Faith Inspiration - Be Thou My Vision

This hymn has been inspiring Christ followers for over one thousand years. Originally an Old Irish hymn, the song was translated into English by Mary E. Byrne in 1905, and put into verses by Eleanor H. Hull. (Information take from Hymnary.org).

“1 Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
be all else but naught to me, save that Thou art;
be Thou my best thought in the day and the night,
both waking and sleeping, Thy presence my light.

2 Be Thou my Wisdom, be Thou my true Word;
be Thou ever with me and I with Thee, Lord;
be Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son,
be Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

3 Be Thou my Breastplate, my Sword for the fight;
be Thou my whole Armor, be Thou my true Might;
be Thou my soul’s Shelter, be Thou my strong Tow’r,
O raise Thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r.

4 Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
be Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
be Thou and Thou only the first in my heart,
O High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

5 High King of heaven, Thou heaven’s bright Sun,
O grant me its joys, after vict’ry is won;
Great Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be Thou my Vision, O Ruler of all.”

— Be Thou My Vision - Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (From Hymnary.org)

I think this is a beautiful hymn, and one that is rarely sung. Some may say it sounds like a dirge, but I like the lilting, Celtic style music. Let’s take a look at it verse by verse.

Image by Joe from Pixabay

Verse 1 - The writer of the hymn pleads with God to be his vision. He wants God to consume him. He recognizes his own struggle with the flesh and realizes that God’s thoughts are his best thoughts in the day and the night. He desires God be his light.

As we saw last week, our struggle with the flesh is ongoing, but if God is our vision, we can and will have victory, and we will continually be in His light.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

— Matthew 6:33 (NASB 1995)

Image by Thomas Wolter from Pixabay

Verse 2 - The author not only wants God to be his Vision, but to be His true word and to dwell in him, and he in Him, always. He recognizes that God is his Father, and he is His son.

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

— John 14:3 (NASB 1995)

“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

— John 14:23 (NASB 1995)

“15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

— Romans 8:15-17 (NASB 1995)

God dwells with us if we love Him and keep His word. He is our heavenly Father, and we are His children. Being His children means we are heirs with Christ. We are children of the King!

Image by Donna Kirby from Pixabay

Verse 3 - He knows God is his breastplate, his sword, his FULL armor, his might, his shelter, his tower and his power. His desire is to be raised “heavenward”. This may have had two connotations. It may have referred to his mindset, his thoughts and desires, but it also may have been the longing for finally being home with his Savior.

“13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

— Ephesians 6:13-17 (NASB 1995)

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.”

— Psalm 18:10 (NASB 1995)

“4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ”

— Ephesians 2:4-6 (NASB 1995)

Image by NikolayF.com from Pixabay

Verse 4 - In this verse the author recognizes God is all he needs. He doesn’t run after riches. He doesn't seek the praise of men. He knows the “High King of Heaven” is the only treasure he needs.

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;”

— Matthew 6:20 (NASB 1995)

Image by Tim Hill from Pixabay

Verse 5 - The last verse is a final stand on the foundation of all that is God:

High King of Heaven

Heaven’s bright Sun

Great Heart of my own heart

Ruler of all

God is all these things and more that we cannot comprehend with our finite minds. The author knows that all his joy and all his victory our found in Christ. He also desires that no matter what happens he would keep God as his Vision.

“O sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.”

— Psalm 98:1 (NASB 1995)

“...but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

— I Corinthians 15:57 (NASB 1995)

On a personal note, I have always loved this hymn. When I gave my life to Jesus at the age of 12, I knew I wanted it to be for keeps. I wanted Him to be foremost and forever my vision. Unfortunately, ever since that age I have struggled in that desire. My vision is often clouded by doubts, fears, and failures. My eyes often wander to things that might satisfy my flesh such as food, clothes, or fictional worlds.

The counselor I am currently going to said it is absolutely normal to have set backs in life. The difference comes in how long I choose to stay in the setback mindset. The phrase “begin again”, is a mantra we all can put into play. As long as I have breathe I will begin again. I will place my eyes back on His face and know His amazing grace. I will say again, “Be Thou my Vision.”

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 4 - The Divider

Last week we finished looking at why Satan is called the Father of Lies. While I gave you samples of the lies he weaves about God, about ourselves and about others, my study was not all inclusive. There are many lies that Satan whispers about so many things. What I am trying to accomplish is to get you to think about this characteristic of our unseen enemy, so that you can be better prepared to “truth check” the messages that are constantly coming at you from all directions. Believe me, I know what it feels like to start questioning what I believe to be true and what I think is right, when I come up against pressure to believe otherwise. That is why it is so important to know your scripture and understand how Satan operates.

This week I want to look at another of Satan’s characteristics. If it weren’t for his ultimate goal of devouring us, I’d say division is of prime importance to our scheming enemy. Most of you will remember this famous quote:

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

— Abraham Lincoln - address at Republican State Convention - 1858

You might also remember that approximately 1800 years earlier Jesus said the very same thing to the Pharisees:

“25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”

— Matthew 12:25-26 (ESV)

In my opinion part of what has made our country thrive and prosper has been the work of God who blessed us because we formed this nation using His principles and truth. Obviously, not everyone was a Christ follower. In fact Abraham Lincoln was a deist who believed in a deity, but never really made a proclamation of faith in Christ. Many of our forefathers were slave owners and obviously the Civil War saw true believers on both sides of the debate.

The other factor that contributed to our country’s strength was its ability to be unified even though we were and still are a conglomeration of differing beliefs, backgrounds and cultures. There has always been enough of an ideological crossover in our differences to keep us all pulling for the same thing. We idealized freedom and rights. I think we still have those things in common, but our enemy is striving to get our focus off of the foundational building blocks to create division and strife. Under these circumstances we will not stand.

I want to take a look at several areas Satan has targeted to bring about division. I will also try to explain why these areas are important to unity as a whole.

Politics

Gettysburg Battlefield

I put this one first because with our presidential election only a week past we are feeling the ramifications of the outcome, good or bad. The use of Abraham Lincoln’s quote was no mere coincidence with regard to the direction of this post. It is completely obvious that our country has not always been united. The Civil War in the United States produced one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts in history. We were not fighting a force from outside our borders, we were fighting for a principle from within.

While we have always been a country with differing political parties, in the past we have not spent large amounts of money and time purposefully attacking the current incumbent. We have allowed the media to take over implanting opinions into the general public by vehemently suggesting we think a certain way. This is the work of a manipulative enemy.

Politics has always been an area of differing opinions and beliefs about how the country should be run and what ideals are of prime importance. However, with the evolution of media, freedom of speech and the lowering of societal norms and mores politics has descended into a muddied battle of cynicism and wit, and, unfortunately, this battle is out there for all the world to see.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

— Henry Ford

Henry Ford’s words make a lot of sense. Keeping our nation together as a unified entity is work and will only be successful if we are willing to make it work. Our unseen enemy will do whatever he deems necessary to cause division in this area.

Religion

Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay

It is understandable that a country founded on freedom, which has opened its doors to immigrants from all over the world and has prided itself on being dubbed a “melting pot” of cultures, personalities and beliefs, will have division with regard to who or what to worship. The problem does not lay in our differences, but in the actions we deem necessary to live out those differences. In addition, our beliefs about the deity or deities we worship will make a difference in how we behave.

Unfortunately, it seems to me the greater problem is the divisions created in same-faith based churches or more specifically the Christian church. We have so many different extensions of the Christian church that is hard to keep track of them all. There are similarities with regards to doctrine: Jesus was born to a virgin, He died on a cross, He rose again, but we tend to get lost in the details. Do we worship with electric guitars and drums? Do we allow gay marriage? Do we believe in evolution or creation? There are multiple layers of points of view and opinions about how everything is suppose to work and what exactly the Bible is teaching about various things. It is normal to have differing opinions about things, but our enemy targets those differences and works to make us believe they are the primary point of contention.

God desires unity, more specifically, He desires unity among those people who claim the name of His son. Arguing about things like what color carpet to put in the foyer, whether to have wine or grape juice or whether or not to have an evening service are details that should not be creating division.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ...”

— Ephesians 4:1-3 (ESV)

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

— Psalm 133:1 (ESV)

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”

— 1 Peter 3:8 (ESV)

Family

Image by sathyatripodi from Pixabay

Unfortunately, due to the division in the above areas, we are seeing marriages and families falling apart at an alarming rate. It is too easy to allow differences of opinion to turn into hurt feelings, and years of dysfunction. Those of us who raised our children in the church are seeing them walk away from the faith and beliefs we tried to teach them as they were growing up. Family gatherings that were once happy and carefree are now fraught with tension over political and religious differences. This is the work of our unseen enemy.

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

— Romans 16:17 (ESV)

“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

— 1 Corinthians 1:10 (ESV)

While these verses were written specifically to the church as a whole, they certainly pertain to our families as well. God does not want us to be divided. Divisiveness is listed along with idolatry, immorality and other sins.

“19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ”

— Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)

I believe that those who purposefully create division are not looking out for the best interests of our country, our communities or our families.

How, then, when we are living in a world where the enemy is working overtime to tear us apart, do we keep our marriages, our families and our communities from completely collapsing. The answer is found in 2 Timothy.

Image by Angelo Giordano from Pixabay

“22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.
24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,
25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

— 2 Timothy 2:22-26 (ESV)

I did a study on these verses two years ago. There are several directives we can see if we give the passage a brief look.

1 - Flee

2 - Pursue

3 - Have nothing to do with

4 - Do no quarrel

5 - Be kind

6 - Teach patiently

7 - Endure

8 - Correct with gentleness

This is one of those passages that really packs a punch and if you are interested in seeing the original study you can click on the link: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7.

Our unseen enemy is doing everything he can to divide and conquer. Unfortunately, in many ways he is winning, but we know this earthly battle will not end well for the beautiful serpent.

Next week we are going to look at the beasts that Satan is compared to. I hope you are learning from this study. If you have any questions or suggestions, leave me a comment below, or shoot me an email.

Have a good weekend.

Our Unseen Enemy - Part 3: The Schemer

Last week we looked at Satan’s tactic of manipulation. Truly he is a master manipulator. He takes truth and twists it so that it seems different than it was really meant to be. We saw that specifically in how he manipulated Eve in the Garden of Eden in his form of a serpent. While last week we saw that he stuck to the truth, but bent and twisted it so that it was a slightly different version of the truth, this week we are going to look at how Satan schemes. This ability to connive and plot affects not only unbelievers, but Christ followers as well.

The Schemer

This guy looks like he is scheming doesn’t he? He’s hunkered down, his beady eye keeping watch for the prey and he is probably thinking about when his quarry gets close enough, he is going to use those powerful toothy jaws to latch on and gobble it up. Our enemy is much the same way as our reptilian friend. He has a scheme, a plan, and a plot. He is waiting, hunkered down, looking for each and every opportunity to trip up his quarry or even more boldly, to latch on and swallow them down.

Image by Surendra Shekhawat from Pixabay

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

— Ephesians 6:10-12 (ESV)

We can see from the above passage that our enemy already has schemes in place to use against us. Verse 12 reiterates that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, although in our country right now it seems that many of our problems are being manifested on the physical plateau. Obviously, Satan will not keep his battles in the spiritual realm. He will strike in our physical realm whenever he is given the leeway. Let’s take a look at another passage in the Bible that deals with just this issue.

“6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.
7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”
9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?
10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.”

— Job 1:6-12 (ESV)

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

This passage might be a little uncomfortable to read. Here we see Satan coming to God, so it tells us that he still has access to God. I have to imagine, that even though Satan was cast down from heaven, God still knew exactly what he was up to and where, after all, God knows everything and is everywhere present. Whatever the case, Satan came to God among the other sons of God. Perhaps he was wearing his disguise as an angel of light, and while God would know who he was, perhaps the others in attendance, most likely other angels, would not see through his fraudulent exterior.

“13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

— 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (ESV)

Looking at what takes place in this passage, I am sure, Satan entered into this assemblage with a scheme in mind. Whether he was hoping to make a fool of God, usurp his throne or just wreak havoc, Satan wasn’t coming hoping to have tea. He was plotting. Of course, I am convinced that God knew exactly what Satan was up to.

We might be tempted to think God was unfair to Job to unleash Satan’s wrath on everything he had. If you read the passage following, we see that Job lost all of his children, everything he owned was destroyed and his health evaporated. This only happened because God allowed it. God knew Job’s heart and knew through it all Job would remain faithful. He also knew the ultimate outcome, restoration. If you read the book through to its conclusion we see that Job learned some very important lessons about God, but God restored him sevenfold. Yes, he would always miss the children that he lost, but he knew this fully to his core:

“But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.”

— Job 23:10 (ESV)

Let’s move this into the context of today’s world. There are many terrible things happening. We are inundated every day, multiple times a day with the knowledge that evil is running rampant. If you don’t believe in the devil, I would ask you to reconsider. He is alive and well and scheming to bring about your ruin. However, nothing comes into our world without God knowing. It says in Matthew 10:30 that every hair of our heads is numbered. God knows what Satan is about and the time will come, when all that is lost will be restored, but know this, until that time Satan is scheming to take us down.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

— 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)

Image by Hans-Jürgen Münzer from Pixabay

Satan isn’t just sitting around twiddling his thumbs. He is at work. He is plotting, planning and scheming the best ways to keep the world in darkness and extinguish the lights of those who know Jesus. Think about the state of our country. Darkness is being exalted and the light is being hidden. This is not just a matter of political and socioeconomic differences. What we see happening has the mark of a hidden power; one that will not rest until every flame is put out.

But…we have hope! Jesus is alive. Everything that He did on the cross still stands. The only way we can change this world is by bringing the light of the Gospel to those who are walking in darkness. Do not be afraid. Do not hide. Pray, speak truth and lift up the name of Jesus.

Image by Greg Montani from Pixabay

“16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints”

— Ephesians 6:16-18 (ESV)

The Making of Giant Stew

They were coming. The giants. I couldn’t see them, but I could feel their footsteps. Every step shook the earth. I could see the chain reaction of each large foot, even though I couldn’t actually see their physical forms. Trees shook, streams sputtered, even rocks seemed to shake in their places as the vibrations of those giant feet reached the ground all around me.

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I was terrified, running away from the sound, but knowing it was only a matter of time until they found me. They were hunting. The prey they longed for was me. They wanted to crush my bones and drink my blood. The thought, kept my feet moving, though my lungs were ready to collapse from the effort.

I stumbled to the ground, tripping on a branch that had fallen and become buried in the long grass. Breathing, panting, I got to my knees. What was I supposed to do? I had nothing left. I couldn’t run any more.

I heard His voice, “Head for the high ground!”

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I looked frantically around me. There were not many places to hide. A few trees dotted the landscape, but they would only become like broken down fence posts once the giants came through. I looked ahead of me. Off on the horizon, there appeared to be a small rise. It didn’t look like much, but It was a direction to go.

I stood up and felt myself collapse as pain shot up my leg. My ankle! I must have injured it when I tripped over the branch.

Thump! This time, I not only felt the vibration, I heard the sound of their feet hitting the ground. I had to get up. I had to move. The alternative was going to hurt a lot worse than my ankle.

I stood up, cringing and started to limp. Each step hurt, but eventually I knew It was this pain or death. I started to run.

Pixabay

The small rise on the horizon didn’t look like much, but He had said to head for the high ground and it seemed to be the only hill around. I would like to say I ran without questioning, that I completely trusted His voice, and His wisdom, but I doubted. All the way there, the doubts in my mind were like the fire in my ankle, lapping at my confidence, trying to tear it down and make me falter.

But hadn’t He always proved himself faithful? Hadn’t He always been there in every difficulty and tragedy? Hadn’t He told me to be strong, to have courage, to not be afraid, because He would be with me.

I was Joshua, going places I had never been before, and I was afraid. Afraid of the giants that were after me, but more afraid that He wouldn’t come through for me.

I could hear them more loudly now. Their steps creating small quakes in the earth that threatened to throw me off balance. I reached the bottom of the small rise.

“What do I do now,” I shouted, my voice angry. “You lead me here. How is this supposed to end well?”

“Trust me.” His voice was just a whisper.

I stopped. Every fiber in my being wanted to lash out at Him. I was going to die. I was going to be giant stew, What was the point? Why had He brought me here?

I took a breath, remembering, when things were at their worst that was the time to breath and focus on His voice. I closed my eyes and breathed in. I could smell the earth, the trees, the grass, all around me and I could smell water.

“Take the high ground.”

I moved as quickly as I could up the grassy hill. There were only a few scrubby trees that would provide no place to hide. Going to the top of the hill would, in reality expose me further. I had made my choice. I was going to trust Him, no matter what the outcome.

At the top, I found a small brook, just barely as wide as my body. It was as clear as the sky was blue.

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The footsteps! Now I could smell their rank breath. They had to have seen me by now.

“Enter the flow.”

I looked at the stream, then I was in it. I laid back in its deep coolness, feeling it wrap around my tired, sweating body like a cocoon. My whole body was covered, except for my face.

“Enter the flow.” His voice was persistent.

Once again, I doubted. He wanted me to completely submerge? Once again, I was afraid. This was a place I had never been before. Is that really what He wanted me to do? What was going to happen to me if I did what He said? Would I die?

One thing was sure, if I didn’t do what He said, I most certainly would die and it wouldn’t be a pleasant death. To just lay back and enter the water…and enter His flow, I closed my eyes and went under.

When I was under, I began to count. How long could I hold my breath? Long enough for the giants to pass my little hill by? What if they decided to use the hill for a seat to rest.

But no! He was faithful. He always had been and He always would be. Even as I, once again, made the decision to trust, every part of my body exploded with fire. I thought perhaps one of the giants had stepped on me, but I soon realized this was not a crushing, weighted feeling, but a feeling of complete release and freedom.

“Go beyond belief, dear one. Go from belief and obedience to child-like trust!”

I had believed in Him, and He had always been there.

I had obeyed Him, and He always rewarded.

Child-like trust….

Even though I was submerged, I took a breath.

The fire entered my lungs and I was flung upward out of the stream. In my hand was a sword and on my body was armor that felt lighter than clothing. Through my body coursed a wind of fire that made strength move outward into every limb.

Now I was David and I was going to make my own giant stew.

(This was a work of fiction by Amy D. Christensen)

The song below is an oldie, but goodie. Petra has always been one of my favorites because their words are so sound. Enjoy!

A Look Back at 2017 - My Favorite Faith Posts

I did this on my fashion page so I thought it would be good to do on my faith page as well. Since we are into a new year, I thought it would be fun to look back at my favorite posts from 2017. I picked one from each month. If you haven't read them and are interested, just click on the link below the picture. 

It is good to look back at where we have been, so we can get a better feel for where we need to go. As far as my faith posts are concerned, I want to keep writing and posting things that I hope will be an encouragement to you. We, as older women, are such a valuable part of society. We are capable, strong and worn, and that is just where God wants us to be. 

Here are my favorite faith posts from my blog from 2017.

January

Dear Lamb

February

What Do You Believe? 

March

A Letter to You

April

How Do We Bloom, When Life is Tough?

May

A Father's Perspective

June

Live With Intentionality

July

Deep Waters

August

Ashes

September

What Trees Say to Me

October

Ever Insult a Rhino?

November

Mulling It Over - Part 10

December

Lessons Learned from Miracle on 34th Street

I hope you enjoyed this look back at my favorite blog posts from 2017. As we move forward into 2018, I hope to grow my blog in various ways, while still being true to my belief and faith in Jesus Christ. 

If you have any suggestions or things you would like to see me talk about on the blog, please leave me a comment in the comments section or you can send me a message on Facebook. I appreciate all your input and support. I am looking forward to what this year will bring and hope you will join me on the blog! 

Mulling It Over - Part 10: Ephesians 6:18

Last month we learned about the sword of the spirit, which is the first of our offensive weapons in this passage on the armor of God. In this final post in my series on the armor of God I want to focus in on verse 18 and our second offensive weapon in our fight against the enemy.

“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”

— Ephesians 6:18 (NASB)

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Besides our sword, which we now know is God's word, we have the offensive weapon of prayer. Let me take a few sentences to clarify the difference between defensive versus offensive. Defensive pieces are those which protect us from the onslaught of the enemy. Our armor, including the helmet and the shield are all pieces that we use to protect ourselves. Offensive pieces are those with which we can actually do damage to the enemy, through the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 

I think it is important to note that most of this passage in Ephesians 6:10-18 is spent describing the defensive pieces or the armor, which we are to put on. This suggests that our part as followers of Christ is to make sure we are battle ready and able to stand firm when the arrows fly. There are times when life is too overwhelming to actually fight back. Those are the times we have to let God, the almighty One, have His way and let Him fight for us. I firmly believe there are myriads of skirmishes going on all around us in the heavenly realms that we do not participate in. However, I also believe there are times that God calls us to pick up that sword and go to war. This leads us back to verse 18 and the offensive weapon of prayer. 

Let's look at what prayer does as an offensive weapon.

1. Puts us in contact with the commander. In what army are the soldiers not aware of who their commander is? From the generals at the top, to the sergeants in the enlisted ranks, soldiers are aware that there is a chain of command. They know who they report to and who reports to them. As Christians prayer puts us in direct contact with the highest head of all the armies at His command. Isn't that awesome? How much more time should we be spending in prayer, knowing that this is the way to get right to the top?

2. Places us under the headship of the Holy Spirit. When we really are seeking God and are trying to pray as He would want us to pray, we are placing ourselves under the movement and persuasion of the Holy Spirit. 

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

— John 14:26 (NASB)

Jesus tells us that the Helper will teach you all things. I think that includes teaching us how to pray. You might think that's a bit silly, but I'm not talking about saying a prayer before dinner or even reciting the Lord's prayer. I am referring to intense, battle worthy praying that gets us prostrate on the floor or pacing around the house with tears streaming down our faces and our hands raised in the air. This is Holy Spirit lead warring prayer. 

Please do not jump to the conclusion that I think this is the only time the Holy Spirit directs our prayer, because it is not. He leads us in prayers of worship, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of confession and prayers of humble petition as well. But there is something about warring prayer that makes praying in the Spirit seem even more real. 

3. Perseveres for the saints. Battle prayers are most often connected to others who need our added strength to help them get through a particularly difficult situation. Verse 18 encourages us to: "With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view (the idea that we are to be praying all prayers at all times in the Spirit) be on the alert (for the enemy, as well as for peeps who need our prayers) with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

Did you notice how many alls are in that verse. I bolded them so you could see them more clearly. Whoa! This idea of prayer is pretty important. I Thessalonians 5:17 says, "pray without ceasing." There isn't a command that is much more straight forward than that. Don't stop praying. 

Praying does not mean that life will suddenly be filled with sunshine and flowers. In fact, often times when we begin the intense prayer of warring praying, we may find the enemy's assaults also intensify. Don't give up. It is even more important when the battle is continuous and overwhelming. Someone needs you to pray, maybe even your own self. Remember you are fighting because the Commander has called you to. He knows who needs those prayers. 

Many of you, like me are older. Your children are grown and you may no longer be as involved as you once were in their lives. Don't stop praying for them. Now, more than ever, they need your prayers, because one thing is sure, our enemy is a roaring lion seeking to devour. He wants our sons and daughters, our spouses, our grandchildren, our friends, our churches and our nation. If you can't sleep at night, God wants you to pray. If you have a few moments alone, God wants you to pray. If you are sick, you can still pray. Driving in the car, pray. Taking a shower, pray.

When you have gotten to the end of yourself and think you can no longer pray, then let go and He will pray for you. Now how cool is that? He will pray for you, until you are able to stand, put on the armor and go to battle again. 

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;”

— Romans 8:26 (NASB)

“and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

— Romans 8:27 (NASB)

“who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

— Romans 8:34 (NASB)

You can see the rest of this series by clicking on the links below. 

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and Part 9.

Mulling It Over - Part 9: Ephesians 6:17

Last time in this Mulling It Over series, I looked at the beginning of Ephesians 6:17. This week, I'd like to mull over the last part of that verse. 

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

— Ephesians 6:17 (NASB)

The helmet of salvation was the last of our defensive pieces of armor. All of the defensive pieces are articles that are worn on the body, or as in the shield of faith, are used to protect the body from assaults from the enemy. The sword of the Spirit, is the first weapon listed. 

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We might wonder why God gives us so many pieces of armor to protect ourselves and only two weapons with which to actually attack the enemy. Obviously God knows what is best and I hope to illuminate why this is the case.

First, I think we need to look at 2 Corinthians 10

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

— 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NASB)

These verses clearly state the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful. In other words, our weapons are divinely empowered. In essence God does the fighting for us. Our job is to stand firm (Ephesians 6:10-13) and resist in that evil day. Our job also involves destroying wrong thinking and taking all of our own thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. 

Next we need to look at what exactly this sword of the spirit is. We all know what a sword is. A long sharp weapon that was meant for slicing, chopping and stabbing. It was meant to inflict harm and even kill. There are numerous types of swords from the Roman Gladius, to the English Broadsword, to the modern foil used in competitive fencing. For the most part a sword was meant for close combat. While we occasionally see in a movie a sword being flung long distances and making its mark, the sword is meant to be used when the enemy is at arm's length.

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I find it interesting that God directed Paul to write the sword of the Spirit, not the axe or the spear, both of which were often thrown from a distance. The axe, especially one used during the Viking era, was often used in close combat to chop, hack and bash, but a sword enabled the user to finalize his victim with a well placed point to the heart or a slicing slash along the throat. 

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This sword we are given to use is meant to be taken up when we are in close combat with the enemy. This sword is of the Spirit and is the word of God. God's word is a powerful, offensive weapon for us to use when we are face to face with our enemy, the devil. 

What does this look like in real life. I know for me, when I am really struggling with some specific difficulty, using God's word is the best way to kill the wrong thinking that is so often associated with sin. For instance, more recently I have had anxiety. Nothing new right? We all deal with anxiety. However, anxiety left unresolved and allowed to run rampant will becoming a raging bull, one that we will not be able to control.

When faced with anxiety I have learned to use God's word to remind me of His truth. His word says this in regards to anxiety and fear:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

— Philippians 4:6 (NASB)

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

— 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

I love the 2 Timothy verse in the King James Version because it uses the word fear and it also uses the phrase sound mind. What is more chaotic and confused than the anxious mind? 

Here are a few more scriptures that have to do with fear.

“So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

— Matthew 10:31 (NASB)

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!””

— Romans 8:15 (NASB)

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

— Psalm 23:4 (NASB)

These are just a few of the verses in scripture that deal with fear. Perhaps your issue is not fear, but anger, or lust or pride. God's sword is capable of delivering fatal blows to all of our enemy's minions. Let me say, it may not happen immediately. When I was in college I was struggling against several different sins that kept coming back to haunt me, but as I matured in my walk with Christ and began to take His word seriously I just kept using it when the temptations returned. Over and over, I stabbed and jabbed, sometimes on my knees, sometimes laying flat on the floor and sometimes pacing with my fist in the air, but eventually that sword did its job. 

Often when we struggle against the same recurring lies of the enemy it might be our "thorn in the flesh" so to speak, but God's word is still faithful, no matter how many times the enemy returns to attack us. If you have His Spirit in you and you are able to yield the sword of His word, victory will come.

Don't forget when you put on your armor in the morning to grab that sword before you walk out the door. 

Mulling it Over: Part 7 - Ephesians 6:16

Today in my Mulling It Over series on the Armor of God I am looking at Ephesians 6:16. This piece of armor is essential as protection. While the other pieces, so far, have been actual body armor - the belt, the breastplate and the shoes, this piece is defensive, but not attached to the body. 

“in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

— Ephesians 6:16 (NASB)

Piece # 4 - Shield of Faith

There were three types of Roman shields. The legionaire scutum was a long oval or rectangular shield used by foot soldiers. It was particularly effective in battle when a group of soldiers would stand side by side. The scutum created a wall which was almost impenetrable. The shields could also be turned skyward to keep arrows from hitting their targets.

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The other two types of Roman shields were the parma and the clipeus. Both of these shields were round. The parma was used by soldiers on horseback and was easier to maneuver. They were, however, made with an iron frame and were heavy. These eventually were replaced with the clipeus which was designed similarly to the Greek aspis. (This info was gleaned from this article by Graham Land.)

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There are several points I would like to make regarding this piece of armor. Once again, I would like to dissect the verse to squeeze the most out of it we can.

1. In addition to all...

This phrase at the beginning of the verse causes me to think there is something important to derive from it. This would seem to refer back to the pieces of armor that were listed before hand. In other words once you have put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of the gospel of piece, now it is time...

2. ...taking up....

It is time to take up...don't just leave that shield sitting on the floor, or the bedside table or on a shelf in the closet. Get it out and pick it up. Carry it. Use it. Protect yourself with it. That is exactly what it is intended to be used for.

3. ...the shield of faith....

So what is the shield of faith? Let's have a little discussion on faith. Faith is essentially belief. A belief in something or someone. For us as Christ followers we place our faith or our belief in Jesus Christ. When we take that step or make that choice to believe we now have faith. 

Everyone has some sort of faith. When you go to sit in a chair you have faith the chair will hold you. When you get up in the morning you have faith the sun will rise. We have faith in the medicine we take, the food we eat and the police that keep us safe. 

Our faith in Jesus is much deeper and more life changing that the faith that allows me to sit in a chair. My faith is in Christ, a person. Yes He is also God, which is a real plus!

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”

— Hebrews 11:1-3 (NASB)

Why does Paul refer to our faith as a shield? Ask yourself this question, what would my life be like without my faith? My answer would be, empty. A living and active faith, one that believes in a living and active God, fills our life with the breath of the Almighty and the firm foundation of a risen Savior. My faith affects everything I do, or at least it should. It should affect our choices, what we do, where we go, how we act and react. There are 378 verses in the Bible that contain the word faith (or a derivation such as faithful or faithfully, etc.). There are 259 verses in the Bible that use the word believe. 

Now, think about the things that affect your faith. What sorts of things shake you? What events challenge your faith? What difficulties crimp your faith and which ones cause your faith to grow? Can you think of a time that you started to doubt? Doubt that God exists, cares or loves you? Imagine if you allowed that doubt to grow? What would happen to your faith and what would happen to your life?

Faith is our shield. To fully understand how this works, let's look at the last part of Ephesians 6:16.

4. ...with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Whoa! That's some pretty hefty battle damage, extinguishing all the flaming arrows of the evil one! It doesn't say one or two arrows, or even a few dozen, it says all. This shield of faith is capable of combatting any arrow Satan throws at us. Did you get that? All the flaming arrows.

If you want to know what these arrows look like, think about any negative thought that pops into your mind: worry, fear, despair, hopelessness, envy, lust, anger, malice, gossip....I'm sure you can add more. These are Satan's arrows. It is our faith that protects us from these fire tipped barbs. 

"I'm worried about my job....God says do not be anxious."

"I'm afraid...God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind."

"I feel hopeless...my hope is in the Lord."

"I wish I had that...as Paul said, 'Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.'"

"I am so angry...God's word says to cease from anger and forsake wrath, fretting only leads to evil doing."

Satan knows the greatest battle is in our mind. Look at the world we live in. Opposing ideologies, racism, terrorism, acceptance of so many things that were once seen as taboo. It would seem that our enemy is walking out in the open, reveling in every moment. Even Christians are being taken in by the lies of our enemy. That is exactly why we need to raise our shield of faith. 

It is my faith in God and His word, that enables me to take up the shield and use it against my enemy. We need to recognize the fiery arrows of our enemy and raise our shield against him. Battle on warriors! Battle on! 

Mulling It Over - Part 6 - Ephesians 6:15

This month as I continue to look at the armor of God we are going to talk about shoes! As a fashion blogger, I love shoes of all sorts, whether it be sandals, boots, heels or flats, I love to have a variety of shoes to go with the variety of outfits that I post and talk about. 

I find it interesting that God mentions our feet when talking about His armor. 

Piece # 3 - The Gospel of Peace

“15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ”

— Ephesians 6:15 (NASB)

There are several important points that we can pull from this simple verse.

1) We are supposed to have our feet covered. Seeing as it is summer I am sure most of you have made the run to your mail box without any shoes on. When I was a child we spent most of our time outside in bare feet. Our feet became tough and we could walk just about anywhere. I don't go without shoes, or at least flip flops, anymore. Time has made my feet soft and age has made me less tolerant of pain. Ha, ha. God made a provision for our journey in life, in the armor He gave to us. Our feet need to be covered, because we need to keep walking and keep fighting. We wouldn't get far at all if our feet were not in working order.

2) We are to be prepared. The word preparation implies that we are to do some training or making ready in advance. When speaking in terms of military readiness, our soldiers go through weeks of intensive training. They also learn additional skills about tactics, weapons and psychological readiness. I am sure many vets will tell you, even with the training they had, they still weren't prepared for the horrors of real warfare. 

We are directed in the Bible to be prepared, not only for Spiritual warfare as is being discussed in this passage in Ephesians, but to give an account for why we have hope.

“but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”

— I Peter 3:15 (NASB)

 What exactly is this hope that we have? What exactly are we, as Christ followers, supposed to be prepared with? 

3) The gospel of peace. I'd actually like to break this phrase into two separate pieces. 

a. The gospel. Simply put, the gospel is the good news. Christ followers believe that we are all sinners and all fall short of measuring up to God's perfect standard. Because of this there had to be a sacrifice made to bridge the gap between God and ourselves. Jesus Christ bridged that gap. By committing our lives to Him we are able to enter into God's presence and have fellowship with Him. When we share the gospel, we are sharing the fact that Jesus paid the price that we ourselves should have paid and by believing in His work on the cross and His resurrection we can and will be with God. John 3:16 is the gospel in a nut shell.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16 (NASB)

b. ...of peace. I love that the word peace is included with this piece of armor. Jesus came so that we might have peace with God.

“ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

— Romans 5:1 (NASB)

However, it doesn't end there. The idea that this piece of armor is for the feet implies that we are taking it with us wherever we go. We don't put on our shoes to get into bed. We put them on so that we can go out of the house to work, shop, play and the many other things we do throughout a day or a week. For us, the gospel is to be an integral part of everywhere we go and everything we do. Not just the good news, but the peace that the good news brings.

In a world of unrest we all need a little peace, not only for ourselves, but for those we work with, hang with, and encounter on a regular basis. You would be amazed how responding with a peaceful and loving attitude can diffuse a volatile situation.

As we go forward this week, let's be prepared by having having our feet ready with the gospel of peace, so that we might have opportunity to share the good news and bring His peace to all we encounter. 

You can see the first 5 parts of this Mulling It Over series on Ephesians 6:10-18 by clicking on each of the links below:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Mulling It over - Part 5

If you follow my faith page on the blog, you know that I have been doing a series on Ephesians 6:10-18. I have been going very slowly as we look at the armor of God, endeavoring to savor and fully understand each verse and even words within each verse. (To see the original posts click on the links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4) Let's review. 

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ”

— Ephesians 6:10-13 (NASB)

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A quick review of the first four verse reveals Paul's encouragement to be strong in the Lord. We are told to put on the full armor of God, so we might be able to stand against the schemes of our enemy, the devil. Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood armies, but against rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. If we just stopped there we could get pretty discouraged. Life is hard enough without throwing in all those forces and battles we can't even see. Again, we are encouraged to take up the full armor of God so that we can stand firm.

Last month, I looked at the first part of verse 14.

“Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”

— Ephesians 6:14 (NASB)

In last month's post I talked specifically about having our loins girded with truth. Truth is the foundation for our ability to protect what God has established in our lives, through His word and His Spirit. If we are not listening to truth and seeking truth, we will be weak and defenseless when it comes to the assaults of the enemy.

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This week I want to look at the second piece of armor that we are to put on.

Piece #2 - Righteousness

What is righteousness? Webster's defines it as "acting in accord with divine or moral law; free from guilt or sin." Okay, so those of us who are Christ followers, know, without a doubt that we are not righteous. Doesn't God's word say:  

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

— Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)

It also states:

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

— Romans 3:23 (NASB)

Where does that leave us? How do we put on righteousness if we are, indeed, unrighteous? If you have been a Christian for a while, or you have had some Bible training, you may have heard of the term, imputed righteousness. Simply put, Christ, who is the Righteous one, gives us His righteousness when we believe in Him by faith. If we believe that, then how is it that we have to put on, righteousness, as part of our armor?

Just as with so many things in our Christian walk, we have to make a choice. Putting on truth, is choosing to seek truth, adhere to the truth and love truth. Putting on righteousness is a choice to do the following three things.

1. Admit - Admit that Christ is your righteousness. Being a good person, does not, in fact, a Christian make. Christ and belief in Him, is what makes a Christian. Following Him and believing all that He did in His life, death and resurrection are what make us righteous. 

“he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,”

— Titus 3:5 (New English Translation)

2. Allow - Allow Christ to be your righteousness. Too often we are trying to play this spiritual game on our own and we have no business doing that. Sure you might be a very strong person, but strength in our own might is a hindrance, not a help. God has been working in my life on this very point. It is His goal to make us Christ like, not more human like. I don't know about you, but I have always liked to think of myself as a strong person, able to get through difficulties and still appear to have it all together, at least on the outside. Let me tell you, in the long run, that will do nothing, but produce sleepless nights and plenty of anxiety! 

I am beginning to embrace this idea that when I am weak He is strong....oh what a glorious and wonderful thing to know. 

3. Abide - Andrew Murray is a preacher/teacher of yesteryear and has many good things to say in his writing. Right now I am trying to get through his book called, Abide in Christ, and have learned so much. In fact, I had gotten away from it, because it is not a book I can just breeze through. I have to take notes and ruminate on it. I recently thought, I need to get back to it, because I need to abide in Christ. 

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”

— John 15:4 (NASB)

This is one of the red letter sections of scripture. I have always thought, it is particularly important to pay attention when the letters are red, because that is when Jesus is talking. He says we cannot bear fruit apart from Him. If I am going to put on righteousness, I need to be abiding in Him. 

Abiding is simply doing all those things we know we need to do anyway. Read the Bible, go to church, fellowship with other believers, be thankful, pray without ceasing, rejoice always, spend time with God speaking to Him and listening for Him. 

I hope you will think about putting on righteousness today. Just like truth, we need to put it on, even before we get out of bed every day. 

Mulling it Over - Part 3

Right now I am devoting the second Monday of each month to mull over a particular piece of scripture. I have been working through Ephesians 6:10-18. In Part 1 I looked at verses 10 and 11. Part 2 covered verse 12. I know I am going slowly, but I feel it is imperative that we examine each verse carefully. This week I want to look at verse 13, but as a refresher, let's look at the first three verses again. 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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. ”

— Ephesians 6:10-12 (NASB)

Now let's move on to verse 13.

“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

— Ephesian 6:13 (NASB)

When I was a young person taking English in high school one of my teachers would say, "If you see a therefore, you need to ask, what is it there for."

1. "Therefore..." When we stop and ask what is this therefore there for, I would say that it is referring back to what was previously stated. The apostle Paul begins this section of scripture admonishing us to put on the armor of God. What follows is a statement of just what sort of warfare we are up against. So important is this fact, that he says, "...take up the full armor of God..." This is the second time in just four verses that Paul tells us to "put on" or "take up" the full armor of God. Therefore refers back to the struggle against other worldly forces we are facing in battle.

2. "...take up..." This is an action. Passivity is not an option when dealing with spiritual warfare and being prepared for it. We have to be proactive. Think about the sort of training a soldier goes through when he enlists. He goes to bootcamp. Why do they put these men through such a rigorous training routine? They know that a prepared soldier is a soldier that will be able to fight. Bootcamp requires not just physical training, but mental and emotional training as well. If we were faced with a war we would want soldiers who know what they are doing and are not afraid to put their lives on the line. The same is true in the spiritual realm. We are God's enlisted men and women. Our job is to be prepared and then to fight. We can only do that by actively getting ready.

3. "...the full armor of God..." I love all the Marvel super hero movies, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The Avengers are all fun to watch. If you think Iron Man has a cool suit, you haven't see what God has prepared for us. Tony Stark is a genius, but God created the mind of that genius! I know, those are just fictional characters, but you hopefully get the point. The God of the universe has armor and it is for us to put on. He created it, He knows it is our strongest defense and He knows we are capable of using it. 

StockSnap - Michael Kulesza

4. "...so that you will be able to resist in the evil day..." That sounds rather heavy doesn't it, but look around you. You don't have to look far to see evil. However, what I find interesting is that we must put on the armor so that we are able to resist. This means that evil will be appealing to us. We often think of evil as being the blatant things like Hitler terminating the lives of thousands of Jews or Jeffrey Dahmer raping and murdering men and boys then eating their remains. Yes! That is evil, but most of us would easily be able to resist doing those sorts of things. Why, then, does this verse say "...so that you will be able to resist..." I think it is because there is so much evil that comes disguised as something not so bad. Aren't pride, selfishness, hatred and gluttony also forms of evil? 

In addition to those forms of evil that walk among us like wolves in sheep's clothing, I also believe that evil has a way of waring us down, to the point where things become a bit fuzzy. Eventually we won't even know the difference between right and wrong

5. "...and having done everything, to stand firm." Once a soldier has prepared he knows that he will go into battle having done everything he can to be ready. Those of us who have signed up for this spiritual boot camp and the ensuing war need to be able to face the battle knowing we have done everything we can to be ready. This brings me to a question that I need to ask myself. Have I done everything to be ready? Will I be able to stand firm, or will I falter as soon as the bullets start flying? Maybe now would be a good time to get back into the Word. Maybe now would be the right time to start getting back to church. How about you? What are you doing to ensure that you have done everything to stand firm?

Next month, we'll start looking at the armor. Please leave me a comment below about what you are doing to make yourself ready for spiritual warfare. I love to have your input! 

Have a great day!

Return to Battle

She stood, looking at the expanse of land that rolled out from the castle walls. Her balcony overlooked the picturesque river valley and as the sun began to set she could see its fire glinting off the distant liquid ribbon. She felt rested, still there were moments where she wanted to stay in the soft bed that stood closer to the fireplace. There, the fire always seemed to burn cheerily in its stone dwelling. 

The battle had been fierce. Had she foreseen the damage that happened on that particular day, she might have run. But she didn't. She stood her ground and fought, just as many others did beside her. Some fell at her feet and she had to step over them, still fighting, raising her sword over and over and over. Her arms grew so fatigued she no longer felt the sword in her hand, only kept the repetitive movement; lift, swipe, strike, jab. She had no idea how many her sword had taken down. She didn't need to know. They were all enemies of the King.

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The only wound she received was one of the heart. No one could see it, but it was there and it was deep. One she loved most dear had been taken by the enemy. A captive, taken, she knew not where; tormented, she knew not how, though she could easily imagine. The vileness of the enemy was obvious in the land. He had no reason to be subtle. He was powerful and prideful. She knew one day, that pride would be his downfall, but until then, they'd continue to fight against him and to fall.

She turned when she heard footsteps. A servant approached her tentatively. He bowed.

"His Highness, the King wishes to see you in the library." The young man kept his head lowered.

She thanked him and he left.

She put on her shoes and wrapped herself in a warm bulky sweater. Closing her door behind her she moved soundlessly down the hallways of the castle. She knew how to move without making noise. She had been trained in all areas of covert and overt combat. Before she entered the library, she took a deep, calming breath.

She loved the library. It wasn't just her love of reading and books that drew her here. It was the coziness and peacefulness of the place. The walls were made of rich, dark mahogany. The carpeting which ran wall to wall was plush. Sometimes she would take off her shoes, just to feel the softness of the rug beneath her. The curtains hanging at the windows were made of deep red velvet. Interspersed throughout the room were luxuriant furnishings of all sizes. Her favorite was an over sized chair and its companion footstool that sat close to the grand fireplace. It was in this chair that the King sat. His feet were up and his eyes were closed.

She stopped. If she didn't wake him, she could skulk back to her room and put off for a little while longer this conversation she knew was coming. That wasn't going to happen. His voice carried clearly from his comfortable position.

"Come, dear one. Sit."

His blue eyes looked at her. She moved closer to the fireplace, but didn't sit. 

He put his feet on the floor and patted the foot stool. She smiled at him, feeling like a lost sheep, but instead of sitting she began to pace.

"You know it is time." His voice was gentle.

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She looked towards the fire blazing furiously in the hearth. She didn't want him to see her fear. She didn't want him to know how her heart cowered. Silly, she knew. He could always read her like one of the many books surroundng them.

"I know you do not feel ready. I know you are hurt, inside, where it is so much harder to heal. But you are one of my best warriors. I can't let you stay here any longer. There is too much at stake. There are too many at risk."

The gentle tone of his voice was almost maddening. She knew he was right, but she needed more time. She couldn't go back out there. Not yet. She couldn't go back to that war, that enemy. That one who ripped something, someone from her who was so precious. She just wanted to forget. To pretend none of it ever happened....but she couldn't. She knew it and so did the King.

"I...I can't my Lord! I...I...am not ready."

He sat forward in the plush chair and once again patted the footstool in front of him. She sat, their knees almost touching.

He put a hand on her cheek and wiped the tear that had fallen there. "Daughter, this is about a much bigger war than the one we fight on this plain. You know that."

She was up again. Pacing, back and forth in front of the blaze, like a caged lion, looking, always looking for a way out. "You don't understand! This enemy...he's different! He's vile....you don't know! You weren't there!"

He stood and in one step was in front of her, his graying beard becoming straggly from lack of time for grooming. He stopped her and took her hands in his. 

"I was there." Again the gentleness.

She looked at him questioning. "What do you mean? I would have known if you were there."

"Do you remember that battle, back in the winter? There was a certain warrior wearing animal skins and donning a helmet with horns. You laughed when you told me about him....said he was a Viking by any other name?"

Her eyes widened.

"And don't forget in the spring, when the rains came, the warrior whose face was so covered in mud you couldn't tell if he was of light or dark skin..."

He paused. 

She felt the coldness that had accompanied her for so long begin to melt away. He had been there. Of course he couldn't come out looking like himself, or the enemy would have recognized him. She looked into his piercing blues, questioning....

"The time will come, when I will come out as the King, but not yet...this war is not just about the child that was taken from you, but about all the children, and all the souls that are ensnared by our enemy. I need you back at the front."

She took a deep breath and shuddered. She could say no. She was his daughter, after all. She didn't have to go back and he would still love her. Of that she had no doubt. But his words about the children got to her. Her child was taken. Stolen from her by that enemy. Even if she was still alive and they found her, she knew her daughter would have scars. 

She squeezed the strong, calloused hands that hung on to hers. They were the hands of a warrior, a king and her father. She knew they would always follow her into battle, fighting beside her until she took her final breath. 

She went to her knees before him. "I am ready, my Lord."

“ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.””

— Joshua 1:9 (NASB)

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, ”

— Ephesian 6:10-18 (NASB)

(This is a fictional work written by Amy D. Christensen)