The Beautiful Swan

During reading time with my girls, I chose The Ugly Duckling. This is very uncommon because I generally always choose something new to read that they haven't read before. I really sensed a leading from the Holy Spirit to choose this story.

The book explains how the ducks were very mean to the duckling. They pecked the duckling (physical abuse) and said mean things (verbal abuse). They bombarded the duckling from all sides. Then came the geese and herons which were also very mean, saying ugly things and subjecting the duckling to more pecking (abuse/neglect).

Then the duckling got away from the mean ducks, geese and the heron. The book says, "The duckling went off to himself and the duckling grew." Once the duckling relocated itself, it grew. To further elaborate, once the duckling removed itself from exterior pressure, it grew. The book means physically, but I believe we grow spiritually when we get away from exterior pressure. When we remove ourselves from all the "noise" and commune with Him, we lay aside everything that hinders us and we run with perseverance because there is no excess baggage to meditate on. Mediating on the wonderful goodness of God brings light to any situation. 

Then one day, a fellow swan swam over and spoke to the "ugly duckling"...that...had...grown. Even though the duckling had changed, even though it grew, it still saw itself as it was prior to the growth. But the fellow swan saw the "ugly duckling" for what it actually was! A beautiful swan!

Sometimes, we feel like we have been pecked and chipped away at from all sides; parents, spouse, children, work, car problems, bills, medical issues, loneliness, societal "norms" attempting to tell us we don't stack up. All those things are not absolute truth. 

Brother Terry Mize taught me, "I know God is good and I know His Word is Truth. Truth always trumps true. What may be true today, may not be true tomorrow." 


Please allow me to elaborate. Your mother/father/siblings/spouse/children (In other words, anyone who isn't speaking God's Truth which is His Word.) may have said mean things to you to make you believe you are an ugly duckling. But you are not an ugly duckling. You are a child of God. (John 1:12)  He calls you His friend. (John 15:15) You belong to Him. (1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20) 

Ask Him for a verse that reconciles with your spirit. Make that verse yours. You don't need a hundred verses. I believe it was Kenneth Copeland who said, "One word from God can change your life forever". Be faithful in replacing all other "noise" with your scripture. You can trump true with Absolute Truth! (Hebrews 4:12)

You can make the decision to take the Word of God and literally rewire your brain and rewrite your future to align with absolute Truth. Truth trumps true. Choose to take everything that has been said to you and trump it with, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is mine through Christ, who loves me."

Overwhelming victory is ours!

Take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your thoughts are in your head so you control them. Joy must come. (Psalm 30:5)

Therefore if anyone is in Christ...who is in Christ? YOU are in Christ! You are a new creature! All this newness is from God! It doesn't matter what anyone has said to you as a child, or what people say about you now if they gang up on you! Because, if what they say doesn't line up with the Word of God, it is a lie, how exciting! And since that is truth, you don't have to think on it! (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

Consider this, perhaps others have said things to you not based on what how they see you but through filters they view themselves through. Perhaps they have more issues with themselves than they do with you but they have used you for their fall guy. 

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 

What are you going to think of yourself? What are you going to say about yourself? 

Are you going to base your thoughts and words in light of what others have thought and said? Or according to His marvelous light and dependent on what He thinks and according to what He has said? 

This choice is not only about you. It is also about your descendants.
This is truly your choice, so always, always, choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Wanna Stand? Gotta get Dressed Every Day!

Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

Currently, there are cutesy little signs on the internet regarding awkward moments; for example, “Awkward Moment # 9,362” and then they fill in the blank with something awkward.

Today I experienced an awesome moment!

Someone made a random comment to me about a pastor (as if it were firsthand knowledge) and I knew the comment to be untrue. Behold! I was handed the amazing opportunity to respond with, “Oh really? Well, they are a close personal friend of mine, I will call them right now to confirm or deny that situation.” I immediately got a shocked look, eyes bugged out and I distinctly heard a big gulp.


I didn’t respond this way in order to pat myself on the back and say, “Woohoo, look at me.” No, this was all about cutting the enemies head off, immediately. By the way, the person making the comment is not the enemy. (Ephesians 6:12)

This is how we handle these type of situations:

1. Never, ever link up with that. 
2. Always go directly to the source. 
3. Cut that things head off, immediately. 
4. Stand up for the person who is not there as if you are standing up for yourself, or your spouse, or your children, or your best friend.

In doing so, the momentum of the weapon of the enemy immediately falls to the ground! It completely loses its force!

The second element in this battle is no less critical than the first. That is, once we successfully decapitate the enemy in the first strike (negative comment) we must never resuscitate it by speaking about the incident. Loose lips sink ships. Some information is just not worthy of passing on. (Philippians 4:8). 


For example, I could have called the pastor and told him/her all about the incident. That is, winning the first strike but suiting up for a suicide mission for the second strike and taking all those around me down with me.


I could have told my husband, Mike. In the overall battle, first strike would have been won while the third strike blew up home base.


I could have told all my closest girlfriends at church. First strike won while fourth strike scattered the forces.


Or worst of all options, I could have posted the incident on Facebook, KABOOM! Won one battle but lost the war...


We must be vigilant, alert, self controlled and refuse to be devoured! (1 Peter 5:8)

God has set us up to successfully stand and Ephesians 6:12-18 tells us how!

• Get dressed in His full armor and stand!
• Stand firm in our belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness in place!
• Insure our feet are fitted and stay ready with the gospel of peace!
• Use our shield of faith, it extinguishes all flaming arrows!
• Protect our head with the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, His Word!
• Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Be alert and always pray for the Lord’s people!

Get dressed every day and stand!

Battle!

Resist the devil, and he will flee. (James 4:7)

Ever been hurt? Ever been hurt and what you believed to have happened was truth but as it turned out, you were wrong? And you harbored hurt based on a lie?

Ever been hurt and what you believed to have happened was truth and as it turned out, you were right? And you harbored hurt based on a truth? 

What is the difference between the two when aligned with scripture? Do we have loopholes in scripture? If we were truly wronged, and not operating in a misunderstanding, are we allowed the "luxury" to nurture that hurt until it grows into a full blown root continuing to "bloom" even decades later? Or at least until a new hurt presents itself. And affecting all relationships, present and future.

No, we don't.  We truly have option. Submit to God by obeying His Word.

Of course, there is that other option. Pick up the offense caused by the hurt, hold it, pet it, baby it, feed it for years or even until death finally kills the hurt. After all, some people purposefully hurt others. But I know every person reading this is far too wise, far too full of The Word, and far too led by the Spirit to fall for the enemies schemes by fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. We immediately recognize this as a scheme of the enemy; therefore, we absolutely avoid it. 

How do we do battle against this scheme? I'm so glad you asked! 

First, please understand, we operate in two realms. Natural (what we see which is temporary, James 4:14) and the spiritual (what we don't see which is permanent, 2 Corinthians 4:18). The flesh wants to scream, cry, complain. We must not fulfill those lusts of the flesh. Instead, we must walk by the Spirit renewing our minds daily, having new mercies every day like our Father, and operate in forgiveness. (Galations 5:16, Romans 12:2, Lamentations 3:23, Luke 6:37)

Stay so closely knitted in His Word, there is no room for anything else. And as a result, we lack for nothing. Including freedom from offense. (Matthew 6:33)

We can operate in so much grace, everyone who comes into contact with us is changed! I've been learning a lot about grace lately. I believe one aspect of grace is continually meditating on and operating in the fullest definition of thanksgiving in everything Jesus is and refusing to meditate on anything that everything else and everyone else isn't. At the end of the day, isn't everything we do (including speaking and thinking) all about Jesus? In light of our redemption package, what else truly matters?

The secular world knows offense is poison to the mind, soul, and body. Deadly diseases that manifest in the body can be scientifically linked to an offense(s). How much more must we, as born again believers, avoid obvious traps. Choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19) 

So somebody we know does something stupid to us...big woo (As Dr. Larry Ollison would say). 


We must spend more time meditating on Kingdom principles than we do on whether or not we are justified in an offense. Failing to do so, is a first step in the wrong direction. Consider this, the next time you are offended, don't tell anyone but Jesus. And then, pray for that person until you are free. That's freedom!

What would happen if we imitated our Father as dear children and focused on the good of others and disregard the negatives. God focuses on the good in us, let's do the same! (Ephesians 5:1)

Doing battle like this in the spiritual realm is not as difficult as some may think. This fight against the enemy is not ours but the LORD's. (2 Chronicles 20:15). My battle and your battle lies in the first part of James 4:7. So place yourselves under God's authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. (God's Word Translation) Hard for him to do battle as he is running away.

How are you going to do battle?

Who Cares?

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6 & 7, NKJV)

Cast:

• To throw 
• To throw with force; hurl
• To shed; molt.
• To throw forth; drop
• To throw on the ground, as in wrestling
• To deposit or indicate 
• To turn or direct
• To cause to fall onto or over something or in a certain direction, as if by throwing
• To bestow; confer

Care:

• Watchful oversight
• Charge or supervision
• Attentive assistance
• To provide needed assistance or watchful supervision

He cares for us as in He loves us. 

He cares for us as in, He is a loving Father.

How do we care for our children? 

Knowing that, how much more does He care for us!

He provides our every need! (Phil. 4:9) 

Who cares? HE CARES!

Light Be!

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” {1 Peter 2:9}

In 2010, I was given a gift from Pastor Melissa Harris. It was her book, Streams of Living Color: The Light of His Glory. Some of us are a little slower than others, and it takes a bit longer for information to sink in. I had read the book. I enjoyed the book. I did what she recommended in the book. 1 Samuel 15:22 speaks of obedience. There have been so many times in my life when I have been blessed because of obedience…even when I didn’t truly understand why I was doing what I was doing. I highly suggest obedience to godly counsel, even if your brain (soul) is not completely wrapped around what you are doing.

In Streams of Living Color, she writes about speaking “Light be” into situations. From her book, I gained the knowledge that speaking “Light be” meant more than what was apparent on a surface level...and more than I could wrap my head around at the time. Even so, I was obedient in speaking “Light be” into situations as she suggested in her book...although my head had not caught up with my heart.

Fast forward to almost a year later. I was sitting in a church service where the pastor was preaching a message that should’ve brought the house down. The message was great. He was preaching with great passion. And something hit me. I wasn’t able to respond as I should have responded, because I didn’t “get” what the pastor was attempting to relay to us. It occurred to me the pastor was preaching the message from the place of experience with God! I didn’t know what "it" meant exactly, but I wanted “it” because I could tell by the pastor’s passion in preaching the message, the pastor had “it.” I prayed, “Oh God, my Father, please bring me to the place where I understand the pastor’s "passion.” 

Less than a month later, on August 14, 2011 (3 days after Pastor Melissa's birthday)- after close to a year of  confessing and speaking and declaring, “Light be!”…Light came into in my life! Light went from head knowledge to heart knowledge and now Light IS!

That Sunday morning, we had almost made it to church on time, praise the LORD! On the way to church, my husband and I had shared some “intense fellowship” in the car. My youngest had thrown a tantrum in the parking lot because I refused to give her gum…after previously using ice and my finger nail to scrape her gum off my new car seat just a few weeks before. I found myself thinking what I had thought so many times before. Why did I even come to church today?

Yet, there I was in worship service, trying to shake off the events of my morning and having a really hard time doing it. My youngest was still pouting over my refusal to allow her to chew gum. I don’t even want to know what my countenance looked like to everyone around me! I just closed my eyes and tried to worship. My mind was in a battle flipping back and forth between what had happened that morning and where I was trying to “go” (worship). 

God brought to my remembrance the time years ago when I was walking with my kids and dog, and another dog didn’t like my dog being so close to his yard. The two began a dog fight…barking back and forth, but not going to do anything more than bark at one another. In that situation, God spoke to my heart and said “There will be many dog fights, but keep your focus on me.” Knowing that, I determined that I would worship no matter what. I closed my eyes and lifted my hands...and I felt a yank from one of my kids on one side. I shooed her away. I was determined to worship God! About three seconds later…the kid on my other side yanked on my clothes and I shooed her away, too. I figured that since we were in a church house full of people, someone in there could handle my kids, or they could just handle themselves long enough for me to praise my King!

In pressing through, God gave me a vision. At the time, I believed the vision was only for me. In it, I was walking in a dark tunnel on train tracks. At the end of the tunnel was Light. 

Not a light, The Light. 

In the vision, I started running to The Light. 

It wasn’t a small flashlight. 

It wasn’t a headlight from a train, like you would see in movies. 

It was The Light. 

His Marvelous Light! 

The Light that changes peoples lives, heals bodies, mends broken hearts, restores financial peace, breaks all bondage, and renews our vision to the point where we have more than we can ask or think! I ran toward The Light, and I was changed forever. 

At that point I remember sitting down in my seat. A woman in our congregation had a word from the Lord, and once she started speaking…it hit me, the vision is not just for me, but for The Church! I walked to the front of the sanctuary, thinking I was in control and composed, as I was most of the time. We were sitting in the back, you know…where we would be safe from any of the “stuff” that goes on at church sometimes. Don't get me wrong. We were always blessed when someone was set free and laughed or cried uncontrollably, or yielded to whatever God was doing with them. We just didn’t want any of “it” to spill over onto us. After all, like I was saying, I’m quiet and reserved and very controlled.

The truth was, to even lift my hands in service was like a total "free for all" in my head! When I reached the front, the Pastor handed me the microphone and everything was going well. He patted me on my shoulder and LIGHT BURST FORTH! I couldn’t even speak, I was frozen- and could feel myself falling on the pastor! My head was screaming, “Get off the pastor!” I squeaked, “I knew this was coming.” Earlier that week, a friend had just spoken over me that God was going to touch me as He never had before. 

I said, “Wooooooooooo.” He answered, “Woo is right.” When he said that, I burst into laughter that exceeded any laugh I'd had before. Okay, I’ve seen people laugh uncontrollably and be “drunk in the Spirit.” And I had decided that whatever God wants to do with them…that’s fine, but that’s just not for me. Ha ha ha! I laughed and I laughed and I laughed. Then his wife touched me, and in retrospect, she was probably trying to get me off her husband! (Of whom my husband later said, “You should’ve seen Pastor, he didn’t know what to do with you!”) I said, “Yeah, I didn’t know what to do with me either!” As soon as she touched me, it was as if electricity grabbed ahold of me and I shook. It felt like a convulsion. I’m not sure how long it lasted, it seemed like maybe 3 or 4 seconds, then it stopped and I told them of the vision I'd had.

Once I told the vision, I opened my eyes and looked out among the congregation and I could see from some of their faces that they didn’t get it. They didn’t “get” the awesomeness of God's Light! The Spirit of God came over me, along with the feeling that I had to wake them up. I began to run back and forth, shouting, “Get up! Get up! It’s The Light! You gotta get IN The Light!” I still was fighting a battle in my head, thinking “Stop screaming at these people, most of which you don’t even know!” But as the Lord overshadowed me that day, people all over the church began to gladly receive what God had for them.

You see, when He calls you into HIS marvelously Beautiful Light, you won’t even care who thinks what about your behavior. When God sets you free from yourself, you are free indeed!