On this episode of A Touch From Above, Dr. Luauna Steins delivers a powerful message on the reality of spiritual warfare and the call for believers to stand strong in faith. Drawing from scripture and personal experience, she challenges Christians to live boldly, endure hardship, and remain anchored in Christ.
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Listen carefully to me. Blessed are those who keep my way.
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Set your spirit on fire and let Dr. Luauna Steins guide you to a life of purpose and fulfillment. To reach Dr. Luauna Steins, call 760-315-1967 or visit atouchfromabove.org. And now here’s your A Touch From Above host, Dr. Luauna Steins.
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God bless you. Thank you so much for joining me. I’m Dr. Luauna and this is A Touch From Above right from Ramona, California. God richly bless you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for joining me. Wow. I am so excited all that God is doing. And so I’m just going to get right into my message. You know, there’s all different holidays that we celebrate, Veterans Memorial Day, you know, and we honor the great men and women. And I was thinking about Memorial Day. It’s a day to honor the sacrifice and the loss of the members of the military who died in service. And I was thinking about, you know, in my family, all those that my uncle, my other relative went to Vietnam and they’ve won, you know, World War II and the Korean War. And I was thinking about a poem that was written by Everett C. Goodwin. And I’m going to read this poem to you today. went to the grave of a fallen soldier we will never know of the medals he was the holder fighting in the air on land and sea he had given his life so we could all be free his fight had started in 76 all branches of the service were his pick His first march was to the beat of a drum, using only a flintlock gun. Called up to duty into many wars, landed upon so many foreign shores. Going forward and giving his all, never has a soldier stood so tall. Unknown will always adorn his grave. He was born in the home of the brave. My fellow veteran, now rest in peace as we pray that all wars will someday cease. Wow. That was a heart gripper poem. As I began to, I love poetry. I love to read. And as I was reading, you know, and, and while we, you know, of course our calling is to pray, we pray for peace. We pray for war to end, but God’s word tells us of another war. And it’s a war against an enemy that sometimes is invisible. Sometimes you can’t recognize it. where that enemy is. It’s a war for the souls of mankind, a war that’s taking as many as it can into the chambers of hell and damnation. It’s a spiritual war. I was thinking about Ephesians 6, verse 10. The apostle Paul writes in this book, and it’s so powerful, but how many times do we just kind of overlook it and think, oh, Yeah, wow, yeah, okay. No, no, no, no, no. It says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The wiles are the calls, the temptation. He’s continually calling, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. This is that invisible war I’m talking about. but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand, stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shrod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace above all, taking the shield of faith with which you must be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of god praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints And as for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak. Let me stop there for a moment. There’s another war, a battle that is going on. And how is it that Christians are to survive? How? does one survive in this battle that is before you and I well I’m glad you asked that question well Jesus gave us the very answer you know there’s not one question that we have that does not have an answer in this Bible You know, John chapter 15, let me take a moment and read this to you. It is so very powerful. And when we understand what God is telling you and I, you know, a lot of people say, well, I want God to speak to me. Well, just open up the word. God will speak to you. Open up the word. John chapter 15, reading in verses 1 through 17, he said, I am the true vine, and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes. Somebody say, ouch. Pruning in God’s kingdom is not always enjoyable. When I prune my roses or I prune a tree or I bring out my saw and I have to cut that branch, I think, oh, poor little tree, I’m sorry, but I got to cut you off in order for you to bear fruit. We don’t understand when Jesus is speaking and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. And then here’s your key. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. you are the branches he who abides in me and i in him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing this is jesus speaking to you and i if anyone does not abide in me he is cast out as a branch And it’s withered and they gather them up and they throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you know so many people, when you read the word, you’ve got to pay attention to those little small words like if or when or behold. Therefore, these are words that you have to understand that they, you know, in this next four verses, you’re going to see if. And I want you to know if is a word that’s a condition. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them up and throw them into the fire and they are burned. Let me stop there for a moment. i am the vine you are the branches now you have to understand he’s talking to the christian you are the branches now i don’t know where this once saved always saved came from because if you read this bible you’ll see that that’s not true he who abides in me and i and him bears much fruit for without me you can do nothing if anyone does not abide there’s that word again if Anyone does not abide in me. He’s cast out as a branch and is withered and they gather them and they throw them into the fire and they are burned. You have to understand there’s a condition there. A lot of people say, but I don’t understand about God. What am I gonna do? Once I’m saved, I’m always saved. I can do whatever I wanna do. I’m sorry, Charlie, you cannot do whatever you want to do whenever and however. If you abide in me and my word abides in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this, my father’s glorified that you bear much fruit. So you will be my disciples as a father loved me. I also have loved you abide in my love. And then here’s that word again. If, if you keep my commandments, what happens if you don’t keep those commandments? I’m going to talk to you a little bit about a soldier in a minute. That’s why I’m bringing this up. And this is why I brought up that poem, because we’re in a different kind of army. And our commanding and general, you know, we have our commanding general of the United States, you know, is our president. Well, let me tell you, the Christian has a commanding master. And that is the King of Kings. That is Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. He is the commander of you and I, and he’s given us our marching orders. He says, if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be fulfilled. Let me stop there for a moment. We’re in the army of the living God. We have a great commander in chief, the almighty God. You know, I like Psalms. The book of Psalms tells us where does our strength come from? I think about David. David was a mighty warrior. He was an anointed king. He was a warrior. He was a father. He was appointed and anointed by God. But there comes a point in his life where he’s being assaulted all around him. But yet you got to remember, God is the one who brought him into his service. He said, I have found a man after my own heart. And then he tells the prophet, go to the house of Jesse. And when you get to Jesse’s house, he will show you his sons. I will show you whom I have chosen. So God, he chose David. And there comes a place in David’s life where David is struggling because although he loved Saul, he loved his son, all of a sudden there’s an opposition that is coming against him greatly. The enemy has surrounded him. And the words that David says are so powerful. In Psalms 121, I will lift up my eyes to the heels. From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is my keeper. The Lord is your shade. At your right hand, the sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even forever more. You see, David knew where his strength came from. And you and I are in a military battle. battle and we’re in a war you know it and Jesus is our strength and he’s our help in a time of trouble Our service as Christians is to the King of Kings, and we have to keep His purpose. And you know what? When we keep His purpose, we will never fail, never. When I think about the service, when I think about the military branches of our nation, I think about the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Air Force, the National Guard. When I see our flag flying high, my heart is so grateful for our nation. And I respect all those who serve and all those who have served. And I respect those that have given their lives for our freedom to worship in the United States of America. When I hear people say, oh yeah, America, you know, I don’t want to be in America. I want to say, well, let me buy you a one-way ticket to Iran. That’ll set you up real quick. Usually those that say that are little brats. They’re uneducated. They’ve never been anywhere out of the country and they’ve never been to a third world country. They’re very ungrateful and they’re very selfish and they’re very self-centered. You see, they don’t understand. But I want to talk to you. What about all those men and women who have given their lives for our spiritual freedom? What about that? What about those that have laid down their lives so that this gospel would be preached to you and I today? You see, the walk of a Christian soldier is not for cowards. It’s not for cowards. You better get that down in your heart. You better get some little toughness with you, Christian, because the days ahead are going to be a lot tougher than they are and have been. Let me give you one little story here. My dear friend Jill, her dad was and she got a call. We were in Colorado Springs. She got a call and they said that her dad was going to die. And she knew that her dad wasn’t saved. And she said, I have to go to Michigan. And I said, OK, you know what? I’ll take you to Michigan. I don’t want you to go by yourself. And we were going to drive. We couldn’t fly for some reason. So we jump in my, I’m in my Volkswagen, believe it or not. And I’m in my Volkswagen and we take off and we’re driving from Colorado Springs. And which is a long, long drive to Muskegon, Michigan. And I said, we’re just going to drive straight through. We’re going to get there before your dad dies because you got to pray with him. So we’re driving, we’re driving, we’re driving. I’m driving all day long. We left early in the morning and Stop, take a break, go to the bathroom, take a break, grab a bite to eat, get some coffee, get going, get back in the car. And we take off again. And now I’m driving. It’s about 2.30 in the morning. Oh my goodness. And I’m getting tired. I thought, oh, I need to pull over. I said, you know what? I’m going to pull over, get me a cup of coffee. I look over to the side and Jill’s… I said, Hey, I thought you were going to stay awake and keep me awake. She goes, I’m sorry. I’m trying to stay awake. It’s like, yeah, right. You’re trying really hard. Get that pillow off the corner there and quit cuddling up to your blanket. I don’t think you’re trying really hard. So anyway, we finally, I just said, forget it. I got to pull over. I got to get some coffee. So I take this exit and I’m looking around. I’m trying, I’m in the middle of nowhere. I’m trying to find like a gas station or 7-Eleven or something. So I see like a little convenience store slash gas station and I pull over and we’re in the middle of nowhere. So I pull over, I park my Volkswagen and all of a sudden, I look around and here’s all these, what do you call them? Harley, a Harley biker, biker group is coming in. Yeah. And they’re coming in with their bikes, you know, their Harley Davidsons. And I’m looking at him and I said, oh boy, look at those toughies. And I grab a couple of tracks and I get out of the car. And the minute I get out of the car, I hear tick, tick. I turn around and Jill’s locking the doors. It’s like, hey, what are you doing? You chicken. And I got up and I walked over to the bikers and I go, hey, how are you guys doing? And they just looked at me like, huh? What are you doing talking to us? I said, and I pulled out my gospel tracks. I said, you know, God needs men like you. I said, he needs men that will serve God and be. And he goes, oh, you’re a Christian, huh? And one guy, he started to kind of mock. And I looked at him and I just kind of cocked my head up and put my shoulders back and I kind of stepped forward, you know, and I was just kind of like a challenged look. I said, what do you think, could being a Christian is a coward? I said, let me tell you something, being a Christian is not for cowards. And he goes, oh, so you’re a Jesus freak. I said, a Jesus freak, I do believe it’s true, but tell me my friend, whose freak are you? I said, yes, I am a fanatic for Jesus. I said, you don’t think I know about this bike? I said, hey, I used to cruise. I said, do you know what a dyna-wide glide is? I said, I used to cruise a motorcycle all the time. Let me tell you something, God needs men and women that are not afraid and they’re bold. And you know what? You can either live for something that makes a difference or you can continue on standing up for something that doesn’t matter. I said, I don’t know about you, but you may think being a Christian is a coward, but I’m telling you what, you gotta have boldness to be a Christian. I said, why don’t you come over on this side? Why don’t you come over, step into my shoes? Try standing against the lies of the enemy. Try standing against the alcohol that everyone wants to give you. Try standing against the smoking. I said, because you know what? Quite frankly, I said, any chump or punk can serve the devil. He just looked at me like, what? I said, listen to me. Any punk or chump can serve the devil. It’s easy. You just got to go down that road like everybody else is doing. Drink in pot, get loaded, get high, sleep around, get insane, get crazy, smoke a joint, do a line of coke. Hello, you just do what everybody else does. I said, but I’m going to tell you something. I said, it takes guts to serve God. You think it’s easy on this side? I bet you you’re a coward and you won’t come on this side. I said, you need to get over on this side. And then I looked at one of the guys and I looked at him and he goes… You’re pretty bold. I said, I’m tired. I need some coffee. I said, I’m tired. I’ve been driving. My friend’s dad’s about ready to die. And I pulled over and saw you guys here. And I remembered because I used to cruise on my motorcycle as well. And I thought nobody ever witnessed to me. So I thought, I’m going to stop. I’m going to tell you guys how much Jesus loves you and how he cares about you and that you can step into eternity in a minute and you can spend eternity in heaven or you can be with God forever. I said, and you know what? I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me by. I said, would you like to pray? And I looked at that guy right in the eye and all of a sudden he just goes, yeah, I think I would. I was actually kind of shocked. And then I looked at the other guy, I said, what about you? And he goes, Yeah. Then I looked at the one that was being sarcastic. I said, what about you, Tuffy? He goes, yeah, all right, I’ll pray. So guess what? They all bowed their head. They all prayed. They all received Jesus as the Lord and Savior. I gave them the gospel track. I mean, I’m probably a thousand miles away from where our church is. I said, find a good church, guys. Jesus loves you. I said, now I got to go get some coffee. Don’t forget, pick up a Bible and read it. I got to go. So I went inside, got my coffee. And went back out and Jill goes, I can’t believe you prayed with them. I go, you missed your reward. You missed your reward. I said, my goodness, girl. You see, you have to understand something. The walk of a Christian soldier is not for cowards. And this walk, you know, this walk has seen many, many women lay down their lives for the gospel. Can I tell you, Paul warned young Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, verses 1-3, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses. Commit these things to faithful men who will be able to teach others. Therefore, you must endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ. Listen, have you backslidden? Have you forgot that you were a soldier? You know, you have to worry. You have to take time and read Second Chronicles. I wish I had time to read Second Chronicles to you. Jehoshaphat was surrounded by the enemy all the way around. Their enemy was numbered beyond the sands, the sand on the seashore. But you know what God told him? And he said, hearken, all you Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and thou King Jehoshaphat, for thus says the Lord unto you, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of of this great multitude for the battle is not yours but god’s you see our god is faithful to those that are faithful maybe you are surrounded with many trials right now you know what hold on jesus is our strength don’t give up and don’t give in Yes, there’s a battle that you and I must fight and the race that you and I must win. And we will receive a crown that is not like the world’s crown, a perishable crown. But we will receive a crown, an eternal crown, a crown of glory from the almighty God. You know, what will history write about your walk with Jesus? What will history write about you? Will it say, oh my goodness, look at all that they’ve done for Christ? Or will they say they backed down? They gave up. They threw in the towel. I want you to know something. Jesus is so awesome. Men and women have laid down their lives. Pray with me right now. Jesus, please forgive me. I’ve allowed the enemy to come against me. I’ve allowed people to shake my foundation. I am so sorry, Lord. Come into my heart. Be my Savior. Be my rock and be my refuge. Oh, Jesus, help me to love you and honor you. Oh, God, forgive me. Help me to gird up my loins. Help me to get back into the battlefield. In Jesus’ name, amen. You said that prayer. I want you to do me a favor. Contact me. Let’s help you. I don’t care where you’re at. Back East, Atlanta, Georgia, Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, San Diego, Escondido, Carmel, I don’t care where you are. Let’s help you find a good Bible believing church. Get your rump up and get to church. And if you’re in San Diego County, come on up to the prayer mountain. A church alive is worth the drive. Come on out and let Jesus be Lord of your life. Get the word, get equipped, get prepared and run the race like a good soldier. All for Jesus. I love you. You’re awesome and amazing. Visit my website at touchfromabove.org. God bless you.
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Thank you for listening to Dr. Luauna Steins.
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A Mother’s Story, a compelling book by Dr. Luauna Steins tells her heart-gripping story of how God can rescue even the least likely in the deepest trial and bring about his plan for her life. A single mother with a murdered husband who battled cancer and overcame impossible odds. Only God could perform such a rescue and bring about his plan for her life. And he can do it for you. This story by Dr. Luauna Steins will inspire you and give you hope. Get your copy today for only $19.95 online at atouchfromabove.org or by calling 760-315-1967. That’s 760-315-1967. A Mother’s Story.
