And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground.
Sometimes the battles we're in can be overwhelming. Actually, let me correct that. MOST of the time the battles we're in can be overwhelming. Being overwhelmed isn't actually a bad thing though. Being overwhelmed is a great reminder that this is exactly why we need a savior. See, if we could handle everything on our own, with our own skills, talents, abilities, authority, resources, etc.....why would we need God? This basic concept of faith is very hard for us humans because we love to control our own destinies....which REALLY means....we love to be our own god.
So what exactly is our role as Christians then in this battlefield of life? Are we just spectators sitting on the sidelines watching a select few duke it out while we munch on sanctified spiritual popcorn being fed to us by great teachers with relevant object lessons? Are we supposed to be defeatist sacrificial lambs sent to the slaughter ahead of the "real" warriors, gently singing Kumbaya and It is Well as the enemy wipes the floor with us? Or are we supposed to be fully trained, fully armed, fully ready warriors attentively engaged and waiting for the next set of instructions from HQ telling us what we're supposed to do next.....while simply standing at the ready in between tasks while God and his heavenly armies do their work.
If you haven't guessed already....it's the third one.
Our job is to be armed and ready....at all times.....BUT as God takes the lead and fights on our behalf, there are times when we are simply supposed to do nothing more than STAND, hold the fort....and ride out the storm. Trusting that God will take care of business and let us know if He wants us to do something along the way can be hard. We think simply holding our ground means we're bad Christians or lazy, because surely we have to be moving non stop.....go go go go go. However, once the enemy territory has already been taken back (which it was.....that happened at the cross)….KEEPING the territory is just as important. Holding our ground isn't losing the battle...it IS the battle...and it's a battle that requires our rest and our trust and our relinquishing control.
One day at a time....one moment at a time....one thought at a time....we may feel overwhelmed and surrounded, but God and His heavenly armies are surrounding us too....and his army is bigger. So breathe....we can do this....God can do this...just hold your ground.
Purposefully displayed on the highest shelf in the living room, I keep a small but regal looking statue of a dalmation.
When I see that dog, it's an immediate reminder to be humble instead of pridefully putting myself, my accomplishments, my abilities, my wants, my desires, etc.... up high above everybody else. To also keep my actions in check, and stop foolishly going back to bad habits and selfish destructive behaviors. (BTW...ALL bad habits and destructive behaviors are selfish...that's why we like them..they make us feel good.) Instead, I need to change and no longer allow myself to be spotted by the behaviors of my past. Just because God is loving and merciful doesn't mean I get a free pass to keep messing up. His mercy EXPECTS and REQUIRES me to take responsibility for my actions and CHANGE.
Here are the scriptures that go along with my dog, just click on the links.
In light of the horrific and heart breaking shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue yesterday, I decided to change my first photo in this series to this one instead.
I always keep my menorah on display to remind me of the Bible verses that instruct me to always love, protect, honor and pray for the peace of Jerusalem and to also humbly remember that as a born again Christian I have been adopted into the Jewish lineage and therefore all Jews are my family.
Since there are soooooo many verses that speak to this.....click on the two links below for the supporting Bible verses.
I decided to start something a little practical and hopefully a little fun. Over the years I've always struggled to memorize scripture. I have no idea why...but I've just never been one of those people that can easily memorize the book, chapter and full verse and recite it back word for word. I wish I was, but so far...I'm not. When my best friend and I were kids and would get the weekly Bible verse to memorize for the following week....she could easily memorize it by the end of the day. I on the other hand, would still be repeating it over and over off of a piece of paper the morning it was due and if all went well, just barely be able to stumble through it in class....soon to be forgotten by the next period. Memorizing scripture to have in your arsenal is REALLY important though so that when we get hit with difficult things in life we can fight back and not get easily buried by the enemy. I know there are others out there who have the same issues...because you've told me so. It's easy to get frustrated and give up and just resort to googling what you need when you need it. I know the embarrassment of suddenly being put on the spot to rattle off a verse reference and you're like a deer in headlights....not because you're stupid...but because your mind just went blank and now you feel like the worst Christian EVER....which is not true. by the way.
I have good news though, remember how Jesus responded to satan when He was being tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13)? When Jesus threw back the counteracting scriptures....he didn't need to include the scripture reference because quite frankly...satan knows them already...he just counts on US not knowing them to keep up his game. So while it's GREAT to know WHERE in the Bible a verse is located (and to make sure it actually IS in the Bible and not Shakespeare....don't even get me started...), sometimes it's easier to start by focusing on content, because content is the weapon we actually need....remembering the location can come later.
Deuteronomy 11:18-20 The Voice
"So let what I’m saying sink deeply into your hearts and souls. Do whatever it takes to remember what I’m telling you: tie a reminder on your hand or put a reminder on your forehead where you’ll see it all the time, and on the doorpost where you cross the threshold or on the city gate. Teach these things to your children. Talk about them when you’re sitting together in your home and when you’re walking together down the road. Make them the last thing you talk about before you go to bed and the first thing you talk about the next morning."
So in the context of doing whatever it takes to fill up my scripture arsenal, for years I've used something a little different than the norm. I L-O-V-E decorating my spaces...and it comes pretty naturally to me. So I've LITERALLY surrounded myself with decor at home and at work that triggers scripture to me. Little things that sometimes may seem like meaningless dust collectors to visitors....to me have a hidden faith based meaning to keep The Word constantly on my mind. So whenever I feel like it, in ~very brief~ little posts, I'm going to start sharing photos of actual things in our home or at my office and the scriptures they represent. I'm hoping it will inspire others who struggle with memorization so that they can use this method too and fill your spaces with scripture.
So keep an eye out this weekend for the first installment of
I wasn't planning to do a Throwback Thursday, but I found this old draft of a blog post from several years ago where I had transcribed an actual text conversation I had with a complete stranger that morning. I was going to delete it, but then thought, you know what....I remember that day and that conversation VERY well....and even though it was more than 5 years ago...the point I was going to make then is still valid today. Soooo.....here goes.....Throwback Thursday.
*Draft from March of 2013*
Text transcription
Did you leave your house yet? Was going to ask you to bring in a large pitcher if you could. I have an object lesson for group today and I got rid of mine when we moved.
I think you have the wrong number
Oh.......sorry. Was trying to reach Sherri.
This is Sheri. Who's this? Your text didn't make sense to me.
It's Fran. I was hoping to catch you before you left home. I wanted to borrow a pitcher for a lesson I wanted to teach at Bible study today. Sorry to confuse you.
Fran who works at Rivera? I don't work there...plus I'm still home sick today.
LOL......no, Fran from S*.....I guess I do have the wrong number afterall.....sorry. I hope you have a great day.....and I'll pray you feel better. :)
Thanks. Weird, my name is Sherri too...hope you get to borrow your pitcher. I would have brought it if I worked with you...lol.
LOL....that IS weird. Wow.....God REALLY loves you because I guess He wanted you to have a complete stranger pray for you to feel better. :) The number I saved in my phone is my boss' cell number and the pitcher was for a Bible study we have here at work. God works in mysterious ways. :) Well....feel free to keep my number if you ever have a prayer request you want to send over. :)
Thanks...I need a prayer for more hours at work or another job. Only working part time. You are more than welcome to borrow a pitcher. God works in mysterious ways!! Have a great day!!
You got it! I will have my entire team pray for you. Be blessed Sheri! I'm Fran. :)
So on that day I was trying to text my boss, Sherri, something that I did all the time. Now this was not a normal misdial.....I had my boss Sherri's cell number saved to my contacts and I always texted her by just tapping her speed dial on my phone. That morning I did the EXACT same thing....I tapped on her photo and sent the text......but somehow it went to a completely different number....not even close to the same digits.....to a random woman who was also named Sheri. Coincidence? Nah.....I think everything happens for a reason. That day, I was able to briefly encourage a total stranger by letting her know God loves her and that there were complete strangers praying for her. Kind of a virtual hug from God that she needed at that exact moment. Meanwhile, to my Bible study group of almost all new Christians, that I needed that pitcher for....I was able to show one of the ways God will unexpectedly use random circumstances to get His message across to us.
A couple of weeks ago I got to be on the receiving end of another random God hug. It was right after we had gotten the diagnosis for Ben and I was still in shell shock and trying to get my spiritual feet under me. So I was quietly sitting at my desk, nose to the grindstone, desperately trying to avoid people in an attempt to hold myself together as I prayed and processed. Suddenly one of my favorite co-workers came over to ask me a question. I thought I was faking it pretty well, but I honestly don't have a good poker face. After a moment, he just looked at me and said, "you look like you need a hug...." and he walked over and hugged me. Of course....I silently lost it....I know in that moment it was my co-worker hugging me...but I also know that even though he had no idea at that time what was going on, it was God who had prompted him to come and do that. To use my co-worker/friend to let me know everything was going to be ok and....well....kind of a God hug via him.
Sometimes God will send us virtual hugs through actual things like a co-worker, or an impossibly random wrong number, or maybe a billboard, a song, etc......I have so many stories of times in my life that God sent me a "hug" to let me know He was there....and rooting for me, or encouraging me, etc. We just have to make sure to pay attention. People think God only speaks to us through an audible voice....but that's not true....He will speak to us in any way needed to get His message across. So.....antennas up people...God might just be sending you a hug and you didn't even realize it. How can you not hug someone you love so much.... and believe me, He L-O-V-E-S you....sooooo much!
Taste of His goodness; see how wonderful the Eternal truly is. Anyone who puts trust in Him will be blessed and comforted.
I love Autumn. It's so beautiful here in New England...although....it's usually far too brief as we jump from sweltering heat and oppressive humidity right into bone chilling wind and cold. It seems like just as the trees are finally all starting to look beautiful together...whoosh....super winds and rain pull them all off and we have months of bare, dull shades of gray and brown. Today I stood looking out my office window, to a cluster of trees on the other side of the parking lot. The sky was a vivid bright blue with clusters of fluffy white clouds mixed with clusters of fluffy dark gray clouds. Some of the trees were completely bare, some were covered in leaves of bright red or bright yellow, while others were still fully bright green and lush. It was windy too and I watched trees, bushes and tall grasses moving back and forth in the same direction the clouds were moving across the sky. Even though the sun wasn't visible, beyond the cloud shadows it made it's presence known with golden white light that rested on random things here and there.
A popular little thing that us Christians say sometimes is one person or group will burst out with, "God is good all the time....." then another person or group will respond back with, ".....and all the time God is good." It's an encouraging rallying cry, that can find the Christians in a room full of people faster than a light switch can be flipped. People smile and get excited...think of it kind of like a spiritual fist bump.
The very thing we need as a rallying cry as we go through difficult seasons seems to be absent most of the time....at least for us Western Christians. Maybe that's one of the differences between us and our persecuted brothers and sisters throughout history and around the globe....we have an addiction to comfort.
Paul sang in prison, Stephen prayed for those stoning him, 40 martyrs of Sevaste willingly chose to freeze, bare naked in the middle of a lake rather than take the easy way out, Germanicus, Polycarp, Bonhoeffer, Elliot....and many more endured horrible things in their lives....far beyond just the normal crummy life circumstances we deal with. The ones I mentioned actually died for their faith....horribly cruel deaths...yet every one of them believed God was good ALL the time. In one of my favorite documentaries by Darren Wilson there is one sweet spirited man, that I just adore, who shows the scars of cigarette burns on his torso from being tortured for his faith. Yet he still cries tears of joy from the passionate affection he feels for how good God is....ALL the time.
God is good all the time.....ALL the time.....there is no hiatus...there is no vacation....there is no stalemate....there is no busy signal....and there is no failure to launch....God is good A-L-L the time....even when life is overshadowed by clouds of trouble....even when winds of change and harshness blow....even when seasons go from lush to stark.....even when warmth turns to cold.....just like the sun was still shining behind those clouds today as I looked outside...God is still good no matter what we face in life....and if we look for Him...we will be able to see His bright golden white light resting on things as we move along...reminding us that He has never left us alone and soon the clouds will pass.
I've always believed that joy is a choice and I still do. In my opinion, joy and happiness aren't the same thing and you can definitely have one without the other. Happiness doesn't exist in a bad moment....but joy actually can.
Happiness is a state of being..or in other terms...the natural flowing side effect of a good experience. Sooooo.......what determines if the experience is good or not? Well, that comes from each individual persons own definition of what they like or dislike. For example, I dislike snakes, but my husband likes them and can and will pick them up and enjoy holding and looking at them as if he's holding and looking at say.....a kitten. In that moment he's unbelievably happy....me.....not so much. Similarly, I really like the experience of shopping and can literally spend hours wandering through racks and aisles looking for bargains. In that moment I'm euphorically happy....Ben....not even close..he's in chest gripping dread thinking of what I could be spending or even considering spending.
Consider the photo of a person in a bright yellow bathing suit smiling at an under water camera with bubbles coming from their nose for someone that may trigger great memories of a tropical vacation and lots of laughter and adventure......good experience = happiness. For the person sitting next to them however, that exact same photo may trigger horrible memories where they couldn't breathe under water...or fear of the unclear water behind them that could be hiding dangerous things.....bad experience = unhappiness. How about the public announcement of a pregnancy or an engagement? For some those things are wonderful and happy because they've had good experiences, while for others those things can cause deep sadness, feelings of inadequacy, and even depression because they long for things that have yet to be fulfilled. A photo of a loving couple sitting in a romantically lit restaurant staring into each others eyes longingly may make one person's heart go pitter patter with feelings of romance.....while another feels disgust as they look for wedding rings and wonder if they are having an affair. Happiness is not an across the board given....it's subjectively based on our experiences or perceptions.
Joy, however, well...it's more than an event...it goes deeper than that....it's a little more abstract....it's an essence....an essence of being one way in spite of things being another way....and it usually requires our cooperation.....it's a purposefully made choice. How though do we choose joy? How do we envelope that essence? It starts with us deciding WHERE our joy comes from.....what is our source. I mean dissecting the raw REAL source we draw our definition of joy from. Does our joy come from the fleeting and completely imperfect things this life and other humans have to offer...or does it come from something else? If our definition of joy is based on life circumstances and people....then we've unintentionally and unknowingly tied our definition of joy in with our definition of happiness. If that happens....our joy will always fall short and we will always be on a roller coaster ride based on how our day or our life is going. I don't know about you, but I don't like emotional whiplash.
For us Christians, our definition of joy cannot be tied to our definition of happiness. Instead, it MUST be based on the character traits of who we know and are learning the triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) to be.
I cannot stress that last comment enough....so I'm going to repeat myself in a slightly different way...
.....our definition of joy MUST ONLY be based on THE CHARACTER TRAITS of GOD.......NOT on a person, circumstance, event, or situation and certainly NOT on a feeling.....not even on how we perceive God SHOULD perform....but on His character traits.
Like it or not, there are some things we Jesus folk really need to understand....and we just HAVE to grasp this because it's literally causing way too many Christians to sink in their faith walk because they are walking around miserable, hopeless, bitter and just plain dried out. Weary is one thing....we ALL get battle weary....but to be spiritually mummified is a whole other issue. We're supposed to bring salt and light to the world....not Jesus jerky. I know that may sound funny...but seriously....pay attention here...
1) Humans have free will, which means we and those around us can make horrible choices that are cruel and selfish and downright evil and can affect....well....almost everything. (Free will explained) (i.e. a) people we work with can be jerks b) spouses can lie or say cruel things c) drivers can cut us off d) people can commit heinous crimes etc. etc. etc. )
2) Since the fall of man....we live in a "fallen nature" (imperfect) world that is, ALSO like it or not, subject to the natural laws of science and nature instead of God's perfect laws. ( i.e. a) gravity pulls things down b) germs and lack of sleep can cause us to get sick c) weather patterns can wreak disastrous havoc d) lemon bars, potato chips and fettuccine alfredo make us fat etc. etc. etc.)
To choose to be joyful in the face of adversity and cruelty and trauma is hard....sometimes it feels impossible...but I promise you...it's not. I've been through some really hard things, some traumatic things, some potentially embittering things....many at the hands of people that I loved and trusted....and even now there is a battle that my husband and I are fighting together that could easily be cause to steal our joy. However, through EVERYTHING....even when I'm too wounded or weary to actually talk to God....I go to His Word and let Him speak to me and I feel my joy...my essence of being, restored in the midst of whatever hell I'm tearfully fighting through.
The cooperation portion of the essence is I have to ALLOW myself to BELIEVE that there is hope. I have to ALLOW myself to BELIEVE that God is actually who He says He is. I have to ALLOW myself to BELIEVE that God actually really does love me and doesn't want to hurt me and let me down the way humans have hurt me and let me down. Don't fool yourself either...we all SAY we believe that...and sing the songs and run around like joy filled Polly Pockets when life is grand....but the reality is...when life is horrible we do not function in joy...we function in fear, anger, CONTROL, bitterness, rejection, etc, etc, etc. Choosing to cooperate with joy takes effort....God knows and has always known that. That's why in the Bible He makes a big deal of telling the Israelites to set up stones of remembrance to REMIND themselves of God's character through what He's done for them. He protected them, rescued them, defended them, repeatedly forgave them and gave them another chance, provided for them, rallied them.....SAVED them. In Hebrews 13:8 we are told flat out that Jesus (part of the triune God- Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is the SAME...yesterday, today and FOREVER....so guess what. That means God will STILL protect us, rescue us, defend us, repeatedly forgive us and give us another chance, provide for us, rally us, and has already saved us. So to get the essence of joy? KNOW GOD'S CHARACTER.....His character proves that we are safe in His care...no matter what hell we are currently in....no matter if we understand or not...we don't NEED to understand....we just need to patiently endure.
Hebrews 10:35-36(NLT)So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
Psalm 40:1-3(NLT) I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair,out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed.They will put their trust in the Lord.
Here are some links to verses to help you learn the character of God and some to help you get that essence of joy going in the face of adversity. ( Click on each reference to read the verse.)
