How can we avoid sin?

An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.

Proverbs 5:22

We are told that an evil man is held captive by his own sins, his sins are ropes that catch and hold him. Sometimes, we think it is Satan or his evil spirits that are holding us captive; but this scripture tells us that it is our own sins that are like ropes that catch and hold us. So the question is, how can we avoid sin since it leads to bondage?

1. Surrender our lives to Jesus

You see, human beings are born with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5). The only way we can overcome evil in this life is to accept the free gift of salvation by surrendering our lives to Jesus, because He is the only One Who can save us from our sins:

And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 (NLT)

2. Be transformed in our thinking

Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and we become born again, we should no longer conform to this world, but we must be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We renew our mind and develop a new way of thinking by reading and meditating on the Word of God:

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

3. Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit

Once we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and begin to read His Word on a daily basis to transform our mind, we will then begin to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit. As we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us on our journey, He begins to transform our thinking so that we are convicted anytime we get a temptation to do the evil things we used to do. He produces in us the desire to do good instead:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Galatians 5:22-23

Prayer

Dear Lord, please help me to overcome every sin in my life so that it will not become a snare unto me in Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Events

Finding Your Purpose and Overcoming Limiting Mindset and Book Launch, Friday 27 October 2017

Breaking Free Deliverance Service every Tuesday

Breakthrough to Your Purpose Retreat 2017 from 1-3 December 2017

New Books for 2017

My Purpose Journal

Why I Changed My Name

How to Stop the Negative Voices in your Head

How Jesus Healed

God bless,

Blessing Theophilus-Israel

Spiritual Life Coach

How do you overcome carnality?

All the kings on the west side of the Jordan heard about this, including those in the highlands, the lowlands, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon. They were Hittites and Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They formed an alliance to fight Joshua and Israel.

Joshua 9:1-2 (CEB)

For the past few weeks, we have been looking at how to overcome fear and pride. Today we will look at carnality or the works of the flesh and how we can overcome them.

Canaanite – spirits of carnality

“Canaanite” means, “lowlands people”. Since the word “land” is related to the concept of “earth” or “ground”, the “lowlands” refer to low earthly passions, or what the Bible calls carnality. Canaanite spirits are the spirits behind addictions and sexual perversions.

The Bible tells us that when we follow the desires of our sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. It goes on to tell us that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21).

How then do we overcome carnality? 

The Bible tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to destroy strongholds. Below is a list of some of those weapons we can use to overcome carnality:

1. Present your body to God daily as a living sacrifice

We are exhorted by Paul to present ourselves to The Lord as a living sacrifice; holy, acceptable to God (Romans 12:1-2). This means that we must daily surrender our lives to Jesus and deny ourselves to our own desires and take up our cross and follow Jesus (Matthew 16:24);

2. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind

The Word of God has the power to transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. This will happen when you read and meditate on the Word of God so that you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2);

3. Walk in the Spirit so you will not fulfil the lust of the flesh

Ephesians 5:18 tells us to stop getting drunk with wine, which leads to wild living, but keep on being filled with the Spirit. It is important that once we come to Jesus Christ that we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives so that we won’t be doing what our sinful nature craves (Galatians 5:16);

4. Let the Blood of Jesus cleanse your conscience from dead works

The Blood of Jesus has the power to cleanse us from all unrighteousness therefore we can pray and ask The Lord to cleanse our conscience from dead works of the flesh so that we can serve the living God (Hebrews 9:11-15);

5. Be crucified with Christ

The Bible says that we must die to self. To die to self is to put to death our sinful nature and desires and deny ourselves of what we want so that we can live by faith through Jesus Christ:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

6. Avoid sexual immorality

1 Corinthians 6:18 tells us to flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who lives in us and we are not our own therefore we must keep our bodies pure and holy (1 Corinthians 6:19);

7. Pray and ask God to help you

The works of the flesh are many and we cannot avoid or overcome them without the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit therefore we must simply pray to God and ask Him to lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13).

Prayer

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

For more information about the Canaanite spirit and how to overcome them, please visit here.

Listen to the Message

You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO_ynEZZhV4

How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please listen to the audio version of: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

God bless,

Blessing

How can you prepare for spiritual warfare?

Last week, we learned that we are in a spiritual war, and that we must be prepared for the war. The Scripture below tells us how we can prepare ourselves to engage in the combat:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV

The Scripture above gives us 10 strategies for preparing ourselves for spiritual warfare:

1. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and put on the whole armour of God:

To be strong in The Lord means that you recognise your strength does not come from you but it comes from God:

The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him

Psalm 28:7

2. Stand having girded your waist with truth

The first part of the armour is the belt of truth. To wear the belt of truth means to equip yourself with the knowledge of the truth and we know that Jesus Christ who is also the Word of God is truth (John 17:17). We must know Jesus as the truth and that truth will set us free (John 8:32):

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”

John 14:6

3. Put on the breastplate of righteousness

The breastplate protects the chest right down to the hip. Righteousness is living right with God. When you wear the protection of right living on your chest it will protect your heart and its emotions from the attacks of the enemy. You can only live right with God when you are clothed with His righteousness which we obtain through the blood of Jesus Christ:

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him

2 Corinthians 5:21

4. Have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace

The feet is an important but often neglected part of the body. A soldier must be able to stand in order to wage a good warfare. The Lord wants you to wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong:

And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

Romans 10:15

5. Above all take the shield of faith

The shield is large and is shaped like a door. It was large enough to provide full protection from attack. The shield of faith then protects the whole believer and covers the whole person in spiritual warfare.

The reason it says ‘above all’ is that faith is one weapon a Christian cannot do without in this battle to reach our promised land. We must take it everywhere we go because we never know when it will be needed, and it is faith that extinguishes or takes the fire out of the missals of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16).

Faith is confidence in God and without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).

6. Take the helmet of salvation

A helmet is a protective gear that protects your head in battle. The Lord here is telling us that we need to be assured of our salvation in Him. This assurance will protect our minds when the enemy comes in with all his accusations and discouragement. In the day of battle you need to have the assurance that The Lord is The One who will save you:

O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle

Psalm 140:7

7. Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God

The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God is the only offensive weapon in the armour of God. In Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness it is the Word of God that He used to overpower satan. You use the Word of God offensively when you confess it to whatever situations you are facing. The Word of God is sharp and it will cut from the roots any plant (i.e. sickness, discouragement, pride, poverty etc.) that the Father has not planted (Matthew 15:13):

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

8. Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit

The Bible says we should pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). To pray in The Spirit is to pray the heart and mind of God. His heart and mind can be found in the Bible and when you pray in tongues you are also praying in the Spirit:

For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries

1 Corinthians 14:2

9. Be watchful to the end

We are given a charge to be watchful. A soldier on the battlefront knows that he or she cannot afford to sleep or slumber because the enemy could attack at any time. Likewise as Soldiers in the army of God we are charged to be watchful and not to sleep because we do not know when our Lord is coming (Matthew 24:42) however we are also warned to be sober and vigilant because we have an enemy who prowls around like a lion seeking someone to destroy:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour

1 Peter 5:8

10. Persevere and make supplication for all saints

The final charge is that we must be patient or persevere and make supplication for all saints. We are told to persevere because the race is not for the swift (Ecclesiastes 9:11) but it takes endurance (2 Timothy 2:12).

Just to recap, this is how we can prepare for war:

1. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and put on the whole armour of God
2. Stand having girded your waist with truth
3. Put on the breastplate of righteousness
4. Have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
5. Above all take the shield of faith
6. Take the helmet of salvation
7. Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God
8. Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit
9. Be watchful to the end
10. Persevere and make supplication for all saints.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I thank You for Your Word. Please help me to daily put on the whole armour of God that I may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. I stand therefore, having girded my waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which I will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And I take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints in Jesus name, amen.

Listen to Message

You can also listen to this message on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLhWXMcl6NE

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please download your free book: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

What does it mean to be successful in God’s eye?

This week’s scripture, encourages us to obey all the commands of God so that we can be successful:

If you obey all the commands in this agreement, you will continue to succeed in everything you do.

Deuteronomy 29:9 (ERV)

What is success?

There are many definitions of success. The world tends to define success by your education, position in life and the things you possess, i.e. money, houses, cars etc. These things perform an important function in our lives however we cannot measure our success by the things that we possess only.

Jesus warns us that we should “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15)

God does promise that if we obey His commands He will make us successful in everything we do, this means we will flourish spiritually, financially, physiologically, relationally, academically, and in all other areas.

What does it mean then to be successful in God’s eyes?

Biblical success can be defined as the following:

1. Having a relationship with God

We can only have a relationship with God The Father through Jesus Christ His Son:

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6)

2. Love The Lord and love your neighbour as yourself

Once we have this relationship with God we should learn to love the Lord and to love our fellow human beings as we love ourselves:

“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)

3. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness

The Kingdom of God is the reign of God in the hearts of people and it is also an everlasting Kingdom (Psalm 145:13) that will replace all the kingdoms of this world (Daniel 2:44, Revelation 11:15).

When we seek for the expansion of God’s Kingdom on earth, the way we spend our time and the things we do will be different. We will be so Kingdom minded that we will want to share the good news about Jesus Christ everywhere we go at any given opportunity, and when we do this all the natural blessings that we want will be given unto us:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33)

4. Walk in God’s purpose for your life

There is a purpose or reason for everything. Purpose is God’s original intention for you, it is the reason why God created you.

I want to assure you that there is a reason why you are alive, and your responsibility is to find out what that is. Each one of us has been called and given a specific purpose, even before time began:

“Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9)

Surrender to Jesus

You can only discover your purpose in God your Creator, therefore if you have not yet surrendered your life to Jesus, please do so by repenting of your sins and asking Jesus to come into your heart and then ask God to show you the purpose for your life.

God has inspired me to write a 30-day workbook which is designed to help you to discover your purpose in 30-days. It will provide scriptures for you to meditate on that pertains to purpose and allow you to record any dreams, thoughts or ideas, prophecies, and impressions that come to you. If you would like a copy once it is published please let me know.

5. Fear God and keep His commandments

The Bible tells us that when all is said and done, we ought to fear God and keep His commandments:

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

Please respond

These are my definitions of biblical success. What do you think it means to be successful in God’s eye? Please share your views, I would love to hear from you. Please contact me at info@blessingcoaching.com

God bless,

Blessing

How do we get joy?

We began by looking at what is joy, and then the effects of joy. None of this will be useful unless we know how we can get joy. Here are some suggestions according to the Word of God:

1. Surrender our lives completely to Jesus. We do this by repenting or turning back on our sins. When we do this even God and His Angels rejoice:

I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:7, 10

2. Obey the commandments of the Lord

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full

John 15:10-11

3. Ask God to anoint you with the oil of gladness

Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

John 16:24

4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.

1 Thessalonians 1:6

 5. Become born again into the Kingdom of God

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17

6. Make a choice to be joyful. Offering sacrifices of joy – Psalm 27:6; sing praises unto the Lord, offer shouts of joy (Psalm 35:27); play instruments (1 Samuel 18:6); jump or leap (Luke 6:23).

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice

Philippians 4:4

7. Come into the presence of God – get alone and be quiet before Him.

Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

Acts 2:28

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 16:11

How do we get Joy:

1. Repent of our sins and surrender our lives to Jesus
2. Obey the commandments of the Lord
3. Ask God to anoint you with the oil of gladness
4. Be filled with the Holy Spirit
5. Become born again into the Kingdom of God
6. Make a choice to be joyful by offering sacrifices of joy
7. Come into His presence

Find out more at www.blessingcoaching.com

5 Steps to developing a vision for your life

Do you have a vision for your life?

Vision is vital in life, whether it’s a vision for your spirituality, family, career, business, finances, etc. it is vital that as human beings we have a vision for our lives. The Bible says that where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). In other words, people perish where they do not know where they are going.

A vision is a mental sight, i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle to guide you to where you are going. It is a picture in your mind that you perceive in your heart about the things that you are supposed to be doing with your life here on earth.

God gives us all visions about what we are created to do and where we should be going. These may take the form of day visions where you perceive something with your spiritual eyes that the natural eye cannot see, or through dreams whilst sleeping.

If you don’t have a vision or road map for your life, don’t despair. Follow these instructions and I believe that God will give you a vision for your life:

1. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ, acknowledging that Jesus died to forgive you of your sins and ask Him to come into your life and be Lord over your life;

2. Pray and ask God to give you His vision and purpose for your life;  

3. Whatever ideas come into your mind, write it down;

4. Reflect on the ideas that come to you and ask God for direction on how to proceed;

5. Take action on the direction given to you by God. Do something everyday that moves you closer towards your God-given vision.

My forthcoming book, ‘How To Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams’ will be published shortly. On offer are practical instructions on how to discover your purpose, how to access solutions to problems you are facing or decisions you are struggling to make – all through dreams. Please subscribe now to be the first to receive your copy. Visit my website http://www.blessingcoaching.com for further information.

With love,

Blessing