Changed By Love

Changed By Love

Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4

Jacob’s Battle Was With the Lord

David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

One of the greatest lessons we can ever learn is that our battle is never with people. It is never with co-workers, neighbors, or our unsaved loved ones—but with God!

If you settle things with God, everything else has to fall into line. When you are right before Him—sprinkled with Christ’s blood, having no sin in your life, prevailing in prayer—then all the demons in hell cannot make a dent in what God wants to do! He wants you to have that kind of holy strength.

Hosea said, “The Lord also brings a charge against Judah [His people]” (Hosea 12:2). What is this controversy God has with His church? It is spiritual laziness! We want miracles, blessings, deliverance, but at no cost, with no effort!

Who among God’s people today prays all night, wrestling, fighting, weeping, crying out to God as Jacob did? Who wants holiness, purity and Christlikeness so much they are willing to shut themselves in with God until they break through? Who is so consumed with pleasing God that they are desperate to be delivered from all habits, all lusts—and they cry out, fight and wrestle with God until He breaks all chains?

Hosea said to Israel, “All you want is prosperity and security! You are not willing to take a stand. You don’t want to live for Jehovah’s pleasure, but for your own!”

Jacob was a fighter from the day he was born. He prevailed “by his strength” (see Genesis 25:26) and so must you and I! We have His strength, but we do not use it! “Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (Colossians 1:11).

“He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).

The church of Jesus Christ is never going to see what God has for His body until He sees us seeking Him in earnest! “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).

God wants you to lay hold of Him because He loves you! He is saying, “Here it is. If you want it, come and get it!” He wants to make a strong soldier out of you, fit for His army!

Happy Constitution Day!

I don’t know many people who are really celebrating this today. But we have been studying the Founding Fathers for quite a while now, so I guess you could say we have been doing warm-up activities for this day in our homeschool. We have been reading a book called Drive Thru History: America with Dave Stotts in collaboration with David Barton. We like reading David Barton’s stuff because we know we are getting true history from the original documents and journals of our Founding Fathers.

We read about Benjamin Franklin. Then we read about Dr. Benjamin Rush. Now we’re learning more about George Washington. We have some great discussions based on questions raised by the study guide and from our own thinking.

One question that came to my mind was “Would George Washington be able to get elected President of the United States today?”

What about Thomas Jefferson? He was not a great public speaker. Would he be able to make it in politics in America today?

I posted these questions on Facebook, and I had some responses that Washington’s ethics and values would not allow him to get involved in the politics of today. They said that he would stay away from politics because he wouldn’t be able to stand the dishonesty and deals that are what Washington is all about now. Some said that good men stay out of politics today. Yikes, look at where our country is today!

I think we need to hit our knees, and not just on the National Day of Prayer. We are commanded to pray for our leaders. I think we also need to pray for our Constitution. It has been an amazing foundation for our country, but it is being attacked and ignored and denigrated in our day.

So celebrate and teach your children about the Constitution today. And pray for it. The values and standards of our people have dropped so much that they don’t even value this document that our democratic republican form of government was based on. Let’s raise the standard in our own homes. Teach your children so that they know what our country was really founded on. Teach them and pray with them for this great country of ours. Let’s make it great and good again. Starting with our own homes.

To get some information about the Constitution you can go to this site: constitutionday.com

Ways to Show that You Are Pro-Life

Adoption is a hot topic among the people I hang out with online. Many of them are actually doing it! They are blogging about it, raising funds for it, podcasting about it, starting adoption consulting groups, starting adoption agencies, and more.

I am so happy to see them putting their money (and hearts and lives) where their mouth is. We can say we’re pro-life, but until we do something personally that encourages or enables someone who is considering abortion to have another option, we’re not really living it. Adoption is one way of giving them an option.

I consider my large family a pro-life testimony. I believe that every baby is made by God. I will not do anything to keep the Lord from giving us another child. I really do consider them blessings. And I really don’t want to stop God from blessing us with a child. Or anything else. I want everything that God has for us.

Other people help with pro-life groups such as 40 Days for Life. I blog about them quite a bit and give updates on the amazing results they have seen. So many babies saved from abortion. So many mothers saved from making such a tragic mistake. So many abortion clinic leaders’ lives changed! I am truly in awe of what God is doing through 40 Days for Life. I believe they are reaping what was sowed by Operation Rescue and others who stood in front of clinics 30 years ago. They were persecuted and thrown in jail, but they persisted and others took up the cause and prayed and learned to show love to the victims of abortion, meaning the women and men who were deceived to think that they would not be doing anything wrong if they killed their baby. Now we’re seeing beautiful fruits from the Acts (the book of Acts in the Bible is still being written!) of today’s believers praying in front of clinics, showing love and compassion to these wounded, sad and deceived people who are looking for answers and hope.

Other pro-life people are taking the self-sacrificing, but totally blessed by God, step of adopting.

I want to tell you about one such family today. The little girl they are trying to adopt is named Albina. They are trying to raise $20,000 for this.

In order to do this they have a Chip-In widget on their blog here.

They are having a giveaway to help raise funds for the adoption. The prizes for the giveaway are amazing! They have lots of them, and they are prizes that you will really want to win!

Such as an iPad 2, an Amazon Kindle, Target $100 gift card, Amazon $50 gift card, Gymboree $50 card, iTunes $50 gift card, and much more!

You get an entry for each $10 you give through the Chip-In. This is how they get the money for their adoption of Albina. There are other ways to get more entries, such as sharing on Facebook and blogging about the giveaway.

I encourage you to go show your pro-Life colors and give to help with this adoption and then share about this fundraiser through which you could be blessed with an amazing prize. Icing on the cake!

You can’t lose!

I Thought I Was a Butterfly, But Maybe I’m Still Goo

Did you know that there is a time during the process of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly in the chrysalis that the caterpillar’s body is turned into goo?

 

It is.

 

When it is being totally transformed and remade into a totally different-looking and different-acting creature, it has to be completely melted and re-formed.  It sounds kind of gross, doesn’t it?

 

But when you think about it, you know it has to be true.

For a worm-like creature with no wings and lots of legs and no resemblance to a beautiful butterfly to be changed into one is going to take a total meltdown of all of its parts to be molded into the new creature.

The caterpillar has to be turned into goo.

I have thought I was already a butterfly. But maybe I’m still goo.

Not Ready to Fight

David Wilkerson

[May 19, 1931 – April 27, 2011]

 

Suppose a boxing trainer took his fighter to an isolated training camp and then spent the whole training session psyching up his man for the big fight. He tells him, “I will be with you at ringside—I will never leave your side. Here is a list of great boxers of the past, so study their every move. You do not have to suffer through hard workouts. I told you that you are a winner and my word is all you need! I will give you some diagrams on how to defeat Monster Man when you step into the ring with him!”

What kind of trainer is this? Absolutely foolish! What would a good trainer do? He would find the best boxer he could, put his man in the ring with him, and let them have it out!

Beloved, how many Christians call themselves warriors without ever being tested or trained? We hear so much about the many prayer warriors in this nation. But the sad truth is, the vast majority of them have never been in battle! They have not been trained and they are not ready to fight!

Recently I asked the Lord why so many true believers are going through such heavy, hard times. Why such deep suffering? I asked, “Why are so many being tested to their limits?”

God knows that Satan is going to be loosed on the earth for his last hour of warfare. And the Lord is going to need well-trained warriors who will prevail over all the powers of hell. Right now He is doing a quick work in His remnant—it is called crisis training!

These suffering, deeply tested saints are becoming the captains of His last-days army. God is putting Holy Spirit fight in them and He is bringing forth warriors who are tested and tried, because they have wrestled with God. The more they suffer and the more intense the trial, the greater the work He has for them to do!

This kind of training calls for physical discipline as well as spiritual. Jacob threw his whole body into the battle, all his human ability. A fighting spirit had risen up in him and Scripture says, “In his strength he struggled with God” (Hosea 12:3).

This verse has great meaning for all who want to prevail in prayer. It says Jacob won the battle “in his strength.” Dearly beloved, if you are going to prevail in these last days, you are going to have to put all your body and strength into it!

 

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