I'm Back From War...

Hey all!!! I am back from War!!! Well....sorta:) I have been doing FCA camps all summer and I am back in front of my computer again. Oh how I missed you! Was I really in a physical war? No, but I was in a spiritual war. It always seems to be a little bit more intense heading into camp season. Why? Because the enemy knows God is getting ready to move in the lives and hearts of kids across Oklahoma.
So what does it mean to be in a spiritual war? Just like any other war, we have an enemy who is out to still, kill, and destroy you and me (John 10:10)
The Bible says it this way in Ephesians 6:10-11:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God

so that you can take stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against

flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the powers of this

dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

The first thing we have to recognize is that, as followers of Jesus, we ARE in a war. You don't have to be in full time vocational ministry, but simply a follower of Christ. YOU and I have been waged war upon because God loves us and Satan hates God.

The second thing we need to know is the tactics of our enemy. Before anyone prepares for war, they always look for the tactics, the weaknesses, the tendencies of their enemy.

TACTIC 1) He will always exchange the Truth for a lie

Common lies we believe are:

Lie-God could never use me, I have messed up too bad

TRUTH-God can use ALL things to the good for those who love Him and are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Lie-I will start living for God later, I've got time

TRUTH-You are not even guaranteed tomorrow. James 4:14

Lie-I am worthless, ordinary, nothing special, not beautiful

TRUTH-You are fearfully and wonderfully made Psalm 138:14

Over and Over we are fed lies about who God is, about who God says we are, and how God views us. Know the TRUTH and the Truth will set you free!!!

TACTIC 2) Minimizes our sin before and Maximizes after

I know this one and seen this one very well. You've been there....you justify your sin with "everyone is doing it" or "its not that big of deal" or "this makes me happy". Your spirit convicts you and you realize you are living a life not pleasing to God and you ask Him to forgive you. Then....the guilt and shame kicks in. Thoughts go through your head, "God will never forgive me" or "How can anyone love me after this" or "I will always be messed up" "I have asked for forgiveness so why is God not forgiving me, why do I still feel guilt and shame?"

Please know those thoughts and feelings are NOT God not forgiving you, It's your spiritual enemy not letting you forget. The TRUTH is as far as the east is from the west, your sins are far from you and there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Know the TRUTH and TRUTH will set you free!!!

TACTIC 3) Makes us think God is holding out on us.

We want to see what the world has to offer because what God has to offer is just not enough. God is holding out on us, He just doesn't want us to have any fun. No sex before marriage? Boo! Don't drink to get drunk? Boo! Don't tell off someone who has hurt me? Boo! Don't get this purse because I don't have the money to pay for it? Boo!

The second part of that verse we started with in John 10:10 is...."I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full." THE FULL!!! Not half, not part way, not a little bit, but the FULL! With Christ you will have everything you need: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Isn't that exciting??!!!

God is not withholding anything from you, but is willing to give you the fullest life we can imagine. We only have to believe the TRUTH.

We know we have any enemy and we know His tactics so what's next? You FLEE and you FIGHT! When you are being tempted with sin, you flee. You run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. When you feel like you getting beat down by life, you Fight as hard as you can. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:13:

"Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist

the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will be standing

firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth, and the breastplate

of righteousness, shoes of peace, shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows

of the devil. Put on the helmet of salvation and take the sword of the Spirit

which is the word of God."

Our one weapon is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Bible. We can defeat him every time if we know what the Bible says. Know the Truth and the Truth will set you free!

So as you prepare for another school year and new football, basketball, baseball opponents, don't forget to prepare for your life opponent. I look forward to another great year!!! Whoop! Whoop!!

Why?

Why? This is the question we, here in Oklahoma, have been asking for the past week. There has been so much devastation and loss of life due to the Tornadoes that ravaged through our state. One story that has particularly burdened my heart was the story of the Hamil family. This was a mom of 3 (5,3,15 months) and pregnant with her fourth who was at home with her children while her husband was at work when the tornado hit their home in Piedmont, OK. Although she had taken precautions and had the kids in the bathtub, they were all sucked out of the house and scattered. The mother, 5 year old, and the 15 the month old were found immediately and taken to the hospital where the 15 month old was later pronounced dead. The 3 year old boy was missing for 3 days and although there were so many prayers from all over the country that he would be found alive, he went to be with Jesus. And then you here similar stories from Joplin to Alabama, so much heart ache and pain that it can be really overwhelming. Maybe you have been personally affected by these storms or maybe you are asking God "why?" for other reasons: Death of a loved one, a job not working out like you thought, a sick child etc. Why? Why? Why? Trying to answer this questions just leads to more questions..... Have I done something wrong? Am I being punished for something? Did I bring this on myself? Why do bad things happen when we serve such a Great God? So many questions...
Although I don't have the answers to all these questions that will make complete sense and make us totally understand..there is one story in the Bible that helps. Helps the questions, not necessarily the pain. It comes from John 9:1-3

As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked

him, "Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?"

Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so

that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

This story shows us, first, that bad things do not happen simply because we have done something wrong and this is our punishment. That is the enemy at his worst. As followers of Christ, we must find comfort in the fact that when God looks at us, He sees His Son, Jesus. No matter what we have done, Jesus covers it all. (Can I get an Amen?) Second, When bad things happen we are asking the wrong questions. I think it is one of the hardest things to do, but instead of asking "Why God" our question should be "What God." What work do you want to display in my life God? What do you want to show me? How can you be displayed in this tragedy? We have to remember that God is "Kingdom minded".....Always. There is no wasted pain! There are no wasted tears! There are no wasted trials! Trials and heart aches don't just happen to happen, but to further God's Kingdom....somehow. Romans 8:28 says, "God works ALL things to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." All things includes tornadoes. All things include death. All things include tough jobs. All things include people born blind. God works ALL things for the good...that is what makes him such a great God!

If I can pray for you in any way please let me know!

Ordinary

Do you ever feel like you are just ordinary? There is nothing special about you, nothing that makes you stand out. You might think you don't have any special gifts or talents or think "I'm just a wife or a mom" or " I go to work, come home, fix dinner, give kids baths, go to bed-nothing special." And then you see those people who "look" like they have it all-all the gifts, talents, the breaks, the glory etc. but you, you are just ordinary. Do you ever feel like that? Me too! Well, I've got great news for you and it comes from Acts 4:13:

"The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness

of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with

no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men

who had been with Jesus."

God uses ordinary people like you and me!!!! In fact, he prefers it, because when he uses ordinary people, they know they can't take credit of the work of an extraordinary God. Peter and John were ordinary men who were not special or trained in anything spiritual, but literally, changed the world. How? They had one thing going for them: they "had been with Jesus." That's it! They didn't have any special gifts, go to any special school, from any special family....they simply walked with Jesus. And because they walked with Jesus they understand that God could take the ordinary and do things that were extraordinary. The same power that created the earth was with them. The same power that parted the Red Sea was with them. The same power that raised Jesus was with them. "For if God is for you, who can be against you." (Romans 8:31) Nothing was going to stop them, not because of their own power (for they were just ordinary), but because they had God Almighty with them! So if you are in the valley of ordinary, keep being with Jesus and watch Him do extraordinary things in you and through you.

Ordinary? Why yes, yes I am....and I wouldn't have it any other way!

One of Those Days....

So...this morning was one of those mornings. Case, the youngest, didn't sleep last night and was super cranky all morning. I was either holding him while trying to fix my hair or brush my teeth or he was screaming bloody murder while I was trying to make the kids school lunches. Cale, my oldest, was in the "dream world" that he sometimes goes to when he needs to be putting on his shoes or getting his teeth brushed. We were running late so we hurried and had our bible time, which was very spiritual (hint:sarcasm:)), and go out to the car and can't find my keys. As I mumble under my breath, "You have got to be kidding me," I called my husband and snapped at him because I knew he had to be the one who lost them, right? We finally found the keys, locked safely in the car. My husband came and picked us up so that we could get to school 20 minutes late and reminded me that I had let Chloe look for her bracelet in my car last night. Why leave her out? I had yelled at everyone else in the family. We get everyone where they are suppose to be and then I go to work, where I get to put on the "Happy" face and tell people how much Jesus loves them when the people I love the most just saw No part of Jesus in me this morning.
You ever have those days?
And then the remorse sets in. Why did I act like that? Where was my patience? In the big picture was it all that big a deal? What lesson did I teach my family today? It makes me feel pretty darn rotten and I beat myself up. Why do I do the things I don't want to do?
Then in my quiet time today I read Romans 7:15-24

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what

I hate, I do....I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.

For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I

do is not the good I want to do;no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep

on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is not longer I who do it, but

it is sin living in me that does it....What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from

this body of death? Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yes! this is me. Paul knew exactly how I was feeling. We will all go through times where our flesh will rear its ugly head. We will do things that we can't believe we did them. We will do things when we know they are wrong. We will do things that actually hurt the name of Christ. Our flesh still leans toward sin. But how do we see past this part of our life that we can't seem to get away from? Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!!! You see, we don't have to live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The same spirit that lived inside of Jesus lives inside of us, so when our flesh "acts up" the spirit takes over. We asked God for forgiveness and know that, "Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1. Can I get an Amen?

I want to encourage you when you have "those days," remember, you have all the power you need to get through bad days and still show Jesus, and if you fall short, God will always be there to pick you back up, dust you off, and give you a nice little pat on the rear and say, "lets go."

Oh and yes....I am good with the family too:)

The Little things

So...I was watching one of my favorite movies this weekend: For Love of the Game. It is a baseball/love story with Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston. I really do love this movie and as I was watching it, there was one part that just got me thinking (my mind is always thinking). It was toward the end of the movie and he was trying to pitch a "perfect" game. His shoulder was hurting, but he knew he couldn't quit, he was just too close to this amazing accomplishment. And then he began to pray (I may not get it word for word, but it is close):

"God, I know I promised I would never involve you in a baseball game.

It always seemed silly because you have bigger things to worry about, But

if you could make the pain in my shoulder go away for the next 10 minutes,

I would be grateful"

As I heard him pray that little prayer, I thought to myself, DOES God care about baseball or football, or basketball, or buying house, or my work problems etc. After all, there are a lot bigger things he should be handling like people who have lost loved ones, or have very sick children, or famines, tornadoes, earthquakes, wars etc. I know my problems seem so "little" compared to these things, but they seem "big" to me.

I think I missed the rest of the movie contemplating these thoughts, but then God reminded me of a "small" story in the Bible that I had just read to my kids. It is only 4 verses and I remember thinking, This is kind of a random story. What is it's significance?

So the prophets and Elisha arrived at the Jordan and began cutting down

trees. But as one of them was getting a tree, his ax head fell into the river.

"Oh, sir!" he cried. "It was a borrowed ax!" "Where did it fall?" the man of God

asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the

water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface. "Grab it," Elisha said

And the man reached out and grabbed it. 2 Kings 6:4-7

Oh God and His timing:) The significance? To show us that God DOES care....about everything-even some one's lost ax head. God cares about baseball, football, basketball, jobs, families, houses, bills, relationships, your dog on and on and on....Why? Because you do!! And you are His Child!

My oldest is playing t-ball and my youngest thinks he does, so t-ball is a big deal in our house. Before last year, had I ever been to a t-ball game since I played? Nope Did I keep up with the t-ball games in our area? Nope. After my kids are done playing, will I still go to t-ball games? Nope. Because t-ball doesn't really matter to me, but it matters to them;therefore, it matters to me. They think t-ball is very important, therefore I think t-ball is important. Why? Because they are my kids and I love them. If something is important to you, it's important to God because you are His kid and He loves you! Whatever we face in our everyday lives, it matters to God because He knows it's all about the Relationship-The relationship He has with His children. Go to God with the attitude that he loves it when we bring everything to him, even the "little" things.

Facing the Giants

Facing the Giants is one of my favorite movies. I love the "feel" good movies anyhow, but then you throw in God and football, it should have won the academy award. Well, at least the "Fighting Heart" award. We love the stories where the "underdog" beats the powerhouse giant. That's why one of the most beloved stories in the Bible is David and Goliath. Most of us have heard this story of the little boy who defeated the Giant, but I want to talk about the less talked about story of God's people being defeated by the giants before the battle ever began.

This story takes place in Numbers 13:

(v. 1)The Lord now said to Moses, "Send out men to explore the land I am giving you,

the Israelites...(v. 3) So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve

men. (v. 17). Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the

land:"Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and

find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many..."

(vs. 27) This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, and

it is indeed a bountiful country-a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit

it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large. We even

saw giants there... (v. 30) But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before

Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land. We can certainly conquer it." But the other men

who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are

stronger than we are! So they spread this bad report about the land...(Numbers 14:1)

(v. 3) "Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to die in battle?" (vs.7) Moses said to all the people, "The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us." (v 10) But the whole community began to talk about stoning them...Ad then the Lord said, "How long will these

people treat me with contempt? Will they ever believe me, even after all the miraculous signs

I have done among them....(v. 21) Surely as live, and as surely as the earth is filled with

the Lord's glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land."

God was giving them this land. He said, "send them out to explore the land I am giving them." The God of the universe promises these people this land, land flowing with milk and honey. Land like they have never known, but yet they never got to experience it because they chose to focus on the Giant and not God. It sounds crazy to us right? Wouldn't you believe the God of the universe? If God is for you who could be against you? What could giants do to you when you have God telling you, "Im giving you this land." It's sounds crazy, yet we do it ALL the time.

Jesus said, "I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10) That is our promised land....and life to the fullest, more than we can ever imagine. But then there are the Giants.....

-Giants of fear

-Giants of depression

-Giants of disappointment

-Giants of regret

-Giants of discouragement

-Giants of doubt

-Giants of failure

-Giants of being overwhelmed

-Giants of thoughts of inadequacy

And Giant after Giant after Giant....all keeping us from entering the promised land of life to the full. So...how do we become a David and defeat the Giant and not an Israelite, wondering aimlessly because of the Giant? We don't tell God how big our Giants are, we tell the Giants how Big our GOD is!!!!!! God asked, will they ever believe me after all the signs? We must choose to remember time and time again that God has been faithful in the past and will be faithful again in the present and future. We remember all the little victories on this journey of life and trust God that more Victories will come. We will Believe God when he says, "I have come so that YOU may have life, and have it to the full!" We were not created to just stroll through life, but have it to the full. We were not created to just survive this life, but to have it to the full. We were not created to just "put up" with this life, but to have it to the full!

What Giants to you need to kill in order to have life to the full?

HOPE

So I was reading the book of Romans and I came across a passage that God used to speak to me and HOPEfully to you too. It is on HOPE. I have written messages on Faith and Love, but can honestly say never hope. It is a word that didn't enter in my vocabulary unless it was something like, "I hope my baby sleeps tonight" or "I hope we win" or "I hope that dress goes on sale." I don't think this is what Paul meant when he said, "So now Faith, Hope, and Love remain..." Where do I learn about Hope? Then I read Romans 4:18-21

"Even though there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping-believing

that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him,

"That's how many descendants you will have!" And Abraham's faith did not

weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as

good as dead-and so was Sarah's womb. Abraham never wavered in believing

God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.

He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises."

Have you ever felt hopeless? No matter what you say or what you do or how much you pray, your situation just seems hopeless? If you said yes, like me, then I pray you find strength and encouragement in Abraham. Abraham had "no reason to have HOPE." He was too old, Sarah was too old, but he had one thing that kept him HopeFULL: "For God had said to him."

His situation seemed hopeless, but his HOPE didn't come from his situation, but from His God's Promise to him. Whatever your situation might be, a struggling marriage, an overwhelming job, a sick child, an inability to have children etc., you CAN find HOPE in the promises He has given you. Yes! God has given you promises!

For God had said to her....."I will work ALL things to the GOOD for those who love him and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

For God had said to her...."The righteous call on the Lord and the Lord hears them, He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit." Psalm 34:18

For God had said to her..."being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

For God had said to her..."The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Romans 16:20

For God had said to her..."If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

For God had said to her..."Therefore, there is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

For God had said to her..."He will remain faithful even if we are faithless. 2 Timothy 2:13

For God had said to her..."In this world you will have trouble, But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

And there are sooooo many more!!!! In God's Promises we know he is working for us, that the enemy has no place in our lives, no matter we have done-we are forgiven, we know that we are loved, and that he will be faithful. And because of these promises we have HOPE. HOPE that good things can come out of a broken marriage. HOPE that God is watching over your child. HOPE that God will give you the strength in your job. HOPE that God will lead you when you just feel like wandering.

YOU have HOPE because of the Promises God has given you in JESUS CHRIST!!