Weekly Thing
1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Hello everyone,
I hope that the Lord has been challenging and encouraging each of you, continually working in you and changing you and encouraging you as one of His beloved children.
I’m not really even sure where to start this week because God seems to be continually working on me about trusting Him and knowing that He is always providing. Much of what I’d like to say is a lot of what I had to say last week. Intermingled with all of what He is still teaching me is keeping my eyes open to the places where God is working, and His grace. I have to admit: earlier this week I had a hard time with these things and responding in continual gratitude despite how I felt at the time. If you’ve ever deeply struggled or felt like you were in a dark spot in your life, you know what I’m talking about. I suppose you could say that it’s like the shades have been pulled, but you know that there’s still light on the other side of it; you just can’t see it, or see it fully.
Something that I think we tend to easily forget is that in the dark times and struggles in our lives that are particularly difficult (even if they don’t last that long) there is also spiritual warfare going on. Ephesians 6:10-20 reminds us of this reality. Reading the Gospel’s account of Jesus’ encounters with spirits should make us all the more aware of the spiritual realm. I think in America we like to think and believe that evil spirits are arcane and make-believe - at least we act that way - but the truth of the matter is that they are real and they don’t like us. However, before we begin to think that we ought to fear the reality of evil, let’s be reminded that if we profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He is the one that has victory. He is the one that saves and protects us. We do not have to fear because the One who is more powerful than the devil is on our side. Perhaps this is all a side note, but it is something I’ve thought about considerably this week (the sermon I heard on Sunday was a reminder).
What’s awesome about God in these instances of struggle and spiritual warfare is that God continually has grace and mercy on us. Even when we can’t see His face or hear His voice as clearly, He’s still there. Even when we aren’t as grateful for what He has given us, He’s still there. He’s still working and moving and prodding our little despairing hearts to assure us of His sovereignty and fatherly protection. And because we are His beloved children that will never change. We can have hope because we have God through Christ.
How much more, then, ought we to speak about Jesus to other people? In Ephesians, Paul makes sure to let us know that the reason why people in the world end up not having hope or they are despairing is because they do not have God. There are no promises for them to cling to. Before we were Christians, we were in the same boat… I think perhaps this is something I especially need to remember as I go throughout my day. And in those darker, fuzzier times in my life I need to remember that I have hope that it will pass because I have a God who is present and cares intimately about my life.
I pray then that we would all be constantly reminded about our hope in Jesus Christ, that we have a God in heaven who deeply loves us and is going to take care of us despite our current struggles, spiritual warfares, or whatever else is going on in our lives that cause us to despair or doubt. I also pray the Holy Spirit would continually be working in us concerning these issues and enabling us to have a heart of praise through thick and thin. I pray that we would be grateful people who see God working.
In love and in Him,
Your sister,
Yvonne
Ephesians 6:10-20
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Hello everyone,
I hope that the Lord has been challenging and encouraging each of you, continually working in you and changing you and encouraging you as one of His beloved children.
I’m not really even sure where to start this week because God seems to be continually working on me about trusting Him and knowing that He is always providing. Much of what I’d like to say is a lot of what I had to say last week. Intermingled with all of what He is still teaching me is keeping my eyes open to the places where God is working, and His grace. I have to admit: earlier this week I had a hard time with these things and responding in continual gratitude despite how I felt at the time. If you’ve ever deeply struggled or felt like you were in a dark spot in your life, you know what I’m talking about. I suppose you could say that it’s like the shades have been pulled, but you know that there’s still light on the other side of it; you just can’t see it, or see it fully.
Something that I think we tend to easily forget is that in the dark times and struggles in our lives that are particularly difficult (even if they don’t last that long) there is also spiritual warfare going on. Ephesians 6:10-20 reminds us of this reality. Reading the Gospel’s account of Jesus’ encounters with spirits should make us all the more aware of the spiritual realm. I think in America we like to think and believe that evil spirits are arcane and make-believe - at least we act that way - but the truth of the matter is that they are real and they don’t like us. However, before we begin to think that we ought to fear the reality of evil, let’s be reminded that if we profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He is the one that has victory. He is the one that saves and protects us. We do not have to fear because the One who is more powerful than the devil is on our side. Perhaps this is all a side note, but it is something I’ve thought about considerably this week (the sermon I heard on Sunday was a reminder).
What’s awesome about God in these instances of struggle and spiritual warfare is that God continually has grace and mercy on us. Even when we can’t see His face or hear His voice as clearly, He’s still there. Even when we aren’t as grateful for what He has given us, He’s still there. He’s still working and moving and prodding our little despairing hearts to assure us of His sovereignty and fatherly protection. And because we are His beloved children that will never change. We can have hope because we have God through Christ.
How much more, then, ought we to speak about Jesus to other people? In Ephesians, Paul makes sure to let us know that the reason why people in the world end up not having hope or they are despairing is because they do not have God. There are no promises for them to cling to. Before we were Christians, we were in the same boat… I think perhaps this is something I especially need to remember as I go throughout my day. And in those darker, fuzzier times in my life I need to remember that I have hope that it will pass because I have a God who is present and cares intimately about my life.
I pray then that we would all be constantly reminded about our hope in Jesus Christ, that we have a God in heaven who deeply loves us and is going to take care of us despite our current struggles, spiritual warfares, or whatever else is going on in our lives that cause us to despair or doubt. I also pray the Holy Spirit would continually be working in us concerning these issues and enabling us to have a heart of praise through thick and thin. I pray that we would be grateful people who see God working.
In love and in Him,
Your sister,
Yvonne
Ephesians 6:10-20
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.