And now a word from my Sponsor...

I have been struggling to keep up with the Blog (I've never been much of a writer...) But in going through some old posts from the previous Ministry leader here at Park Free CR, I found one that is so relevant to our messages this month.

Dean, besides being the CR Minsitry leader, was my sponsor. A man who poured so much of God's love and encouragement into me, that I had HOPE...

So now a word from my sponsor.

What to do in times of trouble

Ever wonder what in the world is going on in your life? Ever wonder what you should do when the path is hard to follow and you're overwhelmed with the daily struggle? Do you trust God? Is he really in control? Well, to answer those questions I thought maybe you'd find something interesting that was mailed to me today. I subscribe to a weekly email from James McDonald from Walk in the Word ministries in Illinois. This week he talks about those things, and it relates directly to our recovery in whatever we're seeking freedom from. I hope you find this short article helpful and inspiring. God Bless.

God Is Always In Control; I Will Not Doubt

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Someone has said that doubt is cancer of the soul. Like a wrecking ball against your house, doubt pounds away and damages the structure of the most important thing about you - what you believe about God.

However, if in times of doubt we take our questions directly to the Lord, then our faith increases. We can't claim we won't doubt; instead, we aim toward knowing what to do with doubts when they do come at us. The promises of God and His character can stand under the most microscopic scrutiny. Doubts should drive us back to God's promises, not cause us to back away from Him! When you say, "I don't know exactly what God is doing, but I know He's in control" —that's evidence you're trusting Him. You don't realize how much you need God's promises until your smooth and easy life suddenly turns sideways. That is the time to dig into God's Word and get something to wrap your faith around.

As we've already seen, God makes two kinds of promises — conditional and unconditional. This one is conditional - you've got to do something. You have got to trust in the Lord with all your heart. You have got to acknowledge Him in all of your ways without leaning on your own understanding. If you do your part, God will do His part. "He will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:6b). The wording I memorized as a kid says, "He shall direct thy paths" (KJV). That means He will make your paths smooth — God will make the way passable.

Proverbs 3:5–6 is really quite a commitment on God's part. There are no illusions here. This is God we're talking about. "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14). He can handle anything that's in your path with one hand tied behind His back. A common way we express this is by saying, God is in control.

There are times when all we can see is the hard road and the heavy load. But the Lord promises that if you trust in Him with all your heart, and that if you do not lean on your own understanding, and that if you acknowledge Him in all your ways, then He will make your paths smooth. God will pave the way for you.

Writer Block...  or  Spiritual Warfare???

It's been quite a while since I updated the Blog posts - Partly because life's been very busy, but mostly because I'm not much of a writer and I just can't get the courage up to write something unless it's profound, heavy,  really spiritual... or maybe it's something else...

The Book of Ephesians puts it this way:

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For 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. ¹³

Ephesians 6:10-12 New International Version (NIV)

You see Satan doesn't want us to do ANYTHING that may give someone Hope, Encouragement, Help, or especially, Salvation in Jesus Christ!
So he's active and aggressive to keep us from progress of any form. That's probably why I struggle with writing. That explains why I could never get a handle on my own Hurts, Habits, & Hang-ups - there really wasn't anything I could get ahold of!  But Jesus Christ did! (Praise Him!)

I've been reading a book on Spiritual Warfare by Pastor Tony Evans entitled - The Battle is the Lord's.
It's pretty intense, it's very good. It starts with the Nature of the Battle, goes on to Who was Satan - Angels and Demons - and I'm just getting into the Authority of Jesus Christ.... (Finally Victory!!)

The battle to derail God's people is not new. In the Book of Daniel, chapter 10, we can read:

⁷I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him...
¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

Daniel 10:7-9a, 12-14 New International Version (NIV)

 

Was this "Terror" Satan himself - NO, it was the power of the one sent by God!
Satan sent his forces to keep the message (and the messenger) from Daniel. Thank God - Literally - that His Angels have the strength to overcome these forces - why? because their strength comes directly from God Himself.
(Read the book of Daniel yourself to get the proper context and perspective of this struggle)

This is why we claim the victory of our Lord Jesus! He is our "Higher Power" - He has the power to defeat Satan. In Matthew 28, Jesus reminds his own disciples:
¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Too often, I have been deceived into thinking that Satan is God's counterpart - it's NOT TRUE.  Satan is just a creation of God, yet another, actually the first, that chose Sin... not unlike me. When we face our struggle with faith in the Power of Jesus Christ, THEN, we can do some serious fighting and see real healing over our Hurts, Habits, & Hang-ups.

So when we're facing hard times, when we can't seem to understand WHY we can't make progress, maybe we're looking around for the enemy, instead of looking UP for the Victory.

Jesus even reminded His own Apostles where their strength really came from, to overcome their Hurts... in Paul's letter -  2nd Corinthians, we can read in Chapter 12:
⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

We can be strong!  Blessings on your days.

The Best of Times... The Worst of Times... Post By Teri R - SLP CR Ministry Leader

Some people say that things work out for the best in time. I don’t believe this is always true. Letting go is not enough – we must let go and turn our lives over to the care of God. Things usually don't get better when left to work out on their own. When left to themselves, we have found things go from good to bad and from bad to worse. If we cast our cares to the wind, they will be blown away. But if we cast all our cares upon God, he will make things work out for the best.

We will only dare to cast our cares upon God if we have the assurance that he cares for us. We must believe God is there for us, and that he rewards those who diligently seek him, before we will look for opportunities to commit our losses and cares to him. We must learn to pray, asking God for what we need and waiting patiently for the Lord to provide for these needs on a daily basis.

Learning to let go to the care of God has many benefits. It will allow you to enjoy whatever comes your way. You will be able to rest. It takes a great deal of energy to try to play God. When you learn to let God be God, you can relax and simply enjoy worshiping him. By counting everything as loss, and having nothing left to lose, you are given the freedom to be real, to be imperfect. And by trusting God to take care of your reputation, you won’t have to control the way other people perceive you. You will be able to use all of your life, even the parts you used to ashamed of, to encourage others who struggle with the kinds of losses you have suffered. Let Go and Let God!

"This I call to mind and therefore I have hope; because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself "The Lord is my portion therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord"

- Lamentations 3:21-26