Our Mighty Weapon

Tags

encouragement, mighty weapon, power, prayer, war

 

-Our Mighty Weapon-

 

  If you were in a war and your enemy had the best weapon, what would you do? If you knew without any doubt that when your enemy used this weapon, you would be obliterated, what would your strategy be? You could not join their side. You could not disarm the weapon. You could not do anything about the weapon’s power. So, what would you do?

  The best strategy would be to convince your enemy that the most powerful weapon they have, the one that would completely annihilate your side, is useless. The best plan would be to come up with a campaign to brainwash the opposing side into thinking that their weapon is pitiful. Their weapon will never amount to anything and in fact, other armies will laugh at them if that’s the weapon that they depend on. You would try to embarrass them and harass them and tell them that, in fact, the weapon that they were told is powerful would actually make them appear weak. Why? That would be your only hope. You would know that you had to convince them at ALL cost not to use that weapon or, you were finished.

  Ephesians 6:12, says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” This Scripture tells us clearly that we are in a war and it is a war that we cannot see without spiritual eyes. This chapter in Ephesians also tells us to put on the whole armor of God and while we are putting on this armor verse 18 tells us that we are to do so with ALL PRAYER. It says we are to PRAY at ALL times.

  Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything BY PRAYER and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

  Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves TO PRAYER, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”

  Another example is found in I Thessalonians 5:17. It says, “Pray without ceasing.”

  All of these verses tell us that prayer is vital. It is a MIGHTY WEAPON, but how do we really feel about prayer? In the core of our being do we really know how powerful prayer is? Did we know at one time how powerful prayer is? Can we remember intense times of prayer, but the edge of our weapon has worn down a little? Do we believe prayer works, still works right now? Do we believe it is our strongest weapon?

  Jesus is our best example for prayer in Scripture. Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 9:18 are just a few examples of the accounts we are given of Jesus praying. We see in these first two verses that He prayed in the morning and the evening. We see from other passages that He was continually in prayer throughout His ministry. In Matthew 6:6, Jesus says, “…when you pray”, not if. Praying is not a suggestion, it’s a necessity. So, if Jesus taught it and demonstrated to us how to pray, why is prayer so hard at times for us? Why is it so hard to pray without ceasing?

  Part of the reason why prayer is so hard is that we ARE in a war. It is a weapon. Battle is hard work. Fatigue is very real. Ask any soldier. When we pick up our weapon of prayer, we have engaged the enemy. Our weapon is by far the most powerful, but we still have to wield it. That takes work.

  Another reason that prayer is hard for us is that we have no perseverance without God’s strength. Our humanness has no staying power without the Holy Spirit. We have to ask God for His heart for prayer. What is His heart? We have to ask Him what He wants us to pray and move accordingly. We need to ask Him for an awareness when our prayer lives have grown stale. When our excitement fades, we have to confess that and ask Him for renewed vigor for the battle. 

  Prayer is also hard because our enemy knows that our prayers will annihilate them. They know that prayer is the key to not just the battle, but the war. Our enemy is a constant gnat buzzing around our ear saying things like, “Prayer doesn’t matter. God’s not hearing you. You are wasting your time. You’ve already prayed about that. Is prayer really all you have?” Our enemy is holding a constant campaign to sow deceit into our thinking. Our enemy knows that their only chance of victory is if we do not use our most powerful weapon…prayer. Unfortunately, the constant barrage works with most of us. We think that prayer is a last resort; or God hears others, but not us. We allow lies that we are told by the enemy to germinate in our lives and those seeds bring forth the fruit of a prayer less life. 

  In the Old Testament, Hezekiah gives us an amazing illustration of prayer. When he prayed on behalf of God’s people, the Lord sent an angel that destroyed over 185,000 soldiers in one night. That is twice the number of people killed with the atomic bomb in World War II! Let that sink in. One man’s prayer  led to twice as many people being killed than the atomic bombs of World War II. Prayer is powerful! We literally have a spiritual atomic bomb in our arsenal that will obliterate our enemy and it sits quietly in the corner gathering dust. We worry and fret about our families’ issues, the unsaved, dissention among believers, finances…the list can go on and on and we have allowed our greatest weapon to seem powerless to us. We have believed the propaganda of our enemy.

  So, is praying hard? It is, but we know that it is worth the effort because it is our most powerful weapon.

  Why do we feel like prayer is not powerful? It’s because our enemy is continually buzzing around our ear telling us lies, sowing deceit. We allow his lies to cover God’s truth.

  I want to encourage you to pray without ceasing. Prayer is a mighty weapon and we need to utilize it. Pray with renewed commitment and vigor. Pray when you feel like it and especially when you don’t. Let’s not be tricked into thinking that prayer is not vital to every person and every ministry. When we get discouraged into thinking that our prayers do not matter, it should be a trigger for us to know that they matter… A LOT! Otherwise, why would our enemy bother with discouraging us? If prayer was a waste of time, why would our enemy be so adamantly against it? So…PRAY! And, if you need to get out the flyswatter to swat those gnats, by all means, please do.

When You Have No One to Follow

Tags

encouragement, family, following, generation, Jesus

 

When You Have No One to Follow

 

  Often times I have come across people who are greatly discouraged by the fact that they were not reared in a Christian environment. Some seem to feel that this gives them some kind of excuse as to why they aren’t living for God now. Others are just truly discouraged. They feel they are at a disadvantage and will never “catch up” to other Christians.

  In Matthew 3, we read where Jesus was calling disciples to follow Him. In verses 21 and 22 it says, “…He saw two brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; He called them. And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.”

  James and John had to leave their father. They had to leave the environment in which they were brought up to follow Jesus. Their parents might have taken them to the synagogue each week. They might not have. We simply do not know. But, we do know that when Jesus called both of Zebedee’s sons, Zebedee saw the Messiah as well, heard the call and stayed in the boat.

  The sad reality is that many of us have family who are the same as Zebedee in this passage. They hear the same call that we have heard and simply stay where they are. They choose to keep their life the same and ignore the call of Jesus. This is heartbreaking, but when we hear our own call we have our own choice to make. That is encouraging. No matter what our family environment was and is, we still answer the call of God ourselves. It’s our decision.

    We read later on in Scripture (Mark 3:17) that James and John were given the name “Sons of Thunder.” I have always assumed that they deserved the title due to antics they had pulled, or attitudes. It also could be a foretelling of how they would turn their world upside down for Christ. I still do think that one of those options is most likely the case, but they are called “Sons OF Thunder.” This leaves us with the possibility that their dad or mom (GRIN!) could have been the thunder. We all have family like that, don’t we? They are the “thunder” in the environment wherever they go. When someone finds out we are related, we cringe.

  Again, James and John give us such hope. They revamped their reputation (whether it was their own, or their parents’) because they gave their life to Jesus. They did not allow their dad to hold them in the boat, they pressed on to their calling. Jesus called and they said, “Yes.” What a beautiful picture for us. The “Sons of Thunder” became ambassadors for love and hope and truly did turn their world upside down then, and now. They made their own decision to follow Christ fully.

  Can you just see James and John looking across the way to catch the other’s eye when Jesus said in Matthew 19:29, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.” They were assured that it was worth it to follow Jesus. Nothing else on earth can compare.

  So, be excited for the task that God has for you. If your family environment has not been the best, know that your generation can be the generation that starts the legacy for Christ in your family. Know that your children can remember you as the Christian influence that you were created to be…and by the way, don’t be afraid to leave the boat when necessary.

  Is that thunder I hear?

Our Robe of Righteousness

Tags

burdens, Christianity, Harry Potter, invisibility cloak, righteousness, robe

 

Our Robe of Righteousness

 

  Scripture has so many mandates for us to live by. For example, “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” I Peter 1:16; “…overcome evil with good,” Romans 12:21; “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love,” Romans 12:10a. We have MANY more, not the least of which is the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. An example in the Beatitudes is found in Luke 6:27, “…do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Scripture is full of expectations for the Christian life. We are not to touch certain things, look at certain things, or even dwell upon certain things. AAAGH!! Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed? I mean seriously, “do good to those who hate you”?

  We also have MANY Scriptures that assure us that the Lord’s yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew11:30). That everything He calls us to do, He is faithful to complete in us (I Thessalonians 5:24).

  So, what is the deal? Are we required to fulfill all the regulations and rules that overwhelm us, or is His burden light? The two seem to be polar opposites. After all, being devoted to one another and not our own desires is not easy. Overcoming evil with good is a full time job as well. What is easy and light about those things?

  When I was feeling overwhelmed about all the seemingly impossible expectations that God had place on me several years back, God led me to remember some Scripture that I would have rather not remembered. Isaiah 64:6 says that my righteousness is as filthy rags. Romans 7 reminded me that I constantly have this war within me between God’s Spirit and my flesh and must come to the conclusion that, “…nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh;”.

  So, if God is faithful to accomplish what He asks, how does all of this rectify? How am I to be holy when nothing good dwells in me? How is He completing His good work in me when I am so full of struggle?

  Isaiah 61:10, says, “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with jewels.” This verse tells me that God clothes me with His robe of righteousness. Only His righteousness is true, mine is filthy. Only His righteousness is holy, not mine. My works are nothing, His are pure and perfect.

  Think of Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, yes, Harry Potter. If you have seen the movie, you will recall that when he placed the cloak around himself, no one could see him. He roamed around the school and no one knew that it was him. They did not see Harry as long as he was wearing the cloak. Harry chose to wear the cloak, or robe if you will, and it changed how others viewed him. They no longer saw him; they saw what he was wearing. So it is with the robe of righteousness that is given to us. It is our choice whether we wear it, or not. Just as the verse in Isaiah describes a bride adorning her own self with jewels, it is the bride’s choice whether she places them around her neck, or hair, or leaves them off entirely. She made the choice to wear the jewels and we make the choice whether to wear the robe of righteousness that is freely given.

  Isaiah 45:24 says, “…Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.” Jeremiah assures us in chapter 33 that the LORD is our righteousness. II Corinthians 5 reminds us that just as Harry disappeared under that cloak of invisibility and he was completely changed, so our old man dies and our new creature in Christ now reigns in us. Verse 18 of this chapter says, “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled Himself to us through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Even our “new man” and the things that our “new man” accomplishes are given to us by God. Nothing in us is good. It is ALL Him.

  Now when I see a Scripture that seems to have a commandment that is overwhelming, I use it as a checkpoint. I ask myself, “Do I remember that nothing good is in me except the Holy Spirit?” “Have I been taking credit for anything that only God can do through me?” “Have I submitted myself and bowed before Him in order that He can place His robe of righteousness over me today?” “Am I feeling overwhelmed, or do I know that God has got this?” When I am out from under His robe, I think it is all about me. When I am under His cloak, His influence, I remember that it is all about Him. When I am covered in His righteousness, His burden is light because it is all up to Him. Whatever He wants accomplished through me that day, it happens. Other things being on hold are okay because I am under HIS cloak, HIS righteousness. When I poke my foot out, there are problems, but when I am totally under His robe, I am exactly where He wants me to be.

  A beautiful picture of this is found in Revelation 19:7-8, “‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.’ And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints (holy ones).” Here, we see another bride (us) making ready for her (our) wedding day. She chooses to clothe herself in garments that were GIVEN to her. She did not have to work for them; she just had to accept them. The garments are fine linen, but the Scripture goes on to tell us that the fine linen is the righteous acts of the holy ones. Yet again, we see that acts that we think we have accomplished on our own were given to us. We see yet again that there is nothing good in us; it is ALL God. If we have ever accomplished the smallest task for His kingdom, He gave us the idea and the strength, time and desire to accomplish it. Everything good and pure and clean is from Him alone. He will give us fine linen, bright and clean just as He has given us His robe of righteousness for today.

  Let us allow Him to cover us fully so that others will only see Him. Let us choose to disappear into His cloak of righteousness. Let us willingly submit to what He wants to accomplish through us and see the pleasure on His face when he says to us, “Well done. That’s just what I envisioned you wearing today.” 

Some Wells Are Too Deep – (A Repeat)

Tags

deep things of God, dehydration, hope, hydration, spiritual hydration, truth, water, wells, wishing wells

Wells Too Deep

Hope for the Spiritually Dehydrated

  Water… we all need it. Some of us hate that fact and some of us are okay with it, but all of us know that we must have water to quench our thirst.

Over the course of my life my feelings have changed regarding water. When I was little, I would drink it, but I really preferred other things. When I was a little older, water was seldom on the menu. After a few years, water became a necessary evil. I knew I had to drink it, but, “yuck”. I would feel extremely bloated after drinking a few glasses throughout the day. I simply thought that I was a person who didn’t care for water. In present days…I GUZZLE water. I love it. I can’t imagine not having water! I have days after a run when I drink so much water you would be shocked. I love it!

There are some days though, days when I have been too long without a drink that I must sip water or, it’s too much for my system. If I were to guzzle water at that point, it would do more harm than good. It would cause my body to release even more hydration and I would keep getting weaker. Of course, we know this as dehydration.

We’ve seen athletes get dehydrated. We have even seen some athletes become so dehydrated that they faint. The medical staff does not run over and pour water down their throat. No, they gently see to their needs and give them sips of hydration. Sometimes, an I.V. is required and once again the liquid has a slow release into the body. This is the only way the athlete can get better. A slow release is much better at this point than a waterfall. A gentle drink is much better than wolfing it down. Their body is craving a drink, but it must be taken in slowly.

Sometimes, this is what our Great Physician must do with us. We are so spiritually dehydrated that He must lay us back into His arms. He allows us to sip at His wellspring of life drop by drop, sip by sip, so that we are able to get stronger and keep running our race. The spiritual athlete in us is craving water, but we have been too long without replenishment. Guzzling is out. Sipping is in.

Oftentimes, when I am in a dehydrated place I want to hurry and get the nourishment I need and keep running. I just want a quick fix. Other times, the hurt is so deep, the shock so sudden, the disease so debilitating that I MUST lie back in the arms of my Savior and trust Him. This is right where God wants me to be.

I think of a dehydrated child who has been sick all night. We have been told to place an ice chip in the side of their mouth, see how that goes and then place another if their little body was able to absorb it. That’s our God. He tells us a truth, places it in our mouth and sees if we are absorbing it. He gives us a sip of truth because the precision is too much for us otherwise. The well of God is too deep for us in a normal circumstance, but when we are dehydrated we are willing to sit and sip. He places a truth within us like…

“I’m here.”

“I am always good.”

“I see you.”

“Forgive.”

“I am your strength.”

“I love them even more than you do.”

“I love you.”

“I am your Healer.”

“Pray.”

“You are NEVER alone.”

“Trust Me.”

“I AM…”

 

Whatever truth we need, He places it gently into the side of our mouths and helps us to absorb it into the core of our being. We are so thirsty and we want to guzzle, but some wells are just too deep.

I want to quote verses to Him like Psalm 81:10, “…Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.” God’s response to me is, “Not this time. Be still and learn. Rest in me, sip.”

Some wells must not be taken in too quickly. Some truths must be sipped to be absorbed. God uses these times of spiritual emptiness to place His truth into our very bones. Some lessons can only be taught when all other voices are gone, when you are so dependent on His next drop of moisture that your senses are only alert to Him, His voice, and His rain.

Dehydration is never good, but God uses this place as He uses all things for the greater good (Romans 8:28). He takes these times of need and places us in His arms to take the burdens that we would otherwise never give up. He looks at us drenched in sweat and dehydrated to the core and says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me…you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light,” Matthew 11:28-30.

When the truth He is teaching enters our bodies and truly has been absorbed, our Great Physician will take us by the hands and gently pull us up. We are rehydrated, but still weak. He will look us in the eye and keep placing that truth deep into our souls, the truth that He has been whispering to us all along. When we are able to stand once again, He will take us by the elbow and help us along our path until we are able to walk, and finally, to run. That is our God. That is our sweet Savior, always teaching, always giving us strength. As we make our way on the road once again fully hydrated and fully restored, we have His voice still in our ear, “I am here. I am good. I am your Healer. I am the Great Restorer. I love him even more than you do…” Whatever lesson we were taught is in the very core of our being maturing and bearing fruit. We were so empty and the well was too deep to do anything but sip. But, sip we did. Restored we are. Running once again and knowing that our Savior restores, redeems and refreshes with sips for all who are willing to lie in His arms and trust.

If it’s your time to sip, rest in the fact that God is faithfully holding you, teaching you, restoring you. He will NEVER leave you or forsake you (Hebrew 13:5), and remember that some truths are just too important to gulp. Some wells are just too deep to do anything but sip.

Replacement

Total Replacement

Not Just a Filling

  Last year God began asking me if I really loved people the way that I was called to love them. More specifically, do I love LOST people the way that HE would have me to love them?

Do I love people as He loves people?

How does God love people anyway?

Most of us know the answer to that question, whether we realize it, or not. John 3:16 tells us that God gave everything He had so that we would come to know Him; not just you and me, but every soul on this earth. God’s heart for the lost has such an intensity that we can not comprehend.

So, how am I as a Christ follower supposed to love the lost? How can I attain the heart of my Savior? How can I love the lost with the same intensity as God?

As I was thinking through all of these questions, the Lord had me to imagine a scenario. Think with me for a moment that you and your family were living in a forest. In that same forest there was a lion. The only way to rid you and your family of the lion for ever was to dig a massive pit. You knew that one day you would drive the lion into the pit and he would be in that pit for all time. He would never be able to harm your family again and the whole forest would be at peace. Before the lion’s time had come, many of your own children fell into the pit that had been dug only for the lion. You had fully anticipated this. After all, the pit was well camouflaged and it was on the main pathway that every one in your family used. To save your family, you had placed a rope in the pit. All your children would have to do would be to grab the rope and you would pull them right out. But, they continually refused to grab the rope! You would plead with them, send others to plead with them, but they would NOT grab the rope! Would your heart not break? Would you not feel to the very core of your being the death of that family member as they expired in the pit for no reason? You would know that they were not supposed to die in that pit. You made every provision for their escape and they simply refused to accept your help. How would you feel? II Peter 3:9 tells us that God does not want any to perish. He is patiently waiting for all to grab the rope. He has made provision for ALL to escape.

What God did for us is so much more than simply dropping a rope, but this analogy helped me to think about my reaction to people who are still “in the pit”. Do I truly hurt when people refuse to grab the rope or, do I simply think, “They’ve heard the Gospel, my job is done”? Do I plead with them to grab the rope? Or, am I satisfied with my family escaping the pit and flippantly throwing money at the rest of humanity to figure it out? How do I love the lost?

In Luke 14, we see a description of a slave being told by his Master to compel people to come to the banquet. This is someone who is pleading for people to grab the rope. Not once, but many times. If possible, this individual would physically make a person to grab the rope. But, he can’t. He can simply plead and beg as his Master commanded.

Often times, I am so bound up in not offending someone, I can’t even hear the Holy Spirit’s leading. What if my heartfelt plea is all that is needed? What if knowing that someone truly cares about their eternal soul is what would prompt a person to truly take a look at the pit around them? Why am I so callous if this is all that it would take?

The Bible tells me that I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me and yet, where is my intensity for the lost? We are called to go to the edge of the pit and plead, to wiggle the rope in an enticing way and have the heart of God that breaks for those who simply choose to ignore His provision.

Oh, that my soul would break with the urgency that God has called me to. Oh, that we as a church would RUN to those whom God has called us to go. Oh, that God would give me His heart for the lost.

Ezekiel 36:26 tells us, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” I cannot do this on my own. I cannot “work up” a compassion for the lost without a completely new heart. Even as a Christian, I have a heart of stone too many times. This Scripture shows me the only way. I need a FULL replacement. My heart needs to be His heart; my intensity, His intensity. My thoughts need to be His thoughts.

Romans 7:18, tells me clearly what I have refused to see before, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” For me, it takes more than filling, it takes a replacement. For me, it takes God replacing my heart with His heart, replacing my thinking with His.

Replace me, O God. Replace us, O God. Do not just fill us, replace us with You.