Month: April 2022

Standing Firm in the Midst of Battles

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“Never feel sorry for raising dragon slayers in a time when there are actual dragons.” Dr. Georgia Purdy, of Answers in Genesis, made this statement at a conference I recently attended, and it left me feeling both daunted and inspired.

Whenever I think of dragons, I envision a time long, long ago, far removed from modern day. However, the more I see and hear about the atrocities taking place around the globe, I’m reminded that we are in a battle. As much as I like to think that my simple life with my husband and kiddos in the suburbs is just that, there is, in actuality, a battle taking place and I/we need to be prepared and proactive.

One of the biggest battles we are facing is the battle for Truth. We live in a postmodern world that has come to believe, ironically, that there is no absolute Truth. It’s all about “your truth.” Somehow, the concept of “truth” has been replaced with what we formally called, “opinions.” Sadly, now the two words appear to be synonymous. This detrimental way of thinking leads to an erroneous blurring of the line between right and wrong. Maybe it’s not even a “blurring” of the line, it’s more like erasing that line so that they are no longer opposites.

So what do we do? How do we stand firm as Scripture instructs us? Do we need a new strategy, new weaponry?

In today’s world, when we need to know how to do something, where do we turn? Typically, we turn to You Tube, right? In this case, the turning to the Bible is going to give us the examples, strategy, weaponry and answers we need.

Let’s look at how Jehoshaphat, King of Juda, responded when he was informed a vast army was on their way. If you have a few minutes, you can read 2 Chronicles 20:1-22, but I will highlight some key portions of it.

Upon hearing the vast army was on their way, Jehoshaphat was alarmed, but resolved to inquire of the Lord. Not only that, he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah (v.3). The next verse tells us, 4 “The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.” (Emphasis mine).

Jehoshaphat then prays corporately and in faith (vs. 5-12) to the Lord, recognizing who He is and His power. Then he says in v. 9,”If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.” (Emphasis mine).

In v. 12, Jehoshaphat says, “Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

He knew the army that was coming was bigger and stronger. This was not about false humility. This was an honest cry for help because they did not know what to do. Can you relate? Have there been times in your life when you haven’t known what to do? Instead of wallowing in helplessness, King Jehoshaphat gathered his people together and they turned their eyes to God. When you don’t know what to do, look to God.

We see again their collective appeal to God in v. 13.

13 “All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.“

In vs. 14-17, we are privy to how God responds to their plea.

14 “Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

15 He said: ‘Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’” (Emphasis mine).

The Lord starts off by telling them not to be afraid or discouraged. The battle isn’t theirs, but they have to exercise faith by marching down against the enemy. They won’t have to fight, but they will have to take up their positions and STAND FIRM. Then they will see the Lord’s deliverance. He reminds them again, likely because the temptation is so strong, to not be afraid or discouraged. They can be assured the Lord will be with them.

Essentially, the instruction is: GO IN FAITH WITHOUT FEAR.

Faith listens to and does what God says.

Jehoshaphat encourages his people to have faith and they will be rewarded for it.

20″ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, ‘Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.’” (Emphasis mine).

As we continue to read the passage, we see that Jehoshaphat appoints men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness (see v. 21). Why might he have done this? One reason might have been to help his people keep their focus off of their fears and on the Lord their God, reminding them of who He is. They weren’t praising Him for a soon-t0-be victory, it was all about His love and holiness.

The next verse shows us what happened when they began to sing and praise the Lord.

22 “As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”

What was Jehoshaphat’s battle strategy?

  1. He looked to the Lord WITH the whole community
  2. He prayed
  3. He had FAITH and he instructed them to have faith
  4. He obeyed – He did what God told him to do
  5. He stood firm
  6. He made sure the Lord was praised and thanked for his holiness and love (not even for the victory). Because of that great love, HE would SAVE them!

As I was studying this idea of “stand firm” in Scripture, I found so many passages that not only instruct believers to stand firm, but also passages describing things of the Lord that stand firm:

  • His love (Psalm 89:2)
  • His Word (Psalm 119:89)
  • His plans (Psalm 33:11)
  • His statutes (Psalm 93:5)
  • His solid foundation (2 Tim. 2:19)

Those are all things that we can stand on as we stand firm in the midst of the battles around us.

As we think about the importance of standing firm, how do we do that? What does that look like?

  • Phil. 1:27 says to stand firm “in one spirit.” (Sounds like Jehoshaphat and all his people)
  • Col. 4:12 says to stand firm “in all the will of God.”
  • 1 Cor. 16:13 and 1 Pet 5:9 say to stand firm “in the faith.”
  • Eph. 6:14 says to stand firm with the “belt of truth buckled around your waist…”

Let’s read Eph. 6 starting in v. 10 and then we’ll look more closely at the armor we need for our battles, most specifically, the belt of truth. Priscilla Shirer’s book, The Armor of God, has some great nuggets I’m going share with you.

As she delves into the “belt of truth,” she starts off by talking about the core because that’s the part of the body in which the belt would wrap around. “A strong core helps with your balance, your stability, your resistance to injury, your stamina over time and under pressure.” (p. 40)

If your core is weak, which she likens to a “flimsy commitment to truth,” then “…you don’t even have a way to do a sit-up, much less a way to keep standing up.” (p. 46) This is true individually and collectively. If we have a weak spiritual core, we aren’t going to be able to stand firm when the wind and waves of lies come our way.

The belt a Roman soldier used when putting on his armor or “girding his loins,” it was with “…something more akin to a girdle than a belt.” (Shirer, p. 43)

“The Roman soldier’s belt or girdle served several purposes. One was to add support and strength to his core…another purpose was equally important:  the belt secured several additional pieces of his armor and kept them solidly in place.” (Shirer p. 52)

God designed our spiritual armor to do the same thing. The “belt of truth” helps to secure the breastplate of righteousness.

Not only that, the girdle “…also bore some of the weight, relieving pressure from the shoulders. Without it, the soldier was forced to bear the full weight of everything…making him far less effective in battle. See the spiritual connection? Without the belt of truth, you’re left with the burdensome responsibility of carrying the full weight of your own ‘breastplate’—your own ‘righteousness…’ But with God’s truth strapped around your body, you’re relieved of that pressure. God’s Word—truth—reveals that righteousness has been given to you through faith in Christ …, freeing you from living with the weight of all that sin in you on your shoulders.” (Shirer p. 54)

I recently wrote a blog post about faith. In Eph. 6, we see the importance of the shield of faith as part of our spiritual armor. We are also instructed to put on the breastplate of righteousness. And now, as we talk about the belt of truth, we see how all these things come together to help us stand firm against the devil’s schemes.

Shirer states, “Truth is your core support. It provides the essential backing you need when you’re in the midst of spiritual war.” (Shirer p. 43)

She reminds the reader that, “…the enemy’s overarching device is deception. He shades reality with enticing and alluring colors, seducing us away from black-and-white principles.” She goes on to write, “His packaging is so clever that unless we know what’s true—I mean really know it, know it at our core—we easily fall prey to his ploys.” (Shirer p. 43)

What is truth? Shirer defines it as, “God’s opinion on any matter.” (Shirer p. 43) And that is the standard to which we hold ourselves. It’s our standard for everything. “Without concrete allegiance to and affirmation with this truth—with real truth—you’re left weak and susceptible to things that may look right and sound right yet actually aren’t right. But with the standard of truth in place, you can adjust everything else in your life—your ambitions, choices, and feelings; your mind, will, and emotions…” (Shirer p. 44)

So how do we realistically do this at a practical level? How do we put on the belt of truth so that we can stand firm against the devil’s schemes?

We don’t do anything new. We use the same strategy that king Jehoshaphat used:

  1. We look to the Lord WITH the whole community
  2. We pray
  3. We have FAITH
  4. We obey and do what God tells us to do
  5. We stand firm in one spirit, in all the will of God, in the faith
  6. We make sure the Lord is praised and thanked for his holiness and love

Here’s how Priscilla Shirer encourages us to do it:

“You uphold and affirm the standard—the truth and boundaries set by God in Scripture. You commit yourself to them and resolve to teach them to your family. You daily, systematically, repeatedly begin by letting God help you align your decisions and responses, even your attitudes and ambitions, alongside His benchmark of truth. You continually learn about the character and purposes of God—both from the Bible and from His Spirit. Then you unapologetically synchronize your convictions, even when you find it hard or unpopular to do so.” (Shirer p. 44-45)

I love that she uses words like, “daily, systematically, repeatedly and continually” because they emphasize the on-going, all the time importance of being fully aligned with God and the Truth we use as our standard for every aspect of our lives. “You cannot advance against the enemy successfully and keep from tumbling into error unless you are willing to submit to God’s truth.” (Shirer p. 55)

Shirer makes a good point when she writes, “Just because you read the Bible doesn’t mean you’ve chosen it as your standard for living—any more than a person with a gym membership is necessarily committed to using the equipment in the gym. The real test comes when the ideals and philosophies of our culture swing in the opposite direction, and yet we choose to stand strong and firm on the unchanging standard of God. The time has come for us to be women girded in truth.” (Shirer p. 45, emphasis mine)

Now, I’m not saying that any of this is easy. In fact, I think we need to be conscious of the things that “move” us from standing firm so that we can guard against those things.

1 Cor. 15:58 reads, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm (steadfast). Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Perhaps one of the main things that tries to move us is:

  • Fear (Ex. 14:13, 2 Chron. 20:17). Think about how many times in Scripture you see the words, “do not be afraid.”

We need pray and fight against fear. When we are completely aligned with God, His Truth and will, it helps us stand firm. Earlier this year, we talked about the importance of alignment. The enemy is sly in his “…attempt at compelling us to move forward without consulting truth, veering us off course and outside of God’s will.” (Shirer p. 61)

In several passages in Scripture, we see that there is a reward for standing firm. It brings deliverance, salvation and life!

Mt. 10:22 “…the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Lk. 21:19 “Stand firm, and you will win life.”

Whether you, like Jehoshaphat, are facing a vast army or whether you are facing modern day dragons, let me encourage you. Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged. Stand firm! The Lord your God is with you! In light of that, let us go be radiant as we fight for Truth.

Breathe Life

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If you’ve had a rough day, a tough week or a less than stellar year thus far, would you allow me to gently turn your eyes to a reason we can celebrate? Three words will help us get there. Ready? They are:  He is Risen! Three days after Jesus’ death on the cross, God raised Jesus from the dead! What a reason to rejoice! While it doesn’t change any difficult circumstances in our lives right now, it does give us an encouraging eternal perspective and reminds us of the hope we have in Jesus.

We see this hope in the earliest portions of Genesis in the creation account. The Creation Museum, a place I had the pleasure of experiencing on my recent visit to Kentucky, stays true to its name and has displays, exhibits, short films and more, taking its visitors back in time to the days of the beginning of the world.

Genesis 2:7 tells us, “7 Then the Lord God formed a man[a] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

It was the Lord God who literally breathed life into Adam. Think about that for a minute. Our God is a giver of life, and not just a temporary life on this earth. His desire is for something far greater. He desires for us to have eternal life with Him in heaven. He sent His one and only Son to bring that to fruition.

John 6:33-35 says, “33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Jesus gives life to the world! In a time when our world is in distress, we know that those who believe in Jesus have hope.

John 10:10 reminds us, “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus desires abundant life for us and He tells us how to get it. He says in verse 9, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved…” He reiterates this same idea in John 14:6, “6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We are given, by God, a way to experience eternal life. In the days of Noah, there was one way to be saved. There was one door on the Ark and those who entered it were saved from the destruction of the flood. Today, that door is Jesus.

Just before Jesus was arrested, in John 17:2-3, he looked to heaven and prayed,

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

The only TRUE God, who breathed life into Adam, is the same God who raised Jesus and brought Him back to life after 3 days!

If you, or someone you know has not yet looked to Jesus, be encouraged by what Jesus says in John 6:40: “40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Look to the Son and believe! He will breathe new life, eternal life, into you.

If you have already looked to the Son and believed, may you radiate His glory in your everyday life.

Let us go be radiant as we remember our Risen Savior and the LIFE He has given us. Happy Easter my friends.

The Ark Encounter

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This is the Ark lit up one evening during my time there

Hello friends! I returned about a week and a half ago from my first trip to the “Blue Grass” state, otherwise known as Kentucky. While there, I had the amazing opportunity to experience a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark called the Ark Encounter. The Ark was built to Biblical dimensions and is truly a sight to behold.

Walking through it gave me such a surreal sense of what it must have been like for Noah and his family during the days of the flood.

People often wonder how all the animals could have fit inside the Ark, and I was reminded that the Bible tells us they were “kinds” of animals. In other words, there would have been a dog “kind,” a cat “kind” and so on, which helps explain having enough room.

As I gazed around the various exhibits and displays found within the Ark, I saw large terra-cotta-colored jars lined up on one side showing what it was like to store food and water for the people onboard. You know, I had honestly never spent much time thinking about them having to store water before. I had also not really thought about how they were able to get light inside the Ark. There were so many logistical details that had escaped me when reading through the Biblical account.

 Our God is a God of order and detail and not only do we see that in creation as a whole, but also in the instructions given to Noah for building the Ark.

Having the opportunity to experience the replica of the Ark in person really helped the Biblical account of Noah and that period in history come alive for me. If you have some vacation time coming up and are in the area, I’d highly recommend a trip to the Ark Encounter.

In the meantime, feel free to check out a blog post I did called, Dry Ground, where I talk about what happened when the flood waters receded and relate that to other passages in Scripture about dry ground.

Thank you for visiting my blog today. If you enjoy it, and are not already subscribed, would you please subscribe now? Also, please leave comments and share my posts with others.

My encouragement:  let us go be radiant this week, reflecting the light of Jesus.

Spiritual Alignment

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I don’t know about you, but occasionally, I feel a little off in my relationship with God. It’s usually when I’ve gotten a bit distracted, or my eyes have momentarily shifted away from where they should be (on Jesus). Essentially, I think I get out of alignment, spiritually speaking.

Whenever I think of “alignment” my mind automatically goes to cars (maybe because we recently went to an auto museum 😉).

My husband is wealth of knowledge about cars, and I began peppering him with questions about what happens when a car gets out of alignment and what happens when it’s realigned. The more I learned, the more I realized what a great analogy this is to our alignment with God.

Here’s what I learned:

  • You know when a vehicle is misaligned because the misalignment will cause the car to veer to the left or to the right when you are driving.
  • If there is a misalignment, the tires might wear unevenly (and you might not even feel it)
  • The tires might also wear out prematurely.
  • Misalignment could also cause other parts of the vehicle to wear out due to stress.

Are you beginning to see the analogy here? I’ll come back to this idea toward the end and talk about what happens when a car is aligned properly.

Just like cars, it’s easy to get a little misaligned in our spiritual lives, isn’t it?

In fact, sometimes our attention can be easily diverted away from where God wants it to be.

The lures of this world can distract us just enough to get us out of line.

Let’s look at Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, who was out of alignment.

Matthew 16

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Peter was out of alignment, but until Jesus told him, I don’t think he realized it.

We know that because Jesus tells him, “you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

And what were those concerns?

Suffering & death – that Jesus was going to suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law and then he would be killed.

Why did Jesus say Peter was a stumbling block to Him?

Could it be because the human thing to say is, “no! You won’t suffer like that!” His immediate reaction was NO to the suffering (like most of us would react). Peter’s perspective (which was more self and human-focused) didn’t allow him to see how suffering was part of, and the fulfillment of, God’s plan.

Let’s keep reading and see what happens right after Jesus rebukes Peter.

Matthew 16:24

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must:

  1. deny themselves and
  2. take up their cross and
  3. follow me.

It’s easy for us, like Peter, to get out of alignment when we don’t deny ourselves.

  • We are a self-focused culture (just think of selfies). We’re taught to “look out for #1” – but the Bible says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves…” (Phil 2:3)
  • We’re told we “deserve” things – when in reality the Bible tells us in the book of Romans:  the “wages of sin is death” – which is what we deserve – but the “gift of God is eternal life.” That’s not because we deserve it but because He desires it for us.
  • We live in a culture of self-indulgence – but the Bible says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.” (Mt. 6:33)
  • We tend to want to avoid suffering – when the Bible tells us that “the apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.” (Acts 5:41)

I’d like for us to look at an example of two people in the Bible who stayed aligned to God and two ways they were able to do so.

The first one is Daniel:

  1. Daniel, who had been taken captive to Babylon, had the custom of praying 3 times per day.
  2. When a new edict came out that forbade him to pray to his God, Daniel had a choice to make.
  3. Daniel chose to continue his custom of praying 3 times per day to his God (our God).
  4. Even though the world was changing around him and even though the punishment for his choice was death, he chose to remain faithful and stand firm as he got on his knees to pray.
  5. Prayer helped keep Daniel aligned to God.  

The second example of someone in the Bible who stayed aligned to God was Jesus.

Let’s look at how he did it in Matthew 26:39 and following.

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

How did Jesus stay aligned to God?

  1. He prayed (more than once) – just as Daniel had the custom of praying.
  2. Jesus prayed “if it is possible…” and really, it was possible, but not to fulfill God’s plan.
  3. Jesus SUBMITTED His will to God’s will

Why is this such an important example for us?

 Because when we submit our will to God’s will, it aligns us to want what He wants – even if it includes suffering.

Submitting to God’s will is TRUSTING that God is sovereign and in control.

Here it doesn’t say “surrender.” Surrendering gives it back to God and takes any action, follow-up, or responsibility away from us. Submitting is actively choosing to stand behind Jesus and going where He goes – we submit to His authority, just like Jesus did to the Father here.

How do we, like Jesus, submit to God?

 BY FAITH we step forward and God will give us the strength and all we need to do what He calls us to do.

Friends, I want to ENCOURAGE you. If you already know of an area or areas in your life where you are out of alignment with God, there is HOPE.

You may never have thought of God like this, but He is our Master RE-ALIGNER. 😊

We know that He realigns people because we see an amazing example in the life of Peter – you know the one to whom Jesus said: “get behind me Satan!”

Peter ended up denying Jesus three times and then after Jesus’ death, in John 21:3, he tells some of the other disciples that he’s going to go out to fish, and they say they’ll go with him.

  • By doing this, Peter was out of alignment. Why? Because he was supposed to be fishing for people.
  • But we know that he later had an amazing ministry. So how did he get realigned?

Let’s read on in the passage, one that some former teammates of mine and I like to call:  Breakfast on the beach.

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

John 21:3 tells us that they fished all night but didn’t catch anything. Verse 4 Jesus is on the shore (but they don’t realize it’s Him) and calls out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answer. Jesus tells them to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they will find some. They did what He said and caught so many fish they were unable to haul the net in.

Fast forwarding a little – Peter swims to shore once he realizes it’s Jesus. Jesus invites them to eat breakfast with them . In verses 15-25, we are privy to a conversation Jesus had with Peter. Jesus does a couple of things here. First, He ensures that Peter loves him “more than these” – I think he means the fish. It makes me think of what Jesus said in Matthew “If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must deny himself…”.

Second, He tells Peter what He wants Peter to do:

  • Feed my lambs (v.15)
  • Take care of my sheep (v. 16)
  • Feed my sheep (v. 17)
  • Follow me! (v. 19)

To get realigned, I think Peter needed to be reminded that:

  1. Jesus was alive and well (WE SERVE A LIVING GOD)
  2. He knows more than Peter does (he told professional fishermen who hadn’t caught any fish all night, to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they caught a miraculous amount). HE KNOWS MORE AND SEES MORE THAN WE DO
  3. He does the miraculous!
  4. He has specific work for Peter to do. GOD HAS WORK FOR US TO DO.

Once Peter was re-aligned, he went on to have an incredible ministry and he wrote the epistles of 1st and 2nd Peter.

Friends, I believe God has ministry for us to do too – related to the individual calling He has for each of our lives. One of the best ways to fulfill that is to ensure that we are properly aligned to Him.

Let’s go back to our car analogy.

  • When a car is misaligned, it will veer to the left or to the right. But a properly aligned car will go straight when you let go of the steering wheel and the tires will wear as they should, because that’s how the vehicle has been designed.
  • In Christ, we are a new creation, and this new creation is created in holiness and righteous. By faith, we walk in it.
  • When you make a turn in a properly aligned car, it should, by default straighten out.
  • When a vehicle is misaligned, it can cause stress. We can relate to that in our own lives, right? However, just as proper alignment in a vehicle minimizes stress on the vehicle especially on bumpy roads, so our proper alignment with God minimizes problems when we enter a bumpy season in our lives.

My prayer for us is that we would remain faithful in prayer and regularly ensure we are aligned to God – that we want what He wants – that we go where He goes. Let us go be radiant this week!