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Christians at the polls; or not! Point No. 3

Aug5
OR, No Vote; no voice!

OR, No Vote; no voice!

Point No. 3

Our country is in a big mess. My vote isn’t going to change that.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiGfXr88iYE

The Fiery Dart of Excuse No. 3

Maybe now more than ever our beloved America is indeed in a big mess.  Christians all over the country are throwing up their hands in despair and as much as saying, ‘I quit’, apparently.  The fiery dart that their vote wouldn’t make a difference has been convincing enough to keep half of the 60 million Christians eligible to vote from making their voice heard.  Pretty powerful lie isn’t it!

However, 

Answer this question: How do things get changed in this country? If you said, voting, then you would be right. Read the history books! It’s an account of citizens who saw voting as a responsibility and allowed no one or thought to keep them from fulfilling that responsibility.  

Can you imagine the impact 60 million voters could have on turning things around in our country?

But wait a minute, that leads into my next post! Point No. 4

Christians at the polls; or not! Point No. 2

Aug4
OR, No Vote; no voice!

OR, No Vote; no voice!

 

Point No. 2

I don’t like any of the candidates. The one I like isn’t even in the running!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiGfXr88iYE

The Fiery Dart of Excuse No. 2

If you don’t like any of the candidates, then don’t vote.

If we don’t feel strongly (it’s a matter of conviction) about fulfilling our responsibility as citizens of this great country of ours by voting, then we can easily be persuaded (or should I so manipulated) to solve our dilemma by simply not voting. If ‘Me’ is the center of our focus, instead of what is good for America, then we will strive to do whatever makes us happy.  If we aren’t happy with the candidates who are running, then not voting appears to be the solution to us.

However,

Replace the above reasoning (fiery dart) with the Truth Thought below:

The video I mentioned reminds us that we should, in cases like this, vote the better choice.  And remember, if Christians get registered and vote, due to our vast numbers, our combined voices will eventually become so loud that the type of candidates we would want to vote for will get into the running. 

Tomorrow? Point No. 3

 

 

Just Resist!

Jul16

     As some of you may know, I write another blog about being a parent of a foreign missionary, giving a transparent view of what that’s like. This post gives some insight as to what I’ve learned about fiery darts as it applies to being the mom of a missionary. 

All 9 of my treasures!

All 9 of my treasures!

 

     Every time I see a picture of my 20 month old grandson or hear his voice when his daddy calls me, I get blasted with a huge onslaught of fiery darts such as:

-my grandson doesn’t know me

-the memories I am making with my grandchildren here always exclude him

-he has no memory of our time together (when he was 3 & 4 months)

-I miss out on the milestones of his development; first steps, crawling, first words, first tooth

-I can’t hug him, or hold him, or play with him, or rock him to sleep

-etc.

 

How on earth do I find a way to get through my days burdened with these thoughts?

The main thing I do is to RESIST these thoughts. Yes, they are true but what good does it do to dwell on them? I don’t particularly enjoy being miserable but if I allow these fiery dart thoughts to rule my thinking then miserable I would be.

What do I do instead?

I recognize them for the fiery darts they are.

I reject them. (I don’t allow myself to dwell on such thoughts)

I replace these thoughts with truth thoughts.

Such as:

-Thanking God for the time I got to visit him where I held him, sang to him, and lavished as much attention on him as I could.

-Looking forward to future visits with him for he will be 2+ and might even be able to remember me some.

-Resting in the peace that God will give us a special attachment for each other.

-Being content to share in his life though packages from home, and whatever media source God provides.

-Thanking God for the relationship I have with his parents knowing they will be deliberate about making sure my grandson will know me.

     But the main thing is to accept and be at peace with the call of God on his parent’s life, and giving them all the love and support they deserve. Philippines 4:6-7 is my stabilizing force in all of this:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.-

God, Our Logistics Coordinator wrap up!

Jun23
This my friend, is how you conquer the fiery dart of worry!

This my friend, is how you conquer the fiery dart of worry!

I am just a worrier. It’s the way I was made.  I can’t help it!

     The next time you make that statement or hear someone else make that statement, I hope you will refer to my blog posts. You see, worry is a major fiery dart! Worry will create all sorts of turmoil within your mind. That turmoil will make you vulnerable and a prime target for fiery darts that will undermine your trust and faith in God.  

     If you ever have any thoughts like the ones I opened with in this post, then plant your feet firmly in God’s Word and

1 – Recognize those thoughts for the fiery darts that they are

2 – Reject them outright for dear readers they are nothing but lies

3 – Replace them with Truth thoughts (go to your computer and type in the phrase “verses about worry” for there you will find a bunch of them. God has a lot to say about worrying) but I highly recommend,

 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:67 (NIV)

     Now that you have had the opportunity to read my last two posts illustrating, through personal testimony, why I see God as my logistics coordinator, I hope I have given you food for thought that will deflect all those fiery darts that tempt you to worry. He will prove to you, as He does for me over and over again, that He can be trusted to work all things out for my good (ooh, sounds like Romans 8:28 doesn’t it!)  That, my dear readers is a liberated way to live!

The 3 R’s of Fighting Fiery Darts – Revised Plan!

Feb17

On January 6, 2014, I wrote this post and titled it, The 4 R’s of Fighting Fiery Darts!  Since then I have revised it and following is that revision.  I do hope you are reading my blogs on fiery darts along with my book.  Someday maybe I will expand that book, to include some of these thoughts that have come to me as I have written these posts. It’s something I’m praying about!

As I have been using this format to pray against fiery darts, I have felt impressed to eliminate one of the steps.  The one titled, “repeat”!  Actually I began to see it wasn’t necessary, sort of redundant.  I really do believe this new 3 step plan is more concise.  

1. RECOGNIZE!

So how do we recognize fiery darts? Examine the effect the “suspicious thought” has on you.  Does it produce confusion, fear, doubt, anger, inferiority, indecisiveness, jealously, or selfishness, for example?  quote from p.33 FD

In other words does it produce condemnation? Do those thoughts leave you feeling worthless, uncertain or burdened with unconsolable grief? That’s the work of condemnation, my dear friend.  How do I know that? Read this verse: Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (NIV)

Conviction brings restoration.  Jesus has come to bring forgiveness and restoration.  Condemnation will not produce abundant life; conviction certainly does. John 10:10, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (KJV)

2. REJECT

As soon as you determine that the suspicious thought is a fiery dart, then reject it.  Remember, by allowing it to remain, the poison of the fiery dart begins seeping into your mind influencing the formation of negative attitudes and actions.

As Barney Fife puts it so eloquently, “Nip it, Nip it, Nip it!” (In the bud, before it takes root!)

3. REPLACE

Wield the power found in initially repeating Isaiah 54:17 immediately, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper…” (NASB), so as to prevent the fiery dart thought from imbedding itself into your mind.

Finally, replace the fiery dart thought with a verse or thought of the type mentioned in the following verse. Philippines 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)

I hope this revision serves you well.  And may the fiery darts formed against you not prevail!

God bless!

Then and Now!

Jun18

THEN

As I gaze in thought upon my life prior to my lessons concerning fiery darts, I stand amazed at God’s guidance since those pivotal days.  Often, I find myself comparing the life I lived then with the life I live now.

During those ‘prior’ days, on various occasions depression would reach out and grab me, almost pulling me under.  Negative thinking, which I now recognize as fiery darts, dictated my attitudes,emotions, and actions.  I was a people pleaser and my bent toward negative thinking convinced me that not too many people in my life were very pleased with me.  Unfortunately, it seemed to me that there was abundance of evidence which confirmed my suspicions.  Thus, I spiraled downwards too many times.

Yet, during those days there were two constants in my life that prevented me from hitting bottom–my young children and my faith in God.  My children were small and I never doubted that I pleased them.  They were my constant reassurance that I was needed and loved.  And, although I did not seek out God’s truths of scriptures as I should have, God was constantly sending me messages which reminded me that He loved and accepted me.

It seemed that just when I needed His assurance the most, He would send me a lifeline (and often it was via my children or through a special word from God).  Often, all I could do was to cry out to God for His help and plead with Him not to forsake me (you see fiery darts had planted a serious seed of doubt in that regard). My strength was so deficient.   But because God was faithful to His child, I endured and the day finally came when my instruction on fiery darts began and slowly but surely so did my healing.

AND NOW?

You might think that the problems I endured prior to my fiery dart training no longer trouble my life.  If you thought that you’d be mistaken.  For I am still troubled by fiery dart thinking and some of those same troubles back then, still exist.  Yet, I can claim that though those problems still linger, these are blessed days for me.

How is that possible?

My fiery dart training has taught and continues to secure my freedom.  Learning to recognize a negative thought as a fiery dart and how NOT to permit it to rule my thoughts, attitudes, and actions is probably the greatest source of my victory.  Oh, I still have mighty struggles with fiery darts but they don’t have the power to rule me as they did before.  And that’s the clincher!

Fiery Darts do not rule me now:

And therefore, manipulate me to act and think in ways that would undermine my faith and attempt to pull me back into bondage.

Here are a few verses from The Bible that are powerful in depleting the power of fiery dart thinking:

James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;”

Philippines 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

That last verse I have recently discovered is super damaging to fiery dart thinking.  Fill you head with thoughts that are of the nature described in this verse and there just won’t be room for fiery darts to hang around.

So your next step?

Get your hands on my book:  Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice.  I have copies I can sell you (if you want me to mail you one) and it’s available online (try amazon.com and you can get it on Kindle too!)

Suffering? Nope that’s not for me!

Apr14

It’s only been a month since I returned from my 2 1/2 month stay in Africa where my son, daughter-in-law, and newborn grandson serve as missionaries.  And I am still processing the numerous lessons I was introduced to while there.  But there’s been one on my mind that continues to surface on a regular basis.

One of the conversations I had with my son as he was helping me get through a difficult time was the conflicting attitude many Christians here in the U.S. seem to portray.  It has to do with our attitude towards suffering.

SUFFERING?  Nope that’s not for me!

If I have lived my life as a good Christian should, then God will bless me.  And if something bad happens to me, I am going to pray and get as many  as I can to join with me, asking God to deliver me from this bad thing.

Please notice the following excerpt from my book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, p. 38

Ever noticed how reluctant we are to suffer for Christ?  When someone gets sick, we automatically ask God to heal.  Take the suffering away and we deprive ourselves from learning how to handle suffering and as a result grow more like Christ.  Does anyone think that this life can be lived without suffering?  Not really, so why do we recoil from it when it comes our way?

Life can’t be lived without experiencing difficulty.  Yet the fiery darts persist in trying to convince us that if we live our lives as a good Christian should then our lives will be blessed and that should result in an easier life.  I don’t really think any Christian would say they believe such nonsense, but by the way we ‘recoil’ from suffering and automatically begin praying to be delivered or be healed, I think we are acting as if we do.  You think?

We want an easy life, or at least that’s what the fiery darts will try to convince us of.  But we experience salvation, the hope of eternal life, abundant life in the here and now–and the list goes on and on–JUST BECAUSE someone was willing to suffer on our behalf.

Be ever so careful my dear ones when hard times come your way.  There’s a sweetness in that trial that will only be tasted as we submit our wills to God and trust Him to work it all out for our good.  (Just like Romans 8:28 says)

James 1 encourages us to count it all joy when we suffer from trials and tribulations.  Why? Because there is something lacking in our lives and if we will only cooperate with God as we go through these trials, then whatever is lacking will be supplied by that trial.

Oh, I can just hear that fiery dart being whispered in your head about now.

“Are you kidding me? Whatever it is that’s lacking, I’m sure is something you would rather live without, right?”

You see, the fiery darts want to cloudy up your thinking so that you won’t remember verses like Jeremiah 29:11, where God reminds us that His plans for us are good plans that will give us a hopeful future.  The Holy Spirit reminds us, we have to cooperate with God as He works out those plans.

Are you going through a hard time right now?  As God to help you identify the fiery dart thinking that is keeping you from identifying the power God supplies you with to be victorious.  As a matter of fact, refer to p. 79 in my book and learn how to attack the fiery darts that are designed to pull you down so you will know NOTHING of the victory God has planned for you in that trial!

Thinking Happy Thoughts!

Apr3

While in Africa visiting my newborn grandson and working along side my son and daughter-in-law, I had pointed out to me by God a verse of Scripture that is powerful in fighting off fiery darts.  Here it is:

“Finally, brothers and sisters whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippines 4:8

For some reason I can’t explain, that verse had been totally overlooked by me until now.  You see my ‘go to’ verse to fight off fiery darts has been

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;” Isaiah 54:17

In my book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, (p. 79) I urge my readers to do the following:

Afterword

Here are five simple steps to keep in mind when you are faced with a fiery dart:

 1.  Examine the negative thought.

 2. Ask yourself this question:  What is the purpose of this thought?

 3.  Acknowledge it as a fiery dart, if the purpose is to pull you down in any way.  Then, personalize this prayer based on Isaiah 54:17, “May this weapon formed against me not prevail.” (Keep in mind that conviction brings restoration, a fiery dart brings condemnation.)

 4.  Search your concordance for a Scripture that addresses that issue, after determining the TRUTH you need to combat the lie of the fiery dart.

 5.  Call upon the TRUTH of the Scripture from Step 4, every time you are tempted with the fiery dart.  

If you’ll notice in Step 4, I instruct my readers to search the Scriptures for a truth that will combat the lie of a fiery dart.  This is what I believe the verse in Philippines is making reference to.

You see, the verse communicates that we are to fill our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and/or praiseworthy.

Why should we do that?

It’s simple, really.  When you are bombarded with a fiery dart, it won’t turn loose of your thoughts very easily.  It will return. Consider the following verses:

Matthew 12:43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

I thought of this verse as I contemplated what happens in our minds after we have rejected a fiery dart with Isaiah 54:17.  When we rid our mind of the fiery dart thought it’s imperative that we fill the space the fiery dart occupied with a positive thought.  (Philippine 4:8) Right?

So, the smart thing to do would to fill that space with a Truth given to you by God based on His Word that nullifies that fiery dart.  See, I told you it was simple!

It is so disheartening to me as I listen to my fellow Christians who by their conversation I can tell they are loosing the battle against fiery darts.  These are dear ones who haven’t developed the sensitivity to recognize the fiery darts that are bent on destroying them.

Please dear ones, learn how to recognize those fiery darts and how to wage war on them.  You shouldn’t be having so much defeat in your lives; you should be glorifying your Heavenly Father by accepting the power He extends to you to be victorious over them.

Fiery Darts? Oh I know what that is!

Mar27

FYI I have recently returned from a 2 1/2 months stay in the land of Uganda in order to visit with my son, daughter-in-law, and brand-new grandson.  And while I went there on a grandmother’s mission, God added an aspect to my mission that was quite unexpected.

I won’t go into any details here about the alterations God made in my trip but I invite you to read about that in my other blog:

http://missionarysmom.wordpress.com

I mention my trip because of the insight God gave me due to my experiences there into what He continues to teach me about fiery darts.

* * * *

First of all, I’d like to address something that became apparent to me during my stay in Uganda.  I am concerned that the term ‘fiery darts’ is a term perhaps overly familiar to Christians.  Why would that cause me concern?

If you are overly familiar with something, you tend to take it for granted.  Right?  So in applying this thought to the term fiery darts, it is becoming apparent to me that when I bring up fiery darts in a conversation most people (esp. Christians) assume that they know  what I’m talking about.  And I believe they do too; just not as much as they think they do.

It took an in-depth study and lots of years of personal experience for me to be able to identify the fiery darts that were plaguing my mind.  Then after God introduced me to what fiery darts were (and who was responsible for wielding this weapon against me), He began teaching me as to how I could counter their attacks.

From all of that came the book:

Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice

Once you start reading the book or even just glancing over the table of contents, you’ll discover that there’s so much more to know about fiery darts than just being able to define them.

I encounter Christians who are unknowingly being victimized by fiery darts. While they might  even acknowledge a negative thought as a fiery dart, they are unskilled when it comes to preventing these fiery darts from defining attitudes and/or actions. Or worse yet, they aren’t able to recognize the fiery darts that’s victimizing them!

So what am I trying to say here?

What these Christians need to do is to educate themselves about this term they are so-o-o familiar with, because defining the term ‘fiery darts’ is just the tip of the iceberg.  Obviously, getting your hands on my book (or even rereading with the intent of studying it if you already have one) is something I strongly suggest.  The benefit of studying my book is that I have gone through the trials that taught me how to recognize and fight fiery darts.  You can benefit from the lessons I learned in those trials by making my book an object of your personal study. (You can’t imagine how much better that will be for you!)

Or do an in-depth study of your own on this subject.  Whatever you do find out all that you can to thwart the attacks of fiery darts.

In my next post, I’d like to share with my readers a little jewel God gave me while in Africa which added to my own arsenal to counter the attack of fiery darts.

How to get my book

All you have to do is to google the title of my book:  Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice  to locate my book online.  And for you e-readers it’s available on Kindle!

Or type in the following website:  http://newbookpublishing.com     to order a book from them. (they have it on Kindle as well)

And for those of you who live in my area, you can get a book from me personally.  Contact me at     janetwarrenlane@gmail.com   for details as to cost.