The Giant

I believe this is fitting for us in this day and age. We must ask ourselves, has anything changed from then to now? We are in the middle of one of the greatest battles we have ever faced. The enemy is huge! We are an outnumbered body and nothing but a dismal object in their eyes. They continue to cry out to us and tell us they are going to get us. They dare just one of us to come and take them on. But because of what we see and hear we are afraid. The enemy is 9 foot tall. Just his inner group alone outweighs us all. He has heavy weaponry that with a stroke he can kill us. Because of his position and power against us, he is very bold! He dares any of us to come against him. He shows us daily his readiness to fight. He mocks us with words like, "if you can take me down I will go away, but if you lose you will continue to be my servant". He continues to say it every day.

All of us are scared, why wouldn't we be, he is huge. We feel we can't fight him by ourselves, and every one else seems to just look the other way. What are we going to do? I think I know who we can call upon. I know a man named Jesse who has eight sons. His three oldest sons are in the army. His youngest son, David lives with his father and works for him. This boy is not much to look at. He is just a small kid that's kind of homely looking. But I have heard of great things he has done, one particularly. Back some time ago He was in some what this same situation. There was an enemy that was continually threatening his people and even the army itself was afraid of them. David's father asked him to go and visit his brothers at the army camp one day and take them some roasted corn and ten loaves of bread. He also sent ten cheeses to the captain. He asked David to check on his brothers and bring him back a report on how they were doing.

So, David got up early the next morning and took off on his journey. When he got there, the battle was about to begin. David got out of the carriage and left the driver. David ran to the army and saluted his brothers. As he talked with them, Goliath, who was a fearsome enemy, started shouting from a distance and daring anyone to approach him. All the soldiers got really scared and fled away running as fast as they could. Kind of reminds me of us today! After things had settled down the soldiers came over to David and asked him if he had saw this giant? They told him his name was Goliath and that he was preventing them to carry on with there life. David responded back by saying yes he had heard him. David wanted to know who on earth this giant thought he was to defy this army from their life? Who does he think he is any way? David knew that God was on their side and that they shouldn't be afraid of Goliath because God could easily take care of him!

When David's words got around the camp, some people told the King about David. The king sent for David. When David saw the king, he told him, "Don't let anybody be worried any longer, he would fight the giant". The king told David that he couldn't fight Goliath because he was to young and Goliath was an experienced warrior. David responded to the king by telling him he had been working for his father for some time now and had faced many fierce things. In fact, he told him he had killed a bear and a lion. He told the king that Goliath would be just like one of those animals since he had defied the living God. David continued and said that the Lord that saved and delivered him out of the claws of the bear would deliver him out of the hand of Goliath.

The king was convinced and told David to go and the Lord be with him. The king offered David all kinds of armour but David told him he didn't need that before and he was sure he wouldn't need it now. So, David went over to a brook and picked up five smooth stones and put them in his bag. He also had a slingshot in his hand. The time had come and David walked toward Goliath. Goliath started walking toward David. There was a man in front of Goliath that carried a shield for him. When Goliath got close enough to see David, he got upset because David was just a young person. He looked at David's staff and slingshot and said, "Am I a dog that you come to beat me with sticks?" Goliath began to curse David. "Come here and I will give your flesh to the birds and other animals". But David was bold in the Lord! He said to Goliath, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defiled. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God of Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not the sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands."

Goliath got really angry at that point and came at David with all he had. But David was ready because God was on his side! David ran straight towards Goliath! David was ready to do some business! David put his hand in his sheperd's bag and took out a stone and put it in his slingshot. He slang it and it hit Goliath right in the forehead and the stone sunk into Goliath's head. Goliath fell on his face and was killed.David killed the mighty warrior with a slingshot! Then David ran, and stood on top of Goliath and took his sword out of it's sheath and cut off Goliath's head. When the enemy saw their champion GIANT was dead, they fled.

I know you have all heard this story many times but I feel it is befitting today for us. Most of us feel we are useless against the enemy. We spend most of our days just trying to get by and not be hurt. As I wrote on my last blog, there are many groups taking stands but they are siding with the enemy. We are God's people and we need not fear the enemy. The battle that is going on, is God's battle. He will win every battle that comes our way. We as David, have come through many battles previously and know God always wins. We can run directly at the enemy with nothing but a slingshot and some stones. God will direct the stones to hit exactly in the right spot and we will go forward. You see we always win. Don't get caught up in the rhetoric and what you see in the world. Keep your eyes directly on your God. He is bigger than anything that confronts you in your life. Keep speaking the victory of our Lord appealing for all those around you to trust in Him. We must continue to stand up, even if you feel you are by yourself. God can do it with just you. Look at David, when every one else was afraid, he wasn't. He trusted his God and knew he would always win. The same is true for us today. All that any of us need is the Lord. That's enough!! Fear no evil for He is with us always, even to the end. Praise the Lord forever.

in God's love,

Now Is The Time

Has there ever been a time as busy as it is right now? Has there ever been as much going on around the world as there is right now? Have you ever seen as much conflict among ourselves as we see right now? When we look around our communities, our cities, our states, is it any wonder that everyone is worried. We just passed a health care bill for our country that has caused more chaos than any one thing in history. We hear the complete opposites from each side. Who can we believe? There seems to be a "doom and gloom" message coming out of all our leaders. Have you noticed how easy it is to get people to follow after negative visions? People who are trying to make a difference for mankind have their hands full. They get attacked from every side. It reminds me of Jesus. He brought the "God News" to mankind, yet they rejected Him. He promised a life of victory, yet man turned away from Him. Instead of receiving they try to take away who He is.

We can get caught up in this same way of thinking if we are not careful. We are not as obnoxious as they are, we do it in a suttle way. We take our life and get busy about trying to keep control of it. We get caught up in the destruction of the world and think we have a chance of overcoming it, or we just ignore it and think it will go away. There are all kinds of movements going on around us today. The Tea Party, the Coffee Party, town hall meetings, and all are attacking each other. When Jesus walked this earth, He was for all mankind, not just a few. When I see the anger of people being expressed towards each other, I, for one, feel lead to stay away from that group. I do feel there needs to be a movement, we have talked about this movement. The CHURCH has to take its rightful place on this earth, NOW!!! We must become as serious about our call from our Father as these other groups. Not to be against them, on the contrary, to be for them. But for the right cause. We are the "Good News". We need to be shouting it from our roof tops. We are in a different time than before. We will not get our message out the same as we used to. We must go into the field and spread this news. There has never been a greater opportunity than now for the people to hear. They are yearning for some kind of truth to be told. A truth that brings about results in their life. A truth that is unshakeable by any force. One they can sink their entire heart in knowing without any doubt it sees them through. But if we are not careful we end up right in the middle of this condition they are in. There is only one place for us to seek our hope from and we can count on it. Not in our minds but within our heart. Our minds will fail us. We are not strong enough to see this thing through in ourself. We will faint. The world is tired and worn out. It doesn't know where to turn. We do!!! God has graciously selected us, the church, for this time. We need to be having town hall meetings, some form of tea party rallies, some form of coffee rallies. The Holy Spirit is willing and waiting for the church to step up to the plate and voice this "Good News". He has prepared the way for the people to hear. He will step in and get involved and change lives. Not just adults, but teenagers and children included. What greater message do we have to give to our children and youth today? They are not going to walk into our churches, we must go into the streets!!!

I am asking all who read this to pray with me that God will reach into our hearts and supply us the strength and His wisdom to follow Him with this "Good News" message. Lets ask Him to soften our hearts and fill us with His compassion to truly care for those around us. Lets pray that He re-arranges our schedules so we can find the time to reach out. Lets pray that He opens our eyes to every opportunity He opens for His truth to be told. Lets pray that the Holy Spirit reaches the hearts of all those around us to come to know Jesus. As the song says, Lets get all excited and go tell everbody that Jesus Christ is King!!! Lets pray that God will unite us together of the same mind and cause, which is His, and spread the "Good News". God is bigger than everything we see and hear. He is a God that makes things happen. He is bigger than it all. He cannot fail, He must prevail. Lets have faith in God!!! He is on everybody's side. If He be for us, who can be against us? Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. God is great. Halleluah, praise the Lord.

God's grace to all,
Stan