"From behind the shadow of the still small voice – more awful than tempest or earthquake – more sure and persistent than day and night – is always sounding full of hope and strength to the weariest of us all, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”" -Thomas Hughes
Have you ever thought about the fact that you are in a war as a Christian? Literally, everyday we wake up we are going into the battlefield, in fact even when we are sleeping we are in the battlefield; until we enter into the kingdom of heaven one day we are going to face the harsh reality that we are not of this world and the attack is on. As I was thinking about the sins that I struggle with regularly recently I was discouraged by the fact that I so regularly fail. Although I know that Christ has victory over sin and has enabled me to be an overcomer the weakness of my flesh and the temptation and lures of the enemy and the world constantly wage war in my soul...and does it ever get tiring! Praying MARANATHA, Lord come quickly is definitely the ever present desire in my heart, but I know that God has left me here, He has numbered my days as the Psalmist said and has a specific plan and purpose for my life as well as yours if you are one of His (Eph 2:10); and that means that I need to prepare for battle everday until He comes and takes me home.
Any soldier will tell you that before they go into battle they prepare, rarely will a soldier go into battle unprepared. We need to do the same! We need to prepare our minds as 1 Peter 1:13 says, "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." So what are we preparing our minds for? What on earth is the believer's warfare? I did a little bit of examining what Scripture had to say about this battle:
First this battle is internal: Galatians 5:17 "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." Isn't this the truth, how often have we wanted so desparately to not sin and yet we give in. We must realize that the battle begins within, it begins within the depravity of our flesh and we must be on guard.
Next the battle is with the world: Galatians 3:22 says, "But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe." The world is bombarding us with sinful temptations day in and day out, but take heart Jesus says in John 16:33, ""I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.""
And lastly the battle is with the enemy himself, Satan: Ephesians 6:11-12 says, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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." This is intense, our struggle is an ongoing battle by a force that has a lot of God given granted power and is a master mind schemer.
So how do we fight it? We put on the armor of the Lord of course! In Ephesians 6:13-18 we read, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. "
Practically speaking what does this mean....
1. Belt of Truth- THINK TRUTH, BE BIBLICAL, PURSUE HIM
2. Breastplate of Righteousness- PUT OFF THE SINFUL WAYS AND PUT ON RIGHTEOUS/GODLY HABITS THEY WILL GUARD YOUR HEART
3. Feet with readiness to share the Gospel- THAT IS OUR MISSION
4. Shield of Faith- OUR CONFIDENCE IN HIM AND TRUST IN WHAT HE DID AND WILL DO WILL PROTECT US FROM THE LIES THAT ARE THROWN OUR WAY
5. Helmet of salvation- A HELMET PROTECTS YOUR HEAD, THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR BODY AND YOUR SALVATION IS WHAT PROTECTS YOU FROM DEATH AND GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO LIVE ETERNALLY
6. Sword of the Spirit- THE WORD OF GOD, THE SWORD LETS YOU FIGHT SUCCESSFULLY
And lastly it says PRAY! That is crucial in this all out battle. John Piper called prayer a "wartime walkie talkie".
We can hope in knowing that He has already overcome the world and that each day as we embark on this journey and go head on into battle we have a commander in chief who has already won!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Joyful No Matter What
It seems that throughout my life the Lord has been faithful to provide me with a verse for every season, both tragedy and triumph, a verse that encourages and spurs me on and keeps my heart and mind steadfast on Him. I love Isaiah 26:3 in which we read, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you" or Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God", and then there is Colossians 1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him", or Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." or even Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful"...and I of course could go on, those are just a few of the verse that come to mind when I think of specific verses the Lord gave me during specific seasons in my life. I am sure that you too can think of a handful of verses that God has used to keep you steadfast during the ups and downs in your life.
I recently was having a conversation with a coworker and the topic of depression came up. This individual was explaining how they had been having a period in their life where they were always sad, hurting, and angry for what they believed to be "no reason"; not being saved, this person's immediate reaction was to make a phone call to the doctor and set up an appointment to get diagnosed with depression so they could get the pills to "balance" out. As I sat there thinking about what was going on I continued our discussion and soon realized a foundational truth of all humanity...happiness for humanity is circumstantial, not so profound I know but it definitely is something that is true for all of the human race. If life is going great then the person tends to be happy and joyous and the moment that life takes a turn for the worse so do the emotions, everything is based on the circumstances and situations surrounding that individual. And then as I am sitting there having this conversation with them I realize that I am blessed (happy) because God is my rock. Okay yeah I knew that all along but in that moment it really hit me, it hit me that no matter what I do in life, no matter what situations come my way, no matter how hard or how tough life gets I have a peace and a joy that never fade, and then God gave me a verse... Habakkuk 3:17-19
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."
This promise is something that I am so sure of, that no matter what befalls me in life I will always be secure and confident in my standing with Christ and bottom line that is all that matters, and there is happiness in that because we are truly blessed!! I love the prophets description here that despite the circumstances that befall, and the fact that there is really every reason "logically" or from a human perspective to be upset and depressed, yet despite that He will rejoice BECAUSE His hope and joy are found in God His Savior who strengthens and enables Him to find peace and perservere. As I continued to dwell on this precious promise I was so encouraged looking back over the seasons of my life and seeing how despite it all there was a consistency in my heart because God is and was my portion and although everything else failed HE WOULDN'T!
What a treasure we have as sons and daughters of the King, what a precious promise we have inherited and what a blessing it is to have the Truth of Scripture that the Spirit impresses on our hearts perfectly giving us specific verses to enable us to continue running!
I recently was having a conversation with a coworker and the topic of depression came up. This individual was explaining how they had been having a period in their life where they were always sad, hurting, and angry for what they believed to be "no reason"; not being saved, this person's immediate reaction was to make a phone call to the doctor and set up an appointment to get diagnosed with depression so they could get the pills to "balance" out. As I sat there thinking about what was going on I continued our discussion and soon realized a foundational truth of all humanity...happiness for humanity is circumstantial, not so profound I know but it definitely is something that is true for all of the human race. If life is going great then the person tends to be happy and joyous and the moment that life takes a turn for the worse so do the emotions, everything is based on the circumstances and situations surrounding that individual. And then as I am sitting there having this conversation with them I realize that I am blessed (happy) because God is my rock. Okay yeah I knew that all along but in that moment it really hit me, it hit me that no matter what I do in life, no matter what situations come my way, no matter how hard or how tough life gets I have a peace and a joy that never fade, and then God gave me a verse... Habakkuk 3:17-19
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."
This promise is something that I am so sure of, that no matter what befalls me in life I will always be secure and confident in my standing with Christ and bottom line that is all that matters, and there is happiness in that because we are truly blessed!! I love the prophets description here that despite the circumstances that befall, and the fact that there is really every reason "logically" or from a human perspective to be upset and depressed, yet despite that He will rejoice BECAUSE His hope and joy are found in God His Savior who strengthens and enables Him to find peace and perservere. As I continued to dwell on this precious promise I was so encouraged looking back over the seasons of my life and seeing how despite it all there was a consistency in my heart because God is and was my portion and although everything else failed HE WOULDN'T!
What a treasure we have as sons and daughters of the King, what a precious promise we have inherited and what a blessing it is to have the Truth of Scripture that the Spirit impresses on our hearts perfectly giving us specific verses to enable us to continue running!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
"Sarah" Moments
"God's faithfulness means that God will always do what He said and fulfill what He has promised." -Wayne Grudem
Today I was reading through the book of Genesis (which by the way I highly recommend) and I came across one of my favorite OT stories, that of Abraham, Sarah and Issac and how God proved His faithfulness time and time again to these three. I was quickly reminded of so many Truths and I couldn't help but smile because of God's providence in my reading that specific passage even today (He knows I needed it). In Genesis we read about the covenant that God the Father made with Abraham in relation to the blessing of generations of people who would follow the one true God; what we soon see is the mistrust and sin of Abraham and Sarah as Ishmael is conceived in sin through Hagar. I don't know how many times I have wondered why on earth the two of them (Abraham and Sarah) weren't just patient and why they couldn't just trust the God that had already proved His faithfulness in their lives in the past; but then I am humbly reminded of how I too have the same attitude...how I am a modern day Sarah, or I have what I call my "sarah" moments...but don't we all?! God had a very near and dear relationship to Abraham and Sarah and had promised Abraham the blessing of a child through whom the nations would be blessed, yet in the quietness of her heart Sarah laughed at the promise because of the circumstances she found herself in (barrenness and old age, not to mention that she had waited for some time at that point, and I am sure her patience had run dry). In Genesis 18:10-14 we read,
"He said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?' "Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."
As I read over this passage once again I saw myself, I couldn't help but realize that I often am the laughing Sarah in the circumstances I find myself in, most of the time in the quietness of my own heart where only God can see. I KNOW God is faithful and I have even experienced and seen His faithfulness yet when it comes to unfulfilled desires or provisions I seem to laugh thinking that the situation is impossible, or that the time has run out, or that maybe it jsut won't happen. But is anything too difficult for the Lord? Absolutely not, obviously not! Now although I don't have the privilege of talking directly with the Lord (as in verbally) like Abraham and Sarah did, or the actual time frame of a promise answered, I do have the same privilege of talking to the Lord, the presence of His Spirit, and the response of His Word. In that I also have the ability to trust the Lord through His strength and the pirivlege of looking back over 6000 years and seeing God's perfection, His providence and His proven faithfulness time and time again. Is anything really too hard for Him? Is something too much for the God who spoke the universe into existence, the God who covered the earth with a flood and spared a family, the God who bore the sin of the world? As I am writing this I can see more and more how absurd my thinking can become, how tainted my emotions can make my focus and how often I forget the truth of who this God is. The same God who promised (and KEPT that promise proving His perfect faithfulness) Abraham and Sarah a son is the same God who has promised to never leave or forsake us and who is faithful in even the small affairs of our lives, how foolish it is to laugh in our hearts.
My prayer for myself is that I would take heed to the lesson found in Genesis 18 and remember the God I serve, and remember to hold firm to the Truth of His Word as it says in Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
Today I was reading through the book of Genesis (which by the way I highly recommend) and I came across one of my favorite OT stories, that of Abraham, Sarah and Issac and how God proved His faithfulness time and time again to these three. I was quickly reminded of so many Truths and I couldn't help but smile because of God's providence in my reading that specific passage even today (He knows I needed it). In Genesis we read about the covenant that God the Father made with Abraham in relation to the blessing of generations of people who would follow the one true God; what we soon see is the mistrust and sin of Abraham and Sarah as Ishmael is conceived in sin through Hagar. I don't know how many times I have wondered why on earth the two of them (Abraham and Sarah) weren't just patient and why they couldn't just trust the God that had already proved His faithfulness in their lives in the past; but then I am humbly reminded of how I too have the same attitude...how I am a modern day Sarah, or I have what I call my "sarah" moments...but don't we all?! God had a very near and dear relationship to Abraham and Sarah and had promised Abraham the blessing of a child through whom the nations would be blessed, yet in the quietness of her heart Sarah laughed at the promise because of the circumstances she found herself in (barrenness and old age, not to mention that she had waited for some time at that point, and I am sure her patience had run dry). In Genesis 18:10-14 we read,
"He said, "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am so old?' "Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."
As I read over this passage once again I saw myself, I couldn't help but realize that I often am the laughing Sarah in the circumstances I find myself in, most of the time in the quietness of my own heart where only God can see. I KNOW God is faithful and I have even experienced and seen His faithfulness yet when it comes to unfulfilled desires or provisions I seem to laugh thinking that the situation is impossible, or that the time has run out, or that maybe it jsut won't happen. But is anything too difficult for the Lord? Absolutely not, obviously not! Now although I don't have the privilege of talking directly with the Lord (as in verbally) like Abraham and Sarah did, or the actual time frame of a promise answered, I do have the same privilege of talking to the Lord, the presence of His Spirit, and the response of His Word. In that I also have the ability to trust the Lord through His strength and the pirivlege of looking back over 6000 years and seeing God's perfection, His providence and His proven faithfulness time and time again. Is anything really too hard for Him? Is something too much for the God who spoke the universe into existence, the God who covered the earth with a flood and spared a family, the God who bore the sin of the world? As I am writing this I can see more and more how absurd my thinking can become, how tainted my emotions can make my focus and how often I forget the truth of who this God is. The same God who promised (and KEPT that promise proving His perfect faithfulness) Abraham and Sarah a son is the same God who has promised to never leave or forsake us and who is faithful in even the small affairs of our lives, how foolish it is to laugh in our hearts.
My prayer for myself is that I would take heed to the lesson found in Genesis 18 and remember the God I serve, and remember to hold firm to the Truth of His Word as it says in Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
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