Worth Fighting For?

"The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” - Exodus 14:14 

 

There are days when I fight with everything I have and still get beaten down. Did you know that God thinks you are worth fighting for?  When I learn the let go and let God do His thing, WOW! I can't help but praise Him.

Feeling Defeated?

The Lord will fight for you, and you can be still.

Exodus 14:14 

 

Believe if or not, there are those who have been taught that the Christian life is a life without struggles or pain or sorrow or anything other than a stroll through Paradise.  Well guess what?  Whoever taught such rubbish is WRONG!  Being a Christian is not easy!  But it IS rewarding.

 

There are times when I feel as though I have been fighting a battle against my own human nature and have been defeated.  There are times when I feel as though I have failed to be the kind of person God has called me to be.  There are times I really would like to just indulge in every sin I used to enjoy because I ENJOYED being sinful.  There are times I struggle to keep a positive attitude when my world is coming apart at the seams. I feel like a soldier who has been in battle too long, and it's all I can do to breathe, and if I hear one more person quote Scripture to me, I'm tempted to poke them in the eye!  

 

And it is in these times, when I feel truly exhausted that I am reminded of a couple of things.  First, Jesus was beaten, whipped, punched, had to drag a heavy cross through the streets, got nailed to the cross, and people made fun of Him as his body died...they though He had been defeated.  And yet....three days later...

 

Second, a long time ago, in a land far, far away, a pastor once told the 8 year old me: "You know, if you aren't bumping into the devil then you're walking with him."

 

When I am feeling exhausted and defeated, it is time for me to step back and tell God: "I am tired.  I feel defeated.  You're own words remind me to be still because YOU will fight for me."

Never Promised You A Rose Garden

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 

What do you do when things don't seem to be going your way?  What do you do when your plans seem to crumble around you and you can't see how to get out, much less the next step? 

When we feel like our world has imploded onto us, it's very easy to blame God, isn't it?  It's easy to say God isn't listening to my prayers because I didn't get my way.  Fact of the matter, God hears ALL of our prayers and sometimes allows situations to happen that will take us out of our comfort zones to challenge us to become stronger and to rely on Him more.

Jesus told us, "Here on earth you WILL HAVE MANY TRIALS AND SORROWS!"  And He wasn't kidding!  We have been warned that they will come so when they do come, we can be prepared and not destroyed!  How do we deal with these trials and sorrows?  By trusting in Jesus who reminds us that HE has overcome the world and every trial and sorrow the world can through at us.

We have to be like George Foreman when he won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship the last time when he was in his late 40s.  When asked how he did it, his response was simple: "I got up one more time than I was knocked down."  And if you have ever heard him preach (he's a preacher too, by the way) his message is "You WILL get knocked down by this world but not knocked out!  When you get knocked down, remember who is in your corner!  God is in your corner and Jesus it the referee!  Get back up because the referee isn't going to end the fight until God's plan for you is finished!"

Thief!!!

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come so that they may have life,

and may have it abundantly."

John 10:10

 

Believe it or not, there are those who do not believe the Pit Dweller exists. Because if he exists then we have a choice to make; if he doesn't exist, we can just chalk our sins up to "human nature" and thus deny any responsibility for our actions and words.

 

The Pit Dweller is very real and very active.  His purpose is to steal our joy and sense of security in Christ, so he can replace it with fear and doubt.  His purpose is to kill our desire to seek God and reach out in love to others.  His purpose is to destroy your desire to love and care so that EVERY relationship and friendship will become a source of pain and anger.

 

Today...this very moment...you must decide to pull out ALL stops and go to God for your warplan. Brace yourself for the fight like no other. The Pit Dweller does not fight fair and takes no prisoners, and gives no quarter. 

 

God found you worthy of Christ's coming to die for you...what worth do you place on His gift?  Is it worth fighting for?  Is it worth forgiving others for?  Is it worth letting go of your anger and animosity for? Is it worth reaching out to restore those bruised and broken relationships for?

 

You decide! 

"What Have I Done NOW?"

 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”

1 Samuel 17:29 

 

Let me set the scene: David has brought food to his brothers who are in the Israeli Army stuck in a stand-off with the Philistines.  Goliath, that HUGE behemoth of a man, has come out each morning and challenges the Army of Israel to send out someone to fight him and their fight will decide the war.  So far, Israel has had no takers and David asks what reward is there for the person who defeats this giant.  David's brothers berate him for pestering the soldiers and tell him he just wants to see the battle.  David's response is one that sticks out for me "What have I done now?".

 

David, it appears, was bullied by his brothers quite a bit to the point he had gotten frustrated with their constant correction, nit-picking, fussing at him.  So here he is again, getting the same treatment from his older brother, and David, in his frustration, asks "What have I done now?"  

 

At times, I can empathize with David in his frustration. When you do your best, and it's not good enough. When you cannot make every event, and it's not good enough.  When encouragement just isn't there, just criticism.  I get it.  I can empathize.

 

We all have detractors in our lives.  Those who want to see us fail, and want to help that failure along.  Those who just refuse to acknowledge anything good.  We all have them.  They are frustrating to us.  But here's the good news, while they may try to make us feel defeated, God is the one truly in control!  And when God's plan is in control, NOTHING and NO ONE can stop it!

 

David didn't let his brother's words rattle him...instead, David went out to face his Goliath and God defeated this monster!  Take heart!  Take EVERYTHING to God and let HIM do the fighting for you! 

We LOVE A Fight!

Starting a quarrel is like a leak in a dam,
    so stop it before a fight breaks out.

Proverbs 17:14 

 

We love a fight don't we?  We watch them on television. Some place wagers on the outcome. When I was in school, a disagreement would very quickly explode into a fight the outcome would settle the disagreement.  We love a good fight even when it's staged, like 'rasslin'. But think about how much we love a fight and love to fight.

 

Don't believe it?  EVERY love based relationship has fights.  However, we have to decide what kind of fight we are going to engage:

 

We can fight ABOUT things that really don't matter (because the Pit Dweller loves it when we fight about the trivial). When we fight about the things that, in all reality, aren't important, what purpose does that serve?  Before engaging in a fight ABOUT something, consider this: "If I die right after winning this fight, what difference will it make?"  Yet fighting each other ABOUT trivial things seems to be our first instinct.  We would rather prove that we are the one who is "right" regardless the cost to our relationship than to take the time to simply talk it out calmly and even agree to disagree.

 

Instead of fighting ABOUT things that really don't matter, what if we spent our energy and effort fighting FOR the relationship?  God tells us over and over that we are to love each other, and every relationship based on love (yes friendships are included, like it or not) are worth fighting for.  When Jesus took all the cruelty that we could inflict on Him, He was fighting FOR us because of His love for us.  When we fight FOR the relationship, we are fighting a common foe who is attempting to destroy the relationship.

 

The best fight of all eternity has already been settled when Jesus defeated the Pit Dweller by rising from the grave FOR us.  

Why Do We Argue?

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

James 4:1-3 

As a child, my brother and I would argue.  Especially when cooped up in a car for those family vacations.  We would argue about who was looking out of whose window, who was taking up more of the back seat, who was touching who, and on and on. We would argue until Dad started to slow the car and head for the shoulder, because we knew EXACTLY what would be coming next.  More than once, Dad told us to get out and run to the sign and back or just run in circles so we could get that energy out before the belt did that for us.

Well, guess what? We, as humans, tend to argue and fight about pretty much anything. Think about some of the things we argue about.  Will Jesus come back before, during or after the trying times? Here's the thing, Jesus will come back when God says so and not before. So what purpose does arguing serve?  

We argue because one group or another believes differently than do we. So what? My job is to be a source of God's Love.  Those who choose to believe differently are no less worthy of God's Love than anyone else. 

We argue about skin pigmentation.  Why? Do we not need the same air?  Do we not love? Do we not weep when we are hurt?  When the only difference is skin pigmentation (which NOT ONE OF US had a choice in the matter) then why make it a source of argument?  

You see where I'm going with this?  We tend to argue because of differences that, in all reality, are irrelevant.  The message of Jesus is to: 1) Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength, and 2) to love others in the same way you love yourself.  So if we are so busy arguing and fighting, what does that say about our relationship with God, and what does that say about our view of ourselves?

God created each of us as unique, yet in His image.  Isn't it about time we started remembering that? 

Are You Afraid?

He said: “Pay attention, all you people of Judah, residents of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Don’t be afraid and don’t panic because of this huge army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 

2 Chronicles 20:15 

Have you ever felt like you were being hammered with issues and problems and frustrations and irritations?  Have you ever felt as though you were in a boxing match and you were on the receiving end of the beating?  Have you ever felt like you are losing ground in this life?  When facing life's challenges, we can often feel overwhelmed!

 

The back story of today's passage is that King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah looked over the walls and saw what appeared to be an army so large they had no idea how they would survive.  Sound familiar?  Look at your bills and wonder how they will ever get paid; look at your refrigerator and wonder how you will ever find food to put in it; see someone needing help or caring (warning: cops are among the most prickly porcupine people ever, and aren't prone to let others get close to them) and you wonder how you can reach out to that person? 

 

I love the key part of verse 15: FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS, BUT GOD'S.  When we try on our own, we will fail over and over, but let God fight the battles and we will see victory after victory.  Our enemy likes to stay in our face so we are too distracted to look to God, but when we are wise to his tricks, we are able to step aside and let God do His job!

The Lord your God is in your midst;
he is a warrior who can deliver.
He takes great delight in you;
he renews you by his love;
he shouts for joy over you.

Zephaniah 3:17 

 

I don't know about you, but knowing that God is not only with us always, He fights for us better than anyone else could.  He's also happy that we are His and He loves us without bounds.  He even shouts for joy because He cares so much about us!

 

When was the last time you shouted for joy over someone you cared about?  Who makes you so happy that you almost can't stand not shouting it out?

 

God loves you more than we can ever imagine.  It's just that simple!

Who Won The Fight?

Not to us, O Lord, not to us!
But to Your name bring honor,
for the sake of Your loyal love and faithfulness.

Psalm 115:1 

 

There is a line in William Shakespeare's play "Henry V" which comes after Henry V has won the battle of Agincourt against overwhelming odds and is given the count and names of those who have been killed.  Henry is asked, "Is it not lawful, an please your majesty, to tell
how many is killed?"  And Henry, instead of being bold and 'Look what WE did' responds with this line: "Yes, captain; but with this acknowledgement, That God fought for us."

Listen 

 

Did you catch that?  "That GOD fought for us."  I will readily admit that I have the tendency to be prideful at times and have the "look what I did" attitude.  We all have that tendency at times.  

 

However, when we remember that it was not WE who accomplished the task, rather it is GOD who accomplished for us, life does get a bit easier to handle.  

 

I also vaguely (ever so vaguely) recall a play where the question was posed to the mighty ruler who thought very highly of himself and is confronted by a priest:

 

"Sire, canst thou force the sun to rise?

Canst thou require the wind to blow at will?

Canst thou demand the earth to spring forth crops in abundance?

Nay Sire, 'tis not thee who controls this life, rather 'tis God alone who rules truly."

 

 It is God who fights FOR us!

United

 I am in prison because I belong to the Lord. Therefore I urge you who have been chosen by God to live up to the life to which God called you. ² Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love. ³ You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, and God called you to have one hope. ⁵ There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. ⁶ There is one God and Father of everything. He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.

Ephesians 4:1-6 

 

Have you noticed how our world has become more integrated yet more divided at the same time?  Almost every country has a mix of other cultures.  Some are adjusting well and some are not.

 

But this is nothing new....is it?  We've struggled with the "us" and "them" conflict for longer than we can remember why it started in the first place.  And here's the bad part, that mentality has crept into every aspect of our lives.  

 

     *   We have churches with pastors who think the church is theirs to dictate and control, even to the point where they believe their control extends beyond the church into any other group they happen to be part of.  Attend a pastors conference or a Chaplains meeting and you will see this in action. If this is true, then it is not a church any longer.  Last I heard, the Church is where we gather to worship God, not the pastor.

     *   On the other side, we have churches with families whose ancestors donated the land or paid for a pew or two, or even bought the stained glass windows, therefore they believe the church belongs to them. Last I heard the Church is where we gather to worship God, not the contributions of ancestors.

     *   We have those in our society who believe they are owed simply because.

     *   We make a huge deal out of things we cannot control.  We use any means to divide ourselves.  "You can't join our group.....you're different!"

 

The last time I have read where everyone got along was in Genesis, when it was God, Adam and Eve.  Things went sour when the snake showed up.  

 

Jesus gave us only TWO commandments:  1) "Love God with your whole being" and because of that you can 2) "love others as yourself."

 

We are not here by accident, rather we are here on purpose.  And we have, many times throughout history, that when we work together we can overcome many things.  But we'd rather fight amongst ourselves about whose lives matter more?  HOGWASH!  If you are breathing, your life matters!!  End of story!

 

 

Don't Be Afraid!

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

~Luke 2:8-12 

As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, I thought I would be "Orthodox" and use this week to discuss the Christmas story, but be Unorthodox in looking at it from outside the box, so to speak, and in no particular order.  So grab some coffee and let's begin.

Imagine you are a shepherd.  Your job is to care for the sheep.  The owner of the flock has charged you with their care.  This means you will live with the sheep, take them to food and water, you will protect them, because if you lose even one, YOU will have to pay and pay dearly.  So you live with the sheep.  You bathe with the sheep.  You eat when they eat.  When they sleep, you must be alert (because the predators become brave in the dark).  Being a shepherd is not exactly what one would call a "glamorous" profession.  After all, shepherds would not be the ones you would invite to dinner or to a company party because, let's face it, they smell like sheep.

Now remember you are a shepherd and the sheep have bedded down for the night.  It's your team's turn to keep watch.  About midway through your watch, when the night is at its most quiet and you feel yourself fading into that twilight phase between awake and asleep.  Then suddenly there's a bright light right in front of you.  Then you realize that there's a human looking shape that's glowing so brightly.  Having never seen anything like this before, you aren't sure how to react.  This is when Freeze, Fight or Flight kicks in, except you realize that you are SO terrified that you cannot move.

In the middle of your mind reaching explosion phase and your heart is just about to stop, you hear a soothing voice tell you: "Don't be afraid.  I have come to give you some GOOD news."

Now.....fast forward a couple of thousand years.....I am in Basic Training in a foxhole keeping watch by night.  Our Drill Sergeants have already taken the opportunity to sneak in and take the weapons from several of the sleeping sentries.  I am determined I'm not going to be among them, so I do everything I can to stay away while my buddy gets a few hours sleep.  Then I hear it!  The distinctive silence of the absence of the crickets' chirping, this was followed a few seconds later by the clear crack of a twig being stepped on.  I can almost hear my heart pounding in my ears as I call out the challenge.  Then I see a bright light coming at me.....   One of the Drill Sergeants, realizing he'd been heard, came charging with his massive flashlight shining in my face.  I had just enough time to yell to my buddy and get three shots off (blank rounds) before I heard the Drill Sergeant laughing and telling me "It's okay Private, you did good."  He told me that the terrified look on my face was far too funny.  I looked to my buddy, but only saw an empty space where he had been.  My buddy had run off into the woods!    

Can you even imagine how mortified the shepherds were when this radiant being just appears and tells them "Don't be afraid"?  When you are upset, how do you feel when someone (well meaning though they may be) says "Just calm down"?  Is it going to calm you down?  

Then the angel tells the shepherds that he has some GOOD news for them.  Okay.....fear is calming....something good is coming.  THEN the angel tells them that the prophecy of the Savior has been fulfilled and gives them directions on where to find Him.  

So let me ask you...when God tells you, "Don't worry. Don't be afraid. I've got you."  What is the reaction we have?  Freeze, Flight, Fright.......or Faith? 

Complacent, Apathetic or Alert?

We prayed to our God and stationed a guard 

to protect against them both day and night. 

Nehemiah 4:9 

 

Today's verse was written while Nehemiah and a remnant of the Jewish people had returned to a destroyed Jerusalem in order to rebuild it.  But as they went about rebuilding it, their enemies decided this was not a good idea and would attack the workers and then re-destroy the work that had been done. Lot's of people would have decided that rebuilding the city was just not worth it, and would have gone back into captivity.  But God had told Nehemiah to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and Nehemiah was going to do just that even if he had to do it all by himself.

 

 When I was in the Army (HOOAH), one of my grunt duties was pulling guard duty.  Most of the time guard duty consisted of hiding in the brush, getting chewed up my bugs and critters, dealing with the weather conditions, just so no one would pass into the camp without permission....pretty much routine boredom broken only when someone came to relieve you.  I even had decided to earn a little extra cash by taking someone else's watch for a small fee.  I did this so often that I had a nice chunk of change and had gotten very complacent.  When my Sergeant found out, he made it a point to enter my perimeter without permission and put an end to my little enterprise.

 

 Let's think about something for a moment.  Why would they pray to God AND station a guard? So we don't grow complacent!  We have seen this in the news more and more of late, people getting killed in churches, theaters, at gas stations, at grocery stores...the physical threat is very real and we need to be on our guard.  BUT what about the movies we watch, what about "I'm too tired to discipline my kids", what about "If the store gave me too much change, too bad for them", what about "everything's going my way so why pray."  

 

We, as a society and as Believers, have become complacent!  We have not only let our guard down, we have fired our guard because "it can't happen to me."  And when something bad DOES happen, what do we say? "How could God let this happen to me?"  Hmmmm.....

What Would You Do?

Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

~2Corinthians 11:24-27

 

 

We hear quite a lot, these days, about Critical Incidents and ways to deal with the after-effects.  What is a Critical Incident?  In a nutshell, a Critical Incident is any event that negatively changes your perception and perspective of life.  A Critical Incident for one person might not be for another person.  But it is whatever incident alters your view of "normal."

 

Look at what the Apostle Paul endured:

     1.  Given 39 lashes on 5 occasions by the Jewish Leaders.  You see, 40 lashes was considered fatal, so they stopped at 39 lashes which chewed up the skin on one's back until is looked like it had been butchered.  And Paul got this treatment FIVE times!!  How would you have handled that?

 

     2.  Three times Paul was beaten with rods.  That is rather like being caned in Hong Kong.

 

     3.  Once the people tried to kill Paul by throwing stones on him.  Not gravel, mind you, but bone crushing stones!

 

     4.  THREE times Paul was shipwrecked and once had to spend an entire day and night hanging on to flotsam to survive.  No life preservers.  No inflatable rafts.  Paul was clinging to whatever bits of the ship that were still floating.  Remember, the Mediterranean Sea does have sharks and they do attack.  And here's Paul bobbing along on his bit of wreckage in the middle of this sea.

 

     5.  He took his own life in his hands every time he traveled anywhere.  During this time, there was no Highway Patrol.  If you traveled, you needed to travel in large groups.  Thieves and robbers didn't think twice about killing you just to take your walking stick or sandals.

 

     6. Paul spent many many nights without sleep because he was working.  You see, Paul had to earn his way through the mission fields.  He was a tentmaker by trade which was very tedious and eye straining work.  But Paul worked so he could share the Gospel.  So he worked more than most of us could imagine.

 

     7.  Paul didn't always make enough to pay for his food and clothing on these journeys, so he went without food and wore his rags when necessary.

 

Do you think Paul's experiences qualify as Critical Incidents?  You bet they do!  How did Paul handle these crises?  He talked about it!!  Yes, he wrote about them in his letters, but he TALKED to God about EVERYTHING!  Did God make his life one of ease and comfort after that?  Nope!  God, instead, used these experiences to strengthen Paul.  You see, crises should bring our focus back to God!  And that is a good thing!

 

But guess when the best time to have conversations with God?  Every single day!  Even the days when life seems easy. Especially when life seems easy, because those are the times where we get comfortable and complacent and think WE are in control.  Hmmmm.....

 

If you have faced Critical Incidents or if you had to face a Critical Incident...what would you do? 

Breathe

Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. 

He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, 

and the man became a living person.

~Genesis 2:7 

 I am not a huge fan of pollen, for it covers the world in a yellow haze which clogs filters and keeps one from breathing for, lo, those 4 months of the year (or longer).  Pollen and the residual effects of pollen make the allergy medicine manufacturers HUGE profits.  We are willing to do almost anything just so we can breathe!

When I was learning to swim, I was pitched off the dock into water that was over my head and told to paddle back.  Let me tell you something, I like breathing and discovered I am not a creature who can breathe underwater.  So imagine my relief when my foot hit the bottom of the pond and I was able to push hard enough that my head broke the surface of the water and I could catch a breath of air.

When I was in Army Basic Training, one of the trials we had to endure was the "Gas Chamber."  It was truly a chamber filled with CS Gas.  We were lined up, told to remove our protective masks when told, execute 5 push-ups, and when instructed we were to give our name, rank, and serial number.  After completing this string of tasks, we would be instructed to exit the chamber.  Honestly, fresh air was one of my favorite memories of that experience.

You see, God created us.  Not only did He create us, God made us in HIS image!  Not only did God create us in His image, He breathed life into us! 

Should you ever feel frustrated, depressed, or feel as if life is no longer worth your time, remember this one thing: You carry within you God's Breath of Life!  God gave it to you for a specific reason and if you had no reason to be here, He would not have breathed into you.

Carry God's Breath and know He loves you! 

With All That's Going On In The World...

Don’t be too quick to get angry

    because anger lives in the fool’s heart.

Ecclesiastes 7:9

 

We argue and fight for any number of stupid reasons, let's be honest.  Sadly, these altercations don't really resolve anything.  They do tend to make divisions even more prevalent.  They do tend to make the participants look less than the brightest candle on the cake.  So why are we so quick to be offended and angry?  Why are we so quick to jump from discussion to brawl?

 

We have learned somewhere along the way that if you poke me in the eye, then I will shoot you in the head and believe I win (from inside the prison cell).  We seem to have lost the ability to articulate and reason together.  We seem to have lost the ability to have respect for others or ourselves for that matter.  We are quick to DEMAND respect, instead of earning it.  We are also quick to disrespect others who disagree with us.

 

Notice the verse doesn't say "Don't get angry" because there are times when we should be angry (when a child is abused or an elderly person is attacked).  The verse says "Don't be too quick to get angry."  Count to 10 (as my Grampa used to say).  Take a stick and whack a tree with it.  Go chop some firewood.  Go for a run or walk.  Why? Because we, as humans, are very prone to knee-jerk reactions instead of planned actions.  It's easier to escalate than to discuss.  It's easier to talk over everyone else than to actually listen to their point of view.

 

Easy is not always the best!