Tag Archives: Winston Churchill

And having done all…STAND!

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; 
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” ~ Winston Churchill

When Rosa Parks boarded the same city bus that she did nearly every day as she left her job as a seamstress in Montgomery City, Alabama, she may not have been intent on changing history. But that is exactly what she did. When she refused to give her seat demanded by a white man, which was the normal rule and procedure, she was standing up for the black population everywhere.  She instantly became a national hero; and fortunately, for many, life was never the same.

Stand hopeinthehealing

There is so much power in this scripture; it will show us how to STAND.

  • We can see that we are in a real battle with real forces of evil.
  • It offers strength from the Lord to be able to stand.
  • And gives us the armor to protect ourselves in the evil day.

All of us have come to times in our lives when we have done all WE can do. We are exhausted, physically, mentally, and even spiritually. We have tried everything we can think of to either fix a situation, or to get ourselves out of a mess.

We are spent.

We are over it.

We’re done.

Now what?

David, the great king, a man after God’s own heart, has been in your shoes.

“David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6 NLT.

He knew where his strength came from. He went straight to the One who gave him what he needed to get through his darkest hour. David had known despair, had faced giants, ran for years from King Saul who wanted to take his life, and would even one day see his own son try to take the throne from him in jealousy and anger.

David also knew what it was to fail.

He looked when he should have turned away and his sin with Bathsheba cost him the life of his newborn son (and the life of Bathsheba’s husband!).

In all of these sorrows, whether through his own downfall or the attacks of others, David kept returning to his God.

He put on that full armor of God so he could continue to STAND.

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” Ephesians 6:14-17.

  • Loins girt with Truth
  • Breastplate of Righteousness
  • Feet shod with the Gospel of Peace
  • Shield of Faith
  • Helmet of Salvation

What a blessing that the Lord gave us this suit of protection that we would be able to STAND in the evil day. We are NOT unprotected. We have the Word of God and we have the Holy Spirit, alive and living inside of us!

Let’s take advantage of it and grab hold as David did. When we come to the end of our rope, look up! When we don’t know where else to turn, call on the Lord. Run to Him!

Let us take a STAND for the Name of Jesus. We serve a LIVING GOD; One that is COMING BACK AGAIN!

God is still working for us, in us and through us. Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

Having done all….STAND!

Kingdom2

 

Growing Up in Every Way…Truly

5-minute-friday-1Truth is like oil in water, no matter how much oil you add to depress it; the oil will always float to the top!

We can say something isn’t true all we want, we can try to make it a lie, but truth is truth no matter how many say it is a lie. You can never change the truth! It cannot be undone!

Winston Churchill once famously said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

Pardon the pun but, truer words were never spoken!

Why do we love to embellish the truth? Why have we capitalized so much on the “little white lie”?

We have even justified ourselves by the telling of the “white lie”, which has been around since at least the 1700’s! The term “white lie” has a feeling of innocence and purity, meaning it is not a darker or evil lie.

For instance, we might feel we are protecting someone’s feelings by telling a “white lie”.

“Honey, does this dress make me look fat?” “Well of course not, dear!” When in reality it is two sizes too small for your beloved but you value your marriage and want to eat at the dining room table and sleep in your own bed for the next two weeks.

That, was a “white lie”.

“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth…” Psalm 86:11 ESV.

But the telling of little “white lies” can lead to other lies. It becomes easier to slip them into our conversation. We don’t think about it so much anymore if we are not careful. And even worse, our children hear us and they do not understand the difference.

Austin O’ Malley said, “Those who think it is permissible to tell white lies soon grow color-blind.”

The devil is the liar and the Bible says he is the father of lies. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44.

There is no truth in him!

But the Lord desires truth in our lives and in our hearts, to show forth in everything we do…and say!

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” Psalm 51:6 NKJV.

He will make us to know wisdom! The New Living Translation said “…you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom, even there.” From the beginning He was teaching us, molding us, making us to know wisdom. Putting His truth in our hearts!

This truth is built on the foundation of the Word of God but the doctrines of men change with every generation.

We must be settled with what we believe and never waiver. “Buy the truth and sell it not”, the Word says.

Others are watching our lives and we want to emulate Jesus Christ every day, ALL DAY!

This scripture in Ephesians 4:15 completes our thought beautifully: “But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ…”

Now look at it in this version, the exact same text only expounded just a bit! (Emphasis is mine.)

“Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth (in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly). Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, (even) Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).” Ephesians 4:15 Amplified New Testament.

Enfolded in love! Let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him…friends, it is so plain, it is so beautiful and we make it so difficult.

Jesus is waiting for us to be enfolded in His love…

Let us grow up…

Feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on “little white lies”!! This is community!

And remember to pray for us here in Latvia! Tonight begins the leadership part of the 2nd Annual General Conference. We have missionaries arriving from Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Norway and the United States, all coming to Riga to help support this conference. We appreciate your prayers for a mighty outpouring of the spirit here in this beautiful country. If you have missed previous posts you can read them here and here! God bless!

 

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No One Remembers the First 39

Never, never, never give up. ~ Winston Churchill

WD-40Back in 1953, Norm Larsen and two other chemists had been trying to perfect a formula to prevent corrosion, a task which is done by displacing water.

The Rocket Chemical Company, of San Diego, California, was working on a line of industrial degreasers and rust-prevention solvents for use in the aerospace industry.

Norm was not one to give up, and his persistence finally paid off when he came up with his Water Displacement formula or WD40 on his 40th try!

No one probably remembers the first 39 formulas and few even mention the other two chemist’s names. But the final product you will find in 4 out of 5 households in America!

You might have heard of a woman who was very ill and had suffered for many years with a certain condition. She had tried many physicians to no avail and spent all of her money to try to find a cure. From city to city, doctor to doctor, but no one could help. How many had it been? She had lost count.

Then she heard about a Teacher who was passing through that had a “healing touch”. She didn’t give it a second thought. She didn’t walk, she ran to where He was going to be. But the crowd was so big! How would she, a small, petite and sickly woman, ever get close enough to tell Him her problem? He would never hear her…it was useless.

Then she had an idea.

If she could just touch Him.

She had tried talking to all of the other physicians and that had not worked. This One was different, she sensed it, she felt it. It was in the air, the excitement in the crowd, they were all talking about Him, could He be the One?!

She pushed on, making her way through the crowd, they pushed back, she wasn’t the only one trying to get to the front! She was knocked down and there she was at His feet and she could almost…just about…reach…out… and touch His…robe!

“Who touched me?”

Peter was shocked! He knew there were so many people around pushing and shoving at Jesus, how could He possibly asked who had touched Him?

“Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”

She had been discovered. He was angry with her! She came forward, fell at His feet and told Him that as soon as she touched His robe she was instantly healed of her issue of blood that she had carried for twelve years!

The Healer had come, all of the other attempts were forgotten, and they didn’t matter any longer because Victory was sweet.

“Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” Luke 8:43-48.

So is there something in your life that you haven’t surrendered to Jesus yet? Have you surrendered YOURSELF? Are there things in your life you just won’t let go?

Or maybe you have tried everything else and left Him for “last choice”?

That’s okay. He is still there.

Push through the crowd.

Reach out and touch Him.

Grab hold of that robe and don’t let go.

Victory is sweet.

 

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