Soldier

Just like a soldier you battle for my soul

More like a Father you come and take me home

~Chorus of Soldier by Bebo Norman~

Hey everyone,

Today I am going to focus on the first line of the quote above.   God is a soldier battling for our souls.  I just want to focus on that.  How awesome!  When I hear that (and read it) it just makes me smile.  It is so cool to know that God loves me so much He is battling for me, for my soul. 

   On the other hand I also think about that fact in a deeper way.  There is a war going on for me right now.  The spiritual battle is going on and I often forget that and give in to the temptations that Satan places in front of me.  Most of the time I give in to what ever he throws at me and don't even think about what I am doing.  I let my guard down and give the devil an opertune chance to strike.  

Eph. 6:13-15  (the message)

Be prepared.  You're up against far more than you can handle on your own.  Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so the when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet.  Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words.  Learn how to apply them.  You'll need them throughout your life.  God's Word is an indispensable weapon.  

  Right now I am fighting to apply faith to my walk with Christ.  As most of you know I had surgery in January and am in the recovery.  Let me tell you it is very easy to become discoraged on this long haul to healing.  Everyday I have to tell myself to keep going even when I don't see results right away.   I have to have faith in God.  I have to have faith that God will bring a full recovery to my body in time.  His time.  

  That is how I am growing into a better soldier at this point in my life. I am working hard so that I may fight for my soul right next to my Savior.  And win.  

~Megs

 

Falsehood vs. Truth

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor for we are all members of one body.

Ephesians 4:25

Dear Readers,

Have you ever lied when someone asks you how you are?  You know what I mean.  The old, "Oh I'm doing great! Did you know..."  And we escape the question quickly and efficiently.  How often do we do that?  Do we just answer everyone the same way?  Do we come up with a plan in our heads and act on it?   Really, how much would it hurt to just answer truthfully?   The verse from Ephesians that I posted above clearly states that we are to, 'put off falsehood.'  Why?  Because we are all part of God's body and when one of us mourns all of us are to mourn.  When one of us rejoices all of us are to rejoice.  But how can we do this if we are not truthful?   I know that I am asking a lot of questions, but I know that for myself they are much to often questions that I do not want to answer.  Sooner or later I know that I will have to face these questions and I believe that the longer I hide behind my lies the harder it will be to escape them.   So I am choosing to step out and break this sinful habit.  That does not mean I will start to bawl when someone asks me how I am.  It also does not mean that I will shriek my head off in church if I find out I get to meet BarlowGirl. :) What it means is this: I will share and be truthful, but I will also be aware of my surroundings and choose when to share and when to listen.  I know that God will give me the right opportunities to cry and the right opportunities to laugh.  And so I ask you, please do not wait if you also struggle with this.  The best friendships are always built on honesty and God's love.  So let us work together as a body.  Let us mourn together and rejoice together. 

Love in Christ,

~Megs

The Horse And His Boy

1 John 5:14-15

...If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

Dear Readers,

Today I am going to ask you to remember the story of, "The horse and his boy" by C.S. Lewis. The story is about a young boy named Shasta who is escaping his master on a talking horse from Narnia. Together the horse (Bree) and Shasta go through many adventures and trials.  They race through desserts and meet up with two other runaways.  Towards the end of the book Shasta is walking on a path in the mountains talking to himself about how unfortunate he is.  He lists time after time in his life that something went wrong.  Then he realizes that something is walking at his side he asks this 'thing' who it is, 

  "One who has waited long for you to speak." The 'thing' answered him.  After talking with the creature Shasta eventually told 'It' all of his troubles.  The "thing" told Shasta that he had been there for each one of those trials. The "thing" was Aslan.

  God is like that for us.  We go through life looking at all of the "unfortunate" happenings often thinking we're alone.  We grumble and tell ourselves all kinds of lies about how bad our life really is.  We travel along this path until we  make the decision to open our eyes and see fact that someone is walking beside us.  Through each trial and struggle God is always with us.  

  Aslan opened Shasta's eyes when he told him of all the times in his past that he had been there.   The Lion had been there through all of the "unfortunate" things in Shasta's life and some way or another Aslan had made good come from each one.  

  God can do that for us.  He is here walking beside us waiting for us to speak, and when we speak he is there ready to listen.  He can and will make good come from the "unfortunate" things in our lives.  Showing us how he was there for the dark time times, and how he is here now.  

  He is ready and waiting.

  The only question is, are you going to speak?

~Megs

  "Who are you?" he said, scarcely above a whisper.

  "One who has waited long for you to speak," said the Thing.  Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep...."Tell me your sorrows."

~Taken from, "The horse and his boy" by C.S. Lewis~

Red Sky

Red Sky

Brandon Heath, Jason Ingram

There's a man on my street

He reminds me everyday

Better take what you can get

Cause there's nothing more than this

Daylight fades into the ground,

Oh Lord I need You now

Cover me

With a red sky tonight 

The promise of a better day to come

Sing over me

An angelic symphony

Tell me everything will be alright

With the red sky tonight

We're so taking with our fear 

Now we're folded up in shame

With our feet nailed to the floor

We're the only ones to blame

I can't help but wonder why

Nobody bats an eye

You can see it in the faces

Of all the passers by

Cover me

With a red sky tonight

The promise of a better day to come

Sing over me

An angelic symphony

Tell me everything will be alright

With the red sky tonight

I'll sail into the sun

And when the day is done

I need you in the night

To wake me in the dawn

I see you in the sun

When the day is done

It's the red sky

It's the red sky

Tonight

~Red sky at night, sailors delight, Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning~

God is our red sky at night.  He gives us hope for each day, prodding us on to live for Him.  In the midst of a hard day we can still rise up and support those around us because He is at our side. He's the red sky tonight.

~Megs