II Timothy 1:7; Ephesians 6:10-17; Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13 - "Build My Life"

I love the words to the song Build My Life. 

And I will build my life upon Your love
It is a firm foundation
And I will put my trust in You alone
And I will not be shaken

This is exactly how I desire to live. I desire to allow the Lord to love me in the manner He so desires so I can love with His love. When I trust Him, I am empowered to live as He desires. As I do, my faith deepens into a greater depth than ever thought possible. II Timothy 1:7 tells me when I don't allow the enemy to place fear upon me, God will empower me through every situation that comes along. Sometimes God allows situations to stay in my life that are not pleasant. The purpose for such situations is to grow my faith or to grow someone else's faith. They are to see if I will continue pursuing Him or if I will give into the enemy. Sometimes it appears it would be easier to give into the enemy but that is because he is trying to trick me. Sometimes the enemy throws things before us that make it look easier than living for God. But the enemy is a liar. With God there is peace. With God there is strength. With God there is an abundance of true, pure love. None of that is with the enemy. My heart breaks to see families and marriages destroyed by the enemy. He has got into some lives and played havoc. I do not want that to happen in my life. There is scripture that tells me exactly what I need to do every day. It is found in Ephesians 6:10-17. I need to put on God's armor every day to stay strong against the enemy. I need to put on: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of readiness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Another piece to living with His armor is found in verses eighteen through twenty:

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassadorin chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Prayer is a great tool against the enemy. We need to pray for one another to be strong in the Lord. We must never give up praying. We must realize the need for prayer. There are times people get to the point of not knowing what to pray. Or they get to the point where they are so overwhelmed they feel like they can't pray. That is when the prayers of others (also known as intercessory prayer) is so important. We all need covered in prayer. If someone comes to my mind in the middle of the day, I pray for them. Sometimes the Holy Spirit tells me to tell them I am praying for them and other times not. When He wakes me in the middle of the night to pray, I do no matter how tired I am. When He tells me to pray with someone when I am out, I try to not question or walk away without praying with them. I may question Him but if He truly wants me to pray with someone, I do. It has become easier to ask waitresses how I can pray for them, sales clerks who appear to be in pain if I can pray with them, people in doctors offices, stores, etc. if I can pray with them. Some have refused prayer but the majority are blessed by it. I love these words to this songs....

Holy, there is no one like You
There is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder
And show me who You are
And fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me

As I pray for God to open up opportunities for me, He does. It is amazing the conversations I have been a part of since I have been open to Him leading me. Even on days when I feel like I can't physically or emotionally continue on, He empowers me to be His servant. Woo hoo! When we get our focus off of self and onto Him, anything is possible. Jesus words in Matthew 19:26 read, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Jesus was speaking to the disciples about getting into heaven when He spoke these words. Nothing is impossible with Him when we allow Him to strengthen us. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength are Paul's words in Philippians 4:13. God is the Answer. He is the One who is able to give us exactly what we need to live for Him on this earth and for eternity in heaven. I don't want to make any other choice than Him.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the opportunities You put before me yesterday and the ones ahead in this day! Thank You for Doc feeling a little better yesterday! Father, I pray against this fever that has returned. I pray for Your empowerment in him today. Lord, I also pray for Your empowerment in me. Cleanse me so You can fill me with more of You. May You shine brightly through my words, actions, and attitude today in a new, different way. I pray for the Armor of God to be upon me and Your empowerment to go before me. I pray the same for: my friend whose marriage of many years is crumbling; Steve, June, Corrie, Nancy, Jim, Shirley, Patty, and Patricia as they continue their life without their spouses; Carl; our military troops and their families especially Justin and the future Marines who will participate in the Crucible this week; Mike with his heart issue; the many children and teens who are missing; James as he continues to heal from eye surgery; my Momma as she goes to her doctor appointment today; Craig and his family as he is in rehab; Mr. Fran for wisdom; and so many others on my prayer list. Thank You Father for being My Choice! Amen.