Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Nevertheless....

I love finding nuggets of blessings in a freshly read verse in the bible....you know, a little nugget of truth from God's Word that tugs at your heart at that right moment. Or a scriptural nugget of promise when your are feeling low and in need of hope for your situation. Or how about that nugget of instruction tucked away in a very familiar Bible passage seen with a new insight. For me, it's better than a warm cup of coffee first thing in the morning or a Dove chocolate in mid-afternoon to boost me through the day!

Yesterday, I found this sweet scriptural nugget for my soul as I was flying back home on Midwest Airlines. It is from a very familiar story...one told many times in my Sunday school years and in the pulpit of the preachers I have been blessed to be under. Take a few moments to read it and live in its moment. Then dwell for a minute on the bolded word that captured my attention and let it capture yours...



Luke 5 (NKJV)
1And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,
2And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.
4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
9For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
10And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
11And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.


Nevertheless...have you noticed that word there before? Every other translation reads with "but" or "because" which does not depict the value of the action here. It really is a powerful statement....nevertheless...Jesus spoke and a heart and a will responded. Nevertheless...God is revealed and a life is changed for the eternal. Nevertheless represents faith...it represents obedience...it is an obedient faith.

No matter how many different directions I am being pulled in, no matter how many failures I fall to, no matter how many rejections I face....nevertheless, at Thy word I believe...I walk forward in faith because God is good and so very faithful!! Obedient faith is a choice. Can you say nevertheless today?

Believing Him~Pamela

Please be sure to pray for Elaine at Peace for the Journey as she begins her battle with breast cancer. Thank you!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Scriptural Weapons

Do you feel like you play mind games with your past? You know, those haunting memories of past mistakes that satan likes to throw at us when we are at our best, or, at our worst for that matter. Thrown at us to knock us off course from the truth of God's forgiveness and grace. Know what I am talking about? Surely I am not alone in this. The mind is a powerful thing to behold and many a battles can occur there. These battles have the power to destroy a person mentally, physically, and spiritually. Satan knows if he can play with our thoughts and actually affect our well-being, he wins against our creators control and ownership of us.

There are so many great Bible studies out now dealing with this very subject and I think it would benefit us significantly to explore these studies. Even without these studies though we have a weapon readily available for us. Daily I fight him in this area but I have the one weapon he cannot win against and that's the Word of God!!


Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ~ 1 Thess 5:23 (NLT)


God knew this battle would not be easy for us. He knew that with each insult, each attack that if we would handle it with His Word we would gain so much more...such as holiness...scantification...victory. This is His aim for us.


But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. ~ 1 Cor. 15:57-58 (NLT)


Be strong and immovable...even in our thought life. One guaranteed way to do this is through scripture. I love praying back scripture. I started doing this years ago after reading and studying through Beth Moore's book "Praying God's Word". It has been the best salve, the best medicine for my body, my mind and my soul. So this morning as I was contemplating this subject on my ride in to work, I knew I needed a piece of scripture to put to memory to fight against satan every time he planted a thought into my mind referencing my past failures that had the potential to destroy my well-being. He, God, gave it to me and I give it to you challenging you to also put it to your memory and throw it at satan every time he attacks your mind:


You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah ~ Psalm 85:2


Just what I need every time my past failures are brought before me...a reminder that I am forgiven! Believing this, I can throw back this verse to him verbally as his fiery insults and untruths attempt to penetrate my well-being. Even more what I appreciate about this verse is how it ends. Selah. Peace. Yes, peace...what we obtain when we use this verse as a weapon. Try it!


If you have a favorite verse you like to use as a weapon against satans attacks, please share it here. We can never have too many scriptural weapons these days.


Believing Him~ Pamela