Author: Bill

Eph 6:11-18 (ESV)Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, & having put on the breastplate of righteousness, &, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; & take the helmet of salvation, & the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer & supplication. —Is there a crack in your armor? Our armor is critical for our protection from the darts of the enemy! Here is a start to consider – Prov 6:16-19 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, & one who sows discord among brothers. Love Mel

Ex17:9-13 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, & go out & fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, & fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, & Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, & whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone & put it under him, & he sat on it, while Aaron & Hur held up his hands, one on one side, & the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. & Joshua overwhelmed Amalek & his people with the sword. — Moses arms became heavy in praying! Even to the point of needing help to hold up his arms. Have you ever experienced heaviness in praying? Have you ever needed to be held up by others. Jesus is our Joshua, fighting our battles, & Jesus is our Moses making intercession on our behalf before the Father. Aaron & Hur are those that are willing to go along side of us to hold up our arms when weariness creeps in. What a beautiful picture! Keep the faith! Love Mel

Prov 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…Prov 14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life… Prov 3:7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, & turn away from evil. Prov 31:29-30 Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceitful, & beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Psalm115:11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help & their shield. Psalm145:19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry & saves them. — The Hebrew word “fear of the Lord” is translated as ‘yirah” which means awe! If we ever could fully realize the love God has for us, we would see the awe in this life. He works to move us from glory to glory bringing us closer to Himself with each moment. In the 23rd Psalm, He tells us that He is our Shepherd leading us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though We walk through the valley of the shadow of death, We should fear no evil, for He is with us; His rod & staff, they provide comfort to us. Love Mel

Words always have meaning in Gods word! Have you ever wondered about the word “Hebrew”? —Gen 14:13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the HEBREW, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner…. — This is the first reference to “Hebrew”in the Bible. Did you know that the word “Hebrew” means to cross over or to transition.— Hebr 11:29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. — They crossed over the Red Sea with God as the cloud by day & His fire by night. — Another crossing is into the promised land! —Joshua 3:5-6 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
To cross over is always the work of God in our life in a fallen world. Along with our hopes and joys there are always issues for which we simply do not have the strength nor the wisdom required for the challenge. We need His strength. The battle is always the Lord’s and when we finally realize this, we too will be ready to cross over in life. When we join our life to His, it always leads to the promised land. Love Mel

Prov 13:12 (ESV) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. John5:2-7 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaica called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, & paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there & knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, & while I am going another steps down before me.” —Where is your hope? Hope deferred will make your heart sick! Lost hope brings us down, we can become depressed, filled with anxiety, &  become lost in the hopelessness. When we put our Hope in Jesus we will find our miracle. A life worth living.  The man next to the pool of Bethesda was just waiting for 38 years. He was wasting away just waiting for his situation to change. But when Jesus showed up, in verse 8, Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, & walk.” & at once the man was healed, & he took up his bed & walked.— Our hope must be in Jesus. Love Mel