All Day Fight
By Shirley Mitchell
"On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
'O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.'
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!"
Joshua 10:12-14
Joshua led his men in an all night march through the steepest elevation. Five Amorite kings had joined together to fight against Israel's covenant partner Gibeon. Joshua and his army responded to the Gibeonites' plea to not abandon them. His army took them by surprise, and the Lord threw them into confusion.
In the battle, he saw the stones fall on his enemy because the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites (verse 11). Yet, the battle remained intense. He swung his sword until his arms were worn out, and his sword felt glued to his hand.
Joshua was an experienced warrior. He had crossed the parted waters of the Jordan River, fought the battle of Jericho, saw the walls come down, confronted the sin of Achan, and ambushed and burned the city of AI. He knew this battle required more out of him than the others.
On that day that was like no other, Joshua prayed in faith that God would answer his prayers, make the sun stand still and the moon stop over the Valley of Aijalon until the nation avenged itself on its enemies. Maybe they needed a little more sunlight because they were on their enemy's terrain, and their enemy would know the land better than they would. God answered his prayer. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. They knew that "surely the LORD was fighting for Israel" (verse 14).
Since I finished recording Jesus Lives, this particular story in Joshua has been my life. I have seen God supernaturally intervene for the writing of this Bible study and for the videotaping. I have walked on the water and done what so many people told me was impossible. It was impossible to work an over 40 hours per week full time job and care for a husband and three daughters and write a 10-week study. It was impossible to videotape a Bible study on the budget that we had. It was impossible to videotape without the equipment, director, cameramen, and locations. It was just as impossible to get me the teacher to speak intelligently and understandable as it was to get the donkey to talk to Balaam. Despite all these impossibilities and obstacles, God accomplished the work of writing the Bible study Jesus Lives and the eleven teachings.
Yet, the battle still rages on to get the book published, video tapes edited, and both reproduced. Every now and then, someone will say to me non-chalantly from the sidelines, without really grasping the seriousness of the battle that I'm in, "All in God's timing, my dear. All in God's timing." I almost feel like they should have a cup of tea in one hand and be dressed in their Sunday finest clothes sitting on a blanket and enjoying a spring day while I am in full battle gear with aching muscles from fighting, my body covered with sweat, and attackers surrounding me from all sides. I can't imagine Joshua would have appreciated this encouragement, either, on the battlefield that day.
It brings these kinds of thoughts to my mind, "I'm swinging this sharp sword of truth for my life here. All you can say is God's timing! I know about God's timing. I know that when God answers prayers it is yes, no, and wait. I know wait is sometimes harder than no. I have experienced God's timing many times. But if you are not active in service for the kingdom or have never engaged in the battle of your life, then your encouragement is not hitting the target with me. I know the Lord has promised me this victory. God told Joshua during the march to not be afraid of them and that He had given them into his hand. I know what the outcome will be, but it is at a time like this when I'm looking for some warriors to join me on the battlefield! There is still a battle to be fought. This victory was hard and fought through blood, sweat, tears, and prayer. The victory will be great, and I'm looking for people who want to join God and me in the exhilaration of participating in a miracle! There are people depending on this victory."
Oh, precious one, are you in a battle, too? Do you need someone to join you in prayer? Let's lift each other's battles up to God, Jehovah Sabaoth, the LORD of hosts, our Warrior, and give Him room to show His great power. The enemy will cringe and fall before Him.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we know You answer us in Your perfect timing. We know that Your purposes prevail. Teach us, Lord, to join our brothers and sisters on the battlefield. May we engage in Your battles and experience the thrill of participating in victory with You. You never promised us the battle would be easy, but You did promise us that if we trust in You that we will be blessed beyond what we can imagine! Surely, You, LORD, were fighting for Israel that day, and You are fighting for Shirley through this, too. You are fighting our battles. So, Lord, we give You room to be You and be huge in our lives. Fight for us, Lord! Fight for us! It's in the Name of the Coming King who will defeat His foes with the sword of His mouth, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Leah: Swapped Bride
Leah: Swapped Bride
Unloved by Man, Loved by God
By Shirley Mitchell
"When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, 'It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.' "
Genesis 29:31-32
When Jacob saw his Uncle Laban's daughter Rachel, it was love at first sight. He was so spellbound by her that he rolled away a stone to impress her. Love-struck Jacob agreed to work for Laban for seven years in return for his daughter Rachel's hand in marriage.
After seven years, Laban threw a feast with all the people to celebrate the marriage. However, he followed the family motto "want it, manipulate to get it." He tricked Jacob by giving him Leah instead of Rachel. He claimed that it was against their custom for the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter. Then he told Jacob to finish his bridal week with Leah, and then he would give him Rachel in exchange for seven more years of work.
Genesis 29:17 says, "Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful." This terrible descriptor and contrast with her lovely sister implied that Leah was not beautiful to behold. The Hebrew word for weak can also be described as "soft, tender, or delicate." We do not know exactly why God's Word describes her this way. We only know by the contrast that Rachel was the striking one with the beautiful figure who captivated Jacob's attention. Leah, who Jacob met second, could never steal his eye.
Scripture does not tell us at what point during the wedding feast and night that Jacob realized that it was not Rachel. With a veil covering her face and a bit of wine, Jacob did not realize the sisters had been swapped immediately. I imagine that Leah knew what it felt like to have her husband look at her with the love that he had for Rachel. When he looked at her knowing it was just her, the razored finger of rejection must have sliced her soul. He loved her sister more than he loved her. If the sisters were ever buddies with a strong friendship or if Leah was ever "mothering" to her younger sister Rachel, this surprise on Rachel's beloved catapulted their relationship to the most competitive sister rivalry in the Bible.
When God saw that Leah was not loved, He opened her womb. She said at her first child's birth, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She named her son Reuben which sounds like the Hebrew word for "he has seen my misery." The name means "see, a son." When she conceived again and gave birth to a second son, she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon which means "one who hears." Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi which sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew word for "attached." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah which means "praise Jehovah."
When Leah first started having her children, she saw them as a means to capture her husband's love. Persevering through her desperation, by the time she had her fourth son, her obsession waned and defeated thinking diminished. Although I think she may have slipped back into old thought patterns by the fight that breaks out later when Leah had trouble conceiving, Leah started to think victoriously for this moment in time. Through this fourth son, God rewarded Leah by making Leah and Judah a part of the lineage continuing the family name for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Leah's son Judah, not one of Rachel's sons, is in the line of the King of Kings. It is Leah's blood, not Rachel's, that flowed through the Immanuel Jesus' veins. Jesus is called the Lion of Judah after Leah's son, not one of Rachel's.
I believe that since her husband did not satisfy her with the romance her heart longed to have, that God, the Romancer of her Soul, stepped in and romanced her. His love for her was irrevocable and unretractable. She didn't have to compete with anyone to get it. God never looked at anyone with more favor and affirmation than he did Leah, which seared her heart.
I believe that Leah was so right when she named her sons. The all-seeing eyes of God had seen her misery. The God who has heard every word in every language ever uttered by man heard that she was not loved. God knew if she could not get her husband to love her that she would settle for some attachment.
Many of my friends did not get the Cinderella princess marriage where they lived happily ever after. I have walked with many women who have remained faithful to their husbands through job loss, drugs, alcohol, gambling, and many other things. Many of my best friends are divorced and know that pain. Many are still single and not willing to settle for less than God's plan. Many ladies do not have that earthly prince charming who loves her, provides for her, and fights for her.
Rachel died in childbirth on the way to Bethlehem and was buried there. When Jacob was dying, he gave instructions to his sons to bury him with his fathers in the cave of the field of Ephron the Hittite. He said about his burial place in Genesis 49:31, "There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah." He was buried beside his wife Leah, not Rachel. Weak-eyed and unloved, Leah was buried with the Patriarchs. For me, I think this is so beautiful because the place of the sisters' burials was not decided by either one of them. God chose the places where their lives would come to an end. I think it is symbolic that although Rachel was not displaced as a wife, Leah won her place as his wife, too. God honored this precious woman who had no choice in her destiny, but God heard her misery and gave her blessings - some of which she may not even know about until we all stand before the Lion of Judah. Hallelujah!
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, You will satisfy all of our needs. So many of us do not have that special mate depicted in the romantic movies. We struggle just to survive the marriage. But Lord you created us - whether we are a man or a woman - with the need for romance. You satisfied Leah's need for romance. You can satisfy our need for romance. Romance us and lavish Your love upon us. May not one of us feel alone. May we realize You are better than what any human could ever be to us. In Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright 2009 © Christ Compels
Unloved by Man, Loved by God
By Shirley Mitchell
"When the LORD saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, 'It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.' "
Genesis 29:31-32
When Jacob saw his Uncle Laban's daughter Rachel, it was love at first sight. He was so spellbound by her that he rolled away a stone to impress her. Love-struck Jacob agreed to work for Laban for seven years in return for his daughter Rachel's hand in marriage.
After seven years, Laban threw a feast with all the people to celebrate the marriage. However, he followed the family motto "want it, manipulate to get it." He tricked Jacob by giving him Leah instead of Rachel. He claimed that it was against their custom for the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter. Then he told Jacob to finish his bridal week with Leah, and then he would give him Rachel in exchange for seven more years of work.
Genesis 29:17 says, "Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful." This terrible descriptor and contrast with her lovely sister implied that Leah was not beautiful to behold. The Hebrew word for weak can also be described as "soft, tender, or delicate." We do not know exactly why God's Word describes her this way. We only know by the contrast that Rachel was the striking one with the beautiful figure who captivated Jacob's attention. Leah, who Jacob met second, could never steal his eye.
Scripture does not tell us at what point during the wedding feast and night that Jacob realized that it was not Rachel. With a veil covering her face and a bit of wine, Jacob did not realize the sisters had been swapped immediately. I imagine that Leah knew what it felt like to have her husband look at her with the love that he had for Rachel. When he looked at her knowing it was just her, the razored finger of rejection must have sliced her soul. He loved her sister more than he loved her. If the sisters were ever buddies with a strong friendship or if Leah was ever "mothering" to her younger sister Rachel, this surprise on Rachel's beloved catapulted their relationship to the most competitive sister rivalry in the Bible.
When God saw that Leah was not loved, He opened her womb. She said at her first child's birth, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She named her son Reuben which sounds like the Hebrew word for "he has seen my misery." The name means "see, a son." When she conceived again and gave birth to a second son, she said, "Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon which means "one who hears." Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi which sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew word for "attached." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah which means "praise Jehovah."
When Leah first started having her children, she saw them as a means to capture her husband's love. Persevering through her desperation, by the time she had her fourth son, her obsession waned and defeated thinking diminished. Although I think she may have slipped back into old thought patterns by the fight that breaks out later when Leah had trouble conceiving, Leah started to think victoriously for this moment in time. Through this fourth son, God rewarded Leah by making Leah and Judah a part of the lineage continuing the family name for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Leah's son Judah, not one of Rachel's sons, is in the line of the King of Kings. It is Leah's blood, not Rachel's, that flowed through the Immanuel Jesus' veins. Jesus is called the Lion of Judah after Leah's son, not one of Rachel's.
I believe that since her husband did not satisfy her with the romance her heart longed to have, that God, the Romancer of her Soul, stepped in and romanced her. His love for her was irrevocable and unretractable. She didn't have to compete with anyone to get it. God never looked at anyone with more favor and affirmation than he did Leah, which seared her heart.
I believe that Leah was so right when she named her sons. The all-seeing eyes of God had seen her misery. The God who has heard every word in every language ever uttered by man heard that she was not loved. God knew if she could not get her husband to love her that she would settle for some attachment.
Many of my friends did not get the Cinderella princess marriage where they lived happily ever after. I have walked with many women who have remained faithful to their husbands through job loss, drugs, alcohol, gambling, and many other things. Many of my best friends are divorced and know that pain. Many are still single and not willing to settle for less than God's plan. Many ladies do not have that earthly prince charming who loves her, provides for her, and fights for her.
Rachel died in childbirth on the way to Bethlehem and was buried there. When Jacob was dying, he gave instructions to his sons to bury him with his fathers in the cave of the field of Ephron the Hittite. He said about his burial place in Genesis 49:31, "There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah." He was buried beside his wife Leah, not Rachel. Weak-eyed and unloved, Leah was buried with the Patriarchs. For me, I think this is so beautiful because the place of the sisters' burials was not decided by either one of them. God chose the places where their lives would come to an end. I think it is symbolic that although Rachel was not displaced as a wife, Leah won her place as his wife, too. God honored this precious woman who had no choice in her destiny, but God heard her misery and gave her blessings - some of which she may not even know about until we all stand before the Lion of Judah. Hallelujah!
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, You will satisfy all of our needs. So many of us do not have that special mate depicted in the romantic movies. We struggle just to survive the marriage. But Lord you created us - whether we are a man or a woman - with the need for romance. You satisfied Leah's need for romance. You can satisfy our need for romance. Romance us and lavish Your love upon us. May not one of us feel alone. May we realize You are better than what any human could ever be to us. In Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright 2009 © Christ Compels
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Freedom Run
Freedom Run
By Shirley Mitchell
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. "
Galatians 5:1
On the island of Guam, a road approximately six miles long stretches from the east side to the west side. When I lived in Guam many years ago, I told my friends that right before I left the island, I wanted to run that road. My friends Chris and Jean were crazy enough to run it with me. I called this rite of passage "The Freedom Run." It was something that I wanted to prove to myself that I could do before I left the island.
When I returned to Guam for my 40th birthday, I wanted to drive across this "Freedom Run" road. My mind had diminished this feat that I had accomplished because it was only six miles. However, when my rental car had a hard time getting up the hills, I was so impressed with my accomplishment! The inclines were so much steeper than I remembered. I had run six miles up the "mountains" of the island of Guam that is close to the equator and always 90-100 degrees and humid, from the east coast to the west coast.
Then God showed me how in the 12 years since I had run that Freedom Run, He had taken me on a spiritual freedom run. When I lived on that island, my mind had a steady intake of the world - fashion, beauty, fitness, perfection, and materialism. I was so bound up with lies from the enemy about what was important and how a woman was supposed to be. I lived under the tyranny of inferiority and self-centered thoughts like "I'm not fast enough, strong enough, fit enough, tough enough, or smart enough. I'm not beautiful or attractive. I must work on my hair, my tan, my face, and my body." My world revolved around me and what I must do to prove to the world that I was of value. Thus, I fell into a series of bad choices.
Over the past 12 years, God has daily poured His Spirit into me. Through my Bible study and prayer time, He has renewed my mind. Romans 12:2 says, "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." I stopped conforming to the world and stopped the intake of commercials, TV shows, secular radio, and so on. I sought God through His Word and through others who are further in their walks with Him than I was. I relinquished control of my life and fell under the authority of God. I found freedom when I yielded to His Lordship. I don't live by a set of laws and list of "don'ts." I live under the freely flowing power of the Spirit. By finding spiritual victory, I found God Himself. By finding and experiencing God, I found my identity in Christ. When I settled my value, I was free to pour out the love of Christ to others and serve, no longer living under the pride of thinking so little about myself too much of the time. I found true freedom, and this is the freedom run that I choose to take the rest of my life.
Have you ever been chained by your own mind? Do you live in the oppression of your bad choices? Can you not imagine what it would be like to be free? Can you choose today to daily seek God through His Word, let Him transform Your mind, and to run the freedom run in Christ?
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we lift up the ones to You today who are under the bondage of sin. We ask You, Lord, to break down gates of bronze, cut through bars of iron (Psalm 107:16), and to release them from the cell. The world sends forth so many lies that we believe. Our value is not based on our beauty to the world. Our worth is not the sum of our parts or determined by judges of a beauty contest. Our worth is based on the fact that we are Yours. We are Your princesses. We are highly esteemed. You fight for us. You guide us, and You speak to us. We ask that You reveal to us where we have withheld any part of our lives from Your authority. We desire to run in the path of Your commands for You have set our hearts free (Psalm 119:32). It's in the Name above all names that we pray, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name. Amen.
By Shirley Mitchell
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. "
Galatians 5:1
On the island of Guam, a road approximately six miles long stretches from the east side to the west side. When I lived in Guam many years ago, I told my friends that right before I left the island, I wanted to run that road. My friends Chris and Jean were crazy enough to run it with me. I called this rite of passage "The Freedom Run." It was something that I wanted to prove to myself that I could do before I left the island.
When I returned to Guam for my 40th birthday, I wanted to drive across this "Freedom Run" road. My mind had diminished this feat that I had accomplished because it was only six miles. However, when my rental car had a hard time getting up the hills, I was so impressed with my accomplishment! The inclines were so much steeper than I remembered. I had run six miles up the "mountains" of the island of Guam that is close to the equator and always 90-100 degrees and humid, from the east coast to the west coast.
Then God showed me how in the 12 years since I had run that Freedom Run, He had taken me on a spiritual freedom run. When I lived on that island, my mind had a steady intake of the world - fashion, beauty, fitness, perfection, and materialism. I was so bound up with lies from the enemy about what was important and how a woman was supposed to be. I lived under the tyranny of inferiority and self-centered thoughts like "I'm not fast enough, strong enough, fit enough, tough enough, or smart enough. I'm not beautiful or attractive. I must work on my hair, my tan, my face, and my body." My world revolved around me and what I must do to prove to the world that I was of value. Thus, I fell into a series of bad choices.
Over the past 12 years, God has daily poured His Spirit into me. Through my Bible study and prayer time, He has renewed my mind. Romans 12:2 says, "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." I stopped conforming to the world and stopped the intake of commercials, TV shows, secular radio, and so on. I sought God through His Word and through others who are further in their walks with Him than I was. I relinquished control of my life and fell under the authority of God. I found freedom when I yielded to His Lordship. I don't live by a set of laws and list of "don'ts." I live under the freely flowing power of the Spirit. By finding spiritual victory, I found God Himself. By finding and experiencing God, I found my identity in Christ. When I settled my value, I was free to pour out the love of Christ to others and serve, no longer living under the pride of thinking so little about myself too much of the time. I found true freedom, and this is the freedom run that I choose to take the rest of my life.
Have you ever been chained by your own mind? Do you live in the oppression of your bad choices? Can you not imagine what it would be like to be free? Can you choose today to daily seek God through His Word, let Him transform Your mind, and to run the freedom run in Christ?
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we lift up the ones to You today who are under the bondage of sin. We ask You, Lord, to break down gates of bronze, cut through bars of iron (Psalm 107:16), and to release them from the cell. The world sends forth so many lies that we believe. Our value is not based on our beauty to the world. Our worth is not the sum of our parts or determined by judges of a beauty contest. Our worth is based on the fact that we are Yours. We are Your princesses. We are highly esteemed. You fight for us. You guide us, and You speak to us. We ask that You reveal to us where we have withheld any part of our lives from Your authority. We desire to run in the path of Your commands for You have set our hearts free (Psalm 119:32). It's in the Name above all names that we pray, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name. Amen.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Lookout Point
Lookout Point
By Shirley Mitchell
"The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."
Habakkuk 3:19
My daughter Mikayla's 5th grade class took an overnight field trip to Cumberland Falls State Park. As part of the experience, we went on a nature hike. Now I've been trekking through the woods before so when I heard it was a 1 ½ mile walk and somewhat strenuous, I thought it would not be much of a problem. Well, we went up the hills and down the hills. By the time we arrived at the point to view the waterfalls, my legs were recognizing that I needed to get back to my workout plan that I have forsaken since becoming a mother. As I arrived to what I wished was the parent drop off point, my legs felt like limp spaghetti as I took each step. The other parents and I chatted about how we needed to spend some of those resources spent on our children's sports and health on ourselves.
Suddenly, the children started heading back. I blew my chance of getting a head start on them and started near the back of the parents. The first part of the hike was over 100 stairs straight up. At one point, I had fallen behind the fit mom and sports dad in front of me and was still ahead of the slower moms. So I ran a bit through the flatter parts to keep the faster parents in sight. Keeping my eye on the sports dad, we journeyed up and up. Then we came to the part on the path that must have been another 100 giant steps straight up. I huffed and puffed. My heart was pounding. I stopped sometimes for a few seconds to rest. Then I had to say to myself, "No other mom is stopped on this hill to rest. I cannot embarrass my daughter by being the last person out of here, nor can I embarrass her by collapsing. I must keep walking for my daughter's sake. I can do this."
At the top of this incline that felt close to vertically straight, sports dad is taking the picture of the two boys of which he is in charge. He tells me then that this is the end of the path. He had taken the two boys up to a high lookout point with one of the most extraordinary views down the mountain overlooking the Cumberland River. I was too out of breath and trying to hide it to really care that I had taken that extra quarter of a mile up the mountain.
God spoke to my heart showing me something so special through that experience. Not only was I tougher physically than I thought, although my legs were still sore the next day, but He also told me how willing I am to stretch myself for the sake of my daughters. I would never have started writing and teaching if I didn't want my daughters to know God better than I do.
It is a natural human tendency to give and to do more for others whom you love than you would ever do for yourself. When we really love someone, we sacrifice for them. When we truly love someone, we do things that we would never do just for ourselves. When we do that, God somehow honors this act of giving and selfless living by taking us to new heights with Him. He makes our feet as steady as a deer, and He takes us to high places that we could not go on our own. He rewards those who have a heart like His - giving of themselves for the sake of someone else. Beloved, let's be givers and not takers and leave what we receive up to God.
Pray with me: Lord, help us to see the people in our lives who push us to give more than we would ever give if it was just us. Make us grateful for those people in our lives. Help us to show them our love - even if they are not grateful for the sacrifice at the time. When we do so, we realize that in Your economy we will receive more than we can ever give. You make our feet like the feet of a deer and take us to new heights with You. It's in the mighty Name above of all Names, in the Name of Jesus, Yeshua, we pray. Amen.
By Shirley Mitchell
"The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights."
Habakkuk 3:19
My daughter Mikayla's 5th grade class took an overnight field trip to Cumberland Falls State Park. As part of the experience, we went on a nature hike. Now I've been trekking through the woods before so when I heard it was a 1 ½ mile walk and somewhat strenuous, I thought it would not be much of a problem. Well, we went up the hills and down the hills. By the time we arrived at the point to view the waterfalls, my legs were recognizing that I needed to get back to my workout plan that I have forsaken since becoming a mother. As I arrived to what I wished was the parent drop off point, my legs felt like limp spaghetti as I took each step. The other parents and I chatted about how we needed to spend some of those resources spent on our children's sports and health on ourselves.
Suddenly, the children started heading back. I blew my chance of getting a head start on them and started near the back of the parents. The first part of the hike was over 100 stairs straight up. At one point, I had fallen behind the fit mom and sports dad in front of me and was still ahead of the slower moms. So I ran a bit through the flatter parts to keep the faster parents in sight. Keeping my eye on the sports dad, we journeyed up and up. Then we came to the part on the path that must have been another 100 giant steps straight up. I huffed and puffed. My heart was pounding. I stopped sometimes for a few seconds to rest. Then I had to say to myself, "No other mom is stopped on this hill to rest. I cannot embarrass my daughter by being the last person out of here, nor can I embarrass her by collapsing. I must keep walking for my daughter's sake. I can do this."
At the top of this incline that felt close to vertically straight, sports dad is taking the picture of the two boys of which he is in charge. He tells me then that this is the end of the path. He had taken the two boys up to a high lookout point with one of the most extraordinary views down the mountain overlooking the Cumberland River. I was too out of breath and trying to hide it to really care that I had taken that extra quarter of a mile up the mountain.
God spoke to my heart showing me something so special through that experience. Not only was I tougher physically than I thought, although my legs were still sore the next day, but He also told me how willing I am to stretch myself for the sake of my daughters. I would never have started writing and teaching if I didn't want my daughters to know God better than I do.
It is a natural human tendency to give and to do more for others whom you love than you would ever do for yourself. When we really love someone, we sacrifice for them. When we truly love someone, we do things that we would never do just for ourselves. When we do that, God somehow honors this act of giving and selfless living by taking us to new heights with Him. He makes our feet as steady as a deer, and He takes us to high places that we could not go on our own. He rewards those who have a heart like His - giving of themselves for the sake of someone else. Beloved, let's be givers and not takers and leave what we receive up to God.
Pray with me: Lord, help us to see the people in our lives who push us to give more than we would ever give if it was just us. Make us grateful for those people in our lives. Help us to show them our love - even if they are not grateful for the sacrifice at the time. When we do so, we realize that in Your economy we will receive more than we can ever give. You make our feet like the feet of a deer and take us to new heights with You. It's in the mighty Name above of all Names, in the Name of Jesus, Yeshua, we pray. Amen.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Desires Battle
The Desires Battle
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
James 4:1-2
For the past few days, God has been speaking to me about the effect of desires. I am not quarreling with anyone, but God called me to check my desires and to examine any desires battle in my mind. In today’s Scriptures, James is saying that fights and quarrels are the result of the desires that battle inside of us. Inside of our minds, desires are fighting for their position. Desires live inside of us. God created us with a soul and gave us desires. We can desire many good things. However, we can twist a “good” thing into a harmful desire.
We can desire a husband, a home or for a bigger home, children or for the ones we have to grow up to be “good,” money for the lifestyle we want, “better” job, “more” ministry, and the list could go on and on. None of these things are necessarily wrong. God created us to accomplish, achieve, and strive toward goals. It is when these desires get out of order, when they get excessive or disproportionate to what our truest desire should be - God,- then we see this disorder breeds fights and quarrels. We fight, quarrel, kill, and covet because we can’t have what we want.
Fighting can be just that - fighting with words, punch to a punching bag, or a fist to the table. It can take the form of rudeness, bickering, irritableness, or unkindness. The battle within has a way of leaking out past our masks. Somehow, our faces will reflect the battle within. Either they don’t bear true joy, or they bear our struggle in the form of scowls, clenched teeth, or a tightened brow.
I believe that many people – even believers – covet a lot more than they realize. Coveting is one of the biggest sins in our time. Think about how we are constantly being bombarded by advertising. If advertising did not make us desire to buy the products, then it wouldn’t be working. Instead, advertising is a billion dollar business. Even if we don’t purchase the products, advertising drives our culture and shapes our minds more than we realize. Marketing occurs in such clever ways that we are drawn to it. Before we realize it, we covet. Television shows, magazines, internet stories, and many other forms of media shape our culture, lure us, and we fall prey to coveting. We compare our lives and our possessions to others’. We covet careers, husbands, kids, friendships, personality, ministry, beauty, talents, God-experiences, and on and on. Then, it feeds the battle within. Our desires shift and are twisted.
While many of us may not be committing murder of another person, how many marriages and friendships do we see ending? Marriages end in divorce sometimes because wives set expectations too high for their husbands to meet their every need, replacing God for him (and vice versa for men to do it, too). Additionally, wives can wish their men were more loving, more godly, or a more Christ-like father. They try to shape them into what they want them to be instead of letting the Holy Spirit do His job. They get frustrated because they don’t have the power to change them. It drives a wedge between them. Gosh, Have I lived this one! We can also kill friendships. Or we go into debt and make ourselves slaves to it. We can figuratively kill our relationships or our financial freedom.
When our desires are misshaped, then we have trouble resisting sin. James 1:14 says, “but each one it tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” The evil one tempts us by our own evil desire. The desires within us lure us into being hunted, baited, and dragged away into his lair (according to the Greek words in this Scripture).
God’s Word tells us in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” In other words, when we make God our truest desire and we make Him our God with no other gods before Him, then our desires are rearranged in the proper order. He is released to give us the desires of our hearts. Our desires grow by what we feed them. If we feed our desires our relationship with God, then our desires grow more godly. However, without an intake of perfect truth, we struggle to know what the bottom line is and don’t see things – our lives, problems, information, messages from the world – properly. Then disorder of our desires is prevalent. The battle within rages.
Beloved, I invite you to ask God to show you this year what are your deepest desires? Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and do a desires check. May we be able to say that in 2009 we know that our desires are in the proper order and positioned so that God can give us the desires of our heart.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, our God, we love You, and we adore You. Search our minds and our hearts. Reveal to us our desires. There may be areas where we are weak, and it may be difficult for us to give up our desires. However, we cry out to You to help us to rid ourselves of harmful desires, to untwist a desire out of shape, and to make our desires pleasing to You. It’s in Jesus’ precious name that we pray. Amen.
Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels
“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
James 4:1-2
For the past few days, God has been speaking to me about the effect of desires. I am not quarreling with anyone, but God called me to check my desires and to examine any desires battle in my mind. In today’s Scriptures, James is saying that fights and quarrels are the result of the desires that battle inside of us. Inside of our minds, desires are fighting for their position. Desires live inside of us. God created us with a soul and gave us desires. We can desire many good things. However, we can twist a “good” thing into a harmful desire.
We can desire a husband, a home or for a bigger home, children or for the ones we have to grow up to be “good,” money for the lifestyle we want, “better” job, “more” ministry, and the list could go on and on. None of these things are necessarily wrong. God created us to accomplish, achieve, and strive toward goals. It is when these desires get out of order, when they get excessive or disproportionate to what our truest desire should be - God,- then we see this disorder breeds fights and quarrels. We fight, quarrel, kill, and covet because we can’t have what we want.
Fighting can be just that - fighting with words, punch to a punching bag, or a fist to the table. It can take the form of rudeness, bickering, irritableness, or unkindness. The battle within has a way of leaking out past our masks. Somehow, our faces will reflect the battle within. Either they don’t bear true joy, or they bear our struggle in the form of scowls, clenched teeth, or a tightened brow.
I believe that many people – even believers – covet a lot more than they realize. Coveting is one of the biggest sins in our time. Think about how we are constantly being bombarded by advertising. If advertising did not make us desire to buy the products, then it wouldn’t be working. Instead, advertising is a billion dollar business. Even if we don’t purchase the products, advertising drives our culture and shapes our minds more than we realize. Marketing occurs in such clever ways that we are drawn to it. Before we realize it, we covet. Television shows, magazines, internet stories, and many other forms of media shape our culture, lure us, and we fall prey to coveting. We compare our lives and our possessions to others’. We covet careers, husbands, kids, friendships, personality, ministry, beauty, talents, God-experiences, and on and on. Then, it feeds the battle within. Our desires shift and are twisted.
While many of us may not be committing murder of another person, how many marriages and friendships do we see ending? Marriages end in divorce sometimes because wives set expectations too high for their husbands to meet their every need, replacing God for him (and vice versa for men to do it, too). Additionally, wives can wish their men were more loving, more godly, or a more Christ-like father. They try to shape them into what they want them to be instead of letting the Holy Spirit do His job. They get frustrated because they don’t have the power to change them. It drives a wedge between them. Gosh, Have I lived this one! We can also kill friendships. Or we go into debt and make ourselves slaves to it. We can figuratively kill our relationships or our financial freedom.
When our desires are misshaped, then we have trouble resisting sin. James 1:14 says, “but each one it tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” The evil one tempts us by our own evil desire. The desires within us lure us into being hunted, baited, and dragged away into his lair (according to the Greek words in this Scripture).
God’s Word tells us in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” In other words, when we make God our truest desire and we make Him our God with no other gods before Him, then our desires are rearranged in the proper order. He is released to give us the desires of our hearts. Our desires grow by what we feed them. If we feed our desires our relationship with God, then our desires grow more godly. However, without an intake of perfect truth, we struggle to know what the bottom line is and don’t see things – our lives, problems, information, messages from the world – properly. Then disorder of our desires is prevalent. The battle within rages.
Beloved, I invite you to ask God to show you this year what are your deepest desires? Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and do a desires check. May we be able to say that in 2009 we know that our desires are in the proper order and positioned so that God can give us the desires of our heart.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, our God, we love You, and we adore You. Search our minds and our hearts. Reveal to us our desires. There may be areas where we are weak, and it may be difficult for us to give up our desires. However, we cry out to You to help us to rid ourselves of harmful desires, to untwist a desire out of shape, and to make our desires pleasing to You. It’s in Jesus’ precious name that we pray. Amen.
Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Mom Influence
The Mom Influence
by Shirley Mitchell
“By faith Moses’ parent hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”
Hebrews 11:23
“ ‘I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.’ And he worshiped the LORD there.”
1 Samuel 1:27-28
Moms are wonder women. We have so much pressure on us. We help our kids with homework and drive carpools, We juggle softball games, basketball tryouts, soccer practice, dance classes, or gymnastics lessons making sure each child gets there on time or close enough to on time. We manage the household, the cleaning, and the laundry. Many of us manage all of this while working at full time jobs, church service, or volunteer work, too. All of these things, though, are not as important as the one thing that really matters - our relationship with God.
God’s Word shows us how mothers chose to teach their children different things. Rebekah taught her son Jacob to take whatever he wanted or even what God meant for him to have by any means – even manipulation and lies. Later, Jacob wrestled with an angel, and God released the hold that deception had on him.
Jochebed hid her baby son Moses when Pharaoh issued an edict to kill all the Hebrew baby boys. After protecting her son for three months, she knew she could not hide him any longer so she built an ark to release him to the hands of God. She trusted that God gave him to her and that if God wanted him to live, then he would survive the dangers of the Nile River. Her faith was right because God used her son to deliver the Israelites from slavery.
In her pain, Hannah poured out her deepest sorrow to God – a longing for a son. Later, when God opened her womb and gave her Samuel, she taught her son to express praise and to exalt the Lord. Her son became one of the greatest prophets of Israel.
Herodias who married King Herod, her husband’s brother, used her daughter to dance provocatively for the King. When King Herod chose to give her daughter a gift for her dance, Herodias instructed her to get the head of John the Baptist on a platter. She used her own daughter to silence the voice that spoke the truth about her sin and to have God’s forerunner to the Jewish Messiah killed.
All of these mothers demonstrate the power of influence upon our children. We can influence our children for evil like Herodias. Without Jesus and the forgiveness He gives when we repent, her daughter would bear the sear on her conscience for the rest of her life. We can teach our children that it is okay to use any means – even trickery – to get what is rightfully ours, like Rebekah. Or we can be like Jochebed or Hannah. We empower our children with great faith so they can live a life of greater faith and demonstration of God’s power than we have. We can teach them to cast all their worries and cares upon the Lord for He will take care of them. Most importantly, we can influence our children to live their whole lives for God and to worship Him uninhibitedly. Whether you are a mom, dad, aunt, uncle, or spiritual parent, let’s make the decision to be the godly influencers of the next generation like Hannah and Jochebed. Let’s be conscious of what we are teaching them and pass onto them complete faith and authentic worship.
Pray with me: There is no one holy like You, LORD. There is no one besides you. There is no Rock like You our God as Hannah prayed (1 Samuel 2:2). Today we lift up parents to You. We ask, Lord, that You empower us to be godly influencers. May we teach our children right and wrong and the clear distinction. Help us to show them our faith in You. Rid us of worry. May we trust in You for their protection at all times. Help us to trust You for today and for their tomorrow. Bless single parents, and raise up trusted friends who can help them. It’s in the mighty Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels
by Shirley Mitchell
“By faith Moses’ parent hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”
Hebrews 11:23
“ ‘I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.’ And he worshiped the LORD there.”
1 Samuel 1:27-28
Moms are wonder women. We have so much pressure on us. We help our kids with homework and drive carpools, We juggle softball games, basketball tryouts, soccer practice, dance classes, or gymnastics lessons making sure each child gets there on time or close enough to on time. We manage the household, the cleaning, and the laundry. Many of us manage all of this while working at full time jobs, church service, or volunteer work, too. All of these things, though, are not as important as the one thing that really matters - our relationship with God.
God’s Word shows us how mothers chose to teach their children different things. Rebekah taught her son Jacob to take whatever he wanted or even what God meant for him to have by any means – even manipulation and lies. Later, Jacob wrestled with an angel, and God released the hold that deception had on him.
Jochebed hid her baby son Moses when Pharaoh issued an edict to kill all the Hebrew baby boys. After protecting her son for three months, she knew she could not hide him any longer so she built an ark to release him to the hands of God. She trusted that God gave him to her and that if God wanted him to live, then he would survive the dangers of the Nile River. Her faith was right because God used her son to deliver the Israelites from slavery.
In her pain, Hannah poured out her deepest sorrow to God – a longing for a son. Later, when God opened her womb and gave her Samuel, she taught her son to express praise and to exalt the Lord. Her son became one of the greatest prophets of Israel.
Herodias who married King Herod, her husband’s brother, used her daughter to dance provocatively for the King. When King Herod chose to give her daughter a gift for her dance, Herodias instructed her to get the head of John the Baptist on a platter. She used her own daughter to silence the voice that spoke the truth about her sin and to have God’s forerunner to the Jewish Messiah killed.
All of these mothers demonstrate the power of influence upon our children. We can influence our children for evil like Herodias. Without Jesus and the forgiveness He gives when we repent, her daughter would bear the sear on her conscience for the rest of her life. We can teach our children that it is okay to use any means – even trickery – to get what is rightfully ours, like Rebekah. Or we can be like Jochebed or Hannah. We empower our children with great faith so they can live a life of greater faith and demonstration of God’s power than we have. We can teach them to cast all their worries and cares upon the Lord for He will take care of them. Most importantly, we can influence our children to live their whole lives for God and to worship Him uninhibitedly. Whether you are a mom, dad, aunt, uncle, or spiritual parent, let’s make the decision to be the godly influencers of the next generation like Hannah and Jochebed. Let’s be conscious of what we are teaching them and pass onto them complete faith and authentic worship.
Pray with me: There is no one holy like You, LORD. There is no one besides you. There is no Rock like You our God as Hannah prayed (1 Samuel 2:2). Today we lift up parents to You. We ask, Lord, that You empower us to be godly influencers. May we teach our children right and wrong and the clear distinction. Help us to show them our faith in You. Rid us of worry. May we trust in You for their protection at all times. Help us to trust You for today and for their tomorrow. Bless single parents, and raise up trusted friends who can help them. It’s in the mighty Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Planting Some Seeds
Planting Some Seeds
By Shirley Mitchell
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe-as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Coral had been waiting 10 days on standby to fly from San Francisco to return to her home in Israel. When she saw that the plane equipment for the flight on the 10th day had been upgraded to a 767, she thanked God. There was room for her on the flight. She had no idea how right she was because God was truly involved with getting her on that flight that day.
God arranged for this sweet young lady to sit next to me on this 5-hour leg of her trip. I have been praying for God to let me share with Jewish people the knowledge of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. I was probably the only person on the flight who could pull out her Bible study on 35 Hebrew names of God and another short lesson on the Jewish Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When I saw her typing on her laptop in Hebrew, I went to the bathroom and squealed! I asked God to give me the words to pour out what He had put into me. At the same time, I asked God to help me to not be overbearing since I had her trapped by the window.
When I returned to my seat, I plainly told her that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and then explained to her the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled proving so. When she spoke about her Jewish feasts, I could talk about them right along with her. We talked about Shavuot, the summer wheat harvest feast, and Sukkot, the feast of the tabernacle or to Christians the feast of ingathering. We talked about Passover and setting the table for Elijah. I explained to her that Elijah had already come. Malachi 4:5 was fulfilled by John the Baptist, the forerunner to Jesus. When she brought up Purim, I talked about how we just celebrated it, and my beloved husband made Haman's ears which are like cookies.
I was living 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 that day. Just like God's servants Paul and Apollos were used - one to plant seeds and the other to water the seeds, God used me that day to share what He had taught me and the experiences that I have had with Him. Some other servant may come along and water the seeds that I planted, but neither of us is responsible for the growth of the seeds. God is responsible! In His safe hands, I can trust that the seeds that were sown will not be in vain. She had waited 10 whole days for a flight, for the very flight that God had me on, because our Father was reaching out to this precious woman. He will grow what He has planted. O precious one, are you prepared to pour out what God has poured into you? Are you willing to sow the seeds even if you never see them grow? Let's live a faith where we see encounters as opportunities to steer the conversation to our God and share what God has planted in our hearts.
Pray with me: Oh, God, thank You so much for how You are so involved in our lives. Thank You for arranging this meeting. We pray that You continue to seek this precious woman. We trust You to make the seeds grow in her heart. We ask You to give us more opportunities to plant and water and to share the good news of truth that You have planted in our hearts. It's in the mighty Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Copyright 2009 © Christ Compels
By Shirley Mitchell
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe-as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Coral had been waiting 10 days on standby to fly from San Francisco to return to her home in Israel. When she saw that the plane equipment for the flight on the 10th day had been upgraded to a 767, she thanked God. There was room for her on the flight. She had no idea how right she was because God was truly involved with getting her on that flight that day.
God arranged for this sweet young lady to sit next to me on this 5-hour leg of her trip. I have been praying for God to let me share with Jewish people the knowledge of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. I was probably the only person on the flight who could pull out her Bible study on 35 Hebrew names of God and another short lesson on the Jewish Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When I saw her typing on her laptop in Hebrew, I went to the bathroom and squealed! I asked God to give me the words to pour out what He had put into me. At the same time, I asked God to help me to not be overbearing since I had her trapped by the window.
When I returned to my seat, I plainly told her that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and then explained to her the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled proving so. When she spoke about her Jewish feasts, I could talk about them right along with her. We talked about Shavuot, the summer wheat harvest feast, and Sukkot, the feast of the tabernacle or to Christians the feast of ingathering. We talked about Passover and setting the table for Elijah. I explained to her that Elijah had already come. Malachi 4:5 was fulfilled by John the Baptist, the forerunner to Jesus. When she brought up Purim, I talked about how we just celebrated it, and my beloved husband made Haman's ears which are like cookies.
I was living 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 that day. Just like God's servants Paul and Apollos were used - one to plant seeds and the other to water the seeds, God used me that day to share what He had taught me and the experiences that I have had with Him. Some other servant may come along and water the seeds that I planted, but neither of us is responsible for the growth of the seeds. God is responsible! In His safe hands, I can trust that the seeds that were sown will not be in vain. She had waited 10 whole days for a flight, for the very flight that God had me on, because our Father was reaching out to this precious woman. He will grow what He has planted. O precious one, are you prepared to pour out what God has poured into you? Are you willing to sow the seeds even if you never see them grow? Let's live a faith where we see encounters as opportunities to steer the conversation to our God and share what God has planted in our hearts.
Pray with me: Oh, God, thank You so much for how You are so involved in our lives. Thank You for arranging this meeting. We pray that You continue to seek this precious woman. We trust You to make the seeds grow in her heart. We ask You to give us more opportunities to plant and water and to share the good news of truth that You have planted in our hearts. It's in the mighty Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Copyright 2009 © Christ Compels
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