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Psalm 62:5

I praise you for your wonderful Word, Lord, and the powerful way you use it in our lives. During a very trying time in my life, I wrote the following.
 
Psalm 62:5, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;”
[This is a command, not a suggestion. In 62:1 the same truth is given as a statement “My soul finds rest in God alone,” telling us where rest is possible. Then here we are called upon to make a choice to find our rest in You, Lord.
 
We need to turn away from what we naturally pursue for rest–getting what we want, resolution of situations and tensions, positive reactions of people, or removal of conflict.
 
The fact is that each of these solutions is fleeting and superficial, so quickly replaced by other stresses. But finding our rest in you, Lord God, is the true solution, one that is deep, powerful and eternal. Help us to willfully find our rest in you alone.]
 
Psalm 62: 5 goes on to say, “my hope comes from him.”
 
[Again, this statement is a bit different from verse one (“my salvation comes from him”). Here is the hope, the certainty of receiving what we desire: rest. But we need to go beyond this, to turn from our desire for rest to desiring the One who can grant it.
 
As it says in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.” You, Lord, are to be the focus of our affections; then you can safely give us good things, knowing that they will not become idols.
 
And as we trust, the power of the Spirit comes into our situation; as we intentionally find our rest in you, Lord; then you pour out all kinds of goodness in our lives.]
 
We can trust you because you are Elohim, the incredibly powerful and persistently faithful One. You show your power in creation–you are the star Breather, the galaxy Former, the planet Hanger, the earth Spinner, the dawn Bringer. You are great beyond comprehension.
 
And you are the fully faithful One–you promise and it happens; you plan and it comes to pass, you speak and it comes to be. At the right time you came to be our Savior for eternity; and at the right moment you also save us in our daily lives.
 
Therefore, in the midst of present uncertainty and disappointments, I choose now to embrace your character as Elohim–the powerful and faithful One–for you know what you are doing as you shape, guide, change and transform my life. I gladly join you today by wholeheartedly trusting you with total praise.
Picture from internet
 
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Nrw Relationship

Chapter 32 Answers to Prayer
 
As a result of the coffee house outreach, we began to have extra meetings with the youth group, and many attended. I shared the principles I’d learned in Bill Gotthard’s seminars and had internalized through meditation on Scripture and personal application. The kids listened with rapt attention and absorbed it.
 
In that group were several who have become leaders in our church. Forty years later one of the girls from that group wrote to me, “Thank you for the years you spoke biblical truth into our young lives, giving us our foundation of faith and our relationship with Christ. Those pearls of wisdom have been the strong base that has kept me on the right path.”
 
It was the Lord who did this, not me. I was simply the tool in His hand. After He brought new freedom and a deeper surrender, His grace could flow more powerfully through me to others. This was a foretaste of the ongoing upward journey He would take me on, and the next step was not long in coming.
 
On the day after Thanksgiving of 1972, I stopped by His Mansion and stayed for dinner. Joe had some guests, two girls from New Jersey. After we finished eating, Joe read a passage from Philippians, and then asked if anyone wanted to comment on it. There was a short silence, then one of the girls stood up and gave a sermon!
 
“Wow! What a pushy woman!” I thought, “That’s a good one to stay a long way away from.” Dad’s warnings about the dangers of strong women were firmly entrenched in my mind and heart.
 
At Christmas my youngest brother, Sam, came home from college. He was interested in working at His Mansion, so we went over together for a visit. Those two girls were there again and I overheard a chat the shorter girl had with one of the residents.
 
She turned out to be a native German with a very pleasant accent, and was also very nice looking. She was the one who had delivered the after-dinner sermon. The fellow asked her how old she was. When she said she was thirty-one, he was amazed. So was I–she looked ten years younger.
 
“Hmm,” I thought, “five years older than I am. Along with being so pushy, that certainly eliminates her as a possibility for a wife. Besides, someone that good looking would never be interested in me!”
 
I some how had the idea that God would give me a fat, ugly wife in order to make me grow spiritually. That showed how much more I had to learn about the goodness of the character of God and the sinfulness of my own ascetic nature.
At Easter, the kids from His Mansion came to my church for the sunrise service and breakfast. As I was looking over the crowd trying to find my friend Joe, the German girl came up and said hello.
 
“Hi,” I replied, “Do you know where Joe is?”
She told me later that she was so happy to see a familiar face and then disappointed that I was unwilling to talk. Well, I had other things to do and wanted to keep my distance.
 
In June when I stopped by His Mansion on a Friday afternoon, the German girl came down the stairs. She had on a colorful European apron and a broom and dustpan in her hands. She looked great.
 
“Oh, you’re here!” I said in surprise. We had a little chat and I learned that her name was Barbara. I told her that my brother, Sam, was coming to work there in July.
 
After he began working at His Mansion, Sam often brought Barbara to the farm so she could get a break from her 24 hour a day responsibilities as women’s counselor, cook and cleaning woman. She and my mother became good friends.
 
That summer we planned another two-week coffee house outreach with the His Mansion in the same two towns as before. During the first week we had some intense interaction with interested teens.
 
One evening I was sitting in a booth, talking with two fellows and Barbara came and sat down with us. I was vaguely aware that she was there, but was fully focused on the conversation and did not acknowledge her presence.
 
The next week we moved the coffee house to the other town. On Thursday night I worked until 9 pm in the tire shop, so didn’t get to the coffee house until about 9:45. Barbara was sitting outside on the front step talking to one of the students from His Mansion. Just as I arrived the fellow got up and went inside. I greeted her and she said, “I’d like to talk to you.”
 
To my surprise, I said, “I’d like to talk to you, too!” I sat down and she asked me about my time in L’Abri. She listened intently as I told her all that God had accomplished during my time there.
Then I talked about my work with the youth group and the problem I was having.
 
As a twenty-seven year old single male, I sensed that the girls in the group were following my teaching because they liked me, not because they were following Jesus.
 
I wanted them to be following Christ, so I had been praying for a woman to work with me, to lead the girls. “Would you be willing to work with me in the youth group?” I asked.
 
“I would certainly be willing to consider it.” She said. “but I have to talk with Stan and Joe first to see if it’s ok.”
 
I then suggested that we take a walk, so we went up the street, talking about our backgrounds and gifting.
“I’m tender,” I said.
“I’m firm,” said Barbara.
 
I told her that the Lord had told me that I would be married when I was twenty-eight.
“Do you know the girl?” she asked.
“No, I don’t.” I replied.
 
She told me later that God spoke to her at that moment and said, “This is the man I have for you.” Her inner response was, “Oh no!” She had just broken off a five-year engagement—the fellow couldn’t make up his mind to take the plunge—and she was not interested in starting another relationship. Plus, she did not like my last name. “Such a strange one,” she thought. But she was also willing to follow God’s leading if this was it.
 
I suggested we pray together, so we sat on the low stonewall in front of a church. That is when Barbara made her almost fatal mistake. As I began to pray, she moved closer, “So I can hear better,” she said, but I wasn’t so sure.
 
I knew women were dangerous, especially pushy ones, and this move almost sent me off to the hills. But, being of the generous sort, I decided to give her another chance. Besides, her obvious love for Jesus was very attractive to me.
 
Two weeks later Barbara came to my mother’s baptism at the pond on our farm. Afterwards I offered to take her home on my motorcycle. She borrowed some blue jeans from my sister, Marcia, and off we went.
 
This was an important ride, for I was giving her “the motorcycle test.” As we went through the curves of the road, leaning first to the right and then to the left, I was waiting to see if she would try to steer me with her hands on my waist. That would mean she was definitely too pushy for me. But she leaned nicely into the curves with me, following along perfectly, passing the test with flying colors.
 
When we came to the stop sign just before His Mansion, I turned and said to her, “We’re just going to be friends.” This was something I said to all the girls I met. It put a safe boundary on relationships, keeping both parties from going off on fanciful dreams.
 
Barbara said, “That’s fine with me.” In fact, after her painful engagement, she was very happy to have this clear boundary set in our relationship.
 
I suggested to Barbara that we pray together each day for the youth group and she agreed. So each morning at 8 I would call her from the tire shop and we would pray for the kids.
Picture: Fall of 1973
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Psalm 33:21-22

 
Psalm 33:21 “In him our hearts rejoice, ”
[You alone are the source of our joy, Lord Jesus. All that is good comes from you, from your gracious heart and grace-filled hands. To know you, to live with you, to be your child, to serve in your power–this is far more than enough for rejoicing, no matter what our circumstances may be.]
“for we trust in his holy name.”
[Yes, our joy flows because you make it possible for us to trust in you, whose name means “Savior.” You have opened the way so we can know your Name in all its power and purity, its love and light, its faithfulness and forgiveness. You are worthy of trust and submission and obedience.]
Psalm 33:22 “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,”
[Praise you that your love never fails, that your consistency never fades, that you character never changes. Praise you for your promise that your love will rest upon us now, today, in every moment of need, and on into forever!]
“even as we put our hope in you.”
[Again you remind us that this is a partnership: you provide all, you wait for our participation, our choosing to hope in you. May our daily decision be to hope in you and may that hope ever be evidenced by persistent praise in our hearts, minds, souls and mouths.
To you be glory forever and ever, Lord Jesus, King of Glory, Lord of lords, Shepherd of power and God of love. I bow before you now in awe and respect, I rise up in submission and obedience to your, your Word, your Spirit, your Truth. Glorify yourself in my life today.
May be an image of flower, tree, nature and lake

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The words of Psalm 118 have proved true again tonight!
 
“The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”
 
The zoning board approved my application tonight! The end to my 8 month long drama. The key was that the chairman, who has consistently opposed me, did not attend! A God sighting! Thank you for your prayers.
Today’s devotional fits right into this answer to prayer.
 
Psalm 33:20 “We wait in hope for the LORD;”
[Instead of trying to save ourselves in our feeble strength, it is much wiser to pray and wait for you to act, Lord, and then join you in it.
Sometimes we wait for a long time, but you are faithful and will act at the right time, just as you did with Joseph. You kept him in prison until he had learned all that was necessary. Then at the right moment you brought him out, ready for the great work for which you had prepared him.
In you there is hope, a certainty of provision at the right time, the hope of love moved by wisdom and power to bring about what is best.]
“he is our help and our shield.”
[Your mighty, majestic power moves in love to support us in our weakness. You consistently pour out grace, wisdom, insight, peace, joy and rest upon us. Out of your superb strength you move to shield us from the attacks of the enemy, from all that would harm us spiritually. You hold your hand of power over us to ward off the evil one and evil men. Only you are our true help and shield.]
You are the God who is beyond our dreams, beyond our hopes, beyond our understanding. You are Great and Powerful, Glorious and Perfect, Gracious and Pure. You are the fulfillment of every longing of our hearts and far more. Glory and honor certainly belong to you alone! May they flow from my life to you today.]
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Peace in the midst of uncertainty

Thursday, April 10, is my next hearing with the zoning board here in town, the next step in an 8 month saga.
 
The Lord has used this frustrating adventure to help me trust Him more and implement scripture, like Phil. 4:6, 7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
 
Spending time in prayer and petition with thanksgiving definitely helped. But there was still a lingering fear in the back ground.
 
Yesterday morning the Lord addressed that with beautiful promises from Psalm 118:4-9,13-17.
 
“Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.” When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place. The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
 
Here is a great and wide perspective, giving true understanding.
 
“The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.”
 
He has it in hand, I can rest in Him.
 
“I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”
 
The outcome?
 
“Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things! The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!” I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.”
 
These words of promise were very comforting, bringing peace, joy and rest. Praise be to our God for His wonderful Word!
 
At the same time, I ask you to pray for a good outcome from this zoning board meeting. Thank you.
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More from the “Add-on Eskimo”
 
A Whale sent
 
The Arctic Summer faded quickly into autumn.
The temperatures dipped to freezing and by the third week of August the first snow flurries blew in from the sea. It was time for the Fall whale hunting.
 
Okfagit had not told anyone beyond his family about his commitment to Jesus, but he had taken steps to follow Him. It was scary stepping out of the traditions of his fathers, but from what he knew of Jesus from Psalm 23, he could choose to trust him.
 
The first change was that Okfagit did not perform the ceremonies to call the whales so he could get one. Instead, he prayed to Jesus, asking Him to provide, to bring the whales to the shore, and to his boat. If the others in the village did not notice his failure to follow tradition, no one said anything to him about it.
 
Okfagit and his sons prepared the boat, getting the gear ready: harpoons, seal poke floats, plenty of seal skin rope, along with food and water. When the weather was right, they, along with other boats, pushed off from the shore and, raising their sail, left the village behind.
 
At the tiller, Okfagit spoke to his crew, “I do not want to go too far from shore. I have prayed about what to do and asked Jesus to bring a whale to us. We are going up along the coast rather than out to sea.”
 
Ayit watched the shoreline pass, the pale green of summer had faded, and the chill winds of Autumn blew towards them from the shore. It was a melancholy time of the year, a passage from the food gathering of the summer towards the time of snow and less activity.
 
Suddenly the striker called, “Whale ahead!” Ayit turned to see the great beast blow, sending a geyser of spray into the air. It was coming towards them!
 
Okfagit turned the tiller so they would intersect the Whale’s path. They all waited in suspense, scanning the water. Then the whale again surfaced, just feet from the boat. The striker, already standing in the bow, gave his harpoon a mighty thrust and the contest was on.
 
The whale continued on its way, showing no sign of distress. Immediately they took the sail down. The striker wound the seal skin rope firmly to the bow and sat down to wait for the whale to surface again. When it did, he put a second harpoon into it. “Look,” said Ayit. “It is pulling us toward the village!” It was true, the whale was not going out to sea, but went exactly parallel to the shoreline.
 
Okfagit signaled to another boat, who signaled to other boats further out. They all came to him and tied onto his boat, putting more drag on the whale. By the time they were almost to the village, the whale slowed and stopped, floating to the surface.
Ayit’s face shone, “Jesus not only answered our prayers to bring the whale to us, he also had the whale bring us home!” Instead of hours and hours of paddling, the line of boats only had half a mile to go before the whale was at the village.
 
As they pulled it up as far as they could, everyone was pleased to see that it was a very big whale, over 90 feet. Every foot of a whale weighs about a ton, so there would be plenty of food for everyone.
 
Since Okfagit was the boat captain, the whale was his, but traditionally he would share certain parts with his crew, and less with the rest of the village.
However, he had decided that, as a follower of Jesus, he should add brotherly kindness to his faith. That meant being more generous, taking less for themselves and giving more to the other villagers.
 
Because the hunt had been so quick, and the boat crews had not had to work so long and hard to get the whale home, they skipped the traditional three hours of rest before butchering and got right to work.
 
The whole village gathered at the shore. Women brought food and hot tea, the children played and waited for thin slices of skin and fat.
It was such a large whale that it took them three days to finish harvesting all of it: the skin, the fat, the meat, the inner parts, the baleen (they were happy it was a baleen whale) and the bones, which they left on the beach for the dogs to clean before storing them to be used for boat racks and houses.
 
In the process, Okfagit gave much more of the whale to other villagers than usual; there was surprise and much talk about that. No one asked him why he did it, but they were thankful. However, Ayit knew why. His father was adding brotherly kindness to his self-control, endurance and godliness.
 
Picture: Eskimos with captured whale
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The Grace of Adoption

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1
 
Heavenly Father, I share John’s wonder at this astounding truth: that you, the Holy God, the Righteous One, the Just Judge, the Good Creator King, would want to take your enemies, meaning every human being–evil, depraved, ugly, stubborn, rebellious and destructive as we all are—and, if they are willing, to transform them into new creatures and adopt them as your children!
 
What a turn-around: to bring your adversary into the palace and place him into your family, making him your heir!
Your astounding act of justification is the great gem of Truth in the New Testament—you, the Just Judge, by the propitiation of Christ’s shed blood, satisfied the law and bought for us, your enemies, complete forgiveness, restoration and eternal life–and a place in your plan. By your work, Lord Jesus, we stand justified before the court of Heaven.
Adoption, however, is another matter altogether. Justification is a forensic idea, meeting the demands of the law, coldly correct, handed down in court. In contrast, adoption is a family idea: warm, welcoming, accepting, being offered to a new position of privilege and grace. And this is what you offer!
 
This Agape love of yours is astounding. In one way, it is a brutal love–brutal to you the Lover, who suffered all the agonies of the crucifixion, and now gives and gives, unswayed by the lack of positive response from the rebellious, self-centered, unbelieving, negative objects of your love–us.
 
This love, so painful to you as you are grieved daily by our rebellion, is so gracious to us: embracing, caring, kind, forgiving, correcting, guiding, rebuking, nurturing, directing and cherishing.
As J.I. Packer puts it in his powerful book, “Knowing God,” the Judge becomes, “our perfect parent—faithful in love and care, generous and thoughtful, interested in all we do, respecting our individuality, skillful in training us, wise in guidance, always available, helping us to find ourselves in maturity, integrity and uprightness….”
 
In making us your children, Heavenly Father, you have invited us into the deep, intimate relationship you have with the Lord Jesus, giving us what you gave Him in His time on earth: grace, affection, fellowship, honor, and authority. As you loved your only begotten Son, so you love your only adopted children. “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ”!!! (1 John 1:3).
 
We must stand in awe, in wonder, in thankfulness, Lord God, at your desire and ability to love us so. You have made us those in whom you delight and rejoice.
 
You are gloriously great in your patience and goodness as you faithfully work in us, suffering grief every day at our hands as we, in our laziness, selfishness, pride, rebellion and unbelief, choose to disobey you and do our own deadly deeds according to our own puny plans. And this instead of responding to your invitation to join you in your glorious and great plans for restoring the universe to its pristine pre-fall condition. But you forgive us and continue to work lovingly in our lives.
 
Prayer: “Forgive us for failing to marvel at, revel in, exalt in and glorify you for this great and uplifting privilege of being your children. I thank you, praise you, rejoice in you, lift you up and honor you. I commit myself to obey you, Father, just as my elder brother, the Lord Jesus, loved you in obedience. May glory be to you forever and ever. Amen.”
 
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Chapter 31 Further Freedom

Later in the summer I began to experience a new bout of emotional turmoil. I had to spend three to four hours a day in quiet time with the Lord just to maintain my emotional balance. This was different from my depression, as I was still able to function, but felt like a stalk of dried grass blowing in the wind: fragile and in danger.
 
The first course of action I took was to ask the Lord for help and guidance. He was not long in answering. A man in our church had some tapes from a deliverance ministry and suggested I listen to them—although he knew nothing of my present problems.
 
The tapes were sessions of a pastor working with distressed and disturbed believers and nonbelievers, many of whom had demonic oppression or possession. I remember one where a woman had begun to speak in tongues while working as a missionary in Africa. The Pastor had her speak in this new tongue while he asked questions like, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to answer this question: who is Lord? Who is Jesus Christ?”
 
The woman continued her tongue, but was becoming agitated, sometimes grunting. “Who is the Savior of the world? Who shed his blood for all sinners?” The woman suddenly shrieked and shouted, “Get this thing out of me!” The pastor went on to help free her from the demonic influence she had inadvertently put herself under.
 
Later in the tape the man pointed out that all the people who came to him were troubled people, so they should not be seen as a normal sampling of Christians. He added that he believed not all who spoke in tongues were demon possessed or oppressed. And not all who had emotional problems were involved in the occult.
 
However, the symptoms that were described in these tapes were similar to some I was experiencing in my life. I got the phone number of the pastor and called him at his church in the mid-West. He said he would get back to me with the name of someone in my area who could help me.
 
Later in the day he called and said that he couldn’t locate the information for the man he preferred but had a back-up, Pastor Burchett at Quidnessitt Baptist Church in Rhode Island.
Little did I know how important getting this “second choice” would be in my life, introducing me not only to freedom and grace in Christ but also to a host of people who would help and mentor me for many years to come.
 
I called Pastor Burchett and he immediately gave me an appointment. I had no idea that he was the pastor of a large church and a very busy man, yet he willingly made time for some troubled young person he’d never met.
 
Pastor Burchett was quite an intimidating person. When you asked him a question, he would hesitate for an uncomfortable length of time before answering. I found out later that he was praying for wisdom in what to say, a godly and wonderful practice, but disconcerting if you didn’t know what he was doing.
 
He began our time with prayer and then started to probe, asking about my present state of mind and emotion, and he uncovered all kinds of things, including my compulsive comfort seeking.
 
He asked about my family history and wanted to know about any involvement in the occult among my relatives. There had been such involvement on both sides. He explained to me that when a child is very young, the will of the parents can override the will of the child and inadvertently make him open to occult influences. My viewing of the monster movie at age four was one such example.
 
“Now we are going to do a ‘house cleaning’ in your life,” said Pastor Burchett after he had finished his probing. “We will be working through four different areas of your life, taking four steps in each: confessing, receiving forgiveness, reclaiming ground given to Satan, and surrendering these areas to the Holy Spirit so He can fill them.
 
“We’ll use the categories in the description of the fruit of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-20.” He had me open my Bible to the reference and read out loud, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;”’
 
Pastor Burchett interrupted me, “There’s the first category, sexual sins.”
 
I read on, “idolatry and witchcraft;”
 
“And that’s the second category, sins of the occult. Continue reading.”
 
“…hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy.”
 
“There’s the third category, sins in relationships. And now the last one.”
 
“..drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”
 
“This is the area of sins of appetites.”
Pastor Burchett had us both get down on our knees before our chairs. On my chair he laid a paper with the four steps written out on it.
 
He began our time with prayer. “Lord Jesus, I praise you that you are the Victor over sin, self and Satan. I praise you that in your suffering, death and resurrection you bought freedom for us from the powers of darkness, and as Steve and I go through these steps to freedom, I pray that you will protect us, expose his sin and bring him out into the true freedom you have provided. Amen.”
 
He raised his head and looked at me. “Ok, Steve, start now with sexual sins, whether thought, action or habit, confessing everything you can think of.”
 
“Out loud?” I asked, cringing at the thought.
 
“Yes, out loud.”
 
I began; it was humiliating to mention the lustful thoughts and other shameful struggles I’d had, the times I’d looked at the wrong kind of pictures. I choked on some of the words, but finally I came to the end of what I could remember.
 
Then he had me ask for forgiveness from the Lord Jesus, accept it and praise Him for it.
 
“Read the next sentence, and pray it out loud,” he commanded.
“In the name and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, I withdraw any ground, any authority I’ve given to Satan in this areas of sexual sin. I belong to Jesus Christ and this area of my life I surrender to Him. I ask you, Lord Jesus Christ, to fill this area of my life with the Holy Spirit; I invite you to rule here.”
 
Next he led me in a time of praise and thanksgiving, giving God glory for what He has done in providing all we need in Jesus Christ.
 
He led me on to deal in the same way with sins of the occult, sins in relationships and sins of appetite.
 
There were immediate, discernible differences inside me. For one thing, some strong negative feelings I had against my father were gone. There was a new sense of freedom. I didn’t feel so fragile.
 
I looked at my watch. Pastor Burchett had spent three hours with me! But he wasn’t done yet.
 
“You have had victory here today,” he said, “but Satan is not going to give up easily. He will counter attack, he will throw lies at you, he will tempt you strongly in these areas.” He handed me a paper with Ephesians 6:10-18 written on it. I want you to memorize these verses and use them in the battle.”
 
“You need to keep putting on the armor of God and fighting in His power against the enemy. When you are strongly tempted in one of these areas, go through this confession process again and you will find that it will help you. And call me when you need to.”
 
He was absolutely right. The next month was one long onslaught, one temptation after another. But as I followed Pastor Burchett’s instructions, praying through the armor of Ephesians 6:10-18 and using the prayer of reclaiming ground from Satan for Jesus, there was progress.
 
During that month I failed twice in the battle against compulsive comfort but that was the end of it in my life. The bondage of compulsion was broken, the focus was now on loving God, who provided me all the comfort I needed!
 
Truly God sets prisoners free. He freed me not only from my own sins, but also from the sludge of sin from previous generations, the sins of the fathers being visited on the following generations.
 
Jesus broke the chain, opened the door and took me from the dominion of darkness in to the Kingdom of light. This reclaiming of ground from Satan was a huge step forward in my spiritual life and it began to spill over into the lives of those around me.
Picture: Pastor Burchett
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Thoughts for Easter, the results of God’s love for us.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:4,5
 
There are so many reasons to come into your gates with thanksgiving and praise, Lord God. We were rebellious, hateful, destructive, condemned criminals, worthy of worse than crucifixion. But, in spite of this, we were sought out by you, bought at a great price, cleansed of our guilt, transformed from our sinfulness and adopted into your great family. We stand now as your dearly loved children, highly favored, delighted in, rejoiced in.
 
You, in your greatness, your immense, immeasurable love, your superb self-control, your forever faithfulness to your character and Word, your endless working in time, your limitless love, have poured out grace on this rebellious, foretaste-of-hell planet to make your enemies into your sons and daughters, to make us heirs of your unimaginably great riches.
 
We praise you that we can come into your courts with praise, that we, who deserve banishment, have been given unlimited access to walk right in and speak directly with you. You have made it possible for us to come and worship at your footstool without any formality, further sacrifice or ceremony. You are the God of accessibility; you are the God of availability; you are the Lord of accumulated grace, always giving, always good, always gracious, your gates always wide open.
 
But in spite of your great grace towards us, Lord, we get tired of the battle, we waver, we are inconsistent and unfaithful. In stark contrast, you are entirely different, for your faithfulness continues through all generations. From eternity, Lord God, you have remained unchanged, faithful to your character, to your Word and to your purposes. You never tire, you never waver, you never are inconsistent or unfaithful.
 
You are worthy of love and obedience, of exaltation and worship, of praise and honor, for in your goodness, your greatness, your grace and your glory you are beyond human conception, beyond understanding and logic, beyond imagination.
 
Prayer: “May I bring honor to you today, Lord, in my motives, attitudes, words and actions. Help me to set my heart and my mind on things above. Guide me in thinking and living as a child of the King so those around me may be blessed in the reflected glow of your greatness. Amen.”
Picture: from a friend’s email
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Psalm 33:18

 
Psalm 33:18 “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,”
[It is wise to choose to fear and reverence You, Lord, rather than people. This means to stand in awe of your wisdom, to care deeply what you think about each thing, and to live in submission to your Truth rather than culture or personal preference. Fearing you leads us to choose what is right, rather than just what is comfortable.
Our hope must be in your gracious and good heart of love, not in people, or circumstances or our own efforts. We must choose to come to you in each situation, to seek your help, to rest in and trust in you. Then you will act on our behalf. You call us to an active partnership role, to live in responses of faith.
King Jehoshaphat demonstrated this for us in 2 Chronicles 20 when he was suddenly confronted by a massive invading army. He chose to fear you rather than the enemy and demonstrated this by immediately coming to you for help and guidance rather than turning first to his generals. He proclaimed a fast and called all of Judah to prayer with him.
He then demonstrated his trust of you by sending a choir out before his army to sing praises to you. And as the choir began to sing, you caused the enemy soldiers to turn on each other and the whole attacking army was destroyed.
You saved Jehoshaphat and his people by
–your power
–poured out in response to praise
–generated by trust
–that flowed from fearing you.]
Lord help us to find our hope in you, to fear you rather than whatever threatens us. Help us to actively trust you by coming to you first in any challenge, and by offering praise to your name instead of complaining and living in fear, hopelessness and despair.
May we walk in the light of the truth that, “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining on ever more brightly until the full light of day” (Prov. 4:18).
May be an image of nature, sky, grass, twilight and tree