Category: Promotions

Posted on

Satan is a Methodical Schemer

* I want to thank those who have been signing up for the RSS feed. It helps this site move up the Google Search Rankings. If you haven’t already signed up please do so today.

_________________________________________________________ My book, “Sings of Hope: Ways to survive in an Unfriendly World,” is an ideal Christmas present for those on your list who may be battling anxiety,fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects. There is a special Christmas sale going on right now. In the stores the book is $19.99, but is you order from this site, it is only $15.99. The shipping is cut in half as well. You will need to order by December 17th to make sure you get the book in time.

_________________________________________________________________

Today’s excerpt is chapter 15. It talks about how Satan is a real schemer, and will do what ever he can to sways you away from God. Prayer is one way to stay strong.

_________________________________________________________________

Chapter 15

 

ASAP: Always Say a Prayer

 

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:8–9

 

Satan is a very methodical schemer. He will slowly change your thinking through doubts, fear, suspicions and nagging negative thoughts.

We all face rejection. I sure did as a child when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I think the word bully was created at my grade school! I was just a kid who wanted to be accepted by other kids, and there were some times when the school bully would find me on the playground and pick on me. He was relentless. He usually tried to get me in a fight with him and I’d crawl away like a snail trying to get away from salt. This made me feel helpless. It took me several years to overcome my fear of more failure.

What I didn’t know was that this same bully was just a person like me who had the same doubts and fears and was desperately trying to cover up for it.           

The only bully I deal with now is Satan. He has challenged me to many fights, and I have taken him on, matching blow for blow. With God in my corner of the ring, I know I can battle with all the weapons I need.

First Corinthians10:13helps us by saying: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

I realize that Paul can be long-winded—like some pastors in our churches—but what he is saying in a few words is that God knows all the devious tricks that Satan can think of, and He will never let you be forced into anything you cannot handle.

I wish as a young child that I would have been told about this promise. I would not have backed down and would have taken on any consequences that may have happened, knowing that God was there for me.

Did you miss the line that says God will provide a way out—a way to escape? That is our ticket, and we never have to back down again. God is there for us. He will see us through and will not let us face more than we can endure.

The best way to fight Satan and all of his negative thoughts is through prayer—and lots of it. We need to praise God in our prayers. Nothing chases Satan away faster than praise to God. We can also seek the Holy Spirit to be there to help us and then depend on Him!

Of course, it’s much easier to quit—to give in or to give up. It takes mountains of faith and prayer to withstand the attacks of Satan. There will always be an avalanche of doubts and fears from Satan—he is a master at it.

It’s then we need to remember one extremely important thing: God is on our side.

Paul said if God is for us who can be against us (see Romans8:31). God wants to help us through the mire, because He loves us.

Another way to look at it is to think of God as a computer geek. When I first heard the word “geek,” I thought someone was calling another person something akin to a moron. But to be called a geek is a compliment in the computer world. It means that person is one smart dude!

God is an excellent computer geek. He can reprogram the computer that is your mind better than Bill Gates can reprogram a computer with his latest software. I have nothing but high praise for Bill Gates and his contributions to the computer world, but only God can reprogram minds—Bill Gates is limited to reprogramming computers.

God has the power to filter out the negative thoughts and replace them with positive spiritual thinking. As we allow God to help us separate out the garbage, we start to see how He can transform even the most depressed mind—one like mine was.

I was on the edge of the abyss. I was letting Satan control my thoughts, and when I saw the above verses, and others like them, I slowly fought back with God’s help. Now I have all the armor I need to withstand Satan’s attacks.

In with the new—out with the old. In with the cleansing fluid—out with the stench. In with the positive—out with the negative. In with God’s love—out with Satan’s hatred.

I think you get the picture. Now do something about it. Put on God’s armor and take on that bully right now. Punch him right in the nose, and send him packing.

 

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12 

Further Adventures

I realize that I was very simplistic in my approach to handling life’s troubles. It is not easy to fight off the negative, undermining and persistent attacks of Satan and his merry men. But! Do not give in. NEVER give in! You have millions of angels, along with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to fight on your side. All you have to do is ask them to help you and they will be there. If they are all on your side, who can be against you? No one! (Read Romans 8:31.)

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that we feel we are alone sometimes, even though God is with us all the time?

 

Posted on

Exercise Daily; Walk With God

I am very pleased with the amount of daily hits I have been getting here. I now get over 900 a day. Thank you for dropping by each day to read. I would also like you to sign-up for the RSS feed. It raises the ranking on the Google Search Rankings. Just click on the icon right after title and sign-up, if you haven’t already.

__________________________________________________________

Just a reminder about ordering my book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” You will need to order it by December 17th to make sure it gets to you in time for Christmas. This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, or hopelessness.

There is s special sale going on for now until Christmas. Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab above to take a look at it.

__________________________________________________________

Below is another excerpt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” It talks about how we can get spiritually out of shape if we don’t walk with God daily.

__________________________________________________________

Chapter 10

 

Exercise Daily; Walk with God

 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26

 

During a time when I had several surgeries, I had major setbacks in my exercise routine. I had been working out steadily for several months and was told that was what kept me from having side problems during the open heart surgery. My heart was very strong.

But then I had a couple of months of not being able to exercise much at all. I got out of shape very quickly. I put on some weight, even though I was trying to eat carefully. I needed the exercise to help me keep up with my daily routine.

Then I had gall bladder surgery. The same thing happened. I wasn’t able to exercise nearly as much as I would have liked. I again got out of shape and gained some weight.

I then had to recuperate from back surgery. By the time I got to the point where I could start taking walks, I had gained almost ten pounds. I hadn’t been able to do much of anything for two months before the surgery because of the pain and then for over two weeks after the surgery. I took quite awhile to get the weight of and feel good again.

That is the way it is with God. If we don’t read the Bible every day, we will get out of spiritual shape very quickly. It is very easy to forget to have time for God. When we spend time doing other things and not thinking about God, we get “out of shape.” We don’t feel as strong as we did before. We struggle with daily problems. Just making it through a normal day becomes a monumental task.

If we exercise daily with God, we develop a strong resistance to the evil side of the world and become healthier as we feed on the words from the Bible.

We start losing those weighty problems like fear, anxiety, frustration, shame and guilt. These problems weigh us down so much we can’t do our daily routine. Spiritual exercise can make us stronger each day and get us back into top shape as a Christian.

I know what it is like to get out of shape as a Christian. When I was out of commission from all those surgeries, I let my reading go because I felt sorry for myself. I didn’t want to do anything. I got out of spiritual shape and let depression slowly take over my thinking.

Then I realized I needed God to sustain me through the storm. I needed Him to carry me when I couldn’t walk on my own. He was there all the time, but I let Him slide out of my thinking. I got out of shape and let depression control me.

If you’re out of shape from not reading the Bible or praying to God daily, get with it! Start today to “work out” every day. You may have to even do daily doubles. (Read twice a day.)

God is always there for us, but if we stop seeking Him every day, we will begin to forget that He is there for us. We will get spiritually out of shape.

When we set up a time each day to praise Him and read His Word and also spend time praying for others, we will be amazed how our strength will come back. We will be spiritually healthy and able to withstand the attacks of Satan when we hide in God’s love.

 

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble

and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Psalm 32:7

 

Further Adventures

Since you’re training so hard on the Word, why not go down to your local Christian bookstore and find a good Christian book? I suggest any book by Max Lucado, Bruce Wilkinson or Joyce Meyer to make you stronger spiritually. You can also find all their books and many others at www.crossings.com, a Christian website.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how we think we can make it without God?

 

Posted on

I am Not the Enemy

Please take a minute and sign-up for the RSS feed to this site. When you do it moves this site up in the Google Search Rankings, and you are given a notice each time we post. If you haven’t sign-up already please do so now.

_______________________________________________                          Just A reminder that there are only 25 shopping days until Christmas. It was Cyber Monday two days ago and I still want you to have a quiet time of ordering right from your computer. No rush; no fuss. The book,             ” Signs of hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” is on a special Christmas sale. In the stores it is $19.99, but on this site it is only $15.99. The shipping has been cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00. You need to order by December 17th to make sure the book will get to in time for Christmas. Just go to the top of this page and click on “Bookstore.”

_________________________________________________________

The excerpt today is Chapter 9. It is about knowing that our spouses are not the enemy in our lives. We need to care and love them as they should us as well.

___________________________________________________________

Chapter 9

 

I Am Not the Enemy

 

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,

and likewise, the wife to her husband.

1 Corinthians 7:3

 

In our daily lives we go about trying to just make it through the day. And we spend much of our time worrying about tomorrow. We do not know where to turn for comfort.

I learned through my own troubled times that I have one place I can always turn besides prayer and meditating on God. It is someplace (someone) right in my home. My wife. I’ve learned that a spouse should be your special place of refuge.

And I’ve learned that my wife Charlotte is not the enemy. There were times when I wondered about this, and struck back. Through counseling, I realized that she is my strength—and my friend. In the past I always tried to blame her for many of my problems. If I was depressed, it was her fault. If I failed at something, it was her fault.

Our personal counselor made us think and really look at each other. Each of us had to decide if the other really was on our side. Or was my spouse the enemy? This, of course, was an easy choice.Charlottewas not the enemy. She wants the best for me, and I want the best for her. So why do we spend so much time blaming our spouses for our problems?

They are the ones we should be going to for help with our problems. If there is an unresolved issue that has come between the two of you, sitting in silence only fuels the problem.

We need to consider the feelings of our spouses, and stop putting ourselves ahead of them. We need to clean up our inner feelings before we can attempt to help others. If we do this and really try to stick with that formula, the regret we feel should be because we haven’t done what we feel we should have done to uplift our spouses.

Think of your spouse as your sounding board, your place of refuge. You need to consider your spouse a place for you to share hurt, and a place where you can feel free to “unload,” without judgment or punishment.

Talk to your spouse and let him or her know that you do not think of them as your enemy, and also let them know that you are on their side and want to help them in any way as they go through their daily lives.

Your heavenly Father is, of course, not your enemy. Neither is your spouse, who is your earthly companion that you should always feel free to share your hurts with—just like you would with God.

 

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives,

and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you

of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

1 Peter 3:7

 

However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself,

and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:33

 

Further Adventures

Sit down and list the good things you know about your spouse. Now write the things that you consider bad things. Look at each of them, and then throw the bad things in the garbage. Keep the good things and concentrate on them. There is a saying, “Write your hurts in the sand and your happiness in cement.” This way your hurts will wash away, and you can always see your happiness. This is the step toward a happier marriage. Don’t keep score of the bad feelings. Only count the good.

 

Something to Ponder

Wouldn’t it be funny if Adam said to Eve, “Watch it; I have plenty of ribs where you came from”?