Choosing the Battle

There are many enemies around us. There is the enemy of homelessness. There is the enemy of child abuse. There is the enemy of addiction, fornication, and other sins. We as individuals can never battle every enemy. But we must do something. What?

In I Chronicles 14, after Saul’s death and David was anointed King, the Philistines came near and taunted David. There were challenging his reign. Testing him to see how strong his kingdom was.

Isn’t that just like the devil? He flaunts the hurting and the abused in our face and taunts, “Help them if you can?”

David, wise king that he was, inquired of the Lord. Notice that he didn’t rely on someone else to speak to God, but David knew how to contact God directly. We need that kind of relationship with our Savior. With God’s approval, David whipped the Philistines. He didn’t just win the battle. He won big. As a victory celebration, he burnt their gods with fire.

Yet the Philistines returned to taunt him again. Now a lot of us—myself included—would recognized the enemy, remembered our previous victory, and stormed into battle. But David knew that just because the enemy is raging doesn’t mean he should engage him.

Sometimes, God doesn’t want us to fight.

Sometimes, He fights for us.

And sometimes He has a specific battle plan He wants us to carry out.

Such as in this case. Upon inquiring of the Lord the second time, David followed God’s instructions, and waited by the Mulberry Trees—until God gave the signal. David showed trust in God by obeying His command. As a result, he won not only the battle, but the won the war against the enemy.

To many times, we rush into battle without waiting for God’s signal. We don’t give Him a chance to put His battle plan into motion. And when we lose, we think God failed us.

Not so! If we are going to be victorious against the enemy, we must fight only the battles God allows us, and we must follow His battle plan.

Is the enemy taunting you?

If so, inquire of the Lord, and follow his instructions. Invite me to your victory celebration by commenting below.

Man's Word or God's Truth?

There are godly men and women in this world. Unfortunately, there are some evil men and women as well. Many souls have been scarred by evil actions. As with most cases, God gets the blame.

God’s word and man’s word are different. God isn’t a human. He isn’t accountable for mankind’s actions or neglect.

However, God is aware of our hurts, and He has made provision to heal us completely.

The book of Genesis tells us of creation. It also tells that after God created man, He gave man a commandment.

God told Adam that if he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil then Adam would die. (Genesis 2:17) But Eve thought that God said you can’t eat of it, nor touch it or she would die. (Genesis 3:2-3) At this time, Adam stood with her, and didn’t bother to correct her thinking. Perhaps, he was the one who added to God’s word and told Eve that they couldn’t touch the fruit.

Because of this, a lot of people (and I was once one of them) blame Adam for Eve’s sin. However, upon closer look we see that after the deed was done, God spoke directly to Eve in verse 13 and 16. This tells me that the communication line between God and Eve was already open.

Eve didn’t have to go through Adam to have access to God. She could have clarified the commandment with one question. But instead of depended on God and God’s word. She depended on man and man’s word.

Man’s word fails. God’s word never fails.

Today, people are wrongly judging God’s faithfulness by a man’s or another woman’s word. We are deceived into thinking that God is a liar, God is abusive, God is unfaithful, and God doesn’t care because of human action or inaction. But thankfully, God is not a man that He should lie.

Another fact to consider is that prior to their sin, God told both Adam and Eve that they may eat of every fruit tree that had seeds. (Genesis 1:28-29) Since God doesn’t lie, and His word never changes, we can conclude that the fruit from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was seedless. (The first seedless fruit was created not by man’s ingenuity but by God in the Garden of Eden.)

Think of a wild plum tree. Think of all the little sprouts around it. That’s probably why God created the tree seedless. He wanted only one of this type of tree. This also distinguished the tree from the other edible fruits. 

Adam and Eve knew which fruit was forbidden.

Men and women, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers have a distinctive purpose and a specific role to play in our life, but none of these are gods. None of these are Saviors. All of these are human. And all of these make mistakes. Every life has been touched by evil in some way. Yes, it hurts, and yes it affects us. But we can’t judge God’s love and compassion by human failure. And, it’s time to stop blaming our own failures on the inadequacies of others.

Instead, let’s use the communication lines that were opened on Calvary. Talk to God. Tell Him your hurts. Let Him heal you.

Remember that your heavenly Father loves you unconditionally. He sent Jesus to save you from the evils of sin. The Holy Ghost was sent with comfort and strength to help us not only survive this world, but to live victoriously.

Have you talked to your Savior today?

Book Spotlight - Whatever Is Done

Book 3 of The Whatever Series.

 A fun-loving construction foreman longs for a family, but a widow doesn't want another husband.

He’d watched his best friend lose custody of his son—Isaac.

 Ray Simmons protects himself from becoming a weekend dad, 

and avoids complicated relationships. 

But after meeting an orphaned, little boy, 

the fun-loving, construction foreman is tempted with the idea of fatherhood. 

When he’s introduced to Trevor’s beautiful mother, 

he willingly trades the women attracted to his hardhat f

or the lady he wants to build a home with.

In memory of her loving husband, 

Cindy Maxwell has suffered the life of a church widow, 

and kept her appearance spotless for five years. 

But when a revealed secret casts doubt on her fairytale marriage 

and threatens her son, 

she finds comfort and safety in Ray's arms.

He'll move earth to convince her that his love is genuine, 

but will consequences of their sin drive them apart? 

Is a Father’s love unconditional? 

Or does love forget those lost in the past?

**Each of these contemporary romance books have individual plots, and may be read as a stand alone, yet an underlying story is woven throughout this entire Christian Fiction series. The heart tugging topics of child abuse and drug use are motivations for its character driven plots in stories that take place in southern Alabama. In these new adult, inspirational fiction novels you can expect to find a life changing stories of truth, sacrifice, and love.

Also available from STL Distributions through Ingram Content Group, Spring Arbor Distribution, Amazon, NACSCORP, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Espresso Book Machine, and Independent Retailers. Or publisher direct at http://www.empoweredpublicationsinc.com/books.html 

Did God create Homosexuals?

I have friends that claim to be homosexual, and I love those friends dearly. And because of that love, I can’t remain silent concerning their salvation. Just as adultery and fornication are sins, homosexual acts are indeed sin.

The basic definition for sin is disobedience to God. The eighteenth chapter of Leviticus details most sexual sins, including homosexual acts.

The argument that many have used to contradict this biblical edict is that if God didn’t want me to be a homosexual, why did God create me this way? 

He didn’t. God created Adam perfect, yet man disobeyed God and sin entered the world. Now, we are all born sinners. We were NOT created sinners.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ~ Romans 3:23.

Every human has a weakness. Every human has a specific area in which they struggle. For some, it may be gossip, or judgmental attitude, but others struggle with sexual sins such as an addiction to pornography, desires for the same sex, or even an insatiable desire for the opposite sex which can result in fornication and adultery.

The result of sin, whether that sin be a little white lie or murder, is the same—death. However, the consequences of sin vary. For example: if you are caught robbing a bank, the consequences is a prison sentence, but if you are caught telling a lie you may or may not lose a friend. The world judges and condemns based on the consequences of sin. But to God, without repentance, one sin is just as deadly as another.

If you battle a sexual desire for the same sex, you are NOT a freak. You are NOT a threat to society. You are loved by God. We all battle lust in one form or another. It is only if we dwell on that desire, and act on that desire that it becomes sin. 

The world insists that you must be either a heterosexual or homosexual. But a child of God doesn’t allow the world to define who they are. 

In Matthew chapter nineteen, Jesus talks about sexual sins, divorce, and adultery. He also mentions eunuchs.

For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake... ~ Matthew 19:12

I have heard many practicing homosexuals quote this verse to “prove” that God created them the way they are. But that isn’t what Jesus is saying. Just as some are born with excessive sexual desires, some are born with NO sexual desires.

The world says, if a man DOESN’T desire a woman sexually, he is Gay. WRONG! That is a lie from Satan. Don’t believe it.

If you are one of the few people who doesn’t battle sexual desires, you are blessed. 

You are NOT a homosexual.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 7, Paul talks about marital relationships. Those who are married and those who are not. In this chapter, he makes it clear. If you struggle with sexual desires you need to marry. But if you don’t battle sexual temptations, or if you can abstain from sexual intimacy, you will be able to DO more for God. You can work for God’s glory without the distraction of lust.

Even the world acknowledges that lustful desires distract people from their purpose. Take the movie Star Wars for example. If Anakin would have obeyed the Jedi law of not having sexual relations with Padmé, he wouldn’t have been easily deceived by the Emperor. He wouldn’t have slain the Younglings. He wouldn’t have fathered Luke and Princess Leia. He wouldn’t have become a dark figure hiding behind a false identity.

Ennouchos in the Greek or Saris in the Hebrew are both translated as eunuch in the bible. Besides castrate, both mean an official or commander. There are different types of eunuchs. Some eunuchs were fully castrated. Some were not. However, all eunuchs held a specific job. Throughout the bible eunuchs have been greatly used of God. Search the bible for eunuchs and you will be amazed at some of their accomplishments, and their high ranking positions.

The book of Isaiah reveals a promise from God especially for eunuchs.

Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, 

saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: 

neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. 

For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, 

and choose the things that please me, 

and take hold of my covenant; 

Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place 

and a name better than of sons and of daughters: 

I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. ~ Isaiah 56:3-5

So, if you were born without sexual desires, or in rare cases without sexual genitals, don’t listen to the world’s philosophy of being either heterosexual or homosexual. 

Perhaps, God meant for you to be a eunuch? Perhaps, he has a spouse waiting for you? Search His word and listen for His voice. 

Be who God intended you to be. He has a special purpose for your life.

Hindrances

We all have those little things that interfere with our work for God. Some are unnecessary and brought on by ourselves. Others are natural things that are just in our way.

 ...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,... Hebrews 12:1

This morning I cut my fingernails for the week. Usually I do this on Mondays. As I clipped the long tip, I thought how many people would love to have the curse of fast-growing nails. You see I can’t type with long fingernails. So I cut them once a week because if I don’t I can’t do the work God has called me to do.

Pretty, long fingernails 

are my hindrance.

What are your hindrances? 

Are you willing to sacrifice 

them in order to 

work more efficiently 

for God’s kingdom?

Book Spotlight

Many Christians are quick to cast stones, but we are all tempted with one thing or another. How much easier this walk would be, if we helped bear each other's burdens. Now think about this, where would you turn for godly advice, if you were faced with a choice? Which would you choose?

Fidelity or Fantasy?

A New Book Release by Parker J. Cole.

Leah Westwood loves her husband Jacob with all her heart, even as the smoldering glances of her ex-flame Vincent Miller continue to affect her. What she once shared with Vincent threatens to rip apart the bonds she is trying to build with her husband.

Jacob's heart belongs to Leah, but his body refuses to accept that. Rachel is the one who has been his mainstay at the most difficult times in his life. How could he leave her alone?

Vincent wants Leah back and all he has to do is watch and wait as Jacob and Leah's relationship unravels.

Ultimately, Leah must make a choice . . . between fantasy and fidelity.

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/parker.j.cole4125

Twitter: @parkerjcole

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+ParkerJColeAuthor

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/parkerjcole7

Parker J. Cole is a writer and radio show host who spends most of her time reading, knitting, writing, cooking, and concocting new ideas for stories. Her first novel, Dark Cherub, won Best of Spring Reading 2013 from eMediaCampaigns. She lives in Michigan with her husband and beloved dog Sarah. 

Visit her site at www.ParkerJCole.com

Our Hugs Belong to Jesus

Some months ago, Dylan Farrow wrote an open letter about the abuse of her father, Woody Allen. Because of his celebrity status, the letter was published in the NY Times and received a lot of media attention.

But what about the unheard voices? Voices of little girls and boys around the globe suffering in silence?

I have talked with many sexual abuse victims. Their stories are all very achingly similar. A friend or relative that they have been taught to love and respect breaks trust and touches them inappropriately. Those awkward touches escalate over time into sexual assault. We have all heard horrifying stories.

As a mother, I asked myself; how can I protect my child? Of course, I’ve the import question. “Has anyone touched you inappropriately?”

Then one day while grocery shopping, we see a distant relative. He’s an older gentlemen and he asks her for a hug. 

I watch as she grimaced and endured an awkward embrace. Me, being a paranoid mom, watched his hands very carefully, but both touched only her shoulders.

Yet, she clearly didn’t want the hug.

When we were back in the car, I asked, “Why did you hug him, if you didn’t want to?”

Her answer astounded me. She said, “I didn’t want to be rude.”

My 10 year old daughter accepted a hug that she clearly didn’t want, because I had taught her to be nice. 

Right there in the parking lot. I assured her that her body was special. A gift from God. And she didn’t have to hug or kiss anyone.

It wasn’t rude.

But it was rude of people to claim her affections without permission.

As a mother, I’ve often struggled with ways to protect my children from sexual predators without revealing more sexual knowledge than their immature minds can process. 

But here is my answer.

Their bodies belong to God. And no one has a right to touch them without their permission. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, it’s okay to tell them that your hugs belong to Jesus.

That’s not rude.

That’s smart.

That’s safe.

Later that night, I wondered again why she didn’t want to the man to hug her. So I asked.

Her answer, “He has bad breath.”