When Life Is Hard

God Is With You Each Day Just As He Is With The Soldier.

By: Debbie McDaniel, Author, crosswalk.com

God helps you with your battles

Whether we recognize it or not, this truth daily confronts us, we face an enemy here in this life. It’s more than what we can see before us. It’s more than another person who we think has wronged us. It’s more than our own struggles and weaknesses we deal with, or the negative self-talk we sometimes battle.

This enemy is real and fierce. He will stop at nothing to try to bring you defeat and destruction. Maybe you’ve noticed too. Because if you’re a believer who is living like salt and light in a dark world, you won’t go for long without encountering obstacles and attacks he’ll hurl your direction. We can be assured, this enemy hates Truth. So if we’re living by it, standing on it, seeking after it, we will be targeted. God’s words are true, this battle is real, many times it feels intense.

But here’s the powerful hope that keeps us strong: God is greater than whatever we face here in this world, and He fights for us still today!

If you’re in the heat of the battle right now, or if the enemy feels hot on your trail, please know you’re not alone, not ever. Neither are you left to fight on your own. Many of us are in the battle with you, and God is the One who fights on our behalf, constantly shielding, protecting, strengthening, even when we’re unaware. We never have to struggle to fend for ourselves, but He’s with us, always, covering us, in all of our days.

He’s given us His words that are powerful and true, so that we’ll have the wisdom to stand strong against the enemy. As I read these verses this morning, the reality struck me again that Paul wrote them while in chains, in prison. Yet the truth is – the enemy, no matter how vicious his schemes, can never chain our spirits that have been set free by Christ. Paul was not silenced by the cruel attacks from dark forces. Neither should we be.

Focusing here today, putting on His armor, staying alert, and praying, that God will equip

believers everywhere to “stand strong.” Press on – courageous and free – never held back by

fear or defeat.  For God has the final victory over our lives…

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 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.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Eph. 6:10-18

Remember, your battle today may be more about what is unseen than what you see before you. And when you resist the enemy, God’s word reminds us in James 4:7 that he has to flee.

Stand strong my friends, grace to you this day.

You’re never alone.

He loves you. He fights for you. He is with you.

Welcome to the Workplace, Lord

Heidi Krumenauer, Author, cbn.com.

Corporate America has a way of taking a toll on everyone. Universally, it appears the office environment is all the same – backstabbing, rumor mills, brown-nosing the boss, pushing to get ahead. It’s a wonder any work gets accomplished with all the extracurricular activity among the worker bees.

It had been a particularly grueling day with a high level of anxiety, conflict, arrogance, nastiness and general tension among my co-workers. I had pushed through the day, counting down the hours to call it a week, and I was looking forward to spending the rest of the evening at home with my husband and boys.

I secluded myself from the office activities long enough to pray: Lord, am I the only one here who gets You today? Do these people even know you exist? And if they do, can you please help them see what a mess they are making of my day?

I felt very alone – very isolated from people who show kindness and compassion to each other — Christian people. God knew I needed to feel some inclusion again, so He made the drive home an interesting one.

Just a mile from the office, I pulled up behind a car with the license plate “1ST PRAY”. Once on the Interstate, I changed lanes and ended up behind a car sporting “13 COR 13” (Corinthians 13:13 – “…the greatest of these is love.”)

I was starting to see God’s message in the traffic. A couple miles up the road, a truck pulled in the lane ahead of me – his bumper sticker said: “Jesus Saves”. In the lane next to him, a car displayed the ichthus (fish).

OK, God, I prayed. It’s very clear. Even when I don’t always see it, I’m surrounded by You and people who love You.

I continued to thank God for providing such a clear visual for me. But in my prayer, I wondered how many days I, too, act in an unpleasant manner, just like my co-workers were doing that day? How many times do others wish they could count on me to provide a Christ-like environment, but I don’t offer them one? Were there days my co-workers also felt isolated from kindheartedness, and I was a reason for their pain?

In 1 Peter 3:8 NASB, he lists the characteristics of a believer as

“… harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit.”

I knew how badly I felt that day at work, existing in an environment that reflected none of these qualities. Exodus 23:2 says:

You shall not follow the masses in doing evil …”

And I was sure I had.

For years I’ve driven around with my own ichthus on the trunk, proudly showing other drivers there’s a Christian behind the wheel of my car. And while it gives the impression they’re sharing road space with someone who loves the Lord, it’s not enough. People need, and deserve, to see more than a sign of Christianity.

They need to see Christians living it daily.

“For, the one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer, …” (1 Peter 3:10-12 NASB)

You Can Have the Abundant Life Now

By: Brad Henry, cbn.com

2 Corinthians 12:9a “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Here is the dilemma of our lives. How do we earn a living, use the best of our talents, and not cave into pride?

It is OUR choice whom we will serve because each of us has a Free Will. Many Christians are saved, but have no power from the Holy Spirit in their lives. Pride is of the flesh and is powerful for self, but destructive to a Spirit-led life. Let’s look at what the flesh desires.

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:21

What does the Spirit desire?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” Galatians 5:22, 23

So how can we live by the Spirit and not the flesh?

Living by the Holy Spirit means that we give up OUR rights and invite Jesus to have full control of our mind, will and emotions. Our Flesh is our body, muscles, joints. Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions. Our Spirit is the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ when we are saved and we ask for the Lord to give us His Spirit. So we are distinctively three parts. The battle is in our soul. The soul will either gravitate to the deeds of the flesh or to the fruit of the Spirit.

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,” Jude 1:20

To build up our faith we need to pray IN the Spirit and not the flesh. Praying in the flesh we can all do. We just pray with no emotion and our prayers feel as though it is a rote prayer. Praying in the spirit is a wonderful gift Jesus has given to each of us.

It is only when our mind is free and uncluttered that the Holy Spirit can start to crucify the deeds of our flesh. We need to get in a quiet place and ask the Lord to pour out His Holy Spirit upon us. We need to allow the Spirit to teach us and lead us into all truth. I have been praying and the Lord will bring up someone for me to call or a scripture passage to go to. That does not happen when I pray in the flesh. The key to praying in the Spirit is surrendering all you have and all you will be to the Lord. When your total dependence is on Him great – and I mean great – things will happen.

“Lord please help EVERYONE reading this right now to be able to pray IN the Spirit. Through your Spirit, may all the strongholds people have been bound by, be stripped away and crucified. We cannot do it by Will Power, but only by the power of your Spirit. Forgive us, Lord Jesus, for a heart that many times wanders and does not seek you. Help us today to start a new path to you that is not side-tracked any longer. I know that so many reading this, Jesus, want to be close to you, but they do not know how. I pray right now that those who try to draw close to you today in prayer – that you Jesus, will reveal to them the peace that comes through your Spirit.” Amen

Please find a quite place to pray, worship, praise, and thank the Lord. Abundant life is in the Holy Spirit, NOT the flesh.

Wonderfully Flawed

Missey Butler, Author, cbn.com

I want to share with you a beautiful illustration I heard years ago that still speaks to my heart whenever I have one of those, “I can’t do anything right” days. It is the lesson of “The Cracked Pot.”

Many years ago, in a very poor Middle East village, stood an ancient stone well. Alongside of that well sat two large watering pots. One of them was like new, beautifully formed, even had graceful etchings along its curved handle.

The other, not as new yet still useful, had become cracked over the years. Time after time, the pot was passed over by the people with the exception of a little village girl. She had grown fond of the neglected pitcher. Every day she would choose it instead of the beautiful pot.

One morning, the old pot asked the little girl, “Why do you continue to use me, when you know I am flawed and cannot hold the water you and your family so desperately need?” The little girl spoke not a word but carried the broken pot to a familiar pathway she traveled daily.

With her tiny voice she said, “This is why I pick you.” There before the pot was a row of delicate wildflowers that had bloomed along the trail because of the water that had trickled and leaked from the pot. The buried seeds of the flowers had been watered as she made her way home each day. The cracked pot for the first time had seen its worth through the eyes of a grateful little girl.

Just like the not so perfect piece of pottery, the Potter uses us as God’s creations despite our imperfections. Sometimes, unfortunately, we have to be placed back on the potter’s wheel to be remolded. This is not always a fun process but it is necessary in order to smooth out some of the flaws that God says must go! In even more serious times, God will actually break us and begin the process all over again. All because He’s after something within us that will ultimately produce a vessel of honor for His glory.

“But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to Him.” Jeremiah 18:4 (NIV)

Just so you know you are in good company, here are some of the more famous “cracked pots” found in the Bible:

Noah was a Drunk
Elijah was Suicidal
Peter was a Coward
Jacob was a Deceiver
Rahab was a Prostitute
Samson was a Womanizer
Moses had a Self-esteem problem
David was an Adulterer/Murderer
The Samaritan Woman was Divorced (a lot)

We may find ourselves falling on our faces. But just like these heroes and heroines of the faith, God has promised to be our treasure while in these earthen vessels. Hallelujah! We have immutable Deity dwelling in a breakable container. The “Complete One” abiding in the “Incomplete ones.” What a divine paradox!

I find myself today still one of His works in progress. It would not surprise me if one day I discovered, engraved deeply upon this “earthen vessel,” the signature of my loving Maker. Along with it would be the following words:

“Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:21 (NKJV)

Then I will truly be a finished masterpiece, ready to bring honor and glory to the Potter’s Hands.

The Reaction – Not the Action

Bob Noebel, Author, cbn.com

“Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.'” (Matthew 18:2-4NLT)

Greatness in the kingdom of God requires humility. Humility shows itself when pressed for a reaction to an action. It says I will not let what you do to me or say about me discourage me or change how I act and feel (as a Christian).

The world will draw you into sin but woe to the man through which they come. We are responsible for our reactions to sin. My reaction should be based on my values and principles, not on the normal or usual response to another action.

Matthew 18:12-14 tells us the importance of each soul.

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.”

A normal reaction of the 99 would be, “Hey, what about us? That sheep left us. He’s on his own now.” The opposite of humility is pride. Pride says I made it alone and by myself. They can do the same. Are you ever jealous that a new believer coming from a life of sin is now getting all the attention? That is clearly pride. The prodigal son’s brother had that problem. The story is found in Luke 15:11-31 where a man had two sons. The younger wants his share of his father’s estate, goes off and squanders it all, then goes back home where he is greeted by his dad as if he was a king.

The older son is not happy with the attention given to his brother. Instead of being glad that his brother is back, he is jealous. Most people can relate to someone who we feel is not as worthy as we are and is getting more attention. That also is a pride and a heart issue. Pride causes our reaction to be less than Christ-like.

These are types of situations that require us to pause before giving our “natural” or “typical” replies. We have a new nature that needs to reflect a Christlikeness different from our old nature. I, for one, need to be one who like Ephesians 4:1- 2(NLT) says:

“… lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.