battle | Revelations From The Road

Shooting Prayers

November 2, 2014 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given in 2007

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” (Romans 12:12). Another translations says, “constant in prayer”. How can we do that?

A few years ago, I heard a teaching about “shooting prayers”; little short prayers directed at a specific issue which could be prayed at any time, any where. At that time, I had been praying for a person at church who had several medical issues and every Sunday, I’d see him and his wife pull into the church parking lot in his yellow car. That color was one of the few that stood out in the parking lot of mostly dark or light-colored vehicles. I thought, I’ve been praying for this friend daily but now I decided that I would “shoot” up a prayer everytime I saw a yellow car. And, it happened a lot! So, I was praying for my friend 10-15 times a day.

As other people came to me that needed “constant” prayer, I added them to the yellow-car prayer shot. Sometimes I would mention each of their names but as the list grew, I just prayed for, “Freddy and the crew”. God knew who they were. Sometimes it was, “Lord, heal the crew.”, other times it was, “Thank you Lord that the crew are healed.” There are a lot of yellow cars on the road.

So, I encourage you to pick something or someone you want to pray for and assign something you see to it as a reminder; a colored car, a bird, a commercial, or an email. Then shoot those prayers skyward, God hears them all.

You’ve Been Scammed!

October 18, 2014 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given October 18, 2014

I knew a lady who came to me to ask a question about some emails she had been receiving. They were from a nice Christian lady whose husband had been illegally detained in a foreign country and she needed financial help from another Christian to get him out. As soon as I heard this, I said, “You didn’t send her any money did you?” Regretfully she had. In three or four transactions, she had wired over $1200 to this “Christian” lady. She had been scammed.

We think we would never fall prey to a scam like that. We can recognize a scam when someone calls and says all you have to do to get a fortune is to give the caller your Social Security and bank account number. Yeah right! Well let me remind you of a scam that we have ALL fallen for. Every day, Satan and his cohorts are attempting to scam you, it’s called temptation. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;” (John 10:10). Satan comes with his lies, deceptions, and deals that sound or look really good; the big flashing billboard off the exit from the road of righteousness is tempting. We need to hang up, delete the email or say NO, I’m not going there! It’s all our choice, Satan can’t force us to be scammed. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). He’s looking for some clueless, vulnerable person to scam but if we resist him, he’ll run off, (James 4:7).

So how do we get to the place where we can recognize the devil’s scams? READ YOUR BIBLE! When Satan tried to scam Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus said three times, “It is written”. The devil couldn’t deal with that and he left. (See Matthew 4). PRAY. Jesus did this often, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16). And let the Holy Spirit in you speak to you about what you’ve read and prayed.

Don’t be scammed. Read your Bible, pray, and listen then send the devil packing when he comes with his temptations. But, if you’re not saved, you’re running with Satan and his crowd and you have been scammed to hell. Say, “No more!”, turn around, (repent), and get on the right road. Do it today.

Lessons From Football – Persistence

December 7, 2013 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given November 25, 2013

The plan in a football game is for the team, working together, to move the football down the field to hopefully cross the goal line and score a touchdown. This is accomplished by a variety of running and passing plays which are designed to gain a maximum number of yards. However, most of the time, the plays do not work perfectly because each player does not perfectly execute his assignment. The opposing players have something to do with that because they’re goal is to stop you from gaining any yards and even to cause you to lose ground. Sometimes the team will score a quick touchdown by gaining a lot of yards on one play but usually they consistently move the ball down the field 2-3 yards at a time. It would be nice to score each time you run a play but usually it takes a lot of work, time and effort to achieve your goal. Grind out the yards, suffer an occasional setback, but keep moving forward toward the goal line.

The Christian life is very similar. Our plan is to work together as a church, moving through life toward the goal of entering Heaven. There are a variety of ways to do this; Bible study, prayer, church attendance, working with fellow believers, practicing our faith all the while listening to God. Sometime it’s harder to do because our “teammates” are off doing their own thing or not following the design of the play. And of course, we have opposition, the devil and his team who are always trying to impede our progress. We may sometimes make good gains but many times it’s the day to day hard work and effort to stick with the plan and keep steadily moving forward.

But one day, if we persist, we will be victorious and enter Heaven. We will have won the prize, (see Philippians 3:14). The great cloud of witnesses in the stands of Heaven will erupt in cheers as we enter the gates. “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). Listen to the coach, practice and study, play hard, work as a team and let’s win this thing!

Lessons From Football, Part 3 – Comittment

November 10, 2013 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given November 3, 2013

There are three types of people who are involved in a football game, really four. First, many people choose NOT to be involved in the game. They stay home and do their own thing; they don’t have any interest in the game or other things in their lives take precedence. They’re not committed to the game at all.

Second, there are those who go to the game. They may wear their team’s colors, sit in the stands with other like-minded folks and cheer their team on to victory…they hope. They’re committed to the team and take part in the game, but from a distance…where they’re sitting.

Third, attending this game are the players. They’re on the team, wear the team equipment, have been through a training process, and are willing to do whatever they can, with the talents they have, to promote the success of the team. These players are under the direction of the coach who has put them through some hard drills but they’re willing to do it because they have a deeper commitment to the team.

Finally, on this team, there are those who do most of the playing; the first team. They’re usually more experienced, stronger, and have put in the time and effort to get to the athletic level required to be successful against their opponent. They get in the game. They get to use what they’ve previously learned in practice in the game. They’re not just on the team, standing on the sidelines, but have made the greatest personal commitment to the success of the team.

If you go back and read the four types of commitments, you’ll see that they’re the same as those involved in the game of life. Some don’t care about the game (church); some go to the game (church) but only watch from the stands (seats). Others have chosen to be on the team but spend most of their time on the sidelines. Then, there are those who have made the commitment to get the job done (God’s plan). Do you see yourself in any of these categories? “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). That’s the commitment Jesus wants.

Lessons from Football – The Field

October 21, 2013 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given October 19, 2013

We are in the middle of football season on many levels and many people are into the game. This week we will begin a series of articles on some Biblical lessons we can learn from the sport of football. Ready? Hike!

First, let’s look at the field. It’s 100 yards long with yard markers every ten yards and areas at each end called end zones. One end zone is defended by one team and the other end zone by the other team. Each team’s name or logo is painted in their end zone. Do we have a mental picture of the field?

Now picture this: In one end zone, the devil and his demons are all gathered. On the opposite end, God and His angels are standing. We see many people standing on the fifty yard line looking both ways trying to make a decision on which end zone they will move toward. The devil’s bunch is hollering and waving from their end for the people to move toward them. They’re making all kinds of good-sounding promises if people will come join them. (Actually, the devil wants to kill, steal, and destroy them, (John 10:10)). On the other side, God is just holding out His arms with love shining out from His eyes saying, “I love you, come to me, I’ll make everything alright.” (Matthew 11:28). Which way should the people go?

As some start moving toward God, some of the demons run around, get in their way, and try to lie and trick them into turning around. As some move toward the devil, God’s small, Still voice whispers in their ear, “Don’t do this, it’s not what I made you for, (Jeremiah 29:11), turn around and come to me.” Some keep moving, some stop to think, some turn and go in the opposite direction. As we look at the field, we see many people between the 50 yard line and the goal line on both ends. Where are they going to end up? Where are you on the field? The clock is running down.

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