battle | Revelations From The Road

Watch Out!

August 20, 2023 by Bill Leave a Comment

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: “ (John 10:10)

The enemy is always out to get us so we need to be aware of his tactics and our surroundings. The Bible says he comes around “like” a roaring lion, (1 Peter 5:8), he tries to fake us out. Don’t go for it, watch out.

When I directed the Foster Grandparent Program at MEOC, we had a speaker once who taught the elderly participants to “be aware of your surroundings”, so as not to fall. I’m reminded of this every time I back out of a parking lot. My car has the backup camera and it beeps when something is behind me. It frightens me though when I’m in my truck with no camera and have to use three mirrors and turn my head both ways to see my surroundings. And when I pull out onto a roadway, I look both ways…twice. Watch!

But what about going forward? Which way do we go? “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). We need to listen and follow that voice behind us. God’s people know His voice. (John 10:27). “Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” (Psalm 119:133). Then there are our thoughts. The enemy will try to surround us with sinful thoughts so he can get us off the Path. But the apostle Paul says, “Think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8). Go read them.

We were in China in 2012 visiting our son and were in Tiananmen Square in Beijing when our son pointed to a man and woman looking at a wallet the man had. He said they were pickpockets. The woman would go up and talk to someone while the man would pick their pocket. Be aware. “With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18). We have to know the Word, listen to God’s voice and be aware of our surroundings.

Hold On!

April 22, 2023 by Bill Leave a Comment

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” (Hebrews 12:1)

I know some of us are going through a hard time right now. But we have to,” Look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;” (Hebrews 12:2), and hold on to our faith, hope and the Word of God. We are in a race and we have this “cloud of witnesses” cheering us on. It may seem hopeless now while we’re in the middle of this thing but we have to look forward with faith and hope to what God has planned for us. Remember the “valley of the shadow of death” in Psalms? Fear no evil for God is with us!

I’m reminded of Joseph in Genesis 37, 39-43. Joseph was repeatedly in “a hard place” but the Bible says, “But the Lord was with Joseph”, (Genesis 39:21). Joseph made it through several trials to the victory God had planned for him and his people. God has the same plan for us.

It also mentions in Hebrews that some didn’t get to experience the victory but they could “see” it by faith. Future generations got to experience the victory because they kept their eyes on the prize by faith. As a former track coach, this reminds me of a relay race where one runner passes the baton on to the next person. The last runner crosses the finish line as the winner but the other three runners shared in the victory.

As I mentioned earlier, many of us are in the “dark valley” now but, be assured, God is with us. We can’t quit. We can’t give up. We must look forward by faith and with hope that our victory lies ahead. And, one very important thing to remember: we are in this together. We can help each other, (Ecclesiastes 4:10). And don’t listen to the lies of the enemy that will always try to distract us from God’s purpose of our lives. Submit to God and resist! (James 4:7).

If you need prayer or would like to be encouraged by fellow Christians who have gone through a hard time or are in one themselves now, reach out to someone today. God has a plan for you.

Plan Ahead

November 27, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

Plan Ahead

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Plans are good and it’s always best to have them. Imagine a builder who didn’t have a plan, an entrepreneur starting a business with no plan or vision or a coach without a game plan. They would probably not be successful. Whatever we do, we need a plan. “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (Proverbs 16:3.)

We also need a plan as we travel this Path of Life. We have an enemy who is constantly trying to get us off the Path and mess up our plans. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). This verse leads me to believe that our enemy is looking for someone who is weak in an area where he can attack. He’s not going to attack us in an area of strength. So recently, I got the vision of two strategy sessions that may be taking place in our lives: one in the devil’s camp and the other in God’s War Room.

The devil is meeting with his demons concerning…maybe you. “OK, listen up. We’ve attacked this person in this area of their lives many times before and we know it’s been a weakness for them. But recently, they have strengthened that area by declaring the Word of God so we’re not going to be successful attacking them there anymore. So here on the board are some other possibilities of their weaknesses where we may be able to attack them.” “So, let’s focus on these areas. Do you understand? Let’s go!” In God’s War Room, (our quiet time place with God): “OK, with My help, you’ve strengthened that weak area and that’s good. But now the devil is going to try to attack you in some of these other areas of your weakness. You’ve got to be ready; you’ve got to have a plan when you’re attacked.” “So, here are some scriptures to use when that happens…and it’s going to happen.” “Memorize these Words and use them like the Sword of the Spirit.” “Be ready and know that I’ll be there with you.” “Let’s go!” Do you know your weakness? Do you have a plan?

Wake Up!

October 23, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

There have been several times recently, that what I’m going to write about today has come to my mind. Especially when I’m praying for our country. We’re familiar with Chronicles 7:14 where God says, “If My people…” God’s people have a lot to do with how things play out in our world. But are we asleep? God told Isaiah to go tell King Hezekiah who was sick, “This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.” (2 Kings 20:5). God told Moses, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.” (Exodus 3:7). Are we crying out? This applies to us today: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” (Jeremiah 29:11-12). Are we praying? I think you get the idea God has repeatedly shown me; a lot of what God wants to do in America depends on His people.

The following prayer is what God has spoken to me several times recently: “Lord, SHAKE us, WAKE us, BREAK us, MAKE us, then TAKE us to the battle front.” I feel so many Christians are saved but are asleep or idle concerning the mission God has for them. So, I pray, and for myself too, God SHAKE us. When someone is asleep and you want them to wake up, and they don’t respond to your voice, you have to SHAKE them. And, when you shake them, they will WAKE up. If they are not ready to go to battle, sometimes they have to be broken, God has to BREAK them into original pieces and put them back together, to MAKE them into what He intended for them from the beginning. Then, after all this has been accomplished, they are ready and prepared for God’s plan and He can then TAKE them to the battle front. Of course, even after we have been shaken and awakened, we have to be willing to be broken and remade. It’s our choice. God wants and needs His people to be willing to fight, to stand up for goodness, to be a mighty army for Him.

There is a remnant of God’s people who are ready. I pray that each of us will pray to be a part of it. “The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8). Let’s go!

Idols?

September 18, 2021 by Bill Leave a Comment

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5).

As I was praying at our weekly prayer time at church last week, I had asked the Lord to deliver anyone in our congregation who were trapped in addictions. I was thinking of the usual addictions most of us recognize; alcohol, drugs, sex and those mentioned in the verse above. But then I heard the Spirit say, “Almost everyone has an addiction of some kind.” I thought, “Wow!” And then the word, “idols” came to mind. And I realized, yes, we all may have some kind of an idol. “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” (1 John 5:21). Anything that we would place above God on our list. “Oh, I’d never do that!” we might say. Well, think about the things we cherish: people, sports, social media, cars, food, celebrities, hobbies, TV programs/movies, clothes…the list could go on and on. We can probably add many things to it. Anything that we may put above God is an idol and we may be addicted to it.

So, what do we do with an addiction or an idol? The Bible talks about our flesh and our Spirit and how they are opposite and in a constant battle, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). I could paraphrase that to say, “Feed your Spirit and starve your flesh.” We were born with that “sin nature” from what happened in the Garden of Eden but Jesus has given us an “advocate” (John 14:16), the Holy Spirit that abides within us. We can overcome.

I’m reminded of another blog post from 2009, Don’t Feed It! and an update from 2020, HERE in which I painted a scene of someone who got a cute little black puppy but, after feeding and caring for it for a while, it became a large, mean, uncontrollable dog. Another scene is someone who had finally gotten a harassing demon under control in a cage, starving it, but felt sorry for it and fed it and it broke out of the cage stronger than before. Starve the flesh and strengthen the Spirit.

We have to identify, recognize and confess what our idols are and take actions to starve them or, at least, move them further down our list. If God is at the top, we will be able to handle our addictions and idols. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24).

Maybe it’s time to do some house cleaning and getting our list in order.