I was reading a book last night and there was a part of it that really seemed to jump off the page at me. As you may have guessed by my title, the part had something to do with spiritual warfare. I've been thinking a lot about it since last night.
The book is called Walking With God and it's by John Eldredge.
This part of the book was talking about how we often get caugt in just praying that God would do the opposite of what we're feeling. So, if we're feeling discouraged we ask God to encourage us; or if we're struggling with lust we ask God to give us pure thoughts. Nothing wrong with any of that, but the part that struck me was when Eldredge talked about how we need to pray against that action of Satan in our lives. So, instead of praying that God would encourage us when we're discouraged, we would pray against the spirit of discouragement from Satan. Eldredge talks about how we need to actually take a stand and command Satan to leave.
There is a quote from the book that has really stuck with me:
"The enemy is present in the form of some foul spirit, and you must command him to leave. As the Scripture urges, 'Resist the devil, and he will flee from you' (James 4:7). No resist, no flee. We are commanded to resist."
I think I have often missed this verse when it comes to spiritual warfare. I don't take hold of the power that I have because Jesus Christ is living and active to send Satan running from me! I so often get caught up in thinking that I have to do it . . . that I am the one who has to stop thinking those thoughts or feeling that way. But, that's not the way that it is . . . through the power of the risen Lord I can command Satan to leave and he runs! That's an amazing truth!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
serving God
So, since my week of holidays that I spent serving, I've been thinking a lot about serving God with my life. Shortly after I got back from the week, I was reading in Colossians 3:17 where it talks about how we are to do everything as if we were doing it for God. Reading this verse really spurred on my thinking.
I've always read that verse to be about doing those things that would be considered service in the church, and often those things that one wouldn't normally think of as being the glamorous jobs. But, lately, I've been starting to see that is means so much more than that. This verse in Colossians is talking about all areas of life.
This is not just about church work. This is in ALL of life! Everything I do - from serving at church, to doing my job, to cleaning my apartment - is to be done for God. There is nothing that I do in my life that is too low to be done for God!
Serving God is all-encompassing! I may not always be doing it in a week that is like the one I just had, but that doesn't mean you and I aren't serving God. We need to begin seeing our service to God as being something that is a part of our everyday life.
I've always read that verse to be about doing those things that would be considered service in the church, and often those things that one wouldn't normally think of as being the glamorous jobs. But, lately, I've been starting to see that is means so much more than that. This verse in Colossians is talking about all areas of life.
This is not just about church work. This is in ALL of life! Everything I do - from serving at church, to doing my job, to cleaning my apartment - is to be done for God. There is nothing that I do in my life that is too low to be done for God!
Serving God is all-encompassing! I may not always be doing it in a week that is like the one I just had, but that doesn't mean you and I aren't serving God. We need to begin seeing our service to God as being something that is a part of our everyday life.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
loving sacrificially and seeing the mission field on our doorstep
So, I've been back from my crazy week and a half of holidays for a few days now . . . and I think I'm finally back to my "normal" level of tiredness. ;) As those of you who read my last post know, my holidays started off with a very interesting experience at a wedding in a Greek Orthodox Church. From there they moved on to the very busy, but it was all familiar to me.
For those who remember, I spent a week last June working with a group called the Okanagan Gleaners and serving the little community of Oliver, just an hour and a half south of where I live. Well, that was the way that I chose to spend a week of my holidays doing the same thing again. I joined a group of 21 other young adults from my church for this week. We camped in an orchard (in both torretial rain, thunder and lightning and in gorgeous sunshine), spent our mornings cutting peppers (that weren't good enough to sell in stores to make dried soup mixes out of, that are then sent to orphanages, refuguee camps, etc all ofver the world), spent our afternoons doing variuos service projects in the community (free car wash, garbage pick up, handing out water and snacks, helping local churches with projects they needed to get done, helping people with yardwork), and spent our evening hanging out around the campfire. Not exactly your typical holiday . . . but it was so good!
Besides a week of lots of work and serving others, it was also a week of being away from the distractions and busy-ness of life . . . of being away from technology (I didn't turn my cell phone on more than once a day to check for any important messages all week) . . . of building amazing friendships as you spend all day every day together . . . of being in a place where it just seems easier to hear God speak. It was a great week! And I walked away with some amazing new friends and with closer bonds to the friends I already had among the group. I also came home with an increased desire to serve God in everything I do and having had God speak to me many times over the course of the week.
The time when I heard God speak the clearest was when we were spenfing an evening with a great couple that lives there and is seeking to reach out to the ever-growing Punjabi community in the area. They just have an incredible heart to serve God and a huge sensitivity to His Spirit guiding. The conversation and the things they shared and challenged us with that night were things that I needed to hear.
One of the things they talked about was the need for us to be willing to love if we are going to be leaders. And not just love . . . but do it in a way that costs us something. It is when we love others sacrificially that we are able to break down the barriers that so often prevent us from reaching others and from leading others. Sacrificial love is the kind of love that Jesus modelled for us when He was on earth. Jesus is the ultimate example of leader, and He definitely loved sacrificially; therefore, we should as well when we lead.
We also spent a lot of time talking about the whole idea of missions. So often we think of missions as being something that we have to go overseas to do, but it's not. Especially in our more easily accessible world with people from other countries living next door to us often, missions may mean just going next door and showing the love of Christ. It doesn't mean going overseas always. We need to change how we view missions and begin to see that all believers are missionaries in their workplaces, familes, neighbourhoods, schools, etc.
Those are the two major things from this past week that stood out to me. I just really felt challenged from the night that we spent with this couple. It was encouraging as much as it was challenging for my own life.
All in all it was a good and busy week and serving and growing. I'm sure there are many other lessons in my life that God began in this week, that I'm not even aware of yet, but will begin to see in the days, weeks, and months to come.
For those who remember, I spent a week last June working with a group called the Okanagan Gleaners and serving the little community of Oliver, just an hour and a half south of where I live. Well, that was the way that I chose to spend a week of my holidays doing the same thing again. I joined a group of 21 other young adults from my church for this week. We camped in an orchard (in both torretial rain, thunder and lightning and in gorgeous sunshine), spent our mornings cutting peppers (that weren't good enough to sell in stores to make dried soup mixes out of, that are then sent to orphanages, refuguee camps, etc all ofver the world), spent our afternoons doing variuos service projects in the community (free car wash, garbage pick up, handing out water and snacks, helping local churches with projects they needed to get done, helping people with yardwork), and spent our evening hanging out around the campfire. Not exactly your typical holiday . . . but it was so good!
Besides a week of lots of work and serving others, it was also a week of being away from the distractions and busy-ness of life . . . of being away from technology (I didn't turn my cell phone on more than once a day to check for any important messages all week) . . . of building amazing friendships as you spend all day every day together . . . of being in a place where it just seems easier to hear God speak. It was a great week! And I walked away with some amazing new friends and with closer bonds to the friends I already had among the group. I also came home with an increased desire to serve God in everything I do and having had God speak to me many times over the course of the week.
The time when I heard God speak the clearest was when we were spenfing an evening with a great couple that lives there and is seeking to reach out to the ever-growing Punjabi community in the area. They just have an incredible heart to serve God and a huge sensitivity to His Spirit guiding. The conversation and the things they shared and challenged us with that night were things that I needed to hear.
One of the things they talked about was the need for us to be willing to love if we are going to be leaders. And not just love . . . but do it in a way that costs us something. It is when we love others sacrificially that we are able to break down the barriers that so often prevent us from reaching others and from leading others. Sacrificial love is the kind of love that Jesus modelled for us when He was on earth. Jesus is the ultimate example of leader, and He definitely loved sacrificially; therefore, we should as well when we lead.
We also spent a lot of time talking about the whole idea of missions. So often we think of missions as being something that we have to go overseas to do, but it's not. Especially in our more easily accessible world with people from other countries living next door to us often, missions may mean just going next door and showing the love of Christ. It doesn't mean going overseas always. We need to change how we view missions and begin to see that all believers are missionaries in their workplaces, familes, neighbourhoods, schools, etc.
Those are the two major things from this past week that stood out to me. I just really felt challenged from the night that we spent with this couple. It was encouraging as much as it was challenging for my own life.
All in all it was a good and busy week and serving and growing. I'm sure there are many other lessons in my life that God began in this week, that I'm not even aware of yet, but will begin to see in the days, weeks, and months to come.
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