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The Weapon of Prayer…

Nov19

In my last post I referred to the necessity of storing up God’s truths from Scripture. In doing so, we have access to the mighty weapons 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 makes reference to. I want to extend that thought here and give some practical thoughts on prayer. I may break down what I have learned over the years and spread it out into several posts. This will be a work in progress. So, let’s see what develops!

In my twilight years, prayer has added purpose to my existence. The retirement years, empty nest and grand-parenting context of my life has altered my perspective. I now feel compelled to stand in the gap, to advocate for my family in prayer. The societal/media environment my children are having to raise their children in currently clouds the Truth. The battles they fight today are on a level of great intensity.

Additionally, I am often stunned by the misinformation permeating all the various forms of media we are exposed to. This onslaught has desensitized us all as to what is truth. If we can’t recognize truth, and I’m referring to God’s truth, then we can be easily deceived and manipulated by the enemy. To prevent that, we must spend time with God in prayer and His word in order to become familiar with what is True. Then take that Truth and apply it to ourselves and those we pray for. Only God’s truth can expose the lies of the enemy.

Therefore, I now begin every day spending time with God in prayer and in His word. Each day after opening my prayers with praise, I lift up my family’s needs. The biggest bulk of my quiet moments with God involves praying for my children, their spouses, my grandchildren, and my grandchildren’s future spouses. (Years ago, as our children were born, my husband and I began praying for their future spouses. We have continued this practice with our grandchildren.)

Then, each day of the week is designated for various groups of people: i.e.,missionaries, our national and state leaders, and news concerning them, countries in conflict, persecuted Christians, plus needs of friends and extended family. This list is organic and changes as particular needs arise. Also, I feed the prayer requests I notice from social and news media into my prayer notebook, as well.

Lastly, I end my prayers with petitions for God’s Spirit to be poured out upon the earth. I feel the urgency to pray for revival because according to the Bible we are in the last days prior to Jesus’ return. Then I close with verses regarding God’s faithfulness.

We will communicate more about prayer next post. Until then, be diligent in your search for truth.

Why should we pray and read our Bibles?

Nov11

Not because it’s what is expected of us as Christians. That motivation can’t stand against the temptations of the enemy. When we don’t have the reserves stored in our thoughts to stand against the enemy we can be victimized by him. That’s when he can steal, kill, and destroy beginning with our thoughts. (John 10:10)

If what we have stored in our minds about God doesn’t outweigh what has been placed in our minds through what we watch on tv, what we read, by the music we listen to, by the counsel of those who aren’t sensitive to our faith, then we will drift further and further away. Because our anchor isn’t sunk deep into God’s truths.

But as we go through our day and temptations come our way we need the wisdom and strength to resist the enemy that has been stored there by the time we have spent in God’s word and prayer.

Casual Christianity?

Nov5

Ever since World War II, there has been a steady decline in Christianity. In the 1960’s there was social upheaval, the sexual revolution, and a questioning of institutions. That fueled a greater withdrawal. And the steady decline continued.

In the meantime, our claim of being a Christian nation slowly faded. Sadly, it was accepted that we just weren’t what we use to be. We settled for a casual attitude in displaying our faith. It became much more acceptable to lower our aim. Living a committed Christian life wasn’t necessary anymore. Gradually, attending church or reading our Bibles grew less important. Life just got in the way and left little room to include a sincere faith walk with God. But have we stopped to consider the repercussions of such a choice?

A whole list of Pandora’s box lifestyles have emerged: same sex marriage, abortion, transgenderism, hyper individualism, rebellious and disrespectful behavior towards parents or any authority figure, cohabitation as opposed to marriage, and so much more.(btw, Ever read 2 Timothy 3:2-4?)

So I would ask, is the price we paid to have the freedom (or should I say license) to do what we wanted to do without the inconvenience of having someone speak against it given us the happiness we were seeking? Apparently not! For Psychology Today reports that Americans are not a very happy group of people.

But someone was happy about all of this. The enemy’s gloating laughter echoes throughout the country, in homes, in churches, in our schools, our places of business, the halls of government. Yet take heart my dear readers, for his seemingly incessant attacks can be thwarted. His glee can be diminished. How? By the power of God within us! Read on!

When we return to the realization that we need God. That we need to spend time with Him in prayer and His word. That’s the core weapon that we have access to. The mighty weapon that can tear down the strongholds of human reasoning and destroy false assumptions of the enemy’s fiery darts. And leaning into the Truth that God within us is greater than the enemy in the world. By remembering that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a strong mind. And by fearlessly planting our feet of faith into whatever situation we find ourselves. By unashamedly proclaiming who we are in Christ. (Like I’m thrilled to be witnessing in the public arena these recent days.) By focusing on the mighty works of God in creation and in history, proving He can do anything. Starting by bringing individuals back to their senses.

Now is the time to draw upon the power of His might as is referred to in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.” Only God’s strength can successfully stand against the spiritual forces that entice and manipulate us to be casual about our faith.

Follow His Lead…

Oct29

What is God’s will for my life?

That is a key question for Christian young adults. And a question that is often struggled over. As a young adult Christian, many moons ago, I needed to know the answer to that very question. So, I’m going to share my story of how God answered it.

After high school graduation, honestly I wasn’t asking God what He wanted to do with my life. There was a family member who had attended business college and it was suggested I look into that. Sounded plausible. I enjoyed my business classes in high school,, so why not. I enrolled and eventually secured a secretarial position.

The secretarial job gave me some independence but I still lived at home. I continued living at home and traveled to the city for my job. I figured I would eventually find some guy to marry and become a mom. When children came along, I would not work outside the home. That was my idea of what my future might look like. Now at this time, I still wasn’t consulting God about what His plan for my life might be. I continued moving forward into what I thought adulting entailed.

Then in my 21st year, due to the influence of a godly woman, my course changed. This lady had invited a college student, a former MK-missionary kid, to come speak at my church. After she spoke, she and I struck up a conversation. And as a result, she invited me to come visit her at her university, about one and a half hours drive from my home. So we made our plans.

At that time, my life was taking some ill advised detours. And slowly but surely, I began to feel the weight of guilt about some of the choices I had been making. Fortunately, by God’s grace my community of church friends began putting on the pressure to hold me accountable for those choices. Eventually, I began to listen.

From that point on, I began paying more attention to the people God brought into my life. I began to pay more attention to the situations that presented themselves. Eventually, I enrolled in the Christian college where my friend attended. I began reading my Bible more faithfully and spending time with God in prayer. And as I grew spiritually, God’s voice became louder. He asked me to do some hard things. And by doing those hard things, I proved, to myself anyway, that I was all in. Following God’s lead became my modus operandi.

Follow His Light!

So, you want to know what God’s will is? Start by just following His lead!

Truth stands on its own; lies require constant upkeep…

Oct22

I did some online research on the topic of what Evil (and those in league with evil, though they may not realize it) resorts to when it begins to loose ground against Truth. Then I compared my research with the actions displayed in social, political, spiritual, or personal settings. Many of the strategies my research exposed are showing up in these settings.

When God is rejected, Truth is rejected. For God is Truth. Therefore, when an entity or a person promotes narratives that aren’t based on God’s Truth, they must resort to lies and dishonesty to maintain their cause.

Allow me to list some of the common strategies my research revealed. We need to ask ourselves, “Does any of this sound familiar?”

  • Distraction & Misdirection — Instead of addressing the real issue, they shift the topic, create chaos, or invent new controversies to muddy the waters.
  • Character Assassination — When they can’t discredit the argument, they attack the person. Smears, rumors, and accusations become their weapons.
  • Victimhood Reversal — They present themselves as the oppressed to gain sympathy, even if they’ve been the aggressor all along.
  • Mockery & Ridicule — Rather than offering reason, they turn to sarcasm and scorn to socially pressure others away from truth.
  • Fear & Intimidation — Threats (social, financial, or physical) are used to silence opposition. If they can’t win, they try to shut you up.
  • Divide & Isolate — They attempt to turn allies against each other, encouraging infighting so that the movement for truth loses unity.
  • Redefining Words & Reality — They manipulate language, changing definitions so that truth itself becomes fuzzy or relative.
  • Projection — They accuse their opponents of the very wrongdoing they themselves are guilty of. This confuses the battlefield.
  • Buying Time — Endless debates, procedural delays, or “studies” — anything to stall truth long enough to maintain control.
  • Corrupting Institutions — If truth is gaining ground through fair systems, they rewrite rules, censor voices, or replace gatekeepers. (like universities for example)

What we have here are some very cleverly disguised fiery darts. Lies cleverly framed to make them unrecognizable to anyone who is not familiar with God’s Truth. Therefore, it behooves us to equip ourselves with the armor mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-18. By doing so, we can avoid being deceived & manipulated, in other words being victimized by the enemy.

Do we recognize these tactics? While this is disheartening, take heart. Instead turn to God’s word. For there we will find the resources we need to stand against the lies. We will know these tactics, based on human reasoning and false assumptions are no match for the mighty weapons of God. The louder the promoters of this deception become, the more confident we can be that Truth is already winning.

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,..”

Alone but not alone…

Sep8
Ecclesiastes 3:4 – “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

We stood by your grave today in the context of a calm and comforting autumn day

It was the first time since your passing that the two of us stood there, together

We stood there gazing in unbelief (still) that your name was on that grave marker

We talked about the loneliness that hung over us since we have been separated

And intensified since you moved to heaven

We were forced to move forward, without you, and without the comfort of each other’s presence

We were each on our own, and loneliness has been our constant (but hidden) companion

But in time we were reunited for a short while

Enough time to recall the past memories we all 3 had shared

Memories that were fresh and made fresher in their recollection

I heard myself laughing like I always did when the 3 of us were together

But hadn’t since you passed away and our paths took different directions

Now our brief reunion has ended

But we have tasted the sweetness of our laughter once again and felt its healing comfort

Now we will move forward returning to our individual paths

While the echoes of our laughter lingers in our thoughts

and though on our singular paths, alone but not alone!


Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh. Luke 6:21 b

Balancing our focus…

Aug31

God’s love and mercy, is revealed dynamically in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ! We Christians live our lives in the assurance of this fact. But, if we focus on that alone, are we getting the whole picture? For you see, as uncomfortable as it may be to think about, God’s wrath is every bit as real as His love and mercy. And getting those truths of God’s character out of balance puts us in a dangerous and vulnerable position for the enemy’s attacks.

Let’s examine this by considering our birth into God’s family. We have left a life bent on pleasing ourselves to a life bent on pleasing God. As a young Christian it is God’s plan that we grow. That growth will take place in accordance with how we are nurtured. But just like a newborn babe, we will fail to thrive, if we aren’t consistently fed. And how is a newborn Christian to thrive? By spending time with God in prayer and His word. And therein lies Satan’s target.

Throughout history, God has protected and preserved the Bible. He provided everything we needed to know about Him, His redemptive plan, and how we are to live, all within the pages of Scripture. And those words are the source of our nourishment.

But it is our nature to be more concerned about pleasing ourselves rather than God. But as Christians we now have a new nature. A nature that is becoming like Christ the more we avail ourselves to the nourishment of God’s truths. As the new nature matures and grows in strength, the old nature is diminished. So, if the enemy can distract us, he can keep us from growing and learning about those truths.

Think about how self-absorbed Society is today. Some psychologist say that the I-generation or Me-generation (that they are called this aught to tell us something) take it for granted that the self comes first. Of course, not everyone of this Me-generation are self-absorbed. However, Christian young adults live among a society that is driven by this ‘it’s all about me mentality’. And if they aren’t careful they will be tempted to dismiss the seriousness of their sins, or any Christian for that matter. But ponder on this: God allowed Christ to be tortured and murdered for our sins. That’s how seriously He takes sin.

So what do we suppose will be the effect on a Christian, if we don’t have the wrath of God in proper perspective with His love and mercy? If we only focus on God’s love and mercy, can we fully embrace the sacrifice Jesus made and why He made it?