When the devil makes one move toward us, we should keep ourselves so spiritually tuned in that we discern what he is trying to do and back him down. With the power Jesus made available to us, he has no choice but to run.

Deuteronomy 30:19 teaches us that we have a choice: “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live” (AMP).

Happiness and joy come from within. Each day we can make the choice to be filled with misery or have the joy of the Lord. Either we choose to listen to the devil and allow him to make us miserable, or we choose to withstand him so we can live in the fullness of life that God has provided for us. We need to take the kingdom of God—righteousness, peace and joy mentioned in Romans 14:17—by force. As soon as you feel disappointed, stop the devil.

We are to “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12) in our daily struggle against the enemy and in our own minds and hearts. I have learned six strategies that we need to defeat Satan:

One of my earliest memories of Christmas takes me back to 1956, when I got my
first bicycle. It was a wonderful Christmas in which my brother and sister and I
received many nice gifts. But that year, my parents did something that remains
with me years later. They encouraged us to give one of our newly opened gifts
to a poor family in our church.

I don't remember why the family was poor. Nor do I remember what I gave. But
I do remember visiting their home and giving those kids something I probably
wanted to keep.

It was a good reminder to me that the focus at Christmas is on giving, not
getting, as our materialistic culture would like us to believe. The Bible says,
“'It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:35, NKJV).

 

Today my family “tithes” on what we give–not out of legalistic necessity but
to remind ourselves that we should give to Jesus at the time of year we remember
His birth. We add up what we spend and give a special offering of roughly 10
percent of the total cost of our gifts.

Some years we've taken gifts down to a homeless shelter in our area. One year
I went there dressed as Santa Claus and, after telling them the story of the
real meaning of Christmas, I distributed the gifts to some neighborhood children
as well as to some toothless homeless men.

Other years we've given to a national ministry we felt was doing a good work.
Operation Holiday Hope, sponsored by Bill Wilson in New York City, is one
example. 

Most years we remember the men at a Teen Challenge training center nearby who
can't go home for Christmas. We give them some small gifts to let them know they
are remembered.

In all of this, the point I make to my own two sons and my staff is that at
Christmas we go out of our way to give to others less fortunate than ourselves.

As we
join together to help others less fortunate, we minister to the Lord who said,
“'Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to
Me'” (Matt. 25:40).

This article is from the December 2002 issue of Charisma

Have you ever wondered what God wants you to do for His kingdom? If you haven't,
you're in the minority because each day, thousands of believers fall to their
knees to query Him. “Lord, what do You want from me?” they ask. Or, “What should
I do with my life?” And sometimes we wonder if He's called us at all: “Father,
did You really call me to this area of ministry?”

From Noah to David to John the Baptist and the apostle Paul, men and women
alike have bombarded heaven with these questions. Some of us–heaven
forbid–have even consulted psychics or tarot cards in a futile attempt to
search for purpose in life.

What are we actually looking for? Do we query for easy, pat answers that
require nothing of us, or are we really looking for the truth? Are we searching
for a heavenly lottery, or are we willing to do what God has called us to do in
life?

 

In our 21st-century technocratic society, we are so distracted that we often
miss the really important things in our lives. Computers keep us occupied from
dawn till dusk. Our families, DVDs, CDs, hobbies and a myriad of other
diversions take up the rest of our time. When do we have time to listen to God,
let alone respond to His call?

If Isaiah were alive today, he might have missed God's call. He could have
easily let the answering machine pick up, or he could have checked his Caller ID
and decided to bypass the conversation entirely.

As Christians, we can be certain of one thing: If we are truly children of
God, then we are called to His purposes. He is constantly talking to us. He's
gently pulling us–and sometimes even dragging us–from our comfort zones into
the “God zone.”

The question is, are we listening? And when we hear His call, are we
mistaking it for our own desires? Are we picking up the right line?

God calls every Christian into ministry. Some of us are called to preach,
others to teach or prophesy, and some to evangelize. You may be a parent, a
receptionist, a chef or a maid. God has called some of you to heal others
through medicine, psychology, nursing or dentistry. Your call could be something
fascinating or routine. But we are all called in a unique and individual way.

Even the way we are called will differ from person to person. God's call to
Isaiah came in the form of a vision or a dream: “'Behold, this has touched your
lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.' Also I heard the voice
of the Lord, saying: 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said,
'Here am I! Send me'” (Is. 6: 6-8, NKJV).

Your call may come as a gentle prod, a frequent thought or in the form of a
person, a job or a project. You might have prayed for your call, or it may have
been thrust upon you. And yes, we have all been called to something beyond our
own lives.

If we choose to respond, it will require that we give up something. The
United States may be considered a free country, but as believers in Jesus
Christ, our commitment comes with a price. There must be an exchange in order to
enter into His kingdom. That exchange–the price–will inherently include some
sort of sacrifice.

Different callings require different sacrifices. Your sacrifice may not be
the same as your spouse's or your close friend's. You may be called to sacrifice
your pride, arrogance or ego, while others surrender their time, talent or their
finances. But make no mistake–you will have to relinquish something in order to
live the life God has promised you.

You must be willing to give up your will for His will, your thoughts for His
thoughts and your way of doing things for His righteousness. There is no way
around it: Freedom, in Him, has a price.

In these last days, God is looking for people who will rise to the occasion.
Not just ordinary men and women, but extraordinary people who are 100 percent
committed to His kingdom and the call of God on their lives.

This article is from the May
2001 issue of Charisma.

We all know that we should be grateful for our many blessings. God tells us in
His Word to be thankful, and we know from our own experience that once we
seriously start praising God, our burdens and troubles seem to weigh less
heavily on our shoulders. David said: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His
praise shall continually be in my mouth. … Many evils confront the
[consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Ps.
34:1,19, The Amplified Bible).

That's part of the power of being thankful. As we pause to give thanks to God
for the blessings we enjoy in our lives, we actually begin to find more
blessings—even more to be thankful for!

However, many times the struggle is getting into the habit of being thankful.
There are countless ways to practice giving thanks—here are four of them:

 

When a person does something nice for you, let him know you appreciate
it. One day as I was going into an office building, a man standing nearby
opened the door for me. I thanked him and smiled.

“You're the fifth person I've held the door for,” he said, “and you're the
first one to smile and the second to thank me.”

I thanked him a second time, with a smile on my face. Afterward, I thought
how much we take others for granted, even in simple things such as opening a
door for a stranger.

Instead of accepting that that's the way things are, we can develop an
attitude of thankfulness.

Did your bus arrive on time today? If so, did you thank the driver? The last
time you ate at a restaurant, did you thank the waiter for filling your coffee
cup a second time without being asked? This is the point I want to make: Develop
an attitude of gratitude toward the people in your life.

Appreciate your family members, especially your spouse. I appreciate
Dave, and even though we've been married a long time, I still tell him that I
appreciate him. I thank him for being patient with me and thoughtful. Just those
few words of thanks are a great way to develop a thankful mind and heart.

When you express appreciation to those close to you, it's good for them to
hear the words, but it's also good for you. Remember, giving thanks releases joy
in you. You can enrich your life and theirs just by showing appreciation.

Meditate daily on things for which you can be thankful. I have a
friend who absolutely will not get out of bed in the morning until he has
thanked God for at least 10 things. He counts them on his fingers, and they're
small things really, such as having a good car to drive, being a member of an
exciting Sunday school class, enjoying good health.

He says that he goes to sleep at night by focusing on at least three things
that went well that day. He relives those three positive things. For him, it can
be as simple as his supervisor telling him what a good job he did on a project
or an affirming e-mail from a friend.

Be thankful for the honesty in other people. I once heard someone say,
“Only two people will tell you the truth about yourself: someone who is angry at
you and someone who loves you very much.” God uses both types in our lives, and
their honesty makes us better people.

I urge you to be thankful for people who tell you the truth about yourself,
even if it's not what you want to hear. When you hear the truth—especially
something of which you're not aware—you can change. And after you've changed,
you have yet another thing for which you can be thankful. It's a win-win
situation.

I encourage you to take time this Thanksgiving to practice being thankful in
these four ways. There is so much for us to be grateful for, and we need to
focus on it—not just on Thanksgiving Day but every day of the year. Keep in mind
the admonition of the psalmist, “Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and
affectionately praise His name” (Ps. 100:4).

This article is from the November
2005 issue of Charisma

 

I prayed for God to change me and my approach to life. I learned
that He wanted me to simplify so that, ultimately, He could be
glorified.

Jesus said He came so we might have and enjoy our lives in abundance
(see John 10:10). His principles are simple. Faith is simple.

Trusting God is simple. A childlike approach to Him is simple, and His plan of salvation is too.

Jesus offers us a “new way of living,” and I believe it is a simple,
yet powerful way that enables us to enjoy everyday life. Since I began
this pursuit for simplicity, I have discovered many ways to simplify my
life, and one of them involves doing away with unrealistic expectations
of others and myself.

Unrealistic expectations can quickly steal our peace and joy. We
usually visualize a perfect day, with perfect people, and ourselves
being perfectly happy in our perfect little world, but we all know that
isn't reality. What is real is that only God is perfect and the rest of
us are under construction.

The devil knows what steals our peace and he sets us up to get
upset. Instead of freaking out when things don't go exactly the way you
planned, why not plan for some “boo-boos”?

In the last three days, I have broken a dish (that was new), spilled
water out of a humidifier all over the floor, dropped the container of
dog food and worked at trying to keep my dog out of it while I picked
it up, and had four keys made for a door and none of them worked! I
could probably think of more if I thought long enough.

These kinds of things once got me very upset. I would huff and puff
and murmur and complain and talk about how nothing ever worked out
right. None of that stopped those incidents from happening. As a matter
of fact, my frustration caused me to lose my focus and create more
accidents and mishaps.

After years of letting the devil steal my peace-and I am quite sure
laugh at me-I finally got it. Life is not perfect, and things are going
to happen that we did not plan for and would rather not have. My new
attitude has become, “Oh well, that's life!” I have discovered that if
I don't let those things impress me, then they can't depress me.

Everyone has to deal with inconveniences, but we can deal with them
and avoid a bad attitude. In fact, life is all about choices. We can
choose to do what needs to be done and systematically do it.

It may be tough at first, especially if you haven't been disciplined
in the past, but the rewards of order and restraint are worth the
effort. The Bible says that discipline brings peaceable fruit (see Heb.
12:11).

Practice living one day at a time; give every part of you to the day
at hand. You will sense an awareness enabling you to enjoy the current
activity instead of going through each day in a blur that leaves you
exhausted. You can begin to enjoy the simple life that God has waiting
for you, as well as the eternal blessings that come from trusting His
will for your life.

 

---

Joyce Meyer is a New York Times
best-selling author and one of the world's leading practical Bible
teachers. She has written more than 70 books, including the popular Beauty for Ashes and Battlefield of the Mind, and her most recent, 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life (all FaithWords). She is also the founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc. and the host of Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. To read past columns in Charisma by Joyce Meyer, click here.

 

 

A. I have problems building genuine friendships.
B. I’m in good health.

A. I often get colds or the flu. 
B. I have close friends.

A. I have trouble sleeping.
B. I can focus on one task until completion.

A. I’m a workaholic.
B. I’m often singing praise and worship songs.

Mostly A’s.Don’t worry. There is still hope for you. Remember that the Bible tells us a thankful spirit is the basis for all of life. Paul tells us not to worry but to always be thankful to the Lord. With Paul’s counsel, we can reject worry. We can rejoice with thanksgiving.

When we’re focused on the person of Jesus Christ in thanksgiving, our anxieties and fears are wiped away. Our hearts overflow with a spirit of peace and joy because He lives in us.

What a relief to know that each of us can turn to God and put our lives in His hands! We can be thankful for His blessings and let thanksgiving fill our hearts.

We can be filled with peace regardless of our circumstances. We can be faithful to the one who faithfully provides. We must focus on Him with thankful hearts.

Are you weighed down with worry? Are you filled with fear? There’s refuge in the loving arms of God.

He will break the bonds of worry. He will banish fear.

We get His real and lasting peace when we turn to Him and say: “Thank You, Father, for always loving me. Thank You for the eternity that You have given me through the person of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for me.” When we turn to Him, we will no longer be consumed by fear and worry.

Jesus told His disciples: “‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.

‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. … Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid'” (John 14:1,27).

Certainly none of us can avoid the situations that could create worry and fear. But we can avoid the worry itself by having a spirit of thanksgiving.

We can turn to God and trust in His goodness. We can choose His peace rather than the troubles of this world.

It isn’t always easy. Worry can sneak up on us. Satan knows that, given the choice, we’d rather have peace than the turmoil that worry creates. So he uses our weak human will and lures us into a lifestyle of worry.

Worry starts innocently enough as a normal, natural concern about our basic needs. Do we have enough money to buy adequate food, clothes and shelter? Is our health good? Are our friends and family healthy and happy?

It is perfectly natural to have these concerns. But Satan uses them to lure us away from our trust in God.

As we become less God-centered and more self-centered, our concerns become worries. We quit trusting that God will provide for us. We think we have to take care of ourselves, and we begin to worry about circumstances and events that are beyond our control.

The way to avoid Satan’s trap is to learn the promises God makes in His Word about how He will take care of us. Search for promises that relate to the specific issues and circumstances you face. Then when one of them weighs you down, turn to read His promises and use these verses in the fight against fear.

The Bible tells us repeatedly to “fear not.” Often this command is followed by the words “I am with you” (Is. 41:10). It is because God is with us that we do not need to fear. He will always be with us.

May we learn to trust fully in Him, with thanksgiving for His grace. He will destroy fear and worry and give us His peace.

Mostly B’s. Congratulations!You refuse to allow the cares of the world to control your life by infecting your thoughts, attitudes and actions. You understand that worry can destroy you physically, emotionally and worst of all, spiritually because chronic worry drives a wedge between us and God. Continue to cast you cares on God.

---

James P. Gills, M.D., is the founder and director of St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He is also the author of numerous books on spiritual topics, including God’s Prescription for Healing (Siloam) and Rx for Worry (Creation House Press), from which this article is adapted.

But the devil is a liar. Jesus called him “the father of lies and of all that is false” (John 8:44, The Amplified Bible). He tells us things about ourselves, people and circumstances that are just not true. He does not, however, tell us the entire lie all at once.

He begins by bombarding our minds with a cleverly devised pattern of little nagging thoughts, suspicions, doubts, wonderings, reasonings and theories. He moves slowly and cautiously. He has a strategy for his warfare—he has studied us for a long time.

He knows what we like and don’t like. He knows our insecurities, weaknesses and fears. He is willing to invest any amount of time it takes to defeat us.

Through careful strategy and cunning deceit, Satan attempts to set up “strongholds” in our minds. A stronghold is an area in which we are held in bondage (in prison) due to a certain way of thinking (see 2 Cor. 10:4-5).

The apostle Paul tells us in these verses we have the weapons we need to overcome Satan’s strongholds and that we are engaged in spiritual warfare. Verse 5 shows clearly where the war is waged. The Amplified Bible translation of this verse says that we are to “refute arguments” with these weapons. The devil argues with us, offering theories and reasoning. All this activity goes on in the mind—the true battlefield.

One weapon is God’s Word received through preaching, teaching, reading and private Bible study. But we must continue in the Word until it becomes revelation given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Continuing is important.

Jesus said, “The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you” (Mark 4:24).We must continue using the weapon of the Word.

Praise and prayer are other available spiritual weapons. Praise defeats the devil faster and more efficiently than any other battle plan, but it must be genuine heart-praise, not just lip service or a method being tried to see if it works. Also, praise and prayer involve the Word. We praise God according to His Word and His goodness.

Prayer is relationship with the Godhead. It is asking for help or talking with God about something that bothers us.

To have an effective prayer life, we must develop a good personal relationship with the Father. Know that He loves you, that He is full of mercy, that He will help you. Get to know Jesus. He is your friend. He died for you. Get to know the Holy Spirit. He is with you all the time as your Helper. Let Him help you.

Learn to fill your prayers with the Word of God. Even Jesus used the weapon of the Word in the wilderness to defeat Satan (see Luke 4:1-13). Each time the devil lied to Jesus, He responded with, “It is written,” and quoted the Word to him. The truth is always revealed through the Word.

Unfortunately, people don’t always accept it. It is a painful process to face our faults and deal with them. Generally speaking, people justify misbehavior. They allow their past and how they were raised to negatively affect the rest of their lives.

Our pasts may explain why we’re suffering, but we must not use it as an excuse to stay in bondage. Jesus will walk us across the finish line to victory in any area if we are willing to go all the way through it with Him.

Satan knows well that if he can control our thoughts, he can control our actions. If you have any major strongholds in your life that need to be broken, let me encourage you by saying, “God is on your side.”

There is a war going on, and your mind is the battlefield. But the good news is that God is fighting on your side.

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Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers. She has written more than 70 books, including the popular Beauty for Ashes and Battlefield of the Mind, and her most recent, I Dare You (all FaithWords). She is also the founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc. and the host of Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide.

Lack of revelation. It is easy to wander aimlessly through life without
giving any consideration to whether or not you are living in the reality of your
essential identity. Too many Christians focus on outer image at the expense of
inner image. They settle for less than they were created to be. The Word of God
is the only influence that has the right to define you. But you will never
discover your essential identity unless you have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Generational curses. One of the foremost ways that strongholds of insecurity
and rejection are established in people's lives is by the spiritual transfer of
the sins of the fathers to the children. A man will deal with his children
exactly as he was dealt with unless he makes a conscious choice to do otherwise.
This process will continue generation after generation until the curse is
realized and broken through repentance and prayer.

 

Wrong relationships. The most powerful force in the universe, outside of God,
is human relationships. Your relationships are the key to your personal success
or failure; they will either coach you into destiny or restrict you from your
ultimate purpose. Everything we are today, good and bad, is a product of the
people we know and the lessons we've learned.

Insecurity. Much of the insecurity we struggle with is not a result of who we
are, but rather a result of using a false measuring stick to determine our worth
and value. We often fall into the trap of comparing ourselves with those whom we
perceive to be “perfect” in those ways in which we desire to excel, and in doing
so we block the wisdom of God from revealing our life's purpose. The measuring
stick for your destiny is not your husband, wife, brother, sister or classmate;
it is the divine pattern established by God.

Rejection. Man's greatest fear is that he will not be received, respected and
loved. We search for significance in materialism, sexual gratification,
achievement, self-improvement and even religion. But none of it works because
this is a spiritual problem that cannot be solved with a natural solution. Some
people even use rejection as a means to manipulate others. Rejection and
manipulation will distort your essential identity.

Unforgiveness. When we allow unforgiveness in our lives, we set in motion a
chain of circumstances that often results in emotional, spiritual and relational
destruction. But forgiveness is for the sake of the offended as much as it is
for the offender. Forgiveness is the act of believing the Word of God and making
the conscious choice to release your offender from your desire for revenge.

Perfectionism. Perfectionism is the fear of failure expressed through an
overcompensation to succeed, at the expense of personal fulfillment. While many
perfectionists appear to be overachievers, their motivation is usually fueled by
a desire to gain acceptance and to overcome a poor self-image. How much of your
life have you wasted in a futile attempt to gain the approval of others? In
order to unveil your essential identity, you must give yourself the freedom to
grow into who you are.

 

>So many people are trying to “fix” various aspects of their lives–from
their finances to their children, careers, marriages, co-workers and even their
parents. Trying to fix whatever we perceive to be wrong, can be a sure-fire
recipe for stress.