Hello old friends

Yes it's been a while.  It's ironic how things that are vital in our lives get pushed aside when things that "seem important" but really are not crowd them out.  I have allowed that to happen recently and even though I knew it was going on I felt helpless to stop it.  I normally get up very early and spend some quiet time with God, praying, reading, journaling, and hopefully just listening, and then I write, most of the time it's a blog entry about what's going on in our lives at that moment.  But I got tired and I allowed a warm bed to keep me away.   I didn't want to get up.  I was still waking up but instead of getting up I'd say to myself, "just five more minutes", doze back off and then an hour had passed and it was time to get ready for work.  Not just one morning, but two, then three, and soon many days had passed. 

The impact of this?  So much more then I realized. 

I haven't gotten my time with God like I need it.  My days have been a shadow of what they were. My nights not restful and satan is prowling around seeking to steal, kill and destroy and I'm not equipped to fight like I should be.  I know what I need to do.  I know that God has given me the armor and the tools to fight the good fight.  I had a choice to make every morning.  God didn't dump me out of bed (nod to boot camp days) and scream and yell for me to get up.  He woke me up and invited me to spend time with Him but gave me the choice.  He will not go where He is not welcome and He will not make Himself the priority. 

I have to make Him the priority. 

When the blog has been dark it's because I'm not willing to do what I know I should.   Does that mean that I need to shut the blog down, delete all my writings and consider myself a failure?  Satan would like me to think so.  He would like me to quit.  He would like nothing more then for me to stop, to admit defeat and walk away from what God is working in my heart.  But I know more now then I knew before.  I understand a little more about my Father and what He would have for me, and so I can say those two little words that brings joy to my heart...

...But God...

Every morning during this God has woken me up like clockwork.  He showed up every day.  I was the one who didn't sit down with Him.  My southern upbringing cringes at the thought of Him knocking and me going to the door and shutting it in His face but that's what I did. God knows what I need and He has been waiting patiently for me to realize it as well. 

So the lights are slowly coming back on in my heart and in my creative flow and will show up eventually, when it's time, here.  Today it did, tomorrow it might.  But I realized something. I need to write, not just because I want to but because God has placed a passion in my heart. 

The past few weeks have been a huge learning process and I pray it will add more to my writing because I know it has added more to my faith and my understanding.  That's what walking with God through this life is all about.  To learn and to grow closer to Him, to make mistakes, to stumble and fall, and even fail but as long as you GET BACK UP then God still wants to use you.  So I'm up, I'm out of bed and the dark is lifting.  Thank you God for loving me even in the dark. 
 

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Ephesians 6:14 (NIV)

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.

A breastplate was used during a time of battle to protect the heart, the internal organs, the weakest and most vulnerable part of the body. Righteous by definition is:
 
right·eous (rī'chəs) adj.
          1. Morally upright; without guilt or sin: a righteous parishioner.
          2. In accordance with virtue or morality: a righteous judgment.
          3. Morally justifiable: righteous anger.

To be without guilt or sin. Are any of us without sin? No, that is why we have Jesus, and with Jesus we can embrace the relationship with God, a relationship that is without guilt and without sin. To go boldly before our heavenly Father, to thank Him for our blessings that He bestows and to ask for His aid in our endeavors.

That’s the explanation for the verse but how do we apply it? We have already covered the fact that we are at war. The battles that are waged daily between Satan and God’s children are brutal. Our first step is to recognize the enemy and how he attacks. Satan comes against us is our hearts, our emotions, and our feelings. Feelings can be influenced and changed. Feelings are not always constant and we need to realize that Satan knows that too. He can use the lies that he whispers to make us doubt, to make us feel that God cannot forgive us, to harbor unkind feelings towards our family or friends. But with the Breastplate of Righteousness we can move into battle with our heart protected and our feelings true, because they are protected.

When Satan attacks he has many things in his arsenal, but in my opinion, one of his most powerful weapons is to attack our faith. If we start doubting God’s word, His truth, then Satan has made what could be a fatal blow directly to our heart. By striving to be virtuous, moral, without guilt or sin, we can heal the wounds from the past and reinforce the armor for future attacks because my friends, the attacks will come. We need to protect our hearts with the breastplate, to keep all the tender parts safe, our heart whole, and we must step boldly into battle with the knowledge that we are morally upright, without guilt or sin, and wrap our hearts with righteousness because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.  Armor up, the battle is at hand.

Extreme Makeover part 2

I talked a little bit about God making over my life earlier this month (here).  My life needed an extreme makeover in the worst way. Isn’t that what God does when we ask Him to come into our lives? When we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and are born again, that’s when the old life is blown up, just like they do on the show, and the house (our hearts and souls) are gutted, cleared out and a new way made for God to come in and take up residence and make Himself at home.

For a long time, even though I had accepted Christ at the age of 7,  I was only letting Him rent my heart. I wasn’t allowing Him to take ownership over everything.  I wasn't sure how.  In reading Ephesians 6 Paul talks about what it looks like to put on the armor of God.  Armor?  "What do we need armor for?" you might ask, I know I did. 

Because simply put, we are at war.  Not a war of guns and tanks, but of good over evil, God over satan, and light over darkness.  I know who wins (I read the end of the book) but that doesn't mean that we all get out alive, there will be casualties and wounded and those that are lost.  But Paul talks about the armor that God equips us with in order to fight, to overcome, and win the battles of our day to day life.

The Armor of God

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  (Ephesians 6:10-12)

I had heard about the armor of God. Putting on that armor, and really didn’t “get it” but going to Renaissance fairs I was able to see real armor, how it worked and why is was so important.  The armor that we need for today though is not chainmail or leather. This week I am going to explore the different aspects of that armor, one piece at a time and figure out how it applies to my life and my walk with Christ. 

Most of us don't have an opportunity to see real armor at work on the battlefield, but one person most can remember is Wonder Woman.  I use to play Charlie's Angels and Wonder Woman with my cousin on Sundays at my grandmothers (love you Sharon!).  We all try to be Wonder Woman, mom, wife, boss,  employee, volunteer, leader, team member, friend, family, and so much more, no wonder we are all exhausted.

I am not Wonder Woman, but the God of the Universe and all His ways holds enormous wonder for me.  Wonder Woman was a fictional character but her creators understood armor, and having protection.  So does our Creator and unless we understand what our weapons and our armor is, how can we use it to protect and fight the enemy?   Come with me as we journey into Ephesians 6 and learn about the armor of God and how it can help us get through our battle of everyday life.