Finishing The Race!

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:1-8 NIV

No one ever said that living a life of righteousness would be easy. In fact, most people are warned about the traps of temptation that Satan would set the moment a person accepts the love of Christ in their hearts. To avoid the pitfalls, one must always keep their eyes on the prize that can only be obtained if we stay in the race.

In the midst of hardships, turmoil and chaos, confusion, stress and doubt–we must never lose sight of our purpose–whatever that purpose is for we will not achieve our goal, if we quit before we reach the end.

Think of a marathon–any kind of marathon–the goal or purpose is to finish and we all know–there can only be a limited number of winners–those who finish ahead of all the rest. But most people who enter a marathon are not doing so to win, but to finish–for them the finish is a win--and no matter how difficult the course becomes, no matter how tired they get or much muscles ache, their determination to finish is their reward.

This is the determination we must all have in life–to finish–whatever it is we start that is honorable in God’s sight–by staying in the race. Though we may get tired from all the obstacles put in our path, we must keep our eyes and hope on the end–when we’ll see the fruits of our labor and know we were on the right side of history.

And this is what The Resistance is all about–staying in the race–the goal to see wrongs righted in our society and force truth to surface by any means possible--at the end, to see all treated with equality and ability to live in peace and harmony.

No matter what each day brings–especially when it seems that efforts are wasted–we don’t give up; that’s just the trick of the enemy to create doubt in the minds of those who are determined to stay the course.

We continue the fight for justice against tyranny by keeping one another encouraged.

When we feel overwhelmed by news reports that appear to take a turn; we back up, rest and refuel the drive that led us here in the first place--ready for the next fight.

Wisdom is the principal thing and with all our getting–we must get understanding of all we read, hear, and see that could alter the direction of our fight. We cannot be deterred by minor setbacks and lies yet uncovered or by those who refuse to speak truth when asked. We must believe that there are others who will uncover all truth and even if the truth uncovered is not what we expect, we must be prepared to accept–the whole truth and nothing but the truth–no sugarcoated lies, no half truths, no white lies, no little lies and certainly–no alternative facts.

Though there may be many battles and all not won–we can rest assured that in the end–the war against tyranny, hatred and bigotry–will be won with Jesus on our side. We just have to stay in the race–no matter what!

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes  9:11 NIV

 

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30 Days of Prayer and Praise–5!

My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. Psalm 131 NIV

Day Five

Lord Jesus,

Look upon our hearts and see if there is anything in them that is not like You. You know our thoughts long before we ever think them. Cleanse our minds of any thoughts of evil or unrighteousness and plant the seeds of benevolence and compassion everywhere wrong thoughts might have been. Renew in us daily, a fresh desire to please You and to trust You with all the cares that weigh our spirits down. Continue to strengthen us with the Joy of The Lord rising up in us whenever the enemy tries to discourage us.

Thank You for reminding us that our hope–in this life at this moment–is truly in You. We thank You for speaking wisdom to all in positions of authority and decision-making. We thank You for giving us yet another opportunity to inspire right living in all we do.

Lord, I thank You for keeping me focused on doing what must be done without stooping to the levels of ignorance so blatantly betrayed by those who don’t know You. I thank You for keeping me mindful that everything I do is a witness to who You are and that I have no desire to shame You. Thank You for gifting us with diverse gifts for us to use to praise You and magnify You in all we do. Thank You for not allowing us to be ashamed before others because of our love for You.

Lord, remove the blinders of hatred and bigotry from those who would plot evil against Your children. Remove the shutters of fear and complacency from our eyes so we might see there are more with us than against us and the battle we face has already been won in the Spirit and will manifest itself to the natural.

Lord, we humble ourselves before You–acknowledging our limited wisdom and Your infinite wisdom and thankful You pour into us always. We know we do not have all the answers, nor do we even have all the questions, but we know because You love us–You are the answer to any question we might ever have.

Give us–the patience–to allow You to work in our lives so that it is to Your glory and honor, we give all the praise and not men. We thank You for working in us and through us so that all will be accomplished to Your glory and we will not be ashamed of the outcome.

For everyone that has a heart to serve You, bless them mightily in the name of Jesus and keep them focused and moving forward to see the end as You have planned it.

And we who Believe–declare that everything we ask for that aligns with Your Word–is done and it is so, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Strength For The Battle!

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:6-14 NIV

Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving,

Sometimes, when right, we simply keep believing,

The wrongs that need correction

Lord, guide us with Your direction

Speaking to hearts along the way,

Never giving up, by night or day.

Enlarge our hearts and our space,

Reaching others to seek Your face,

Never in fear, but always with love,

Knowing true wisdom comes from above.

Help us in this battle to remain strong,

Bold, and fearless while correcting this wrong,

Brought by manipulation and deception

Turned and righted for Your reception,

Of us into Your Presence.

Though the journey to seeing a wrong turned right,

Gets weary, never forget, we are precious in His sight.

Press on, mighty soldiers of valor and integrity,

Fight on with honor, strength, and dignity.

For the battle is The Lord’s and not ours,

When weak, we’re strengthened in His power,

To stay the course, never veering from the path,

Of victory that is before us, the win–in the math,

As God calculates it.

While we wait to see the victory,

Be strong, determined to make unprecedented history,

Remember God knows and truth will reveal

The tricks and lies used in attempts to steal,

Joy and happiness found only in Him.

The Joy of The Lord Is Our Strength!

It’s Not Our Fight!

All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:13-15 NIV

When we get weary, physically and spiritually of being battle-worn in the fight against the enemy’s tactics, we must remember–this is not our fight–but God’s. And with Him going before us (daily as we live), He is more than enough.

Every time the enemy raises his ugly head, we should gather our families and friends and go before The Lord–petitioning Him, communicating with Him our concerns and then we simply let Him fight our battles. The only thing we need to do is stand firm on His Word and obey.

Remember Gideon–whose army was diminished in size, but won the battle.

Remember Joshua–who out of obedience saw the wall of Jericho come down.

Remember Moses–in the desert and crossing the Red Sea on dry land–not one person lost, except Pharaoh and his army who pursued God’s own.

Are we not God’s own? Can we not expect Him to do the same for us that He has done before for those of yesteryear? Can we not communicate with Him our needs and trust Him to win our battles?

Some of us have various battles that we fight on a daily basis–some physical, some spiritual, and some emotional. God knows and He cares and He’s just waiting for us to give it all to Him so we can know victory in Jesus.

A straying spouse–victory in Jesus.

Rebellious children–victory in Jesus.

Sickness and disease–victory in Jesus.

Warring factions in social media over this election–victory in Jesus.

Everything, not just some things, but everything will be as God planned it.

Remember–the real enemy is not the people we see and talk to or chat with on a regular basis, but it is a spiritual enemy–one who has already been defeated, on the cross.

Rise up and know that whatever battle is facing you today, it’s not yours to fight, but The Lord’s. We win!

Whatever Our Battle Is, God’s Word Wins!!

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ ” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 NIV

When the Spirit of The Lord comes upon us–like it did when Jahaziel, we should listen and not concern ourselves with the battles of life.

Our position in these battles–when we are fully suited up-as Paul tells to be–is to keep on the whole armor–wearing our offensive protection because God is our defensive protection.

One of the reasons so many people fall prey to depression is the oppression felt about things going on around them in which they have no control. They are constantly (they think) in a battle and most of the battle they feel is actually a battle taking place in the mind–where the enemy attacks. And when the enemy attacks, we need to be fully armed and ready with The Word to fight back.

When the enemy tells us we’ll never amount to anything, we need to tell the enemy that everything God made was good and so are we.

When the enemy tells us our bodies are disease-ridden, we need to tell the enemy that we are healed by the Blood of the lamb and made whole in His love.

When the enemy tells us that no one cares about us, we need to tell the enemy that we are never alone because Jesus is always with us and loves us, unconditionally.

When the enemy tells us what we can’t do, we remind the enemy that we can do all things through Christ Jesus.

When the enemy tells us that our ideas are stupid, we remind the enemy that with God, all things are possible.

When the enemy tells us we don’t have a future worth anything, we remind the enemy that God designed our future and planned it for our success so we would have hope.

When the enemy attempts to tell us we’re not worth looking at, we remind the enemy that we are wonderfully and uniquely created by God and lovely in His sight.

We can respond to the enemy’s attack with God’s Word and know victory, but first we must know His Word to in order to know–there is victory with Jesus on our side!

We must remember that we are not in a battle against flesh and blood, but against the influence of the enemy and his attack on our minds. We can know peace with the Prince of Peace and when we remember that the Joy of the Lord is our strength, we can endure the enemy’s attacks until victory is won.

Every time we rise in the morning, the enemy should quake in fear at what we’ll do, not us fearing what may happen to us. We can have that kind of confidence when we know that God’s Word is our guiding light every day of our lives.

 

When The King of Glory Shows Up!

“Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty–he is the King of Glory.” (Psalm 24:8-10 NIV)

For the past several weeks, there has been so much going on in my life that sometimes–it weighed upon me like a ton of bricks. But I believe in power of prayer, the One who responds and can say–Victory achieved on the front! The King of Glory showed up and showed out and now we may proceed without obstacle or sour grapes interfering with the process of achieving success. Glory to His Name!

But this victory was not achieved because of who I am. It was achieved because of who He is. He is the King of Glory, strong and mighty in battle and whenever we have reached the end of our strength, we can depend on His and know in our weakness, He makes us strong. We are strengthened for every battle that confronts us and when we allow Him to lead and guide every step we take and every word we speak–we know victory.

There is no need for any Believer to be overly concerned about current events, demon statues, temples for Satan, or any other demonic attempt to upset our peace, in Him. Though it may seem like the enemy is winning–take heart, The King of Glory is about to show up and show out! Victory in the name of Jesus will be proclaimed and all who were concerned will know peace.

We must always remember, we are more than conquerors because of His love for us and there is defeat in Him, therefore, we never have to know defeat when we are abiding in the vine and He is abiding in us. We have victory over everything–every challenge, every setback, every thought that would hinder–victory is near and all we have to do is proclaim. We have to see every situation for what it is–an opportunity for us stand tall, ready to proclaim His love and share the Gospel of salvation and then just sat back, knowing God’s got this–and see the victory He has determined. Every setback is really a set-up–for the King of Glory to show up. 

When we truly realize we can count on Him–we’ll never allow the enemy’s tricks to get us off course. We must stay in The Word, we must mediate on The Word, we must continually seek Him and ask for His wisdom to guide us daily and when we are obedient, in the midst of the storm, we can and must relax and know–He’s going to show up and set things right!

Who is this King of Glory? The One who created all things and without whom, nothing was ever created. He is the bright and morning star, the Lily of the Valley, our Healer, our Provider, our Heavenly Father, our Savior and Lord, our Peace in the storms of life and when He speaks–after He shows up–all will be calm.

Only By His Spirit!

“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6 NIV)

Whenever I hear people talk about how they weak they are or I smile and thank God, for in our weakness–He is made strong. Hallelujah! If we would just remember, nothing that challenges us is a battle we must fight alone, for the battle is the Lord’s and He will be victorious!

The battle against sin won’t be won in courtrooms–it will be won in the Spirit, by those with unwavering faith, consistently communicating with God and promoting Godliness in all they do and say. That is not to say we who believe God should become doormats and do nothing. We should exercise our faith by standing firm in our beliefs and whenever possible, letting our voices be heard and making sure we’re saying what God says.

Writing letters and petitions to change the environment for good is an exercise of faith. If we do nothing, we demonstrate a lack of faith. God told Joshua that, “whatever we put our hands to would prosper and we would have good success.”

The battles are not won by promoting hate, but by demonstrating love.

The battles are not won by acts of superiority, but by demonstrating kindness. “With loving kindness have I drawn you.”

The battles of war are not won by the might and power of anyone’s military might, but by those who have confidence in God to deliver and set free all those who belong to Him and they are always walking in the Spirit, seeking His wisdom and direction.

If all the military strategists would seek God’s wisdom and act accordingly, wars would cease.

If all government leaders would seek God’s wisdom and act accordingly, there would be peace in the land.

If all parents would seek God’s wisdom and act accordingly, there would be peace in homes.

If everyone seeking a mate would seek God’s wisdom and act accordingly, there would be no divorces.

If everyone married would seek God’s wisdom and act accordingly, there would be no domestic abuse.

If everyone would simply seek God’s wisdom and act accordingly, there would no need for prisons, we would live healthier lives, and none would be at a disadvantage.

“If” we would just understand that we don’t have the power to do anything, and depend on Him, all would have access to living the abundant life we’re promised.

Nothing we do in our own strength or wisdom matters–we must depend upon Him and His wisdom, hear and obey and then we shall see change for the best in the land–Only By His Spirit!

Lord, help us to seek You while You may be found, receiving Your Wisdom in all things and acting accordingly so that all we do, glorifies You!

How He Gets Things Done!

“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty (Zechariah 4:6 NIV).

None of us are so great that we can accomplish everything we want to do. Wars are not won by the number of people in an army, the number of weapons one has, or even the intellect of those commanding the army. Of course we don’t want to admit this, but if we look at scripture, throughout the ages, God has determined the outcome of every situation before it began.

Perhaps the greatest illustration–from the scriptures–is the story of Gideon and the how God led him into reducing the number of men he had with him before he went into battle. God wanted Gideon and those around him to know that when God is the plan, He can take a little and do much.

From history–in America–a handful of people (figuratively speaking) won their freedom from an established country and began a new life–governing themselves.

In each of our lives, if we closely examine events and remember the odds against us at some point, we’d recognize that it was not us–by use of our intellect or ingenuity that helped us to achieve, but God in the midst of everything. We have battled illness, poverty, family chaos, addictions, and even doubt and unbelief–and we have been victorious! It was not our might or power but the Spirit of the living God that made it all possible! It is by His spirit that He accomplishes all for our benefit and if we listen to His spirit, we shall always be victorious! This is how He gets things done!

When He speaks, hear and obey. When He guides, let Him lead. When He opens doors, step through in faith and know all that He desires for us, will be accomplished, when we listen to Him.

Listening to naysayers who do not have the faith that we have will always lead–to nothing but frustration and doubt and unbelief. By faith–change the mind of the naysayers; by faith–do all that God has told us to do; by faith–move into the next level of victory so all may know we serve the Living God and He cannot fail. And since He cannot fail, we win in all we do with Him!

 

Father, in the name of Jesus, help us move self out of the way and know true victory in You by hearing and obeying Your Spirit who speaks to us, guiding us in all we need to do.