Living Moment by Moment Pt 1

…the only thing that Satan must accomplish to defeat us is to steal the moment, which he does by reminding us about the past or nudging our fears about the future.

…Many Christians have allowed an incident in the past to continue to steal abundant life from them in moments that stretch into days and then years.  One allows this to happen in dancing with the devil, whose plan is to steal not just one moment, but the whole life!

…At any given moment one is either in the flesh or in the Spirit, tapped into eternal defeat or eternal victory.

…What opens the door (to Christ’s life) is humility, saying that one has nothing or, “I can’t!”  What closes the door is pride, which says, “I can.”  God has so structured things that victory will only be moment by moment as we abide in Him.

…Is the baggage and residue Satan’s stronghold to destroy you or God’s stronghold to bless and give you abundant life?  It is God’s stronghold!  The very thing that you have been begging God to take away, which you believed would allow you full and unhindered service and fellowship with the King, is the very assurance God has that you will continue to fellowship with and serve Him.  Praise God, His ways are not man’s ways!

…For some reason that we need not know, the majority of Christians are satisfied to walk away from the Lord; God allows it, but is not content until He calls them back to Himself.  Anyone who wants to go from the room called “Carnal” to the suite named “Spiritual” must take the only doorway, named “Trouble, Suffering, and Defeat.”  And so it is with all who are called to return to Him; they must pass through that doorway!

…The Lord spends considerable time teaching us to recognize the baggage and residue when it surfaces.  Those old things (depression, unbelief, desire to do drugs) are flashing red lights informing us that the door is closed.  And here is a secret: the more baggage that one has, the more flashing red lights he has, and the more he will be aware of his need to abide.

…Paul was given a frailty that made him say, “I can’t,” which opened the door to Christ’s life and caused His power to be released.  The more weakness, the more power released; therefore, he would be proud of his limitations.

…God is never, I repeat, never outdone by Satan.  Don’t lament over your past failures, hurts, and identity; they have all been crucified, and their remembrance is but God’s stronghold.

When Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, he is not describing what he would have the Galatians imitate, which would simply produce artificial fruit with no substance or value.  Rather, Paul is describing what a believer manifests when the door to Christ’s life is open.  If you are naturally manifesting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and so on, you are enjoying life in the Spirit.  However, if these are not present, you can be sure that the door has been closed.

…If you would experience abundant life, it must be embraced moment by moment!

“steal the moment”…that is Satan’s goal.  Right now…this moment…Christ’s life, or the door closed to Him.

I have had “garbage and baggage services” in churches before…I have helped folks to “reclaim the ground” given to Satan…  It is amazing how many live exactly where Michael speaks of: reminded of the past, or fearing the future.  It is time for Christians to be taught and helped to know, understand, reckon, and appropriate the Truth in their lives.  Who Christ is in us, and who we are in Christ.  Get away from the defeated foe!

It is a monumental moment for a Christian to realize the difference between the garbage and residue from the past NOT being Satan’s stronghold, but God’s stronghold!  Is it because Christians seem to be taught to focus on their sin and deficiencies and trying to get a victory over those, instead of focusing on who they are in Christ…and who He is in them? 

I watch sporting events all the time…I have NEVER seen the winning team drop their heads, cover their heads with towels, droop their shoulders, and head to the locker room with no shouting, no slapping of hands, no bumping of chests…you know the picture.  So how can we be “overcomers” and “victors” IN CHRIST, and look & act like “losers”?  Aaaah…the lack of teaching of “the power of the Cross”!