FROM: Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
ABOUT ME: Living the highs and lows of life in the adventurous pursuit of God Himself and of who I'm meant to be as the Bride of Christ.
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009,7:33 p.m.
BLACK IS, AFTER ALL, WHITE
Even in our darkest times, what is happening - from beginning to end - is as clear as bright daylight to God.
Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
(Psalm 139:12)
Friday, October 16, 2009,10:06 p.m.
THE SHIELD OF FAITH
I was reading through some of my journal entries from the last few months, and came across this one which I thought I would share. I was digesting Ephesians 6:16 and the Lord was giving me some words about faith.
After questioning the Lord about faith and the shield of faith, He spoke these words to me:
"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16)
After questioning the Lord about faith and the shield of faith, He spoke these words to me:
"The shield of faith must penetrate and permeate all areas of your life. It cannot be a shield in one area and a crutch in another, something that you lean on when you are tired. It must be upheld, it must be placed in the position where it will do what it was designed to do. Lift up your shield, warrior daughter, and use it the way it was intended to be used.
"You need to raise up your shield and believe that the things that I have designed for your life are good, and that they are coming to pass. You must not lower your shield every time something – an arrow of any kind – hits it from the outside. Once you lower your shield, it is easier for more arrows to come, and they will come in that moment. Keep your shield high. Let it cover you. Let your faith in Me and My workings cover you. Let it protect you while you heal from the arrows that have reached you. Do not lean on your shield; hold it up."
[This came with a picture of a shield that is quite long – it covers much of my body when I hold it up in front of me. But it is sometimes heavy and when it is hit by a blow from my enemy, it makes me weary, and so I rest it on the ground and lean on it because I’m tired. But this leaves me exposed (or more exposed than I was – it still covers me somewhat) to receiving more injurious blows from my enemy and more arrows can get directly to me.]
"Stay in My Word. The more you are in My Word and feeding from it, the more You will be using a combination of the shield and the sword. When you are using both you begin to now go on the offensive, instead of just the defensive. The defensive position is a position of fear and an enemy can break down that defence if they simply use repeated blows, especially repeated blows in the same area. The warrior who uses both the shield and the sword will use the sword for defence and also for offence. This is a stronger position. Soak in My Word. Know it, eat it. Be like Ezekiel and eat the scroll. Let it be your life. That Word is Me, and I am your life."
"You need to raise up your shield and believe that the things that I have designed for your life are good, and that they are coming to pass. You must not lower your shield every time something – an arrow of any kind – hits it from the outside. Once you lower your shield, it is easier for more arrows to come, and they will come in that moment. Keep your shield high. Let it cover you. Let your faith in Me and My workings cover you. Let it protect you while you heal from the arrows that have reached you. Do not lean on your shield; hold it up."
[This came with a picture of a shield that is quite long – it covers much of my body when I hold it up in front of me. But it is sometimes heavy and when it is hit by a blow from my enemy, it makes me weary, and so I rest it on the ground and lean on it because I’m tired. But this leaves me exposed (or more exposed than I was – it still covers me somewhat) to receiving more injurious blows from my enemy and more arrows can get directly to me.]
"Stay in My Word. The more you are in My Word and feeding from it, the more You will be using a combination of the shield and the sword. When you are using both you begin to now go on the offensive, instead of just the defensive. The defensive position is a position of fear and an enemy can break down that defence if they simply use repeated blows, especially repeated blows in the same area. The warrior who uses both the shield and the sword will use the sword for defence and also for offence. This is a stronger position. Soak in My Word. Know it, eat it. Be like Ezekiel and eat the scroll. Let it be your life. That Word is Me, and I am your life."
Thursday, October 08, 2009,9:39 p.m.
SYMPTOMS OF TROUBLE
Holy smokes it's been a long time since I blogged! Yikes - my apologies.
Just a tidbit tonight, from a sermon I heard a few months back. The sermon was entitled "The Perils of Prosperity" but it was not, nor do I mean this to be, an attack against the blessings of prosperity that God gives. It is instead a great little checklist to go through to see if we are perhaps losing any perspective on the blessings - monetary or otherwise - that God gives.
The preacher gave four symptoms of peril:
1. Ungratefulness
2. Entitlement
3. Hesitance to give generously
4. Dissatisfaction
For myself, I think the second is a danger I sometimes fall into, either about something I have or something I want. That little list - that I found jotted down in the inside cover of my Bible - is a good reminder to remain aware that every gift comes from God alone.
And He gives good gifts.
Just a tidbit tonight, from a sermon I heard a few months back. The sermon was entitled "The Perils of Prosperity" but it was not, nor do I mean this to be, an attack against the blessings of prosperity that God gives. It is instead a great little checklist to go through to see if we are perhaps losing any perspective on the blessings - monetary or otherwise - that God gives.
The preacher gave four symptoms of peril:
1. Ungratefulness
2. Entitlement
3. Hesitance to give generously
4. Dissatisfaction
For myself, I think the second is a danger I sometimes fall into, either about something I have or something I want. That little list - that I found jotted down in the inside cover of my Bible - is a good reminder to remain aware that every gift comes from God alone.
And He gives good gifts.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)