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Giants Will Fall
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2 Samuel 22: 2-4
“The Lord is my protector, He is my strong fortress. My God is my protection and with Him I am safe. He protects me like a shield, He defends me and keeps me safe. He is my Savior, He protects me and saves me from violence. I call to the Lord, and He saves me from my enemies. Praise the Lord!”
The above verse is actually David’s song to the Lord after having been to war and he and his men having killed many giants. Scary, intimidating giants. The fear they must have had is unimaginable. But look at how many times David calls the Lord his protector or says He provides protection. Several times, over and over. Isn’t it encouraging to know that along with the many other wonderful attributes of God, He always speaks right to our fear, sometimes the biggest giant we face of all.
We all know the story of David and Goliath, but it’s not often that we hear that David and his men defeated MANY giants. That’s encouraging to me and lays a very visual, spiritual tapestry for my own life because isn’t that how life can be? We typically find ourselves faced with giant after giant when we are going through season’s where God is working something out in us/through us. In the molding, pruning, sharpening process it’s encouraging to know, especially during our fasting time, that we too can bring down giants just like David did. We can also sing a song of praise to our Lord even as our giants stare us right in the face, before they are even defeated because we have confidence in our battle buddy, Christ, that they WILL be defeated. (Just as I write this, it brings to mind the song by Francesca Battistelli, Giants Fall. Take some time today and youtube it. Soak the words in.)
What happens though when we lose our confidence in our battle buddy and let fear slip in? Those giants get bigger right? They get scarier. I encourage you today, as you spend time with the Lord to imagine those giants falling before you as you step out in faith towards overcoming them. Whatever your giant/s may be today, remember that we are given the power of the Holy Spirit, He lives inside us, we don’t have to wait for Him to get there, He’s already there, so step out in your fear by stepping out in faith. Trust that, just like David said, He is your protector, He defends you and keeps you safe and will save you from your enemies. Praise the Lord!
January 5th, 2018
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Where Does Our Faith Come From?
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Romans 12:3 “And because of God’s gracious gift to me I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking and judge yourself according to the amount of faith God has given you.”
There have been many times in my life where I have found myself wishing I had more faith to get through whatever it was I was going through. Romans 12:3 helps to reign that thought in as I’m reminded that God gifts each of us according to which He sees fit for us at just the right time. When I begin to think, “but it’s not enough, this is too hard, I need more”, then, I’m also reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9 that says “for my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” Faith and grace, both gifted to us by our Heavenly Father, just the right amount for just the right time.
As I’ve grown in the Lord, so too has my faith, HIS faith in me. He is the provider and sustainer of my faith and my cup is only full when I am in Him, for when I am not in Him, my cup is empty. We do not create or grow our own faith and when we humbly remember that God is the giver and taker of all, we are kept in a spirit of humbleness that keeps us from boasting about the amount of faith we have that gets us through those difficult times, it immediately brings us back to Him as we look to the source from which our faith comes. When we are able to recognize, that in our weakness He is made strong, then we can live in the midst of those difficult moments with a trusting attitude, knowing He’s got us, knowing as we fold into Him, He rises over us as our strong shield and fortress. Everything about our walk, even the amount of faith He’s given us to get us through should always be used to glorify Him. Might we always know and remember where we come from, Whose we are and what we’ve been given, keeping us in an attitude of humbleness, graciousness and thankfulness.
“Thank you Heavenly Father for providing even a mustard seed size of faith, for which we know even with that we can move mountains. We take your Word as Truth for our daily lives, soaking it in, drinking it in and letting it absorb into the deepest of places within our spirit, soul, mind and heart knowing that as we consume your Word and truths we are growing the faith you’ve so graciously given to us to face whatever comes our way. Help us O’ God to keep a humble attitude and glorify only You for what’s been given to us. Amen.”
Leah Parkin
12-11-2017
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To Conform, or Not To Conform
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Romans 12:2 “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect.”
With continuing to focus on being a Roman’s 12 Christian, verse two has always been one of my favorite “life” verses. It’s what I cling to in seasons of secular struggle, which, because I’m human, is daily. When we call ourselves Christians and are actively striving to daily live out His word, we are most definitely going to be faced with opposition about many things that contradict our way of thinking, acting, believing. In that moment we have a choice. Do we conform to the pressures of society given that many times it’s just easier, less painful? Or, do we stand firm on that solid foundation knowing it may bring backlash? Where is the real worth and value? Is it in the less painful road or in the backlash because we stood firm? I bet you can answer that.
I’ve found for many years now, especially since I’ve been a parent, that when I seal this verse tightly to my heart I am more equipped to face the pressures to conform. There are so many things that we face in this area as a Christian family when practicing very different morals and values than those who do not have a moral compass guiding them. I’m reminded that in Him I am set apart for purpose and reason beyond what any amount of conforming can fulfill. It’s harder for my kids to see this, but because it’s been a common, repetitive verse in our home, they understand. It doesn’t always make it easy, but Christ tells us it’s not going to be and when we are prepared with the knowledge that struggle is just part of life, somehow, it makes it easier. Not always, but there’s less surprise when we live in an expectant mode.
My mom used to tell me and my sisters when we were kids, “just blame your dad and I” whenever we would be at a friend’s house and be exposed to something we shouldn’t be watching. I fall back on that with my Heavenly Father too, it’s so much easier knowing that He’s got my back, He gives me an out every single time. When we live our lives accountable to the One who sees it all, then there’s purpose in our reactions to those uncomfortable situations.
In the eyes of the world, my firm stance in refusing to conform looks like rebellion and stubbornness but in the eyes of my Lord, it is obedience and protection. What our actions are telling God when we refuse to conform is that we trust You, we believe You, we want Your way. If we can just get past the immediate uncomfortableness of not giving in, then we walk into the blessing of pleasing Him. Just as the verse says, we will be able to know the will of God-what is good and is pleasing to Him. That should be enough! But boy oh boy, when we are fighting those fleshly desires, sometimes it’s hard to see clearly past the temptation of just wanting to do what everyone else is doing. We want our flesh to be comfortable in the moment so instead we pass up the opportunity to glorify Him. You don’t struggle with that battle alone friend. Of course it’s much easier to give in, that’s satan’s best tactic…the easier, broader path. It’s how he coaxes us to follow, enticing us with a detour around those difficult decisions, telling us lies that say if we just give in it is much more pleasing to our carnal minds/bodies. Thankfully though, Jesus didn’t detour struggle, He willingly took on the ultimate struggle because He believed whole heartedly that if we stand firm against the winds that want to blow us here and there that we will get to experience the blessing that comes from inward change. The application here though is actually being willing to let God do the transformation. It cannot come from us, on our own or it will never really be complete inward change because only He has the power to cause real, lasting change.
What will you refuse to give in to this week? What does it look like when you consider not conforming to the standards in your immediate world? Work, school, even home maybe. Will you draw a line in the sand and protect the sanctity of real change and the glorification of God our Father or will you go weak at the knees and fulfill your fleshy desires to just fit in? I promise you this…whatever it is that comes to mind while you are reading this, if it’s uncomfortable to even think about what the right thing to do is, then you already know what you should do. Choose Christ and His ways and send the devil packing decision by decision, choice by choice, struggle by struggle. Your action to stand firm will not go unseen by the ONLY One who matters anyway.
Blessings for a fruitful week,
Leah Parkin
th
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Romans 12
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Have you ever heard the saying, “be a Romans 12 Christian”? I’ve heard the expression a lot lately and so have decided to study what it really means to be a Romans 12 Christian. Romans is one of my favorite books in the bible because it very clearly explains Christian conduct and well…I need that reminder a lot of times in my day to day activities. Whenever I’m faced with a situation that is uncomfortable or that I’m unsure of how to respond or when I’m feeling so pulled by my fleshly desires to be just that…flesh, instead of spirit. There are so many wonderful references in Paul’s letter to the church that I believe we all can lean on and use to anchor us in those swaying times. I would like to share what I’ve learned in Romans 12 as part of the devotional for the next few months, verse by verse, in hopes to encourage you as we all walk this path together. Verse 1 perfectly aligns with Pastor George’s sermon yesterday, so I thought it fitting to start the week off on. God works and His works are ALWAYS good.
Romans 12:1
“So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This is the true worship that you should offer.”
When I read the phrase living sacrifice, I think continual, a symphony that never stops. It doesn’t say dead or dying sacrifice, it says living. As long as there is breath in my lungs and a beat in my heart, God calls me to offer my WHOLE life up as a sacrifice, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. Just as Pastor George said yesterday, everything that we do, say, even chose to listen to, watch or allow into our minds/thoughts and let roll off of our tongues becomes either pleasing or displeasing to God. His pleasure should be our first concern. The life in us as Christ followers comes from and through Him so the aroma of our lives should naturally be sweet as we allow it to filter through His holiness. It should not be stale like death for He is not death. The only death within us should be of our old selves and when we are in Christ that stench does not linger, it is covered by His purity, making us as Him. There is no exhaustion in sacrificing in this continual way because we are connected to the Source, a constant. It is only when we are not connected that we begin to emanate an unpleasant aroma and become weary in well doing.
Lastly, so many times I find myself wasting energy on trying to be a people pleaser, because honestly, that is often what is immediately comfortable. If those around me are happy or “fixed” (my pride tells me I need to fix those nearest to me) then things will be much better. Yikes! Danger zone. The Christian life isn’t about being happy and fixed. Quite the contrary. The Christian life is instead about being blessed and free. Infact, it’s often after our acceptance of Christ that we are first broken down to rid ourselves of what is not acceptable to Him. The pruning begins and often times hurts. We may question ourselves, “what did we just do?” “Why is this happening?” But, in keeping perspective and focus on eternal things, society’s “fixed” lifestyle does not constitute Godly worship. What a difference those words blessed and free make as opposed to happy and fixed. Sure, happy is a wonderful benefit/side effect of living a blessed and free life in Christ, but if happy is just an outward expression and is not true inward joy than my efforts of people pleasing really haven’t done much at all have they? And here’s the kicker…I am not the one where true joy comes from. I am not anyone’s source of TRUE joy. So when I read this verse, the first thing that stuck out to me was to be dedicated to HIS service and pleasing to HIM. When I’ve freed myself to please HIM first, then all other pleasantries will follow suite, leaving an aroma for others to navigate towards, people pleasing simply becomes soul winning. When we enter a new day knowing that it’s not us, but HIM that sets the standard for our day then we find that everything out of that is true worship, pleasing to Him and joyful for us.
Blessings,
Leah Parkin
Nov 6th, 2017
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Momentum
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mōˈmen(t)əm,məˈmen(t)əm/
noun
1.PHYSICS: the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity.
2.the impetus (force or energy) gained by a moving object.”the vehicle gained momentum as the road dipped”
However, this law of physics doesn’t work as well in the Kingdom of God.
I don’t know about you, but I miss the time with Him when I don’t take it….especially if it happens day after busy day. It becomes apparent when I have not taken the time to intentionally sit at His feet. I start to feel distant, worn out, run down, not as alive, and in all honesty, angry. I can find myself very frustrated when things don’t go my way. My fuse becomes much shorter than when I have spent quiet time with Jesus.
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Doubt
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Keep On
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1 Corinthians 2:14
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Forgivness
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Many Mansions
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