Go Fight Win!

Matthew 28:16-20 NIV

The Great Commission

 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The definition of Commission is: An instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of people.

I have recently been wondering if I am equipped to handle what I feel like God is putting on my heart. I have been doing some soul-searching and have kind of questioned myself as to whether I have the voice to do it or not. I feel like I need that person (whoever THAT person is) that is there to cheer me on, constantly telling me "good job, you got this!" just to confirm that what I am doing is the right thing. The spiritual side of me tells me that the only confirmation I need is from God, but the human side of me tells me otherwise - and I am smart enough to know that the spiritual side wins but it's not always that easy. This morning, on my way to work, again I was thinking that I am nervous and kind of being shy (if that's possible) about doing what I feel like God is putting on my heart. The thoughts that ran through my mind were "What if I'm not bold enough", "What if I come across not knowing what I'm talking about", "What if the people that I am talking to don't feel connected". And then God said to me "Go back to a time when you were bold, when you made people connect.." And I kind of chuckled to myself and thought back to when I was 16 and was a cheerleader. And it then it dawned on me - God drew me back to that time for a reason and then I said to myself "Wow! He knew me then!". I can tell you that not one time while I was cheerleading back in 1994, did 16 year old Terri ever think that God was with her - not one time. It wasn't that I didn't believe in God at 16 years old - I just wasn't worried. I knew that it was my job to cheer on my team, to use my voice in a bold way to get the crowd pumped up and excited for the game - and it worked! I never once thought "what if they think I don't know what I'm doing?" or "What if the crowd doesn't cheer along with us?" I just went out and did what I did, not realizing that God was with me and was watching me the whole time and that 25-some years later, God had a plan to use that bold voice. In the verse above, Jesus tells us "I am with you always" - so this is confirmation that He was with me then, he is with me now and according to the verse "He will be with me to the very end of age". And if he is with me, he is watching me. He was watching 16 year old Terri - running onto that gym floor and owning it. And he is watching me now - watching me question "Am I bold enough to do what YOU are asking ME to do?"

So, how does a 41 year old woman find that 16 year old voice? That 16 year old determination to lead and teach other people, to get people pumped up about the game of life and not just life but LIVING. There is a difference in living life and living life with and through Christ. How do I dig down deep and find that inner 16 year old voice and have it mesh with my 41 year old heart? How did I get to where I am today as compared to where I was a year ago? Today, the lesson is no different than it was last year or it was when I was 16 -

1. “Go,” the Lord said to Moses, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses questioned this for a variety of reasons, much like we do - and God reassures Moses that He will be with Moses.

We are all called to be disciples of Christ. Once we are a follower of Christ, we are to go out and make disciples of others - to lead others to Christ. How do we do that? How do we show others that we have changed from what we used to be to the new creation we have become? How do we learn to or continue to have a relationship with Christ - the kind of relationship where we don't just live a hum drum/mediocre life but to have the mountain-moving kind of faith to actually LIVE the life that was meant for us?

2. "Fight" In order for our military to fight in battle, they are equipped with the proper gear - the proper tools to fight the battle to win. They don't go into battle unprepared with no knowledge of the war or the tools needed to get the job done. They study, they learn the tools and then use the tools in practice to prepare for the battle.

Ephesians 6:11-17 tells us what we need to stand against the devil. Because once we understand that we don't just want to live but we want to LIVE, satan WILL fight against us, so we need to be prepared to fight back! We need to put on the FULL Armour of God:

The Belt Of Truth

The Breastplate Of Righteousness

Feet firmly placed with the Gospel Of Peace

Where do we obtain these things? By reading the Bible and studying the word, by talking with God - not just on Sunday but EVERYday, by surrounding ourselves with like-minded people (Iron sharpens Iron), by making a conscious effort every single day to keep our lives as closely in line to God's word. It is not easy and some days we may fail - but we need to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and keep going. The more we do these things, the easier it is. Like I said, the military doesn't go into battle unprepared and untrained. We also need to be ready to go into battle, trained.

3. "Win!"  Psalm 16:9-11 NKJV version "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

I am also including The Message version because I liked it too!

Psalm 16:9-11 The Message version "I’m happy from the inside out, and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed. You canceled my ticket to hell—that’s not my destination! Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face.Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.

When we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, when we go to God in prayer for everything in our life and we align our life, our decisions with His word, we change - and in turn we start drawing others to Him - they start wondering what we are doing differently and they want that - and in our own lives, we win. We win with not only our salvation, but we win in our earthly life. We trust that God will provide just what we need, when we need it and He does. We can truly LIVE in this life, on earth without hesitation or worry - knowing that we have been given the tools to go and have been putting those tools to use so that when life gives us battles - we win! And when we move on from this earth - we win!

16 year old Terri laid it all on the line and didn't worry about what other people thought - she loved what she did, she used her voice to do it and she did it well. She didn't think "what if I can't do this" - she used the tools given to her and she practiced daily in preparation for the game. On game day - a day of battle between rivals - she put on her uniform and put that practice to use. I realized that I have that same voice, that same fight inside of me, but the difference between 41 year old me and 16 year old me is that I now realize that God is there and he is watching and if He puts it on my heart to do a job, then it has been on His heart too and He will provide the means necessary to fulfill His work through me.

I encourage you to dig down deep, find that inner-fighter and draw it out. Whatever you are going through, what battle you are facing. Perhaps you are stuck in a situation that you feel no way out of - dig down deep, talk to God, surround yourself with people who will pray for you and who will help you through this struggle. You have the tools to use to fight this battle and to win. God was, is and always will be with you - think about that and let that sink in. What do you plan to do with that information? Imagine how different your life could be if you took that information where you are right now, learned from it, grew from it and went and made disciples for Christ. Living life with Christ is so much better than living it on your own. 💓

                                                 

It Shouldn't Be That Hard

So I went on a small walk today.  I was listening to a podcast while also pondering over a previous podcast that I had listened to.  The podcast stated "The measure of our faith is perseverance".  I was thinking that this walk I was on was feeling pretty rough.  And then I thought to myself "Well, if I had kept walking throughout the summer, then this walk would be much easier"  but I didn't, I quit walking.   And then I thought "It shouldn't be that hard".  But isn't it, though?  I think that too many times, we put deadlines on things.  "When I get to this age, I will do this", "When I have this much money, I will do that", "I just need to lose X amount of lbs", "I just need to watch what I eat for 21 days" - We even do this in our spiritual lives.  I remember when I first started going to church and attended my first bible study.  I asked the pastor, while using my hands as an illustration, "I feel like I used to be here, and here is where I am supposed to be, but here is where I am, right in the middle - how do I get to where I am supposed to be?" As if there is a final destination in our spiritual walk with Christ here on earth. I have since realized that there is no final destination here on earth.  We are always on a walk with Christ - there is no "If I read the bible once through and attend church every Sunday for a year and do good deeds, I will accomplish being a Christian"  We can't put a timeline on our walk with Christ.  That's why we are instructed to persevere.  We are going to have struggles in life.  Our perseverance proves our faith.  Perseverance doesn't mean we have to go through the struggle alone.  The Bible tells us to surround ourselves with people who will encourage us, teach us (you know, iron sharpens iron). And struggles are different for everybody.  My struggles now are totally different than they were just over a year ago.  And next year, my struggles will be different than they are now.  And my struggles just a little over a year ago were a lot different than they were 2 years ago.  Some of those struggles, I brought on myself by not persevering and having faith that God would take care of me and so I tried to take care of things on my own.  I realized today on my walk that just like our spiritual walk with Christ, in our earthly life, we also have to persevere.  We can't just  start a diet, start an exercise program, start medicine and counseling to help with mental health all to just quit because it is hard - we have to persevere.  It shouldn't be that hard.  But it is - and I believe that is because we make it hard.  We overextend ourselves with our schedules, whether it be work, kids, house or personal schedules - we over extend ourselves.  We have to intentionally choose to make choices each and every single day to do what is best for our mind, our body and our spirit to help us persevere. 

Here are some things that I am doing to help myself persevere - please comment below with some of your suggestions.

1. Spent time everyday with God.  It might mean that I wake up early to read the Bible or a devotional or both, or take my lunch break to read.  But no matter what, carve time out of my everyday to spend with Him.
2. Learn to say "no" and realize that someone else can (and will) do the thing.  This is a hard one for me, however, it is refreshing to have some free time.
3. Realize that time goes by no matter how I spend it, so I need to spend my time in the best way possible, with like-minded people.  I do NOT need my mind cluttered with negativity.  
4. Know that there is not a time-frame for health.  I don't need to lose 50 lbs by October 10th.  But I do NEED to choose everyday to make a conscious effort to  live a healthier lifestyle - to set some time aside each day to do some form of exercise.  This takes a lot of perseverance on my part - choosing to keep going, when it isn't easy.  
5. Keep my Dr. Appointments up to date.  This includes my physical and mental health.  Mental health is just as important as physical - after all, I feel like perseverance has a lot to do with fighting off a lot of negative mind-talk and satan (you know, the little voice that tells you that it's hard, to just quit, that it's not worth it).  

 James 1:2-4  tells us to count it joy when we face trials.  Whether your trial is weight loss, financial problems, struggling with your purpose in life or just feel like if there is something bad going to happen, it will happen to you.  Stop and take a look at your life - ask yourself what you are doing to persevere, to make things better for yourself - you might even need to ask for help - and then go to God in prayer.  Know that this journey isn't intended for a deadline - we should always be working towards more (spiritually), and working to better ourselves and appreciate those little "hiccups" that cause us to stumble and learn.