Moments Together for Couples 8/23
by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
August 23Launching Our Arrows (Part One)
Psalm 127:4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.
I find it interesting that the Scripture describes children as "arrows" because arrows are meant to be released. As we raise our children, Barbara and I know we are responsible to prepare them to live independently.
All of our efforts as parents are made with the knowledge that, eventually, these "arrows" will be flying on their own. We make a conscious effort to give them skills in living and in making godly choices.
There's an important characteristic of an arrow: it is an offensive weapon. God wants every Christian to make an impact in our world for Christ, and He wants us parents to emphasize this vision as we raise our children.
When I drive our kids to school, I pray for them: "Lord, I pray that they will never forget that they are Your representatives at school today. I pray that they will be lights in the midst of the darkness."
Knowing we will release our kids, however, doesn't make it any easier when the time actually comes. The "twang" of our bowstring was first heard in August of 1993 when we took our oldest child, Ashley, to college. I remember the scene well: Barbara, Ashley and I stood in the dorm parking lot, huddled-up, arms entwined, sobbing. I was crying so hard that I couldn't pray; my own daughter had to pray for herself!
As we drove away from the dorm, my "little girl" stood on the sidewalk, waving good-bye. I turned to Barbara and said, "One down and five to go! Can you believe that in a year we've got to do this again with Benjamin?"
I paused for a moment. The tears were drying on my face, but the pain of the loss was fresh. "This hurts too much," I said. "I'm not doing it next year. I'm going to rent a dad for a day to do it for me!"
Prayer:
Thank God for the privilege of having influence on the direction your arrow flies. Ask Him to always keep His target in front of you.
Discuss: Are you preparing to launch your arrows as offensive weapons? What can you begin doing now to give your children a mind-set of helping reach people for Christ?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Strongholds
I must say that when I read this I thought it was just another devotion on how important prayer was.
And then I came to the part about strongholds---WOW! I've gone to workshops on how to fight strongholds, but never had it broken down into such easy-to-identify categories:
Fear
Control
Rebellion
Insecurity
Idolatry
Pride
Bitterness
NOW I feel like I can better identify these trouble areas/ strongholds in my life and lift them up in prayer. I am so encouraged!--LL
Marketplace Meditations 8/6
August 6
Hindrances to Christ's Rule
2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
The Bible says when Christ comes to live in your heart, old things are passed away, all things become new (see 2 Cor. 5:17). The Lord has put a new Spirit in us. Previously, I could not understand why so many of us who proclaimed Christ had such little impact on the kingdom of darkness. It seemed to me that our culture should be impacted much more if His children walked in the light as Jesus did. Jesus impacted His culture like no other man.
I saw many businesspeople, who proclaimed Christ, living no differently than a person who had not claimed Him as Lord. These men and women had a form of religion, but little power that reflected Christ's rule in their lives. Then one day God took me through a time of testing that led to a discovery of generational influences that impacted the way I viewed people and circumstances on a subconscious basis. I discovered this was a stronghold that had been implanted many generations earlier. Because the stronghold operated on a subconscious level, it was not easily recognizable. Strongholds keep us from being free to reflect Christ in and through our lives because they require allegiance until they are dealt with. Strongholds can often be so hidden that we would not even identify them as evil. A stronghold of fear, control, rebellion, insecurity, idolatry, pride, or bitterness may be hidden until it is revealed through circumstances.
All strongholds are built in our lives as a result of seeking to meet one or more of seven basic needs God has created in us. Once we believe a lie that God cannot meet a need without our effort, we open our spirit to a stronghold. The more lies we believe, the more we invite these strongholds to take root in our lives.
Are you ineffective in your Christian experience? Are there besetting sins that seem to recur in your life? You may find that satan has built a fortress in your heart that has been there many generations. You must ask God's forgiveness for entertaining this stronghold, and you must renounce it. Then as Christ renews your mind and heart, you will see Christ's power released in your life like never before.
And then I came to the part about strongholds---WOW! I've gone to workshops on how to fight strongholds, but never had it broken down into such easy-to-identify categories:
Fear
Control
Rebellion
Insecurity
Idolatry
Pride
Bitterness
NOW I feel like I can better identify these trouble areas/ strongholds in my life and lift them up in prayer. I am so encouraged!--LL
Marketplace Meditations 8/6
August 6
Hindrances to Christ's Rule
2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
The Bible says when Christ comes to live in your heart, old things are passed away, all things become new (see 2 Cor. 5:17). The Lord has put a new Spirit in us. Previously, I could not understand why so many of us who proclaimed Christ had such little impact on the kingdom of darkness. It seemed to me that our culture should be impacted much more if His children walked in the light as Jesus did. Jesus impacted His culture like no other man.
I saw many businesspeople, who proclaimed Christ, living no differently than a person who had not claimed Him as Lord. These men and women had a form of religion, but little power that reflected Christ's rule in their lives. Then one day God took me through a time of testing that led to a discovery of generational influences that impacted the way I viewed people and circumstances on a subconscious basis. I discovered this was a stronghold that had been implanted many generations earlier. Because the stronghold operated on a subconscious level, it was not easily recognizable. Strongholds keep us from being free to reflect Christ in and through our lives because they require allegiance until they are dealt with. Strongholds can often be so hidden that we would not even identify them as evil. A stronghold of fear, control, rebellion, insecurity, idolatry, pride, or bitterness may be hidden until it is revealed through circumstances.
All strongholds are built in our lives as a result of seeking to meet one or more of seven basic needs God has created in us. Once we believe a lie that God cannot meet a need without our effort, we open our spirit to a stronghold. The more lies we believe, the more we invite these strongholds to take root in our lives.
Are you ineffective in your Christian experience? Are there besetting sins that seem to recur in your life? You may find that satan has built a fortress in your heart that has been there many generations. You must ask God's forgiveness for entertaining this stronghold, and you must renounce it. Then as Christ renews your mind and heart, you will see Christ's power released in your life like never before.
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