If you follow me regularly, you know I blog every Monday Morning, unless I announce I’m taking some time off. If you’ve signed up to have the blog come into your email, it’s there waiting for you when you turn on your computer, IPad, or phone on Monday mornings. But not last Monday!
I did everything as usual to post the blog, but it didn’t transfer from WordPress to Mail Chimp, which sends it out to my email list?! We put out an SOS to my sweet angel web designer, who has since retired from designing but graciously comes to our rescue when we encounter a problem we can’t troubleshoot. But Holly had COVID and was in that stage where you can’t think clearly and have no energy, but she said she would try to help us when she felt better.
Let me back up to the wee hours of the morning that the blog was supposed to post to email. I always program the blog to post on WordPress at 3:30 AM, and then it goes to Mail Chimp at 4:00 AM and out to all who receive it by email. At exactly 3:30 AM, I awoke from a sound sleep and immediately felt a sense of oppression and anxiety. I knew it was coming from Satan, but I couldn’t pray away the heaviness. I also knew, and almost expected, retaliation from Satan because the title of the blog was We’re in a War of Words with the Devil and I hit him hard!
My apprehension was confirmed when I saw that the blog didn’t go out to email and there was nothing my husband or I could do about it. I want to clarify I wasn’t canceled because it posted to my website, Facebook, and Twitter. No, this was something else. A sinister force trying to show me he thought he was in charge . . . Satan.
Even though I know Jesus who lives in me is greater than he that is in the world, I couldn’t shake the oppression all day Monday that I had felt during those early morning hours. 4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 1 John 4:4 NLT
I was confident that I would eventually be victorious, yet still I began to question if it was time to stop blogging? Was anyone being helped by my words? Was I just preaching to the choir who already knows everything I’m writing about? Are any lives being changed by me spending my weekends researching and writing blogs? And on it went!
I know you’ve been where I was. Maybe you’re there now. Perhaps you thought I’ve never had those moments of doubt or despair, but I do just like you. I’ve learned that I just need to address them head on with something you’ve heard me write and speak about many times, the armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18. I prayerfully put on my spiritual armor every morning, and I’ve often commented I would probably be dead by now if I didn’t! I take it that seriously. Our pastor just finished a series on the armor of God, and he discussed a separate piece of armor each Sunday. I appreciated that he gave it the same significance in our Christian life as Dave and I do.
So suited up in my Spiritual Armor, I did just what the Scripture says, I took a stand against the enemy, prayed, and did everything I could to network the blog on social media. People were finding it, reading, and commenting on the blog at my website.
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Eph. 6:10-12, 18 NLT
I knew I had hit the enemy’s vulnerable weak spot with my David-like stone, a blog, and I wouldn’t be shaken. I had actually written in the blog that I wouldn’t succumb to the cancel culture tyranny, and I certainly wasn’t going to let Satan sideline me.
On Friday, Holly started feeling better and within 10 minutes had the blog emailed out to all of you who receive it by email. Holly discovered that a “pause” had been placed on the blog in Mail Chimp?! Neither Dave or I had even been in Mail Chimp! When I asked Holly how that could’ve happened, her response was “I have no idea, but I suspect it’s the enemy!” Meaning you know who, the devil.
Yes, the devil is real. I try to never ever forget that but sometimes I guess the Lord thinks I need a reminder.
I’ve had so many encouraging comments and emails about the sidetracked blog. Many came from strong Christians like Kathy telling me how she needed the reminder of how the culture is trying to change the meaning of words through intimidation. Kathy wrote, “We absolutely agree with your assessment and perspective. A year ago, I knew nothing about all of this. I’m sure there are still many who are uninformed like I was, and you are helping to enlighten.” The Lord used Kathy’s comment in particular to remind me that as He opens my eyes, I’m opening the eyes of fellow believers, as well as those who might be seeking, uninformed, or confused.
Even as I was struggling to get the blog out that unveiled the satanic Marxist manipulation of our language, the Biden administration was trying to do another word churn to redefine recession to cover up their sheer incompetence. As if they could gaslight all of us who are living through this inflation/recession nightmare!
An article reviewing this “word churning” referenced a Washington Post columnist Megan McCardle. Considering the Washington Post is left leaning, she hit the target! “The Biden administration has spent a lot of energy trying to manage perceptions of the economy,” the columnist observed. As an example, she reminded readers, “Remember when inflation was going to be ‘temporary?'”
“You can’t message people out of thinking their economic circumstances have gotten worse — or out of worrying that this portends ill for the future.” She concluded, “So all the spin efforts are likely to come to naught.” The columnist added “it’s emblematic of a dangerous tendency on the left to believe they can control reality by controlling the words we use to describe it.” She then elaborated on “the left’s full-time obsession” with semantics. “It is the left that has put us on a never-ending euphemism treadmill, transforming ‘illegal alien’ into ‘illegal immigrant’ and therefrom to ‘undocumented worker’ and so on,” McArdle cited as one example.
McArdle wrapped up the column by offering this advice to Democrats, “Sure, you can’t really blame the Biden administration for trying to put a positive spin on things. But the rest of us — and Democrats especially — would be better off if the left spent less time looking for better phrasing and more time finding solutions.” Recession ‘word churn’ from Democrats is not working, warns Washington Post columnist | Fox News
Ya think?! They can’t fool us who are living through the mayhem and crises created by this administration.
The Christian Life is A Wild Adventure Today!
While I said in the title of this blog that it’s hard being me, and sometimes it is, I’m so glad to be a servant for Christ devoting my life to ministry and wherever the Lord leads for the time He’s given me here on earth.
I, like many of you, feel the Lord is using the current worldly turmoil to sift out who will succumb and submit to the enemy’s tactics and who will stand against the attack on the church and Christians. We each have a God-given purpose and God has a plan for our life. It’s not to cower in fear and trepidation, but to stand firm with courage and boldness sharing the saving Gospel and exemplifying a life lived intentionally for Christ.
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. Rom. 8:28 NLT
We need to encourage each other. What we’re experiencing is nothing new. The early church was always vacillating between revival or riots, and nothing has changed. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and always, yet Satan has not yet lost his power and he’s trying to use it with a heavy hand against any blinded by his darkness or not firm in their faith. Until his final demise, he’s not going down without a fight.
But as believers, Jesus told us, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” Matt. 5:14 NLT
We bring light to the darkness if we’re willing to be aware and awake (not woke) with a fire burning intensely for God in our spirit. The crises we’ve been in from the pandemic to the current financial catastrophe, the border invasion, and political lunacy has allowed us to see who will stand and do what God calls them to do. Who will not fear man or the enemy? It’s true, that when you stand up for Christ, you’ll probably pay a price, but it seems a minor consequence when you’re doing it for the Lord.
I want to give a shoutout to Christian soccer player Jaelene Daniels who sat out her game because she chose not to wear a “gay pride” jersey. She also turned down an offer to play on the US national team in 2017 because again she refused to wear a pride jersey. This time her team Courage was actually sponsoring a “Pride Festival” before kickoff. Daniels said, “I remain committed to my faith and my desire for people to know that my love for them isn’t based on their belief system or sexuality,” she wrote. ” I pray and firmly believe that my teammates know how much I cherish them, respect them, and love them.” NWSL player Jaelene Daniels sits out over refusal to wear pride jersey | Fox News [Jaelene is featured in the opening picture]
I love this quote from Eric Metaxas who cautioned that some have been living in a Christian bubble, but “The Lord in his mercy shoves us out to uncomfortable places where you believe, but now you have to live your faith.” Christ puts us in a place where we have to exhibit the kind of faith that shows we really do trust the Lord. Just like Daniels and me, we’re all being shoved into that place right now. Every believer is being tested in a world that’s going against everything we believe. Will we succumb to pressure to conform, or will we stay strong with the Lord’s courage?
I was shoved into that uncomfortable place twenty-seven years ago when I clearly heard the Lord tell me to “feed my sheep.” I soon learned the call initially meant starting the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry, which continues to bless women in churches around the world. Then it was feeding his sheep through my About His Work Ministries writing books and speaking, and today I feel my call is a willingness to discuss the hard issues (even sadly many pastors avoid) to prepare and ready the church for eternity. Yes, ready!
That we would not to be found cowering in fear and compromised faith, but boldly proclaiming my Savior lives and I can face tomorrow because He lives within my heart!
Revelation 21:7-8 NLT is clear that in eternity we won’t be accountable to the media, the trolls, politicians, or those groups that oppose us, we will only be accountable to Jesus. Let’s live our lives today like we believe this to be true!
7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. 8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
We will put into practice Romans 12:21 NLT, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
We will pray to God, Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil. Ps. 119:133 NLT
We will remember that, Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. 6 Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. 7 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. Ps. 112:5-7 NLT
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Tim. 1:7 NLT
God honors those who honor Him! Let none of us be found lacking when the trumpet calls.
10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,
“It has come at last—
salvation and power
and the Kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.[a]
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters[b]
has been thrown down to earth—
the one who accuses them
before our God day and night.
11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
and by their testimony.
And they did not love their lives so much
that they were afraid to die.
12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens!
And you who live in the heavens, rejoice!
But terror will come on the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you in great anger,
knowing that he has little time.” Rev. 12:10-12 NLT
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Phil. 1:6
PS If you haven’t read last week’s blog that set Satan on the warpath, here it is. We’re in a War of Words with the Devil.
If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.
HE who began a GOOD work in you is faithful to complete it!!! It’s ok to be you, Janet, because you are an amazing woman of God!
Keep telling it like it really is, the truth will prevail.
Yes, Kathy the truth will set us free and that’s the Good News we keep sharing!
Janet thank God for woman like you. I pray that churches will preach these messages from their pulpits and not be so timid that they would offend their members. We need to hear Gods truth, speak His word and live like Christians. Looking forward to your next blog. And yes I shouted from the roof too when Roe v Wade was defeated.
Diane, thank you for the encouragement and you go girl yourself!!