Giant decapitated. That is all.

Several months ago, I submitted an article (provided below) for Faith Unlimited Magazine and called it, “Pick Up Your Sling and Run!" At that time, little did I know I would need the article myself just 2 nights later. 

A couple nights after submitting to the magazine, I woke up about 2:00 a.m. with both legs cramping, I was nauseous, and very dizzy. I rolled over to look at the bedroom window in an effort to gain some sort of grounding point. I started to pray. I got up and went into the bathroom so I wouldn’t wake up my husband.

I’ve been called, “bull headed” all my life. There are moments when that comes in handy. So if you have been accused of being bullheaded, use that to your advantage! Once I was in the bathroom, my bull headedness took over and through determined, gritted teeth I said, “I’ve got The Blood. I’ve got The Name. I’ve got The Word.” (Thank you Walk on Water Faith Church for planting that deep down inside me.) and “Jesus is the Lord of my life, sickness and disease has no power over me.” (Thank You Charles Capps for your cd on healing confessions. I purchased mine at www.faithman.org) I changed that to, “Jesus is the Lord of my life, dizziness has no power over me.” On the third time of saying that, the cramping, nausea, and dizziness immediately left. I went back to bed and my sleep was sweet!

Giant decapitated. That is all.

When you are faced with adversity, 

my prayer for you is for you to, 

Pick Up Your Sling and Run!

I pray the following blesses you and builds you up!

God removed Saul and made David their king. God spoke favorably about David. He said, ‘I have found that David, son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’ (Acts 13:22, GWT)

Of all the people in the bible, other than Jesus, I have always found David’s life to be the most fascinating. Primarily, people remember David and his battle with Goliath.

The bible tells us, For a long time, Goliath came out every morning and every evening and “took his stand” shouting defiantly, screaming his plans against God’s people. (1 Samuel 17:16)

I’ve thought a lot about “every morning and every evening”. Why not all day long? Maybe because giving God’s army breaks in between his ranting restored hope only to strip it away again? Perhaps when Goliath went away all day, it gave the Israelites hope, “Yes, he has given up, this is finally over!” only to have hope stripped away, “Nope. Here he comes again to scream at us.”

I can relate.

I have a question for you. Have you ever had a “Goliath” screaming at you “every morning and every evening”, trying to torture you with his plans?

I sure have.

A routine medical exam turns into further testing and even further testing because “tests show a mass”, the giants scream:

• “This is it, your kids will watch you slowly die. Then where will their faith be?”
• “You should’ve eaten better, now all that junk food has come back to haunt you.”
• “You’ve eaten well for yourself all your life, and this is how your God rewards you? You should’ve just eaten all the cupcakes you wanted."
• “You should’ve exercised more.”
  
  
  
  When our marriages hit an all time low and 
  we see no earthly way for us to salvage the relationship, 
  the giants scream.

• “Your marriage is over.”
• “Your marriage failure will cause many to stumble and you know what
  the bible says about that!”
• “You should’ve tried harder, been more exciting, and not grown boring.”
• “Restoring this marriage is an impossibility.”
• “Your failed marriage will ruin your children’s lives. Nothing will ever be
  as good as it was before.”
  
  
  Sales have been low this week, the giants scream.

• ”This is the beginning of the end for your business.”
• “You’ve always been faithful to tithe, and now look at your sales. This will cause your business to fail. What have you done to mess this up?”
• “You should’ve been a more cheerful giver.”
  
  
  
  Please allow me a quick side note momentarily.
  It is so important to me for you to see the pattern in the giants’ attacks.
  
  
  
  No matter what we do or don’t do, attacks will come. (Psalm 34:19)
  God already gave us a head’s up to be prepared.
  
  
  I have encouragement for you today, God delivers us out of them all!
  Turning back to our subject.
  
  
  When we say something well meaning in an attempt to help our children, but our delivery is incorrect or the child’s heart is not prepared to receive. And if that child walks out the door, everything in our flesh wants to fall to the floor. We are made in God’simage (Genesis 1:27) and everything in us screams reconciliation with our children. When that relationship is strained for a season, giants scream.
  
  
• “You’ve scarred your kid for life.
• You’ve really messed up this time.”
• “Your child will always hate you and will never speak to you again.”
• “You’ve always been a bad parent.”
• “Even in all your best efforts, you’ve never done anything right with your
• child.”
• “You should’ve kept your mouth shut about what the bible says.”
• “You should’ve opened your mouth told them what the bible says.”

Please allow me to elaborate on this subject more than the previous ones because I’ve learned a lot about this in the past year. I have learned by experience, when we’ve trained our child in the way they should go, it is not necessary for us to constantly remind them of their training. Not every mistake they have made is a reflection of us. If someone tries to blame us, we need to simply reject it. Our children have their own minds. I’m not suggesting we get into agreement with everything our children do; however, we don’t need to be a constant reminder of every mistake they’ve made. Sometimes, the best thing for us to do is accept our right to remain silent (even when they want our agreement knowing they won’t get it, want to argue with us, or want to justify their mistake) and love them.

Most often, they already know what they’ve done wrong, they just want assurance that we will always love them through the good and the bad. Like God loves us. (1 John 4:8, John 13:34-35) And that is what God has called us to do. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) Rather than “call them up on the carpet”, we are better off to plead the blood of Jesus over the situation and tell them about a time we’ve messed up and all the ways God delivered us. (Revelation 12:11) While we all need godly counsel, sometimes we need to realize we are not always our children’s counsel. So we should pray for laborers in their field instead of steam roll onto their field. (Ephesians 6:12, Mark 6:5, Proverbs 19:20, Matthew 9:38) If what have been doing isn’t working, wisdom says to do something different.

Turning back to our text.

Goliath was so big and loud that whenever the Israelites saw him, the bible says “they all fled in great fear” Not just fear, but great fear. The bible describes Goliath very well.
Goliath:

• was a champion
• was very large
• had very elaborate armor
  
  
  It would be easy to be fearful of him because of his appearance and his confidence. I understand the temptation to fear. I don’t know about you but I have certainly felt very small in comparison to the “giants”. God has taught us how to walk by faith (everything He has said we are) and not by sight (everything the giants say we are not).

  David disregarded all his past failures, his apparent lack of experience, their obvious size difference, and the vast difference in their “armor”, or should we say in David’s case, the lack thereof. David kept his focus on God and what God was about to do.

So we must too, follow David’s example when fighting “giants”!

David boldly called Goliath a “disgrace”. When I read this chapter, I picture myself back in that day standing near the battlefield. Hearing David boldly refer to Goliath as a disgrace, I’m unsure if I would think, “This kid is crazy.” or “This kid is exactly my kind of kid!” David’s main focus was that Goliath was defying the armies of the living God. David didn’t consider the battle at hand or any of the specifics of the day. David only concerned himself with, the “uncircumcised disgrace” who was defying God’s Word.

To complicate the situation, David faced opposition from his brothers (family) and the other soldiers. The people David should have been able to count on for support. His brother even falsely accused his motives and accused him of not doing his job.
But David’s faith was not deterred and he maintained his focus. (1 Samuel 17:30) 

When we are faced with opposition by our biological family/church family/friends/others around us, we must stand strong, not be deterred, and maintain our focus.
David boldly told the king, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” (1 Samuel 17:32) Even though, Saul had no one willing to fight Goliath, other than David, the king even informed David of his inabilities and let David know exactly how big and bad Goliath was.

How many times, 

does someone in our lives tell us (well meaning or not) 

everything we are not able to do while at the same time, 

telling us exactly how huge and experienced the “giants” are that we were up against? 

But again, David was fully persuaded and very bold in his approach to the king, telling Saul“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:36-37)

David kept his focus on God and what God was about to do!

David said, “because he had defied the armies of the living God”.

We can now say, “because Jesus!”

The king finally relented and he decided since David would go against this “Philistine“, David needed his (Saul’s) gear. The gear (the ways) that had helped Saul be successful, in the past.

But David had to fight this giant and use his own experience in this battle. David said, “I cannot go in these,” So he (David) took them (Saul’s way) off. (1 Samuel 17:39) 

Tradition, religion, theology doesn’t win the battle. 

Putting God first wins the battle. (Matthew 6:33)

With his sling in his hand, David approached the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:40) Sometimes in our lives, giants have to be approached.


Goliath was about to be killed in very short order but still could not shut up. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” (1 Samuel 17:44)

That would make most people stop and gulp but Goliath’s threats did not deter David. 

David did not waver, but remained bold and fully persuaded in God’s will and ability to deliver the giant into his hands.

David said to the Philistine, “I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.” (1Samuel 17:45) We have to know that we know that we know, the power in the name of the Lord Almighty and talk to the “giants”. (Jeremiah 10:6, Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 12:37)

David didn’t stop there. He went onto tell Goliath exactly how the next few minutes were going to play out, saying, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:46-47)

This kid is B.O.L.D. In my opinion, this qualifies David as the poster child for boldness! Let’s just take a moment to break this down. When faced with a giant, David boldly proclaimed:

• I will strike you down!
• I will cut off your head!
• I will also deal with all your friends! I will give all your carcasses to the birds! And the wild animals!
• But most importantly, the whole world will know that my Lord saves! And they will know, the battle is the Lord’s! And, I will also inform you, Mr. “Giant”, my God will give all of you into our hands!

At that, Goliath was done and wanted to finish David off. Did Goliath’s advancement deter David? Did Goliath's advancement shake David up? Not in the slightest. Goliath moved closer to attack David. So what did David do? 

David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. (1 Samuel 17:48) Who does that?! 

A man and woman of God fully persuaded in the power in the name of the Lord Almighty does that!

We all know what happened next. David used his sling, popped Goliath right in the head, and Goliath fell to the ground. (1 Samuel 17:50) How is that even possible?! Mark 9:23 makes that possible!

And then, David danced “his victory dance”! David ran and stood over the giant. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off Goliath’s head with his own sword! (1 Samuel 17:51) Talk about adding insult to injury and rubbing it in! David had an attitude of, I am going to kill whatever comes against God’s Word and cut it’s head off! David was making sure Goliath would never return. Decapitation is death. The giant wasn’t going to return into David’s life nor will “giants” that we decapitate return to ours!

Then, all the sudden, the king wanted to know who this kid was. (1 Samuel 17:56) And
David, although he had acted in more bravery than the king and all his men, David never forgot who he was and whose authority he was under. Glory to God! (1 Samuel 17:58)

When we do what He has called us to to, He rebukes the devourer for us. (Malachi 3:11) I am fully persuaded, God rebukes the devourer for me. Can you imagine what that looks like in the spiritual realm?! His Word cannot fail.

When a “Goliath” (sickness, pain, disease, financial attacks, marital attacks, prodigal children, etc) try to come against our covenant, we have to rise up like David did, fully persuaded, “grab our slings”, run towards the giants and boldly proclaim, “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you down and cut off your head! And the whole world will know my God lives! All will forever know it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands, in the name of King Jesus! 

Then what shall we say about such wonderful things as these? 
If God be for us, who can ever be against us?!” (Romans 8:26-31)

Key Tov, What's in a Name?

indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: “ For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13-14, NLT)

While living in Missouri, sitting under the teaching of Dr. Larry Ollison, he taught us many lessons on the Hebrew Language. One of which being, our language uses the alphabet and the Hebrew language uses the Aleph Bet. In order for us to easily say English words from the Hebrew language, we spell the words phonetically because there is not a letter to letter translation.

Dr. Ollison started many church services by all of us in unison shouting, "Halelujah! Key Tov! Key Le Alam Has Doe!" Translated, "Praise the Lord! He is good! His mercy endures forever!" And the glory of the Lord filled Walk on Water Faith Church! 

We are often asked about Key Tov. We named our blog Key Tov as a constant reminder that He is good. (Psalm 136:1)
He is always good. (John 10:10) 
He never changes. (Malachi 3:6) 

On this, our one year anniversary, we are continually reminded of God's amazing goodness. This past year has been a phenomenal journey of introspection, growth, and encouragement, as I pour my heart out through this avenue God has blessed me with and quite literally placed in my path.

This past year, you have honored me by allowing me to pray with you, face battles with you, and walk out this good fight of faith together!

There have been times I’ve written with so much joy I could hardly contain it! There have been times I’ve wanted to quit, believing I was revealing too much of my heart. There have been times of attack and I’ve had to seek God’s face to fulfill the true heart of Key Tov blog which is to always bring glory to God.

Being an extremely private person, sharing the deepest part of my heart with you has been a huge struggle for me. But God directed me to do it. As I fought against some, I had to continue to do what God told me to do, and as a result the fruit continues to flourish. Thank you all for your emails of support and encouragement of how Key Tov blog has helped you! 

Once you shed God’s life giving light, He empowers you to live life in excessive abundance! (John 10:10, AMP)

Key Tov!

This is so AWESOME!

This week, I’ve had a few of what I call “mini trials”. I titled the trials of this week as such because when adversity (a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress) comes I have a “placement test” as I quickly assess the situation and assign it properly. In other words, is this a big deal or is this not a big deal?

For example:

1. Is anyone in or headed to the morgue? No. Praise God! Proceed to step two.
2. Is anyone in or headed to the emergency room or operating room? No. Glory to God! Proceed to step three.
3. Are we all (meaning my immediate family), together? In other words, is my family unit still intact (no affair, not separated by natural disaster, fire, robbery, no one is missing, etc.). Yes. Thank You Jesus! Proceed to step four.
4. Are we all safe? Yes. Hallelujah! Proceed to step five.
5. Since we made it to step five, the current adversity is assigned the title of a mini trial; therefore, Psalm 34:19. The only thing I have to do is Matthew 6:33 and 1 Timothy 6:12. He has always and will always do all the rest! Psalm 136!

Every answer I need to every problem I face is found in His Holy Word. His Word is ALIVE! His Word is ACTIVE! His Word changes everything! His Word is absolute truth! This morning, I grabbed my ipad to do my daily bible reading and even though when I was finished with my bible reading last night, I was not in James…today, when I opened up my bible, I was in James. I was going to go to Proverbs and Psalms but I got a check in my spirit to read James. Let’s just see what God has to say to us through James today.

Verily, verily I say unto you! Ok…that’s not James, that’s me! As you can tell, I’m very excited today! God is so good to me!

The title of the scripture and verse I was about to read was entitled, “Profiting from Trials”. I had to do a throw my head back belly laugh! I was so encouraged!

I placed emphasis on the following, please read slowly and absorb every critical word of this passage!

Consider it wholly joyful, (please note it does not say partial joy) my brethren, whenever (please note it does not say, if ever) you (please note that does not say everyone but you) are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his elevation [as a Christian, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God], And the rich [person ought to glory] in being humbled [by being shown his human frailty], because like the flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun comes up with a scorching heat and parches the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away. Even so will the rich man wither and die in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him. (James 2:12)

GLORY to GOD!

In May of 2008, I heard a life changing message taught by special speaker Dennis Burke at Walk on Water Faith Church in Osage Beach, Missouri (www.faithman.org) He taught on Mark 4:17. Why do adversities come? Adversities come for the Word’s sake. Adversity doesn’t come just to jack up our day; although, if our day gets jacked up it is a side benefit for the enemy. Adversity comes in an attempt to steal the Word.

We must have root! We must count it all joy and seek Him!

Yesterday on Facebook I saw this post by Jesse Duplantis, “What you focus on determines what you live with! So, are you focusing on God or your circumstances?”

As for me and my house, I focus on God! 

As for me and my house, circumstance can take a long walk off a short bridge!

What is your focus today?

How can you take His Word and change your circumstance today?

Count it all joy!