Below are links to posts that contain a variety of topic-based scriptures that you can use and a helpful or encouraging reference or resource!
When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
Speaking to Others and Knowing What to Say
Humbling Yourself and Humility vs Pride
When You Feel Attacked or Persecuted
I mentioned in a recent post about God’s power in us that I’ve been working on writing some posts about spiritual warfare and encountering Satan and evil spiritual and supernatural forces. Some of the most important things we need to know when engaging in spiritual warfare is that we have power and authority from God. Therefore, this post is primarily going to be focusing on instruction on the authority that God gives us and encouragement to start using that authority.
It’s so important that we discuss authority because if we don’t know we have it, we won’t use it. This is like a $100 bill in your pocket that you don’t know is there! If you don’t use it, it won’t do you any good. It reminds me of the time when I had sold my college textbooks back to the bookstore at the end of the semester and pocketed my refund. I packed that pair of pants away and forgot that the money was in my pocket. Several months went by when that money would have come in really handy. I had the money the whole time. I just wasn’t aware of it and didn’t use it. That is, until one day when I wore those pants again and stuck my hand in my pocket. That was a great day!
Authority is delegated power. It’s a power granted to one person by someone else who is IN authority. Authority is being in charge, in control, or in command. The person in authority is the one legally giving the orders, and the ones to whom those orders are given MUST comply.
As a Christian, we have authority over the enemy, given to us by God (more about this throughout the post).
This is important because if God gave us authority over the enemy, that then means WE are the ones in charge and the enemy must comply. Or as a child might put it, the devil is “not the boss of us” or our situations and circumstances. Therefore, we need to stop acting like he is and stop acting like we’re powerless.
There needs to be authority for things to be in place. Satan always wants to stop it. However, the devil and his forces HAVE to recognize our influence as believers.
“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 (KJV)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (NIV)
If authority is delegated power, then where does it come from? All authority comes from God.
“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.” Romans 13:1 (NLT)
The value of authority rests in the power behind it. God is the power behind our influence. When we use our God-given authority, HIS power backs us up.
Even Jesus was under God’s authority. He was not out doing his own works in his own name. Jesus does what God does or God’s will.
“So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” John 5:19 (NLT)
“I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will.” John 5:30 (NLT)
We are also under God’s authority. James 4:7 says that we should submit ourselves to God, then resist the devil and he will flee. To “submit” here indicates that to get our power and influence we have to obey and follow the one who gives it to us. Subordinates not obeying or submitting their upper authority will get their own power revoked. This means that we have to FIRST be submitted to God under HIS authority (to his teaching and his Word), just as Jesus was. We must follow and obey God and his Word. This submission to a higher authority then gives us our authority within which we operate and have power, God’s power working with and through us.
Do you ever have those times where you just really don’t know what to do and you need some direction from God? I’ve written about this a few times before…
Don’t understand? Stuck? Confused? Need direction? Ask God!
What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do
However, I’ve yet to put together a list of scriptures about direction from God until now. I always find scripture to be helpful because it’s a promise from God that I can stand on and/or His own word that I can pray directly back to him. Therefore today’s post will contain an abundance of Bible verses for you about direction from God to hopefully help you if you’re in a position of needing some guidance.
God doesn’t want us to be confused, and he wants to be confident in coming to him and to his Word (the Bible) with our needs and to ask for guidance or direction. When we ask God, He will guide us to the answer and direct our steps. The answer does not always come immediately, in our timetable (Habakkuk 2:3, 2 Peter 3:9, Isaiah 55:8-9). It’s important to remember that we need to listen for, expect an answer, and wait on an answer.
“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace…” 1 Corinthians 14:33a (ESV)
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God…” Hebrews 4:16a (NLT)
“The revelation of Your words brings light and gives understanding to the inexperienced.” Psalm 119:130 (HCSB)
“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14 (NIV)
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 (NIV)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 (NIV)
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” Psalm 34:4 (NIV)
“You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2b (ESV)
“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22 (NIV)
Recently I have been working on writing some posts about spiritual warfare and encountering Satan and evil spiritual and supernatural forces. I’ve been writing on this for a while now and realized that it’s going to have to be split into a few different posts. Some of the most important things we need to know when engaging in spiritual warfare is that we have power and authority from God.
It’s important to build our faith in the knowledge about God’s power in us. When we are confident in the power that is available to us and in us, we can then start to boldly walk in our authority to fight spiritual battles. Today, I’d like to build our faith about God’s power in us. The best way to build faith is to read and hear scripture from the Word of God.
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
Have you ever noticed how the more time you spend with someone, the more they rub off on you and the more you start to copy and mimic some of their behaviors? I think this even happens sometimes unknowingly. I’ve even heard it said that we even start looking like those we are around often. Have you ever seen those “pets who look like their owners” pictures? They’re hilarious! Apparently, pets and owners can even rub off on each other.
I noticed once that I started saying a word all the time that my brother-in-law often used. Actually, I think the process went from my brother-in-law to my sister to me and then even went to my husband and my son. It’s the word “nice”. I never used to say it so much, at least not in the same context. Now it’s used with more of a sarcastic tone.
For example, when my daughter said, “Mom, the dog just threw up on the floor!” My reply: “Nice.” Or…my college students might advise me that our class Blackboard site has been up and down all week. Me: “Nice.” Or… when my iPhone crashed and lost all data, and then when I tried to restore it from a backup and got a message that said “Backup is corrupt” (And I later learned that when you create a backup, the previous backup is deleted and replaced with the new one, thus leaving the only backup I had as “corrupt” and unusable! What’s wrong with this picture?!), my reply was “Nice!”
It’s just a word I picked up on from hearing them say it often, and then I started using it too. Do you ever do this? Continue reading
Last week I posted about some of my own recent personal convictions on the issues of racism and social injustice. I didn’t want to overwhelm everyone by being too wordy, so I’m continuing my discussion this week of other things that God is having me work on personally in the realm of racial reconciliation. I’d also like to share some resources with you that have been really helpful for me as and grow, learn, and hopefully make a difference in this area.
As I stated last week, I ask you in advance to please give me grace for any errors in the way I may say this. I may not say the perfect thing in the perfect way. My goal is just to be a part of the conversation and to be a voice instead of remaining silent.
My heart has broken over the past couple of months as horrible events have unfolded very publicly exposing systemic racism. The horrifying shooting of Ahmaud Arbery triggered some very emotional conversation with my teenagers. Then not long after that I was brought to tears watching a video of an emotional delivery driver in my own state of Oklahoma who was detained for nearly an hour by residents in a gated community because of the color of his skin.
I was also completely shocked as I watched the video of Amy Cooper in Central Park calling the police with false claims about Christian Cooper as he was birdwatching. Then I saw the unbelievable footage of the killing of George Floyd. My eyes were being opening to the truth that widespread, systemic, active racism is very much still alive and active today. A fact that, I’m embarrassed to say, I have been ignorant of until recently.
I started spending more significant time in prayer about the issue of racial reconciliation and about my part, my role, and what God was calling me, personally, to do. I feel like God has been giving me steps to take in phases.
If there is one thing that I am, it’s that I’m a prayer warrior. I KNOW prayer is powerful, effective, and produces results.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 (NIV)
Immediately, I was praying over the situations transpiring in our world. I prayed for so many different areas…direction, revelation, justice, restoration, reconciliation, unity, peace, healing & comfort, empathy, for eyes and ears to be opened, for God’s heart, for repentance, and against evil spiritual forces wreaking havoc. However, most of my prayers revolved around God showing me what my next step was and what I was supposed to do. I wanted God to show me areas where I have failed and need to repent, where I need to grow, and where I need to take a step.
I prayed:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 (ESV)
Slowly and a little at a time, God started showing me areas where I had been blind, ignorant, and wrong. In continuing to pray, I also felt that God showed me that this was one of my roles in racial reconciliation—to continue to prayer earnestly and fervently about the issues and as I saw things arise. God reminded me that my prayers could make a difference. Therefore when any issues arise, I pray.
Then God showed me my next step…to educate myself.
Do you ever encounter people who are just unreliable? Many years ago I had a friend who would cancel our plans about 80% of the time. She was so unreliable that I could rely on her unreliability! My husband and I used to joke about it often, but it did truly wound me as a friend when I couldn’t count on her. She became untrustworthy. In fact, she and I are no longer in relationship BECAUSE she was not a faithful friend.
Faithfulness, reliability, loyalty, and commitment are very lacking among so many self-proclaimed Christians these days. David’s prayer in Psalm 12:1 seems to still ring true…
“Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.” Psalm 12:1 (NIV)
I recently read a daily devotional on this very topic. Consequently, this post is inspired by that devotion by Judy Jacobs, “7 Days of Preparing for Great Exploits—Day 5”.
“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV)
In her devotion, Judy Jacobs says that “Faithfulness was the mainstay of being a steward in Paul’s day; and—beyond a shadow of a doubt—it still is.”[1] Faithfulness, commitment, reliability, and loyalty should be one of many defining characteristics of followers of Christ. Faithfulness, in fact, is a fruit of the spirit that we should all operate in and display.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
How about you? Can people count on you? Are you faithful?
There are many negative consequences to being unreliable. One especially unwanted outcome of Christians who aren’t faithful is that it can give Christians (and Christ) a bad name. Having a lack of integrity in work ethic and/or reliability does not represent Jesus well. I’ve seen this (and written about this before) in a collegiate setting where students professed to be Christians, but then consistently showed up to class late or even missed class regularly. These same students put little to no effort into assignments and often had apathetic and lazy attitudes that were apparent. These types of students were a very negative reflection to other students and professors who knew they were Christians.
I LOVE the way the Message translation of Colossians 3:22-25 reads:
“Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.”
A few months ago I was going through some old journals of mine from college to find some things to help one of the girls in my youth group. As I was thumbing through the pages, I found a poem, “Seize the Day”, I had written about not worrying about the future.
My student I was working with loved the poem and took a picture of that page in my journal. Even though that was months ago, she just recently shared with me and the other girls in our small group that the poem has really helped her and that she still reads it often. I was touched that something that I had just written in a private quiet time over 20 years ago could be beneficial to someone now.
As I was pondering what to write about this week, that poem came back to mind because of the words “Seize the day”. It felt a little appropriate for many reasons. Primarily at the front of my mind are the graduating seniors that have missed out on so much their senior year because of COVID-19. There are still so many unknowns in the future and so much loss experienced over the past few months. Seize the day seems like some timely advice for graduates who will not get this time back.
It’s also wise counsel for so many others of us who are also affected by this COVID-19 crisis. We can live in the past mourning all of the things that we are missing. We can fret about the future and what is to come (or NOT come) and the timing of it all. OR…We could seize the day and live in this present moment, trusting God.
In my journal entry I wrote about how God had worked some things out that I had been worrying about. I honestly do not remember any of the specific details of that time (and my journal entry was a bit vague), but the point was that God came through when I just trusted him instead of worrying. I was writing to remind myself to stop worrying, trust in God, and make the most of my present moments in the process.
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