A Battered Warrior

When People Rise Against You....

 





Psalm 140

Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;

protect me from men of violence,

who devise evil plans in their hearts

and stir up war every day.

They make their tongues as sharp

as a serpent’s;

the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands

of the wicked;

protect me from men of violence

who plan to trip my feet.

Proud me have hidden a snare for me;

they have spread out the cords

of their net

and have set traps for me

along my path.

O Lord, I say to you, “You are my God.”

Hear, O Lord, my cry for mercy.

O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,

Who shields my head in the day

of battle-

Do not grant the wicked their desires,

O Lord;

do not let their plans succeed,

or they will become proud.

Let the heads of those who surround me

be covered with the trouble their

lips have caused.

Let burning coals fall upon them;

May they be thrown into the fire,

into miry pits, never to rise.

Let slanderers not be established

in the land;

may disaster hunt down men

of violence.

I know that the Lord secures justice

for the poor

and upholds the cause of the needy.

Surely the righteous will

praise your name

              and the upright will live before you.

 

When it feels like the world is against you, take the time to focus on God. When we cry out to Him, He listens. Stand firm in your faith and know God is in control and He has a plan. His plans may not always be comfortable or exactly what we would like, but His plans are perfect as is His timing. As God for His peace during your trials and lay your problems at His feet. Find comfort in His promises and His word; do not forget to pray. Pray with others, pray in many ways and in all occasions, just pray and accept His peace and place your faith in Him.

When People Rise Against You....

 





Psalm 140

Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;

protect me from men of violence,

who devise evil plans in their hearts

and stir up war every day.

They make their tongues as sharp

as a serpent’s;

the poison of vipers is on their lips.

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands

of the wicked;

protect me from men of violence

who plan to trip my feet.

Proud me have hidden a snare for me;

they have spread out the cords

of their net

and have set traps for me

along my path.

O Lord, I say to you, “You are my God.”

Hear, O Lord, my cry for mercy.

O sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,

Who shields my head in the day

of battle-

Do not grant the wicked their desires,

O Lord;

do not let their plans succeed,

or they will become proud.

Let the heads of those who surround me

be covered with the trouble their

lips have caused.

Let burning coals fall upon them;

May they be thrown into the fire,

into miry pits, never to rise.

Let slanderers not be established

in the land;

may disaster hunt down men

of violence.

I know that the Lord secures justice

for the poor

and upholds the cause of the needy.

Surely the righteous will

praise your name

              and the upright will live before you.

When it feels like the world is against you, take the time to focus on God. When we cry out to Him, He listens. Stand firm in your faith and know God is in control and He has a plan. His plans may not always be comfortable or exactly what we would like, but His plans are perfect as is His timing. As God for His peace during your trials and lay your problems at His feet. Find comfort in His promises and His word; do not forget to pray. Pray with others, pray in many ways and in all occasions, just pray and accept His peace and place your faith in Him.

What Would Jehoshaphat Do?

2 Chronicles 20:12 “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”

Jehoshaphat was on the verge of battle. Three countries were uniting to come destroy his people and take his kingdom. Upon hearing the news Jehoshaphat had two choices, focus on the enemy or focus on God. He chose to focus on God and he was delivered without even having to fight. The attacking countries turned on each other and killed themselves.

Miles McPherson said it this way, “How you respond to ‘drama’ or a crisis shows what information you focus on.” Jehoshaphat could have focused on the threat of the enemy, the fear of losing his kingdom and his life, or even focused inward and committed himself to trying to save his own neck; instead he chose to worship God and trust in Go’s promises.

When things seem to be piling up do you focus on the drama or do you seek God’s face? Do you crumble under the pressure and try to “figure things out” or do you praise God because you have faith in His plan?

At times it is hard to trust in God’s plan, in Isaiah we are taught that “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). We must have faith. Our response to our trials and circumstances reveals a great deal about our faith; sometimes we are placed in situations to stretch our faith.

When the pressure mounts and you don’t know what to do, rejoice because you are not always supposed to understand at that moment! It is at those times we turn to God, seek His guidance and His face. God is faithful. God will guide you and bring you through your trials. There is no question, His timing and His ways are perfect. The only question is simple, Do you trust Him?

What Would You Do?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/22/iran-court-convicts-christian-pastor-convert-to-death/

“The court then gave Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant, as the law requires a man to be given three chances to recant his beliefs and return to Islam.

His first option was to convert back to Islam. When he refused, he was asked to declare Muhammad a prophet, and still he declined.”

                           

What would you do?  (The picture above is of an Iranian execution - a court ordered hanging.)

Christians in America take our freedoms for granted and often fail to stand firm in our beliefs and convictions. Instead of expressing our beliefs we remain silent in fear of being viewed as daring to not be “politically correct” or “tollerant.” We fail to stand for Christ but then wonder why our prayers, at times, seem to go unanswered.

            Challenge yourself today to stand for your faith. Do not compromise your beliefs to simply be accepted by the world; dare to stand in His truth.

 

But I am SO ANGRY

James 1:19-25  "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has learned, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does."

     After a few quick searches, the health risks or conditions associated with inproperly managed anger is staggering: Headaches, digestion issues, insomnia, anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, eczema, heart attacks, stroke, and even cancer. The problem is that anger was intended to trigger our "fight or flight" reaction, therefore the body starts producing the chemicals the body needs to react. While these chemicals are necessary in certain instances, they are not meant to be constantly present.

    So what is James saying to us? We are to be slow to anger and our anger does not serve God's purpose. We are to submit to God's law and study it, not just acknowledge it, but to apply it. If we look closely at Jesus' instructions, we are not to hold on to unforgiveness, we are to forgive as we have been forgiven and so that we can be forgiven (Mark 11:25).

    In order to forgive we must let go of our anger, we must lay it at His feet. Take a few minutes to search your heart, ask God to reveal any unresolved anger you have and let it go. Do not let unresolved anger steal your joy and peace - it will not only deteriorate your physical self, it can keep you from experiencing all of God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Are You Settling?

Proverbs 27:7  "He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet."

                                

    Have you ever wondered why people settle for less than they deserve? Have you ever looked at someone and thought, "They could do so much better"? People are not made to be complete on their own, they need more. We are all designed to worship something - some choose money, their careers, their bodies, other people, etc. We were not created to worship any of these things and when we do we are left spiritually hungry.

    When we fail to acknowledge our design and recognize our Creator we are without purpose and meaning. After spending a few minutes watching the news or scanning the evening television line up, one can not deny society is becoming morally bankrupt. It is a fact that our society, America's, has shifted away from Christian values and with this shift our level of "tolerance" has increased. As we become more tolerant the lines of right and wrong are blurred and we are left with a grey world.

    Our world is hungry and starving but we are choosing to feast on the bitter fruits of the world instead of partaking in the food that will nourish our souls.

Whose Are You?

Isaiah 43: 1  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” 

Isaiah 43:18-19  “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing!”

 

     How many times do we feel dejected, worthless, and confused? Life is not going as we planned and pressures are mounting. The stench of failure and heartache fills the air; the blanket of isolation offers a dark and eerie comfort; the tears of your heart seem to be flooding your soul and you feel yourself mired in uncertainty. Isaiah 43 gives us so much encouragement, God calls us his own. Look at the protection He promises us, the price He paid, and the assurance that no one can take us out of His hand.

     Our lives tend to happen fast, a little distraction quickly becomes major detour or a new tangent that consumes our time. We soon find ourselves spiraling out of control and crying out, “Why is this happening?” Often times the answer is simple; we have forgotten to spend time with the one to whom we belong. We tend to quickly fill God’s time with new distractions and neglect the most important relationship in our lives – no wonder we lose perspective.

 

A Girl's Cry

A Girl’s Cry

 

My real beauty you can’t see,

No more smiles – tears flow free.

Innocence lost, child no more,

Bruised my heart, ripped-n-tore.

 

Smile was so bright, honest and pure,

How much more must I endure?

All the cries and all the tears,

Seem to fall on deaf ears.

 

My hope must come to me soon,

My heart must change this sad tune.

 

                -TG

.... Fear Itself

Psalm 27:1-2  “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? “

 

                Today God used my daughter to teach me a valuable lesson. We were on the second floor of a building; there was an overlook near where I was standing in line. My daughter suddenly developed a fear of heights – the same little girl that rides roller coasters was suddenly afraid to stand near me. She backed up against the wall on the opposite side of the hall and refused to come to me. I because extremely frustrated and I tried to explain why her fear was irrational. I failed. She stayed put. I was frustrated because I wanted to talk to her, but could not do so if she stayed that far from me. Eventually we were able to move on in line and we all walked together, but for a while she refused to move.

                During worship God broke my heart. I thought about how many times I have let my fears keep me from coming to God. God is calling us to join Him in His work and to have a relationship with Him – our fear, or lack of faith robs us of these experiences. Today God taught me a lesson about my walk with Him by letting me see my daughter’s fear. Why did I get so frustrated with her? I took her fear as rejection, that she did not trust me to keep her safe. Even though I know she trusts me, in this incident to her it was safer to stay there because of something might happen.

                How must God feel? We have the creator of the universe calling us to come near Him and we freeze. We come up with excuses to ignore our callings and they are all because of a lack of faith. We have God calling us and we are afraid of what might happen…

                My daughter and I talked about my frustrations and her feelings… I told her that I just wanted to talk to her and the she knew I would never let anything happen to her – she said “I was just scared.” We ended our talk with pinkie promises – the most special promises between a father and child – I promised to try to understand and I renewed my promise to always take care of her, she promised to try.  Later I had a similar conversation with God…

 

How Deep Do You Want to Look?

Proverbs 25:28 "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control."

 

    A city's walls are its source of protection and strength. The walls were not only a good defense but they were also a strong deterrent to any attackers as well. It is much easier to destroy or conquer a city without walls than a city that is well fortified.

    Is it simply enough to "know" God's word, His laws, and His ways? No! Granted we are saved by God's grace and He enbles us to repent for our sins - lately I have heard so many people claim that "God knows me, He made me and He understands. Besides He knows I am trying and He forgives me." Take a few minutes and think about that statement. Think about the society we live in and the attitudes society celebrates.

    Yes, God does forgive. Though he also says"...love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37) and "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me..." (John 14:21). 

    Obeying all starts with self-control... This simple little proverb should be a warning to most of our society and the attitude of "if it makes me happy..." or "I have to do what is right for me, I know the rules but..." Are your walls broken or crumbling? - Guess that depends on how deep you want to look.