……..For the battle is not yours, but God’s.     2 Chron 20:15

Gal 6:10-17  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The following prayer was received via email recently.  I have removed the references to forwarding to prove you love the Lord and to receive good luck because I still have not found the scripture to uphold that theory.  I do, however, like the words and wish to share them with you. The battle is the Lord’s. As a protection he has offered us His Armor. Be sure to put on the full armor of God each day.

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day . I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I’m blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or  thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

  Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God’s eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus’ example — to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It’s the best response when I’m pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can’t pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others.

Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can’t find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don’t know You intimately.  I pray for those who don’t believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love, and joy in their homes, that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every individual would know there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.  Ephesians 5:8

I have never been one to like darkness. I don’t like to drive in the dark, I don’t like dark rooms. As a child I always had my teddy bear and a night light.  Today I have teddy bears all around my room and I still have a night light of sorts. There is the light illuminating from the digital clock. There is light flowing in the through the doorway from the kitchen. There is even a small glow of light from coming from the Wii, the cable box, my electric toothbrush in the adjoining bathroom and from my cell phone.

  In the world there is much darkness; the darkness of sin. Jesus said ,”I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12.  We have a responsibility to this Light. We are commanded to “Bear witness of the Light that all may believe.” Jon 1:7.

A light cannot be overtaken by darkness, but darkness can be overtaken by light.  Walk into a room of absolute darkness. Light a candle in one corner of the room. That light can be seen throughout the room. As christians it is our duty to be “the light of the world” in Matthew 5:14.  Now with that candle burning, try to make the darkness distinguish it.  You cannot do it.

Your good deeds done in the name of God will make others praise Him according to Matthew 5:16. It is not our job to save people, that is Christ’s responsibility. It is our duty to bear witness of Him that is the way, the truth and the life (Matthew 14:6).

Take your teddy bear and your candle and be reminded that we are not trapped in darkness.

And God will generously provide all you need. 2 Cor 9:8 NLT

A recent post by Victoria Gaines at Windows to My Soul got my mind whirling.  She talks about a friend asking for prayer and making a long list of needs.  Victoria comments we must focus on Him alone.  It reminded me of a simple action of my grandson one day and reminded me of how I forget to focus on Him.

Weston wanted an ice cream treat, and being a good grandma I agreed.  I went to the freezer to get his treat but in the meantime he had started to play a game of spin around. I was holding out the ice cream for him to take but he didn’t see me. He wasn’t looking at me. He was busy spinning and reciting the ABCs.

I wonder how often do we do that to God. You need something and you pray for it, then you turn away from God’s face. You start to worry, you fret. You wring your hands and start looking for ways to solve the problem yourself. (I know this scenario very well, I have experienced it numerous times first hand).

In the meantime God is waiting with His hands out, offering you the resolution. But you can’t see that offered hand because you are busy worrying. 

I am reading the Max Lucado book “ Every Day Deserves a Chance ” and he repeats a phrase I have heard on many occasions. “When you worry you do not pray. When you pray you do not worry.” You cannot do both at the same. Are you spinning around in circles reciting your list of unmet needs?  Or are you standing in His presence ready to receive His gift?

And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. Phil 4:19 KJV

To get your copy of Max Lucado’s book and help support Bear Witness, click on the link below.

Every Day Deserves a Chance Doesn’t every day deserve a chance to be a good day? An opportunity? A shot? A tryout? An audition? A swing at the plate? After all: “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” But what of those days when traffic snarls, airports close, friends forget, and spouses complain? Or divorce days, final exam days, surgery days, tax days, or even days when the cemetery dirt is still fresh? “Yes, every day,” says best-selling author Max Lucado. In Every Day Deserves a Chance he unpacks Jesus’ delightful formula for upgrading each of your days to blue ribbon status: saturate your day in Jesus’ grace; entrust your day to His oversight; accept His direction. Grace. Oversight. Direction. G-O-D. The perfect prescription for filling your day with divine power and giving every day a chance.

 

 

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This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  John 15:8 NIV

I have a large supply of teddy bears in my home. Though impossible, I believe these bears multiply on their own.  You can tell I am a teddy bear lover after spending any amount of time with me.

More important to me than you knowing of my love for teddy bears is that you know of my love for Jesus Christ.  After spending any amount of time with me I would like you to know that Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior. “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.” (Luke 6:44).

Jesus uses the object lesson in John 15:1-8 of a vine. 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

As I take another look at myself I wonder what about you? What fruit do you bear?