The Armor of God: Part 2

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“Put” – enduo: to clothe or be clothed with (in the sense of sinking into a garment)
“on the full armor” – panoplia: complete armor; taken from two words which mean “every” and “weapon” – a set of offensive and defensive armor (weapon), i.e.: everything needed to wage successful warfare; figuratively speaking in this contest it’s the full resources the Lords gives to the believer so they can successfully wage spiritual warfare. In this way they do not fight for victory, rather from his victory.
“of God” – theos: the Creator and owner of all things
“so” – pros: advantageous for; moving toward a goal or destination
“that you will be able” – dunamai: I am powerful; am able; I can, have the power; able (enabled by God), empowered
“to stand firm” – histeme: to make stand, to stand; one who in the midst of the fight holds his ground/position against the foe
“against” – pros: advantageous for, toward a place
“the schemes” – methodeia: craft, deciet, scheming, craftiness; Root of the English word method; properly, a predictable (pre-set) method used in organized evil doing (well-crafted trickery); methodia comes from methodos, a “way of searching after something, an inquiry; a method; to employ craft”
“of the Devil” – diabolos: slanderous, accusing falsely; often used as a proper noun, The Slanderer, The Deciever; unjustly criticizing to hurt and condemn to sever a relationship; literally someone who makes charges that bring down (destroy); Satan is used by God in this plan – as a wind up toy, playing out his evil nature.
Last week we saw much about strength, and that it’s not really our own strength, but rather it’s the Lord’s strength that we draw upon. We’re able to draw from and channel His strength through the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. When we discipline ourselves to seek the Lord through His Word great things begin to happen – a Shield of Faith forms, a Breastplate of Righteousness protects, God’s truth forms a belt around your waist that will secure you and hold you fast on His path, and as we walk His path our feet carry the Gospel of Peace, which brings the Helmet of Salvation, and prayer. 
I’m so excited to dive into each piece in detail but until then we have to keep setting up the scene for this magnificent set of armor. It’s like any story, the scene must be set in order to fully appreciate the climactic portion. If you walked into a movie that had already been playing for 45 minutes you might eventually figure out who’s who and what’s what but you’re missing the why. 
This word “put” in Greek, is the idea of clothing oneself, or sinking into a garment. A couple of pictures come to mind when I think of sinking into something. The first goes along quite nicely with this description because after a long day of work, when I get home, I want to get into my comfy clothes. I’m sinking into relaxation, comfort and freedom – I hold my comfy clothes in high regard. But it’s just not simply putting on some clothes. Along with sinking into these wonderful, old sweats comes a nice cup of tea or coffee, a good book or tv show, or even sitting down with a dear friend. It’s as if the point here is to fully immerse yourself in the strength of the Lord; it’s a way of life, not just a singular action. It’s a whole heart, whole body, whole life commitment.
The concept of wholly submitting or sinking into the Lord is the second image that comes to mind. When you hear the word sinking, without the context to clothing, what picture comes to mind? Allow time for people to answer. Quicksand and water come to my mind. And what’s happening when something is sinking, or has fully sunk? Allow time to answer. It’s fully engulfed, consumed, disappeared, immersed, overwhelmed, humbled. Think about those synonyms in relation to what Christ would us do with our lives.
I’m not sure about you, but there is no place I would rather be than fully and completely submerged in the presence of God. To the point where I disappear and all that’s left is God’s light. 
I used to think that putting on the Armor of God was like putting on clothes in the morning. But what do we do with our clothes at the end of the day? We take them off. At the end of the day is when I most need the Armor of God! I can no more remove my head and expect to keep living physically, then I can remove my salvation and expect to keep living spiritually. It’s the same for every other piece of the armor. They are life sustaining articles in our walk of faith.
Look at the verse again. It says we put on, sink into, become one with the full, whole, complete Armor of God.
As I mentioned last week, in the first part of our study, the word used here for “full armor” is panoplia. Meaning it has every offensive and defensive weapon to wage complete and successful warfare against your enemy. God doesn’t send us into battle without all that we need, that would be against His character. He didn’t equip us with faulty equipment to go out and fight against the schemes of the Devil. So this idea that our back is not protected is rubbish. God loves you too much to leave you exposed and weak. He always gives us every resource we need to prevail in every form of spiritual warfare, we just don’t always choose to use them. One commentator said this, “To put on the “armour of God”…is declared to be to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” [Romans 13:14]. Hence its completeness corresponds to the divine perfection of His true humanity.”
If you’d turn to Romans 13:12 with me. Here we see we are to put on the armor of light. Enduo, to sink into a garment. But the word for armor here is different. This is not referencing a set, this is talking about the weapons, instruments, and fighting tools. Walking in God’s Light is just a part of our faith, there’s so much more to it. I got to thinking, ‘What are the other weapons we have?’ In the movies House of Flying Daggers, there is a scene where two of the main characters are fighting (let’s be honest, the whole movie is the art of fighting), but in this particular scene they are at a training arena. Lining the walls are racks and shelves of different weapons and tools to use in their kung fu/karate/etc. That’s how I imagine it is for us. We need to learn how to discern which weapon to use at the proper time. Here’s a short list of what I found: 
  1. 2 Corinthians 10:4 – Divine power to demolish strongholds
  2. 2 Corinthians 6:7 – Weapons of righteousness
  3. Romans 13:12 – Armor of Light
  4. Romans 6:13 – We offer our lives as an instrument of Righteousness
  5. Isaiah 58:6 – Fasting is a way to freedom
  6. Just about any Proverbs – gives advice on a righteous life
The commentator Eillicot wrote this, “We are “to grow up unto Him in all things” (Ephesians 4:15), to put on His image in all the harmony o f”truth” and “righteousness,” of “peace” and “faith,”  to receive and use His “salvation” and wield the spiritual energy of His “Word.”” Do you know, we are so blessed to have the full Scripture at our fingertips. We get to discover the intricacies of God’s Word and see how it all relates and ties together. Some people are so skeptical about the validity of the Bible, even those who claim to be born again Followers of Christ. As I research God more and more, as I learn about Him and give my heart to His teachings I am continually amazed by His majesty.
As we move through this verse we come to the ‘why.’ “…So that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” I am so grateful that it’s not our own power we are using to stand against the enemy of our souls. Because I’m sure we have all been in a place where we have battled and fought, and waged war in our own strength. It’s exhausting, impossible, overwhelming, chaotic. However, when we are choosing to stand firm in the Lord we are completely ready to battle; we’re fighting from HIS victory, instead of fighting for victory.
Let’s unpack this idea of the devil scheming against us; let’s shed some Light on his darkness. Ephesians 5:13 says that “everything exposed by light becomes visible” and if we can see our enemy clearly, we can fight all the more effectively. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” To me, learning to clothe ourselves in His armor, stand in His strength, wield His weapons, and fight His enemy is an exercise of submission. 
According to BibleHub.com this word scheme, methodeia, means “craft or craftiness, deceit; it’s the root for our English word method; properly, it’s a “predictable (pre-set) method used in organized evil-doing (well-crafted trickery); methodeia comes from methodos, a “way of searching after something, an inquiry…” Excuse me a moment while I digest all of this… 
Our enemy is skillfully, tactfully, thoughtfully, and predictably examining our lives, inquiring of our lives, so that he can take us down.
Satan knows he looses in the end. In the meantime, he is going to work endlessly to keep souls from entering into the Kingdom of God, and to keep Jesus’ followers from knowing the truth. Oh the enemy would love nothing more than to keep you in a state of atrophy: a state of degeneration, decline or decrease from disuse. If you don’t exercise your faith through the spiritual disciplines then your faith will become so weak from disuse, you’ll fade away. That is the opposite of what God calls for our lives; we are to be a city on a hill (Matthew 5:14). We must use every resource that God gave us in order to fight with Him against our enemy. 
In order to fight with God, we must be submissive to His battle plan. We have to lay down our pride, ego, selfishness, any darkness that resides in us, in order to fully cooperate with His will. You have to figure out for yourself what might be hindering you from fully submitting to Him. I’m encouraging you to take some time listening to God about what you need to lay at His feet. Pray and read the Scripture, seek wise counsel, pray and read Scripture some more, confess and repent, then live in freedom. 

Our Natural Self: Good or Evil?

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Psalm 14

Psalm 53

Ecclesiastes 7:20

Romans 3:12

A repeating theme throughout the Bible. So important to David, in fact, that he writes two different psalms about it (Psalm 14, 53). He must have taught this to his son because Solomon writes about it later in Ecclesiastes (7:20). Finally, the apostle Paul quotes it in his letter to the churches in Rome (Romans 3:12).

Why is this such a prevalent theme in Scripture? That’s a big question, and I can only come up with a small answer: it’s important for us to know.

As a follower of the Way, am I not called to love Christ first and love others secondly? It’s clear that I can not do this without the power of Christ in me. God Himself through 3 different people has said, “You are not good.” I can only assume then that people are not inherently good. We are born into a world smeared with, and shattered by sin. Everywhere you turn, you can see the effect of sin on the hearts of mankind.

Take a young toddler for example. If you have two children together, playing with the same toys, what is their natural reaction? “MINE!” Grabbing. Taking. Pushing. Do you think they learned that from their parents? No. These babes were not taught how to be selfish, they are born into it.

These babes then grow up to be you and me. And we aren’t any better. We haven’t out grown our selfishness, or our sin. In fact, we become better at sinning, not worse. If you’ve grown up in the church or been around the church scene for a length of time then you may have heard, “All sin is the same to God.” To Him sin is sin, whether you murder someone, or lie to your parents you’ve separated yourself from Him. From a human perspective, that is really hard to grasp and comprehend. Here’s the point: from a human perspective, the older we get, the longer we live in this sin stained world, the worse our sins get.

We grow from grabbing a toy from another child, into sexual immorality. Please do not mishear my words. It’s not that your child is going to grow up to be a terrible person because they took that toy, nor are you a terrible person now because you stole a toy as a child. The point is “There is not one who does good, no, not one.” We are all selfish; we are all sinners. This is the world we have been born into.

If you spend any amount of time with someone who doesn’t follow Christ, or really, even those who have been led astray, it won’t take long until you hear the statement, “They’re a generally good person.” Maybe referencing someone they know, or perhaps even referencing themselves. But unless you have Christ guiding your choices and your thoughts and your life, this can’t be true.

It’s a fascinating truth to meditate on.

I was listening to a sermon the other day about this topic. The pastor related that in America we may have this tendency to think that people are inherently good because we live in a Disneyland of a nation. If you look at the basis of just about any other country in the world, what do you see? Evil. Sin. Inherently bad. China deciding that men are better than women, so they murder female infants. Middle Eastern countries do not allow women much of any rights. Russia, oppressing their people for years because those in power don’t want their people to believe they matter. Hitler. Stalin. And if we’re being completely honest, we should look at our own history too. The concentration camps we put Japanese people in during the Second World War, the mass genocide and theft from the Native Americans.

No one is immune to sin. No, not one. Not even our great America. We just choose not to remember our past mistakes. The path of a nation is similar to the path of an individual: if we choose not to look back at our past, and learn from it, we will keep stepping into the same sin over and over again. Different day same story.

Now, I didn’t set out to make this a political post, nor do I want to continue that way. But I believe the point remains, and I won’t ever be convinced otherwise. All have sinned. There is not one who is good. The only good we have ever seen in this world comes from God.

Please don’t think that all hope is lost for mankind. No. That will never be true. Hope is never lost or gone. And there is a faith you can have that is in something more secure than mankind. Because over 2000 years ago a child was born, Jesus. The promised Messiah. He came to bring peace to those who choose to believe and trust and follow Him. For those of us who have chosen and will choose Him are filled with His righteousness. We have so many spiritual weapons and blessings available to us so that we may be different than our natural nature. We can choose righteousness rather than sin. We are now slaves to righteousness rather than sin.

Lord, I thank You for Your infinite wisdom. Thank You for revealing truth and knowledge to us. I pray that we would not sit stagnant when faced with truth. I pray that You would erase any words that are not Yours, so that my words would not settle in the hearts of those who read this. Rather, my God, I ask Your Word would take hold and grow in their hearts. In Your Holy, Mighty name I pray, amen.

Are You Restricting or Are You Harnessing True Self-Control?

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Self-control. How many of you just cringed at the sight of that word? Did memories of overeating, binging, overspending, exploding emotions, or some other sinful act come to mind? I wonder how self-control got such a bad reputation? It is a fruit of the Spirit after all (Galatians 5:22-23). I think too often we misuse the word and confuse the definition of self-control with the definition of restricting. I’m on a new mission to put self-control back into the positive light.
Since it’s a fruit of the Spirit, we all have the ability to use it. Therefore, we all have the ability to be in control of our selves. It takes imperfect progress and practice, but it can be done. If I can teach my 5 year old to take a deep breath, talk to God, and then calmly express her feelings, emotions, or thoughts, then by golly, so can you!(No more of this not taking responsibility for your actions nonsense).
Did I mention I’m also learning as I teach my daughter? For me it’s been a difficult discipline to exercise and train. One of my life dominating sins is selfishness. It’s one of those generational sins, ya know… I have too long given over to my flesh’s desire and believed the lie that I don’t have self-control. It was life changing, the realization that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit and as a follower of Christ I have the fruit of the Spirit; then, it’s simply up to me to harness that power. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that in every aspect of our lives we require self-control. It’s not just in our diets or attitudes, which are my main focuses. How about your spending habits, what you watch on tv, how much time you spend with your family verses your hobbies, or learning the balance of work and family?
Remember how I said I’m on a mission to change the view of self-control? Here’s my theory: we have believed Satan’s lie that self-control is restricting some sort of pleasure from our lives, and it’s going to be a miserable road ahead. Here’s the truth: when you exhibit self-control you are aligning your heart with God’s will, ie being submissive, and there is great joy in being submissive to the Lord. 
Self-control isn’t just restricting, or holding yourself back from doing something. Let’s take a look at someone who is trying to make healthy food choices. If you’re thinking to yourself over and over again,“I can’t have it. I can’t have it. I can’t have it.” What happens? All you think about is that you want it. Instead of viewing self-control as giving something up, let’s decide that self-control is feeding your body nourishing foods. Change your focus. Switch your thought process. Well Fed Women is a podcast that helps women change their mindset about food, body image and self love. It has been life altering for me!
What other areas of your life are you struggling to contain your flesh? I recently found out that when I am not in the Scripture, I am an awful human being. It is necessary for me to sink into the Armor of God every day if I want to control my flesh. I have to harness self-control when I feel like yelling at my husband, I have to harness self-control when I really want to watch the next season of Gray’s Anatomy but have been convicted of what I can and can’t watch. 
I haven been talking with my friend Sheri about self-control this past week and we want to know:  Why is it easy to exercise self-control in some areas of our lives but so difficult in others? What is it about our hearts that hold on so tightly to that one thing we know we need to let go? Why is it such a daily battle to say no to that bread roll, but it’s simple to say no to that show? And what is it in one persons heart to change their behavior or sinful actions, but another who struggles with the same thing falls from great heights?
As I think about the ease with which some choices come and the difficult strain it is to make others, I am reminded that those easy decisions weren’t always easy. When I was in the midst of my alcoholism and battling the desire daily, it wasn’t easy. But because I have used the strength of Holy Spirit to help me through those bleak days, I can now, with more ease, say,“No, thanks!” or“Get behind me Satan, and deal with the glory of my God who is my rear guard!” It took time, energy, prayer, tears, relapses, and self-control to get to the point I am at now. I have not arrived though. There are still plenty of other areas that my self-control is lacking…like Thanksgiving morning when I have 4 savory rolls and 1 cinnamon roll before lunch. Had I been tapping into the strength and power of the fruit of the Spirit I could have passed on 4 out of 5 of those rolls. I may have also been able to have 1 piece of pumpkin pie instead of 2. 
I want you to ponder self-control, especially as we approach the season of overspending, overcommitting, and overeating. Self-control is not about what we can control, and it’s not about what we can say no to.It’s is about being submissive to God, and saying yes to Him first.

Are You Really Being Kind?

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The holiday season can really bring out the best and the worst in us. We all have our war stories of the holiday past. Even with the struggles and battles that ensue during the holidays there is one truly wonderful aspect about the holidays: kindness. One of my favorite things about Christmas and Chanukah is that people are generally more kind than usual. Sure, you have the Grinch’s here and there and they can really take a bite out of you if you let them, but overall, people are so giving this time of year.

You hear the ringing of the bell and know that the extra change in your pocket is going to go to the Salvation Army. The evergreen trees they have inside stores are a reminder that there are some children who won’t get a Christmas like yours, so you buy a gift. I don’t know if it’s because people are trying to make up for the intense amount of buying and taking for self they are doing. Maybe the Spirit of God is flowing more readily and people are actually allowing themselves to be influenced by Him rather than our enemy. There is just something special about this time of year.

I have been contemplating this idea of kindness for several days now, and I’m moved to remind you that we are only able to be kind because of the kindness that God first showed to us. I want to encourage you to look to the Lord for your ability to be kind rather than doing your good deed for the day, or because it’s the right thing to do. When we seek our Savior with all our hearts, when we have truly laid down our lives in submission to Him, a love begins to grow. Through this love an outpouring of Holy Spirit and Living Water ensues.

This love is unlike any other love on Earth. In fact, it doesn’t exist here on Earth. This love that begins to pour out of your life through your words and actions reflects the very character of God Himself. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). The same is true for all the other qualities that God calls of us.

Joy. Peace. Patience. Self-Control. Compassion. And Kindness.

God’s kindness is expressed in so many wonderful ways. Take your pick of Scripture and you can find a glimpse of His kindness. Romans 2:4, His kindness is intended to lead us to repentance. Romans 11:22, urges us to remain in His kindness so that we may continue to experience His kindness. The Lord showed His kindness to Nehemiah in allowing him to return and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. God showed His kindness to Noah’s family. Exodus 20:6 and Deuteronomy 5:10 speak about the kindness (love) God shows to thousands of generations. I can’t think of an account in the Bible that doesn’t have a glimpse of His kindness in some form or another.

What I would love is for this truth to sink into your heart: our kindness is a reflection of the kindness that God first showed us. And when we’re feeling depleted, angry, bitter, or discouraged we can look to the Lord for strength to continue on. It’s in the overflow of our Living Water that we are able to be kind to those around us.

May the Lord continue to show His kindness to you as you walk in His truths. May He impart His peace and joy to your heart.

The Armor of God: Part 1

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Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

“Be strong” – endunamoo – Increase in strength, to receive strength, to be strengthened, to increase in union with the Lord
“in the Lord” – kurios – The Lord, exercising absolute ownership rights
“and in the strength” – kratos – dominion, power; a mighty deed (from a root word meaning “to perfect, complete” … in this verse context is the might of HIS strength
“of His might”– ischus – strength, power, might, force, ability…power (over external things) afforded by strength

After looking at the original Greek, I have come up with my own version of this verse: “This strength is the ability for us to increase our union with the Lord, who has complete rights to our lives anyway, through His perfect and complete power over external things.” This brings new life to Philippians 4:13 for me: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

Since we are going to be looking so much as strength today, it’s important to look at our weaknesses too. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. I think Paul is saying that he rather enjoys his weaknesses because then Christ has all the more opportunity to shine, and isn’t that the goal in life? To let the Lord’s light shine before all men. Matthew 5:14-16 is a great illustration straight from Jesus’ lips about how brightly our lights should shine. Look at the end of verse 16 – so “that they may see…and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

It circles back to that infamous question, “Why are we here?” Answer: to worship God. How then, are you worshipping God? Is your whole life a reflection of Christ? Where are you struggling in your journey of faith? Look to the Lord for your strength!

Weary? Isaiah 40:29-31; Psalm 73:26
Fear? Isaiah 41:10, 13; Deuteronomy 31:6
Rejected? Isaiah 41:9; 2 Timothy 4:16-17
Dry/Empty? Isaiah 41:17-18
Knocked Down? Psalm 18:33
Psalm 18:2, 32, 28:7-8, 29:11, 46:1, 59:9; Proverbs 31:25

I wonder if what Paul was getting at is that in devotion to Christ we offer our lives as a living sacrifice to His will. In that sacrifice we are bound to see we have weaknesses, but God is so much bigger than our weaknesses. And when we’re honest with God, with ourselves and those around us, our weaknesses begin to fad as Christ steps in and covers them. He doesn’t always take them away as if they never existed, but He covers them in a way that He is seen in our lives rather than us. The Lord is seen, not our inadequacies.

It’s much easier for us when we are seeking God during this process of refinement, is it not? Not that it will be easy-because life in a sin stained world is not easy. However, look at what Jesus Himself says in Matthew 11:28-29: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Is anyone else just absolutely basking in that promise?

As we go through our lives we would do good to remember this: God is pruning the branches that bear fruit so that they may bear even more fruit; no branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. The vine being Jesus. As He remains in us, let us also remain in Him (John 15). Let us do this so that we may be the Father’s glory by bearing much fruit. I love what one of my pastor’s said this last Sunday about glory: it is to live your life in such a way that those around you have a good opinion of God.

But what fruit is it that we bear? The fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5 and Colossians 3. Love. And through love we see joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and compassion. As we devout ourselves to God’s, love and all these things ooze from our pores. We are a pleasing aroma to God. If you know about my love for essential oils, then you know I’m all about pleasing aromas.

This may beg the question then, how do we remain in Christ, how do we continue shining His light, how do we worship God with all of our life, particularly when life is hard?

1. You must stay in the Word of God, or use The Sword of the Spirit. Daily! “Oh, but everyday is so hard. I’m just too busy. I don’t have the time.” This may not come out very gracious, but really!? You don’t have time for the creator of the universe? You don’t have 5 minutes you can devout to Him? But I agree, it can be a challenge to figure out when and where to fit in the time with God. Here’s my personal belief, which is supported Biblically by Jesus: first thing in the morning. (And make it something interesting ya’ll). Let me drive my point home a bit further here: how often is Satan trying to steal and kill and destroy you? Every single day. And sometimes he’s not even taking a break while you’re sleeping. So, yes, read and study your Bible daily.

2. You must exercise faith. Exercise implies that you’re strengthening something. How do you strengthen your faith then? Stay in the Word of God as you walk, run, stumble and fall through this race of life. Faith is the assurance of things not seen and confidence in what we hope for. As we go through life with confidence in our hope in the Lord, and assured through the Word of God, our faith turns into a Shield with which we can duck behind, or hold high as we extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one. I’ve even recently pictured my Shield of Faith growing larger with each trial.

3. When we equip ourselves with the Sword of the Spirit, and the Shield of Faith, our Breastplate of Righteousness begins to form around our life. Righteousness will protect our heart and vital organs and our back. The righteousness that God is working out in you and allowing to flourish will give you strength to make the right decisions when facing temptation, it will protect you from relying solely on your own strength, or, may the Lord forbid, your emotions or feelings. Instead you are able to rely on God’s truth. When circumstances begin to loom over you like a dark cloud, or your life seems to be spinning out of control, or a situation rises up suddenly, you get to rest in your righteousness. Knowing that you have already have a line of defense in place.

4. Speaking of God’s truth…we are to wrap the Belt of Truth around ourselves, as if allowing it to hold us together. We are then able to walk in His truth which we can find in the Word of God. If you follow Priscilla Shirer with Going Beyond Ministries there are several events she has spoken about regarding the Armor of God. In her speech she talks about how the Belt of Truth helps take the weight of your own righteousness.

5. When we strive to equip ourselves with all these attributes and disciplines we are then moved, and fully prepared by God to spread the Gospel of Peace. It becomes natural to spread that peace where ever our feet take us.

6. And isn’t that our great mission? To tell others about the Helmet of Salvation. With which, none of these other pieces would fit. So you see, it’s a full circle. Salvation leads to the Word which leads to faith, and righteousness, leading to knowing and walking in the truth, and where we walk we carry with us the Gospel of Peace. Salvation leads to the Word, and to faith and righteousness and truth…it’s all connected. They aren’t really separate pieces at all.

7. And then there’s Prayer.

The power and strength and might that Paul is mentioning here in Ephesians 6:10 is most certainly an active strength. When you think about a battle, it’s not a place you imagine to be relaxing, or comfortable, a nice place to rest and rejuvenate. NO! Why then do we think that we can rest in our devotion to God? Leaving fellowship, or taking a day off? I’m guilty of this. In fact just just a few weeks ago, when I was sick (flu sick), I thought, ‘I don’t need God, I’m sick. I’ll be fine. I’m not going to work; I can barely have an attitude anyway with how sick I am. I got this.’ Let me tell you how well that didn’t work for me. I was an awful human being to be around. Isn’t it so reassuring though, to know that the power of Christ can cover a multitude of scenarios? Cancer, death, moving, relationship struggles, mental or emotional distress…the list could on. If Christ’s power works in the midst of a battle, then boy howdy, He can do anything!

I did a quick search in the Bible to see what else the power of God is described as, likened to, or emulated as. [This is where you can grab your Bible and look with me]. Ephesians 1:19-20 The Resurrection Power. Psalm 68:32:35 It can be/should be proclaimed; resides in Heaven; over us-not tyrannically, but rather compassionately, with a downward care for us; the power of His sanctuary is awesome; he freely shares it with us. *Mark 12:24 The power of God is for the living. Job 27:11 We teach others about God’s indescribable power. 1 Corinthians 1:24 Christ is the power of God. *Acts 8:10 Satan often disguises himself as the power of God.
*Context is important for these verses; go back far enough to get a feel for the Scripture and message.

The power of God: justifies, saves, reconciles, judges, loves infinitely, creates life, gives life, demands holiness, forgives.

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If we go back to Ephesians 6:10, we see that the power of God lives within us, working personally and communally, as the Church. And it’s God’s power working in us and through us that puts us in a place to choose to put on the Armor of God to fight against our enemy. Don’t miss this: it is a choice; it is your choice. God is not going to force you into relationship with Him, that would go against all He is. But He has given you all the tools to fight successfully, you just have to pick them up, clothe yourself with them, and stand firm in your choices.

We agree then, that the power of God is in us, right? Then let’s talk about the kind of environment you have you created for the Lord to dwell in. What is the state of His house? You’re the keeper of the house, what have you been doing to it? If you watch the show “Stranger Things,” is it like the Upside Down? Do you have locked doors that disallow Holy Spirit to truly roam freely in your life? Do you have piles of clutter you or Holy Spirit are tripping over, or is your life so full right now ya’ll are walking in pathways in your house? Are you holding on to anything that you know the Lord disapproves of? Are you an active participant in keeping the house clean? Are you like I was as a teenager, allowing things to gather and sit and build and pile for ages, and then finally doing a big, deep clean, only to let it all fill up again? Are you putting up a front of cleanliness or righteousness, knowing that inside it’s really a different story? What kind of place have you built for God to dwell in?

Can God truly move freely within you in order to accomplish His plan? What are the obstacles you have out you might be tripping up on, or might be holding up God’s plan?

An Attitude of Gratitude

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Sheri Hollinger

Thanksgiving! What a great word to reflect on as we enter into the holiday season and head towards Christmas! Festive fun and joyous times, right? Or maybe not so much? I would like to address gratitude as we enter into the holidays. This season of hope and love can be shadowed by overwhelming emotions. Whether it’s triggered by facing loss, by the added financial stress, by our own (sometimes unrealistic) expectations, or even a byproduct of dreary gray weather, depressive emotions can lurk over any of us. I am referring to a seasonal depression. And that’s where the word “thanksgiving” comes in. Dare I challenge you to pour out gratitude where you don’t feel like it?!

Maybe this time of year feels lonely? Thank God for a kind cashier, a smile from a stranger, a text message from a friend, a note of encouragement… but you say none of that has happened? Well then I say be that person! Be kind, smile at others, drop a message to someone, give a card, etc… BE what you want to receive.

Maybe you’re dealing with illness or an injury? Thank God for medical care, as needed. Or for natural supplements that seem to offer relief. Or for a kind nurse or friend who shows compassion. If you’re not dealing with this personally, who can you reach out to that is?

Maybe you have difficult in-laws or estranged family? Be kind anyways. Yes, really. Thank God that you get to choose to be the better person. Even if it is by way of just saying nothing. You know, that old mom rule “if you ain’t got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.

Maybe you are facing loss of a loved one. Whether recent or seasoned long ago, the heart has a void. Fill it. Be thankful for having had them in your life, share the memories, eat their favorite meal, do their favorite activities. By letting it all be a part of your holidays you are letting them be present anyway. Don’t hesitate to share the legacy of love they had in your heart.

Maybe the weather has you blue? Thank God for changing seasons and that this will eventually pass. In the meantime, choose joy anyways! Breathe fresh air, exercise, love on others, smile at strangers… be the blessing that others need. In turn, you will be refreshed as well.

Maybe its finances. Thank God the gift of giving has no limit. Be bountiful in creativity. Something simple yet thoughtful is far more valuable than expensive gifts without a meaningful purpose. Let’s face it! We don’t need more things, but more kindness. Offer a skill as a gift. Cook a meal, draw a picture, give cookies, offer free childcare, write a prayer out for them, create a poem, etc… anything done in Love IS the Gift.

Maybe it’s just pressure. Feeling torn between others expectation and your own desires for the holidays. Sometimes the pressure is our own perfectionism. Thank God that Jesus is the only perfect one.

Does it kind of feel like Thanksgiving is intentionally before Christmas as a way to prepare our hearts? Let us remember what is important; love and thankfulness, as it seems that gratitude turns what we have into enough!!

Thank you, Jesus!

Gratitude in the Season

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Are you getting prepared for thanksgiving?

Are you one of those amazingly gifted people who take this feast head on, whipping out popular dishes with ease? Maybe your gift is a single special dish you eagerly are willing to share? And there’s me (am I alone in this?) who will jump to offer the simplest of things; olives, nuts, Hawaiian rolls, etc. AND I will humbly appreciate others talent of cooking skills and hospitality. On the flip side, I will eagerly set tables and do clean up, and I will do it well!!

Isn’t that what gratitude is? Recognizing others strengths in areas and to humbly appreciate it, while presenting our own skills as an offering of thankfulness? Personally, I find this true in many areas of life! Thanksgiving Day is merely an example. This is true in marriage, friendships, in our churches, and even our jobs. None of it runs smoothly without appreciating other people’s role in those areas of your life!

Let us be thankful of those around us. Let’s look around with gratitude for who God put in our lives, even if it’s as simple as a kind cashier or a stranger holding a door open for us!!

AND most importantly,

“whatever you do in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Colossians 3:17

Prayer is a Powerful Weapon

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Andi Anderson

Have you ever had one of those weeks where nothing could get you down? It feels like you are walking hand in hand with God. He’s got you. You’re His girl, and He isn’t going to let anything knock you down.

And then there’s the week where everything seems to be going wrong. You forget your morning devotion time or skip it completely on purpose (!?). You’re at your Husband’s throat for no reason. AND you’re on your period.

While the last 16 weeks or so has been closer to the first described, this last week has been all of the second scenario and more.

Perspective Check: I don’t have cancer, I’m not addicted to drugs, and I’m not pregnant (Yay God!). This is a little thing some of my closest friends and I do when we’ve had a really rough week. And considering most of them are of menopausal age, it really is a YAY GOD that they aren’t pregnant. 

I was reminded this morning that prayer is one the most important weapons we have in our spiritual arsenal. I wish I would have done more to listen to that reminder. Hindsight and all that… The week has left me so emotionally raw. I can’t seem to focus, I’m on the verge of tears, I feel like I’m going to just lose it at any moment, my husband is getting the beating from it all, and all I need to do is stop and pray.

We could probably quote scripture to each other all day long about prayer: where to pray, how to pray, when to pray, what to pray, praying in Spirit and truth, praying continuously… Really, the list could go on. I could fill this blog post with all those scripture references, but where’s the fun in giving you all the answers? Open up your Bible and study prayer for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

I’m writing to you on my lunch break now. I want to convey to you how prayer has affected my day. When I began my day I was easily angered, picking fights with my husband, running to the bathroom every 15-30 minutes to have a mini cry session (talk about being unproductive at work!), unable to focus, and everything was setting me off. I sat in my car for lunch and started typing this post, and it was awful! The anger inside me was pouring out onto the screen in front of me and I couldn’t stop it. I finally threw my phone down on the seat next to me in utter frustration. “This is awful!” I yelled at God. And then it came. The release I needed. Sobbing, pouring my heart out to God. “I’m sorry I’m so angry. I’m sorry I can’t do it all. I’m sorry I’m letting people down. I’m sorry I was so mean to my husband…” The list went on. All the things I’ve been holding on to for days now came gushing out in tears, sorrow, pain and snot. I took a breath, and then I was done. I simply didn’t have any more tears to cry, no more snot to wipe. The sorrow and pain were gone. And all that remains is a peace that I can’t explain.

I needed to unload all my burdens to God, because that’s what He wants from me. I love being able to talk to Him about whatever: constipation or diarrhea, marital problems, parenting problems, friend problems, work problems, I get to thank Him every morning for the beauty I see during my commute, I get to praise Him for His handiwork I see in my life, I get to worship Him with my words for no reason in particular except that He is God.

Prayer is a mighty tool. A weapon that can not be forgotten during your battle. Our battle is 24/7 my friends, which is why we are instructed to pray continuously. Our enemy does not rest, but even greater than that, OUR GOD DOES NOT REST! He does not sleep. He cares about all the details of your life, big, small and everything in between.

I once had a patient tell me she only talked to God about the big stuff, because He was so busy you know with all the wars, and cancer, and other big stuff people have going on. How sad her faith must be. How misinformed she was. I pray to this day that she would know God’s true character. And I pray the same for you.

Share your life with God, share your heart with Him.

In The Light

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“I want to be in the Light
As You are in the Light
I want to shine like the stars in the heavens
Oh, Lord be my Light and be my salvation
Cause all I want is to be in the Light
All I want is to be in the Light”

#TBT to dc Talk, one of my all time favorite nostalgic bands.

Light is the absence of darkness, and vice versa, darkness is the absence of light.

Having walked a life of darkness there is nothing I want more than to walk in the Light. To walk with the Light of the world.

If we look at the definition of light we see that it can act as a noun (a person, place or thing), a verb (describing word), or an adjective (an action word) in the American English language. Put your Spiritual eyes on as we look at the definitions of light. If we apply what we know to be true about God and His Son and the Helper to the definitions of light a whole new world may open up in your mind. You may become enlightened. … Couldn’t resist the pun.

Noun; a thing or object: the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.
The Holy Spirit or even the Word of God can be the natural agent that stimulates sight. We begin to see the Lord illuminate our world, whether that’s through conviction of sin, or opening our eyes to a new (to us) characteristic of God, or even having a song or verse touch you in a way that elicits an emotional response of true, Spirit-filled worship. Ephesians 5:13 puts it better than I could: “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible-and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” 

I love the second part of that verse, “everything that is illuminated becomes a light.” Upon salvation we become illuminators, becoming a light to the world. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that we are the salt of the earth, the light of the world and our light is to shine before all people. Everywhere we go, everything we do or say, all that we are should be illuminating the world around us.

Verb; a describing word: make (something) start burning; ignite. This reminds me of the prayer many Christians might pray, “Set our hearts on fire for You, Lord.” What are we really asking for in this prayer? We are asking the Lord to make our hearts start burning, or to ignite our hearts with a passion and desire for Him which is completely unquenchable. Proverbs 30:15-16 mentions that FIRE is something that is never satisfied, and will never cry out, “Enough!” That is what our heart response should be for our Lord, who laid down is life for us, who was humbled to the point of death on a cross. So, yes, Lord, I pray that you would set your Church’s heart on fire, that Your light within us would be beautiful, and unquenchable. I pray that a revival would begin in the hearts of your Church.

Adjective; an action word: having a considerable or sufficient amount of natural light; not dark. Exodus 13: 21-22 “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” What a wonderful display of God’s devotion to us, and desire to see us succeed. The Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to help us is acting as a guide, He is our natural light. And just as the definition says, He will always give us a sufficient amount. In fact, He more often than not, gives us more than we need, does He not? 

We are responsible for not putting our light out, not grieving the Holy Spirit, we are responsible for walking in the way of the righteous, we are responsible for our choices to sin or to draw close to Jesus. When we are faithful to the Lord, He is faithful to us to be the natural agent that stimulates sight, He is faithful to ignite our hearts for His good, and He is faithful to act by giving us a sufficient amount of light.

Recently, I was so consumed by my circumstances that I was walking around without joy, without much hope, suffering physical, emotional and mental pain. When I made the choice to submit my heart fully to the Lord, to seek Him, to love unconditionally just as He loved me first-I was able to do this by studying and digging into the Word, fasting and much prayer-He changed my outlook on my circumstances. He showed me that the most important thing in life is to love Him and love others, all else is useless. I had a coworker comment on my changed demeanor and I was able to share with her that it was all because of my submission to God. My friends noticed, acquaintances were noticing. What an honor to be such a testimony of God’s light!

 

(W)holy 40! What is Biblical Fasting?

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*This blog post requires tools: Go get your Bible, my sweet friend!*

Fasting, One might think about Lent, along with something they plan to give up (chocolate, meat, smoking, alcohol, etc). One might remember Jesus who fasted for 40 days in the desert, or maybe you think about Passover and fasting from leaven or yeast. What these all have in common is giving up food, all or partial, for a set amount of time in order to achieve … … … in order to achieve what?

I’m hoping to answer this question along with some others you didn’t know you had about fasting. What is fasting really? Why do we fast? How does fasting make us more like Christ?

The answer to these questions can only be found in Scripture. Let’s start in the beginning, the institution of fasting. In Exodus 12 when the Lord is instituting Passover, He tells the Israelites they must remove all yeast from their homes, and they must only eat unleavened bread. If you’ve been in the Church for some time it’s possible you’ve come across the concept of yeast and leaven representing sin, particularly in the New Testament. If we apply the idea of leaven representing sin to fasting, what do we end up with? Fasting is necessary in repentance. 1 Corinthians 5:6, and Galatians 5:9 both say that a little bit of yeast will affect the whole batch of dough. A little bit of sin in your life is going to affect all of your life. There is no such thing as a “little bit” of sin, or a “little white lie.” Sin is sin. When we sin we are separating ourselves from God. That separation then requires action on our part to mend. God is always right there waiting for us.

Take a look at Isaiah 58. Read the whole chapter.*Spoiler alert: Isaiah 58:6 and 8 are my favorites!* Go ahead…I’ll wait right here until you’re done. … It’s powerful isn’t it? As Sheri Hollinger and I have done many personal studies on Isaiah 58 we have found that when we confess our sins to the Lord we are allowing Him to lead us through a time of fasting, especially if it’s a life dominating sin, a generational sin, or one that you continue to struggle with. As we rid our lives of our sin we are allowing a chance for the Lord to fill that place in our heart with His love, His joy, His peace, His light and His life. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather have all those wonderful things than be chained up, weighed down, and held captive by sin.

What is the Lord prompting you to give up? Do you already know? What was the first thing that came to mind? Can’t think of anything? Let me phrase it this way then: what is blocking your joy? Take some time to prayerfully consider what He may asking you to fast from or turn away from. Maybe it’s something that you give up for a season, like T.V., or maybe it’s something you need to give up for life, like alcohol (both examples from my own life).

Jesus is serious about sin in our lives. Look at Matthew 5:29-30, Matthew 18:8-9, and Mark 9:43-50. You must cut it out! It’s better to be marred for life than walk around with sin infecting your heart. Now obviously, He’s not advocating actually dismemberment, and neither am I. But the point is we can not accept complacency.

Once you’ve given up your sin, you’re fasting from it now. But what are you going to replace it with? Many of us might have heard that when you are trying to break a habit, you have to find something to fill that void. Otherwise, you could end up trading one bad habit for another, or go straight back to the old habit during times of extreme emotions. We have to be proactive in changing our habits. Sin can become a habit. Therefore, we need to be proactive when we are in the process of fasting. The most practical thing you can do while you fast, while you repent, while you change your life is to look to the One who gave you life. Seek the Lord with all of your heart. Love Him with all that you have. How this looks in your life is going to be different than how it looks in mine. I choose to take my first hour or so of the morning to sit with and seek God. And let me tell you what, since I have begun this journey of fasting and repenting from my life dominating and generational sins (selfishness and addiction), I have found that an hour isn’t near long enough. The Bible has come to life in a whole new way for me. I also attribute this to the way that I have changed my actual application of study , but that’s a whole different topic. I will simply say this: do not think that there is only one way to study the Bible. If there is a topic you want to know more about, do the research yourself and see where the Lord takes you. It’s a beautiful, joyous, crazy awesome adventure!

And remember, fasting is not about you. Wow, wait! Really? Yes, really. Just look at all we’ve talked about. Fasting isn’t for our gain (or loss, if you’re thinking about weight). We will be posting about what fasting is not later. Let this truth sink into your heart and mind, meditate on it: your life is not your own.

Isaiah 58 is very clear about what fasting is and what fasting is not. In verse 6, we begin to see the consequences of proper fasting. And we know that consequences are not just negative results from choices, they are also positive results from the choices we make. Isaiah 58:6 are the promises God will fulfill when we properly fast.

Isaiah 586 verse image 600

 

Who, in their right heart, wouldn’t want that? I have lived a life of wickedness, I have walked with a heavy yoke and burden, I have been oppressed by my very own thoughts. God is saying there’s freedom from this? And that I can find that through proper fasting? Sign me up! When we discipline ourselves to fast, to repent, and ultimately submit to the Lord, freedom is the outcome. But that’s not all folks! Jump back to your Bible and read verses 6-9a. Great. Now reread verse 8.

Hope. Joy. Light. Healing. Righteousness will guide you. And the glory of God will guard our backs. After reading that verse, if you’re not convinced it’s time to give it up, whatever it may be, then may the Lord break down your walls.

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will be your rear guard.”

What sweet promises the Lord gives here. All we have to do is submit to His will.

The next set of verses 9b-14 then speak of the outpouring of our love. When we are properly aligned with God we are so full of life, light and love that we can’t help but to help and serve and love others. Have you ever been so full of God’s joy that you can’t stop smiling? Or so full of God’s love that it was as natural as sleeping to hand that homeless person your lunch? When we live a life submitted to God, those acts of service and the joy, are just absolutely overflowing. It’s a byproduct of the fasting that you’ve done.

If this is what proper fasting is, why don’t we do it more often? Why is this not a common practice within the Church? Furthermore, why would we want to continue being friends with the world? James 4:4 “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” I don’t want that in my life. No, thanks!

“Jesus came to give us a life to the fullest; He came to set us free, and those who are free are free indeed.”

So, what is it you’re struggling with today? What healing needs to happen in your heart? What healing needs to happen in your physical body? What healing needs to happen in the relationships around you? These are questions we all have to face, and we face them every day, whether or not we’re actually acknowledging them. Questions you must face in order to properly and successfully fast. When we choose a proper fast the bondage, sin, oppression, guilt, and shame will be broken!

If you’re feeling as if there’s a veil over your eyes, over your mind, over your ears, or even over your heart, then consider a fast. When you fast the Lord will be faithful to let your light break forth like the morning. What hope, what joy comes from the promises of God’s word. I cannot implore you enough to take this journey with us as we fast for 40 days. Because we must break those chains of bondage, we must allow our healing to spring forth quickly. If we stay stagnant any longer as children of God our nation is going to crumble. We will lose an entire generation of children to worldly passions. And those we know and love who don’t know and love the Lord will be lost in an eternity of damnation. I am no longer willing to sit down and be quiet and allow our enemy to have control in my family, in my life, or in my Church. Who’s going to stand up with me and fight the enemy?