527 - Take it to heart!

Please tell me how this speaks to you - what are you convicted about in this? Leigh

Satan's Convention
Unknown Author

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken". "So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" "How shall we do this?" shouted his angels. "Keep them busy in the non essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,"he answered."Tempt them to spend,spend,spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles".

"Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work! Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs,sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes. Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. Ha! That will fragment those families quickly!"

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders.Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions. It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there.

511 - Reciprocating Love - Hesed (LONG and a bit controversial)

Heavenly Father - Thank you for another wonderful day. Jesus I pray right now for my friends that are hurting and going through a terrible time. Lord please be their shield, guard their hearts and mind, and show them the way to joy once again. Lord, some have found themselves in a pit that was not dug by their own hands, but by another! Lord, be their redeemer and counselor. Please do something in their life to redeem them from the pit. Oh Lord I hurt for my friends and want things to be different as well. Jesus, most Precious One, be large in their lives right now. They are having trouble seeing you in any of it. Help me to pray for them throughout the day and days! Thank you in advance!

I found myself again in Joshua, but mingled through Ps. 138 after "talking" Holly from Crown Laid Down. She said, "Did you know that when I was looking up God making us strong and stout-hearted (from Psalm 138) that Rahab was the Hebrew word for stout-hearted? Rahab means strengthen, overcome, proud, make sure and behave proudly. Isn't that neat? Love your heart for His Word!" So that comment alone made me really do some digging and investigating a bit more. I want to be strong and stout-hearted!! I will come back to that!

On into chapter 2 of Joshua we get to the part where the deal is made there is an interesting word used. Rahab asks for her family along with her own house to be saved during the invasion and killings. There was going to be some bloodshed. Side note: Many times in the Bible God sends out His people to shed blood, kill, destroy, leave not one single human alive........as much as i hate it too that means everyone! God has ordained war many, many times in our history. The war we are in right now with Iraq is very, very serious - I know everyone knows that. But God wants us to stand up for those that can not stand for themselves - Micah 6:8 - (Iraqi people) and I think God wants us to do any and everything to make sure His Word and Mission is pursued throughout the world - that every man has the chance to hear the gospel! I know it seems more like a economic war and it is, but I know that our Lord and Savior has a greater good in store - there will be good come out of it. I need to have more of a spiritual perspective, see things through my Lord and Savior's eyes. I promise there is going to be good and there already has. It takes war at times, I do believe.

Whoa - that was a tangent! So anyway there is going to blood shed. In verse 12 Rahab says, "please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family because I have shown kindness to you." That kindness is the "hesed" love in the Old Testament. That is a reciprocating love - meaning that if i show you kindness or love you will show that back to me and I can expect it! It is usually seen in those that have a close relationship, but as in this case and many others that is not always the case. Hesed love is incredible. It is like when you are waiting in a huge line at the fair and someone even a stranger allows you to cut line. I would never do that........ ha ha. Anyway, you cut line and have a merry ride. The only thing is that as you are waiting in a long line and that person walks by wanting to go on that ride too. They have every right according to this kind of love, hesed, to ask you if they can get in front of you, cut line - reciprocating love! This is exactly what Rahab had done! She has kind to them and she wanted and made them swear by oath that they would do the same back for her. After all as we discovered yesterday she KNEW the Lord and wanted to be on that team now!! Plus emanate death had to play a part as well!

Now let's think about this with our Lord! My commentary - this is really getting exciting, praise you Lord - says that Hesed is central to God's character. That means that He can not help but have a reciprocating love. Even though we are unfaithful at times and forget to allow that person in the line at the park with us, God's hesed love can never forget. His hesed can never not be perfect. It also says, "God's hesed, however, is not bound by the covenant itself (Old Testament covenant)" simply because men may prove to be unfaithful - there is no "may" about it. We are unfaithful. God's hesed is everlasting. Oh my - i am jumping!!!

OK - hang in there Leigh - this is coming full circle. Holly lead me to Ps. 138 about Rahab meaning strong and stout-hearted. At the end of that Psalm is verse 8. "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your LOVE (hesed), oh Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands." (Did you see how the psalmist, David, used a hyphen there in that verse. He must have been a speaker too. I write like I am speaking and have lots of interjections and hyphen thoughts i like to call them. David did it, so can i!!! yeah baby!!!) OK - here it comes. I need to settle down.............. I am so pumped!!

Rahab was strong and stout-hearted for many reasons. But i can see here one reason she went on to have her name written in the Hall of Faith - a prostitute in the Hall of Faith!! God made her this way simply and then He used her strong and stout-heart personality to continue on His good work. I am assuming, but this encounter with these Israelite guys and her up close and personal encounter with the Lord may have been the first for her. Maybe not, but maybe too! So God not only showed her how His love - hesed - works, but He was able to do it through these men. From that experience she was changed. Her whole family I bet! She had to have been strong because I am sure much ridicule was left to be had. "Oh there is Rahab - wasn't she that prostitute in Jericho?" Can't you just hear it now from other women on the street or shopping mart? Turning up their noses and strutting themselves in pride like they have no sin! But she was strong and stout-hearted. She experienced first hand the hesed love of our Lord, her God that she KNEW (yada) and never turned back. As we just saw in the verse in Ps. 138:8 - God did fulfill his purpose in here and it happened to be with a hesed kind of experience! He is just that way - He can't help it!!

Even in this war with Iraq, God will fulifll His purpose. For those that have lost loved ones He can not forget you nor can He NOT love you back!! Your time is coming, all our time is coming if we know His as Savior. He will have the last word, rest assured! Vengance is His, not ours!

Father, Savior, Redeemer, Lover of my soul, Forgiving One...............thank you thank you thank you! You have bestowed so much hesed love on me i can hardly stand it. And to think you are not even finished. You will fulfill your purpose in me just because that is who you are. You are a reciprocating Hesed God. Even when i fail to love back, be faithful to your promises and commands, when I worship other gods, when i bow to things that have no purpose in my life - you can not help but love back!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!! Jesus - I love you!!

452 - I Watch, YOU Fight!

Lord Jesus, thank you for a great weekend. More than anything thank you for all the friends that took the time to pray for me. Thank you for bringing to mind my exhaustive state and prompting them to pray. Thank you that they also took the time to send me a note of encouragement and love. Oh Lord - thank you for blessing me in that way. I hope it is not any time soon, but I hope when the time comes I can do and be the same for all my friends! Praise you Lord - that was You in skin!! Oh Lord, thank you!! And I got to talk with my mom for a long time too! yeah!!!

Lord, many times i view problems in my life as something that I am to fight, but with your power and strength. I am still not sure that is not the truth, but I have also seen a different scenario as well. Exodus 15:3 says, "The Lord is a warrior; the LORD is his name." When I first dissected that it was quite confusing. Warrior just translates into an individual man or being of war, fighting, battles, etc. as opposed to a mankind in battle. And then of course the capital LORD is the Yahweh, covenant God. I still was not getting anywhere until i looked up the relating verse of Ex. 14:14 -"The Lord will fight for you, you need to only be still."

So as I sat there with the Lord at my hearth I was just pondering waiting for Him to reveal what He is saying to me today. Then it came - he reminded me of an internal battle I am constantly at war with, a thought process that seems to rule me at times, a place my brain goes that I seem to have no control over. This weekend I was asking Him over and over, how Lord, how can I ever have victory in this? How can my mind ever be one that immediately pleases You instead of taking the rough road? It seems to be nothing that I can do and He said RIGHT!!!

IN THIS SITUATION - the Lord is my warrior, he is the one that is going to fight this battle for me! He is in covenant with me and that can never be broken. He will keep His covenant because He is God and perfect and pure and righteous! There are certain times that He requires nothing of us in the war except to be still. "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." That "still" means to be silent, to be quiet, to say nothing. I think you are saying to me this morning Lord that this one is one that You got covered. You are my mighty warrior and you need me to sit back and do nothing, say nothing...................just watch. Oh Lord, even in that it takes great trust. I want to help out. I want to do something to speed along the healing. I want to give you a hand because I feel such responsibility for my sin and such! Oh Lord, is there not just one thing I can do - Yes, I hear you say - Nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your healing and victory will come in due time and like my knight in shining armor. You will ride in at just the perfect time to claim me as your prize. You will come to my rescue and scoop me up. You will be valiant and radiant!! You ARE!! It is finished!!

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war." Rev. 19:11.

Lord praise you!! Thank you!!! Help me to be still, silent, and just watch!! Do nothing!! I am going to close to St. Louis today to speak to a group of women. Fill me to the brim - may I only speak Your Words!! May they be ready to receive!! I love you!! Thank you for this opportunity, please bring more! Thank you for Your Word!

259 - The War Within

Lord Jesus- a few of my friends and I are waging war against fleshly desires. We are challenging each other to give up a few things for an extended time. It means war. Why, because to be truly committed and actually follow through it will be harsh at best, rough, and at times excruciating! But Lord, I am praying Phil. 4:13 - one of my favorite childhood verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Anything!!

Lord, I am so encouraged by many small details in my life right now because I feel like you have ordained this time of war. I read in I Samuel this morning chapter 27. This is where David set up camp right in the midst of the enemy and then began to irrationally attack various camps for no obvious reason, so the commentary says. He was just living in fear, frustration, paranoia, and panic for so long - killing and defending became second nature to him. He was in constant war. Similarly, our war never ends either. If you think it has, then you have probably let up and given into the pressure.

So as were asked to move to Psalm 10 - how they know this i don't know, but it is so cool - where David is writing out his feelings as a result of I Samuel 27. But in that Psalm one can hear such disgust for the enemy, fear that God is not going to come through, frustration with how things seem to be going (the bad guy is always winning), etc. He is really expressing to the Lord feelings that seem too honest at times, but I think ones God can really work with and prepare David for great things. Having a heart that is not real with God, even though He knows, and a heart that is hiding or being superficial i think only brings God disgust and "pass her by" kind of results.

But quickly in David fashion, he comes around at the end of the Psalm verse 17, and this is why I know God is in the details of my war against fleshly desires. "You hear, O Lord, the desires of the afflicted; you encourage them and you listen to their cry." David concludes that God may have him in a tough situation and actually at war, but David is confident that God responds with actions - He hears, encourages, and listens. And yes, the first and last are different. In my own war(s) the Lord Jesus hears how i want things to be different and my dreams for another day. The Lord Jesus encourages me in many different ways and I must be open to receive those Holy hugs. And the Lord Jesus listens to my cries on defeated days or days that i am tired and feel as if i can not fight any longer. He is always there to pick me up and deliver me away from the enemy. I just have to call on Him and claim the victory!

Verse 16 - The Lord is King for ever and ever. Enough said!! Amen!