Spiritual Power

When spiritual authority is lost

Reading for today: Psalm 6, 12, 94 Lam. 1:17-22 2 Cor. 1:8-22 Mark 11:27-33 The closer Jesus gets to the work of the cross, the more the spiritual leaders press to trap Jesus. They sense their power base fading and they are desperate.

The temptation to avoid and the invitation to grasp

The temptation to avoid: The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.Continue reading “The temptation to avoid and the invitation to grasp”

When we are out of power

As I read through the gospels again I am struck this time by the many ways the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus. When we have lost spiritual power and authority all we have left is manipulation. We are left trying to trap people in “doctrinal error” rather than walking in true authority ourselves. MarkContinue reading “When we are out of power”

I am meditating through the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4 again. I am continually challenged with the thought of Jesus being full of the Spirit, then led BY the Spirit into spiritual battle. We pray for spiritual power, but we don’t want the battles. Miracles don’t happen in calm times. Jesus didn’t walk onContinue reading “Spiritual power”

Do we settle for the dominion of the enemy?

I can still remember parts of a sermon I heard many years ago from Loren Cunningham, founder of YWAM, on the passage Matthew 8:28-34. The message was called “Swine over the Savior.” The people of that region seemed to have “settled in” with the idea of the demoniac men running wild. They could at leastContinue reading “Do we settle for the dominion of the enemy?”

Living in Jubilee

I am reading prayerfully through the Gospel of Luke and today found me in Chapter 7. It has been a chapter I’ve slowly worked through in prayer the last couple of days, and I imagine I may be here a little longer. It is a wonderful place to start a New Year. As I reflectContinue reading “Living in Jubilee”