Quote of the Day: We're in a War

Do you realize that you're in a battle?  Have you gone into battle without armor, or ammunition?  Are you feeling besieged, and don't know why?  "What have I done wrong?  I feel so overwhelmed!  I'm losing the fight.  I feel like quitting.  I'm the only one who feels this way.  Oh, Lord, help me."  As wives and mothers, we are in a battle. We are the major influencers of the next generation!  Satan is fighting to win the souls of our children.  Our husbands fight the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life daily, out in the world, as they strive to provide for their families.  We are attacked.  There is a war on, and we have gone into battle unprepared!  We must put on the whole armor of God. We must above all be in God's Word, and we must pray!  We are on the winning side:  Don't give up--we will win!



“Every spiritual program must be defended and supported by definite believing prayer. Every God-called man and every God-planned enterprise must have praying folk to pray out the problems. To carry on the work of God is to wage a terrific warfare with Satan and all his hosts. Before the battle there must be preparation wrought in prayer; during the battle the warriors must be upheld by those guided of God to be intercessors; after the battle there should be praise.”
EVERYTHING BY PRAYER - Overholtzer


"10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 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.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel...(Ephesians 6:10-19, KJV)

I Needed the Quiet

By Alice Mortenson

I needed the quiet so He drew me aside

Into the shadows where we could confide,

Away from the bustle where all the day long

I hurried and worried when active and strong.

I needed the quiet though at first I rebelled,

But gently, so gently my cross He upheld,

And whispered so sweetly of spiritual things,

Though weakened in body, my spirit took wings…

To heights never heard of when active and gay,

He loved me so greatly, He drew me away.

I needed the quiet, no prison my bed,

But a beautiful valley of blessings instead –

A place to grow richer in Jesus to hide

I needed the quiet so He drew me aside.

* * * * *

I cannot call affliction sweet;

And yet' twas good to bear;

Affliction brought me to your feet,

And I found comfort there.

‐‐ James Montgomery

Last week, I listened to a broadcast of Joni and Friends, in which she read this poem and quote. They resonated in my heart. I've experienced God drawing me aside. Perhaps you have, too. Perhaps you're in a time now when affliction is bringing you to Him for comfort, or when you are being "drawn aside" by trials, suffering, physical infirmities.  These times in my life stand out, like mountain peaks, as times when God's Hand was upon me, not only drawing me aside, but drawing me closer to Him.


Compliments of Joni and Friends
PO Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376
www.joniandfriends.org

A special thank you to Joni and Friends, who offered these in a free download.  I hope you will be blessed, as I was, by the thoughts expressed.  The link is below, for you to hear the broadcast, also, if you'd like. 
Listen to the broadcast:
"I Needed the Quiet" by Alice Mortenson - Joni and Friends Radio

A Smile Can Change Everything!

Dear friend, Are you discouraged today? Maybe even slightly depressed? Are you 12 days into the new year and already you wonder why you ever tried? Do not be discouraged, dear one. His mercies are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness. Confess your faults one to another. Be encouraged and thankful.  Know that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.  Remember that each day is new and a smile can change everything!


   So...go to the mirror and Smile at yourself. Extend the same mercy and grace to yourself that God extends.  Spend some time in the Word this morning, and pray. Confess and Commit your way to Him. Put on some Godly encouraging music or hum a hymn yourself.  Don't look at obstacles as symbols of failure or as communicating that you are on the wrong path.  Press on.  Did you remember to put on the whole armor of God this morning? Go back and do that now, if you forgot, and keep raising that shield of faith when you feel under attack.  And keep smiling: at your family, those strangers you meet today "out there," and at yourself! A smile can change everything!

Accepting Adverse Circumstances

Rembrandt's Painting of Queen Esther

I've been reading in the Bible from the wonderful book of Esther. Esther was such a good example of someone who had to deal with this principle of accepting your design and was used greatly by God in doing so. We may think, "Oh, sure, she was gorgeous, lived in a palace--what did she have to worry about!" But, every person--Every Person--has something that they have to accept about their circumstances or looks. In Esther's case, it wasn't her looks, but her circumstances that she had to accept.

There are certain "unchangeables" that God has prescribed for each one of us.
Let's take a quick look at the 10 "unchangeables" and see what God prescribed in Esther's life:
1. Parents: She had none; they were both dead; she was raised by an older cousin
2. Time in History: She lived at a time when her country was besieged and her people were taken into captivity and had to live under a ruthless king
3. People Group: Israeli, Jewish, from the lesser tribe of Benjamin
4. Nationality: Jewish (not highly thought of, often despised, even persecuted)
5. Gender: female, at that time in history, and in that place, being a woman was very low, insignificant, powerless
6. Birth Order: There is no report that she had any other siblings
7. Brothers and Sisters: none mentioned
8. Physical Features: She was "fair of form and good of countenance" (beautiful)
9. Mental Abilities: The Bible doesn't make a big statement of her mental abilities. Her strength came in obeying the counsel of her authority, Mordecai, and in her wisdom, not her knowledge or reasoning ability.
10. Aging and Death: She was young, but her life was very much in danger, so she had to accept God's timing on how long she would live and when and how she would die.

Being beautiful doesn't automatically mean that you'll be happy or that life will be a "piece of cake". It wasn't so in Esther's life. God used her gender, nationality, time in history and physical features to place her in the position of being used by Him to save her people. But she had to accept her circumstances and trust God in the midst of them. She didn't know how it would turn out! We don't know how our lives will turn out either. Esther is a wonderful example of sweet, humble acceptance of the place and circumstances God places you in. And she shows us one of the important things we can do when God allows us to be in difficult circumstances. She prayed and fasted. Moreover, she asked others to join her and pray for her! That's a great lesson! We can't always see the big picture of why God made us the way He did, or allows us to be in the circumstances we're in. But He promises (if we're a Christian) to work it out for good and to use it to conform us to His image.
Romans 8:28-29 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." How did Christ respond to His unpleasant circumstances? (With meekness, trust, and love for His enemies) What does the Bible say about His looks? (Isaiah 53:2 "He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.") The things that we go through cause His character to be formed in us, when we respond in a Christlike way. But if we fight against His plan, or take ourselves "off the easel" before He's done with the painting, we may miss out on the amazing things He wants to do in and through us.

Regarding trying circumstances, there's something that happens in us when we thank God for them. James 1:2-4 says, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." Trials and trying circumstances and people are God's tools to form His character in us, so when we respond in a Christlike way to them, the character of Christ is formed in us. Sometimes we look at what God is doing in us, or how He has made us so far, and we jump off the easel thinking He's not doing a very good job and we could do it better. We must get back up on the easel and let God keep working--we don't see the picture the Master Artist is painting, and we must trust Him. In Esther's life, when she faced very unpleasant (life and death) circumstances, the Bible records these words that her guardian, Mordecai, said to her: "Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" And who knows what God will do in and through us when we respond in thanks and trust to His design of our lives.