Will You Outwit--Outlast--Outplay?

If you're a Survivor fan you will understand my title. Today I want to talk about Stuffles, the honey badger. I believe we can often learn valuable life lessons by observing God's creatures. Even Solomon and Jesus told us to observe them.

Matthew 6:26 (NLT)

Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?

Proverbs 6:6-11 (NLT)

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.

    Learn from their ways and become wise!

7 

Though they have no prince

    or governor or ruler to make them work,

8 

they labor hard all summer,

    gathering food for the winter.

9 

But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?

    When will you wake up?

10 

A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,

    a little folding of the hands to rest—

11 

then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;

    scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Before you read on, please stop and watch Stuffles in action!

http://blog.petflow.com/truly-astonishing-i-had-no-idea-they-were-this-smart-must-see/

It was very entertaining and quite comical to watch Stuffles continuously outwit his zookeeper. He reminds me of my clever little ferrets. I'm a ferret lover and, like Stuffles, they love to problem solve. Mind you, if one of my ferrets started turning my bedroom doorknob in the middle of the night my son would have to peel my fingernails out of the ceiling. 

Now watch how my ferret Geist overcomes his "obstacle!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LjaEKQmfLs&list=UUdWrhwluT4pdQqNPUKvQKfw&feature=share&index=9

Aside from being very amused by Stuffles' clever antics, I was inspired by his tenacity. Whatever "obstacle" stood in the way of his freedom, he never gave up, and I mean NEVER!

The devil has all sorts of "obstacles" in his bag-of-tricks to try and keep us from enjoying the freedom Jesus died to give us. Often he succeeds with these "obstacles" which distract us and steal our joy. Thankfully, Jesus has given us everything we need to outwit -- outlast -- and -- outplay the devil. 

Luke 10:19 (Amplified)

Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

The serpents and scorpions mentioned in the above scripture are Satan and his demons. Isn't that great news? Knowledge is good but, like Stuffles, we also need tenacity because even though we may outwit the devil once or twice he will always try again. It might even feel like you are in your own version of Alcatraz. This is where that Never Give Up attitude needs to kick in. 

Watching Stuffles really ministered to me at a time when I'm facing my own "obstacles." Recently one of my ferret fur babies passed away in my arms. I take the loss of a fur family member pretty hard. Shortly after that I was laid off at my work and I have property taxes and income taxes coming due as well. Being a single mom with no savings to fall back on, this has been a time of leaning on and trusting God to provide more than ever. I wanted to share this with you because I want to be able to look back at this at a later time and see how God provided, because He always does. 

Right now sadness, unemployment and worry are my "obstacles." 

What are your "obstacles?" 

Will you OUTWIT -- OUTLAST -- and -- OUTPLAY the enemy?

Unconditional Love Dissolves Walls of Distrust

I have a friend who had a Cockatiel. He knew the bird had "trust issues" when he bought her, but that didn't stop him from loving her. Her name was Babe. He later discovered that she had been abused by being hand slapped and, rightfully so, she didn't trust humans. Her experience with them so far in her life was that they were unpredictable and they hurt you and therefore they cannot be trusted. 

My friend continuously and tirelessly loved Babe unconditionally. He spoke lovingly to her and he was patient and kind at all times. She continued to reject his love and at one point she even bit him so hard she pierced right through his skin. I can't remember if it was on his nose or his ear or someplace else, but you better believe that it smarted. Although she hurt him he maintained his vigilance and continued to patiently and unconditionally love her and draw her closer to him. 

After consistently and unconditionally loving Babe for 5 months my friend had successfully managed to breakdown the wall of distrust and gain both her trust and her love. She would now come to him, stand on his finger, bow her head so he could give her a head scrub, sit on his shoulder and take food gently from his mouth. She even learned to say things like "love you, pretty bird, night night." Whenever a train went by she would say "choo choo." She gave him lots of kisses and she loved it when he played his guitar. In fact, she would sleep on his shoulder as he played. She was a special little girl. It was clear that Babe flourished in this loving environment. Through the experience of gaining her trust they developed a deep bond with each other. 

One evening I received a frantic text message from my friend. While stepping outside through his back door Babe snuck out and flew away. It was dark out and he had no idea where she was. He waited outside for her until the morning and when the sun rose he found her perched up high in his neighbor's tree. 

He did everything he could think of to coax her to come to him, back to where he could keep her safe and close. He brought out her cage and he talked to her. He sat under that tree and waited patiently for her to come back to him. He had done all that he could do for Babe, the rest was up to her. 

As the sun set that evening unfortunately my friend watched helplessly and with a broken heart as Babe flew away and never returned. If any of you have ever welcomed a pet into your life and bonded with that pet you will understand how devastating it is to lose a feather or fur family member, especially in such a traumatic way as this. I certainly understood and felt his pain and loss. 

Shortly after this happened the Holy Spirit revealed to me that sometimes this is how our Father God feels about us. When I saw that connection I was not only grieving with my friend over the loss of Babe, but I was also grieving with the Holy Spirit over this recent revelation. Like Babe, many of us have "trust issues." If we have lived on this earth for any length of time we soon discover that people can hurt us, lie to us, deceive us, abuse us, neglect us and reject us. We often concluded that NO ONE can be trusted and we build up this wall around our hearts in an effort to protect ourselves. 

Unfortunately, when we put up a wall we not only keep everyone else out, but we keep ourselves isolated making it impossible to truly connect with anyone. We then realize it's pretty lonely behind this wall and we attempt to fill the gap with anything that will relieve the loneliness and isolation we feel. We might try people pleasing, the pursuit of money or fame, popularity, a certain degree or job title, drugs, alcohol, gambling, sexual promiscuity, partying, pornography, etc. Don't get me wrong, some of these things are good things to pursue, but if they are in an effort to make you feel happy or complete you will be disappointed when you reach that goal. We might be able to escape the feelings of isolation and loneliness for a short time, but they always come back. 

In the meantime, none of that stops Father God from loving us. God is watching us, loving us and waiting with open arms for us to run to Him. Quite often when we conclude that no one can be trusted we include God and when we put that wall up we keep God out.

Some of us have had a cold, lifeless religion full of rules and regulations shoved down our throats and as a result thought, "If this is what it's all about I want no part of it" and we walk away. Jesus hated all of the man-made rules and regulations of the Pharisees. In fact he said:

Matthew 11:28-30 (NCV)

"Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light."

Some of us feel we are too damaged or bad for God to love us. Some of us blame God for the pain we have endured instead of the enemy (Satan) whose sole mission in life is to destroy us. In fact, Jesus said:

John 10:10 (NLT)

The thief's purpose is to steal and kill an destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 

Some of us may have had a bad or absent father. We might feel like because our earthly father was mean so is our heavenly father or because our earthly father rejected us so does our heavenly father, but that is a lie from the enemy. To put it simply we don't trust God. God knows we have "trust issues" or "other issues," yet that doesn't stop him from loving us.  He loves us completely and unconditionally. This is what God thinks about you:

Jeremiah 1:5 (NCV)

Before I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you.

Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work . . .

When we keep God out we push away the only One Who can help us through our pain and heal our wounded and broken lives. Although we break his heart when we reject His love as He watches us pursue other things or a self destructive lifestyle He maintains His vigilance of patiently and unconditionally loving us. Just like how Babe bit my friend piercing right through his skin, our rebellious, destructive lifestyle pierces God's heart and actually Jesus' side was pierced for our rebellion. 

Isaiah 53:5 (NLT)

But he was pierced for our rebellion,

crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

He was whipped so we could be healed. 

Just like my friend did everything he could to coax Babe to him, the choice was hers. Our heavenly Father has done everything He can to coax us to Him including sending His only Son to suffer an excruciating death in order to pay the price for our sins. It was the highest price to pay because we are worth that much to Him. 

Those of us who choose to run to Him find safety and comfort in his arms. As we continue to pursue a relationship with Him He consistently and unconditionally loves us until one day our walls of distrust come tumbling down, our broken hearts are mended and our lives are transformed. Through this experience we develop a deep bond with our heavenly Father. 

Psalm 147:3 (NCV)

He heals the brokenhearted

and bandages their wounds.

Luke 4:18 (NCV)

"The Lord has put his Spirit in me,

because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to tell the captives they are free

and to tell the blind that they can see.

God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly."

Isaiah 61:3 (NCV)

. . . I will give them a crown to replace their ashes,

and the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow,

and clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness.

Then they will be called Trees of Goodness,

trees planted by the Lord to show his greatness.

It's note too late to run to your heavenly Father. He will gladly accept you with open arms. You can trust Him. Your heart is safe with Him. Don't let another hour go by without experiencing the unconditional love of your heavenly Father. You have nothing to lose but heartache and emptiness and eternity and peace to gain.

In loving memory of sweet Babe

Satan injects negative thoughts but God provides the Ultimate Weapon!

Have you ever spent time playing the PAC-MAN game when you were a kid? When I was much younger I spent many hours playing that game and I can't forget Ms. PAC-MAN as well. I remember running around gobbling up pac-dots and running away from those dang ghosts who always seemed to be just a little bit faster. I would grit my teeth and hope to make it to a power pellet with all 4 ghosts hot on my trail. Of course that only lasted for a short time and then they were back again and hot on my trail. If I remember correctly, Pinky was the ghost who usually caused me the most grief. Here is a picture of the game:

PAC-MAN kind of reminds me of myself and what I used to be like. I used to gobble up all of the garbage lies that satan fed to me. I never knew all those negative thoughts that I allowed to have free reign in my mind were actually being fed to me by satan and his army of fallen angels. Thoughts like, "nobody loves you. Things will never change. You're an accident. You don't belong here. You're damaged goods. Nobody cares what you have to say. Your life will never get any better." All of these thoughts were like those pac-dots in the PAC-MAN game and I gobbled them up as my own thoughts (it was my truth, my reality). Of course satan also uses  people to spit forth mean, nasty, hurtful words and like a snake injects venom into its victim we often receive those words as truth.

When I started reading my Bible I discovered that all of those negative thoughts were lies. This is what it says about satan in John 8:44 (NLT)

 ". . . he has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

The Bible actually calls satan the father of lies. There is no truth found in him. When you receive Jesus as your personal savior the Holy Spirit comes to live inside you to lead and guide you through this life and that  includes leading you to wisdom and truth. If you take the time to read God's word the Holy Spirit will be able to reveal God's truth to you and set you free from those lies you have been believing about yourself for so long. The bible says in John 8:32 (NLT)

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

That is exactly what receiving Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior and reading the Bible did for me, it set me free. The Bible also says, "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed."

I have learned that God actually loves me exactly the way I am. I learned that even though my parents never planned me He did and that He has good plans for me. Jeremiah 1:5 (NCV) and Psalm 139:13 (NLT):

"Before I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work." "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb."

Now I don't just sit back and take it. I no longer gobble up every lie (pac-dot thought) that pops up, I fight back. When the devil tries to feed me more of his garbage lies I open my mouth and speak God's truth and it defeats him every time. Now, when he tries to tell me, "your life will never change" I fight back by throwing scripture back at him and say, "God has good plans for me" as it says in Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) and Philippians 4:13 (AM)

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency)."

That last scripture has brought me through a lot of tough situations (spiritual battles). I used to carry it around in my purse and pull it out whenever I needed it. Now I carry it around in my heart and mind. You would not believe how much this discovery has changed my life. It actually says in the Bible in 2 Corinthians 10:4 (NCV)

"We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy's strong places..."

I also like the way the Amplified Translation says that same scripture:

"For the weapons of our warfare are not physical (weapons of flesh and blood), but they are might before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds,"

God has placed us in this world, but He has not left us without weapons. God's word is a powerful weapon. Prayer and Worship are powerful weapons. We are in a (spiritual) battle everyday and it takes place in our thought life. The enemy's strong places or "strongholds" as the Amplified version words it are those repetitive negative thoughts we have that play over and over in our minds like a broken record.

If you receive Jesus as your Savior and if you start to read the Bible your life is going to change in amazing ways. God's word will come alive. You will begin feeding your spirit the truth and it will take root inside your heart. It will begin to expose the lies that you have been believing for so long, perhaps all your life. Reading the Bible is like PAC-MAN eating those power pellets giving you the ability to defeat the enemy (satan and his lies). When PAC-MAN eats that power pellet those ghosts that were on his heels do a 180 degree turn and head for the hills. When you feel bombarded by those negative thoughts which are like the ghosts in PAC-MAN you just have to open your mouth and quote a scripture of truth and they will do a 180 degree turn and run in the opposite direction. You also need to know that one time will not be the end of it. They will  come back and try again just like the ghosts always come back to chase you in PAC-MAN. However, it does get easier.

What Satan Intended for Harm God Used for Good

I thought my days of being bullied would end when I graduated from high school, but apparently that was not the case. Through my years of life experience, I have learned that spiritual warfare is alive and well on planet earth. I define spiritual warfare as God's angels coming to the aid (through speaking God's Word and prayer) of God's children (believers) as satan and his fallen angels attempt to destroy our lives.  

Ephesians 6:11-13 (NLT)

Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

I like the way the Message translation words it. It says:

Ephesians 6:10-18 (The Message)

God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

 Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Satan and his demons watch and study us very closely. They know what pushes our buttons. They know what hurts us the most and they will use people and circumstances to attack us.

1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

I read a book called “The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman." In it I learned that everyone has their own love language and they use that love language to communicate their love to the people in their lives. The problem with that is, unless the other person has the exact same love language it will not be received as love. 

Finding out someone else’s love language gives you the ability to communicate your love to the people in your life in their love language so they will be able to receive it. At the end of the book there is a test you can do to find out what your love language is. There will sometimes be 1 that is dominant and sometimes there are 2 or 3 that are very close which would mean that you have more than 1 love language (you are bilingual). Once you read the book you can often figure out what other people’s love languages are if you hang around them long enough. 

The 5 love languages are:

1.   Touch

2.   Acts of Service

3.   Gifts

4.   Quality Time

5.   Words of Affirmation

Here is a link to the website where you can take the quiz if you are interested. 

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

When I did my love language test, Quality Time was at the top at 10 points with Words of Affirmation right behind at 9 points. The rest were much lower (5,3,5).

When you receive the exact opposite of your love language, it hurts even more than usual because it's your love language. For example, if your love language is touch and your spouse (or parents) never hug you or put their arms around you, it hurts a lot, but if your love language is gifts and your spouse (or parents) shower you with gifts, you aren’t going to care as much that they don't hug you.

So quality time and words of affirmation are my love languages. Words of affirmation are kind words that make you feel good about yourself, compliments. When I receive the opposite of my love language (words of affirmation), for example, if someone calls me names, belittles my existence or threatens me, then it hurts me twice as much because it is one of my love languages.

With that being said, satan and his demons began attacking me with the opposite of words of affirmation through some bullies in high school. After graduation they used the same amo through a relationship I was in with a guy, then through a really bad boss, then through my niece and just in May 2012 through my tenant. I was renting out my basement suite to a guy.

He was late paying his rent for May so I put a reminder notice on his door. When he came home and found the notice he became very angry. He knocked on my door and when I opened it I could tell by reading his body language that he was really angry before he ever spoke a word. He proceeded to raise his voice as he hurled insults, belittled my existence, made up lies and threatened me. It was clear to me he had no intention of paying his rent. I tried to remain calm at least outwardly while inside I just wanted to curl up into the fetal position and hide. 

The same feelings of fear I used to have while being bullied in high school, in a past relationship, etc., returned. Near the end of the conversation I could not take it anymore. Unfortunately, in a moment of weakness I stooped to his level and hurled some of my own insults back. Of course, none of mine were nearly as nasty as his, but still I was disappointed in myself for not responding in more of a Christian way. It was clearly another attack from satan using the exact same amo. 

Matthew 5:43-47 (The Message)

 "You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

My point is, we are all only human and we will never behave perfectly at all times, but if you have the Holy Spirit living inside your heart then He begins to change you little by little. The old me (before I came to know and love Jesus) would have responded a lot worse.

None of us can behave better for any length of time without God, BUT with Jesus by our side and with the help of the Holy Spirit we will begin to change as we surrender our will and plan for Gods.

So the next time you behave in a way that you regret, I don’t want you to beat yourself up about it. Apologize to the person and bring it to God, repent (means you're sorry and you have no intention of repeating the same action). If you haven’t yet invited Jesus into your heart then do so and ask Him to help you. He will. If you want help inviting Jesus into your heart and life just ask and I would be happy to help. 

Now for the best part of the story, immediately after this horrendous conversation my aunt shows up at my door. She tells me that she was on her way home when she heard God telling her, “Go check on Rowena, Go check on Rowena.” I was so glad she heard God and obeyed because I REALLY needed someone to talk to at that moment. 

When she told me that God told her to check on me I cried because I knew at that moment that God saw the whole ugly event take place. He saw someone picking on His girl (that would be me) and He sent reinforcements to help me when I needed it the most. In THAT moment I tangibly FELT how much God loves me and it felt so amazing I can't even put it into words. J 

Satan came at me with the same attack that he has hit me with through other people many times before; one that he knows leaves me shakin’ in my boots. But it totally backfired on satan because God took what satan intended to hurt me and He turned it into something good.

Genesis 50:20

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…

Now, instead of thinking about how horribly unfair I was treated and getting upset and mad, anytime I think about it I can’t help but smile because all I can think about is how God used that situation to show me how much He loves me. J

God's love is so pure (limitless, immense); it is so much greater and far more powerful than any love you will ever find or experience here on earth. God does not play favorites and He loves you just as much as He loves me. He is waiting with open arms for you to turn towards him and run into his welcoming arms. Only you can make that choice; no one can make it for you.