Tag Archive | Christians

Choosing Faith Over Fear: A Path to Strength

Jun22
Faith overcomes fear!

In light of recent global news, I believe I am faced with two choices. I can choose to allow fear to rule my thoughts and affect my choices. Alternatively, I can choose to plant my faith firmly in God’s Truth.

.If I choose fear, a formidable fiery dart, then I can be assured it will negatively affect my health. Additionally, my spiritual/mental state, and my emotional well-being, as well. That in turn will negatively affect my relationship with my family and my friends. Considering Satan’s intention to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10a), not only my life, but my witness would be impaired. So consider this. If Satan can pick us off one by one in this way, God’s army would be facing a demoralizing threat. right!

However, If I chose faith, then I have access to the mighty weapons of God mentioned in 2 Corinthians 10:4. With those weapons, I can counter every attack of the enemy. I can according to the second part of John 10:10, have an abundant life. Now, consider the powerful force of God’s army when we access such weapons!

God’s plans always succeed. We might not believe this if we lack the knowledge gleaned from the reading of Scripture. For that is where not only are God’s plans revealed but Satan’s as well. Is it any wonder then why Satan would distract us from spending time becoming informed about God’s weapons?

Yet, with the passage of time, our enemy has, with stealth and patience, deceived us into believing daily reading of God’s word isn’t all that necessary. The result is Christians have become malnourished and just plain ignorant of how to resist the enemy. Making us prime targets for, in this case, the fiery dart of fear.

Case in Point: Recently, by God’s leading, I’ve have discovered the following Truth thought in my battle with the fiery dart of fear.

Proverbs 2:6-12a

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up success[a] for the upright;
He is a shield for those who live with integrity
8 so that He may guard the paths of justice
and protect the way of His loyal followers.
9 Then you will understand righteousness, justice,
and integrity—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your mind,
and knowledge will delight your heart.
11 Discretion will watch over you,
and understanding will guard you,
12 rescuing you from the way of evil—…

Notice verse 10. The result of conferring with God is that wisdom will enter our minds. That very wisdom will rescue us from the way of evil.

In addition, God directed me to the following:

Col 2:8, Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world (any godless idea raised up against the knowledge of God. based on 2 Corinthians 10:5)

But know this. To avail ourselves to these truths, we must go to the source of Truth. Then plant our faith firmly in what is revealed to us there. Then Faith will rule our thoughts, not fear!

Lie or Truth/Can we tell the difference?…

May5

Today I am getting back to the basics of Fiery Darts. We are awash these days in lies. I’ve heard it said, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” (that may be a quote from Lenin but I am confident the original source is Satan himself, the father of liars. We all have been lied to so many times, we can’t easily recognize the difference between a lie and the truth. And this has been going on ever since the Garden of Eden. We are in pretty deep, so what are we to do?

Truth exists and is never changing. As Christians we know that God is Truth. The Truth that He desires for us to know is contained within the pages of the Bible. Therefore, all we have to do in order to recognize a lie is to compare it with God’s Truth. Yet, confusion reigns, generally speaking. So what’s the problem?

The following quote from my book I believe answers my question:

During a Bible study a few years ago, it became apparent that I had a problem identifying Satan’s lies. The major reason for this was that I was not familiar enough with the Truth of God’s Word. I discovered that five-minute, intermittent devotions, for years the characteristic of my time spent with God, was equivalent to not moving beyond the infant stage and drinking only milk. I had become spiritually malnourished and did not possess the strength I needed to distinguish good from evil. pp 29-30,Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, 3rd edition

Here’s what it boils down to. A Christian meandering in and out of the Bible at will, won’t be familiar enough with the Truth Thoughts contained therein. Understandably, when we are confronted with a lie our lack of familiarity with God’s Truth contributes to our not being able to recognize the lie. We will fall back to what we are most familiar with to decipher the lie. And if we are more familiar with the World’s view on the subject then we will go with that.

Prayer to thwart lies:

Dearest Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that I need your wisdom to prevent anyone from taking me captive through philosophy and empty deceit (teachings that sound impressive but contain very little substance and are not grounded in Christ’s teachings) but based on the elemental forces of the world (that would be any godless idea raised up against the knowledge of God, 2 Corinthians 10:5) and not based on Christ. (based on Colossians 2:8)

Worldly weapons vs God’s mighty weapons; Light vs Darkness

Nov3

2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.

I have said this before but it bears repeating. When it comes to voting, in particular for our next President, we should be courageous enough to vote our values. And as far as Christians are concerned there should be no doubt as to what those values are.

Human reasoning and false arguments have been allowed to poison a portion of the Church’s thinking. It’s time to for the Light of God’s Truth to shine down upon our darkness and expose the lies we have embraced. And may God grant us repentance that we may come to a knowledge of the Truth, come to our senses, and escape the devil’s snare (fiery darts) having been captured by him to do his will. (based on 2 Timothy 2:24-26)

Who gets to rule?

May9

1 Thessalonians 5:23 says the human soul is not only real but distinct from the body and the spirit: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Here’s an explanation:

Our bodies were given to us by God to live in and experience life on earth. It is via our bodies that we see (a glorious sunset), feel (the warmth of a child in your arms), taste (a chocolate cake with chocolate icing), smell ( the aroma of burning oak on a cool autumn day), and hear (the voices of those we love).

But we all know that at some point in time our bodies will cease to exist, we will die. So then what happens to our soul and our spirit?

The body contains the soul and the spirit. The body is NOT eternal, yet the soul and spirit are. The soul’s eternal destination is determined by the choice we make while living on this earth to either accept Christ as our Savior or not. Heaven is our eternal home for those of us who choose Christ. Hell is the eternal home for those who reject Christ.

Our soul is made up of our mind, emotions, and free will. The driving motivator of our soul is self. So visualize a throne at the center of your life. Whoever sits there gets to rule. Therefore, a soul that is ruled by self gets to do what it wants to do. Pleasing self is the primary goal. It is adverse to anything that would dethrone self.

WHO GETS TO RULE?

And finally, there is our spirit. Our spirit is what distinguishes us as Christians. It is our spirit that responds to the invitation of Jesus Christ bringing our spirit to life. Therefore, it is by our spirits that we interact/communicate with God. It is God’s spirit that reveals to us truths from God’s word. And the more we delve into God’s word, the more we will hear and understand God’s voice.

Now back to my throne analogy. When our spirit is made alive by accepting Christ as our Savior, then guess who gets dethroned? Yep, self! Our spirit, that part of us who belongs to and desires to obey God, now sits on the throne of our lives. The primary goal has now changed. Pleasing God becomes the drive that motivates us.

An individual whose spirit is NOT made alive through belief in Christ, is easy takings for Satan. Since our soul is so self-centered we are easily manipulated to go after what we want, when we want it!

Without the influence of God’s spirit within us, Satan’s subtle tactics can proceed unhindered. As he influences the soul of someone who is not a believer in Christ, he is free to manipulate, deceive, distract us away from God, Jesus, Holy Spirit. (Three components just like us). That is his whole aim on earth. His plan is to take as many souls with him as he can to his eternal hell.

But, an individual whose spirit is made alive through belief in Christ, has the power to avoid being victimized by the enemy. Our spirits, when communicating with God constantly and growing in wisdom through the absorption of His truths, expose the tactics of the enemy.

The problem here is those of us (Christians that is) who do not spend time with God in prayer and delving into His word on a consistent basis, simply don’t develop the skills we need to recognize the enemy’s tactics. As a result, we become prime targets of Satans fiery darts.

When our spirit (that part that communicates with God and He with us) is positioned on the throne of our lives then God rules. And when God rules, then we discover the life that Satan wants to steal from us. (Now, maybe we can realize why Satan doesn’t want us to read our Bibles.)

So now we need to ask ourselves, Who’s ruling our lives?

Much of my post today was gleaned from the following website: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/what-is-the-difference-between-the-body-soul-and-spirit.html

Undeserved Gifts

Jun1

 

I would like to give my readers a break today. Let’s focus on something other than the out of control violence running rampant in our land. After you read this, those concerns will still be there.  But may this respite of a read introduce some calmness into those concerns.

      I get to live on a farm! I’m 71 years old (next month I’ll turn 72 but that’s irrelevant). Sometimes, I feel guilty about getting to live here. Why?  Because I don’t contribute to the maintenance of the farm. But my daddy (Daddy has 4 children, 3 of us live here on the farm. We still, even in our 70’s and 80’s, refer to this man as Daddy. It’s our farm culture. The way we speak.)

     But I digress. I live here because it is a gift from my daddy. I didn’t do anything to deserve this acre of land I live on, other than being a child of my father’s.

     Wow, does that remind me of something! Isn’t that the way of things in the spiritual world, too? Let’s examine the parallels. As Christians, we are born into God’s kingdom. That spiritual birth entitles us to the abundant life and eternal life that Jesus died for. It’s our birthright as God’s children. We did nothing to deserve this life. It is ours due to our spiritual birth into God’s family and Christ’s sacrifice.  

     My life here on the family farm was ultimately provided by my Heavenly Father. It was about 26 years ago, that my family of 6 moved onto the homeplace. This was made possible by a gift from my earthly father.

     Stepping out onto my front porch while enjoying the welcomed coolness of a late spring morning, I heard the revving of the mower’s engine, signaling the first hay cutting of the season.  I won’t go into all the beautiful details of why this is one of my favorite pleasures of living in the corner of a big ole hayfield. Yet my reverie of thoughts was waylaid with the intrusion of thoughts of guilt. I was reminded (and we all know the source) that while my brothers and nephews work hard for this farm, I can make no such claim. 

     Why, on earth, you may ask would I spoil this picture of drawing in the sweet fragrance of new-mown hay, as I watched the birds perched on electrical lines anticipating the goodies the mower uncovers for them? Well, it’s Satan’s way. Attacking us with negative thoughts, for the purpose of undermining the perspective God sacrificed to give us. 

     But I know something too. I don’t have to give into such thoughts. (I call them fiery darts) My perceptive daughter in law reminded me (not long ago) that I have what I have because of who I was born to. And when I take on that perspective then I am at peace about enjoying this undeserved gift. 

    So, Satan be forewarned. Every time you try to plant that fiery dart thought into my head, I will remind you that like the undeserved gift of my salvation, my home here is an undeserved gift as well. I choose to honor both my fathers with a thankful heart for the undeserved gifts that my birth permits me to enjoy. 

POWER OF PRAISING

Jun5

th-8

     Ever feel like as a Christian you are letting God down? When your thoughts are consumed with the burdens you bear. You make a valiant effort to spend time with God in prayer and His word. Yet, the weight of the burdens persist. Somedays you are able to believe God. Somedays, not so much. Especially as the burdens bear down upon you and new ones are added. You don’t doubt God as much as you doubt yourself. For you know God’s word is true and powerful. It’s just that the power to tap into those truths keeps evading you. 

     It’s in times like these that we must recognize the fiery darts of the enemy. Here’s what happens when our thoughts are consumed with our problems. The more we focus on our problems, the more pity we feel towards ourselves. Negative focus=fiery darts. Hope begins to drain. No solutions come forth from such a focus. 

But there IS a solution.

     It’s not so hard. But it takes deliberate effort. The temptation to dwell on our problems is strong.  It’s our default reaction. However, as Christians the power of the Holy Spirit is stronger. When you are strong in God’s word and prayer, then Satan must use another tactic. When he won’t succeed at causing us to doubt God, he will cause us to doubt ourselves. It’s nothing but a ploy of the enemy. Here’s how we counter his attack:

Step One

     Make a list of all the reasons you have to praise God. Especially, concerning your problems. Yes, even in the midst of your problems, there are reasons to praise God. 

Step Two

     Make a list of praise verses (Hint: go to the internet and type in the phrase ‘verses of praise’. (I recommend: http://www.biblegateway and http://www.biblehub.com)

     Next time you find yourself drowning in the negativity of your problems, pull out your lists. Allow praise thoughts to saturate your thinking. In all likelihood your problems will remain. But your perspective toward them will have changed. Now they will not overwhelm you.

Some benefits of praise?

     Praising God (even in the midst of your problems) empowers you to rise above those problems. Because you are focusing on God not on yourself. 

     Praise shapes your perspective. Preventing the enemy from draining hope from your thoughts.

     Praise provides you with the means to escape the darkness when in moments of weakness, you revert to your default of centering your focus on your problems. (We are human, after all)

     Praise builds your confidence in God and His Word. (A sure way to stand against the enemy.)

     Praise increases your success route. Did you know that with God on your side, your chances for success go through the roof (a thought from The Word for You Today, p.6, 6/4/19). That’s empowering, isn’t it!

PRAISE IS YOUR POWER, NOW ATTACK!

Consuming God’s Word Daily: The key to spiritual health!

Jan3

IMG_4611 2

 

     December 31, 2018, I read the final verses of the Daily Bible Reading booklet you see above. The result of this year long effort was that I had read though the entire Bible. Then starting January 1, 2019, I started all over! My goal is the same; to read through the Bible again! For the last two years, I have maintained a consistency in daily reading my bible, thanks to this program! 

     Yet, off and on through the years, I have attempted to read my bible daily. But no matter how  diligently I began, after a time I would fizzle out. Pretty discouraging!

     Since writing Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, I have come to understand why I was such a washout in developing a daily bible reading routine. Why negative thinking ruled my thoughts. Why I became susceptible to Satan’s manipulation. 

     If he (meaning Satan)can keep you from consistent Bible study and prayer, then you will not possess the ability to recognize the lies of fiery darts, and your thinking will be vulnerable to Satan’s manipulation. p 79, FD’s 3rd edition

Satan’s plot to render us ineffective as Christians is simple. “Just keep us from reading the Bible.”

If we didn’t eat, what would happen to our bodies.

If we only ate every so often, what would happen to our health?

     Well, to a Christian, reading the Bible is like eating. To keep us spiritually healthy, we must consume a daily portion of God’s Word.

 

 

Accessing the Light

Mar28

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 As I survey people, in particular Christians, there is something I find troubling. It appears to me that an alarming number of Christians are walking life’s path without the benefit of  light! And when the trials come, the lack of light allows Satan to move stealthily.  

His first attempt will be to weaken our new nature by tempting our old nature with distractions meant to diminish our desire to study the Bible or spend time with God in prayer. p. 46 FD’s 3rd edition

   When trials come, and that’s a given, without the light of God’s word we will find ourselves stumbling around in the dark. Having become so accustomed to the darkness  we fail to see the solutions the light reveals.  Before we realize it, we find ourselves walking along life’s paths using the same human reasoning and false arguments anyone in the World would use. Without the light provided by God’s Word, we become confused, disillusioned, frustrated, etc. as we seek solutions to our trials from other sources. 

   As Christians do we really desire to live this way? Satan’s fiery darts will attempt to convince us that this is normal. But God tells us that He has a better plan:

…the second half of John 10:10 reveals … God’s plan for His children, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” p 13, FD”s 3rd edition

However, Satan’s plan is to keep us in the dark.

But remember, his plan can’t succeed as long as we access the light provided in God’s word.

 

 

 

Have we left Jesus wanting?

Jan14
   For some time now, I have observed what I believe to be a much used and deceptive fiery dart successfully used against Christians individually, against their families, and against their churches. And it boils down to this: Christians living their lives more for themselves than for God. 

Can you see the inherent problem in this way of thinking?

   We go along living our Christian lives characterized by attending church regularly or at the very least semi-regularly, and maintaining a public image that promotes the idea that we are good Christians. We will engage in all sorts of spiritual activities convincing ourselves of the depth of our faith, not realizing our intentions to live good Christian lives have been bushwhacked by fiery darts!
   We bask in the blessings that God has giving us without giving much thought to a verse like Romans 2:4 where it’s pointed out that God’s goodness should be leading us to repentance. 

Or despise you the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4 King James 2000 Bible

   We think of those blessings as more of a reward, I think. So who benefits the most from the life of a Christian who is living her Christian life according to what pleases herself more than in what pleases God? You probably are well aware of the answer!

Let’s consider the following characteristics of Christians living unto themselves:

   When trials come our way, we automatically pray to be delivered from them, whether it be in sickness or in problems that have come upon us. We have a tendency to move away from things or people that are creating disturbances in our lives because we can’t stand to suffer.
   In marriages we will put up with unhappiness for so long and if the situation does not improve,the fiery darts will justify our decision to leave.  If we are dissatisfied with our church, we will put up with our dissatisfaction for so long. Eventually the fiery darts will convince us that we must leave and seek a church where we will be more satisfied.
   We are easily deceived by such fiery dart thinking when we are focused mostly on ourselves and what concerns us. Sometimes, but not necessarily always, we have drifted from consistency in our prayer and bible study and our vulnerability to be deceived is increased. 
Therefore, by keeping us out of God’s Word and by keeping us from prayer, Satan ensures that we will not mature in our relationship with Christ, which explains why we live in such defeat. FD p. 62

So what’s the remedy?

   Focusing more on Jesus and what concerns Him

instead of focusing on ourselves and what concerns us. For Satan knows (even better than we do obviously) that Jesus will abundantly take care of what concerns us if we focus on Him first and foremost. 
   Think of the decisions we have made lately–we must ask ourselves this question.
Who benefitted the most from that decision?

If Jesus was left wanting, then perhaps; no, for sure, we must reconsider. 

Christians at the polls: or not! Point No. 1

Aug2
OR, No Vote; no voice!
OR, No Vote is No Voice!

Here’s a run down of the 5 most used excuses for not voting

(or should I say  ‘excuses for giving up one’s voice)

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

 1. Christians shouldn’t get involved in politics. 

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

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

4. My one vote doesn’t matter. 

5. I can’t get to the poles on election day. 

 

The Fiery Darts of Excuse No. 1:

     Because of the spiritual, moral, and financial decline of our country (especially in Her leadership), it is not too difficult a task for Satan to convince us that this is something we should want no part of. 

     Remember, Satan’s aim is to silence our voice, remove our influence. And this is precisely what is behind the planting of  thoughts such as Point No. 1!

     How is it then that such fiery dart thinking has found root in the mind of Christians? This excerpt from my book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, may offer some insight:

By tempting us [that is Christians] to spend little time in God’s Word, our ability to recognize the lies of fiery darts is equally diminished if we give in to that temptation. In the place of God’s Truth, the world’s concept of truth begins to define our thinking. FD, pp. 23-24

THEREFORE,

     As more and more Christians allow the ‘world’s concept of truth to define their thinking’ instead of the unchanging word of God, then our beloved country’s destiny looks bleak indeed.  

 HOWEVER, 

SCRIPTURES ADMONISH US TO CHOOSE THOSE WHO WILL BE LEADERS OVER US:

 Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders. Deuteronomy 1:13 (HCSB)

     The idea is to choose wise, understanding, and respected people who will make choices based on the principles our country was founded upon. If Christians go to the polls often enough and in greater numbers, over time our leadership will begin to reflect those principles. Then, there will be Hope for America!

Next time, Point No. 2