Bold As A Lion

Today’s message comes to us from Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28:1 tells me that I am bold as a lion. As a child of God, I should be. Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. I’m being conformed to His image. My God says I have nothing to fear because He is my refuge and my strong tower, my help in times of trouble. Jesus also promised He will never leave me or forsake me; but He’s with me always. There’s also that first verse in Psalm 27, where King David asks, “Whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be afraid?” God is our light and our salvation.

Keeping that in mind, Proverb 28:2 gives us a clear picture of whom should be our leader; or what kind of leadership we should have: “When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue.” Turn a couple of things around here: “When a land has many rulers, it transgresses.” This speaks, not only of idolatry. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.” (Psalm 33:12). When you think about opposing views (Mom says no, Dad says yes), too many things on the agenda (Distraction), and everyone trying to run the show (everybody’s job gets done except his/her own-and you have constant friction as a result of personal agendas), what you have is a big mess waiting to happen. All that stuff inspires confusion, anger, bitterness, envy, and malice. (2 Cor. 13:11) – “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” As parents, you cannot create a stable and peaceful environment if you’re not of one accord, and constantly oppose each other. Stability, knowledge, and wisdom go hand in hand; each one empowers the others.

Proverbs 28:4, 5, and 10 remind us that our duty, and especially as parents, is to fight wickedness; to strive against it. The knowledge of the LORD brings us the understanding of justice, we’re told in verse 5. Verse ten is a revelation about sowing and reaping. “Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.” Parents will suffer the consequences of misleading their children into sin. (teen pregnancies, drugs and alcohol, sloth, disrespect, idolatry, etc.) Proverbs 28:13 is a powerful revelation about what might be hindering your progress; especially in terms of overcoming. Proverbs 28:18-19 remind us that integrity (truth,honesty), which requires boldness, by the way, delivers us from sin. This is also a two-fold thing. Integrity should also help you recognize your sin, and help you overcome it. Proverbs 28:23 tells us that correction is better than flattery. We prosper as our soul prospers. You are your land. Be bold as a lion in maintaining its standards and boundaries!

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Ooh, The Picture’s Clearer

Today’s message comes from Psalms and Proverbs 14. Both give us a clearer picture, yet, of evil, and evil doers. We’re also shown how easily we can backslide and get lost. We are reminded that the LORD is our refuge. He has restored our fortunes through Christ Jesus. Jesus redeemed us, and everything that belongs to us, when He died on Calvary for us.

Interestingly, Proverbs 14:9 tells us that fools have no conscience, or shame. Proverbs 14:19 is a three-fold revelation. “The evil bow down before the good; the wicked at the gates of the righteous.” First, this confirms our dominion over them/victory over them in Jesus’ Name. Secondly, they do this in mockery-so be on your guard. Thirdly, they cannot stand in the Presence of God, nor can they prevail against us. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) This makes me think of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man sure changed his tune when faced with the truth, didn’t he?

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You Are Hotly Pursued

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 7. The first part of Psalm 7, 7:1-9 is a prayerful song sung by King David regarding his enemies. Verses 1&2 give a very clear picture of how hotly you are pursued by the hosts of spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. “Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.” (1Peter 5:8) tells us: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” When you watch lions hunting, you’ll see they go into hot pursuit of their prey; they don’t stroll after it. Never take your souls safety for granted. Satan wants to destroy it.

What’s really awesome in this psalm is verse 8: “The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.” You know that saying, “and idle mind is the devil’s playground?” Yeah, ever find yourself battling with the same thoughts over and over? My battle with that when I quit smoking comes to mind. Even long after I’d given cigarettes up, Satan was lurking and waiting to lure me back there. I had an argument with my husband one day, and the first thing that came to my mind was: “I should just start smoking again; that will show them!” The next thing that came to mind was, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” I knew that my smoking would hurt me; not anyone else. (See how the Truth rushed in there?) The Holy Spirit nipped that one in the bud! When I think of this vindication, I think about catching my children doing right. Praise is doubly as important as reproof. Here’s why: Verse 9-“Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and mind.” The more we celebrate our doing right, the stronger the desire to do right becomes, and the less power the lure of evil, the wicked, and sin has over us. *This works on adults who are being renewed in the knowledge of God, as well.

Proverbs 7 Speaks of the adulteress, but when in spiritual context, it is the lure of sin and sinners. This includes false religion, idolatry, peer pressure, etc.) When we make our children strong against these in the LORD/Lord and His Word, they’re better able to resist and walk away. (2Cor. 10:5) tells us: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” The more truth you have within you, the stronger you are to stand against the wiles of the devil; and against deception.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Learning To Wait

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that the waiting is the hardest part. I just had that little talk with Jesus this morning. I was praying and surveying some situations, and I said, “Lord, I need an acre of land. Jesus, please!” I could almost hear His laughter. That’s when He reminded me that He’s the boss; and that he knows better and has better timing than I do. Now, He’s hearing my laughter as I’m loving Him for confirming that little reminder of this lesson this morning.

Getting into the habit of just reminding myself of God’s sovereignty, wisdom, will, and power, helped me so much in this waiting area. It’s something I used to have to do quite often. After awhile, it gets you to the point where you can just say, “Never the less, Lord, not my will, but thine be done.” (Luke 22:42)

This message ties in with yesterday’s message about true success, and with my post from Oct. 28th, about looking for, or at, the glad surprises (the candy bar) in God’s pocket. Together, all three give us a clearer picture of God’s love for us, and empower us to learn the value of waiting on Him.

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Seeing Him In You

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to turn our eyes to the LORD/Lord. When we do this, we not only get a clear picture of who God is. We get a picture of who we are to, and in Him. The more you look at Jesus, the more beautiful you become yourself. You begin to see little things within you that are just like Him. You begin to realize that you’re not really all that terrible a person yourself. The more of His beauty you behold, the more beauty you strive to find and to foster within your own being. As we grow more and more like Him, we become empowered to do things more and more like He does them…”and even greater things will you do, because I go to my Father.” That last part there is really awesome as you begin to discover it. It’s kind of like riding a bike with Jesus holding on to the back so you don’t fall. One day, you forget to look and see if He’s back there…and suddenly find yourself sailing right along on your own. YAY! Jesus, what’s the next project?! The more we see Jesus, the more of Jesus we see…the more of Jesus we see in us…and the more of us we want to see in Jesus!

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Each Reveals The Other More

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that seeing Jesus, we see the Father. When we see the two, we truly do have all we need. There truly is nothing that we cannot accomplish, then.

As I’ve been studying about generational curses, I’ve been back and forth between the Old and the New testaments. Of course, we see a clear picture of Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus said, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7) But, do we make the connection between our Heavenly Father and Jesus when we read the Psalms and the Prophets? I discovered, much to my delight, so much more about Jesus, in them! In both Old and New Testaments, we get some awesome revelation of both the Father, and our Lord, Jesus. How wonderful that is, and how powerful, as we strive to grow in intimate knowledge of them both; and in faith!

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The Way, The Truth, And The Life

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Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, is entitled: “My Richest Gift.” The message speaks to us about abundant life; and bids us to take it, and to use it. That abundant life spoken of here is the life flow of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

John 4:13-14 is referenced: “…but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In my Bible study, this morning, I was reminded of Jesus’ words in John 14:6- Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”

Applying this scripture to overcoming generational curses, addictions, and any other adversity, really works. You see, Jesus also said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Putting this all together, we have this revelation. The truth will lead you to the way to empower life…in any situation, in everyday living. Example: (Truth) The oven is hot when it’s on (Way) We do not touch it (Life) We don’t get burned and hurt. This teaches, or empowers, the child to steer clear of the oven; especially when it is in use. That’s a simple one. If you use those three gifts (truth, way, life) your life becomes more powerful and joyful. That spills over into other’s lives as well. *The reason truth comes first, is because Jesus is the true bread from Heaven; and truth has to do with God’s Word- (Romans 3:4)

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