Sleep is never just sleep with me. I always experience an entire other day… or many days while I sleep. It’s crazy sometimes how dreams work. They are a jumbled mess… well mine are anyway.
Somehow last night in my dreams… at one point it was my birthday (I think) and a young lady from church brought me a gift that was tied to balloons… and she offered an apology because they were actually yellow baby shower balloons, but she said that was all they had. This is funny in its self because several nights ago I dreamed I was pregnant and delivered and my husband and I didn’t know what we were going to have until the baby was born, and the baby was a boy. I was so excited! I was trying to send out “It’s A Boy!” text messages and FB updates but none of our gadgets would work. That stupid little spinning circle just kept spinning… and I was one fired up female because I couldn’t get our great announcement out to the world. Then yesterday my husband fell asleep on the couch and woke up with a shock… he had dreamed I was pregnant… and he had not responded well to the news. Somehow babies keep invading our sleep… but that has been the case for over ten years now in some form or fashion!
Okay back to last night.
So after the balloons I find myself with my sisters and my nieces and nephews and I am handing out invitations and gifts to something… I can’t remember what it was, but I know it was important that they each got one.
Then the next thing I know I am waking up after being asleep in my dream. (Yes, dreaming I am asleep while I am asleep.) When I wake up my husband and I are now living in the house I grew up in from toddler to teen. I have walked out of the master bedroom of that house and into the living room and I can still see it clear as when I was living there. It’s even the same couch, the same front door, the same front porch, the same view into the front yard.
I am in my pj’s and housecoat and it’s early and the rest of the house is still asleep and then the doorbell rings. I go to the door and its a woman I never met asking me about homeschool information… and then I see a man carrying a child, and both the man and the woman are quite distraught but this morning I can’t remember why.
I recall closing the door behind me after telling them goodbye and hoping that I was able to help them and then I remember stretching out on the couch… because just as in reality I was still sleepy when I awoke…
I stretch out and pick up my ipad, open it up and then the next thing I know my sins of the past are on video before me. There I was in drunken stuppors… there I was in all my shame… recorded and on Facebook! I was trying with all my might to press delete… I couldn’t even get the stupid thing to turn off… my heart was pounding… my stomach was churning… my hands were sweating… I was terrified.
Then I woke up.
I woke up and my first thoughts were “oh God thank you! thanks you that this was only a dream! thank you that my days of stupid were not in this day! thank you God the only time my past will be seen again is through your eyes of grace! thank you God for loving me and calling me and forgiving me and making me new. thank you that I am not who I was!”
I woke up praising God that the only technology that was out and about in my high school/college days was a camera with film that had to be developed and a video camera that was the size of a small car so no one could have it on you without your knowledge.
It’s amazing how your past follows you even haunts you at times… but the beauty of the rebirth, is that you don’t have to follow your past. Your before doesn’t have to be your after…
If I try now in my waking moments to analyze this dream… and please know that I am no Daniel or Joseph…
I would say that the birth of a baby boy is exciting news and being able to share that news as someone who has experienced that birth is very important! That baby boy is Jesus and I have experienced His birth and in Him I have been born again and I want to send out His birth announcement to the world. When I experienced His birth in me I first sent out invitations and gifts to my family and then I taught in my church and now share even with those I may never meet this side of eternity.
As for the next part, why was I in my childhood home? Who was the woman at the door and the man and the child?
Possibly the interpretation here is the ministry that God has called me into now. I minister to children who are toddler to teens. We are living in a day where you can see the faces of distraught parents everywhere… I think we have to remember how important these years are in our children’s lives and memory. I remember everything about the house I grew up in. I remember the furniture, the carpet, the doors, the kitchen rail, the laundry room, the fireplace, but most importantly I remember I was loved. I remember it was home. I remember I always felt safe. My foundation for the rest of my life was laid in the years I lived in that house.
Why was it now mine and my husbands home?
Possibly because it was there that I learned what a marriage was supposed to look like. It was there that I learned this is the kind of marriage I want to have one day… and well God has granted my heart’s desire. I have that marriage. I have that marriage because my husband and I held on to truth, and to love, and to hope. We choose to live in forgiveness and grace. So now today, my husband and I are trying to lay a similar foundation in our own daughters lives…
A home is a school whether you homeschool or not.
The past sins video? Well that was self interpreted and obvious. Get the behind me Satan. You have no power over me and my past failures will never keep me from my present joy and future victories because my Redeemer lives!
It’s Homeschool Co-op time again and with it Chapel! We picked up our Names of God study today. The last name we studied was Iesous, the Greek word for the given name of our Savior, Jesus. As I shared with our last lesson, Jesus, is our Savior’s name, all the other names we have been studying are really titles. These titles are given to us by our God so that we might get to know Him and all His glory. We continue today learning a new name, a new title, of our Lord. Today we are introduced to our Christ with Thura.
The title thura (thoo-rah) in the greek means a DOOR, the vestibule, it’s used of any opening like a door, an entrance, way or passage into…
In the little movie clip above these “monsters” had their access into the lives of these children through a door. If you enter your own home you enter through a door. The only reason you would enter any other way is if you are locked out…
If you notice in this clip, these monsters entered through the closet door. They did not come in through the front door. They were not welcome guests. They were invaders. They were in fact already in the house and they were their to scare, to torment, to frighten… I could so take this even further relating these monsters to the already present sin in our house and why we need to leave our old house behind and move into our Father’s house… but I am sure my word count will have already exceeded most blog readers attention spans 😉 So we will move along and keep our focus on Thura.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:1-10
Jesus is the door. He is the door of the sheep. Here is the thing about a door… a door has two sides. You are either inside the door or you are outside the door.
We see one of our first pictures of the importance of a door in Genesis.
When God created Adam and Eve, He created them inside the garden. When Adam and Eve sinned they were put outside (Genesis 3:22-24). While outside sin continued to grow and develop and the iniquity of man became so great that God had to deal with sin.
However, our God left open a door…
Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth. Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window for the ark, and finish it to a cubit from the top; and set the door of the ark in the side of it…
Genesis 6:11-16
God left open a door for the years that Noah built this ark and in truth we know from the book of Jude that Noah’s great grandfather, Enoch, preached of the coming judgment of God upon the earth. God used Enoch to sound the warning, and used Noah to provide the door to salvation from the coming judgment… the door was wide open for anyone who would believe to enter.
On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds. So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the Lord closed it behind him.
Genesis 7:13-16
We know that those inside the door survived the judgment. There was life for those who walked through the door. Those that chose not to walk through the door, when the door closed, they were now on the outside of the door. If you notice in the Scripture reference above, it was God that closed the door.
Yes, the thing about doors… there are two sides… you are either inside or you are outside. If you try and stand in the doorway you will get hurt because eventually the door that is opened will indeed be closed.
How many times growing up did you hear your parents say, “Inside or outside!”
You just can’t hang out in the doorway and you just can’t leave the door wide open forever running in and out… if you do all kinds of bugs and critters will get in the house. I can recall even getting disciplined for not picking a side of the door. As a mother now myself, I have uttered these words to my own children. As a matter of fact in my children’s church time, all my kids know that once I close the door the bathroom breaks and the “oh I forgot’s” are done. They now are mine and class begins. The door can stay open for a while… but eventually it must be closed.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Revelation 3:19-22
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.
Revelation 22:14-15
Jesus is the door and He stands at the door knocking… right now the door is open and you can come in, but eventually the door will close. Inside the door are those who walked through the door and were washed and ready to dine with the One who was knocking. While its day outside we run in and out, but when night falls and it comes time for the dinner meal, those who belong in the house come home and are washed up and the door is shut and we sit down to dine as a family.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father but through Me.
John 14:6
Those who walk through the door of Christ will get to meet the Father… because He is the door, the way, the passage into, He is the vestibule to the Father’s house. We become part of the family of God and receive access to His house only through Christ (Romans 8:14-16). He is the only door. There is no other.
Now for those who walk through the Thura… what does that mean? Once you have responded to the knock and opened the door, what exactly does that mean? We must remember that Thura is a door, but it is also a way, an entrance, a passage into something or someone.
This is where it gets really good!
So pay attention 🙂
Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have obtained our introduction
remember that you were at that time separate from Christ,
excluded from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
And He came and preached peace to you who were far away,
and peace to those who were near;
for through Him we both have our access
in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints,
and are of God’s household,
Ephesians 2:12-13, 17-19
Oh precious one, did you catch it?
We once were separate, excluded, strangers, far away, but in Christ, in the Thura, we are brought near, no longer strangers, fellow citizens, in one Spirit. Once you walk through the Thura, you are of God’s household.
In my parents house growing up… and even today… once you had entered the home and had your introduction to the house from then on when you came to visit you did not knock, especially if you were family. You just walked in. As a matter of fact it is that way at my aunt and uncles and my grandparents. I can’t tell you the times that we have had a knock at the door and we all would look at each other, and ask “Who in the world is that knocking?“
Only strangers knocked.
If someone stood at the door knocking they were a stranger to us and everyone in the house knew it.
Jesus stands at the door knocking because He is a stranger to those outside the Father’s house. So he stands knocking at our door and once we open the door and meet Him and have our introduction to Him, then He walks us right into His Fathers house and gives us our introduction to His Father’s house.
When we girls would leave our house and meet/make a friend, that friend would return with us to our parents house and we would introduce them to our parents. Once our friend received that introduction they had full access to our parents house. While they were there they came in and out of the house just as we did. They didn’t have to knock.
It is the same for my girls and our house.
I always tell everyone, your first visit you will receive the tour, you find out randomly where everything is, and we will ask can I get you, would you like, etc… the next time you come over you are on your own. If your hungry, you know where the fridge is. If you gotta go to the bathroom, well you know where to find it. If you need a nap you know where the bed or couch can be found.
Once you have been introduced and received… our home is your home. Once our home is your home, you can walk in and out with confidence and assurance in the knowledge that you are welcome.
It is the same in our Heavenly Father’s house.
so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
Ephesians 3:10-12
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
Hebrews 10:19-23
Right now my friend the door is open.
Right now we run in and out of the Father’s house.
Right now we can go boldly and confidently to the Father and we have access to all that is in the house (Ephesians 1).
Right now we are to bring our family and the friends we meet to Jesus. We are to tell them about our friend Jesus, who has become more than our friend, but our brother, Savior, and Redeemer. We introduce them to Him, so that when He shows up and knocks on their door… He is not a stranger to them. They can then open the door and meet Him themselves and walk with Him, and through Him, and obtain their introduction, their access to His Father house. Jesus stands at the door and He is the door. He is the door to the house and He is the door of the house.
Right now the door is open.
However, precious one, don’t forget that eventually the door will close.
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength;
they will mount up with wings like eagles,
they will run and not get tired,
they will walk and not become weary.”
(Isaiah 40:30-31)
If you are tired and if you weary and if you are worn then it is time to stop and to exert your remaining strength in sharpening the edge of your axe. It’s time to put your nose, precious one, to the grindstone…
“Putting your nose to the grindstone” implies tedious, repetitious, and unending work. You will find that sharpening a dull or abused ax is indeed tedious and repetitious, but to do it right you have to do it slowly.Along the way, you’ll learn the value of patience, and appreciate the differences in steel tempering and ax quality as you sharpen different axes. Best of all, you will appreciate the usefulness of a razor-sharp ax, and the importance of doing everything you can to keep it sharp.
(US Dept of Transportation Forest Service)
To sharpen a blade you need a stone…
For this is contained in Scripture:
“ BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE,
A PRECIOUS CORNER stone,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
1 Peter 2:6
and you need a lubricate…
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know…
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you,
and you have no need for anyone to teach you;
but as His anointing teaches you about all things,
and is true and is not a lie,
and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
Now, little children, abide in Him,
so that when He appears, we may have confidence
and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
1 John 2:20, 27-28
If your axe is dull and worn then most likely it is damaged and rusted from your own personal exertion and overuse and misuse. It takes more work to cut down a tree with a dull axe than one that is sharp. You will exert much strength and you will blister your hands and throw out your shoulders and wear out your arms and your back will be in pain and your knees will become weak and even your every breathe will become a labor too hard to bare…
The Word of God tells us that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13)… precious one sometimes it takes the most strength to stop swinging the dull axe and just lay the burden of it down.
Stop swinging the axe… let go of the axe… be still.
Precious one that axe is too heavy, it is too worn, it needs to be restored. And yes, the restoration process takes time and it must be done with care. Have you been facing the same trial over and over again? Have you been swinging that axe relentlessly trying to bring down that same old tree? Have you been facing it alone? God never intended you to face it alone…
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe;
and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all,
as anyone might have need.
Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house,
they were taking theirmeals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
praising God and having favor with all the people.
And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
Did you notice the word that was repeated?
It’s the word “together.”
Iron sharpens iron… we need each other. We get tired, weary, and worn when we refuse to allow others to help us. We lose the strength to even fight the sins and the flesh and we give in to things we would never have given into if we had not chosen to go it alone. Do not forsake the assembly and for heavens sake don’t fake the assembly… Be real. Get real. For real.
You can’t cut down that tree alone… and you definitely can’t cut it down with a dull axe. Stop swinging it and take it now and lay it down at the base of the tree on Calvary. Lay your axe down and take hold of the axe in the hands of Christ… for His is sharp and His is easy to swing and His will bring down that tree. His axe never becomes dull. It’s edge is always sharp. His Rock and Oil is always at work and His Living Water keeps the axe from never becoming corroded.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Matthew 11:29-30
Precious one, do you have an axe to grind?
Maybe it’s time to put your nose to the grindstone…
Maybe it’s time to open up the Word of God and put your face down in that Living Water and let the Rock of your salvation rub all the rust of life off your weary heart… maybe it’s time to let the Holy Spirit soak you in the Oil of His gladness and let it run over over your head seeping into your thoughts, renewing your mind, restoring your soul.
Maybe it’s time to get that axe sharp and remember how much easier it is to keep it sharp, rather than to ignore the sharpening until it gets too hard to swing.
One thing about blogging and tweeting and fb posting is that when I share things all the world can look back and see if I am speaking accurately… and well I can look back as well.
This time last year I wrote:
I am tired of worrying. I instead choose to cast burdens.
I am tired of stressing. I instead choose rest.
I am tired of doubting. I instead choose hope.
I am tired of fear. I instead choose love.
I am tired of jealousy. I instead choose to rejoice.
I am tired of selfish anger. I instead choose humility.
I am tired of bitterness. I instead choose forgiveness.
I am tired of ugly words. I instead choose to speak with grace.
I am tired of wringing my hands over things that are out of my hands. I instead choose to trust.
I am tired of holding on to accounts that are old and stinky and dingy and just need to hed to the shredder of forgiveness. I instead choose to remember only Him.
I am just plain old fed up with concentrating on me. I instead choose to fix my eyes on Christ.
I think I will just let everything stay in His hands in 2012 and I will stay buried and wrapped in His arms and walk when He says walk, stop when He says stop, turn when He says turn, look when He says look, speak when He says speak.
Will I walk through more darkness?
Oh no doubt!
But I will keep holding on to Him… because I never walk through darkness alone.
As I look back on 2012 I realize how faithful my God has been. No I have not always been victorious in choosing rest over stress, hope over doubt, love over fear, etc… but compared to 2011 and the years before… all I can say is, wow.
This past year when fears, and doubts, and frustrations, and hurts would arise and the circumstances would begin to dictate my attitude and thoughts and I would find myself reacting rather than responding, the Spirit would whisper to my heart… Remember. As I look back I can see my God’s faithfulness to not let me stay in my flesh too long… He would jerk my head quickly and remind me to look up and to see things as they really were… to see things through His eyes and not my own.
And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
Psalm 78:35
I purposed this past year to not take one Communion lightly… but to truly remember.
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks,
He broke it and gave it to them, saying,
“This is My body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance of Me.”
Luke 22:19
I think God has given me my word 2013…
Aphtharsia… pronounced af-thar-see-ah. In English this word is Incorruptible.
Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
Ephesians 6:24
I want to love my Jesus with an incorruptible love. I want to love Him with a pure and sincere love. A love that is not tainted with selfishness. A love that doesn’t pout when I don’t get my way or don’t like my circumstances. A love that doesn’t doubt the love of my Jesus because I simply just don’t feel Him at the moment. A love that doesn’t waver in any way. An incorruptible love.
“The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. “They have acted corruptly toward Him, They are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation. “Do you thus repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you.
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent,
children of God above reproach
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom youappear as lights in the world,
holding fast the word of life,
so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory
because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
Philippians 2:14-16
We live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.
We live among those who are corrupt because they have acted corruptly toward their Creator God.
I am His child… therefore I should love my Jesus, my God, with an incorruptible love.
I should not look, act, or react the way this generation does. How can I be the light if my light is corroded?
So 2013, I believe my word will be Aphtharsia… Incorruptible.
I don’t want to stand before my Jesus ashamed… I want to have reason to glory… I don’t want to toil in vain… I don’t want to repay the grace of my God with grumbling and disdain.
I want to love my Lord Jesus with an incorruptible love.
In October of this year I realized that my plate was a little full- and it would remain pretty full throughout the rest of the year… so I had to let go of a few things. One of those was writing for Eternal Encouragement magazine’s Gabby Moms program.
I truly enjoyed every product that I ever received and reviewed; and because I chose to take to heart and to apply the wisdom that Lorrie was offering me, I had to surrender my place in the Gabby Mom line-up in order to be the wife and mom that my family needed and deserved.
The last EE product I received was focused on ATTITUDE.
My attitude is indeed something that God worked on this year.
As I battled with houses, and banks, and realtors, and lawyers, and at&t. As I transferred into the ministry of a paid staffer in my church accepting the call as Children’s Ministry Director. As I struggled with walking away from my dreams of further book publications because I felt I was a failure due to the books not flying off the shelves and my calendar not being filled with teaching engagements- to then receiving an email from my publisher requesting I move forward with book two in my devotional series through the Torah. As I have realized through my trivial trials and my blazing battles how much of my flesh I have yet to crucify and how very much of the glory of my God I still have yet to behold… yes… God has worked on my attitude this year.
So how fitting it was for me to remember that my crashed laptop was not the only device that held my October Eternal Encouragement downloads for review…
I grabbed my Kindle and my youngest daughter’s earphones and multitasked, as I so often do, and while I prepared dinner for my family I listened to Lorrie share about the power of a positive attitude.
As I listened I was reminded of my 2012. I was reminded of all the lessons I had learned about my attitude and how my attitude affects the atmosphere of my home. I was reminded and encouraged as I always am when I listen to Lorrie share.
You can listen to Lorrie as well… or read her blog. The info that brought me encouragement and peace as I listened can be yours here at Attention Moms. Lorrie has an entire training package you can use to help refocus your thinking and adjust your attitude.
Here’s Lorrie’s Top Ten Reasons To Do This Training.
You learn how to be positive, focused, and goal orientated
You achieve goals by the minute, hour and day
Every small achievement is one more step towards your dream life
You start to feel better about yourself
Your self esteem rises
You save time and become proactive
You stop zigging in your life… and start zagging to your dreams
You learn how to train your thoughts
You concentrate on things you love in your life
You put God first in your life!
The attitude we are supposed to have:
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ,
if there is any consolation of love,
if there is any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any affection and compassion,
make my joy complete by being of the same mind,
maintaining the same love,
united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit,
but with humility of mind regard one another
as more important than yourselves;
do not merely look out for your own personal interests,
but also for the interests of others.
Have this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant,
and being made in the likeness of men.
Being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:1-8
The thinking we are supposed to have:
Finally, brethren,
whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise,
dwell on these things.
Philippians 4:8
I don’t know about you, but it is very easy for me to jump on the pity train to woe-is-me city. It is so easy to dwell on the things that are yucky, hurtful, frustrating, irritating, nerve-wracking, and anger building. It is so easy to have an attitude of entitlement and selfishness. Our flesh screams it at us and the enemy of our souls is right there beside us cheering our flesh on. So if this is a place you find yourself as well… I would recommend these audio chats.
The pity train to woe-is-me city is a train you climb aboard by choice. You don’t have to ride it. Pull that emergency stop cord and scream out for that grace train. The Holy Spirit is always more than happy to give you lift. 🙂
*** I received this product for an honest review from EE magazine
Today as I was just doing life… nothing big… nothing extraordinarily special… just regular old life. Sweeping, reading, cooking, listening to a bunch of preteen girls giggle… and as I did this life I realized how very filled with joy I am… a joy unspeakable.
There is a joy that fills me that brings a peace that I cannot even comprehend. It is a joy that exists regardless of surrounding circumstances or world events. It is a joy that I can find every time I breathe deep. It is a joy that I can find every time I bow my knees.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them;
and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid;
for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
which will be for all the people;
for today in the city of David
there has been born for you a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:9-11
This great joy is mine only because of Christ.
The word joy used in Luke 2 in the Greek is Chara and it means joy, gladness, the joy received from you, the cause or occasion of joy, of persons who are one’s joy…
Jesus is the cause and occasion of our joy. He is the One who is our joy. He is the joy that we can give to another because God first gave Him to us.
The last time this word for joy is used is in 3 John…
I have no greater joy than this,
to hear of my children walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4
We are able to maintain this joy of ours only as long as we walk in truth. The moment we step outside of truth we begin to lose our joy. The moment we choose to entertain the liar or rebel against the Word of God… our joy begins to slip away from us.
Joy is something that only believers know.
Joy is something that only believers who are in fellowship with the Cause of joy and Occasion of joy can know.
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit of God… and when Mary conceived by the Spirit of God she gave birth to Love, to Joy, to Peace, to Patience, to Kindness, to Goodness, to Faithfulness, to Gentleness, to Self-control… she gave birth to Christ the Lord.
She received the Son, the Christ by faith. She believed God. She simply took God at His Word and received the Word.
And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord;
may it be done to me according to your word.”
Luke 1:38
We to0 receive this Son, this Christ by faith. We too just have to believe God. We just have to take Him at His Word and receive the Word. When we receive Him and He grows within us, we too will give birth to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The thing is… just as Mary gave birth to Jesus- to Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control through pain, the pain and labor of childbirth… we too must go through pains and labor in order to give birth to these things of Him… because they are not naturally of us… they are of our God and we can not truly possess them until we first possess Him.
I have Him, so therefore I have this joy, this unspeakable joy… this joy that I can find with every deep breath and with every bowed knee…
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet
with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Ephesians 6:14-15
Do you know Christ? Have you came to the cross and looked up into the beaten, plucked, swollen face of the Lamb of God who came and died to take away your sin? Your past sin, your present sin, and any future sin you ever commit. Have you partaken of Him?
I ask this because if you have, if you know Him, if He knows you, if He has sealed you with His Spirit… then do you know what that means?
Have the eyes of your heart been enlightened, so that you would know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe (Ephesians 1:18-19) ?
Do you know what the surpassing greatness of His power is that is yours simply because you are one with Christ?
Do you know that God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (Ephesians 2:4-6) ?
Do you know that when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven you all your transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against you, which was hostile to you; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them throughHim. (Colossians 2:13-15) ?
Precious one if you know Him, do you know what that really means? Do you believe Him when He says you sit WITH Him in heavenly places far above all rule and authority?
Precious one, do you understand your position in Christ?
Let me show you…
GOD
Christ
Man (alive in Christ/filled with Holy Spirit)
Satan/Spiritual forces of darkness
Man (still dead in sins)
If you are alive in Christ and thus filled and sealed with the Holy Spirit at the moment of your salvation then you, precious one, have been raised from the dead with Christ and have been set with Christ far above all demonic rule and authority. Your flesh is no longer master over you, sin is no longer master over you, and Satan is no longer master over you. The power of God that raised Christ out of the grave has also raised you into a new life.
This power of God in this new life gives you the power to not only say no to things you once couldn’t help, but it also gives you the power to love those you once could never love…
Walking in the Spirit is walking in love and bearing fruit that tastes of love, gentleness, kindness, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.
As Satan watches our eyes open for the first time, when he sees us turn from his kingdom of darkness and to the kingdom of Light, when he sees us open our mouth in response to our open eyes and open heart and cry out to Jesus for His forgiveness in full unabashed repentance… he, Satan, knows he has lost us for eternity.
However, he is not through with us.
He now sicks his hounds of hell on us. He wants to cover the Light that is within you. He wants to wollar out the saltiness of this life of yours in Christ. He wants to knock your feet out from under you and pin your shoulders to the ground so that he might render you useless in this present world.
But our God tells us…
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.
Ephesians 6:10-11
God commands us to be strong in the strength of His might not ours…
Our chief enemy is the lie that says sin will make our future happier. Our chief weapon is the truth that says God will make our future happier. And faith is the victory that overcomes the lie, because faith is satisfied with God.
~ John Piper
Our victory over our enemies- Satan, our flesh, sin,- is not won through passive hand wringing “waiting on God” on to move it is won in our aggressive stance against sin and our faith in the Word of God.
If I’m going to stand I’m going to stand by knowing truth and by walking in truth and living according to the truth. I’m going to live and stand against the enemy in righteousness by keeping my life righteous because its sin that gives the devil an advantage over us, because sin is not to be in the child of God’s life. And that’s why we are to forsake sin and that’s why we’re to [“take our members and yield them as instruments of righteousness,”] as Romans 6 says, [“and not as instruments of sin.”] (PARAPHRASE, Romans 6:13)
~ Kay Arthur
Here’s the deal, my friend, God has supplied the armor… but it is your responsibility to put it on. It is your responsibility to stand in the authority that has been given you by God in and through Christ… no matter how many times the enemy comes against you.
My husband’s all time favorite movie is Lonesome Dove. Towards the very end of this movie is one of my favorite scenes.
Newt, played by Rick Schroder, has grown up in the home of Woodrow, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Newt never really knew his real father was, because his mother was a saloon girl. As the movie progresses it becomes more and more evident that this young Newt really is the son of Woodrow. Woodrow watches him all through out the movie and you see that he begins to see, that yes, Newt just might be his son. Newt, however, is wanting to hear exactly the words out of Woodrow’s mouth that let him know that he indeed is the accepted son of Woodrow. Woodrow gives Newt a watch that was his fathers and he gives him his horse. In this act, this bestowing of gifts that only passes through the family of Woodrow, he is showing Newt that he is claiming him as his son.
Then at the end of the movie, one of my favorite scenes, it comes time for Woodrow to head out on a journey and leaves the entire ranch under the authority of Newt. This does not sit well with the other hands, because in their eyes Newt is just a kid and no different than any of them. One of the smart mouthed ranch hands, Jasper, attacks Newt. Woodrow sits high on his horse as he watches the attack on his son. Newt fights back. He gets knocked down over and over but every time he gets back up on his feet… Woodrow does not get off his horse but he watches close by. Finally, Jasper sends a punch that sends Newt flying through the air and landing flat of his back. Newt his bleeding and out of breath, but here’s the awesome part. The other ranch hands help Newt to his feet and Newt walks up to Jasper in the authority that he knows is his given him by his father and he says, “Get on your horse, Jasper, we got cattle to drive.”
The look on Woodrow’s face is classic. It’s the look of a proud father.
You see Newt might have gotten knocked down by his attacker, but his character and his integrity led the other hands to respect him and they picked him up and looked at Jasper with contempt not Newt. It was in the authority that Newt knew he had been given by his father, that he walked up to Jasper and did not speak with hate, or bitterness, or wrath, but with firm conviction and he told him to get on his horse…
Friend, we have been given a gift by our Father. We have been given the right to call Him “Abba”
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
So precious one, it doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, get up! Stand! Stand firm!
Read though Ephesians 6:10-20 and underline every “you will“.
You will – be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil
You will– be able to resist in the evil day
You will– be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one
You will be able, my friend, you will if you will put that armor on by living in accordance with who you are in Christ. Hold your positon. Stand firm. Believe God.
The Gospel of Christ, it’s a messy, bloody thing and this is how God was born, bloody and bruised, and that’s how God chose to die, bloody and beaten. And our God, He knows the comings and goings of our blackest bloody battles, and this is exactly where He meets us.
The Gospel is good news in the eye of the worst news.
~ Ann Voskamp
How easy it is to forget that we are at war. This church thing is not a game. This life is not a game. It’s a real battle. A battle between good and evil, between God and Satan, between light and darkness, and whether you like it or not you are involved. The question is which side of the battle lines do you take your stand?
I am here in this world, 2012, a follower of Christ, the same Christ that came in the flesh as baby, allowing Himself to become dependent upon the hands of a first time mother and newlywed father, the same Christ that died on a Roman cross over 2000 years ago and rose from the grave 3 days later, the same Christ that ascended to the heavens and sent His Spirit down to indwell those who confess Him as Lord.
I follow that Jesus.
That Jesus that said the gates of hell could not prevail against His church.
That Jesus that said the world would hate me.
That Jesus that said I could overwhelmingly conquer in and through Him.
That Jesus that said I would receive power from high.
That Jesus that said I would be used by Him to set the prisoners free.
That Jesus that said nothing, absolutely NOTHING, could separate me from Him.
That Jesus that loved me while I was wollaring in my sin.
I follow that Jesus.
Are you with me?
Precious one, I ask you… who is crushing who?
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Romans 16:20
Notice precious one that in the armor of God you are to shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace…
Are your feet getting ready to crush Satan under them?
Or does he have you on your back, pinned to the ground?
If he does my friend, the only way he can pin you is if you choose flesh over faith, lie over truth… So make war precious one, make war!
Remember the authority that is yours in Christ. Look to your fellow believers and let them help you to your feet and stand firm in the authority that has been given you by your Father… you’ve got cattle to drive.
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,
and we are ready to punish all disobedience,
whenever your obedience is complete.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6
God has directed my heart to studying up on prayer and spiritual warfare… He has done so and I am obeying. I believe our nation and our church has progressed to where it is because we have forgotten we are at war. We have forgotten in this blessed land of the free that a spiritual battle wages against our minds. We have forgotten that we are still in the evil day…
Sadly many of us have left our armor lying on the floor. We have decided that we will be just fine without it. We have decided that we can fill our minds with csi miami, pretty little liars, and spongebob square pants. We can play halo and fantasy football. We have actually decided that we can fill our minds through our eyes and ears with sin of all sorts for our own entertainment purposes and actually expect it not to affect our souls.
When the salt loses its saltiness it is good for nothing…
Christian we have the mind of Christ. So of course Satan is after our mind. He wants to build a fortress of lies and accusations in our mind. He knows that if he can inflict a head wound, it can be fatal. When the head is sick, weak, confused, or distracted it affects the whole body.
We must put on the helmet of salvation. We must protect our mind! We must not be passive in this area of our life. WE MUST BE AGGRESSIVE AND DECISIVE!
He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
Isaiah 59:17
And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:17
But since we are of the day, let us be sober,
having put on the breastplate of faith and love,
and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:8
When we look at the description of the last days that our God gives us in His Word it all points to social and mental digression…
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money,boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.
2 Timothy 3:1-9
I am currently teaching through the book of Revelation and studying with Kay Arthur through the book of Ephesians and my extracurricular reading has been on prayer and spiritual warfare. I am tired of seeing the enemy win battles in my own life. I am tired of him pinning me to the ground. I am tired of allowing him to almost convince me to quit writing, teaching, serving because I get caught up in emotional turmoil through Satan’s ability to use another’s battle to inflict a wound on me.
We must never forget that our battle is not against flesh and blood…
And we must also never forget that evil is also within our hearts.
But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.
Matthew 15:18-20
It’s time we stop making excuses and address reality…
There is evil in this world and there is evil in our hearts… and no amount of man’s knowledge, education, or fantasy utopias are going to change that… only Christ can.
As my heart breaks for this mother… I wonder is she supplying her son with the only weapon that he has to stand against this battle in his mind?
I have a very dear friend whose son is struggling with a mental illness and what I know is that she is preparingher son and herself for the battles ahead.
She has let other believers know her sons struggles so that men and women of God can cover him and their family in prayer.
She has removed the things in his life that feed his flesh. Monitoring more closely the things that go in his ears, his eyes, as well his mouth.
She is teaching him how to recognize the enemy.
She is teaching him the Word of God, because she knows that only the knowledge of God and the love of Christ can defeat our flesh and only the Word of God and standing on faith can cast Satan and his demons out of our life and minds.
My friend knows that her sons victory is in Christ.
My friend has had many attacks, many judgments, many hurts brought against her. She could have many times chosen to grab her son and hide him away in their home and keep him and herself from the church simply because sometimes it hurts too much to experience the judgments and glances and whispers of man, whether they be real or assumed… but my friend has chosen to believe God. She has chosen to prove the Word by her faith.
And guess what her son is watching.
And so am I.
Her obedience to the Word will bear fruit in her son… and her courage will bear fruit in those who are watching her stand.
But the lovingkindness of the Lord
is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.
Psalm 103:17-18
In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,
And his children will have refuge.
Proverbs 14:26
As our nation continues to wonder why… and how… what happened at Newton can happen… it is quite simple… apart from Christ that shooter could have been any of us. He was not some rare monster that popped up on the earth.
While in Poland, standing within the Lodz ghetto beside a railcar that carried Jews from there homes to concentration/death camps one of the survivors shared with us how these men who did this were not monsters, they were men. To say they were monsters was wrong. To say they were monsters removed the reality that this could happen again and it removed their responsibility. This was evil done by evil men who chose to do evil.
Precious one, we are depraved evil hearted people living in a world ruled by the evil one… We are an arrogant prideful people living in a world ruled by the one who was so filled with arrogance and pride that he actually attempted to set himself up above the Most High God. We are hopeless, helpless, and godless apart from Christ and there is no limit to our madness when we stand opening stand against our Creator in our grumbling rebellion. It doesn’t matter how good we make our outside environment if we don’t deal with our heart and mind then our evil deeds will abound… and the only One who can deal with our heart and minds is Christ.
There is only one way to overcome evil, whether it be within us or outside of us and that is by faith.
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world;
and this is the victory that has overcome the world—
our faith.
1 John 5:4
Faith is simply believing God.
In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb;yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
Romans 4:18-21
We have a choice ever day, with every thought… who will we believe?
Will we believe God?
And precious one, how can you recognize His voice if you do not know His Word? God does not move us with emotion, He moves us with Truth.
In these last days, in our increased “knowledge” and day of technology, Satan will be full force frontal attack on our minds. He is raising up every speculation he can up against the knowledge of God and he is throwing them full force up against our minds.
I love what Kay said in one of her teachings in Ephesians 6-Frisk every thought with Philippians 4:8, if it doesn’t line up, then reject it.
It is time we recognize that we are in a battle. Their is a spiritual realm and we are at war with the enemy. Put a name on the lie and send it to hell!
God, all I can assume is that I have a spirit of immorality coming against me. And God I don’t want that.” now listen to me very carefully, “God this is your body, this is your body, you redeemed it. This is your mind, you have given me the mind of Jesus Christ. And God, I am standing against the enemy, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the blood of Jesus Christ I command all these spirits, any spirit of immorality to be gone from me. You have no place here. This body has been redeemed by Jesus Christ. And I want the Holy Spirit to fill every nook and cranny. And so I command you in the authority that is mine in Christ Jesus. [“Greater is he that’s in me than he that’s in the world.”] ~ Kay Arthur
If there is a spirit of immorality… then could there be other spirits as well?
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21
If it is not of God it is either our flesh or Satan… if it is our flesh you better believe that Satan is right there cheering our flesh on… he wants you to be controlled by your flesh because then he can control you because he knows your flesh well. He’s been devouring it for thousands of years.
Either we believe God or we do not.
Our desires, our dispositions, our temptations, our imaginations, are NOT to control us.
Only the love of Christ!
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
and this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.
Who is the one who overcomes the world,
but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God…
(1 John 5:4-5)
I haven’t shared my thoughts here yet concerning the shooting in Connecticut. I haven’t shared because the truth is I haven’t cried. With no tears falling I have battled whether I had become callous and cold or if it was something else… and well my conclusion…
I haven’t cried not because I am not sad… but because I am flat out MAD.
There is a time for tears… but these acts of evil no longer make me cry… they inflame my inner being with a passionate resolve to fight Satan with every fiber of my being. I hate him… I mean I HATE HIM!
I hate the way I see his slimy hands weave around the throats and hearts of the people of God… the way I see him blind and deceive and manipulate and twist and distort and how he manages to convince people that it was never him at work…
Evil is as evil does.
Evil is not an illness.
Evil is an open unabashed attack by Satan and the demons of hell. It’s a demonic possession on a soul that refuses the Light and loves the darkness. It’s Satan with an open door that he can walk through because he has so oppressed and blinded so many in one place that he now has the advantage… This is the evil day, the whole world lies in the power of the evil one…
People of God… believer in Christ… keeper of the Gospel… proclaimer of the Word… have you went AWOL on your fellow soldiers in the army of Christ?
There is a time for tears…
But today I am not crying. My eyes will not be blurred by the emotional turmoil of this tragedy. My God is keeping them clear. I will not wring my hands with a woe is me and woe is them. I am angry with a righteous anger. I am filled with a godly jealousy for the souls of children.
Satan has always made his strongest and most brazen attacks on the children.
Just like a lion.
When a lion is taking over a new territory the first thing he does is kill all the cubs in the pride. Any cub fathered by the former lion is destroyed and then the lion gets busy mating with the lioness to produce his own offspring…
CHRISTIAN THINK!
And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth,
so that when she gave birth he might devour her child…
So the dragon was enraged with the woman,
and went off to make war with the rest of her children,
who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Revelation 12:4, 17
Satan has always went after the children.
Pharaoh sent out a decree, Herod sent out a decree, Hitler sent out a decree, the Supreme Court of the United States of America sent out a decree…
Here’s the thing Satan… I’M AFTER THE CHILDREN TOO!!!!!!!!!
Just keep making this red-head angry… go ahead… make my day! I am not crying anymore. When a woman stops crying, she means business. I am not playing games at the foot of the cross… I am at war.
How about you, precious one?
The writing and teachings of Nicole Love Halbrooks Vaughn
Proven Path Ministries