A Battered Warrior

To Stay or Go??

2 Kings 7:3-4  "Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? If we say, 'We'll go into the city' - the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.""

     The four men were outcasts from the city due to their disease, but the city was surrounded by the Army and the people we starving.  These men weighed their options and determined that they had one chance to survive and if that failed they would die - but they accepted they were going to die if they did nothing anyway. God used them to fulfill His prophecy and the city was spared - but what if they let fear and dread paralyze them?  Would God have blessed them or the city?  We need to act on our faith. Sometimes when the world is plotting against us - remember this story...

What Will You Do.....

Psalm 51:10-14   "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness."

       I had to read this a few times to grasp what David was saying.  Bloodguilt most likely meant the death sentence his sins carried, so he is asking for God's mercy and forgiveness.  This prayer also shows David asking God for something and then telling God how he will use God's gift to serve Him.  Often times we find ourselves asking God for things to "help" us or to solve our problems according to our own logic and desires.  Deep down we all know it is not our will, but God's that matters. I know in my life I have prayed for things and there have been times God has blessed me - unfortunately I allowed my greed to harden my heart and never thanked God properly or used my gift to serve Him.  We must keep a proper mindset when God blesses us, after all it is more of a loan than a true gift - we can not take it with us and God can always take it back as easily as He gave it!

Frozen in Fear?

Romans 8:37-39  "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future, no any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God this is Christ Jesus our Lord."

Hebrews 13:5-6 "...because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we say in confidence, ' The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'"

 

    Ours is not a God of fear, ours is a God of mercy.  The fear of the Lord does not paralyze us from taking action - God requires us to act on faith and trust in Him.  The lies of the world are what tries to inhibit our obedience and deny us of all the blessings God has in store for us. God rarely blesses us without an act of faith on our part.  He may place something just our of our reach, if we simply take that first step, the blessings will be exponential to what we risked in faith.

FOOTPRINTS

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

---

Mary Stevenson, 1936

 

TRUE LOVE

1 Corinthians 13:3-8  "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails."

    Most of us have heard this verse before, but I encourage you to really think about it.  This type of love is rare and hard to find. It only comes through God and accepting His love for you.  Only then can you truly love another.  Without understanding God's love it is impossible not only to give this type of love, but to truly accept it as well.  So much hurting can be remedied, so much heart ache avoided - we just have to accept and trust in something bigger than ourselves.  It is just that easy - unfortunately the world and society has us blinded into thinking it is unattainable and we are not worthy of it.

HOW?

Usually I quote a scripture before I begin, something that I have read that has spoken to me... this time I have chosen to just write.  How do you forgive yourself? When you stop and take a deep look at yourself, how do you forgive that ugly person looking back at you?  Are you not reminded of all the times you have repented of things and asked God to forgive you - only to go right back out and fall into the same trap? 

    I do believe God forgives us, the cycle comes from the heart and not having a complete change of heart and removing the foothold from your life. Changing your heart takes lots of one on one time and brutal honesty with God, He will change your heart and show you where those footholds are – though you still have to remove them. 

   I have been working through removing footholds from my life,  because I did not like who I saw in the mirror.  I was haunted by the skeletons and poor decisions of my past and through God’s grace I can heal my spirit. Eventually becoming the man God has called me to be. 

   Though I still struggle with forgiving myself… there are real world consequences for our actions and those actions can cause loved ones to suffer.  So as that suffering is manifested, how do you forgive yourself?  You can use it as a reminder so you never fall into that trap again… but you still suffer.

 

Broken Hearted?

Psalm 34:18  "The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

      I have read this verse several times over the past few months; it reminds me of the poem "Footprints".   When we are distraught and crying out to God, we fail to realize he is carrying us through these times.  I imagine a child being held by their father. The child is panicked and afraid; they are kicking and crying trying to save themselves – all while their father is holding them.  They are safe, but can not see it.  Only when the child stops to listen and breathe – be still – can they truly see the situation for what it is.  Only then can they accept the comfort and security the Father provides.

   There are situations in my life that I have been kicking and fighting, trembling in fear, at times I feel the world is against me… I need to turn it over to God and accept his peace.  It is just that easy, but at the same time – it is easier said than done.

A Prayer to Live By....

Psalm 119:33-40  "Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees: then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness."

Keep Faith

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

       Often times we do not understand God’s plan, but when we trust in Him, He will never fail. When things seem hopeless and lost, lean on Him and He will bring you through all things.

Clean and Unclean....

Matthew 15:7-20  “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

                        ‘These people honor me with their lips,

                            but their hearts are far from me.

                        They worship me in vain;

                            their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

            Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ … “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’”

            We all need to spend time with God and work through repenting for our sins and truly changing our heart.  The only way to turn from sin is to change our heart. God’s forgiveness of our sins and us forgiving others come from a change in our own hearts. 

Everything begins with the heart!  It is imperative that we protect our hearts and receive Gods mercy. In doing this, we allow him to soften our hardened hearts.  How can we profess God’s love and mercy but allow profanity to dominate our vocabulary? How can we say we forgive someone, but never have a kind word?