on spiritual warfare in our heads

Request: Could you pray for me today? I'm struggling a bit with anxiety...sometimes I get a thought in my head and I allow it to fester.... and I become anxious. I know this is sin. i begin to fear things that I'm thinking... like I'm going crazy... I know - it's totally irratoinal!!! Thanks for being such a faithful prayer warrior!

Reply: I will pray for you. May God grant you to understand what I also need to understand and what Michael so beautifully taught his wife to be. She wrote:

As he is wont when I am untalkative, Mike asked what I was thinking. I had to answer that, as I am wont, I was indulging in some strangely random and irrational fears about hypocrisy and insincerity of profession (mine). Before reminding me that unprovoked, untimely doubts like that are most often Satanic, and therefore to be rejected out of hand, he gently but pragmatically pointed out that mothers simply don't have a lifestyle that allows for such indulgence. Nor do wives, who are largely called to live the Christian life openly with their husbands. He didn't say so, but I thought of that in terms of a true wife being a help and encouragement to her husband rather than a high maintenance parishioner of sorts, always
harboring fears and complaints of the least spiritual ailment. (I read that John Knox had such a woman in his life—his mother-in-law.)

Point I take, that you need to take, is to recognize, as spiritual warfare, the negative thoughts as not your own, unless you own them. So shove them out with audible hymns of praise to God while you work. And pray for me to do the same.

Belief

In the night I woke against my will, not knowing whether I was wanting out of a dream about a young family and our church location struggles or wanting to stay in it because it meant sleep which I so badly wanted. Trying to convince myself that I could return to sleep, I prayed for the young family. My shin began to hurt worse and worse and it somehow was connected to a pain that was deep in my hip, alleviated by lying on my other side. I don't know how long I struggled. As the hymn that was playing in my head grew stronger, I considered that perhaps I should stop fighting and go and seek the Lord. Still I lingered in the warm bed, wanting consciousness to disappear. Now my shin was hurting worse. As I pushed the covers aside, I believed that the Lord was calling me to Himself, and I had to quit stalling. How many times has He called, and I have excused myself?

I quietly found a robe, never waking Cal though I turned on the closet light. I crept out to sit downstairs, first finding out why Kilby's light was still on at nearly 1:00 a.m. (She was trying to write poetry but was clearly on her way to bed.) I knew I would first read through the hymn that I was singing in my head, remembering only the first line. Kilby wrote these lyrics a long time ago over a long period of time, and Susan set them to music in her composition class this spring at St. Olaf. And these days it is lifting discouraged spirits. I made a cup of sleepy tea and took an ibuprophen for the pain in my shin and hip, watching over myself lest I was stalling to meet the Lord. I read through the words and meditated a short while on the incredible idea that Jesus prays for me. Shall I doubt that I am His?

Why should I go wearied on
underneath this load of sin,
bowed in deep discouragement,
wandering sad and silent when
Jesus prays for me?

Shall I feel this weight of guilt
since his precious blood was spilt?
Or shall I in sin-born fear
stand outside the haven where
Jesus prays for me?

He who came from heaven's bliss
to this earth in weariness
here to walk and here to die,
lives again, now lifted high
where he prays for me.

Jesus, standing as a Lamb
slain before all time began
for the sins that I had done,
pleads my case before the throne:
there he prays for me.

Therefore to the mercy seat
let my soul draw near in need,
for my great High Priest is he
who learned perfect sympathy,
and he prays for me.

(from Hebrews 4:14-16)
copyright April 2006

Oh, how I need His perfect prayers. Oh, how I need the help of God. I had struggled once again throughout the day with my sin and subsequent confusion. I opened the copy of His Word that was on the shelf at my feet. I began reading where I opened, in the latter part of Ezekiel 34

"I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord GOD. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God."

Could it be for me? May I really consider myself one of His own sheep? I read backward to the section preceding that one:

"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

"As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

And then I went back to the beginning of the chapter and read the whole chapter again, this time learning about the unfaithful shepherds who had fattened themselves and neglected the sheep. As I read the Word of the Lord and considered where I was in all of this I was both convicted and comforted. I began to believe that He, my Shepherd, the Greater than David, had called me forth to read this passage this night.

I opened, then, Charles H. Spurgeon's Morning and Evening also at my feet. Since it was the beginning of a new day, I read the morning selection for June 16:

“And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” John 10:28

The Christian should never think or speak lightly of unbelief. For a child of God to mistrust his love, his truth, his faithfulness, must be greatly displeasing to him. How can we ever grieve him by doubting his upholding grace? Christian! it is contrary to every promise of God’s precious Word that thou shouldst ever be forgotten or left to perish. If it could be so, how could he be true who has said, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I never forget thee.” What were the value of that promise—“The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” Where were the truth of Christ’s words—“I give unto my sheep eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” Where were the doctrines of grace? They would be all disproved if one child of God should perish. Where were the veracity of God, his honour, his power, his grace, his covenant, his oath, if any of those for whom Christ has died, and who have put their trust in him, should nevertheless be cast away? Banish those unbelieving fears which so dishonour God. Arise, shake thyself from the dust, and put on thy beautiful garments. Remember it is sinful to doubt his Word wherein he has promised thee that thou shalt never perish. Let the eternal life within thee express itself in confident rejoicing.

I crept back to bed with confident rejoicing as I have not known in a long time. Sweetness. Blessing. These sweet realities were confirmed this morning during our family worship with the lyrics of the hymn we sang (from Psalm 38):

In thy wrath and hot displeasure, chasten not they servant, Lord;
let thy mercy, without measure, help and peace to me afford.
Heavy is my tribulation, sore my punishment has been;
broken by thine indignation, I am troubled by my sin.

With my burden of transgression heavy-laden, overborne,
humbled low I make confession, for my folly now I mourn,
Weak and wounded, I implore thee; Lord, to me thy mercy show;
all my pray'r is now before thee, all my trouble thou dost know.

Darkness gathers, foes assail me, but I answer not a word;
all my friends desert and fail me, only thou my cry has heard.
Lord, in thee am I confiding; thou wilt answer when I call,
lest my foes, the good deriding, triumph in thy servant's fall.

I am prone to halt and stumble, grief and sorrow dwell within,
shame and guilt my spirit humble; I am sorry for my sin.
Lord, my God, do not forake me; let me know that thous art near,
under thy protection take me, as my Savior now appear.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. I look forward to our corporate worship of His excellent holiness tomorrow.

Onward Christian Soldiers

The main trouble with the Christian Church today is that she is too much like a clinic, too much like a hospital; that is why the great world is going to hell outside! We are all suffering - to quote Charles Lamb - "with the mumps and measles of the soul" and feeling our own pulses and talking about ourselves, and our moods and subjective states. We have lost the concept of the army of God, and the King of righteousness in this fight against the kingdom of evil . . . Holiness is a matter of service, not of feelings and subjective moods and states, not a matter of experiences. We are meant to be serving the living God with the whole of our being; and no part of us is ever meant to be used, and must not be used, in the service of sin. We must not fraternize with the enemy. That is the New Testament way of teaching holiness. What most of us need is not a clinic, but to listen to the sergeant-major drilling his troops, commanding them, warning them, threatening them, showing them what to do. The New Testament teaching is altogether different from the sentimentality and subjectivity that have controlled holiness and sanctification teaching for so long, and which tell us that it is "quite simple". But it is not easy. "Fight the good fight of faith," says the New Testament. Play the man. "Quit yourselves as men"; "Put on the whole armour of God"; "Stand in the evil day". Those are all military commands; there is nothing of the clinic about them. We must get rid of that notion of the clinic and the hospital; and we must look at these things more in terms of God and his glory, and the great campaign which he inaugurated through the Son of his love, and which he is going to bring to a triumphant conclusion.

--D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

God, please make me healthy

"The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." - Psalm 126:3

Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, yet with scarcely any allusion to the mercy and help which God has vouchsafed them. But a Christian whose soul is in a healthy state, will come forward joyously, and say, "I will speak, not about myself, but to the honour of my God. He hath brought me up out of an horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. The Lord hath done great things for me, whereof I am glad." Such an abstract of experience as this is the very best that any child of God can present. It is true that we endure trials, but it is just as true that we are delivered out of them. It is true that we have our corruptions, and mournfully do we know this, but it is quite as true that we have an all-sufficient Saviour, who overcomes these corruptions, and delivers us from their dominion. In looking back, it would be wrong to deny that we have been in the Slough of Despond, and have crept along the Valley of Humiliation, but it would be equally wicked to forget that we have been through them safely and profitably; we have not remained in them, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who has brought us "out into a wealthy place." The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through all, and preserved us until now. Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise, we reckon them to be the bass part of our life’s song, "He hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad."

--Charles Spurgeon

The Big House

The following article is written by my friend Denna McDaniel who sends some of us her weekly column. This is such godly advice for all of us, that I wanted to share it with you who might not see it otherwise. It is a timely reminder for me and I love her for it; I love her Creator for it.

It’s all relative to what you think is big. How do you describe a large thing? First of all you must determine a starting point. I’ve heard people say that their home is just too small! Crazy as it seems, here in America we have no idea of what a small house truly looks like. Sad to say our “American Dream” of owning a home and several cars, TV’s, video games, tons of clothes and jewelry, plus…the list could fill pages, is too “big.” Peace is removed as we chase the things that will make us happy. Fear of friend’s disapproval drives some to strive to have more. More isn’t always better, it’s just more. So where do we say, “that’s all I need?”

About two years ago we moved to Florida and the six of us lived in a 38foot RV. The adventure was amazing, challenging and quite fruitful. However, the tight quarters showed me what I could live without. The tight quarters showed me how much I had put my joy in my stuff. The tight quarters taught me more than I could fill a football stadium. Initially we were to stay 2 months, and we’re still here almost 3 years later. We needed a bigger home. We needed a larger fridge. We needed to learn to be thankful and so the process continued and the blessings poured out. All that to say this, we are now in a new home, which is the “big house” in the RV park. It has been a year in the works and the details would fill an entire phonebook, therefore let’s say I’ve learned more through the trial than I would have if we moved in immediately. God does supply all our needs and sometimes even our wants. The Lord gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Each person’s home should have a welcome feeling as someone enters. Never make excuses where you’re explaining the not “up to standards” of the furniture or decorations. I’ve said it many times and here it goes again. If you are coming to see my house, give me two weeks, but if you’re interested in visiting with me the door is always open! Housing issues and people come down to pride. The biggest house on the block may not be the one filled with the most love. You also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy. —Matthew 23:28 Watch the next time an unexpected visitor pops by. How do you handle the opportunity to be hospitable? (With many gated communities it may be next to impossible to “pop” over, but try to surprise a friend this week.) Be kindly affectionate to one another . . . , given to hospitality. —Romans 12:10,13

Yesterday my friend and neighbors Patti and Moriah invited me over to hear how they (mother and daughter) have learned to play a Barlow Girl song, “Never Alone.” As Patty played the piano, Moriah strummed the guitar. I silently sat in the corner wiping away tears of joy as we worshiped God. Graciously they were sharing a part of their lives they were excited about. I rejoiced! My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. —1 John 3:18 Simple hospitality in their RV was an enormous blessing! A house is a building that keeps people safe and dry, but a home is where your heart is kept. A home brings out your love. My hope is we can all bring out the love into our homes and build bridges instead of making barriers.

John 14:1-2 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Jesus has told us in his Word that there is a beautiful place prepared for us in Heaven. God’s heavenly gifts are too great to imagine. His “Big House” will someday be the most amazing place we can fathom. No earthly treasures will compare to what is in store for those who believe. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.-Romans 3:18

The “big house” the multitude of “stuff” we accumulate can clutter our lives. Stop today and search your heart for the real joy that only comes from a relationship with Jesus. He will truly change you. I know through the “adventures” we have encountered in housing the past 2 years has given me a greater understanding of thankfulness. The journey to get into what I would have considered a very small home just a few years ago, brought me to the foot of the Cross pleading my case. A wonderful thing happened. God kept silent. What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!-Romans 9:14 In the silence I was able to see my own deceitful heart of “want” and not need. The things I thought I needed were wants. I had all I needed…Jesus. His light became brighter in my sorrow. Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.-Romans 9:18 No matter what comes your way, God is faithful to push us toward righteousness. The only excess I really need is more of the Holy Spirit in my life. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to be ever present in our lives and in our “Big Homes,” that’s all I need.

The Big House by Denna McDaniel 6/6/07 weekly column Positively Beautiful

About Our Worship

Cal wrote the following for the back of the bulletin of our newly formed Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church OPC and I wanted to share it with you:

What are the keys to understanding and fully participating in worship?

First, careful preparation of our hearts. We are naturally distracted; worship, though we are made for it, doesn’t come easily, so we need to get ready by turning our attention from ordinary concerns to God and His Word. An important way to do that is by practicing the discipline of silence.”The Lord is in His holy temple,” said an Old Testament prophet; “let all the earth be silent before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

Second, recognizing that the worship service is a conversation between God and His people and entering into and focusing on that conversation, carefully listening to God and sincerely speaking to Him. The conversation generally follows a pattern something like this:

God initiates by calling us to worship through His Word. We then respond with a hymn or psalm and a prayer of adoration, followed by singing a song of praise to God. Then we both hear and speak His Word together through a responsive reading.

Then God speaks His law to us, reminding us of our duties to Him and our neighbors. As this law pricks our consciences, we respond by confessing our sins, both corporately and individually. God then graciously assures us that, as we have sincerely confessed to Him, our sins are forgiven, and we are cleansed to be in His presence. In response to God’s forgiveness, we sing a hymn of praise and confess our faith in Him and our unity with the wider Body of Christ by means of a historic creed, confession, or catechism. God then calls us to prayer, and we respond by bringing our petitions before Him.

God then gives us the instruction we need for our faith and life. First He speaks His very Word to us as the preacher reads the Scriptures to us. During that reading, we stand to show our respect for the Word of God, and when it is finished, the preacher reminds us, “This is the Word of the Lord,” to which we respond, “Thanks be to God!” Then God instructs us through the preacher’s explanation of His Word in the sermon. We then respond in thanksgiving for God’s instruction by presenting our tithes and offerings and singing His praises with the Doxology. God then, through the preacher, exhorts us to live by what we have learned, and we respond with a final hymn, often a hymn of dedication.

Finally, God blesses us through the benediction, and we then spend a few minutes quietly meditating on and praying about what we have learned before we leave to continue observing the Lord’s Day with joyful feasting, celebration, and fellowship with other saints of the Lord, anticipating gathering again for worship at the end of the day.

Remember, “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.’ This expression, ‘Yet once more,’ denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:22-29