My Name Is Samson

Samson’s story presents the irony of a powerful and yet absolutely powerless man. God gave Samson incredible physical strength. But neither physical strength nor strength of will can overcome our sinful addictions. Samson’s particular addiction was sexual, and his obsession led him to squander his God-given strength. Addictions are often attempts to meet personal needs through physical pleasures. Each human being comes into this world equipped with a nearly insatiable, lifelong need for love. Only God is big enough to satisfy that demand. In fact, we’re created to love, and to be loved, by God. Sex can seem to be a powerful substitute for love. That shouldn’t be surprising, since sexual love is designed by God to be enjoyed by a husband and wife with such intensity that their intimacy reflects the love Jesus has for his church (see Ephesians 5:28-32).

What was Samson’s overriding failure? He failed to enjoy and share God’s love and the love of others. In addition, he didn’t care enough about his own people to use his strength to set them free. This strongest of men settled for the substitute and sacrificed his God-given asset.

Samson never fulfilled his purpose in life, even though he frequently demonstrated evidence of his amazing power. Regularly in his story we’re told that “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him” (e.g., see Judges 14:19). If we’ve worked through the first seven principles on the road to recovery, we’ve both experienced and displayed God’s power. However, if we fail to continuously practice Principle Eight, we’re in danger. Recovery includes sharing our experience of change with others. Real recovery will make the needs of others more important to us than our own: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

Samson, like the rest of the judges God empowered, was born to deliver others from bondage. Instead, Samson squandered his gifts on personal gratification. Sobriety doesn’t equal recovery. It’s the beginning point of a process that will help us to fulfill God’s purposes in our lives. Those purposes include using our pain as a platform for proclaiming God’s power to heal broken lives and set captives free.

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Eternal Power of Prayer

The Spiritually Nuclear Eternal Power of Prayer

The Devil has no ability to contain prayer. Prayer is spiritually nuclear in nature; it is the raw material of God and His people. Prayer is out of Satan’s influence. He has no power to warp or influence a prayer’s trajectory to God’s throne after it has been prayed. Once a prayer is unleashed, it bounces around eternity in perpetuity, burning before the throne of God like incense.

This is why prayer is so spiritually dangerous for Satan. It supersedes the limitations of a mortal world. Prayer is immortal. It has no boundaries and no marker lines. Prayer holds ultimate potential. The best the Devil can hope for is that you don’t pray. And much of his strategy is to discourage you from praying at all, as a prayer never prayed has zero chance of ever being answered.

“Power of the spoken word.”

Once our thinking is straightened out, our speaking becomes the avenues by which the blessings will be able to manifest in the natural. The blessings of God are already ours; in fact, the Apostle Paul teaches us that all the blessings of God are fulfilled in Christ who is our yes and amen. (2 Cor. 1:20AMP)

But in order for the blessings to manifest, we must activate it by our words. In the first chapter of Genesis, we see the principle of the power of the spoken word. The Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters, and this word “brood” according to the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is, “to sit on or hatch eggs, and also to be in deep thought or ponder.” And this is what the spirit of God was doing before God the Father spoke anything into being.

The thoughts must be aligned with the Word before we can be effective in our speaking. When this principle is fully understood by the believer, then we will be able to create beauty out of ugliness, strength out of weakness, and order out of chaos.

The mind that is renewed with the Word of God gives way to the manifestation of the power of God through the effective, spoken Word of God. What we need to realize is that our mouth is not the power, but it is the vessel through which the power flows.

The Word of God is like the fuse box that contains all the power necessary to bring light to every dark area of our lives. Our mind becomes the power lines through which the Word of God flows, but the vessel to manifest the blessings in our lives is through our mouth. In other words, our mouth is the switch by which the power of God’s Word when spoken by us releases the blessings in our lives.

Power Thought: I have the power in me to create by the words I choose to speak.

Narcissism & Projection

2 Timothy 3:2 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.  And from such people turn away.” 

Narcissism – Rather than owning their own feelings, they’ll act as though the feelings are yours. It’s called projection, as in projecting their feelings and thoughts onto you. For example, someone who is angry but won’t take responsibility for it might accuse you of being angry with them. It might be as subtle as, ‘Are you okay with me?’ or a bit more pointed, ‘Why are you angry at me,’ or, ‘You’ve been in a bad mood all day.’

You’ll find yourself justifying and defending and often this will go around in circles – because it’s not about you. Be really clear on what’s yours and what’s theirs. If you feel as though you’re defending yourself too many times against accusations or questions that don’t fit, you might be being projected on to. You don’t have to explain, justify or defend yourself or deal with a misfired accusation. Remember that.

Self-Projection – Psychological projection is a theory in psychology in which humans defend themselves against their own unconscious impulses or qualities (both positive and negative) by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others.

Don’t Blame…Look Within and focus on YOU.  Examine why you are feeling how you are feeling and start right there.

Prayer Psalms 5 with me:  Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;

consider my groaning.

2 Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to you do I pray.

3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;

you hate all evildoers.

6 You destroy those who speak lies;

the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house.

I will bow down toward your holy temple

in the fear of you.

8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies;

make your way straight before me.

9 For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is destruction;

their throat is an open grave;

they flatter with their tongue.

10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels;

because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may exult in you.

12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord;

you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Looking WITHIN…OnPurpose!!

A thank you prayer to the LORD

Lord I come before You, desiring to provide thanks.

Father, I have so much to be thankful for, things unseen and seen, that You have done in my life.

Lord, mostly I am thankful for the relationship that I have with You.

Lord, You initiated this relationship, by what Your Son endeavored to accomplish, paying the price for my sin, redeeming and reconciling me.

Dear Heavenly Father, You know the times I have been ungrateful, held ill thoughts toward You and my fellow humans.

You know the times I complain and grumble about life and its circumstances, about suffering, going through what seem endless trials and tribulations.

Even yielding my members to unholy deeds.

Yet God You are and always will be there with me, even when it seems like I am forever in the wilderness, running further and further from You, You, my God are there guiding me back to Your loving arms.

I am thankful Lord for everything that You allow to cross my path.

Thankful for the decisions that You allow me to make and the lessons that come from these decisions.

I’m thankful, Lord, that I do not have to live under condemnation anymore, that You have truly set me free, that I am a new creation that I need not live under the law anymore.

Thankful Lord that You have given me joy unspeakable.

Thankful Lord that You are long suffering, allowing me to mature in You!

Lord, words do not express my thankfulness.

For Your mighty power is at work in me, transforming me, renewing my mind.

To You Lord belong thanks eternal.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

First written 6/17/10 – Michelle

Re-posted 6/17/16 – The Butterfly

#Transformation

IT WILL NEVER LOSE IT’S POWER!

(1 John 1:9)  – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Only Jesus’ blood can cleanse and sustain us!

He lovingly forgives us time and time again. Through His forgiveness, we are made whole with the Father. No matter how low we fall.   No matter how much”dirt” we’ve done.

With our sincere confessing and commitment to strive to live in line with His Will we can be forgiven.

We must remember that God knows our heart.  It’s a relationship!  It is the Blood of the Lamb, that purifies us and His Holy Spirit keeps us “right.” “I know it was the Blood for me” and “that blood He shed way back on Calvary will never lose its Power. It was then, and it is still today…POWER!!

Pray this prayer with me:

Gentle And Wonderful God…
Truly Awesome And Ever-present Holy Spirit…
When I was weak, you gave me strength.
When I was thirsty, you gave me drink.
When I was alone, you came to be with me.
When I was in pain, you came to comfort me.
When I was afraid, you came and gave me courage.
When I was uncertain, you came and gave me faith.
When I was broken, you came and healed me.
When I was hopeless, you came and gave me hope.
When I was grieving, you came and dried my tears.
When I was downhearted, you came and gave me laughter.
When I was impoverished, you came and gave me the riches of your love.
In all these things, you brought me into the endless circle of your power of love.
All these things I humbly pray in the name of my most Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, my Mighty God, and my Ever-present Holy Spirit upon whom I can rely.  Amen!!

Written by: The “Butterfly”