10Finally,be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
How are we supposed to be "strong in the Lord and the power of His might."? Well, our Lord is gracious enough to tell us. He tells us that we are at war with the devil, and that we can get rid of Him if we listen. All we have to do is be truthful and righteous, and go tell people of the gospel, have faith and salvation, and the word of God. And also to pray at all times.
What a great church America would have if we did all these things. What a great place America would be if we had the faith in God that he can do all and we can do nothing by ourselves. All of our own work to make church like a show to bring people in does nothing if God is not in it.
And what would happen if we would pray for God's will and bring the gospel to our lost world? He would be gracious to us and heal our land, as 1 Chron 7:14 tells us (it might be 2 Chron).
To do all of this, we need to fight against the devil, and know that He can do all. We need to put on God's armor and fight the battle, and at all times bring glory to God!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
2 Samuel 9; David and Mephibosheth
1And David said, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?"
3And the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. David, the king over all of Israel, cares so much about the promise he had made to the house of Saul, that he asks if there is anyone left that he can "show kindness to." Of course, Ziba answers him, and tells him that there is a son of Jonathon named Mephibosheth. Now, Mephibosheth was a crippled mad, and he was basically useless in Israel. People cast him off to the side. But not King David. He took him into his kingdom and let him eat at his table all the days of his life. He cared for Mephibosheth like he cared for his own sons.
Mephibosheth was one of the least in the kindom of Israel. He was a cripple. He was part of the family of Saul; who tried to kill David more than once. But, David, being the loving king he is, took Mephibosheth in, and cared for him as a son.
This is a beautiful picture. But, think, our heavenly father does this for us in more abundance. Just like David, he takes the weak, cripple, people that are low in our society, and he lets us sit with him and eat. He takes us sinners, and dines with us. Our God cares for us just like he cared for his only son, Jesus. Our Lord, being the awesome Lord he is, loves us and lets us enter into his presence each and every day. How great is that! We could never ask for more. Our God is gracious and loves us like he loved his son. He is such a great God!
3And the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?" Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. David, the king over all of Israel, cares so much about the promise he had made to the house of Saul, that he asks if there is anyone left that he can "show kindness to." Of course, Ziba answers him, and tells him that there is a son of Jonathon named Mephibosheth. Now, Mephibosheth was a crippled mad, and he was basically useless in Israel. People cast him off to the side. But not King David. He took him into his kingdom and let him eat at his table all the days of his life. He cared for Mephibosheth like he cared for his own sons.
Mephibosheth was one of the least in the kindom of Israel. He was a cripple. He was part of the family of Saul; who tried to kill David more than once. But, David, being the loving king he is, took Mephibosheth in, and cared for him as a son.
This is a beautiful picture. But, think, our heavenly father does this for us in more abundance. Just like David, he takes the weak, cripple, people that are low in our society, and he lets us sit with him and eat. He takes us sinners, and dines with us. Our God cares for us just like he cared for his only son, Jesus. Our Lord, being the awesome Lord he is, loves us and lets us enter into his presence each and every day. How great is that! We could never ask for more. Our God is gracious and loves us like he loved his son. He is such a great God!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Today, I was reading, and these verses really stood out to me. They are, of course, verses that many Christians have heard. But, I had never really taken the time to think about what Paul was saying. It never hit me until today.
All we need is the Lord. He does things through us that are impossible for us to do alone. He uses us to bring glory to his name. Our weaknesses can become strengths in Christ, because of them we can glorify Christ so that others may see his glory and accept him.
Could this have anything to do with what I have been going through? I think so. I have been sick most of this year. I have been weak and hurting almost every day. This seems to me to be a weakness that I need to overcome so I can better glorify Christ, but maybe it's not. I am not able to do the things that I used to do for him. I am not able to do the things that I used to do with friends, and family. But, Christ can use that for his advantage, so that through me he can glorify himself. Our Lord is good like that, he does awesome things in the hardships we face. He will use my weakness to glorify himself. I pray that he will use your weaknesses as well.
10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Today, I was reading, and these verses really stood out to me. They are, of course, verses that many Christians have heard. But, I had never really taken the time to think about what Paul was saying. It never hit me until today.
All we need is the Lord. He does things through us that are impossible for us to do alone. He uses us to bring glory to his name. Our weaknesses can become strengths in Christ, because of them we can glorify Christ so that others may see his glory and accept him.
Could this have anything to do with what I have been going through? I think so. I have been sick most of this year. I have been weak and hurting almost every day. This seems to me to be a weakness that I need to overcome so I can better glorify Christ, but maybe it's not. I am not able to do the things that I used to do for him. I am not able to do the things that I used to do with friends, and family. But, Christ can use that for his advantage, so that through me he can glorify himself. Our Lord is good like that, he does awesome things in the hardships we face. He will use my weakness to glorify himself. I pray that he will use your weaknesses as well.
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