I Will Bless The Lord!

I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the LORD always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  Psalm 16:7-11 NKJV

Today, like any other day, we have to armor up--and remain steadfast in our faith in God, not people for people will disappoint, but God never disappoints. For has The Word not said that, "God is not a man that He should lie?"

To whom should we look for and to in times of trouble? Shall we seek the assistance of mere mortals who can do no more than we can? Or do we seek The Lord who can speak to our hearts and lead us in the right direction at all times, keeping us on the path of success that He has planned for us?

Has The Word not said, "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not harm you?" (Jeremiah 29:11)

Are we not reminded through The Word that, "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us?"

Are we not, "More than conquerors because of Him who loves us?"

Has He not declared in His Word that, "We are the head and not the tail?"

We are told that He is the same, yesterday and forever and that He changes not. So if we believe that
He does not change--He's still doing what He does for all of His Children, and we believe we are His, we have to need to worry or fear the outcome of anything. God is our refuge and in Him we can Trust Him to do all things well.

So keep the armor in place--"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 6:10-20 NKJV

The Word of The Lord is like a two-edged sword, cutting going in and coming out, to the right and to the left, up and down, and when we use The Word to in our battle against spiritual wickedness, The Word will prevail for there is no failure in God.

Are we not reminded in His Word that, "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God in pulling down strongholds?"

Yes, I will bless The Lord at all times and His Word shall continually be in my mouth (or typed with my fingers), giving Him praise glory and honor for He is the only one worthy of it!

Staying Strong!

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 Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

When we're attacked by people--for various unfounded reasons--it's difficult to always remember that our fight is not with flesh and blood, but with the negative, demonic spirit that reigns in the atmosphere. What we must remember is to stay strong--no matter what fiery darts the enemy throws our way--and listen to the Spirit within, allowing Him to guide all we do.

I'm concerned about all of the verbal attacks I've seen against people--multitudes of people--simply because of differing opinions. I'm appalled by the racism and bigotry that pervades discussions--especially by those who, for whatever reason, think they are superior to others. And then, most of all--I'm saddened by comments from those who proclaim to be Christians with the level of racism and bigotry displayed in their remarks.

On more than one occasion, I've been told that my comments to people who respond to me negatively demonstrate my peaceful attempt to discuss a matter. Just recently I was told that my posts made more sense than 99% of those posting to a particular article.

I am a peacemaker--not a peace breaker and in all of my comments--to the articles--I have not attempted to denigrate anyone, but I am usually the target of those who hate--just because they see I am a black woman. I don't as a rule respond to these attacks because it's not worth the time, but where I see false accusations levied, I question the poster about their evidence. Most don't like it because they have none--and manufactured or manipulated evidence--is not evidence of anything other than deceptive practices. Though I seldom reference being a Believer, most pick up on that fact by how I respond to those who attempt to engage in negativity.

I have no time for haters and detractors who talk loud and say nothing. As a result, I spend more time praying for those who are clearly in need of our Savior, Jesus Christ than I do in responding to them. And when prompted in my spirit to respond, I do--with clarity, seeking peace, while respecting differences of opinion. I just don't understand why some people think they are the only ones entitled to express an opinion.

But this is how I stay strong in the midst of the battle that is not of my making. I look to the Word and stay mindful of how I represent Jesus in all I do and say. I do not resort to name-calling or making hateful remarks. Some of the remarks  (targeted at me) made are so laughable that I simply sit back and shake my head, laughing and thinking, "if only they knew."

We have been given direction in God's Word as to how to stay strong when under attack and I believe when we listen and obey, we become the tools that God uses to extinguish the hateful rhetoric. So, we have to stay--armored up--to stay strong in The Lord and we must remember--it is not the people--for they don't know any better--it is the deceptive spirits reigning in their lives that creates the atmosphere and we fight with The Word, not destructive words.

Whatever Our Battle Is, God's Word Wins!

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ ” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 NIV

When the Spirit of The Lord comes upon us--like it did when Jahaziel, we should listen and not concern ourselves with the battles of life.

Our position in these battles--when we are fully suited up-as Paul tells to be--is to keep on the whole armor--wearing our offensive protection because God is our defensive protection.

One of the reasons so many people fall prey to depression is the oppression felt about things going on around them in which they have no control. They are constantly (they think) in a battle and most of the battle they feel is actually a battle taking place in the mind--where the enemy attacks. And when the enemy attacks, we need to be fully armed and ready with The Word to fight back.

When the enemy tells us we'll never amount to anything, we need to tell the enemy that everything God made was good and so are we.

When the enemy tells us our bodies are disease-ridden, we need to tell the enemy that we are healed by the Blood of the lamb and made whole in His love.

When the enemy tells us that no one cares about us, we need to tell the enemy that we are never alone because Jesus is always with us and loves us, unconditionally.

When the enemy tells us what we can't do, we remind the enemy that we can do all things through Christ Jesus.

When the enemy tells us that our ideas are stupid, we remind the enemy that with God, all things are possible.

When the enemy tells us we don't have a future worth anything, we remind the enemy that God designed our future and planned it for our success so we would have hope.

When the enemy attempts to tell us we're not worth looking at, we remind the enemy that we are wonderfully and uniquely created by God and lovely in His sight.

We can respond to the enemy's attack with God's Word and know victory, but first we must know His Word to in order to know--there is victory with Jesus on our side!

We must remember that we are not in a battle against flesh and blood, but against the influence of the enemy and his attack on our minds. We can know peace with the Prince of Peace and when we remember that the Joy of the Lord is our strength, we can endure the enemy's attacks until victory is won.

Every time we rise in the morning, the enemy should quake in fear at what we'll do, not us fearing what may happen to us. We can have that kind of confidence when we know that God's Word is our guiding light every day of our lives.