Ephesians 6:13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.KJV
Have you ever had something to do that required you to stand for a long period of time? Whether you were at a pavilion or doing a work out video or just waiting around for whatever reason, we've all been there. As I look in amazement at the picture of those soldiers that stand at the tomb of the unknown solider in DC, I'm in awe and wish I could have such endurance. Come rain, sun, snow, wind and even Hurricane Sandy, THEY STAND. Don't you think at times they get hungry or weary? Yes! But because they've given specific instructions to stand, they do it, do it well and with pride because they understand the purpose of their assignment. The longer they stand the more the pain eases up, the more they remain focus, the more they realize their purpose and the more they want to stand to complete their assignment.
When I think about this scripture it reminds me of my spiritual feet and I relate to it like physically standing for something. We know that many times after standing for long periods of time we get restless, we start to twitch, whine and complain. Trust me I've been there...we start to look around for an easy way out or possibly a way of escape, maybe a seat perhaps to ease the pain of standing for so long or we just get impatient and restless. But God never said to stop standing or to look for a place to sit down or to take a break. He said to stand- period! Although it hurts, although it's hard, although many times it doesn't make sense and you don't understand it he said to stand! Yes HE KNOWS that at times it will hurt, he knows that the rain, sun, snow and winds will come He knows that you'll feel the sting and would want to give up but hold hold fast and be steadfast because while you're standing, being faithful and steadfast, HE KNOWS the ultimate purpose of you standing firm is all part of his preparation in making you even more patient filled with endurance and perseverance so that after you complete this assignment successfully you would have EVERYTHING that you need in order to face the next assignment which will require you to STAND. STAND FIRM! BELIEVE IN YOUR DREAMS! BELIEVE GOD'S PROMISES TO YOU and DO NO SETTLE FOR LESS! STAND FIRM. HE WILL FULFILL EVERYTHING THAT HE PROMISED IF ONLY YOU WILL STAND!
(c) Lorraine Benjamin 2012
Lorraine B
- Lorraine B
- Hello and welcome to a place of Spiritual Refuge. A place where you can come and meditate on the word of God as it encourages and empowers you to live on top of the world everyday. I've always had a passion for writing ever since I was a child. Now I'm an adult I've decided to allow God to use one of the many gifts he's given me to encourage and create a place of spiritual refuge for the discouraged, broken hearten and those who at times feel they have no hope. I thank God for all of the gifts that he has given me and my greatest intent is for me to give them back to him by using them for his Glory. Enjoy, be encouraged and inspired. Lorraine B :)
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Learn to write in the sand
John 8:1- 11 New International Version (NIV)
Focus 5- 11
8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
As I meditate on this scripture, I can't help but wonder if Jesus wrote on the ground as a metaphor for forgiveness. After all the ground back then wasn't like the ground today. I imagine it to be somewhat of a dirt like road, full of dust that if you were to write on it whatever written would be quickly erased because of the constant road traffic of the daily travelers in the city. In this scripture, he wrote on the ground twice before he told the accused woman to go and sin no more. It was never mentioned in scripture what was actually written but the thought of him writing on the ground really intrigues me!
Fast forward to today -----> We all can relate to that woman, maybe being caught in an act or simply being accused of something or the other. Whether the accusation was true or not, it's possible that we still have some lingering unforgiveness in our hearts about the matter. Jesus wrote on the ground before he gave his final verdict of forgiveness to the accused woman. Have you chosen to forgive whoever have accused you? Or are you still holding on to whatever "it" is? If you haven't as yet, how about you write on the sand after you give your final verdict of forgiveness to those who's hurt you in the past. If we learn to write in the sand and surrender our hurt to the waves of God's forgiveness, mercy and love, he will in turn wash the sand of our hurt away never to remember the hurt or bitterness anymore. No matter what "it" is, choose to write it in the sand today and walk away knowing that God hasn't condemn you, nor the person that accused you, and neither should you.
(c) Lorraine Benjamin 2012
Focus 5- 11
8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
As I meditate on this scripture, I can't help but wonder if Jesus wrote on the ground as a metaphor for forgiveness. After all the ground back then wasn't like the ground today. I imagine it to be somewhat of a dirt like road, full of dust that if you were to write on it whatever written would be quickly erased because of the constant road traffic of the daily travelers in the city. In this scripture, he wrote on the ground twice before he told the accused woman to go and sin no more. It was never mentioned in scripture what was actually written but the thought of him writing on the ground really intrigues me!
Fast forward to today -----> We all can relate to that woman, maybe being caught in an act or simply being accused of something or the other. Whether the accusation was true or not, it's possible that we still have some lingering unforgiveness in our hearts about the matter. Jesus wrote on the ground before he gave his final verdict of forgiveness to the accused woman. Have you chosen to forgive whoever have accused you? Or are you still holding on to whatever "it" is? If you haven't as yet, how about you write on the sand after you give your final verdict of forgiveness to those who's hurt you in the past. If we learn to write in the sand and surrender our hurt to the waves of God's forgiveness, mercy and love, he will in turn wash the sand of our hurt away never to remember the hurt or bitterness anymore. No matter what "it" is, choose to write it in the sand today and walk away knowing that God hasn't condemn you, nor the person that accused you, and neither should you.
(c) Lorraine Benjamin 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The Open Invitation
Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. NIV
It's amazing how in this scripture God gives us an invitation to "come" but as I deal with the day to day issues of life and the trials and tribulations that it brings, I must ask myself, how many times have I delayed the peace and rest that God wants to give me as I go through the burdens that storms bring, all because I never responded to His invitation?
As I reflect and meditate on the scripture, I realize that the best part of this invitation unlike all the others that we get to weddings, parties and other social events, that require RSVP's and have deadlines, is that this invitation is one that remains open for the rest of our lives. It has no deadline. It is ETERNAL and you can RSVP whenever you want. So I've chosen to RSVP to HIS open invitation every day of my life.
God specifically left this invitation open because he's ALWAYS waiting with open arms and the best part is all you have to do is RSVP and show up to get the REST that he so wants to give as one of his many promises to you. How do you RSVP and show up? By simply surrendering every struggle, issue, disappointment and weight that bears you down and allow him to replace it with HIS unexplainable and unconditional peace and rest.
So when are you going to RSVP to the open invitation? Whenever you feel like it? Once a week after you've done all that you can and nothing seems to be working out the way you want it to? Or will you choose to do it every single day of your life? It's your life, you choose, He's waiting....
(c) Lorraine Benjamin 2012
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. NIV
It's amazing how in this scripture God gives us an invitation to "come" but as I deal with the day to day issues of life and the trials and tribulations that it brings, I must ask myself, how many times have I delayed the peace and rest that God wants to give me as I go through the burdens that storms bring, all because I never responded to His invitation?
As I reflect and meditate on the scripture, I realize that the best part of this invitation unlike all the others that we get to weddings, parties and other social events, that require RSVP's and have deadlines, is that this invitation is one that remains open for the rest of our lives. It has no deadline. It is ETERNAL and you can RSVP whenever you want. So I've chosen to RSVP to HIS open invitation every day of my life.
God specifically left this invitation open because he's ALWAYS waiting with open arms and the best part is all you have to do is RSVP and show up to get the REST that he so wants to give as one of his many promises to you. How do you RSVP and show up? By simply surrendering every struggle, issue, disappointment and weight that bears you down and allow him to replace it with HIS unexplainable and unconditional peace and rest.
So when are you going to RSVP to the open invitation? Whenever you feel like it? Once a week after you've done all that you can and nothing seems to be working out the way you want it to? Or will you choose to do it every single day of your life? It's your life, you choose, He's waiting....
(c) Lorraine Benjamin 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
What's in your resume?
John 10:10 (KJV)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV)
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
As I was going through some spiritual attacks lately, I couldn't help but go back to what the enemy's job description was. I seriously had to take a look at his resume and his track record to really understand what was going on in my situation. Now according to some theologians, some relate to the enemy as the thief that is mentioned in John 10:10 so therefore his resume reflects anything resulting in stealing, killing and destroying. Also in 1 Peter 5: 8-9 he also is responsible for prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Now I don't know about you but that's one crafty resume that he is proud of and if we give him a foothold in our lives or situations he will succeed at accomplishing every single attempt to steal, kill, destroy and devour us with success.
So after I read his qualifications and track record I decided that I needed to revamp my resume as well. I chose to create a resume that counteracted everything that he was skillful in. So seeing that his job is to kill - my job is to speak life to my situation, if his job is to steal, destroy and devour - my job is to restore and build back up. Now he's very cunning and skillful in his craft so the only how I can be skillful in my craft is to read the word, hold fast to my faith and speak life until I in turn destroy what he has set out to do.
The enemy didn't just develop these skills overnight he is extremely skillful in these areas of work so if you're lacking the skills needed in any area of your spiritual resume, you might want to consider taking some continuous education courses in the word and your past experiences so that you can learn how to sharpen the skills needed to be the best qualified candidate for the job of keeping and preserving your life that he is so seeking to destroy.
Sharpen your spiritual skills with the word, prayer and faith and knock him out the ball park with your spiritual skills so that you can win and keep the job that is rightfully yours. Remember we are constantly in a spiritual warfare not one that is fought by the flesh but by the full armor of God.
Spiritual warfare and the full armor of God - Ephesians 6:10 -19
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV)
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
As I was going through some spiritual attacks lately, I couldn't help but go back to what the enemy's job description was. I seriously had to take a look at his resume and his track record to really understand what was going on in my situation. Now according to some theologians, some relate to the enemy as the thief that is mentioned in John 10:10 so therefore his resume reflects anything resulting in stealing, killing and destroying. Also in 1 Peter 5: 8-9 he also is responsible for prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Now I don't know about you but that's one crafty resume that he is proud of and if we give him a foothold in our lives or situations he will succeed at accomplishing every single attempt to steal, kill, destroy and devour us with success.
So after I read his qualifications and track record I decided that I needed to revamp my resume as well. I chose to create a resume that counteracted everything that he was skillful in. So seeing that his job is to kill - my job is to speak life to my situation, if his job is to steal, destroy and devour - my job is to restore and build back up. Now he's very cunning and skillful in his craft so the only how I can be skillful in my craft is to read the word, hold fast to my faith and speak life until I in turn destroy what he has set out to do.
The enemy didn't just develop these skills overnight he is extremely skillful in these areas of work so if you're lacking the skills needed in any area of your spiritual resume, you might want to consider taking some continuous education courses in the word and your past experiences so that you can learn how to sharpen the skills needed to be the best qualified candidate for the job of keeping and preserving your life that he is so seeking to destroy.
Sharpen your spiritual skills with the word, prayer and faith and knock him out the ball park with your spiritual skills so that you can win and keep the job that is rightfully yours. Remember we are constantly in a spiritual warfare not one that is fought by the flesh but by the full armor of God.
Spiritual warfare and the full armor of God - Ephesians 6:10 -19
Monday, May 21, 2012
(Part 2 - Spiritual Fruit)
Galatians 5:22-23 King James Version (KJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
A lot of times we misquote the singularity of the "fruit of the spirit" and we often say "fruits" of the spirit because of the many pieces that are contained in the fruit. But the Bible is correct when it says the "fruit" (singular) of the spirit. I often think about it like a pomegranate. It's one fruit but it contains little pieces of fruit in it's single component. Consider the outer shell of the pomegranate as you being one with the Holy Spirit and every single piece of fruit in it represents the pieces of fruit in the Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. Now take these 9 pieces of fruit and multiply them according to the amount of pieces of fruit that is in the pomegranate. Do you see how much God will be glorified here on the earth just from one person that produces the fruit of the spirit? Meditate on the analogy for a minute. I don't know about you but when I sit and ponder on it, it blows me away to think of the possibility that we would all be so filled with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance that the earth would be forever filled with God's glory.
The same with the Holy Spirit. It is such a powerful entity that although he is a single being, he is comprised of little pieces of righteousness (fruit) that make him who he is. Now if we are truly in the Spirit, it is clear from the word the type of fruit and the components of that fruit that we will produce. You remember Part 1 of my blog post Spiritual fruit? Well part 2 kind of sums it up.
Jesus is the vine, we are the branches and we produce much fruit if we abide in him and come into agreement with what he has for us (his word). So the fruit that we produce although it appears as one fruit, really is comprised of all these little pieces of good fruit called (God's righteousness) and the more fruit and pieces of fruit (righteousness) that we bear, the more glory God gets through us. So don't just take the entire fruit (Holy Spirit) for granted, by looking it at as a single fruit but try eating and digesting all of the little bits and pieces of fruit in it so that your spiritual man can produce the glory that God is so desperately needing to manifest in the earth through us.
(c) Lorraine Benjamin 2012
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