Heavenly or High Places

“And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:6

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Ephesians 6:12

Where are you seated today beloved? If you are with Christ, have accepted his invitation of Salvation and are working it out with all sincerity, In Spirit and in Truth; then you are invited to sit in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus. A place above reproach and condemnation because of the finished work of Calvary. A place in which, though we are weak, we are made strong by Christ’s advocacy on our behalf.

To sit in ‘high places’, means to snuggle and carouse with darkness. It is a place where death, pain and destruction reign supreme. It is constantly dishing out condemnation and hopelessness. That place exists between a place of depravity and utter failure. It is hellish and devastating. Though for a season it may seem pleasurable,  the end of ‘high place’ will leave behind an empty shell of a soul.

At the Palace (Buckingham)

Seated in Heavenly Places

You have an invitation to the heavenly places with Christ today. It is a place of abundant life and victory. Choose life today and live free of the cumbersome weight of sin!!!

Hogwash!!!

Another one bites the dust… the plague that keeps destroying. Blah, blah, blah.  LORD I am tired. Is this a product of the ‘closet’ or the ‘club’. People in glass houses should not throw stones. As you can tell by now I give as good as I get. I am not a good candidate for abuse. I was lying dormant praying for even my worst enemy when ‘people’ started hurling insults on top of the injuries they had caused already. I promise you cannot handle what I have had to put up with, so enough with the innuendos. 

About three hundred people believe the ‘hogwash’ speech was coached and scripted. In this day and age, maybe those people wheeling their bibles around  should be complimented as opposing to those who don’t know where theirs is or who just quote scriptures as a cover-up to their ‘special’ on the side activities. Call me self-righteous all you want, but you would be very wrong because if I was, I would have turned the other cheek.  I wonder who is this person that keeps giving and who is the one hurt 

Gloating Giants

“And the Philistines said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 1 Samuel 17:10

For about forty days and night, Goliath taunted the children of Israel. He stood on a mountain on one side and the Israel army stood on a mountain on the other side. In between the two opponents was a valley. That means for any one to take on the ranting giant, they would have to descend into the valley to get to the other side. A valley experience, was never a good thing. Its stripping, its humbling, discouraging and can be downright humiliating. Not only was the challenge daunting, the experience to the challenge was just as horrifying. So no one in the camp of Israel moved.

“When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.”  1 Samuel 17:11

Fear had gripped the camp, and no one could move; and rightfully so. Goliath’s staff alone the scripture said weighed like a weavers beam. It was intimidating to look at the whole scenario. David was the eight son of Jesse the Ephraimite. His three first sons were already a part of Saul’s army. On one of those battle days, Jesse would send David to the war camp with some food for his brothers. And as he gave them the food and talked with them, the bible says Goliath started his perpetual rant again. And as soon as he started here is what happened.

“And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.” 1 Samuel 17:24

David having observed the whole situation, inquired into the battle and the reward for felling the monster. After word got to Saul, that there was a contender on their side ready to take on the giant, he consented and sent him in. Now here is the main reason the Lord had me write this: it says Jesse’s eldest son Eliab began to undermine and accuse David.

“And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, why comest thou  down hither? And with whom has thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou hast come down that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, what have I done? Is there not a cause?  1 Samuel 17:28-29

Eliab was livid at the nerve of David. He missed the miracle of the moment, how God chooses the foolish and base things of the world to confound the wise. The thought that his baby brother will get any attention as he volunteered for what scared the grown men was too much for him to bear, so he degraded and berated David. And practically shooed him back to the wilderness. So here God was telling someone; I am getting ready to pull you out of that wilderness I put you in, so that I could train you and use you. But the religious was sending the person right back for another round of wilderness roaming. God had trained David for such a time as this, while Eliab hung out on the mountain feeling good about himself as the giant defiled the name of a holy God.

Later David armed primarily with the leading of the Holy Spirit, will head out bravely into the battle for the ‘souls of men and the glory of the Lord.’ He won the battle without the trappings of wealth and title and here is his biblical account of the experience.

“And David said to Saul, let no man’s heart fail because of him, your servant will go and fight with this the philistine. And Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against the philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he  a man of war from his youth. And David said to Saul, thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and came a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he rose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defiled the armies of the living God. David said moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the philistine. And Saul said unto David, go, and the Lord will be with thee.”

We know how it ends, Goliath is slain from ‘his high places,’ David is honored, the people are free and the Lord God of Israel is glorified. We never actually hear about Eliab the ‘enforcer’ anymore, or do we? God had prepared the forgotten youth in the wilderness, and at the appointed time, amidst the taunt and ridicule he arose to fulfill his God given role.