My Pastor Shaun recently did a Sermon about Paul’s request for Prayer on the battle that he was going through.  He like the rest of us had a Spiritual Battle to fight and he often sent letters to different people asking them to pray for him as he endured the Path that he was going down. 
     The scripture Shaun used was from    2 Thessalonians 3:1-5:
Paul’s Request for Prayer    1.  Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. 5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
    How many of us are asking for Prayer from someone else to help us get through the Battle – rarely does this happen.    Our Battles are just like Paul’s and we should be seeking out Prayer Warriors to help us through the Battle… they will make a difference. 
           At the bottom of my Study Bible was this reference to the Scriptures above:    Beneath the surface of the routine of daily life, a fierce struggle among invisible spiritual powers is being waged.  Our main defense is prayer that God will protect us from the evil one and that he will strengthen us.   The following guidelines can help you prepare for and survive satanic attacks.

1.  Take the threat of spiritual attack seriously.
2. Pray for strength and help from God.
3. Study the Bible to recognize Satan’s style and tactics.
4. Memorize Scripture so it will be a source of help no matter where you are.
5. Associate with those who speak the truth
6. Practice what you are taught by spiritual leaders.

 Guys the Battle is real – what are you doing to help yourselves to make it through it successful. 

Do you have that Prayer coverage – this is a must?

Do you have that person you can talk with?

Engage the Battle with your Armor!!

Bobbyg
 

        I had taken time off from by blogging but also from several other areas of my ministry for about 3 weeks.  I felt that I needed to focus on Prayer and do some Fasting (for me fasting is withholding from some food – but more from outside influences like TV – Radio) – there is a Spiritual Battle that is happening and I wanted to get prepared.   I have several of my close friends that are going through some major conflicts at the present time and I wanted to step back:  Pray – Focus and Evaluate. 
        I have the pleasure of getting to travel in my job at times and the last three weeks I have been on the road allot – to I have had some great quality Prayer time.
My problem has been:   How do I pray for me and those around me in The Spiritual Battle and I have come up with 3 ways on how I would like to pray:

1.  Frank Pretti has a book “This Present Darkness” and it is a Fictional about the Spiritual War and the necessity of Prayer.  There are these Demons causing havoc on this town and the Angels are waiting for the people to Pray for their Help.
   1. So like the book – My first prayer is for the protection of 10,000 Angels to come and protect us.
2. My second Prayer is Like the one that Jesus did – “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”  I want to make sure that I am not doing my will but God’s will – Jesus could have called upon those 10,000 Angels but chose not to.
3. My Third Prayer is:  are we being tested as Job was – and if so, I would hope that I could be successful and have Job’s Character and make it to the end…  and be told “well done good and faithful servant”.

 So my question is which one should I be praying and I have had to seek the advice from 3 of my pastor friends.
          Pastor Grant:   He agreed that there is a Spiritual War and that we may have to search out a reason at the present time that would let us know — Why it is that we are in the midst of this specific Battle – Look for the Root of the issue.
          Pastor Wes:   He also agrees that there is a Big Battle and that we have to look at each day different – So search each day and see where the Battle is taking you.
          Pastor Bill:  He also sees that Battle as being real and shared a scripture with me:  He stated that God will be with us through the Battle and give us what we need…    Isaiah 11:2 – The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord. 

 So where are you in this Spiritual Battle and How are you Praying????

Bobbyg                               I like praying the First one… but the other 2 are extremely important and have to be included…

 
This will be a 4 part Series….
 

It has been a few weeks since I blogged – but I have been blessed with a lot of road miles and some great prayer time…  so I am back… 
          I recently had the pleasure of visiting a Pastor Friend who was in the Hospital and I came home truly blessed.   Pastor Bill went in to get something checked out and before the visit was over – they told him he needed double bypass surgery (he did not go in for his Heart).  Bill did not even know he had a problem with his heart – at the age of (I have been told @ 86) – he just figured after working in the yard all day that he was getting tired because he was one of us that are a little seasoned. 
          Bill was a great inspiration for me after I walked away from our visit at the Hospital  –  he had been there for Three days and was not having surgery until Monday (I visited with him on Friday).    The people at the hospital were able to experience Jesus when they came in contact with Bill.   Here is what really inspired me – even though he was in the Hospital, he still may a List of what he needed to accomplish during the day…    He had to be a little more creative since he could not work in the yard or do chores.   Here is his List for Friday August 8^th – I asked if I could take it his list – it will be framed….  
Do it Now:
             Give of myself
             Pray for 2 Young Women in ICU
             Pray for M.P.
             Find ways to thank God and Praise Him
             Smile a lot
              **Dare to become a Great Writer and Inventor
        ***** THINK BIGGER
 WOW – His first thoughts are for others and not his situation….   and to make sure he did what he wrote down.   Can we do the same – come up with a Daily Plan and Do IT…     Bill does this every day.          
          He blessed me with some scripture that I will be sharing in another Blog – I had asked him how to pray about Spiritual Warfare and He truly has some great Wisdom.

 So Today as you go forward….   come up with a list of ways that people can see Jesus in you and Do It…..

Bobbyg

**PS — just a follow up – Bill got of the Hospital on Saturday (Aug 16th) – they had to do the 2 by passes and also one stint…

One of my Daily Devotions recently had this Scripture:  Proverbs 20:5   The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.   Now my question is:  What does Deep Waters Mean?
               The Devotion talked about a person who was taken home at an early age – but his life was one of Challenging others and living a life for God.   “God has things He wants us to do, but without focus and purpose, we can easily miss what those are”.                  
                When I Googled:              “deep waters — what does this mean”  –  here is one of the explanations that I got. 
I think a good analogy would be the Samaritan woman who spoke with Jesus Christ.
 Most people live their lives without telling anyone what their deepest spiritual desire is. Only God knows what it is. And for most who have fallen away or strayed away or drifted away from the faith of their youth or maybe not even their faith, but have lost the innocence of youth.
 Their inner spirit cries out for that something lost. And she did that day when she met Jesus. And Jesus told her what her inner need was. She needed water that would never run out and Jesus told her all that she was. And this woman believed Jesus and became the first missionary to Samaria and they came to listen to Jesus and many were saved.
 Now Jesus was able to draw out what was in the Deepest part of a person’s Heart and then they went forward with understanding the purpose of what He has is store for them to do.   This happens today when we are in His Word and are in tune to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.   When this happens then we are like the Person in my Devotion or the Samaritan Woman –   We live a life that is “Out Loud and On Purpose”. 
                I have a Pastor Friend (Ron Frost) that has taken the next step into Deep Waters –  He has a vision of taking his ministry to the Truck Drivers on the Road….   God Touched his heart in the Deepest way several years back and he has been Obedient to the calling.   If you were to set down and visit with him – he would be one who could draw out your Hearts Deepest Yearnings…     
 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Deep-Water-Ministries-My-Place-Truckers-Chapel/371664156179110
 
              

So Today –  “LIVE OUT LOUD AND ON PURPOSE FOR CHRIST”

 Bobbyg

Have you ever went through one of those Family squabbles and tried to get past the hurt.   This is one of the most difficult things in life to get past – intact and whole – most of the time after you get through it – it is never whole again.
My Daily Devotional Scripture today was from John 13: 2-5 > 2. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4. so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
           Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him and still became a servant as he washed Judas’s his feet.   WOW….    What would that look like if we were in one of those Squabbles with a Family member or a friend and we sat down to wash their feet.   Something to really think about – a powerful act of Obedience.
I like to talk about a song that Matthew West wrote (Forgiveness) when I am visiting with a friend or family member that are going through one of those Squabbles.    It talks about that Forgiveness is one of the Hardest things to give away – especially when you know it is not deserved.  “How True”   But as the song states that the healing is not for the person being forgiven – but for the person doing the forgiveness… YUP>…      Then another part of the song that really gets to me is:   “Show me how to love the unlovable – Show me how to reach the unreachable – Help me now to do the impossible”  –  We cannot do this on our own – we must have the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to accomplish what is needed to heal the broken Relationships.
Enjoy listening to this song.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Lu5udXEZI&feature=kp

 As the scripture above shows:   Jesus did just that – He was able to wash the feet of Judas – this is an act that does not come easy. 

 HE DID IT ALL THE WAY TO THE CROSS….   

HE LOVED THE UNLOVABLE….

I have tears every time I listen to this song and see Jesus doing just what the song talks about.    So today – Heal those broken relationships – do as Jesus did – Wash some feet…

Bobbyg

 Ephesians 4:32:  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
 
 

A very good friend of my (Pastor Jason) shared a saying with me from his dad that really has impacted me. (“You May be the only Bible that someone sees”).
During my travels recently K-Love has been playing this new song that was put together by several Artist.   The part of the song that I have highlighted below reminded me of this saying once again of what we could be to someone else.

We could be the Hope that someone needs…

Hope Can Change Everything: K-Love World Premiere – enjoy the song….
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=0EC9BJNU
A spark can start a fire – A shot can start a war – A breeze can start a wave That crashes on the shore
Hope…hope can change everything
A breath can give you life – A hand can turn the page – A word can give you strength To face another day –                                                                  Hope…yeah hope
****Reaches in the heart – Of your darkest night – Lifts you off the ground – When you’ve lost the fight
Keeps you hanging on – Through the disbelief – Every day, every step, every dream

 Hope can change everything – Hope can change everything

     I could be the spark – You could be the word –  We could tell them something – That maybe they’ve never heard – Hope, yeah we could give it together  *****
Love is a cry of our hearts – To show them that hope isn’t far  ****
As you can see – we really need Hope to keep us going….  and it is a power weapon in our Daily lives that can move Mountains.
K-Love was also interviewing an Addict and he stated that what healed him was.  

1. 1.       HOPE           2.  Prayer      3. Surrender 

 So just something to think about:   Do you have Hope in your life – are you helping others in getting the Gift of Hope in theirs if it is missing?

Bobbyg

 Hobby Lobby does some great work in standing up for their faith — this is the Article they put into the News Paper on the 4th of July.
 

It seems to be one of those times right now that I am wondering where God is taking me…   I read this verse about approaching God with Confidence and my thoughts are how do you do that?
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
               This verse is a great one on being able to receive God’s mercy and grace to help us through our times of need – and this is when we need him the most.   I have learned that we have to practice our Faith allot to be able to acquire the confidence that comes from being Obedient.   When we have done this – then we do have that Confidence that is required to approach God.
Then I listened to this song below and thought:   Look what he has done for us and the power that comes through him.   This is something that we should be seeking Daily….   enjoy……
 This is amazing Grace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjXjkbODrro
Who breaks the power of sin and darkness
Whose love is mighty and so much stronger
The King of Glory, the King above all kings
Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder
And leaves us breathless in awe and wonder
The King of Glory, the King above all kings
[Chorus:]
This is amazing grace
This is unfailing love
That You would take my place
That You would bear my cross
You lay down Your life
That I would be set free
Oh, Jesus, I sing for
All that You’ve done for me
[Verse 2:]
Who brings our chaos back into order
Who makes the orphan a son and daughter
The King of Glory, the King of Glory
Who rules the nations with truth and justice
Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance
The King of Glory, the King above all kings
                Now as my week is progressing it seems to be going better – the question of where is God taking me does not matter as much – but my focus is on talking with my Lord with the Confidence I need.   The answers of where he taking me will eventually come….

 So please as you go through those Daily struggles – seek out God with the Confidence that he longs for and he will give you Peace through his Mercy and Grace.

Bobbyg
 

My wife just purchased this saying to put on our wall from Exodus 14:14:  “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to Be Still” – This just happens to be where my Bible Reading is (Exodus), **This is the time when the Israelites are finally being taken out of Slavery and then Pharaoh’s heart has been hardened and his armies are once again in pursuit of them.   Then you know the Rest of the Story – God protects them and they are successful in escaping – they just needed to Be Still and let God do his work.
About a week ago I Blogged on the Scripture of 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 about “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business”
https://godsmightymen.com/2014/06/12/mind-your-own-business
This has been extremely confusing to me – I have always written about how important it is to always be going forward in God’s work…   One of my blogs was about Jonathan and his armor Bearer and we needed to be one or the other and go forward together in Battle.
https://godsmightymen.com/2014/05/26/jonathan-and-his-armor-bearer-you-gotta-be-one-or-the-other
We should not be just sitting underneath the Sycamore Tree doing nothing and waiting for the enemy to come…
As you can see – I am really confused…    Should we “Be Still” or should we be “leading a quiet life and minding our own Business” or should we be “Going forward in Battle as Jonathan did”?????
After doing much pondering on this tough topic of being quiet or active,  I have had to settle with the idea that are different seasons in our lives that we need to be all of these.

1.  There are times we need to Be Still and let God do his work so that we can be successful.  He needs us to trust in him to accomplish His will in the direction he has going.
2. Then there are times we need to lead a quiet life and mind our own business as was required of the Thessalonians.  We need to work hard and let Jesus Shine through us….
3. Then there are the times that we need to engage in the Battle as Jonathan did and go forward with our Armor Bearer alongside of us.

So the question is:   What season of life are you at the present time…   As my wife’s saying that we put on our wall – I would have to say that God is telling us to “Be Still” and allow him to do His work.  We are getting close to retirement and He has a plan for my wife and I – we just need to allow him to prepare the way for us.  It can be very hard to be patient – but in order for God to do his work through us –  we must “Be Still”.

 So look at where God has you at the present time and be obedient to where he is taking you.

Bobbyg