Category: Bible

Boot Camps Of Life Training

Hard times come and go, don’t they? When they come they hit hard and fast and our first thoughts are not always of the enemy and how he gets in to wreak havoc with our souls. No, we don’t always think of his sly techniques and his outright lies whispered into our hearts! We don’t often see clearly just what’s happening above our heads in the unseen world around us. I find it so intriguing in Matthew 4: 4, that Jesus, after he had been baptized by John and stamped with God’s approval, through His Spirit descending like a dove to light on His shoulder, was then led by this same Spirit of God into the wilderness to be trained for spiritual duty. How was He trained? Yeah, through fasting and prayer but also through rigorous demands of the Devil, the Father of lies, the enemy himself. This perfect, spotless, sinless One, confirmed by God to be His beloved Son, was taken to the cleaners after he was taken to the wilderness, to be weakened with hunger! Today, our old enemy was our Lord’s enemy as well for those forty days and nights as he tempted Christ to show His credentials and turn stones to bread to satisfy His hunger. Jesus answered him well, in verse 4,
“Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
So devil, that didn’t go so well, did it? Second round then and a visit to the Holy City, to stand on the highest point of the temple and then, the sly guy that he is, our enemy quoted scripture from Psalm 91:11, in verse 6, as he blatantly tempted Jesus to throw Himself down,
“For it is written:

“He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike Your foot against a stone.”

Ahh, but Jesus also had an answer, “It is also written:

“Do not put the Lord Your God to the test.”

Yet, a third temptation was put forth from a very high mountain with an offer of all the splendour of the Kingdoms of the world and again Jesus answered, this time with a rebuke,
“Away from me Satan! for it is written, Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”

So when we’re on a rough road and the way daunting and we find ourselves at our weakest point, weary and worn from the boot camps of life’s training and when selfish passions make their play for us, remember who the enemy really is. Remember he was brash enough to quote scripture to Jesus in His wilderness and in His weakness, to get his way and ultimately take Our Lord down.

He does the same to those that God has called forth and given His stamp of approval.  The enemy prowls around seeking whom he may devour but, At Christ’s word to leave, the devil left and angels came and ministered unto Jesus.  God’s Spirit leads us into some troublesome times to prepare us for troublesome times, and we can know if He’s taken us to it, He’ll take us through it and what a glorious moment when He sends His angels to minister! It’s a glorious time when God’s angels care so much for our weakened, beautiful souls, to lift us up!
#Soulnotetoself

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Love’s Power

 

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, it will make peace not war, not worry, not fear, not fighting, not division, not anger but sweet, simple peace. So at the end of a big day sit your weary self down and rest now and reflect on how showing love could have been a better option. 

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

#Seasonsoflove #Soulnoteself

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Covered By His Perfection

So when the day is done sometimes we land headlong into the reality of our flaws and imperfections and find it’s not a really pretty picture.
 
It’s a hard place to be, to catch a glimpse below the surface of our presentation and see the effects of sin! We can deny it, ignore it, and sweep it under the carpet as we carry on or we may come to a place where we face it head-on and ask the One who is Perfection personified; our Lord and Saviour to continue to do His righteous work in us, and to complete it!
Paul saw the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in those first believers in the Church of Philippi and was confident in his prayer of thanksgiving as he penned the words in his letter to the Philippians In 1:6, “That he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Paul was grateful for them, even in their newness of life, with their flaws. He saw the powerful life transformations in their souls, their hearts and their behaviour! They weren’t perfect but Paul was confident that His God, would continue to work in them and through them, to make a difference! So beautiful soul, when that deep glimpse into our self, uncovers an array of stuff we don’t like, it’s ok. We don’t have to run and hide! We don’t have to live in denial or dust it under the rug. We just need to come to One whose still working it through with us, forgiving us and giving grace when and where it’s needed.
We are not perfect, in this fallen world, but our righteousness comes only through our Saviour’s perfect salvation. It’s His shed blood that cleanses us! His perfection that covers us, and His grace that reaches down to our imperfect state and continues to grant mercy and pardon for all that’s so wrong in us. So yeah, when the guns are fired in the streets, in the classrooms, and the bad things happen, in places that we thought we’re safe, it’s all part of the imperfect world gone wrong! A whole bunch of us “imperfects” who are in desperate need of a whole lot of a Saviour who came solely for the purpose to save us, a wretched soul and a ruined world.
 
Feeling imperfect tonight? It’s ok. It’s not your defining moment. Get alone with the Savior, the One who wants to work it out. The One who wants to work through you and for you. The One who wants to forgive, heal and restore. Beautiful soul, we’ll never be perfect in this life but we can walk and talk with One who is! He takes the initiative in the transforming work within us, but we have to be willing to let Him.
 
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
 
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
#Safeinhardplaces #loveonthebrokenroad
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Our Unshakeable Normal

So today couldn’t we all just use a little bit or normal in our topsy-turvy world. So often we wonder what normal is because it seems so far away from where we are?  Worry presents as a nagging backdrop and very bold fears fray the edges of our peace. Things that creep into the good spaces to haunt us as we forget the blessings that surround us. They come by the twos and threes, and yeah, some days they come like a marching army to take over the day. They become like obsessions that present themselves as mountains too high, too big, too wide and too daunting to even care.
These are times when we all just need to catapult into a new day with a really big faith in our really Big God, who holds it all in His hand anyway? Yeah, when life seems turned upside down, God is our stability. He’s our Normal when nothing else is. He’s our faithful when no one else is. He’s our Protector, Provider, Sustainer, Grace Giver, and unconditional lover and in our weakness, we’ve got to know that He is our strength and shield. When our weakness presents its “What Do I Do Now” moments and we feel very insecure, unsettled and much like David when he penned the words of Psalm 142, we need to respond much like he did. He’s feeling very overwhelmed by his persecutors and circumstances and reached a place of despair where he felt no one cared at all about his plight. Yet, he looks to the LORD for wisdom and in Verse 5 he comes to his senses again, where he says,
“But then I pray to you O LORD. I say You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life. Hear my cry for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors for they are too strong for me.”
David reached a place in his running from harassment, where he just knew his God was His Lord and His constant loving unconditional caregiver, surrounding him at all times, everywhere, behind and before. Covering him around and through, up and down, inside and out his God had it all together in His safekeeping. His God was unchanging; His God was always faithful, and even when trouble impacted his day, His God was unchanging, stable, always there, always caring, always providing, always protecting. So when our normal go topsy turvy and headlong into chaos, let’s say with David from his prison of turmoil and unsettled circumstances, Vs 7,
“Bring me out of prison, so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for YOU ARE GOOD TO ME.”
Let’s realize even on our not so normal days, and in those not so normal moments, Our God is our unshakeable sustainer and our “normal” even in adverse situations.
~k
#Safeinahardplace
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