One day a soldier, charged with fleeing from the enemy was brought before Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great asked him, "What's your name?" Dropping his head, he replied, "Alexander." Alexander the Great grabbed him by the shoulders and said, "Soldier, change your conduct or change your name!" You have been called to live a life worthy of the One whose name you carry. Regardless of whether the giant you face is addiction, resentment, fear, lust, pride, envy or anger, you must realize:
(1) You're not unique. Your temptations "are no different from what others experience" (1 Col 10:13, NLT). Goliath wasn't always a giant; he was fed and nurtured until he became one. Our giants are usually little sins we overlok and indulge until they assume a life of their own and come back to haunt us.
(2) You can't do it alone. Your giant will defeat you anytime you tackle him in your own strength. David told Goliath, "This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to us" (1 Sam 17:47, NLT). You need divine help to overcome old habits and establish new behaviors. So, declare with Paul, "Christ...gives me strength" (Phil 4:13, NLT).
(3) You must confront your giant head-on. The Bible says: "As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran...to meet him" (1 Sam 17:48, NLT). Don't run away, don't try to negotiate, don't compromise and don't excuse! Force your giant out into the light and don't let him back into your life. Establish boundaries and make yourself accountable. Stay out of the wrong company!
Above all, don't look at God in the light of your giant. Look at your giant in the light of God!
~ Word for You Today
Thursday, June 4, 2009
The Battle is the Lord's
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Looking for something
"General Robbie Risner described the seven years he spent as a prisoner of war as the "essence of despair." He said, "If you could have squeezed the feeling out of the word despair, it would have come out lead-colored, dingy and dirty." What's amazing is how he survived!
He pried the cover off a floor drain in his cell and lowered his head into the opening. There, he noticed a solitary blade of grass, the only smidgeon of color in his colorless world. Calling it a 'blood transfusion for the soul', Risner began each day in prayer, lying on the floor of his cell with his head down the vent, focused on that single blade of green grass.
Jesus said, "Your eye...provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness." (Matthew 6:22-23 NLT)
What are you looking at? Each day you get to decide where you'll focus. You certainly don't have to look far to find things to complain about: war, gas prices, the economy, global warming, and crime. God gave Adam and Eve everything they needed in the Garden of Eden,, but they chose to focus on the one thing they couldn't have. He divided the Red Sea, sent signs to guide the Israelites in the wilderness and provided food so they'd never go hungry. Initially, "They...sang his praise. But...soon forgot what he had done." (Psalm 106:12-13 NLT)
Don't be like that. The Bible says, "If there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." Surely you can find something to praise God for today!"
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
"Issumagijoujungnainermik"
I promise I didn't just start hitting the keyboard for my title. Would you believe this is a word?...in the Eskimo language.
Have you ever struggled to forgive someone for something? Of course you have - if you are human. Which, if you are reading this right now, I assume you are???
I have. I've been hurt. You've been hurt. We've all had our hearts broken here and there. Little things, big things. Looking back...extremely stupid things. But many things.
It is so easy to say you forgive someone, but then run into them somewhere or have someone mention the situation and everything comes right back. Then, you think about it and talk about it and before you know it, you realize you've slowly but surely become bitter. Oooh and bitterness - well, that's just a word that you don't want to mess with.
I can honestly say that I've never hated anyone. That is way too strong of an emotion and no one and nothing is worth my missing eternity in Heaven over. But, I've been hurt before...and when I've taken too long to deal with that hurt, in turn I've become bitter.
My point here...
"Issumagijoujungnainermik" - in the Eskimo language means - "not being able to think about it anymore." ~ Forgiveness. What release you feel when your heart is troubled over something and suddenly you don't think of it anymore. You have chosen to forgive. It's like a weight has lifted off of your chest. I've been there. I've experienced issumagijoujungnainermik first-hand. Haven't you? Aren't we offered unlimited issumagijoujungnainermik each day of our lives? What does the Bible say?...70 X 7...Christ forgives continually and then He thinks of it NO MORE.
Genuine forgiveness is about moving on, and refusing to think anymore about what happened.
As Christians, we are called to be like Christ. That is a hard path to walk, but it is a choice that we must make daily, hourly sometimes. Paul said, "Forgive...because the Lord forgave you."
Has someone offended you? Talked about you? Stabbed you in the back? Have you been hurt by a friend, a loved one, or had your heart broken by a spouse? Whatever your hurt may be, choose forgiveness. That doesn't mean it will never cross your mind. That doesn't even mean the situation won't still bother you. I can assure you, that in some circumstances, it will. But, by forgiving, you are allowing Christ to work in your life and in turn, He will show you some powerful and mighty things. Who knows more about forgiveness...or issumagijoujungnainermik than He does? He forgave all of our sins and relieved us from all of our debts before we even existed? He died so you would be forgiven.
Take the high road today. You won't be walking it alone.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Don't worry
Hebrews 6:20
God is your Forerunner.
~~~~~
You don't have to worry about what's ahead.
He goes out before you.
Don't be anxious about the day.
He is in front of you and beside you.
He follows behind to protect you.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Names of God
I've always heard the "common" names of God, but there is so much more to Him. I am very excited to share several of them with you.
Please let the following Names of our God be an encouragement to you. Pick one and stand on that name each day. Whatever name you stand on, be confident that it is for you. He is your Magen, your El Shaddai, your Advocate, your Dayspring. Just as He is mine.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Kisses for the Soul Bury Me With a _____!!
My dad preached the funeral today of a sweet little old lady that has belonged to our church for as long as I can remember. She was almost 100 years old and I'm sure she is dancing the streets of heaven as you read this.
Her son spoke at the funeral about a story he'd heard before. A lady met with her preacher and told him that she was ready to start planning her funeral. She said there were a couple things that she knew she wanted done when she died and she wanted him to promise her that he would take care of them.
Of the things they discussed, one of them was what she would be buried with. She told him that she wanted to be buried with 2 things, one in each hand.
1. Her Bible...He thought that was a pretty common request so he didn't think too much about it.
"Okay and what do you want in your other hand?"
2. A fork. "A fork?!" "Why in the world is that?"
She explained how she always liked it when she went to a restaurant and the waitress came by to pick up the dirty plates and said, "Keep your fork."
~~~You know where I'm going with this don't you?~~~
When you get to keep your fork, that always means something else is on the way!!! It's not over. The best is yet to come!
She wanted to be buried with fork in hand...symbolizing that her life - as her mortal body lay in that coffin - her life was NOT over! The best was yet to come!
Are you tired of looking at your dirty plates and wondering..."Is this it?" "Is this all I'm gonna get from this meal called life?"
Let me tell you ~ "You can keep your fork!" Your BEST is YET to COME! It's NOT over...this isn't it!
No matter what you are going through today, tomorrow or months from now...hold onto your fork and get ready to DIG IN to eternity!!
Oh yeah, bury me with a fork.
Monday, January 7, 2008
I Won't Be the Cowardly Lion!
Without courage, you're not living, you're hiding! Courage is what moves you forward; it's the muscle that makes your faith work. Faith by itself can be nothing more than a set of beliefs. Courage is what activates your beliefs. Every Promised Land has 'giant' problems, and you have to face them and defeat them before moving in and taking up residence. Notice 3 things in Deuteronomy, Chapter 7, that God said to Israel about taking the Promised Land:
(1) "Your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God" (v. 21). Be assured, God is greater than anything you'll face this year!
(2) "Will drive out those nations before you" (v. 22). God will go ahead of you. He will do for you what you cannot do for yourself, but you've got to show up for the fight.
(3) "Little by little" (v. 23). Whether it's conquering your Promised Land or your character flaws, you can't do it all at once. So God works with you in one area after another. Life is not one big battle and then you march in the victory parade. No, it's a series of small, daily struggles required to defeat the enemies of your spiritual growth.
Twenty-three chapters later, God is still telling Israel to be courageous. That's because courage is like oxygen, you can't survive without it. Courage is not the absence of fear, it's the conquest of it. Courage means doing it afraid - until you're no longer afraid. It means - trembling your way to confidence! God promised to go with then and before them. Who does God walk with and work with? Who does He go ahead of and fight for? Those who show COURAGE!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Jesus!
This is from Beth Moore's 'Jesus' - 90 Days with The One and Only Study
