Apart from You I have no good thing...

Keep me safe, O God,

for in You I take refuge.

I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord;

apart from you I have no good thing."

Lord, you have assigned me my

portion and my cup;

You have made my lot secure

The boundary lines have fallen for me

in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me.

Because He is my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

I am so grateful for the Lord who counsels me and loves me. This past week has brought joy, sorrow and an array of mixed emotions. I'm not the only one... there are others...

But one thing we can be sure of... we have not been deserted by God. He knows our every thought, our struggles... He knows the enemies that we face... and He is always...with us. We need to stand firm in what we know, hold tight to the truth that will guide us... and never let go.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue

rejoices;

my body will also rest secure,

because You will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

You have made known to me the path of life;

You will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:1-2, 5-11

Armed with Attitude

As I write today, I'm kind of piggy-backing on what was written by the other writers of Soul Kitchen this week.

I was reading 1 Chronicles 12 about the men listed "armed for battle who came to David at Hebron." vs 23

I was intrigued by how these warriors were described. The list included these descriptions:
carrying shield and spear
armed for battle
ready for battle
brave warriors
switched allegiance to David
called by name to come
understood the times and knew what Israel should do
experienced soldiers prepared for battle
undivided loyalty
armed with every type of weapon

What about us today, as those called by God for the praise of His glory? What is our battle? How are we to prepare for battle? We are well aware of the spiritual armor described in Ephesians 6. When I read 1 Chronicles 12, however, it made me think of Peter encouraging to "arm yourself also with the same attitude" as Christ.

1 Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

We are to arm ourselves with the attitude Christ had. Christ embraced suffering, entrusting Himself to God. Peter talks a lot about the suffering of believers in the chapters preceding these verses. We need to be aware of an important point here - especially considering our culture advocating entitlement and personal rights - suffering will come and we should not be surprised when we suffer and experience trials. We shouldn't be surprised in the least, actually.

Yet we are. So, when we are wronged, when we are hurt, when bad things happen, we're not prepared. And we react...in all kinds of ways.

That's where being armed with attitude comes in. Not attitude as the world promotes, because we know where that leads us... and it's not victory. It's not glory, and it certainly doesn't result in peace.

But being prepared -being armed - with the attitude that Christ suffered in His body and we will too, along with a deep knowing that we belong to a loving and merciful God... well, that will lead in a totally different direction. We will not live the rest of our earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. (vs 2)

It may look like what happened when Pilgrim's Heart was armed with this attitude. As she wrote in yesterday's blog, "I'm not saying I did not feel pain at times because this was a lifetime pattern for her, but, when I placed her in His hands and gave up the control I wanted, God gave me peace.

I continued to love my Mama through times of feeling unloved, unwanted, and uncared for. Had I taken to heart all of the cruel things she said to me and walked out of her life, she would not be in the kingdom today. God gave me the power and love to keep going back."

Thank you Pilgrim's Heart for that beautiful example of entrusting yourself to God in the midst of continual suffering. How thrilling that through your love and sharing your heart with her, your mom was eventually able to receive God's love too.

Sisters,
In the battle... prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:13

The Bully

I just woke up from a dream...not a happy one, mind you...just, a kind of wierd one.

I was trying to help someone and these three bullies showed up and were trying to stop me.

In my dream, I knew they couldn't hurt me but they were chasing me, and saying things to try and scare me. My heart rate was up and I did feel a bit scared and intimidated. They never caught me but they were still after me when I suddenly woke up.

I can still feel my little heart beating....or it could be the coffee that tastes so good reviving my senses. I think it's a little of both.

The second I woke up from my dream, I was reminded of the verse in John where Jesus is talking about the evil one.

John 10:10

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..."

Peter also describes the evil one.

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

You know...when you belong to Jesus...the evil one can't touch you...but he can sure do his best to try and scare you, intimidate you, sew seeds of fear and worry and doubt....he also likes to lie to you and bring up things from the past...he'll try anything really, to try and stop you from following Jesus and from keeping your focus and trust in Jesus.

The first part of those verses I shared with you...tell us who is trying to hurt us or who the bully is...the second part of those verses give us hope and direction, and the Holy Spirit himself, gives us the power to stand our ground as we stand strong on the Truth.

In the rest of John 10:10, Jesus says,

"....I came that they (that's us) may have life and have it abundantly." (italics mine)

1 Peter 5:7-9 says

...casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

If you're struggling, sister....you're not alone. You may think you're alone, you may feel that you're alone...but you're not.

Jesus is right beside you...ready to walk with you through the journey that you're on. The evil one is going to try and tell you all kinds of things to distract you and to breed worry and fear and untruth...just like a bully trying to get in the way of where you're going or what you're doing.

But you listen to the truth. Get your mind soaking in God's truth so that when you hear lies and deception...you will be able to see it for what it is.

Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, 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 armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Going Home....

Lately, I have been thinking more and more about "going home."  As I looked at the fresh, red dirt, on top of my brother's grave, I felt a deep loss.  I would never hear him speak again... or sing the old gospel hymns that he loved so much.  

There is a song that I have been listening to lately called,  "What Would I Leave Behind?"  The things I would like to leave behind are the things that will last.

One of my greatest encourager's has been Keith Green.  He was a singer/songwriter whom I got to know through his music in the late seventies.  My husband and I couldn't make it to one of his concerts but we sent our preteen daughter.  She came home so excited!  "Mom," she said.  "It was so awesome!  Even if you didn't have the money, Keith Green gave you a cassette tape or album anyway!"

Several years later, I was struggling with the deepest depression that I had ever experienced.  It was all I could do to put my feet over the edge of the bed in the morning and place them on the floor.  I could not pull out of the sadness that had a grip on me and would not let go.  About two months into this sadness and sorrow, an elderly woman whom I barely knew stopped by for a visit on her way to another town.  "I have been praying for you, she said, and the Lord told me to give you this book."  As she placed it in my hands, I could tell by the cover it was about Keith Green.  It said, "No Compromise."  I thanked her and held the book to my chest.  I knew that Keith had died in a plane crash with two of his small children.  I also knew that once I opened this book, my life was going to change.  

As I listened to his music and read his life story... I gained hope each day.  One of Keith's messages was... as Christians, to live as we believed.  He was bold in challenging people to walk strong in their faith.  He was sold out; committed, and loved the Lord with a passion that was contagious.  As I began to seek the Lord's face, the healing began in my heart.

If I could "leave behind" anything when I "go home"... it would be words of encouragement in the Lord.  He is our eternal hope.   He is our Redeemer and Savior.  He is the reason we can get up in the morning and face a hard day.  Our worldly possessions will pass away but the Word of the Lord will last forever.

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your  hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."       2 Thessalonians 2:16

"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you whether by word of mouth or by letter.     2 Thessalonians 2:15