Spiritual Warfare

We read in Ephesians 6:10-20 about the armor of God. When I think about this section of Scripture I automatically think about the movie Galdiator and think of a warrior. I guess its just a guy thing. We are referred to as soldiers of Christ. This is not your typical soldier though. In this section of Scripture we see the repeated command to stand. While we have the armor of the Lord there is no need to fight because the battle has already been won. The enemy will do all he can to get us in the flesh. When we are in the flesh we are weak and easily defeated. This can happen even in Christian service. While we are serving there can be no reliance and dependence on the Holy Spirit. This is where we begin to let down the guard and fight without the armor. When this occurs the darts of the enemy find there way to our hearts and minds. James 4:7 says, "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." The putting on of the armor and being a soldier of the Lord simply requires submission. It is here we find victory. We are in a battle, but we can only win if we allow the One who has already won, fight it for us.

The Beauty of Good-byes

The ministry I serve in is full of good-byes. I was asking the Lord why He brings people together just to separate them a few months later. A silly question that is only asked when one is missing people they said goodbye to. However, the Lord used Scripture to shed some light on goodbyes that I would have never thought of. Psalm 111:4 says, "He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The LORD is gracious and full of compassion." He showed me that when we say goodbye to people we love it brings His grea work between us to remembrance. He is glorified because He was the one that built the relationship. He then brings compassion to us after the goodbye. We think of goodbyes as this horrible event. God sees them as a testimony of His unifying love between His people.

I enjoyed my furlough in the States. It was a great time with familyand friends. I came back and hit the ground running. The day I gotback we were preparing for a women's conference of 250 women fromaround Hungary. The CCA semester has been back for about three weeks.The students, by their own admission, are making a strong effort towork on their attitudes. It has been a real blessing to see Godworking in their hearts in this area.

10 - DayOutreach
The 10-day outreaches will be from April 16th - April 26th. I wouldreally like to go on an outreach this semester. The outreaches havenot been announced yet but I am really hoping to go on one. I will find out Friday where the outreaches will be and how much they will be. Please prayfor wisdom and financial support that I will be able to go.

A Vision For Life
http://cts.vresp.com/c/?CalvaryChristianAcad/09dc5ca406/TEST/cb53cf04bc/option=com_content&view=article&id=35&Itemid=47
I am really exicted for the summer program I will be a part of. We are starting to put things together for it and it will be a lot of fun. You can read about it below and can go to the website by clicking on the title link above. A Vision For Life is a discipleship program of solid Bible teaching, worship, Christian service, and many outreach opportunities. A Vision For Life is for anyone that desires to hear from Jesus about His direction and purpose for their life.The purpose for starting A Vision For Life was to see young people draw closer to Jesus. Since 2003, that is exactly what the Lord has done and what we pray that He will continue to do. Lives have been changed and people have launched out into life and ministry.

Prayer Requests
1. Financial Support
2. Men's Bible study - I am starting Monday with the guys study. We will be going through 1 John. It will be a time of Bible study and prayer.

I have not written in a while as it has been pratty busy. I send out my monthly newsletter, but I seem to neglect my blog. I will try to keep up with it.

Things are continuing to go very well. We are having a school wide fast today. We have enjoyed worshipping the Lord and seeking Him during our meal times. Pray the Lord does a great work in the students and staff today as we seek Him.

Since my time in Baja two weeks ago I have really had a desire to learn the Hungarian language. The Lord really envouraged me through the story of the feeding of the 5,000. I know if I put forth the effort to learn the language then He will multiply those efforts. The biggest difference is I now have a personal interest to learn the language. I have established friendships with Hungarians and want to be able to communicate with them in their language as well as English. I have felt at times I am limiting God with my lack of Hungarian. I want to be able to be used by God without allowing language to be a barrier.

I will be sending out my newsletter in the next few days. Please let me know if you would like to receive it.

Is That Your Armor

I have been looking at the life of David a lot lately while reading 1 & 2 Samuel. While reading the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 I saw something there that I had never seen before even though I know the story very well. David was getting ready to go to battle with Goliath and in verses 38-39 we read Saul giving David his armor. “So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off (1 Samuel 17:38-39).” This makes perfect sense because what does one usually wear to battle? Armor. What does armor do? It protects. The logical choice would be to accept the armor and wear it into battle. When I read this I realized however that the logical answer or choice is not always the correct one. The armor was doing the opposite of protection; it was prohibiting David from moving. Notice that the verse does not say it didn’t fit. It fit and looked like a great idea, but when David tried to use it for what it was designed to do, he couldn’t use it because it wasn’t his to use. The armor was human provision and protection. I began to see how this is what it looks like when we try to fulfill God’s promises and service on our own. This is also what happens when we try to do something that we are not called to do. It may be right for some, and also a very godly thing to do, but it may not be the thin g that God wants us to do. David had to realize that it was God who would deliver him from Goliath and not the armor. Saul was looking at the physical hence the reason he was not acting against Goliath. He was hiding because of the physical size of Goliath. He was focused on the problem and not on the Lord.
When walking with the Lord we must be clear of our calling and allow God to fulfill it through us. We do not need anything outside of what the Lord provides. Where God calls He also provides. If we know our calling stay focused on the Lord and not on the service of the calling. If we do not we need to serve the Lord with all of our mind, heart, and soul until the Lord shows us what that calling is.