Fear! Being Afraid!

 Do you struggle with fear?  Like you have a fear of something specific. Or do you fear you are not capable of doing your job properly.  How about fear for your health?  The list can go on and on.  I think we all have something we struggle with. That’s just a common struggle of life.  However, what do we do to get beyond those fears?  How can we walk victoriously and not let those fears pull us down? 

You are probably already thinking ahead and saying I know what she’s going to say.  You are probably right.  My trust is in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. 

”When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not fear. What can man do to me?“       Psalms‬ ‭56‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

The Word of God is our manual of how to get through our troubles in life and walk victoriously.   Yet we all still resist and walk in our troubles.  All the while still complaining about it and asking God where He is.  

I can tell you from my own experience God is right here with me.  Not only that, He is alive in me, through His Holy Spirit.  He is all powerful, mighty, omnipresent.  He is the most powerful being alive, who was, who is, and who is to be.  Yes, that means nothing can defeat Him.  Not death, not persecution, not anything.  That means if our faith is in Him, He can protect us with everything He has, everything within Him. He is our GOD!  

So how do I tackle my fears?  I have faced death, I have faced struggles and fears.  The best way I know how to walk in my faith is to do it.  Don’t procrastinate, don’t argue with yourself, don’t make excuses, just do it.  Grab ahold of your Bible, God’s proven Word, start to worship Him with your favorite song, and lastly pray.  And repeat these steps over and over again, until you feel that faith getting stronger and stronger.   Then, do it all over again.  

You see our faith can easily be diminished again if we allow the enemy’s lies to come into our heart again.  Be strong and rebuke those thoughts.  Call on Jesus,loudly and boldly, to help you through.  

And don’t just do this when we face trouble. Instead do this daily, everyday, all day long.  There is always a word in our heart, a song in our thoughts that can lift us up and help us to remember Jesus is alive in us.  Trust Him, rely on Him, and love Him. 

Respect!

 I’ve been coming up with several topics for this blog.  I try to relate it to something that is relevant for today.  That may pertain to all of us.  Or one of us.  This week I haven’t narrowed it down.  I’m getting all jumbled in my thoughts. If that makes sense.  

Well this morning something that really has nothing to do with anything I was thinking about popped out to me when I was reading a devotional.  I began to pray and ask the Lord what this was about. Was it something in my own life?  Was I just being picky?  Then I got the message very clearly.  It is about respect! 

I will write this just how it was written.  The writer was quoting a Scripture .  

God reigns above the nations, sitting on his holy throne.  The rulers of the world have gathered together      with the people of the God of Abraham.  For all the kings of the earth belong to God. He is highly honored everywhere.   Psalm 47:8-9 (NLT)

When you read that, and truly ponder what is written, do you really see what is written? It took me a few times before I really saw it.  But this is something that has always bothered me.  I have no idea why, but it does.  

During our early school years we are taught in English class how to write, how to use nouns, pronouns, adverbs, adjectives, and so on.  And when and how to use capital letters.  I totally understand that.  However, in my mind, I have one strong exemption.  That is when it comes to our Lord Jesus, and respecting Him.  I was taught early on in my walk with the Lord to always show Him respect when speaking about Him, or to Him. To honor and respect Him always.  Respect!  

Do you notice the above Scripture, it is written “his holy throne”.  His is obvious.  But why holy?  Because Holy is because it is referring to Jesus, and His Holy Spirit.  Now to be clear this is my idea of respecting Jesus.  Many will not agree with me and that’s okay,  For me, I cannot compromise in that part of respect.  

When I saw that written that way it clouded my mind.  I could not finish that devotional for today.  It’s a devotional I’ve enjoyed.  I’m sure I will continue to enjoy it.  It truly showed me how I am affected by disrespect.  How many times have we not shown Jesus respect.  And didn’t even realize it.  

When respect is lacking in our own lives, what kind of message is that sending to our children, our grandchildren, or other young people in our lives?  How will they learn respect if we fail at it?  We often wonder how the younger generations have learned it is ok to be disrespectful. I’d say this shows us a bit of the inside as to how the younger generations learn these inappropriate behaviors.  

So this is how I got the idea for this blog, Respect.  It affects me deeply.  I want Jesus to be respected and honored all of the time.  And I want people to be respected as well when they are deserving.  I want it to be a reminder to myself, to treat others with respect.  

#respect #personal #thoughts #respectfulness 

DO YOU HAVE YOUR ARMOR ON?

 It’s been awhile since I’ve heard anyone speak of this topic.  The  “Armor of God”.  It is a very important topic, but we often put it on the back burner.  We just plain forget.  

A little refresher, what is the armor of God?  Remember this is speaking of our spiritual armor.  It isn’t something we actually wear everyday in the natural.  We are not walking around with a costume of  a suit made of metal on.  That would be a sight.  Let me refresh you with the verses about the armor.    Ephesians 6:14  NIV). ”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.“

The  BELT OF TRUTH, ‭around our waste. The truth of God is in our core.  The BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. It covers our vital organs needed to survive.  Our feet prepared with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  SHIELD OF FAITH.  The shield was able to extinguish the flaming arrows the enemy shot at them.  HELMET OF SALVATION. Protects our brain and minds from the enemy’s attack on our minds.  SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.  The sword is the Word of God.  The all powerful Word of God.  

There is so much to say about this topic.  But that is for a Bible study, not a little blog.  I am just reminding us how important it is to be covered by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.  Everyday!  

We see it, hear it, feel it, every day.  The works of the evil one roaming about the earth.  Right now we see it trying to destroy Israel.  We see it in every one of our countries, states, cities.  It is disgusting, pathetic, and horrific.  The sights, sounds, and smells of what we witness everyday is disgusting.  And a lot of the spiritual attacks we don’t even see.  This is why it is so important to be ready and prepared with God’s armor.  Many believe we are in the last days.  Or at least coming to that era.  I want to be as prepared as I can be.  Jesus has given us everything we need to be protected.  Yes at times, the enemy will get through a space and try to destroy us.   But it will not be victorious!   We will face trials. But keep that armor on and tightened up.  We will have a much better chance.  

I want to encourage you, write out the Armor of God.  Explain what each piece is for. Take a moment or two and read the Scripture out loud.  Then actually step into your armor.  We need this every day.  My trials are my health battles with two cancers, and a spinal cord injury.   There is a lot I go through every day physically.  But I will not let that consume me spiritually.  God has given me my armor.  And the areas I am weak in, Jesus will strengthen me.  He will do the same for you.  

Trust Him, lean on Him, call out to Him.   He is near!  

#bestrong  #armorofGod  #strongGod