Walking With Jesus

Factors That Deter: Obduracy

“Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:18-19 NLT)

Have you ever been working on your car or other type of machine and you ran into a nut you just couldn’t get loose. Try as you may, it wasn’t budging. You’ve just run into an obdurate nut. The verses above describe an obdurate person. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “obdurate” as “stubbornly resistant; unyielding, inflexible, adamant.” Trust me when I say, obduracy is a factor that deters when it comes to being a Jesus follower.

How do you get through to a person like that? You don’t…without prayer! Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5: “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

How does a person get to the point where all they can think about is following the desires of their lust-filled heart? Anyone’s journey, whether towards a life of holiness and obedience to the Lord, or away from Him to a life “full of darkness” begins in the mind. What you think about comes about. What you feed your eyes and ears feeds your mind and nourishes or defiles your heart.

As a rule, human beings don’t change the direction of their life without good reason. When we’re young and impressionable we often seek to follow the lifestyle of someone we respect or want to impress. If they’re a Jesus follower, it plants the seed in our mind that following Jesus is a legitimate path in which to invest our life.

However, if our “role model” is God-defiant, belligerent, and shows no remorse for their sinful lifestyle, that may very well be the path we choose. But the frightening factor is that we often follow our course of choice without giving it a lot of thought. If someone were to ask: “Why are you an alcoholic? Spouse abuser? Money-lover? Possessions pursuer? ____________ and you can fill in the blank, the vast majority of the answers would be: “I don’t know. Why does it matter?”

Our lives are often not built, they’re accumulated. In the small town in which I grew up, a young boy’s dream was to own a nice car. Why? Nice cars attracted girls (or so the theory went). But cars aren’t free. To own a car, you had to have income. So, unless your parents were rich, you had to get a job. So, you get a part time job to pay for your car, to get you a girl, OOOOOPPPPPSSSSS, who gets pregnant. So, you get married and now your part-time job isn’t enough, so…! You get the picture.

The scenarios are varied, but the end result is, we often end up in a lifestyle that chooses us, not one we’ve chosen for ourselves. Similarly, most people don’t choose hell, hell chooses them. Satan is relentless and has no concern for who your father is. He’s a defeated foe and he’s going to take as many unsuspecting, spiritually blind victims as he possibly can.

Over time he’ll harden a person’s heart by blinding them spiritually, resulting in someone who opposes the Gospel, not because they’re rejecting God, but because they fear it will interfere with their devilish lifestyle, which, of course, it will. The only thing to do in a case like that is to pray and let the Lord lead you in asking pointed questions. Questions that will, like WD-40 on a stubborn nut, begin to penetrate the “rust” in their heart and mind, and loosen their spirit to thoughts of God.

It’s a process that may take years, but prayer and faithfulness on our part to not give up on them, will one day, I believe, pay rich, eternal dividends.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Factors That Deter: Stupidity

“This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes – so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to Me and let Me heal them.’” (Matthew 13:14-15 NLT)

In the verses above Jesus is quoting the words of Isaiah to His disciples when they asked Him why He used parables. To me they are among the most frightening words in all the Bible. Think of those in your family or close friends who haven’t opened their heart and mind to Jesus. Try as you may to help them understand, it’s as though their minds are numb to the Truth.

You know what? It’s because they are. It’s called “stupidity.” To be stupid means “to be dull of mind.” Like ignorance, it’s a condition that, at least in a spiritual sense, we choose to have. An older man was wearing a t-shirt the other day that said: “Life is hard. It’s even harder if you’re stupid.” I laughed, mostly because it reminded me of the things I’ve done in my life when I allowed my mind and heart to be dulled to the voice of God. It’s easier for me to laugh than cry.

Think back over the times when you’ve been stupid; when you’ve done, said, or thought things that you knew in your heart weren’t right and would lead to sin, but you wouldn’t be deterred. Years don’t dull the pain of our stupidity, in some ways, the years magnify its heartache.

It may not always be the case, but for me stupidity was a process. As a rule, we don’t just wake up one day and decide: “I think I’m going to ruin my marriage today.” Or we don’t have a sudden insight that says: “It just seems right to rob that bank.” Or, like Adam and Eve in the garden, we hear a voice that says: “Did God really say we shouldn’t _________?” and you can fill in the blank.

Satan is subtle, but persistent. Like a patient farmer, Satan will plant the proverbial seed that initially may not take root, but he continues to “water” the lie he’s planted until one day we think, do, say, or act in a way we never dared dream we would. Most people in prison didn’t see “prison” as their desired outcome. They just started hanging with the wrong people and in order to fit in, they began to do, say, think, and act like those around them.

Many today think religion is the answer to their deepest longings and desires. They find a group of people who look and act nice, so they begin to spend time with them. They take them to church, and they learn to sing songs and listen to people talk about God and Jesus. They hear speeches about God and Jesus that cause them to feel funny, so one day they raise their hand or walk to the front to “accept Jesus.”

It makes them feel really good for a while, but over time the feelings wear off and they find their life isn’t really any different than it was before. So, little by little they sink back into the same hole their life was in before. But why? Largely because the dullness of their heart and mind was never addressed, only the surface feelings that we have when we want a change in our lives.

The only cure for stupidity is salvation in Christ alone by faith alone. Saying a prayer filled with good intentions doesn’t change anything but our emotions. We don’t need to feel better, we need to die to ourselves and let the Lord give us a new life that can’t be counterfeited by religious behavior. Only becoming a slave of Christ, realizing our lives are not our own, but belong to Him to do with us as He sees fit, will give us the outcome that will satisfy our heart and mind long term.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Factors That Deter: Ignorance

“…having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;” (Ephesians 4:18 NKJV)

Ignorance is simply a lack of knowledge, thus rendering every person ignorant in some ways; however, the way it’s used in the above verse isn’t simply a lack of knowledge, it’s a deliberate avoidance of the truth that is evident and can easily be known and verified. That’s what’s killing millions today who aren’t necessarily ignorant of the Truth of the Gospel, but are choosing to ignore it’s implications for their lives, yes, even those who profess to know and love Jesus.

Notice the verse above points out two very real and debilitating effects of living our lives while ignoring the manifold efforts of God to draw us to Himself. First, our understanding is darkened. It means to cover or block from our mind what is obvious or, to use a common expression – is “in our face.”

Psalm 97:5 says: “The heavens proclaim His righteousness; every nation sees His glory.” One application of the word “proclaim” in this verse means “to talk or recount,” with the clear implication that God uses His created world to speak into our lives the goodness of His presence.

“All Wonders” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Paul reminds us in Romans 1:19-20: “They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. So that they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

So, why are people so blinded to the obvious? Because Satan has darkened people’s minds and hearts to anything holy and righteous that may turn them to God. That’s why it’s so vital that we, as His followers, live holy and “separated” lives. Not separated in the sense of never having contact with those who are lost, but in the sense that our lives, like all of nature, can illustrate what a life separated unto God can look like: lives of joy, peace, patience, goodness, meekness, love, faithfulness, kindness, generosity, and many others manifestations of the Holy Spirit’s presence living in and through us.

Secondly, the verse says that when someone deliberately chooses ignorance of all God is doing to point them to Him, it leads them to being alienated from the life of God. That’s why it’s so important that we allow the Holy Spirit to create in us a clean heart with pure motives as we live Christ before our loved ones and friends.

The difference only Christ can make in our lives needs to be put on display, not so people in our spheres of influence will make much of us, but to point them to Jesus so they can learn to make much of Him. Who will magnify Jesus in and through their lives if we don’t? If lovers of Jesus won’t put Him on display, who will? If the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts aren’t declaring His majesty, how will those whose lives ours touch be freed from their ignorance?

And even as children of God, our self-imposed ignorance of the Bible and even the basic principles of godly living, are killing our witness and pushing lost people away. When those who profess faith don’t read the Bible, spend time in prayer, or even attend corporate worship regularly, how can they expect to influence others to follow Jesus?

When we who claim to walk with Jesus illustrate no visible difference in the way we think, act, or live than those who don’t know Him, who are we trying to fool? Certainly not God! Only Jesus can lift the darkness of our lives to enable us to be light and life to those who are walking in darkness – in and outside the church.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Being a Symphony of Light

“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” (Hebrews 11:3 NLT)

What is the purpose of light? If we gave that some serious thought, I’m sure we could come up with a lot of answers. But for our purpose today think of light as that which dispels darkness. In the King James Version of the Bible “light” is mentioned 235 times.

The first words of the Bible are “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.” Then in chapter 1 verse 3: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

If you’ve ever been to a Symphony you may have noted all the various sounds coming from the area where the orchestra sits, prior to the start of the actual performance. It’s anything but melodic. Then you see the conductor take their place in front of the musicians and all becomes very quiet. Then, with the wave of the conductor’s hands, there’s an explosion of sound that is so beautiful it almost defies description, and you’re mesmerized by what you’re hearing.

In my mind that’s something like what I envision happening on the opening day of creation. Only the heavens and the earth were witnesses to this magnificent display of God’s powerful creativity, but in my mind’s eye, everything must have been quiet and so dark you could almost feel it. Then, not with His mighty hand, but with His voice, He spoke, and light appeared with such force it drove the darkness from His presence.

“Symphony of Light” “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Imagine a light so bright you have to cover your eyes, like looking directly at the sun; a light that demands notice! That’s who Jesus came to earth to be. John, in the opening verses of his Gospel, describes Jesus as the One who would bring light into the world. And Jesus said of Himself in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

In the Bible, darkness is compared with evil and light is good and points to that which illustrates the goodness of God. R. L. Dabney wrote: “The light of a holy example is the gospel’s main argument.” What if our lives, individually and corporately, shed such light on Jesus – who He is, what He accomplished for us on the Cross, what He’s doing in our world today in and through His Church, and what He’s coming back soon to do in our world – that our lives were as the harmonic, awe inspiring beauty and majesty of an angelic symphony!

Think of the impact our lives would have on those who don’t yet know Jesus. What if our countenance, our attitudes, our demeanor, our words, individually and as a Body, bore such resemblance to the light and love of our Savior there could be no mistaking that what we were believing and living out in our daily lives was Truth incarnate.

Feel His majestic presence in your heart and life! Know that with the light of His life radiating out through your life nothing is impossible! Recognize in the depths of your spirit that you are His Symphony of Light as Jesus lives His life out through you each day.

Let your lips praise and exult Him! Let your face shine with His loving presence! Let His words fill your mind and mouth as you joyfully share Him with those who don’t have a clue who He is.

Let the symphony of Jesus’ love and light begin in and through your life today!

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Pride Factor

“And if, in spite of all this, you still disobey Me, I will punish you seven times over for your sins. I will break your proud spirit by making the skies as unyielding as iron and the earth as hard as bronze. All your work will be for nothing, for your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit.” (Leviticus 26:18-20 NLT)

Pride is a very serious issue when it comes to God’s view of things. This isn’t telling your child you’re very proud of the way they handled a difficult situation with grace and kindness. This is shaking your fist in God’s face and telling Him you don’t need Him, that you’ll do life your way. What it boils down to is being so enamored with yourself you can’t give attention to anyone else. David Platt wrote: “My biggest regret is my pride — my seemingly relentless focus on myself.”

Unfortunately, Brother Platt isn’t alone. Solomon, often believed to be the wisest man who ever lived, besides Jesus, said in Proverbs 8:13: “All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.”

The irony of pride is that it rears it’s ugly head in the most innocent environments – like families, work, and even church. And, honestly, there’s sometimes a thin line. To me, my wife is the most beautiful, most desirable women in the world. I’m very proud of her, not only because of how she looks, but how she orders her life around her love of Jesus. But because of how I feel about my wife, I’m not going to insult someone else’s wife because, in my mind and heart, she’s not nearly as desirable as my wife.

Pride holds others in contempt; it’s defined by the Merrium-Webster dictionary as: “the act of despising; the state of mind of one who despises.” It’s thinking of oneself as better than others; exalting oneself to the point of grandeur. But the demonic aspect of pride is, we have a very difficult time seeing it in ourselves.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

We can see it in others, which is common. It’s not unusual to see our faults in others much more easily than we can see them in ourselves, but the plot thickens when we begin to put ourselves in a place of honor that only God deserves.

In one of the churches I served as pastor, there was a retired pastor who led worship for us. He and his wife were two of the godliest people I’d ever had the privilege of knowing. In my darkest time, when my teenaged son was battling leukemia, I would often knock on their door. They would invite me in, hug me, love me, pray for me, give me hope.

One Sunday when I was away another pastor in my same church group was asked to step in. But when he arrived and found that our worship leader was retired from another denomination, he refused to be on the platform at the same time as him. That’s spiritual pride at its “finest,” and breaks the heart of God. It was good I wasn’t there that Sunday, or I might have done and/or said some things with which the Lord wouldn’t have been pleased.

It’s an evil that each of us has to continually be guarding against. We love Jesus “our” way because that’s the way we’ve learned to love Him. But we can easily allow spiritual pride in “our” way to rear its ugly head and cause us to do and say unloving things in unloving ways to someone who doesn’t share our view. Which results in God being dishonored and our witness for Him damaged.

As a result, we sometimes conclude that we just need more of Jesus, but I believe Burk Parsons hit the nail on the proverbial head when he wrote: “We don’t need more of Jesus, just less of self. We already have all of Jesus.”

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Paths of Righteousness

“And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. (John 16:8 NLT)

Just so we’re all on the same page, at least for purposes of this post, “righteousness” according to Strong’s is: “the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved of God; integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting” My understanding of all of that is simply: live in a manner that is consistent with Scripture and that honors Jesus.

Psalm 23:3 says: “He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.” As a believer in Jesus, we are given the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our heart and life. He is the One who will renew our strength on a moment-by-moment basis. He is the One who guides us along right paths, and He is the One who will enable us to bring honor to our Savior’s name.

A Broad Path “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

“But” you may be thinking, “how do I know which ‘path’ is the right one?” Satan is subtle, but predictable. He will always lead you down a path that will be the most alluring to you, in the sense that it will likely be the most appealing and emotionally or physically satisfying. Is that to imply that following Jesus is “a drag, unsatisfying, and unappealing?”

Honestly, when you’re a new believer, it may not be all that appealing. For example. If you’re an alcoholic or drug addict when you come to the Lord, short term it’s going to be a lot more appealing to continue to drink and take drugs than to get sober/clean. If you’re unmarried, it’s likely going to be a lot more appealing to be involved in immoral sexual relations than to pursue purity. There are many others, but hopefully you get the point.

When I was a lot younger my thought life was crude and offensive to God. My heart and mind burned with jealousy, possessiveness, and lust, which resulted in mountains of failure, shame, and guilt. It was hard for me to imagine I could ever be free of those satanic addictions, but, by God’s grace and with the Spirit’s strong presence, over time, as I drew ever closer to the Lord, He delivered me from all of that.

“But how?” Pastor Robert Schuller was fond of saying: “Inch by inch anything’s a cinch!” You can’t follow the right path for a day, a week, a month, or a year, you can only follow it in this moment! Then the next. Then the next. And on and on until one day you wake up and all you want to think about is Jesus. All you want to do is follow Him closely. Your whole life’s ambition is to glorify and honor Him.

You can’t gather all the strength you possess and try to convince yourself “to buckle down and do the right thing.” All you can do is open your heart and mind to the Holy Spirit’s leading in this moment and take the first step in the direction of healing and wholeness. Will you fail? Probably. Will you find forgiveness and grace to get up and take another step? Without a doubt.

F. B. Meyer wrote: “The oriental shepherd always walked ahead of his sheep. He was always out in front. Any attack upon the sheep had to take him into account first. Now God is out in front. He is in our tomorrows, and it is tomorrow that fills people with fear. Yet God is already there. All the tomorrows of our life have to pass through Him before they can get to us.”

The Holy Spirit guides us in the paths of righteousness one step at a time. Follow Him and when you fail, His hand will be there to pick you up.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Show Up! Blow Up! Throw Up! Grow Up!

“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church.” (Ephesians 4:14-15 NLT)

What is your goal as a person of God? Are you delving into the Scriptures daily? Are you bathing your soul and mind in the truths that can only be found in the Bible? Are you spending time with the Lord throughout your day, seeking His wisdom, insight, ideas as to how you should allow Him to live His life in and through you most effectively?

Or do you find yourself more interested in what’s new? What new twist has someone put on a “truth” of Scripture? What new insight is someone promoting that will forward your walk with Jesus? What new idea has your mind wondering WHAT you should believe?

As I age, I’ve discovered there’s rarely anything new under the sun, in terms of theological advancements. Most proponents of “new ideas” are just rehashing old ideas that were heresies then and are heresies now. John Maxwell wrote: “The goal of the pastor is not to get people to show up but to get people to grow up.”

While I believe I understand what Maxwell is saying, and wholeheartedly agree, there’s a part of me that believes 90% of the battle is getting people to show up. As a pastor I could plan all the training and growth opportunities I wanted, with great material and excellent outlines, but they didn’t help a single person who didn’t attend.

That’s why I believe so strongly in personal discipleship. If 2 or even 3+ believers commit to getting together on a regular basis and are willing to make the effort to grow in the Lord, there’s no limit to the good that can come of it.

Here’s the process as I understand it. “Show up!” Commit to a time and place and don’t let anything stop you from meeting, short of an emergency. Then, “Blow up!” What does that mean? Paul, in the verses above, refers to believers who were “blown about by every wind of new teaching.” Get grounded in the truth of the basic tenets of the Christian Faith. Know what you know, so that you’re not confused and misled be some new teaching that comes along. Allow the Holy Spirit to blow up those wrong and unhealthy ideas.

Next, Throw up! One of the most helpful lessons the Lord has taught me over the years is to be willing to regurgitate old ideas that weren’t consistent with what the Bible teaches. There are things I was “taught” in school and in other settings that I’ve come to understand were simply the biases of the persons teaching them. But once, by the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I was able to search the Scriptures on my own, I came to a different conclusion, that presented the need to “Throw up” my old ideas about what a verse or verses was saying.

At least for me, that’s how I’ve been able to “Grow up!” I’ve found that great persons of God are rarely dogmatic, except about the basic tenets of the Faith. No one, in history or today, is 100% knowledgeable about what the Bible teaches except Jesus. We have to do our best to find the truth upon which we can build our lives in Christ, believing there’s always room for error, in us and in others.

That’s why I rarely argue about what someone believes, unless it’s clearly heretical, but even then I remember what someone told me years ago: “No one’s ever argued into the Kingdom.” As for me, I’m still showing up, blowing up, throwing up, and in a desperate pursuit of growing up! How about you?

Food for thought!

Blessings, Ed 😊

A Dryer That Folds Laundry?

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” (James 5:16 NLT)

When you get married, “morning breath” takes on a whole new meaning. All the lovey-dovey slobber-swappin’ that you did the night before pales quickly in light of the new odors that present themselves with the morning light. You’d think by now someone would have invented something you could put under your tongue or hang around your neck that would absorb all the foul odors our mouth and bodies create. Aren’t you grateful for toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, and shampoo?

Then, of course, our bodies love to share their “delightful” smells with whatever clothes we put on them, thus, the heightened value of washers and dryers. But our work doesn’t end with simply washing and drying our dirty laundry, we need to fold them and put them away. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would invent a dryer that would fold your clothes?

“Okay, Ed, thanks for the “BO” and stinky laundry lesson, but what does any of this have to do with walking with Jesus?” Actually, quite a lot. Have you ever spent an extended period around anyone with a “smelly,” negative attitude? What if it’s a spouse, parent, child, or close friend? Unfortunately, most of us are reluctant to share what’s really bothering us, even with those we love the most.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that there are times when we genuinely don’t know what’s bothering us. My wife is great about sharing her feelings, but me, not so good. By God’s grace I’m getting better, but it’s typically hard for me to pinpoint why I feel the way I do sometimes.

I’ve learned that feelings can be cyclical. What does that mean? It means that I’ll often feel bad emotionally on the anniversaries of certain events. For years around the end of July I would get moody and out of sorts. Then it would dawn on me, it was the anniversary of my divorce. The same kind of thing can happen on the anniversary of the passing of a loved one or close friend. Even the remembrance of our failures and sins can put us in a downward spiral.

It’s in those times the words of James (above) can give us guidance. Do you have someone you can trust enough to tell your darkest secrets? Yeh, I get it – they’re few and far between, but ask the Lord to give you insight into a person like that in your life. Hopefully, if you’re married, your spouse can be that kind of person for you, but if not, look for a believing friend who loves Jesus and loves you with whom you can be totally transparent.

Because “the devil is in the details,” please be careful that, if you’re a man you’re talking with another man and if you’re a woman, choose another woman. Sharing intimate things about ourselves with someone of the opposite sex can be an invitation for intimacy in other ways that would be damaging to your marriage and dishonoring to your Savior.

Ideally, a small group of like-minded men or women, or even couples, can be a blessing from heaven. The point is, we need people in our lives with whom we can air our “dirty laundry.” The longer our sins remain hidden and private, the smellier they become, often leaving us in a state of discontent that results in us repelling the very people whom we need the most.

Yes, of course, it’s vital that we confess our sins to the Lord, but often the break-through we need doesn’t come until we’re honest with someone else about our sin, shame, and guilt. And many times this can happen when we reach out to someone we’ve hurt or who has hurt us.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Spiritual Warfare

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.” (Ephesians 6:13 NLT)

In yesterday’s post we looked at an early chapter in the lives of the children of Israel as they began their conquest of the land the Lord had promised them. Sometimes I’m tempted to believe that we view physical warfare as more hazardous and difficult than spiritual warfare, but we do that to our peril.

Demons are no joke and the evil that is often disguised by expensive clothes and nice cars is setting the stage for a war the likes of which no one currently living has ever experienced. And please understand, I have nothing but respect and appreciation for our military and police who go to literal battle for the freedoms we enjoy and too often take for granted. But the stakes in physical battle are physical deaths.

What’s on the line when dealing with the enemy of our soul is eternal damnation. When we pray for the souls of our loved ones and friends who are lost, if we fail to take that battle seriously, there could be eternal consequences, not for us, but for them. We must not be lax when it comes to the battles we wage in prayer.

The Lord spoke clearly to Joshua and when he shared God’s plan there’s no indication in Scripture that anyone did anything but fully and completely carry out His plan. That’s got to be our response to His directives when we pray. Looking at the “walls” of resistance you’re facing in your life, how should you proceed?

First, listen carefully. But how? The Holy Spirit speaks in many ways, but usually in a way that He knows we will recognize. For me, He speaks through His Word, the Bible; through authors of books that I read; through other believers I trust and know they live closely to the Lord; through my wife; through circumstances of my life; through nature; through meditation and thoughtful consideration of an issue with which I’m dealing; through pain and suffering. I sometimes do my most serious praying when I don’t feel good physically. But one of the ways He speaks to me most powerfully is through the still, quiet voice of my own spirit. The point is – God speaks! So, our first response must be to take the time and make the effort to listen. We can’t hear when we’re not listening.

Second, believe what He tells you. The army of Israel did exactly what the Lord instructed them to do. If you think about it, no reputable military strategist in the world would have come up with a plan like God’s, yet, when carried out it worked like no other plan could have.

Third, take God at His word and obey what He tells you to do. A word of caution. God will NEVER tell you to do anything that contradicts His written words in Scripture. Verify whatever you think you’re hearing with God’s written word.

Fourth, they watched God do what only He could do, then they did what only they could do. Without believing, persistent prayer we’ll not see the victories God has for us. The most critical issues with which I deal in prayer pertain to the souls of my lost loved ones, friends, and neighbors. I can’t save anyone, but I can share words of life that are ignited and empowered by God’s Spirit, and so can you, my beloved friend, so can you!

God will do what only He can do when we commit to seriously doing what only we can do.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Walls Are You Marching Around?

“It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down.” (Hebrews 11:30 NLT)

What is it that you’re desperate for God to do for you? Is it financial? Health related? A relationship? A job or career issue? A lost loved one or friend? Whatever it is, on some levels it’s like the Israelites when they faced their first battle after finally crossing the Jordan river into what they hoped would soon become their promised land.

Sometimes when I read the Bible, I don’t stop to ask questions, but when I do that, I often miss the blessing of seeing something of real value and hearing from the Lord. The Bible isn’t simply comprised of words on a page, it’s an alive and breathing portrayal of life and death, faith and hope, victory and defeat. It’s a chronicle of our lives from which we can gain valuable insight if we’ll take the time and make the effort.

Think of the children of Israel as they stood on the shoreline of what it meant to be free. For the most part this is the 2^nd generation of free Israelites. They are the children of the slaves who had served the Egyptians their whole lives. These men and women had never known slavery, but neither had they ever had an opportunity to live a life that approximated any sense of being normal. They’d been camping in the wilderness trying to eek out an existence their whole lives.

The men had been well trained, but most had never seen battle and were far from being the seasoned warriors with whom they would soon square off. And to compound the problem, the first city they have to conquer has huge walls that surround the whole city. So, what’s their strategy? They do the only reasonable thing they can – they pray!

And what does God tell them to do? Joshua 6:3-5 says: “You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”

Okay, sounds reasonable. Get a little exercise (the town of Jericho was estimated to be about 1.24 miles around), play a little music, but it doesn’t seem like a very effective military strategy. Yet, when they obeyed God’s directives to the letter, the walls came down and Israel won the victory. Okay, that’s all well and good, but what does it have to do with the “walls” I’m facing? That’s a great question, I’m so glad you asked!

Here’s my takeaway. We must do as the children of Israel: they prayed, they listened, they believed, they exercised their faith by obeying exactly what the Lord told them to do, then they watched God work. Remember, prayer is the work, then God works. What’s my point? For the most part, for us as believers in Jesus, our battles aren’t physical, they’re spiritual.

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Then he goes into the necessity of being well equipped by putting on the whole armor only God can provide.

This is too rich to leave it hang, let’s look at this a little more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊