Jesus

God’s Gift of Hate

~ Observant Servant

When I became a Christian, my circle of secular friends was completely uprooted and replaced with Christian friends.

For me, that was to be expected.

When I started going through and talking about deliverance, my circle of Christian friends shrunk considerably and some of the very same Christian friends suddenly didn’t feel comfortable around me anymore. They didn’t want to talk to me. Conversations with many of these believers suddenly became awkward and there was a noticeable level of avoidance.

I didn’t expect that.

One thing I will say, this is worth the cost. It is well worth the cost to become a disciple of Jesus. And it is absolutely worth the cost to be on the front lines of spiritual warfare.

I was looking at some old notes that I took when I was first born again. I didn’t have a church at the time so all of my learning came from just reading the bible and watching hours and hours of sermons on a daily basis. (I was unemployed so I could do this easily.) I realized from the notes I took that Jesus was trying to show me about deliverance although I didn’t really understand it at the time. And when I did finally get involved with a church, I was warned against watching this particular minister so I stopped because I assumed that they knew best. But I realize now that back then the Holy Spirit was using this minister to show me that I still needed deliverance. The enemy had used Christians to keep me from fighting!

This revelation has fanned a flame inside me.
I realized that I hate the enemy so much for what he tricked me into, for what happened to me at the hands of others before I was saved, and for the way he used Christians to make me question everything after I was born again. I hate that my deliverance was delayed. I hate him with a passion. I hate what I see him doing to other Christians. I hate what I see him doing in to the church and how everywhere I look, churches are compromising to please the masses. I hate what I see him doing to the lost. I hate the way I see him using people to hurt one another. I mean, I have seen it before obviously but I feel like I am seeing it with new eyes and with greater understanding. I am so angry at him. I hate him so much.

This is a righteous hatred. A glorious gift to have in your battle against the enemy. A Godly hate.

“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him, A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” -Proverbs 6:16-19

It is important to hate the enemy. Hate produces a fight in you. It motivates you. It empowers you. It is a God-given tool against the enemy. If you don’t hate what the enemy is doing to you and has done to you, you are weak. You are a child of King of kings. An heir. A knight in the Lord’s army. A warrior. Pray to the Lord to give you the gift of hate.

Healing of the Heart and the Role of Deliverance

~ Observant Servant

One of the biggest things I have struggled with is allowing others to get close to me. Like many of you, there have been severe wounds inflicted on my heart that left deep scars and even more areas that have left my heart raw. Lies, betrayal, abandonment, feelings of worthlessness. For years, most (if not all) of my adult life, my heart bore the weight of this burden. It manifested itself on the outside as well in more ways than one. Sure my attitude could be forced into an appearance of everything being great in my life, but there was a spirit of depression on me.

Yes, Christians can be infested with demonic spirits. I know that there is a lot of controversy surrounding this topic. The thing is, the enemy copies everything of God. We know this. He twists it, he perverts it, he makes as a appealing as possible to the masses and, sadly, fools even the followers of Christ. The subject of the gifts such as the gift of tongues and Deliverance is no exception to this. One must pray for discernment not to be deceived.

The spirit of depression manifested itself through my creativity. My inspiration always came from a wounded heart steeped in rejection and isolation, and if I am being honest, unforgiveness . Art projects reflected dismal, dreary and sometimes even dark scenes. Creative writing while pouring out my heart, always resulted in the saddest of stories. When I would create, the mask would fall away and even the most cheerful colors were laced with scenes of heartache. Repentance and surrender to Christ changes that.

Once I forgave others and myself (you MUST forgive yourself), God began the process of healing my heart. It was often a struggle. Every loving touch hurt. My heart was battered and bruised. It had areas of infection that needed to be cleaned. With any wound, the cleansing process is unpleasant. Sometimes it hurts terribly as the antiseptic is used to wash away all of the infected areas. The process of cleansing the heart is no different. In order for the healing process to be effective, God must cleanse it first. This means exposing unwanted areas. But the Lord God has the most gentle touch and the most loving way to handle tender hearts to make them whole again. The result is feeling so much lighter and freer and experiencing true joy.

God has been working on my heart. As with all healing, it takes time. It is a process. There are times that it took prayer and fasting and there were times it took something stronger. An army of prayer warriors and deliverance.  The most uncomfortable part of it was the exposing of my wounded areas to God and others. Becoming even more vulnerable. Admitting I was still hurting. Being reminded of those painful times in my life that I just wanted to bury and hide away. They had to come out. They had to be exposed. Like any wound, if you just cover it up, infection sets in. So my wounds had to be uncovered in order to be attended to. After prayer and deliverance from the spirits that were haunting me, I felt cleaner. My heart was lighter. My soul could breathe. Jesus set me free. Repentance, forgiveness and deliverance were the method. I am so grateful and I pray that each one of you can experience the love of God through being set free.

Your Christian walk is to be filled with joy despite the circumstances you find yourself in. The only way to have that joy is to surrender to Jesus.