SWORD COLLECTION

When Paul says to put to death the deeds of the body “by the Spirit” (Romans 8:13), I take him to mean that we should use the one weapon in the Spirit’s armor that is used to kill. 

Namely, the sword. Which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).

So when the body is about to be led into a sinful action by some fear or craving, we are to take the sword of the Spirit and kill that fear and that craving. In my experience that means mainly severing the root of sin’s promise by the power of a superior promise.

So, for example, whenever I begin to crave some illicit sexual pleasure, the sword-swing that has often severed the root of this promised pleasure is: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). I recall the pleasures I have tasted of seeing God more clearly from an undefiled conscience; and I recall the brevity and superficiality and oppressive aftertaste of sin’s pleasures, and with that, God has killed the conquering power of sin.

It is a beautiful thing to be the instrument of God’s word-wielding power to kill sin.

Having promises at hand that suit the temptation of the hour is one key to successful warfare against sin. But there are times when we don’t have a perfectly suited word from God in our minds. And there is no time to look through the Bible for a tailor-made promise.

So we all need to have a small arsenal of general promises ready to use whenever fear or craving threaten to lead us astray.

Here are a few of my most proven weapons:

1. "Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10)

I have slain more dragons in my soul with that sword than any other I think. It is a precious weapon to me.

2. "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

How many times I have been persuaded in the hour of trial by this verse that the reward of disobedience could never be greater than "all things."

3. "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me . . . And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18, 20).

How many times have I strengthened my sagging spirit with the assurance that the Lord of heaven and earth is just as much with me today as he was with the disciples on earth!

4. "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify me" (Psalm 50:15).

What makes this weapon so compelling is that God’s helping me has made the occasion of my glorifying him. Amazing arrangement. I get the help, he gets the glory!

5. "My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).

The context is financial and material. But the principle is total. What we really need (not just want) will be granted. And what is need? Need is what we must have to do God’s will. What we must have to magnify our Savior. THAT is what we will be given as we trust him.

Be constantly adding to your arsenal of promises. But never lose sight of the chosen few that God has blessed in your life. Do both. Be ever-ready with the old. And every morning look for a new one to take with you through the day.

Coffee Black with the right amount of cream and 2 sugars!! 

Robbs

FINISH LINE: FINISH WELL

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 
—2 Timothy 2:14-15

Woven into everything the apostle Paul told Timothy in his second letter are stirring words of long-term, finish-line thinking. Paul wanted Timothy to live with the end in mind. It’s not those who have a great start, but those who finish well who get the reward. Here is one of those summary challenges toward pursuing a well-lived life:"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

The verse begins with a helpful standard of performance, "Do your best." This can also be translated be diligent, in the sense of make it your intention or give attention. Be diligent means make every effort or extend yourself. 

Paul follows that standard with specific actions. As always, the wise foundation for living requires that we stand firmly and passionately—but not arrogantly nor obnoxiously—on the word of truth. Consider it this way: you begin by rightly handling the word of truth, leading to choices for which you have no need to be ashamed, culminating in being able to present yourself to God as one approved.

What does it mean to be approved to God? 

It means to be acceptable after examination and trial.  A person who is approved to God is a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.  

God is watching the way we handle His book! 

Someday we are going to have to account to Him for what we did with His Word. Paul was telling Timothy, and us, to make sure we don’t end up being workers who are ashamed. God wants to say to each of us, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).

When you read the phrase “rightly handling," realize it doesn’t mean jamming God’s Word down people’s throats or soft-peddling the Word of Truth. It means using the Scriptures to mortify the flesh, to kill sin, to make war on your sin by the Spirit. (Romans 8:13) Afterall, the context of this passage is about presenting yourself to God. 

You rightly handle the Word of Truth when you don’t compromise or complicate God’s Word. You rightly handle the Word of Truth, when you believe His promises and judgments and do what He says. 

Every time we do our best to handle God’s Word rightly we can be sure of His approval. And we will be living with the end in mind. 

Holiness. Seeing Him. Forever. 

FINSH LINE AHEAD: FINISH WELL! 

Tall Drip and a Cheese Danish ('cause there are rewards at the end!)

Robbs

PRAY "PRACTICAL" PRAYERS

Give us this day our daily bread. 
—Matthew 6:11

This is such a straightforward line in the Lord’s Prayer: Give us this day our daily bread. In the context of Yeshua's pattern, that’s MORE than a request for FOOD. (C'mon people!) 

Our daily bread represents all the basics we require. We are admitting we need God’s supply each day. Yeshua includes in His instruction for prayer the essential but mundane details of everyday living—practical matters that can distract us if we don’t remember God cares about those things.

Here are four essential needs covered by “daily bread”:

• Spiritual health. We meed to pray for God to make us Holy and righteous by His grace. To sanctify us with the truth of His word through our obeying it.  We can pray for the salvation of loved ones. We know God is "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). So you can call out to God to bring wandering children back home to Him. You can call out to God for these things with assurance.

• Physical health. God doesn’t promise health to everyone. But He has said He is the God who heals. Pray for Him to renew your mind concerning how you view your body and what you eat and drink. Live "counter culturally!" (No fast food, etc...), get 8 hours of sleep. You can pray confidently for physical health against sickness and disease.  If God has a different plan, He will reveal it to you. And no matter what the outcome, He will be with you.
• Emotional health. We all have basic emotional needs. There is so much lack of wellness around us today. People are depressed and filled with anxiety, bitterness, fear, and apathy. “Father, I need my daily bread of emotional sustenance. I long to be able to handle things positively. I need to know I’m not going to lose it. Please give me the peace of knowing I’m going to be okay. I need You to calm the waters in my life and make me a stable person. In Yeshua’s name.” You can pray for emotional health with confidence.
• Financial Health. We can pray for adequate income for every household—not so our wants will be met, but so our needs will be met. When we’re praying about financial needs, we know we’re praying according to God’s will because Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25-34 that all of our basic needs will be met. Don’t worry or be concerned about what you will eat, drink, or wear (v.31).  You don’t have to pray, “Lord, meet my basic needs if it’s Your will.” We know it is His will. It might not be God’s will for you to have the exact job you’re thinking about, but it is God’s will for you to work. It is God’s will for the needs in your house to be met. And you can pray boldly with those needs in mind.

These matters are all part of daily bread. There is so much ground we can cover in the category of bringing our needs before God.

God moves when His people pray in faith and trust. People find work, problems get resolved, and awesome things happen. We are asking God to do it. And He waits to do it during those times so we will all know it was because we prayed and the results were connected to Him.  We bear fruit in prayer for His glory! 

When you pray through the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), pause after "give us this day our daily bread," and mention several specific personal needs. Be assured you are loved and God your Father is listening.  BELIEVE!! 

Pumpkin Spice Latte with Whip

Robbs

SOMETHING YOU GOTTA "KNOW!"

²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. —Romans 8:26-28

Anybody who has been through a deep valley and rested on the promises of God has likely found and embraced Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Many point to these words as the anchor that held them to God during a time when every other security failed.

I learned this verse in a "real" way when I broke both my legs. I wrestled with it for weeks. I've held fast to it since. 

Why is this passage so comforting? 

It begins with the words, “And we know.” We don’t merely think; we don’t merely wonder; we know. The context tells us "the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.” 

He helps us to know! 

We don’t “know what to pray for as we ought,” but “the Spirit intercedes.” And the more the Spirit intercedes, the more we are aware of the “will of God” and that we are “called according to his purpose.” 

We may not know how, but we know that! God probably won’t tell us how and when He will work things together for good, but the promise we have is that He will!!!!! [Exciting! Comforting!]

The word know communicates *experiential knowledge—the kind that comes from life. You didn’t go to church, college, or Google to find this kind of knowing. You know because you’ve been through it, and God’s Spirit has confirmed it. This knowing isn’t something you feel. Things don’t always feel in the moment like they could work together for good, but time will prove God’s character. This comes from experiencing God. This is one of those tried and definitely true pictures in God’s Word about how He works!

Only God’s children—those who continually make war with sin and have embraced Christ by faith; those who are increasingly learning how to love God more and more—understand the great promise of this verse. 

Only those who have tested the promises of God and proven once again His faithful love really know.

Have life’s difficulties or besetting sin caught you off guard?  Are you puzzled over how a frustrating, hurtful, or shocking development could possibly contribute to anything good? 

Stop looking at the struggle, the sin, or circumstance—get your eyes back on God. If He wasn’t going to use that circumstance for your good, it wouldn’t have happened. He has to sign-off on every single thing that touches your life. 

That’s not to say He wanted it—God is not the cause of evil, but He is the solution!!  He’s the Master chess player who takes every move we make and strategizes the next move to ensure His purposes are accomplished.

The ultimate good of Romans 8:28 is not “your little blueprint for your life.” The ultimate good is God’s blueprint for the universe and your place in it. Being on board with God’s objectives means understanding this is not about you. 

It’s about His glory, and what happens to you isn’t all that crucial in the big scheme of things.

God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him; for the good of those who are the called according to His purpose. Believe it.

Let's Pray together by the Spirit: 

Lord, I realize as the apostle Paul did, that I do not know what to pray for as I ought—which means I don’t know how to pray or what to pray for! Thank you for Your Spirit’s constant intercession on my behalf, bringing up to You my groans, weaknesses, confusion, willfulness, and repentance. I believe and yet I need Your continuous help with my unbelief. 

Thank You for insisting that I pray, even when I’m overwhelmed with my failures. Thank You for encouraging me as I come empty, and You fill me with Your love. In the life giving name of Yeshua, amen.

5 Shot Americano!! [Strong Drink] 

Eyes Wide Open! 

It's NOT What You Know, BUT WHO You KNOW!

But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Yeshua. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 
—2 Timothy 1:12-14

Earlier in this letter to Timothy, Paul hammered the theme of not being ashamed as a key factor in endurance, even under suffering. Now he is giving us the key to not being ashamed. 

He tells us, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed. He is saying,The reason I’m not ashamed and willing to suffer is because I know Yeshua Christ. That phrase, I know whom I have believed, captures the past, present, and personal quality of Paul’s relationship with Christ. 

His faith wasn’t intellectual belief in a concept or idea of a savior, but a deep connection with the risen Savior. 

He had just described Yeshua in verse 10 as the One “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”  In other words, Jesus is someone not to be ashamed of knowing!

Paul continues, And I am convinced that he is able to guard.  Some translations say I am persuaded. This was faith exercised and then made stronger. Paul was certain because he had decades of experience in trusting in God without ever being disappointed. He remained convinced that God is able to guard.

What is God able to guard? 

Depending on your translation, the answer can be said two ways: “What has been entrusted to me”(ESV), and “What I have entrusted to him” (NIV, NLT).  

Is it one or the other? 

No, it’s both. The original language allows both meanings. God guards everything—what He’s entrusted to me (the Gospel, eternal life, His Word) and what we’ve entrusted to Him  (our lives, our destiny, ourselves). God is able to guard, take care of, and completely handle it all.

Paul also includes a time stamp on our perseverance in verse 12: until that Day. He was saying, I don’t expect this to go on forever. I have a day in mind. I have entrusted my life to God for a specific period of time—until that Day, however long it takes.

We are waiting for the day when Christ is going to return. True disciples persevere by worshiping Christ, walking with Christ (trusting in grace by the Holy Spirit) and joining Christ in His work—when it is easy and when it is difficult.

As you wait for that Day, is your awareness of Christ building on your faith in Him? 

Can you say you know Yeshua more deeply today than you did a month ago? 6 months ago? A year ago? Because you are increasingly trusting Him and experiencing Him in everything? (Meals, sleep, friendships, solitude, prayer and believing His word through reading) 

Because truly knowing Christ, as Paul discovered, is the key to not ever being ashamed.

Coffee takes a holiday! 

Green Tea Soy Latte...No Foam. 

Robbs

WALKING DEAD

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. 
—Ephesians 2:4-5

How often do you think about mercy? Today’s passage reminds us God is rich in mercy—words with staggering implications for our lives. 

You can’t recognize your need for mercy or fully appreciate it unless you understand what it is. Mercy is the opposite of grace. Grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. Mercy withholds what we clearly have coming to us. Right now, you and I are experiencing God’s mercy whether we recognize it or not.

So what do we deserve? Without Christ’s intervention, here’s what we have coming to us: wrath, judgment, condemnation, and eternal separation from God in hell. Without God’s mercy, we would have no hope.

What we don’t deserve is to draw another breath. That’s why Paul describes our condition as dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. Apart from Christ and God’s mercy, we are the walking dead—trapped in sin. What we deserve is God’s justice. His holiness apart from His love, grace, and mercy would mean the end for us.

Our problem is we are so dead in our trespasses and sins we are only vaguely aware of our guilt before God—YIKES!-guilt that requires His mercy. We try to avoid our guilt by looking at others as worse sinners than we are. But, comparing ourselves to anything or anyone other than God and His standards produces a false result. When it comes to measuring up to God’s expectations, the Bible is very clear: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”(Romans 3:23). We’re all dead because we’ve all sinned.

But God is rich in mercy—and His mercy flows out of the great love with which he loved us. This divine mercy is personal, intimate, and completely unexpected. God is merciful out of His abundant stores, and lovingly pours mercy over our lives. 

Every heartbeat, each breath, every hour you have is not only a gracious gift from God, it also reminds you that God has mercifully kept death at bay. Mercy withholds judgment long enough for grace to take effect!! HALLELUJUAH! 

Because God is rich in mercy, we are no longer dead in our sin—and no longer under the power of sin! We depend on His grace moment by moment to Romans 8:13 kill sin, begore sin kills us! 

Our lives are made new because of His great love for us. Take a few moments to thank Him for His mercy today and everyday! 

Robbs

Theologically-Minded-Thinking-Women

This is the essence, I believe, of a question that a commenter left me.  He asked, "Do you believe it is okay for a woman to think and write about theology, given she will also be read by men such as myself? If so, why is it not allowed for a woman to preach?”

I will start with the first part of the question. Every person is a theologian, whether they are a man or a woman. To use a double negative, I can’t not think about theology. Theology is the study of God, knowing God. 

If Jesus really prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent,” (John 17:3, emphasis mine) than I had better be serious about being a good theologian. My eternal life doesn’t depend on my ministers relationship with God, but my own.

I’m not sure what background my commenter is coming from regarding the stance of women’s roles, but I have been upfront with the fact that I fall in the complementarian camp. 

There are many roles for women in the church, but Scripture makes it clear that the office of elder and pastor is not one of them (1 Tim. 2:12). Not only that, most men are never called to this position (1 Tim. 3:1-7). I believe God has ordained this for our good. 

I know that I have some very sharpening and wonderful egalitarian readers, but I do want to be clear about the platform I am coming from. 

With that said, I believe that if complementarians are serious about the distinctiveness of male and female roles, if we really do believe that women are created as helpers, then we above all should want to equip strong, theologically-minded, thinking women. This could be an article in its own, but I’ve got to answer the main question.

Is there a difference between preaching God’s Word and reflecting on it, explaining it, writing about it, and even teaching it in a different setting? Yep. I would say that if done faithfully, we are talking about a difference between the authority of the Word of God and the word of man.

Could I compose and deliver a sermon-worthy exposition of Scripture that would enlighten those listening? 

Sure I could, along with many other women. But this is not our calling. And besides, delivering a good exposition of Scripture is not the only element of being a preacher. 

Paul explains to the elders of the Ephesian church that they are shepherds, not just sermon-deliverers (Acts 20:28). But when they do preach, this comes with the authority of the Word of God to his people. 

I am not leading authoritatively from a pulpit. My view of the office of pastor is different from any other teaching. They are set apart by a special calling to proclaim God’s Word (1 Thess. 2:13) in a context that God himself promises to bless us in Christ.

So as for men not learning from women, this has to do with the authority of the position of an elder. Outside of this, we are foolish to think that men do not learn from women. How can we be helpers if we are not all teachers of some sort? And with all the influence that women do have in the church, the home, and the world, we should want them to be very good theologians.

I am the product of the effects of God’s Word being received. I take that closing benediction seriously, and I am so enthralled by what I have received that I can’t keep quiet during the week. I must reflect on it. I must learn more about this amazing God. And I want to share that with others. God gifts many people to be teachers. And he gifts many of those to write. But praise God for the ministerial office of preaching! I’ll leave that to whom he calls! 

Men who place women in pastoral roles in their lives violate an important principle in God’s word. Men who won’t learn from women who God provides for the benefit of the church do the same.

This VENTI Sumtra with a touch of cream and sugar is on the house...of The Lord! 

DO YOU HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH SATAN?

Every Christian is told to pursue a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We have all seen the consequences of dead religion, of people who claim to worship Jesus, but who do not seem to know him. They relate to Jesus like they relate to their favorite celebrity or the president or to a fictional character. There is nothing real about it. No experiences.

We are told time and again that we have the joy and the responsibility of relating to Jesus in a personal way. He is real. He is alive. He is a genuine person. We can and should and must relate to him personally, in experience!

However, as much as we emphasize a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we tend to view Satan and his evil forces as an abstraction.  Or as a cartoon character.  We believe that we need to relate personally to the Savior but that we can relate impersonally to the enemy as if Jesus is a person while Satan is merely an idea.  You need to have a personal relationship with Satan as well.

We need to be careful here, obviously. We do not equate Jesus and Satan in some yin and yang kind of relationship. They are by no means equal. Jesus is Creator and Satan is created; Jesus is the Conquerer and Satan the conquered; Jesus is alive forever while Satan knows his time is short and that he must soon be thrown into the pit.

But until then, Satan is alive and on the prowl. He despises those who have a saving faith in Jesus Christ and desires and seeks their destruction. So until the time Christ returns and casts Satan into that pit forever, we need to relate to him as well. This does not mean that we pray to Satan or even speak to him, but it had better mean that we pray to Christ about him and against him and his work in our hearts through indwelling sin, along with his work in the world. 

You need to believe that Satan exists, that he is powerful and that he will stop at nothing to hurt, hinder and destroy your very soul.  

He is not an idea. 

He is not a theory. 

He is not simply a symbol of evil (for scary movies or groups adverse to Christ.) 

 He is real, and it is crucial that we remember and believe it.

Acts 19:15-16 gives us a snap shot of what I am expressing here: 

¹⁵ One day the evil spirit [of Satan italics mine] answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” ¹⁶ Then the man who had the evil spirit living in him [italics mine] jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

I hope you will take on the traits of a life that ensures you have a personal relationship with the devil.

A. Believe: (Inside Job) Believing is the difference between facts and faith, between head and heart.

B. Live: (Outside Job) A personal relationship with Jesus that translates into hating and mortifying sin in your heart and reaching others with this wonder working power of the Gospel of Christ. 

Live Holy.

What are you doing to ensure that your face is on the walls of Hell’s post office? 

Satan and his demons are holding committee meetings about me Right NOW for waking you up to this reality. 

I hope this Soy Misto with a Jelly Donut helps someone today!! 

Robbs

THE LIGHT BEYOND THE LIGHT

If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep *seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1–2)  [We are told to do this because its hard to do.]

Yeshua Christ is refreshing. Flight from him into Christless leisure makes the soul parched.

At first it may feel like freedom and fun to skimp on prayer and neglect the Word. But then we pay: shallowness, powerlessness, vulnerability to sin, preoccupation with trifles, superficial relationships, and a "frightening" loss of interest in worship and the things of the Spirit.

Don’t let this earth make your soul shrivel. God made the good things of earth as a foretaste of heaven, not a substitute.

If the mailman brings you a love letter from your fiancé, don’t fall in love with the mailman.  Don’t fall in love with the video preview, and find yourself *unable* to love the coming reality.

Yeshua Christ is the refreshing center of life. He is pre–eminent in all things (Colossians 1:18), including vacations and picnics and softball and long walks and cookouts. He invites us to: “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy–laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

Do we want it? That is the question. 

Christ gives himself to us in proportion to how much we want his refreshment. “You will seek me and find me, *when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Peter’s word to us about this is: “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Repentance is not just turning away from sin, but also turning toward the Lord with hearts full of love, open and expectant and obedient and submissive.

What sort of mindset is this? It is the mindset of Colossians 3:1–2, “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

It is God’s earth! It is a video preview to the reality of what eternal life will be like when “The city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23).

The glorious sun light of another beautiful day is a mere pointer to the sun that will be. The glory of God. Summer is for seeing and showing that.

Do you want to have eyes to see?

Lord, let us see the light beyond the light.

Save me, save us.....from blindness. 

Robbs