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Showing posts with label spiritual warfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiritual warfare. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

The Enemy of the Soul - A Short Story by Lorilyn Roberts


The aging woman drew the window blinds even tighter. “No light,” she declared. “Light hurts my eyes. I mustn’t let in the light.” 

She stuffed towels between the blinds and the glass window and taped the blinds to the windowsill. She lived alone, locked in self-imposed solitary confinement with little human contact. She wanted nothing—not love, not pity, not even comfort. Those emotions were for humans who still felt human, but she had become a fragment of humanness long ago. She didn’t want to feel. She only lived to conquer the terror that welled up in her heart during the day and the predator that invaded her room at night.

“Why did they construct windows in this room?” she lamented. “I could keep ‘it’ out if it weren’t for the windows.”

Tap-tap-tap. The knocking on the door alerted her that her meal had arrived. She grabbed some cash from her cash jar and opened the door to the delivery man.

“Keep the change,” she said, which was hardly a tip, but enough to keep him coming back the next day.

She wasn’t going to eat right away, but the smell of chicken and rice soon filled the room. She relented. Pulling up a chair, she sat beside the covered window—an obsession that filled her with dread, but her weak-willed spirit held her in bondage.

“I will conquer ‘it’ tonight,” she mumbled. “I won’t let ‘it’ into the room.”

Night came earlier in the winter months, and soon shadows filled the room, etching strange patterns on the walls. She heard whispers through the window, the rattling of the blinds, and the lisping tree branches scraping the window. The screen had long ago been mutilated by “it.”

“No,” she cried out. “You can’t come in.” She tried to hold “it” back, the monster that wanted her. All night she fought it—with every ounce of physical and emotional strength she possessed. But “it” always won. She would fall asleep exhausted when “it” left at the first ray of sunlight. “It” hated the light—more than “it” hated her.

“If only I could be set free of my misery,” she wrote on a piece of paper. “I don’t want anything except to get rid of ‘it.’”

Her husband had abandoned her, and her children had cut her off long ago. Somewhere on those streets below the window, they lived. “I must tame the window. I must keep ‘it’ out. I must conquer the enemy of my soul.”

She didn’t need love. She didn’t need anything; she was quite capable of taking care of herself. If only she could destroy “it.”

Then one day, she heard a different kind of knock. “Who could that be?” she muttered. Months had passed since anyone had come to see her. She timidly approached the door.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“I have a package for you, Ma’am,” the voice said.

“A package?” she asked.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

The woman unbolted the door, and a postman who held a small brown envelope greeted her. “Can you sign here, Ma’am?”

The woman initialed the package receipt and closed the door. As she strolled toward the unkept bed, she read the name, “U.C. Little.” Her heart skipped. She hadn’t read that name in years—her ex-husband. Why would anyone be sending his package to her? She tore open the envelope to discover government papers inside.

Her ex-husband would need these papers, but she wouldn’t send them to him. He should have taken care of this a long time ago. “Am I my ex-husband’s keeper,” she smirked.

She took great delight in tossing the papers aside. “Another chance for me to get back at him. He took away my dreams. He doesn’t deserve anything from me.”



That night, the darkness grew fiercer, and nightmares invaded her mind. The intensity of the spiritual attack made it difficult to tell the natural world from the unseen realm.

The next morning, feeling tired and disheartened, she fixated her eyes on the covered window. “I can’t keep ‘it’ out. I’m lost,” and her defeatism brought her to her knees.

“It” is winning,” she admitted. “I’m dying.”

“If only…I could do things all over again.” She turned to the table where the government documents lay discarded.

Weeks passed as she lamented her inability to defeat “it.” With her strength diminishing, she was ready to give up. Living only to beat “it” was futile. She wanted to die, but that would mean “it” had conquered her. Never!

One morning, she heard a knock on the door. She recognized it as the knock she’d heard once before. “Another package?” she mused. “Surely not.”

She went to the door, and indeed, the same postman stood there with another brown envelope.

“Can you sign here, Ma’am?”

The woman complied and shut the door. But this time, she didn’t tear the package open and dump the contents on the table. Instead, she sat by the covered window with the envelope on her lap. Did she want to spend the rest of her life cut off from the world, from her children, from everything?

“What a waste,” she heard a voice say. Startled, she glanced around the room, but no one was there. 

She stood and walked to the dresser, pulling out a pen and envelope. Where did her ex-husband live? She returned to the window chair and peeled back some tape from the window blind. Eclipsed sunshine peeked through the open crack. Dull from darkness, her eyes flinched at the intense brightness.




What would U.C. Little think about the package when he received it? She attached a note—unthinkable a few weeks earlier.

She smiled, delighted that she could see the light—bright, unrelenting light. It didn’t matter what U.C. Little thought—she could see the light. 

Jeremiah 9:21 (KJV):  "For death is come up into our windows, [and] is entered into our palaces..." 

Friday, May 22, 2020

Award-Winning Author Jim Baton's Second Book in Hope Trilogy Series, Hope in the Balance, Is Now Available



NEW RELEASE by award-winning author JIM BATON
Hope Trilogy #2
May 11, 2020
          In the HOPE Trilogy, teenagers Kelsey and Harmonie solve mysteries, fight for justice, experience the supernatural, and find their place in God’s destiny for their town of Hope, Colorado.
Available at Amazon, iBooks, Nook and others
From the back cover:
The small town of Hope is shaken when teenagers Kelsey and Harmonie uncover its skeletons of the past. Will those secrets tear the town apart, or will they become a path to healing? Meanwhile, it appears someone is willing to use any means necessary to take over their town. The girls look for new allies to save Hope. A House of Prayer arises to confront demonic forces, leading to glimpses of angelic activity. As the intensity of the warfare increases, people on all sides are being pushed past their limits. The future of Hope hangs in the balance.
The Hope Trilogy is written for those who are hungry for God’s revival and transformation of their communities.


Readers’ comments on the Hope Trilogy—
“Very good example of redemptive Christian fiction.” –Nike Chillemi, Christian mystery author
“Gripping…I read it in one day…I could not put it down.” –Carol Brown, Christian author
I instantly fell in love with the characters Kelsey and Harmonie. Every time I thought I had the answer, I'd find out a new twist which would lead me in a different direction. I loved every minute of it!” –Tiffany Hersh, Christian book reviewer

*~*~*~*

Biography


JIM BATON has spent the last 20 years in the world’s largest Muslim nation building bridges between Muslims and Christians who both desire peace. His speaking and writing call people out of fear and into authentic friendships that can change the world.

To learn more about Jim Baton's work, visit his website by clicking here: https://jimbaton.com/

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Crushing the Devil -- Don't Miss This Great Book

Crushing the Devil 

There is an active, destructive, and intelligent enemy who will do anything to derail you from realizing your full potential and accomplishing your purpose: The devil adapts his temptations and tricks to suit your natural inclinations and desires, modifying his lure to match your lifestyle. The enemy will oppose and resist you, and may choose to stand in the way of the answer to your prayers. For those times, God has given you the power and authority to crush the enemy! 


Crushing the Devil is a guide to spiritual warfare that helps you discover your purpose. Purpose which gives rise to discipline, restraint, and self-control, is one of the most fundamental and crucial tools in the journey of life. In it Pastor Pedro Okoro, (New Covenant Church, Wallington, UK) defines spiritual warfare and helps you to be equipped with the weapons needed to fight in the battle. 


Using several examples, Okoro shows how God allowed His people to defeat the enemy throughout the Bible over and over again. With a challenge to examine where the devil has a stronghold in your life, Crushing the Devil helps you uncover battles you may be attempting to fight today in your own power. By understanding spiritual warfare, you learn to stand on the Word of God and use the authority given to you as a child of God to command the enemy to flee using the name of Jesus.




Ten Reviews on Amazon, 5.0 out of 5.0 stars!



 Full of Truth May 4, 2012
Format:Paperback
"Crushing the Devil" is no light read, and that's a good thing! As I journeyed through the chapters of this book I was struck with more knowledge and more truth in my life about God's word and the lies that the devil is circulating through this world. I love that the author, Pedro Okoro, "crushes the devil" with nothing but absolute TRUTH. The words in this book are truths that every Christian and non Christian needs to hear. Not only does this book spread the truth with love and grace it is also a wonderful encouragement to the body of Christ. I give " Crushing the Devil" 5 out of 5 stars!

BUY ON TUESDAY, JUNE 26, AND RECEIVE $250 WORTH OF FREEBIES! CHECK OUT THIS PAGE:  

http://crushingthedevil.net/



Friday, December 16, 2011

Daily Warfare Prayer, by Paul and Claire Hollis




As we start the new year, I want to make prayer a priority for our Network. Please take the time to read this excerpt from This Means War, by Paul and Claire Hollis, who are new members.



Taken from the book “This Means WAR” by Paul & Claire Hollis

Begin with Praise and Thanksgiving, then continue

Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus, and I ask You to forgive me of anything I have done that could displease You in any way. I ask You to cover me with the Blood of Jesus and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Cause my thoughts to be Your thoughts, my desires Your desires, my will Your will, and put a guard across my mouth that I can say no more or less than You would have me say. Keep me on the path you You have laid out for me today, and show me satan’s tactics in advance.

I acknowledge the whole armor of God. I pray that every thought that satan or any of his kingdom tries to put in my mind will bounce off the helmet of salvation and return to the sender. Heal every memory that could hold me back from being all that You want me to be. I recognize that I have on the breastplate of righteousness, my loins are girded with the truth and my feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I take up the sword of the spirit and the shield of faith.

Now, for myself and all the people I am going to refer to, I ask You to draw us to Yourself, convict us mightily of our sins, keep us from temptation, deliver us from the evil and cover us with the Blood of Jesus. Dispatch angels (and now I dispatch them) to keep us from any kind of accidents, harm, injuries, illness, death, destruction, disease, pain or infection.

Bind our marriages together and make us one in You. Bind our families together and make us one in You. If there is anyone in our lives that You do not approve of, I ask You to move them out and move in the people that You do approve of. Bless every bite of food we eat, and the air we breathe, or any medication we take, and let it help us and not hurt us. Bless our finances and give us as much as we can handle without sinning against you.

Now, satan, I come against you and your entire kingdom and I declare, in the Name of Jesus, that you cannot and will not have part of my life or the lives of the people I refer to, in any way, shape or form. You can have nothing to do with our minds, bodies, souls, spirits, emotions and wills; our marriages, finances, friendships, acquaintances and fellowships; our homes, schools, workplaces and places of recreation; our transportation, or any vehicle that could come close to us; or any decision that is made concerning any one of us. (Now call out the name of every person that you pray for daily.)

For every person I have referred to, I now break every curse, spell and hex that may have been put out against any one of us. I break the power of any curse from a witch, warlock, or satanist; every santerian curse, roots curse, Indian curse, voodoo curse, and curse of words spoken, or anything written or any objects. I reverse the curse and send it back to the demon that brought it in the first place. AND I COMMAND THAT DEMON TO GO BOUND INTO UNINHABITED DRY PLACES IN THE NAME OF JESUS. I break every ungodly emotional soul tie that is connected to any of us, in the Name of Jesus.

In the Name of Jesus and through His living blood, I bind and sever every cord of any prince or principality, any strong man and every spirit of darkness over my house at (your address). I put a Jesus Christ bloodline in between each one of you and I cut off your communications, confuse your camp, render you inactive, and cast you out, in Jesus’ Name.

I bind and cast out every spirit of poverty, lack, confusion, cloudiness, mind binding, selfishness, anxiety, and procrastination. I bind and cast out every spirit of fear, heaviness, jealousy, bondage, whoredom, lying, perversion, slumber and infirmity. I plead the blood of Jesus around the property line, above the roof, and below the foundation of my home, and I bind you, satan, and your entire kingdom from crossing the bloodline. I command you for myself and people I have just referred to, that you can have nothing to do with us or any aspect of our lives in any way, shape or form! I now call on God’s warring angels to make it happen.

In the Name of Jesus, I loose myself and each family member to the power of the Holy Spirit and I speak forth blessings of prosperity, clarity, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, discernment, abundance and good health. I also speak creativity and a sound mind. I take control of my mind and reflect every evil thought and receive every good thought, in the Name of Jesus. I loose myself and my children to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and speak love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance into our lives.

Satan, I take authority and command you and all your evil spirits to loose our family household and all the things you have stolen from us, including our property, income and investments, and return it seven-fold, in Jesus’ Name.

I ask you, Father that You send Your warring angels and cause to come into our family all the monies, treasures, properties, assets and things satan has stolen from us that have been ours through the blessings of Jesus Christ.

In the Name of Jesus, I take authority and bind every principality and strong man over (name business, job and any endeavors) at (name locations). I come against and cast out every spirit of fear, mismanagement, poverty, confusion, lack, failure and bankruptcy. In the Name of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I loose sound management, prosperity, clarity, wisdom, knowledge, blessings, profit, honesty, success, and favor from any business associates. Father I ask You, in the Name of Jesus, that You send warring angels to go before me to accomplish these blessings and create favor in my business.

In the Name of Jesus Christ and through His living blood, I bind you satan, and your entire kingdom so that you cannot and will not be active in (your community), in any person or animal. I come against your strongholds over every place dealing in drugs, pornography, prostitution, bars and nude bars, places selling witchcraft paraphernalia, palm readers and any place worshipping a false god. Through the power of the Holy Spirit vested in me, I tear down and curse these businesses at the roots and command them to dry up and go away.

Lord, don’t let me be just a warrior in your kingdom, but let me be a mighty warrior and front-line soldier, so that when I see you face to face You will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; come on in.” Amen.