Don’t Take the Detour!

  • June 14, 2010 10:09 am
Don’t Take the Detour!
 
 
 

Staying the course toward complete healing and wholeness
 
 
 

 
 
Let me begin by quoting the Apostle Paul, who said,”You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn’t come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don’t toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment” (Galatians 5:7-10 The Message).
 
 

 

 

Can you relate to Paul’s words? Have you ever found yourself running the race… staying the course…believing God’s Word… with a full tank of faith, when all of the sudden, you get off on a detour designed by the devil? I don’t like those devil-designed detours! They’re all about delays and discouragement.

Here are 10 ways the devil plots to delay you, discourage you, or run you into a dead end… if you recognize the signs, you can avoid the detour!

Detour #1: Unforgiveness 

I once heard it said, “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison, expecting the other person to die.” No matter how justified we believe we are in refusing to forgive someone, ultimately we are the ones who feel the pain. READ — Mark 11:22-26, Matthew 6:10-15, John 20:23

Detour #2: Improper Care of the Body 

Of all the religions of the world, we Christians are the only people who can say that the Spirit of our God lives inside of us. Are you doing your best to care for the “house” that the Holy Spirit lives in? Your body is the vehicle that will carry you through life. Proper care is key. READ — Philippians 2:25-30, 1 Corinthians 6:19

Detour #3: Merely Chasing After Signs & Wonders
 Are you seeking God’s presents… or His presence? READ– Romans 10:17, John 4:46-48, Matthew 12:38-39
 
Detour #4: Ignorance
Sometimes, what you don’t know can hurt you. READ — Isaiah 5:13-14, Hosea 4:6-7, Proverbs 1:7
 
Detour #5: Little or No Faith
Without faith it is impossible to please God. If your “faith tank” runs dry… just fill it up! READ — Hebrews 11:6, Matthew 21:21, Hebrew 4:2&6, Mark 6:5-6
 
Detour #6: Robbing God in Tithes and Offerings
 Nothing says “I don’t trust You, God,” quite like holding on to the tithe. READ — Malachi 3:8-11
 
Detour #7: Habitual Sin
Keep in mind, that the devil has been making observations about you for years… and he knows which “buttons to push” to get you off course. Start making some of your own observations about how the devil is manipulating you. This will enable you to break the pattern and avoid the detour. READ — Gal 5:19-21, Romans 6:1-2, Romans 6:23
 
Detour #8: Refusing or Despising Instruction
 Sometimes I tell my kids, “There are two ways you can learn… my pain…or yours.” While not everyone qualifies to speak into our lives and bring correction, some people do. If we can take criticism and correction from those who love us and care about us, then we can avoid detours. This is also true of the Word of God. If we can take correction from the scriptures, we can save ourselves lots of pain. READ — Proverbs 5:11-14, Isaiah 28:8-19

Detour #9: Not Discerning the Lord’s Body

When we take communion, we affirm our part in the New Covenant established by Jesus. We are also affirming that we are in covenant with others who are also part of this New Covenant, and therefore part of the body of Christ. Failure to do this, runs the risk of bringing damnation on ourselves.  READ — 1 Cor 11:27- 30 

 Detour #10: Not Resisting the Enemy

The next time the devil knocks on your door with a “special delivery,” don’t be so quick to sign for the package. REFUSE IT! You can resist the devil. READ — 1 Peter 5:8-9, James 4:7-8, Deut. 30-19

Visit my website: http://www.lorigreenwood.org

Enjoy your day!
 

"Lori"

Is Frustration Knocking?

  • February 25, 2010 10:57 am

The Patient in Spirit

 

 

Today, when frustration knocks on your door, let patience open it.

 
Proverbs 16:32 — Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.
 
Ecclesiates 7:8 — Better [is] the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: [and] the patient in spirit [is] better than the proud in spirit.

2 Timothy 2:24 — And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all [men], apt to teach, patient.

 
James 5:8 – Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.  

lori Enjoy your day!


Lori Greenwood, ThD

 

www.lorigreenwood.org

www.wotcc.org  

 

Turn Around…

  • February 24, 2010 10:56 am

Turn Around

 

If you feel like you are wandering off in your own direction, turn around and follow the Good Shepherd.  Let Him direct your path to peace.
 
Hosea 3:5 — The Israelites shall return and seek the Lord their God; they shall come in awe to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
 
1 Peter 2:25 — You were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
 
1 Samuel 15:25 — Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

lori Enjoy your day!

 

 Lori Greenwood, ThD www.lorigreenwood.org

 

 

Fasting: Do You Have Parasites?

  • January 29, 2010 9:51 am

Do You Have Parasites?
 

The following is an excerpt from chapter 1 of my book, A Walk in the Wilderness:Wilderness 
  
Parasites:
During the first prolonged 21-day fast that I did, I kept a journal of parasites that were eliminated from my body.  I was surprised (shocked actually) to see what was living off of my body!  Statistically, 85% of North Americans unknowingly have at least one form of digestive parasite.
 
In America, the number one cause of persons being infected with Ecoli bacteria is from drinking tap water.  It is also probable that most forms of parasites enter our bodies through tap water.  Fasting is a method to rid the body of parasites.

 
As you seek the Lord and desire to serve Him more, are you considering fasting?  Read on…
 

 
How Scriptural is Fasting?

 

Dr. GreenwoodThere are nearly 70 references to fasting in the Bible.  Each week, I’ll share a few verses with you.  Searching the bible will help you discover more about fasting for yourself. 

 

Last week we looked at Mark 8:3.   

 

Acts 27:9 — Paul making reference to the annual day of atonement
 

Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them. 

 

 

Blessings,
Lori Greenwood, ThD
 
Visit the church online: www.wotcc.org

fasting  Interested in learning more about fasting?  Click here.

Heavenly Healing…

  • November 2, 2009 10:41 am

Heavenly Healing

 

Sometimes the pain of life can leave us damaged.  In these areas of wounding, only God can truly repair us.  Don’t be afraid.  Reach for Him.  Don’t allow doubt to tell you, “your pain can never be fixed.”  God loves you.  God can heal you. 
 
Isaiah 57:18 — I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.  
 
Jeremiah 30:17 — For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD;
 
John 14:27 — Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

lori Enjoy your day!

 

Lori Greenwood, ThD

www.lorigreenwood.org

 

Word of Truth Christian Center

Ignite Your Spirit

  • October 16, 2009 10:28 am
Fasting Facts

October 16, 2009                                                                      

 

Dear Friend,

Ignite Your Spirit
 
Restore Your Health. Revive Your Soul. Ignite Your Spirit.  Discover the POWER of fasting — body, soul and spirit! 
 
Fasting is a powerful force.  It is a weapon against demonic forces.  It is a method to restore health, slow the aging process, and maintain the body.  It is one of the most overlooked and underutilized tools available to every believer!

· Fasting frees us from our own negative words. (Isaiah 58:6)
· Fasting causes healing to spring forth speedily.  (Isaiah 58:8)
· Fasting will lift spiritual yokes of oppression.  (Isaiah 58:9)
· Fasting will break generational curses, bringing spiritual growth.  (Is. 58:11-12)
· Fasting is a method to delight yourself in the Lord; bringing the desires of your heart.  (Isaiah 58:14)

Nearly 10 years ago, I was struggling with a mountain of health problems.  I had been to see a number of doctors, specials, therapists and neurosurgeons.  I had been through a range of tests to attempt to uncover the source of the conflicts within my body.  I had been tested for Congestive Heart Failure, Diabetes, Anemia, Cancer, and Crone’s Disease.  In addition, I had struggled with a variety of strange neurological problems that had far reaching effects, from the lost of the use of my left hand and arm, to significant loss of vision, loss of memory, and unbearable nerve pain.  I remember, one day, I sat down to re-evaluate some ministry goals that I had hoped to accomplish over the coming year, when I came to the stark realization that I probably wasn’t going to be alive in one year’s time.

Even in light of the fact that I had taught for several years on the topic of healing, straight out of the Bible, I was not seeing the manifestation of health.  When the thought first came to me, “You won’t be here in a year,” I was tempted to rebuke the devil – but somehow I knew it was the small still voice of God warning me.  In all honesty, I accepted it as a warning from the Lord. I sat down with my husband, and we talked candidly about what it would take for him to raise two little girls on his own.  We made some changes to my life insurance policy, and “covered the bases.”  Then, I went to the Lord and repented. 

At that time, I had a pattern of fasting one, 24-hour period, once every week.  I had continued that pattern for nearly three years and had extended it slightly to include a few three-day fasts, and a few seven-day fasts.  Yet, over the last year of extensive health problems, the Lord had continually dropped a number into my spirit… 21. 

I had known for that entire year that the Lord was asking me to go on a full 21-day fast.  Every time I prayed and asked the Lord to heal my body, He would give me that number… 21.  Yet, in all that time, I had refused to do what the Lord was saying.  (I just didn’t think I could.)  But when you find yourself out of options, you are willing to do just about anything.  So, I repented.  I told the Lord that I would take an earnest look at what it would take to accomplish what He was asking.  I asked myself one question, “Lori, are you willing to trade your time to train your flesh?”

The next day, I entered “flesh training.”  I took it seriously.  I hired a nutritionist and health expert.  I spent time talking to a medical doctor.  I began to read.  I began to change my diet and my dietary choices.  Within about 3 months of training time, I entered into a 21-day fast.  Three weeks later, I emerged a new person.

While it is still inconclusive as to what, exactly was wrong with me, it appeared that I had Autotoxemia – a form of blood poisoning caused by toxins in the body.  Systematically, by divine design, my body, once freed from the routine of daily digestion, set about to “problem-solve” throughout my system.  The body corrected itself, rid itself of toxins, and renewed and restored itself to a quality of life that I had not experienced for many years.

There are many reasons I wound up in this state.  There were many mistakes made, pains suffered, and lessons learned – the hard way.  Throughout the journey, there were many valuable experiences and discoveries, many of which I share in my book, A Walk in the Wilderness. 

We are three-dimensional constructions of a marvelous Creator.  We are spirit, soul and body – all intricately intertwined.  Health and healing are the products of understanding with a greater fullness that we are three-dimensional persons.

 
Since then, I have done a 21-day fast every year for the last 7 years.  While the results from each fast were different, there were also some consistent factors.  Each time, my faith level has risen and my vision has expanded.  As the years went by, I entered each 21-day fast knowing that I was positioning myself for the miraculous.  Every time God calls me into a long-haul fast, He calls me to change — and change has been my reward.  What are you waiting for? 
 
Interested in fasting?  Click here to get started.
 

 

 

 
How Scriptural is Fasting?

 

Dr. GreenwoodThere are nearly 70 references to fasting in the Bible.  Each week, I’ll share a few verses with you.  Searching the bible will help you discover more about fasting for yourself. 

 

Last week we looked at Matthew 6:16-18 and Matthew 9:14.  Here are a few more:

 
Jeremiah 36:6-9 — Baruch reading Jeremiah’s scroll

Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD’S house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great [is] the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.  And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’S house.  And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, [that] they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Do you have a question or testimony on fasting?  Email it to info@lorigreenwood.org

 

 

I’ll send you more fasting information next week!

 

Blessings,

 
 
Lori Greenwood, ThD
 
Visit the church online: www.wotcc.org

 

fasting  Interested in learning more about fasting?  Click here.

 

Healing the Wounded Soul

  • August 11, 2009 8:51 pm

Life doesn’t always turn out as we planned.  Along the way, pain happens.  At times, we hold on to the pain as if it were a trophy.  Sometimes we fill the entire trophy case.  Erring on the side of caution, we believe we are using wisdom when we refuse to trust, refuse to heal, and (maybe) even refuse to forgive.  I pray that our healing Savior would free our minds from rewinding and replaying the memories that bring pain.  I pray that He would liberate our souls and move us toward the freedom that only forgiveness can bring to us. 

 
Jeremiah 8:22 — Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
 
James 4:7 — Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
 
Ephesians 1:7 — In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
 

lori Enjoy your day!


Lori Greenwood, ThD

“Temple Maintenance”

  • May 22, 2009 9:46 am

I’ve been a regular faster since 1998.  I started gradually, but the habit grew and became something much more wonderful than I could have imagined when I first began. Beside all the spiritual insight, blessing, and health benefits, my normal resting weight is the same as when I was in high school nearly 30 years ago.  When we think about God entrusting us with our earthly bodies (which He refers to as the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of us) this thought comes to mind:  It’s my duty and responsibility to maintain the temple. 
 
Your body is a tool to be used, not abused. It is the vehicle that will carry you to the vision God has for your life.  1 Corinthians 6:20 explains that you were bought with honor, and now you must honor God in your body. Honor your physical body. Take care of yourself.
 
Fasting can be an effective method of ”temple maintenance.”  In fact, I believe fasting has a way of slowing down some of the effects of aging.  Just ask Moses:
This is an excerpt from page 61 of the book, A Walk in the Wilderness:
Key #20: Fasting cleans out your body — the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Fasting slows the aging process (Deuteronomy 34:7).  Moses lived to 120 years of age.  His eyes were not dim, nor was his natural vigor abated.  Moses fasted often, including 2 recorded 40 day fasts.
Read on…

How Scriptural is Fasting?

 

Lori GreenwoodThere are nearly 70 references to fasting in the Bible.  Each week, I’ll share a few verses with you.  Searching the bible will help you discover more about fasting for yourself. 

 

Last week we looked at Deuteronomy 9:18 and Judges 20:26.  Here are a few more scriptures:

 
Matthew 17:21 — Fasting has deliverance power: “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”

Acts 9:9 – Saul of Tarsus after meeting Jesus: “And he [Saul] was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”

 
 
 

 

 

Q&A on Fasting

Q: Will I gain all my weight back after the fast?  
 
 
A: I chose this question for this week’s newsletter because, spiritual focus or not, most people are delighted by the weight-loss during a fast and would be happy to keep it off.  So, the answer to this question is: It’s up to you.  If you reintroduce a clean, lean, ”reinvented” body back to the former fast-food lifestyle you once lived, then sure, the weight will be back.  The good news is that you have lost more than just inches or body fat.  Fasting changes things on the inside where real change must begin.  You have exercised authority over food, authority over your flesh, possibly regained some self-confidence and maybe even accomplished something you never thought possible.  Some folks may feel good about a look-in-the-mirror for the first time in years.  Above and beyond any spiritual break-through that you may experience with the Lord, the physical change is powerful stuff!  Speaking from experience, fasting is more about “beginnings” and less about “quick-fixes.” Now is the time to re-evaluate your diet habits, maybe start some new ones and work ongoing intermitten fasting into the plan.  If God has called you to live life to the fullest, to serve your fellow man, and to build His kingdom here in the earth, then keeping your body in optimal condition can give you the longevity you will need!

 

Discovery Brings Recovery

  • May 20, 2009 8:50 am

Seeing the Real You!
 

When you see yourself through God’s eyes, then you discover the “real” you!  This discovery makes it easy to shake off the false identity that the devil has been hoping you’d accept.  You are not sin.  You are not sickness.  You are not poverty.  You are not fear.  Your identity is not in any of these things!  Your life and your identity are in Christ alone. 
 
2 Corinthians 5:17 — Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

2 Peter 1:3 — According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
 
2 Peter 1:8 — For if these things be in you, and abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:37 — Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

lori Blessings,

Lori Greenwood, ThD

Why Fast?

  • May 15, 2009 8:17 am

May 15, 2009                                                                       

 

 

Despite the instructive examples of Christ and others throughout the Bible, the vast majority who call themselves Christians pay no attention to the nearly 70 biblical references and teachings on fasting.  While fasting should not be practiced for the purpose of achieving selfish interests, temporal pursuits, or impressing others with one’s spirituality, it can lead to deep, lasting, productive results when done with pure motives. Like what?  Well, like achieving a personal awakening; getting the heart and mind right with God; seeking a closer walk with the Lord; or humbling oneself before God.  For some, it helps in overcoming temptations; seeking God’s face; discerning God’s will; increasing spiritual growth; identifying genuine love; conquering old patterns of behavior; and repenting of sin. 
 

Keep in mind that one fast is not a spiritual cure-all.  Because no two body-mind-spirit complexes are the same, this magnificently-healing, spiritually-enhancing discipline has very different physiological, psychological, and spiritual experiences for each individual. This is why learning more about, and working fasting into your lifestyle is something to be considered. Are you thinking about fasting?  Read on.

How Scriptural is Fasting?

 

Lori GreenwoodThere are nearly 70 references to fasting in the Bible.  Each week, I’ll share a few verses with you.  Searching the bible will help you discover more about fasting for yourself. 

 

Last week we looked at Daniel 6:18 and Matthew 4:2

 

Here are a few more scriptures:

 
Deuteronomy 9:18 — Moses’ second 40-day fast on Mount Sinai: “And I fell down before the LORD, as I did at the first forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger..”

Judges 20:26– Isreal fasted after being defeated by Benjamin: “Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

 

Q&A on Fasting

Q: In your book, you have a long list of illnesses and symptoms that you were healed from by fasting.  My question is this, if this natural type of cure is so effective, why have my doctors not recommended it for me?
 
A: It’s unreasonable to expect medical doctors and pharmaceutical companies to tell you how to avoid their services by trying the alternatives.  It’s a bit like getting a Republican politician to tell you to vote Democratic, or trying to order Italian cuisine in a Chinese restaurant.  Hospitals, doctors and pharmaceutical companies all share a common bond – they all profit from disease. Therefore, they are largely into “disease management.”  I’m into disease eradication.