When the Enemy STRIKES Chapter one review
Know his tactics, he comes ONLY to steal, kill and destroy!!!
Godsfruitful
Encouraging others in Christ
Archive for the category “struggles”
**Something New on Godsfruitful** PLEASE take a moment to read…:)
Hello everyone and long time no write …
I hope that you all are off to a great start this new year:))
This morning while letting Jack, my golden doodle out for his morning routine…He decided to bolt past the green grass and get a lap in for good measure before his breakfast…UH…and through some MUD…
As I was cleaning his paws and telling him how the mud just jumped right on him, and it was a struggle to clean it off…I couldn’t help but think about our Christian walk and how sometimes the ‘mud’, the un-needed dirt of life can get on us without us even making the effort for it to find us…
How do we encounter this ‘mud’ of life you may ask? Sometimes it just comes by the way of a job and co-workers, or sometimes PEOPLE…YES, that’s right…people who sometimes forget their manners…Have you encountered any people that sling a little mud on you while your trying to live a clean and right life for Christ?
Today, I thought that it would be a great new way for some of us bloggers to communicate more and not just read and like others blogs:)) Not that there is anything wrong with that!! We all try and support each other as Christian bloggers, but why not take it a step furthur and communicate a little by having some Q and A blogs…I’ve come to realize that not everyone has someone to encourage them daily and that the quick blogs help but they don’t take the place of communicating…God wants His people to have unity and what better way than participating in questions and answers to help others. We are allowed to go through certain things in life for a reason and you never know who stands in need of your experience and advice… We all need help at some point:)
*My question for today is:
How do you handle a situation in which you feel wronged or rejected by someone? What is your first line of defense?…ok thats two questions :)) lol
Please take a moment to participate…IF you’d rather answer by email that is fine too.
I hope to share questions and answers if they are emailed, but will respect your privacy and will not share names or emails. If you have a question that you’d like to be encouraged with, please ask as well…Let’s work together to help each other:)
I look forward to hearing from you!! Let’s make this year more about friendships!!!
Godsfruitful@aol.com Kim mefford
And this is difficult to remember, but TRUE🤔
If you’ve experienced this, can I get an Amen?? Amen 🙂
Mesmerized memorizers we MUST BE!!
Some days are better than others aren’t they? It seems that situations can happen and redirect our entire day.
We can depend on on
e sure area that will never redirect us, and that is God’s Word.
God’s Word is real and beautiful. Stay true to God and His Word no matter how bad the world becomes.
Obedience to God’s law is the only way to achieve real happiness.
PSALMS 119
This is the longest psalm and the longest chapter in the Bible. It may have been written by Ezra after the Temple was rebuilt (Ezra 6:14, 15) as a repetitive meditation on the beauty of God’s Word and how it helps us stay pure and grow in faith.
This psalm has 22 carefully constructed sections, each corresponding to a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet and each verse beginning with the letter of its section. Almost every verse mentions God’s Word. Such repetition was common in the Hebrew culture.
People did not have personal copies of the Scriptures to read as we do, so God’s people memorized His Word and passed it along orally. The structure of this psalm allowed for easy memorization. Remember, God’s Word, the Bible, is the only sure guide for living a pure life.
FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: Storing God’s Word in our hearts is a deterrent to sin. This alone should inspire us to memorize Scripture. But memorization alone will not keep us from sin; we must also put God’s Word to work in our lives, making it a vital guide to everything we do.
Hearing, RUNNING and finally OBEYING:))
While reading my Bible and sitting with a warm heating pad on my back and a bowl of peanut M & M’s by my side, the thought of relaxation and peacefulness came over me as the cool breeze was blowing in through the window.
What a blessing to just be still in the presence of the Lord and His Word!
Jonah would have found himself much better sitting quietly and listening to God, instead of running away and catching a ship!
The Book of Jonah shows that God can use a negative example to teach a positive lesson. The negative example is the prophet Jonah, whom God called to preach to the citizens of Nineveh. This great city was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The Jews hated the Assyrians because they were sworn enemies who worshipped pagan gods. So Jonah tried to run away from God’s call. We know the story of how a violent storm strikes the ship, which led to Jonah admitting that he was running from God’s call. He advises the sailors to toss him overboard to appease the anger of the Lord.
We read that God saves Jonah by sending a great fish to swallow him, keeping him alive for three days in the stomach of the fish. Jonah prays for deliverance and the Lord hears and has him ejected from the fish unharmed and placed on the shore.
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Eventually, Jonah did travel to Nineveh and preach to the Ninevites, as God commanded him to do. But when they repented and turned to God, he sulked and pouted because the Lord refused to destroy them.
One positive thing we can say about Jonah is that he did dare to tell the truth about himself and his prejudice by writing the book that bears his name.
God reminded Jonah that He is merciful and a forgiving God, who loves all people, even the pagan Assyrians.
FRUITFUL OBSERVATION:God’s message is for everyone. Despite the wickedness of the Ninevite people, they were open to God’s message and repented immediately.
Let’s do our best today and every day to simply proclaim what we know of God, we may be surprised at how many people will listen.
A PRIDEFUL chip on the shoulder causes death!!
The book of Esther is unique-God is not mentioned. The heroine of the story is even cautioned to keep her Jewish heritage a secret!
Nevertheless, God’s work is evident.
I didn’t realize that Haman had a thousand-year-old chip on his shoulder. His ancestors, the Amalekites, had attacked the people of Israel without provocation when Moses was leading them out of Egypt. The Amalekites lost the battle, and this feud was never entirely settled. More than ten centuries later Haman held the political power to destroy all Jews.
ESTHER 3:1, 2
1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
2 And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
Haman enjoyed the power and prestige of his position, and he was enraged when Mordecai did not respond with the expected reverential bow. Haman’s anger was not directed just toward Mordecai, but toward what Mordecai stood for- the Jews dedication to God as the only authority worthy of reverence. Haman’s attitude was prejudiced; he hated a group of people because of a difference in belief and culture.
Prejudice grows out of personal pride-considering oneself better than others. In the end, Haman was punished for his arrogant attitude.(7:9 10). God will harshly judge those who are prejudiced or whose pride causes them to look down on others.
FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: It’s better to let go of issues in this life, rather than keep on harboring a time to ‘get even’ through selfish pride. Haman would’ve found himself a lot better off serving our ONE AND ONLY God instead of holding on to a one thousand- year old- grudge… Haman learned the hard way!!!
Let’s give unsettled accounts to God today and every day and let Him settled all debts for us! LET GO AND LET GOD!
Believing, RESISTING and living VICTORIOUSLY :))))
As Christians, do you know that we are told to RESIST the devil? Scripture tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee from us
I cherish the Word of God, and believe every WORD is TRUE AND GOD BREATHED!! Now…let’s apply it!
I don’t know about you, BUT I for one am TOTALLY resisting him.
I have had it with him sneaking around, as well as slipping right on up and using people. We must be aware of what God’s Word tells us to do and live as He has called us to live.
JAMES 4:7-10
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Although God and satan are at war, we don’t need to wait until the end to see who will win. God has already defeated satan (Colossians 2:13-15; Revelation 12:10-12), and when Christ returns, satan and all he stands for will be eliminated forever (Revelation 20:10-15). satan is here now, however, and he is trying to win us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit’s power, we can resist satan, and he will flee from us.
How can you draw close (“nigh“) to God? James gives five suggestions? (1) “Submit to God“(4:7), Realize that you need his forgiveness, and be willing to follow Him. (2) “Resist the devil” (4:7). Don’t allow him to entice and tempt you. (3) “Cleanse your hands… and purify your hearts”(that is lead a pure life) (4:8). Be cleansed from sin, replacing it with God’s purity. (4) Let there be fears, sorrow, and sincere grief for your sins, (4:9). Don’t be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for them. (5) Humble yourself before God, and He will lift you up (4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).
FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: God has given us what we need to live a powerful and victorious life in Christ. The same power that raised our LORD and SAVIOUR from the grave is alive and available to us as Christians today. We must make ourselves disciplined to reading and applying His Word in our lives DAILY!
LET US DO OUR PART AND RESIST THE devil AND he WILL FLEE…he HAS NO CHOICE BECAUSE OUR SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT he WILL FLEE!!
(I always put my Armour on (EPHESIANS 6:11-17) first thing in the morning and rebuke the devil in JESUS NAME!!)
Godsfruitful 