Showdown

Do you remember ever watching an old western movie when the showdown was about to occur between the good guy and the bad guy? Usually before the showdown, they agree on where and when they would meet. They then get their guns ready and put them in their holsters. I woke up one morning, picturing my family and me getting ready for a showdown with the enemy (Satan). We were to meet in front of the sheriff’s office, in an old western town just like in the movies. As we walked out of our house and headed down the street, I spoke out: “This is our ammunition we are bringing with us.” “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV). Moving forward, my next words were “the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever” (1Peter 1:24b-25 NIV). Yet more steps led to “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1Peter 2:24 NIV). I walked a few more steps, saying “Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness and then all things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). I continued with “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12 NIV). One last shout out “Repent, then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19 NIV). We were all armed and ready. We won the battle. We were free from worry, anxiety, fears and negative or critical thinking. We will continue to claim the victory because of Jesus. Be prepared to face the enemy, by arming and protecting yourself with the power and love of Jesus. PRAYER: Father in heaven, thank You for showing me that we are in a battle but Jesus always wins! “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV). Pin It

Even Toed Ungulate Mammal

While my family and I drove an hour from our house to a popular farm, we made a pact to purchase fresh cider, donuts and produce, and then leave. Our motto is “Get in, get out.” We got out of there so fast we still had sugar on our faces from the donuts!

The next day my daughter approached me with the question “How do you hide an even-toed ungulate mammal, more commonly known as a giraffe?”

I looked puzzled at my daughter, who has a lifelong dream of one day being able to pet a giraffe, and I asked “What?”

She burst into tears and stated “The farm we went to had giraffes back in the field that the public could go and pet!”

I was speechless, yet mustered up the courage to declare, “There is no way we missed that.”
She rebutted quickly, “Ya way, we did!”

That night in bed I pondered “how did we miss out on the chance of seeing those giraffes?” They weren’t hiding, but we were not looking. We had missed the signs that the giraffes were there. I failed to mention that right as we were checking out, there was a section in the gift shop dedicated to all sorts of merchandise with giraffes on it. We bought a sweatshirt. Did one of us slow down and question why were they selling giraffe merchandise?

Jesus is just like those giraffes. He is out in the open and available for us all. Do you slow down and see Him? Do you look at the signs?

“When Jesus saw His ministry drawing huge crowds, He climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to Him, the committed, climbed with Him. Arriving at a quiet place, He sat down and taught His climbing companions.” Matthew 5:1-2 (MSG) Jesus often directed the people to sit down in a quiet place. Do you sit down in a quiet place to learn? If not, this is a New Year, make it a priority.

Just as the even-toed ungulate mammal is believed to be spotted easily, so is our Lord Jesus Christ. Both, when spotted, are a blessing!

PRAYER: Jesus, help me to see You. Forgive me for I am having trouble sitting down and being quiet.

BIBLE VERSE: “And He directed the people to sit down on the grass.” (Matthew 14:19a NIV) Pin It Pin It

Epic

“The last Harry Potter movie was epic,” my 16-year-old daughter blurted out. Almost daily I hear someone saying the word “epic.” I have noticed young people like using the word “epic” quite often. Daily we have stuff to deal with and sometimes we may even say our moments are bigger than big, so we refer to it as “epic.”

Elijah had an epic encounter with the Lord. He followed God’s very detailed orders to deal with Ahab and his false prophets and it was successful. The result was that Ahab’s wife Jezebel did not like what Elijah did so her anger rose up with vengeance. It scared Elijah, so he ran for his life, saying “”I have had enough, LORD, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

Isn’t this exactly what is going on today in our world? Things seem hopeless. The mind tricks people in to believing things are so bad that they want to die. Suicide rates with our teens are rising in great numbers. Why? Because the lie going through their mind is “There’s no way to resolve this.”

In an “epic” moment, we need an “epic” hero. Elijah’s all knowing hero, God, rescues him in a gentle, loving way. God starts by letting Elijah rest and fills him with food. Quickly, Elijah gains tremendous strength and is able to do something not many of us could do. He travels by foot 40 days and 40 nights. Wow!

Are you amazed at what God can do for you? We can be empty, out of strength and filled with worry yet God steps in and creates an “epic” ending to a situation. Our “epic” hero.

Get up and eat! I can give you strength! –GOD

QUOTE: Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.” – Charles Spurgeon (Maybe when I am lacking strength, it’s because I am not lacking worries.)

BIBLE VERSE: “The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night” (1 Kings 19:7-9 NIV).

Twitterland

I have been wondering what @ means before your Twitter name. After Googling Twitter language, I discovered that it precedes your handle or Twitter name/user name, kind of like the days of CB radio.

The pound sign (#) in Twitterland is referred to as a hashtag. It is used in front of a topic which people are discussing. An example of this is: Going skydiving #noregretssummer2011. Twitter search results for “#noregretssummer2011 can be seen by those looking at the same topic.

Twitterland is where you can find the latest things in the news, whether good or bad.

Talking in code and creating cute sayings have become an art today. To many people this can be fun and rather addictive in a race to see who is going to create the new hashtag and if it will go viral?

Imagine Twitter between King David, who had an affair with Bathsheba, and Nathan the prophet.(The name in parenthesis identifies who is “speaking.”)

(@nathantheprophet) visiting @kingdavid telling him a #sadstory about a #badguy
(@kingdavid) whoever the #badguy in the story is, must die. #burningwithanger
(@nathantheprophet) that man is @kingdavid #truestory
(@kingdavid) worst day ever, I have sinned against the Lord #cantsleep.
(@nathantheprophet) @kingdavid the Lord has taken away ur sin. U R not going to die. #goodnews #mercifulGod.
(@kingdavid) #repenting #hardthingtodo #sosorry

Restoring our relationship with God when we have done something wrong takes time and sometimes there are consequences. David’s consequence was that Bathsheba became pregnant and the baby died.

Do you know a person who did something wrong? Could this person be you? Perhaps you or this person has a good heart, but made a mistake. David did something wrong, yet God still loved him and chose his descendents to be in Jesus’ bloodline. God never gives up us. When someone genuinely has a good heart, but screws up anyway, we should give them another chance. We should all be in awe of God’s forgiving merciful heart.

I am in awe of God’s amazing character.

Twitter only allows you to write 140 letters in a message. Thankfully, when we talk to God we can use unlimited words.

Should you enter Twitterland? If you choose to tweet, you will find a whole new world of chatting, updating, networking, laughing, crying and being distracted. More people are entering Twitterland and leaving the texting world. #keepingupwiththetimes @elainejames123

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for Your incredible, merciful heart. I need more of Your heart.

BIBLE VERSE: “When David’s time to die approached, he charged his son Solomon, saying, ‘I’m about to go the way of all the earth, but you—be strong; show what you’re made of! Do what God tells you. Walk in the paths he shows you: Follow the life-map absolutely, keep an eye out for the signposts, his course for life set out in the revelation to Moses; then you’ll get on well in whatever you do and wherever you go’” (1 Kings 1:2 MSG).