An International Fellowship of Spirit-Empowered Believers
Spiders, Snakes and Faith
Spiders, Snakes and Faith
By Pastors Vince & Laura Rizzo
This chapter happened five years after the chapter entitled “Tennessee or Bust” so I suggest that if you haven’t read that “test’ first that you do so as you will see some incredible similarities. If you have already read that chapter, please keep the details in mind.
As I begin this, I never, EVER, EVER in all my life figured that ANYTHING could be WORSE than what we went through in Tennessee. But, you know before you read this, that that is exactly what happened and it happened right in the swamps of Fort Myers, Florida in June of 1991. We spent all five years in Tennessee praying to move back to Florida and God answered that prayer as we obtained a small camper and a friend loaned us a 1985 Chevy Blazer to tow it for the drive back.
Arriving in Fort Myers, we soon settled into a less than desirous mobile home park in North Fort Myers which is a place that Jed Clampett would delight in calling home. Living by nothing other than what I call the “fumes of faith”, this time an opportunity came our way to be the caretakers of a 30,000 palm tree farm located off of Six Mile Cypress Parkway in south Fort Myers. (Ya think we would have learned from the first time!!)
Anyway, we gained this position in late May which is just around the corner from the rainy season and we were to be the owner’s “insurance” policy as we were to live on this farm rent free and watch over the property while he went north for the summer. To us this all-expenses-paid deal was like door number #3 on Let’s Make A Deal and we won the grand prize!! We were ecstatically excited at how blessed we were and how good God had been to us.
We had met the owner through a friend of a friend of a friend (Is that a clue??) and the first “friend” gave us the specifics of what the owner of the property was wanting in someone to watch over his property. We stopped by the property a couple times and chatted with the owner and the repairman that was there and took a stroll through the apartment we would be living in and right then and there we agreed to be the caretakers.
The next week we brought our little camper right up to the front door of this makeshift apartment equipment shed combination building and began unloading all our belongings into this place while we were day dreaming of how great it would be living there. By now the owner had left for Michigan and the repairman was still puttering around making his finishing touches.
At this point in our lives we had come to the place where God was the driving force and passion in our lives. We had fallen in love with Him so deeply that we desired Him like a drowning man wants air. We had come through six years of incredible hardships but nothing we went through could shake our commitment and dedication to the all powerful, all loving God we served. The more stuff we seemed to go through, somehow, the more loyal we became because we knew we found Jesus in the storms of life so each “chapter” was a new adventure. We went and did whatever, whenever with whoever and wherever God planted us until He would open the next door for us - -soooooo – quitting was never an option no matter how bad things got because…we wanted to please Him as He was our heart’s delight.
I think this would be a good place for a disclaimer – We clearly see now that anything free is not always good and all would do well to remember that!!! This is really a no-brainer but it takes a few times around the mountain before all the insanities of life start making sense!!
Anyway…two weeks after we moved in and the owner was long gone, it began to rain. We soon discovered that the roof leaked in three different places, every sink leaked and the worst of it was that the toilet would not flush when it rained and it rained like Noah’s flood every day!!! Thus, our daily routine without a workable toilet meant we had to use a five gallon paint bucket and a garbage bag and had to dump it every day.
We also noticed that when it rained the whole apartment equipment shed just kind of sat in the middle of a big pool and there was mud 500 feet in every direction. The whole place was like one big swamp. Even worse was the fact that the summers in Florida are unbearable with 90+ degree heat and intense humidity every day and we had no air conditioning, our Chevy van we’d acquired by then had no air conditioning and a large neighborhood dog kept leaving piles of droppings all around the property. All this produced incredible stress and discomfort and made us rather irritable especially when the repairman the owner had chosen was more of a “Tim the tool man” kind of guy who couldn’t repair a leaky faucet.
We had been working some temporary jobs until we finally got hired as cleaning technicians for United Telephone Company. Each night from 5:00 p.m. till 1:00 a.m. we cleaned one whole floor the size of K-Mart. That was exhausting enough but then we had to face coming home each night. It was an actual feat just getting from the van to the apartment. The moment we stepped out of the van you could clearly hear the sounds of deepest Africa…the mating call of the alligator (and I do know what that sounds like!!), the choruses of tree frogs, an occasional cry of a heron and masses of crickets and swarms of mosquitoes.
However, I was ready… I was armed with a jacket, eyeglasses, an umbrella, an old pair of shoes, the keys, my purse, our lunch buckets, a hat, and a can of bug spray. I carried everything just in case some monster or Big Foot jumped out at me in which case Vince would be free of any encumbrances and be able to easily rescue me. He carried the flashlight.
Five nights a week we had to make this trek to the apartment 500 feet away from where we parked, trudging through the mud, swatting at the mosquitoes, dodging the dog piles, scanning the ground with the flashlight while looking for alligators and snakes and praying to escape all these. Upon reaching the door I would put on the hat and eyeglasses while skillfully balancing all my gear and proceed to hose down the front door with bug spray to deter them from swarming into our kitchen. Once inside, we’d run for the lights and plop down exhausted and then notice what had decided to visit our apartment while we were away. Regularly we would find spiders, snakes, crickets and large ants and about anything else that would do anything to get away from all that mud and water. Here AGAIN, we had spiders and crickets!!
The weekends were also miserable as we would do anything to get out of the stifling heat and intense humidity. It’s pretty bad when you want to go anywhere but home.
One night we had just gotten home and sat down to do some reading before going to bed. I was sitting on the couch and happened to put my book down and put my head on the back of the couch when looked up and saw a spider the size of Chicago on the ceiling in the reflection of the light on the ceiling. These creatures are called banana spiders down here. Most of them are 3 inches across, which includes the body and leg span – horrifying creatures that are as fast as the wind and impossible to catch.
My breath froze as I stared in disbelief as I never remember them being that large. Moving VERY slowly, not daring to take my eyes off that creature, I rose from the couch while telling Vince that he had to kill that thing that night or I would not be able to sleep the entire night. He knows the truth of that statement so he went to get a broom from the shed and then began the battle between he and the spider. I went to putter in the kitchen all the while hearing the swats and bags and doors opening and banging shut as he proceeded from the living room to the bathroom and then to the office. Result? Spider -1, Vince – 0.
Ohhhh, I thought, this is going to be a very L – O – N – G night as I would be spending it in the kitchen which was the farthest point from the office where the culprit was last seen. Resolving to the fact that I would be awake the rest of the night, we both went back to the living room to read and after a while I put my book down, my head back on the couch and there --- there, was that same spider in the exact same spot!! Could it be, I asked myself, blinking in unbelief??? Yes, there it was and I again arose from the couch talking in hushed tones to Vince telling him he had another chance. This time Vince won!
Another night I was in our upright shower when there was an incredible, deafening explosion as if a sawed-off shotgun had gone off right next to my ear. I shrieked a blood curdling screamed in horror and opened my eyes to find white foam everywhere. It was all over me, all over the walls, the shower curtain, the ceiling and floor. At that moment Vince burst into the bathroom, flung open the shower curtain and after seeing I was unharmed, burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Needless to say, I was violently shaking and stunned at first. But then I began to look around to see what in the world had almost given me a heart attack and covered me with foam. It was then I had discovered that the seam on his shaving cream can had rusted through and this caused all the pressure in the can to be released in one huge explosion rendering everything in white foam!! At that realization I too exploded in laughter so hard I could hardly breathe. Gasping for air it dawned on me that that metal can could have easily severed an arm or a leg and yet here I was just dripping wet and white!! I am sure some angel somewhere was full of shaving cream too as God must have had to send an angel to protect me from certain harm – How excellent is His care of us!!
And just to keep you up to speed about how much worse things could have gotten, another night I was in this same shower at 2:00 a.m. and was all soaped up when the water just shut off (why is it always me, Lord?). I yelled in a very accusing tone wondering what Vince had done now and of course he was minding his own business and answered that he was going outside to investigate. I heard him go out the front door of the apartment and then heard him yell, “Oh my God!” as he came running back into the apartment shouting that there was a twenty-foot geyser in the front yard and that he was going to look for the shut off valve.
He finally located it but was unable to repair the pipe and then realized that the entire palm tree farm irrigation system was linked to the plumbing in our apartment. That was another no-brainer and needless to say, a very soapy sponge bath ensued and then the water heater burned out the next day. That meant we didn’t even have hot water for about a week and I sure wasn’t going to have the owner’s repairman fix it!!
Another day Vince had gone somewhere and it was pouring down rain when he left. As the water around the place was around six inches deep, I was just sitting by the window watching it get worse and worse when I noticed a mud puppy struggling in the mud and then he managed to find deeper water and I watched him swim by each window around as he traveled around the whole circumference of the apartment. And for those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s kind of a fish with fins that are more like arms. As I am watching this, I am thinking to myself, what in the world am I doing here????
Now, between the roof leaks, the broken toilet and water heater, the swamp, the extreme heat and humidity, the creatures in and around our apartment, the dog piles, the mud, the unexpected “fun-filled” occurrences, the incompetent repairman who wanted to drop by at any time unannounced and wanted to use our shower any time, the torrents of rain, and fighting all this, I was really a wreck emotionally.
After four months of this nonsense, I was really getting to my limit and I must admit that my attitude was less than joyous. One evening I just happened to be reading Romans 5:1-5:
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience worketh experience and experience worketh hope and hope maketh not ashamed…”
…and I noticed the cross-reference was James 1:3 which is:
“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
The “knowing this” in this verse is revealed in verse 2, which is:
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”
Well, that triggered a real anger within me and I cried out to God in exasperated frustration and said, “Just how do you expect me to rejoice in all this?”
I didn’t get an answer right away so I opened another book I had been reading by Rev. Jamie Buckingham entitled, “Where Eagles Soar”, and I stumbled on a bible verse that ignited my soul and spirit!! Here was my answer!! It was Hebrews 12:26 & 27:
“Whose voice then shook the earth, but now He hath promised, saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only but also heaven. And this word, “yet once more” signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
The moment I read those words it was as if I was on fire!!! And then I heard the voice of the Lord in my spirit and He said, “I’m shaking you to see that what remains is pleasing to me.” And then waves of the love of God began to wash over me. Tears of joy began pouring down my face as God’s all empowering inner peace overwhelmed me. Through the tears I said, “God, now I can go through anything just for you.” This one verse had released all the torment and gave me an inner peace that forever changed the course of my life.
Everything from that point on began to make sense. I realized that the reason I was here and was suffering through all this mess was because God loved me enough to show me who I really was and what was in my heart. Through all these trials I had made the choice to exhibit all the characteristics of a spoiled child. In essence I was throwing a tantrum!! I was whining, crying, complaining, wallowing in self-pity, I was depressed, frustrated, angry, confused, and I wasn’t talking too nice either.
I was completely out of control and was ruled by my emotions and feelings as I was in bondage to them. The enemy was controlling me and having a great time tormenting me by causing these problems and I was playing right into his hand by giving him the response he was looking for as I was acting just like him. I was plainly exhibiting a sinful nature and my conduct was proving it. The Bible says, “We shall know them by their fruit.”, and I was bearing the fruit of unrighteousness (ungodliness) even though I had a love for God.
Now, the exact opposite of this is really pretty much unknown to the world. When the ungodly are faced with trials and tribulations they respond the same way I did. So, if Christians are acting as bad as those who are heathens, how are they to tell the difference if we are bearing the same fruit they are? But we who call ourselves Christians should be demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit especially during those times. The proper Christian conduct is to exhibit godliness and holiness. We are to be ruled by the Holy Spirit which will then cause us to bear the proper fruit and we can ONLY do this in His strength.
God’s purpose in all these trials was to produce a Christ-like character within me which is what the term “Christian” means. I have heard it called “the sandpapering of the Lord” and I would use the terms “sculpt” or “chisel”, but this refers to the way that God fashions circumstances to produce the fruits of the Spirit in us. The Bible says that if God doesn’t discipline us, then we are not true heirs. These circumstances chip away at the ungodliness in our lives and are only beneficial when we respond in the right manner. If we truly call ourselves a Christian, then we should be exhibiting the characteristics of Christ no matter what we are going through.
Jesus was the supreme example. He never panicked, had self-pity or complained, had rage or acted unholy in any way. He demonstrated powerfully the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, self-control, etc.
I Peter 1:15 & 16 says, “But, as He which has called you is holy, you also be ye holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
That is the plumb line and our goal in this life but again, it can only be done “in and through Him”.
God wants us and expects us to live by a code of ethics that is way beyond more than being just religious. It is not the “goodie two shoes prude” way of life but a truly surrendered life that brings glory to God and shows the world what a real Christian is. A true hero of the faith is someone who practices holiness daily and lives his life FOR the god he serves. The word “sacrifice” is something he doesn’t even consider because he is so in love with the one he serves. This person looks at serving God as a supreme privilege and considers it an honor to submit to any kind of sacrifice that’s required.
This is a description of Jesus. He came as a servant and His purpose was to give us life and life more abundantly. He had complete peace and was submitted to God in every situation because His life was ruled by God the Father. He plainly said He did nothing except what the Father wanted Him to do and what the Father wanted Him to say. He went about doing good. He was the epitome of peace, love, joy, and self-control, which again are fruits of the Spirit. Just as Jesus “gave his life” so are we expected to do the same as he said, “He who gives his life for my sake, shall save it.” (Matthew 10:39) His plan for us is to do greater works than he did. John 14:12
It was impossible for Him to produce bad fruit only because He fully surrendered His life to the Father and the Holy Spirit empowered him to overcome every attack of the enemy. He could never have been the real Son of God or the perfect sacrifice for all of humanity unless he was tempted just like we are and yet he was without sin, completely victorious and pure in every respect. (Hebrews 4:15) If He wasn’t pure, his sacrificial life and hideous death would have been in vain and our sins could never be forgiven because his blood couldn’t have obliterated our sins if it was tainted with sin.
If we are living our lives and walking in the Spirit of the living God, we are not going to be given to all the responses of the flesh but we are going to exhibit the characteristics of a life in the Spirit of God -- to live a victorious life ABOVE and BEYOND our emotions and feelings. We will demonstrate the attitudes of Christ especially when we live our lives FOR Him.
I have heard many people say that Christianity is a crutch but it takes a very strong Christian to control himself when all hell is breaking loose around him and yet he remains in peace, he is content, He is focused on Christ and not on his problems and he has true joy within. Again, that can ONLY be done in His strength for the word says, “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!!” Philippians 4:13. This is NOT a mind over matter issue. This IS a relationship with the God of the Universe.
The Bible clearly shows us a comparison of living in the flesh as opposed to living in the Holy Spirit:
THE WORKS OF THE FLESH:
Galatians 6:8 “For he that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption…”
Matthew 7:17 “For a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”
Matthew 7:20 “Wherefore by their fruits shall ye know them.”
Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
Adultery (unlawful sexual relations)
Fornication (all forms of sexual perversion)
Uncleanness, (immorality, impurity, indecency, lewdness)
Idolatry (inordinate affection)
Sorcery (witchcraft, Occult, New Age practices, superstition)
Enmity (hatred)
Strife (emulations)
Jealousy (indignation)
Anger (ill-temper)
Selfishness (lovers of self)
Divisions (factions, disorder, one of the seven things God hates)
Dissensions (quarreling, debating, disputes, discord)
Outbursts of wrath (rage, indignation, fierceness)
Heresies
Envy
Murders
Drunkenness (carousing)
Revelries (rioting, sinful and obscene activities, lasciviousness)
and the like of which I tell you beforehand, … that those who practice such things WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”
If you bear the above fruits, your life will be one of torment, destruction, loss, disappointment, unfulfillment and in the end, eternal damnation. Yes, sin has its appeal but only for a season. Any accomplishments or rewards cannot bring true and lasting happiness or eternal value.
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD:
Galatians 6:8 “But he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Matthew 7:17 “…every good tree brings forth good fruit…”
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is:
Love Faithfulness
Joy Gentleness
Peace Self-control
Patience Meekness
Kindness Humility
Goodness
Against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus, the Messiah, HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH which is the godless human nature, with its passions and appetites and desires. IF WE LIVE BY THE (HOLY) SPIRIT, LET US ALSO WALK BY THE (HOLY) SPIRIT.”
If you bear the above fruits, your life will be one of real and lasting peace, maturity, wondrous rewards here and in the next life and you will live out the destiny and purpose in God that you were created for if you continue in Him. The best part is that you will spend all of eternity with Him.
HOW TO DO THIS: Practical Guidelines and Examples
PRAY: Ask God to help you right where you’re at. He can’t help you unless you develop an intimate, daily relationship with Him. Ask Him to help you trust Him. Its not easy communicating or trusting in anyone you can’t see but none the less He is very real and He completely loves you. Pour your heart out to Him. Be honest with yourself and Him. Face who you really are and give it to Him and ask Him to remold and reshape your life. Regardless of how long God takes to answer your prayer, He promises He will answer. Seek him first thing every day.
WORSHIP GOD: Right now, whatever you are faced with, start loving and worshiping God every way you can think of and do it every day. Thank Him vocally and loudly that He is your deliverer. Most of the Psalms were written by King David and he truly delighted in God. One of my favorites is Psalm 34 in which he passionately poured his heart out in love to God. Using the Psalms can help to bring you to more easily focus on worshiping God. Focus on Him and not on your problems, what you are doing for the day, where you are going, what the kids are doing or what you’re having for dinner.
Give your entire attention to God as you would a person you highly respect. Take time to delight yourself in God by actively communicating your heart to God (singing, dancing, and rejoicing in Him, lying prostrate before Him, or focusing on Him for an indefinite period of time). Many false religions actively and visually worship their gods with no regard for anyone anywhere. They unashamedly bow to the ground in public, chant and do this repeatedly throughout each day. How much more should we actively worship a God who gave His perfect only Son as a sacrifice for us, who died and rose from the dead and who is alive forevermore and loves us beyond all human comprehension? Celebrate God in your heart each day and it will bring you joy above all your trials.
Worship can be defined in many ways. Make a concerted effort to care for others because God tells us to love Him first and others like we love ourselves. On purpose determine to be a blessing to others. Matthew 22:37-39. When you get to the point that you WORSHIP God every day for His solution to your problems, it actually brings you peace in the midst of your storms. He didn’t say to cast all our cares on Him for nothing!!! (I Peter 5:7)
READ HIS WORD: So many people don’t know God because they don’t spend time reading His word. Find out who He is and learn how to live by His word. Ask Him to help you understand His word. This will help you to keep from surrendering to temptations. Jesus himself used God’s word to defeat the enemy. Partake of His word daily – feed your spirit on it and take time to spiritually digest it – in it lies the wondrous available secrets to overcoming the torment of the enemy. The New Testament has so many practical applications and examples of the word lived out among His people. Fall in love with God and His Son.
HOW TO ACT: When our words, our body language and our thought life demonstrate godliness and holiness before the Lord, before others and before the enemy, we are learning to be a mature Christian. This is how we grow up in Christ. All of us have weaknesses as we are all human but God, our creator, knows how to help us.
Choose to rejoice in the face of torment or lack or pain or hatred as this honors God and brings Him on the scene and when you rejoice in the face of the enemy, this defeats him. If he can’t cause you to react sinfully, he will quickly leave and when you rejoice in your trials, he just can’t take it. He came to steal, kill and destroy us. He tempts us to misbehave and if we surrender to him then he puts condemnation on us for doing what he tempted us to do and that is usually followed by guilt which drives us away from God. When we submit to him we lose every time whether its short term or long term.
Verbally rejoicing and praising God OUT LOUD for the answer to your prayers, no matter how long the answer takes, is the mature way to handle matters that are completely beyond our control. This develops patience and endurance within us and fully commits the matter into His hands. He can’t do anything with our problems until we leave them in His hands. If we keep worrying and stewing about the problem, that is not giving the problem to Him. Only when we learn to control our thought processes can we fully surrender our problems to Him. That is what real trust is. We entrust what concerns us into His capable, loving ways and in exchange He gives us complete peace about the matter. When we focus on His peace instead of our problem, we become free of that problem and this exchange then enables Him to solve the problem in His time and in His way.
Now, if we don’t handle our problems like this, it’s during times like these that God brings conviction to us and that is what we need to surrender to. Repentance means to change and that is a pivotal direction. Don’t allow your conscience or better judgment to be seared. I believe it was Shakespeare who said “To thy own self be true.” Do not deliberately do things that will bring you pain in the future. Don’t respond to things that violate God’s word because in the long run they will cause you misery and pain. Don’t give yourselves to things that are impulsive, impetuous and unwise. Pray for the wisdom of God and He will give you wisdom to live by that will bring you joy beyond measure.
Whenever you sin, ask the Lord to forgive you immediately. Keep the communication lines open because that will draw you closer to God and the Holy Spirit can work and do greater things through your life.
RECOGNIZE THE ISSUES: I have had many times in my life where I have been faced with a decision. The enemy was baiting me and I could either choose God’s way or the enemy’s way. If it is an issue that causes torment or confusion, it is definitely not from God. The paths that God prepares for us will give us peace. The word says that we should be led by peace. Jeremiah 29:11 specifically says God has good plans for us however the enemy devises a set up with some of the decisions we are faced with. If we take the “bait” there can be regretful results.
The enemy is also a counterfeiter. He will send a false peace as well but the things of the enemy always eventually end in torment or destruction and if we partake of what he offers us, we will eventually experience a downward cycle where our lives get worse and worse.
DO NOT COMPLAIN: Complaining is a very serious matter. In the Old Testament the Israelites repeatedly disobeyed God and complained against Him. Their actions brought an earthquake, a consuming fire and a plague which killed thousands of them.
If we cling to God to help us defeat the enemy, He will help us from giving in to our emotions and feelings. This is how TRUE TRUST AND FAITH IN GOD REPLACES THOSE fleshly responses.
When we truly give ourselves to worship God in the worst of circumstances, this is what I call “giving the devil a black eye!!”
Here are just two of many different examples in the Bible:
EXAMPLE 1: (Daniel 6:1-28)
Daniel was a member of the Jewish royal family of Jerusalem and when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged the city, Daniel became a hostage at 14 years of age. He and three other noble youths were taken into captivity and were groomed to be advisors in the king’s court for three years. Following that Daniel had become known as a seer and a wise man as God was truly with him as he interpreted dreams for the king that none of his other advisors could even attempt. He was then highly favored of the king and was promoted as a governor for his “excellent spirit”.
Then the king desired to place one of the governors as a chief governor over the all the other governors, advisors and counselors and the king was considering Daniel. This greatly threatened the other governors as they desired the position so they tried to discredit Daniel with something that would disqualify him. The problem was, they could find no flaw in Daniel so they devised a law and pleaded with the king to sign this law that would deliberately incriminate Daniel as they knew of his extreme commitment to worship his God. Thus they conspired together with all the other dignitaries of the court and approached the king saying:
“All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the “law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter”. Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.” Daniel 6:7-9
This decree delighted the king as it brought him greater honor but when Daniel heard about it, he went home, got on his knees, worshiped, thanked and petitioned his God as usual and continued doing this which he had done three times every day since his youth.
One day, as he was worshiping, these governors assembled and found Daniel making supplication before his God and they told the king and immediately “refreshed the king’s memory regarding the decree he had signed”. The king tried to deliver Daniel to no avail and was forced to give the command to throw him into the lion’s den in compliance with his own decree. The last thing the king said before they took Daniel away was, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”
Daniel was put in the lion’s den, then they rolled a stone over the mouth of the den to secure it and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and of his lords that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. The king was so upset over this that he fasted and did not sleep all night. Early in the morning he arose and immediately went to see Daniel and said,
“Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”
Then the king released Daniel and no injury was found on him because he believed in his God. Then the men who had devised the decree were brought and thrown into the lions den with their wives and children and were devoured before their bodies had even reached the bottom of the den.
This is a fabulous example of integrity of spirit. The first thing Daniel did when he heard the decree was to go and worship and petition his God. By this time he had seen God do incredible, supernatural things in his life that were evident to all so he knew that God could take care of him whatever the situation.
However, it would have been so easy for Daniel to save himself by justifying that it would be okay to pray only to the king as it would only be for thirty days!! Thirty days!!! That’s nothing!! After all, he had worshiped his God faithfully three times every day for years – what was the harm in praying to someone else for a measly thirty days in comparison to that??
However, Daniel was completely possessed with integrity of spirit as the scripture says. This is a prime example of Shakespeare’s quote, “To thine own self be true”. He determined not to betray his own convictions to please someone else which was to save himself. He placed his full trust and confidence in God to rescue him and God did just that. Even though everything was at stake for Daniel, he refused to give up his convictions to save own his life and instead remained true to his God.
EXAMPLE 2: (2 Chronicles 20:1-25)
King Jehoshaphat was faced with several nations coming to attack Israel in a united effort to destroy them. (Historians believe this to be around 10,000,000 people!!) The King did a very wise thing – he bowed his face to the ground in worship and sought the wisdom of God and instructed all of Israel to do so as well. They fasted, prayed and worshiped God. They also reminded God of His past goodness to them. Jehoshaphat prayed an incredible prayer (verses 7-12) and I can hear his voice rising in intensity as he recounts God’s previous victories. At the end the last thing he says is, “…we don’t know what to do but our eyes are on you!!” At that point a powerful prophecy came forth upon Jahaziel and then it gives his lineage telling that he came from a long line of prophets. The prophecy is God’s answer to Jehoshaphat’s prayer – FEAR NOT!! Then he gives a battle plan and position and the position was WORSHIP!!
When the battle was ready to begin instead of sending out his fiercest warriors at the battle front, Jehoshaphat had his best SINGERS walking ahead of the army while singing HIGH PRAISES TO GOD. Did that make sense? Of course not but IT HONORED GOD ABOVE THEIR FEAR AND PANIC and honoring God will always cause us to win. If you read the story, all 10,000,000 became completely confused and they killed one another as God sent ambushments against them. What a powerful God we serve. That was another black eye!!
OUR CHOICES:
Life is full of choices and we are today where the choices of all our yesterdays have taken us. One of the most profound things I have ever heard Joyce Meyer say is: “Don’t waste your trials.” That means that when the pressure of life is on and we don’t respond correctly, we will continue to go around and around and around the same issues until we do respond correctly. Many Christians run from their trials. If they have personality conflicts on their job, they quit. If their husband or wife isn’t absolutely perfect, they get a divorce or have an affair. If they have family issues, they run out and do drugs or alcohol but these are all the wrong responses. If we continue to live according to our flesh and let our feelings and emotions rule us, we will spend many years in defeat and disappointment because we can’t run from these issues. They will always be there facing us and until we begin to handle these issues with Godly responses, all these trials will be wasted because we haven’t taken advantage of them by growing from them.
The Israelites spent 40 years in disobedience in the desert for a trip that would have normally taken only 11 days because they chose that pathway in their lives. God gave them over to their disobedience and the entire generation (almost 3,000,000 people), died in the wilderness and never went into the glorious Promised Land that God had prepared for them the 40 years previous. Only two people of that generation went into the Promised Land who were Joshua and Caleb.
We are all faced with choices and if we don’t begin making the correct choices now, our entire lives will have been lived in vain. Many choices are purely a set up from the enemy. He sets us up for a fall and if we take the bait, the outcome can be disastrous. So many Christians remain baby Christians and can not go on to the “meat of the word” and the joys of learning that because they refuse to grow. The Apostle Paul speaks of the war of the Spirit and the flesh in Romans Chapters 6, 7 and 8 which shows us how to change God’s way.
Making the right choices ALL THE TIME is what it takes to be a victorious Christian, even when all may be at stake. This is the pathway to success. If we love and serve God faithfully, we will grow spiritually and that is the only way to defeat the enemy and conquer the giants in our lives. And there are so many giants – they were all on page 6!!!
The greatest tragedy is that SO MANY Christians are living in defeat. They never come into the fullness and blessings that God has planned for them because they never fall in love with God, enough to embrace His truths and they refuse to change. Unless they submit themselves to God, they will never live out the destiny and full life that is available and meant for them.
We went through almost 20 years of training that were incredible hardships and pain but through that time God tempered us. Every tear and every trial was worth it all because now God has delivered us on the other side where we now live a life better than I ever thought possible. Now we are seeing God’s multiplied goodness every day but that is because we were persistent in our faith and steadfast in believing that God truly had good things in store for us even though we lived through many years of terribly tough times. Those years were the testing ground for our future.
Growing up spiritually isn’t any easier than growing up in the physical realm yet it is very similar. Going through puberty is hard on everyone. The person is neither, an adult or a child, yet they are coming into adulthood. Spiritual growth is painful as well. It requires complete adherence to God, His word, His Spirit and His Son and the word says that His “chastening is not joyful for the present but grievous, nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.“ Hebrews 12:11. The book of Romans Chapters 6, 7 & 8 thoroughly explain the war within as the old life and the new man are compared to plainly show us the way to a better life in Christ.
It has been said “Those who stand for nothing, will fall for anything.”, which is a quote by Alexander Hamilton and Peter Marshall. I spent 12 years falling for anything because I chose to. Those years are the greatest regrets in my life but once I completely turned to God, He began to rebuild my life. My defining moment was when I took a stand to be exactly what God wanted me to be. I decided I didn’t want to be the enemy’s property any more but I truly wanted to be a child of a God – the God I read about in the Bible who loved me beyond any human love.
That is when I entered a very real war zone. And this is exactly what happens to most Christians because if they are truly serious and repentant then the enemy is furious at losing one of his own. He then floods the baby Christian’s life with everything to take him/her back into sin. That is why once you make the quality decision to follow Christ that life gets worse sometimes before it gets better. The Bible calls it a change in citizenship. We now become heirs of salvation instead of heirs of destruction.
Then the enemy will throw things at you to cause you to relinquish your decision to follow Christ. Everything that could go wrong will go wrong - your car breaks down, you lose your job, you get sick, your children get sick, you find your husband is cheating on you, someone on your job steals your wallet, you get in a car accident, a check bounces, or any of dozens and dozens of things the enemy will do to get you off track and get you away from God and most importantly, to get you mad at God. The enemy will tempt you with drugs, or alcohol or sex or stealing or hatred, fear or any of those things on page 6 again. That is why we need spiritual armor.
In Ephesians 6:12-18 the Apostle Paul writes about our spiritual armor as we are to stand against the enemy and having DONE ALL TO STAND AGAINST HIM!! Standing is not easy because we are born with a sinful nature yet we are all called to a new nature in God and that requires putting our flesh down. We are called to war against the enemy and to submit ourselves to God and resist the him and he will flee. (James 4:7)
Life as a Christian means that we have to WAR against the enemy so we’ve got to be committed, devoted soldiers in the army of God. We HAVE to learn how to control our thoughts, our actions, our attitudes and especially our words. Christ set the example. Can you see Christ complaining to God for anything? Can you see Him anything less than perfect when He did everything from healing EVERYONE to casting out demons, feeding thousands and raising the dead??? Our focus should continually be RELATIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD EVERY DAY and out of that flows the power to overcome the enemy and to become wise to his deceptions.
The armor is depicted in a spiritual sense but is meant to be lived out in the physical realm. As we can only defeat the devil when we are holy before the Lord and partaking of Him makes us holy, but we must maintain that holiness continually to become qualified to utilize the armor correctly.
GOD’S ARMOR: (Ephesians 6:10-20)
THE BELT OF TRUTH: The belt of truth girds us and gives us clear direction as He will guide us into all truth. It gives us discernment against all deception.
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: When we partake of the Lord daily, it builds us up spiritually and is what makes us pure. Holiness grows from the inside out and when we live our lives honorably, with integrity, honesty, and a godly conviction, His holiness protects us against evil.
THE SHOES OF PEACE: We purpose every day in our hearts to do good unto others. The word says to seek peace and pursue it and it’s even in the beatitudes – “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” God’s peace is so valuable its immeasurable. There were times that we went through terrible, terrible things and yet our hearts were calm, we always were able to sleep peacefully and we had every confidence that God was in control and still on the throne because we knew Him. It is a defining tool as well. We are to be led by peace and this truth will guide you into His complete will. The word says in Isaiah 26:3, “Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” I have literally lived that verse and it will amaze you how true the word of God really is.
THE SHIELD OF FAITH: We are to have the God-kind of faith. God spoke the universe into existence and experts tell us that the universe is still being created at 186,000 miles per second, which is the speed of light. Once God said it, it has never stopped. We are to have a type of faith that believes all things which is also a description of love in I Corinthians 13:7. In Hebrews 11:6 it states that we CANNOT please God unless we have faith so we are compelled to believe in the invisible, all-knowing, all-powerful God and that kind of faith in God and his word, quenches the untruths and attacks of the enemy.
THE HELMET: The helmet of salvation is meant to protect our thought life and we are to cast down unholy imaginations and keep our minds and hearts pure before God. We are to keep our lusts and passions in check so that the enemy can not take advantage of us. We are to have the mind of Christ and to bring every thought into captivity unto Him.
(I Corinthians 2:16, II Corinthians 10:5)
THE SWORD: The sword of the Spirit is the word of God and we can only use the word against the enemy when our hearts are pure before God and the power and authority that Christ backed His word with are only available to us when our hearts are united in Him. There are no gray areas or half hearted issues with God. If we are not going forward, we are backsliding and repentance is necessary again. Because Jesus related to the disciples that they are to forgive any offenses from anyone indefinitely, we too can be forgiven indefinitely as long as we are sincere. Asking true forgiveness and being sorry for our sins is different than being sorry that we were caught in our sin. Real repentance means that we change our conduct. Eventually God will bring us to the place that we finally get to the end of ourselves and we hate sin as badly as God does. We make real progress when we get to that place because then we will have conquered the sin that had enslaved us.
So…when I had received this impartation from God, rejoicing had begun to be a way of life. The enemy didn’t have his hook in me any longer so I began making real progress. I was incredibly peaceful and just began waiting on God in a whole new attitude. Amazingly all the things that bothered me before had no bearing on me at all. I just didn’t seem to notice them anymore. I had a fresh, new beginning and a real joy and peace within that was really indescribable.
In less than two weeks a door opened for us to rent a nice two bedroom, upstairs apartment with a balcony overlooking a small pool in a lovely setting, in a very convenient location for our jobs and in a nice neighborhood. And all at once all the finances came together for it at the same time – God truly has perfect timing!!! We finally had air conditioning, dependable plumbing and no mud or puppies!!! We had almost no furniture and we slept on the floor for two weeks before we got our next pay checks to buy a bed – it didn’t matter – none of that mattered because inside me was a real tranquility and a present love for God.
My greatest realization was that my real happiness was not in my surroundings, or any given situation or circumstance but in the depths of Christ himself. God had become my strength and source for everything and He has given me a firm foundation and stability in Him that is sure, steadfast and immovable!! He builds our lives one day at a time into something that has purpose, fulfillment and an eternal future.
And…I found that our lives can be joyous no matter what the enemy throws at us or whose swamp we’re living in!!!!!!
“For the Lord restores my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod (to protect me) and thy staff (to guide me) they comfort me… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23
By Pastors Vince & Laura Rizzo
This chapter happened five years after the chapter entitled “Tennessee or Bust” so I suggest that if you haven’t read that “test’ first that you do so as you will see some incredible similarities. If you have already read that chapter, please keep the details in mind.
As I begin this, I never, EVER, EVER in all my life figured that ANYTHING could be WORSE than what we went through in Tennessee. But, you know before you read this, that that is exactly what happened and it happened right in the swamps of Fort Myers, Florida in June of 1991. We spent all five years in Tennessee praying to move back to Florida and God answered that prayer as we obtained a small camper and a friend loaned us a 1985 Chevy Blazer to tow it for the drive back.
Arriving in Fort Myers, we soon settled into a less than desirous mobile home park in North Fort Myers which is a place that Jed Clampett would delight in calling home. Living by nothing other than what I call the “fumes of faith”, this time an opportunity came our way to be the caretakers of a 30,000 palm tree farm located off of Six Mile Cypress Parkway in south Fort Myers. (Ya think we would have learned from the first time!!)
Anyway, we gained this position in late May which is just around the corner from the rainy season and we were to be the owner’s “insurance” policy as we were to live on this farm rent free and watch over the property while he went north for the summer. To us this all-expenses-paid deal was like door number #3 on Let’s Make A Deal and we won the grand prize!! We were ecstatically excited at how blessed we were and how good God had been to us.
We had met the owner through a friend of a friend of a friend (Is that a clue??) and the first “friend” gave us the specifics of what the owner of the property was wanting in someone to watch over his property. We stopped by the property a couple times and chatted with the owner and the repairman that was there and took a stroll through the apartment we would be living in and right then and there we agreed to be the caretakers.
The next week we brought our little camper right up to the front door of this makeshift apartment equipment shed combination building and began unloading all our belongings into this place while we were day dreaming of how great it would be living there. By now the owner had left for Michigan and the repairman was still puttering around making his finishing touches.
At this point in our lives we had come to the place where God was the driving force and passion in our lives. We had fallen in love with Him so deeply that we desired Him like a drowning man wants air. We had come through six years of incredible hardships but nothing we went through could shake our commitment and dedication to the all powerful, all loving God we served. The more stuff we seemed to go through, somehow, the more loyal we became because we knew we found Jesus in the storms of life so each “chapter” was a new adventure. We went and did whatever, whenever with whoever and wherever God planted us until He would open the next door for us - -soooooo – quitting was never an option no matter how bad things got because…we wanted to please Him as He was our heart’s delight.
I think this would be a good place for a disclaimer – We clearly see now that anything free is not always good and all would do well to remember that!!! This is really a no-brainer but it takes a few times around the mountain before all the insanities of life start making sense!!
Anyway…two weeks after we moved in and the owner was long gone, it began to rain. We soon discovered that the roof leaked in three different places, every sink leaked and the worst of it was that the toilet would not flush when it rained and it rained like Noah’s flood every day!!! Thus, our daily routine without a workable toilet meant we had to use a five gallon paint bucket and a garbage bag and had to dump it every day.
We also noticed that when it rained the whole apartment equipment shed just kind of sat in the middle of a big pool and there was mud 500 feet in every direction. The whole place was like one big swamp. Even worse was the fact that the summers in Florida are unbearable with 90+ degree heat and intense humidity every day and we had no air conditioning, our Chevy van we’d acquired by then had no air conditioning and a large neighborhood dog kept leaving piles of droppings all around the property. All this produced incredible stress and discomfort and made us rather irritable especially when the repairman the owner had chosen was more of a “Tim the tool man” kind of guy who couldn’t repair a leaky faucet.
We had been working some temporary jobs until we finally got hired as cleaning technicians for United Telephone Company. Each night from 5:00 p.m. till 1:00 a.m. we cleaned one whole floor the size of K-Mart. That was exhausting enough but then we had to face coming home each night. It was an actual feat just getting from the van to the apartment. The moment we stepped out of the van you could clearly hear the sounds of deepest Africa…the mating call of the alligator (and I do know what that sounds like!!), the choruses of tree frogs, an occasional cry of a heron and masses of crickets and swarms of mosquitoes.
However, I was ready… I was armed with a jacket, eyeglasses, an umbrella, an old pair of shoes, the keys, my purse, our lunch buckets, a hat, and a can of bug spray. I carried everything just in case some monster or Big Foot jumped out at me in which case Vince would be free of any encumbrances and be able to easily rescue me. He carried the flashlight.
Five nights a week we had to make this trek to the apartment 500 feet away from where we parked, trudging through the mud, swatting at the mosquitoes, dodging the dog piles, scanning the ground with the flashlight while looking for alligators and snakes and praying to escape all these. Upon reaching the door I would put on the hat and eyeglasses while skillfully balancing all my gear and proceed to hose down the front door with bug spray to deter them from swarming into our kitchen. Once inside, we’d run for the lights and plop down exhausted and then notice what had decided to visit our apartment while we were away. Regularly we would find spiders, snakes, crickets and large ants and about anything else that would do anything to get away from all that mud and water. Here AGAIN, we had spiders and crickets!!
The weekends were also miserable as we would do anything to get out of the stifling heat and intense humidity. It’s pretty bad when you want to go anywhere but home.
One night we had just gotten home and sat down to do some reading before going to bed. I was sitting on the couch and happened to put my book down and put my head on the back of the couch when looked up and saw a spider the size of Chicago on the ceiling in the reflection of the light on the ceiling. These creatures are called banana spiders down here. Most of them are 3 inches across, which includes the body and leg span – horrifying creatures that are as fast as the wind and impossible to catch.
My breath froze as I stared in disbelief as I never remember them being that large. Moving VERY slowly, not daring to take my eyes off that creature, I rose from the couch while telling Vince that he had to kill that thing that night or I would not be able to sleep the entire night. He knows the truth of that statement so he went to get a broom from the shed and then began the battle between he and the spider. I went to putter in the kitchen all the while hearing the swats and bags and doors opening and banging shut as he proceeded from the living room to the bathroom and then to the office. Result? Spider -1, Vince – 0.
Ohhhh, I thought, this is going to be a very L – O – N – G night as I would be spending it in the kitchen which was the farthest point from the office where the culprit was last seen. Resolving to the fact that I would be awake the rest of the night, we both went back to the living room to read and after a while I put my book down, my head back on the couch and there --- there, was that same spider in the exact same spot!! Could it be, I asked myself, blinking in unbelief??? Yes, there it was and I again arose from the couch talking in hushed tones to Vince telling him he had another chance. This time Vince won!
Another night I was in our upright shower when there was an incredible, deafening explosion as if a sawed-off shotgun had gone off right next to my ear. I shrieked a blood curdling screamed in horror and opened my eyes to find white foam everywhere. It was all over me, all over the walls, the shower curtain, the ceiling and floor. At that moment Vince burst into the bathroom, flung open the shower curtain and after seeing I was unharmed, burst into uncontrollable laughter.
Needless to say, I was violently shaking and stunned at first. But then I began to look around to see what in the world had almost given me a heart attack and covered me with foam. It was then I had discovered that the seam on his shaving cream can had rusted through and this caused all the pressure in the can to be released in one huge explosion rendering everything in white foam!! At that realization I too exploded in laughter so hard I could hardly breathe. Gasping for air it dawned on me that that metal can could have easily severed an arm or a leg and yet here I was just dripping wet and white!! I am sure some angel somewhere was full of shaving cream too as God must have had to send an angel to protect me from certain harm – How excellent is His care of us!!
And just to keep you up to speed about how much worse things could have gotten, another night I was in this same shower at 2:00 a.m. and was all soaped up when the water just shut off (why is it always me, Lord?). I yelled in a very accusing tone wondering what Vince had done now and of course he was minding his own business and answered that he was going outside to investigate. I heard him go out the front door of the apartment and then heard him yell, “Oh my God!” as he came running back into the apartment shouting that there was a twenty-foot geyser in the front yard and that he was going to look for the shut off valve.
He finally located it but was unable to repair the pipe and then realized that the entire palm tree farm irrigation system was linked to the plumbing in our apartment. That was another no-brainer and needless to say, a very soapy sponge bath ensued and then the water heater burned out the next day. That meant we didn’t even have hot water for about a week and I sure wasn’t going to have the owner’s repairman fix it!!
Another day Vince had gone somewhere and it was pouring down rain when he left. As the water around the place was around six inches deep, I was just sitting by the window watching it get worse and worse when I noticed a mud puppy struggling in the mud and then he managed to find deeper water and I watched him swim by each window around as he traveled around the whole circumference of the apartment. And for those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s kind of a fish with fins that are more like arms. As I am watching this, I am thinking to myself, what in the world am I doing here????
Now, between the roof leaks, the broken toilet and water heater, the swamp, the extreme heat and humidity, the creatures in and around our apartment, the dog piles, the mud, the unexpected “fun-filled” occurrences, the incompetent repairman who wanted to drop by at any time unannounced and wanted to use our shower any time, the torrents of rain, and fighting all this, I was really a wreck emotionally.
After four months of this nonsense, I was really getting to my limit and I must admit that my attitude was less than joyous. One evening I just happened to be reading Romans 5:1-5:
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience worketh experience and experience worketh hope and hope maketh not ashamed…”
…and I noticed the cross-reference was James 1:3 which is:
“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
The “knowing this” in this verse is revealed in verse 2, which is:
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.”
Well, that triggered a real anger within me and I cried out to God in exasperated frustration and said, “Just how do you expect me to rejoice in all this?”
I didn’t get an answer right away so I opened another book I had been reading by Rev. Jamie Buckingham entitled, “Where Eagles Soar”, and I stumbled on a bible verse that ignited my soul and spirit!! Here was my answer!! It was Hebrews 12:26 & 27:
“Whose voice then shook the earth, but now He hath promised, saying, yet once more I shake not the earth only but also heaven. And this word, “yet once more” signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”
The moment I read those words it was as if I was on fire!!! And then I heard the voice of the Lord in my spirit and He said, “I’m shaking you to see that what remains is pleasing to me.” And then waves of the love of God began to wash over me. Tears of joy began pouring down my face as God’s all empowering inner peace overwhelmed me. Through the tears I said, “God, now I can go through anything just for you.” This one verse had released all the torment and gave me an inner peace that forever changed the course of my life.
Everything from that point on began to make sense. I realized that the reason I was here and was suffering through all this mess was because God loved me enough to show me who I really was and what was in my heart. Through all these trials I had made the choice to exhibit all the characteristics of a spoiled child. In essence I was throwing a tantrum!! I was whining, crying, complaining, wallowing in self-pity, I was depressed, frustrated, angry, confused, and I wasn’t talking too nice either.
I was completely out of control and was ruled by my emotions and feelings as I was in bondage to them. The enemy was controlling me and having a great time tormenting me by causing these problems and I was playing right into his hand by giving him the response he was looking for as I was acting just like him. I was plainly exhibiting a sinful nature and my conduct was proving it. The Bible says, “We shall know them by their fruit.”, and I was bearing the fruit of unrighteousness (ungodliness) even though I had a love for God.
Now, the exact opposite of this is really pretty much unknown to the world. When the ungodly are faced with trials and tribulations they respond the same way I did. So, if Christians are acting as bad as those who are heathens, how are they to tell the difference if we are bearing the same fruit they are? But we who call ourselves Christians should be demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit especially during those times. The proper Christian conduct is to exhibit godliness and holiness. We are to be ruled by the Holy Spirit which will then cause us to bear the proper fruit and we can ONLY do this in His strength.
God’s purpose in all these trials was to produce a Christ-like character within me which is what the term “Christian” means. I have heard it called “the sandpapering of the Lord” and I would use the terms “sculpt” or “chisel”, but this refers to the way that God fashions circumstances to produce the fruits of the Spirit in us. The Bible says that if God doesn’t discipline us, then we are not true heirs. These circumstances chip away at the ungodliness in our lives and are only beneficial when we respond in the right manner. If we truly call ourselves a Christian, then we should be exhibiting the characteristics of Christ no matter what we are going through.
Jesus was the supreme example. He never panicked, had self-pity or complained, had rage or acted unholy in any way. He demonstrated powerfully the fruits of the Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, self-control, etc.
I Peter 1:15 & 16 says, “But, as He which has called you is holy, you also be ye holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
That is the plumb line and our goal in this life but again, it can only be done “in and through Him”.
God wants us and expects us to live by a code of ethics that is way beyond more than being just religious. It is not the “goodie two shoes prude” way of life but a truly surrendered life that brings glory to God and shows the world what a real Christian is. A true hero of the faith is someone who practices holiness daily and lives his life FOR the god he serves. The word “sacrifice” is something he doesn’t even consider because he is so in love with the one he serves. This person looks at serving God as a supreme privilege and considers it an honor to submit to any kind of sacrifice that’s required.
This is a description of Jesus. He came as a servant and His purpose was to give us life and life more abundantly. He had complete peace and was submitted to God in every situation because His life was ruled by God the Father. He plainly said He did nothing except what the Father wanted Him to do and what the Father wanted Him to say. He went about doing good. He was the epitome of peace, love, joy, and self-control, which again are fruits of the Spirit. Just as Jesus “gave his life” so are we expected to do the same as he said, “He who gives his life for my sake, shall save it.” (Matthew 10:39) His plan for us is to do greater works than he did. John 14:12
It was impossible for Him to produce bad fruit only because He fully surrendered His life to the Father and the Holy Spirit empowered him to overcome every attack of the enemy. He could never have been the real Son of God or the perfect sacrifice for all of humanity unless he was tempted just like we are and yet he was without sin, completely victorious and pure in every respect. (Hebrews 4:15) If He wasn’t pure, his sacrificial life and hideous death would have been in vain and our sins could never be forgiven because his blood couldn’t have obliterated our sins if it was tainted with sin.
If we are living our lives and walking in the Spirit of the living God, we are not going to be given to all the responses of the flesh but we are going to exhibit the characteristics of a life in the Spirit of God -- to live a victorious life ABOVE and BEYOND our emotions and feelings. We will demonstrate the attitudes of Christ especially when we live our lives FOR Him.
I have heard many people say that Christianity is a crutch but it takes a very strong Christian to control himself when all hell is breaking loose around him and yet he remains in peace, he is content, He is focused on Christ and not on his problems and he has true joy within. Again, that can ONLY be done in His strength for the word says, “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!!” Philippians 4:13. This is NOT a mind over matter issue. This IS a relationship with the God of the Universe.
The Bible clearly shows us a comparison of living in the flesh as opposed to living in the Holy Spirit:
THE WORKS OF THE FLESH:
Galatians 6:8 “For he that sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption…”
Matthew 7:17 “For a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.”
Matthew 7:20 “Wherefore by their fruits shall ye know them.”
Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are:
Adultery (unlawful sexual relations)
Fornication (all forms of sexual perversion)
Uncleanness, (immorality, impurity, indecency, lewdness)
Idolatry (inordinate affection)
Sorcery (witchcraft, Occult, New Age practices, superstition)
Enmity (hatred)
Strife (emulations)
Jealousy (indignation)
Anger (ill-temper)
Selfishness (lovers of self)
Divisions (factions, disorder, one of the seven things God hates)
Dissensions (quarreling, debating, disputes, discord)
Outbursts of wrath (rage, indignation, fierceness)
Heresies
Envy
Murders
Drunkenness (carousing)
Revelries (rioting, sinful and obscene activities, lasciviousness)
and the like of which I tell you beforehand, … that those who practice such things WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”
If you bear the above fruits, your life will be one of torment, destruction, loss, disappointment, unfulfillment and in the end, eternal damnation. Yes, sin has its appeal but only for a season. Any accomplishments or rewards cannot bring true and lasting happiness or eternal value.
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD:
Galatians 6:8 “But he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Matthew 7:17 “…every good tree brings forth good fruit…”
Galatians 5:22-25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is:
Love Faithfulness
Joy Gentleness
Peace Self-control
Patience Meekness
Kindness Humility
Goodness
Against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus, the Messiah, HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH which is the godless human nature, with its passions and appetites and desires. IF WE LIVE BY THE (HOLY) SPIRIT, LET US ALSO WALK BY THE (HOLY) SPIRIT.”
If you bear the above fruits, your life will be one of real and lasting peace, maturity, wondrous rewards here and in the next life and you will live out the destiny and purpose in God that you were created for if you continue in Him. The best part is that you will spend all of eternity with Him.
HOW TO DO THIS: Practical Guidelines and Examples
PRAY: Ask God to help you right where you’re at. He can’t help you unless you develop an intimate, daily relationship with Him. Ask Him to help you trust Him. Its not easy communicating or trusting in anyone you can’t see but none the less He is very real and He completely loves you. Pour your heart out to Him. Be honest with yourself and Him. Face who you really are and give it to Him and ask Him to remold and reshape your life. Regardless of how long God takes to answer your prayer, He promises He will answer. Seek him first thing every day.
WORSHIP GOD: Right now, whatever you are faced with, start loving and worshiping God every way you can think of and do it every day. Thank Him vocally and loudly that He is your deliverer. Most of the Psalms were written by King David and he truly delighted in God. One of my favorites is Psalm 34 in which he passionately poured his heart out in love to God. Using the Psalms can help to bring you to more easily focus on worshiping God. Focus on Him and not on your problems, what you are doing for the day, where you are going, what the kids are doing or what you’re having for dinner.
Give your entire attention to God as you would a person you highly respect. Take time to delight yourself in God by actively communicating your heart to God (singing, dancing, and rejoicing in Him, lying prostrate before Him, or focusing on Him for an indefinite period of time). Many false religions actively and visually worship their gods with no regard for anyone anywhere. They unashamedly bow to the ground in public, chant and do this repeatedly throughout each day. How much more should we actively worship a God who gave His perfect only Son as a sacrifice for us, who died and rose from the dead and who is alive forevermore and loves us beyond all human comprehension? Celebrate God in your heart each day and it will bring you joy above all your trials.
Worship can be defined in many ways. Make a concerted effort to care for others because God tells us to love Him first and others like we love ourselves. On purpose determine to be a blessing to others. Matthew 22:37-39. When you get to the point that you WORSHIP God every day for His solution to your problems, it actually brings you peace in the midst of your storms. He didn’t say to cast all our cares on Him for nothing!!! (I Peter 5:7)
READ HIS WORD: So many people don’t know God because they don’t spend time reading His word. Find out who He is and learn how to live by His word. Ask Him to help you understand His word. This will help you to keep from surrendering to temptations. Jesus himself used God’s word to defeat the enemy. Partake of His word daily – feed your spirit on it and take time to spiritually digest it – in it lies the wondrous available secrets to overcoming the torment of the enemy. The New Testament has so many practical applications and examples of the word lived out among His people. Fall in love with God and His Son.
HOW TO ACT: When our words, our body language and our thought life demonstrate godliness and holiness before the Lord, before others and before the enemy, we are learning to be a mature Christian. This is how we grow up in Christ. All of us have weaknesses as we are all human but God, our creator, knows how to help us.
Choose to rejoice in the face of torment or lack or pain or hatred as this honors God and brings Him on the scene and when you rejoice in the face of the enemy, this defeats him. If he can’t cause you to react sinfully, he will quickly leave and when you rejoice in your trials, he just can’t take it. He came to steal, kill and destroy us. He tempts us to misbehave and if we surrender to him then he puts condemnation on us for doing what he tempted us to do and that is usually followed by guilt which drives us away from God. When we submit to him we lose every time whether its short term or long term.
Verbally rejoicing and praising God OUT LOUD for the answer to your prayers, no matter how long the answer takes, is the mature way to handle matters that are completely beyond our control. This develops patience and endurance within us and fully commits the matter into His hands. He can’t do anything with our problems until we leave them in His hands. If we keep worrying and stewing about the problem, that is not giving the problem to Him. Only when we learn to control our thought processes can we fully surrender our problems to Him. That is what real trust is. We entrust what concerns us into His capable, loving ways and in exchange He gives us complete peace about the matter. When we focus on His peace instead of our problem, we become free of that problem and this exchange then enables Him to solve the problem in His time and in His way.
Now, if we don’t handle our problems like this, it’s during times like these that God brings conviction to us and that is what we need to surrender to. Repentance means to change and that is a pivotal direction. Don’t allow your conscience or better judgment to be seared. I believe it was Shakespeare who said “To thy own self be true.” Do not deliberately do things that will bring you pain in the future. Don’t respond to things that violate God’s word because in the long run they will cause you misery and pain. Don’t give yourselves to things that are impulsive, impetuous and unwise. Pray for the wisdom of God and He will give you wisdom to live by that will bring you joy beyond measure.
Whenever you sin, ask the Lord to forgive you immediately. Keep the communication lines open because that will draw you closer to God and the Holy Spirit can work and do greater things through your life.
RECOGNIZE THE ISSUES: I have had many times in my life where I have been faced with a decision. The enemy was baiting me and I could either choose God’s way or the enemy’s way. If it is an issue that causes torment or confusion, it is definitely not from God. The paths that God prepares for us will give us peace. The word says that we should be led by peace. Jeremiah 29:11 specifically says God has good plans for us however the enemy devises a set up with some of the decisions we are faced with. If we take the “bait” there can be regretful results.
The enemy is also a counterfeiter. He will send a false peace as well but the things of the enemy always eventually end in torment or destruction and if we partake of what he offers us, we will eventually experience a downward cycle where our lives get worse and worse.
DO NOT COMPLAIN: Complaining is a very serious matter. In the Old Testament the Israelites repeatedly disobeyed God and complained against Him. Their actions brought an earthquake, a consuming fire and a plague which killed thousands of them.
If we cling to God to help us defeat the enemy, He will help us from giving in to our emotions and feelings. This is how TRUE TRUST AND FAITH IN GOD REPLACES THOSE fleshly responses.
When we truly give ourselves to worship God in the worst of circumstances, this is what I call “giving the devil a black eye!!”
Here are just two of many different examples in the Bible:
EXAMPLE 1: (Daniel 6:1-28)
Daniel was a member of the Jewish royal family of Jerusalem and when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged the city, Daniel became a hostage at 14 years of age. He and three other noble youths were taken into captivity and were groomed to be advisors in the king’s court for three years. Following that Daniel had become known as a seer and a wise man as God was truly with him as he interpreted dreams for the king that none of his other advisors could even attempt. He was then highly favored of the king and was promoted as a governor for his “excellent spirit”.
Then the king desired to place one of the governors as a chief governor over the all the other governors, advisors and counselors and the king was considering Daniel. This greatly threatened the other governors as they desired the position so they tried to discredit Daniel with something that would disqualify him. The problem was, they could find no flaw in Daniel so they devised a law and pleaded with the king to sign this law that would deliberately incriminate Daniel as they knew of his extreme commitment to worship his God. Thus they conspired together with all the other dignitaries of the court and approached the king saying:
“All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the “law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter”. Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.” Daniel 6:7-9
This decree delighted the king as it brought him greater honor but when Daniel heard about it, he went home, got on his knees, worshiped, thanked and petitioned his God as usual and continued doing this which he had done three times every day since his youth.
One day, as he was worshiping, these governors assembled and found Daniel making supplication before his God and they told the king and immediately “refreshed the king’s memory regarding the decree he had signed”. The king tried to deliver Daniel to no avail and was forced to give the command to throw him into the lion’s den in compliance with his own decree. The last thing the king said before they took Daniel away was, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”
Daniel was put in the lion’s den, then they rolled a stone over the mouth of the den to secure it and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and of his lords that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. The king was so upset over this that he fasted and did not sleep all night. Early in the morning he arose and immediately went to see Daniel and said,
“Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”
Then the king released Daniel and no injury was found on him because he believed in his God. Then the men who had devised the decree were brought and thrown into the lions den with their wives and children and were devoured before their bodies had even reached the bottom of the den.
This is a fabulous example of integrity of spirit. The first thing Daniel did when he heard the decree was to go and worship and petition his God. By this time he had seen God do incredible, supernatural things in his life that were evident to all so he knew that God could take care of him whatever the situation.
However, it would have been so easy for Daniel to save himself by justifying that it would be okay to pray only to the king as it would only be for thirty days!! Thirty days!!! That’s nothing!! After all, he had worshiped his God faithfully three times every day for years – what was the harm in praying to someone else for a measly thirty days in comparison to that??
However, Daniel was completely possessed with integrity of spirit as the scripture says. This is a prime example of Shakespeare’s quote, “To thine own self be true”. He determined not to betray his own convictions to please someone else which was to save himself. He placed his full trust and confidence in God to rescue him and God did just that. Even though everything was at stake for Daniel, he refused to give up his convictions to save own his life and instead remained true to his God.
EXAMPLE 2: (2 Chronicles 20:1-25)
King Jehoshaphat was faced with several nations coming to attack Israel in a united effort to destroy them. (Historians believe this to be around 10,000,000 people!!) The King did a very wise thing – he bowed his face to the ground in worship and sought the wisdom of God and instructed all of Israel to do so as well. They fasted, prayed and worshiped God. They also reminded God of His past goodness to them. Jehoshaphat prayed an incredible prayer (verses 7-12) and I can hear his voice rising in intensity as he recounts God’s previous victories. At the end the last thing he says is, “…we don’t know what to do but our eyes are on you!!” At that point a powerful prophecy came forth upon Jahaziel and then it gives his lineage telling that he came from a long line of prophets. The prophecy is God’s answer to Jehoshaphat’s prayer – FEAR NOT!! Then he gives a battle plan and position and the position was WORSHIP!!
When the battle was ready to begin instead of sending out his fiercest warriors at the battle front, Jehoshaphat had his best SINGERS walking ahead of the army while singing HIGH PRAISES TO GOD. Did that make sense? Of course not but IT HONORED GOD ABOVE THEIR FEAR AND PANIC and honoring God will always cause us to win. If you read the story, all 10,000,000 became completely confused and they killed one another as God sent ambushments against them. What a powerful God we serve. That was another black eye!!
OUR CHOICES:
Life is full of choices and we are today where the choices of all our yesterdays have taken us. One of the most profound things I have ever heard Joyce Meyer say is: “Don’t waste your trials.” That means that when the pressure of life is on and we don’t respond correctly, we will continue to go around and around and around the same issues until we do respond correctly. Many Christians run from their trials. If they have personality conflicts on their job, they quit. If their husband or wife isn’t absolutely perfect, they get a divorce or have an affair. If they have family issues, they run out and do drugs or alcohol but these are all the wrong responses. If we continue to live according to our flesh and let our feelings and emotions rule us, we will spend many years in defeat and disappointment because we can’t run from these issues. They will always be there facing us and until we begin to handle these issues with Godly responses, all these trials will be wasted because we haven’t taken advantage of them by growing from them.
The Israelites spent 40 years in disobedience in the desert for a trip that would have normally taken only 11 days because they chose that pathway in their lives. God gave them over to their disobedience and the entire generation (almost 3,000,000 people), died in the wilderness and never went into the glorious Promised Land that God had prepared for them the 40 years previous. Only two people of that generation went into the Promised Land who were Joshua and Caleb.
We are all faced with choices and if we don’t begin making the correct choices now, our entire lives will have been lived in vain. Many choices are purely a set up from the enemy. He sets us up for a fall and if we take the bait, the outcome can be disastrous. So many Christians remain baby Christians and can not go on to the “meat of the word” and the joys of learning that because they refuse to grow. The Apostle Paul speaks of the war of the Spirit and the flesh in Romans Chapters 6, 7 and 8 which shows us how to change God’s way.
Making the right choices ALL THE TIME is what it takes to be a victorious Christian, even when all may be at stake. This is the pathway to success. If we love and serve God faithfully, we will grow spiritually and that is the only way to defeat the enemy and conquer the giants in our lives. And there are so many giants – they were all on page 6!!!
The greatest tragedy is that SO MANY Christians are living in defeat. They never come into the fullness and blessings that God has planned for them because they never fall in love with God, enough to embrace His truths and they refuse to change. Unless they submit themselves to God, they will never live out the destiny and full life that is available and meant for them.
We went through almost 20 years of training that were incredible hardships and pain but through that time God tempered us. Every tear and every trial was worth it all because now God has delivered us on the other side where we now live a life better than I ever thought possible. Now we are seeing God’s multiplied goodness every day but that is because we were persistent in our faith and steadfast in believing that God truly had good things in store for us even though we lived through many years of terribly tough times. Those years were the testing ground for our future.
Growing up spiritually isn’t any easier than growing up in the physical realm yet it is very similar. Going through puberty is hard on everyone. The person is neither, an adult or a child, yet they are coming into adulthood. Spiritual growth is painful as well. It requires complete adherence to God, His word, His Spirit and His Son and the word says that His “chastening is not joyful for the present but grievous, nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.“ Hebrews 12:11. The book of Romans Chapters 6, 7 & 8 thoroughly explain the war within as the old life and the new man are compared to plainly show us the way to a better life in Christ.
It has been said “Those who stand for nothing, will fall for anything.”, which is a quote by Alexander Hamilton and Peter Marshall. I spent 12 years falling for anything because I chose to. Those years are the greatest regrets in my life but once I completely turned to God, He began to rebuild my life. My defining moment was when I took a stand to be exactly what God wanted me to be. I decided I didn’t want to be the enemy’s property any more but I truly wanted to be a child of a God – the God I read about in the Bible who loved me beyond any human love.
That is when I entered a very real war zone. And this is exactly what happens to most Christians because if they are truly serious and repentant then the enemy is furious at losing one of his own. He then floods the baby Christian’s life with everything to take him/her back into sin. That is why once you make the quality decision to follow Christ that life gets worse sometimes before it gets better. The Bible calls it a change in citizenship. We now become heirs of salvation instead of heirs of destruction.
Then the enemy will throw things at you to cause you to relinquish your decision to follow Christ. Everything that could go wrong will go wrong - your car breaks down, you lose your job, you get sick, your children get sick, you find your husband is cheating on you, someone on your job steals your wallet, you get in a car accident, a check bounces, or any of dozens and dozens of things the enemy will do to get you off track and get you away from God and most importantly, to get you mad at God. The enemy will tempt you with drugs, or alcohol or sex or stealing or hatred, fear or any of those things on page 6 again. That is why we need spiritual armor.
In Ephesians 6:12-18 the Apostle Paul writes about our spiritual armor as we are to stand against the enemy and having DONE ALL TO STAND AGAINST HIM!! Standing is not easy because we are born with a sinful nature yet we are all called to a new nature in God and that requires putting our flesh down. We are called to war against the enemy and to submit ourselves to God and resist the him and he will flee. (James 4:7)
Life as a Christian means that we have to WAR against the enemy so we’ve got to be committed, devoted soldiers in the army of God. We HAVE to learn how to control our thoughts, our actions, our attitudes and especially our words. Christ set the example. Can you see Christ complaining to God for anything? Can you see Him anything less than perfect when He did everything from healing EVERYONE to casting out demons, feeding thousands and raising the dead??? Our focus should continually be RELATIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD EVERY DAY and out of that flows the power to overcome the enemy and to become wise to his deceptions.
The armor is depicted in a spiritual sense but is meant to be lived out in the physical realm. As we can only defeat the devil when we are holy before the Lord and partaking of Him makes us holy, but we must maintain that holiness continually to become qualified to utilize the armor correctly.
GOD’S ARMOR: (Ephesians 6:10-20)
THE BELT OF TRUTH: The belt of truth girds us and gives us clear direction as He will guide us into all truth. It gives us discernment against all deception.
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: When we partake of the Lord daily, it builds us up spiritually and is what makes us pure. Holiness grows from the inside out and when we live our lives honorably, with integrity, honesty, and a godly conviction, His holiness protects us against evil.
THE SHOES OF PEACE: We purpose every day in our hearts to do good unto others. The word says to seek peace and pursue it and it’s even in the beatitudes – “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” God’s peace is so valuable its immeasurable. There were times that we went through terrible, terrible things and yet our hearts were calm, we always were able to sleep peacefully and we had every confidence that God was in control and still on the throne because we knew Him. It is a defining tool as well. We are to be led by peace and this truth will guide you into His complete will. The word says in Isaiah 26:3, “Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” I have literally lived that verse and it will amaze you how true the word of God really is.
THE SHIELD OF FAITH: We are to have the God-kind of faith. God spoke the universe into existence and experts tell us that the universe is still being created at 186,000 miles per second, which is the speed of light. Once God said it, it has never stopped. We are to have a type of faith that believes all things which is also a description of love in I Corinthians 13:7. In Hebrews 11:6 it states that we CANNOT please God unless we have faith so we are compelled to believe in the invisible, all-knowing, all-powerful God and that kind of faith in God and his word, quenches the untruths and attacks of the enemy.
THE HELMET: The helmet of salvation is meant to protect our thought life and we are to cast down unholy imaginations and keep our minds and hearts pure before God. We are to keep our lusts and passions in check so that the enemy can not take advantage of us. We are to have the mind of Christ and to bring every thought into captivity unto Him.
(I Corinthians 2:16, II Corinthians 10:5)
THE SWORD: The sword of the Spirit is the word of God and we can only use the word against the enemy when our hearts are pure before God and the power and authority that Christ backed His word with are only available to us when our hearts are united in Him. There are no gray areas or half hearted issues with God. If we are not going forward, we are backsliding and repentance is necessary again. Because Jesus related to the disciples that they are to forgive any offenses from anyone indefinitely, we too can be forgiven indefinitely as long as we are sincere. Asking true forgiveness and being sorry for our sins is different than being sorry that we were caught in our sin. Real repentance means that we change our conduct. Eventually God will bring us to the place that we finally get to the end of ourselves and we hate sin as badly as God does. We make real progress when we get to that place because then we will have conquered the sin that had enslaved us.
So…when I had received this impartation from God, rejoicing had begun to be a way of life. The enemy didn’t have his hook in me any longer so I began making real progress. I was incredibly peaceful and just began waiting on God in a whole new attitude. Amazingly all the things that bothered me before had no bearing on me at all. I just didn’t seem to notice them anymore. I had a fresh, new beginning and a real joy and peace within that was really indescribable.
In less than two weeks a door opened for us to rent a nice two bedroom, upstairs apartment with a balcony overlooking a small pool in a lovely setting, in a very convenient location for our jobs and in a nice neighborhood. And all at once all the finances came together for it at the same time – God truly has perfect timing!!! We finally had air conditioning, dependable plumbing and no mud or puppies!!! We had almost no furniture and we slept on the floor for two weeks before we got our next pay checks to buy a bed – it didn’t matter – none of that mattered because inside me was a real tranquility and a present love for God.
My greatest realization was that my real happiness was not in my surroundings, or any given situation or circumstance but in the depths of Christ himself. God had become my strength and source for everything and He has given me a firm foundation and stability in Him that is sure, steadfast and immovable!! He builds our lives one day at a time into something that has purpose, fulfillment and an eternal future.
And…I found that our lives can be joyous no matter what the enemy throws at us or whose swamp we’re living in!!!!!!
“For the Lord restores my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod (to protect me) and thy staff (to guide me) they comfort me… Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23
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