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Blessings and Strength Dispensed by God’s Word

Feb11

In my previous post, I shared with my readers links to Verse by Verse International. In particular the study of the book of Revelation as taught by the late Stephen Armstrong. As I delve into this study once again, I am reminded of the blessings discovered there. I’d like to share a few of those.

Remember the reference I included about the blessings that were promised by God for those who took part in the book of Revelation? So, it’s some of those blessings I want to make mention of in this post.

In examining Revelation, one of its most outstanding aspects to me was God’s attention to details. Details that aren’t revealed by a casual reading. It is in the cross referencing verses from other sections of Scripture that shed light on what is contained in Revelation. Stephen Armstrong’s approach was simple but profound in its application. The imagery and symbols, throughout this book, are difficult to understand. However, according to S.A., “We never need to guess at the meaning of important symbols because the answers are in the Bible somewhere.” And you know what? He was right! In this study I was introduced to the Golden Rule of Interpretation, “…it says that when the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, we seek no other sense.” In other words, there is no need speculate as to what the text might mean. So armed with these rules, I waded into the water.

Now back to the blessings. Recalling the impact my 2020 study had, I anticipated this refresher course would bring the same results. Therefore, the enemy’s plan to sidetrack my efforts were foiled. For I knew that God’s attention to detail was provided with the intention of helping me understand. Knowing God is in charge of my future, I have no reason to fear or worry. Not just for me but for anyone who is His child. For the Bible is rich in verses that assures us about such things. For instance, God promises us that he keeps His word to keep the covenant He made with us in our salvation.

Yet, I am a human being. And as long as I live on this earth my self-centered self-serving sin nature will be susceptible to temptation. The only way for it not to rule my thoughts and influence my attitudes, (therefore my actions) (FD, p.28) is to submit those thoughts to a force greater than myself. That force, of course, is the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ. But that spirit must be nurtured to grow in strength. I accomplish this by absorbing with consistency Truth thoughts from God’s word. The more I absorb the more my wisdom and strength increase.

The Freedom of Truth…

Jan13

It burdens my heart to see Christians ignoring their Bibles. It’s pretty obvious who’s behind that. Yep, the enemy is working overtime. I’ve written this before but it bears to be written again. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

Everywhere, here in the US and all across the globe is evidence of his deception and manipulation. So how does this happen? I believe the answer is simple. And it is revealed in John 10:10. If he can steal, kill, or destroy God’s word from an individual, that individual’s faith will be compromised. For if we don’t feed ourselves on the Truth of God’s salvation, we become malnourished in our faith.

God’s word is where Truth resides. Without Truth, evil has no restraints. And when evil is not restrained, lies become truth and Truth becomes lies. For the enemy knows that when we know the Truth, his plans are thwarted.

I want to break this down to the individual level. Consider the problems we face. For example, when we have discord in our family relationships and need insight as to how to handle it, where do we go? Friends? Books? Social Media? The internet? Television? Movies? Music? The enemy makes sure we have a smorgasbord of options to choose from. And he will deliberately steer us in the opposite direction of Truth.

So here we are, people who call themselves Christian but are ignorant of God’s Truth. Yes, we too often turn to the patterns of this world. A world that is blind to God’s Truth. When we turn to the world for the solutions we need, it’s like the blind leading the blind. For instance, the world will tell us that we are the author of our own lives. That we should reject any advice from those who contradict what we want. Shut them out. Put up boundaries. Don’t let them in. The very people who love us the most are the ones we are influenced to turn from. Know why?

Because the Bible is going to refute the idea of self autonomy. How? By instructing us to forgive those who have hurt us. And by being willing to ask for forgiveness! By counseling us on how to treat each other and avoid conflict.The Bible might even point out the sin we are guilty of that has contributed to our family problem. God knows we need His wisdom to grapple with the pitfalls we encountered.  

Therefore, Satan’s goal is to separate us from what is True by making sure we are ignorant of it. Keeping us from spending time in the Bible is his default tactic. His goal is to imprison us with lies.

However, the only way to be set free of such bondage is to know the Truth. When we know the Truth, we will be set free.   

Changing Seasons and new things…

Dec30
Summer
Spring
Autumn
Winter

Be choosy about what you allow to enter your mind. Something like the following would be an excellent choice for the coming New Year.

Seasons of life come and go. And here we are with Winter season well underway and at the end of another year. As the year ends, most of us anticipate an opportunity to begin anew. If we’ve made some mistakes in 2025 that we would like to correct, here’s our chance.

Here’s some suggestions that hopefully will promote corrections. Identify what happened in our heads that set the course for some of those mistakes we made. Let’s start with how often do we spend time with God in prayer and His word? How balanced are those two disciplines? Remember, if we are going to thwart the enemy’s plans, we must know how he is going to attack. The Bible reveals Satan’s strategy. Is it any surprise that one of the foremost tricks up Satan’s sleeve is to keep us ignorant of what the Bible says about him? (Remember, he comes to steal, kill, and destroy)

Ignoring God’s word, leaves us wide open for Satan’s initial assault. And guess where that is. Yes, the family. Has bitterness and misunderstanding replaced the love that once reigned? Do we find ourselves blaming others for the emotional pain we endure? Does condemnation and finding fault with those who have hurt us rule our thoughts? I think we all know the source of such emotional fiery darts.

What can we do differently to break the cycle of division in our family? First, asking ourselves the following question would be a good start. Whose voice do I listen to and follow? Satan has orchestrated such deception in this area. What’s the deception? Placing Self in the position of authority in our lives. Direct opposition to the way revealed in the Bible. But we won’t know that, if we aren’t allowing God’s word to guide our steps. What then is our mode of correction?

From this point forward, go back to a balanced effort of reading the Bible and spending time with God in prayer. Ask God for the strength to forgive where we have been wronged and to ask for forgiveness where we have wronged others. Peace and harmony will happen as a result. Swallow that pride or you will be headed for a fall. God has better plans for you.

Next year, let’s make the switch. Submit to God’s authority and see if we don’t notice some healing and correction of past mistakes. See if we don’t experience some new things, some reconciliation in this New Year!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

The Light of Christmas always overcomes…

Dec23

We are living in dark times. But at Christmas time we have the golden opportunity to share and reflect the Light of Christmas. Satan’s plan is to steal, kill, and destroy. But remember his evil is done in the dark. Thankfully, it is the Light of Christmas that overcomes such darkness.

That is why God gave us His word, the Bible. God’s word shines the Light on the darkness of our sins. The more we embrace the truths of Scripture, the brighter Christ light in us will shine.

As we go about our Christmas celebrations remember this. The enemy will do whatever it takes to gain a foothold in your Celebrations. So personal examination is in order. What does the spotlight of our Christmas celebration reveal? Let’s take an inventory and see what we come up with. Does our understanding of God’s word expose fiery darts lurking in the darkness?

May we never be afraid to shine the Light upon our own darkness. Because it is that Light that will expose the darkness in our lives. Our lives will become fuller when the darkness is exposed and the Light is allowed to shine.

Remember, the purveyor of darkness is still attempting to steal, kill, and destroy the Light in our day. Just like he did when Christ first came into this world. But there is Hope for the Light will always overcome the darkness

More about prayer…

Dec9

There have been volumes written about prayer. So, I really don’t have anything new to add to the subject. What I have to share will be a reminder to many. Yet for some it might just be a new discovery! I write that because it wasn’t until the middle half of my life that I made such a discovery regarding prayer.

I’l preface this by sharing that my prayer life has undergone various transformations over the years. As I grew spiritually that growth inspired alterations in how I prayed. For instance, as a young Christian, my prayers focused mostly on what I wanted from God. But as the years passed, and I learned more about God, my prayers focused more on what He wanted for me. Yet, it was an up and down journey which was directly impacted by my growth or lack thereof.

However, there was something missing. A failed connection. I use to remind my children and my students that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. That reason was that He wanted us to listen twice as much as we spoke. It took awhile for that to sink in and apply it to my spiritual life. For you see, I had failed to realize that while prayer was my talking to God, reading and meditating on His words was how God talked to me. What I discovered, well into my adult life, was that I was over focused on making sure God knew what I wanted. Yet, I wasn’t giving Him the opportunity to tell me what He wanted!

There’s a verse that showed me it was in recognizing God’s mighty weapons (His Word, His Truth) that resulted in my hearing God’s voice. It was what God said to me in Ephesians 6:16, “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one,” that I began to make the connection between lies and fiery darts. From that verse God referred other verses which led me to be able to recognize the fiery darts, reject them, and to replace them with His Truth. Truth thoughts that countered the lies from the enemy.

The key to communicating with God is to become familiar with His word. Leave the Bible reading out and we will only be talking to God. We won’t know what He has to say about our petitions, if we do all the talking.

Fighting against the unseen…

Oct6
God’s word reveals deception, if God’s word becomes your filter!

 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 KJV

Let’s ask ourselves this question: ‘How much time do we spend in God’s word and in prayer.’ Unfortunately, there are some of us, though we call ourselves Christians, rarely open our Bibles. Additionally, we aren’t quite sure of even how to pray! Why is that?

If our vision is limited to only see the physical aspects of our social, political, or personal struggles, then we can fall prey to Satan’s manipulation and deception. Therefore, we won’t grasp that the real struggle or battle is on the supernatural level. And to wage war on that level, we need to be familiar with our Bibles.

For it is within the pages of Scripture where the enemy gets exposed. (Not surprising then is it that he would desire to keep us from opening such) Therefore, being able to identify the enemy and his tactics, we then search the Scriptures for the mighty weapons God has for us to use to defeat the enemy. Satan knows the 6th chapter of Ephesians, if applied, will upend his battle plan.

Becoming informed through the Truths laid out in Scripture, we will become equipped to weather the storms life will most certainly hurl at us. As we grow in this wisdom and knowledge, the curtain of deception is pulled back. We will conform to God’s Truth and be set free. The enemy’s fiery darts, sent to steal, kill, and destroy us will not only be exposed but extinguished.

Pray for discernment to see what is unseen!

Jump on board….

Sep24

I believe there is a Spiritual Awakening taking place in America. That it is most revealed in our college age young people is not surprising. For a decade now, Charlie Kirk, has been visiting college campuses with a message of Truth as it applied to various aspects of their lives. Young people who are eagerly seeking purpose for their lives. Who are searching for something real and unchanging to believe in, recognized that in Charlie’s debates.

Over the years our young adults have been inundated with cleverly disguised lies within the liberal colleges they attended. Lies that the liberal segment have renamed and redefined to make them sound truthful. While at the same time, humiliated those who held to traditional faith beliefs. The faith our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote our Constitution.

But the tide is changing. And Charlie Kirk’s assassination has resulted in thousands, maybe even millions of college students to reexamine the lies they have embraced. Now throughout America young people are ditching those lies. Now they are rallying behind the Truth that has been revealed to them. Not only young people, but older people as well.

Did you listen to the speeches made at Charlie’s memorial service? Every speaker spoke boldly about Jesus Christ, God’s Son, our Savior. It had the flavor of a revival. Even our President said so.

I am 77 and I have never heard political leaders step up and confidently proclaim such faith in Jesus Christ! And the fact that I have seen this spark originate within our Generation Z community encourages me like never before. Their readiness to seek Truth and their genuine desire for what is real, is what God is using to spark this revival. It may be our last chance people, so jump onboard!

Church? Does God have your attention now?

Sep14

It wasn’t the gun that killed Charlie Kirk, it was the guy who pulled the trigger and planned the deed. He had a heart problem. For you see, the Church has compromised God’s truths. The Church has failed to stand for Truth. For generations now, the lies of the enemy have been subtly digested by our students in the public school system. It’s been a slow, methodical digestion. And the source of this deception has manipulated and deceived us.

We have arrived at a time in history where good has been redefined as evil. Our hearts have succumbed to the constant and repetitive lies of the enemy. So much so that now we are unable to discern what is really evil or good. These types of lies (fiery darts), dressed up to appear as truth, have been absorbed into our minds. And look at the aftermath of such deception!

Then along comes a man, Charlie Kirk, willing to boldly and publicly proclaim Jesus as God’s son! A proclamation that one rarely hears these days except in a church (and sometimes so watered down we don’t recognize it). And certainly not in the public square! And of all things, ties the truths of Scripture to the solutions we should be seeking for the problems we face in our society.

The Bible tells us that we reap what we sow. And 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NLV describes what it is that we will be reaping. Read it. Does it sound familiar?

This is the very thing Charlie Kirk was trying to warn us about. But we have been ignoring him, and others like him, and we are now reaping the whirlwind. So what needs to happen?

The Church, that’s you and me have been a sleeping giant for too long. Charlie’s death, a martyr’s death, I believe, will be our wake up call.

Remember:

2 Timothy 2:25, NIV, “Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,..”

Roller Coaster Riding

Jun30

Well, today I am going to be a bit transparent. As I live my life (turning 77 soon!) I’m discovering that life doesn’t, necessarily, improve with age. You might think that the gray hair, wrinkles, and/or physical decline would present the greatest challenges. But for me, that is not the case. I’m learning to accept that as the realities of growing old. Not much fun but it’s reality. I’m learning, with God’s grace, to accept the inevitable. Besides, it’s what’s on the inside that really matters.

However, my greatest struggle occurs when I ponder the future. My husband and I have four children and children in laws, plus ten grandchildren. Yet, they all live in other cities, states, and even continents. Thus, most of our days are spent facing the challenges of maintaining our house and property on our own. In addition, all of which is complicated by our dwindling physical capabilities. While I love my country home and the serenity of its setting, the future is colored with darkened shades.

On the other hand, there are days when my faith surges strong. When I look into the future during such times, hope shines bright, and the darkness is dispelled. But then the fiery darts strike and doubt and fear do their dirty work. It’s like a roller coaster of emotions. My self-centered sinful nature fighting with my God-centered Christlike nature.

Here’s what I have recently determined. I am always going to ride this roller coaster. But on those days when my faith surges, it’s typically because a promise from Scripture sharpened my focus. I had spent time with God in prayer and His word. While He held my attention He reminded me of something I had let slip my mind. For example:

In reading Matthew 6:26, God reminds me He is faithful to sustain the birds of the air. So if He does that for the birds, He will more than do that for me. How can I believe this? Because I am much more valuable to God than the birds.

Additionally, there’s this word in Philippines 4:19, where God reminds me that He will provide all my needs according to His riches. And I can trust Him to keep His promises.

It’s only when I loose my focus of the above truth thoughts, can the fiery darts get past the threshold of my mind. As I am reminded from my book, “Above all, we must be especially alert against the beginnings of temptation, for the enemy is more easily conquered if he is refused admittance to the mind and is met beyond the threshold when he knocks.” FD’s 3rd edition, page 34

In conclusion, I have determined I must do two things: 1) be consistent in spending time with God daily in prayer and His word 2)Take to heart when God’s Spirit points out a truth to me. And by the way, live in the present. Allow God to take care of my future. Don’t allow worry to cloud up my days.

The Winter Season of Life – Part 1

May27

One of the common characteristics of the winter season of life is facing loss. Loss of physical strength or the onset of illness takes center stage. No matter how much we fight it, our strength will wane. Additionally, the loss of those we know and love increases with the announcement of ever increasing obituaries.

Yet, here we are. The winter of life is upon us. With every loss, no matter its characteristic, we are brought closer to the reality that life here on earth is but temporary. Something the previous seasons of life kept us too occupied to consider. Until now our desire to accumulate more for ourselves was an ongoing motivation. That isn’t the case now. Decluttering and lessening the demands of our accumulations is something we give consideration to in our later years. 

For many of us, our children have ventured onto paths that have lead them to places that have placed them inconveniently out of reach. Where once our days were satisfied with caring for their needs and enjoying their presence, their absence leaves a lonely void. Whether they live nearby or far away. The harsh cold truth is, they don’t need us anymore in the same way they use to.

Formerly, the manner in which we lived our lives contributed to our fulfillment of purpose. But with retirement and an empty house, that sense of purpose or usefulness has dramatically been altered. Add that to the limitations age presents us with, either by physical decline or illness, there just isn’t a lot to look forward to.

Another lesson, much more challenging, is learning to prevent past failures and mistakes from intruding into our present. Intrusions which dictate troubling attitudes and actions. When we allow ourselves to be reminded of the regrets of our past, they will build in force. And unless we learn to counter their attacks, we will find ourselves fighting a loosing battle.

Learning how to repel the negative thoughts (you remember, Fiery Darts) in order to replace them with positive thoughts (or Truth thoughts) is a constant battle, I’m afraid. But then I’m reminded of this question from my book,  “Do I want to spend the rest of my life successfully warding off fiery darts, or do I want to remain a victim of them?” (p 65, FD 3rd Edition)

In Part Two, I will delve further into life’s winter season and offer insights as to how to clear away the clouds of uncertainty that can accompany these dark days.