The Weapon Will Not Produce

No weapon formed against us shall prosper doesn't mean that the weapon itself will always be stopped from striking. It means that the purpose and plan of the weapon, as designed by whoever the enemy is, will not produce the evil effect that the enemy intended. This is the heritage for those who love God through Jesus Christ by the power of The Holy Spirit, for those who choose to walk in the spirit and not in the flesh.

Isaiah 54:17

***

Ask God Only Once

Yes, it's good to ask Our Father for something only once. After that, we should thank him for it when the desire to ask for it again arises. Don't ask again. We should thank him for what we have already asked for. 

When I ask, I also follow Jesus' example and I say, "Nevertheless, not my will but thy will be done, Father." I am acknowledging that if the answer is not as I expected, I trust that he has planned something better.

***

Why Did You Let Me Do It Father?

When I find that I've made what appears to be a poor decision and traveled in a direction that did not work out, I know that my Father knew it would happen and how it would end. I know that He was not surprised by my journey. He knows the beginning to the end of everything. He knows everything about me. I come from him and he has numbered all of the hairs on my head. He is concerned about every little thing that has to do with me. 

Most importantly, I look to him when I make plans. I am becoming more consistent about running every idea, goal and pursuit by him before I embark upon it. I want His supreme guidance and if it is not in His plan for me, I don't want it.  Because of my determination, when a path seems to goes awry, I lament to Our Father, Why, oh why did you allow me to go this way when it wasn't going to work OUT! 

I have learned that even when he allows us to go on a track that seems to not produce a favorable return, it's still in his plan for us and will work out for our good. We learn things and collect experiences that he will use to benefit our upcoming purposes. 

If you love God The Father, appreciate God The Son and obey God The Holy Spirit every day, don't ever think that an experience is useless. God does not produce useless things in our lives. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Rejoice! Just rejoice in the experiences that God allows into our lives, fully believing that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Faith

 Thank you, Heavenly Father, that our FAITH is not based on the way of the world, which deceives. Our FAITH is based on the truths in your Word.

Joy

 Thank you, Father, that our joy is not based on how we feel, which fluctuates. Our joy is based on the truth in your Word.

Peace

Thank you, Father, that our peace is not based on our circumstances, which change. Our peace is based on the truth in your Word.

God's Love Overshadows All

Nothing else matters when we know who we are in God. Any abandonment, dismissal or spurning that we may endure no longer matters when the value that we are to God through Christ Jesus becomes real to us.

How we are accepted, received, approved and validated by our Heavenly Father everyday can overshadow any rejection that we may encounter. We need to give in more to God's love, which overshadows all, and live in the truth of it everyday.

Keep Seeking God's Truth About Your Life

It is often easy to feel that our most desired blessings from God will not come until we are dead and gone. It will no longer matter then, but it matters today. I know that you feel discouraged and sometimes hopeless. I can testify to how hard it is for some of us to believe that God loves us, that he really cares. I've endured so much in life, from a child, that my emotions question God's love for me. I sometimes feel hopeless that I'll ever realize some desired things in this life, but I persevere in eating and drinking the Word everyday. 

Each day I persist in having a formal prayer session every morning to commit my way to God. I set my day with Jesus Christ's sacrifice in mind. I know that God has helped me, done things for me, guided me and protected me. I'm rooted and grounded through years of seeking God's face after I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. I love my Heavenly Father with a perfect love in my reborn spirit. 

What makes the most difference for me is choosing to read the Word everyday. One scripture, one chapter, doesn't matter how much how little, just opening it and reading something. And not always going to the 23rd Psalm but going places in the Bible where I've never been. That's where the real power is.

The Word slowly transforms us and helps us to choose to believe. And to believe is a choice that we have to make everyday. As I press on in learning about the things of God, I understand more, and he does reward me for my faithfulness. Even so, it is a constant, spiritual battle to believe and receive. 

The devil and his demons are real and they never cease to try to destroy our relationship with God. They work hard to make us think and feel that God does not love us. Our job is to resist them and call them out everyday as the liars that they really are. Evil spirits have nothing to offer us but lies and desolation and an end equal to what they face. 

Those who believe have no where else to go but to Our Father God, Our Savior Jesus, Our Comforter The Holy Spirit and The Word of Truth. If we're tired and don't feel like praying or reading sometimes, The Holy Spirit knows all about it. God does not condemn us for this fleshly weakness but we always have to go back. There is no where else where we can find comfort, relief and hope. 

If we let him, God will grow us, transform us and strengthen us and also reward us everyday. Keep trusting him and remember that Jesus gave his blood and his body so that you can become whole in everyway, despite how you feel and what you have experienced or are experiencing.

I pray for you that from this point you are healed in heart, mind and emotions and that you are strengthened and that your faith is increased beyond all measure! God loves you and he knows all about you.

God's Blessings Through Transitions, Transfers And Changes

I've learned that nothing that God does in our lives is necessarily permanent. Though I thrive on changes, transfers and transitions, some that are unexpected and unwanted are very difficult to cope with.  As Christians, we are often ashamed to accept a change when we shared that God did the thing and blessed us.

We think because God did it that it is engraved in stone and can never change. God gave it and we have it, for good! When the blessing circumstances begin to change, we are apt to and often encouraged by less-enlightened Christians, to believe that we made a mistake. Maybe God did not do it after all, because things are now changing. If God did it, it would not change, right? As we grow in Christ, we learn that this is not true.

God gives and takes away, shifts and turns things in our lives, opens a door for a season and then closes it and opens another door. He even brings people into our lives temporarily to bless us in various ways.  He then moves them out because they were not meant to stay. We are confused and wonder why these relationships are not retained. We lament and look back, when we need to learn to let go and move forward.

We should anticipate the new things that God will do. It helps to remind ourselves that everything in this fallen world is temporary. It all seems so solid to us because we endure time while we are here. Time seems to make permanent things but that permanence is all temporary. God shifts all according to his will and we are not to hold on to what he allows to change.

Transfers and transitions are more often experienced in the lives of some rather than others. Despite this, we all can grow through God's big and small changes as we listen to and obey His Spirit each day. If you have proof within yourself that you made a mistake and God did not do it after all, admit it and move on. Growth is good and God knows where you're at.

When things begin to change, however, regarding a blessing that you know came from God, don't degrade your relationship with Your Heavenly Father by choosing to believe that he never blessed you. Don't allow others to convince you to demean your spiritual growth and your commitment to God. Know that God does not change, but he changes things.

Our Father does not intend for the changes to hurt us. Because of the condition of this damaged and swiftly-deteriorating world, hurts and pains must come. God allows his planned and ordained changes to bring about his purposes. His end result is not for us to suffer for no reason. He plans and allows changes in his blessings to benefit us now and in the New Heaven and the New Earth, in ways that we cannot imagine. We just need to stand firm in what we know and accept what Our Heavenly Father changes, as we grow in our understanding of how He does things.

God's Light Shines Through You

 

No matter what it looks like,

the God of Peace is with you. 

You are a channel for God's goodness.

It is not your flesh that is the channel.

It is your reborn spirit.

No matter what is going on with you,

your body is still the

Temple of the Holy Spirit. 

Sometimes it may not seem like it

but you are valuable to God.

The light of His life is always

in you and shining through you.

Be encouraged that the Spirit of God

operating in you is always working

 to promote life and peace,

in you, through you and around you,

to the far reaches of the earth,

to the end of time.

 

Overcome Evil With Good And Grow

Have you been feeling fearful or maligned lately? Been the target of malevolent or hateful treatment? What about persecution, harassment or oppression in it's various psychological and emotional ways? Do you wonder where your Father God is as you struggle to righteously endure the unceasing unfairness that he seems to be allowing?

Do not doubt that he is aware. Furthermore, he knows why you feel the way that you do. He knows the causes of your confusion and anger and he is not mad at you. When will he ever do something about what you are suffering? I don't know. Will he ever stop it? I don't know. Despite our uncertainties and intense anxieties, there is always a place where we can take refuge in a way that pleases God. We should always want to please and glorify him, no matter what. 

I pray every morning before I speak to or encounter anyone in person or online. I also do talking prayer to God throughout the day. When these distressed feelings are particularly severe, however, I need something else to help me. Rather than attack others (in my mind or outwardly) who may seem to be the cause of my troubles, I like to quote Psalm 91. I have it written on three little sheets of paper that I've taped together.

I keep the little packet in the place where I am most of the day. I can find it either on my art work table or at my computer. When I feel particularly distressed, I pick it up and walk around my home reading it aloud.

I bring the words out of my spirit and put them into my atmosphere, where they will grow and bear good fruit, within and all around me. I listen to myself speaking the Living Word of God, that which will transform and convert. I always feel better and equipped for the next stage of battle when I do this. 

Don't fight with others. Don't attack others in mind, spirit or physically. Don't repay evil for evil. Do good by speaking the Holy Scripture passage that will carry you to the next level of walking in God's light and growing in Christ.

Is It All REALLY Working Together For My Good?

Sometimes, the trials that God turns into good for us we may never discern.

Often, this converting of these tribulations on our behalf moves into the realm of the unseen.

They can be the good that God does for us of which we are unaware.

We have faith that he does these things because the Word tells us so.

We may not always see the outcome of God working all things together for our good but we have testimonies of the times when we experienced proof that he did.

We also know that we live among bountiful blessings from our Heavenly Father every day.

 Any one of those unrecognizable daily blessings could be a conversion of bad to good, just for us.

Romans 8:28

 

Dear Lord Help Us

A prayer and reminder for when you are feeling anxiety, distress, depression, hopelessness or unhappiness.

DEAR LORD:

Help us to keep our minds on you.

We thank you for the peace that passes all understanding and for joy unspeakable in the midst of struggle, fear and disappointment. We know that our joy in you is where our strength will always lie, and that YOU will keep us in perfect peace, because we choose to bring our minds back to you always.

AMEN.

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary III

Guilt is debilitating and useless, and comes from the influence of the devil.

 I know how it is to weep your heart out because of distress over a circumstance. I know how it feels to be overcome by struggle, fear or tragedy. Breaking down in tears is a relief, but it is also horrifying and exhausting. We often feel guilty for being human, though we ARE human. God acknowledges this by coming in human flesh to experience what only humans can, and dying for our human frailties.

When we feel tired of praying and believing in prayer, guilt tries to set in. We feel like we should be able to do better, fix things, make something work out, not grieve, not feel trauma, not feel bad. Guilt is debilitating and useless, and comes from the influence of the devil. If we are ever guilty of anything at all, there is always the answer of accepting a washing that makes us whiter than snow, through what Jesus did.

There is no level of black guilt that cannot be covered by Jesus' sacrifice for us. All we need to do is ask to realize what is already there for us. Feeling overcome and tired, and not feeling like praying anymore is nothing to feel guilty about. It is human. God knows that we are human. He created us.

After we have accepted how we feel, and have called upon the Holy Spirit to pray for us (see You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary) , we should as devoted, growing Christians, desire to get our prayer life back on track. Sometimes it helps to change up how we pray, the words and scriptures that we use, the times of day, the subjects, etc. At the same time, we should continue to thank God for specific things that we have asked for. Don't keep asking, begging and pleading with God for the same thing. You ask him once and you have it. You ask according to his will and it is done. Plain and simple. I John 5:14-15 says If we ask anything according to his will, we know we have the petitions that we desire of him.

Sometimes it helps to change up how we pray, the words and scriptures that we use, the times of day, the subjects, etc.

The next step is to crush the fear that things will not work out, that nothing will ever change, that we will never be happy. When the desire to beg and plead for that same thing tries to rule you again, stop the thought and thank God for the answer. Thank him that it has been done, according to his will. Our faith in his will is what puts us in a position to receive his answers to our prayers.

Now move on and petition or ask God for the next thing, leaving it at the Cross. From then on, thank him for it until you recognize an answer,

however and whenever that should come.  
 

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary

You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary II
You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary IV

 You Are Here: Tired Of Praying & Weary V

Our Thank-Yous Are From The Lord

...we remember, however, that what we do we do unto God,

Remember,

whatever you do unto God

does not require a thank you from man. 

Sometimes we do something for someone and forget about it. Whether it was voluntary or requested, when we remember what we did we may think so-and-so did not thank me for what I did. Maybe the person forgot to thank us, or maybe they were not aware that it was us who did it. Maybe it was done jointly with another person, and that person received a thanks, but we did not. We may feel left out, unappreciated or unacknowledged at the moment we realize that we were not thanked. 

It is nice to receive a thank you from others. It is good to be appreciated, for a job well-done or a gift given, by relatives, friends and others. When we remember, however, that what we do we do unto God, we don't feel so deprived when we are not thanked. When we remind ourselves that we are always aware of the presence of our God, and that he sees what we do with pure hearts, we don't have to solicit thank yous from others.

The Bible, that lamp unto our feet and that light unto our paths, reminds us that:

Whatever you are doing, let your hearts be in your work,

 as a thing done for the Lord and not for men. 

 Colossians 3:23 (WNT)

Whatever you do, do it readily, as to the Lord and not to men;

(BBE)

Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people.

(CEB)

Whatever work you do, put yourself into it,

as those who are serving not merely other people,

but the Lord.

(CJB) 

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,

(CSB)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.

(GNT)

 

How God Helps With Problems

God shows me over and over...

...that the answers to most things that trouble me are very small things. These small things are solutions that I would never discover if it was not for Him. These solutions are tiny compared to how I view my problems. 

When God reveals a tiny solution to me, whether it is temporary or permanent, it has always been there all along. Close and within reach, but hidden from me. My solutions, which are usually very involved, always take me in a different direction than where God would take me. That is why I can never see God's solutions. 

Whenever My Heavenly Father reveals a solution to me, I am always so elated! The tiny solution makes such a big difference! I feel hopeful. I feel optimistic. I feel faith-filled! I can rest, while working the solution.

I also feel bad that I worried so much. I feel like I did not trust My Father like I could have. It hurts my heart, but I know that He understands.

 

Where Is The Benefit In Feeling Beaten Down?

Sometimes we suffer and are sad because of circumstances that God allows upon our lives. Sometimes we don't feel that we can overcome the devastating feelings, which cause us to drag around listlessly doing our daily tasks. We know that we love God, and we still are able to make ourselves read the Bible and pray during these times, but we feel so beaten down by situations.

We know that God allows these things for our benefit, but where is the benefit in feeling beaten down? Well, we should remember that the beaten down feeling is not the goal of God. That feeling and the circumstance that brought it are being used to get our attention. There is something that he wants us to grasp that is above what the circumstance has caused us to feel. To have us look up to it, he had to spur us up. Like the pointy, sharp boot spurs that a cowboy presses into the sides of a horse to startle him with a little pain to get him moving, God spurs us to move our spirit and thoughts in a certain direction, away from and above the sorrow of what he has allowed.

So when we who are devoted to God enter into a period of trial and tribulation, we should not deny that we feel lost, hopeless and just plain tired. We want to benefit from the experience that God has chosen to use. We don't want to waste it, or have to take that lesson again, so we admit and accept how we are feeling. In the midst of it, we who trust God should then ask ourselves, What is it that would help me to feel better right now? For this exercise, the answer is not money, a vacation or anything outside of us. It is something within. It is thoughts or a way of thinking that will in turn control feelings. It is thoughts that go beyond what we could make up to feel better, because that is why we feel so depressed, because our own thoughts cannot handle it.

This is where being already built up in faith helps us tremendously. Reading the Bible and praying always, when things are going well and we feel great, builds up in us a strong storehouse of faith, hope and scripture references. So when we are suffering like this, if we can reach up and understand something that would make us feel better, a promise from God, a past answered prayer, a strong scripture passage that speaks especially to us, a revelation, a confirmation, that will be one of the things that God is trying to point us to, away from the actual crushing distress. This something that only we would know will pull us up inwardly (not by our own bootstraps which often break) to higher heights of strength, faith, victory and understanding of God. That is when we attain a new level in Christ, which was God's purpose all along.

Happy Autumn & The Beauty Of Seasonal Death!

I hope you are enjoying the Autumn season so far. It's my fav time of year. Though many things are preparing to die, I love the blazing fall foliage colors, and the cool, crisp weather. Fall is a reminder that many things in our own lives have to die as well, in order to realize new life. In order for many of our fondest hopes and dreams to come to pass, some things have to be done away with, one way or another.

It is usually not the things that we would pick or think would need to die, or even necessarily the things that we are afraid will have to go. That's sacrifice. It's the things that we never would think of, and that God's Holy Spirit quietly nudges us about. Those are the things that we need to allow him to purge and prune to make way for the dreams of the new season in our lives.  That's obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice. The Bible tells us so.

So death has beauty, at least in God's Kingdom. It's through death that his promises are made real in our lives.

How To Deal With Tests, Trials & Tribulations

Sometimes, we just want it to end; those difficult trials and testings...

~ I had a moment of weakness

when I spoke in spirit to my Heavenly Father ~

Sometimes, we just want it to end; those difficult trials and testings that we are suffering through. I had a moment of weakness when I spoke in spirit to my Heavenly Father, with very much heartfelt expression, I just wish it would end. He knew what I was thinking about. I did not need to spell it out or identify the issue. Then on the heels of that thought came the one that always brings me back to commitment.

I thought of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He had endured so much harassment most of his 33 years. He had lived through his cousin, John the Baptist, being murdered. He had been hounded, shunned, consistently plotted against and betrayed. Though he knew these things would happen, they still happened to someone who could feel as we feel. He experienced the feelings, emotions and stress that we feel. He was very tired, I'm sure, by the time he made it to that garden. He felt fear and dread. What did he do?

~ The moment of terrifying weakness

turned into a moment of strength ~

In a moment of human weakness, he asked his Father, with so much  heartfelt expression that it seems some of his capillaries burst and oozed blood from his pores, Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me.  The moment of terrifying weakness turned into a moment of strength when he said, nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. He chose to reestablish his determination to accept God's will. The flesh that he had taken on was fearful, but in his spirit was the strength to continue on. 

God expects us to determine to overcome our aversion and fear.

If Jesus had not recommitted himself, dug his heels in, and stayed the course, I would not be able to say today that I have a Heavenly Father. I would not be able to say that I have true help in a time of need, that he prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies, or that he shows me how to overcome evil with good. I would not be able to say that he helps me to do all things, and to put on effective, spiritual armor. Most of all, I would not be able to say that my Eternity is set in Him.

When on the heels of that broken-down thought of supplication I remembered Jesus, and all that he had endured for me, I immediately said in my spirit to God, nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. In some circumstances, no matter how much we plead and pray, the situation will not be changed. We sense this in our spirits, though we wish it was otherwise. God expects us to determine to overcome our aversion and fear, and submit to his care in these distressing times.

~ Even Jesus asked to be delivered ~

So, do not be afraid to say nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done. It is okay to ask if it can be done in some other way. Even Jesus asked to be delivered from something that we know today was necessary for our very Salvation. Our Father wants us to always be honest with him, to worship him in spirit and in truth, and to walk in the light before his face. How do we build faith in a time of suffering under adverse circumstances, frightening developments, and devastating trials?

...reliable faith is believing that you will be ok in whatever will happen...

The Lord showed me this week that faith is not grasping to believe that some undesirable situation will not happen. True, reliable faith is believing that you will be ok in whatever will happen, and that if you perceive that he has ordained it, he will see you through to some kind of victory, one way or another. 

Scripture: Luke 22:42 (NKJV) BibleStudyTools.com
Images: Pexels.com

What About The Bad Places In My Life?

Sometimes as Christians we worry about the things that we can't seem to get right. We are frustrated over bad things that continue to crop up in our thoughts, our behaviors, and our lives. We lament that our failures and challenges are putting us behind. We feel anger that the influence or seeming control of another/others is causing unwanted effects to grow as we work to grow in the Lord.

Matthew 13:24-30 talks about the good seed and the tares. A man planted good seeds in his soil, and while he rested, an enemy came by and sowed some tares, or unwanted seeds, in among his good seeds. 

When his servants saw the sprouting of the bad seed among the good, they were aghast. They did not understand how this could have happened when they knew he would not have sown other than good seeds. They wanted to go to work ripping up the tares seedlings. No doubt, they thought it would be better to do this now, than wait for the wheat-resembling weeds to grow larger and stronger. They were concerned that these unwanted plants would take over, and even kill the good plants.

Their master, the owner who sowed the good seed, explained to them that it would be better to let the tares grow along with his good plants. If they ripped them out now, they would also dislodge and destroy many of the good seedlings in the process. He told them to wait until harvest time, when it would be easier to separate the weed plants from the good grain, and throw out the bad and keep the good. The owner knew that the tares would not take over.

This parable relates to what God will do when it's time for this world to end. It is okay that people who don't want to accept Jesus and love God are living, growing, advancing, prospering and even sometimes winning over Christians. In the end, when God's harvest is ripe, he will discard and destroy the remaining tares, those who refused Jesus Christ as Savior, and bring into his bosom those who love Him through the Shed Blood of His Son. 

Practically, we should practice the same confidence in ourselves and our lives. We don't have to worry about our faults, mistakes, failures, challenges, setbacks, relapses, struggles and rebellions. In the soil of our lives and in this world, there will always be tares, planted by any number of people, circumstances and unavoidable influences. Our focus and job is to keep planting and filling our fields with good seed. Don't worry about the bad seeds in our lives, why they are there, or how they got there. Many of them will die off along the way, as our good seeds grow. Those that are stubborn weeds that persist in surviving and even growing along with our good growth? Well, they will be destroyed in the end. In the end, it will be easy for the bad to be completely obliterated, and the good to be preserved.

Don't worry. Continue to focus on planting good seed into your thoughts, your mind, your heart, your being, your life. In the end, anything that is not done for Christ, by Christ, through Christ will be ripped out, separated and destroyed, never to grow, influence and affect again. In the end, everything that is done for Christ will last.

Tares Definition: TheFreeDictionary
Image:  Pixabay Free Images