ESTHER’S WARRIORS MINISTRY 

Blessings to you and yours on this Sunday!  I pray that you are coming to a deeper level of trust in the Lord that will allow you to see His perfect plan for your life unfold.  When we truly trust Him we let go of any of our own preconceived ideas that we may have of what our life should look like.  Instead, we move forward with every confidence that He really is the author and finisher.  We are set free to move in that revelation!

It is one thing to be able to speak His promises by rote.  It is quite another to allow His Holy Spirit to get the understanding of His promises deep into our heart (and it is always a heart issue).  If we choose to allow Him to work in our heart and change it we will be set free from the at times overwhelming dread, fear and anxiety that come with trying to run our own life in a tumultuous world.

Once we make the choice to really let Him be the Lord of our life, how do we go forward?  One of the most important things is to let go of what went before that is not healthy or positive for us.  Is that easy to do?  Not at all as it is not something that can be done in our own strength.  This is where the rubber meets the road if we sincerely want Him to set us free from past hurts whether real or imagined.  You may be perfectly justified to be upset but whatever took place is over.  Do not let it maintain control over you.

Jesus said in John 8:58, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was I AM.” He said: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35); “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12); “I am the door” (John 10:9); “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11); “I am the resurrection” (John 11:25); “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Take a moment to re-read each of these declarations.   Jesus does not say He ‘was.’  He clearly says, “I AM.”

If we really follow Him then we have a clear pattern that our focus should be on Him ‘now’, not on yesterday’s troubling situation.  I am not saying we should fail to see what He has brought us through…those things are our faith markers to encourage and strengthen us.  I am saying that far too often we ruminate on petty experiences that serve no useful purpose whatsoever.  They only weigh us down and take our eyes off Him and His direction for us.

It is by the power of His Holy Spirit that we will be set free from pondering past happenings that lend nothing positive to our life if we let Him.  Remember, we are in a spiritual battle (re-read Ephesians 6:10-17) so we have to really be ready to stop errant thought patterns in their tracks!  Again, this cannot be done without the Holy Spirit’s help.

All by ourselves we can do nothing really.  Consider your life without Him and then look at your life with Him as Lord.  He will change you, He will change how you see things, He will change the way you live your life if you let Him.  That being said, He will never leave or forsake you.  What a comforting awareness in a world which often lacks faithfulness and integrity in relationships.  A good friend used to always tell me, “People will disappoint you.”  Know this:  Jesus will never disappoint you because He is ever faithful.

This week, live in the moment for He is there-only there.  Just keep moving forward, do not even look back minute to minute.   Whatever happened, whatever was said or done-leave it there.  In dog training at the master’s command ‘leave it’ the dog instantly turns his/her attention from the situation and looks ahead.  What a visual!  Our Lord tells us not to look back.  Leave it.  Keep your eyes looking forward.  That is mind renewal!  To renew is to make new. We cannot renew our minds with old data and old scripts.  You cannot even see the new-the open door-if focused on what went before.

Join us this week as we ‘pray the states’ toward the 2012 Presidential election.  Please cover Vermont admitted to the Union March 4, 1791, in prayer.   We are praying for each state in the order of admission to the Union.  Pray for wisdom and discernment for the political leaders, pastors and church leaders, the people residing in Vermont and for all in our Nation.  Each state is important in forming our United States of America.  We commit to pray for a different state each week so we not only provide prayer cover but also to make us aware that our country is bigger than the space we personally occupy in it. These are our United States.  Let us
pray that we will arise united ‘for such a time as this!’  Please repost and share.

Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray.  Keep our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety.  They are our frontline on the battlefield, let us be their frontline in the spirit.  May God richly bless you this week and set you free from past entanglements in Jesus’ name.  Amen and amen!