Have you recently thought, or prayed, "God, save us."?
What would "God saving us" look like? And what can we do to allow His "saving us" to happen?
The thorough work of saving, of healing, of salvation and deliverance, can be experienced. God wants to save us. Even more than we want it.
The question often is, "What steps should we take to receive it?"
To experience God's salvation, healing, and deliverance, consider this. Our steps will include humility and prayer.
Constant prayer, constant seeking. Seeking for Him as for treasure. Seeking and praying for God, and His answers, the same way we would seek food if we were in a drought or famine. The same way we would seek for our freedom if we were unjustly imprisoned. The same way we would seek for our next breath of air if someone were trying to strangle us.
The thorough work of deliverance includes humility, prayer and repenting. Repenting, changing from, turning away from, the wrongs actions, beliefs and all wrong things that we have done, and been doing. Making a conscious choice to begin doing things differently, and in a "right" way.
The thorough work of deliverance includes humility, prayer, repenting and renouncing. Renouncing, verbally admitting, and stating, our disagreement with the ways we, and others, have done things. The ways we have thought, believed, spoken, and acted. The ways we, and those around us, have lived.
The thorough work of deliverance includes humility, prayer, repenting, renouncing and recommitting. Recommitting our lives, our beliefs, our actions, even our words, to the ways that please and honor God. The ways that are good and loving. Recommitting to live in ways that are good for others, and not just ourselves.
In these moments of prayer, of repenting and recommitting, it is not just praying and then leisurely walking away from a prayer of forgiveness and continuing to do what we have always done. Don't go on with your day, or life, still talking, thinking and acting how we have always done. How we have grown familiar and accustomed to. But, with intention and focus, recommitting, and paying attention to, what we read, hear, listen to, think, say, and do.
Purposely put effort into thinking, saying, and doing the things that please God. The things He wants us to think, talk and act like are; things that are loving, and honorable. Things that are worthy, wholesome, encouraging, beautiful, good, true, noble and peaceful.
The thorough work of deliverance includes humility, prayer, repenting, renouncing, recommitting and then requesting and declaring His blessing.
This blessing, God's blessing, has two parts. It is speaking, declaring that the curses be broken. Broken by Jesus, because He dies as a curse for us.
The curses that were brought on from the prior ways of living. The prior ways of living, speaking, and thinking. The prior ways of living that were and have been done by our society, our ancestors, our neighbors and especially ourselves.
Declare, follow through with verbally, in prayer and by God's power, breaking the curses we ourselves have allowed. Even ignorantly, unknowingly, allowed. And then request, speak, declare, His blessing over ourselves, our families, cities and society.
Then, the second part, Declare and speak His blessing over all that we do. Over our thoughts and our words. Over our individual and specific lives.
Below is a story I have seen on recorded video before. I recently read, and was reminded again, about this story. It was found on a devotional plan on the Bible app.
The title of this devotional lesson was, "When Heaven invaded Earth".
[ Have you heard about what happened in Almolonga, Guatemala?
Yesterday we talked about what it means when God brings Heaven to Earth through our businesses. Today we’ll see what it looks like on the ground.
Almolonga, Guatemala was a terrible place. Alcoholism, the occult, and witchcraft were widespread. Abuse, murder, and other crimes was rampant. Their four jails were overflowing, and they routinely bussed prisoners to other cities. They were a farming region, but the land was unproductive.
After almost being murdered, one farmer was at the end of his rope. In desperation, he knelt down and rededicated his farm, his life, and the region’s land to God. Other farmers joined him and they prayed that God would shower down His blessings on a land that seemed cursed. They prayed that their corner of Earth would look like Heaven (Matthew 6:10).
The Lord heard their prayer and answered in a dramatic way (Exodus 2:24-25). The people of Almolonga renounced their idols. They stopped frequenting bars and started attending church. Many who were idle began working hard. Marriages were saved and enemies reconciled.
Over the coming years, Almolonga’s 36 bars and cantinas dwindled to three. Each of the four jails in the city closed, and the last one was remodeled as “The Hall of Honor.” The Christian mayor and church leaders there believe 80% of the residents have become followers in Christ.
One of the most dramatic results has been in the realm of agriculture. For years, crop yields had suffered from arid land and poor work habits. Now the land produces up to three harvests every year. Almolonga’s farmers used to send four truckloads of crops to the markets every month. Now they send 40 truckloads per week. Farmers pay cash for large Mercedes trucks and emblazon them with Bible verses and Christian phrases.
The crops themselves have changed, too. Vegetables grow to double their normal size. Carrots often grow to the size of a man’s forearm. Agricultural researchers have visited Almolonga from the US and elsewhere, trying to understand how they get multiple annual harvests of oversized crops. But they don’t find what they expected.
God healed their land.
Do you think the Lord cares about your land, too? ]
[Now it happened after a long time [about forty years] that the king of Egypt died. And the children of Israel (Jacob) groaned and sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out. And their cry for help because of their bondage ascended to God. So God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice [of them] and was concerned about them [knowing all, understanding all, remembering all].
Exodus 2:23-25 AMP]
What bondage, slavery, burdensome, unhappy, unfulfilling, lifesucking things are you, and those around you, trapped in? What about the people in your families, your city, society, or nation?
Will you "cry out" to God?
[and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 AMP]
Are you aware of the dark things that are destroying your life, and the lives of family members and friends? Your city and nation? Do you recognize the need for a change, for a difference?
Does it make you sense, and see, how desperate we are, or how desperate we should be, need to be, for change? Can you see how in need we are, for God to save us from all the darkness and evil?
The evil and awful things occurring, that we, all of us, have allowed, have done, and are doing to ourselves?
[Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10 AMP]
God's kingdom, His country, His nation, what does it look like? What does our kingdom, country and nation currently look like?
God's kingdom, it's Ruler, rulers, and citizens, live with perfect love. They live and walk without fear, without anger, without hurting others. They live and continually act in unselfish love, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness. With thankfulness and gratefulness. Forgiving. Forgiving and choosing love, toward everyone, at all times.
Think about God's kingdom, His nation, His city, His family. What would it look like to live in those?
What does your family, your city, your nation look like?
What does your life look like? Look inside of your mind, your heart, your thoughts, your motives, your desires. What does it look like? How does it compare to God's kingdom?
If you want what God's kingdom, His nation, His city, His family is. If you want the good things of Him and His Kingdom in your life, then consider taking the serious steps, the desperate, sincere, steps that the people of Guatemala did, in the story above.
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