Roots

Each of us carry values. - Things that we hold dear to our hearts, things in our lives that define who we are, what we live for, and who we follow. These values that give us life. Maybe these can also be defined as our 'roots'. What supports the life that we sustain? What does all the work behind the scenes? What's the story within the soil?

In our garden Dad, my brother Isaac and I have recently undergone a bit of tree surgery on an old pear tree. Isaac did most of the work - hacking away at spindly branches to a place where the trunk was bear and could be ready for timber. When we finally felled the tree, chopped it into bit-sized pieces and lumbered it over to the side of the conservatory to leave until we figure out what to do next, the stump of the trunk and the roots were all that remained. The stage of uprooting the tree remains took about twice the amount of time that it took to chop the trunk down. Roots are tough.

Something that springs to mind whenever I'm creating something is the importance of the originality of that thing. That's something I always look to put out in the songs and the blog posts I write and in the artwork I create. There's definitely nothing wrong with adapting to your culture, picking up words and behaviours that you see around you, in fact I think it should be encouraged to some extent, but I think whenever someone hears something that you say or sees something you do that it should carry the distinctive YOU trademark. If this isn't the case we're faced with an identity crisis. The question is, Do you know who you are?


Who we are defines what we do. It defines our values. It defines our ability to create. A lot of people don't know this. Maybe you were one of them. And to you I want to say, "Congratulations!" Now you know. But who are you and what does this mean for you? Well, one thing's for sure. You can create, whoever you are, because as a human being, God's creation, you have been made in His likeness, and being a creative God, He has instilled His creative gift within you. I hope this gives you encouragement. A lot of our creativity comes in the form of free will. Free will and creativity are closely related and some in cases, can represent one another. Free will is the ability to decide to do what you want. The fact that we can make our own decisions for someone who likes to follow procedure is a scary concept. - The reason being that we can make mistakes sometimes. And this is the greatest argument for a life of surrender. Make a you decision... a creative decision... a free will decision... to have your identity - the trunk of your life - what is seen on the outside, rooted in Jesus Christ. This decision is about seeing your old ways and knowing they didn't always work. You didn't belong to anyone, so your values were always shifting and never stable. Recognising that you need someone as your roots, because some'thing' alone has no power to solidify your life. This decision is about knowing that your roots can't just be found in anyone, because you've tried that before. For a while you could rely on your friends. You enjoyed spending time with them and listening to them and learning from them, but in the end they did something that led you down a dark path. These roots are grounded in someone more supreme than man, because man can fail. This decision is about remembering everywhere you've been, that multiple paths don't work and that you need someone who is always reliable. This decision is about becoming rooted in Jesus Christ. He always loves. He always helps. He always reigns. He always forgives. He always speaks. He always listens. He is the perfect foundation for your roots. When your roots are placed in this fertile soil they will be strong. They will be anchored. They will be perfect. I'm in a blessed position to say that I know this soil well. I invite you to make your home in this garden. I am rooted in Christ. You can be too.

Fighting Fantasy

I seriously think I'm in a better place right now than I have ever been in my life. Let me elaborate...
I've started to discover that one of the biggest battles human beings face in this life is an escapist mentality. There's always something we can find not to like in our lives. Feelings, circumstances, etc., but in focusing on these things when we don't need to, we can fail to consider our families and friends and homes with the importance that they deserve. Because we want to 'escape' we start to construct little empires, building more, making more, earning more, getting locked-in to our own little fantasy world. Meanwhile, our families and all that we should be drawing near to in these times are slowly being compromised... For satisfaction many of us look for treasure in the form of books, cars, and possessions, but God has already given us treasure in the form of friends and family and people we trust. Relationships.

"To iPad or not to iPad" In this day and age, some of the most frequent questions we ask ourselves, me included, are questions like, 'What website should I browse?' or 'What video should I watch?' and 'Who should and shouldn't I follow on twitter?' Our visual sensors in this day and age go through a lot. We put our eyes through hell sometimes. Yesterday I was sitting in the conservatory and I thought, and posted on Facebook, 'It's quiet.' Maybe everyone in Leek had put down their iPads, phones, laptops, and computers in a moment of revelation, silenced by the beauty of creation... Or maybe they had all picked up their iPads, instantly absorbed and entranced in a world of technological endlessness... We make choices.

Fantasy Mentality The purpose of this post, however, is not to condemn you in the way that you treat what you have been given, but to enlighten you to some degree, regarding my current recurring revelation of the beauty of relationships, family, and living in the here and now. I love dreams with all my heart, but have been, this year in particular, made aware of the obscurities of some of my desires. For a number of years this 'dream mentality', or as I've started to redefine it, 'fantasy mentality' (the reason being that dreaming is good, fantasizing is bad) dominated my way of life. Since the age of seven I've been a follower of Christ, with the overriding desire to do what's right, but only recently I've discovered that this 'fantasy mentality' had crept in somewhere along the line and become a part of my lifestyle. Fantasy begins as a dream, but becomes ugly when it's driven by impatience, dissatisfaction, greed, selfishness and obsession. Now - Let me be clear. I love Spiderman, Marvel Comics and all that cool stuff. Here I'm not talking fictional tales but about when fantasy becomes our life. There was a significant time in my life and have been a few occasions since where I've let fantasy become my reality! A defining attribute of fantasy, which makes it so bad, is that it's the pursuit of something that is not God's best for you. You might be pursuing something that's right at the wrong time, or even the wrong thing altogether. We have to realise that there are things that we enjoy that shouldn't be pursued 24/7. Are we in love with something or someone? Possessions or relationships? Everything that's wonderful is created by someone, and in those times when we feel depressed, confused and consumed by an obsession with something, it's because in reality, we have taken God off the throne in our lives and the thing we're fantasizing about has become our new god. Our idol.

Dethroning the idols This is so simple. Call your thing what it is. An idol. When God is god of your life, everything else fits in to place and strangely makes sense! Everything becomes beautiful because Jesus is the centre. Anything can be be elevated to the highest place in your life, but only Jesus deserves that place. Even now as I'm writing this God's presence is so strong. Let Jesus take the highest place and watch the dreams become reality. Let the relationships He's put on your life become all they were destined to be... Especially the one you have with Him.

When you've played your part - When you've taken your stand for God, remember that God Himself is speaking over you too: 'I will be your God throughout your lifetime - until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.' (- Isaiah 46 v 4.)

For all the things you long to see and long to be a part of, but seem to be endlessly waiting for, God is also saying, "There is further for you to go with me yet. Let me be God now, so that I will be God then..."

Settle for nothing less than God's best for you.
Keep fighting the fantasy.
Dethrone your idols.
Re-throne God.
:)

Elkman Out.

Preaching - A Church Building Chapter

My friend Adam George and I meet together at my house every Wednesday night to discuss our lives and pray together. The other week we started talking about preaching. A few years ago I preached at my home church Leek Pentecostal Church, for a brief time (where Adam and I both attend). Eventually I felt it was right to step down from that platform because I was also pursuing worship leading and getting familiar with being part of our worship team. Adam and I discussed this and I explained that something I used to over-emphasize in my mind during my preparation time before I  used to preach was the structure. Some of the good qualities of building a structure around what I was going to say were, 1.) Predictability People kind of knew what they were going to get out of my messages. 2.) Confidence I knew where I was going and could essentially read my sermon off the sheet I'd 'prepared' and things would go really smoothly. Everyone would be happy and I'd be like "Okay, cool, that was a success!" The approach of building a structure does admittedly carry good qualities and some people manage to do it for the rest of the life of their ministry! But as my friend Adam George and I continued to talk about this vast topic we moved on to highlight some of the qualities of 'going with the flow', or to put it in other words, preaching 'spontaneously'. These were some of the conclusions we came to. 1.) Sensitivity When you go with the flow people there may be someone in the congregation who specifically needs a word of encouragement from God and your diversion in being sensitive to the Holy Spirit in the room will meet that need. 2.) Captivation A conversation with someone is always more captivating than having a script being read to you. - People enjoy not knowing what's coming up next and are kept on the edge of their seats in anticipation... So we had a good natter about it and came to the conclusion that preparation is important but it should never stop you from putting all your heart, soul, mind, and strength into what you're feeding people, in fact there may be times when you might not need to say all you've written down. If you're a preacher, take note of this. As you gaze into the eyes of the congregation, is what you're saying hitting home? Admittedly there will be the select few people who'll always be more captivated by what's happening around them than anything you have to say, but nonetheless, captivation is something I've taken into consideration and realized to a greater extent the importance of, not just in preaching but in all areas of communication.

I think it's fair to say when preparing my talks, I used to value visual aids more than the actual content of a sermon. I think this was partly because I love a good photograph. I love a good painting. I love a good piece of art. The other reason, ironically, was because I saw the importance of captivation. I guess it just took me a little while to realise I could display a sense of vibrancy not just in the things I could SEE, but in the things I SAID. People did find my illustrations funny, and I still have a deep desire to see more video and imagery in sermons, but I now realise that in those days I deeply underestimated the power of the tongue. Maybe to some extent we're all just having a dabble in learning the true power of our words??

I was talking to God when I went for a walk to Rudyard about all this stuff the other day, and God was showing me the simple truth that the more I practice what I say, the better I get at it. The more I do something the better I get at it. But let's not just leave our gifting to fate and every now and again practice the thing we love and are called to - let's get deep into it. The beauty of simple truths is that their simplicity doesn't underestimate their power. I love it when I'm listening to a sermon and what that person is saying is so simple to me that I feel like I could have said it in my sleep. And that's the mistake we make if we think that we can't say something that is to easy to comprehend. You may even be rehearsing some thoughts in your head today that sound like the most elementary thoughts anyone you know has had all year. And they may be, but that doesn't cancel out the fact that those inspirations are pure GOLD. Simple truths are so underrated and, in my opinion, one of the biggest fear factors today when it comes to any conversation or communication is that what you have to say isn't worth listening to. I reckon in many cases this is what leads people to scripting their sermons, even their lives! Get over the performance, because what's already there may well be what we all we need to hear.


   to be continued_                                                                 

Vision - Faith vs Fear

Fear and faith. - Two forces which have fought over the hearts of men since the beginning of time. Let’s have a look what we can learn about them! Through looking into scripture and based on our own experiences we discovered some interesting contrasts. As you read these discoveries, let them help you to define what voice you predominantly listen to… the voice of fear or the voice of faith…

Fear says: I have needs. Faith says: God will provide.

Fear asks: What if it goes wrong? Faith says: God is in control.

Fear restricts. Faith encourages.

Fear traps. Faith releases.

Fear buries. Faith elevates.

Fear says: I can’t! Faith says: God can!

Fear says: Compromise. Faith says: Persist.

Unbelief and Disobedience

Fear is often a default response to life’s situations. It’s okay to be uncertain or puzzled about something. What matters is how much room you give to your fears. Sometimes fear takes over and becomes a lifestyle. All situations get viewed through a negative lens. Misplaced fear is much like a poison because it spreads and penetrates. It can start off small but soon grows and impacts every aspect of life. Two attributes born out of a lifestyle of fear are unbelief and disobedience. Fear that God cannot do something will lead to belief that God won’t and if God won’t then I don’t. Jesus couldn’t work in an area of unbelief. Some Israelites were in the wilderness and did not enter the Promised Land simply because they didn’t believe.

The Secret

So, we’ve established we don’t want to end up like the Israelites. What can we do with all the fears that we have in our own lives? As Christians we claim that God is in control but at the same time we find ourselves burdened with overwhelming fears. How can God possibly intervene when all we know is fear? Many of us forget what the secret is… God uses our fears to draw us close to Him! Fear is an open door to prayer! And praying about things you’re afraid of almost always develops purpose in your life. When we pray believing that God will speak to us, we will start to develop positive ways of thinking, ways of speaking, and ways of living. When you know Christ one of the things you will discover is that when you are afraid you don’t have to be. Although fear is opposed to faith, if dealt with in the right way you can, with God’s help, watch it propel your faith further than ever before! Since we know that Jesus experienced fear, we can comprehend that fear is not an invalid response to a situation. We can also be encouraged in the knowledge that Jesus had to find the right way of dealing with fear. He prayed.

Positive Speaking

President Ronald Regan said, “We are never defeated unless we give up on God.”  God is our source of strength and often fear can derive from the place of what I am able to cope with. What I am able to handle. God has a wonderful way of making His power and His ability accessible to His children. Yes, He stands above us in His glory, but He doesn’t choose just to be up there in heaven, disconnected from this sinful world. His strength is available to us right here, right now! What seems impossible to man is possible with God. All things are possible with God. God is able. Something that will help to overcome real fear barriers in your life is to remind yourself to elevate your God above your problem. Your fear will continue until you put these words into practise. Speak them over yourself and believe that God is bigger than your problem, because He is!

A Crazy world   

In Owl City’s song Alligator Sky, he says “we’re living in a crazy world where you’ll never guess what could happen next”.  Faith is the ideal practise for these kinds of experiences. For example, sometimes it’s easy to talk to people but other times, if you’re having an off day, you might have to take a leap of faith to talk to someone, and if that’s impossible to do then God is there to talk to. You can be honest with Him! When you do this those worries will turn into ideas and constructive thoughts and feelings that will soar through your mind and equip you for communication. That’s exactly why scripture says, “Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything!” – Philippians 4 v 6. God knows that when we play our insecurities in His hands and open our hearts to Him that we will be filled with healthier emotions. Martin Luther King Jr once declared, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t have the whole staircase.” Let faith be your springboard into a place where in every situation, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, something good is happening in your life. Turn the worrier within into a WARRIOR.

For more posts like this discover Tim Smart's blog world: smarterwords.blogspot.com

The Flock

I want to start by not making my acknowledgments to the birds of Alfred Hitchcock's infamous movie and to thank God that we don't live in that film!!!

There are two animals in the plural tense to which the word 'flock' belongs. Sheep and birds. Towards the end of last year and the start of this year I've been noticing the birds in their flocks and it's a nice treat when you see a LARGE flock of birds. I've particularly enjoyed watching them when taking my twenty minute walk to work if they're flying around. Whenever I see them I always think about church. - About all the people represented. Sometimes I see one or two birds flying off on their own little tangent and sometimes wonder 'Have I ever gone off on my own tangent at church?' When you watch a flock it moves and flows swiftly and as they turn to fly elsewhere every birds moves in sync. Their unison makes watching them pleasing to the eye.

In the Bible followers of Christ are sometimes referred to as a flock (specifically, sheep). And it's mainly Jesus who refers to us as in this way. The parable of the lost sheep for example. Jesus says, 'I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me' (John 10 v 14). 

Let's assume for a moment that the birds I've been talking about that soar in unison together know Jesus. This is why they fly together in an effortless fashion. Now let's imagine a flock that doesn't know Jesus. (Insert least favourite bird here _____.) Now this flock is all over the place. There are one or two who are flying in unison but there's one who's flying in and out of the flock back and forth back and forth! There's another bird who's nowhere to be found! One bird is kind of in unison with the few in the flock but is dawdling slowly behind! Another bird is flying in circles around a tree! Another is even flying in the wrong flock! Watching this flock is exhausting... Because these birds don't know Jesus they're out of sync. Out of sync with one another. Out of sync with what's good. Out of sync with Jesus.

I wouldn't like to make an unfair generalization like 'the church of today is like a flock of birds out of unison because it doesn't know Jesus!' I think that a statement like that would be 1. Completely unfair. 2. Completely untrue. and 3. Downright defeatist! But at the same time I know that churches aren't flying in a place of complete ease and trust. 

What I love are the wonderful ways that God shows us how to be a church like the birds who are easy to watch. I want to look at three factors. 

1. Individual Contribution One of the things that I believe is most important is the need that the church has for you individually to contribute all that you have however you need to. I really enjoy doing this. - Looking for spaces in conversations where I can add something - Looking for ways that I can do something or say something on the spur of the moment - by faith. 

2. One Flock, One Shepherd I play drums in our worship team and sing and play guitar sometimes as well and one of the things I love about the times we worship together is that when we are really feeling what is happening in the song, lyrically, musically, and spiritually, we sometimes know where something is going. Jesus explains this unison. 'They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.' - John 10 v 16. The secret ingredient of the unified flock is its trust in one another that is reliable through the one shepherd that they have in common.  

3. I've got your back 'Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.' - 1 Peter 5 v 2. Just to give a little background here, Peter when he said this was talking to the elders of the churches. Although he was specifically speaking to leaders, I think that all of us should apply this scripture to our lives as well - to the way that we treat the people in our churches. Do we act out of fear or bitterness (grudgingly) or are we doing what we do with joy and love (willingly). Caring for the flock is one of the greatest joys that we can possibly know in this life because what we do to help could be the difference between life and death for the person on the receiving end. Knowing that you've saved someones life really is worth your effort. I'll finish with the lyrics of a song by a band called Sanctus Real. This song was the anthem of our car on the way home from the Ultimate Event, May 2009 and it goes like this:

Oh oh we need each other
So what's the fighting for?
Oh oh we need each other
Please don't close the door
Oh oh we need each other
Through all the highs and lows
Oh oh we need each other
Cuz no one's meant to live alone    


God Bless
The best is yet to come
Elkman out
...

Bible Translation: New Living Translation

You are a Motivational Speaker

Did you know that you are a motivational speaker? Well, now you do. It's true. Within each of us is the ability to MOTIVATE others.

I've just finished reading a book called 'When did you last see her?' from Lemony Snicket's series, 'All the Wrong Questions.' If you didn't know, it's a spin off series from the successful 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' books. 'All the Wrong Questions' stars the character Lemony Snicket as a child and the adventures that he undertook as a member of an incredibly secret and dangerous organisation. Towards the end of the book one of the characters, Cleo Knight, who is a scientist shares with everyone her experience of the treachery and evil deeds of an evil 'scientist' (if that's what he really is) called Dr Flammarion and his villainous master Hangfire. Here's an extract that I want to talk about from the book: 

"You're a monster," she said. It was an angry voice and a quiet voice, and it made me flinch. "You drugged my parents until they couldn't think straight," she said. "You destroyed the note I left for my parents and Zada and Zora. You vandalized my car and lured me into your clutches. You locked me down here and made me work on invisible ink so you could fill this clinic with children and continue your treachery. But that story is over now, Flammarion. You'll never get your hands on my formula, and I'll never rest until Stain'd-by-the-Sea is a proper town again." 

(All the Wrong Questions ch 12, pg 249 - 250.)

'An angry and quiet voice',  reminds me of righteous anger - recognizing that wrong has been done and the desire to sort things out righteously. Sometimes we can't keep our cool and that's okay. Righteous anger results in a burden to see what is right come to pass. I love it how the character Cleo Knight ends on a high note. She starts her speech by pointing out all that has happened and then ends with her dream - ends with what she is passionate about. I'll never rest until stained-by-the-sea is a proper town again.' I don't know what effect Cleo's speech had on the characters who were on her side in the story, but it surely motivated me! And just as this motivated me, each of us, I believe has a burden that we can use to motivate others. We don't have to think long and hard about it, but just share what we're passionate about with the people we see around us. 

Matthew 23 - 24 is an incredible example of the righteous anger that Jesus displays when speaking to the crowds and disciples. He speaks about the pharisees and teachers of religious law hypocrites. They talk the talk but discard the walk. And for a whole chapter Jesus talks about the religious leaders and the rebellion of Jerusalem until in chapter 24, he finishes on a high note with a vision... 'And he (Jesus) will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.' - Matthew 24 v 31. Jesus was working to this end... He had his eyes set on the vision - the end goal - seeing what is right come to pass. And earlier on in Matthew 7 v 28 it says that the crowds were amazed at Jesus' teaching. They were stirred. It motivated them. When we know Christ we have that same power. 'The same power that conquered the grave lives in me.' (Ephesians 1 v 19. ... Hillsong, 'You are Here'.) Christ has given us the same drive. The same righteous anger. The same desire to see things put right and for the Kingdom of God to prevail. Believe it. Discover it. Remind yourself of it. Be changed by it. The power of Christ in you. You ARE a motivational speaker and you can change your world.

Let's pray.

God, thank you for giving me your righteousness. Thank you for giving me a passion for what's right. I choose to use this passion to fight my vision. I will not rest until my town is a proper town again. I will not rest until I see my vision come to pass. Help me not to lose heart but to find new strength in the dawning of every new day, in Jesus' name, amen.

To finish with I'm going to ask a few questions. Hopefully these are 'All the Right Questions'. Lol. Spend some time mulling over these thoughts:

1. What dream have you got that you will never put to rest until you have fulfilled it?

2. What story do you need to put to death?

3. Who is your audience?

See you soon! For all those who are looking, keep searching. God Bless X 

[B.T: New Living Translation.]

The REAL You

Ever feel like your mind is a minefield? One minute you seem okay and the next minute you have a thought and *BOOM!* everything goes crazy and you do something stupid...

In the film Avengers Assemble, the avenger known as Hawkeye has had his mind poisoned by Loki, who is one of the gods of Asgard. Loki has invaded planet earth and wants to get his hands on the 'tesseract' which he plans to use to create a dimensional hole, bringing evil from an unknown world to wage war on earth. The beginning phase of Loki's plans involve polluting the minds of innocent scientists and soldiers using his sceptre. Using his sceptre, Loki gets Hawkeye to do his dirty work. Being lulled into a false sense of security, Hawkeye gets brainwashed and ends up turning against his own side ... Eventually Black Widow, another of the avengers catches up with Hawkeye and engages with him in combat in order to bring him back to his senses. Eventually she manages to whack his head against a metal bar - ouch - which fortunately brings the real Hawkeye round.

Hawkeye wakes up later on to find himself strapped to a doctor's bench with Black Widow watching over him. His mind is still cloudy but eventually, being strapped down, he manages to fight the torment and snaps out of it. He then opens up to Black Widow, sharing all that he went through while under Loki's control.

In Avengers Assemble, Hawkeye went through a process and in using some imagery from the film I want us to look at the process that we have to go through over and over at times in order for to discover the REAL you.

There are three common processes that we go through if we want to fight that lies and become the bold warriors that God wants us to be:

1. THE LIE. - We will most likely be aware of the lie. Although, in our minds the lie may not be a lie but will appear to be true. Deeply shaken by what has happened to him, Hawkeye describes his experience to Black Widow when he comes back to consciousness. He says, 'Do you know what it's like to have someone take over your mind, pull you out and put something else in?' Sometimes when we deal with sin or doubts or fear it can feel like these feelings have taken us over. And then Hawkeye says, 'Do you know what it's like to be unmade?' Sometimes it can feel like we have become someone else - that we are not our own anymore. But we can choose to say, 'No, this isn't me. I'm NOT unmade. The real me IS here. The real me will not be lost in the exaggerated lies that I have been exposed to...' When we believe the lies we'll do things that we never thought we'd do.

2. THE BLOW. - Another word for blow can be 'punched', 'hit' or 'knocked'. I love this imagery showing the process that Hawkeye goes through. When he awakes and sees Natasha (aka. Black Widow) and is isolated - strapped to the bench - he eventually snaps out of his trance. When Hawkeye inquires about how he broke through, Black Widow says to Clint (aka. Hawkeye), 'I hit you really hard on the head.' God knows how to get our attention and sometimes that's through hitting us round the head. In fact, every time that the devil is giving us gyp ask God to give you a good whack round the head. The Word of God - The BLOW, is stronger than the devil - The LIE. When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, each time the devil made suggestions that seemed reasonably inoffensive, but each time Jesus replied with a command from God. “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’” - “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” - “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” (Luke 4.) The devil goes around with a couldn't care less attitude, but we as God's people know that boldly combating this with scripture gives us breakthrough. The BLOW is stronger than The LIE.

The next phase is the hard bit. - Persevering through the isolation.

3. THE RESTRAINT. - Before Hawkeye completely recovers he has to be strapped up or he would have caused havoc with his Loki - contaminated mind. He had to be restrained until his mind cleared. To be healed we need to be restrained or 'tied up' for a season... For us that's our private time of prayer, our devotion to the Word, our separation from unhealthy influences. If we don't then we'll run wild and do no one - especially our selves - any good. But when we've spent enough time in those places, praying, studying the word and separating ourselves from unhealthy influences, God says, 'Okay, you're ready - GO fight the good fight.' The key to persevering is to keep speaking scripture over your life - as Jesus did in Luke. Whenever The LIE tries to come back to you - speak The BLOW into action. My cousin encouraged me the other week when I was fighting the lie that I need to just spend some time in The Word. Get alone. Get before God. Get stuck into prayer. When we do this - when we strap ourselves to the doctor's bench and pray and read the Word, the devil will flee. 'So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.' - James 4 v 7. The restraint is necessary. To restrain yourself is to humble yourself before God. To restrain yourself is to resist the devil. Before you know it you'll be firing arrows at your targets in no time, on your guard, ready for anything. FIGHT! 

Keep on fighting! See you soon.

[Bible Translation: NLT (New Living)]