When the Battles Come - Martin Wiles

You have armed me with strength for the battle. Psalm 18:39 NLT

Some battles have nothing to do with picking up a weapon.

Military blood runs through my family’s veins. My father did a stint in the National Guard and then the Army, serving overseas in the Formosa Crisis. My father-in-law retired from the Army after serving in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. A brother-in-law served in the Air Force, and a nephew did time in Iraq. Even both of my children did short stints.

When I entered my teenage years, the Vietnam War was nearing an end—at least America’s involvement in it. The military draft was still in force, and I feared I would end up in an endless war. But it did end—along with the draft.

Although I’ve never served in the military, I admire those who have and do. And although I’ve never fought in a military battle, I’ve fought several other battles: Are my parenting skills up to par? On what grounds do I make this decision? How will I care for my aging parents and in-laws? Should I keep this job or look for another? How will I pay for the move? Why am I depressed? Can I get through this divorce? Will I ever find someone to love me?

The psalmist knew military battles, but he also knew other battles that didn’t require picking up a weapon. No matter what kind of battle he fought, God armed him with what he needed to win.

God gives all the armor we need to fight the battles with the enemy of our soul—and the battles we sometimes fight with God. He gives us the helmet of salvation. Thoughts determine actions. We have the power to think on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. We have a breastplate of righteousness, given when we placed our faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is our shield, and we take the gospel of peace wherever we go. Our clothes are girded with the belt of truth—which determines everything we say and do. And we have God’s Word to guide every decision we make and action we take.

When the battles come, victory is certain if we adorn ourselves with the full armor of God. Don’t let life’s battles defeat you. Claim the victory that can be yours.

Father, thank you for giving me the weapons I need to win every battle in life. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

When God Stoops - Anit van der Elst

Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? Psalm 113:5-6 NIV

When God stoops, our perspective changes.

As I walked out the front door early one winter morning, a few sprigs of green greeted me in a planter pot on the steps. Oh, yes! Where I live, the daffodils emerge in the middle of winter, promising future sunshine. I stooped low to admire these stalwart stems. The prompt in my photo challenge group was “Winter Is Here,” so I grabbed a photo with my iPhone. After all, when our hips and knees limit stooping, we multitask when we’re in that position. A day or two later, the word picture in Psalm 113 of our Mighty God stooping down to look on His creation took shape in my mind.

John’s gospel describes how Jesus noticed a man who was blind from birth. The encounter became a lesson that showed God’s purpose and power. In his daily walk on earth, Jesus saw those who needed his attention. He filled in the picture from Psalm 113 as he stooped to make mud, using his own saliva and dirt as part of the healing process.

Jesus gets down on our level and shines his light, giving us spiritual sight. How lovingly Jesus showed us the Father. And we, too, can show Christ to others.

Think of ways you can thank God for his attention to you in sending Jesus, his Son. Celebrate that as we prepare to enter the holiday season.

Father, I thank you for stooping to send your Son to die for our sins. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to three of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, exploring the state parks in the PNW, facilitating a small group of women, and participating in a Bible study.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Shielded - Martin Wiles

You have given me your shield of victory. Psalm 18:35 NLT

Never had a game evoked such fear in me.

As a middle schooler, I was weak, shy, and non-athletic. I dreaded physical education class—mainly because of one game: dodgeball.

I was always the last one picked when the team captains made their choices. Skinny, freckled-faced, glasses. Nothing that would make them want me on their team. I made sure I stood behind everyone else when the balls started whizzing by, but eventually I was exposed. That’s when I used my shield.

Getting hit on the torso or below the waist was bearable, but a hit in the head could be tragic. I wore glasses, and Mom had strictly instructed me to guard them with my life. She and Dad could not afford to replace them. As the balls made their way at me, I shielded my head with my arms and hands. 

When I was a teenager, I tortured my two younger brothers with the same game I was tortured with by lining them up on the edge of our open carport and throwing balls at them. They, too, used their arms and hands as shields, but doing so didn’t stop them from cascading from the ledge to the ground below when I hit them.

David was a warrior and familiar with a shield. While he didn’t use one against Goliath, the giant he fought, he did in many battles after that, protecting his nation against its enemies.

Thousands of years later, the apostle Paul would say faith is the believer’s shield.

As my hands shielded me from dodgeball slams, so my faith shields me from the darts of my soul’s enemy. When I believed in and accepted Christ as my Savior, God gave me Christ’s righteousness. Although I take many hits in life, that body armor of righteousness—along with my shield of faith—keeps me from being defeated.

Faith helps move us forward, even when we can’t see the way. Faith prompts us to obey God’s plan, even when it appears illogical. Faith keeps us determined in our walk with the Lord, even when we sometimes want to give up. And faith shields us from persistent and uncontrollable doubt, anger, frustration, anxiety, worry, depression, and fear.

God gives all his children a shield. Take yours, so you can fight life’s battle with a guarantee of success.

Father, I take the shield of faith and march into battle, knowing I will be triumphant.

 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

MEATLOVER’S PIZZA PIE

 

Ingredients

1 BAG OSCAR MYER REAL BACON BITS  

1 POUND HOT PORK SAUSAGE        

1 PACKAGE  SLICED PEPPERONI

1 POUND GROUND BEEF

1 JAR PIZZA SAUCE

2 CUPS SHREDDED PIZZA CHEESE       

2 DEEP DISH PIE SHELLS

¼ TEASPOONS GARLIC POWDER

¼ TEASPOON OREGANO

Directions

COOK SAUSAGE AND GROUND BEEF AND DRAIN.

MIX ALL OTHER INGREDIENTS WITH THE MEAT EXCEPT THE CHEESE.

SIMMER FOR 15 MINUTES ON MEDIUM/LOW. 

FILL PIE SHELLS WITH MEAT MIXTURE AND TOP WITH CHEESE.

BAKE AT 350 DEGREES UNTIL THE CHEESE MELTS.

*IF YOU LIKE SUPREME PIZZA, ADD ONIONS AND PEPPERS ON TOP OF THE PIE BEFORE THE CHEESE.

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Watch Your Mouth - Martin Wiles

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Ephesians 4:29 NLT

Four years had passed since my youngest brother and his family visited the rest of the family. Not that they live that far away. Just a matter of family issues. But in the fifth year, they decided to visit after Christmas. We spent the afternoon talking and reminiscing, then went to a downtown restaurant for a meal together. It was wonderful having all the siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews together again. 

Following our meal, we returned to our house to play a game called “Watch Your Mouth.” Participants pair up, don a mouthpiece—which forces their mouths into ridiculous shapes—draw a card, try to read it, and then have their partner interpret what they said—which usually sounds only vaguely similar. 

I’m not sure why the game is named what it is. Watching your teammate’s mouth doesn’t help. Maybe it’s because the mouthpiece can make someone pronounce a word they wouldn’t normally use. 

I can’t remember whether my parents ever used the command, “Watch Your Mouth,” but I still got the message. Theirs was the same as Paul’s to the early church. Saying words I shouldn’t in their presence would get me a stint of restriction. 

Foul and abusive language can fall into several categories and include cursing, off-color jokes, crude language, sexual innuendos, acronyms, or other questionable words. Using such language makes us no different from those who don’t claim to follow Christ. Speaking like unbelievers keeps our light for Christ from shining. Jesus hung around those He knew needed to follow him, but he didn’t adopt their ungodly mannerisms to win them over. 

The world already has enough discouraging news without us adding to it with language that tears down instead of elevates. Our speech should be filled with good and helpful words that encourage and build others up. 

The tongue can be an unruly piece of meat, rolling out words that are better left unsaid. But with God’s help, we can control what comes out of it. What comes out reveals my character to others and whether I’m a person of integrity.

What portrait of you is your tongue painting for others?

Father, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight.

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Stomping Out Prejudice - Martin Wiles

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 1 John 4:20 NKJV

The one place he didn’t want them was … the church.

The monthly deacons’ meeting had rolled around to a popular topic: racial relationships. I can't remember what brought up the matter, but I do remember the conversation. The church “policy” was rehashed. If a person of color entered the sanctuary, the pastor was to close the service as quickly as possible.

After scanning each deacon, I said, “Well, you will have to find someone else to do it because I won’t.” I was willing to risk my job over that conviction. 

More discussion followed. One deacon said he worked and even ate lunch with people of color. Then came the bombshell, “But I want to be able to go one place where they aren’t.” 

Church was his getaway. The place that Martin Luther King, Jr., said was the most segregated place at eleven o’clock every Sunday morning. 

Although laws have been passed and wars fought, prejudice lives on. And it extends its ugly claws far beyond race. It creeps into the political, cultural, gender, social, economic, ideological, and even religious arenas of life. Sadly, it affects many believers. Those who allow it to reinterpret the above verse and haven’t learned what God taught Peter when he asked him to go to a Gentile’s house: “God has shown me that he doesn’t think anyone is unclean or unfit” (Acts 10:28). 

Our sinful nature makes all people struggle with areas of prejudice—but it doesn’t make it acceptable. Pride creeps in, making us think we’re better than another person or group. 

Examining one’s family history often reveals the roots of prejudice. I never fell prey to racial prejudice—though my family of origin did. Perhaps because I lived through the various “rights” movements of the 1960s and 1970s. 

Trying to justify feelings of prejudice with remarks such as, “That’s just the way I am,” or “That’s the way my parents were,” won’t rid it from our lives or justify it. Confession and repentance are necessary. 

God created and loves all people. His word is clear: if we claim to love him but hate others, we’re a liar. But the good news is that he can rid our lives of prejudicial feelings. All we have to do is ask and be willing to do the hard work. 

Give God your feelings of prejudice so your work and witness for Him won’t be hindered.

Father, help me to love all people as you love me. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Traveling with Firm Footing - Martin Wiles

He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. Psalm 18:33 NLT

I learned the art of careful walking while backpacking in the mountains. Trails were littered with rocks, roots, and dead leaves, making the path uneven and slippery. If I wasn’t careful, I could twist my ankle, catch my foot on a root, or slip on wet leaves. More than once, my feet magically disappeared from under me. 

Having to watch my step while hiking made me wish I was like a deer. While visiting our friends in Henderson, Colorado, we traveled to the Rocky Mountain State Park. The mountains are aptly named and peered at us through the car window as we wound around the curves. Suddenly, they were there, and we pulled over for a better view. Mountain goats. They were like deer—surefooted. They scaled the rocky surfaces—never slipping, as I would have. 

I doubt the psalmist meant God gave him the ability to climb a mountain without falling, though he was familiar with mountains. The mountains he needed help climbing are like ours: financial, spiritual, emotional, relational, educational, and parental. I’ve discovered life is filled with such mountains. The psalmist scaled them because God steadied his feet. 

Slipping on the mountains we climb is inevitable if we don’t let God help us scale the heights. Through prayer, meditation on his Word, and wise counsel, God gives us the wisdom to take the right step. Even when we neglect these things and fall, he’s more than happy to pick us up, steady our feet, and nudge us along. 

Although we sometimes fall out of neglect, we periodically fall because God lets us. Falls teach important lessons. We need to pray before we make decisions. When we make decisions that take us out of God’s will, he will discipline us because he loves us. Occasionally, God leads us over rocky, slippery paths to prepare us for an upcoming assignment. 

While it’s our responsibility to watch the path we’re traveling, God will give us sure footing so we can travel it. 

Travel your life paths with confidence. God will give you sure footing as you walk each one. 

Father, I trust you for the ability to travel each path on which you lead me. 

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.