Armed with Armor

13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. -Mark 3:13-15

In today’s passage, we see Jesus appointing twelve apostles from all the disciple who were following him.  He pulls out of the crowd, a select few, giving them the charge to preach and he gave them authority to drive out demons.

It is no mistake that Jesus did both things.  You see whenever Jesus is talked about, Satan is near.  He will do his best to distract people from the gospel message.  Jesus is not concerned though, he has all authority over Satan and his demons.

The disciples Jesus picked were not perfect men.  We see time and again how they failed Jesus. Jesus does not need perfect people he needs loyal people.  Men who won’t walk away when times get tough, because they were going to get tough.  He picked men who would trust that God had a plan and it wasn’t always going to be what they expected.

Jesus knew that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the evil forces in our world. Jesus picked men who could be taught to understand where the fight lies.

We all need that same understanding.  If we are going to talk about Jesus, Satan will be near, trying to distract those around us.  Our fight is not with our neighbor though, it is with the devil and his demons. We need to put on the armor of God daily and stand firm against the devils schemes.

Trusting for the Long Haul

When I think about people who have trusted God, Joshua is always one of the first I remember.  In the story where Moses sent scouts out to search area God promised them, Joshua and Caleb were the only team reporting that they can stick with the plan and take the land. 

Joshua didn’t say this because their army was strong and their soldiers were big.  He didn’t feel optimistic because they had some master plan up their sleeve.  He just trusted God.  He knew God told Moses the land would be theirs, so Joshua said, “Let’s go!”

Because of Joshua’s trust in God, he is now reaping the reward.  “…Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelite's.  I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses…” Today’s passage shows us how important trusting God is.  Moses did not get to set foot in the promise land, because he wavered in his trust. 

We can trust God too.  Have you felt God promise you something? While reading the word, or perhaps during a prayer, have you heard the Still Small Voice speak a promise to you?   Has a fellow Christian spoken a word over you that you knew to be from God, and now you are waiting for the promise to come to pass?  Do not waiver!  Trust God.  Our scripture today says, “Be strong and courageous” two different times.  I love when the word does that.  That kind of repetition shows me the instruction is REALLY important.  So, I will say the same thing to you as you wait for God’s promises in your life to come to pass. 

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, BE VERY STRONG AND COURAGEOUS.

God can be trusted.

Read today’s passage here Joshua1:1-7 

Real Love Can't Be Faked

Romans 12:9-21 The Message (MSG)

^9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

^11-13 Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

^14-16 Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

^17-19 Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

^20-21 Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

I have been mulling over today’s scripture passage all week.   I have read it from different translations and prayed over it.  Last week I talked to you about trusting God and how I have struggled trusting for most of my life.  I love God and have always desired to serve Him, but I have also struggled with trusting Him with everything.

This week’s passage is a direct reflection of where I still struggle with trusting God.  Our passage for today talks about loving with sincerity, laughing with those who laugh, crying with those who cry, not seeking revenge, serving our enemy, helping those in need and on and on.

Don’t get me wrong it is an AMAZING passage!  I love what Paul is teaching us here, but it is SO hard if you struggle with trusting God.  I’m seeing how important it is to believe and trust that God loves me and will take care of me, in order to live out this passage. 

If we know who we are in Christ, we can let people in and allow them to get CLOSE.  Close enough to SINCERELY laugh and cry with them.  Close enough to be hurt by some.  Close enough to want to bless them when they do hurt us.  When we trust God, we will let people close and not throw judgement around like we know the whole story. 

Do you see why I have been praying about this passage all week?  It is not an easy one, but it is such an important lesson to learn.  I pray that you will be challenged by these words as well.

Trust Me...

Where do trust issues come from? This is a question I asked for a long time. I have struggled for most of my life with trust. Our scripture passage today is Psalm 62: 5-12 and it talks about trusting God “at all times.” That is hard.

Verses 7 and 8 say,

“7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.”

While trusting others is tough, I find that trusting God to be a challenge as well. Why? If God is good and God is love, shouldn’t we trust him “at all times” like the Psalmist says? I think our struggle with trust comes when,

Our expectations ≠ Our reality

We have expectations for how we believe we should be treated. Our passage today uses the word “honor”. If we receive less than we expect our trust is shaken. This can even happen with our relationship with God. If we think we deserve different treatment from him, our trust in him falters. It’s hard to say and mean, “Thy will be done.”

How do we remedy our trust issues with God? I believe the only way is to get to know him. Please don’t think this a cliché “church” answer. God is very real and if we spend time talking to him, he will help our heart see and believe that he is both love and good.

If we spend time in the word, we will learn who he is and how he works, allowing us to not have misplaced expectations. God won’t fail us, but his provision is not always what we desire.

Finally, if you really struggle with trust maybe get a good book on the topic. I have read, Transforming Grace, by Jerry Bridges and it opened my eyes to my misplaced expectations.

The neat thing about mending our trust issues with God… it will also mend any problems we have trusting others because we will only go to God for our honor.

Read the entire passage here Psalms 62:5-12

Standing Firm

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Our scripture today is the famous, Armor of God passage.  Filled with so many tools for us to take advantage of.  We must remember though, that the fight we face is;

1.   NOT against flesh and blood.  So that coworker, neighbor, or family member is not the enemy. Our enemy resides in the spiritual realm.

2.   We are not to fight in our strength.  We actually don’t have the strength or ability to fight the spiritual on our own.

God has given us what we need to be strong in HIS mighty power. What has he given us?  If we look at Ephesians 6:10-18 we find God has provided truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and his word. All of these things not only fight for us, but they protect us from the evil one.

Our job is to;

1.   Stand firm through the battle, trusting that God loves us and has won. 

2.   Keep on praying.  Pray all kinds of prayers not only for yourself, but for other believers standing firm in the trenches. 

Praying keeps us connected to God, reminding us that the battle is a spiritual one.  If we stop praying, we will start doubting God’s power and start trusting our own. Prayer is the key to standing firm.   We acknowledge that we cannot do this on our own.  Our only hope is to be strong in the Lord and his mighty power.

Trust Issues

Faith. Belief.  These two words all come down to one thing. Trust.

Do you easily trust others?  I know I don’t.  I struggle relinquishing control to someone else.  I have lived much of my life following the motto, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

Why is it hard for us to trust others?  The obvious answer is, because they could fail us.

Is it hard for you to trust God?  Ouch! Is that a hard question to be honest about?  Trusting God can be hard because we can’t control the outcome.  We can know in our head that God wants the best for us, but trusting with our heart is not as easy.

Our scripture passage today says,

“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

and also,

“However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” 

Abraham trusted God.  God said, pack up your stuff and your family and go to the place I will show you.  So Abraham trusted God and obeyed. 

I have found it easier to trust others the more I know them.  I trust my husband because we have been married for 18 years. The closer you are to someone, the more you know if they are trustworthy, and the easier it is to give them control.

The same goes for God. The closer we get to him.  The more we know about him.  The easier it is to trust him.  If he is a stranger to you, it only makes sense that you don’t trust him.

Corrie ten Boom said it wonderfully, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”  If you don’t know him yet, today’s a good day to start.  Trust me, it will be worth it.

Decisions, Decisions Acts 1:20-26

"'Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.' Then they cast lots..."


About eight years ago my husband and I started fertility treatments. After two years of marking our calendar, enduring what we jokingly called my “psycho meds” (If you have done these meds you understand what I am saying), and poking myself with countless injections we were still unsuccessful at our attempts to become parents.

Anxious to enter the world of sleepless nights and action packed days we decided to look into adoption. Encouraged after our first meeting with the adoption agency we now had a dilemma. Do we continue trying to conceive or dive head first into the adoption process?

Our scripture passage today shows the disciples in a similar predicament. Needing to fill Judas’ spot as one of the twelve, they have two very positive candidates. Not sure what decision to make the disciples turned to God.

The disciples cast lots and whoever’s “number” came up was the one God wanted. Steve and I turned our path to parenting over to God too. We did not hear God saying one or the other so we continued with both and let Him decide. We were absolutely blessed by God’s decision. It has been a little over five years since we adopted our son and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Read today's passage at Biblegateway Acts 1:20-26