Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Disappointed? Me too.

Good morning my warrior sisters-

Do you ever wonder why people let us down so much?  I do. I wonder why I let people down and then I wonder why humans let God down?  If that's not enough I sometimes feel disappointment in the world at large. Do you?

As I've spent the last few days reflecting on Jesus' birth, I've come to realize that the only human  who didn't let someone down is Jesus. He saved a woman from being stoned, He healed the sick and misfits; He produced miracles and He raised His best friend from death. We live in a time when we need Jesus to do the same for all of us.

Although I wish I hadn't let anyone down, I have. And when I spend time pondering my life, I realize I've let Jesus down too and that's so frustrating. I want to do His will always but life creeps in and routines are hard to break. In 2018, I must break the patterns with His help. I must challenge myself and others and I must not fear letting people down.

In this life we have free will.  Free will to choose Jesus over money. Free will to choose others over ourselves. Free will to love our enemies and free will to seek God first. What does it mean?

I believe God gave us free will to choose Him because, like us, He wanted His children to seek Him, believe Him and trust Him all on our own. I think that if we choose Him we will see things change and mountains will move.

In 2018, I will be calling on His chosen warriors to seek Him and join me in what I believe will be the most important spiritual journey of our lives. The journey will consist of prayer and believing in the unseen.  We will need the full armor of God and we will rely on Him alone to command our thoughts and our prayers.

We will choose Him daily and ask our Father to lead our prayer lives. I have wasted time, I have let people down and I have let Jesus down.  It is time for us to band together and pray.  Each week I will be petitioning the holy spirit. I will ask Him and those that are brave enough will pray with me. I am only one voice in a vast world but I believe the call is now. What we've seen in 2017 is only a glimpse into what will come. Let's not let Him down. Will you be with me?  Pray about it my sisters for the journey will be long and the promise great.

Ephesians 6:10-18 10Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And 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 LORD's people.


Saturday, December 2, 2017

Judging others behavior, right or wrong?

Good morning my warrior sisters-

What's your take on judging the men that are being called harassers?  It's in the news on every channel. Matt Lauer has been fired for his behavior and Weinstein, well we all know that saga. Are you sitting at home judging?  I really want you to ask yourself this question. Why? Because I've been asking myself why I'm praying and not getting into the man hating fray.

It seems that God is unveiling some really bad behavior throughout the world. Whether its within the church or outside. Powerful people are falling to sex addiction, drugs, harassment and pride. This is a powerfully spiritual time. War is on the horizon, people have increased division and hate in a world that should be spreading love. Crucifixions have happened, women are being stoned to death, nerve gas is being used and children have been sold into being soldiers. What the heck? And to top it all off, there are predators out there seeking to enslave girls into unthinkable sex acts.

The picture looks bleak and it's so easy for us to start judging. The church does it best. We act as though we are far above all these outrageous acts.  And maybe we are smart enough to stay away from those.  But what about anger, jealousy, pride and desire for what you don't have.  These attributes are considered the same weight as those that murder and steal. Even our tendency to gossip is considered by God, a speck in our eye.

What does this all mean?  It means that we all need to be very careful not to get on the bandwagon of judging others.  That means we don't judge the victims or those accused. Why is this so important?  Because it is human nature to cast judgment. The judgment is not ours. God is very specific about this in the Bible. It is His to judge. 

Matthew 4-5 NIV states,"4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye? 5You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

I am more aware of this scripture now then any other time in my life. I've found myself praying for the victims, those accused and the families impacted. I'm praying for world leaders. I'm praying for those who hate other races. I'm praying for Muslims, Buddhists, and any person I can think of or that God shows me. The world will tempt you, the evil one will let you fall, and people love to see the fall. I know because I've witnessed it. God has repeatedly shown me that He will seek the fallen. He will go after a person entrenched in pornography and if men like Weinstein and Lauer call on Him, He will hear their cries. And if I do something, He forgives me too.

None of us are that far from falling. None of us have the luxury to believe we haven't transgressed. Otherwise, when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray to the Father, we wouldn't have to ask for forgiveness for our transgressions and for those that transgress against us. Forgiveness is not just for the bad boys and girls, it's for all of us. And yes, we have a beam in our eye.

As God has revealed these things to me, I have prayed. I am praying for President Trump on a regular basis. I am praying for world leadership on a regular basis. I am praying that God would not leave us because we are a sinful nation. I've been praying for women to find healing and to forgive the men that put them in bad positions and I am praying for all of us to be closer to Jesus.

We can spend our time saying horrible things about these people who have now lost their jobs, possibly their families and forever their reputations. We can call Tiger Woods a loser, an addict, and an adulterer. We can look at men with discord and women with pity or we can stand in the middle of a battle that is far reaching. It's a battle against good and evil. It's a battle of being blind to our own transgressions. In order for us to be God fearing women, we must look at ourselves first and pray for those that fall.

So I'm coming to you this season and asking you to stop judging and move into prayer.  Pray for all of us to bond together and to ask God to break our hearts for what breaks His. That's my prayer this season. I pray I become a person that looks totally on my behavior and I allow God to take care of everyone else. It's not my job, it's His.