I cut all my hair off

I told someone today that "I had a dead animal on my head that was trying to be a ponytail." I had been thinking about going natural, but I was scared. I had "long" and relaxed hair since elementary school. I feel like I stepped out on faith by cutting my hair off because I wasn't even sure what it was going to look like when the guy was finished. I walked in a random barber shop called "Harlem Blues", and there were 5 guys waiting to get their hair cut, plus 1 guy in the chair. I sat in the front of the shop, where all the action was taking place (including the barbering). There were 3 (later, 4) grown-ass men arguing about corruption in the police department. Men and women are so different, but so the same. It reminded me how wresting is nothing but a male soap opera interjected with staged wrestling matches. But I digress.

The guy cut my hair so it looked like it was still kinda pulled back. But then I had to take a shower to get all of the tiny hairs offa me, and I washed my hair, and it was wonderful! I felt like a woman in an African jungle while taking a shower in a tub. My hair 'froed right up after I put some carrot creme and vitamin oil in it (the same stuff I was using before).



I stayed up until midnight because I didn't want to sleep on my hair. What if I smashed it all night? But my hair is pretty resiliant, and I have leave-in conditioner to spray it to bring it back to life to I can comb it out and then pat it back down.

I actually got compliments on my hair! People said that my head is a good shape for a short cut, that it makes me look more sophisticaed, and they liked it better than the ponytail. Well, thank God cuz that mess in a garbage that's gonna be picked up tomorrow morning. Now I gotta get a new pair of glasses to compliment the new 'do. I am glad that I decided to do something outrageous. I got one funny look, but I am not surprised by it. Meanwhile, she rocks straight weave after weave and thick acrylic fingernails. Yeah, I have a million grey hairs, but I am not sure that I want to color it because that is more maintenance. No, I just want to be free. This is me, and I love me the way that I am, the way that I was made. My natural hair texture is wonderful, and so is the color.

And anyone who doesn't like it... kick rocks! ROCKS, I SAID!

Happy Valentine's Day

There is a feeling in me that could be described as, "Yeah, right!" But that is followed by remembering the love of God. And I realize that I too easily brush off God's love, which is harder for me to "feel", due to a want for the love of someone I can see and hear say to me, "I love you" and mean it. And knows what it means to love someone, and to know that it is a voluntary commitment. The same is true with anyone, and even with God. We could, at any time, walk away and abandon our decision to love someone.

It is my prayer that I will become filled with the love that I have instead of looking back to love lost. If I don't have it, then maybe I don't need it.

Why good works isn't enough to get you into heaven

For the sake of being dramatic, let's say I am in Detroit, and I successfully kill 3 people. Let's also say that "they had it coming", but that my reasons won't hold in a court of law. While I'm on the run, I settle in a little town outside of Reno, where I start a crusade to rescue prostitutes and help get them education and resources to support themselves respectably. I would think that I would be revered as a person of good character by those who knew me in this new locale. Unfortunately, my notoriety brings a lot of unwanted attention. I mean, I should be laying low. But I wanted to make up for what I did by making the lives of others better. But the people of Detroit know how to hold a grudge, and they want justice. My do-gooding while not facing up to my crimes in Detroit will largely go unnoticed when pictures of the deceased are shown in the courtroom, during the testimonies of witnesses who recount each gash and slice (I told you, they had it coming!), and when the families of the slain say how wonderful were their loved ones (obviously, they didn't know 'em like I knew 'em). But I did do it, and my insanity plea wasn't holding water, cuz I killed 3 people. But what happened was after I killed the first guy, I had to kill the second and third guy lest they try to kill me. Which they did, after I started trying to kill them. But I digress. So, in the end, I'm found guilty and I go to jail. For a long time. You might even see me on MSNBC's Lockup series where they interview inmates to get a glimpse of what the insides of the country's roughest prisons. Or maybe not, cuz I'm not actually there. I digress again.

My good works while on the run didn't save me from the judgement of the crimes that I committed. If the crimes and the good works were put on a scale against each other, the crimes wouldn't even lift off the ground. It reminds me of when Chris Rock talked of the Day of Judgement, "Hey God, I killed a bunch of kids. But I ate right!", which is a poke at people who don't eat pork for religious reasons. The real point is that committing a sin can't be washed away but merely not committing sin. When we sin against God by breaking His Commandments, there is nothing we can do to make it right in and of ourselves. There aren't enough "I'm sorry's" to make up for lying, stealing, jealousy, lusting for sex, having hate in our hearts, for dishonoring our parents/families, for not putting God first and loving only Him as the Lord our God, for loving money/material things, for not keeping the Sabbath holy. It is what God said and still says.

But even in the beginning, God gave His people a way to seek forgiveness for consciously committing sin by way of a "guilt offering".

Leviticus 6
"1The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2"If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the LORD by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor 3or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby— 4if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found 5or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt. 6And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering. 7And the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty."

Notice that God says when we sin and realize our guilt, we are to restore what we stole/"found" (plus interest) ON THE DAY we realize our guilt. This piggybacks on the ideas that we are to not let the sun go down on anger, and we are to put down an offering to God in order to first reconcile with someone whom we are having a problem. We have to do it kind of immediately. AND THEN he shall bring the guilt offering. AND THEN the priest makes the atonement (reconciliation or an instance of reconciliation between God and humans). The order is important to God, and is invalid if any step is missing or done out of sequence.

Leviticus 7:1-2
1"This is the law of the guilt offering. It is most holy. 2In the place where they kill the burnt offering they shall kill the guilt offering, and its blood shall be thrown against the sides of the altar."

In the Bible, blood symbolizes life. The sacrifice has to be an unblemished animal, and the blood is "thrown against the sides of the altar". The blood of Jesus covers the sins of those who believe in Him. It seems to me that the blood from this unblemished animal, which foreshadows Jesus, being thrown from containers against the walls could symbolize the blood of Jesus on the inside of us, in the place where we condemn ourselves and remember our sins. During the days of the Old Testament writings, and when living under the law, sacrifices were made continually. I sin, I offer a sacrifice. I can't even talk to God directly, so I have to ask and receive forgiveness by way of a high priest. And "it is most holy". With the blood of Jesus, an unblemished Lamb of God, who knew no sin, whose sacrifice for our sins is most pleasing to God, the sacrifice is made once and for all. We have a closer relationship with God because we can come directly to Him, but can only do so because God sees the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, The Most High Priest, applied to the inside of me.

Having Faith That Will Never Die

(inspired from notes from fromhisheart.org Sermon aired 2/1/09)

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
Matthew 15:21-28
21And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." 24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." 26And he answered, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs." 27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." 28Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

Know that your faith will be tested.
Jesus walked amongst pagans, the Syro-Phoenicians, the Canaanite woman who cried out to Him.

Matthew 15:22-23
22And behold, a Canaanite woman from [the district of Tyre and Sidon] came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." 23But he did not answer her a word.

Sometimes the Lord gives us the silence treatment.
God wants to see if we are serious. Will we keep asking for it in prayer? How many times do we let His phone ring? He wants to see if we are persistent (remember in the past I decided "either I make it this way or I'll make it that way, but either way, I'm gonna make it!")

The teacher never talks during the test. The world will stop talking to each other when they are mad at each other. GOD IS NOT MAD AT YOU!

Matthew 7:7-8 -- Continual process of seeking.
7Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

God wants us to draw near to Him, which is one reason why He doesn't always answer right away.

Then the Canaanite woman bows in front of the Lord and asks for His help.

Sometimes the Lord gives us the indifference test.
The disciples ask that the woman be sent away.

Matthew 15:24
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Who is He answering? The woman or the disciples? Jesus said what the disciples were thinking. Jews thought of gentiles as dogs, even in front of the people they were looking down upon.

The Lord is NOT indifferent to your pain.
James 5:11
11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

The Lord is full of compassion and merciful.
The Lord suffers with my pain.
The Lord is NOT prejudiced.
The Lord has made us ALL.
Acts 10:34-35
34So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."

God is no respecter of persons, and did not love his disciples more than the Canaanite woman.

The Caananite woman heard what the Lord said, and that was another test for her. Is she going to quit because of what He said? Earlier, the Lord cast a demon out of a gentile.

Sometimes the Lord gives us the endurance test.
Matthew 15:26-27
26And He answered, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs."

Are you still going to come to Him even if we interpret something He says as hurtful?

mangy dog -- how the disciples viewed gentiles as 'dogs'
puppy dog -- how Jesus described gentiles as 'dogs', in order to soften it for the woman (but to still voice the disciples' thoughts)

27She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table."
She said, "Yes Lord, but even the puppies feed on the crumbs that fall from the Master's table."

Matthew 15:28
28Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

The Lord wants you to receive like this woman did.
Hebrews 12:1-2
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are to run the course with endurance. Can you endure if you must wait for a long time?

Genesis 32:24-26
24And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

The Lord wants you to hold on like Jacob did.
Jesus said 2 people had "great faith", and they were both gentiles -- the Caananite woman above, and the Roman Centurian in Matthew 8.

The Faith of a Centurion
Matthew 8:5-13
5 When He entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to Him, appealing to Him, 6"Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." 7And He said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8But the centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." 10When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 13And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; let it be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment.

What do you need from the Lord? What test are you going through? Never give up! Trust Him, and you'll see Him do a great work in you!

Placing a Demand on the Covenant

God will never break His Covenant with me.

Whatever we need in life, we can go to God and redeem our covenant rights. He is expecting us to do this.

The Woman With the Issue of blood
Mark 5:25-34
25And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?" 31And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?'" 32And he looked around to see who had done it. 33But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

Matthew 9:20-22
20And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." 22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well.

Luke 8:43-48
43And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45And Jesus said, "Who was it that touched me?" When all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!" 46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me." 47And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

Why didn't she touch his feet or his arm? She put a demand on the convenant.

Newborns understand that there a supply of milk somewhere, but it must place a demand for it.

Matthew 9:21
21for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well."

What is the significance of the fringe of His garment and the Covenant with God?

Jesus said, somebody placed a demand on me; who was it? The woman took the initiative to place the demand. Why the fringe? Because:
1. She said it within herself, specifically the fringe, will make her whole.
2. Fringe = tassle of twisted wool (from Greek). She was reaching for the tassle of the prayer shawl, worn on Jesus as he walked by.


Numbers 15:37-41
37The LORD said to Moses, 38"Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God."

The fringe or tassle intends to remind people of the God's Commandments. Verse 38: tassle called wings, the corner of the prayer shawl is often called "wings". 5 double knots + 8 strands + 600 (number of the Hebrew word for hem [tzitzit]) = 613 old testament commandments. On Jesus, the hem [tzitzit] represents the fulfillment of the law because He obeyed all of the Commandments and did not sin. He is the Holy One. In a sense, the woman thought, If I take His obedience for my sins, I can exchange my sickness for His healing, my weakness for His strength.


Healing in His wings
Malachi 4:2
2 But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.

Jesus possesses the Convenant. He who knew no sin was made sin so that we would know the righteousness of God. He took upon all the curse so that we would be made blessed. It is our faith in His obedience that is honorable to God. Jesus is the Sabbath, how we receive rest. He took all of the sins and the curses and the consequences of the disobedience of Adam and Eve upon Him so that I can have His understanding, His love, His compassion, His patience, etc.

And if I touch the hem of His garment, and He will call me Daughter, and my faith will make me well.

[The woman who had the "issue" or "discharge" of blood for 12 years appeared while Jesus was on His way to heal Jairus' daughter, who was dying. After the woman was healed, Jesus raised Jairus' daughter, who had died but was described by Jesus as "not dead but sleeping". (Luke 8:52) God is capable all the time! It doesn't even matter when He shows up!]

Jesus is standing there

This evening, I stopped to pray with TD Jakes at the end of his TV program, which was a simple prayer asking Jesus to come into my heart, wash away my sins, and I am sorry and repent. I have already said many versions of this Sinner's Prayer, but I say it again and again to remind me of my decision for Jesus. With my eyes closed, I suddenly saw the figure of a man with a broad chest, in white robes with a trim of gold (but not shiny, like a spicy mustard like Grey Poupon). His arms were by His sides, and His hands were cupped as if to take a hand on either side of His body. There was light all around Him, seemingly coming from above but not casting a shadow anywhere on Him. I did not think to put my hand in His. Instead, I looked up to see His face. I saw a beard, a long nose, and then it kind of faded from there.

It wasn't my imagination, or me trying to imagine because there was no mental effort on my part to see what I was seeing while my eyes were closed. I think it started to fade because I started to focus on something that was unimportant (such as, the physical appearance of Jesus) instead of focusing on the saving grace of His hands. I could have given Him one hand, or I could have given Him two. First I was awed and taken in by what I saw, then started focusing on something that took my eyes and thoughts off what was actually important.

Jesus is standing there, His hands cupped, and He waits, whether I need to take one hand or two.

Thoughts about baptism

Thank You God for these thoughts! Jesus said in John 3:5, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, unless a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." After Jesus was resurrected, He appeared to His disciples and told Peace to be with them. "And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" John 20:22. We can see that exactly this time, the disciples became born of the Spirit.

But when were they born of water? Was it when they were formed in their mother's womb, sustained in the "water" that breaks when she goes into labor? That would mean that the qualifying factor is to be physically born, which would make perfect sense. How could someone who was never born enter the Kingdom of God? Isn't that person already there? I can't imagine the unborn being separated from God, unless they run with the devil. But some people could argue that certain people who do heinous acts of crime are born of the devil. But in John 8:44, Jesus says to some early Jews who had believed Him, the common man, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." The 10 Commandments show the 10 basic ways that the devil allows us to sin against God. If we do the things that the devil would want us to do, we are like his children because we obey him. If we do what God wants us to do, then we are like His children because we obey Him. There are only 2 sides on which to be. One could try to argue, Well, what if I just do nothing? All the time? Since you were a little kid? Did you ever disobey your parents or do something that could embarrass your family? If so, you've broken the 4th Commandment, which is simply Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother. You dishonor your family by bringing shame or embarrassment on them by virtue of your brilliant idea or pure stupidity. If not, then you haven't broken that Commandement, which is GREAT. Highly doubtful, but GREAT. But because God looks at our soul and our spirit, He also keeps us accountable for our thoughts. "OUR THOUGHTS?!?" you exclaim. "How can I be sinning if I'm not even physically doing anything?"

In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus said "27You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[Exodus 20:14] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." How can a man look lustfully at a woman? Is it his eyes that are bulging? No, the act of mental adultery is committed when he hears himself saying what he would like to do... to... her! Or when he starts to imagine what he would like to do... to... her! The act of sin takes place first in the mind, and then can manifest themselves physically. I mean, how many lies have first been perfected in my mind, where I heard the dialogue of the lie, and also visualized how it made sense? I'm not going to start counting because I have already been forgiven.

All that being said, I didn't even get to the baptism part. There are no accounts of the disciples of Jesus being baptized the way that John baptized Jesus. The idea that came to me is that He baptized His disciples when He washed their feet as told in John 13. In verse 8, when Simon Peter was refusing to let Jesus was his feet, "Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.'" Jesus only used water, and only on their feet. He said in verse 10 it was because "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean." People in those days wore shoes that were like sandals, and most roads were paved with the dirt of the earth, and most journeys were done on foot. Plus, there were no rules to "Curb Your Donkeys", if you were able to have one.

Finally, in verses 14-17, Jesus explains the meaning behind what He had done. "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Jesus wants His followers to serve one another, and the way Jesus did it is He became like a sevant to His disciples by washing their feet and drying them using the towel that He tied around His waist after taking off His outer garments. You understand? He became like a servant and served His disciples. He did it because He loved them, and you can't love someone without serving them or giving yourself to them. Think about it: a mother is like a servant to her baby when she feeds, changes, bathes, and clothes the baby. She doesn't put the child down and say, "Let's get one thing straight -- I'm the one in charge. I sustained you for 9 months cuz the doctors said I had to, and now it's time for you to feed me what I like!" We serve people when we do or care for others, especially in a way that can fulfill a need or serve as an improvement. For Jesus said that which we do for the least [fortunate] of people, we do for Him.

I am believing the Word of God

God is not moved by my need, but He is moved by my faith.

No matter how I feel or how it looks or what they say, no matter how long it has been or how long it might take, I will increase my faith in the One who will always love me, the One who always has His eye on me, and the One who wants to perfect Himself in me.

Anything against that can kick rocks. Rocks, I said!

Conquering Your Thought Life, Part 2

Conquering Your Thought Life by Gregory Dickow
(notes taken from DVD)
Why are so many Christians walking around defeated?

The devil has the ability to perpetrate lies. The devil does not have power, but it is the lies that can gain power over us.

If the devil can get us to believe a lie, he can gain control over our thoughts.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5: 3For though we live in this world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, as we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Base the image of myself on God's image of me (my spirit, The Holy Spirit, who abides in me)

I am a conqueror ===> start conquering
The devil is under my feet. The only way he gets from there is through the thoughts in my head.

Ephesians 6:11-18 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

scheme, from Latin metho [etymology: method] and odas (road)

Thoughts are the roadway by which the enemy can enter and gain control over me.

12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

devil, from Latin dia [etymology: day] (put a hole in, circle) and balos [etymology: ball] (to throw at)

The devil throws accusations at me until he penetrates (makes a hole in my belief in God's Word).

In terms of active spiritual warfare, the first weapons I must know to use are the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit (Word of God). I must pick them up and use them or else I have nothing which to fight the enemy.

What are the words/thoughts (balls) that the devil is throwing at me? He will keep throwing accusations until we believe or resist. I must resist and take those thoughts captive. I must eliminate the devil's access into my thoughts.

Understanding the process of establishing belief: Words produce an image in the mind. Saying the word "dog" produces the mental image of a dog (as opposed to the image of the word "dog"). The image of the dog is based on my experiences with dogs (i.e., a dog that bit me as a child), and I can build a belief system based on the images associated with dogs. By stopping the lies that devil perpetrates at the door, I can prevent the strongholds those thoughts can create. Instead, I need to give my thought life to God by focusing on His Word, developing the images associates with Him, and allowing strongholds to develop based on the promises of God.

We make decisions based on the strongholds in our lives.

When we take every thought captive, we compare it to the truth, which is stated in the Word of God. Set up a "reception desk" to question or identify each thought (or feeling!) and check the Word against it.

Depression comes in. Nehemiah 8:10: 10Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. Depression must leave. Security!

Eliminate images of lies to negate the stronghold of the lies.

I have the option of looking at myself with either of 2 sets of eyes:
physical: I see myself as compared to others (per the devil)
spiritual: I see myself as God sees me

Who will I believe?