Oh Lord my God in you I find my hope,
Oh Lord my God in you I find my Peace,
Yet I struggle everyday, as a sinful and broken man.
Lord, why are you so good to me when I don’t even deserve it?
Am I really as devoted to the lives of others as I am to myself?
Do I have the patience to endure difficult people and trying circumstances without losing the sense of your presence?
Am I kind to those who cross my will?
Am I truly living in subjection to the Holy Spirit everyday?
Lord the answer to all these questions are no,
Yet you are so good to me.
Help me Father God to answer yes to all these questions.
I know that I can not live in sinless perfection,
But I know that I can live without sin ruling my life.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The full Armor of God Ephesians 6
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 saints. (NIV)
I was encouraged last week trough a devotion to study Ephesians 6, talking about the full armor of God. I thought for a few days how I was going to do it. Because God works in mysterious ways, low and behold I went to church on Sunday morning and the sermon was about the Full Armor of God, it was one of those, this sermon was written for me kind of Sunday mornings.
I have a lot that I want to say, but first here is my disclaimer. I did the research, but I can not take credit for anything written in this blog. I am only writing what I found in my research on the Full Armor of God. I have 3 sources, first, Londa Ramsey, my pastor who did the sermon on Sunday morning. Second RealArmorofGod.com a division of Optimus International, Inc., and third Got Questions Ministries www.gotquestions.org. So understand that none of this is coming from me, but from my research. So Here it is.
The first element of our armor is the truth (verse 14). This is easy to understand, since Satan is said to be the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Deception is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes as “detestable to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-17). We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness.
The belt of truth can secure anything that will cause you to stumble or fall when moving around quickly in Christian daily battle. We need to always be spiritually sharp, alert and ready to respond with spiritual mobility and spiritual agility. Also in verse 14, we are told to put on the breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. This righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men. Rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, imputed by God and received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks. Verse 15 speaks of the preparation of the feet for spiritual conflict. In warfare, sometimes an enemy places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan's territory, aware that there will be traps, with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the propagation of the gospel. The shield of faith spoken of in verse 16 makes Satan's sowing of doubt about the faithfulness of God and His Word ineffective. Our faith—of which Christ is “the author and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial. The helmet of salvation in verse 17 is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception. Verse 17 interprets itself as to the meaning of the sword of the Spirit—it is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of spiritual armor are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus' temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!
Think about the sword of the Spirit this way. Each particular relevant individual scripture is a sword unto itself and very effective in battling Satan and temptation. Think about it, not one sword, but thousands of swords. Pick the verse best for the temptation, the best sword for that battle. It’s just like golf, you have to pick the right club for the swing.
How does this effect you, you need to get up and get dressed in the full armor of God, every day. What, you say that you already accepted Christ. Well that’s great, your a naked body with a great big helmet. Oh, you read the bible everyday too, terrific, now your a naked body with a helmet and a big sword. No my friends, you need to put on the full armor of God. This is why, we need to win the lost, and defend ourself against our enemy.
Accepting Christ is just the beginning. God can change a man or women in an instant, but it takes time to build character. All six pieces of armor are imperative to another.The only part of the body that is not protected from this armor is the back, and Paul has a great explanation for that. We are never running away form our battle, we are always on the offensive facing our battle and enemies head on.
As we previously heard, the sword in the only offensive weapon that we have. However, the sword can only extend as far as our hand can reach, so we need a few weapons of our own. Let me give you four.
Number one is prayer. The most powerful and lethal weapon that we have is prayer. And if you have the ability, you need to pray in the spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray continually. This is one of the two verses in the bible that it only two words long.
Number two is praise. Praise and worship will silence Satan.
Number three is the preaching of Gods word. Read 2 Timothy 4:1-4. Even Jeremiah 23:29 says, “Is not my word like a fire?” By preaching, our word is like a hammer that can break a heart of stone. Do you know anybody with a hardened hear?
Number four is our testimony. We need supernatural power to witness with our testimony. With God, we have that supernatural power.
In closing my friends, we need to ware the full armor of God everyday if we are going to win this was. Who’s side are you fighting for?
I was encouraged last week trough a devotion to study Ephesians 6, talking about the full armor of God. I thought for a few days how I was going to do it. Because God works in mysterious ways, low and behold I went to church on Sunday morning and the sermon was about the Full Armor of God, it was one of those, this sermon was written for me kind of Sunday mornings.
I have a lot that I want to say, but first here is my disclaimer. I did the research, but I can not take credit for anything written in this blog. I am only writing what I found in my research on the Full Armor of God. I have 3 sources, first, Londa Ramsey, my pastor who did the sermon on Sunday morning. Second RealArmorofGod.com a division of Optimus International, Inc., and third Got Questions Ministries www.gotquestions.org. So understand that none of this is coming from me, but from my research. So Here it is.
The first element of our armor is the truth (verse 14). This is easy to understand, since Satan is said to be the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Deception is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes as “detestable to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-17). We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness.
The belt of truth can secure anything that will cause you to stumble or fall when moving around quickly in Christian daily battle. We need to always be spiritually sharp, alert and ready to respond with spiritual mobility and spiritual agility. Also in verse 14, we are told to put on the breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. This righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men. Rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, imputed by God and received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks. Verse 15 speaks of the preparation of the feet for spiritual conflict. In warfare, sometimes an enemy places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan's territory, aware that there will be traps, with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the propagation of the gospel. The shield of faith spoken of in verse 16 makes Satan's sowing of doubt about the faithfulness of God and His Word ineffective. Our faith—of which Christ is “the author and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial. The helmet of salvation in verse 17 is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception. Verse 17 interprets itself as to the meaning of the sword of the Spirit—it is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of spiritual armor are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus' temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!
Think about the sword of the Spirit this way. Each particular relevant individual scripture is a sword unto itself and very effective in battling Satan and temptation. Think about it, not one sword, but thousands of swords. Pick the verse best for the temptation, the best sword for that battle. It’s just like golf, you have to pick the right club for the swing.
How does this effect you, you need to get up and get dressed in the full armor of God, every day. What, you say that you already accepted Christ. Well that’s great, your a naked body with a great big helmet. Oh, you read the bible everyday too, terrific, now your a naked body with a helmet and a big sword. No my friends, you need to put on the full armor of God. This is why, we need to win the lost, and defend ourself against our enemy.
Accepting Christ is just the beginning. God can change a man or women in an instant, but it takes time to build character. All six pieces of armor are imperative to another.The only part of the body that is not protected from this armor is the back, and Paul has a great explanation for that. We are never running away form our battle, we are always on the offensive facing our battle and enemies head on.
As we previously heard, the sword in the only offensive weapon that we have. However, the sword can only extend as far as our hand can reach, so we need a few weapons of our own. Let me give you four.
Number one is prayer. The most powerful and lethal weapon that we have is prayer. And if you have the ability, you need to pray in the spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray continually. This is one of the two verses in the bible that it only two words long.
Number two is praise. Praise and worship will silence Satan.
Number three is the preaching of Gods word. Read 2 Timothy 4:1-4. Even Jeremiah 23:29 says, “Is not my word like a fire?” By preaching, our word is like a hammer that can break a heart of stone. Do you know anybody with a hardened hear?
Number four is our testimony. We need supernatural power to witness with our testimony. With God, we have that supernatural power.
In closing my friends, we need to ware the full armor of God everyday if we are going to win this was. Who’s side are you fighting for?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Twas the month before Christmas
*T'was The Month Before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a ' Holiday.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Target was hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowes the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS , not Happy Holiday!*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a ' Holiday.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Target was hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowes the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS , not Happy Holiday!*
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Goals to reach
I was doing a bible study this morning and had to answer this question. List 3 ways that you feel you are still conformed to this world? This question challenged me. A true Christian will consistently live more for Jesus every day, meaning when I feel comfortable where I am, I will not stop there. As a christian we need to be consistently going out of our comfort zones to do the Lords work. My challenge to myself is to create 10 things that I need to do to improve my walk with Christ. You can see the list below. Please help to keep me accountable by asking me how I am doing with my list. Also any positive reinforcement is encouraged. I would also like to challenge you to make your own top ten list.
1. Less gossip
2. Better attitude at work
3. Really focusing on Matthew 25 (it’s not a metaphor)
4. Not judging others
5. more daily time in prayer
6. more daily time in the bible
7. Reaching out to others, especially family and friends
8. Impulse buying
9. Keeping my kids accountable for their walks with God
10 To be the same person at work as I am at church and at home
1. Less gossip
2. Better attitude at work
3. Really focusing on Matthew 25 (it’s not a metaphor)
4. Not judging others
5. more daily time in prayer
6. more daily time in the bible
7. Reaching out to others, especially family and friends
8. Impulse buying
9. Keeping my kids accountable for their walks with God
10 To be the same person at work as I am at church and at home
Monday, November 9, 2009
Thing of this world
As you read in my disclaimer, I will no longer be a man of the world but a man of God. There is so much junk going on in the world right now, and we as Americans live our cushy self centered lives and don’t even have a clue about what’s really going on in our world. I was definitely in need of some r and r, and a vacation was exactly what I needed. Wow, Las Vegas, what an incredible distraction for a Christian trying to live a Godly life. It was hard to keep my faith in the forefront of my mind in Las Vegas, I would even go as far as to say that I took a few steps backward in while in Las Vegas. I missed a Sunday of church, I missed a whole week worth of faith based, uplifting, and encouraging podcasts, and didn’t listen to any Christian music. I did however manage to spend an hour each morning with the Lord, with the exception on once. To be honest, Las Vegas did not impress me, sure there was a lot to do, but the best part of Las Vegas was the food hands down. Jane and I went on Vacation with 2 other couples. My favorite part of the whole trip was not the trip itself, but being able to share my experiences with my best friends. It’s like the master card commercial, Trip to Las Vegas, $1500, food, $500, Extra hidden fees, $200, sharing the trip with my best friends, priceless. And for the record, those figures are not accurate, but you understand my point? We spent two of our afternoons in Vegas, actually outside of Vegas, we spent an afternoon at Red Rock National Park, and we spent an afternoon in Mt Charleston National Park. Both were beautiful. You can see pictures at TheBoxethFamily.com. The beauty of the mountains are an inspirational example, of Gods Glory. We also spent a morning at the Grand Canyon. In a word, “wow.” The Grand Canyon was a great place to thank God for all of His beautiful creations. The last thing that we did on our trip was visit the Heart Attack Grill. The whole reason for this trip was to end up at the Heart Attack Grill. This is where I indulged in gluttony, by eating a 6,000 calorie burger called a triple bypass (it was the best burger I’d ever had). This vacation was planned before I made the decision to change my life. It was also pre paid, so I had to go, and of corse I wanted to go. It was just that much more challenging keep the Faith if you will. While walking around Vegas, people are everywhere, taking pictures and videos with there fancy cameras, people are throwing money around left and right, and in the midst of it all there were homeless people digging through the garbage cans for food. The people in Vegas of corse were 100% completely oblivious to these homeless persons. Because I believe and do my best to live by Matthew 25, I did buy a few bagels with cream cheese, for some of these homeless men. I don’t say that because I want credit or acknowledgment for what I did, but because, I am a Christian, and as a Christian, we need to love others just as the bible commands. Matthew 22:36-40. While doing my random acts of kindness, I was witnessed by others. They may not have thought much of it, but I made them turn there heads, and that’s a start. These homeless persons, are only a small percentage of the homeless throughout the world, there are people of this world who starve daily, who are sick, and can’t get medical, persons are being killed for there beliefs or color of there skin, and the list goes on. But we don’t think about them, we don’t think about or brothers and sisters around the world, we live in houses, and drive cars to work, and buy all of the latest and the greatest, living in complete selfishness, not ever even stopping to think about the people in this world less fortunate than us. Here is a statistic. If you live in a house, and drive a car to a job, you are in the top 5% of the people in the world. Think about that next you miss that great sale at JC Pennies, or when you are angry because your mortgage is going up $25 a month, or you have to cut out McDonalds from your budget for the next few weeks because of an unexpected car repair. Now before you start calling me a hypocrite, I am just a guilty as any other American out there. But, I am aware, and I am making a conscience effort to change the way I think, act, and feel. I may not be able to change the world, but if I can make a difference in on persons life, than it will have all been worth it. I have a challenge for you. You have heard of random acts of kindness? I want you to do something nice for someone less fortunate this week, without expecting anything in return. Bring a meal to that homeless person that you pass by every day on your way to work. The next time you see a buy one get one free, buy the one, and give the free on to someone who could never afford it. And if you really want to change a life, sponsor a child in another country, there are plenty of legitimate programs out there. I always here, why would you sponsor a child in another country when there are plenty of children who need help here in America. I have two responses to that. One, what are “YOU” doing to help any of the children in America, let alone a child in another country. And two, we have programs in America to help children, but there is no place to go for children in other countries. In closing, I hope that I have challenged you to as least consider what is really happening in this world, it’s not about you, and remember, that from dust you were created and to dust you shall return. Genesis 3:19.
Our blessings from the Lord
On vacation there were a few prepaid expenses that were paid to one of our friends credit cards. Three expenses to be exact, totaling $302. I did not know this figure until the day after we got home. We counted the cast that we still had in our pocket when we got back, and that total was exactly $300. Praise God.
Also upon coming back back from vacation we found out that we had accidentally taken out to much money for our daycare expenses last month, we already have enough taken out to cover the whole month of November. Praise God.
Lastly, while on vacation the Grandparents watched our kids, and in doing so used up all of the breast milk that we had stored, which was the plan. This just means that we will have to use formula to supplement any breast milk for the next 3 months until Japheth turns one. We got home and found some extra breast milk hiding at the bottom of the freezer that we had forgotten about. Praise God.
It is the little things in life that God does for a person to prove his love.
Also upon coming back back from vacation we found out that we had accidentally taken out to much money for our daycare expenses last month, we already have enough taken out to cover the whole month of November. Praise God.
Lastly, while on vacation the Grandparents watched our kids, and in doing so used up all of the breast milk that we had stored, which was the plan. This just means that we will have to use formula to supplement any breast milk for the next 3 months until Japheth turns one. We got home and found some extra breast milk hiding at the bottom of the freezer that we had forgotten about. Praise God.
It is the little things in life that God does for a person to prove his love.
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