Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t bear to see someone go through something? My brother-in-law Ron was diagnosed with cancer in his palette and he was in Sloan Kettering Hospital in NYC recovering from mouth surgery. The surgery was about 10 hours long and they had to reconstruct his palette and remove three teeth. They had to take skin from his arm to rebuild the roof of his mouth and skin from his leg to replace it.
It was the third day after the surgery and we had just walked in to visit him. I sat down in the chair and he was sleeping due to heavy sedation for the pain. His wife Debbie went over to him and asked him how he was doing. Ron replied “Why do I have to suffer so much?” I immediately got up from my chair, grabbed my purse, my Bible and headed to the elevator. I went down to the lobby where the chapel was located. I immediately walked to the front, knelt on the floor and started to sob.
Let me give you a history of what happened before his surgery. Ron went into this surgery with a pair of boxing gloves on because he was determined to fight the good fight of faith. Our sayings would be “I’ll snap the neck of Satan” and “crack his teeth.”
A week before Ron’s surgery, he went into Home Depot and was in the checkout lane, he looked up and saw Larry Holmes (the famous professional boxer) standing in front of him. After a brief conversation, Ron felt like God was confirming to him that this was a fight and he was never to give up. Satan would not win. Put on your boxing gloves and get ready to crack the teeth of the enemy.
There I am in the chapel and I am a mess. I have said every prayer and petition possible. I cried out, “LORD HELP HIM FIGHT THIS BATTLE!” “GIVE HIM THE STRENGTH TO FIGHT!” My plea was that in Ron’s state he would fight. I sat in the chapel for almost two hours reading through Psalms. I was in total peace and felt connected to my Father. When I was ready to leave, I started to close my bible and Psalm 3:7-8 (NLT) was right in front of me. It read “Arise O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked! Victory comes from you, O Lord.” I started to laugh and thank the Lord. God was speaking my language. Shatter the teeth means I’ll crack your teeth. I knew He heard my plea. God is so merciful.
I composed myself and gathered my things. I went back to the Ron’s room and Debbie asked if I was in the chapel praying. I boldly exclaimed “yes”. She explained that while I was in the chapel, Ron out of nowhere started to proclaim to the world “I AM FIGHTING – I AM FIGHTING!” I stood in the doorway and began to cry. My prayers were answered! God is so amazing! I knew God was with Ron during this battle and that Ron was fighting.
After that experience, the words intercessory prayer came to my mind so I decided to look them up. During the search, I found this awesome description of intercession from the RCCM International Garden of Prayer:
What is Intercession?
Intercession is the act of going on behalf of someone else that needs help from Almighty God, to be merciful and gracious unto someone else and not self. In most cases it is prayer for those whose situations or circumstances need the mercy and grace of God’s immediate attention. Intercession touches the very heart of God, the Ministry of Jesus and the help of the Holy Spirit. Intercession requires a giving up and giving unto, as an act of God’s love, mercy and compassion. The intercessor must be ready and sensitive to God at all times, totally yielded to Him, and willing to be touched by the infirmities of someone else. Intercession requires you to become selfless, forgetting about your needs, desires and wants. Wow-I read this and thought that is incredible.
Jesus intercedes for us with God. He is our intercessor. Have you ever wanted to help someone and didn’t know how to? Intercessory prayer can be the biggest gift you can give someone. I had no I idea that’s what I did. All I knew is that my spirit could not sit there and do nothing. That got me thinking of ways going forward how I can bless and stand in the gap for someone else. I no longer have to feel powerless. I will not go down with out a fight in any situation. I don’t know about you but I have some teeth to shatter!
James 5: 16 (NLT) The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
Showing posts with label warfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label warfare. Show all posts
Monday, October 3, 2011
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
This is War by Kim Checkeye
As most of you know, on Saturday, September 11th, the doors of The Truth for Women Center will be opening. This is a momentous occasion for the ministry and for each of us who have watched this dream become a reality.
What is on my heart to share with you is the battle that we have all gone through that enabled us to get to this point in time.
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
I must admit, that until the past two years of my life, I truly did not understand the gravity of this scripture. I knew this scripture. I studied it and I quoted it. I taught on it. But it did not sink deep within my soul and in my heart until just recently.
I have watched my sisters, my team; my partners in this ministry go through great trials, problems, family issues, physical pain, great hurt and losses over the past few years. We have held each other and cried as we share each other’s burdens.
But what happens when people come against you or talk behind your back? What do you do when you work side by side with someone and you find out that they said some pretty nasty things about you? How do you handle it when a family member gets hurt or sick? Where do you go when obstacles come from the left and the right? Where do you run when you lost your job and you can’t pay the bills? How do you stay focused when distractions come to stop the work and divert your attention to something else?
You remember that none of this is a battle against flesh and blood. None of this is a battle against another human being. As scripture states, it is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil. Now I know this is hard to comprehend at times but the Word of God is truth for our lives. It is the same yesterday, today and forever more. It is for us to apply to our lives TODAY. The Bible is to give us insight and direction on how we should walk and live.
We have been diligently working at the renovations in our new suite and we have been getting ready for our Grand Opening. During this time, I became very exhausted and depressed. Now if you know me, I am a woman who hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until I hit the bed at night. Exhaustion is not in my vocabulary. I have never experienced depression in my life and to be honest, I really didn’t know what it was. For weeks I pushed myself and told myself to keep going. I pushed my mind and my body to produce what I wanted it to produce. I cried to my husband and told him something was seriously wrong with me and I didn’t know what to do.
It wasn’t until I was sitting in my home church listening to my Pastor preach on Moses and the call that he had on his life that I realized this battle was not against flesh and blood. For me, this battle was something spiritual. This was a tactic from the enemy to stop the work in order that the doors of the Truth for Women Center would not open. WOW! I was shocked and I really didn’t know what to do. I had never been through something like this and I didn’t know how to handle it. How do I combat this? How do I get through it?
Well, the battle wasn’t mine to fight. I needed to go back to the text and follow the rest of the Scripture in Ephesians 6. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that come from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
This is so powerful and it is meant for you and me. This is not just a Sunday School lesson for children but it is a message of warfare for you and me! We are soldiers in God’s army and we have a very real enemy. We have an enemy who wants to seek, kill and destroy. The life we live is no game, it is a war.
Because of who we are in Christ, we are able to stand firm and not be moved. We are able to know truth because we have the belt of truth around our waist. We are able to carry peace with us at all times. This is a MUST in the body of Christ. It breaks my heart to see Christians tearing down other Christians because they have different opinions. It grieves me to see Christians talk about each other and say it is ok because they are just sharing their heart and it is a safe place. It hurts to see churches working against each other rather than rallying together to bring souls into the Kingdom.
Does God take us to points in our lives where our faith is stretched? Absolutely. But He does this so our faith in Him can be tested and we can grow further in our relationship with Him.
Pray and always be alert. You see, this is where I was lacking. I was so consumed with getting the “work” finished that I let my guard down and the enemy came in a way I had never experienced before. I was not on alert and I didn’t see the enemy for who he was. He went after my mind, my heart, my body and attacked who I was in Christ.
Ladies, this life is no game. Our life is a battle field and everyday is war. Be alert and watch with a careful eye. Pray for your sisters. Lean on others when you are weak. Find yourself that inner core of accountability partners to be your rear guard.
But more than all of that, stay in the Word and continue to Pray. Pray for wisdom and knowledge just like Solomon so you can lead people in the things of God.
What is on my heart to share with you is the battle that we have all gone through that enabled us to get to this point in time.
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
I must admit, that until the past two years of my life, I truly did not understand the gravity of this scripture. I knew this scripture. I studied it and I quoted it. I taught on it. But it did not sink deep within my soul and in my heart until just recently.
I have watched my sisters, my team; my partners in this ministry go through great trials, problems, family issues, physical pain, great hurt and losses over the past few years. We have held each other and cried as we share each other’s burdens.
But what happens when people come against you or talk behind your back? What do you do when you work side by side with someone and you find out that they said some pretty nasty things about you? How do you handle it when a family member gets hurt or sick? Where do you go when obstacles come from the left and the right? Where do you run when you lost your job and you can’t pay the bills? How do you stay focused when distractions come to stop the work and divert your attention to something else?
You remember that none of this is a battle against flesh and blood. None of this is a battle against another human being. As scripture states, it is against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil. Now I know this is hard to comprehend at times but the Word of God is truth for our lives. It is the same yesterday, today and forever more. It is for us to apply to our lives TODAY. The Bible is to give us insight and direction on how we should walk and live.
We have been diligently working at the renovations in our new suite and we have been getting ready for our Grand Opening. During this time, I became very exhausted and depressed. Now if you know me, I am a woman who hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until I hit the bed at night. Exhaustion is not in my vocabulary. I have never experienced depression in my life and to be honest, I really didn’t know what it was. For weeks I pushed myself and told myself to keep going. I pushed my mind and my body to produce what I wanted it to produce. I cried to my husband and told him something was seriously wrong with me and I didn’t know what to do.
It wasn’t until I was sitting in my home church listening to my Pastor preach on Moses and the call that he had on his life that I realized this battle was not against flesh and blood. For me, this battle was something spiritual. This was a tactic from the enemy to stop the work in order that the doors of the Truth for Women Center would not open. WOW! I was shocked and I really didn’t know what to do. I had never been through something like this and I didn’t know how to handle it. How do I combat this? How do I get through it?
Well, the battle wasn’t mine to fight. I needed to go back to the text and follow the rest of the Scripture in Ephesians 6. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that come from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
This is so powerful and it is meant for you and me. This is not just a Sunday School lesson for children but it is a message of warfare for you and me! We are soldiers in God’s army and we have a very real enemy. We have an enemy who wants to seek, kill and destroy. The life we live is no game, it is a war.
Because of who we are in Christ, we are able to stand firm and not be moved. We are able to know truth because we have the belt of truth around our waist. We are able to carry peace with us at all times. This is a MUST in the body of Christ. It breaks my heart to see Christians tearing down other Christians because they have different opinions. It grieves me to see Christians talk about each other and say it is ok because they are just sharing their heart and it is a safe place. It hurts to see churches working against each other rather than rallying together to bring souls into the Kingdom.
Does God take us to points in our lives where our faith is stretched? Absolutely. But He does this so our faith in Him can be tested and we can grow further in our relationship with Him.
Pray and always be alert. You see, this is where I was lacking. I was so consumed with getting the “work” finished that I let my guard down and the enemy came in a way I had never experienced before. I was not on alert and I didn’t see the enemy for who he was. He went after my mind, my heart, my body and attacked who I was in Christ.
Ladies, this life is no game. Our life is a battle field and everyday is war. Be alert and watch with a careful eye. Pray for your sisters. Lean on others when you are weak. Find yourself that inner core of accountability partners to be your rear guard.
But more than all of that, stay in the Word and continue to Pray. Pray for wisdom and knowledge just like Solomon so you can lead people in the things of God.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Year of Jubilee by Kim Checkeye
This morning as I was reading the Word in Leviticus 25, my heart soared from within. In the year of Jubilee, slaves were set free and properties were to revert to the families of their original owners.
I went back to the original text to look deeper into the word Jubilee. It is translated as the following:
Shout or blast of war
Alarm of joy
Alarm of war
Battle cry
Shout of joy
I don’t know about you but this is something that has been stirring deep within my soul for months now. The enemy has made us slaves to lies, fears, doubts and he has stolen many things from us including finances, family members, joy, peace, direction in the call of our life and the list goes on.
I believe it is time to sound the alarm of war, the alarm of joy, the battle cry from deep within our soul that for each of us, it is the Year of Jubilee where we are set free from the bonds of slavery and we are taking back what the enemy has stolen from us.
It is time for us to shout our battle cry to let the enemy know that we are not going to stand any longer for his lies and deception. It is time to sound the alarm that we are going to walk in the call that God Almighty has for us and nothing that the enemy throws at us will distract us from moving forward.
It is time to break out of depression and shout forth words of joy. It is time for John 8:32 to come to pass “Then you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
Dear warriors sound the alarm that this is your year of Jubilee and walk in it!
I went back to the original text to look deeper into the word Jubilee. It is translated as the following:
Shout or blast of war
Alarm of joy
Alarm of war
Battle cry
Shout of joy
I don’t know about you but this is something that has been stirring deep within my soul for months now. The enemy has made us slaves to lies, fears, doubts and he has stolen many things from us including finances, family members, joy, peace, direction in the call of our life and the list goes on.
I believe it is time to sound the alarm of war, the alarm of joy, the battle cry from deep within our soul that for each of us, it is the Year of Jubilee where we are set free from the bonds of slavery and we are taking back what the enemy has stolen from us.
It is time for us to shout our battle cry to let the enemy know that we are not going to stand any longer for his lies and deception. It is time to sound the alarm that we are going to walk in the call that God Almighty has for us and nothing that the enemy throws at us will distract us from moving forward.
It is time to break out of depression and shout forth words of joy. It is time for John 8:32 to come to pass “Then you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
Dear warriors sound the alarm that this is your year of Jubilee and walk in it!
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