May 28, 2006

• The Milestone was reached! Chasing Dani was the 20,000th visitor, and equally important, Prayerwarrior was 20,010. Not to mention 001, 002, etc. Truthfully you are all important to me and I so eagerly wait to read your comments and thoughts. It is so wonderful to have a space where we can share things and learn from each other.

  
  

  Well today I was doing week 10 of Breaking Free – praise God that He made me a small group leader because I had to keep doing the work even in the tough areas, and couldn’t gloss over it. The study really does work and God has taught me much through this study.

  
  

  Today something from week 10, day 3 struck home. I think the thing that I like best about Beth Moore is her perspective on how she looks at the scripture, she often has a twist that opens up the scripture in a way I never considered. These notes come from pages 210-214 of her study.

  
  

  One of the important benefits of a relationship with God is to Glorify God. I am certain you remember that for me this was a tough concept a few years ago because I felt that it was all about God, not so much about me. Well now I can say THANK GOD, it is ALL ABOUT GOD. And when we see God’s glory in a situation it is Him making Himself known to us.

  
  

  We looked at Exodus 12:21-20 which covers the Passover Sacrifice of the Lord. Beth asked us how long we were in our Egypts (our slavery, bondage), and I have to say that I was in bondage 40 years (my testimony 3/24/06). God knew that to deliver His children (the Israelites) would cost him the life of His own firstborn son so that any captive, Jew or Gentile could be free. God wants our attention and preparation, and He also wants us to not forget that His son died for our freedom.

  
  

  Exodus 12:31-36, the Israelites began their freedom, and in doing so, they asked the Egyptians for their Jewelry, gold, silver, precious metals. The Egyptians gave this to them (it was not stealing because they were slaves for 400 years), and Beth made an important statement. p. 211 “When God delivers His children, they never have to escape by the skin of their teeth! Don’t forget! The Israelites were nothing but impoverished slaves in Egypt, but when God delivered them they left with the riches of the Egyptians.”

  
  

  Mrs Charles E. Cowman in her Streams in the Desert, says, “To be more than conqueror is to take the spoils from the enemy and appropriate them to yourself. What he had arranged for your overthrow, take and appropriate for yourself.

  
  

  When I got saved, Pastor Don told me that satan lost a powerful ally, and I have seen that God has used those things from my past to reach out to others, and for me that is enriching because I can hopefully prevent someone from going the wrong ways that I went.

  
  

  1 Corinthians 3:12-13 talks about building on a foundation with gold, silver and precious stones, not hay, straw and stubble. God will reveal what is solid – the gold silver and precious stones with the fire to test the works, what sort they are.

  
  

  This blew me away, p. 212 “God desires to accomplish works in our lives that stand up to the flames of fiery trials. The wood, hay, and straw in these verses represent works that go up in flames the moment a fire ignites. Gold, silver, and costly stones represent works that endure. Do you realize that you don’t have to escape from captivity with nothing to show for it? After all the enemy has put you through, take your plunder.  Let God bring you forth from your time of slavery with gold, silver, and costly stones. Stronger than ever because in your weakness God was strong. More of a threat to the kingdom of darkness than Satan ever dreamed you’d be. Steal back from the thief who came against you to steal, kill, and destroy! Don’t just reclaim surrendered ground. God wants to enlarge your borders and teach you to possess land you never knew existed. Make the enemy pay for scheming against you so hatefully. Snatch the plunder! Oh, how I pray that you are already aware of plunder you stole from the enemy after God delivered you from a time of slavery.”

  
  

  She then encourages us to let God have our failures, our times of slavery, our most humiliating defeats because God and God alone can use them to make us twice the warrior that we ever dreamed we could be.

  
  

  Exodus 35:4-29 is the collection that was made from the Israelites for the building of the tabernacle. Guess what they used to donate – the gold, silver and precious stones that they received from the Egyptians. Since we are the tabernacle of God, those things which we gain back from the enemy are great offerings for God. We reinvest our plunder by reaching out to others, offering it to God to use as He wills.

  
  

  If you are struggling in your Egypts (and we all have them, even if it is only an area of our life) take heart from these words from Beth Moore, p. 213 “God chose to use the very things satan used to defeat me to teach me. How could I not pour my life back into God? He is the only reason I have survived—let alone thrived. Dear Friend of God, you become a display of His splendor every time you take the plunder of Egypt and offer it back to God for His magnificent glory. If you have repented and escaped from Egypt, don’t hang your head another minute. God will force the enemy to give up plunder to you; but if your head is not lifted up in expectation, you might not catch it.”

  
  

  Then she goes on p. 213-214, and I can so relate to this, “Some days I want to forget I’ve ever been to Egypt. Some days I just want to act like I’ve always done it right. Some days I don’t want to give, I want to take. And some days I just want everybody out of my personal business. My times in Egypt are very painful for me to remember. Embarrassing for me to admit. Leaving nothing for others to admire.” And then I am hoping that as I grow in Christ one day I can say this with consistency. “Some days I think I just can’t do it. But each morning the Holy Spirit woos me once again to the place where I meet with God. The God of grace bows low and meets with me. In the simplicity of my prayer time, I am suddenly confronted by the majesty of my Redeemer. The one who is responsible for any good in me. My past sins are forgiven and fresh mercies fall like manna from heaven. And once again, my heart is moved, and I surrender all. Morning after morning.”

  
  

  Hope this is encouraging to you too, and hoping you have a blessed Sunday. Tomorrow my guys march in the Memorial Day parade.

  
  

  Heather

  • 7:47 pm
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