Showing posts with label Author- Iris Delgado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Author- Iris Delgado. Show all posts

Monday, February 13, 2012

Satan, You Can't Have My Marriage by Iris Delgado


Tour Date: February 13, 2012

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It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!



Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Charisma House (January 3, 2012)

***Special thanks to Jon Wooten of Charisma House for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Iris Delgado is the founder and president of Crowned With Purpose Ministries. With a doctoral degree in theology and counseling, she has traveled the globe ministering with her husband, Dr. John Delgado. She is the author of Satan You Can’t Have My Children, Women of Impact in Times of Crisis and Authority to Destroy the Works of the Enemy.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Access God’s Promises for Your Marriage

We fight in a spiritual war that can only be waged with spiritual weapons. Satan and his demons would like nothing better than to disrupt our relationships and break up our families. Every home is a target. We cannot remain passive.

Satan, You Can’t Have My Marriage provides an essential guide for anyone who wants to win this spiritual battle. Filled with practical principles and Scripture-based prayers, this book gives you the confidence and faith to stand firm against attacks. You will discover:

How to remove Satan’s influence from your relationships

What makes marriage work—and what destroys it

Mentorship and guidance that no marriage should be without!



Product Details:
List Price: $9.99

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Charisma House (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616386738
ISBN-13: 978-1616386733



AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


 
    Marriage Today
Is your marriage strong enough to withstand today’s epidemic of divorce? 
    Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled (kept undishonored); for God will judge and punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous.
                —Hebrews 13:4, amp


                 
   As a baby boomer, I remember hearing many of my friends complaining about the fights and abuse they were facing in their homes. My best friend confided that her parents were too busy to listen. Many of my junior high school friends expressed their fears of their parents divorcing. In my own home there was a constant uncanny fear and lack of freedom to express love and enjoy life. Instead of love and commitment, my father ruled the home with control and abuse, driving the siblings to develop hatred and con- tempt at an early age. I vowed at the age of eighteen that when I married, it was going to be different.
My own children, labeled Generation X, born in the 1970s could have been victims of my own upbringing. Instead I have chosen a different path, one that has led my family to wholeness. It is a known fact that many of the Generation X parents defy their upbringing and pour everything they have into giving their children everything they didn’t have, no matter how great the sacrifice, including divorce. To allow our own marriages to end up in a bitter divorce is allowing the curse of divorce to continue affecting each generation.
 Members of today’s generation believe they are on a different wave, a wave to save their children from experiencing the heart- aches of their own parents. But it comes at a great cost—they are neglecting to protect and nourish their intimate relationship with their mate. Yes, children are better educated, fed, clothed, and pam- pered, but at a great price, one we will see manifested in our next generation. Many parents will look back and notice the pain their crumbling relationships inflicted on their children, pain they did everything to avoid.
 Today’s married couples are trying to avoid divorce for the sake of their children, but not for the sake of their mates. Sadly, when the nest is empty, there will be t wo strangers wondering  what went wrong. Going on behind closed doors in too many homes today, yes, even Christian homes, is:
        •     Lack of commitment
        •     Crisis . . . fear . . . depression
•     Lack of order . . . permissiveness
•     Criticism . . . shame . . . condemnation
•     Unsatisfied marriages . . . selfishness
•     Infidelity . . . cheating . . . divorce
•     Financial crisis
•    A single-mom boom
        •     Pregnant teens 
        • An obsession with self and possessions
        • Sensual dressing . . . body makeover craze
• Rebellious, unsupervised children
• Online porn and resultant sexual addictions
• Child abuse . . . molestation . . . incest
• Bisexual relationships
• Mental issues . . . insatiable desires
• Lack of communication and affection
 Yes, all these different symptoms and tragedies are facing our society today. Marriage is under assault. Our children are at risk. The news media reports right in front of our eyes every day confirm the downhill slide of family values. No one is escaping the onslaught.
 My intention in writing this book, especially for young couples, is threefold:
        • Care and maintenance
        • Prevention
• Rescue
  If you will apply these principles and counsel at whatever stage your marriage is in today, I promise they will be effective and powerful to build up and to bring change.
    Lu k e wa r m Va Lu e s
A national poll conducted by Gallup shows that while Americans still hold on to some traditional moral values, they have validated immoral behaviors that are self-satisfying.1
        The   words  self-satisfying got  my  attention. The   need  for self-gratification can blind a person from noticing the needs of other people, especially those of loved ones. Many marriages are suffering because of lack of satisfaction and passionate love for each other. When a Christian becomes lukewarm in his walk with God, everything else turns tepid, and indifference begins to settle in (Rev. 3:16).
 During our Christian conferences and marriage seminars, altars get filled to capacity with couples asking for divine intervention for their marriages. Hands go up every where when we offer prayer for children with problems. It’s every where—crisis, chaos, brokenness, abuse, instability, prayerlessness, lack of respect, rebellion, dissatisfaction, unfaithfulness, frivolous divorces, and on and on. It is on your turf and on my turf.
 The other day I was sitting at a food court in the Festival Flea Market in South Florida, the kind where everything is new and under air conditioning. As I looked around at all the people busy shopping and eating, I noticed many elderly couples, mostly Jewish, talking, laughing, and carrying on, and many enjoying their potato knishes and kosher hot dogs. As I thought about it, I asked myself: What makes these couples so different from so many other couples we know and meet every day?
 As I pondered and savored my last bite of knish, I turned to my husband and said, “Honey, I guess what makes the difference in these couples from so many others we know whose marriages are in crisis is their value system.”
 He readily agreed and added, “Most of them have a healthy fear of the Lord. They were brought up memorizing scriptures, saying prayers, and following specific biblical traditions that have impacted their lives, as well as the lives of their children and grandchildren.”
 I believe our moral value system has deteriorated and continues doing so at an alarming rate. Our values will determine the destiny of our future, the strength of our marriages, and the values our children will respect and inherit.
 Today’s modern family defies everything the Bible teaches about love, honor, and respect for the marriage covenant. 
    The traditional  family was once regarded as t wo married par- ents, 2.5 kids, a dog and a white picket fence. However, the rise of the “modern family,” made up of single parents, part- ners living together, or even older parents who have moved in with adult children shows that the definition of family is changing—and with it, how families spend their leisure time.2 
    sata n ’s  P u r su I t oF  You r Vows
God ’s design and purpose for marriage was for a man and woman to have a lasting and satisfying union to nurture and rear healthy off- spring. God established marriage as the only institution to nurture
a family before sin came into existence. To take care of loneliness, God created woman to be a helper and companion to man (Gen.
2:18) as well as to procreate and prevent fornication (Gen. 1:28;  1
Cor. 7:1–2).
Marriage is the most sacred of all vows or oaths a man and
woman will ever make. It is not like a promise that can be forgotten
or broken. When a couple makes this vow before God and witnesses,
they are making a sacred commitment and covenant “till death do
us part,” not “till divorce separates us.” Vows remain intact even if
the marriage is full of problems—and too many are experiencing warfare because of all the excess baggage they refuse to release to Jesus.
Satan is in hot pursuit of your marital vows. He can’t break the vows,
so instead he diligently works at sowing dissension and strife until
he succeeds in breaking up the marriage.
Too many couples just walk away from their vows. God ’s blessing
is upon those who keep “an oath even when it hurts” (Ps. 15:4, niv).
Millions of people who divorce annually in our society are literally
walking away from their commitment, but they will have to answer
to God. Lacking wisdom, way too many couples have married foolishly, making promises they are unable to keep. God is in the business of healing and repairing the things that are broken and messed up. God ’s storehouse of provision and blessing is available to all those who dare seek healing and keep their vows.
 Today’s thinking is that maintaining a lifelong marriage is impossible. Self-fulfillment and gratification are exploiting the desires of so many of today’s younger couples, and they refuse to endure
a little pain in their relationships.  The moment a difficult problem arises, they are out the door. Satan is extremely busy devising sinister schemes against the sacred bond of marriage.
  Being raised in New York, I was very saddened, as I know millions of Christians were, when I read the following article, titled “Empire State Strikes Against Marriage.” 
After a days-long deadlock, the New York Senate voted . . . to legalize same-sex “marriage” in the Empire State. . . . But where same-sex “marriage” is recognized, the citizenr y have been silenced. All seven jurisdictions that have same-sex “marriage” on the books share a common theme: Citizens have not been granted a say in the matter. Instead, courts and elected offi- cials have effectively declared themselves first and final arbi- ters, imposing an expanded definition of marriage on millions of people and thereby hammering away at the ver y foundation of our societ y. Government, the people are told, knows best. The future of marriage should be the people’s to decide. No one who values God ’s blueprint for sexualit y as only bet ween one man and one woman within the bonds of marriage should sit back as state legislators and federal courts tr y to co-opt and expand this sacred institution. Other wise we could soon see the trademark homosexual rainbow stretch from coast to coast. And “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month ” would take on a whole new meaning.3
 
ePI de m IC oF  un h a PP Y m a r r I age s
The decline in moral values in this nation has given rise to an epidemic of unhappy and unsatisfied marriages and unstable children. This nation has sanctioned and encouraged no-fault divorces and same-sex marriage. Christians just look the other way. We have allowed the ungodly to  dictate what we can and cannot say. We have  allowed sensual programming and entertainment to invade our homes. We have allowed our young girls to get abortions. We have allowed prayer to be taken out of our schools. We have allowed prayerlessness to sneak in on us—replaced by our social media enjoyment. This list could be a mile long.
  You may say, “We haven’t allowed this!” But our passiveness has allowed it! We all sit back and allow a small percentage of outspoken, demon-possessed  advocates and activists to squelch our belief system and God ’s principles for a healthy, successful, and happy marriage. Again, all children are at risk, which means that our future generations of married couples are also at risk. I can almost feel God ’s tears rolling down my face.
 To be honest with you, we need to pray for a spiritual overhaul in our personal lives. We need God ’s divine intervention, or we are going to be run over by our enemies. Only those standing firm on God ’s solid foundation will be able to overcome the onslaught of pervasiveness and outright sin that is invading every fiber of our society.
        watCh  ou t F or t h e LI t t Le  Fox e s
If you are married and happy, reinforce your personal life by paying attention to the little foxes that will come to steal your happiness. Stay anchored to Jesus Christ your Savior, and build yourself up in your faith. Pay specific attention to your spiritual life, and pray powerful warfare prayers. We are in a war. Our struggle is not with humans but with demonic entities that are constantly looking for an open door to sneak in and begin their work of destruction. If your marriage is healthy and solid, invest some time in another young couple and teach them what you practice and know.
  Don’t fall asleep. Declare boldly, “Satan, you can’t have my mar- riage!” “Satan, you can’t have my children!” “Satan, you can’t have what belongs to me!” Don’t just stroll through la-la-land. We must tread upon evil spirits that come to steal our substance and our faith. To  tread upon is warfare action terminology. It means to trample, walk, crush, and march. To be effective, you have to put on your spiritual cleats!
 You can’t remain passive in your daily spiritual walk. To conquer something difficult, you must engage the enemy before he engages you. Trample and crush evil with the Word of God and with your prayers. God will do the rest. We must do what God expects from us to love, obey, and believe that He will fight our battles. Then He will enable us to do the impossible  things. Only then can you have your cake and eat it too.
 David couldn’t kill Goliath with a small stone, but with God ’s help, he did! The disciples couldn’t feed five thousand people with a child ’s lunch of fish and bread, but they did! By himself, Jonah couldn’t escape from the belly of the fish, but after three days he did. Peter couldn’t walk on water, but he did. Lazarus couldn’t walk out of the tomb after being dead for four days, but he did. I couldn’t be healed from the torment of child abuse, but with God ’s help, I was. My mother couldn’t stop my father from carrying out his threat
of massacring all the family, but her warfare prayers did. No situ- ation is too tough or too far gone. God ’s satisfying blessings have conditions, and a holy God will not bend His rules for anyone. You can trust Him to turn the most difficult situation into a miraculous blessing. 
ge n u I n e LoV e Is  nee de d
Without the genuine God kind of love, today’s marriages are at extreme risk. Genuine love means an open, honest, sincere, unaf- fected, candid, pure, real, and unpretentious kind of love. Christ Jesus models this kind of love for us. The love of Jesus in us is the superglue that keeps a marriage together and satisfied.
 Solomon expresses his enraptured feelings about the mystery of love in the Song of Solomon. We should read some of these pas- sages slowly and think about the intentions of God when He created us with deep desires to love and be loved. Sometimes I think about this and realize how shallow our expressions of love are toward our mates. We think that by saying, “I love you, honey,” we cover all the meaning of true love. Solomon uses romantic expressions that leave us lacking in expression. 
Ah, I hear my lover coming!
        He is leaping over the mountains,
        bounding over the hills.
        My lover is like a swift gazelle
        or a young stag.
        Look, there he is behind the wall,
        looking through the window,
        peering into the room.
        My lover said to me,
        “Rise up, my darling!
        Come away with me, my fair one!”
              —Song of Solomon 2:8–10, nlt 
 You may say, “Oh, this is poetry at its best.” I truly believe the language of love is poetic—we just don’t take the time to practice and come up with some genuine, original phrases that will knock our socks off. As I write this, I just tried a different phrase on my husband: “I love you, my handsome lover; I’m going to take you for a spin.”
 His eyes got big as saucers, and he gave me a big old grin and said, “I’m ready! Where are we going?” This is one way of awakening a boring relationship.
 Today’s married couples, especially the younger ones, are so wrapped up in their jobs and the world of social net working and media entertainment that little time or patience is left to nurture the relationship, and even less to spend quality time with children.
  I was immensely glad to see my daughter’s post advising other couples on Facebook on her recent fourteenth wedding anniversary: “Today I celebrate a fourteen-year anniversary with my honey. Don’t give up on your relationships. Remember the ‘crazy in love’ feelings you started out with, and do whatever it takes to keep them or ask God to help you get them back. God is our glue. It’s all worth it!”
 Now that’s awesome advice for any couple at any stage of their marriage. Without demonstrative love in a marriage, life is like a cold overcast day. Love is affection, tenderness, desire, intimacy, kindness, enthusiasm, and so much more. Today’s marriages are faced with tremendous opposition of evil forces. But always remember, that if you belong to God, you have a supernatural covering and awesome spiritual power at your disposal. If you’re not there yet, keep reading, and make a decision to work at your marriage. Make it a safe haven for all your passions and marital needs. Put God first in your life, and all good things will be added unto you (Luke 12:31).
todaY ’s  st eP -hom e
Many couples go through a devastating divorce, and later they remarry. Some may have the added responsibility of stepchildren. Children of divorce or separation become the victims. The  word victim means, “fatality, prey, loss, sufferer, wounded, harmed, help- less, somebody hurt and used for sacrifice.” As you can see from all these sensitive meanings, a precious victim comes in with many defenses to overcome.
 It is not uncommon in today’s marriages to hear couples place the blame on stepchildren for disrupting their lives. The modern family is so busy and occupied that dealing with the emotional issues of a stepchild often seems like too much work. On the other hand, the new parent may have little or no experience or tolerance for dealing with all the new concerns that arise on a daily basis.
 Heaps of books have been written about the uphill trauma of dealing with divorce and the unexpected trials of raising stepchildren. I’ve prayed for many couples who are trying to cope and, at the same time, keep their sanity. Rarely do I meet a person who is truly happy raising someone else’s children. If you find yourself in such a situation, recognize that the fatherless and motherless have a special place in God ’s heart (Ps. 10:14, 18).
  Recognize that stepchildren are the flesh and blood of and closely knitted to your spouse. Ask for God ’s help, and avoid becoming bitter or having a bitter stepchild. Pour yourself into your family, and God will pour Himself into every aspect of your lives. Marriage won’t work when you draw separate lines.
 I highly recommend my book Satan, You Can’t Have My Children as  a spiritual warfare guide that will help you train children effectively.4
 C. M. Ward said, “It is not divorce that destroys families, but bad marriages.”5

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Monday, June 6, 2011

Satan, You Can’t Have My Children by Iris Delgado

Tour Date: 6/9/2011

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It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!


Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:


Satan, You Can’t Have My Children

Charisma House (June 7, 2011)

***Special thanks to Anna Coelho Silva | Publicity Coordinator, Charisma House | Charisma Media for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Dr. Iris Delgado is the founder and president of Crowned With Purpose Ministries. A dynamic speaker with a doctoral degree in theology and counseling, she has traveled the globe ministering with her husband, Dr. John Delgado. She is the author of Women of Impact in Times of Crisis and Authority to Destroy the Works of the Enemy.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Access God’s Promises for Your Children
We fight in a spiritual war that can only be waged with spiritual weapons. Satan and his demons would like nothing better than to break up our families and disrupt the lives of our children. Every home is a target. We cannot remain passive.

In Satan, You Can’t Have My Children, Iris Delgado provides an essential guide for anyone who wants to win the spiritual battle for their children. Filled with practical principles and Scripture-based prayers, this book gives you the confidence and faith to stand firm against the influences and attacks of the devil. You will discover how to:

Tap into the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to protect and fight for your children

Put a spiritual warfare plan into action through Scripture and prayer

Establish an attitude of peace in your home when you have willful or disobedient children

Bring down demonic strongholds, including hidden secrets and demonic attacks

God’s power is greater than the power of the enemy! Learn how to fight back and never give up.



Product Details:

List Price: $9.99
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Charisma House (June 7, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1616383690
ISBN-13: 978-1616383695

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


God’s arm is not too short
Thus says the Lord: Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord; and [your children] shall return from the enemy’s land. And there is hope for your future, says the Lord; your children shall come back to their own country.

—Jeremiah 31:16–17, amp
This book was born out of the school of personal experience. I have learned that no matter how well you rear your children and teach them God’s precepts and principles of godliness, they have to choose to have a personal relationship with the Lord and to serve God. Many of you who are reading this book have uttered many tearful prayers for the salvation and wholeness of your children. Be of good cheer! God hears every prayer, and He collects every one of your tears. You can be assured that every tear shed on behalf of a loved one and every tearful prayer uttered to God finds its way into the loving heart of Father God. He is still on the throne, and He answers prayers according to His timing, not our timing.
His arm is not too short. His ear is not too far. His power is not limited, and His grace and mercy never run out. You serve a great and mighty God who is able to reverse the circumstances, remove the hindrances, replace what the locusts have destroyed, put in a pure heart, and renew a right spirit. He is able to direct the heart of a person.

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord . . . He turns it whichever way He wills.

—Proverbs 21:1, amp
Can you imagine that?
My prayer is that your attitude toward the problem in your home will change. Parents establish the attitude of the home, and they determine whether or not it is a home of peace or a home of chaos. A Christian home should not be one of constant chaos. A peaceful home is a huge blessing from God. I believe that if you exercise your faith, your frozen dreams and hopes will be restored. God is waiting for you to trust Him and to yield every aspect of your life to Him. Continue to read, understand, and practice using the powerful Word of God. As you start practicing, you will see many changes in your life and the lives of your children.




It is useless to observe or compare your family or your children with other families. Some families seem to have perfect marriages, perfect children, and perfect lives. However, very few people know what happens behind closed doors.
You may have questioned God: “I’ve done everything according to the Word of God. I’ve been a godly example. I’ve demonstrated love. Why is my child rebellious? Why is it taking so long for God to answer my prayers?” Or you may say, “God, I blew it as a godly example to my children—is it too late? Is there still hope?” Yes, there is still hope in the unconditional love and mercy of God. Targeted prayers and spiritual warfare will greatly help you in the battle. God promises to defeat our enemies if we obey and trust Him.

You may yourself be a victim of a dysfunctional home, and you have reared your children to the best of your abilities. Now you need help, for yourself and for them. You might have adopted or fostered children or have stepchildren from a second or third marriage, children with walls and defenses that you feel unable to deal with.

Take heart: unconditional love can overcome every obstacle that your children may erect. But it takes complete faith in the love and power of God, faith in the truth of the Word of God, and faith in the power of speaking and praying the Word of God over your loved ones. Only then will you start to see changes begin in their lives.

You may have young children who need nurturing and shaping as they grow up. They are still impressionable and teachable, and you can still influence their lives in a positive way. Whatever your reasons are for the need of divine intervention in the lives of your children, this book is for you. God’s Word never returns empty; it will do what it says it will do—if we believe and doubt not.

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
—Isaiah 55:11
Don’t be moved or affected by what you see and what you hear from your children. Continue planting these godly principles of parenting into the lives of your children. Exercise your faith. Keep stretching it a little bit more each day. God will use every situation in your child’s life as a testimony for His honor and for His glory.

Faith is our powerful key for overcoming the powers of Satan. Demonic forces will try to convince you that what you see in the natural with your physical sight is the ultimate truth. This is totally incorrect.

In the spiritual realm, faith has the power to change those things that are seen in the natural to things that are congruent with the Word of God. “We live by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

One reason is that genuine faith in the heart of a believer has the power to change outward circumstances to a desired outcome.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

— 2 Corinthians 10:3–4
As Satan wages war against man, one of his tools is the creation of spiritual strongholds. These strongholds cannot be destroyed by the flesh or by the carnal nature of man. They have to be pulled down through fervent intercessory prayers, praying scriptures, and other methods of spiritual warfare.
Satanic forces are stalking every family living on this earth. The enemy is the devil, who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). He is the thief who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” our loved ones (John 10:10). However, he is a toothless and impotent enemy. He tries to rob Christians of their very substance. Christian parents need to remember that Satan was soundly defeated by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross. If you can remember that Satan is powerless, you will be able to use your faith and spiritual weapons to overcome any satanic attack upon you and your family.

Many Christians who have inherited wondrous gifts from God often behave like little children who are unaware of their eternal legacy. They continue to live impoverished and defeated lives. Satan delights in deceiving many Christians by frightening them away from faith in the Son of God and from acceptance of the Word of God.

The Holy Spirit has been directed by God to anoint us to use His powerful weapons.
A Christian parent needs to remember that the battle must be waged against the devil and demonic forces, and not against the person who is behaving in an ungodly manner. It is the devil who is the spiritual enemy. Spiritual warfare should not be waged against a mate, a child, a loved one, or a boss. The loved one should be treated with unconditional love, while Satan is being engaged in spiritual warfare. As a parent, you must not be complacent. You must wrestle with and wage spiritual war against Satan on behalf of your family.

For 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.

—Ephesians 6:12
It would be unwise to engage in an actual war without armor or weapons. It is equally unwise to engage in spiritual warfare without using the armor of God and spiritual weapons. In order to wage spiritual warfare successfully, a parent must continually submit himself to God, and he must continually resist the devil.
The disciple James tells Christians how to deal with the devil:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
—James 4:7
When a parent is truly submitted to God, and when he is resisting the devil, then the devil must flee! Yes, the devil has no choice but to flee from a Christian parent who is truly and totally submitted to Almighty God.

You resist the devil by using the proper weapons God has already provided for you. God has guaranteed the victory through the:

• Name of Jesus. God responds positively to the name of Jesus.

• Blood of Jesus. The blood saves the believer from sin and empowers the believer against the wiles of the devil and against demonic forces.

• Power of the Holy Spirit. This power anoints the believer to do great things in the name of Jesus Christ.

• Keys of binding and loosing. God gives the keys of binding and loosing so that things bound upon the earth will be bound in heaven, and things loosed upon the earth will be loosed in heaven.

• Power of praise and worship. Praise leads the believer into worship with God, and worship brings the believer into the very throne room of God.

• Effective prayer. The prayers of the righteous are heard by and responded to by God.

• Power of agreement. God promises that where two or more are gathered in His name, He will be there with them (Matt. 18:20).

• The Word of God. The Bible instructs the believer in all aspects of life. In our book Authority to Destroy the Works of the Enemy, you will learn how to use these powerful weapons in your daily life and in every situation. God has already made available to you a treasure of divine power and the ability to make you “more than a conqueror” (Rom. 8:37).Many believers continue to live in defeat, worry, anxiety, depression, and unbelief. They lack knowledge of who they are in God and what position and identity they have in

Christ.
Many people live in defeat because they don’t know any better. Lack of faith and trust in God has them living in defeat. Ignorance in this area leads to failures.
Living in a Divided Home
I was reared in a divided Christian home. My mother was a godly woman who manifested the fruit of the Spirit. She had a gentle, kind, and submissive character. The light of Jesus was evident in her life and actions. On the other hand, my father was double-minded in all of his ways and actions. One side of him reflected darkness—a life of unbelief, intimidation, control, and abuse. The other side reflected moments of kindness, gentleness, and self-control.
He was also a good provider for his family, and he was respected by almost all who knew him. My dad was a victim of the works of the enemy. He behaved irrationally because he was subjected to evil spirits.

Sadly, most abusers only abuse and mistreat their loved ones or those who are very close to them. The Bible says, “By their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:20, nkjv). It also says that a “double-minded man” is “unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8, nkjv).

During my research in spiritual warfare, I discovered that most characteristics, whether good or bad, are inherited, learned in the home, or passed down from one generation to another. The good news is that we can appropriate our freedom in Christ Jesus by the power of God’s Word and the blood of Jesus Christ.
To appropriate means “to take possession of, secure, allocate, assign, appoint, and so forth.” God wants us to take possession of all of the kingdom’s rights and benefits that He has already deeded and guaranteed to us. We have been delegated power and authority over all the power of the enemy. I firmly believe that lack of knowledge will keep a Christian from enjoying the blessings and the peace of God.

Even though my mother was a devout Christian, she lacked knowledge in the area of spiritual warfare. Many Christians have been reared in a Christian home, and they have learned what the Word says about salvation, obedience, and holiness. But, unfortunately, I have discovered that many Christians are totally ignorant of who Satan is and what his devices, schemes, and strategies are against all believers in Christ.

My search for truth about this subject began when I heard testimonies of deliverance and of God’s supernatural power to destroy strongholds in people who were bound and defeated by the enemy. It all started a few years ago when I visited my parents’ home during Thanksgiving. I remember sitting down with my brother and talking with him about old times. This brother was addicted to drugs for many years.

Evident upon his young and handsome face were the effects of a hard and fruitless life. It saddened me to think how this very intelligent, young, and personable young man I was facing could allow himself to be driven by the miseries and slavery of drugs. He was driven by something stronger than he was.
The slavery of Satan can lead people to do things that stop them from leading healthy and normal lives. Living in a divided home set the pace and the example for my brother to choose wrong relationships and to turn to drugs as a form of escape from the deep pain within him. Peer pressures were too great for him to handle, because he did not have the backup or the affirmation of a father. This lack of direction from a father made it easier for him to choose a life of irresponsibility.

As we talked, the conversation took a turn toward his spiritual condition and his feelings and beliefs about God. Suddenly I noticed a twitching in his eyes and a change in his voice. I became apprehensive and fearful. As I looked at him closely, I realized that a demonic entity was manifesting itself. The look in his eyes was evil, and the smirk on his face was unnerving. The enemy did not want my brother to receive any counsel or encouragement from me. He wanted to keep my brother ignorant, bound, and defeated. I remember fumbling for an excuse to get up, and I quickly found myself standing in the kitchen trying to regain my composure.

Thinking about this experience on the plane as I headed back to Dallas, I remember thinking, “If the Bible says I have power and authority over all the power of the enemy, and I am more than a conqueror, why was I so scared and fearful over this incident?” Over the days and weeks that followed, I faced the truth: I was ignorant! I had no practice. All I had was a little head knowledge!

I had it! First Dad and his double-minded lifestyle, then Mom and her seeming helplessness, then my own suffering with the effects of child abuse and molestation, and now the thought of my brother—the fear of looking into his eyes at that evil thing glaring at me! I was just fed up. “God,” I cried out. “Your Word says, ‘I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you’” (Luke 10:19, emphasis added).
My quest took me to dozens of books, tapes, and seminars that were coupled with much prayer and seeking the face of God. I finally realized that the enemy had me deceived. I found new meaning in the words I had heard so many times: “Satan is defeated.” “We are more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37). “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). “The enemy is under your feet.” “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isa. 54:17, nkjv). “They overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11).
Sound familiar?
The most powerful revelation to me was understanding my identity in Christ—I took it as a prescription from my Doctor Jesus. Three times a day I would confess who I am in Christ. Then I studied all about my spiritual weapons:
• The Word of God (in my heart and spoken)

• The power of the blood of Jesus

• The work of the Holy Spirit

• The keys of binding and loosing

• The power of praise and worship

• The power of prayers of agreement

• The power in the name of Jesus

I also studied at length the works of Satan and of all his workers of iniquity. I found out that he has long-term goals for all who claim Jesus as Lord.
My eyes were enlightened, and the blindfolds of deception and fear were removed from my eyes. The glory of God was revealed to my spiritual eyes, and I was able to understand my spiritual position of ruling and reigning here on this earth as a joint-heir with Christ Jesus. Once I knew in my mind, heart, and spirit what my identity, authority, weapons, position, and throne rights in Christ were, I took action. My life was revolutionized. I saw strongholds in my own life come tumbling down. I saw inherited traits broken.
Because of the abuse I experienced as a child and into my teen years, I had habits and thought patterns that were detrimental to me. They affected the way I acted, my decisions, my thoughts, and the lives of my loved ones. My parenting skills were in danger. Remember, a mother almost always sets the pace in her home.
What I thought was reality was indeed a distorted view of how I viewed life in general. I found out that many things in my mind needed to be cast off, revoked, and renounced. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I was empowered to bind and cast off all the thoughts, imaginations, habits, and things in my life that had been a hindrance to me and to others. These things were also hindering my spiritual growth and my freedom to live a victorious life.

As my mind was renewed by the Word of God, and as I confessed the truth, I began to unfold from a shy, timid, critical, fearful, and complaining person into a more sensitive, loving, kind, strong, and confident wife, mother, and person.
But I was not satisfied with the progress I had made. My goal was to see this work of deliverance and freedom working in the lives of my children, my husband, and my loved ones. God has been faithful to His Word. The compilation of the material in this book has been part of this growth. Everything you read here has been put to the test. The Holy Spirit has been my teacher and my guide.

My family has been the target of my spiritual aggression. This works, folks! God is ready to perform His Word when He finds one of His children who dares to believe that it works today!

Put it to the test yourself. Stand on God’s Word. Confess and believe His promises. Don’t dismay, and you shall enjoy the fruit thereof. Time after time I have seen God’s Spirit through the power of His Word break through strongholds that looked impossible.

Satan is destroying families each day at an alarming rate. We must stand up and resist the enemy. Fight for your family! Stand in the gap. Your prayers are powerful. To resist is to take action; it is not being passive. It means you take a stand and don’t budge, come wind or high water. You stand on God’s promises while confessing His Word. When you do this, then God does the rest.

God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Do you know why a table, and what is on that table? Do you know why it’s set in the presence of our enemies? I believe that God provides everything that is necessary for our time of need!

All of the weapons and tools that you need for spiritual warfare can be found upon His table placed in the presence of our enemies. The Word of God that is alive and active is on that table! The table is not placed and set in your private bedroom—NO! It is placed and set in front of your enemies because that is when you need assistance and powerful weapons. It is also a table full of fatness and provision.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

—Psalm 23:5
The Holy Spirit brings to your remembrance the Word of God that is stored up in the tablet of your heart, the Word that you have studied, applied, tested, proven, believed, and confessed. You are dynamite. You are a threat to Satan. A believer who is equipped and who is no longer ignorant about spiritual warfare is a person who is armed, powerful, and fearless. Satan should not be a threat to you.

Folks, it is time to wake up, to take control, and to act. Learn from the Holy Spirit, confess the Word, and do not fear negative words. It is time to dress for action against the enemy. We should be defeating the enemy, not the enemy defeating us. Too many born-again believers sit defeated and emaciated in front of a treasure chest full of God’s blessings, authority, weapons, anointing, and His transforming Word.

Sadly, too many children are imitating and receiving training from parents who are weak, stressed, depressed, and fearful. It is time to break loose from negative molds and traditions and from what is conceived to be reality but is really the lie of the enemy.

Reality is what we learn as truth. But that is not all truth. Much of it is distorted, depending upon what our parents learned and taught us, our values, boundaries, beliefs, and so forth. Reality is what we learn to be truth. But what we think is reality is not always the truth. Reality is found in the Word of God or the truth of God; it is the Bible that reveals what is real. It should be our guide, our manual, our example.
Much of what people believe is truth might be distorted. Distortion of truth is a legacy we receive from our parents or caregivers. Things taught by parents often become the attitudes, beliefs, and values of the children. As believers, we have the privilege of hearing and learning God’s truth. As we apply God’s Word, change begins to take place in our lives and in the lives of our family. The lives of our loved ones begin to reflect the truth of God.

Coming back to Mom, one day I said to her, “Mom, you need to add some very important things to your praying and spiritual warfare. I have learned that there are several kinds of prayers we can pray, but when I learned about warfare praying, I found that it dramatically changed and revolutionized my personal life and the lives of many others.”

We have been given all power and all authority over all of the works of the enemy. We must direct that power and authority directly against any enemies who come against us. If Jesus wanted to do all of our spiritual warfare, He wouldn’t have challenged us to wear the full armor as described in Ephesians 6 or delegated to us the authority to tread upon all of the power of the enemy.

The phrase tread upon means “to stomp, kick, pounce, and to beat.” It doesn’t mean to walk gingerly or to ignore totally. We must become aggressive in our warfare, especially when our loved ones are being negatively affected by the works of the enemy and the powers of darkness.

We tread upon demonic forces by using the Word of God, which is alive and active. We also use our keys of binding and loosing when we pray with authority and when we command the evil spirits to loosen their control of an adverse situation.
For example, one powerful spiritual command that you can say with authority is:

Spirit of fear and confusion, I command you out of my life (or out of the life of your child or loved one). In the name of Jesus, I bind your works and your strategies from hindering me with fear. I plead the blood of Jesus, and I declare that greater is Christ in me than all of the power of the enemy. Because I am a child of God, the evil one cannot touch me. (It could be a spirit of infirmity, rebellion, lust, insatiable desires, fear, panic, or other spirit.)

Finally, my mother was able to pray with boldness and authority. She was able to see dramatic changes take place in the life of my father and in the lives of her loved ones.
At one point in my father’s life, he suffered a car accident that left him a quadriplegic for fourteen years. During that time Mother suffered many sleepless nights and much torment. The evil spirits tormented my father, especially during the night hours, and my mother was unable to sleep soundly.
I remember when she called me and said, “Dear Iris, you’ll never know what the knowledge of my position in Christ is doing in this situation with your father. I am using my authority in the name of Jesus in order to bind these tormenting spirits that attack your father, and they are obeying my commands! I am sleeping better, and he is getting more rest.”
I am only giving you a little sample of the wonderful victories Mom was able to experience as she became fearless and exercised her authority in the name of Jesus.
Avoid Controlling Prayers
It is extremely important that we always begin praying with thanksgiving to God and for people who need our prayers. The apostle Paul, in almost all of his prayers for his fellow Christians, began with a positive prayer of thanksgiving for them. He knew that God was a God of love who loves unconditionally. It didn’t matter how rebellious or sinful they were.
You can see the example of faith in God’s power in 1 Corinthians 1:4–8. A positive attitude of faith is created as you start thanking God for “those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom. 4:17, nkjv) in the person’s life, even though you acknowledge their faults and problems. It is important to thank God for beginning to change things that are not into what they can be in Christ as we stand in agreement with God’s Word.
Controlling prayers start by focusing on the negative and by asking God to change, sever, transform, stop, bind, and remove. They tend to bring upon the person a burden of guilt and condemnation. These are prayers that attempt to control and condemn. Many people are unable to rise above these prayers.
All prayers have an effect, just as our words have an effect. Whether in a positive or in a negative way, they will affect the person’s attitude and the circumstances involved in the lives of those for whom we are praying.
In my own life I have learned to thank God for my children and for God’s awesome plan for their lives. When I see a relationship develop that I feel in my spirit is not in God’s will for them, I immediately enter into God’s presence, and I thank Him for His perfect plan for them.

I pray in faith, trusting God to intervene in their lives. I refuse to be moved by what I see, hear, or feel. I confess and declare all of those good things that I expect to see manifested in their lives. Then I enter into spiritual warfare and praying scriptures.

I bind all rebellion and the strategies of the enemy from becoming effective in their lives. God will do the rest in His infinite mercy, time, and compassion for us.
We must take care not to become bitter and judgmental, even in our prayers. Sometimes we pray for God to sever a relationship, and God does so. Many times we see our loved one get involved in a worse situation. Learn to trust God with your children. Pray in a positive way with thanksgiving. Pray scriptures, not your own words. Allow God to be God.

When you allow the love of God to be manifested through you to your children, it will be the greatest deterrent against sin and rebellion in your child. This deep love from you will be better than anything that your child can see or have. The greatest deterrent against sin and rebellion in your child is the love of God manifested in your love for your child.

When you feel like screaming, yelling, preaching, or scolding— STOP! Take a deep breath. This is the time for you to take control of your emotions, mind, and body by refusing to allow your feelings to rule your actions and your words. Reach out with God’s love and kindness toward your loved ones. Be an example. Don’t compromise your values or bend your rules, but act in love. Your child may become angry with you, but deep down in his heart he will begin to think that maybe you’re right and maybe he is wrong. In God’s timing, God’s love in you will win out. Examine yourself to see if your prayers are meant to manipulate or to control. If they are, ask God to forgive you. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray for your loved ones. It will dramatically change your life and the lives of others.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything [every situation], by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4:6–7
Children Who Hit and Attack their Parents

If your children are hitting or attacking you and their brothers or sisters, I have one direct and urgent word for you: GET HELP! Don’t wait until it is too late and they take control of the family. A child should not rule or reign in the home. Authority to destroy the works of the enemy is given to Christian parents by God. Begin immediately applying the principles found in this book. These principles work and will bring about dramatic changes if you believe that God can do it through your obedience and prayers.
If your children are grown, and they still live at home without obeying rules, begin engaging in spiritual warfare. The power of God working in you is greater than the power of the enemy. Submit to God, resist the devil, and Satan will flee from you. This is a fact—a truth. Submission to God means total surrender to His ways and to His will. It is a total trust that He is capable and able to take care of that which concerns you.
When you practice trusting and believing the work of the Holy Spirit in you and in your family, you will begin to see changes and transformation. You will see and enjoy these positive changes in your children and in your family life sooner than you thought possible.

Most of the time the change has to begin in us. If we yell, they will yell. If we curse, they will curse. If we talk negatively, they will talk negatively.
When we change, they also will change. If this is not the case for you, then stand and resist. Your effective, fervent prayers will avail much. If you do find yourself in this situation, then determine to make changes.
Begin with your words, prayers, and thoughts. The Holy Spirit will be your helper and guide. Forget about the way you have done things in the past. Forget about your feelings, and walk by faith. Embark on a journey to wholeness that will restore your life and the lives of your family members. Satan does not have to take your children or your mind. God has enabled us to triumph and to overcome evil with good.

I close this chapter by encouraging you to seek God’s Word about these principles and to consider applying them to your everyday life through prayer. I have been able, each and every day, to apply these principles in my life, my husband’s life, my daughters’ lives, and in the lives of countless others. I have seen miracles of deliverance from manic depression, sickness, disease, fear and torment, destructive thought patterns, rejection, unbelief, and wrong relationships.

Prepare your heart. If you submit to God with all of your heart, put on your spiritual armor (which is God’s Word in your heart and in your mouth), and aggressively resist the devil, the devil will have to flee from you, your household, and from those for whom you pray. The key is to yield your life to God completely and to be obedient to His Word. Once you experience the love and the power of God in your life, you won’t desire anything else. You will notice that I repeat the importance of obedience and trust throughout the chapters in this book. I don’t want you to forget it, because without obedience and trust your efforts will be in vain.
Children have a sharp sense of what is right and wrong. They are also avid imitators of their parents. As parents change, they also change. There is no case too big or too impossible for God to change and transform. God’s love in action through you can tear down the greatest strongholds and barriers in your family.
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