Tag Archives: Trials

God, My Strength

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Lord God, only you are my strength.

Lord God, only you are my refuge.

Lord God, only you are my helper.

~Lisa Blair

God is my strength. I rely on Him 24/7. There is no time we are not in communication. I call on Him in praise for the beauty around me, for keeping me and guiding me. I ask for His strength during challenging moments, and in His love in the good times and bad.

He is my refuge. He keeps me safe and sheltered from danger, pursuit, and harm. I call on him in times of need only to find He is standing there waiting; upon contact (with Him) I feel the peace that He provides. A peace that is difficult to explain in everyday terms. The Bible describes this as the peace that is greater than our understanding.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6, NIV

It is during this peace that the chaos unravels. His strength overrides the fear the chaos wrought upon my very being. Resting in His peace, I recite, ‘I fear not because the Lord is my strength and through Him all things are possible. Through Christ fear dissolves. Through Him, crooked ways are made straight. Through Him, I gain clarity and sight. Through Him I become aware that He is establishing the way out of no way. Through Him, I recognize who I am in Christ. I am His child through adoption.’

The Lord is my strength, my refuge, and my helper, without Him, no thing is a good.

Without Him, I am weak. Without Him, I am engulfed in chaos. Without Him, I am lost seeking asylum at the wrong port of entry. Without Him, there is no peace.

“Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And, this peace will control the way you think and feel.” ~ Philippians 4:7, CEV

Let The Spirit Lead

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I read something intriguing today. Romans 8:6-8 can be interpreted as the Holy Spirit controls our life, but in essence, we are participating in His life. Our mind is controlled by the Holy Spirit which in itself gives us life and peace.

This scripture shows two dispositions, that of the non-Christian and the Christian states of mind. Paul describes two different lives, two different mindsets, and two different conditions.

The Non-Christian experiences separation from God, and exists in a state of death because they did not receive the eternal life through Jesus. Christians have eternal life that begins at their salvation. See John 5:24

This scriptural identifier relates back to the conflict between the flesh and Jesus’ life. The law could not be accomplished because of the intervention of Christ. A mindset focused on the flesh reveals the presence of spiritual death. A life that sets its mind on the Spirit introduced Gods love and peace into their lives.

This ties back to free-will. God gave us a choice, live a carnal life, and allow our sinful nature to reign and enjoy what this world offers, or invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, allowing Him to control and guide our journey, and eventually join our Lord in heaven.

Barclay’s interpretation of this scripture reads, ‘be absorbed in the things of the Spirit.’

Clearly, Romans 8:6-8 distinguishes the life of believers and non-believers. But to me, it most importantly explains how we participate in the Holy Spirits’ life. We are more than vessels. We are family. He resides in us, and we are absorbed by the things of the Spirit. We rely on Him, obey the Word and depend upon His presence in our lives.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mindset on the flesh is death, but the mindset on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mindset on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans‬ ‭8:1-11‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Images – LAB Photos; Google Images

Scripture – Bible.com

Resources – Precept Austin. Romans 8:6-8; Desiring God, Set Your Mind on the Spirit, Romans 8:6-8; Bible Exposition Commentary, Romans 8:6. Verse-by-Verse Commentary.com (Some text paraphrased or quoted)

Visit my Young Christian Warriors site. The earliest Posts were written to help parents guide and train their children to access the Word of God to direct their steps. Later Posts were written for everyone, though I believe the Posts to parents can serve as reminders for all ages.

~Personalize God’s Word, Psalm 91
~God’s Divine Influence
~Learn to Thank God As Part of Prayer
~God, Crisis, and Grace
~God’s Unequivocal Love
~Because He’s God and God Alone
~One Step is Enough
~Living Through the Muck and Mire of Life
~There’s more, visit the site.

Thank you for spending time on my sites, if you like what you are reading, follow me, dailyinspiration-lisasthoughts.com and receive the daily inspirations in your inbox, or visit my other site, youngchristianwarriors.com and subscribe.

Love Your Enemies

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Loving your enemies is perhaps one of the most difficult commands to obey. Not only are we instructed to love our enemies, but also to pray for those who persecute us.

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When we stop loving our enemies, we fall into the hands of Satan. We have observed the world in flux, chaos reigns. It is time for us, deliberate Christians, Christian Warriors, to love our enemies more than ever before. Our love will turn the tide of hatred. The more we hate, the stronger Satan’s army becomes. The more we love, the stronger the Lord’s presence in the world will be felt.

Warren Wiersbe summarized Matthew 5 by saying,  “we must measure ourselves not by others but by our Father. This includes our words (vv. 33-37), our responses to injuries (vv. 38-42), and our dealings with our enemies (vv. 43-48).”

To quote Francis Bacon, “in taking revenge, a man is but even with the enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.”

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Today, I challenge everyone to pick up your cross, obey our father, and begin loving our enemies. Once we accomplish this, we will begin to experience the fresh air of freedom, absent of strife, and chaos. We will begin to breathe deep breaths and exhale misery and turmoil. We will be obedient followers of Christ, standing on the front line in the face of adversity hand-in-hand with our Lord.

Images – Google Images; YouVersion, Bible.com

Resources – Nelson’s Quick Reference, Chapter-by-chapter Bible Commentary. Warren Wiersbe. 1994

Thank you for spending time on my sites, if you like what you are reading, follow me, lisasdailyinspirations.wordpress.com and receive the daily inspirations in your inbox, or visit my other site, youngchristianwarriors.com and subscribe.

Rejoice in the Midst of Challenges, Trials and Tests

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The Message Version reads,

“There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” Romans 5:3-5 MSG

You may ponder, why should we rejoice during life’s challenges, temptations, and tests? It is a matter of choice. We can either be overwhelmed by the challenge, trial, or test and feel defeated, or we can rely on God’s Word to see us through. We can rejoice because we are the victors.

We rejoice because as we go throughout life’s challenges, we mature in the Word. We are no longer bound by sin. We have been freed of sin. We still have a sin nature, but we choose to sin. It’s a matter of choice, of free will. Do we choose to live life in a humanistic way, walking in our flesh, or do we choose to walk in the spirit? We choose how we wish to live life. Is it a temporal choice where we have to strive for earthly riches at all cost or strive to receive our riches in heaven, meaning our actions are dictated by the Word of God? Galatians 5:1 NKJV, says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”

We rejoice because we know that the challenges help us become mature Christians. If we remain present in the moment, we can use the scriptures as our weapons. We can endure the moment. We can rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us through the challenges and trials. We become stronger in the Word and quicker to respond because our spiritual arsenal becomes better equipped; we do nor run out of ammunition. When we endure the challenges and trials our character strengthens as we forge ahead. We begin to experience God’s peace in the midst of the fire. We become confident as we experience our salvation, our deliverance from sin and their consequences.

 

Salvation, as explained by Kenneth Copeland, includes the deliverance from evil, temporal and eternal. It is the deliverance from danger as well as pardon, restoration, healing, wholesomeness, and soundness in spirit, soul, and body. We have been delivered from the penalty of sin (Romans 5:9).

Salvation provides a life of freedom because we have been born again and have the power to live a holy life. This statement harkens back to Galatians 5:1.

Salvation protects us against earthy dangers such as sickness, disease, famine, earthquakes, and other calamities. Salvation promises a long satisfying life and delivers us from any kind of trouble that comes our way, though this part is conditional, Read Psalm 91.

Jesus purchased our salvation. Don’t give up. Don’t give in, persevere, learn and rely on the Word, have faith that the scriptures are activated when we pray them back to God. Call them out loud as God’s promises, because that is what they are promises to keep us and protect us from the wiles of the evil one, see Ephesians 6:10-18.

“Stand up for everything salvation has offered you. Focus on the Lord and his word. Stay in constant communication with him through prayer. Experience all that is available to you through Jesus Christ!”

Lastly, Salvation is by faith, not works. According to Charles Stanley, “Salvation is more than mental agreement with the truth. It includes an acknowledgment that Jesus is the son of God who died for our sins, as well as a recognition of our own sinfulness. We become sorrowful under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and desire a changed life. In Luke 5:32, Jesus states “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” If we do not repent, we will stop turning away from sin, we will stop growing and stay infants in Christ”, 1 Corinthians 3:1-2.

Key – Rejoicing during challenges, trials, and tests is the process of elevating our maturity as Christian Warriors.

Images – Google Images; YouVersion.Bible.com

Scriptures – BibleGateway.com, NLT, MSG, NIV

Resources and Quotes – The Way of Salvation. Charles Stanley, October 18, 2018. http://www.InTouch Ministers/blog/way to salvation, 6/11/2018

What does “Salvation” What does Salvation Really Mean? http://www.Salvation.kmc.org/real-help /salvation. 6/11/2018

Thank you for spending time on my sites, if you like what you are reading, follow me, lisasdailyinspirations.wordpress.com and receive the daily inspirations in your inbox, or visit my other site, youngchristianwarriors.com and subscribe.