Satan's a bully...but we got Jesus !

Between the ages of 2 and 5, my parents and I lived in the United Kingdom and I still remember getting my two new pairs of glasses when I was about 4 years old. We moved back to Ghana when I was 5 and that was when my troubles started.

We lived in a small town and many people had never seen a girl so little wear glasses. Glasses were for "old people" and so I got made fun of A LOT ! I mean I was literally known as "the girl with the eye problem". I remember one boy in particular. He taunted me until I no longer wanted to wear my glasses. In fact, for many years I stopped wearing my glasses and simply sat and squinted my way through most of elementary and junior high school. I was done with being teased and bullied. My parents did everything to make me go back to wearing my glasses but I simply would not.

Well, as I grew up, I became less afraid of what people would say about me and more concerned about the fact that I could hardly see what was written on the board in my classroom. I eventually began to realize something : all these people can really do is to tease me. They can't do anything more than that ! Once I realized that, it did not matter to me anymore who made fun of me for what reason. I was going to do what was beneficial for me and I would ignore everyone else. So when I was 15 years old or so, I went back to wearing my glasses full time.

The devil likes to bully, tease and taunt. That has been his tactic since Adam and Eve. He comes with the same ancient lie "Are you sure that's what God said ?" or "God's not really delivering on His promise, is He?" or "God doesn't really love you, you know" or "You are too far from God to come back now. You might as well just kill yourself". Lies, lies and more lies ! And so we have a world filled with all sorts of evil and it's all because of one thing : the devil's lies. 

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. -John 8:44

These are the Words of Jesus Christ. Not mine ! What lies has Satan whispered into your ears ? What discouragements has he tried to convince  you of ? Recognize who Satan is. He is liar and the father of ALL lies. He wants to deceive you into destruction so he can get back at God. BUT YOU CANNOT ALLOW HIM ! 

Just like my bullies, all he can really do is tease and taunt and tell you, you are never going to make it or that you are a failure just like everybody says. Guess what, though ? That's right, we have Jesus Christ. We have the King of Kings and Lord of lords. We have the one who is from everlasting to everlasting. We have the only One is the Beginning and the End. When He declares it, it is final and today He is saying :

"You are NOT a failure."

"I will wipe away all your tears"

"I do really really love you. I died on the cross for you to prove it!"

"I will never leave you nor forsake you even when it seems dark around you"

"I have overcome the world for you and so no trouble in this life has the capacity to destroy you."

This, my friends, is the truth, the whole truth and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH ! 

The devil sure is a big bully but we got Jesus ! 

(And yes, you can attempt a cartwheel at this point to celebrate this powerful truth but ONLY if you are well-coordinated.)

Rough Days

Today was a rough day. I secretly dislike rough days and sometimes wish they could just be erased from my life. But like a pastor of mine said once : 

"How boring would life be without the valleys? What stories would you have to tell your kids and grandkids about overcoming ?" 

So, although I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry my eyes out and feel sorry for myself, I decided against it because I realize that as a Christian I am in a real spiritual battle. The reality of this spiritual battle requires me to take up my armor and FIGHT. 

Oh, I did end up crying but it was not out of sorrow. I cried because I remembered God's amazing love and His tender mercies which have never failed me. I remembered John 16:33 which says :

 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace andconfidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] - Amplified Bible

When my King speaks, I keep silent. I stop fretting and depending on my wisdom. I become glad that no matter the twists and turns my life my take, in the end, JESUS WINS.  

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You are loved and may God richly and mightily bless you.

Gertrude. 

The Shield of Faith (Part 3)

The devil likes to take shots at us on a daily basis. It does not take a genius to recognize that. Sickness, discouragement, hurtful words, depression and reminders of your past have always been his modus operandi. Nothing new there.

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. - Ephesians 6:16

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. - I John 5:4 (NIV)


When Goliath threatened the Israelite army, it was David's faith that eventually moved him to action to defeat the giant. Goliath had been taking cheap shots at the Israelites for days. Insult after insult and discouragement after discouragement, Goliath managed to cause the people of God to cower in fear. David did not accept it, though. He did not just sit down and say "Well, I am only a boy. And after all my older brothers who are trained warriors have not even attempted to tackle this giant so who am I to go against this terrible giant ?" No ! David was not going to accept the shots because he believed that the God who had given him victory over the lion and the bear in the wilderness while he tended his father's sheep was able to also give him victory over this obstacle. We know the rest of the story (the whole account is in 1 Samuel 17).

Take up your shield of faith today. In the last two posts, I wrote on how important faith is and how we can grow in our faith. Do not let the enemy's shots at you discourage you from living out God's purpose and plan for your life. Do not allow the enemy to steal your testimony by telling you, you will not make it.

Rise up ! Take up your shield of faith and block those fiery darts Satan is throwing your way.

Prayer : Father in Jesus Name, I pray for anybody reading this blog today. I pray that you will strengthen each and everyone of them by the power of your Holy Spirit. Father I thank you that you are helping us by Your Spirit to take up our shield of faith and block all those fiery darts of the enemy. Thank you for making us more than conquerors through the Name of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37). I thank you that we have overcome the world by faith (1 John 5:4). Amen.

Are you blessed by the content of this blog?  Leave a comment !

I’d also love to connect with you and get to know you via Facebook and Twitter. Join me there for more of Biblical wisdom from A Chosen Remnant.  

You are loved and may God richly and mightily bless you.

Gertrude.  

The Shield of Faith (Part 2)

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. -Romans 10:17

It's easy to think that this Scripture only applies to people who are hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time. However, this Scripture applies very much to believers. Here on A Chosen Remnant, we have been discussing the Armor of God and how it relates to the finished work of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 6:10-18). I do not claim to be an expert as I am also learning as the Holy Spirit leads me along.

You became a Christian because you "heard" the gospel of Jesus Christ and you accepted it as truth and gave your life to Him. You did not hear some folk-tale or fable ; you heard the "Word of God". So by virtue of you hearing the Word of God that preaches Jesus Christ as the only way to God, you became born again. Hallelujah !

Does it end there ? No. You still need faith as a believer. I cannot go through all the Scriptures that says living the Christian life requires faith but we can at least look at one.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. - Hebrews 11:6

You need faith in order to please God. I did not say that ; the Bible did. Now how do you increase your faith ? Faith will come as you continue to listen to the Word of God. One of my favorite things to do is to listen to recorded messages of my pastor preaching. I have been blessed and received SO MUCH wisdom from simply taking the time to listen to the Word of God being preached. Sometimes it does not even have to be conscious listening. There are days I will turn on a recorded message as I perform chores around the house. As I wash dishes, I listen. As I dust down furniture, it's playing. As I take my daily commute, I have my iPod in my ears listening to the gospel being preached. I may not hear everything, but as the recorded message plays, an atmosphere of God's peace is created.

Sometimes, I will just play a Bible reading. You can now download audio Bible apps onto your smartphone. And so there are days when I just play the Bible on my phone. As a result I can confidently say my faith has increased. Things that used to bother me and send me into a frenzy have ceased to be worries for me anymore not because of the absence of the challenge but because the Word of God has built in me the faith that God Almighty is on my side and will deliver me.

Surround yourself with the Word of God. Stop listening to so much of the negative news out there that does nothing but crush your faith in God. Yes, indeed there is so much wickedness in the world but focussing on that will only make you develop a fearful attitude. Invest in listening devices and resources on the internet that plug you in to God's Word and see your faith grow and increase.

Faith comes by hearing. What are you listening to ?

Are you blessed by the content of this blog?  Leave a comment !

I’d also love to connect with you and get to know you via Facebook and Twitter. Join me there for more of Biblical wisdom from A Chosen Remnant.  

You are loved and may God richly and mightily bless you.

Gertrude.  

The Shield of Faith

Faith ! What a topic ! I guess if every aspect of the Christian's Armor could be put in a book, probably faith would take the longest to write. There is just so much to say about faith.

For those of you who are just joining in the discussion, I have been writing about how each aspect of the Armor of a Christian as the Apostle Paul described in Ephesians 6:10-18 relates to the finished work of Jesus Christ. Because faith is so extensive and because I am still learning much of it myself, I think this post will be divided over a few blogs and I invite you to discover faith with me !

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,the evidence of things not seen.- Hebrews 11:1

Let's look at Hebrews 11:1 for today. It declares that "faith is the substance of things hoped for" and "the evidence of things not seen". What does this mean ? Here is what it means : the things that require faith have no tangible physical manifestation. Yep that's right. The things require faith are things that look like they are nowhere near our address.

Let me share a little story with you. When I was in college, there were times when I was not sure if I would be able to go back to school the following semester because I never knew where I would get tuition from. I did not qualify for loans or scholarships because I was pursuing an American education in the US but I was not a US citizen or permanent resident (the typical requirement for getting any kind of financial aid).Every time the bill came from school, I did not open it because I did not want to see the extra charges that had been placed on the school fees and tuition I had not already paid. There was one thing I would do ; I would take the bill and I would pray over it and believe God for provision for the following semester. Guess what ? Yes, every semester, just before classes would begin, I would receive money to pay for school. And it continued to happen until I got my bachelor's degree in nursing. Praise God ! Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. I truly never knew where money would come from. I could not see how I would pay my tuition and school fees but I know that by faith and by the grace of God, I made it through school without dropping a single semester.Praise God !

We live in a culture, where "seeing is believing" and even in the Body of Christ many of us cannot seem to believe God for certain needs. It's almost as if we bring the "difficult" cases to God after we've been told by the so-called "experts" that it is humanly impossible. A lot us believe doctors, talk show hosts, brothers, sisters, family members and our experiences more than we believe in God. This is not a criticism of others at all; I am also examining myself. We have to believe that God is able. We have to stop giving in to fear and discouragement. You have to believe that God is able to save you from that seemingly "hopeless" situation. But He cannot do it if you do not believe that He can. Sometimes, out of His gracious mercy, God works miracles in our lives anyway. However, His best for you and I would be that we believe in Him.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him- Hebrews 11:6

Jesus said to Thomas after His resurrection : "...Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29, NIV).

It is God's delight when we believe inspite of the physical circumstances.

The Gospel of Peace

We've been looking at the Armor of God and how it relates to the finished work of Jesus Christ. We already looked at the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. Today, let's move on to the next facet of our Armor : the shoes that come from the preparation to preach the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).

One surprising thing I found out ;it was surprising because it is only recently that the Holy Spirit has helped me understand this; as believers we are ministers of reconciliation.

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation; - 2 Corinthians 5:18

I don't think it gets any clearer than that : the bottom-line of everything you and I do on this earth as Christians to preach the gospel of reconciliation ;the gospel of peace. The gospel that Jesus Christ died for ALL of our sins. That God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and that He is only waiting on the world to come to Him and say "Yes Lord".

Unfortunately we do not preach this truth of how we are reconciled to God and how anybody who will repent and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior can come and enjoy the abundant life that God had prepared. Instead, we condemn, berate and pull down to the point where people want nothing to do with the church or Christians.

Yes indeed, we must not frustrate the grace of God by using the grace of God as a license to live however we choose to (Galatians 2:21). God also has standards and He expects us and anyone who comes to Him to live by those standards. However, when we become a stumbling block to someone's salvation, God will not deal with us lightly at all. Our main project on this earth, no matter the specific calling is to preach this gospel of reconciliation to God. That is the ultimate bottom-line.

And yes, people will reject us, call us names, hate us, exclude us and even in some cases, kill some of us because of this gospel of Jesus Christ. The devil loves to scare us with these consequences so that we will not preach the gospel. But which would you rather have : the approval of the creation (people) or the approval of the CREATOR ? I chose a long time ago that if living for God and preaching the gospel through my life meant people thinking I was an idiot, then that is what it would be. How about you ? Which will you choose ?

Are you blessed by the content of this blog?  Leave a comment !

I’d also love to connect with you and get to know you via Facebook and Twitter. Join me there for more of Biblical wisdom from A Chosen Remnant.  

You are loved and may God richly and mightily bless you.

Gertrude. 

The Breastplate of Righteousness

I'm back from my mini-hiatus ! Let's delve right into the topic of the Armor of God. A few days ago I mentioned how important it is for any Christian to be aware of the reality of the spiritual battle we are involved in. The day we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Satan became a sworn enemy because we had now been set free from the captivity he had us in. We have to get something straight. All Satan wants is to steal whatever he can, destroy as much as he can and to finish it off : to kill. This is why we sometimes see beautiful young men and women who cannot seem to escape the clutches of alcoholism or drug abuse. Satan's plan is to steal their youth, destroy their lives and in the end kill them before they ever have the opportunity to say yes to Jesus Christ. This is the reality we have to deal with.

God has given us armor to fight this very real battle. On Monday,I spoke about the girdle or the belt of truth. I recorded what the Lord has been teaching me on that. You can take a listen here.

Our key Scripture is Ephesians 6:10-18 and today we will look at the breastplate of righteousness. According to a commentary I was reading in the Dake's Annotated Reference Bible , the breastplate was worn and it covered the front and the back and went down to the feet. It protected the vital organs. Now let's check this really powerful scripture out :

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.- 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus died. He shed His blood and paid for sins which were not his own. I think a lot of us Christians take that for granted. A guiltless man died for a guilty world. It sounds like injustice but God saw it fit that this would happen. According to the verse I just quoted, when Jesus died, He took our sins away and bestowed righteousness upon us. That gift of righteousness is available to ANYONE who will accept it. You and I are the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ ! It's a gift of righteousness we never have to pay for. Now, let me tell you something: I like free stuff !

How does this fit into the ongoing spiritual battle ? Well, Satan likes to accuse us. He likes to take us into the past and remind us of how bad we used to be. He likes to harp on your faults and weaknesses. Eventually he gets you to the place where you think you are not as "holy" as everyone else. You begin to feel as if everyone can see right through you at your "dirtiness". People have left churches and given up on the faith because Satan has convinced them (sometimes using church people, rather sadly) that they are not worth God's love. But those are all just lies from the pit of hell ! We are the righteousness of God according to 2 Corinthians 5:21. There is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ and those who walk according to the Spirit according to Romans 8:1. If you have sought God for forgiveness, He has forgiven you and does not remember your past (Psalm 103:12). So the next time Satan would like to pull you back into the dark ages, remind him of these words and accept the Truth of God's Word.

This does not mean we live our Christian lives carelessly either. We are called to holiness and as we depend on the Holy Spirit, He assists us to walk in God's will. What it does mean is that, you do not have to live in constant condemnation of yourself and you do not have to accept other people's condemnation of you because you , my friend, have been made the righteousness of God. I'd like to say an AMEN to that !

The Girdle (Belt) of Truth

As promised, this week I would like to share with you, with the help of the Holy Spirit, the different aspects of the armor of God and how it relates to Jesus Christ and His redemptive work. I am not at all an expert and like the Apostle Paul declared in the third chapter of Philippians, I do not claim to have "apprehended". I would just like to share what God has been teaching me about the armor that every Christian is supposed to wear.

I decided to record my thoughts today because I really thought this was something I should speak rather than write. I pray that God blesses you through it. Please, let me also know your thoughts and what God has been teaching you. Sharpening each other only makes us sharper.

The Truth of A Spiritual Battle

Whether you would like to believe it or not, every Christian is engaged in a spiritual battle. This is the truth and the Bible declares it (Ephesians 6:10-18). Satan is the enemy of our souls and you and I are engaged in a real battle with him and his fallen angels.

We are soldiers enlisted in the Army of the Most High God with Jesus Christ as our Commander-in-Chief. There is an armor that goes with this battle that we are involved in and every Christian is supposed to take up that armor in order to be in a constant state of preparation. Will you join me this week as we study this armor together ?

The Armor and the Cross

Do you know something that I think is utterly AMAZING ? Well, one day I was sitting on the bus on my way to work and I was reading my Bible. (I have to say that over the last few years, my commute to work has presented me with some powerful times of fellowship with God.)

So anyway, I was reading Ephesians 6:10-18 where the Bible talks about the armor of God and I could not help but recognize that every facet of the armor of God relates back to the redemptive work accomplished for us through the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I thought that was amazing ! This week I pray to have the opportunity to share with you how each aspect of the Christian's armor connects to Christ's redemptive work.

Grace, peace and blessings be upon your weekend !