Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that really needs you to be spiritually sound? You are being tossed about on the edge of maybe making a big mistake and you desperately need direction, help, saving? I have, and I was not really sure how I got there. It is a very scary feeling, almost as though you are out of control. Truth is you are! All the things in life had captured my attention to the point that I was tired physically, I had neglected my prayer life and the word of God, so I was spiritually bankrupt. I was mentally so tired of trying to figure everything out. I was in a new place with limited friendships, so more or less the enemy had me isolated and alone, or at least feeling alone. When you get to that place, YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!

I had totally neglected to put on my armor. I thought that I was such a good Christian that I was ok no matter what came my way. How wrong I was, the enemy hit me in a place that I never expected and was not prepared for. I suddenly found out who I was not! If I had only kept myself in the word, kept my prayer life going. See I was too busy listening to the lies he was telling me. I was not grounded in truth, only my truth. I thought that I was living a righteous and pleasing life to the Lord, but I was not. I had watered down truth to suit me. My faith was at a very low point. I decided that if I could not change things, then God could not either. I put his abilities on the level of mine. As you can imagine it did not turn out well. I do not need to go into detail about it, that is not what this is about, but I can tell you I learned that I needed to not only read these precious words, but live them. I needed to put on my armor, guard the walls of my heart and mind. I needed to be drenched in truth at all times and to keep my relationship with the Lord above all else. Scripture is not there to make our lives “no fun”, it is for our protection. We cannot stand against the enemy of our souls alone. We cannot trust our flesh! We must be grounded in God’s word applying truth daily. This is not an enemy that plays fair, he attacks at your weakest area and so many times we ourselves do not know what that is.

I urge you to put on your armor, all of it, daily! If you do then you have the tools you need to fight the enemy and with God’s help, Win!

I love the words from The Lord’s prayer, what comfort they bring. I have heard it recited many times and have sung it more times than I can count. It never fails to bless me and bring me peace. I wanted to share it with you today with the addition of the simple meaning of each verse. It brings it into an even closer view to ponder. Meditate on God’s goodness and provision for us in all seasons of life.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.-Relationship
He makes me lie down in green pastures, – Provision
he leads me beside still waters, – Refreshment
he restores my soul.- Healing
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.- Purpose
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, – Tribulation
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;- Faithfulness
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.- Discipline
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.- Hope
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. – Consecration

Where are you going? What’s your story? I don’t mean in the literal sense of “where are you going”, like driving down a road, but where are you headed in your life? Are you going in the right direction, the direction that leads to a closer walk to the Lord, or are you headed 100mph down a road that had “Wrong Way” written at the start of it? We can all get sidetracked​ by life and end taking detours that can have both good and bad outcomes. Sometimes we are so busy looking out the window that we miss what is right in front of us. I want to slow down and really take in the view on my journey, but also, I want to be sure I am going the right direction. I want my heart and head so in-tuned to the Holy Spirit that I cannot miss the “turn here” signs. Does that mean that only good things will come my way? No, it does not. Our lives are a mixture of just enough moments. Just enough heartache to grow us, just enough laughter to keep us going, just enough hardships to draw us ever nearer the Lord. We need everything in balance. And our Father in Heaven gives us just enough of everything. All good gifts come from him, James 1:17 tells us this: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father in heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.”

We may think we have completely and totally ruined our lives at times, but that simply is not possible, if we take that mistake and surrender it to Jesus. Will we have consequences from it? Yes, and sometimes those last for the rest of our lives, but if we surrender them to the Lord, turn from our mistake and make a fresh start, He will help us. He will use all of it, where we are for our good and his glory. Our mistakes do not change the Father’s will for our lives. He allows us those times to help refine us on our journey. If you are born again then you have already started living out your eternity with Jesus. Every day brings us closer to our last day and as we journey through the roads of life, we are going to occasionally do the wrong thing, hopefully not often, but we all make mistakes. God knows that ​he formed us and set us on our course. He even designed our mistakes for us. Yes, we have free will, but it does not trump God’s will, if it did, he would not be God! Now the line between free will and God’s will is something you just have to accept.

I personally am so thankful that God uses even my mistakes, my “what have I done” moments to draw me ever closer to him and somehow in the mess of things make me more into his likeness. If you find yourself barreling down the wrong road. STOP! Look up and ask for help, when you do, He will! He will redirect you and help you as you make your way back. Trust him, lean on him, surrender to him and enjoy the new direction you are going. Watch the road signs carefully and listen for that still small voice that guides us as we go.

How is it possible to be one of the busiest people on the planet and yet one of the loneliest at times. I have experienced this feeling so many times. The people around me never knowing that I was desperate for a little of their time, not the kind that just comes from a quick conversation of just a few minutes of their day; but that time that soaks down into your heart and makes you feel full and complete and loved. Through no fault of their own, for they are simply living life; they have not taken the time to look closely enough to see the longing in my eye, the need of my heart.

On the outside I appear fine, but on the inside I ache, yet it is especially in these times that once I switch my focus from them filling this need I feel my Heavenly Father move ever closer to me, I can almost feel his breath on my brow and his kiss against my forehead reminding me I am never alone and he will listen to every word or hushed whisper that leaves my lips. So, I start talking, leaning in to feel his tenderness and my heart starts filling full again and my loneliness takes a back seat and I am being recharged in my spirit.

The words of scripture start flooding my mind and soul, I start meditating on all he has done and all he has brought me through. I once again recall that moment when he reached down and chose me as his child. I am consumed with his love pouring into me and I feel encouraged and that peace that passes understanding winding its way through my heart and blood vessels and the loneliness just dissipates; I am at that moment full of overflowing, almost dancing in the realization that I am his child, he loved me with a love that cost a life, his!

When I am laser focused on myself I cannot hear that still small voice inside of me wanting me to hear and lean in. My Father in heaven wants to have fellowship with me; so he arranges the times of isolation so that my heart and mind are turned unhindered to him. I too often see this isolation as it were as some sort of punishment or even go as far as to say, ” those I long to talk with, be with must not love and value me”. People are people and they too experience these same feelings, each of us believing the lies the enemy speaks to us,  when we are self- focused and not God-focused! How special he must think I am to want my time, my words, yes even my laughter. When we fully surrender our attention and time to our Father in Heaven he refills us. He brings a settled peace that does not need others or stuff to fill. He is enough!

When the right time comes and you are full of him, he will usher in fellowship from other places and people and you are given the opportunity to share all that He has done, you can be a light to someone else in need.

Psalm 139:17-18

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them, Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.

These two verses alone should cause our hearts to beat a little faster!

 

John 15:1-11

15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit,he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine;no more can ye, except ye abide in me.5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringethforth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them,and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be doneunto you.

 

I want to look at this word”abiding”. What exactly does it mean to abide? I believe it means to”rest secure”. It brings peace and comfort when I abide in Christ. When I hide his word in my heart, and those times of pruning come, I can rest in the promises I know from his word, I rest in the faithfulness that I know he is. It seems too many people nowadays don’t want to take the time to know God’s word, to hide it in their hearts. They are satisfied with”skim milk”, they never want to get into the” heavy cream”.

We always think of pruning as being a bad thing, and sometimes it is  & sometimes it hurts us. But his word tells us that everything he does is for our good and his glory. If we are resting in Jesus, which requires a submission of our will, then the time of pruning although painful, can also be a time of expectation of the good that will come out of it. When we abide or rest in something, it gives an assurance of peace and safety. A realization that no matter what happens we are in God’s hands and God’s will. It is also in this place of abiding that he tells us that we can ask whatever we wish, and it will be given; and the reason he says that is because if we are abiding in him, submissive to his will, then the things we ask for our already in his will. It’s in the abiding that we learn his will, it’s in the abiding that we learn trust, it’s in the abiding that we grow.

 

We do not have to fear pruning, the Lord will never cut so deep that we are removed from the vine. When we are truly his we cannot be cut off, this should bring us a great peace in our abiding.

 

 

Hello, I hope that you will enjoy reading my devotions. I do not claim to be an expert in the word, but I am a student of the word and desire to share the insights that the Lord gives to me. I love the Lord, my desire is to please him above all else. I want to hear him say “well done” at the end of each day. I pray you are blessed and challanged!