Meltdown

The Pain of Persecution

Here I am hurting. I know I should be rejoicing:

"Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:

for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matt 5:12

Gossip is so hurtful and for some reason you always hear about those who are gossiping about you.

I borrowed this beautiful photo from my sons blog. He titled it Under the Waterfall. It seems to fit the poem I wrote the day after Thanksgiving, - my thanksgiving psalm...

Total Meltdown

Yesterday it rained within my soul

Showers of tears that washed away accumulated debris

Tears flowing unceasingly until every bit of self and sin

That had found a place in the icy silence of repressed hurt

Melted and cascaded down the rocky precipices

Entering the river of life and healing.

Cleansed by the blood of the Lamb

I stand today refreshed and renewed

Grateful for the life He has given me

And so abundantly joyful

Knowing I do not have to walk this way alone.

The Battle

Something really incredible is happening in my life and the lives around me, dare I say that I am getting a glimpse of a far off land that is really right within my grasp, as if I am walking on the outskirts in a thick fog, but there is a soft whisper that keeps drawing me on to a magnificent place that I’ve only heard of , but not yet totally experienced. After reading “Wrestling Prayer”, I began to pray as a warrior. Granted, only twice did I stand for a couple of hours waging a warfare against the enemy with the full armor of God wielding the two-edged sword or the “jaw bone of an ass”, alluded to by Eric Ludy as the instrument Samson used to slay a 1,000 men. Almost immediately, in the next couple of days, the enemy pounced upon me in two ways through two different people one a believer and one not. It wasn’t the people that were persecuting me, they didn’t know anything about my battle. It was the enemy of Christ who lashed out at me. But it was enough to stop this fledgling warrior from proceeding further into the battle for a time anyway, because you see I am in training and the great God of the Universe is sharpening my senses and helping me get stronger and hear His voice better.

So for awhile I retreated and nursed my wounds all the while not even really knowing what had happened. Then I picked up another book by Eric Ludy, "The Bravehearted Gospel". Let me tell you this man has a message from the Almighty and this message is for now! He begins to talk about how feminized the church has become. I am aware of this as I am sure most of you are. The church for the most part has lost its true grit and has become soft and yielding to the world. It has lost its saltiness and the consequences are grave. Well, Ludy begins to describe the feminine side and the masculine side, which by the way both are needed, but things can get very imbalanced if one is more predominant than the other. So this is how he classifies it:

The feminine side:

An emphasis on mercy and forgiveness

An emphasis on beauty and allure

An emphasis on relationship and unity

An emphasis on acceptance and embracing

An emphasis on feeling and intuition

And the masculine side:

An emphasis on holiness and righteousness

An emphasis on conquering and achieving practical real-world goals

An emphasis on repairing what is broken

An emphasis on the accuracy of truth and the preservation of sound doctrine

An emphasis on the just need to wage war for the right and to uproot the wrong

Now all of us have all of these characteristics in varying degrees. I’m sure as women you can see more of the feminine aspects in yourselves. And men would see more of the masculine aspects in themselves.

The other day our family was faced once again with a problem having to do with our prodigal. The females in the family all had the same reaction one of mercy and embracing, while the males intuitively responded with acute soundness of doctrine, standing on firm ground. We all noticed the marked difference in our opinions. It is amazing to behold how God has made us, male and female.

Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.