After last week God definitely softened my heart to be able to listen for what God was trying to teach me during this training session. This week we were focusing on Spiritual Warfare. Now I’ve been a Christian since I was 13 and have been around Christians my entire life but this is the first time that I received teaching solely on just how evil and conniving the devil truly is.
One of the things I have loved the most while training is the unity between all of the Mercy Shippers. The devil would love to continue to cause division among Christians but we all come from diverse backrounds and are multi denominational but are unified with the fact that we ALL have the same belief that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Hah take that devil!
Another thing that pierced my heart over this past week was the fact that “you can’t argue somebody into believing” (Dean Sherman). There has been a few times over the past few years where I have ended up arguing with friends (best friends) wanting them to believe in the life that Jesus offers. Ugh! But did you know that “the devil blinds the minds of unbelievers” 2 Cor. 4:4. The best thing that I can do is pray, pray, pray. It is all in God's hands!
A different point that impacted me was that we fight a spiritual battle, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, everyday 24/7. Just pick up a paper, turn on your TV, have a conversation with a friend you’re annoyed with, or listen to the many bad thoughts that creep into your head (self doubt, self image, fear, etc.). The devil is trying to slip in wherever and whenever he can. “The fight it not against flesh and blood but against the powers of this dark world “(Eph 6:12). Put on the full armor of God everyday and don’t fight each other but fight the darkness that needs to be fought.
Okay so I left this one for the end because this is the point that truly broke my heart. Most of us westerners have heard about God and Jesus, whether we decided to believe it or not, but what all those that have NEVER heard. Those born into a family and/or culture that is immersed in voo doo and/or witchcraft. Dean told us that when we arrive in Benin, Africa you can actually FEEL the demonic power roaming around you. We need to pray for and reach for these people.
This is just some of the many things that have touched me this past week. I hope that maybe some of this information touched you too. Know that I you are all in my prayers! Oh yeah and prayers for Annie’s wedding on the 11th and all of the goodbyes after.
(I cheated! sorry Leah)
I’ll end this post with some funny things from this past week to lighten up this email a bit: Cracker Barrel is a hot spot in Texas, Texan 4th of July , no rule raquetball, wallyball to the face (opps sorry MC), scorpions in the dorms, Jamie’s pillow spider
1 comment:
i would not classify that volleyball to the face as being that funny for the person whose face it was... :-p
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