My Father's Joy Weblog

I was packing my 8 year old brother’s bag the other day, like I often do when he is going with my parents on a trip. But this particular evening as I was packing his bags it dawned on me that one day very soon I will be packing his bags so he can fly all the way across the world, away from me. I’ve always packed his bags with very little thought, knowing in that a couple of day or weeks, he’d be coming back. But I suddenly realized that the time was fast approaching when I would be packing his bags not knowing when I will see him again. It could be 6 months, a year, or more. I’ve never been away from my parents for more than 3 weeks at a time, much less my little brother. I told myself when my brother was born, that I would do my best not to leave him to grow up like an only child…that I would try to stick around for as long as possible. Little did I imagine that he would be the one leaving. God knows I would follow if I could.

I think one of my greatest fears is finally coming true. My family has always been my security blanket, the only one I’ve ever really had. My entire life one of my greatest fears has been to be separated from my family. I’m not being separated completely, as my brothers will still be with/near me. Thanks be to God! The truth is, though, that mom is my most valued counselor and a true friend. And I am very much Daddy’s little girl. And Bobby…well, I simply can’t imagine life without him. I don’t know what I’ll do with him gone. Thankfully, God is the one person in my life that I will NEVER have to say “goodbye” to.

But God is good and He has a plan. I look to Him and put my trust in Him. It is, after all, His story. I only hope that, by His grace, I can set aside my self, putting to death my selfish desires, and bring Glory to Him. He is Holy, set-apart. May He be Glorified in everything.

Strength and Determination

We should have our spiritual swords drawn and stand  ready for what ever may come our way.

I have been reading in Isaiah 11 this week and I noticed that verse 2 talks about how God’s Spirit rested on the shoot from the stem of Jesse (Jesus). The verse went on to talk about what characteristics Jesus has and I wanted to take a closer look at them, because we are to be imitators of Christ, so these should be our characteristics as well. The one that really struck me was that Jesus had the spirit of strength. The notes in my bible pointed me to 2 Timothy 1:7 which says “for God has not given us the spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” Another word given in my notes for timidity was cowardice. This indicates that we are not to be cowardly, but rather strong. We are to have a spirit of power and love. Another word given for discipline was sound judgment, so we are also to have sound judgment or discipline. This verse reminded me of Luke 10:19 and James 4:7

Luke 10:19 says “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on Serpents and Scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” This again tells us that we need not fear, but should stand strong. And James 4:7 tells that when we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Resisting the devil does not indicate timidity. Ephesians 4:27 tells us not to give the devil an opportunity in our lives, and Ephesians 6:11 tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand firm against the devil. These verses are telling us to prepare for battle, not draw back in cowardice. All these verse tell us to be strong warriors of the faith and not cowards, and yet Christianity today is very weak and cowardly. We want salvation and to follow God’s call while it remains comfortable, but there are very few who are willing to have a spirit of strength and power. Most of us are cowards.

As Samuel Rutherford said,

“There are some who would have Jesus cheap. They would have Him without the cross. But the price will not come down.”

My friends, remember “you cannot stay where you are and go with God.” Let us adopt a spirit of power and strength, not cowardice. Let us have a good backbone, wills of steel, determination no matter the cost. For there will be a cost.

“Men of prayer must be men of steel, for they will be assaulted by Satan even before they attempt to assault his kingdom.” ~ Leonard Ravenhill

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, and I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.  Remember the word I said to you, a slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:18-20