Shatter the Teeth of the Wicked!

Oswald Chambers, "I cannot save and sanctify myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy. That is all the sovereign work of God..."

I do not have all of the answers. I cannot mend a broken heart. I cannot help the hopeless or save someone form destruction, but I can point them to the One that can. I have no answers for the unbeliever, for anything that I say is really hopeless without God. I can give them godly advise and leave it at that, but I cannot change their life. He must do that. You can cry to God when you feel wronged, and if you want something bad to happen to that person, you can tell Him that as well. That is one thing that I love about my God. He can take your anger. He can hear you when you are alone. He can comfort you when you feel abandoned. He can help you when you have anger and resentment against another person. You can call on Him and ask Him to take revenge on the wrong that someone has done to you. Give your troubles and cares to Him so that you become free.

Psalm 3,7, "Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked!... Arise, O LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice... He (the one that has hurt me) who is pregnant with evil and conceives trouble gives birth to disillusionment. He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. The trouble he causes recoils on himself; his violence comes down on his own head. I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High."

How thankful I am that I can cry out to God when someone wounds me. I can tell Him to bring catastrophe back upon them, and it is okay. It is okay for me to feel anger and for me to express that feeling to God. He can handle it. We just have to remember to give it to the only One who needs to deal with it, instead of letting that wound grab hold of our heart and letting it destroy us instead of them. Cry out to God. Ask Him to bring justice upon them. Give them to God. Then after you have made your case with God, after you have given your cries to Him, allow Him to heal you.

(OC), "If I construct my faith on my own experience, I produce the most unscriptural kind of life— an isolated life, with my eyes focused solely on my own holiness. Beware of that human holiness that is not based on the atonement of the Lord. It has no value for anything except a life of isolation— it is useless to God and a nuisance to man. Measure every kind of experience you have by our Lord Himself. We cannot do anything pleasing to God unless we deliberately build on the foundation of the atonement by the Cross of Christ."

After we have taken our case to Christ, we must let it go. For if we are constantly focused on the sins others have done to us, we miss the Cross given to us. We become a people always comparing our lives with other people, instead of comparing it with the only One who is perfect. Our standards become low. We start looking at others and thinking, "but I would never do that. I am not saying the same things that person is saying. I am not as bad as..." After we have taken our case of pain to God, we need to turn and focus our life on Christ. He is the only One who we need to compare our life to. In keeping our focus on Him, we can see who we really are without Him. In keeping our focus on the Cross, our own hearts will not become hard to others who sin against us. For really, compared to Him, we are all lost. Tell God your deepest wounds. Cry to Him and beg Him to take vengeance on them. Then release your hold on them and focus your life on the Cross.

A Jealous Eye

1 Samuel 24:9-15, "He said to Saul, "Why do you listen when men say, 'David is bent on harming you'? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, 'I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD's anointed.' See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, 'From evildoers come evil deeds,' so my hand will not touch you."

It is so hard to understand or get a grip when someone is speaking falsely about you. What you want to do is first defend yourself. Then you want to understand why they would want to harm you. It can be so hard, because what you do is you take it personally. Instead of looking at them and keeping the focus on them and what they are going through, we instead start looking at ourselves and try to defend ourself. In that fear our insecurity comes forth and we begin to think that others will believe the lie instead of the truth. That insecurity often leads us to reaction. We may want to tell our side and defend our integrity. But all too often when we are speaking our defense, we show our insecurity and panic leads us to reaction and that reaction is all that others can see.

1 Samuel 18:8-15, "Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. 'They have credited David with tens of thousands,' he thought, 'but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?' And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David...When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him."

Often times when we look back at what started the battle we are in, it is the other persons insecurity. Many times when we start trying to defend ourself, it is our own insecurity. We must stand against the one trying to harm us, but what we must remember is that is the Lord who will judge between us and He will not allow the onslaught to continue forever. All too often however, because of what we have done in the past, or because of what someone else that is close to us has done, we are afraid that our reputation may already be tainted and we cannot endure another blow. That is when our own insecurity takes hold and we battle against against the world, instead of allowing God to be the judge in our defense.

Oswald Chambers, "Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is something altogether different. The perfection of everything is in Jesus Christ, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfect qualities of Jesus are at my disposal. Consequently, I slowly but surely begin to live a life of inexpressible order, soundness, and holiness— “...kept by the power of God...'(1 Peter 1:5)."

After we have given ourselves over to Christ we no longer have to defend ourselves against the onslaught of others and defend our reputation. He has given us a gift and that is "the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness." When we are attacked we must remember God is the judge and we will be cleared, because we now walk with Him in integrity. This walk is very important for the believer, for it is a walk of calm assurance. It is not a walk we do on our own, but a walk we do with Christ as our shield against the world. It is the walk that will help us to keep our eye on the focus and truth of someone who is trying to harm us. That truth is that, that person is hurting. Anytime someone is hurting they will try and throw the spear at the one, who it seems to them, as the cause of their pain. Can you keep your focus on God and keep looking at others through His eyes, even when you are the innocent one in the attack?

God Didn't do it, I did

Genesis 50:20, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position..." My God is so good. What Satan intends for evil, He can make good. This, in and of itself, is a mighty secret and a wonderful show of His love and mercy. This is also a trap that Satan lays in front of many believers. This is a trap that he has laid in front of me. All of the terrible decisions and hurtful things that I have ever done, have been part of my journey to this specific place and time. The trap is set when I start thinking that God wanted me to go through those things in order to be where I am now. We have a tendency to excuse our sin. We may say something like, "He wants more for me and look at the good that came as a result of..." This simple statement can be misleading and a lie. For "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation... And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else either. Temptation comes from our own evil desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death." (Jms 1:12-15)

“When you fall into sin, the smallest price you pay is only the wounding you bring to yourself-- You grieve the heart of God and embarrass the community of Christ” (RZ) It is so easy to dress our sin up and call it good, for look at what God has done with it. Trust me, God never intended me to jump into sin the way that I did. He never wanted me take what He meant for good and for me to use it for evil. He never wanted me to ruin a marriage and destroy many lives, just so that I could say that He loves me and He wanted to bring me to this point in my life.

Gen 45:5-8, Joseph said to his brothers, "But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you... God has sent me ahead of you... So it was God who sent me here, not you!" Do you know that it would be so easy for me to look at these verses and give my sin a glorious title of, "It was God who wanted me to do those things." But that would be a lie, and I cannot grieve His heart more by trying to cover my sin with a lie. Joseph during all of his pain and every pit of life that he found himself in, he did not sin against God. God did not tempt him to do wrong, so that one day He could be glorified. God took what someone else wanted for evil and turned it to good. Joseph patiently endured the testing and the temptations, and so God blessed him, but I didn't do that at all. My temptation came from my own evil desires. Those evil desires did lead to sinful actions that resulted in a death of my first marriage. So don't be misled. Do not give yourself an excuse to do what your own evil desires want, then place the blame on God. For that is never His intent. All that does is embarrass the community of Christ and grieve the heart of God. The only way to truly live in freedom is to admit what you have done, as your own evil desires. Then the Cross can be seen and His glory can redeem a life that was once very broken.

Once you have admitted your sin, as your sin really is, don't keep punishing yourself for your sin. For, that too is a lie that Satan tries to inflict upon us. In order for your actions to truly reflect the love of God, we must learn to accept His sacrifice He paid. If we do not fully accept His forgiveness, then we do not fully accept the Cross. I fully enjoy my life that God has blessed. He is a God of second chances. He is a God that wants to bless, even though I do not deserve His blessings. Why would I choose to try and pay for a debt that has already been paid. I have screwed up big time, but I live to enjoy the life He gives me today. If I didn't, I couldn't enjoy my husband that I now have, or my children. The steps are; Confession, tell the truth of your sin; Repentance, turn away from..., and never go down that same road again; Forgiveness, learn to let God and others forgive you, so that you can live free in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Self-Pitying Pit

The pits of life- got to love those pits. I think Beth Moore said this, "God allowed Joseph to to be broken down in the pit. Your not supposed to live in the pit, but learn from it. The pit can lead to a total break down, or a total break through, but that is up to you. God is preparing you for what He has for you while you are in the pit. He is able to work with you in the pit. It's not about, 'Why me?' It is about, 'What now?'" It is about seeing how He can use you to touch others after you have been freed from your own pit.

When Joseph was 17, his brothers threw him in his first pit. He was probably pretty cocky and bragging to his brothers about his dreams and his coat. He needed to learn a little humility. Then in Genesis 39, he was sold to Potiphar where he quickly became the head of everything Potiphar owned. This was not his final pit. Through no fault of his own, he was thrown into yet another prison. Where he remained for several years. (41:46), "Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt." Joseph's pit dwelling took place off and on, more in the pit than out, for thirteen years. Time after time Joseph found himself on this roller-coaster of pit dwelling and none of it was really his fault. But it was during these times that he learned about his gifts and how to lean on God no matter what.

I have been in the pits, more times than I can count. There have been the pits of my own choices and there have been the ones where it seems I was thrown in by someone else. There have been the self-pitying ones, where it just seems like God is taking care of everyone else, but wanting me to go through yet another hard time. I recently spent sometime in this self-pitying pit.

Matthew 20, "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you...'"

My self-pitying pit is one of those pits that I choose to be in. It is about looking at other people and saying, "but you gave them..., you did....for them." It is a pit that is all about looking at my sorrows, instead of my blessings. This time, it was my pit of MS. Saying, "Why wont You take this from me? Why wont You let me have this one the easy way? Instead of me having to always be the one to go the extra mile and work harder than others for just the basics in life." Why is it that when He has asked us to walk with Him, we expect Him to make it easy for us. If my MS were healed today, tomorrow I would still want more. It is not about getting out of the pit. It is all about learning to lean on God while we are still in the pit. When you are in a pit, whether because of someone else, or a choice you have made, or just because you are alive; The question we must ask is, Can we still walk with God and sing His praises, while we are in the pit? Are you a Christian, because of what you can get out of being a Christian? Or are you a Christ follower, because Christ is God? Do I love Him? I used to love Him because He got me out of a pit. Now I must love Him because He is the Almighty!

Truth Lies in the Lie

How many times have we said, "But its not my fault, if they wouldn't have... I wouldn't have..." The truth lies in the lie. There are consequences for all of us. The hardest consequences are the ones that we must look at and take responsibility for ourselves. Those actions that we want to blame on another person, but ultimately we are the ones that did that action, that got that consequence. The story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael is full of bad decisions made by other people, then entangled with personal bad decisions that made matters even worse.

Genesis 16, "Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, 'The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.' And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt... (21:9), But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac."

The trail of bad decisions in this story is almost sickening. Hagar a slave had no ability to defend herself and not sleep with Abraham, but she did have the ability to control her attitude afterwards toward Sarah. (I don't now how, but she did.) Her bad attitude rubbed off on her son Ishmael, and he became a man who was always against everyone, fighting for everything. Much of what happened to him cannot be blamed on Ishmael. He was caught in a whirlwind of contempt and hate between his mother and Sarah. "However, his own actions showed that he had chosen to become part of the problem and not part of the solution. He chose to live under his circumstances rather than above them."

I have chosen this cycle of victim decision making so many times in my life. When my friends would want to go out and party, I made my own night even worse by not only joining them, but one upping them with my own foolishness. When my ex wanted me to do certain things, I chose to be the victim and made his desires even worse by my own choices. While I was doing these thing, I never took responsibility for my choices, but blamed others for my consequences. I thought this was easier than taking responsibility myself, but what it ultimately gave me was more heartache than I could have ever dreamed. I still have the tendency to blame others for my bad attitude. Instead of taking responsibility for how I act, I tend to blame someone else and say, "If you hadn't done... then I wouldn't have lost my temper."

Oswald Chambers, " God came in the flesh to take sin away, not to accomplish something for Himself. The Cross is the central event in time and eternity, and the answer to all the problems of both. The Cross is not the cross of a man, but the Cross of God, and it can never be fully comprehended through human experience. The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there."

There are so many situations that we find ourselves in, that are not our fault. How we act in those situations, now that is our responsibility. We cannot go around as a victim for the rest of our life, and continue on in making a bad situation even worse, by our own attitude or actions. We have Christ to help us live as we should no matter what situation we find ourself in. Our responsibility lies in the choices we make while we are in that situation. This is the point of Christ and the Cross, not necessarily to change our situation, but to change our heart. How are our actions and attitude in our situation? We may not be able to change others or our situation, but have we allowed Him to change us.

http://utmost.org/the-collision-of-god-and-sin/

Wearing His Coat

How do I talk too anyone, if I cannot talk about my Lord? When I talk to others about being hurt, alone, or scared; how do I talk about these feelings, without sharing the One who rescued me? This is the only way I know how to tell my true history, and that is to include His story...
Psalm 55, "Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help! Please listen and answer me,for I am overwhelmed by my troubles...It is not an enemy who taunts me— I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me— I could have hidden from them. Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God...But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me. God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them... As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises. His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers! Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall."

There have been so many times in which I have been so hurt and beaten down by those who masquerade around under the title of Christian. I guess that is why I do not like certain titles. Instead of religious, I prefer, in love with my Savior. Instead of Christan, I prefer, Christ follower. For those people posing as religious and Christan, have given me the deepest wounds. They had an opportunity to give the fatal blows, because I let them close to me. I opened myself up to them and they in turn betrayed me. But because I have been hurt by people, does this mean that I stop loving my God? No, I cannot blame Him for the choices others make against Him. People are fallen. No one is perfect, so why would I turn my back on the only One who is. Why would I, but I have.

We have a tendency to want to blame someone, so we blame the One who we think is ultimately responsible for all our pain. We don't want to see that the person who is hurting us, is also hurting. We want to build walls and protect ourselves so we rage against the title and the One we see that is responsible for that title. When a company fails, it is the boss who takes the hardest hit, for the mistakes of those he hired. So when a Christian sins, it is Christ who takes the hit. It is His reputation that suffers. It becomes about the title, and anyone afterward who wears that title, begins with a mark of distrust. This all happens because someone wearing that coat before us, did not wear His coat well.

Ravi tells this story better than me, but I will give it a shot. A person comes in and puts on your coat and shoes. They then go out into the night and rob a store. The policeman sees your coat and your shoes as the robber is fleeing. When the policeman comes to your house he arrests you. In your defense you tell him that it was not you. But he does not believe you and says that he saw you, for it was your coat and shoes.

There are many people out there wearing someone else's coat. They are masquerading around as one thing, but being another. Then the true owner of that coat is blamed. He is beaten, slapped, spit upon, and sentenced to death. But He never tries to defend Himself, for He knows this is the only way. He came and died for everyone, even the ones who do not wear His coat well. "Jesus did not come into this world to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live." (RZ) We are doing ourselves a great injustice. We are rejecting life, if we reject Him, all because we have been robbed by someone wearing His coat.

How thankful I am for the family God has given me. How thankful I am that I did not continually shut the door on people, because of the hurt I have felt from others wearing the same coat. I would be missing out on my sweet sisters in Christ, who are there for me cheering me on, lifting me up when I am down. I would have missed out on a wonderful husband, if I had kept the door shut on him, all because of a previous marriage that went horribly wrong. I would be missing so many of my God given family members, if I never let anyone in because of past hurt. I would be all alone, with only my hurt to keep me company. I cannot hold a grudge against Him, for there has never been someone with more betrayal in their heart, than me. I cannot always wear His coat well. How could I expect others to do better than I do myself? Why would I willingly choose death, when He has freely offered me life. He has given each of us a family and friends. We just have to understand that His family is not perfect. Not everyone wears His coat well, but many are truly trying. I love the friends He has given me, but I understand that they are not perfect, for they need His grace just like I do. The questions that I must ask myself are; Do I show others the same acceptance and grace that He has shown me? Do I wear His coat well?