"Don't Give The Enemy a Foothold"

There are particular sins mentioned in The Word that can enable the enemy to gain an advantage in our lives. Bitterness, Envy, Anger, etc. these things, if we cling to them, can destroy us. Facing them for what they are, (the inherent nature of our flesh) makes them less powerful. God never said that we'd never get angry; He said, 'Don't let the sun go down on your anger.' 'Don't go to bed angry.' This means.... if you get angry, that's human, but don't hold onto it. Don't hold a grudge against those who have angered you. When you do, the anger festers in your soul and rather that moving through it, you become it. It's one thing to 'feel' angry, it's another to plant it in your spirit and let it grow to become who you are. That is what God does not want for us. I am sure He'd much rather us never get mad, but knowing our human nature perfectly as He knows all things, this understanding allows Him to show compassion for us, through forgiveness and mercy instead of condemning us for what we cannot change about ourselves.

We combat our fleshly nature with God's grace. When we accept that we are forgiven by Christ Jesus, we are better able to forgive others. If we cannot forgive, we give the enemy a foothold. And if you give him an inch, he will take a mile. If you get angry for a moment, (temporarily), that's okay, accept it, but don't let it take root. Don't deny that it's there; face it.... and accept that because you are human (flesh) you will find yourself at times doing things that are not in sync with the nature of our Father in Heaven. Nowhere in His word does it say that we will never succumb to temptation, nor that we will live holy, untainted, sinless lives; never getting upset, experiencing feelings of bitterness, jealousy, impatience, anger, etc. So long as satan roams the earth, we (our flesh) will be susceptible to these things. There is no sense is denying this and saying that we won't ever experience them. But we are new creations in Christ. This means; the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in us, will continually strengthen us to be able to combat the nature of our flesh. So that although we may succumb to it temporarily, we do not have to be trapped by it permanently.

What do we believe as Christians? That Christ died for our sins. That by the admission and repentance of sins, we are forgiven, and our sin is covered by His grace.

If this is truly our belief, if we firmly accept this statement above as the Truth, we must choose to forgive others in the same manner in which Jesus forgave us, and that includes forgiving ourselves. God's grace (His ability to forgive us) is what allows us to forgive others; and the Faith we have that God has indeed forgiven us allows us to forgive ourselves. These are our greatest weapons against succumbing to our inherent nature. There is big difference between sinning and becoming sin. It is when we choose to stay in the bondage of sin, (lingering in condemnation), rather than accepting our Father's forgiveness, that we begin to lose our footing in the stand against the enemy. What God is saying to us in His word is: He understands that we will sin, it is why He sent Christ, but He does not want us to stay in sin, it is why Christ died for Grace to be extended to us. He understands we may fall but He expects us to allow His gift of grace to pick us back up. We can't make ourselves righteous but by accepting that He can, we no longer interfere with The Holy Spirit's work in us. When we stop trying to stop sinning by our own strength, we allow God's strength to step in; we allow His truth, to transform us from our inherent nature to our intended one.


“Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”
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- Ephesians‬ ‭4:26-27‬ ‭MSG‬‬

“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.”
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- Ephesians‬ ‭5:1-2‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Fasting.

Hi Everyone,

I have been praying for quite some time about fasting social media, and I clearly got the answer in my spirit to step back from it for a moment and spend more time with God. I haven't been inspired to write for some time now and I believe it is because I am distracted and although this is a good distraction because it glorifies His name, it is a distraction none the less. I spend more time looking at my iPhone and computer screen than I do my Bible. And that's me being honest with you. I feel disconnected from actual living because I'm not present in the moment; my eyes are down the majority of the time. It's not spiritually healthy and I know that. So, I simply want to put Jesus first and foremost in my life again, and deepen my relationship with Him. I do not know how long the fast will be, I won't put a time limit on it, it's whenever God says it's right. Until then please know that I am keeping you all in my prayers and I truly do thank you for supporting my online ministry. I never knew that was what it would become. It started out as just a forum to share my poems, writings, etc. and it became a ministry for Jesus. I couldn't be more grateful for that. I truly love writing for Him. Once my priorities are correct again, Him being my main focus, and in first place, I believe I will resume writing. Until then....

God bless you, and keep growing with Jesus. It's a non-stop journey for all of us as Christians; a beautiful journey, and one in which we grow by being refined. Allow that spiritual refining process to happen as it should. God is working in each of us and His work never stops and He promises that He is faithful to complete that work.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." -Philippians 1:6

You're a work in progress; trust the process.
He knows what He is doing even when we don't. Sending my love.

- Brianna Carey ©

Eternal Reward.

Jesus loves you.

More than all He created, He holds you precious above it all. We, as human beings, look toward the heavens in awe and wonder and are mesmerized by how grand and magnificent the universe is. But He looks at us, with that same intrigue. He looks on in awe and wonder as we grow. He knew us before we were in the womb you know.

"Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that’s what I had in mind for you.” - Jeremiah 1:5 MSG

He loves you. He simply wants you to love Him in return. And when you make that decision wholeheartedly, and you accept Him not only as Lord and Savior but as your Abba (your Father); He gives you a gift that you could never earn. The gift of grace, which forgives all sins and remembers them no more. His Holy Spirit makes a home within you, and begins a Spiritual Renovation: removing all hate, and replacing it with Love. Taking out arrogance and rebuilding with humility. Repairing wounds that have left you scarred, wounds that no one else ever saw. He heals all the broken pieces you've kept buried.

There is NO ONE like Jesus.

I promise, letting Him into your heart will be the greatest decision you ever made and one that lasts for all eternity. If I'm talking to you right now, and you want to accept Jesus into your heart, you hear Him undeniably knocking right now, message me or comment and I will help you to do so.

Love Driven, Not Fear Driven

"Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...." That's scripture. It's perfectly normal to fear God. He is Almighty, author and judge. But don't let fear be what drives you to do His will. He wants you to do what's right because you love Him, not because the Law requires you to. Fall in Love with Him. Give Him more of your time each day, get in prayer more often, even when you don't feel like it. Especially when you don't feel like it. That's usually when you need it most. Make it a point to be in His presence each day. The more you do, the easier it becomes to follow the law (without even thinking about it). That's why when Jesus came, the law was fulfilled, and He gave us two new commandments. "Love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27) When you keep those two commandments, following the other 10 comes naturally. If you Love Him with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, you won't steal, lie, cheat, etc. And if you love your neighbor as you love yourself, you won't murder, harm, or hurt another person, etc. It starts with Love. And Love is simple, and easy to do. Start there. God's Holy Spirit will do the rest. Once you make the decision to love Him, He'll take it from there. He'll do the hard part of making you Christ-like, into someone who keeps His commandments. He knew we couldn't follow the law by ourselves, that's the whole reason Jesus exists. So, as you progress in your relationship with Jesus, and the Holy Spirit begins doing what only He can do inside you; you'll feel an eagerness where you once felt fearful. Because you'll know that Him coming means Joy. New Heaven, New Earth, No more pain, No more sorrow. It's a blessing when He returns for those who Love Him and know Him. So don't focus on fear. Focus on Love. He'll perfect you, you can't perfect yourself. None us us can. If we could, there'd be no need for Jesus nor the Holy Spirit.

Quote from my brother!

"Cherish the memories of your past. The good and the bad. The good ones remind us of what God brought us into, and the bad ones remind us of what God brought us out of." - Anthony M. Carey