Who is Your Enemy?

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It all started with selling my old iPhone on Craigslist. I bought a new iPhone about 6 months ago and just now decided that I could sell that phone for about $300. Mark found the original box that it came in. I was writing the ad and I sweetly asked, "Do you know where the phone charger is that came with this phone? I want to add that to my description."

Mark - Well, I still have the charger to my old phone.

Me- Well, how do you know that that is not my old phone charger?

Mark- I'm positive. I never lose my charger. I leave it in the same place.

Me- I never lose my phone charger either so that is my charger.

Mark- Nope...this is always kept in the drawer until I need it.

Pat- How do you know that you didn't put my phone charger in your drawer one time? I think that is my phone charger!

This went on and on. Wow! How can you get so mad over a phone charger? We finally had the good sense to stop and pray over it. We realized that our battle is NOT EVER against flesh and blood but against spirits and principalities.

Our enemy is a great deceiver and liar and wants to steal our joy. I love that Mark Cooper with all my heart❤️❤️❤️❤️. He is the love of my life. But he had better give me back my phone charger right now:):):).

Show Mercy to Others

“Yes, you must show mercy to others. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the one who shows mercy can stand without fear before the Judge.”
‭‭James‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭ERV‬‬

One thing about reading the Bible everyday for years, you can never exhaust the knowledge that you gain from it. The knowledge and truth will be what you need that day and the same verse may show someone else that they need.

These verses jumped on me today. As a teacher of middle school students, it is a daily occurrence that a student needs mercy! They are their own worst enemy. I can't give up on them, no matter how hard I may be tempted. I can never lose hope in what they will become one day. If I don't show mercy to a 7th grader, how can I expect God to show mercy to me?

How about about work? Have you given up on your boss or a coworker? Do you sincerely give them mercy? Love never quits. Never. Don't give up on God transforming them if you ask Him.

How about people you encounter in everyday life? This is a tough one because we don't think it matters. When a salesperson messes up our order or we get overcharged or a driver smashes our car or the waiter brings us the less than perfect order? We act like this person is doing this on purpose to us and we do not give them one ounce of mercy. God will remember this when it's time for us to need His mercy. We have a hundred reasons why we deserve mercy but we accept no reasons why that person needed mercy.

What about family member? Probably every person has a story of a relative that has hurt you or wronged you and you do not feel like giving them any mercy. You tried but you have washed your hands of them. You have no hope that they will ever change. Aren't we thankful that God does not give up on us.

How about in our marriages? Do I give mercy to Mark? I try to pray every Tuesday specifically for Mark. Do I pray with confidence that God can be trusted to transform Mark? I must admit that Mark is a much better person than me but he still has some mess-ups and my first reaction is to not give him mercy. Why? We just do that when people offend us. But I certainly expect Mark to show me mercy when I mess up.

God is patiently speaking to us through His word. However, sometimes we just don't have "ears to hear." Lord, I pray that what you say in your word literally jumps off the page.

“Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:7‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Know Who Your Father Is

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If you would like to have perfect peace, look at verse 3 going backwards. "Because they trust in you."

When something happened recently that shook my peace, I began to recount all the times when God was unbelievably faithful to me and my family. I started listing all of the blessings that I have. I began to praise Him for His power, for His kindness, for His resources, for His patience, for His perfect timing. By the time I finished, I was realizing that God is enough. I am not enough to handle this but God is more than enough.

Mark and I do three minutes of exercise each morning. We start by planking for 60 seconds and giving praise to God. If you recognize who your father is, your attitude changes. If I realize that my father owns the cattle on a thousand hills, why do I need to worry? If my heavenly father can do immeasurably above and beyond what I ask for, why am I afraid?

The Lord is good. He is a safe place to go to in times of trouble. He takes care of those who trust him.”
‭‭Nahum‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Your Own Strength Will Fail You

“He said, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Your help will not come from your own strength and power. No, your help will come from my Spirit.’ This is what the Lord All-Powerful says.”
‭‭Zechariah‬ ‭4:6‬

What an incredible reminder to us! When we face an army, small or large, our strength will be provided by the Spirit and not by our own power and strength.

For about 5 years, I have attended a strengthening class called Body Pump. I get excited about the progress I have made to lift heavier weights. The last couple of weeks, I have increased my squat weights again. I am able to do all the push-up routines on my toes and not my knees. I have come a long way from my old self.

However, do you think for a second that I can actually be a worthy opponent if I was attacked by a 6 foot guy? No way. How foolish it would be for me to think I have the strength to defeat an enemy with my strength! I would need someone to fight for me.

We need to be the same way when we face our enemy..the accuser, the liar, the deceiver. We absolutely cannot defeat him in our own strength. We need more power and wisdom. We need someone right there beside us to fight for us.

Do not continue to fight your battles with your own strength and wisdom. You will lose every time. Get in the Word! Develop an intense prayer life! You have to have different weapons to fight our adversary.

“The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places."
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10:4‬

By the way, I do not lift weights by myself. I am in a class with 30 other people. I have become a part of a group of friends who care about me and they notice when I am absent from Body Pump. They acknowledge if I am lifting higher weights and they praise me and encourage me. When I use the heaviest weights for squats, they lift the weights off my back when I am done.

Same thing with a small group...you attend until you are a part. You learn everyone's name. You acknowledge when you see growth in their life. However, the most important thing you do is to pray for them when their load is too heavy.

Some Friends Make You Wise

“Be friends with those who are wise, and you will become wise. Choose fools to be your friends, and you will have trouble.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13:20‬ ‭
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You can pray three times a day and read your Bible everyday but if you hang around "fools you will have trouble." It says if you want to be wise, you have to be friends with those who are wise. Today may be a good day to analyze your friendships.

Do you feel amazed that you have a few friends that are God-given? Are these friends running after the Lord? Do they hold you accountable to prayer and Bible study? Do they say what you want to hear or do they point you to the Word and say what the Word says? Do they really pray for you if you ask them?

I have been very fortunate to have friends that have a lot of wisdom...very fortunate. These friends were a gift from God. But I am positive that God has a plan and purpose for everyone to have these friendships in our lives. If you long for one good friend like this, not a perfect friend but a wretched sinner just like you that is saved by grace, ask God for this. Pray until He answered your prayer.

Do Not Fear the Lion's Den

“Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God. Even though Daniel heard about the new law, he still went to his house to pray. He went up to the upper room of his house and opened the windows that faced toward Jerusalem. Then Daniel bowed down on his knees and prayed just as he always had done.”
‭‭Daniel‬ ‭6:10‬ ‭ERV‬‬

I always love the end of September because I am reading one of the most incredible books...Daniel. If you have not read the book of Daniel recently, it would be a good idea to read it before the November election. The prayer he prays for his nation in chapter 9 should be our prayer for America right now.

I am always intrigued by what it says about him in chapter 6. It says that Daniel "always prayed three times every day." Always...prayed...everyday. It says that he "prayed just as he always had done." Yes, there was a new law that says if you pray to another God, you would be thrown in the lion's den. But he prayed as he had always done on his knees. He prayed with intentionality and intensity. He prayed at specific times. It was marked on his calendar.

I am not going to let us off the hook. Is there any reason why we can't pray with intentionality every single day? But do we make up a hundred reasons why we did not find the time all day? And then we wonder why we face our lion's den with crippling fear. Daniel faced the lion's den with confidence because he spent three times everyday in prayer. I want to be like that, don't you? If someone asks Daniel about his prayer life, he would be able to tell the specific times that he prayed each day. Can you and I do that?

Go back and read the book of Daniel and you will not be surprised that he was always respected and there was "never found any fault in him." Kings sought his wisdom. When the lion's den story was written, he had been praying for many years. He did not start yesterday. When you start earnestly carving out time to pray, go at it for a lifetime and look back after 10, 20,30 or 40 years. You will face any lion's den with confidence.

I don't know what lion's I will face today. Starting my day with prayer will give me the strength to face the lion. Another way to look at starting my day with prayer is this...if I skip this morning with talking to God, am I assuming that I can provide all the strength and wisdom that I need for today?

Election Year

 I really need to say something. The election in November...it is confusing and fearful and weird. But here is a truth. We all need to vote for one candidate or the other. To not vote is irresponsible, perhaps a little immature. 

I actually have complete confidence in my students that when they turn 18, they are ready to make decisions about the future of our country. They may not always make the best decision but neither do I. I hope that older adults set the example for the younger generation that even though the choices are tricky, you still vote. 

To not vote means that you can never once complain about the Supreme Court decisions, whether the national debt increases, what happens with illegal immigrants, how a terrorist threat to our nation is handled, or even health insurance changes. You lost your chance to complain when you don't vote. 

If you are not sure who to vote for, do what I do. I am talking to people that I love and respect and asking questions, lots of questions! Grit your teeth and watch the conventions:). I watched three days of the Republican convention and learned a lot about Trump and his kids. I am scouring the Internet and trying to determine the views of each candidate. I am especially trying to see what evangelical Christian leaders are saying because I am more likely to vote as they do. And I get discouraged when strong leaders are silent because ordinary people like me need some guidance.

Notice that I am definitely NOT saying who to vote for. That is the great thing about living in this fabulous country. I guess I chose the picture because I hope it reminds us all that because a high price was paid so that we have the freedom to vote the way we want...we have to vote. 

So that is the main reason that I am writing this post. Get out and vote and encourage others to do the same.