Our God's Alive!

"I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!"

Rev. 1:18

~Jesus the Christ

Happy Resurrection Day!
Dorci

2012 Possibilities

Hello Friends! 

I'll be taking the month of January off to get my house in order.  A decluttered space is a decluttered mind I always say. 

I'll still be posting verses, quotes, thoughts and all-around good and godly stuff on my Twitter and Facebook pages as God puts them on my heart.  If you haven't subscribed to the blog or "followed" or "liked" the the pages yet, please do!  You'll find the links at the side and at the top.  And please share with your friends!

I'm excited about 2012 and all it holds--the good, the bad and the ugly.  We all love the good--the blessings and joys, but we learn and grow from the "bad" and the "ugly."  No matter what comes our way, God already knows about it, has a plan for it and He'll be with us all the way. 

I know God has great plans and I can't wait to share what I learn through them with you.  And I can't wait to hear from you.  Let's go through this year together. 

In the meantime, I'd love to hear how you are planning to be intentional about your relationship with Jesus in 2012.  Successful, thriving relationships don't just happen, they're lovingly cultivated. 

So, what's your plan?  How will you walk closer with Him?  How do you plan to know Him better?  How will you develop your faith in Him? 

Getting closer to Jesus will affect your heart, your mind and every aspect of your life. 

"with God all things are possible." 

Matthew 19:26b

So how will that deepening relationship with Christ manifest itself in your life?  How will allowing Jesus to live His life through you affect your attitudes?  Your relationships?  

Let me know what God is doing in your life and what dreams He's given you for the new year.   

The past is gone.  Time to forgive, let go, refocus, look ahead.  

The new year has a clean slate.  How will you fill it up?

Let's make it a year rich in God's treasures as we know Him and love Him more and more each day.

Blessings!

Dorci

The Forging of a Man or Woman of Character

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,

not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

I am drawn to movies about sports and war.  The funny thing is I don’t especially like either.  It’s not the competition or the violence I like, but the stories within the story. 

The team of young men, black and white, and their newly-appointed black coach, who want to play football amid the backdrop of integration in a small southern football town in the early ‘70’s. 

The coach and the team persevere through struggles among themselves and from the town.  They begin to forge friendships with one another as they work hard, harder than other teams are required.  And their hardships knit them together.  In the end, the young men are bound together in brotherly love and an entire town learns to love, too. 

*     *     *

The schoolteacher who is called to serve his country and leads a band of men whose mission it is to find and save one man from the fate that befell his brothers.  All he wants to do is go home. 

But first he has to face and fight the ruthless enemy time and time again, all the while leading men who are dying, fearful and angry.  Against all odds, he saves the young man and goes home, although not the way he wanted. 

*     *     *

It is these stories of selfless courage, of commitment, of dedication that inspire me.  When everything says quit, they don’t quit. Oh, they may want to.  They may want to quit more than anything else sometimes. 

But in the middle of this hardship, they realize what is important.  It is the dream, it is the mission they must accomplish.  They keep their eyes focused on the goal during the day as they face an enemy of racial hatred or an enemy of war, and at night when they’re left alone with their thoughts. 

Their trials developed the character they already had but didn’t know was there.  And they discovered they were more than they thought.  They were more than a team who aspired to play football and more than an English teacher or a band of men called to serve their country. They were men who stayed the course, facing enemies both within and without, to do the good and honorable thing. 

I love these stories because this is what we need to remember in a life that is full of facing our own personal battles.  And as we do, if we choose to put our trust in God, we gain strength and courage and wisdom, we come through the other side and our faith in Him grows.  And we go on to face another battle for another day.  And little by little, if we don't give up, a godly character develops.  We may not see it happening as quickly as we can in a two-hour movie, but it is happening.  It just takes a lifetime. 

So gird up, my friends!  Be ready, be prepared, be alert.  Be prayed up and repentant and humble. We never know what a day may bring. We may not face war or an entire town of people, but we will face something.  But with the Lord, we’ll never face it alone. 

And in the end, we will be victorious.

Fight the Good Fight, Keep the Faith

I watched The Book of Eli again.   And again, it’s left me with a feeling of determination, of gravity, of sober-mindedness about my faith in God and my desire to serve Him well to the end.

Just to let you know, this will contain major spoilers. So if you’ve never watched it, watch it first, if you like, then come back.  I’ll wait.

But a warning: it is rated R, and in the case of this movie, that could stand for raw and rough, but also for revelation.  There are several instances of very strong language and many scenes of disturbing violence.  Normally I wouldn’t recommend a movie with that level of crudeness, but the context in which it’s used in this movie is not gratuitous but conforms to the grave time and situations within the story.  If you’d still rather not watch it, read on anyway.  I’ve included enough of the story that you won’t miss out on the message. 

So why would I watch a movie with such violence and vulgarity?  Because it is an excellent allegory of our lives--as messy and ugly and painful as they can be—as we walk with the Lord. 

*       *       *

“You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." 2 Corinthians 3:3

A man named Eli wanders through a barren land some thirty-one years after an apocolyptic destruction of the earth and most of its inhabitants.  He carries only a backpack and a few weapons which he skillfully uses against the violence he finds at nearly every turn in this lawless land.

 

Eli guards with his life the contents in his backpack: a book.  But not just any book.  It is the only copy of the Bible left on earth.  He’s been traveling with it since the destruction and his job is to take it west.  Why?  Because a Voice told him to.

 

The Voice leads him through peril after peril.

 

Eli comes to a futuristic old west town of lawless men, run by one deranged man whose goal is to find a Bible.  He knows there is power in the Bible and he wants power. He’s managed to enslave a group of people, including a blind woman and her daughter.

The man discovers the contents of Eli’s pack.  Eli takes off in a hail of bullets, leaving several bodies in his wake.  Eli is unharmed.

 

Eli is back on the road, dutifully headed west, when he discovers the teenage daughter of the blind woman has followed him.  They find shelter for the night where he removes his most guarded possession from its cocoon and begins reading.  The illiterate girl asks him to read to her and he begins to recite scripture from memory.

She asks him if he reads it every day.  He responds, “Without fail.” 

As they continue on in their journey west, the deranged man and his band of not-so-merry men have found Eli and the girl. After a gunfight, Eli finds himself standing in the middle of the men while the ringleader has a tight hold on the girl and a gun pointed at Eli.  Eli has hidden the Book, and the man wants it.  Eli stands in total confidence that the protection he’s known for thirty-one years will continue.

 

And then, Eli is shot.  He stumbles and his face twists with confusion.

   

The man snarls at Eli, “Where’s your protection now?”  And we wonder the same thing.  Why would God allow him to be hurt?  And even more, why would God allow him to be placed in a position where he feels he has to give up the Bible to this abusive, power-hungry man?

Eli gives up the Book’s hiding place, it is taken and the men are gone with the girl.  Eli gets back on the road and continues his journey west, led by the Voice, as if nothing has happened.  The girl musters some courage of her own, and finds her way back to Eli.

They reach the ocean where they cross by boat to a sanctuary.  The guard asks him why he’s there.  He says he has a copy of the King James Bible.  The girl looks at him quizzically, and so do we.

 

They enter the sanctuary where they meet with the proprietor who is in the process of collecting a library of books which have become precious in this post-war era.  He’s never seen a Bible.  He, the girl and Eli sit down.  Eli asks for some paper.

 

Meanwhile, the man is back in the old west with his stolen Book of Power.  The Book is opened and we see the pages but there are no words, only raised dots.  The blind woman stands in front of it, having no clue as to the treasure that lay right in front of her.  He screams at her to read it.  She throws her hands down in anger, and she feels the dots.  Time stands still for her as she realizes this is a Bible, a Bible she can read. 

Back at the sanctuary, Eli begins to recite the Bible, from memory, word by word, verse by verse:

Gen 1:1  In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Gen 1:2  And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the
                 deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Gen 1:3  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

We are taken up close and we see Eli’s eyes, and suddenly realize that he is blind.  And yet, he sees more than anyone because the truth of God is written on his heart.  It is the light from the sun and the voice of God that led him, gave him discernment, and filled him with wisdom to walk across the country for thirty-one years, facing death at every turn, fulfilling his mission. And so it is with us.

My friends, our life in Christ is a journey, and we’ll most surely encounter struggles, pain and evil along the way.  And God will use those times of trial in ways we may not ever know until we stand with Jesus in heaven.  Because Eli was shot and the girl’s life was at stake, he had to release the Bible. No doubt the Voice told him to, a Voice with which he had become very well acquainted.  And in doing so, the Word of God that gives freedom to the humble was taken back to a lawless town and the truth was spoken.  Ironically, the man who wanted to use it for his own gain lost the very power he coveted. 

And because Eli persisted in doing God’s will, the Bible was produced again en masse, and its message filled a lost and dying world.  Eli sums up his belief about the Bible’s message by saying it’s about doing more for others than for yourself.  And so it is. Rather than saving Himself, Jesus Christ died for us so that we can be saved and live with God forever.  And this is the message we carry in our hearts. 

Whatever comes along on your long and winding road--the good, the bad and the ugly--our ultimate purpose is to carry the Lord, and with Him, the inspired Word of God, in our hearts. We are the living letter of God given for our own lost and dying world.  Keep focused, keep true and finish well.

 

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

2 Timothy 4:7-8 kjv

Whatever Happened to Holiness?

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  

1 Peter 1:13-16

Being holy sounds so lofty, so impossible, doesn’t it?  And in ourselves, it is.  But when we received Christ’s sacrifice as payment for our sins, we are at that moment, in Him, free from the law of sin and we are made holy, called out from the world to become His bride. 

The same word used for holy in the above verses is the same word for saint in Romans 8:27-- “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

We are now saints, temples of the Holy Spirit. So we are holy, but we still have a choice to behave in a holy manner.

God’s Word tells the story of Hosea who was commanded by God to take a wife, Gomer, who had either already lived as a prostitute or who God knew would leave Hosea multiple times to commit adultery.  It was a picture of Israel who had turned her back on God, gone back to the world and by that, effectively committed adultery against her Betrothed.  Hosea continued to forgive his wife and take her back, and God was saying He would do the same with His people.

Is the bride of Christ any different today than Gomer or Israel? 

We, as individual believers, wander back into the world, back to our former lovers, if you will (or never come out from them altogether), leaving the Lord behind, taking up our former ways and attitudes.  We continue to let greed, unforgiveness, sexual sins, etc. dominate our lives and we become lazy in the things of God.  We hate our enemies instead of loving them. We adopt worldly attitudes about divorce, abortion and homosexuality instead of searching God’s Word and living by His truth.  We think nothing of going out and partying with the world.  We keep the world’s view of members of the opposite sex and look on them in lustful ways. We watch too much t.v. and go to bed at night never having cultivated our relationship with our Heavenly Husband that day.  The list of choices to give our time and energies to anything other than God is endless. 

And God sits and waits for his bride to come to Him. 

Even in the church, holiness is not always a popular theme.  Some who have leadership roles in the church try to use human logic and the world’s ways to reach lost souls.  They entice people with flashy music or programs.  They try talking about Jesus in a dark bar over spirits instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit and letting His power bring salvation.  Nevermind that the Christian leader could be giving justification for drinking to a lost soul who may be an alcoholic or stumbling a fellow believer.  

I’ve even heard some so-called ministries laugh at Christians who are conscientious about being too physically close to members of the opposite sex so as not to stumble them. 

We’re all in a struggle with our flesh every day to remain completely faithful to our Bridegroom, foregoing those worldly lovers.  But God has called us to live a holy life.  He has freed us from the power of sin and His Holy Spirit indwells us to give us the power to do so.  The choice is up to us.   

Gomer was a married woman, but she didn’t behave as though she was married.  She was disrespectful, to say the least, to her husband and to her marriage vows.  And when we choose to live impure lives as if we aren’t the bride of the King of kings and Lord of lords, we disrespect Him, we cheapen His grace and we bring shame to the Name of Jesus in the eyes of a lost and dying world. 

Jesus died and rose so that we could have a relationship with Him and fulfill the high calling of being His hands and feet on this earth, encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ and making disciples.  But why would unbelievers think they needed Christ if they see those who call themselves Christians acting no differently than they do?

Our Bridegroom’s return is near.  I’m convinced that the more we’re willing to call our sin for what it is, walk away from it and the death it brings and focus instead on the joy of His return and fall in love with Him the more we’ll want to deepen that relationship and keep ourselves pure for our heavenly wedding day. 

May God bless you as you seek Him!

Dorci

Before It's Too Late!

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
   call on Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
   and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on them,
   and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

Isaiah 55:6-7

From the time children are toddling around in their parents' shoes, their minds are just like little sponges, soaking up everything they hear, good and bad.  I don’t think we’re any different as adults.  It’s why billions of dollars are spent every year on advertising.  We see the commercials and we believe what they tell us.  We need that thing, so we buy it. 

We believe internet rumors; we believe email scams; we believe what the government tells us.  Well, sometimes.  We watch people sinning on t.v. and in movies and we laugh.  We soak up the world like a sponge and we’re left dripping with its inane gossip, its cynicism, its bitterness, and its greed and selfishness. 

And sometimes we need to sit before the Lord in repentance and let Him wring out of us the ungodliness and then we can soak up the pure holiness of the Holy Spirit. 

Time is short, my friends.  Let’s seek the Lord while we can.  Let’s stop giving ear to the world and listen to the Lord’s heart instead.  He has things for us to do, people to see and places to go.  He has a gospel to spread before it’s too late and He wants to use us to do it. 

The flesh and spirit war with each other and we are the captains of our own war.  We choose which side wins every day.  For the spirit to win we must starve the flesh and put it to death.  We must put aside the insidious sins, the secret sins, the accepted sins.  

God tells us it’s when we die to ourselves that we can really live.  Why?  Because our plans are so selfish, so temporary, so small compared to the great plans God has for us.  If we’re willing to let go of what we think may be good and listen to the Lord, then He can bless us with what is great. 

He can bless us with Himself. 

We have all we need in Christ Jesus to live a victorious life full of His power, wisdom, strength and peace and to be able to look back on a life of spiritual growth and service to the King. 

Will we? 

May God bless you as you seek His face!

Dorci

The Effects of An Icy Heart

Please enjoy the following devotion I was blessed to write for my friends' website, Halas & Phos, Salt & Light.

”And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”  Revelation. 22:1

“’He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive;” John 7:38-39a

Did you know there are actually three waterfalls that comprise Niagara Falls? The water flows from the Niagara River and is separated by two islands into the three Falls. The constant flow of approximately 1,500,000 combined gallons of water per second make Niagara Falls an amazing and beautiful sight to behold.  The massive and continual flow of water also makes it a great source of power for both the Canadian and American sides.  

But there was one day--March 29, 1848—when the water stopped flowing. 

Please read the rest at Halas & Phos here.  

The God of the Secret Place

Since the time I was very young, the circumstances of my life have always dictated maintaining a level of secrecy. It was never a conscious effort, but society’s taboos and lack of compassion and understanding silently say to the abused or to those who are caught in a sin things like Aren’t you over that yet? or We don’t talk about things like that. And so you don’t. And it begins to seem easier to live in defeat than to face your giants. Shame sets in and you learn to stuff it down deep somewhere where no one will see it, and maybe if you stuff it down long enough even you will forget it’s there.

But God sees. There is nowhere that is secret enough to hide from God. We can’t stuff our pain down far enough that He does not go further still. Jeremiah 23:24 says, “’Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the LORD.’”

The Lord sees your pain. He is your El Roi—the God Who sees. And not only does He see, but He is also a God of understanding, compassion and mercy. He longs for you come out from the shadows of pretense and worry and pour out your heavy heart to Him. The pain sits in your heart as a lump in the throat, suppressing words and acts of love.

I know it takes courage to face that pain again. It takes courage to go through life-saving surgery. But God is a skillful surgeon. Just as He is able to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12), He is also able to divide pain and sin and leave a heart more whole than it was before.

Trust your God again. Stop worrying about that thing that has left a part of you broken, or even pretending it’s gone when you know it isn’t, and fall on Jesus again. He is a God Who is able.

“Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

Do you see that, my friends? He LIVES to intercede for us. Jesus Christ rose not to just return to the comfort of His Father’s side, but He lives to continue to make intercession to His Father on our behalf. He sees our secret pain and He sets about restoring our heart.

But we have our part, too, and that is to be honest with ourselves and with the Lord. There will be work to do. With His strength, there will be forgiveness to offer, bitterness to let go of and sins to be nailed to the cross. And then there will be joy to behold.

Don’t wait until tomorrow. Enough tomorrows have passed. Begin your new journey today and walk in the light of life.

"Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart." (Psalm 51:6)


God bless you on your journey,

God of the Mountains

I was watching The Waltons a while back (yes, with John Boy, Mary Ellen and the rest), and in this episode John Boy was all grown up and going to college. The clothes he wore, the car he drove and his slight southern mountain twang always threatened to give him away as a country bumpkin in a sea of rich, college boys.

The annual horse race that was held on Walton’s Mountain was coming up, and since John Boy’s family was too poor to afford a horse, John Boy decided to enter with his faithful, hard-working mule, Blue. One of John Boy’s rich, college buddies--who was forever playfully rubbing his wealth in John Boy’s nose--caught wind of this contest and decided to compete with his prize-winning race horse.

John Boy seemed fairly confident at first, but as the weeks went by and the contest neared, his friend’s boasting began getting into his head and the thought of racing against a purebred stallion had him a little worried.

The day of the big race came and people from all corners of Walton’s Mountain came to cheer on their favorites. John Boy sat on ol’ Blue, and the rich, college buddy strutted up to the starting area with his beautiful, quick, pedigreed horse, clearly standing a number of hands taller than Blue.

The rules were given to the riders. They were to ride to a certain spot, round a marked tree, and head back. How the riders and their mounts got there and back was up to them.

The race was on. College Boy and his thoroughbred were off, racing straight for the turnaround tree along with most of the other riders and their horses. John Boy and Blue knew the shortcuts. They veered off the main route, making up for Blue’s lack of speed with John Boy’s wisdom of knowing the terrain like his own bedroom, and Blue’s strength and sure-footedness that comes from being bred a mule.

They climbed up and down the steepest slopes, ran through creeks that might spook any other horse, climbed up out of the forested mountainside and onto to the homestretch path just ahead of all the other riders, including College Boy, and won the race.

Just as John Boy and ol’ Blue had a wisdom and strength that College Boy and his fast horse knew nothing about, so God’s children have been granted a godly wisdom and strength that is far richer than anything found on any college campus or in a bank account that is bulging at the seams.

Now, in case you think I’m saying that an education is unimportant or even wrong, I’m not. An education is great when you can get it, but its wisdom will never replace the wisdom of God. It is not a degree that grants us entrance into the kingdom of heaven, gives us eternal wisdom, never-ending strength or a peace that surpasses all understanding as we face our own uphill battles. It is only as we rely on the Lord that He will fill us with power, strength and peace to victoriously endure those mountainous terrains of suffering.

It is God, the Creator of the Universe, Who is able to sustain us and mature us in Christ, not just in spite of our suffering but because of it. It is the obstacles that are placed in our lives, coupled with the leading of the Holy Spirit that brings us a spiritual maturity that the world will never know. Unlike the world’s, His wisdom and resources are infinite and so is His love toward us.

So fall on the Almighty God, El Shaddai, which, ironically, is also translated as “God of the mountains.” He will more than take care of us and we, in turn, are blessed to have our lives used to glorify the Eternal God.

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:30-32)

"Therefore, as it is written: 'Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.'"  (1 Cor. 1:31)

Unadulterated

Truth is unyielding to the whims and opinions of man. It is unbending to the changing world around it. It is immovable and unshakeable. It is enduringly constant; it is uncompromising, unrelenting and unwavering in its steadfastness. It is laid open and bare and invites the light to reveal its purity and beauty. It is what it is.

Truth will not compromise its frame to fit our character; we must bend and stretch and twist and turn and yield to mold to the shape of truth, or else be broken.

But the Master Carpenter will see that only our will is broken. With His tender and loving hand He heats and hammers and shapes and forms. He removes only the rough edges of darkened character that do not fit the shape of truth. He prepares us as a thing of beauty and when we stand before Him--a masterpiece.

The Gift of Suffering

I was sitting in church yesterday listening intently on what was being said when the spoken words dimmed a bit, just for a moment, and the Lord whispered to my heart. It was one of those moments that I often have, when the Lord speaks out of what is being said, but He personalizes it just for me. Maybe it’s for you, too.

I can’t even remember exactly what was being said at that moment, but I thought about the time when my life here on this earth is over, and I am living in eternity. There’s no way for us to understand just how long forever is, no way to comprehend the infinite with our finite minds. But I know that in comparison this life is just a blink. While we’re living in it, especially when there are deep trials and suffering, it seems to last forever. But very soon, it will be over, and we’ll only remember it as a vague dream, something that lasted for only a short while, but it was a time when we had the chance to learn how to love.

God tells us in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not lay up treasures on earth for yourselves, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up treasures in Heaven for yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”

It’s hard to say exactly what those treasures will be, but I know that as this blog’s scripture in Colossians says, all treasures that will last into eternity are found in God through Christ. They are the wisdom and knowledge of God that we obtain by walking with Him while we’re here. They are the things He whispers to our hearts when we’re still, and listening. They are the pure gold and silver character that will remain as we go through trials and the dross of anything less than godliness is taken away.

And that’s what the Lord was saying to me – that every trial, big and small, has been masterfully used by God to remove that which cannot enter into heaven, the fear, the unforgiveness, the pride, the selfishness, all those are being whittled away. And as they diminish, there is more room for His character in me, the treasure of a pure heart of love and compassion, and out of those I can do His will, in His strength, and store up even more treasure, the fruition that comes from being a part of God’s work here on this earth.

Through all my times of kicking and screaming and whining and complaining my way through trials, God remains steadfast in His love and in His patience to bring about in me a godliness that will store up treasures I can’t even imagine because He wants to bless me with a richer, fuller, more intimate experience of worshipping my Lord as I live with Him forever.

Resistance is Not Futile

Have you ever been going along just fine when out of nowhere negative thoughts just seem to get dumped into your head? I have, too. I think those are the times when satan and his scrawny, little minions have been famished for destruction and have gone to the fridge of life, peered in and spied one of us in our little corner of it, looking all righteously juicy, and decided to pull us out for a bite.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us that “your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone he may devour.” The devil hates it when he sees believers loving God and furthering His work here on earth. And he’ll try to do whatever he needs to stop it, even devouring us one lie at a time.

He’ll remind us of that time way back when someone rejected us, and he’ll tempt us to become bitter about it. He’ll tell us over and over that we’re no good and our service to God isn’t counting for anything, until we believe it and quit. He’ll tell us God doesn’t love us or care about what we’re going through, and when our circumstances don’t change, if we believe the lie, we are tempted to turn our back on God and run back into the waiting arms of the tempter’s world.

So what do we do? How do we resist becoming fodder for the devil? James gives us the answer in James 4:7, “Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

As always, we can learn from our perfect example: Jesus. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he fasted 40 days and nights and then was tempted by the tempter. (Matthew 4) I can imagine satan shadowing Christ through the wilderness those 40 days and nights, watching Him, studying Him, learning His weaknesses to use against Him in order to pull Him out of His impending ministry and into the world. And when Jesus was at His weakest and most vulnerable, the tempter spoke.

Jesus was hungry, so he tempted him with food. Jesus was the Son of God, so he tempted Him with proving His Father’s affections. Jesus was the Mighty King living far away from His Kingdom, so he tempted Him by offering Him the world – by offering Him the world – as His kingdom, if He would only give in and worship the tempter.  Each time satan's tactic was the same as it is now: mingling some truth to make the lie more palatable. But Jesus countered each attack with the full truth of God's Word. 

Satan is well aware of our own weaknesses, too, and he’ll target us with those things that will personally tempt us, but also at a time when we are emotionally or physically weak. So how do we have the strength to resist when we are at our weakest? The answer is, we don’t, but the Holy Spirit living inside us does. Remember the first part of James 4:7, “submit yourselves to God.”

The enemy counts on us trying to counter his attacks in our own flesh. And sometimes, if we deem ourselves strong enough and the lie small enough, the very temptation can be to say, “Heh, I got this one.” The very temptation can be to fight in our own strength.

When temptation comes, whether it’s to do something or to believe a lie, if we will humbly submit ourselves to the Lord by acknowledging that we’re only human and weak in and of ourselves, no matter how long we’ve walked with Him, and rely on God's strength, opposing satan's attacks with prayer and countering the lies with the truth in God’s Word just as Jesus did, we will be victorious and Christ will be glorified. The tempter will have no choice but to leave us alone. He is a powerful foe for us, but He is no match for the power of our Almighty God.

12 Ways to Help Combat Depression

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13MKJV)

Two weeks ago I posted a blog called Depression in the Believer. I’d like to follow that up with some things that I’ve recognized over the years that have helped me when I’m feeling depressed. Most of these things are just common sense, but I hope they’ll be a reminder and an encouragement to you (and to myself) to put them into practice.

Please understand that I’m not at all trying to simplify depression and I’m not negating the need for a professional counselor or medication when necessary. But I believe that these are absolute imperatives in the believer’s life even when further assistance is needed.

1. Pray
Now, I know that sounds obvious, but remember, wishing is not praying, dreaming is not praying, and thinking about praying is not praying. Sometimes it’s hard to hunker down and really pray because my thoughts can be going a million miles a minute, especially when I’m feeling depressed. So set aside a “date” with the Lord each day, time when you will sit down with Him and let it all out and when you can receive from Him. He will give you wisdom IF you’ll put your trust in Him. And don’t forget to put on that attitude of prayer, so that you learn to talk to Him throughout the day about anything and everything that comes up.
     a. Give Thanks
          Do it often and about everything.
     b. Ask for Forgiveness
          I think we let a lot of sins slide, thinking that since we barely noticed God probably didn’t, either.  But He does and we grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin. Confess those sins so that they don’t separate you from a Holy God; so that the enemy does not gain a foothold in your life; and so that the guilt does not add to your depression.
     c. Forgive
          Not only does God's Word say that if we forgive, then we will be forgiven (Luke 6:37), but unforgiveness will turn to bitterness and will eat you alive.  It will steal your trust and faith and joy. Forgiveness isn't saying that what the other person did is okay.  It's letting go so that they don't continue have control in your life.  As they saying goes, forgiveness sets a prisoner free, and that prisoner is me.  Trust God to take care of the other person in the way that only He can.

2. Read the Bible
Again, very obvious, I know. But are you making time for other reading materials, yet little or no time for God’s Word? The Bible is God’s main avenue of speaking to you. Open His Word every day and let it cleanse your heart.  And don't just read it, study it.  Know it like the back of your hand so that the Holy Spirit can teach you and then bring it to your mind when you need it. 

3. Put Away the Secular Music
I know, a lot of you are booing at me right now and saying there’s nothing wrong with some secular music. But, if you’re feeling depressed, secular music can be to us what junk food is to a person who’s trying to lose weight. You get full on that and have no room for what’s actually good for you. So put away the music of the world and drench yourself in music that will glorify the Lord and will encourage you to sing out in praise and worship of your Lord, too.

4. Speaking of Junk Food…
Put it away, too, and eat food that’s going to nourish your body – lots of protein, fruits and vegetables. Chips and 3 Musketeers bars make us feel good in the moment, but in the long run they’ll make us crash and burn. If you have to have some (chocolate is my buddy) limit it to a very small amount. I’m working on replacing refined sugars with fruit instead.

5. Go to Church
I know when you’re feeling depressed that the last thing you want to do sometimes is get out of the house, even to go to church. But do it anyway. Your body is not the boss of you. You need to be spiritually fed and you need the fellowship. And get out of the house during the week, too. Just breathing in the fresh air and feeling the sun shining down on my face can give me a whole new perspective.  If you don't have a home church, please, pray that God will lead you to one.  The Christian faith was never meant to be lived on individual islands.  We were meant to co-exist and serve one another as part of the body of Christ. 

6. And While You’re Out of the House..
Help Someone. Serve at church. Pray with someone. Mail a letter or a card. You never know how the Lord will use you in the life of another person if you ask Him to. And getting our eyes off of ourselves and onto another person will do wonders for your morale and theirs.

7. Exercise
I didn’t say run a marathon (unless you want to!), but any amount of consistent exercise will increase endorphins and help you feel better. Hey, if you wear an IPod you can combine #s 1, 3, 6 and 7! I’m so resourceful.  :)

8. Get Some Sleep
As a chronic insomniac, I know how hard this is. But I also know how much better I feel on a day when I’ve had decent sleep as opposed to a day when there’s been only a few hours. Night and day. Try to get into a routine of getting ready for bed. Don’t eat sweets before bedtime. Try some herbal things if your doctor approves and if it doesn’t interfere with any prescription medications. (Do your homework and double check with your pharmacist on that one.) Just taking magnesium before bed helps me to relax and get to sleep.

9. Take a Shower and Get Dressed
Depression has a way of sapping our energy even to drag ourselves into the shower sometimes. It’s easier to just stay in the jammies. Do it anyway, you’ll thank yourself.  (And I bet your family will, too!) 

10. Laugh
Throughout my childhood and most of my adulthood, people were always asking me why I laughed so much. If something’s funny, I really do LOL. I never knew what answer to give anyone until well into my adulthood. (Most people I’ve known for a long time now and they don’t ask so much anymore.) But I realize that because of the very difficult circumstances in my life, God has given me a built-in survival mechanism, and that’s a ready laugh. Laughing produces endorphins just like exercising does, it helps you get your mind off your problems, if even for a few moments, and it helps you to see the lighter side of life. So all you people who’ve ever asked me that, that’s why.  So watch a funny movie, hang out with your family and friends and giggle it up.

11. Discover Your Own Personal Stressors
Pay attention to your own body, soul and spirit and recognize those things that bring you down, such as certain types of music or movies, being around certain people, eating or drinking particular types of food or drinks, being too stimulated by technology and not allowing yourself enough quiet time, etc.

12. Get Up Tomorrow and Do It All Again
Once is not enough. You didn’t start feeling this way overnight and you’re not going to feel better overnight. Be disciplined and consistent to participate with the Lord in overcoming feelings of depression. Ask Him if there are things you’re allowing in your life that are contributing to your depression. God made your body, mind and spirit and He knows what you need and if you don’t give your body those things you will feel the consequences. But I believe the Lord will meet us more than half way if we’ll partner with Him. I’m in this with you. If you need prayer, please, please, please let someone know. I would be absolutely honored to pray for you if you would leave a comment or send me an email.

I’d love to hear any of your suggestions on what’s helped you with feelings of depression, too. Don’t forget, we serve the Almighty God Who created the heavens and the earth and you and me. He loves you more than you can imagine.

“But it is just as the Scriptures say, ‘What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!’” (1 Cor. 2:9 CEV)

The Promised Land - Breaking Down Personal Strongholds

Series on The Promised Land


1. Send Out a Spy

As we saw last time, the first step to defeating the enemy of God’s people, as Moses had done, and then Joshua once he succeeded him, is by first sending out spies to determine how well they are fortified in the land.

Our personal enemies lie deep within our hearts and only one Man can go there. Only one Man has the vision to spy out that land, and He is the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit has always known your heart and is waiting for the appropriate moments to reveal to you the enemies that lurk within.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart..” (Jeremiah 17:9-10a)

What are the enemies that can stand between a believer and his or her ability to enter into a promised land - a land where the believer is free to fully love God and be loved by Him; a land where nothing keeps the believer from following Him and serving Him in whatever way God calls him; a land that is free from the bondage of sin; a land that is flowing with the fruits of the Spirit that abound from your thriving and intimate walk with Him?

There are many enemies that we contend with in these weak vessels of ours. These are but a few:

“For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by which we cry, Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15)

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)

“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” (Colossians 3:8)

So what are the enemies of your heart? Has God revealed them to you? If you listen closely, He will tell you. God has been revealing my enemies to me. I’ve had a glimpse of them before, but I am getting closer to my Promised Land, and the Lord daily comes to me with increasingly detailed reports regarding my enemies. My enemies have lurked in this land almost all my life, and their strongholds have become very fortified over the years.

But they’ve seen that my Spy has revealed their existence, so their assaults have increased to try to entice me to attack them in the flesh – and I’ve tried that, and lost many battles. But the war is not over.

2. Choose to Retreat or Move Forward

Just as the Israelites believed that the enemy was too great for them to defeat, my carnal mind and my flesh see no way to drive these enemies out. But one Man says we can. Now, I have two choices: 1. I can follow the loud voices that say, “No, I can’t drive out those enemies, they are too strong and too fortified for me." And at this point, I can grumble, like the Israelites did, that it would be better if I had stayed in Egypt, otherwise known as the world apart from God; or 2. I can follow the one, still, small Voice, who says, “Yes, We are able to overcome it” and move forward.  Because I know the blessing is not in Egypt, but it is in walking with Christ, I’m going to follow that Voice and move forward in faith. Will you?

3. Enlist Troops

Once the enemies have been identified, the next step to waging war against them is to enlist troops. Troops in the army of God consist of our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. God has formed us to be one body for many purposes, and one of those is so that we can support one another as we fight the enemy. Ask other believers to pray for you as you enter in to this very difficult process of bringing down your strongholds.

4. Cut Off the Enemy 

The next step to fighting the enemy is to cut off their supplies of food and weapons. One way that armies would do this is by constructing a wall around the city to be seiged.

The first city that was destroyed by the Israelites in their quest of taking the Promised Land was the city of Jericho. Do you remember the way they built a wall around the city of Jericho before they attacked it? It wasn’t a physical wall, but they surrounded the city with trumpet blasts both announcing their intent to battle and their resolution to victory, along with the Ark of the Covenant – the presence of God.

We will only see victory in the pulling down of our strongholds when we are walking with the Lord and being obedient to Him. The order to march around the city of Jericho once each day for six days while blasting on trumpets and then to march around seven times on the seventh day and then giving a loud shout must have seemed strange warfare indeed, both to the Israelites and to their enemies. God may also ask us to do something that to our reasoning minds may seem strange or even impossible.

For example, if your stronghold is fear, you can feed the fear by running from whatever God wants you to do that you’re afraid to, or you can cut off its food source by praying through the fear and asking God for the strength to follow through. If we’re obedient to what He calls us to do, He will be with us and the victory will be ours.

5. Wage War in the Power of God

Walk with the Lord through the process of breaking down your strongholds through prayer and reading His Word. Those strongholds have been built with lies and we need the truth in God’s Word to refute them.

Another suggestion I’d like to make is to fast for period of time.

“And He (Jesus) entering into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, ‘Why could we not cast him out?’ And He said to them, ‘This kind can come out by nothing except by prayer and fasting.’” (Mark 9:28-29)

Now, I realize that in these verses (which is just one scriptural reference to fasting among many) Jesus is talking about prayer and fasting in order to cast out a demon, and I am in no way suggesting that strongholds are demons, nor can a believer and follower of Jesus Christ be indwelt by a demon. Although I do believe satan loves it when we allow our strongholds to remain firmly in place. What I am saying is that there are times in our Christian walks when we are facing difficult decisions or impossible situations, such as the breaking down of strongholds, when we need to get alone with God and be still before Him. The type of fast and length of time is between you and the Lord. But when we use that time to focus our priorities and attentions on the Lord for the purpose of hearing from Him and allowing Him to do the work necessary in our hearts, we can become one in purpose with Him and His Spirit will be strengthened in our lives. 

If you are struggling with a stronghold and need someone to pray for you, please do not hesitate to email me by clicking on my little postcard over in the sidebar. I would consider it an honor.

God bless.
Dorci

George Street Testimony

Never underestimate the ability of God to work powerfully through you when you simply do what He has called you to do at this moment.  He may not call you to be a pastor or a well-known evangelist, but He has called you to your own ministry. Whatever that is, whether that's raising children to love the Lord, praying for a neighbor, or sharing the gospel with others, if you'll do it faithfully, in God's strength and to the best of your ability, though you may not see results in this lifetime, He will do amazing things.  This is but one such story. 

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from the heavens, and does not return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring out and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do. For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break out before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." (Isaiah 55:10-12)

Promised Land - Are You Living In It?

When some think of the Promised Land in the Bible, they analogize it to believers ascending into heaven. But I think that thought is too narrow.

There is a Promised Land that God desires us to live in here and now.

In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

God wants us to live an abundant life right now! He wants us to be able to breathe, walk, speak, think, work, serve, live to our highest potential as we walk in the Holy Spirit. He desires for us to be able to enter into a spiritual rest, not a do-nothing laziness, but resting in our new life the Lord, no longer wrestling with our old man.

He has given to each of us specific gifts that He expects us to use. Are you fully engaged in using your gift(s)? That is why we were given the Holy Spirit – so that we could have power to use those gifts for the uplifting of the body of Christ and so that we could live our Christian lives to the fullest.

But as God leads us to our own Promised Land, there is much that would steal our abundant, spiritual lives with Christ. God’s enemy is hard at work trying to do that very thing.

he whispers lies into our ears.

he discovers our weaknesses and then he waves temptations in our faces.

he causes dissention among believers.

he’ll stop at nothing to ruin marriages, families, friendships, congregations, hearts, our witness, and our very relationship with the Lord. (In case you’re wondering, I never, ever capitalize any name, pronoun or descriptive word used to refer to satan or demons. they don’t deserve it.)

Many of us know unsaved people who are walking around, they’re alive, but they don’t have life. They’re down and depressed and overtaken by the world and its temptations of the mortal flesh. There are even those who call themselves Christians who are still walking around defeated, as if they have never received the resurrection power of Christ. But Jesus said that He has come to give life, and not just physical life, but a spiritual life, the life that makes this life worth living.

And Jesus goes one giant leap further. He doesn’t want us to just have a milk-toast spiritual life; He wants to give us an abundant life! He wants us to have a superior life; a life that is exceedingly above or beyond all that we could ever think or imagine!

Do we dare to dream of a life in Christ like that?

God desired to give that abundant life to the Israelites soon after they left Egypt. They should have entered their Promised Land, Canaan, two weeks after they left behind their slavery.

But strangely enough, even after God rescued them in the miraculous way that He did, the Israelites’ mistrust in God kept them in bondage and they roamed the desert for 40 years.

Eventually, of course, the next generation of Israelites did enter into Canaan. But it is believed that the Israelites have never completely and solely possessed the Promised Land. There has always been an enemy coming against them.

So, fast forward thousands of years, and let me ask you this: are you in the Promised Land that God desires for you? Are you living the abundant life that the Lord wants to give you?

And no, I’m not at all talking about a lot of money, or a huge house, or a perfect career, or anything of this world. Remember, we’re talking about our spiritual lives – our lives in Christ, our relationship with Him and the blessings that flow out of that relationship.

So what would a Promised Land look like? What would a spiritually abundant life look like for you? It’s all about our relationship with Jesus Christ. Here are some things I thought of:

- a 24-hour conscious awareness of intimacy with the Lord;
- fully operating in the gift(s) of the Holy Spirit that He has specifically
given to you;
- walking and acting in the Spirit rather than reacting in the flesh;
- choosing to show love to others even at the sacrifice of ourselves.

None of us will live that out perfectly until the day we meet Jesus face-to-face, but I do believe that most Christians are living far below the joyful life that God would have us. And we may not be where we would like to be, but is there steady growth? Are you intentionally headed for the Promised Land or just kind of wandering around? What is keeping you from it? If you don't know, ask God to show you. What are some things that you can change today that would help you get back on the road to your spiritually abundant Promised Land?

Quote of the Day - Success

"There is no failure in God's will, and no success outside of God's will."

~George Washington Truett