Special Forces

Having been raised with four older brothers, and then marrying a big strong guy, I rarely have had to protect myself. I never developed the ability to defend myself against bullies or those that would intend to hurt me. I know this is strange for a woman of my age to write, but I have been asking God for help to be stronger and more fearless. I have always been so protected; spoiled. I looked up the definition of "special forces" on Wikipedia this morning.  These definitions reminded me of the book on spiritual warfare prayer that our ladies prayer group has been studying. People who really learn how to pray are just like those who are trained to be in the SPECIAL FORCES. Under each definition I will add my take from Scriptures (KJV). 

Special forces capabilities include the following:

• Reconnaissance and surveillance in hostile environments 1 John 4:1 (Apostle John wrote) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.(Apostle Peter wrote) 1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
• Training and development of other states' military and security forces..... Philippians 3:17 (Apostle Paul wrote) Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
• Offensive action..... Our Lord Jesus said, Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
• Support to counter-insurgency through population engagement and support..... (Apostle Mark wrote) Mark 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
• Counter-terrorism operations..... (Apostle Paul wrote) 1.Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
• Sabotage and demolition..... (Prophet Isaiah wrote) Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. (Apostle Paul wrote) 2 Cor. 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
• Hostage rescue..... This may be the most difficult part but also the most noble duty of the special forces: Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. and Jude 1:23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

SPECIAL FORCES ARE CALLED UPON TO DO A WORK FOR GOD.  ONE OF THE MAIN PREPARATIONS ARE OF THE HEART: WE MUST HAVE A CLEAN HEART...

 

CONFESSION FOLLOWED BY PRAYER BRINGS HEALING...AND WHEN RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE PRAY THINGS HAPPEN.(Apostle James wrote)James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. :

My best friends....

I have a few friends in life that I would not trade for any THING. You know who you are. They have laughed and cried with me through many times in life. They have thrilled at what thrills me and sorrowed right along with me in times of distress and defeat. I hope they would say the same about my love for them. But even closer than these friends are my friends that are not tangible; they never leave my side and actually abide in my heart and mind. Their names are Hope and Joy. When I am at the end of my rope, they kick in and find a way to help me through. If you see one you will see the other. They are best friends; kissin' cousins. Last night someone in my house told me as we were saying good night, "I don't feel any joy in my life right now." Right away my motherly instincts rose up and began to try and solve that dilemna. I said that we would begin to study where Joy comes from. But I know already that Joy leaves when Hope leaves; they are inseparable. So, we need to invite Hope to come back. Joy will be toddling right behind, no doubt. Jesus knew this. He had hope that all of his suffering was going to birth something INCREDIBLE. We believers are testimonies that his hope was founded in truth. His sacrifice paid off in me, I know that. I am so thankful to the Lord for being real to me. I met Jesus at age seven. I had quite a talk with Him, told Him I wanted to clean my heart of my sins. Then I was baptized in Jesus' name in Lake Galilee. Later on, I was baptized with His Spirit and spoke with tongues. He has lived in me ever since. I KNOW JESUS. Therefore, I am a part of the JOY that Jesus endured the cross for. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus knew that the torture and shame that he was enduring would pay off. He had HOPE and JOY right there near Him on the cross. All of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. Luke 15:7 "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." So, since JOY is in heaven, HOPE must be there too. Invite your friend HOPE back and JOY will walk in also. HOPE must be founded in things that will not let you down. People may let us down, careers, possessions, relationships, our government, all these things and more may let us down, but Jesus will never let you down. Soak up His presence, speak in His language, dance in His freedom, sing those words of praise. JOY AND HOPE will be singing and dancing right along with you. They are such good friends to have. I have let HOPE go lately so, JOY left too. I am TODAY inviting them back in my life.

I fell down.

When we stumble, it is so embarrassing! Once I was rushing to a college class and as I reached the top of the stairs, my shoe caught the lip of the top stair and I went sprawling like a baseball player trying to make a base. My arms, which were loaded with books(no backpack)flew out to catch my fall and I laid there in front of several students who were waiting to get into classes. Oh! I was so embarrassed. One nice young man quickly came to my rescue and helped me up and another one bagan to gather my up notebooks and textbook. It is really funny to recall NOW, but at the time I just wanted to vanish. When we stumble IN LIFE though, due to heavy burdens or mistakes we have made, we must know that the Lord somehow relates to us and comes to us to help us up. He really does relate to us. He did not fall due to his own carelessness or misjudgment; he fell due to the weight of OUR GRIEFS AND SORROWS. This pain was placed upon him by US. The weight of mistakes and sins can feel heavier than a physical weight. Jesus really does know how it feels to fall. Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. I love what the psalmist David wrote in Psalm 145:14. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. Don't lose heart; keep trusting. Don't assume that since you have fallen you are without help. Pride can keep us from asking for help. Pride is a lousy friend. James wrote, Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. James 4:10. Jesus is right beside you holding his hand out to help you up.

I hate pain, but it can be a gift.

When you hurt deeply, it hardly matters to you who sees or hears your cry; you are just desparatly needing help. While in heavy labor trying to deliver a baby, it matters not who comes in the room. All you think about is getting that baby out and getting relief of pain. While pinned in a car after a car wreck you don't worry about how messy your hair is or how horrible you look, you just want to be cut free and given medical help. Pain humbles us. Pain humbles us a lot. As we read the story in the Bible where Hannah cried out with such anguish that Eli the high priest, thought she was drunk and apparently struck her (marked her mouth) in disgust. She was not drunk, she weeping for a child. She was at the end of her own strength; her pride did not matter anymore. She decided that she would either hear from God or she would die in pain. Have you ever hurt that much? God hears our cry and he will send us help. We may be suprised at where the help comes from. We must not let pride determine whether the help God sends us is good enough or not. We learn a bit of how the Lord felt when he was ministered to and worshipped by those that were common or unclean. Things seem different when you are in tremendous pain. Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Our Lord knows pain, he chose pain to "buy" our peace, he chose pain to ensure we could be healed. He put our griefs and sorrows on his back. He understand pain and grief and he understands humility.

Joy is hard to hide.

My son Tim preached the other Sunday that our job is to believe and have faith; to trust. It seems so simplistic, but it is true. We can't heal people or move mountains but we can exercise our faith. Bro. Jeff Arnold shocked us at General Conference with the message that it is not enough to just preach the Gospel, we must perform the Gospel! We must lay hands on the sick, we must speak faith to others. We must show or exhibit our faith, we must move! When life is so hard you feel like crumbling in a heap, it is in the performing and moving that we find our strength. For the joy of the LORD is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10 IT IS MY STRENGTH! Joy shows. Joy is hard to contain. Joy goes down to your feet. Joy brings strength. Worshipping the Lord IS WHERE MY STRENGTH COMES FROM. It may be so hard to hold your head up sometimes; life can suddenly change and you feel the ground under your feet shaking, or even gone, but remember that there is a strength above our natural strength; it is supernatural. It simply cannot be explained. When one relaxes in the presence of God and let's go of all this world's troubles, one finds joy and subsequently finds strength. Trust and obey... for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, you must trust and obey.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Want to know God's plan for your life?

God has intentions for you. Yes, you, individually! He has a plan for YOUR life. It is already written. As I was studying recently, I came across a familiar verse, which made me want to look further into the deeper meanings of the verse. Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. (NKJV) Well, here it is, the word "thoughts" is better translated intentions! God's intentions are higher than ours, his thoughts are higher than ours. He has intentions for us personally!!! Now the fun part is to find out what his intentions are for us. I can almost guarantee you they are different than what our intentions are for ourselves. He has such better plans for us; richer, deeper, more blessed, more thrilling, more far-reaching, more generationally inpacting, THAN WE COULD EVER IMPAGINE. Just ponder Josheph's life for one minute. In his wildest dreams, (and he did dream, we know that) he never dreamed that he would have such an impact on the whole world and for many generations to come. Among other things, he single-handedly saved the entire Hebrew nation. Back to you, now. Seek God in your own way for his plans, firt lay your life totally on the altar. Lay it all down. Every dream, every plan and ambition. Allow the Lord to lead you by His Word. New and exciting things will be begin to transpire. New people will come in your life. Don't turn opportunities that come your way down (of course, make sure that your pastor and parents would approve). Take risks. Let the doors begin to open. Don't be afraid. God will never hurt you. << < = = > >>

Saturday, July 7, 2012

When your plans change.

When your plans change! I have always been somewhat in awe of those that plan out their lives with such meticulous care. I've had teacher friends that planned the month they would give birth to their baby so as to not disrupt their school year. And others that have planned ahead with money management programs so they knew right when they would be debt free. Even though I am curious and as I said "in awe" of that forethought, I simply cannot relate. It seems that I am handed a daily plate of variables and managing those variables is a supreme challenge. There are certain things that are not negotiable. My love and commitment to the Lord and to the church is not going to budge. I know better than to go that direction. And faithfulness to my husband and children; not giving in there either. But there are unexpected visitors that constantly knock on our front doors, like: unexpected bills, broken hearts, health issues, infertility, unexpected fertility, accidents, being led by the Lord to do certain things or go certain places. When you hear from God that you are to go back to school and have to live on "peanuts" for years, or when you hear from God to start a church by yourself with no one but your children to assist you, or when you learn that you do not have the "flu" as you had supposed and that you are going to have a baby in your forties! These are things that cause you to re-write any plans that you had. Life is wonderful and full of wonder. A child of God can trust that God knows what he is doing, and the sooner we relax and allow ourselves to praise him FOR EVERYTHING, we will be better off. God loves it when his children are led by him. He will fight our battles if we let him; he will bring the victory. I know people that have followed a financial plan for their lives but in doing so, they have "lost" what matters most. What matters most? That we follow after God and see that our children follow after God too. When the trumpet sounds, it won't matter if we still have unfinished things in our lives. What will matter is that we are READY to go.