“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
6 “The night before Herod was going to bring him out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two chains, and there were guards on duty at the prison gate. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up, and said, “Hurry! Get up!” At once the chains fell off Peter’s hands. 8 Then the angel said, “Tighten your belt and put on your sandals.” Peter did so, and the angel said, “Put your cloak around you and come with me.” (Acts 12:6-8)
God is a breaker of chains. I have a testimony to share from my life recently and a journey that I invite you to embark on with me if you feel led by the Lord. This past Friday into Saturday I fell into a pit of despair and depression that was so deep that I felt no light could get past it but oh, how wrong I was. I know the Word of God and I stand by God’s Almighty authority that His Word is faultless and true, but at times I have my struggles the Lord knows. The Word of God tells us in psalm 139:11-12,
“If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, And the night will be the only light around me,” Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You, But the night shines as bright as the day; Darkness and light are alike to You.”
The Lord led me to pray to Him by the power of His Holy Spirit, to make a declaration to have enough with the lies of the enemy, and to stand on the authority of the Word of God which tells me that He came to give me life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). I cried out to God to give me His living water so that I might live and not perish any longer. The Lord shined His light into my life and a healing in my heart began, one that I had tasted but had never experienced in its entirety before, like the Samaritan woman at the well.
“Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you-I am he.” (John 4:4-26)
I went to sleep soon after the prayer was spoken and at 2am I was woken up by the Holy Spirits whisper to my soul. I heard “40 days” and “March 1st”. I inquired as to what that meant and decided I would head off to sleep but then images began to flood into my head. I saw myself doing a video on Facebook and taking pictures of myself and of my wedding ceremony. I heard a call from God inviting me to get out of my comfort zone and the shackles of shame I had allowed to take hold of me. I tasted the freedom that the Lord promises and so graciously provides but tried to go back to sleep thinking how ridiculous this idea was, laughing at the thought like Sarah laughed when the Lord told her that she was going to have a child in her old age (Genesis 18:12). I realized my error, confessed and repented to the Lord, recognized the blessing of answered prayer, and accepted His calling on my life.
Anyone who knows me can tell you why this was such a miraculous event. I don’t take pictures of myself, I have so many times refused to do a video even to give a testimony of the goodness of our Lord, and because of my overwhelming shame of myself I even refused my own husband the blessing of a wedding day photo. The Lord was freeing me as He so graciously does. I was terrified and excited. I went to the “Life Mission” church app and was going to watch their latest sermon entitled “The Battle” but when the pastor began to ask the hard questions about the battles that we face I knew that I wasn’t ready to receive the word. On Sunday morning however the Lord made me to be ready to listen and to receive. I was blessed with confident hope and trust in the Lord that in Him I could be victorious, and in turn help those who are suffering and in need of the only truth in Christ that will set the captive free.
“The [captive] exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon, nor will his food be lacking.” (Isaiah 51:14)
So as all of you know today is the first day in March, which I was at the onset unpleasantly surprised by since I thought I had much more time in Christ to prepare. Now I know experientially as I have seen before, that God’s time is always right on time and perfect. Today I posted my first live video ever in life on Facebook for all to see, speaking of my testimony, the 40 day calling and inviting others along with me, to Salvation in Christ, and onward to His promise of freedom.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
So I am telling you all of this to say that God in Christ wants you to be free and to find joy in His gift of Salvation. Perhaps you too are struggling too with shame, despair, fear, or depression. Perhaps you are shackled in by sin in your life, the shame of regret, or are finding a lack of peace from the worry and the stress of life. God wants to meet you where you are and the perfect thing about it is that if you allow Him in He will go above and beyond everything you could ever hope or imagine. I invite you to let Him in and if you don’t believe in Him, give Him a chance. If He can give me victory and invite me of all people to lay down my own selfish intentions, He can and He will free you from your cuffs so you can lay your shackles down. Trust in Him and you will never regret it. My own journey deeper in God has just begun. Won’t you call on the name of the Lord with me? What have you got to lose but your enslavement?
You can watch the video itself on my facebook page and I am inviting everyone to put #cuffsoff and share your testimony for the day. Please leave a comment on this post or send me friend request on Facebook: Crystal Spence. I would love to hear from you, to pray with you, to fellowship with and support you, and to see people set free through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Let us pray:
Lord we thank You that You are inviting us to be free in You. Thank You for Your Word which proves the truth that You have come to set the captives free. Please help me to trust You in this process and the plan that You have laid out for my life before time began. I admit that I am a sinner and I repent of my sins. I believe that You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins, so that I can be reconciled in blissful and blessed relationship to God the Father. I believe that on the 3rd day Jesus Christ rose from the dead in fulfillment of the Scriptures all so that I might be saved and live my life through Him. I offer You my life in sweet surrender. I am all in. I give You my life, my heart, and my spirit to be conformed into the image of Your Son. Set me free Lord. I have been weighed down by the shackles and cuffs of lies that I have bought into. You are the Word, the Truth, and the life and I am trusting in You for a breakthrough. Heal my heart Lord. Lift me up and see me through all to Your honor and glory. Watch over me and open my heart to see my shackles so that through You I might lay them down these 40 days if it is Your will that I partake, and into Your life everlasting. Save me. Recommit me to Your love. I honor You and I worship You and I bless Your Holy name. Thank You for Your love, the graceful gift of Salvation, and for freedom. Yes! For freedom. I believe and receive that the truth has set me free. Hallelujah! In Jesus name. Amen.
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:3-5)
As babies we are all born into the fight of life where we wrestle with men of flesh. As Christians we are “reborn” onto a battlefield which the bible tells us is one of the spiritual realm, and we have to be armed at all times. We have to recognize who our adversary is and lean on the Lord for our strength by the truth of His Word.
“Be alert and of sober minded. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
God has given us many promises from His Word and yet He also promises us that there will be trials and tribulations here and the reminder that we are to be firm in our faith in Him. I have been tried and am still being tried by the enemy everyday as I am sure all of my brothers and sisters in Christ are, yet we have hope and strength to be found in that thankfully the victory is not based on us but the overcoming resurrection power of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
The adversary often appears in our minds and in our hearts and we have to stand strong. We are called into battle so let’s fight the good fight of faith lifting up our brothers and sisters in Christ who have fallen and catch those who are in fear of backsliding. Let us lift up the souls of those who are lost and not allow the enemy to win. Too many times we are shaken by what the enemies henchmen have to say but we have to realize that just as the weapons we are fighting with are not of the flesh, our enemy is not those who are of flesh and blood. There is a place out there that the world doesn’t know. There is a Kingdom ahead of us that the world chooses not to see. There is a King on the throne on whom we choose to believe. Let us do all that is in our power to live in the light of the One who reigns and whose Kingdom has no end.
Brothers and sisters if God has made you aware of this fight and if the enemy is trying to steal your joy today, the Lord deserves all of your honor and your praise,
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoiceand be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
The bible does well to advise us without apology or regret,
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13)
We have been called into battle my brothers and sisters and we are victorious in it through Christ who has already defeated the enemy for us. If we have accepted Christ we have already accepted the battle and therefore also share in its victory. Let us remember then that there is now no reason for us to live in defeat.
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)
“Take care brothers and sisters, that there not be in any one of you a wicked, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But continually encourage one another every day, as long as it is called “Today.”, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3: 12-13)
As brothers and sisters in Christ we are blessed to serve the One true God the living God who is spirit and intimately acquainted with all of our ways. We also have a physical symbol which is real, bold, and powerful to hold onto the one on which Christ died for us for the cleansing of our sin; the cross of our Salvation. In Hebrews we are taught by Paul that we need to be continually clinging to our faith on a daily basis and be steady in encouraging one another in our faith knowing that although we are saved there are all sorts of temptations of the world and from the enemy set on leading away from our first love, that is Christ.
“Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. “(1 Peter 5:9)
“For we have become partakers of Christ, if only we hold firm our newborn confidence until the end, while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your heart, as when they provoked me.” For who were they who heard and yet provoked Him? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies were scattered in the desert?” (Hebrews 3: 14-17)
In the book of Exodus we are told of how God led His people Israel through the wilderness and out of their slavery in Egypt under the rule of Pharaoh. The Israelites watched God protect their children by the presence of blood on their door posts, they saw Him rain down judgment upon judgment upon Pharaoh in the form of plagues, gnats, frogs, and a river turned to blood. They saw His provision for their needs when the Egyptians offered them their gold and their own possessions, when He caused the sky to rain down manna for them to eat, when He caused water to flow from a rock to quench their thirst, and when
“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to given them light…” Exodus 13:21
Yet after every miracle and after everything that God was continually doing for them to protect them and to get them to place their faith and reliance on Him they complained, they didn’t believe in Him, and they even wanted to return to their bondage of slavery. Paul pleads with us not to go that route. In this message to the Hebrews Paul is speaking with the Jewish converts to Christ encouraging them to hold onto their faith instead of going back to the Law and to the religious rites that can’t save them and yet he is speaking with all of us today, starting with me. I encourage all of us here to hold fast to the cross of our salvation no matter what it costs us in this lifetime because the prize so often is greater than the effort and the trials it took to gain it. We have a lot to hope for and we have One who we can without any doubt place our trust and our faith in. So today if you find yourself wavering, hold firm to Christ and let us hear the voice of Paul encouraging each one of us to reach out to one another, in encouragement and in love.
“Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21)
I want to be a vessel to Your majesty.
Help me to do Your will.
Lead me on Your way.
The brighter side of the day is always when I wait,
Let us admit, we are a people who tend to forget. The word of God is chock full of people who have forgotten the word of the Lord, gone their own way towards destruction, and done what was right in their own sight. The word of God is also a Holy Book of repetition that reminds us continually to fix our thoughts on the Lord. One thing I continue to learn in my walk of faith is that what fills my mind is what I am. If I speak words of failure and words of negativity, if I watch things which are harmful to my spirit and grieve the Holy Spirit of God, if I hang around people who speak expletives and foul language all the time… the list goes on, then my mind will tend to become clouded with thoughts, words, scenes, and lead to actions which will harm my spiritual growth. We have a choice every moment of the blessing of our lives and we can choose to as the word says, “take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5) or not. Today I invite us to take heed of the word of God choosing to be doers of the word and not only hearers. In 2 Peter 1:15 Peter tells us plainly, “And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.” May we all be careful to remember to,
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” (Proverbs 4: 23-27)
When we focus our mind on those things which are God edifying and God glorifying we will begin to notice a change in ourselves and our transformation in Christ will be more evident to others. There is power within us brothers and sisters by the power of the Lords Holy Spirit which today indwells within us thanks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Hallelujah (Praise the Lord)! We don’t have to be partakers of sin. We don’t have to allow the negative thoughts from our past and the words people have said to bring us down, keep us in their trenches. We don’t have to give into despair at the world collapsing around us. May we never forget that,
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” (Romans 8:11)
Truly when we make the choice to give our minds over to the will of God rejoicing will take over us as we see the Word come true,
“But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me.” I, the Lord, have spoken! (Isaiah 54:17)
I know that times are hard and it can be difficult to change our tune when we find ourselves in a rut. I know that it can be a lot to change our thoughts about ourselves. Yet we have to realize that the choice is ours but the power is not. Victory is from the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:57) and when we give our thoughts over to Him the peace of God can be ours. Let us agree with the Apostle Paul in this,
“8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
Let’s pray together:
Beloved heavenly Father please help me to guard my heart and mind today so that I don’t let in the lies the enemy has told me throughout the years, so I watch what I watch, and am careful who’s spirit I allow to drive Yours out. I believe that Your Holy Spirit indwells me and I thank You for such a powerful, victorious, and conquering gift. Help me Lord by the power of Your Holy Spirit to fix my eyes on Your good so that I don’t lose sight of You in my darkest moments. Keep my eyes fixed on You. Keep my ears open to Your voice. Keep my lips speaking words out loud and in my mind that are glorifying and sweet to You. May I rejoice in Your power though my circumstances haven’t changed. May I radiate Your joy in the glow of my face all of this day. Thank You my Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.
“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Mark 10:9)
Lord I praise You that You have made things clear between me and my soon to be husband. We got engaged last night Lord and I want to thank You for hearing our prayers for our relationship. Things have not been perfect and all lined out for us and yet You have shown up in our relationship and in him and I want to thank You very much. Lord it’s been a blessing of 3 1/2 years with him as You know but I realized even before we were engaged last night that there is no one that I would rather spend the rest of my life with. O Lord, my God I know that things between us will not be perfect and I know that things will not always go smoothly but I need You to be at the center of our hearts, our minds, our lives, our attitudes, and our actions. Help us to grow in You alone and together and to grow strong in prayer. Help us to let idols in our lives and our hearts fall away out of love, devotion, and honor to You dear Lord. Help us to stay laughing and silly even in the midst of trials. Help us to love one another Lord even when it hurts. Lord I don’t know where either of us will be a few years down the road but I pray that we will still be fully and completely Yours and with one another. Please watch over my fiance and keep him faithful, safe, healthy, and true to You first, and to Your will, and then to me. Please watch over and bless his family too. Watch over us and keep us daily Lord with Your eye upon us leading us on Your way and in Your will for all the rest of our days. We praise You Lord for You are good. In Jesus name. Amen.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
O Lord my God, the source of my hope.
You are my light and my refuge; the source of my joy.
I will wash Your feet with my tears,
Then wipe them off with my hair.
I will anoint Your head with oil.
For You make me dance through my fears.
Lord all I do I do with pleasure,
Knowing You are the One whom I serve.
Your rescue has delivered me.
More than I, could ever deserve.
Lord I rest my heart, in You alone.
Lord I bow my head, to Your royal throne.
My Salvation came through, Your choosing to, suffer in my place.
My weeping matches Mary’s, in the tears on my face.
When I revel in Your glory and, the sacrifice that You made.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” (2 Peter 3:10)
As I am sitting here at the computer writing this blog the pointing finger is aimed at me first. The reason that it is aimed at us is because we have something to think about. The Word of God tells us that Jesus is coming like a thief. Expected, seen, noticed by all, and with an entrance that everyone will be able to see. However we are also told that like a thief in the night who comes unannounced and at any time, we don’t know the day, the date, or the hour of Christ’s arrival. The people of the world live in disbelief that we have a Savior and they definitely laugh off the possibility that He will come again. The finger points ahead at the Children of God and asks how are we living and what in our hearts do we truly believe?
“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:3-14)
We can see the evidence of the nearness of Christ every day. But are we concerned how we are living? Do we clean up our hearts and prepare the way for the Lord’s coming as John the Baptist did in the Gospels? The finger is aimed at me first my brothers and sisters for I have some things in my life that I need to let go of myself yet we are told that the time is near and at hand. The good news is that we have a God who is faithful to wash us clean and to give us a helping hand as long as we are willing to accept His offer. The world thinks that Jesus is not returning, many have turned from the truth entirely, and even more don’t believe that He ever came to earth at all let alone died for us.
What do you think? What do you believe? Are we living as a people hoping and awaiting a Savior who has saved us, who saves us every day, and who is coming back again to save us? I invite all of us to take the Lord at His word and to get ready, for soon the day will come. Stay awake and keep watch, guard your hearts, and “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:11)
In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus went to pray nearby and told His disciples to pray as well and they fell asleep exhausted with sorrow at the Lord’s capture and death. Today as followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we must stay awake and keep watch. The Lord is coming and we must be ready and steady in prayer. We know that our Savior lives! At the time of the disciples snoozing they had no understanding that Christ came to die and to rise again! We have that hope and knowledge praise God! Now let us go and live like it!
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)
Yet as we wait expectantly for our Lord to come and by His grace to,
“teach us to reject ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensible, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11)
Let us take care not to forget the hope that we have in His return lest we also forget, to share that hope with the world.
“Keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.” (Jude 1:21)
“while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:13-14)
The Lord is faithful and what He says will be will be. So let us wait faithfully and hopefully for the Lord’s second coming, knowing that He is faithful to save.
Facing Life In Christ 