Engaged in warfare?

What are we engaged in? Life, family, our jobs? 2Tim 2:2 says:" No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."
Part of this question goes back to who's we are. If we do not recognize that we are not our own anymore, but that we've been bought with a price, and now we are Christ's, (1 Cor 6: 19 & 20) then we can not see who enlisted us, who controls us. and who should be making all the decisions that we now make.
I woke up this morning and was thinking about the local churches, and how I have been asked to speak at many churches, but not the two closest to us. The phrase jumped into my head "They do not easily give up their pulpits." Then I thought; but it's God's pulpit. Then I imagined one of the pastors saying but He (God) gave it to me, so now it's mine and I am responsible." But the scriptures teach us that the earth and all that is in it is the Lord's (Psalm 24:1) ...so He does not give, but let's us use, put's us in positions where He can use us, we own nothing.
Our wives, not ours. Kids, not ours. Nothing is ours, we merely are to be obedient to what He says to do with how He places us.
So back to what we're engaged in: If God has enlisted us, just like in our military, we are now owned by Him. We don't get up when we want, eat what we want, even wear what we want. As a soldier we are commissioned to do the will of He who enlisted us, in every capacity. And we need His constant direction of where we should be stationed, where we should be at every minute. There is a war going on, we are being recruited by other forces, we do not have time to be engaged in anything else around us, but only that which He allows to, or assigns us too. Any other commitment we make, outside of His plans, could be life threatening to us, and those around us. We NEED to be where He places us, doing what He commissioned us to, otherwise we are in great jeopardy.
So are we here to please ourselves, or the One that enlisted us? What are we living for?
"Lord forgive me for going on my own missions, not acting as if You were the one who enlisted me, forgive me for attended to my own needs desires, and other things, above Yours, I want Your will, not my own, help me to understand the difference, in Jesus Name, the name above every other name. Amen."

God's Grace is sufficient

Paul had asked the Lord to remove a thorn in his flesh, a "messenger sent to buffet his body" and the Lord resounded to him "My grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in your weakness." (2nd Cor. 12)
My grace is sufficient....I Love that, I need that and it's what He gives with no partiality, with no regard of who I am, it's all based on who He is, and I am so glad!
"Lord let Your grace be sufficient for me in every way. Let all Your provision be enough and let me never long for more."
In Jesus name, amen.

No darkness at all!

God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all 1 John 1:5
So if we're hidden in Christ, NO DARKNESS, whohoo!!

Is eating what I do not need a sin?

Mark 9:29 & Matthew 17:21. "These kind only come out by prayer and fasting."
The disciples were brought a man's son who had a demon and they were trying to cast it out, but couldn't. This son was being tortured violently, and the demon would not let him go. Jesus came up and saw a crowd and asked about it, the father told Him how this demon terrorizes his son, The Lord rebuked the spirit, it threw him down one more time and then it left him.
When asked later by His disciples why they couldn't cast him out He said these kind only come out by prayer and fasting, one translation says much prayer and fasting!
If we have not committed our lives to prayer and fasting, it may very well be a sin. I've known guys who have gone to the doctor and been told unless they lose a ton of weight and start eating healthy, they will develop diseases, and they will die. Some of these people start losing weight immediately, and do very well. Others seem to not believe it, or care enough, and they go on with their lifestyles and eat what they want, and yes, die early.
The lust of our flesh is a powerful thing if given into.
But what about this diligence issue. Much prayer and fasting, this is a disciplined life is it not? Like a professional athlete it requires hard work, discipline in mind and body, and for the Christian living a prayer and fasted life, it means given over to the Holy Spirit, completely.
I was just thinking about senseless killing, like a drive by shooting that hits the wrong house...do we live senseless lives, specially those of us "hidden in Christ." Do we live this life all for Him, half and half? Zeal for Christ, burning passionately for Him, directed by His Spirit?
This can't be a thing of works, they tried to cast the demon out, but according to Jesus instructions, these kind only come out by prayer and fasting. So do we live, do I live, a prayer and fasted life. No I do not, as He has instructed me to.
If my life is His, hidden in Christ, and it's no longer I that live, but He that lives in me, what place do I have, what right do I have to now control my life? If I have given it up to be saved, shouldn't I give up all control as well? If I sell a property, and it's no longer mine, if I try and go live there still, isn't that trespassing? If I sell my car, but keep a set of keys and go and drive it, isn't that stealing?
We have become thieves robbing the temple of God that we are. We are not our own any more, we have been bought with a price, the price of Christ's life. And if we still assume control of our lives, we are thieves and trespassers!
We must not work in the flesh, but we must yield to the Spirit at all times. (Which we also must not do as a work of the flesh)
For some of us we just don't hear that we're going astray, because we are not attune to His Spirit. We have become dulled in our senses. "Lord, quicken our senses once again, whatever has caused us to lose sight of You, redeem that thing in our lives, and let us like sheep to a shepherd, hear your voice, so You can once again lead us as You will, in Jesus Name, amen!"
I have noticed in my own life that there are times I hear my voice better than His!? "Lord make that the opposite, that I hear You above all else, in Jesus Name!"

At His word

The Lord reminded me this morning about how Peter was told by Jesus in Luke 5 that peter should go out and let down his nets, even though Peter said "Lord we have been out all night and have caught nothing, yet AT YOUR WORD I will do it." We know the story, he caught so much fish that he called another boat over, and they both started sinking because there was so much fish. I have been told by teachers that this might have been a months worth of fishing, but they left it all and followed Him.
At His Word. Wow, what a phrase.
At His Word:
The demons flee
The dead come back to life
The blind see
The deaf hear

There are so many more, at His Word. I want to be at His beck and call, I want to be At His Word at all times. He alone is worthy of that kind of attention, and I need to give Him that kind of attention!
Lord help us to believe in Your words so much that nothing else can even be spoke and believed, except Your Words, YOu are worthy, You are holy, You are good, You are faithful, You are wonderful,marvelous, mighty, and I Love you, in Jesus Name, amen.

Playing war

I was playing the card game war with my 6 year old this morning. One thing that struck me is that whenI have an ace, or king os such I have this expectation that I am going to win, but when I have a lower care especially like a 2 or 3 I know I am probably not going to win. But what's weird with God is there re not probably's, there's only' s. Only His Word, only right or wrong, only black or white, there is no other. We don't always like that, we want grays, we want maybes, or do we?
Do we really want a maybe when we're about to get married, or applying for a job, or making the team? Do we want maybe's when we stand be fore Him on that great and final days?
Let's not believe in maybes, let's believe in only's, and be confident that He holds all the aces, and all the high cards, and the deck is stacked, in fact it's His.

Have faith, the faith He gives you, and believe!

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

If this is instruction, how many of us do this? If not, and it is instruction, what are we missing by not doing it, counting it all joy?

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Do we have patience? Do we lack it? Follow #1, count it all joy! This has to be possible, otherwise He would not tell us to do it, what kind of a Father would He be if He asked us to do something that was not possible!

4 But let patience have its perfect work,

Ooh, do I do that, do I even let patience work in me at all some days, so, what if I don't, and what happens if I do:

"that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

Perfect and complete, lacking nothing?! Whaaa, have I ever even heard this preached from any pulpit, except for maybe some crazy charismatic church, but their crazy..so does God really intend us to be perfect and holy, is that what He made us to be? And that "lacking nothing" REALLY? I can lack nothing....He says it, is His Word true, can it really be used for correction, teaching and reproof?


5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

If I ask for wisdom, it will be given, and liberally...how come we seem to be able to believe this more than Him making us perfect and holy by the way?

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,

Is this a catch....so I have to believe without doubting...so if I doubt, it aint' workin', right?

for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Don't we feel like that sometimes? It's a place n the sea He never intended us to be!

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

Whoa, this is definitely not preached, we won't receive anything from the Lord if we doubt, wow, I guess He wants me to believe, if not:

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

It seems I meet a ton of believers that seem really unstable, and it's really sad, it is REALLY sad. What are we missing as believers...when we don't believe...."Lord, let us have faith, let us believe, in Jesus Name, amen!"