Month: March 2012

Ephesians 6: 10 – 13

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand and after the battle you will still be standing firm.”

If only we could realize, grasp and come to full a understanding that while in the heat of our battles our struggles with one another are not really with one another at all, but with the enemy himself in the unseen dimension of spiritual forces. In the middle of discouragements, anxieties, power struggles, deceptions, and all of our horrendous battles, it’s the old enemy, deceiver who has gained a foothold and is doing all in his power to bind us in our strongholds of selfishness, pride, resentment, bitterness, anger, strife and unforgiveness. He knows how to render us ineffective and will target us in our weakest moment and at our weakest point. We must be on guard, alert to his strategies, ready to take our stand and stand our ground against him. It’s so important to daily wrap ourselves in the full armor of God. To stand on God’s righteous Truth, grounded with peace, clothed and protected with the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and God’s all powerful Word; the sword of the Spirit. Notice, there is nothing for our back. A good indication that we are not to run from the problem, by protecting ourselves with lies or calling judgment upon others. Retaliation is the devil’s right hand man and what he uses to take us deeper into the pit of ruin! Rather than retaliation, we are called to simply stand firm in God’s confidence, trust Him, make the right choices, do the right things, and watch Him deliver us into victory.

“Christ out-witted the strategy of the Prince of the power of the air, milked the serpent of his venom, out-thought the thinkers, out-fought the fighters, outclassed the mighty and asserted His universal Lordship. Jesus Christ is Lord; Sovereign and omnipotent. Ruler and King of Kings.” I love it but I don’t it’s author.

Let’s raise the banner of God’s sovereign majesty and fly His victorious flag, high for all to see…His victory is our victory!! Let’s claim it for our lives for it’s through His victory that our marriages become stronger, our homes become happier, our families become more stable, our children more secure, our churches more spiritually alive and personal lives more solidly grounded, more mature in the faith. Put on that full armor before you face your day, remember His faithfulness and His promises and step out under God’s banner of victory!

Psalm 91: 1, 2, 4a
“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High, will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety. His faithful promises are your armor of protection. .”

Blessings for your day

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Jeremiah 17: 7 -8.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah offers a prayer of praise to God in Jeremiah 16: 19, claiming God to be the only God and the God of strength and refuge in the day of trouble. Jeremiah’s confidence was clearly in God alone but the sins of Judah were wicked and many trusted in wordly wisdom, idols and things that could not deliver them from their distress and bring their salvation, but relentlessly drive them deeper into sin and ruin.

Jeremiah 17: 5 – 10 is a meditation on the folly of trusting in humans, contrasted with trusting in the wisdom of God. The people of Judah would be utterly helpless in time of calamity because they had switched their trust from the Lord to human capabilities. They would be like shrubs in the desert, dried up and withered because of lack of water. Oh what peril awaits those who begin to trust in things of material wealth, and worldly wisdom, for they will soon find their life goes down hill very quickly where destruction and emptiness awaits with baited breath.

Has success or maybe failure taken you off course, where your confidence in God has been compromised? Have you tampered with your own selfish ways thinking you knew better, only to find yourself lower than low, in the pit of sin or perhaps the bottom of the barrel? God has a plan for you, my friend. He has a purpose for your life, so much more than you can even imagine. The Lord gives hope for restoration, in our verse of today for the people of Judah and to us. If His people will only turn from sin and selfishness and trust Him and place their confidence in Him, things will change as our spiritual roots begin to grow deep into His righteousness and find refreshment in the dry, parched places of hardship, that threaten to defeat. Through it all, His people will find peace and rest and continue to stand strong in the faith, bearing and sharing the evidence of a Christ filled life in their journey.

If you feel threatened or feel as if you’ve lost everything, it’s not to late to turn to the Lord for restoration. His promise is clear and His faithfulness is true. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Ask him to fulfill His purpose in your life and find peace today!

Psalm 23: 1-3

“The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. He leads me to rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths bringing honor to His name.’

David paints a beautiful picture of our Good Shepherd in this favorite Psalm known by most Christians and non Christians alike. It depicts our faithful Shepherd guiding His flock along the paths of goodness, while tenderly caring for them each step of the way. The road may be long and rocky and the path may be steep, but the Good Shepherd seeks out the quiet streams to refresh our soul, if we but take time to listen and follow. How sad when we decide to go our own way because we think we know better, or because we refuse to give up the strongholds of sin in our life. Our rebellion leads us to danger zones where the helpless ‘lamb nature’ in us can’t cope, and the peril of death surely waits. We need to cry out to our Good Shepherd with the assurance that He is our Savior, Redeemer and our faithful, all knowing guide who rescues us from the thickets and ledges and edges of despair! With His strong, sure embrace He lifts us and carries us gently back into the safety of His fold where He provides everything we need and where we lack nothing.

Are you caught on the edge today, trapped in the thicket of sin,sitting vulnerable to the enemy? Catch a glimpse of the little lamb in yourself and realize how helpless you are to pull yourself from the pit of despair and the danger and death of sin. Only our Good Shepherd can save you! He cares enough to seek you out, refresh your soul and get you back on track into those green pastures, where the quiet waters run deep with His healing and forgiveness flows freely to redeem, refresh, revive and rejuvenate. What a loving Shepherd awaits to rescue from the destruction that rebellion brings.

He walks your way calling out to you today! Hear His voice and tell Him you need His help and His forgiveness, then prepare to rest at ease with the assurance that our Good Shepherd has all authority and everything that concerns you is under His control.

Deuteronomy 7:9

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”

Dependable? That’s God! Faithful? That’s God too!! He is the only God worthy of our worship and praise! Nothing will thwart His purpose, His plan or His goal. He pulls no punches, and He speaks no lies. He stands behind His every word and backs His every promise with action!

“Understand, therefore that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands. But He does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject Him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations that I am giving you today.” Deuteronomy 7: 9 – 11.

Blessing follows obedience! What has God promised you? Know that He is faithful and reliable! Know that He is dependable! Know that He will lavish His love on the obedient of heart and bring blessing! However, don’t take it lightly and try to sneak by on His grace, for He knows our heart, and if we refuse to walk there, in that place of obedience with Him, He is a just God who will not hesitate to rein us in by whatever method He chooses to get our attention.

He’s a God of boundless love, compassion, mercy and grace, truly lavished on the obedient from generation to generation. It covers our children, their children, and their children’s children and the cycle of faithfulness for those who walk in His way, is never broken because our God of faithfulness gave His word on it. In all of this wonderful promise, we dare not forget that He is also the one righteous judge who will call justice down upon the disobedient. That will be a place where we won’t want to be. The Psalmist said it well in Proverbs 9: 10 when he penned the words, “ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Make no mistake about it…To fear our God of love, with a reverent awe, as the Righteous Judge that He is, is truly the beginning of wisdom! A reverent awe of Him, lays a divine, sure, foundation for righteous living and a walk of obedience, which will grace our children and pass down from generation to generation under God’s covenant of amazing love.