2120 Before the Sun Sets

Beschreibung

Just as God has a work he wants to do in your life, so does the enemy. The devil wants to do a work in your mind. He wants to do his nasty work in your heart. And he wants to bring absolute destruction to your relationships. And here’s the really dangerous thing … you may just be doing the devil’s work for him. That’s right – you might be causing the destruction yourself. Most of us have partnered with the enemy and without even knowing it, we’ve been doing his nasty work for him. We’ve made his job easy. Paul warns us of this in Ephesians 4: 26-27, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” Here’s what this DOES NOT MEAN – this does not mean you can never be angry. This doesn’t mean you have to smile and always be happy. There is righteous anger. There are times when it is right to be angry. Jesus flipped a few tables in his day. You don’t have to be a pushover. In fact, God’s word even warns us that it’s not good to just go along with the crowd. We are to stand up for what is right. We are to be the light in the darkness. We are to cast out demons and evict evil. But, here’s what we cannot do – we cannot let anger control us. You can have anger – but don’t let anger have you. There’s a difference. When anger has you, it takes control of your mind and your mouth. When anger has you, you lash out and you act in a way that is not honoring of God. When anger has you, you sin. Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Where has anger taken control of you and left you thinking, saying and doing things you don’t even want to? Do you see this anywhere in your life? Do you know how that happened? Plain and simple, you didn’t put a time limit on that anger. You can feel what you need to feel, but you can’t allow yourself an open ended space to feel those negative feelings because then they take root and they begin growing in you. Whatever grows in you begins to take over you. This week I was sitting in a small village in southern Italy just looking at the old stone buildings and architecture. I noticed a grapevine that had grown up the side of the building. But then the grapevine had began to grow into the building. Attaching itself to the stone, wrapping itself around the railings, and literally growing to become part of the building. The grapevine was creating damage to the stone walls and taking over the walkway. This is the perfect picture of what happens within us with anything we allow to grow. We are taken over. Some of us have angry grapevines growing on every surface, creating damage and destruction. It didn’t happen instantly, it happened over time. Time. God works with time, but so does the enemy of your soul. If you give God time, he will radically change your life and set you free. If you give the devil time, he will wreck your heart, corrupt your mind, and destroy your life. And this is why Paul says, “Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.” This is about time. If you give the devil time with your anger, he will do his nasty work and eat you up on the inside. All anger, even justified anger, must be managed with a time limit. Anger absolutely cannot take up permanent residence in your heart and mind! How much time will you give anger? Something makes you mad – okay – so how long will you allow yourself to be mad over that? Paul says, NOT EVEN A FULL DAY. That’s what it means to not let the sun go down on your anger. Don’t let today’s anger flow into tomorrow. Don’t go to bed mad about this and wake up mad about it again. Set a time limit on that anger. Unlimited anger with the free rein of time gives the devil a foothold. Do you know what a foothold is? Think of it like this – if a bad guy is chasing you and you run into your house, but he sticks his foot in the door before you get it closed, that’s a foot hold. With his foot in the door, he can gain access and do damage. It might only be a 3 inch crack, but if he gets his foot in the door, then you are left vulnerable. That’s what anger without a time limit does in your life – it lets the devil get his foot in the door to your life. That small opening gives him access to do great damage. It may not feel like it, but even that justified anger that lingers can make you spiritually vulnerable. There comes a point with anger where we almost cherish it. We find delight in replaying the story, retelling the events, and rekindling the anger. The more people we can get to join us in that anger, the better. But that’s only better for the enemy. Now he has greater access to more hearts. Footholds are everywhere, and we are creating them! 1 Corinthians 13:6 TPT says, “Love finds no delight in what is wrong.” Really think about that. We are called to love. That is our purpose and our mission. Love finds no delight in what is wrong. That means when we are living according to the way God has called us to live, we don’t happily point out and talk about what is wrong. We don’t joyfully retell the story about what is wrong or who is wrong. Why are we making our conversations all about what is wrong? We have to stop that! Find something better to talk about. My goodness, there has to be something better to talk about. And here’s the thing … someone just has to turn the conversation and redirect it to what is right … I’m pretty sure God has asked YOU to be that person. I often make it a daily goal to “take no delight in what is wrong”. I can fall into the trap of watching something bad unfold and secretly enjoy the show. I caught myself just yesterday watching an angry old man on the train to Rome causing a ruckus for everyone around him. It was delighting to my eyes like entertainment. I wanted to hear the fighting. I wanted others to get involved. I was literally delighting in what was wrong, and that simply IS NOT LOVE. The enemy had a little opening to my heart and actively began working on my dislike of this human who I didn’t even know. My facial expressions told everyone else on that train that I was with them in their anger towards an old man who was clearly having a very bad day. That’s not right. That’s not God’s way. In fact, I’m just actively doing the devil’s work for him. I’m part of the problem. Paul gives us the solution earlier in Ephesians 4:2, “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” Can we just make allowance for each other’s faults? Can we be tolerant with one another? Can we remember that sometimes people have bad days? Can we remember that some people are carrying heavy burdens within that we know nothing about? Can we assume the best instead of the worst and allow space for our differences without anger? This isn’t just for strangers on a train, this is for the people we live with. Can we just allow space for rough mornings, overwhelmed minds, and poor choices of words sometimes? Can we give grace where they are wrong without making it all about us? You know what that does – that slams the door on the enemy. If his foot was trying to slip in there, his toes got smashed! The devil gets no foothold because my anger isn’t necessary and it’s simply not allowed here in the things that ultimately don’t even matter. But when it does matter – and sometimes it does – what’s important for us to remember is SET A TIME LIMIT on that anger. Don’t let the anger grow and fester. If you keep replaying the offense, the resentment will grow and bitterness will take root. And that bitterness is like the angry grapevine that attaches to you and creates destruction. It just won’t let go. It will wrap around you and force its way in. The foothold given to the devil becomes his stronghold. And if he has a stronghold on your heart, then you become the angry bitter woman you never wanted to be – and the woman no one wants to be around. Clinging to anger helps the enemy accomplish his work. He is the accuser, the divider, the destroyer, the condemner … and we partner with him in our anger and begin doing his work for him. We accuse instead of restore. We divide instead of reconcile. We wound instead of heal. We rehearse offenses rather than extend grace. This isn’t love … this is the enemy’s trap and we fall right in and become his slaves in his nasty work. When you feel angry, deal with it quickly. Don’t nurture it. Don’t let it settle it. Set a time limit and when the time is up, let it go. Your heart NEEDS YOU TO LET IT GO NOW. Before the sun goes down, let it go. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]

2132 Faith Under Fire

Here we are, God’s daughters, under attack. Every day the enemy attacks with the hopes of distracting us or distancing us from God. That’s why we must put on the full armor God has offered us. He doesn’t want his girls vulnerable to the devil, he wants us victorious. Last week we studied the first 3 pieces of our God given armor for the spiritual battle: The Belt of Truth The Breastplate of Righteousness The Shoes of Peace Now, it’s time for us to pick up our shield. Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to all these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Okay girls, let’s learn about this shield and about those fiery arrows coming our way. Roman soldiers had 2 kinds of shields. One was a small, handheld shield. This is not the shield Paul is talking about. Paul is talking about the other type of shield – the one almost as big as a door. This shield was called the scutum (pronounced sk-U-tum). This shield, the sputum was about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide, made of layers of laminated wood, then covered with leather and bound with iron. The shield was big enough for a soldier to crouch behind and be completely protected. You’ve likely seen the movies where soldiers are carrying these large rectangular shields and when the enemy forces shoot their arrows, the soldiers stand together in formation with their door like shields held tightly ,forming a barrier all around them, in front of them and above them. That’s the precise image of our faith as a shield. We are protected, but not only protected, we are enabled to move forward even while under attack. In this formation with their shields fully protecting them on all sides, the army wouldn’t just crouch and endure the attack, they would MOVE FORWARD. Forward towards the objective. Forward towards the goal. Forward towards their mission. Forward, even while the enemy attacked. This is the power of our shield of faith. Now, what bout those arrows? Paul says the devil shoots “fiery arrows” at us. Soldiers in these days would often dip their arrows into a flammable liquid, then light them on fire before launching them at their enemy like a missile. AND THAT IS SATAN’S STRATEGY AGAINST US. Fiery, blazing arrows. His objective is to destroy you and he’ll use every single thing at his disposal to do so. Don’t be so naive to think he won’t come after you. Scripture says he’s “like a roaring lion”, and honey, lions don’t care if you’re cute, they don’t care if you’re happy, they don’t care if you’re rich, they don’t care if you’ve got a whole family depending on you … lions want to kill you. Period. You have been under attack. No doubt, it’s been happening. Even just this past week, fiery arrows were flying at you. Let me help you identify them: Arrow 1: Tempt you to sin Arrow 2: Get you to ignore the things that would help you Arrow 3: Make you miserable Arrow 4: Make you doubt Arrow 5: Make you settle Remember when you just ignored praying about it? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you didn’t make time to open your Bible? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you thought it wasn’t a big deal and you could hide it? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you felt so tired, so defeated and so discouraged that you just sat there? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you checked the box but didn’t really give it your best? Yip – that was an arrow. Remember when you knew you should, but you didn’t – Yip that was an arrow. Remember when you felt guilt and shame over it – Yip that was an arrow. Not to mention all the things you’ve been dealing with that make you scared, make you hurt, and make you question – All arrows. Now do you see the attacks you are continually facing? This is your every day reality. Girl, you are always under attack. That’s why you need this shield of faith. To put it quite simply, the way you defend yourself from Satan’s attacks is on a very practical level TRUST WHAT’S TRUE ABOUT GOD. Faith isn’t just hearing about God – Faith isn’t even just knowing about God – Faith is actively positioning God’s promises between your vulnerability and the enemy’s fiery assaults. The devil is going to shoot his fiery arrows to tempt you, distract you, discourage you, detour you and defeat you, but that big ol’ shield of faith in God’s promises is what you actively pick up and hold up to protect you. I know my God. I know his ways. I feel his presence. I receive his strength. I believe his promises. I trust my God. My sister, that is your defense! Faith is what will protect you when the fiery arrows are coming at you. Faith is what will help you advance even when you’re under attack. Faith is not optional for this battle, it is essential! So really, what is faith? What a really hard thing to describe. If we’re not careful, faith becomes nothing more than hoping or wishing. You know when you apply for a job and you’r pretty sure you’re not going to get it because you’re not even remotely qualified for it and someone says, “Well, you’ve got to have faith.” No, that’s not faith. That’s not what our Bible is talking about. That kind of faith is not a defense. When you’re under attack, just wishing that something is true will never give you the defense you need. Let’s give faith a real definition. I read about a missionary named John Paton – someone you’ve likely never heard of before. He was a Scottish missionary who went to the islands of the South Pacific in the 1800’s to tell these remote people about Jesus for the first time. He wasn’t welcome there. His wife and child died. Yet, he continued. He learned their language, then he set out to translate the entire Bible into their language so they could know about Jesus. While translating scripture, he got to Ephesians chapter 6 and he was stuck on verse 16, “Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Their language had no word for faith. Faith was non-existent in their world, without even a word for it. As John sat in his island hut, stuck on translating this word “faith”, a local man came running and and flopped himself in a chair. He said to John, “It’s just so good to rest my whole weight in this chair.” And that’s when John knew – that’s what faith is. This is how he could explain faith to the islanders. Faith is resting your whole weight on God. With that translation, the islanders understood faith and they came to put their whole weight on God through Jesus. Faith is putting your whole weight on God. If God said it, then it’s true, and I believe it. That is faith. Faith is believing what Jesus has done for us, believing what God says about us, and living it out because it’s THE truth. That’s a shield of faith. Protected from the attacks of the enemy and able to advance! Through the Bible, we know: • God has chosen us. Before this world even began, he predestined that we would be his girls. He chose us first, gave us the family name, and bestowed upon us all the privileges of being his daughters. • God has blessed us. In everything that God has done for us, his intention is to bless us and give us what we don’t deserve. • God has sealed us. He put his mark on us saying we belong to him and we’re protected by him. • God has promised us an inheritance. We are in line to inherit the kingdom of God and eternal life. Through Jesus, it’s our guaranteed destiny. Girl, that’s where you’re heading and today you’re one day closer! God has held absolutely nothing back from you. He’s given his all, he’s given his best. He’s actively taking everything in your life and making it work together for eternally good purposes. And when you put your whole weight on that, you will be able to survive the attacks of the evil one. Not only survive, but advance! When the fiery arrows come flying at you, and they always do – When you’re tempted to doubt, leaning towards fear, hurting and questioning, avoiding the very things that will help you most, wandering down paths not meant for you and knocking on the wrong doors – STOP AND REMEMBER WHAT YOU KNOW OF GOD. Remember his promises for you. Remember what he’s already done for you through Jesus. But don’t just think about those things, LIFT THEM UP. Lift up that shield of faith by actually leaning into what you KNOW IS TRUE ABOUT GOD. Put your full weight on him. You know what you need to do in that moment of wandering, wallowing, wondering and wavering … you need to have a good talk with yourself. Listen here, self, stop this depressed, unhappy nonsense. Stop this wavering. Stop this delaying. Stop wallowing. You stop it now. Stop letting this steal your praise. Stop letting this distance you from Jesus. Stop it. Put your full weight on God. Remember his promises. Lean on them now! It’s not going to be easy, but we all need to do this. We need each other to do it for us. Preach to yourself. Remind yourself of God. Arrange your life so that you’re in the path of grace as much as possible — reading Scripture daily, praying, surrounding yourself with the right people. Know where you’re vulnerable. Look to God, who will grant you the strength that you need. Then put your whole weight in what we know to be true about God. Remember the Roman shield formation? It’s one thing to be a single soldier with a shield. Something much better happens when we come together with faith. As we create a shield-wall of faith, we’ll be able to advance even when we’re under attack. That’s why you and I are connected. That’s why God has given us an Army of sisters here. We fully put our weight on God in this together and we move forward even while under attack. Where are you being attacked? What fiery arrows are coming your way? What truths about God can you lean into today? Take up your shield of faith! Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]

8. Juni 202622 min

2131 Don’t Fight Barefoot

There are 3 pieces of God’s armor we are to “put on”. 1. The belt of truth. 2. The breastplate of righteousness. 3. The shoes of peace. In getting dressed for the unseen spiritual battle, the final thing we put on are our shoes. And think about it, you’re not ready to leave if you don’t have your shoes on. My husband knows I’m not really walking out the door if my shoes aren’t on. My shoes are the sign I’m really ready and we’re going … until then, I’m not really going anywhere. God has places for you to go. A stand you are to take. Purposes you are to fulfill. Good plans you are to walk in. But, without your shoes, you’re not really ready to go with him. The soldier’s shoes were a valuable piece of their armor. Remember in these days, they were foot soldiers. They weren’t riding around in tanks and helicopters. They were marching in, climbing up, standing ground. In military battles of these days, the army who had the best battle shoes was set apart. There’s a story of an army who won countless victories because they put nails in their shoes, creating the first cleats. They could climb what no other army could climb. As women, we know shoes make or break the outfit – but in battle, shoes can make or break the victory. So Paul says in Ephesians 6:15, “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.” Without your shoes, you’re not ready. With the wrong shoes, you’re not winning. Barefoot, you’re injured. The shoes in the Armor of God are specifically the PEACE that comes from the Good News. Sounds a little fruity doesn’t it? That’s sweet – but does it really mean anything to you? I’ll be honest – that just never meant anything to me at all – until today. Until I really studied what Paul is saying. Now I get it, and I’m so excited to share it with you. Peace – what’s your image of God’s peace? Someone once asked 2 very famous painters to each paint a picture of God’s peace. One painted the image of a beautiful, calm, serene lake in the most peaceful setting you could imagine. It’s basically where I am right now – North Italy’s Dolomite mountains. The lakes here are the deepest, calmest blue, fully protected by stunning mountains that reach straight up in the sky. Such calm. Such peace. That was one artist’s painting. But the other artist paints the ocean. Not calm water, but the ocean in a violent storm. Massive waves crashing in the fierce winds. Lightening flashing in the sky. And in the very bottom corner of the painting was a small bird, totally protected from the storm, standing on a rock with a solitary beam of light shining on it. If there was a soundtrack to the painting it was the bird singing his completely unbothered song of perfect peace in the midst of that raging storm. Both are pictures of peace. One is a picture of peaceful circumstances – the other is a picture of the power of God’s peace. God doesn’t promise peaceful circumstances, in fact Jesus warns us of the oppoisite – “in this world you will have trouble”. But God does promise us the power of his peace – the unshakable knowing he is with you, he sees you, and he is in control. We’re so quick to assume only the good days contain God’s peace, but you’ve never experienced God’s peace on the most extreme level until you’re in the middle of something that demands you absolutely freak out, but instead you have an unspeakable peace within. With this peace you’re not rendered incapable, you’re strengthened in the battle. My friend, if you find yourself currently in a battle, God has peace available for you. And his word isn’t just offering it to you as an option, his word is telling you, “PUT THIS ON!” But how? How do you put on God’s peace? Thank God, his word actually tells us. We’re not left to guess and wonder. It’s clear. Philippians 4: 6-7. First, there is an offer you have to REFUSE to make room for God’s offer of peace. If you don’t refuse it, there will simply be no space for peace in you. What is the offer you have to refuse? Worry. Here’s precisely what God’s word says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. THEN you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” This is a formula and a process. First you refuse worry. Worry is always in the offering. There’s always something to worry about, right? But you must turn away from it. Turn it off. Resist it. Evict it. Absolutely take a stand against worry. You know what we often do instead? We make excuses for it. “Oh, it’s just who I am. I’m a worrier. I always have been.” That’s the equivalent of saying, “Oh, I’m just muddy, it’s just who I am. I go out and roll around in the mud so I’m always muddy. I always have been.” ALL WHILE YOU COULD CHOOSE TO TAKE A SHOWER! If you’re a worrier, there’s something you can do that’s the equivalent of a shower for a muddy person – PRAYER. And just as you have to take a shower again and again, you must pray again and again. The only way you refuse worry is to talk to God about it. Push it right over to God and let him have it. Tell him what you need. Thank him for everything he has already done for you. That’s your part of the equation. Then, God does his part. His part is filling you with PEACE. Peace that doesn’t make sense. Peace like the little white bird sitting in a beam of light during a furious storm on the ocean, just singing his happy song. I don’t care how much you worry or how long you’ve been worrying, peace is available to you. But my sister, you always have to choose it. Now you may think your worrying is harmless, but it’s not. Without God’s peace, you’re facing a battle with no shoes on. Without your shoes you’re simply NOT READY!!!!! Now here’s where this gets really really really good. This is the part you may not have ever understood before and you’re going to have a little light bulb go off. Paul says these shoes of peace come from the Good News. What is the Good News? It’s literally the message of Jesus. It’s the salvation story of God sending his own son to die for you so that you might be saved. It’s the promise of his Holy Spirit dwelling in you offering what you could never manufacture for yourself. It’s all this GOOD NEWS, not bad news that applies directly to our lives because of Jesus. Good, good, good news. Shoes of peace from this Good News of Jesus. And here’s why this is important in battle – GET READY … Your enemy, the devil, is always going to try and convince you that God is against you, that God doesn’t love you, that God is too busy for you, angry at you, distant from you. The devil continually tries to convince you that every little bad thing, and certainly every big bad thing, that happens in your life is proof of God’s absence, God’s distance, or God’s disapproval of you. You’ve heard it and felt it before. You’ve questioned why God would allow this to happen to your family and you start feeling like God doesn’t care about your family. Like he’s too busy for you. Like he doesn’t hear your prayers. Like he’s always out to take things from you. Like he’s just against you. The more you hear it and the more you feel it, the more dark your thoughts become, the more alone you feel, and the more hopeless the future looks. And that’s precisely what happens if you don’t have your shoes on. Your shoes of peace from the Good News know exactly who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and what he has promised. And just like a pair of cleats can dig in and hold your ground, KNOWING the GOOD News can help you stand firm when every doubt comes to rock you. The devil wants to remind of you all the bad news, but Jesus says, “I’ve GOT GOOD NEWS!” Feel the peace in that! The shoes of peace tell you even when bad things have happened, “GOD USES ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD”. The shoes of peace tell you even when the storm rages that, “YOUR GOD CONTROLS THE WINDS AND THE WAVES.” The shoes of peace tell you when everything falls apart that, “GOD HOLDS IT ALL IN HIS HANDS AND NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH HIM.” The Good News fills us with peace when the battle rages. And in peace, we stand, We don’t run. We don’t panic. We don’t worry. We stand firm. Girl, put your shoes on and dig in! Dig in to God’s promises over you and refuse to back down. Refuse to be shaken. Refuse to give in to worry. His promises will fill you with peace so you can stand through the storm and come out the other side. Jesus made us a promise of HIS PEACE. His peace that would hold us steady. His peace that would guide us. His peace that would fill us in ways that don’t make sense. But do you know precisely WHEN he promised us this peace? Jesus promised us that peace on the edge of his own horrific storm. On the very night one of his very best friends would betray him – on the night he would be arrested – on the night before he was to bear the sin of the entire world on the cross, on the edge of the greatest storm all creation had ever seen, Jesus promised us his own peace. John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Jesus had immeasurable peace, and he offers us that same peace. But it’s always up to us to PUT IT ON. With peace, you are ready for battle. With peace you can stand on God’s promises and not worry. With peace as shoes, you can dig in with cleats and stand your ground regardless of circumstances. With peace as shoes, you can climb any mountain and overcome the obstacles in your way. You have to choose what you’re walking in – Peace or worry. Worry will never win the battle. Peace already has. Follow Pamela on Instagram – https://instagram.com/headmamapamela [https://instagram.com/headmamapamela] Or Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim [https://www.facebook.com/pamela.crim] Find out more about BIG Life – http://biglifehq.com [http://biglifehq.com]

5. Juni 202624 min

2120 Before the Sun Sets

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