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WALKING FAITH

EVERYDAY
REMEMBER THIS AND DO THIS
  1. GOD IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS
  2. HE CAN DO WHAT HE SAYS HE CAN DO
  3. I AM WHO HE SAYS I AM
  4. I CAN DO WHAT HE SAYS I CAN DO
  5. HIS WORD IS ACTIVE AND ALIVE IN ME
  6. I BELIEVE GOD
  1. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT AND PUT ON
  2. PUT ON GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
  3. PUT ON PEACE BECAUSE OF THE GOOD NEWS
  4. FAITH
  5. SALVATION
  6. SWORD OF THE SPIRIT – THE WORD OF GOD

For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Eph. 6:15-16


Peace and Faith. They go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. You can’t manufacture either one of them. I know because I’ve tried. And you can’t fake them either. I know.

As I sat in the middle of the floor, heaving and weeping uncontrollably, Tommy said, “Mom, where’s your faith? He’s going to be alright! I thought you had this great faith – what’s wrong with you?” Still sitting there, as I had been for several hours, I shot back, “I know, but it still hurts, and I’m afraid of what might happen to him! I can have faith and still hurt, and be afraid, and cry and be sad all at the same time”, I argued.  And you can, and most of us do, for a little while. But if we have real faith, we will soon be calmed with God’s peace. A peace that passes all understanding, and makes no sense by human standards. A peace that comes when the light bulb comes on and we finally get it: God is in control and we can trust Him!

It was 1996 and we were going through one of the hardest trials I have ever experienced, before, or since. I am a Mama, and one of my sons was in danger. I was praying diligently, and studying God’s Word every day. I said to anyone who would listen that God was my strength and my hope. I said that I knew He would answer my prayer. Yes, it is very normal for a Mama to cry like mad in that situation. But for awhile there, I was inconsolable, acting as if I had no hope. But Tommy got my attention, because with God there is always hope! When we turn our eyes to Him, our Hope comes alive!

In my agony that day, I needed someone to come alongside me and bring God’s truth to my ears. And He sent Tommy. My daughter-in-law, Leigh was also there, and after getting my emotions a little more under control, I flattened myself across the floor, beneath our window that looks like a cross, and we prayed. And I remembered to Trust. And God heard that prayer. And peace started to flood my soul.

Faith is a deep belief that God is who He says He is, and can do what He says he can do. When a belief like that settles in, peace floods the soul. We will begin to walk in it and move forward again. Still sad maybe, still battling bouts of fear maybe, but also calm in the assurance that He really is God, and really is powerful enough to handle our crisis and our pain.

So, Faith and Peace are two more weapons God has given us to win in the war against the hater of our souls and haters of our family. So, let’s suit up today in shoes of peace, holding our shield of faith, and  hang on to our belt of His truth. We’re gonna need it tomorrow.

Until next time,

Your Traveling Companion,

Brenda

 

photo credit: http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/umberto-30223

 

WRAP AND STRAP ON TRUTH!

EVERYDAY
REMEMBER THIS AND DO THIS
  1. GOD IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS
  2. HE CAN DO WHAT HE SAYS HE CAN DO
  3. I AM WHO HE SAYS I AM
  4. I CAN DO WHAT HE SAYS I CAN DO
  5. HIS WORD IS ACTIVE AND ALIVE IN ME
  6. I BELIEVE GOD
  1. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT AND PUT ON
  2. PUT ON GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS
  3. PUT ON PEACE BECAUSE OF THE GOOD NEWS
  4. FAITH
  5. SALVATION
  6. SWORD OF THE SPIRIT – THE WORD OF GOD

“Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth… ”
Eph. 6:14a  (NLT)

“Mr. Parker, may I go to the bathroom?” my friend asked. Walking towards the door of our 10th grade homeroom class, NJ looked sideways and grinned at me. But suddenly the grin on her face turned to a big round 0, as a loud gasp escaped from her lips. As she looked down at her feet, so did the whole class. And there, right before everybody, laid her bright red pettipants hanging around her ankles.   And in our day people just didn’t show their underwear. The class erupted in shouts of laughter as Mr. Parker stood shaking his head at another of NJ’s crazy antics. The elastic band on said underwear had snapped and down they went, and my friend whose face was as red as her peti-pants, scooted out the door looking like Tim Conway’s impression of an old man walking, pettipants sliding across the ground as she went.

That reminds me of our verse today. God tells us to put on the belt of truth. Now, I know today’s story is funny, but without the belt of Truth around our lives, we lose much more than a little bit of dignity.

I believe the analogy of a belt is used to get our attention. A belt is strapped around us to keep things in place, to keep from losing something valuable, like our pants, or our dignity in NJ’s situation. In real life, He teaches us to hold the belt of His Truth tightly around us in order to protect us from the lies that lead to broken lives. It holds us together, and allows us to maneuver the pitfalls of deceit.

As we look at our world today, we see many lives, and whole families falling apart. And it’s not funny, although some love to point fingers as they watch. God’s Belt of Truth is one weapon we have in our arsenal to help hold our life, and our family, together.

We need to learn what His truth is and then wrap it around us every single day. Because we have an enemy whose purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to steal our family, kill our purpose, and destroy our lives. His first attack always comes through deceit – by feeding us The Lie that says God isn’t real, or doesn’t care. That’s what he did to Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Adam and Eve fell for the lie; Jesus didn’t. Satan used the lie to bring defeat to the human race, but Jesus brought Truth and victory instead. That is what He offers to us in John 10:10 when He said, Top of Form

Bottom of Form

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.John 10:10 (NKJV)

So, now we have a choice. Who will you listen to today?

Until Tomorrow,

Your Traveling Companion,
Brenda

GOD IS ONE THE MOVE IN THE HARVEST FIELDS!

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
John 4:34-35 (NIV)

20160319_103959Well, if you are reading this on August 15, we should be in flight back to the U.S. Thinking back on the many trips we’ve taken during the past 7 years, I couldn’t help but to ponder the scripture above that I shared with you last Thursday. Especially in light of my cowardice concerning the ‘jungle”, I saw something I had not noticed before:

Jesus said, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest”. I’ve always focused on the harvest when reading this verse, but because of my personal struggle with, I focused this time on the word “field”. Then I remembered that the field can be a dangerous place sometimes. Rodents, spiders, and snakes are famous for lurking around trying to steal a meal.

I remember one day when our boys were little. While in the back yard, working in our vegetable garden, I noticed a monster snake looking for a snack. We planted those beans to help feed our family during the winter season, so in my mind, that enemy was in my back yard, near my playing children, trying to steal the food right out of their mouths – with me watching! Lurking where my children played meant that devil didn’t have a chance of survival! Grabbing the garden hoe, I beat that snake to death… and then chopped him into little bitty pieces. He looked like a pile Vienna sausages when I got through with him.

As scared as I was of that monster, I didn’t give in to him. The passion of a mama to protect her children overrides temporary danger.

In John 10:9-10, Jesus said the enemy comes only to steal, kill and destroy. He wants to steal our children, kill our marriage, and destroy our family. Many of us have not recognized the enemy’s existence on our home field and have become apathetic because of it. But look around! Families are breaking apart like never before because the enemy has entered unnoticed. We can’t afford the price of apathy any longer. And we sure can’t afford the price of fear in battling that enemy.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

Whether you’re in another country on mission, or sitting behind your desk at work, the fields around you are ripe– ready for harvest. Yes, it may feel somewhat scary or dangerous to step in to territory the enemy now occupies, but we must because time is short.

Besides, far too often we see the enemy threat much greater than it really is. Because that  ‘monster’ snake I just told you about – turned out to be a whopping 12” long. J

God has given us everything we need to share Jesus with those in our ‘field’ – our sphere of influence. Don’t let the threat of any enemy, real or imagined, keep you from entering the harvest field!

He is able you know!

Until Next Time,

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda

For updates on this latest mission to Nicaragua check our FaceBook page – ZMI Family Ministries International.

 

Until Next time,

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda