How To Protect Your Blessings!

We pray for a lot of different things. Christians pray often and even non-Christians pray in emergencies!
     I have a question for you today, If the Lord does bless you with something, how do you protect and care for it?
     Recently our church was aware of a special gift from the Lord but at the same time, we were made aware that the enemy would attempt to steal it. That's when the question came to mind, how do you protect the things the Lord has given you?
     You do realize that the enemy is roaming about on Earth, "Be well balanced and always alert, because your enemy, the devil, roams around incessantly, like a roaring lion looking for its prey to devour" 1 Peter 5:8. and he is here to "kill, steal and destroy", right? The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; John 10:10a. 
     With that foundation to help understand our situation then we do need to look at the idea of protecting the things the Lord gives us because also in John 10:10b He tells us that He came to "But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!"
     If the Lord came to give and the enemy comes to steal, then it becomes vital that we learn to guard and protect! Just by reading and agreeing with this concept we have taken a giant leap towards protecting. Awareness is the first step!
     1. Awareness  What has the Lord blessed you with? This will be answered for you when you pray and meditate on the subject, and yes, you as a Christian are to meditate on the things of the Lord! Meditation is not just for yogis! We are to be careful what we do let into our minds however, so take every thought captive to the Lord and meditate on the things of His kingdom! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:2
     2. Thankfulness When we're truly thankful for something or someone we're not "casual" about our attitude towards it or them. We take care to be aware of the situation, "is everything as it should be?" If we have a spouse that we love and are thankful for then we try to make sure their needs are met, if we have a child in our life that we are thankful for then we try to nourish and care for them, if we have a home we're thankful for then we maintain it carefully. The word "care" appears often when we think about thankfulness, we take care of what He has given us, and when we're aware that the Lord has blessed us with something to be thankful for, then we tell Him! We thank Him and praise Him! 
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name. Psalm 100:4
     3. Faithfulness If we receive a gift from the Lord we need to stay in a faithful attitude and position with it. I've been to parades and seen children running out to grab candy that was thrown out by the people in the parade. Their attitude towards the candy was kind of what we're looking at here. They would run out, grab the candy, bring it back to a parent and then turn and run after more. That really doesn't appear "Thankful or Faithful", only greedy. While we are to want and expect more from our Heavenly Father we are not to neglect what He has already blessed us with. He is not stingy, and His blessings are multiplied as we give to Him and to others, we do reap as we sow, but we need to always remain faithful to what He has put in our lives, never neglecting them and always thanking and praising Him for His gifts, not chasing after more. Remain Faithful!
     4. Persevere A good soldier does not fight one battle and think his work is completed, there are often many battles, some unto death. We are to be as persistent in our struggle against the enemy and his attempts to steal from us as a soldier is in battle! 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 6:12  Prayer is one of your weapons, Pray over the gifts and blessings you are given! The word of the Lord is one of your weapons also! Remember the "sword of the Spirit"? Read your bible, apply the word of the Lord to your life and the gifts you have received! And remember to Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7, you win!
    Recap:
     1. Awareness: Be aware of your gifts and be aware of your enemy
     2. Thankfulness: Know where your gifts have come from and walk in thankfulness
     3. Faithfulness: Don't be greedy to the point of neglecting the gifts you have received
     4. Persevere: Stand firm in the battle, don't release your gifts to the enemy

     If you don't give up, you protect your blessings and gifts from the Lord and you win!

Well Done Dad, Thank You!

Recently I was spending time with my youngest son, the subject of my father came up in our conversation. My father was one of those people that is "bigger than life", he was the nucleus of our family and a man everyone in the area knew and loved.
     As a child I saw my father as a very volatile person, sometimes he might laugh about a situation and the next day be angry about it. He was a man that was determined to raise his children to be successful in all things and in so doing he required "excellence".
     As a child facing the requirement of excellence, the goal can appear out of reach, thus making yourself appear as a failure and the person requiring excellence appear as a tyrant.
     As I was explaining the situation and the person of my father to my son I was given a visual to explain how I see my father differently now. But at the same time, this visual is an important example of how we are distracted when we are less mature and as we grow we should be able to see differently.
     The example was of a dandelion seed. As a child we see the fluff of the seed that carries it in the breeze, I used to pick the fluff balls of the dandelions and blow the seeds into the air watching them fly away! But in actuality, the important part of the picture is the seed that is attached at the bottom. The seed is the whole point of fluff that carries it away in the wind!
     Now that I have gained maturity I am able to see that my father was a very great, loving father, even within his strict, demanding ways. He was strict to protect his family from the things of the world that they were too immature to understand, he was demanding because he knew that life is demanding and to survive and thrive we would need to be prepared. He was equipping us for the world that he knew we would face.
     When I was a child I saw the fluff of the demands that were placed on me, now as an adult, I see the seed that he was protecting and nurturing. He was a great man and father that cared for his family as few now do.
Thank you Dad! Well done!

Evil Trap

We are falling into an evil trap.....we criticize, we wring our hands, we worry, we repeat the news reports, we repeat the politicians.....that is not what we as the Body of Christ are supposed to do!
     When we repeat the words of the news reports we are cursing our Nation, we are cursing the World and ourselves.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue

Proverbs 15:4 - A soothing tongue [speaking words that build up and encourage] is a tree of life, but a perversive tongue [speaking words that overwhelm and depress] crushes the spirit.

Yes, I know that the things happening are amazing and to speak of them seems the natural, normal thing....I've been doing it myself! But we have to stop echoing the voices of the world that curse our Nation and start speaking as God's people and blessing our Nation!

     As God's Kingdom people we have a power that is far stronger than any other power on Earth, but if we don't use it then it is sitting dormant waiting for His people. 

     1. We should be praying, 2. God's word should be living in us and 3. We should be decreeing God's word and blessing our Nation, not repeating news stories and cursing it! Let's start claiming His promises, not wringing our hands about what the enemy is doing! 

     The enemy may appear to win a battle, but come on church, we are God's Army, put your armor on daily and start walking out the promises that we have been given by our King! We know Who has won the war! Let's start living like it! 

     We decree that we ARE One Nation under God! This Nation was established with the blood and on the sacrifices of many Godly men and women, sacrificing everything for the right to pursue the Lord, we will not expect less of ourselves. And we say "Father, honor their sacrifices and pour Your Glory across this Nation, heal the wounds, remove the division and unite us as One Nation Under God, in Jesus' name! Glorify Yourself Father, Amen and Amen!"

Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 21:22 And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

John 14:13 Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

American Christians

American Christians have done such an excellent job of telling the world that "God loves" them that now the world no longer sees any need for Godliness.
     A parent that raises a child and focuses only on how much they are loved has an end product of a child that makes continual demands on that love. They either whine or throw tantrums until they get what they want.
     We now see a public child that is demanding its own way or whining with offense about how they deserve to be respected for who they are, no matter what they are doing. They do not understand a need for repentance because we have taught them that they are "loved", neglecting to teach about sin.
     As one of those "American Christians", I think it's time we examine our approach. There is now a group claiming to be the true Christians because they promote what they believe is true love, they claim this because they say they love everyone(except the religious) just as they are and they say they are attempting to make everything in the world right so that there is equality in all things for all peoples.
     And now the original American Christians are horrified to see their "spiritual" offspring embracing things that are very unbiblical. While we were telling the world how much God loved them we neglected to explain to the world that they would need to give some things up, that there are some things that are not acceptable to our Holy God.
     Now we have a spoiled child on our hands that does not want to give up anything and demands love for themselves just as they are. We have not taught them about salvation, we have taught them about self-love.
     Yes, God does love His creation, but He does not love sin. We are not teaching truth if we only teach about His love. If we want to save the world, we have to include repentance in the message of God's love! Repentance equals Revival.

Bridge Jumper or Daily Poison?

Whose death is sadder? Or, which way of death is worse? 
     Is a quick jump from a bridge worse than a slow death of daily poison?
     This is the question the Spirit gave me this morning. I was considering a fellow Christian that I miss, one who has chosen to break connections and return to the addiction they had broken free from for several years. I was thinking it was sad! I miss them, they have chosen to throw their lives back into the addiction they had broken free from! That is sad!
     But then the Holy Spirit showed me that people are daily walking out lives of addictions, and how can I only be concerned with the one that had obviously chosen their public addiction when there were so many with "hidden" addictions.
     I am choosing to break an addiction to Sugar, and while that may not sound like a sinister addiction it is still one that can wreck your health, and through wrecking your health it wrecks your life and your walk for the Lord. 
     The Spirit showed me addictions in many forms that can poison our lives, addictions to drugs, alcohol, porn, sex, worry, fear, gluttony, nicotine, caffeine, sports, cars, entertainment, comfort, pets, electronic devices, social media.....
     The list winds down to things we don't think of as bad addictions, right? Yes, we know the big ones, those are the "throwing yourself off of the bridge" ones, but then it moves into the ones that are simply "daily poisons". 
     You are probably arguing for your own "daily poison" even as you read, I know I would have been, but from my experiences, there is no point in arguing with the Holy Spirit, you always lose the debate.
     I encourage you, do not be distracted by the "Bridge Jumpers' and think they are the only ones throwing their walk with the Lord into danger by their choices, "daily poisons" are also deadly! 
     Examine your own life, do you have things that are poisoning your life and your spiritual walk, things that are preventing you from running the race the Lord has put before you? Wrestle against them! Break free! You can win!
     Be encouraged, you can eliminate the "daily poisons"! You can "Pick up your cross" and Follow Jesus! You can be single-minded in the purpose the Lord has put in your life! Pursue it! This is do-able or else Jesus never would have told us to "Follow" Him! 

  Why do you see the splinter in your brother’s eye but not notice the log in your own eye? Matthew 7:3

  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1
   And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 
   

Father, We Pursue You

Father, I praise You, You are Holy! A Holiness we cannot fully grasp, but we pursue You. We pursue all of You, Love, Grace, Mercy, Holiness & Justice. You are Perfect, and we strive towards Your perfection, please continue to guide us in our pursuit of Knowing You. We love You, Father

Are There Godly Men In Your Life?

     This morning I have had a very heavy heart for what is being done to the men and boys in our lives. I do believe in equal rights for all. However, I do not believe that men and boys should be persecuted for their natures by women trying to attain their rights.
     Women do deserve fair treatment, but to demand that men act like women, or as women deem appropriate is going to remove the joy of diversity, not to mention the purpose that men were created for!
     As a Christian woman, I believe that the Lord made men as they are, they are warriors, protectors, coverings, providers and that He then made women, it was not to replace men, but to be "helpers" to them, to come alongside them. Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” The Lord had already created Man, He doesn't need for women to recreate them!
     On my heart is the understanding that a woman, who is a follower of Jesus, and then becomes a "wife" needs to walk carefully with her husband and before her Maker. We are not to join the group of women in the world that are ridiculing men and boys, we are to respect and love our husbands, cherish them and our sons. Manliness is a characteristic of who they are! Yes, we don't always understand them, but that was not our instructions, our instructions were simply to respect them! Ephesians 5:33b "and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband."
     My husband and I have realized that sometimes we misunderstand what the other is saying because we have different definitions of the words we're using, what we think we understand a word to mean isn't necessarily it's true definition, so I looked "respect" up to share here. In this case, respect is a "Verb", meaning we need to put action to the meaning.
     Here is the definition of Respect: "admire (someone) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements." I did look all over this site and could not find any concept of trying to change them or bashing them for not being who or what we want them to be!
     I know I'm talking to the "choir" here, but really, if you have men or boys in your lives, realize that the world is out to feminize them, be on "their side", make your relationship one that is safe for them to be who they are, the world is on the attack against them and they do need to know that the Christian women in their lives support them, that we "have their backs"! Let us encourage them in the roles they were created for, encourage them to build relationships with other Godly men, encourage them by allowing them the freedom to be the men they are!