TopekaStew

The other day I read the following and I wondered if it was a recipe for defeating our accuser: "And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." ~ Rev. 12:11 Seems to me there are three ingredients to this recipe: 1) The blood of the Lamb 2) The word of my (our) testimony 3) A spirit that is sold out, 100%, all in So, my role, our role in this struggle is lean on the finished work of Christ, to speak up about it, and to sell out. Not an easy cake to bake. - Chris

The other day I got up for my time with God but quickly gave in to the temptation to check my email. I was distracted for a while. Time growing short, I then rushed through my daily Bible reading and started to write a prayer. I started to write a guilty apology to God, telling him that once again I had not encountered him in my not-so-quiet time. But I stopped myself after one sentence. I realized that my expectations for an "effective" quiet time were very me-centered. I stopped, let go of the guilt, acknowledged that any quality time I have with God will be because he reveals himself to me, not because I discover him. I started to reflect on the fifteen minutes of Bible reading I had just finished. I began to realize that God had broken through after all, giving me a glimpse of himself as I read. I felt peace. I celebrated, in a small way, grace. It was good. That's all. - Chris