Saints Arise!

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

Saints, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. ² See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you” (biblegateway.com – Isaiah 60:1-2 - NIV). Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (biblegateway.com – NIV). Therefore, don’t allow the devil to bully you; the devil has no power over you – unless you give him the power.

Check your heart, do inventory to make sure, you have no unforgiveness in your heart against anyone; if you have not forgiven others, God cannot forgive you: “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (biblegateway.com – Matthew 6:15 – NIV). How can you say you love God but hate your brother and sister? You cannot love God whom you have not seen and hate your brother and sister, whom you have seen; don’t be fooled by the devil! Search your hearts!

 The root of your problems lies in your soul; YOU has to make a conscious decision, to have your soul purged from dead works, hurts, disappointments, your old man, and EVERYTHING else that is an enemy to God – EVERYTHING that will hinder you from doing what God has called you to do – EVERYTHING that will keep you from loving the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind and with ALL your strength and from loving your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31). Choose life by asking Holy Spirit to purge your soul, ask Him to help you walk in love and stay in faith; remember, Holy Spirit is your Helper, Comforter, and He lives in you, since you have accepted Jesus as YOUR personal Lord and Savior (John 14).

I want to encourage you today, Jesus has made the way because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to God the Father, except through Him (John 14:6). God has the answer to EVERYTHING you are going through; all you have to do is go to Him and pray, then wait for Him to give you the answer.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Verse 8 of that same Chapter is titled “Meditate on These Things” in the New Kings James Version of this Scripture; it says:

“⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (biblegateway.com – Philippians 4:6-8 – NKJV).

In order to change your life, you MUST change the way you think; the way you think, will either enhance your life or destroy it – DECIDE TO CHOOSE LIFE, CHOOSE GOD’S WAY OF THINKING AND DOING! You cannot keep doing things the same way and expect your situation to change; it will never change until YOU start applying the Word of God to your life, your situations, your circumstances, your finances, your body, your property, etc., etc., etc. God’s way works; not your way or any other man’s way – God’s way! And it is either God’s way or the devil’s way; there is NO in between – if you don’t choose God’s way, you have chosen the devil’s way and you will be tormented and all kinds of chaos will come upon your life.

I am not trying to scare you, because the decision is yours, and God does not force anybody to do anything he or she does not want to do; God does not use scare tactics – He wants people to come to Him out of love for Him not because they are afraid. I am just stating facts; the devil ALWAYS bring chaos and destruction but Jesus brings abundant life, peace, love, joy, and all the other fruit of Holy Spirit.

I say again, choose life, choose God, begin to speak to EVERYTHING that comes to rob you of the life Jesus died so you could have; not material things but eternal life – a chance to live with God forever and reign in His Kingdom! These things you are seeking here on this earth WILL pass away; they are only temporary but what you cannot see, is eternal! Heaven and earth will pass away but the Word of God will stand forever!

Choose not to think negative or allow any negative people or negative talk to be around you; ask Holy Spirit to give you wisdom as to what to say, when someone starts to talk negatively around you – encourage them with God’s Word and that will help you too. We are helpers one to another. Remember, change the way you think and it will change your life; replace EVERY negative thought that comes to you from the enemy, with God’s Word – God does not give you negative thoughts. Every good and perfect gift comes from God above. James 1:17 says it like this: ^“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (biblegateway.com – NKJV).

God is a good God and He does not put sickness, disease, or any other affliction on us; all those things comes from the devil – he wants to keep you ignorant of God so you will not pray against him. But get to know God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit so you can know the difference between the Trinity’s and the devil’s work; read your Bible and study. Don’t allow the devil to keep winning in your life; rise up and put him in his place, which is under your feet, not walking hand in hand with you-expel him from your life FOREVER by speaking the Word of God against EVERY negative, chaotic thing that is coming against you!

Do a google search if you have to, so you can find Scriptures that applies to everything, that is coming against you. Make a list of the things, look up Scriptures for them, and speak the Scriptures over those situations, everyday; keep reminding the devil of what God said and is saying, until he leaves - and when he comes back, put the Word of God on him again and again!

I will leave you with these Scriptures; they are taken from biblegateway.com - NKJV:

2 Corinthians 10:4-6

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Ephesians 6:10-18

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints — “

"Saints Arise!" PDF Version

God bless you all and keep you all! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Keep looking to God for EVERYTHING!

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks