by Shauna Millar | May 2, 2024 | Action in Christianity, encouragement, faith, forgiveness, Trust
It is so easy to get caught up in doing our will that we lose sight of God’s will for us. Suddenly, our will is (what we perceive as) God’s will for our lives and becomes our focus. We turn our eyes from what we know we should do – following the spiritual laws – and instead; we institute the physical; we let our emotions dictate our path.
Still, we may put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). We take the time to gird our waist with truth, struggle into that heavy breastplate of righteousness, shod our feet loosely with the gospel of peace, throw on the Helmet of Salvation, barely shoulder the shield of faith in one arm and the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) in the other. Once we feel completely dressed and ready for battle, we throw our hands up, tell God to stand back, and let him know ‘we’ve got it from here’. We often take an attitude of “I’ve got this, God” as if He needs us to defend Him. Perhaps we have seen one too many movies…
God goes before us
The Word tells us that God goes before us. (Deuteronomy 31:8).
He isn’t the king standing in the castle hidden behind the walls, expecting his army to defend him. He is the King at the front of the army, on the front line. He goes BEFORE us. God wants His people to stand with Him, for Him, near Him. We are given the armor, not to protect Him, but to protect US. The armor is FOR us.
We need to remind ourselves daily to put on the full armor of God. We need to remind ourselves daily that we need to follow Him. We need to suit up and show up and know that God will do the rest. Consider that when we are standing and preparing to fight, that we have a mighty banner flying in front of us, and we call Him Jehovah Nissi! (God is our banner! He is our victory!) [Exodus 17:15]
God needs us to open our hearts and our minds to Him. To do all HIS will in our lives and for our lives. It isn’t always easy. We don’t get to see the full path ahead of us. We get to put our faith to the test and TRUST in Him. We need to learn not to put our will first. We need to not get confused with doing our will and thinking it is His.
The Bible tells us to ask for wisdom and He will give it to us. [James 1:5] It tells us to ask for understanding, and He will give it to us. [Proverbs 2:3-8] He tells us to test the spirits to know His will in our lives.[1 John 4:1]
If you want to be standing where God wants you to be, then you have to trust Him. We need to Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God. [Mt 6:33] When we do that, God ADDS to our lives. Perhaps you are familiar with the name Jehovah Jireh, God, our provider. [Gen 22:14] God provides for His people, more so when we are doing His will. It is usually hard to see what that is. More often than not, we feel as if we are stumbling in the dark. God gives us just enough light for where we are. He never gives us more than we can handle. We need to remind ourselves about these things.
We need to go to the Word
There is comfort when we go to the word of God. The Bible is filled with His promises for our lives. It is filled with blessings for our lives. However, we need to remember that the Bible is not a magic lamp. It is not something that you rub, make a wish, and it comes true. God offers us many good things, but there are things we need to do in order to get the fullness of those blessings.
When the Israelites were in the desert, God blessed them with manna from heaven to feed them. He blessed them with water from a rock to ease their thirst. God blessed them, but they never received the fullness of what they could have had. Why? They often grumbled and rebelled while on the journey. They lacked faith and conviction of belief. In other words, they didn’t trust God to deliver. They didn’t do what He asked them to do. If they had, the story would have been completely different.
How can we hope to completely follow what the Bible tells us to do? We can’t. We wrestle with our flesh and blood. This is when we must consider two things; grace and forgiveness. God gives us grace, and He forgives us when we ask. We need to recognize that we will stray from the path God has us on. When we stumble and fall, He will pick us up, dust us off and help us get back to where we need to be. First, we must ask.
We need to not sit in the dirt, let our faces get all red and become so stubborn we refuse to ask. Remember – ask and it shall be given. Seek and it shall be found. The door is open to us, if only we will put aside our ‘ISM’s’ (I, self, me) and put God first in ALL things.
Let today be a blessing to you. Find one simple thing that you can thank God for. Spend time with your heavenly Father. Let Him shelter you beneath His wings. Let Him love and comfort you and direct your path.
by Sue Forde | Oct 19, 2023 | Action in Christianity
When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. – Proverbs 29:2
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… Hosea 4:6
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
Over the past few years, I’ve been actively involved in the political world serving various roles in the local and state Republican Party. I have chosen that particular party because of the “platform” it stands on – particularly as it relates to faith, family and individual freedom.
Our Founding Fathers, most of whom were godly men, stated in many of the original documents upon which our nation was set up, the active involvement of our Creator, and gave Him the honor and glory first. An excellent book to read about how our nation was founded on Godly principles is written by David Barton, entitled “Original Intent – The Courts, the Constitution & Religion”.
We are blessed to live in a nation that IS founded on Godly principles. We have abdicated those principles – and our God-given rights – to those who have been elected to serve us but don’t have the best interests of the “people” at heart. Rather, there is much catering to mega-corporations, PACs, and power.
How do we return our beloved God-blessed country to its original intent? By getting actively involved. We – the church – are responsible for helping direct the path of our nation. We are a government “of, by and for” the “people”. The concept is bottom-up, not top-down, as it has become. The only way to change the course, with God’s blessing and mercy, is to take action. Each of us. We are, individually, responsible to God first and foremost, and toward spreading the Gospel (Good News), which is most readily done in a free nation. We are no longer free. It’s not too late to turn the tide.
We can each work as members of the body of Christ in different areas – whether it’s running for a local office like school board, city council, or other positions – helping good Godly candidates run their campaigns for office – make sure Christians are voting (do you realize that a very high percentage of Christians don’t even vote!?!) – contribute to good organizations like Hillsdale College and others that are working hard to educate people – especially young people – about our Constitution and government – and educate yourself! There are many good resources, like the free courses offered online by Hillsdale College to learn about our Constitution and what rights we have as citizens.
What can we do?
Here are some tips for action each of us can take to start bringing positive change to our nation, counties and towns:
Share the “other” side of the news. People need to hear / read the truth, and too many are still relying on mainstream media, which, in my personal opinion, are not telling the whole story, or in some cases, even propagandizing. There are many alternative good resources available online, such as One America News Network (https://www.oann.com/), and Epoch Times (https://www.theepochtimes.com/). Share those with others.
Educate ourselves, first and foremost. Once you have viable knowledge to share based on facts, a good starting place is to write letters to the editor of the local newspaper. Be sure to include your references for any facts you state, and keep them within 250 words. We need more individuals writing letters that will get published. One voice can make a difference; many voices can change the direction we’re currently headed. Make your voice count!
Start an email list, and send emails to the people on that list. (Be sure to BCC them, rather than showing their names, in that scammers can pick up their names when they show, and you want to respect their privacy.) Ask the people on your email list to pass your emails on to others.
Set up a blog. One of many tutorials on the subject can be found here. https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/how-to-start-a-blog. Or, just do a search for “how to start a blog”.
Post to Facebook if you are on that medium. A good way to circumvent being put in “facebook jail” is to use graphics to get your message across.
Talk to your friends and neighbors about what’s going on to affect our freedoms. I think you’ll find people who are in agreement but don’t know what to do about it, or are afraid they are the “only ones” who think that way. We are being divided – we need to unite. Encourage them to do the above. We need many voices, not just one or two. The way to get there is to spread the message, encourage one another into action, and then take that action.
Talk especially to the people in your church about the importance of voting and becoming actively involved in our own government. Follow up to be sure they get their ballots in on time! Any other organization you belong to – talk to individuals as opportunities arise (and isn’t everyone already talking about the attack on our first amendment rights, our Christianity, the high cost of living, about the possibility of war, and other topics? Just start there, and begin to show how they can make a difference!
Another way to take action is to get involved with your local Republican party – support good Godly and pro-Constitutional candidates, and volunteer as an election observer. There are issues going on that need to be addressed.
by Sue Forde
