Archives for April 2023

Mary Magdalene went to the gravesite looking for the Messiah. She called Jesus Lord and knew that her life depended on Christ. In all the chaos and madness and confusion, Mary went to where she had last seen her Lord laid. Did Mary expect to find a risen Lord? We don’t know; the Scriptures don’t reveal this truth. But I relate to her as the Lord released many demons from my body as He did for Mary Magdalene. I never wanted to leave Jesus’ side, knowing His power, love, and kindness. She knew he was the Messiah, and regardless of the outcome and His death, she wanted to find Him.

Are you looking for Jesus? Do you want to maintain a personal relationship with Christ like Mary? Easter is a time to celebrate Jesus’ victory over the demonic forces of this world – the Devil and his angels that once served God’s side and rebelled. Satan entered a snake and deceived Adam and Eve to do something God told them would lead them to death. Jesus came, the promise of God in human flesh, to defeat this trickery of the Devil, the lying snake and take the power of death away from him. Mary came to the tomb, and even the angels knew why she had come – she was looking for Jesus. And Jesus met her, the risen Lord of all Kings, and entities. Mary Magdalene is the first person Jesus spoke to after He rose from the dead. Mary was persistent in her pursuit of her Lord. Are you? 

People presume Mary was a prostitute, and that’s why demons had overpowered her. But I was not a prostitute when demons overthrew me. I had been looking for the truth, and the Devil had come to keep me from discovering it! 

So today, and every day, make it your mission to seek Jesus no matter the circumstances or what you might see with your eyes. He is the only one to break the power of death and destroy the Devil’s tactics and schemes in our lives to keep us from the truth and having a relationship with Jesus. Eternal life is found in pursuing and knowing Christ, who teaches us to say “No” to the tactics of the Devil and helps us live a new life in Him, the risen Lord from the dead.

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12 NIV).

“You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:36).

“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work: (1 John 3:8 NIV).

I was purging and tidying up my music studio, and I realized that I had begun to write a new song with the same name as another called “Your Lovingkindness.” It’s on my A Soul’s Worth album. And as I listened, the words to the bridge stuck out, and I thought about Easter.

“You died for me
You rose for me
You’re glorified in heaven for me
I believe
Now I see”

Bridge – “Your Lovingkindness.”

I remember fleeing our property in South Australia, demon-possessed with Leo and the girls. God showed me a vision of a giant wooden cross and said, “I died to help you with what is happening.” Jesus died for us. He rose from the grave for us, defeating our enemy, the Devil. And glorified above everything in heaven is Jesus with all authority in His hands.

Jesus said in Matthew 24:15 –

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—”

It has yet to be determined precisely when this will happen. But what I want to concentrate on is the word “desolation.” “The abomination that causes desolation” is the power of the spirit of the Devil. And it is what will bring the anger of God upon this earth when he stands in a place only meant for God. It is like my demon-possession. I was made for the glory of God, not for trickery and lies to overcome me. And Jesus died to help me receive my freedom from this spirit that causes desolation and give me a new and fulfilling life in Him that leads to eternal life.

The dictionary says desolation is “a state of complete emptiness or destruction.” It also describes it as “anguished misery or loneliness.” Here are some words the dictionary also uses to describe it – “barrenness, bleakness, starkness, bareness, misery, sadness, unhappiness, melancholy, gloom, grief, mournfulness, woe; broken-heartedness, wretchedness, dejection, discouragement, devastation, despair, anguish, distress.”

Jesus came to save us from these – Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.”

I recall the emptiness, my complete anguish, and the distress I felt demon-possessed. I fought with all my strength to get free, but nothing worked until I cried out to the mercies of God. My heavenly father then led me to Jesus and the cross, and Jesus taught me how to have freedom and become new.

In my song, “Your Lovingkindness,” I sing about depression in Verse 2. I recall when recording this song and these lyrics, almost feeling embarrassed, ashamed that I was admitting depression sometimes came to attack my faith after everything Jesus had done for me to rescue me out of the darkness and the Devil’s hold.

Depression is completely opposite to God’s character and intent for our lives. Jesus reveals in Matthew 24:15 that Satan and his warriors bring the spirit of desolation. The Devil will attack our minds with fiery arrows of doubt, hopelessness, and fear. But it is what we do about these attacks that counts.

“YOU are where I come when the sadness around me is strong.
YOU are where I come when depression weighs down.”

Verse Two – “Your Lovingkindness.”

COME TO CHRIST JESUS!

So, as our minds think about the cross this Easter, let our thoughts be firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and His love and victory for us.

“You died for me
You rose for me
You’re glorified in heaven for me
I believe
Now I see”

Bridge – “Your Lovingkindness.”

Knowing Jesus Christ holds power.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

John 11:25-27 NIV

Nothing beats depression and the antics of desolation than God’s loving-kindness and the cross of Jesus Christ – His blood, His love, and His victory over the grave and the one who once held the power of death – that is, the Devil.  (Hebrews 2:14 – Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—)

Jesus has compassion for us. He holds relief and power to lift us above our thoughts and into His and the truth of His victory accomplished on the cross.

I hope this post is an encouragement to you, especially at Easter. Don’t get caught up just attending church, a tradition many follow. But be filled with the power of knowing Christ Jesus and a personal relationship with Him, victorious over the Devil and the spirit of desolation. Come to Jesus! Don’t let negative thoughts fester, breathe, and have life. Banish them with the hope of Christ, the love of God for you, and the truth of the gospel and your Salvation in Jesus and His love. Restore your faith, and the Devil with flee from you!

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT