September 2024

Deut 30.19 Choose Life Welcome Beloved! If I were to ask, "Do you hear voices?" You may quickly say "no", due to a negative connotation. But, the word "voice" is mentioned 441 times in The Bible, "voices" 19 times. A search will reveal either God's voice, men's or women's voices and the enemy's voice. Every moment of the day we have a choice to agree with God's voice of life or the enemy's voice of death. The LORD says:

"Today I have given you the choice between life or death, between blessings [prosperity] and curses [disaster]. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, NLT).

The Voice Of God . . .

One of my favorite scriptures was given to the apostle John in the book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ, describing a spiritual battle, saying:

"Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ [the Messiah] have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell on the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time'" (Revelation 12:10-12, NKJV).

Today, the battle rages against the devil [the accuser of the brethren]. "You are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, NLT). These unseen forces from "the accuser of the brethren" bring worrisome thoughts, fleshly temptation, condemnation, relational strife, guilt, depression, abusive memories, shame, inferiority, evil imaginations, wrath and the like. They are the powers of darkness behind political unrest, religious strife, deceptive social media and media bias, which are all the lies of the devil and all contrary to the voice of God -- the Truth.

God's loud voice of truth focuses on salvation [healing], strength, the kingdom of God, the power of His Christ, overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony, laying down our lives to the death and rejoicing in our victory over the devil. "Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will be standing firm" (Ephesians 6:13, NLT).

The Voice of the Blood . . .

I BELIEVE when the apostle John wrote, "And they overcame him [the accuser/the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony", that we are to MEDITATE and CONFESS our faith in the blood Scriptures. This places the blood of Jesus upon our hearts and lives TO OVERCOME the devil. Let's confess out loud:

". . .when he sees the blood [of the Lamb] on the top and sides of the doorframes, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down" (Exodus 12:23, NLT).

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11, NKJV).

"For this is My [Jesus] blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28, NKJV).

"Behold! The Lamb of God [Jesus] who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, NKJV).

The Voice of Yourselves . . .

CONFESS: "Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the flock of God which He purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28, NKJV).

". . . being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a mercy seat by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed . . . that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:24-26, NKJV).

"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:9, NKJV).

"For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us . . . For you were bought at a price [Jesus' blood]; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 5:7b; 6:20, NKJV).

"The cup of blessings which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? . . . This is the new covenant in My [Jesus] blood. This do, as often as you drink, in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 10:16a; 11:25b).

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace . . . until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:7, 14, NKJV).

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ . . . having made peace through the blood of His cross" (Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:20c, NKJV).

". . . how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Hebrews 9:14, NKJV).

"And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22, NKJV).

The Voice of Boldness . . .

CONFESS: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest [in heaven] by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest [Jesus] over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith . . ." (Hebrews 10:19-22a, NKJV).

". . . to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things . . ." (Hebrews 12:23-24, NKJV).

" . . . may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will . . ." (Hebrews 13:20-21a, NKJV).

" . . . in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ . . . knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:2, 18-19, NKJV).

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7, NKJV).

"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 1:5-6, NKJV).

"And they sang a new song, saying, 'You [Jesus] are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth'" (Revelation 5:9-10, NKJV).

Click here for the Abounding Love Podcast episode #041 Applying The Blood, 10/07/'23].

The Voice of Praise . . .

I'm asking you to do five things: 1) MEDITATE the Blood Scriptures above, 2) RECOGNIZE that you are bought with a price and brought into the presence of God, 3) CONFESS each Scripture with your mouth daily and God's presence will follow, 4) PRAY from your throne room position in the Name of Jesus, and 5) PRAISE GOD with the revelation of being seated with Christ in the Heavenly Places, because of the blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Colossians 3:16-17, NKJV).

Here are a few of the many places the Psalmist uses the word "voice" in The Book of Psalms: The voice of the temple (18:6), the voice of thanksgiving (26:7), the voice of joy and praise (42:4), the voice of triumph (47:1), the voice of the enemy (55:3), the voice of charmers (58:5), the voice of prayer (66:19), the voice of Your thunder (77:18), the voice of my groaning (102:5), the voice of His word (103:20), the voice of the Lord (106:25), and the voice of rejoicing and salvation (118:15).

I share these verses to encourage you to use your voice to PROCLAIM YOUR FAITH in the blood of Jesus Christ in order to overcome the voice of the enemy. If you are giving place to the devil, I beg you to do the above five things daily. I PROMISE you'll see a greater anointing of the glory of God upon your face (2 Corinthians 4:6).

"Therefore by Him [Jesus] let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Hebrews 13:15-16, NKJV).

How to Overcome Your Inferiority Complex

Jesus Christ came to overcome the works of the devil, and when you have Jesus in your life, you also overcome. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33, NKJV). In this verse, Jesus is speaking about the Holy Spirit so we can have peace -- even in tribulation. He overcame the world, so we can overcome the world. "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (I John 4:4, NKJV). Greater is Jesus in you than Satan, who rules this dark world.

But John points out we have overcome. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5, NKJV). Who is "he" who overcomes? That would be us -- anyone who believes. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death" (Revelation 12:11, NKJV). We overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ and His blood must be the focus of our testimony. When you testify and believe that in your heart; you are set free. You are an Overcomer!

Before we knew Jesus, we had a low opinion of ourselves -- and we should have! But Christ is inferior to nobody. He is above every name that is named. The world and Satan want to point out your faults and shortcomings so they can sell you a worldly remedy. An inferiority complex is an inadequate feeling about yourself. But now, because of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, we have become superior to Satan [and all angels]. For the unsaved, an inferiority complex and a superiority complex bring death. But in Christ we are to have a superiority complex, but only because of Him. Join me as we explore these truths. [Click here for the Abounding Love Podcast episode #252 How To Overcome Your Inferiority Complex, 8/16/'24].

A Prayer of Commitment . . .

Father, I thank You for leading me to confess the word of my testimony of the blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, so I can be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power through the presence of the Holy Spirit. I choose to put on all of Your armor so that I will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. Therefore, I put on every piece of Your armor so I will be able to resist the enemy in the times of evil. Then after the battle I will still be standing firm. I choose to put on the belt of truth and the body armor of Your righteousness. For shoes, I put on the readiness to preach the Good News of peace with You so that I will be fully prepared in every situation. In addition to all of these, I hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the evil one. I choose to put on salvation as my helmet, and I take the sword of the Spirit, which is Your word -- the word of my testimony of the blood of Jesus. I commit to pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion and to stay alert and be persistent in my prayers for all of Your holy people (See Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT). Amen!

"Peace be with you, dear brother and sister, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God's grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 6:23-24, NLT).