Who Is This That Should Taunt the Armies of the Living God?

May God raise up a mighty group of warriors who will stand for truth and say, 'Enough!' 

May there be a holy uprising that won't just take what the enemy is doing laying down and saying, 'It is what it is. What can we do about it?' 

May our eyes be opened to truly SEE the outrageousness of all that’s going on in our world that is not of God and see that 'our' response has been: 'Who will fight? Who can? Who can change this tide?’ rather than, as it should be (like David),

‘Who is this that should taunt the armies of the Living God?!’

May the 'armies of the living God' rise up in faith, 'see' the truth of His holiness and His call to godliness in His Word (1 Tim. 6:3), walk in a manner worthy (Col. 1:10), 'see' the attack of the enemy against that very truth, and take up the weapons of warfare for the right hand and the left, weapons that are divinely powerful, and go make a difference! 

He calls us to 'action' and promises to be with us. May we seek Him for strategies for revival.

Pray, fast, and rise up in His bold confidence, trusting in the name of the Most High God and none other, asking, 'What would You have me to do?' And decide to say, ‘yes,’ even before hearing the answer.  

‘The Lord God is my strength 

[my source of courage, my invincible army];

He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feet

And makes me walk

[not to stand still in terror, 

but to walk forward with spiritual confidence] 

on my high places 

[of challenge, trouble, suffering, or responsibility].”                               

 Habakkuk 3:19 AMP

-What would He have you do?

-Ask God to show you areas in your sphere of influence (and even outside what you would consider your sphere, this nation for example) where it is time to say, ‘Enough!’.  Ask Him to make you bold with strength in your soul (Psalm 138:3) and show you what He may have you to do about that?

A Journey to Doing 'Yes'

DOING 'yes'- that's the decision. 

And it is a 'decision', a choice. We do not often just accidentally stumble into 'yes'. 

Rather than waiting to decide yes concerning a 'certain particular thing', what if we decide before God TODAY (and every today) to say 'Yes' to 'whatever' and follow that with 'obedient action' as we trust Him to lead us and enable us?

Obedience is not just saying yes. 

Matthew 21:28-31 "'But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.' And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.  The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go. 'Which of the two did the will of his father?'

It is not the one who says 'yes' who does the will of the Father, it's the one who DOES 'yes'....even if we initially say 'no'.  

God will meet us with His power as we DO 'yes' in answer to His request.

I have a good track record of saying 'yes', but then I let the enemy (and my flesh) intimidate me and make me sit down on the bench (or even back in the stands again).

May we daily, in the Word and prayer, 'kindle afresh the gift of God which is in us' and remind ourselves that we have NOT been given a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline. 'Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord... but suffer for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity.' (2 Timothy 1:6-9)

A.W. Tower wrote in The Knowledge of the Holy:
"The decline of the knowledge of the holy has brought on our troubles. A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing them. It is impossible to keep moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is." 

And that comes from time in His Word and time in His presence in prayer and worship and listening to His voice, as His sheep know His voice, and this all results in an increase in FAITH.

Let us not be held back in unbelief from action, but may we arise in faith to action.  May faith in our big God speak 'move' to our feet.

I once said, 'I serve a 'BIG' GOD, but live a 'little' life and this should not be'. That statement will always be true when you think about it.  He will always be bigger than we are currently living out, and there will always be more depth and more potential and more and more to know. 

Excel still more!

Joshua 18  "There remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, 'How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?"

Then the instructions: 
Arise
Walk through the land
Write a description of it according to your inheritance.

Oh, how long will we 'put off taking possession' of all that we have been given in Christ? Arise, Walk, Write (a description to remind yourself!) 

May we take possession in obedience. 
Walking by faith and not by sight. 
Saying, 'Here am I. Send Me,' rather than, 'Who am I? I can't'.

And may that 'obedience' break open a new freedom within us that the 'disobedience' has allowed to strangle in fear.

A Journey to 'Yes'.

Believing and Acting Upon that Belief Today

On Jan 12th of this year (wow, just last week), I wrote this in my journal:

'Yesterday I found myself describing myself in my head as a professional dreamer. I just 'dream' and 'long for' and enjoy the excitement of thinking of 'what if' and making plans, but I never 'DO'!!!    I don't want to just be a 'dreamer' and a 'thinker' all my life... I want to ACT!, to take the first 'known' steps and not worry about all that I don't know after that. And Lord, I know that that's what You want! Maybe we even need a class on 'faith infusion', to champion one another and whatever God is calling each of us to do: to build up and encourage one another in the midst of a 'world' that is constantly tearing everything down and apart with criticism and shuts us down. So Lord, let me do the next thing... Let me believe and follow Your lead. I don't want to only be a professional dreamer. I CHOOSE to be a 'professional BELIEVER', which always means 'acting upon'.

Then yesterday our pastor spoke at a conference and ended with this challenge (and these are rough notes, but essentially): 
1) what are you supposed to be doing that you are not doing?
 2) (fear of man is a snare) who comes to mind as you think about doing it? Probably that's the person who is impeding your obedience and 
3) what will you do about it TODAY? Be obedient to what God has asked you to do. If He has put something on your heart, you are responsible to obey. 

Well, that last one with the 'TODAY' word worked for me. I sat down and put on paper something that God has had on my heart for years and had shown me the first steps to (that I really, in my flesh, do not long to do/it is on the bottom my dream list honestly). And then I acted on it yesterday so that I couldn't just think about it and decide not to do it. 

For months He's been encouraging me to just do what I already KNOW without all the how's and why's fully answered and has stirred my heart with what it would look like if we ALL did just that with that 'thing' that He has put on our hearts. Just take the first known steps. 

My actions yesterday still seem foolish, and I'm not sure how I am going to follow through (it will ONLY be through His strength and leading, and isn't that where He wants us!) He shows Himself strong in our weakness.  

And THIS right here!! is another that I know that I'm supposed to do and am not.  To write on this blog is never 'urgent'.  You know what I mean? You go from assignment to assignment and deadline to deadline and are constantly trying to keep up with never-ending life responsibilities.  It always seems more prudent to clean my house rather than sit here at the computer writing.

BUT GOD.. (don't you love those words in scripture), but God has asked me, and that makes all the difference (or it should)! I can't even tell you how many times I have argued that someone else could do this better or that someone else already IS doing this better.  Who needs another blogger?!  But He won't have that argument :).  He just responds, "But I've asked you."  And sadly, I have continued to be 'lazy' in this area (forgive me, that word actually is disobedient). I have known that my refusal has been disobedience for years, so I have been obedient is little spurts.

And in recent years, honestly, I feel like I have been stymied by all the loud 'opinions' out there about EVERYTHING with no grace.  Who wants to expose yourself to that, right? And then when I decide to obey, my perfectionism kicks in.  I don't have the time to make it perfect, or my journals are so full of stuff where is the perfect starting place? (what a problem, right?!)

So I have had moments of just desiring even 30 days of just putting it out there and it not needing to be perfect or caring what anyone thinks, etc.  Oh just freedom! Fling it out there and allow my overly careful, perfectionist self to be as much of a 'loose cannon' as my overly careful, perfectionist self could be.

Maybe that's what this TODAY will start.  I give myself to that possibility.  I hope you will too.

I'm an over thinker. I choose to not overthink for the next 30 posts (even if they can't be in consecutive days- I don't think they will but maybe). I choose to be a 'professional believer' for the next 30 posts (and hopefully longer than that), putting my full trust and hope and protection in Him, and I will ACT! (I will start by posting this post! Today.)

Oh, will you join me in that decision if you relate to this? What are you supposed to be doing that you are not currently doing, and what are you going to do about it TODAY?!

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them (does them), may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock." Matt. 7:24,25

"'I love you, O Lord, my strength.'
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies." Psalm 18:1-3

Let me say it again! 'I will not overthink. I will act. I will obey. I will be brave.' Because really, what's the worst that can happen, right? 

I will believe and trust in Him who is able and loves me, and I will rest in His love (no matter what anyone else out there thinks of me :).

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content.." [O Lord, help me to be well content with...] "
with weaknesses,
 with insults, 
with distresses, 
with persecutions, 
with difficulties, 
for Christ's sake; 
for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor. 12:9,10

I step across the line of fear, and I RISK. 

I say that, and He reminds me that I've actually done that a long time ago/doing things for many years that I would never have done had I not. 

So the difference is: I've stayed very close to that stepped over line and often put at least one foot back over on the other side and have tottered there ('like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind' James 1:6) in doubts. I choose to turn my back on the line and all the doubt that accompanies it and RUN towards THE ONE I TRUST in faith, to care deeply about what He thinks and has asked me to do.

(I choose to post right now as I head out the door even if this is not perfect!)