Be strong in the Lord and never give up hope!
As I was praying over what to write, I was pressed to keep this very simple because it can apply to SO MANY different situations.
To be strong in the Lord is a broad topic. It could mean that you take a stand for your beliefs when others are not. It could mean that you use your gifts and talents in a might way in service to Him. Or, it could mean that you stand firm in your belief that God is in control!
I have faced so many situations in which the Holy Spirit had to remind me that God has all of this in His hands and worry is a)selfish and b)pointless!! I was reminded of that again today. I am blessed by God that He gave me a)His Son to make a way b)His Word to "train" me to be strong, and c) His Holy Spirit to guide me and remind me of the former!
As long as I live my life in pursuit of Christ, there will be an adversary trying to devour me and the things I hold dear {my family, friends, church, ministry} see 1 Peter 5:8. So, I must be "strong and not afraid" as Deut says. So that brought about two questions in my mind.
1) How do I become and stay "strong?"
Well, I think this one is easy enough. Stay close to God! Read His word, Talk to Him in Prayer, and Practice doing what His word says. This is the "basic training" we have all heard about. I know it seems redundant because I know I have heard them all my life. However, no one other than myself can follow through with these except ME!!
2) How do I recognize when the adversary is after me?
Let's think in reverse here. What does God want for me? To follow his commandments, to live in pursuit of Christ, to love others, show mercy, have joy, have peace - patience - kindness - goodness - and self-control. To be prepared for "battle" by putting on the whole armor of His Word. So then, ANYTHING that threatens my ability to do or have any of the above can be interpreted as the adversary's attack on my life. Sometimes is people, who allow themselves to get in the way of you doing these things. Sometimes is circumstances or many other things that make you do things like - not show a lot of love, not have much patience, or even lack self-control! But we have to learn to identify these things as actions of the adversary and not just things the "happen" to us. AND we have to remember that there is not reason for us to be afraid of what these influences might have on our lives. If we are actively seeking to follow Christ, then we have nothing to fear because HE will make us STRONG!!
As I was praying over what to write, I was pressed to keep this very simple because it can apply to SO MANY different situations.
To be strong in the Lord is a broad topic. It could mean that you take a stand for your beliefs when others are not. It could mean that you use your gifts and talents in a might way in service to Him. Or, it could mean that you stand firm in your belief that God is in control!
I have faced so many situations in which the Holy Spirit had to remind me that God has all of this in His hands and worry is a)selfish and b)pointless!! I was reminded of that again today. I am blessed by God that He gave me a)His Son to make a way b)His Word to "train" me to be strong, and c) His Holy Spirit to guide me and remind me of the former!
As long as I live my life in pursuit of Christ, there will be an adversary trying to devour me and the things I hold dear {my family, friends, church, ministry} see 1 Peter 5:8. So, I must be "strong and not afraid" as Deut says. So that brought about two questions in my mind.
1) How do I become and stay "strong?"
Well, I think this one is easy enough. Stay close to God! Read His word, Talk to Him in Prayer, and Practice doing what His word says. This is the "basic training" we have all heard about. I know it seems redundant because I know I have heard them all my life. However, no one other than myself can follow through with these except ME!!
2) How do I recognize when the adversary is after me?
Let's think in reverse here. What does God want for me? To follow his commandments, to live in pursuit of Christ, to love others, show mercy, have joy, have peace - patience - kindness - goodness - and self-control. To be prepared for "battle" by putting on the whole armor of His Word. So then, ANYTHING that threatens my ability to do or have any of the above can be interpreted as the adversary's attack on my life. Sometimes is people, who allow themselves to get in the way of you doing these things. Sometimes is circumstances or many other things that make you do things like - not show a lot of love, not have much patience, or even lack self-control! But we have to learn to identify these things as actions of the adversary and not just things the "happen" to us. AND we have to remember that there is not reason for us to be afraid of what these influences might have on our lives. If we are actively seeking to follow Christ, then we have nothing to fear because HE will make us STRONG!!
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