Feeling a bit beat up lately...

...TAKE HEART: 

God's Got Us Covered

For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing. Therefore, stand! Ephesians 6:12-14

As I read this passage I am taken by a few portions that lead me to pause when considering my opposition:

• I am not struggling with people
• There are forces of another realm poised to interfere with my ability to stand in faith
• These very forces are controlling the darkness I encounter daily

Suddenly I realize in just a few short sentences that I am fighting something I am totally unfit to fight.  My fight is not with an enemy I can beat, it is not on a field that I can walk and it is not going to be fair.  If I were to stop reading after Paul explains the nature of my opposition, I don't think I would be blamed for cowering in the corner: But because of the rest of the passage, I can not choose to retreat-I need to SUIT UP and STAND FIRM – (The following is from skipmoen.com)

Paul was fond of military metaphors. This passage about the armor of God certainly is one of his best. When he concludes the thought, he supplies us with an exclamation point by using this particular word, stenai. It is actually a derivative from another verb, histemi, a form that means, “stand firm” or “endure”.

Take a closer look at Paul’s thought. Paul tells us to put on the whole armor. Don’t forget any part of it. Do everything necessary. Once you have taken care of being properly outfitted, stand firm. Now ask yourself what’s missing. Is this how you would advise a combat unit? Would you tell them to “lock and load” and then just stand there? Our usual military operations are not quite the way God does things. God expects us to come prepared for battle, but He does not ask us to make an attack. We have only one battlefield task. Hold the ground that God wins. Don’t retreat!

It seems a little stupid, doesn't it? Why go through all the trouble of putting on Kevlar vests and helmets, picking up riot shields and an M-16 if you're not going to fight? Then the light goes on. It’s God’s fight, not ours. Remember what happened to the Israelites when they thought they could go to battle on their own, even with God’s ark? (1 Samuel 4:1-11). If God isn't handling the battle, we lose even if we are marching around with a cross. Symbols mean nothing. God’s presence is the only real weapon. Nevertheless, we do have something important to do. We have to hold our ground. Take a stand. Don’t retreat. God will engage the enemy but we have to be ready to hold the line. Our armor is not there to make us invulnerable as we attack. It is there so that the ricochets and shrapnel won’t kill us while God is destroying the opposition.

Here are the Rules of Engagement. One: Let God lead. Two: Trust His battle plan. Three: Defend the ground He gains. Four: Don't retreat.

Gut Check Time

• If you engage in a battle when God’s not on the field, don't expect to win. 
• If you're suffering defeats at the hands of the enemy, maybe you need to check the Rules of Engagement. 
• Are you fighting under a symbol or are you holding your ground in the presence of the living God? 
• Are you leading the attack because it seems like the right thing to do or are you standing fast on the ground God gains?

One Thing...

Is this One Thing enough ...

Psalm 27

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

Soul Nourishment

Soul Nourishment First (Mueller)


From the autobiography of George Mueller

It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished.

I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God – not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus, by means of the Word of God, whilst meditating on it, my heart be brought into experimental communion with the Lord.

I began therefore to meditate on the New Testament from the beginning early in the morning. The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God, searching as it were into every verse to get blessing out of it.

When we pray, we speak to God. Now, prayer, in order to be continued for any length of time in any other than a formal manner, requires, generally speaking, a measure of strength or godly desire: and the season, therefore, when this exercise of the soul can be most effectively performed is after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the Word of God, where we find our Father speaking to us, to encourage us, to comfort us, to instruct us, to humble us, to reprove us.

By the blessing of God, I ascribe to this mode the help and strength which I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials, in various way, than I had ever had before.

How different, when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day come upon me!

May 9th, 1841

Your helplessness invites you to pray

Listen, my friend!  Your helplessness is your best prayer.  It calls from your heart to the heart of God with greater effect than all your uttered pleas.  He hears it from the very moment that you are seized with helplessness, and He becomes actively engages at once in hearing and answering the prayer of your helplessness.  Ole Hallesby

All these Things

Have you ever wondered where all your energy goes at the end of your day? Do we really spend every ounce of it in the service of others and wind up with nothing left for the service of our souls. It’s hard. We keep on keeping on, every day, week and year just hoping that we will have enough to meet the needs that are before us. Our focus can become somewhat shortsighted by our most pressing need-You know-We all can fall into the mindset that says, if I only get (fill in your blank) then I’ll be happy, satisfied, or content.

Jesus called His disciples to develop an attitude that focuses upon developing a still soul and not a satisfied self and He explained it this way: “Keep focused on the Kingdom of God and then all these things will be added.” Matthew 6:33
What are the “ALL THESE THINGS” in our lives: Income, food, shelter, clothing, and stuff-Material stuff? And apparently Jesus was teaching His disciples about the problem of worrying about these things. As you read through the beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel, it’s helpful to do a brief word study on “worry”. In the Greek, the word has a root that means to divide into parts. So when we worry about something, we can easily become divided in our hearts and minds over the material issues while forgetting that we live under the watchful loving care of a heavenly Father who is ever mindful of our daily needs.

Let’s seek God’s Kingdom together shall we. If you agree please know that when we say yes to seek God’s Kingdom, we say no to worry. Seeking God while worrying about our stuff cannot exist without being divided in our soul. Certainly, we can be satisfied when we seek to oblige our material needs but if you’ve been around for any length of time, that satisfied feeling lasts for just a moment. And yet, when our souls are still before the Lord our King, we are content knowing that all needs are being met in His good time.
This evening, be encouraged knowing that we serve a Mighty King who saves our souls, satisfies our needs and quiets the self through His ever present loving care.