Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
The Burden
By Max Lucado
The Daily Encourager - InJesus.com
"Come with me to the most populated prison in the world. The facility has more inmates than bunks. More prisoners than plates. More residents than resources.
Come with me to the world's most oppressive prison. Just ask the inmates; they will tell you. They are overworked and underfed. Their walls are bare and bunks are hard. No prison is so populated, no prison so oppressive, and, what's more, no prison is so permanent. Most inmates never leave. They never escape. They never get released. They serve a life sentence in this overcrowded, underprovisioned facility."
The name of this prison is depression, discontentment, want, frustration, self-pity, family issues. Yesterday I heard someone say "this weather is eating away at me". There has been so much rain, so many days of gray and days of being unproductive because of this weather. This past week I have thought a lot about spiritual warfare. So much of our lives is influenced by the spiritual realm. But along with these thoughts of the spiritual realm comes fear and uncertainty. I have lost sleep over my uncertainty. I have lost sleep over wondering "what if..." or "why does..." or "why can't I..." or "why did I...". One night this past week I came home and was struck with fear...I could die tonight. It is possible. Am I ready to die or am I holding too tightly to the present?
This is still an issue of trust. I know of people that profess complete peace, even when faced with death. I do not understand, and maybe it is because I still do not fully trust God with my life. When I was in Ukraine I had the same kind of doubts and questions...what besides my family environment has caused me to believe in the God I do? Some may think that these are elementary questions for someone who has grown up in the church, but is it really elementary? I see the evidence of the spiritual realm, I have God experiences and most of the time I do not worry about these sorts of issues. But I still do have these times of uncertainty, these times of fear and doubt, and it is all the more reason for me to believe in spiritual warfare, to believe that these times of fear and doubt is a bombardment of lies being whispered in my ears by the very demons that hate my savior.
Romans 13:12-14 "And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness (and) put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, 4 not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy.But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh."
The Daily Encourager - InJesus.com
"Come with me to the most populated prison in the world. The facility has more inmates than bunks. More prisoners than plates. More residents than resources.
Come with me to the world's most oppressive prison. Just ask the inmates; they will tell you. They are overworked and underfed. Their walls are bare and bunks are hard. No prison is so populated, no prison so oppressive, and, what's more, no prison is so permanent. Most inmates never leave. They never escape. They never get released. They serve a life sentence in this overcrowded, underprovisioned facility."
The name of this prison is depression, discontentment, want, frustration, self-pity, family issues. Yesterday I heard someone say "this weather is eating away at me". There has been so much rain, so many days of gray and days of being unproductive because of this weather. This past week I have thought a lot about spiritual warfare. So much of our lives is influenced by the spiritual realm. But along with these thoughts of the spiritual realm comes fear and uncertainty. I have lost sleep over my uncertainty. I have lost sleep over wondering "what if..." or "why does..." or "why can't I..." or "why did I...". One night this past week I came home and was struck with fear...I could die tonight. It is possible. Am I ready to die or am I holding too tightly to the present?
This is still an issue of trust. I know of people that profess complete peace, even when faced with death. I do not understand, and maybe it is because I still do not fully trust God with my life. When I was in Ukraine I had the same kind of doubts and questions...what besides my family environment has caused me to believe in the God I do? Some may think that these are elementary questions for someone who has grown up in the church, but is it really elementary? I see the evidence of the spiritual realm, I have God experiences and most of the time I do not worry about these sorts of issues. But I still do have these times of uncertainty, these times of fear and doubt, and it is all the more reason for me to believe in spiritual warfare, to believe that these times of fear and doubt is a bombardment of lies being whispered in my ears by the very demons that hate my savior.
Romans 13:12-14 "And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness (and) put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, 4 not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy.But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh."
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