#everydayinspiration – Books that changed my life
In this journey of faith, there has been much to learn. The first book that changed my life was the Bible. I read The Living Bible from cover to cover around the time my oldest son was five years old. He is now almost 32 years old. This reading seemed to give me a real heart for God. In the reading, learning about the children of Israel and God’s relationship with them as well as theirs with God. There were moments that I could actually place myself in their shoes as well as connect to God in a way that I had not done so before.
However, the significance of the two books in this post is how the perspective of the writer, Frank Peretti, changed my whole thought process about good and evil. His detailed information about the subtlety and strategies of the enemy to lure us away from God is truly awesome to me. There was an understanding about the forces of good and evil that was given to me with such clarity. And, while I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the characters who had the challenges that we face today, the understanding about how difficult it can be to deal with those used by the enemy in our journey was very enlightening. Peretti shed clarity about the children of God, those who chose not to believe, those who were used by the enemy, the enemy and the angels.
Continue reading Everyday Inspiration – This Present Darkness & Piercing the Darkness
This is an interesting word of inspiration to write about. Understanding doesn’t necessarily mean agreement. Understanding does not mean acceptance. When you explain what you may be going through at any given moment, the person you are sharing with may nod in understanding. However, it doesn’t mean they agree with you. I understand how a child trained a certain way behaves because of the way they were raised. However, that doesn’t mean I accept that it is okay.
I believe all of us know what the word fight means. It is to contend or struggle in war, battle, single combat. It is a conflict or struggle. It is a vigorous effort in the face of difficulty. Holding our own in this world is a daunting task. However, God knew that we couldn’t do this alone or without Him, and because He loves us so much, He sent Jesus to die for us and Jesus left us His Holy Spirit to arm us. Let us fight the good fight of faith! God gave us all that we need including the descriptive details of what this looks like in Ephesians 6. There are no excuses other than we just don’t want to. I believe that equipping ourselves daily-yes, daily-with the Word of God is one of the first and very critical steps in fighting this fight.
It is imperative that we get this. God is so detailed in how He gives us His Word that we should be excited. He has covered all the bases. Are you wearing your full armor in this battle? Fighting the good fight of faith is about the unseen. It is not necessary to have faith in what you already see because you see it. The unseen world, or the heavenly realm is just as real as the natural. The enemy seeks to steal, kill and destroy by any means necessary and he certainly will use the supernatural realm to try to stop us from walking by faith. You have no ammunition that can fight the enemy when you do not have God’s armor. Those negative thoughts will come and those testy situations from the enemy are used to wear us down. However, we are not to be weary in well-doing. If you don’t put on the armor, you get weaker the more you get hit. Ask any veteran about the true art of war. To fight the battle, you have to be prepared. God is so gracious to us because He has given us explicit instructions on how to fight this thing. The battle is truly not ours anyway but the Lord’s. We are His soldiers. Make no mistake because Jesus has given us the victory in His death and resurrection. The requirement from us is to fight in faith here on earth. The extent of His love is so phenomenal because He still gives us free will to say yes. God gave us Christ to save us, gave us His Holy Spirit for power in the resurrection and the Word of God to arm us. How much more can we ask for? The enemy certainly has a clue of the value of you standing in faith for your purpose in the kingdom of God. I now ask again, “Are you wearing your full armor in this battle? Is not this a fight worth fighting for? ” Our eternity is based on the answer.