And so it continues. :o)
Saturday dawned neither bright nor early, but that was okay. Katie and I went out for a late dinner after the speaker the previous night so we took the opportunity to get a full 8 hours of sleep and a good breakfast before heading back out to the church.
We both had a full schedule of workshops and of course the keynote speakers throughout the day.
Katie and I did the first workshop together (astounding considering there was something like 70 workshops available that weekend and we could only choose 4). It was about spiritual warfare and it was AMAZING. I think that from time to time we need to refresh ourselves on how our enemy spends his time and the ways we equip ourselves to not only defend, but defeat.
The workshop was run by Kerry Kenyon who is a pastoral care team leader for the women's division of the Portland Rescue Mission. She was pretty fabulous...very spunky.
I won't recap the entire workshop, but the main points are awesome. She spent some time talking about how Satan operates through distraction before deception (ref. Genesis 3:1-3). She then discussed how Jesus' time of temptation in the desert is the perfect example of how we should handle spiritual attack, that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted in order that we would always know exactly what to do.
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." ~Matt. 4:1-11
After reading this passage of Scripture, Kerry listed 5 things that Jesus did that show us just what we need to do to successfully withstand spiritual attack:
1. Be intentional about spending time alone with God.
-Listening, not just talking
-It's going to cost something - you will lose time you were used to having, you may have to re-prioritize, but it is essential.
2. We need the Spirit to identify the weapons and lies being used against us.
-I must be in the Word - I can't know the lies if I don't know the truth.
-"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." ~Eph. 6:11
3. Rebuke the lies, fear and shame with the truth.
4. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth.
-"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." ~Hebrews 4:12-13
-"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." ~Romans 8:26
5. Replace the lies, fear and shame with the truth of God.
-Accountability - have your partner pray truth over you.
-"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." ~James 5:16
Overall, I was very pleased with this workshop. Kerry's passion and strength were absolutely inspiring.
And that's it for tonight - I'll have more from the conference tomorrow!
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