Faceing Your Enemies

Psalm 27:1-3, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.”
Sometimes it is hard to stand when all around you is in chaos. When those who oppose you all appear to have the upper hand, it is hard to hold onto positive thought. In combat everyone on both sides are scared. Bullets have no political preference and do not discriminate. Even in the worst fire fight you must stand and face your enemy. In life we all have to face an enemy of some kind. 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Satan is our worst enemy but with the Word of God we can stand against him and prevail.
During the civil war near the town of Moorefield, West Virginia a fierce battle raged. The town was between the two opposing armies and control of the town changed hands almost every day. In testimony from a Presbyterian minister a elderly woman lived in the middle of the town and in the middle of the battle. One morning enemy soldiers knocked on her door and demanded breakfast. She invited them in and asks that all to be seated while she prepared breakfast. When all was prepared and ready to be served she made a statement, “I am accustomed to reading my bible and saying a prayer before every meal, would you object if I do so now?” None objected and she took down her bible and randomly opened it. Her eyes fell on Psalm 27 and she began to read. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” She read aloud though the last verse, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
When she finished reading she closed her bible and said, “Let us pray.” While she was praying she begins to hear movement all around the room. When she finished praying and said “amen” she opened her eyes and found she was alone in the room. All the soldiers were gone.
When faced with the enemy, turn to the word of God and trust in His strength.
When you know the Lord is near, face the enemy without fear; though an army surrounds you, you are safe; god’s arms are around you. ----Hess

Prayer or Work

2 Kings 20:1-2, “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.”
James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” When we pray many times we expect God to do all the work.
Hezekiah prayed to God about his illness and pending death. God told him to do something. Had he not done what he was told he was going to die. By following God’s direction and doing something he lived for another fifteen years.
Two children were walking to school one day and as many children do they paid little attention to the time. As they walked one realized they were going to be late if they did not hurry. “We have got to run or we are going to be late,” he told his friend. “Let us stop and pray that we will not be late “, was the reply. “No let us pray while we run as fast as we can so we won’t be late,” as he started to run to school.
I heard a story about an athlete running in a track meet. As he crossed the finish line just ahead of his closest rival he was observed to have been talking as he ran. His coach congratulating him on his victory asks him who he was talking to during the race. “I was praying while I was running,” came the reply. “I told the Lord if you will pick my feet up I will put them down.” He asked for God’s help but he also did what he could to answer his own prayer.
When we ask God for help we must be willing to do whatever we can, using whatever means He may provide. Hezekiah heard he was going to die he asks God for a miracle, and God promised to give him fifteen more years. Place a lump of figs on the troubled boil he was told. God did the healing using human effort and natural means.
How often do we pray seeking God’s help then set back and wait for Him to do all the work. James 2:17 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” When we ask the Lord to do something, we must also be ready to do our part. God will answer our prayer. He will send instructions for us to do something. Then we must act on those instructions with faith God will do what He said He would do.
Pray as if everything depends on God: work as if everything depends on us.

Count Your Blessings

Psalm 103:1-5, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.”
How often do we take God’s blessings for granted? What would we do if in the morning the sun did not rise and night remained all day long? Would this get our attention? I am sure it would. We don’t give it a second thought that at a certain time the sun will rise and daylight will wash away the night darkness.
Do we not simply take it for granted that it will get light and we can go about our daily rounds? What about the blessing of just being able to get out of bed and check to see if the sun is rising? What other blessings do we take for granted? We complain we have to mow the grass twice a week to keep our yards neat and trim. What if there was no grass to mow? We go the fridge and dig out goodies when we are hungry, but what if the electricity went off and all in the fridge ruined and we had nothing to eat and no way to cook ? What if the water we had to drink was filled with bugs and dirt, what then? Or living in a free land even with these petty problems we all complain about, what about that? We complain about too much rain or not enough rain, it’s too hot or too cold, what if there was no rain at all?
The psalmist knew he couldn’t possibly remember all of God’s benefits to him. He was distressed that he might forget them all, so he took his sluggish soul in hand, shook it, and urged it to consider at least some of the good gifts God gave to him.
Because God’s goodness is as constant as the sun, we are in danger of forgetting what He showers on us each day. Have you ever thought that God creates a perfect day brand new and different that is not like any other past or to come? He creates each new day perfect. If we will stop and just look at the new day with eyes of thanksgiving we can see how truly great God is. If we count our blessings one by one, we’ll never get finished. But if we jot down a list of ten or twenty gifts God gives us each day, something will happen to our hearts. We are real busy each day and simply don’t have time to think about how good God is to us and what He gives us each day. Can you take ten minutes and write down ten things God has given you this day? That would be one a minute; can we be still with God thanking Him for that long?
“Every morning as we rise, God’s new mercies greet out eyes; and when twilight shadows fall, evenings blessings brighten all.” ---anonymous

The Wish List

Matthew 6:6-8, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
C.S Lewis talks about a book he loved to read as a child. The book was called “ Five Children and It.” The book tells about a family of children who during a summer vacation find an ancient sand fairy who grants wishes. The fairy would grant each child a wish every day. With each wish more trouble and problems would follow the children. The problem was the children could not see the results of getting everything they ask for.
In Philippians 4:6 we are told to make our request known to God. But prayer is much more than telling God what we want Him to do for us. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. He began by telling them, “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Mathew 6:8)
The Lord’s instruction about how to pray is more about living in a growing, trusting relationship with our Heavenly Father than about getting what we want from Him. Have you ever noticed most of our prayers are nothing more than a wish list of the things we want? As we grow in faith, our prayers will become less about making a wish list and more about having a conversation with the Lord. Would we be happy is we got everything we asked for? Toward the end of his life, C. S Lewis wrote, “If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?”
Just as our children ask us for things we know they only want and do not really need so then does our Heavenly Father know our hearts. Jesus made it real clear when He said, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
God really likes to just have a talk with us, an intimate and personal conversation. He already knows what we really need so maybe we need to shorten our wish list and only include the things that really matter. Share with the Lord the desires of our heart and not our heads. Do you start and end you day with a prayer or do you only talk to God only when you are in trouble. Do you thank Him for His goodness and for the wonders all around? Do you do all the talking or do you listen to hear the answer? Many years ago I heard a Sunday school teacher tell her class “when your mouth is open your ears are closed. If you are talking Jesus can’t talk to you.” Sound advice don’t you think?
Our highest privilege is to talk to God; out highest duty is to listen to Him.

Prayer And The Answer

Matthew 7:7-8
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Ask. Seek. Knock. Each word has a specific action attached to it. Prayer is not just something that happens during a church service. It is a vigorous experience in participation in God’s plan. Each also speaks of something else—neediness. One does not ask, if there is no need. If we have already found we will not seek. No one knocks on an open door. Prayer then is our recognition we need God.
In Jesus Sermon on the Mount He shows us exactly how we are to talk to God, our heavenly Father. I wonder how many times we have not received, have not found or are still standing at the door with bloody knuckles with doubt growing in our minds. Why hasn’t God answered? Why won’t He just unlock the door and let us in? Why won’t He just pour out blessings on us?
The reason may be because we have not prayed as we should due to being spiritually lazy and not wanting to labor in prayer. Or maybe we are too content and feel we don’t need God. Or maybe there is a greater lesson we must learn to be better prepared for the great blessing He is planning. Regardless, there is good news from Heaven. When we awaken from a desperate condition and turn to God we have a promise from our Heavenly Father. Everyone who asks receives. Do not give up! God always give to everyone who asks---He gave us His word and He never goes back on His word. God will either give us what we are begging for or He will give us something better. Either way when we come away from the throne room we will not be disappointed.
God knows what is in our best interest and He can see better than we what we need.

Hearing God's Voice

Revelations 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
I was watching a documentary about Antarctic that was talking about an island where king penguins lived. Thousands of them live on a beach to lay eggs and raise their young. The male and female take turns caring for the egg and the young chicks. Each one will go out into the bay to search for food and bring it back to the other parent and the young. Since all the penguins look alike and there are thousands of them on the beach how do the ones gathering food know where to go to find their mate and family? By the voice of the other parent, each has a very distinct voice the other recognizes.
What does God’s voice sound like? Would you know it if you heard it? We have all heard sermons about the still small voice, about how God speaks to those He is directing, but how can we know it is God’s voice we hear? John 10:4, “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” Just like a child knows the voice of a mother or father if we are God’s children we know His voice when we hear it. That is not to say we do not hear or recognize the voice of others. We do know a voice belongs to one we know. If we do not hear God’s voice do we know Him and do we recognize Him? A stranger the sheep will not follow the bible says.
If it is not texted, printed or shouted we just don’t think to listen. If we do not recognize the number that comes up in the caller ID we simply don’t answer the call. Is God in your address book? Many times God has to overcome all the noise in our life to just get a word in edgewise. What does He have to do to get us to listen? He will do it the hard way or the easy way and that depends on us. What will it take for God to get your attention?
Jesus is a stranger to many today. As a stranger He is standing outside knocking but His voice is not recognized and as a result the door is not opened. The world is filled with those who are unaware of God’s calling to repentance. One day all will hear His voice and many will not like what they hear. When Jesus comes in the clouds to call His children home will you hear His call? You won’t if He is a stranger to you. If you miss that call there will be no message left to call back, no caller ID with a callback number you phone will be disconnected and out of service. If you miss that call don’t blame God he has been trying to reach you, He has been calling but you were too busy to answer. When you stand face to face with God at the final judgment what reason will you give for missing His call?
One way not to miss the call is to have your name written in God’s contact list. How do you do that? Trust Jesus as savior. Ask Jesus to come into your heart. Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”