Are You in God's Army?

Hey guys. Hope all of you are having a fantastic Wednesday. Here's a little challenge from the guys over at dare2share.org. Hope it hits you like it did me.

I may never march in the infantry,
Ride in the cavalry,
Shoot the artillery.
I may never zoom o'er the enemy,
But I'm in the Lord's army. Yes, sir! I'm in the Lord's army. Yes, sir!
I'm in the Lord's army. Yes, sir!

I may never march in the infantry,
Ride in the cavalry,
Shoot the artillery.
I may never zoom o'er the enemy,
But I'm in the Lord's army. Yes, sir!

Remember that one? It was always one of my favorites. In fact, I wish the 'grown-up' church service would have it as a worship song occasionally - just to remind us of something very important:

We are in the Lord's Army

Sure, it's a kids' song- but it has an adult message that is too easily neglected and too often forgotten. When you're a child, it's fun to think about being in the service of the Captain of our salvation...oh but then at some point we get 'mature', which often translates into 'chicken'.

So the issue at hand is: are you involved in the fight? Or perhaps at some point you were taken prisoner by the enemy. If you are a captive, you might not even know it- so let me give you a few characteristics of spiritual P.O.W.'s.

• They think that many Christians are just too 'radical' for Jesus. After all, they should settle down and try not to 'offend' people too much or too often.
• They have been led to believe that the early fire they had for Christ was just a temporary spiritual high, but that kind of feeling will probably never come back.
• They are trapped in the rut of going through the motions of church, Bible reading, and prayer...almost as if they are doing it out of duty instead of desire.
• They try to witness to others through actions only, thinking that people will understand the gospel without ever being told.

If any of these describe you, the great news is that you hold a 'get out of jail free' card right in your hands! Satan only has as much authority as you give him, so take it back, recommit your life, and go to battle!

Perhaps the old song mentioned above isn't quite enough to get you motivated anymore. If so, allow me to share a somewhat updated version that describes your position more specifically:

I am a Soldier
Author Unknown

I am a soldier, a prayer warrior, of the army of my God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer.
The Holy Bible is my code of conduct.
Faith, Prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare.

I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience,
tried by adversity, and tested by fire.

I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity.
I will either retire in this army at the Rapture or die in this Army;
but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out.
I am faithful, capable, and dependable.

If my God needs me, I am there.

I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. I am not a baby.
I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up.

I am a soldier, a prayer warrior.
No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me.

I am a solider, a prayer warrior. I am not a wimp.
I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name
and building His Kingdom!

I am a soldier, a prayer warrior.
No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts.
I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to.

I am committed.
I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside.
I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.

Questions:

1. Are you more passionate about the Lord and His cause than anything else? Why or why not?
2. Would Satan describe you as a soldier or a prisoner?
3. What is the first thing you need to do to get back in the battle?

Memory Verse:

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. (II Timothy 2:3-4)

Fear and Faith

Hello everybody! Hope you guys are starting the week out strong. I know Monday is one of the worst days of the week, but you gotta just power through it and keep on trucking. Just think, for those of you in high school, you only got two more school days until Fusion! I wish I could still go to Fusion, but I digress. Here is a devotion from www.teenmailbiblestudy.org. Hope it helps you fight Grumpy Monday Syndrome  which is an official disease according to a new study done by some people somewhere. But not really. Now read the devotion. I'll be back tomorrow.

POWER is quite awesome in some of the ways in which it is displayed. It is very useful when properly channeled, but extremely dangerous when the connection is not right. High voltage ought to be highly respected. Still, it is amazing how voltage can either take a life or be used to shock the heart back into pumping to revive life. That’s the thing about POWER; the circumstances and perception associated with it can widely vary.

Though God’s great POWER was displayed through each of the plagues in Egypt, it did not take long for the Israelites to state their distrust after beginning the departure from Egypt. ( Exodus 14:10-12) With the sea in front of them and the Egyptian army closing in behind, they thought they were doomed. However, Moses assured the people that God was going to fight for them and they would see the salvation of the Lord that very day. ( Exodus 14:13-14) Then we read of the Israelites walking through the sea on dry land, but when Pharaoh’s army followed, it was the Egyptians who met their doom.

Upon seeing the salvation God brought about we read…
“ISRAEL SAW THE GREAT POWER THAT THE LORD USED against the Egyptians, so the people FEARED THE LORD, and they BELIEVED IN THE LORD and in his servant Moses.” ( Exodus 14:31 ESV)

The POWER of God was an awesome sight! What could possibly even come close to matching it? God’s POWER was to be highly respected! However, to also believe in the Lord meant to trust in His POWER to work for them rather than against. Israel needed to learn and retain that trust as do we.

God has POWER and how truly awesome is that POWER! It is a POWER to do even beyond our imagination! ( Ephesians 3:20) Even so, it is a POWER to be respected!

The Hebrew writer pointed out…
“(30) For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ (31) It is A FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD.” ( Hebrews 10:30-31 ESV)

God has POWER to judge and condemn. Peter also noted the POWER of God as being able to deal with judgment, but noted that same POWER as being able “to rescue the godly from trials” as well. ( 2 Peter 2:4-10) Though God will judge and do so righteously, that is not His ultimate desire. He desires to bless and save as His Authority and POWER are respected. Through maintaining a right connection to His POWER it becomes a blessing. As we have a healthy reverential fear for God, do we also trust in His loving POWER to work for us? Have we come to know God and His love in that way ( 1 John 4:16) so that we can place our confidence in Him for the day of judgment? ( 1 John 4:17)

John encouraged…
“(18) There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” ( 1 John 4:18 ESV)

Fear and faith in the POWER of God! May we seek to retain a healthy perception of His POWER? By maintaining the right connection with God we will find ourselves on the receiving end of the full benefit of being plugged into the most awesome POWER SOURCE there is! Remember -- of His POWER there will never be an energy crisis!

Have a great day CONNECTED FOR GENERATING STEADFAST FAITH!
Carl

Temptation's a !@#$%

Hey everybody! Sorry I didn't get a post up again yesterday. I've been slacking a bit, my bad. But I'm working on picking things up and getting back on the ball. So to finish off your week, we got us a devotion on temptation. I know this affects me personally, so I hope you get something out of this. This one comes from romansnewsletter.blogspot.com.

Romans Xii:ii

"The Bible tells us that we are called as Christian people not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed and the way of that transformation is through the renewing of the mind. The new mind brings with it always a new heart. But you can't bypass the mind in an attempt to have a renewed heart. And that's what people are trying to do today. But the Scripture says the way the life changes is when the mind changes." - R. C. Sproul

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Devotion - Battleing Temptation

It's important to know about temptation. It happens to all of us in different ways and at different times in our life. It makes sense to know as much about it as we can. The first step to fighting temptation is to relize that it can happen to anyone. No one is immune to the circumstances that Satan throws in our path that cause us to stumble. Those who crumble under the pressure of temptation usually all have one thing in common. Their Pride. Robert Burton worded it like this, "They are proud in humility; proud that they are not proud." You see pride is the key motivation to sin. Those who think they're to perfect to stumble in sin often end up getting hooked, and dragged down because they were unwilling to accept that thay are a sinner just like everyone else and that they can't conqueor temptation on their own. They need God. Pride is the surest way to garrentee you'll live a miserable unfufilled life full of regrets. Not only can temptation happen to anyone, it can be disgused as anything. Satan knows where your weak points are, he'll try anything to get you caught up in sin. Be ready for it. Satan has a way of tempting you when you least expect it, he'll attack you in your weakest moment. He thinks that you are careless enough to sacrifice one moment for the pleasure that you've wanted for so long. He knows that once your hooked, that sin will engulf your life. It will keep you from accomplishing God's specially designed plan for you. All because of a desire to have earthly pleasure in place of an amazing plan, you will not only ruin your life, you'll make others miserable too! Jesus was tempted right before the greatest breakthrough in His life, chances are you will also. Temptations are everywhere, it seems as though we can never get away from them. Never let your guard down, you can even be tempted in church. If you know you'll be tempted in a certain place, stop attending. Or if you hang aroung ungodly influences that may tempt you, flee! Joseph did. So can you. Don't be decieved. As we've learned, Satan can use the most unlikely person, object, time, and place to cause you to stumble in sin. Remember you always have a choice, to love sin, or to love God. These two cannot co-exist in a Christians life. Remember what Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey me."

Thanks to all of you who read my post and comment. You're a big encouragment!

Source: The Power of a Praying Teen