Tag Archives: C.S.Lewis

Fasting together: Just keep doing good

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Fasting together: Just keep doing good. Here we go! I know today’s title is not proper in its grammar, yes I know it should read “Just keep doing well” or even “Just keep doing right”. But sometimes you have to break the rules (smile) and today is one of those times!

Are you winding down your fasting? Are you yet to get started? Fasting the 21 day Daniel Fast or just a meal or two here or there? However you decide to input a fast into your spiritual walk, then do it unto the Lord. You can read our previous posts here.

Evil is joining in agreement with someone else to cause harm or to slander another. This breaks the heart of God.

Evil is always sin but is sin always evil?

Evil is preconceived sin; planned sin, even conniving sin.

The Bible says we were “born into sin”, it is inherently in our nature. But through the cross we now have forgiveness of sins, an advocate in Jesus Christ the Righteous! We can go before Him when we sin (and we will) and receive His mercy.

Why didn’t God do away with our sinful nature when Jesus was nailed to the tree? Why, when we are buried with Him in baptism and our sins are washed away, do we continue to sin, even unwillingly or unknowingly? Jesus could have taken that sinful nature from us and made us perfect, obedient creatures, couldn’t He?

“God created things which had free will. If a thing is free to be good it’s also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.” C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity

We must serve Him and love Him with our FREE WILL. We love Him for what He has done for us and out of hearts of gratitude and thankfulness; not because we are forced to do so. That wouldn’t be love!

So we are in the world. An evil world. We cannot change it, for the most part, and must walk in it each and every day. So, what to do about it?

Prayer, coupled with fasting, strengthens us and gives us boldness and power in the Holy Ghost to withstand the evil that is in the world.

The prophet Nehemiah fasted when he heard that his beloved city of Jerusalem had been reduced to ruins. You can read it here.

Nehemiah was heartbroken at the news he had received of his homeland.

He sat down.

He cried.

He mourned.

For days.

He fasted.

He prayed.

He asked for mercy when he went before the king. He also humbly asked for permission, for caution and wisdom. Then he headed to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls!

While rebuilding the walls of his beloved Jerusalem he wouldn’t stop for anything, even when they were being attacked by evil!  In Nehemiah 4:17, we see how Nehemiah continued doing good in the midst of a battle,  “…The laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon.” 

He just kept on doing good.

  • Have the walls of your life been broken down?
  • Does the enemy of your soul lie to you and torment you on every turn?
  • Are you filled with anxiety, fear and dread every day?

Weep, mourn, fast, pray, ask for caution and wisdom. Then what?

Start rebuilding the walls!

Put your faith and confidence in the One who delivers, heals, restores and brings peace to a troubled mind. Let Him give you the strength to put one stone upon another and rebuild the walls in your life.

“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21.

Evil will remain in the world until Satan is bound. But we do not have to let evil overcome us or become a part of us.

Jesus prayed for God to keep you from the Evil One. Today, through prayer and study of His Word, through relationship, Christ IN you, He has left you with the power to live an overcoming life!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV

God answers prayers of sacrifice, desperation and commitment. What are you praying for today?

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The Daniel Fast, A Devotional, is a great tool for ANY fast that you choose as a sacrifice to the Lord. 21 days of devotions and recipes too. Available in Kindle or paperback!

Forgiven much but I can’t forgive…

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This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you purchase something after clicking on one of my links. Thanks for supporting this ministry!

 

“To forgive is to set the prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes

“Then Peter came to Him (Jesus) and asked, ‘Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?’ ‘No, not seven times.’ Jesus replied, ‘but seventy times seven!’” Matthew 18:21, 22 NLT.
The beginning of the 18th chapter starts out with the disciples asking Jesus, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom?”  So Peter has definitely been listening as the Master has been teaching and he realizes that if you are going to be anything or anybody in the Kingdom you are going to have to be able to forgive.
Peter has been around a while. So when He asks the Lord how many times he should forgive his brother, he knew the number seven was God’s number. It represents the divine number of completion or perfection. God finished creating the earth in seven days.   “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” Genesis 2:2, 3 NLT.
And I do not believe Jesus was making light of Peter’s question when He responded with a mathematical impossibility! Jesus replied with another number containing seven, the number seventy. The number seventy is also the number that symbolizes our life span on this earth, according to Psalm 90:10, “The days of our lives are seventy years…” NIV.
Jesus told Peter  that we are to forgive those that sin against us, or hurt us, as long as we live! Not as long as we feel like it. Not until the feeling passes or we get over it. But we are to keep forgiving, even if they keep hurting us over and over again, as long as we are alive on this earth. It really has nothing to do with the other person; but it has everything to do with us.
Once we realize that it is a command, and that it is something we must be doing pretty much the rest of our lives, we had better adjust the matter of the heart. If the heart isn’t right we won’t be able to forgive. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31, 32. NLT.

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Forgive them even if they are not sorry. You don’t even forgive because they deserve it. We didn’t deserve it either. But you deserve peace. Many times they will not reciprocate. Many times they will not even care. Forgive anyway. It is simply impossible to experience the peace of God if we have not forgiven those who have hurt us.
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Colossians 3:13 NLT.
Real forgiveness isn’t filled with expectations that the other person is going to undergo some miraculous change, or send a dozen long-stemmed, red roses and apologize. All you have to do is the forgiving. Love them, release them, and let it go.

Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea…until they have something to forgive. ~ C.S. Lewis

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After Jesus told Peter he was to forgive seventy times seven, He went on to tell the story of Forgiven Much, But I Can’t Forgive. In my own words, He says the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a King who wanted to collect his accounts from all of those servants who had borrowed money from him. One of the debtors, who owed him millions of dollars, couldn’t pay, so the king ordered that he and all of his family be sold to pay the debt. But the man fell down and begged him to be patient with him and he promised to pay it all. So the king had mercy and released him and forgave him the debt and let him go!
But when that forgiven man left the king, he went to a fellow servant, who owed him just a few thousand dollars, and he grabbed him by the throat and demanded that he pay him what he owed immediately. His friend fell down at his feet and begged for more time to come up with the money but no way would the forgiven man have any leniency on him and he had him arrested and put in prison until he could pay.

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Some of the other servants had seen all that had happened and went and told the king because they were so upset. “Then the king called in the man that he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” Matthew 18:32-35. NLT.
When you truly forgive, you can’t continually make them pay for past mistakes.

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“ Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?”
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37, 38 NLT.
Don’t let that bitterness take hold in your heart, it will literally grow and take root until it chokes the life out of you!

God is the Judge, let Him take care of who is right and who is wrong.

“Dear friends, never take revenge. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 NLT.
You cannot allow pride to stand in the way of forgiveness becoming a vitally important part of your Christian walk. Nor can you afford for it to become so common that it is a casual byline much as in the way we use the word love.  We also use that same word for many other things. We love chocolate, football, and puppies. We say,  “Love ya, man!” And, “I’m so in love with that dress!” We can’t treat forgiveness in the same manner. When we do take the time to forgive we must mean it and take it in all seriousness. We need to be specific and apologize sincerely, asking for forgiveness.
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14, 15. NLT.
God is always pleased when we honor His Word, and His Word is pretty to the point on this one. If we don’t forgive our brother, He will not forgive us; and THAT is pretty plain.

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DF cover side viewThe Daniel Fast Devotional is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon! Great for ANY FAST, it is full of great devotions about fasting in the Bible. Did you know even Jezebel fasted?? So much to learn and so helpful when trying to draw closer to God. Get yours today! 

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Whatever it takes…

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You might also enjoy this other post that talks about Hur and is written by my SIL, Sue Elkins. Let us do whatever it takes to please God and be used of Him.

Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity. ~ Louis Pasteur
Whatever it takes

Moses and the children of Israel are wandering in the wilderness, it hasn’t been too long since they were delivered out of the hands of Pharaoh. They are no longer slaves in Egypt; Moses has led them away by the hand of God and is leading them to the Promised Land.

They have seen the Lord divide the Red Sea so they could walk across on dry land; and then they witnessed that same mighty body of water swallow up the Egyptian army and vanish, never to be seen again!

No sooner were they on their way until they were grumbling about what they did or did not have to eat. So the Lord provided them with manna from heaven. In the Hebrew it meant “What is it?”

Seriously, every morning all they had to do was walk out their door and there were delicious pastries scattered on the ground!

They then journey a little further and run out of water to drink and the Lord tells Moses to smite the rock with his rod, or staff, to get water, which he does. Shortly afterward, the Amalekites attack to fight with Israel in Rephidim.

Here is where the story begins to get good.

Moses tells Joshua, his right hand man, to choose people to go into battle. He says that he will then go up to the top of the hill with the “rod of God” in his hand!

He did not use the rod in every plague in Egypt, sometimes God just spoke and it was done. But here is a list of some of the things that Moses and Aaron had done with that rod before, after the command of the Lord:

  • Turned it into a serpent and back again.
  • Turned the water into blood.
  • Brought frogs out of the rivers, canals and ponds and covered all of Egypt!
  • Struck the dust of the earth and then lice smothered man and beast.
  • Rained down hail and fire from heaven.
  • Locusts, like as never had been seen before, covered the earth.

Now, with the Amalekites approaching, Moses, Aaron and Hur are at the top of the hill and Joshua is down below leading the battle. Remember, this is nearing the end of the 40 year journey in the wilderness so Moses is also coming to the end of his days on the earth; he is quite old and losing strength.

Moses is holding up his staff and as long as he keeps it held high above his head, the Israelites prevail in battle! But if he lets his hands down, they begin to lose.

 “But Moses’ hands became heavy…”

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Now, do you know what I think is really awesome here? That Aaron and Hur didn’t need anyone to say, “Here’s your sign!” That is not what I am going to focus on today but it is a great subject for another time.

“…so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” Exodus 17:12 NKJV.

They did whatever it took, in a desperate situation, to make sure the battle was won!

Could God not have just stepped in and taken care of the enemy without Moses standing there with that silly staff above his head?!

Of course He could. He is God! We don’t always understand His ways but we trust them, we step out in faith and we follow His leading, knowing He has never failed us.

Moses knew that every time he had followed the Lord’s command up until now that He had been faithful. From that first encounter with the rod at the burning bush when the Lord told him to throw it on the ground and it became a serpent, he had been a believer. So he knew now that to let his arms down meant disaster for Israel. He trusted in his God!

The lesson isn’t always just for the believer, sometimes the Lord is trying to reach others through you.

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So just because you don’t understand it, doesn’t mean God isn’t working. Trust Him, He’s done this before!

Is there a situation in your life right now that has you weary and tired off “holding up your hands”?

Do you feel like what God has asked you to do is trivial, maybe even silly, and if you had your way you would do it differently?

Be determined like Moses! He would have stood there with that staff in his hand until he died if he had to, even if no one had come to his rescue.

Whatever it takes!

There are some times we have to just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and get tough because things in this world are NOT going to get easier, friend.

The things that I can’t change and are out of my control, Lord help me to leave them in YOUR hands and then turn around and walk away.

But if it is something that I need to dig in deep and hold on to, and you want me to do whatever it takes to accomplish it, whatever it takes to see it through…

Whatever it takes to make sure that loved one is saved…

Whatever it takes until I overcome this addiction…

Whatever it takes until I get this hatred out of my heart…

Whatever it takes until I stop judging my brother…

Whatever it takes until I stop running from the calling you put inside of me…

What are your thoughts today? Do you have an Aaron or Hur in your life holding up your hands today? Or have you had in the past when you couldn’t go on, did someone show up just in time?

Are you going through a difficult season, a battle with your own army of Amalekites, but are determined to do whatever it takes, with the Lord’s help, to give it to Him and let Him fight your battle?

Share with us today, encourage one another and be encouraged!

There is nothing too hard for our God, only trust Him.

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