Is God taking too long?

Have you ever felt like God’s plan for you, his prosperous plan, his plan of welfare and peace, just takes too long? Are you going to admit it? I have… Guess what? So did the Israelites! Yep! Way back in the book of Numbers.

So… God had lead Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt. They had been in the desert for awhile and were getting restless. God told them that he had a land for them, he picked it out. All God wanted was a little bit of faith demonstrated from the Israelites.

He asked Moses to send some men out to scout, explore the land. Now these scouts explored for 40 days. They came back and said the land flowed with milk and honey. They even brought back some of the fruit they had found growing. But…they said that the people there were strong and large. There was no way the Israelites could defeat them. Of course when everyone heard the reports, they grumbled and complained about where they were. Why had God brought them to the desert to die?

Have you ever grumbled and complained about what God brought you out of? Thought you would have done things differently? (because your way was working for you) Let fear keep you from doing what God had set up for you? Again, are you going to admit it?

Well, God’s way was questioned. There were two scouts, however, that tried to calm the people. They were Caleb and Joshua. They reported to the Israelites that “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." (Numbers 14:8-9) The people then turned on the two brave scouts but God stepped in. He was not happy at all. He punished the Israelites by telling them that they would not get to enjoy the Promised Land. Their children would be allowed because they would be wandering the desert for 40 years. These people still didn’t get it. They tried to defeat the Amalekites and Canaanites without God. They were beaten.

Have you ever tried to get to your “Promised land” before you were ready? Prepared? Without God? Aren’t we stubborn?

Later in the book of Joshua, the Israelites have finally leaned on God. The last of the men from the slave days of Egypt had died and their children were about to enter Canaan, God’s land promised to be given to them. There was however, an obstacle… the Jordan River.

Joshua was leading the Israelites now. God gave him a pep talk. “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:5-9) And then God gave his instructions on how and what the people were to do to get across the Jordan. They didn’t have to build anything. They didn’t have to do anything except be ready-be prepared. God told them that when the Ark of God carried by the Levitical priests got near the water to be ready to follow it. God took care of the rest!!! He made the rushing water pile up. He made the ground dry so they could walk across. He did it because he knew the plan he had for them. The whole nation walked across the Jordan riverbed, didn’t get wet, didn’t get covered in mud, didn’t get stuck in the middle. They believed in God and his plan and walked across.

Now you and me- God’s plan is not messy. It is not hard. The Bible says , “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6) and “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” ( Romans 12:2)

God knows the plan better than we do. He designed it. We just have to be as faithful as he is and follow it.

-Susie Hickman

“Don’t Grow Weary . . . work with all your might.”

I spoke recently with several different members of our church about all of the different ministries that our church offers and how so many of us are involved in one, if not several, of the ministries. I was in agreement with many of those who felt that our church is literally stretched to its capacity in volunteers, workers and helpers. Simply put, we are a church with a true heart to serve our God . . . and that is a good thing!

However, I think we all go through spells where we get tired. We get emotionally tired . . . we get physically tired . . . we even get mentally tired of doing what the Lord has called us to do. We have to become expert managers of our families and our time making sure we keep up with our kids’ soccer games, school events, after school events, hair appointments, car tune-ups, balancing the checkbook, paying the bills, work, meetings, mowing the lawn, cleaning the gutters, lessons, fixing breakfast, packing lunch, planning dinner, shopping, watching TV, keeping up with Facebook, cleaning the house, talking on the phone . . . and it goes on and on. LIFE goes on.

Are you getting tired? You know, that’s ok. But don’t quit!! Rest if you must, but don’t you ever quit!!

In Ecclesiastes 9:10, the Word says “Whatever presents itself for you to do, do it WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or skill in the grave where you are going.” Kind of an eye-opener, huh?

I coached soccer for many years and with each team, good or bad, young or old, boys or girls (or both), I always told them this: NO MATTER WHAT, LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD. PLAY HARD AND DON’T EVER QUIT! WHEN THE CLOCK HITS :00 , THEN YOU CAN REST. No matter how much we were winning or losing, I told my players to give it everything they got. I also told them that one day, they would not be playing anymore and I wanted each of them to look back and say that they did everything they could for the team.

Let me encourage you today . . . give it everything you got! Are you tired, that’s ok! Rest if you must, but don’t you ever quit!! Whatever ministry you are called to, don’t let anyone or anything hold you back . . . do it to the best of your ability and do it with all your might. I look forward to the day when my heavenly father can look at me and say “Well done!!”

-Pastor Chris Blackburn

The Sword of the Spirit...

If you know me very well, then you know that I love God’s Word and that I am very interested in matters concerning Israel. I would like to share with you an excerpt from “The Carmel Alert”, Out of Zion Ministries Newsletter. It is about both--- God’s Word & Israel. It’s a bit lengthy but I believe you’ll be blessed by it. Thanks for reading! - Connie Wolhford

Stefan's Comment: The Sword of the Spirit

Eph 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

We are in an ongoing battle every moment of our lives. In every decision that we make, we have a choice to obey God and bring Him glory, or to disobey Him and cause Him grief, regardless of anyone else knowing of this choice. Everything that we do echoes in the spiritual realm, every thought, every whim, every attitude and every word. As Shaul (Paul) wrote in the above verse, it is not against flesh and blood that we wrestle, but against principalities, powers and spiritual hosts. Out of all the armour of God stated in Eph 6, the Sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon that we have. All the others are defensive weapons that are designed to keep us from the fiery arrows that the enemy sends our way. The only weapon that we have to strike back at the enemy is the sword. There is a famous saying that I think we have all heard at one point or another in our lives: “The best defense is a strong offence”. Wars and battles are not won by being on the defensive, but by attacking, striking hard at the enemy and advancing forward until he either surrenders or withdraws.

It is for good reason that it is called the ‘Sword of the Spirit’ because it is a spiritual weapon and we must be in the Spirit in order to use it. Our sword is the living word of God that is “…powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb 4:12, NKJ). But in order for it to be affective, we must know how to use it and be skilled in handling it. How can a soldier go to war with a weapon that he does not know how to use? Just imagine a soldier throwing his M-4 rifle at the enemy instead of shooting at him with it – not very effective. Also think of a soldier who knows how to use his M-4, meaning he knows how to fire it, but it takes him forever to change a clip, or he only know how to fire standing up, but not squatting, sitting, kneeling or lying down. This is not how a trained, skilled soldier is to perform in battle. So we must know how to use our sword and be skilled in it.

A perfect example can be found in Matt 3:16 going into Matt 4. Yeshua (Jesus) goes through ‘Tironut’ or ‘Basic Training - Boot Camp’ in English. It is the first time that we see that the enemy tempted Yeshua. The first thing we see is that after He was baptized Yeshua was filled with the Spirit and was then moved by the Spirit into the desert. Notice the importance of being in the Spirit. Before His baptism Yeshua did not perform any miracles nor minister in anyway. We are only told that He grew in wisdom and stature before God and men. In the desert the enemy came to Yeshua in order to attack Him.

Notice the pattern in the temptations:
First, Satan attacks Yeshua (Jesus) in the weakness / vulnerability of His flesh. Yeshua was hungry after fasting for 40 days already and the enemy tries to get Him to turn stones into bread. Notice how Yeshua, being filled with the Spirit strikes the enemy with the Sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God) with much skill and precision. He knows exactly how to use His weapon to refute the attack of the enemy.
Secondly, the enemy tries to use the word to cause Yeshua to fall. The enemy is doing two things here - 1/ he is twisting and perverting the word of God from the truth that is in it and 2/ he is attacking the sovereignty of God the Father over Yeshua’s life. Again Yeshua knows how to strike skillfully with the truth of the word against the perversion of the word.
Thirdly, the enemy offers Yeshua a short cut and a cheap alternative of the real promise given by the Father (Psalm 110:1). Yeshua knows why He has come, He knows what is planned for Him and what He must do. Heb 12:2 “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (NKJ). Again Yeshua strikes the devil with the word of God and the enemy finally flees from Him just as is written in James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (NKJ). Then the angels come and minister to Him both physically (food) and spiritually, I believe. What a perfect example of how we are to stand in the word and use it in the spirit to come against the enemy’s attacks, resisting (defending and counter-attacking) until he flees!

Another prime example is young King David when fighting against Goliath (read 1 Sam 17:45-50). David is skilled in his simple weapons – the slingshot and the shepherds staff, but not with all of Saul’s armour and weaponry. He goes out against Goliath with what he is skilled in. I believe that David was filled with and moved by the Spirit at that moment as it was not normal for him to do what he did in that situation. Goliath curses David and his God, the God of Israel. Goliath wishes to enslave Israel. His words are lofty and come against the word of God. David speaking prophetically with boldness declares to Goliath exactly what is about to happen to him and this soon comes to pass. There was a spirit working in Goliath that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and His truth that was cut down and destroyed by a brave freckly red head who knew God’s word, was skilled in it, was brave and saw beyond Goliath’s size, armour and battle experience to God’s promises, purposes and desires.

2 Cor 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (NKJ)
The apostles were commanded by the Lord not to leave Jerusalem until they were filled with power from on high, until they were filled with the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is the living out the New Covenant. Only in the Spirit can we walk according to God’s commandments. Only in the Spirit are we in tune with our Master, our Abba (Father) to do His will, just as Yeshua was. Of course we will always fail and wrestle with our flesh, but still that is our goal and our vision.

In these days there are many spirits that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God concerning those who are the Lord’s and also the nation of Israel. Let us become more skilled in the Word. Let us proclaim the word over out lives and over the nation of Israel. The enemy will keep attacking because he knows that his time is short, but we have a weapon that is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…” to strike back with. Let us walk in the Spirit and make full use of our spiritual sword – the Word of God.

The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel. Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for all of the soldiers in the IDF -they are defending and fighting for the Kingdom of God.

That time of year... again.

It’s that time of year again…time for children to head back to school! Parents everywhere are buying book bags, notebooks, pencils, calculators, lunchboxes, sports equipment, etc. Many folks made a special trip out last weekend to take advantage of Virginia’s tax-free holiday for school supplies. Over the next few weeks, schools will be holding “open house” and parents and children will take time to meet teachers, view schedules, pay fees and make other necessary preparations for the upcoming school year. However, there is something our kids need that is more important than school supplies….they need to be filled with God’s Word and bathed in prayer each day as they enter their mission field…the classroom.

We have been teaching about “salt and light” in Kid’s Church for several weeks. The children are learning that we need to be salty: we need to have a distinct flavor that makes others thirsty for Jesus, and we shouldn’t just blend in with the world around us or be bland or conforming. As Christian parents, we need to encourage our children to be an example to others, walking in obedience to God and His Word. Proverbs 20:11 says “Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right”. We should also encourage our kids to be light in this dark world. No matter how young, children can share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others; in fact, they are often more quick to do this than adults. There are classrooms of children all across our city, state and country that are full of people that need to hear the Gospel message.

In the thirteen years my children have been in public school, I have prayed for them each day before they went to school. I have prayed for God’s protection over them both physically and spiritually, for God to help them to learn well, for both of them to be a good example and a witness to others, and many other things. At least 2, 340 prayers have gone up for them. I don’t say this to brag; I am not perfect, I know that they have not been perfect and all of their experiences have not been perfect. But I do believe that God has blessed their education and I pray each day that they will have an impact on someone’s life. As you prepare for school to start this year, add this to your “to-do” list: pray for your children every day, not only that God will protect them and help them to learn, but also that, as believers, they will be salt and light to the world around them.

-Pastor Tina Blackburn