Lift Up or Small Down..It's Your Choice!

Lift Up or Small Down…It’s Your Choice

By:: angie c tipton

actnow ministries

4.24.2012

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” Mark 6:4

I have to tell you, I have come to embrace this scripture!  When the Lord first brought it to me, I DID NOT want to apply it to my life…mainly because this is Jesus speaking about himself in His situation while He was in ministry mode here on earth.  Really, I thought, who am I?  But, God kept bringing it back to me.  Finally, I caved and realized that there’s comfort in these words…especially for someone with God given dreams and desires that have not come to fruition yet.  Just because we are familiar with someone, doesn’t mean that we know what they can or cannot do in their life.  Don’t let familiarity cause you to judge a person wrongly…just don’t allow yourself to fall into that trap!

I learned, going on 15 years ago, that it’s not my place to judge or decide who can do what in the body of Christ.  I found that I was in a position to help a single mom and her 14 year old daughter.  The mom had fast growing cataracts on her eyes and was rendered legally blind within a few short months.  When God crossed our paths, she had already lost her job and was living on $350/month.  Her rent was $300/month.  I’ll leave the math to you!  Needless to say, they were barely making it.  Long story short, God provided a way for her to have the cataracts removed free of charge, she moved out of the slum that they had landed in, and she ended up with a job at the local Wal~Mart in which she still works to this day.  What a lesson for me in taking care of someone who had literally next to nothing.  I’m not sure who benefitted most…me or her.  Either way, God was glorified through it all!

In the process of all of this, I got to know this lady pretty well and oh, how she loves the Lord.  One day she said to me that it was her hearts desire to head up a soup kitchen for the homeless.  Now, when she said this, I had two different choices…lift her up…or small her down.  I chose to lift her up.  In that moment of milliseconds, the Lord impressed upon me that it wasn’t my job to tell her that she could or she could not ever head up a soup kitchen, just because of the situation she was in at that moment.

I have to tell you, I have had more people, well meaning people, small me down and not lift me up.  In all honesty, this used to upset me.  Also, I was/am always SO surprised at who this negativity comes from.   I’m sure it’s not ever done out of spite or jealously, I’m not saying that at all.  I just believe that people don’t want me to get hurt because THEY don’t believe in the dreams and desires of my heart.  You know, it took me a long time to be able to say this, but…it’s all good!  I believe that God is in control of everything and if He didn’t want me to hear those words, He would have protected me from them.  However, on the other hand, He wanted me to learn from them.  He wanted me to look to NO other than Himself for affirmation.  You see, what is it really going to matter what “SoAndSo” says or thinks when my dream comes to fruition?  Funny thing is, it still won’t matter what they have to say after it happens, because all that matters is what God says or thinks about me.

Now, I say all of this for a reason.  I believe that there are a lot of people out there who have dreams and desires in their hearts, but aren’t going after them because of negative words that have been spoken over them when they were brave enough to speak them out loud.  I say “GO FOR IT!!”  God puts these things in our hearts for a reason!!  He created each of us uniquely.  Maybe your dream is to start a new business, run a marathon or maybe it’s to build a new home or go back to college…it doesn’t really matter what it is.  If it’s your dream, that’s all that matters. God created us to keep moving or reaching forward in Him, not to be complacent.  If you allow yourself to get complacent, life will get boring and stagnate.  Don’t allow that to happen in your life.  GO FOR IT!  And, when you do, don’t allow anyone to small you down.  Even if you do hear negative words spoken over you, just remember that as long as you put God first, don’t give up and continue on until you reach that goal, God WILL bring your dreams to fruition!

Now, on the other hand…don’t be the “someone” who smalls people down.  We, as Christians, need to be encouraging each other…not “smalling each other down.”  And, it’s not just Christians who we should have this attitude toward.  We should be encouraging to EVERYONE around us…EVERYONE!  Who are we to judge who can or cannot do something?

You know, I sometimes think that we get so used to life around us that we forget JUST who the God of this universe is!  Look at all that He has created!  Scientists have discovered that they were wrong about the expansion of the universe slowing down.  They have actually discovered that it is continuing to expand.  What a beautiful example for us to continue reaching and growing throughout our lives!

Of course, we ARE human and unfortunately, negativity is default mode for us.  That’s why we have to purposefully make an effort to lift others up…we’re just not wired that way naturally…at least most of us!  Choose to lift others up in their dreams and desires, don’t small them down.  Just think of the difference you can make in someone else’s life by simply being positive and encouraging them!  It’s easy to encourage someone and I have found that it’s infectious!  As Christians, we are here to serve, not to be served!  I challenge you to make a difference in someone else’s life!   The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  John 10:10

All these years later, I still see this lady at Wal~Mart and without fail, I always think of her dream of running a soup kitchen.  It hasn’t happened for her yet, but I am still believing in it for her and I look forward to that day when it comes to fruition for her! 

Remember…”Lift Up or Small Down…It’s Your Choice!”

Blow Away the Dead Debris!!

Blow Away the Dead Debris

By:: angie c tipton

act now ministries

3.31.2012

Today I headed out to be of service to a lady in our community with a group from my church.  The task at hand was to give a good spring cleaning to her yard which had leaves leftover from autumn. 

I arrived with leaf rake in hand, ready to go.   As I started in, I realized that I was going to be there for a while.  In the area where we were, there is a multitude of trees which, in turn, leaves an over abundance of leaves…or dead debris!   

After I had gotten into a groove as far as the raking goes, someone approached me and offered up a leaf blower.  I have to tell you, I really didn’t want to use it, but, in an effort to be polite, I went ahead, set down the rake, which is much lighter and much, much more quiet, and picked up the leaf blower.  It took a few minutes for me to get a good feel for it as it’s been a while since I’ve used one.  We usually mulch them all up and use them as a great source of nitrogen for our yard, eliminating the need for raking or leaf blowing.  Anyway, with all of the noise and leaves blowing around, I began to hear that still, small voice speaking to me about the task I was in the midst of.  I have to tell you, I just LOVE it when the Lord speaks to me while I’m in the middle of a task like this.  The analogies that God uses to teach me, just simply “blows me away”…pun intended!  J

So…there I was…in the “sea of leaves” and the Lord began to show me how the dead leaves or “debris” is like the dead debris inside of each of us…you know the stuff that needs to be taken out of us to become more refined…more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus.  As I pointed the blower on the top of the leaves, the leaves would blow away quickly and nearly effortlessly, as they hadn’t had time to get compacted and weighted down.  But, the closer to the ground I got, the more difficult it became to move the leaves.  These leaves had been there for quite some time, were compacted and not as easy to blow away.  This is much like the debris in us.  As a Christian begins to work on the debris that God wants out of their life, the surface stuff, often times, is the easiest to deal with and get rid of.  It’s the debris that’s deeper within us…the stuff that’s been there for a while, that can be challenging to get to and deal with.

 At this point, I was “in the zone”…blowing the leaves, listening to the Lord, when suddenly, the blower just quit.  It had run it out of fuel.  The Lord impressed upon me how, many times, when we Christians begin to get to the “hard stuff” in our lives, we tend to back off or even quit, and sometimes we don’t continue to let the Holy Spirit do his work simply because it CAN BE very difficult to deal with some of the deeper issues in our lives.  The key is to stay focused on Him and know that He will complete what He has started in us…if we don’t “run out of fuel”, so to speak...or rather, don’t stop praying, praising and seeking God regularly.  The joy of the Lord is our strength.

I refilled the tank with fuel and tried to start it.  Because I had run it out of fuel, it didn’t start up right away.  I had to mess with the choke to get it just right to start it back up.  When things get difficult for us in our walk with the Lord, don’t just shrink back…praise Him…even if you don’t feel like it…praise Him…even if you can barely eek out the words, “I praise You.” He WILL honor your praise!  Keep on keepin’ on!  Praise is the “fuel” to keep you going in Christ.  Remember it’s always easy to praise God when you’re on the mountain top.  It’s not as easy when you’re in the valley all alone.  But, I believe that when we do praise Him in spite of being in that valley, we will grow and mature even more. 

So, I went on to finish blowing the leaves and found that even below the compacted leaves, there were dead tree limbs and branches.  Oddly enough, this represented any “skeletons” that may be “in the closet”, so to speak.  Many of these branches and limbs were rotting away.  When we have things in our past that we don’t deal with, it’s as if we have these dead rotting bones there that are serving no purpose in our lives whatsoever.  As I walked around blowing the leaves, I found it to be easy to stumble on the branches and limbs.  So, throwing them out of the way was the best remedy.  We should ALL be constantly asking the Lord to take out of us anything in us that He doesn’t WANT in us.  So often, it’s too easy for us to forget about something that happened long ago and not deal with it, forgetting that it’s even there, or worse yet, living in denial about whatever may be there.  God knows SO much better than we do what is within us, how to deal with it and get rid of it, causing our walk to be easier and perhaps keeping us from stumbling.

You know as I kept pressing forward, blowing the leaves to their destination, I didn’t realize how far I had gone until I looked back and saw that I had made great strides in blowing them away.  I could see all kinds of small plant life that had been trying to grow under all the debris.  Yes, it was growing, but not very well!  Just like with God, once you begin to make progress by getting the debris out of the way, that allows the Son to shine and the growth in your life will be amazing, simply amazing!

So, it doesn’t matter if you’re a new Christian or one who’s been on this path for a while.  Blow Away the Dead Debris in your life!  Not one of us has “arrived” yet!  We will ALWAYS, ALWAYS have something to work on in ourselves this side of Heaven.  Ask God on a regular basis to take out of you what He doesn’t want in you.  He IS faithful!  He will show you what and how to “Blow Away the Dead Debris” in your life.         

Don't Wait To Rebuke the Enemy!!

Don’t wait to rebuke the enemy!

By:: angie c tipton

act now ministries

3.26.2012

Well, today I was out riding my bike around the country side.  I found myself wanting to leave out one of the legs of the 22 mile ride.  The reason I wanted to leave it out is because in this 5 mile stretch, there is a dog that is, let’s just say, “less than friendly.” 

This is the beginning of my 4^th spring/summer to ride through this area.  The first couple of summers, every time I went this way, I was with my bestie, and I guess the dog stayed away because there were 2 of us.  So, I’ve known that this dog is there.  But, I had not seen him chase after people before.  Apparently, he really likes to chase after “lone bikers,” which, I must tell you, is rather terrifying!  The first time he chased after me, I didn’t expect it.  This dog came out of nowhere and I nearly fell off of my bike…and this is not some small teacup Yorkie with “little dog” syndrome either.  This dog is an aggressive Boxer that keeps up a pretty good pace! 

The first time this happened, I felt as if the Lord was comparing the attack of this dog with the attack of the enemy.  You see, this dog caught me totally off guard and yes, I was scared!  I really didn’t even know what to do.  I believe the enemy will and does attack like this.  I have to tell you, I’m not afraid of the enemy because I KNOW that in the name of Jesus, I have authority over him.  But, speaking honestly, I have had moments when the enemy came out of nowhere and caught me off guard and for a brief moment until I got my bearings, I was scared.  If the enemy can get us to operate out of fear, he has won the battle…hands down.  Operating in fear means that you, whether consciously or unconsciously, believe what the enemy is saying, doing or threatening more than what you believe God is saying or doing…Yes, it’s true!

So, when I ride my bike past this house, I have learned to stay totally focused and am totally prepared for this dog.  The thing that amazes me is that this dog does not operate the same way 2 times in a row, much like our enemy.  Take today for instance, I saw the dog lying on the grass.  I kept my eyes straight ahead and paid him no attention…I thought I was in the clear.  HA!! He waited until I was nearly past the house and then came at me from behind.  Still, I held my ground.  You see, through having to deal with this dog, the Lord has taught me some of the tactics of the enemy.  Sometimes he comes at you head on.  Sometimes he comes from what appears to be nowhere. And sometimes, he comes at you from behind.  No matter what his plan of attack is, it is ALWAYS to harm us!  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  John 10:10

Now, I have to tell you my husband bought pepper spray for me to use on this dog if I needed to do so.  But, I just haven’t done it…and I don’t really have a good reason for why I haven’t!  I guess I thought that the dog would get used to me and leave me alone…well, that’s just crazy thinking!  I’m beginning to think the dog has me marked and is not going to give up until he has caused me to crash.  Well, he has another thing coming! What I didn’t tell you is that on my ride I have to go past this dog twice…YES, TWICE!  Today was my breaking point!  I decided that I wasn’t going to take this any more and on my way back by, this dog got a healthy dose of pepper spray.  This action, today, was also a lesson on warfare.  Don’t let the enemy mess with you until you’ve had enough and then rebuke him!  Rebuke him or cast him out at the first sign of his appearance!

I know that the enemy, the devil or satan, whatever you prefer to call him, is very subtle at times and we may not even be aware of his tactics at first.  But, as believers, when we are made aware of the appearance of the enemy, we must rebuke him.  Don’t wait to rebuke the enemy!  We have ALL authority in the name of Jesus and spiritual warfare is part of the gig if you’re a believer.  I will even go so far as to say this.  If you are a believer and you find that you don’t have to fight off the enemy, you are probably not doing anything to advance the Kingdom of God.  That may be painful for some of you to hear.  But, it is SO true.  Trust me, the moment that you begin to do something to advance the Kingdom of God, he WILL rare his ugly head. 

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.  Ephesians 12:12-18 



Be sure to put on the full armor of God, daily!  Plead the blood of Jesus over your home and family, daily!  Everything we need to know to fight the devil is in the bible, but for some reason, it’s not always taught or used.  If you are a Christian, you ARE in a battle!  Be prepared…and don’t wait to rebuke the enemy!  Jesus died to give us that authority…so, use it!

Be Persistent...Press In and Press On

Be Persistent…Press In and Press On

By ::  angie c tipton

           act now ministries

           2.20.2012

Today I was reading the story in the Bible where a paralyzed man was healed by Jesus. In this story, obviously the man couldn’t walk by himself, so his friends carried him on his mat to a house where Jesus was teaching.  The house was so full of people that they weren’t able to get inside.  The men carrying the man on the mat didn’t let that stop them.  They took him to the roof of the house and took away part of the roof and lowered the man down in front of Jesus.  Jesus, seeing the faith of the men, said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Now, this statement really got the Pharisees all hot and bothered.  Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and asked them, “Is it easier to say to this man, ‘your sins are forgiven, or stand up, pick up your mat and walk?’” With that, the paralyzed man stood up, picked up his mat and left praising God.    (This story can be found in Matt. 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12 and Luke 5:17-26)

I want to point out a few of the things that can be learned from this story. 

1:: The man’s friends carried him to Jesus.  How many times have we had someone in our lives that needed to be “carried to Jesus,” so to speak?  Whether it be in prayer for them, time to let this person vent and then pray for them, literally take them to church or another destination just simply because they need a ride, we, as believers, need to step it up and do the right thing.  Let’s not allow our lives to be SO cluttered with “stuff” that we cannot or WILL NOT take the time to do the right thing.  If you notice in the scripture, Jesus healed the man because of “their” faith.  It doesn’t say he healed him because of the man’s own faith.  That statement speaks volumes to me!  Because of OUR own faith, OUR own actions, OUR own persistence, we can have a HUGELY positive affect in the lives of others!  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to pass up ANY opportunity where I can be helpful in that way to someone else.

2:: The place where Jesus was, had so many people that the men were unable to get  the paralyzed man to Jesus.  Let me ask you this; are you so busy at your church that, if/when someone in desperate need of our Lord and Savior comes in; do you see them, make room for them or perhaps lead them to the place to get the proper help?  I’m convinced that it matters not whether the church we attend has 10 people or 10,000 people, if we don’t make ourselves alert to those around us, we may be missing out on an opportunity to help someone else.  Let’s make a conscious effort to look for those in need, whether they are within the church walls or outside of them.  Let’s choose to BE the difference in someone’s life to either help them or get them to the help that is needed.  I don’t want to be someone who’s eyes and ears are closed to those in need.  You NEVER know what someone is going through and you NEVER know when you may be the last person that they reach out to for help.  As believers, we’re here to serve, not to be served!

3:: The men who were carrying the paralyzed man did not let the fact that they could not get through the crowd stop them.  They were determined to find a way to get to Jesus.  Can you imagine having enough determination to find it necessary to take down part of a roof to get to Jesus?  They WERE determined!  When we find ourselves with obstacles in our paths, we need to press in and press on and be determined that nothing and no one is going to stop us from our breakthrough.  Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ~ Matthew 7:7 ~ This scripture is easy to say, but it is not the easiest to live out.  Sometimes the process of living out these words can take a long time.  I would venture a guess that most folks don’t get their breakthrough because it is not always easy and they give up or they believe the lies of the enemy and give up.  Be persistent…press in and press on.

4:: Now what about the paralyzed man?  Jesus didn’t heal him the moment he saw him.  No, first he told him that his sins were forgiven and moments later he healed him.  I believe this suggests that we are not to just seek Jesus for physical healing, but spiritual healing as well.  First, Jesus forgave him of his sins.  This shows just how much we need Jesus.  We NEED his forgiveness to keep from being “paralyzed” spiritually.  Then, Jesus healed him physically.  Jesus demonstrated his power and authority, not only in that moment, but for us all for all eternity.  It also shows us that we need him for all aspects of life…spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc.

I have to tell you, I have experienced everything that I have written about today in one way or another.  I have been the one who was paralyzed spiritually and emotionally and in turn, it crippled me physically in that I was so depressed that I could not function properly.  When I needed some one to care the most is when I got abandonment and judgment.   But,   I have also been the one helping others to get back on their feet...this is SO important to me to help others.  If you have never experienced the terrible time of depression or suicidal thoughts, I ask you to pray to God and ask for compassion in that area.  The body of Christ could use more people with compassion in this area.

No matter what category you may find yourself in, be persistent…press in and press on.  Honestly, it took me some time to get my head wrapped around this concept, but Jesus has it all figured out already...really…ALL OF IT!  He didn’t die on that cross just so that we could go to Heaven, although if we accept him as our Savior, we will certainly enjoy Heaven.  He took care of our EVERY need when he died on the cross.  Yes, EVERY need.  It’s OUR job to look to him, trust in him, be persistent…press in and press on.  If you look to him for ALL aspects of your life, he WILL show you the way.  He IS faithful and his love for us is SO much greater than we can even imagine!  So, I encourage you to Be Persistent…Press In and Press On!!    

To Speak or Not To Speak?

To Speak or Not To Speak?

by::  angie c tipton

act now ministries

9.4.2011

It’s true that we all have the freedom to speak our mind.  The truth of the matter is that we all have the freedom to NOT speak our mind, as well.  In many conversations, I find for myself, that the latter of the two choices is best.  It is not my job to judge others or give advice...advice that is, more than likely, not wanted, especially when someone is just venting.  The definition of vent is to “expel” or “discharge.”  When someone is venting, they are not looking to take in anything, let alone unwanted advice.

When speaking our mind causes us to step out of the boundaries that love has set for us is when speaking our mind may become hurtful to others.  What works for one person may not work for another.  There’s more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak.  If we were all the same, this world would be a very boring place.

My hope is that those who find it necessary to speak their “wisdom” don’t realize the harm and strife that they are possibly causing to those around them.  My fear is that they don’t care about the harm or strife caused by their careless words.  Hoping, believing and praying for the positive for others as well as ourselves, is a good thing.  Love never fails. It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to convict us all of our flaws or offenses.  In the words of someone who has a lot of experience in this area (Joyce Meyer)…”You’re not Holy Ghost, Jr.!”

Jesus is THE ultimate answer for any issue that we will ever have need of in this life.  He did not beat around the bush with things that needed to be confronted.  He confronted and moved on.  However, He did not approach everyone in the same way.  In John 8:2-11, a woman who was caught in adultery was brought to Jesus.  Those who brought her wanted to stone her.  Jesus stooped down and began to write in the dust with his finger…virtually ignoring them.  After the accusers continued on for a while, Jesus rose up and said, “Those who are without sin…throw the first stone.” The Bible says that eventually the one’s who heard His words were convicted by their own conscience and left out one by one, leaving Jesus alone with the woman in the midst.  He then spoke to her telling her that He did not condemn her and to “go and sin no more.”  Now Jesus did not point out every flaw that those condemning her had committed.  He did not “get in their faces” and “tell ‘em how it is.”  Rather, He silently stayed back and very likely, prayed for the appropriate response…even while her accusers continued ranting.  And, finally when dealing with the woman, He didn’t go on and on with her about why she was committing adultery because “maybe she had been abused as a child, maybe she had an absentee father, and just maybe she was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places”…and so on and so forth.  He simply told her that He did not condemn her and to go and sin no more.

Now, the woman’s accusers were definitely venting to Jesus in this situation as well as trying to entrap him.  BUT, Jesus used wisdom to handle this situation.  He KNEW that the Truth would set them all free…the accusers and the woman…and He did not have to say much for that to be accomplished.  What an amazing example for us!  Sometimes few words or even silence will handle whatever issue comes up, simply because we leave our hands off of it and let the Holy Spirit do His job.  It is not our job to judge and many times, it’s not our job to give advice.  Of course there are times when we MUST handle situations and give advice.  I’m not suggesting that we should always sit back and be mute.  But, we should use caution and most importantly, wisdom.

I find that I continually need wisdom in many different situations in my life.  And, this one thing I am glad to know when I don’t have the wisdom needed for a particular situation; “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and He will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking.” ~ James 1:5. ~  Wisdom…it’s a good thing, and when we find ourselves lacking, all we need to do is ask…especially in “that moment” when the question is not what to say, but to speak or not to speak?

I have to tell you that this devotion has not been written because of any one incident in my life, but rather by trial and error over many years.  I cannot tell you how many years of my life I was “pushed around” verbally when all I really wanted was for someone to listen to me...allow me to vent.  But also, I’ve been on the other side of it…yes, the one doing the “verbal pushing”, so to speak, when someone else just wanted to vent.  It’s true!  And finally, I have witnessed seeing someone “verbally push” another...watching the entire process from the outside…it’s not a pretty sight!

Getting right down to where the rubber meets the road…Jesus came so that we not only would have life, but have it more abundantly. ~ John 10:10 ~ When we accept Him as our Savior, we are no longer our own.  We are His.  He paid the price for us and WE ARE FREE!!  Our freedom is found in Jesus and, at times, that freedom is to NOT do certain things as He leads us, such as, “to speak or not to speak?”

Ask and you will receive...Pray, Trust and Believe

Ask and you will receive…pray, trust and believe.

angie c tipton        

act now ministries

9.2.2011 

Having a difficult time sleeping tonight…fell asleep earlier for about twenty minutes, woke up and have been up since then.  It’s now seven past two am...and counting…

A lot of things have been going through my mind tonight.  A tragic accident happened less than twelve hours ago.  A senior from my son’s high school class was killed in a tragic car accident.  It’s a terrible thing for anyone to lose their life at such a young age…so difficult to understand. 

Situations like this cause me to think about priorities in life.  But it also makes me think, “What can I do in a situation like this?”

I found out about this accident while surfing the status updates on facebook.  Obviously, facebook is a social media where we post the things that are going on in our lives.  Most days I can find a wide variety of things happening with my friends…everything from humor to venting; political items to prayer requests.   But some days, like today, the needs of people seem to be overwhelming.  As I cruise through the status updates daily and sometimes several times a day, I often DO find the needs of my friends overwhelming.  Now, I don’t say this in a negative way.  I say this in an “I want to help, what can I do?” kind of way.  I see friends with health, financial, family issues, etc…whatever the issues may be, I think, “is there really anything I can do to help?”  Well, yes…I pray.  Some days I think to myself, “I don’t have time or I don’t know how to pray for these people…there are so many who have needs…it’s all so overwhelming!” And, the number of my facebook friends is only in the triple digits!  I could easily allow these many needs to bog me down.   I could turn away from them and do nothing or even decide that there is nothing that can be done.   I guess  I’m beating around the bush trying to get to a point.  That point is that our God…the Great I AM, the all knowing God, Creator of the universe knows everything that is needed to know about any and all of my friends, let alone every human who has ever been.  Now THAT is overwhelming!!  It is so easy to turn these requests over to Him.  Seriously!!  He already knows what we all have need of…all we have to do is ask for His help.  His word says, “ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened.”  Matthew 7:7 ~ (This scripture is perfect.  It is complete…in which the 7’s may or may not be alluding to ~ meaning perfection and/or completion…merely a suggestion! J)  It is so simple to ask through prayer?  We need only to ask?  Is it really that simple?  God wants us to communicate with Him.  He wants us to ask Him for what we need.  It’s a choice…to communicate or not to communicate?

Now, God is sovereign.  His ways are perfect…and, His timing is perfect.  For us to comprehend this can be a challenge.  Maybe you’ve been asking for something for years without an answer…I can’t explain that.  All I know is that He hears everything we utter and that we should not give up because our prayers are not answered in our time frame.  He is in control of everything and not in an “evil bwahhaahhaa, the world is mine” way.  He see’s everything from a different perspective than we do.  He see’s everything in a way that allows the population of the entire world to work together like a “well oiled machine”, so to speak.  He see’s the “big picture”…a picture that we cannot even begin to glimpse, let alone comprehend with our imperfect, human minds.  If we allow Him to, He will work ALL things out for the good. 

Pray, trust and believe.  That’s what he asks of us.  I, too, have prayers that have not come to fruition for decades…yes, decades!  But, at the same time, in waiting for some prayers to come to pass, I have learned that the more outrageous prayers I pray for, the more outrageous He answers them.  Yes, it’s true!  Some prayers He has answered have totally blown me away the way He has answered them. One time, many years ago, a friend called in the middle of the night in desperate need of help.  This person hung up the phone, leaving me in deep concern. I knew the name of the city, but was not familiar with it. (This was before caller id.)  I DIDN’T have an address as this person was at someone else’s home.  I did not have a clue, but, I didn’t let that stop me.  I prayed, trusted and believed.  I can tell you this; God led me directly to this person…to their surprise!!

God will not and cannot be contained in a box.  His word says that the heavens cannot contain Him, yet He lives in us!!  How outrageous is that?!  Without wanting to or at times even realizing it, in my humanness, I’m sure that I have placed the God of this universe in a box, but ever-expanding is this “box”!  And, oh how understanding, loving and kind He is even in my imperfect humanness!  Pray, trust and believe!!  Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock; and it will be opened. 

Now, I don’t try to explain any of life’s difficult happenings.  I am far too small and insignificant in the whole scheme of things to pretend wisdom in this.  But, I, too, at a young age, experienced the loss of a close friend.  The word, “WHY” that I cried out in pain at that time is still travelling through space and time.  The further it is carried from me, the fainter it sounds, allowing God’s wisdom, sovereignty, love and peace rise to a greater volume in my life.  Does it mean that I understand that situation any better?  I’m not sure I can answer that with a “yes”.  But, this I do know.  I serve a God who loves me unconditionally and always…and He is sovereign.  He is a God of justice.  He knows what is best for me and He knows what is best for you…ALWAYS!!

Ask and you will receive…pray, trust and believe.          

The Vulture...The Enemy

The Vulture…The Enemy                                                     

by:: angie c tipton

act now ministries

6.25.10

    

Have you ever stepped out in faith to do something that the Lord has asked you do to, only to find great resistance?  Why all the resistance?  Could it be that the timing is wrong, nothing is going like you thought it would for various reasons, or maybe people discouraged or even tried to stop you.

Well, as I was reading Genesis 15 one day, I was especially drawn to verses 7-11.  Here, the LORD is telling Abram that He has given him the land as his possession.  Abram questions how he can be sure that he will possess the land.  Then, the LORD instructs him to bring animals for a sacrifice.  Abram obeys.  After Abram prepared the animals, verse 11 says, “Some vultures swooped down to the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.”  I find that verse interesting.

I believe what Abram experienced with the vultures, parallels the resistance that we experience when we step out in faith to accomplish more of what the Lord has for us in our lives.    

Webster’s definition of a vulture is; 1. a large bird that lives chiefly on carrion, or, the decaying flesh of dead animals.  2.  a greedy, ruthless person.

According to information from studies on vultures, the type of vulture in this story could be classified as an “old world vulture”.  This is a type of vulture that finds dead carcasses strictly by sight.  They would seldom attack healthy animals, but, would occasionally kill wounded or sick animals.   

Now, the way I see it in Abram’s case, the vulture is just “doin’ what vultures do best”… taking care of the dead carcasses.  That’s how they stay alive.  It’s their job or “calling” in life.  But, I believe the Lord is using this to show us just how brazen the enemy is in attacking us when we step up and do what God has called us to do. Also, and more importantly, Abram’s response to the vultures is an example of how we need to step up the spiritual warfare and chase away the enemy.

Abram faithfully gathered the animals, prepared them for the sacrifice and then, the “enemy” attacked.  At that point Abram didn’t just sit back and say, “Well, maybe this isn’t the right time for me to make a sacrifice” or “This sacrifice thing is just not going the way that I thought it would” or “These vultures are trying to stop me from doing what God has called me to do”.  No!  He took action!

Just as a vulture is able to find carcasses by sight only, I believe that is one way the enemy works against us.  When he sees us taking a step forward, he sees a possible “meal”, so to speak.  Then, he begins to encircle us.  The bible says,   “Be self controlled, your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”  1 Peter 5:8 If the enemy can discourage us enough, causing us to “weaken or be sickly”, I believe he then swoops in for the kill…doing everything he can to kill our God given dreams, desires or even us.  That is, if we allow him to do so! 

The second definition of a vulture is related to people.  Many times people do act as “vultures” when it comes to their response to our dreams and desires...ultimately, God’s plan for our life.  Remember, your dreams or desires are between you and God.  “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalms 37:4   “ In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9  No one else can tell you what God’s plan is for your life.  Others can give advice or guidance, but, don’t expect everyone to support the dreams and desires that you see for yourself.  So, get with God, go for it and keep in mind; “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:12   We’re not wrestling against people, even though it may feel that way at times.   Also remember that, “…if God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 

So, the vulture…the enemy, can really cause a lot of problems for us if we allow him to do so.  When we step out in faith and do something that the Lord is leading us to do, we shouldn’t be surprised when we experience resistance.   By the resistance, we should realize that we are most likely moving in the right direction, but it may take time…and maybe more time than what we might think.  The enemy just doesn’t like it and he’ll do anything to keep us from moving forward in Jesus.

Remember Abram’s quick action to chase away the vultures and parallel that action in your own life concerning spiritual warfare. Find scriptures that line up with what you are fighting against and speak the Word out loud. Don’t forget the words of Jesus; “The thief does not come, except to steal, kill and destroy.  I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”  John 10:10

 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

Don’t allow the enemy to get the best of you!  Grow in the Lord and enjoy your life!