Spiritual warfare

When Trials Come…

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When hardship comes your way, will you tell yourself it’s a tool of God’s grace and a sign of his love, or will you give in to doubting his goodness? Paul Tripp

Photo by James Wheeler

When the road seems shorter than before.

Wherever you turn there is no open door.

Your life is in convulsions like vomit on the floor.

All the paperwork of your life is yellowed and rotted.

Is the God’s grace of love or is it cruel?

Who do you worship and let rule you?

Will you head for the hills of Babylon?

Look for ways to numb your sorrow?

Will you turn to the One who made you?

Will you cry out and hang on to your pew?

Will you doubt God’s goodness in the dross?

Will you walk away or toward the cross?

The burden of the Flesh…the two wolves

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white wolves in green grass

Photo by patrice schoefolt Pexels.com

There is an old Cherokee proverb that says there are two wolves at war within us. One wolf desires to do what is right, to choose Love every time. The other wolf is hateful and selfish and ravages everything and everyone to get his own way and the wolf that wins is the wolf you Feed.

The man said to his son,

“One wolf is evil, which is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

“The other wolf is good, which is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

I find this interesting in that this is exactly what the Bible teaches us. As human beings we can either feed our lust, lying, selfish, dark Sin nature or we can feed our Spirit. We can think on things from above.

God is Spirit and Jesus said that to truly worship and relate to God you must be given the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the only way to have a Holy Spirit.

My Mother said to me once, “if you feed your flesh you flesh will grow, if you feed your Spirit your Spirit will grow.” At the time I didn’t know she got that straight out of Romans chapters 7 and 8 and Galatians 5.

So which wolf are you feeding? It is a daily choice.

I am a Contender

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Photo by Rodolfo Clix

  Many people assume that faith means having a heart full of peace and quiet confidence in the Lord. I must tell you that I have not had quiet confidence lately. I have had a sad and sorrowful few days. I have been exhausted in every way. I have not had beautiful prayers rolling off my tongue. I have had a restlessness within me. I have NOT hidden my suffering or weaknesses which is absolutely the thing most Christians are either taught to do or somehow believe they must ONLY reveal to the unconverted world some formula or portrait that the walk of Faith means you won’t suffer. This is not to say that there is no relationship between faith and peace. There most certainly is, however the more extraordinary fact is as believers we often find ourselves in the position of having to fight for dear life just to recall the basics of our faith. As Jude wrote, we must “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to those who follow Christ.”

One author said, The fabric of things break down; there is a failure of all human resources. But it is out of this very failure that the Lord speaks. To deny that suffering of all kinds has not only a legitimate but a central place in Christianity is to deny the gospel. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” teaches Paul in Acts 14:22.

So friend, if you are feeling the strain of your journey. If you are grieving or sick or alone in your hardship I would like to encourage you as I have been encouraged through God’s Word that day after day I must take heart, put on the armor of righteousness, and face the enemy who would destroy my Faith if he could but he cannot because Jesus and Cross of Jesus which is the ultimate suffering is where the battle was fought and His resurrection is my strength and can be yours as well.

Quote credits: Mike Mason

I take up my pen…

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fashion woman notebook pen

Photo by Negative Space

 

I take up my pen to write again of the love you give to me.

No one else was there in that dark night of despair when I saw how much You had to bleed.

You tenderly wrapped my dead body in your shroud of forgiveness, and sealed it with the balm of your Grace.

Your kindness brought me to repentance, and you held so sweetly my tear streaked face.

People say they have heard it all before, and I hope that they too have seen,

The One who knelt beside me and cried along with me.

The chief of sinners, I was your enemy yet still you died to claim.

I will tell you Jesus loves you and me and by no other name can we be saved.

There were many who could accuse her…

/ jill autrey dorman / 5 Comments

 

assorted colors rocks

Photo by Ir Solyanaya 

There were many who could accuse her, she knew it was the law.

The very men who used her now want to see her stoned.

She remembers how it started, so hungry and alone.

She rode the tide of shame and commerce, with nowhere else to go.

She heard about the Holy man healing all the sick.

They said he spoke of God’s love for all, even those who have no hope.

So now she stood before Him and prepared herself to die.

He then wrote something  in the dirt and gazed up into her eyes

And said, “no man here can accuse you and neither do I.”

Oh the washing of her soul a deluge fell that holy day,

and she followed Him from that time on, He is The Truth, The Life, The Way!

Deep Purple Pain

/ jill autrey dorman / 2 Comments

 

purple abstract illustration

Photo by Anni Roenkae 

 

Weary days of  fear and foe

Deep purple pain just won’t let go

All through the day and into the night

Grief and anger fires burn bright.

 

My country weeps and cracks inside

Believers pray and mother’s cry

Dear God please hear us as we pray

We are sorry that we act this way.

 

Deep purple pain upon The Cross

No one else could pay the cost

Let us walk in your Salvation now

and humbly at your feet bow down.

Empathy…to stand for everything or nothing…

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high angle photo of woman on ladder

Photo by Samantha Garrote

Empathy without a clear identity in Christ puts one in a position to stand for everything or for nothing. To understand empathy and to nurture that gift the Empath must always be aware of matching their empathy side by side with who we  who are “in” Christ Jesus. (As one who believes and follows Jesus as Lord or as one who is not a Believer.) It is paramount that we build our Christian lives upon our Identity in Christ Jesus, Truth of who we are in Him.

Empathy as well as all spiritual gifts must  be held close to and in direct correlation to God’s Word or we will get it wrong. Empathy is a wonderful  gift as long as we check and balance it or any gift with Truth.

Fear and Faith

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man walking on the empty street

Photo by Alex Fu

Even in the darkness I cannot hide from you…

When my fear whispers that I will not be able to cope

that I will never make it out of this hole…

Faith tells me my Father knows what I need

The Father who keeps filling me with his strength

and just in time He supplies all the Holy Light

that I need to battle through this dark night…

I raise my head from my prayer and I see Jesus kneeling there 

The Light of the world has prevailed and no earthly power can keep me from His care…

 

 

 

 

 

 

The River of Mercy (the infinite flow of God’s Grace)

/ jill autrey dorman / 2 Comments

woman on body of water

Photo by Daria Sannikova

We lost all of the image of God when we were found  outside of His Holiness. We are born rationalizers, barterers and liars.   Yes we are all created in His image just as he says but Sin’s first act shattered that mirror image inside of us, at least until such a time as we receive the Power of the Cross of Jesus to regenerate us, to rebirth us from our darkness into His perfect light!

It doesn’t take much to look around us and see these powerful tools of the deception of Sin.

  • Rationalizing our need for redemption and need for God By using our intellectual achievement or even our good morals or religion.
  • Bartering  with The Holy as if He could be bought with our arrogant rhetoric of being self-sufficient, mantras of our feeble idolatry of self love, celebrity, money, or even good deeds.
  • Liars- we are all in darkness and deceived by our own Sin some even professing a form of godliness but do not Honor God as our Lord, not do we give Him thanks.

 

Sounds bleak doesn’t it? However, we have been given The Good News. We have been given infinite Grace flowing in the River of Mercy so that we might repent and obey to be Reborn into the Image of God in all His Goodness and power!

I am learning that the River gets deeper not shallow the further down stream I go. I am depending and counting on the fact I have been born again by the Blood of Jesus Christ and I have nothing to offer Him and  never did but here is the beauty of the Truth of God’s plan to bring us back to Him in every way… The beauty of The Gospel is this: His love and Grace and all that implies is freely given to all who will receive it.

 

I have seen the River of Life and Mercy

A crystal clear river flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb

All who come to this river will be clean and whole

All burdens washed away, no more sorrows, tears, or death…

Revelation 22

You mistook my illness as my identity

/ jill autrey dorman / 3 Comments

silhouette of bird above clouds

Photo by Flo Maderebner

 

You may think you know me but you best beware,

 I am stronger than any thing so You best take care

You mistook my illness as my identity

but the Healer came to me and set my spirit free!

 

I won’t run from haters or keep quiet your lies

The Spirit teaches  me the Truth and why

You mistook my smallness as fragility

But my Maker gave Eagle’s wings to me!

 

I soar, I speak up, and I tell the Truth,

lies make you sick and bitterness takes root

Your Pharisee bondage is a con artist scam

I will listen and obey the great I AM!