can do it, and must learn to do it, if we are to survive the world, much less, overcome it.

Let’s begin by admitting that most days we don’t find a lot to rejoice over in our surroundings. And a good deal of the time joy seems almost impossible or even inappropriate, when taken in consideration with your circumstances. In short, we can’t look for the source, or beginning point of joy, in our surroundings. We must look elsewhere for the joy that God is speaking about in His Word: the joy that takes command over trials and temptations. So what is the starting point of joy? For the answer let’s consider David’s 27^th Psalm:

Psa. 27:3 Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident.

Psa. 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to meditate in His temple.

Psa. 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

Psa. 27:6 And NOW my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

Psa. 27:7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me.

Psa. 27:8 When Thou didst say, “Seek My face,” my heart said to Thee, “Thy face, O LORD, I shall seek.”

Psa. 27:9 Do not hide Thy face from me, Do not turn Thy servant away in anger; Thou hast been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation!

Psa. 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.

Psa. 27:11 Teach me Thy way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path, Because of my foes.

Psa. 27:12 Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence.

Psa. 27:13 .

 

David said that NOW, in the very day of trouble, I will lift up rejoicing to God, which would result in my deliverance. But how did he know what to say to God. Or a better question would be, how do YOU rejoice in the very hour of your trial? How do you know what to say when everything seems so negative? Where do you begin and what do you rejoice about, when YOU are surrounded by unhappy and uninspiring circumstances?

The Starting Point…

David drops a key in verse 13 when he says:

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

THERE is your starting point! Joy is completely dependent upon the Truth. And by the Truth, I’m referring to God’s covenant Word to you. For example, Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you”. That is the Truth. Without Truth, joy cannot exist. Whatever other type of feeling of gladness that might arise, it’s merely a fragile puff of emotion, waiting to be blown away by the next shift in life’s winds. But true joy is a force of the Spirit of God, that is not subject to the winds of circumstance.

Joy begins, not with a feeling of happiness, but with a change of mental focus, a shift from considering the circumstances to remembering God’s Word of promise. Joy begins with recollection. Before joy is ever a feeling it begins as a thought, a remembrance.

Psa. 63:5-6 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips: when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the night watches.

The Christian who wants to be an overcomer MUST learn the Word of God. Otherwise you will never have any basis for joy. The Word of God is joy’s resource. It is from the Truth of the Word that joy arises. In other words, we rejoice in the Truth, not in our circumstances. When temptations try you, it’s remembering the goodness of God and His Word of promise to you that introduces the beginning element of joy.

Psa. 42:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember you…

Trials and temptations are like a great spiritual fog that rolls in over your life and obscures your vision of God and His goodness towards you. The facts of God’s Word become obscured by the immediacy of your trials. Through the filter of the fog your vision is affected, everything is hazy and nothing is enjoyable. But the commanding influence of joy, over that fog, begins with remembering that the Sun is shining above you, even though you can’t see it at the moment. The Truth reaches out through your thoughts, beyond the dimensions of your trial, and recalls the reality of God’s goodness, even though you don’t see it at the moment. The fog of trials shrinks your world to what you can see within the dim haziness of your circumstances. But the Light of Truth is in your heart and knows that God has more for you than what you presently see. This is the first step in joy.Before you can begin to rejoice you must first remember – remember what it is that you have reason to rejoice over. Recalling the goodness and greatness of God, which lies beyond what you see, is step one. And for this you must know His Word.

Tomorrow we’ll take another step in learning how to use joy to overcome your circumstances. So until then…

Stay On The Path!

Nick Champlin

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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James 1:2 Consider (command w/ official authority) it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,

 

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Joy is faith exerting itself over circumstances. It’s praising God for what you believe rather than just quietly having beliefs in the face of circumstances. It’s not idle contentment, but something more aggressive, more decisive.

James talks about meeting your trials and temptations with the force of joy. But first you must see temptations and trials as a challenge to your position in Christ, and an attack on your faith. The last thing a Christian should try to do is passively weather out the stormy trials and assailing temptations. But the way many people read James 1:2, and the words “Count” or “Consider”, might suggest that we endure trials and temptations by “considering them as joy”. Or another way of putting it would be to say: we should try to think of our trials with happiness…“Think happy thoughts”.

Well I don’t know about you, but I hate temptations and don’t have any “happy thoughts” about them. They are vicious, bone-grinding attempts to defeat us. I can’t see how any “happiness” comes from temptations. The devils that poke at our weak spots are not our little grace-growing buddies.And mental passivity the last thing we should be showing them.

A closer look at the definition for the original Greek word, “Count”, shows that the word literally means to lead, i.e. command with official authority.This changes the whole force of the verse from passive to aggressive. The verse now reads:

James 1:2 My brethren, take the lead and command it all joy when ye fall into various temptations;

In other words, FIGHT BACK against your temptations and trials with JOY. Happiness depends on happenings but JOY is a force of the Spirit of God.

Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…

Your praise of God in the face of temptation is the means by which you OVERCOME it. Too many Christians set aside their joy until they “get over” their trial. But you aren’t called to “get over” your trials. You’re called to OVERCOME your trials.

Joy isn’t dependent upon circumstances either. It’s enforced by faith. If you truly believe that God has already provided your victory over circumstances then joy will exert what you believe by rejoicing in the Truth. That is the key to gladness. It’s not waiting for favorable circumstances, that brings gladness, but rejoicing because you already have favor with God in the midst of your circumstances. You REJOICE then you ARE glad.That’s how it works.

Psa. 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee…

You see that Joy is an action taken upon the authority of Heaven. If you want to “be glad” rather than “fall into various temptations”, then “take the lead and command it all joy”. In other words, “Rejoice and be glad”.

Joy also involves authority. Our text talks about taking the lead and commanding it all joy. That requires authorization. We sometimes overlook the fact that this was one of Christ’s great purposes in restoration. Jesus was anointed to authorize your use of Joy in praising God. He gave you back the “garment of glory” which Adam lost. He has planted you in righteousness so that you might be identified with Him through your joy. In short, joy covers the nakedness that sin once exposed.

Is. 61:1,3 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to…appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them…the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Stay On The Path!

Nick Champlin

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
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