He trains my hands for battle

"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn." Psalm 18: 28-36

Our strength comes from the Lord! In all our battles, let him be our General!

Training Wheels

Let go and let God.

I was driving down the road this morning on my way to Gallatin Hospital to visit a person and the Lord spoke those words into my spirit. "Let go and let God." Sometimes we get a "message" from the Lord, and as in my case, I try to decipher if it's for me or for a message that's coming up in the near future or what?

As I was driving I thought about when I was teaching Bailey how to ride her bicycle "without" training-wheels. I remember holding onto the seat and telling her to keep her balance and keep the handlebars steady and focus on what was in front of her and that at some point I would be letting her go so she could "ride" the bike all by herself. But for her to do all of that and to really TRUST in me letting her go, she had to TRUST in the fact when I let her go, I would be right there beside her running alongside of her to catch her when she started to fall or get all swervy (if that's a word).

Whether those words came to me for my sake or for a message down the road, I believe it will preach. Sometimes, no let me rephrase that, ALL the time we need to TRUST GOD and realize that He wants us to "ride without the training wheels" and that we can STILL trust that he will be there to catch us and steady us.

To be continued ...

Commend Ourselves

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6: 3-4 "We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way..." Notice what Paul is saying in these scriptures, especially as you go on and read through verse 10. Paul said "we commend ourselves." The word commend is derived from the Latin word commendare: com- (intensive) + mandare, to entrust. So, to commend means to represent as worthy, qualified, or desirable; to speak highly of (praise); to put in the care of another (entrust). Paul is saying that as servants of God, and we that are saved by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ are servants of God, are to trust God in every aspect of their lives. Paul said in every way and he list some of the ways: "in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger..." we are to commend ourselves because, by Him, we are qualified and should desire Him, praise Him and trust Him, be servants of God. We have been given all authority over the circumstances that are in our life through the Saving grace of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Ghost!

It's our opportunity to give God praise and trust as being servants of God. We are called to a purpose and that purpose is spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to live sanctified lives by the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Ghost. Are you leading a spirit-filled life? Some churches have it in their "doctrine" that they believe in practicing and having a spirit-filled life but for some reason you don't see any "fruit" from the "gifts" that come with a spirit-filled life! In order to go through and come out on the other side of what Paul was referring to, and we all go through the things that are listed in these scriptures, we have to practice living sanctified and spirit-filled lives, putting all praise and trust in God as His servants!

Commend yourself today and be the best servant of God that you can be!