God's Love is Your Hedge of Protection

God’s Love is Your Hedge of Protection 

by rebekahbeene

I saw a news report on a new threat that may soon be growing in our yards. It is called the giant hogweed. It is listed as an invasive species of concern in Arkansas and many other states. The agriculture specialist speaking about the plant said that a slight touch combined with sweat or any other form of water will give huge blisters. Contact with the eyes can cause temporary and sometimes permanent blindness. An ordinary looking plant with pretty white flowers and huge green leaves can prove a terrible nuisance and danger. 

Most research indicates that five years of intensive management is required to attempt to eradicate it. Five years! Much work must be done to remove the threat of the plant by digging, mowing, cutting, and herbicide application. The person eradicating the plant must wear protective clothing and gloves as well as facial protection. This is a seriously dangerous plant that is highly invasive.

Life can be like an invasive plant at times. Things that normally wouldn’t bother us cause whelps of pain if it comes via the hand of one you thought was a friend. There are also areas of our life that we feel should have no problems –our families, our ministries, our jobs and our homes. Yet all our territory is subject to the invasion of the enemy of our souls. Without proper eradication methods, we are hopelessly embroiled in his dangerous tactics which leave us wounded, blinded and without hope.

Life in Christ however, will make things wonderful. Even when we’ve had contact with noxious things of the world we can be healed. We don’t have to live injured by the things that come our way. We are protected by divine right by God Himself. The King of Kings is our antidote for all of life’s poisons. 

God wants you to know that He is your protector from the noxious weeds of life. The closer you get to Him, through His Word, prayer and fellowship, the less affected you will be by the things around you. He protects your life, your heart, your mind and your faith. Poisons from enemy territory can’t touch you as long as you know what God says about things. His peace passes all understanding – what you know about the world, what you feel about the problems and what you perceive as truth. As you begin to dig into the Word, it will uproot the enemy’s thoughts, poisonous weeds of doubt and fear will have to flee! Application of the Word over all the lies and half-truths will cause them to shrivel away.

Oh beloved, how loved you are! Someone may have sowed seeds of untruth into your life – that you are unworthy, unlovely or unneeded. God says the opposite – Christ has said you are valuable to Him, you are beautiful in His sight and you are useful and have great potential for the Kingdom of God. It’s time to eradicate the untruths and replant God’s truth! Everything you are in Christ is perfection. Every Word you speak with the Father is heard. Every hope you have is being turned toward God so that He will give you the very desires of your heart! You walk in blessings, you stand in faith, you kneel in prayer and you step forward in victory – because the noxious things of life cannot overtake you.

God loves you and He’s for you – that is a hedge of protection against which no enemy can encroach! Rejoice as you live loved and walk in His blessings all the days of your life. 

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 10:17 O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear

Ephesians 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

2 Peter 1:3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

Psalm 3:3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. KJV

Jude 12 May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.

Psalm 91:4 He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

God is Greater and His Weapons are Powerful!

Although I don’t play many games there is one that I have gotten pretty addicted to. It’s a hunting game and there again, I don’t hunt and wouldn’t shoot an animal  “in real life”. Part of the enjoyment of the game is that the two youngest grandsons love it as well. They will come over and as soon as they can they’ll say, “Can we shoot some animals?”  The game begins with easy shots and fair guns. You get to buy better ammunition, sharper scopes and steadier barrels. You point and shoot and an animal takes a hit and you rack up cash and gold.  Shooting the bears and larger predators is a little scary because they will come out of nowhere while you are aiming at something else and get you. You have to watch and be aware of them or you will lose the game.

Life is no game and there is a real predator out there. His name is satan and his desire is to steal, kill and destroy.  He lunges at you in any way he can. He literally comes out of nowhere to knock you off your feet and get you down. Unless you are prepared to shoot, he will win the skirmishes every time. He will come into your life and take everything he can. He will take friendships, fellowships and relationships. He wants your finances, your welfare and your family. He is the ultimate predator who will stop and nothing and it’s not a mere game.

God wants you to know that although the enemy is ferocious, He is greater! And He has ammunition for you that is out of this world! The ammunition in God’s arsenal is all for you. It’s not locked away or blocked from you to use and it costs you no silver or gold to use it. As believers we all have access to the same wonderful abilities. God speaks to our hearts and reminds us that we are overcomers and our shartshooting abilities are honed as we learn to live in the light of His Word and take up our weapons of warfare in the Spirit. When we are attacked by the enemy, our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. The Word is our only weapon of choice. But when we speak the Word over our situation and in the midst of enemy assault, he has to flee.  Each and every time we praise the Lord, whether through song or with our voices speaking the Words, “Praise the Lord” the assaulter has to flee –for he hates the praises of God’s people. God speaks again and He wants us to learn the Word, speak the Word, live in the light of the Word and know that no weapon formed against us will prosper.

Oh beloved, it’s been a real assault on your life hasn’t it? The enemy has been coming out of the bushes and coming at you with all his might. You’ve been down and out, worried, afraid, concerned. You’ve begged for relief. You’ve been cast out, rejected, removed, blasted, and left bleeding and dying with wounds of the spirit that are nearly fatal. But God says arise and take your rightful place as a believer. All the strength of the Army of the Lord is with you. All the Lord’s arsenal of praise, worship and the Word are with you. What was intended to harm you, God is going to turn for good. You are not done in, you are only beginning to fight with the Spirit of the Lord. Everything that has come against you will fall at your side as you quit looking at the situations and begin to look at God’s Word. The focus of your scope is where you will find the overcoming ability to move on, move up and move into God’s plans to prosper you in the Spirit and in life.

Rejoice this day as you learn to live powerful in the Spirit of God and overcoming every fiery dart of the enemy. Whatever you are facing God is with you, the power of the Word is strong and invincible and you are able to aim with accuracy and send the enemy running. God’s purpose for you will not be overthrown as you live in the Truth and walk in the Spirit. You are more than a conqueror and you will stand still and see the salvation of the Lord in spite of the circumstances. God loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that matters as you take aim in praise and march on with the Word of God as your shield.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,  for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Ephesians 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 6:11 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.

Romans 8:37  But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Accept the Truth and Reject the Imposter's Lies

A young man called my office yesterday to ask about the copier we use. He said they had word that the supplies were about to increase in price and now would be a good time to get a case of toner before it happens. I asked him what company he was calling from and immediately he hung up. Imposter. He was actually lying to me to get me to verbally agree to ordering those supplies from a company we don’t do business with. As soon as I asked where he was from he was gone. He was lying and trying to get me to accept it as truth. As soon as I spoke a truth back to him it was over. 

Be careful. There is an imposter out there. He’s disguising himself as truth and he’s so not. He will speak to your fears. He’ll tell you you’re unworthy, useless, throw away and reject. He’ll agree with your negative thoughts about yourself. He will shout yes when you shout ugly. He will clap when you say nobody loves you. He will agree that your prayers are not heard. He will help you live in his lies. He will hand you the lock and let you be the one who locks yourself in to the dungeon of helplessness and hopelessness.

The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy. He will attempt to take control of your thought life in three areas: your past, your present and your intercession. If the enemy can get you to believe the lies of your past, your present feelings of unworthiness and that your prayers can’t be answered he has you right where he wants you. Your childhood memories are killed, your hope for your life to have meaning is stolen and your prayers will be destroyed. 

He wants you to believe that you are whatever anyone has ever said about you negatively. He doesn’t want you to move on from your past. He wants you to live in the darkness of your present situation. You may hear a voice inside your head saying you’re too old to change. You may be telling yourself it’s too late, you’ve gone too far or it’s all over for you. Lies, each and every word is a lie. 

You may believe that the one you love and pray for is hopeless. You must learn to accept those who are having issues in their walk with God. But you must learn to reject the lie that they will never change. It’s time to give them to God because His desire for all mankind is that they come to saving faith in Christ. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. God’s plan is for them to be saved, sealed, delivered, set free and living for Him. So keep on praying and reject the lies.

God speaks to our hearts: I have sent Christ to give you life and to give it in abundance, full measure and running over. I want you to be fully informed of the truth, so that you will be a strong believer, full of faith and armed for the day. So today is your day to get stronger. It’s time to reject the lies that you are telling yourself. Quit building the fire for the enemy’s camp. You might have heard these lies and rehearsed them in your mind all your life; but today is the day to set things right. I AM your healer, your purpose, your future, your hope, your truth and your way to live. I bring light onto any situation and will reveal all that needs to be revealed so that you can live a valiant, invincible live for Me. I love you and I have called you out of darkness. I love you and I have made a way for you to live in the light of My Word. No weapon formed against you will prosper. No lie can be your truth as you learn to accept what I say and reject the enemy’s taunts and lies. 

Oh beloved. I know it’s not always easy to rise above the past. It’s hard sometimes to listen to God’s truth while you are being rejected, belittled, or ignored. You may feel like unwanted and unwelcome, but God’s truth will pick you up and set you securely on high. You are accepted in the beloved when you give your heart to Christ. It’s time to learn to live loved and reject the enemy’s lies. It will get easier and easier as you begin to apply God’s Word, His Truth, to every area of your life. Instead of hurts and rejection, you will find acceptance to bloom in your heart. And once acceptance has taken root and begins to grow you will find that other situations will become clearer and you will believe God’s truth about you. 

God loves you and He’s for you and that’s the truth you can live in all the days of your life as you live free and loved and cherished. 

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Matthew 4:4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

2 Corinthians 10: 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; KJV

Ephesians 6:12-13 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

You Can Believe God!

“Do you swear to tell the truth so help you God?” That used to be the oath that was sworn in courtrooms across our country as men and women would place their right hands on a Bible. The truth is something we treasured. Swearing on a Bible meant we put our words in God’s hands and basically were asking Him to help us tell the truth no matter what. I’ve heard that now you can choose whether to reference God into it. As kids we would pinky swear or say the proverbial “stick a needle in my eye…” quote. The truth is so important that even kids wanted to be sure of their friends telling the truth.

My husband is a man of his word. The more I got to know him the more I realized that he tells the truth. I’ve never caught him in a lie ever. I’ve never heard him tell an untruth or try to shuffle things around to make himself look better. He just tells the truth. If you ask him he’ll tell you. Because he’s always told the truth I am in a position to readily believe what he says about any subject. So I’m privileged to rest in his words. They comfort me and help me have knowledge about things I don’t know. I refer to him often when I am asked a question about deep things of the Scripture or other important things like how to loosen a bolt. I am also confident that when I’m with him anywhere he can be trusted. It’s good to know that he won’t lie for me and he won’t lie to me either. Often he has laughed as I asked him something he might not know. He laughs because I assume he knows everything because he tells the truth about everything. Knowledge is a real high quality to have if you’re going to tell the truth.

You and I are privileged to put our faith in God through Christ. As a believer we can know that God is a God of His Word. God doesn’t lie. So we have a sure foundation for our faith. We can readily believe what God’s Word says because it’s truth. We can rest in His promises because He’s a God of His Word. What He says about you is the truth. What He declares for you is the Gospel. What He asks you to do is possible because it’s His truth and He’s trustworthy.

Oh beloved, you can believe God! You can trust God! You can rest in His promises. Are you struggling with an issue this morning? Run to His Word and get the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. God will not laugh at you because He knows everything – everything about you, everything about your situation and everything you need to know to live a life of godliness and contentment. Others may not tell the truth about you or to you, but God has your back. He will turn the things that aren’t right into His glory and your good. Because He can be trusted you can rest in every single promise. You can walk in all the privileges. You can honor every declaration. You can live in His truth and take it as your own.

Precious one, no matter what situation you find yourself in God’s promises are for you. They will carry you through hardships, rejections, disappointments, physical ailments and pains of the heart. He loves you and He’s for you and those promises will let you walk valiantly all the days of your life.

Psalm 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.

John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

2 Corinthians 1:20 For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God. AMP

Romans 4:20-21 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.

Psalm 119:140 Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it.

Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

Hooked on the Truth or Feelings?

Ever find yourself humming an old song from your youth? I don’t know where they come from except they must be in the deep recesses of our memory.  Yesterday “Hooked on a Feeling” was playing in my mind and I found myself sure enough humming it.  It’s as though B J Thomas himself was in my office.

Although the song itself is a love song, the words speak to me about feelings. I often get hooked on feelings. I would bet you do too.   There are times when a phrase will come to my mind out of the blue trying to convince me that my feelings are the real truth.

We usually recognize the lies that are in direct proportion to our knowledge of God’s truth. Those are such thoughts as “God’s not real is He? “Did Jesus really die on the cross?”  “Was Jesus really resurrected?” “Is the Bible true?”  Even though we may know the truth, those doubt provoking words can change our feelings if we’re not careful. 

Other times we are in a transition of some sort. Sometimes it’s after an encounter with change. Or fear. Or decision making. It can be what another has said about us in anger or rejection. Sometimes it’s because we’ve messed up – you know the phrase “I’m so stupid” or how about “I’m just a mess up”.  Other feelings come to mind as thoughts like, “God doesn’t love you”.  There are even self-talk thoughts that come to mind, “I hate myself”, “nobody loves me”, “I’m ugly” or well you can fill in the words.

If we’re not careful we will get “hooked on a feeling” and our life will spiral downward. We’ll take those wrong thoughts and dwell on them, take them in and begin to live them out. 

We have an enemy and he has a name and he is real. And he’s real good at putting his thoughts in our minds and replaying them over and over at just the right time.  He’s a user. He will use our thoughts of guilt, condemnation, fear, anxiety, worthlessness, hopelessness, and self-hatred against us.

God speaks to my heart: Oh precious child of mine. Did you hear those words? I said precious child.  And I speak the truth. Who are you listening to? What are you filling your mind with? Why are you listening to the father of lies? I AM your Real Father and My Words are Real Truth! I AM your protector, not just of your physical life, but of your emotional and spiritual life as well!  The more you take in My Truth and hearken to My Words, the more you will be able to dispel the lies of darkness.  And the more you let Me put My thoughts into your heart, the more you will be able to share My truth with others!

Oh beloved, God says you are indeed beloved. And His Word says you are beautiful, redeemed, blessed, fruitful…and much, much more. Run to His Word this morning and take it in, find it, read it, meditate on it and live it out. As you become more hooked on God’s truth you will be able to shut down the feelings that try to fill your mind. What God says about you is pure truth, because above all God loves you and He’s for you and that’s what really matters isn’t it?

 Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

John 10:10 The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Romans 8:34 Who then will condemn us? No one--for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.

Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 139:17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

Have You Applied Your SPAM Filter?

The good news is I am still able to learn new things!  The bad news is I didn’t want to learn what I learned recently while working on my blog I’ve been posting on for quite a few years. I was looking at the comments under the admin part of the blog. I’ve never done this before. Actually I had no idea how many comments were being made!

As I started looking, I was excited to see lots of comments. But when I looked into them, most of which said, “I like your content, visit my blog at…”, I discovered many of them were spam! They were tricks to get me to go to their website and view either things I was neither interested in nor wanted to know. Yuck! 

I quickly learned how to change the settings on the blog so that now the comments will be moderated. That means I can check them through an email to make sure they line up with my values and that they are truly a comment from someone who found encouragement from the Lord or who wants to encourage me as I write. If they don’t line up I will not okay the comment to be posted. I will not let it through.

It made me think about how so many thoughts invade our minds on a daily basis. As believers we may be letting more in than we want. From television shows to internet searches, there is much out there that is totally at opposite with our life in Christ. An off-handed comment, a little dig or a stab at something and we find ourselves trusting what we were never meant to believe. If we let just any old comment enter our mind or let some television’s “truth” become our truth, we are going to find ourselves in the middle of yuck! We’ll be bogged down in spam mail to our hearts and feeling down, discouraged and depressed.

Have you been filtering your spam mail? Do you know how to filter everything through the Word of God so that you don’t get bogged down? God’s filter works every single time you apply it.  It works efficiently and sufficiently – you don’t lose anything you really need and you get everything of what you always need.

Oh beloved, Run to His Word this morning and hear Him speak those love words into your heart – don’t let things through that don’t line up! You cannot allow your thoughts to wander away from the truth of the Word, you cannot allow your eyes to see that which doesn’t match up with God’s Word. And you cannot believe outright lies that try to take over your life. You may have received Spam mail but you can reject it by the power of God’s Word! He speaks to you this morning and says I AM the one who loves you enough to keep you safe. I AM the way, the truth and the life – nothing else is true but what I say. Regardless of what you’ve heard, read or seen – I AM telling you that I will watch over you, guide you and keep you safe all the days of your life. Apply My Truth to every area and watch as you remain Free in My love for you and you stand Fully in my abiding care. I love you and I’m for you and that is what keeps you free!

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

John 8:36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.