Show Up!

There’s power and purpose in our praise!

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who wee invading Judah, and they were defeated. 2 Chronicles 20:22

In this continuation from Wednesday’s blog, we find the inhabitants of Judah about to enter into a battle with three separate armies. Keep in mind Judah did not want to fight them, but their enemies got it in their minds to attack Judah anyway. The odds certainly appeared to be against them, but as they began to sing and praise God, prior to arriving to the battle, the Lord set an ambush against their enemies.

Please know the enemy only wants to attack your praise (Judah means praise). If he can muffle or snuff out your praise, then he has a very good chance of shutting you down. When we begin to sing and praise God in spite of our circumstances, God will defeat our enemies and all those who oppose us.

But God had Judah do what they do best, praise, and their enemies began to turn on each other. So much so that when Judah finally SHOWED UP on the scene, they were all dead. When the battle is over, the one left standing has free reign of the spoils. Catch this, God is only asking us to SHOW UP to the battle and be prepared to take home the blessings from the work that He has done! Can you work with that? So when the opposition rears itself in our lives, lets just SHOW UP!

Your thoughts?

Look Up!

When hard trials come, we tend to get down in spirit and in our countenance. Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to react initially that way, but we should only stay there but for a moment: especially when we have a God who cares for us and who allows His Spirit to dwell in us. With that in mind, we should always have a reason to look up.

Our God, will you not judge them: For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 2 Chronicles 20:12

In our text and its supporting Scriptures we find that King Jehoshaphat was about to be attacked, no triple-teamed by the Ammonites, Moabites and a few of the Meunites. Have you ever felt like you were being attacked on every side? In this instance and in our situations, God knows all and He sees all. Our reality should be to recognize there are some things not meant for us to handle (no power to face this vast army) but that belong to God so that He may get the glory and that others might believe in Him. King Jehoshaphat knew to call upon the name of the Lord and seek Him for wisdom and guidance. Have you done that concerning the things that come up against you?

As we look up with surrendered and humbled hearts to the Lord our God, we will gain wisdom and know that the battle isn’t ours but it’s indeed the Lord’s. Do you trust Him enough to fight on your behalf?

Your thoughts?

Maintaining Control

As believers, our response to situations is critical. The enemy is always looking for a way to set a trap to trip us up. His goal is to discredit us and in doing so discredit the God we serve. This is why we must set a watch at our mouth and keep the doors of lips manned at all times. How we respond matters!

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

Today’s text reminds us of that very truth. A gentle response will diffuse a situation, but if we respond angrily, we will be met with anger. It is important that we learn to manage our emotions and exercise self control. Self control is one of the fruit of the spirit and proves to be a very important one for me in particular. When you feel your temperature boiling, take a moment before you respond. Also, when you respond, always remember who you’re representing! Someone is always looking at how we react, especially God!

Your thoughts?

Faith Don’t Fail Me Now!

Appealing to someone or something that has died is useless, just as saying you have faith, but have no evidence to prove it.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26 NIV

In order for us to live out God’s purpose for our lives, our spirit must be alive in our earthen bodies. Here on this earth you cannot have one without the other and expect to get physical things accomplished. So it is in the spirit realm, which we as believers have been called. Our faith must be accompanied by works or actions! Simply saying we have faith will not cause mountains in our lives to be moved. But rather profession accompanied by a strong confidence in God and His word, along with a forward, physical motion toward what we are saying to be true; the mountain will move.

Situations arise to test our faith. They also give us an opportunity to exercise and even strengthen our faith. So when the test comes, don’t ignore it and don’t run away from it. Remember God’s word and believe exactly what it says and move forward in it! Don’t allow your faith or the lack thereof, to fail you!

Your thoughts?

(good lookin' out Kim!!!)