Thursday, December 5, 2013

I Samuel 5- The Power of His Presence



Read I Samuel 5  (It's only 11 verses!)

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod, brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it next to his statue When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. This time, both Dagon’s head and the palms of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold.

I love this story  as it displays the power of God. And although we do not see this same exact display happening, that I know of, in the US of A, you can believe this is happening in the spirit world, all day long! 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. (Eph 6.)

It was the presence of the Lord that destroyed the enemies.
And the same is true in our own daily struggles.

 Isaiah 61:3 The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

This is one verse I heard over and over and over growing up. And the truth of it is verifiable. What happens in your soul when you start to praise God? Here, I'll give you something to experiment with:
Natalie Grant's "Your great Name"


 

James 4:7-8

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. 

Although the reason for the season is Christ, the feeling of the season can be mixed with stress, depression and hopelessness. So when those feelings start to bubble to the surface, put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, and watch those Dag-gone Dagons tumble to the ground.

Check out moodypraise.org for some Christmas music that will really soothe the soul!

2 comments:

  1. When you say "I grew up hearing these verses over and over again," it makes me 1) sad for the verses I never heard growing up .... BUT 2) HOPEFUL for my kids who do! Hopeful because I know they will understand spiritual battle and participate in it. Hopeful because they will understand the Gospel and the supernatural power granted to us by God Himself. Hopeful because, even if they don't believe it sometimes, they will have been told over and over again that God loves them and wants what is best for them. And hopeful because they may be writing bible studies or bliggity blogs or sending their friends the truth of the Word to encourage them. Thank you for the reminder that the battle belongs to The Lord. And His skills in the ring are SO much better than mine.

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  2. So true! My mom took that verse in Deut.(11:19) very literally! She told us when we were walking, when we were lying down, when we we fighting, when we were rolling our eyes, and she lived it. Not perfectly, thank God! Because then there would be no hope for me as a mom! But God's Word does not return void! So no matter how little we see changing in the moment, we know that His Word is life! AMEN!

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