WARFARE

Have you seen the movie entitled "War room"?

If you haven't, well, do yourself a favour...

WOW!

In war, or any battle, especially spiritual warfare, you need a few things:

You need to know your enemy;
you need to know what the battle is all about;
you need to know your strength;
you need to wear your armour;
you need to know your weapons and how to use them;
you need to know and trust your Commander;
you need to fight in unity.

Eph. 6:12 says :

             "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
             against  powers, against  the  rulers of  the  darkness of  this  age, against
             spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

The enemy identified.

1 Peter 5: 8:

              "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like
               a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

His aim and purpose exposed.

Hab: 3:19:

               "The Lord God is my strength, He will make my feet like deer's feet,
               and He will make me walk on my high hills."

Your strength is declared.

Eph. 6:13:

               "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you my be able to withstand
               in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

Your protection and strategy.

Eph. 6:14-18:

               "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breast-
               plate of of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the
               gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be
               able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of
               salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always
               with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
               perseverence and supplication for all the saints-"

Your armour and weapons are explained and always available.

Col. 1:18:

                 "And He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning,
                 the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."

He is your Commander.

John 17:20-21:

                  "I (Christ) do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in
                  Me through their word; that they all may be one as You, Father, are in Me,
                  and I in You; that that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe
                  that You sent Me."

Unity.

Matt. 20: 18-20:

                 "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to
                 Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
                 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
                 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
                 with you always, even to the end of the age."

Your mission.

When you watch the movie "War room" you will observe all the above principles taking place in so many easy steps for you to follow. Go and triumph. The battle is God's; the victory yours!

Thank You, Lord God, that Your word is explicit in its explanations and orders; trustworthy and easy to obey!

TO BELIEVE AND CONFESS

Under the heading "Jesus forgives and heals a paralytic" we read in Matthew 9 from verse 4:

                 "But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your
                 hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you.' or to say,
                 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power
                 on earth to forgive sins' " - then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up
                 your bed, and go to your house".

We learn a number of things from this passage of Scripture:

One: Jesus, the Son of God, knows our thoughts - the thoughts of all people.
Two: He is capable of healing the sick.
Three: He has the power to forgive sins.
Four: He desires to do both.
Five: He uttered to words : "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house" to the paralytic - and he was healed.

Jesus Himself believed and knew that He was able to and had the power to heal and forgive.

In the same chapter, from verse 18 we read of two more miracles. In verse 20 we read:

                  "And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years
                  came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to
                  herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."

Again we learn a few things from this woman:

One: She believed that Jesus could heal her.
Two: She said so to herself. She spoke the words; she confessed her faith.
Three: She extended her faith, her words, into action - she touched His garment.

Many of us believe....

We believe that we are sinners;
we believe that Jesus is Lord;
we believe that He can and wants to forgive us;
we believe that He can heal us;
we ask for His forgiveness;
we ask for healing;
we may even believe that He has forgiven us, healed us, but we fail to confess it and so we hinder our faith from going into action.

Believe it, say it, see it - act upon it!

Thank You, Lord, that You and You alone are able and willing to forgive our multiple sins and heal us and create in us a new man/woman to Your glory.
                

GLORY OR SERVITUDE?

 

 

I have been earnestly seeking God's face wanting to see more of His glory in my life.

 

During the night, the question arose in my heart, "What exactly do you want from God?"

 

This morning, I decided to find out the meaning of the word glory:

 

The Strong's New Exhaustive Bible Dictionary I consulted, has a number of meanings for this word: weight, splendour, copiousness, honour, magnificence, beauty, comeliness, excellency, majesty, to be clear, also of sound, but usually of colour,  hence to make a show, and in a bad sense it could therefor mean also to boast, and thus to be (clamorously) foolish, to rave, to be exalted above others.....

 

That is as far as I got determining the meaning of the word, when suddenly the small still voice that we all know, said to me:

 

"but that is not at all what I have in mind for you, my child. I specifically sent My Son, Jesus, to the earth to set the perfect example for you: even when He rode into Jerusalem and was hailed King by the crowds, He did so on a donkey. His whole life on earth was dedicated to service to others, to washing the feet of His disciples, to a life of dedication to My will; to obedience unto death. That is what I have in mind for you."

 

And that is and will be enough for me.

 

                    "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into

                     His hands, and that He had come from God and was

                     going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His

                     garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that,

                     He poured water into a basin and began to wash the

                     disciples' feet, and to wipe  them with the towel with

                     which He was girded." John 13:3-5

 

God's glory belongs to Him to distribute as He thinks fit.

 

Thank You, Lord, that You are always there to answer our questions, and to indicate the correct path that you wish us to follow; that You have provided the only true example we will ever need.

REMEMBERING WHO?

We watched the movie War Room for the second time last night...

You come away not  remembering the  arguments  between the husband and wife; your  memories are not really about the lack of attention the young  daughter experienced, or  the  deception of  the  husband, or  even  the  names of  the  characters - the lasting memories  are  those of the two prayer closets, the prayer warrior, and the faithfulness of Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ.

We would all like to be remembered for being perfect and for our perfect lives, don't we? But we can never attain that.

But if we remember during our lifetimes that we have our being in Him and that:

            "For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we
            live we  live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore,
            whether we live or die, we are the Lord's." (Romans 14:7-8)

remembering Him in all our ways; loving and serving others as Jesus did, then, when we die, He will be remembered!

What a wonderful legacy that would be to leave to the world and our loved ones!

Father God, thank You for your legacy to us - your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Your Holy Spirit and your inspired Word. Help us to leave a legacy of love, servitude and devotion that will point our loved ones to You even when we are no longer around.



GOD CANNOT NOT DELIVER

God's promises are true - He cannot not deliver.

2 Cor.1:20 says:

          "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes and in Him Amen,
          to the glory of God through us."

Isaiah 48:11:

           "For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should
           My name be profaned. And I will not give My glory to another."

God will keep and perform His promises. We do not have to concern ourselves with that. His promises are set and cast by His spiritual laws. He is God. Nothing is impossible to Him.

We need only concern ourselves with keeping the conditions attached to His promises for them to be performed in our lives. The conditions also, form part of the spiritual laws by which His promised are governed.

Thank You, Lord, that because You are God, and because Your glory cannot be shared, You will keep and perform you promises. Help us to fulfil the conditions attached to Your promises, so that Your glory can shine forth in our lives and your faithfulness shall shine in and through us.

GOOD NEWS!

Up to now, this has been a day of beauty and good news.

My granddaughter, Melissa, is attending grade 1 this year and school started today. Her new teacher is young, beautiful and according to the photograph I have just received, her smile radiates friendliness and the ability to care.

Melissa is very excited about this new adventure in her life, and so are her parents. She is their first-born, so this is also a new and exciting experience for them.

I have just learned that my youngest sister's youngest daughter is pregnant with her second child!
What a blessing! What a joy to look forward to!

I have received, via my cellphone, lovely photo's of Melissa in her new schoolwear, her teacher, my sister's four grandchildren and all these lovely smiley faces have definitely put a smile on my face also.

Another photo I received is of my sister's husband. His head is prematurely bald, and I can see that his face is quite swollen, due to the last chemotherapy treatment he underwent a few days ago, but, standing with a grandchild on his arm, there is a big smile on his face as well.

That smile, in the circumstances, is priceless!

A good day full of good news and smiles.

I want to add to the good news of the day:

John 3:16 :

              "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
              Son, that whoever believed in Him should not perish, but have
              everlasting life."

Thank You, Lord, for a wonderful day, for good news, for lovely smiles. Thank You that in You we have the ability to smile at and in the storms of life, because we know that You are with us and eternal life is as much a  reality as the sun shining on this beautiful morning.

I can recommend the following books from my personal library :

TITLE:                                                                                   AUTHOR

Tuesdays with Morrie                                                             Mitch Albom
Pride and Prejudice                                                                 Jane Austen
The Secret Scripture                                                               Sebastian Barry
Die Indringer                                                                          Dricky Beukes
Eiland van Toevlug                                                                Terri Blackstock
Royal Pardon                                                                          William Bosch
Tabernakel                                                                              Annelie Botes
Branded by Grace                                                                   Chippy Brand
Living without Liesl                                                               Douwleen Bredenhann
Die Hemel verander alles                                                       Todd & Sonja Burpo
Die Belofte                                                                              Kim & Krickitt Carpenter
Man of Two worlds                                                                William Cibane
Spore op die Bergpad                                                             Ben Conradie
the one year devotions with Jesus                                          Joshua Cooley
Run, baby run                                                                         Nicky Cruz
Little Dorritt                                                                           Charles Dickens
The old Curiosity Shop                                                          Charles Dickens
Diepsinnig maar tog so eenvoudig                                         David du Plessis
Swing lo, swing hi                                                                  SJ du Toit
Whale Capital Chronicles 1                                                    SJ du Toit
The Left-out Ones                                                                   Lorna Eglin
Hedendaagse Wonderwerke                                                   Frank Foglio
Hey God                                                                                  Frank Foglio
Cranford                                                                                  Mrs. Gaskell
Ons Grootste Taak                                                                  Norval Geldenhuys
How to be born again                                                              Billy Graham
A Painted house                                                                      John Grisham
The Rainmaker                                                                       John Grisham
Good Morning Holy Spirit                                                     Benny Hinn
Where Yesterday Lives                                                          Karen Kingsbury
Pippie                                                                                      Anice Kruger
Die Heilige Gees in Aksie vandag                                          PD le Roux
Studies in die Bevryding van die Gees                                   PD Le Roux
Granate bloei in Jerusalem                                                      Marzanne Leroux-Van der Boon
Eugene Aram                                                                          Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton
Not without my Daughter                                                       Betty Mahmoody
A Man called Peter                                                                 Catherine Marshall
To live again                                                                           Catherine Marshall
Fanie word Grootwildjagter                                                    PJ Schoeman
Treasure Island                                                                        RL Stevenson
Shooting the Moon                                                                 Callie & Monique Strydom
Genoveva                                                                                Chr. v Schmid
Meet Mrs. Smith                                                                     Anna Smith
The Amplified Bible                                                               Various authors
Moed vir elke more                                                                 Milanie Vosloo
Die Natuurwonder van Suider-Afrika                                    Alf Wannenburgh
My eie Droomreis                                                                   Bruce Wilkinson