Carry my small voice

This morning, in the still quiet of our home, I could hear my husband's strong voice carry throughout the house. He wasn't angry or upset, yet his voice carried. As I could hear his conversation, I asked The Lord, "Please let my small voice carry to far places for Your glory." 

The apostle Paul said, "For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 6:20 

Those of us in Christ are His ambassadors; we are in a foreign land that is not our home. Yet without the Holy Spirit we cannot speak boldly with Love. When we are obedient to Him & His call, He carries our voice to where He sends it and it PROSPERS! For when we speak, it's not that of ourselves but His Word! From the frailest of voices to the most strong and powerful, if it's His leading, it flourishes! Will you allow Him to use your voice?

Armed for the unseen?

Armed for the unseen?

The *UNSEEN* battle begins in the mind! God has given us His armor for our defense... He's given us Christ!

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" Ephesians 6:17 

Think how vital our mind is! It's not only our central command center for our body, but spiritually also! Our actions mimic our thoughts either for good or bad. Which in turn, will either bring the Father in Heaven glory or our flesh. How life-sustaining is this head/mind protection? DETRIMENTAL!!! 

Not only do we have the helmet of salvation, but He's also given us the Sword of the Spirit, HIS WORD! This is our defense.It is necessary that we daily feast at His table so we have His indispensable truth to combat enemy lies. 

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2 How can our mindset be changed from its worldly ways & humanistic nature if we don't intake His Holy substance? We can't! How can we know our Commander in Chief without first spending time with Him? Can we know His direction without seeking His Will? No, it's impossible! 

When our minds begin to wander in mischievous directions, get in prayer and seek The Lord in His Word! When we become confused and/or misguided in our thinking we must get under His covering and pick up that Bible. Every answer we need is found in His Word! 

We are told in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." Our imagination can be good, but left ill-conceived, consequences can be astronomical! Casting our thoughts down allows Christ to have control, not our humanness. 

Let me leave you with this final thought... What would the outcome be for a soldier on the battlefront unarmed? Ruinous to say the least, in essence, death! Physical & spiritually it's interchangeable! Do you have your armor on? Child of God, you ARE in the middle of a raging war! Dare get out of bed without Christ? 

Unknown Destinations

We never really know how far the Lord's reach is when we are obedient! 

I've been blogging for a couple years and they're usually shared on fb & twitter. Some people share and it's cool to see The Lord carry on the messages of how He speaks to me to so many others. On blogspot, where I post my blogs, I'm able to see 7 subscribers. Pretty cool. However the "number" there has been the same for quite some time. If we only focus on numbers it can become quite discouraging! 

Yesterday The Lord granted me a glimpse of His carrying on these messages! I received an email from a website that clusters websites for a one place stop. The creator of this site wanted to let me know my blog had 44 new followers. I was confused, because I never signed up to share or post there! He was kind enough to explain his sight & the process. 

Overall, the little things that mean so much to me are being shared by many more than I ever dreamed possible! How incredible is The Lord God Almighty!?! His Word prospers where He sends it, unbeknown to us the destinations, He is glorified! 

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 

Spiritual Starvation

Did you know there are 4 steps the body goes through in starvation? These physical things also are also applicable to us spiritually! 

To 'starve' means to suffer or die from extreme or prolonged lack of food; in essence it is be hungry.

Here's the process & results: 

1- Irritation & weakness -

     If we are griping & complaining it shifts our focus; causing us to hunger after wrong things. This makes us more susceptible to temptations! 

2- Exhaustion & indifferent-

     The body & spirit can become rundown which causes us to have an attitude of "who cares" or "so what" because there's little if any strength!

3-Depression-

     No longer taking interest in once cherished things, people much less the Word of God and our walk with Christ. A complacent numbness takes grip; very scary!

4-Death-

     Lifelessness! 

We are created with an inner longing to be fed, to be filled & to be full! Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6 

Righteousness is not a spiritual supplement, it's an absolute necessity! If you lack desire to be filled with & by God & His Holy Spirit, your walk with Christ is dying; your spiritual man inside is dying! 

Attempting to feed ourselves with anything but "the bread of Life" is the same as what The Lord told Jeremiah His people were doing and still continues today! "For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." Jeremiah 2:12 

Spiritual junk food doesn't have the necessary nutrients we need to grow! If you lack this hunger & thirst for Christ & His righteousness, if you've begun this spiritual starvation process, there IS STILL HOPE... If you forsake your ways & return to Christ! 

Fizzy Faith!

Fizzy Faith... Does your faith have that Jesus fizz?

Today in Jr church I gave the kids a hands on visual comparison of our lives before Christ & the changes He makes when we allow Him in. 

Using our 5 senses we compared a small bottle of water (represents without Christ) and a small bottle of Sprite (life with Christ)... The kids were great and could see the differences right away! One of the first things they noticed was the bubbles in the sprite! When the sunlight hit it, it sparkled! Something the water lacked!

Then I shook both bottles & asked the kids what would happen next... They all shouted the pop will EXPLODE! Haha! I explained to them see, when we are filled with God's Holy Spirit, He makes the biggest difference in our lives from the INSIDE and He allows these changes to be seen & felt by those around us! Just like the effects of shaking pop, His goodness & love overflows from our hearts to others too! 

 

Then, I took the cap off and asked them if they knew what it represented? They looked puzzled! Haha! I asked them, what happens if pop is left open overnight? They described how nasty & flat it is... RIGHT, I tell them, it looses it's fizz & taste!!! See, the cap represents us staying under God's covering! That is His protection. If we choose to go outside Him, we loose our joy, peace & love that comes from Him living inside our hearts!

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Moral of the story:

By accepting Jesus in our hearts & allowing His Holy Spirit to live within us, He makes the difference in our lives and the lives of those around us! 

Battles so Fierce

Have you ever fought a battle so fierce;

That it felt like every fiber was pierced?

All you wanna do is just run and hide;

But instead you turn to God and confide!

It's there you find peace;

Humbled, remorseful, laid down on your knees. 

You don't have to fight the demons alone;

Christ declared victory & now sits on the Throne!

These battles will come and these battles will go;

Just know whatever you face, in Him, you're not alone. 

He restores strength and grants healing too.

Every fiber deep pained, every thought that rushes through 

Lay 'em down and let His hand comfort you. 

May you find peace at His feet and see His beauty so sweet! 

Remember all the things Jesus went through and know;

He did it for you!

He knows, He sees and He fought these same battles too. 

Trust Him to see you through. 

Deodorize the Day

This morning while getting dressed & ready for the day I applied deodorant! Whoooo hoooo, right! I always converse with my Heavenly Father, even in the little routine things. I asked Him, "Lord, there must be more to this as simple as it is. Without deodorant our bodies put off a stench most would rather not smell, but this covering grants a sweet aroma." 

Here's His reply to me... It's so cool! He said, "Most people think of my Word as food or spiritual substance, but many lack understanding to My protection through it; it is also My covering." Then as I get in His Word, He spoke this: "And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say...Thou art my people." Isaiah 51:16

Those of us IN Him are covered by His Word! Remember John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." We are under His covering! The blood of Jesus covers our sins, no longer harboring the world's stench. We have His sweet smelling aroma of LIFE! It's His LOVE! 

With that said, have you put on your deodorant, that beautiful sweet spiritual covering of Christ? Have you applied His Word to your day? 

Just think, there are many who go days, weeks or months without praying or reading their Bibles... They're choosing not to stay under His covering! Now, imagine going these lengths of time without bathing & without deodorant! Sin has its stench all it's own. Over time, we may become immune to its foul smell but those who dare venture near us... Well, it's hands down detectable! Eeeewwww! 

So I ask again, have you applied God's Word to your day? Raise your hands if you're sure! \o/