Hey! Where's my coffee?

It's been a WHILE since I posted anything, but I wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about the 2014 blog challenge. No really....I didn't!

Wait, did I leave my coffee mug in the microwave again? (I am prone to do that more often than I'd like to admit. LOL)

This challenge has still been on my mind and I've been learning so much about who I am in Christ. This year, it has become painfully obvious that part of my identity is that I am an enemy of Satan. In March, I was hospitalized for asthma and bronchitis. I've never been diagnosed with asthma before and never really had a major issue with it...until March. For a while, my family wondered if I'd even survive. I wondered that myself for a little bit, but then God reminded me who likes to steal, kill, and destroy.

Ah, yes. Him.

Then something strange happened. I remembered that Scripture tells us to count it all joy when we face trials and persecution. Those trials and that persecution don't always come through people and this year I have experienced my fair share of attacks. I had a soft, gentle reminder that it is an HONOR to be under attack from the enemy and I suddenly felt humbled and unworthy of my attack. I know that I am far from perfect and I don't always get it right (ok, I rarely get it right), so I couldn't understand what Satan saw in me that was worth assaulting.

It wasn't me. He saw JESUS! He saw my new identity. My frustration and fear turned into joy and peace! My lips began to praise the Father at every chance I got.

{insert Rocky theme song here}

I began to fight, not in my own human strength, but with the strength of a child of the King. Spiritual battles are way different when you remember and walk in your new identity in Christ! Praise Jesus!

So that battle was over and others began. It's not like he's going to give up, but neither does God. My most recent battle was financial. Someone got access to my husband's bank account card and used every last cent we had in there. I've never seen my husband so crushed, broken, and violated. It was heartbreaking to watch, but then again....something strange happened.

Normally, I am the one to fall apart when finances aren't feeling very safe (you know women and their need for security), but that Divine strength flowed through me again and whispered, "It's OK. It's all going to be fine. I've got this."  Boy was that true! We shared our prayer request with a few friends and family members and God got straight to work. So many sacrificial gifts were given to us to help us through this rough time. From gas and toilet paper to funds and prayer support, God took care of every single need and then some! We have been so blessed and emotionally overwhelmed at the goodness of God and the generosity of his people who were walking in THEIR identity.

Realizing and walking in our identity as Christ followers is a beautiful thing! It blesses others, glorifies God, and puts the devil in his place. So here is my charge:

1. Be fierce in the way you follow and chase after God!
2. Be fierce in the way you walk in your NEW identity in Christ!
3. Be fierce in battle with your enemy!
4. Be fierce in your trust of and obedience to the Father!

{insert your own Rocky theme music here}

GOD IS GOOD!

Rocky Balboa Faith

Few things motivate me as much as Rocky movies (except, of course, The Karate Kid). Every time I watch one, I get caught up in his personal struggles with Adrian, his challenges as a boxer, his cocky and aggressive enemies, and his never ending internal debate on whether he should give up or fight these big, scary dudes. He always seems to wonder if he has any fight left in him or if he has what it takes to even stand in the same ring with his challengers.

 

There is always some element in each of his opponents that makes him fearful or intimidated. He goes through a season of self-doubt or even pity, does a lot of soul searching, has a few long talks with his trainer, and somehow along the way, he makes the decision to fight. However, he never wants to fight in his current condition. He knows if he is going to have a "fighting chance," he will have to train and become even stronger.

 

 Source: The Wallpaper HD

 

He uses his struggles to become a better and stronger fighter.

 

Of course, he always has his ups and downs. When he has those weak moments, though, his trainer is always on his side. He might be telling him some things that are hard to hear; he may challenge him and push him the whole time, but it is only because he believes in Rocky and knows what it takes to make him "rise up to the challenge" of his rival. (Wink, wink...I hope you caught that!)  

 

In all that Rocky faced (poverty, family struggles, intimidating enemies, age disadvantages, low self-esteem, etc.), he never lost the love and support of his trainer. He never gave up on him and knew how to help Rocky become victorious (hint: more than a conqueror) in every battle he faced.

 

Now, I bet you may have never considered Rocky to be a movie about scripture, but take a look at this:

 

³¹ So what should we say about this? If God is for us, no one can stand against us. And God is with us. ³² He even let his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for all of us. So now with Jesus, God will surely give us all things. ³³ Who can accuse the people God has chosen? No one! God is the one who makes them right. ³⁴ Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died for us, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. ³⁵ Can anything separate us from Christ’s love? Can trouble or problems or persecution separate us from his love? If we have no food or clothes or face danger or even death, will that separate us from his love? ³⁶ As the Scriptures say, “For you we are in danger of death all the time. People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.” ³⁷ But in all these troubles we have complete victory through God, who has shown his love for us. ^38-39 Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not death, life, angels, or ruling spirits. I am sure that nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us or nothing below us—nothing in the whole created world—will ever be able to separate us from the love God has shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:31-39 (ERV)

Cross references:

1. Romans 8:36 : Psalm 44:22

 

It is all about us! Rocky is about this very thing that scripture is trying to teach us here (well, maybe that wasn't what Sylvester Stallone was thinking when he wrote it, but it's applicable, none-the-less). The Bible never said we will live a struggle-free life in Christ. It said that we'll face PLENTY of things, but we always have a Trainer in our corner who will never stop loving us (nothing can separate us from God's love), who will always support us during our weak moments, and will help us face our challengers with a fierceness that comes from his training (the Word) and his strength that he gives us. He MAKES us victorious!  No matter what we face, we can remember that God has re-created us to be "anything but typical" because we are designed to be more than conquerors. We, too, have the power to "rise up to the challenge" of OUR rivals. God is good!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Know someone who needs to read this blog? Feel free to share it using the buttons below. Thanks for sharing!

 

Oh, To Be a Fly On the Wall

Have you ever felt led to pray for someone out of the blue? I have. I have woken up on many occasions having just dreamed something about someone and immediately felt an urgency to pray for them at that moment. It's always a bit frustrating for me, though, because I enjoy praying for others, but I want to know what I should pray for. Is it health, finances, relationships, safety, or what? I don't like praying for people and only being able to say "just bless them, Lord."

Oh I know, God knows the need. I've heard all of that before. I just like to be very specific in my prayers because when I know the problem, I can be laser-focused on the need and asking God for the exact help the issue requires. Even so, if I'm led to pray and I don't know the need, I still pray and I just try to cover all of the bases. :o)

Knowing how specific I like to be, I have a lingering question about this verse:

Romans 8: 33-34

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.

Did you catch that? In verse 34, it clearly states that while Jesus is sitting next to God, He is praying for us. What?! Jesus is praying for us?!

I have to pause right here because my brain tends to shut down at this point. If you know my imagination, you know I've got some craziness in my head. I can think of all sorts of weird, interesting, bizarre, and atypical things. But this? This shuts me up quickly.

I mean, WHAT does the Son of God pray for you and me (thus my lingering question)?

Not only that, but "pray?" That word trips me up, too, because I think of prayer in human terms....a way to have long distance communication with a God who is beyond our universe and unhindered by time and space. It's not like we can sit down in Starbucks with God for a coffee break. We can't take him out to lunch to discuss our issues.

But I have come to realize that what Jesus is doing is a more accurate view of prayer. God is not a long distance pen pal. Jesus is sitting right next to Him having a conversation with Him about us. What would change about our prayer time with God if we realized and spoke to Him like He was right next to us? (I bet we wouldn't ask Him to "come join us!" We'd feel pretty stupid doing that knowing that He is right beside us.)

I have a feeling that we'd feel ashamed just reciting some prayer we heard someone else say knowing God sees right through it. He'd probably say, "Hey! I'm right here beside you. Just talk to me. Tell me what's on your heart and mind! Stop trying to talk like someone I didn't create you to be."

Since God is everywhere at once, He IS right beside us just like He is beside Jesus while He prays for us. I still wonder what Jesus is praying, though. I would love to be a fly on the wall of the throneroom of God just to hear the beloved Son of God pray for me. How humbling that moment would be! Also, what a comfort it will be to remember that the next time we are facing trials or temptations. When we feel we are being tempted beyond what we can bear, let's remember that Jesus is praying for us in that very moment. Remembering the verse, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." from Phillipians 4:13, it makes you wonder if that is how Christ gives you the strength to be able to do all things. Hmmmmm.....