Archive | June 2016

Are you a POW?

Jun30

by Kathy Stanford

We are in a war. Every follower of Jesus learns this truth eventually. And though the ultimate victory is already known, we still must fight the daily battles of this world where “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8. The good news is that we are not alone in this daily battle! God’s word has clearly laid out the fight, our protective armor and the weapons He’s provided for our use, in this passage from Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:10-18

“10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints….”

Sometimes, however, we fail to put on the armor and pick up the weapons. What happens then? We become prisoners of war, my friend. I know I belong to Jesus and nothing will change that. [“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father‘s hand.” John 10:29] But I have sometimes let myself be caught and held captive by the enemy. How does this happen?

It happens when I forget who the real enemy is and turn on those around me. It happens when I fail to surround myself with the truth of His word and believe the lies of the enemy that fill this world, telling me I need more yet never finding fulfillment. It happens when I don’t live in the righteousness He gives through salvation and spend all my energy trying to better myself, yet never being okay. It happens when I forget that it’s a gospel of peace and instead of giving grace, I spread hatred and discontent. It happens when I fail to strengthen my faith by arming myself with the word of God, allowing life’s trials to become overwhelming and steal all joy from my life. It happens when I don’t talk with my Father about my concerns, or fail to lift up those around me, so I lose all right perspective.

I’ve heard that soldiers are told to seek escape if they become a POW. We can escape our spiritual imprisonment by repenting our failure to embrace the instructions of Ephesians 6:10-18 and then faithfully, earnestly seeking God. He will help you escape because He wants us to live the abundant life only found when we are free to love and serve Him with our whole heart.

Are you a prisoner of war? Have you let the enemy capture your spirit through oppression? Are discouragement and the lies you believe keeping you locked away from living the abundant life that Jesus has for those who love and follow Him? You don’t have to stay there. Start digging that escape tunnel right now!

“Jesus please forgive my spiritual laziness. I want to live free in the abundant life you desire to give me. Help me to be faithful in putting on the armor you’ve given me and taking up the weapons you’ve provided. And Lord, keep me mindful of the true enemy.”

If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, or are unsure, click on the tab at the top of the page for more information.

Humility

Jun9

by Kathy Stanford

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

In recent months I have failed to meet deadlines, had a painful misunderstanding with a dear friend, completely forgot – and therefore missed- other deadlines and that is only a sampling. I have heard “You mean you’re human?” said in that light-hearted way meant to comfort, so many times, I’ve grown to dislike it immensely.  I often hear warnings not to pray for patience. I would like to add humility to that warning. For a little while now, I have been seeking to understand what is true godly humility. I have only scratched the surface of understanding, but I thought I’d share what I’ve learned so far.

One aspect of humility is to own it with grace when I “mess up”. Trying to bluff our way through a mistake, hoping others won’t notice, is not only lacking in humility, it’s living a lie. The word “transparency” comes to mind. And the flip side of that truth is to freely and immediately give grace when others “mess up”.  Gloating in another person’s mistake or crowing “I told you so”, “I knew this would happen” (one of my personal downfalls) is not living with humility. Rather we should seek to lessen their embarrassment and try to encourage them.

I also have found humility to be necessary for obedience. As long as I think I know “how things ought to be” I will argue with God instead of immediately obey. It takes humility to submit to God’s leadership.  Of course Jesus gave us the best example of what it means to live with humility.

Phil 2:3-8  “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

I hope you knew I was not serious when I said not to pray for humility. We definitely should pray that God will teach us to live with the true humility that Jesus showed. It may not be a comfortable lesson to learn, but it will take us a step closer to having the image of Christ.

“Dear Jesus, I confess my desires to be “in control” and to “always be right”. Please help me to live as you did, empty of self and humble in spirit. Help me to be an encouragement to those around me, shining the light on their strengths and not their weaknesses.”

If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, or are unsure, click on the tab at the top of the page for more information.