Friday Morning Scripture – 1 Peter 2:1-12

A Living Stone and A Holy People

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—

3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

4 As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,

5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”[a]

8 and

“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

1 Peter 2:1-12 (ESV)
Footnotes
[a] 1 Peter 2:7 Greek the head of the corner

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – I Am Coming For My Bride

See Me with eyes of fire – I am coming for My bride. This is a call to the burning ones, those burning with desire for the Kingdom, those whose passionate hearts burn and yearn for Me. Those with a purified heart who have known the refiners fire and are ready to stand for Me and Me alone with no hidden agenda, just a heart and life poured out fully for Me.

I am calling the Generals to now stand; to step up into the kingdom authority I have for them. My battleground does not look like those of the world and neither do My weapons. I am releasing strategies and battle cries to you even now. I am equipping you all to stand with Me and to fight. Do you hear the sound of war in the atmosphere? Do you hear the call in the spirit urging you to burn with My fire and to stand with Me and fight? Expect angel visitations, expect wild heavenly encounters, expect to be given fresh anointing, new strategies and the determination needed to stand with Me.

This is not a call to be passive but is a call to arms. This is not a call to rest but a call to stand with Me and hold fast. The thickness of battle is amidst you, but I ask you to stand with Me, seek My face and strategize with Me to take the ground and territory that is ours in this season. I will strengthen and equip you with all that you need in this time. I want no stone left unturned and no ground left unclaimed. It is time to stand and to fight.

Activation: Standing together and fighting is not a solo mission and takes us to stand, to pray, to worship, to intercede and stand in the gap for others. Take time to pray and intercede for the remnant to rise up, the generals to be positioned as God would call them to be, for there to be unity in the army of God, and to release clarity and discernment to know the God centred strategies in these times.

Read Ephesians 6:10-20 out loud then read it again looking into the spirit realm asking the Holy Spirit to show you the armour He has given you, the weapons He is equipping you with, and putting on your armour according to the scripture.

7 Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is [He then] this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory [who rules over all creation with His heavenly armies]. Selah.

Psalm 24:7-10 (AMP)

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Thursday Morning Scripture – Ephesians 6:10-20

The Armor/Armour of YHWH

10 In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might.

11 Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.

13 Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist andstand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].

14 So stand firm and hold your ground, having [1]tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart),

15 and having [2]strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].

16 Above all, lift up the [protective] [3]shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all [4]God’s people.

19 And pray for me, that words may be given to me when I open my mouth, to proclaim boldly the mystery of the good news [of salvation],

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. And pray that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly and courageously, as I should.

Ephesians 6:10-20 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. Ephesians 6:14 Lit girded your loins, a phrase often found in the Bible, is an urgent call to get ready for immediate action or a coming event. The phrase is related to the type of clothing worn in ancient times. Before any vigorous activity the loose ends of clothing (tunics, cloaks, mantles, etc.) had to be gathered up and tucked into the wide band worn around the midsection of the body. The band (usually about six inches wide) also served as a kind of pocket or pouch to carry personal items such as a dagger, money or other necessary things. Gird up your mind or gird up your heart are examples of variants of this phrase and call for mental or spiritual preparation for a coming challenge.
  2. Ephesians 6:15 A reference to the Roman soldiers’ shoes which were studded with hobnails to give them stability on the battlefield.
  3. Ephesians 6:16 Here the Greek word refers to the large Roman soldiers’ shield designed to protect the entire body. It had an iron frame and was covered in several layers of leather. When soaked in water before a battle the shield could put out the fiery missiles thrown at them by the enemy.
  4. Ephesians 6:18 Lit the saints.

Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Welcome

Be prepared for Me to increase your territory. I am stretching the pegs of your tent far apart! I am giving you increased authority, and I am inviting you to prepare for it now. You are living in My shelter, ruling over My territory with Me. See that in this new season, I am standing beside you, welcoming the nations into My shelter. I am inviting you to take up your authority and welcome them with Me!

Every plan starts with desire, My beloved, and now I am inviting you to prepare for this by going through the desires in your heart with Me.

Let’s see what is there, and what is missing.

I love you. I gave Myself up for you. And I want to share with you in this moment My fiery love. I long to gather all the nations into My house. Do you desire that to?

Then come, and take this shepherd’s rod and staff of authority to welcome those I send to you, providing them with My shelter.

Activation: To welcome the people into the shelter we must dwell in it first! Ask God to show you any anxiety, fear, doubt or uncertainty and take shelter in Him for those issues now. Then go through the desires in your heart and throw out any that are getting in the way of God’s love, especially in this season of judgements and divisions. Now, expand your tent pegs! It is time to embrace the territorial authority God has given you. Decree your home, work and every interaction is for God and that any work of satan is bound! Pray that the people around you will come into God’s shelter, asking that He will bring the harvest to you, and you will be prepared to point them to Jesus.

He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:2 (BSB)

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1 (NLT)

“Enlarge your house; build an addition. Spread out your home, and spare no expense!

Isaiah 54:2 (NLT)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Lean In, Look and Listen

In these coming days do not be deceived by what you see in the world around you or let the words of the world taint your vision or your voice. I am the Father of Truth. Do not give into your circumstances in these coming days; do not bow down to the things the world teaches you about the ways of the world and the wars that are raging around you in the natural and in the spiritual realms. Trust only in My voice in this season, in My leading, and in My guiding. If you are led by Me fully, then I will not let your foot slip from the path I have for you.

Walk with Me and listen to My footsteps as they guide you in the way to go. I ask you not to give into fear in this season but to trust in Me. I am asking you to come up higher in this season, to look into the spirit and to see with clarity, wisdom and understanding, to listen and to hear My voice with accuracy and precision. I will not fail you. Lean in, look, and listen and I will be your guide. You are safe with Me, for I do not give as the world gives.

Activation: With an open heart, come before the Lord and ask Him if there have been any places where your heart has been tarnished by political ideals and views, worldly structures, and thought patterns that do not align with God’s thought patterns and processes or biblical views. Allow Him to meet you in these places of purification and to realign you to His thoughts and mindsets. Repent for any partnerships with wrong mindsets and allow Him to realign your thought patterns to be in line with Him.

27 Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]

John 14:27 (AMP)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 3:5-7 (ESV)

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Lion Bites – Global Prophetic Alliance – Shaped by the Shepherd

My sheep know My voice. I have sung over you, as shepherds do for their sheep – you have heard My cry over you and I have revealed My heart to you. You have heard My voice many times, you know the way that I speak to you – the union and intimacy that we share.

My sheep know My protection. I have fought lions and bears for you. Whatever threat has come against you, I have stood on your behalf. Even while you were resting, I was watching over you.

My sheep know My dedication. When you have wandered far from My purposes, I have pursued you and sought you out – not allowing you to be lost. For I am the God of the marginalised, the weary and the burdened. I have rescued you and bound your wounds.

My sheep know My correction. When you have needed to know boundaries and a ‘no’ for your own sake, I have corrected you and realigned your heart back to Me. I have kept you in the places you needed to be to grow, and to learn.

My sheep know My provision. I have led you to green pastures, I have provided for your needs and taken pleasure in your good grazing. When the land beneath you has dried, I have brought you to new and plentiful places.

Your life is the story of how you have been shaped by Me, your Good Shepherd. For I am only good. And My purposes in your life are only good, regardless of the season that you are in.

A shepherd is a place of comfort and refuge for the sheep, but he is also a symbol of strength and protection. I am the God of your comfort – the safe place you run to, but I am also the God who defends and protects you – who stands in righteousness and power. Do not be so focused on Me shepherding you in comfort, that you miss My protection and power.

Activation: Ask Jesus what season of shepherding you are in with Him now. Is it revelation, protection, rescue, dedication, correction, provision – or something else? Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to you a deeper understanding of your season now. And what is He leading you into? Pray – Lord, thank-you for being my shepherd, whatever season I am in. Show me how to follow your lead, and to truly understand what it means to be shepherded by you.

The LORD GOD Will Seek Them Out

11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for My sheep and will seek them out.

12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

15 I Myself will be the shepherd of My sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.

16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.[a] I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 (ESV)
Footnotes
[a] Ezekiel 34:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate I will watch over

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