Last night was "Ladies Night Out" at Shandon. The evening began with wonderful fellowship and a delicious dinner--Shepherd's Pie! Yummy! The perfect meal for a chilly, Fall night. After dinner, we went into the worship center and heard a message from Amy Petersen.
Amy focused on the scripture from 2 Samuel 9: 7-13 which is the story of how David kept his promise to his best friend Jonathan and restored to Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth, everything that belonged to Saul and his family. Amy used Mephibosheth's "label" of himself and from others to make her point. Mephibosheth called himself a "dead dog". He was also labeled a cripple b/c he was lame in both feet.
Amy asked us to fill in this blank "Hello, My name is ______." (Know the song by Matthew West? Great song.) While at church last night, I couldn't think of one label I put on myself. However, if you give satan any foothold, he'll take it and run with it. He got me while I was in the shower. That demon gave me a list of negative labels so long, I could have walked to Cuba on them. I was just in a funk the rest of the night. Why I didn't call on the power of God to help me defeat the evil one last night is beyond me. However, God is always, always, always faithful and knows exactly what we need. I was reminded of my Bible study on Gideon written by Shirer that nothing--NOTHING--reaches us that hasn't already filtered through God's hands. I realize I am right where God wants me to be. (I guess I should back up. I am in the middle of a battle.) I was also reminded that we MUST use spiritual weapons to fight spiritual battles.
So, just how do we fight spiritual battles. Shirer gave us five things to remember when we are in a battle:
1. Begin the Battle on your knees! (Romans 10:17 and Judges 7:15)
2. Face the Battle from a stance of victory. (Judges 7:16 focus on the words "has given"; Ephesians 2:10) Keep in mind that God's strategies often don't make sense to us. Think about Gideon's weapons: trumpets, empty jars and torches.
3. Advance in the Battle from YOUR assigned place. (Judges 7:16; Judges 7:21; 1 Corinthians 12; Judges 7:19) God told Gideon to divide the 300 into three groups of 100 and spread them around the Midianite camp. This spread the men so thin that they couldn't see the next man. Each man held his position. Now how would you feel in the dark, couldn't see your fellow soldier and your weapons were a trumpet, empty clay jar and a torch? But they remembered one other thing: they had God's promise of victory and so do we "if" we are in His will.
4. Approach the Battle at just the right time. (Judges 7:20)
5. You win the Battle by using the right weapons. (Judges 7:21-22)
Remember, we must use spiritual weapons to fight the enemy! There are two parts to a battle: What God calls us to do and what He will do. We have to make sure we stay in our lane. However, know that your part matters!!
And a few pictures from last night>>>
The wonderful Mrs. Stewart!! Notice that you do not see Shepherd's Pie in front of Alberta. She asked me to bring her an empty plate. Huh? Empty plate? She said, "You'll see." Who was I to argue with the most awesome kindergarten teacher EVER!?! (Not to mention a wonderful, loving friend!!)
You see, Alberta needed the empty plate because "she was packing" last night. LOL! She turned that plate of salad into a meal. She had chicken (a lot of it too), broccoli and cheese and constructed the best looking salad I've seen in a long time. I just love her!
I just got a shot of one side of the room. It was a big crowd.
I wish I would have gotten a better shot of Amy. She really was a good speaker and had a great message for women as we often identify ourselves by our labels.
I hope your week is a great one and try to remember that whatever reaches you (good or bad) has filtered through the hands of God. He's got you (and me)!
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