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?

Nikki's Story

I want to introduce you to Nikki and tell you his true story. Nikki is a green and yellow parakeet who has led quite an adventurous life. He was chilling with the sparrows, going wherever they went, doing whatever they did, eating whatever they ate. He was an independent parakeet. He was taking care of himself. He didn't know that his life was in danger from predators every single day. He didn't know that winter was soon to come and if he remained with the sparrows he would soon be dead. 

One day he was enticed by some millet inside the safety of a cage. On that day he had a choice, continue eating what the sparrows were eating or try the millet. He chose the millet. He entered the cage, tried the millet and discovered that it was good, so good, in fact, that he no longer desired the food the sparrows ate.

He got to know the person who provided this millet and discovered that because he chose to eat the millet she had saved his life. Over time and much more millet he got to know her better and now she has become his best friend.

Answer Key

• The sparrows symbolize unbelievers and going along with the crowd.
• The sparrow food is whatever the world calls fun (drinking, drugs, parties, the bar scene, pornography, promiscuity, etc.) .
• Winter symbolizes the end times and the return of Jesus.
• The millet symbolizes God' word (the Bible)
• The safe cage symbolizes the church.
• The best friend symbolizes Jesus. 

STOP!!

Before reading on, please do me a favor; after reading through the answer key, go back up to the beginning and re-read Nikki's story. Then return here to continue reading. 

This is the true story of a parakeet that hung around my back yard bird feeder with the sparrows for most of this past summer. In the fall I was finally able to capture him and not a moment too soon. He would have surely died in the cold outdoors. My son wanted to name him Nikki which is short for Nicholas Cage since he's in a cage, I know, funny guy. 

Please don't misunderstand the cage symbolizing the church, I'm not saying the church is a cage, I'm referring to the cage as a place where you can feel safe. If you find a church where it's members are actively operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit you will feel welcome, loved and safe. 

I hope you enjoyed my analogy and God bless you richly. 

Coincidence or God incidents?

In May 2013 I received a large unexpected bill that was due to be paid in full June 30. God had recently blessed me with a better paying job, but as a single mom and homeowner I had not yet reached a point of being able to save up money for unexpected bills.

As I stood in my kitchen, I stared down at the bill and began to worry. Then the Holy Spirit whispered to my spirit saying, "Give it to God." That pulled my mind off the all too familiar "worry trail." While still holding the bill in my hands, I spoke out loud, "God, I believe you're going to provide the finances I need to pay this bill. You've provided for all of my needs so far and I trust that you will continue to do so." I put the bill down and walked away.

On June 10 I noticed that almost the exact amount of money I needed to pay that bill had been deposited into my account. It was my income tax refund, but normally I never receive a refund. It turned out that there were mistakes in my two previous years of income tax returns. Some people might call this "coincidence," but I immediately recognized it as a "God incident." 

Not convinced? I have one more story. In the middle of July I found some lumps on my dog Jezabell's chest. I found out they were mammary tumors (breast cancer) which is common with intact dogs. When I received the estimate for surgery, I gasped. 

A few days later I was weeding in my garden and asking God to provide a way to pay for Jezabell's upcoming surgery. I told him I trusted Him to provide as He always had. I thanked Him for that and for the most recent provision when he provided the funds I needed for the last large bill the month prior. 

Minutes later my friend showed up and told me his friend suggested I try his vet. I gave him a call. He sounded very knowledgeable. He put my mind at ease as he reassured me that it would be a simple surgery. That was a major relief compared to the conversation I had with the first vet who instilled fear in me as they repeatedly went over worst case scenarios and the costs associated with it. 

On July 23 Jezabell had successful surgery and when the vet found out who referred me he gave me an even better price on his already very reasonable price. Four days prior I had checked my bank account and found a child tax deposit that was more than double its usual amount. When I subtracted the usual amount from the total amount, the amount remaining was within $8 of the cost of the vet bill. 

I believe there are two reasons for God's perfectly timed provision:
1)  I have become a faithful tither, giving a portion of my income back to God Who has provided me with this income.

Malachi 3:10

New Living Translation (NLT)

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

2)  When I was tempted to worry I stopped and instead chose to verbally thank Him for the ways He had already provided and then I spoke positively about my trust in His ability to continue to provide. 

Philippians 4:6

New Living Translation (NLT)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:19

New Living Translation (NLT)

19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

In the message God gave to the people through Malachi regarding tithing He said, "Try it! Put me to the test!" Since I started tithing, I have seen how God has opened the windows of heaven and poured out His blessing on my life. I put Him to the test and He passed with flying colors. I think it is important for me to mention here that I did not begin tithing so that I could get something from Him, I did so out of obedience and my love for Him.

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

Tired of the struggle? Want to find peace and feel complete? Read on!

I watched a video last week that really touched my heart. I felt the need to talk about it after which I will share the link. First, I have to say how blessed I feel to live in Canada. We can go out and buy a Bible with so many different translations to choose from. Many local churches will even give you a Bible if you can't afford one or simply don't have one. We can also download a Bible app to our smart phones or tablets or access the Bible online. We are free to buy it, to read it and to talk about it. We have free access to God's Word yet at the same time we have so much excess available to us that we end up keeping ourselves too busy for the one thing that will truly make us happy. We have TV, internet, computers, laptops, sports (both watching and playing), cell phones, tablets, video games, movies, DVDs, CDs, MP3s, music, shopping, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying any of these things are wrong. However, if any of these things are done in excess to the point of usurping your regular responsibilities or alienating your friends and family, then it's a problem.

It is all about relationships. We were created, first and foremost, to have a relationship with Jesus and I'm not talking about a casual "yea I've heard of Him" or "yea I believe in Him" and that's as far as it goes. I am talking about pursuing a deep, personal friendship with Jesus - one where you know Him personally, you trust him completely and you talk to him about anything and everything - because you are well aware of how much He loves you and because you have actually experienced that love, now you want to serve Him wholeheartedly as an expression of your deep love and appreciation of Him. That is the kind of relationship I'm talking about and anyone can have that, you can have that. It's like any other friendship, the more time you spend together the closer you become.

In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said:

Jesus answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself.'

Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is anyone we come into contact with. Notice how Jesus said "love your neighbor as you love yourself." There are plenty of people who don't love themselves so they can't properly love others. Maybe they never grew up having a nurturing, loving parent or parents. There are so many different reasons. Maybe you know exactly what I'm talking about. If we grow up not being or feeling loved we will have a hard time receiving love, love from others and the love of our Father God because somewhere deep inside of our heart we don't fell like we deserve to be loved.

Her comes the good part. When we receive Jesus, God's son, as our Savior He comes to live inside of our heart in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then begins working on our hearts, healing our pain, mending our brokenness, filling that emptiness, exposing damaging lies we have believed about ourselves, revealing the truth about us and the way Father God feels about us and filling us up with His love.

If we don't feel we deserve to be loved we will have a hard time receiving love from God or anyone else. If we don't feel loved it is impossible to fulfill the second command "love your neighbor as you love yourself." If you don't love yourself how can you love anyone else? You can't give away what you don't have.

Thank God He sent His Son Jesus to intercede for us. In Mark 10:27 (The Message) Jesus was telling the disciples how difficult it was for man to get into the Kingdom of God and his disciples asked who has any chance at all. He responded by saying:

Jesus was blunt: "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it."

Have you ever seen that movie "Jerry Maguire" with Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger? Once Tom realizes what he had with Renee he returns to her and says "you complete me." We were all created with a God-shaped hole inside of our hearts that is reserved only for God and we will never feel complete without Him. We often try to fill that hole in our hearts with other stuff like drugs, sex, alcohol, pornography, etc., but it never lasts. When you allow Jesus into your heart and life and you begin working with the Holy Spirit, you will finally become complete and full of love, so full of love it will just naturally flow onto anyone (neighbor) who crosses your path. The only relationship that can truly complete us is a relationship with Jesus.

You can begin pursuing a relationship with Jesus right now. Pick up your Bible which is the Word of God and start reading it, I recommend starting in the book of John. If you are new to reading the Bible I recommend starting with a (New Living Translation).

John 1:1 (NLT) says:

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God."

John 1:14 (NLT) says:

"So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son."

So Jesus is the Word of God and he was with God before anything was ever created. Jesus (the Word) became flesh and lived among us. God is a three-part God consisting of God - Jesus - Holy Spirit. The Word is the Bible which explains why we would get to know Jesus if we read it. The Word of God is our most valuable treasure on this earth and so many people don't even realize it. So many countries don't have the same freedom we have and you will see in the following video how valuable the Word of God is to those who know what it contains.



It really humbled me and made me realize how lucky I am. If any of my blog posts have touched your heart I want to hear about it. Please leave a comment on the blog post that touched your heart.