Armed and Righteous

Proverbs 30:30

English Standard Version (ESV)

30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts

    and does not turn back before any;

1 John 4:4

New International Version (NIV)

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

James 1:13

New International Version (NIV)

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

Hebrews 2:18

New International Version (NIV)

18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

James 4:7

New International Version (NIV)

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Romans 6:18

New International Version (NIV)

18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Because I know that God is real; I know the devil is also real; and only God has my good in mind.  While the devil can't make me sin, he can certainly encourage me and that is all he can do.  I'm fully equipped to resist him, because God has armed me to do so.   Yes, I sin, but I'm no longer a slave to sin.  I am happily and gratefully a slave to righteousness.  Satan will never, never be my master because God has claimed me for His own.  

"Way Down In the Hole" - The Blind Boys of Alabama

When you walk through the garden, you gotta watch your back

Well, I beg your pardon, walk the straight and narrow track

If you walk with Jesus, he’s gonna save your soul

You gotta keep the Devil way down in the hole

He’s got the fire and the fury at his command

Well, you don’t have to worry if you hold on to Jesus’ hand

We’ll all be safe from Satan when the thunder rolls

We just got to keep the Devil way down in the hole

All the angels sing about Jesus’ mighty sword

And they’ll shield you with their wings, and keep you close to the Lord

Don’t pay heed to temptation, for his hands are so cold

You gotta help me keep the Devil way down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Down in the hole

Do the Math

Psalm 90:12

New International Version (NIV)

12 Teach us to number our days,

    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 147:4

New International Version (NIV)

4 He determines the number of the stars

    and calls them each by name.

Luke 12:6-7

New International Version (NIV)

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Psalm 73:28

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

28 But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord [a]God my refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works.

I've been laying low for a few days hoping that referral spamming might slow down on my blog.  I just checked my stats and the numbers are lower and, better yet, cleaner.  I've never been big on math, but Google is, and they keep adding up the numbers.  What they will do with all the statistics, I don't know and maybe I don't want to know, because I can't count on Google doing all things for my good.  I can count on my God, however, who was there before Google and will be there when it's no more.  He knows and He numbers all that is important to Him, including me.  He made seven days in a week, filled the ark with pairs of animals and kept them there for 40 days and nights, called 12 disciples, fed 5000 with five loaves and two fish with 12 baskets left over, and gave One Son.  

My God does the math.  

Guy Penrod - Count Your Blessings

A House Divided

Mark 3:24-25

New International Version (NIV)

24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

Isaiah 30:18

New International Version (NIV)

18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;

    therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.

For the Lord is a God of justice.

    Blessed are all who wait for him!

When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'
Theodore Roosevelt

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Abraham Lincoln

     I do get dismayed by seeing all the infighting in our Capitol in the news; and then, because I live with a national park at my back door, I find that I really hate seeing my country shut its doors.  I don't want to place blame, but I do want to see it fixed.  My husband just spoke about a student who cannot attend his federally funded after school program.  How is he going to learn fair play on the playground when the grownups can't play fair?

     I am thankful to live in this great nation, and obligated to those who have sacrificed so much to make it great.  There have been, however, some chipping away at the foundations this country was built on; and our own moral centers have gone askew.  We are becoming less grieved by and even prone to rationalize sin.  God has been patient with us thus far and always forgiving to those who seek forgiveness; but there will be a day when He no longer forbears judgment.  He is a just God and will see justice done.  I pray that when this happens He will find there are righteous yet living and will have mercy on our country.  May He find us faithful.

Isaiah 40:23-31

New International Version (NIV)

23 He brings princes to naught

    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

24 No sooner are they planted,

    no sooner are they sown,

    no sooner do they take root in the ground,

than he blows on them and they wither,

    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

25 “To whom will you compare me?

    Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:

    Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one

    and calls forth each of them by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

    not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you complain, Jacob?

    Why do you say, Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord;

    my cause is disregarded by my God”?

28 Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

    and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary

    and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the Lord

    will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint.