Peggy Joyce Ruth

Do you know our Thanksgiving Heritage in America? Jamestown and Plymouth were both early settlements. One town was only after gold and greed, and they paid the price. The other was sent on a mission by God and considered God in everything they did. God blessed them every step of the way.

How do you tell the difference between the flesh and demons? Flesh is self or self-will. When we reason away following God's Word or elevate our opinions above God's Word, that is part of the flesh. The deeds of the flesh amount to idol worship. Colossians 3:5 says, "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry." We must learn to cut off the flesh; it attracts the demonic realm to our lives. 

In the Old Testament, circumcision was physical, but in the New Testament, God circumcises our hearts. Our flesh is anything that thinks or acts independently from God. Even though we are born again, we can still choose to live in the flesh. It's not until we have the flesh cut away that we can love God fully with all of our heart, mind, and strength. 

Many believers are unknowingly involved in witchcraft, but God is calling us out of witchcraft and idolatry. Being ignorant of what God's Word says about the occult is not an excuse we must partner with God to root out all occult practices from our lives. 

Do you not want to pray because you feel your prayers are not being answered? That is not how God intended it; He designed our prayer life to be fun. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. -James 5:16. If prayer always produces a wonderful result, we will always want to pray. That is the place God wants to get us to. 

The world is desperately looking for peace. People think that if they had enough money, they would find it. If they could keep their minds entertained, they would have peace. Or if they had a meaningful relationship, they would find peace. Everyone is looking for a safe place for peace, but the truth is that Peace was already given to us 2000 years ago. 

Jesus said "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." -John 16:33. If we are to be like Jesus, we are to be overcomers in this life. Satan is the god of this world, and we must learn to overcome all of his schemes and assignments. And at the root of all the enemy's schemes is fear. No matter what you are facing, it can always be traced back to fear. 

Jesus said that it was to our advantage that He left the earth because the Holy Spirit was coming but many times we forget the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is a power force on the inside of us that we get to know as our friend. He is a wind that moves us, leads us, and empowers us to do God's Works on the earth. 

We all have areas where the enemy is working to influence our lives. Anything that works to overpower us is not from God. The Holy Spirit woos and convicts us but ultimately gives us free will to choose. It is the devil, using thoughts and feelings that tries to convince us we are helpless victims without power. But with God, there is always the power to escape and overcome the schemes of the enemy.  Many times we are putting up with things we should be taking authority over. The demonic world is no match for the power we have been given in the name of Jesus. 

Every person has some area they are struggling with oppression. When we feel powerless to change our circumstances, it is a sign that you are under the influence of a demonic spirit. The enemy's first goal is to stay hidden, so we battle in the flesh and never see his schemes. Here are some facts from the Bible on demonic oppression.