Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
INSIGHT
-The imagery of a great cloud of witnesses seems like a huge amphitheater in an athletic contest. These are not just spectacular but great hero’s of faith as mentioned in the previous chapter. The Greek word for witness is martus which means a martyr or testifier. They bear testimony to the power of faith and to God’s faithfulness. We know that whatever happens in the natural first takes place in the spiritual space. Since we are spiritual beings in bodies, and formed in a tripartite form, that is the body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The body is the outer part that contains the soul and spirit. Soul is involved in emotions and feelings, self-consciousness etc. Spirit connects us to God, and it is where the Holy Spirit dwells since our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). We should then win every contest in the spirit as we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith.
PRAYER
Almighty Heavenly Father, You are so great and Holy. You are highly exalted and magnified, wonderful in all Your ways. You are our God and Savior, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith, we believe in You and all our hope is in You. May You increase our faith in You dear Lord Jesus. We appreciate You Lord for all You have done unto us and what You You are doing in our lives. May You guide us and lead us throughout this week. Thank You for turning around all things to work for our good. Dear Lord, we humbly ask you to forgive us our sins and remove all that is not pleasing to You from us and sanctify us through our whole body, soul and spirit. May You empower us and help us as we run our races so that we may emerge victorious for the glory and honor of Your name. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further reading: Hebrews 11:6
Acts 12:21-23 NIV
“On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
INSIGHT
-Once Herod Agrippa spoke to the people and they gave him praise for he constantly gave them food supplies. Instead of channeling the glory to God, he received it. This was the biggest error he could do to himself for it costed him his life and his immediate downfall. The angel of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten by worms. James 4:6 reveals that, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” We should not take any of the glory for it belongs to God and this pleases Him. To win our battles, we need to hold fast humility in our hearts which comes before honor. Self-glorification is a great hindrance over spiritual victory. Job 41:34 tells us that the Leviathan spirit is king over all that are proud, and it looks down on all that are haughty. When we habor pride in our hearts, we give these marine spirits a legal right to oppose us. We should remember to give God all the glory for only He deserves it. Once we exalt God and humble ourselves, God lifts us up. The Bible tells us that pride comes before a fall, disgrace and opposition always follows pride. With Humility comes wisdom and favor from God. Let us therefore be wise and do our best by the grace of God to direct all glory to God even as people glorify us.
PRAYER
Almighty Heavenly Father, we come before You today with humble adoration and thanksgiving in our hearts. Thank You God for all You have enabled us to do so far this year up to this point. Father we humble ask You to forgive our sins and cleanse us by the blood of Jesus. Forgive us for not praising You at all times and not thanking You for the many things You have done and enabled us to do. Oh Lord forgive us for our pride and the many times we have rejected You our God and praised ourselves. May You deliver us for any lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. Father, may You sanctify us with Your blood Jesus. We pray that You will give us more grace to be humble before You and give You all the praise, honor, adoration for all our achievements. Dear Lord, may You take away all our pride and give us pure humility. Do not oppose us oh Lord but show us Your favor and teach us Your ways. Search us and know our thoughts, try us and know our anxieties so that whatever is not from You, You will remove from us and take it away from us, that we may be acceptable before You. We speak the blood of Jesus over ourselves and our blood line, if the Leviathan spirit and any evil spirit has gotten a legal right again us, may You remove it with Your precious blood. You Jesus are the One who has crushed the head of Leviathan and given it as good to the creatures of the desert, may You fight for us. May You cleanse us through and through and remove any accusation against us our Righteous Judge. May You set us free and give us victory and freedom over all weakness, addiction, sickness, delay, lack and every kind of infirmity. May Your grace and peace be over us, our families and nation dear Jesus, now and forever. Amen
Further reading: Isaiah 27:1, Psalm 74:14, Proverbs 11:2
Zechariah 3:1-7 NIV
“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.”
INSIGHT
-Zacharia saw a vision of Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan stood by his side to bring an accusation against him. Joshua had worn filthy clothing and turban, which was cause for opposition. Possibly this was because of his sin or those in his blood line. The vision displays the importance of cleansing of priests in the land, and their religious and moral purity. The angel of the Lord charged Joshua to put on a clean garment and turban, and to obey God’s commandments. The place of repentance and obedience to the commands of God is key for us to win any spiritual battles. We find Job who often offered a burnt offering for himself and his family each morning lest his children had sinned or cursed God in their hearts (Job 1:5). We have received provision of forgiveness in the blood of Jesus which was given and not earned (Isaiah 64:6).
PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross. We appreciate You for You died on the cross for our sins and have liberated us to God the Father. When we were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world, You have brought us near by Your precious blood. We thank You for Your sacrifice and for Your precious blood that washes away all our sins. May You cleanse us, and our blood lines with Your precious blood and remove all accusations against us by the devil and his agents. May You cleanse all our priests, prophets, pastors, the entire church and nation and make us whiter that snow. We shall overcome by Your precious blood and the word of our testimonies in Your name Jesus. We are more that victorious in You Christ Jesus and in Your promises for us. We believe in You and hope in You and it is in Jesus mighty name we pray believing and trusting. Amen
Further reading: Ephesians 2:12-13, Revelations 12:11
Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
INSIGHT
-Through this text we realize that God has provided everything that we require to win every spiritual battle against the evil one. We are encouraged to be strong not in ourselves but in the Lord and His mighty power. In the same wavelength, to put on the full armor of God that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. We are called to put on the belt of truth. The belt secures the pants from falling and it was also used by the soldiers to harness their swords and other weapons. The belt of truth indicates the truth of the word of God that is contradicted by the devil, the father of all lies (John 8:44). It also warns us from engaging in sexual immorality which wars against the body and destroys the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-19). The breastplate of righteousness protects the heart. The soldier’s breastplate plate protects their heart from damage by the enemies swords. We put on the breastplate of righteousness when we put our faith in Jesus who makes us righteous by His blood. The shield of faith reveals that our faith in God makes us righteous in Christ. The shoes of peace indicate the protection that delivers from the thorns and spikes of the grass and ground. The peace of Christ comes through believing and accepting Him in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit releases peace as a fruit. The helmet protects the soldiers head from any crushing blow. The helmet of salvation releases the peace and rest in God who fights all our battles when we know or do not know of it. Last but not least is the word of God which secures us in the promises and covenants of God in our lives, families and everything that pertains to our welfare. We are also called to pray without ceasing and give thanks in everything for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).
PRAYER
Your name Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe. We run to You Jesus and rely on You in our walk of faith with confidence that we shall overcome all our temptations and tribulations. We rely on You and Your mighty power that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. May You protect us dear Lord Jesus from every snare of the evil one. We know that we are more that conquerors in You Christ Jesus. We are victorious in Your name and in Your presence. We shall not be moved or shaken. We shall not fear or be intimidated but we stand upon Your truth and Your word. We shall not be afraid or anxious but we shall release everything to You Jesus our Prince of peace. May Your peace that surpasses all human understanding guard our hearts and minds in You Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen
Further reading: Rebrews 4:12, Philippians 4:6-7
1 Corinthians 15:57 NKJV
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
INSIGHT
-God alone is the author of victory. He formed the plan; He executed it in the gift of His Son; and He gives it to us personally when we come to die. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. By His death, thus destroying the power of death; by His resurrection and triumph over the grave; and by His grace imparted to us to enable us to sustain the pains of death and giving to us the hope of a glorious resurrection.
SUMMARY
We are spirit beings in bodies, and whatever happens in the natural first takes place in the spiritual realm. When one goes to a battlefield, he must understand his enemies and the arsenals his opponents are carrying. That is why we need to put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. From the beginning we find the schemes of the devil to steal, kill and destroy God’s people, but we have hope for Christ has come so that we may have life more abundantly (John 10:10). We are called to put on the belt of truth buckled around our waists, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, shield of faith so that we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. This is because we do not struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:10-18). Our weapons should not therefore be canal in nature but spiritual. We are then called to be alert and always keep on praying, and prayer in the spirit for all the Lord’s people. Also, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we should throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. We are called to run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). We are a reminded to rid ourselves from pride which brought down Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:21-23), king Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:28-33) and Satan the fallen angel (Isaiah 14:12–17). The devil was cast down and became the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). He accused Joshua the high priest while standing before the angel of the Lord, for he was dressed in filthy clothing. The Lord rebuked Satan and placed a clean turban and garment over Joshua the priest and forgive his sins (Zechariah 3:1-7). We are called to constant repentance and getting rid of sin that sometimes become cancerous. God is Holy and He calls us to be holy. God is Righteous and He makes us righteous by having faith in Him through the gift of salvation. We are also called to stand up Jesus Christ who is the Rock of our salvation for He has overcome it all. With His blood over us we have His canopy of protection and preservation over us. His name is a strong tower and when we lift His name high; He draws us to His side and grants us victory in everything for the glory and honor of His name.
PRAYER
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests upon You Lord our God. We lift Your name high Lord Jesus in all the heavens and the earth for only You deserve. You are worthy of our all our praises Jesus Christ. Salvation, glory and power belong to You our God; because Your judgments are true and righteous. May You forgive us for the many times we have sin and harbored pride in our hearts. May You forgive us for taking in glory for ourselves for all glory and honor belongs to You dear Lord Jesus. May You fight for our us in every battle for only You have overcome all the schemes of the devil. May You grant us victory in all things according to Your great purpose and will. As we come to the close of year may You help us to accomplish every work and mission according to Your promises and purpose. May You accelerate us and make us successful in all things. May You bless us and keep us Lord. May You shine Your face towards us and be gracious unto us. May You show Your countenance unto us and give us peace. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen
Further reading: Proverbs 21:31, Revelation 12:9