May 5

Proverbs 3: in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:6 NIV)

One essential part of making a Godly decision is getting the order of events correct. Note that we are told to first submit, then He will make our paths straight. We don't pick a path, then ask God to make it the way we want it, yet this is the more frequent pattern I see.  One author said the first step is a prayer of indifference - indifference to anything but God's will. Once our hearts are set only on what God wants, then and only then can I hear His still small voice.  Matt 6:33 says to seek first His kingdom.  We've got to get the order correct. 

Am I really interested in what God wants?  If so, I will pray a prayer of indifference, putting aside my own agenda so that I can hear what God says and will follow His lead.  

A Wife’s Countenance

“He is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.” - Deuteronomy 24:5

"If you really want to know about a man and what kind of character he has, you need only look at the countenance of his wife. Everything he has invested, or withheld, will be there.”

That was the message Bill McCartney, then head coach of the University of Colorado football team, heard in a 1994 sermon. The words cut straight to his heart. McCartney had built the Colorado football program into a powerhouse that won a national championship in 1990. He had also cofounded a national men’s movement, Promise Keepers. But those achievements came at a price. For years McCartney had with‐held his time and energy from his wife, Lyndi, and their four children. In 1994 Bill McCartney didn’t like what he saw in Lyndi’s countenance— so he resigned his position at Colorado to devote more time to his wife and family.

As a husband, you bear the primary responsibility for your wife’s welfare and emotional well‐being. What do you see in her face tonight?

Reprinted from "Devotions for Married Couples". 

May 2

1 Corinthians 10: ³¹ So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God. (AMP)

 

Decisions.  How do you know if you're making the right decision?  First, ask yourself: "Does my decision honor and glorify God?"  How do you know?  Try asking yourself these questions:

1.  Is this decision consistent with scripture - all of scripture - not just a piece of a verse pulled out of context.  If you don't know, seek Godly council.

2.  Have I prayed about this and have I heard God answer?  Is the answer I'm hearing consistent with scripture?

3.  If Christ were standing with me right here, right now, would he agree with my decision?

4.  Is this decision consistent with the council of respected Christians (be careful seeking advice before you pray and search scripture!).

5.  Does this decision align with my circumstances?  Has God been creating a pattern in my life leading me to this decision?  When I was trying to finalize my decision about where to go to college, I felt pretty strongly drawn to Mississippi State (who can resist a fat slobbery Bulldog?).  Still I wasn't convinced I had heard from God and one day after I had been praying pretty consistently, I received notification of a scholarship offer.  For me, this was God saying - Go! 

My experience is that when I've made a bad decision, I know it.  Deep down inside, I feel it.  I believe this is the Holy Spirit trying to get my attention.  Don't ignore Him when He tries to get your attention.  After all, God loves us and knows what is best for us and desires that we choose accordingly.

May 1

Matthew 22: ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. (NIV)

 

Decisions.  How does one decide to "Love your neighbor?"  Lots of ways to go here, but let me pick one that has resulted in a lot of debate in my house lately: sin.  How do you love someone you know has committed sin?  Scripture says, just as you love yourself.  After all, scripture says we've all sinned and fallen short of God's requirements (Rom 3:23).  What if its a real "bad" sin as my young friend Reed Garick would call it?  Rom 6:23 says they are all bad - sorry Reed!  So should we let an obvious sinner join the church?  Of course!  How could we prevent a sinner from joining?  We would have no members.  That's NOT the end of the answer, however, and you must read further!

Failure to correct sin is a failure to love others as you love yourself.  In a simplistic example, when my kids were young, if they failed to stop at the end of the driveway and continued to run into the street, I tore their butts up (YES it them a lot more than it hurt me and yes it left temporary marks! - why? because they had to understand that disobedience has consequences they never want to experience again! ).  Why?  Because I couldn't ever give them the freedom to play outside if I couldn't trust them to obey the rules of staying in the yard.  Obviously my job as a parent was to protect them from a danger they didn't fully comprehend as toddlers. 

Scripture provides this mandate as we mature into adulthood as well.  Matt 18:¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[b] sins,^[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{[d] 17} If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Dealing with sin is to be direct, confrontational, and decisive, yet done in love.  In another example, Paul took on the Corinthians.  He took at least 3 chapters, as we divided it later, to dress them down about sexual immorality that had crept into the church.  Yet he said "²¹ What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?" (1 Cor 4).  Notice he didn't ignore the issue or gossip about it behind their backs.  No, he confronted them in love.  He went on to state that an unrepentant sinner had to be driven out of the church - a very steep consequence, but necessary to keep one bad person from dragging others into sin. 

Jesus set the example of confronting sin in love.  Recall the woman "caught" in the act of adultery (imagine THAT scene...).  He ended that confrontation with all in the temple that day with "“Go now and leave your life of sin"  (John 8:21 NIV).  Wow.  He didn't give her the option to keep on, or to just dress differently, or just not do it around others that might me insulted, he demanded an immediate complete change in lifestyle! 

So, all sin is bad and failure to confront it is a failure to love properly.  My personal problem is that I'm good at confrontation "with a rod" - just ask my kids.  I'm not very good at confrontation in love, yet I'm commanded to be so.  Unfortunately, the homosexual community has brought that particular sin into the political spotlight and then condems Christians for singling out that particular sin.  We're discussing it because they brought it up!  Yet let us not be guilty of treating that particular sin any differently than adultery, pornography, foul language, gossip, cheating, stealing, slandering, obesity,...  Well, you get the picture. 

We're all sinners and in need of repentance.  We need to love others by ensure they're not "playing in traffic."  Failing to "go to your brother or sister" is to doom them to suffering the earthly consequences of sin and perhaps eternal consequences as well.  Yet for me to do this in love, I need to be led by the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise I'll show up with the rod of discipline and drive them away without truly communicating.  As Jesus said, "“This kind can come out only by prayer" (Mark 9:29).

Feel Loved?

As I sit here eating breakfast with nothing more than my phone as an input and Editting device, I will try to reflect my thoughts into this entry.

Do you feel loved today?  Maybe you had a disagreement with your coworkers, or your wife, or your parents and you feel isolated.  Maybe something tramatic and sorrowful has happened to you.  No matter the reason, there is never a time that exists when you should not feel and more importantly, know that you are deeply loved.

If we allow ourselves to ever believe or allow our feelings to tell us we are not loved we are contradicting the Creator of the universe and the source of all life.  Who are we to do such a thing?  And why would we do that to ourselves?  Life is so much more filling and complete when we are living with a heart full of love.  We are who we were designed to be when we live with a heart over flowing with love.

Accept God today and His eternal promise of loving you forever and ever and that nothing exist or will ever exist that is capable of removing His love from you.

Apr 29

Matthew 22: ³⁵ And one of their number, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. ³⁶ Teacher, which ^[a]kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light—which are heavy?] ³⁷ And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). ³⁸ This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. (AMP)

 

Decisions.   By far the most important decision you will ever make and will continue to make with every breath you take is: do you choose to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength?  This is not a "have you" as in something you might have done once in your distant past or a "will you" as in something you might do later.  No, this is a DO YOU as of right now, this moment, this circumstance, this event, DO YOU choose to love God with all you?  Some might say, "this is too hard."  Jesus said "For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne." (Matt 11:30).  Others might say I've already checked that square, but Jesus said "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven." (Matt 7:21). 

So, DO YOU?  Do you choose to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength?  How do you know?  Again, Jesus said "If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. (John 14:15 & repeated in 21, 23, & 24 so it must be important!).  Later, Paul was inspired to state "

²² But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, ²³ Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [^[f]that can bring a charge]. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires."  (Gal 5). 

So this is how you know:  If you love God, you will obey his commands.  Not out of fear (although it is a useful motivational tool and we are in fact commanded to fear God - out of over 300 references to fearing God, start with Ryan's favorite: Pro 9:10), but out of an uncontrollable urge to please God.  Once, I thought I could "straddle the fence" and live as I knew I should and deeply desired to except when around my school "friends" and then I could behave differently to impress them.  Those relationships didn't last long and certainly didn't encourage my growth in Christ.  I learned that Jesus meant what he said “Whoever is not with me is against me" (Matt 12:30) and the guilt I bore outstripped whatever benefits I got out of trying to live to impress others.  

Where are you in your decision regarding Christ?  Have you accepted Him as your Savior?  If so, AWESOME?  Now, is He LORD?  Does He control your life or is He at the other end of the 9-1-1 prayer line where you turn when everything else you try fails?  Here's how I know:  Priorities are those things that you spend your resources on - your time, money, and thoughts.  Does your love for God guide every expenditure of your resources?  Do you live a life in context with your relationship with God or is He someone you take out of the "box" on Sundays and Wednesdays for a little "pick-me-up?"  

This is an important decision to get right.  I maintain that failure to get this one correct makes all your other decisions irrelevant.  What do you think? 

Your Bro is Back!

"‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’   The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him."  - Luke 15:27-28

The Prodigal Son parable.  Most of us know it well and those who have been to Emmaus know it real well.  This is one of those rare stories that we can relate to at least one of the characters all the time.  And even relate to different ones at different times, although I truly hope I never have to directly relate to the father watching his son go off in a wrong direction carrying a feeling of unconcern for me as though I am already dead.  Heartbreaking.

Why did the father have a celebration?  Because his son "has come ... he has him back safe and sound".  What joy Jesus tells us the Father has when a lost child comes to believe in Him!  As someone with only a limited view of love by comparison to our Father in heaven I find it hard to grasp the amount and extent of that love.  God forgives fully and pours His love upon us when we come to Him.  He does not withhold Himself from us.  When we love properly, we find that all we want is to be closer to the ones we love.  We make ways to celebrate time and opportunity together.  We want to "pour" ourselves into the other person at every opportunity.  The father rejoiced greatly for he had new opportunities to love his son whom he believed was gone forever.  He was not dead to his son!

Yet the older brother was angry because he had obeyed.  There is much that can be said here regarding this older brother.  Looking at it from a ministry point-of-view, do we ever see hard-working Christians in the church who give so much of themselves to the ministry operations of the church but get agitated when someone new comes in and is celebrated?  Of course we do.  They feel like their service, their obedience, is not appreciated.  In this case their heart of purpose has to be questioned.  Are they working for their Father, or for themselves?

Similarly, when a person who commits a "bad" sin (as Reed would say) confesses and repents and starts back to the work of their Father, do we see people look upon them as unworthy and get angry because they haven't sinned but have been obedient?  Of course we do.  They feel as though they have sacrificed while another has not and they want their reward or the punishment of the sinner.  Again the purpose of the heart has to be questioned.  This is where the older brother is living in this parable.  To him, the brother was dead, but now that he was back he was a nuisance.  And his being back questioned the older brother's purpose.  Why was he obedient to his father?  What was his reward? 

We must know that being obedient to the Father is the reward because it pleases the Father (I know that is a big statement coming from a sinner like me).  That is how God knows we love Him.

Apr 28

Proverbs 3: ⁵ Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. ⁶ In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. (AMP)

 

Decisions:  A choice among options.  Over the next 10 years or so, high school students will make or will already have made the top 10 decisions in life.  First and foremost, they will have decided what to do with Christ.  Statistics show that if people haven't accepted Christ by the time they graduate from college, they have an incredibly low probability of doing so later in life.  Worse, many who think they have accepted Christ merely believe He existed or may have accepted Him as savior, but refuse to let Him be Lord of their lives.  These verses from the Old Testament remind us of the importance of ensuring He is guiding us through all of life's many decisions.

Whether to marry, whom to marry, major purchases such as our first car, first house, what college to attend, what to major in, our first job, where to live, and our closest friends round out our list of our top ten decisions.  I find it incredibly interesting that so many of us spend so many hours at church, but when it comes to these decisions we rarely consult God.  We seem to turn to God for things we know we can't control such as health and bereavement over death, but we live defeated lives because we refuse to make God Lord over the biggest decisions in life. 

How about you?  Have you prayed over your future spouse even though you don't know them yet?  Are you honoring him/her now with your actions?  Are you praying about whether to attend college and if so, what to major in and where to get that degree?  Why not?  God is the only one who knows the future.  You and your parents may make good decisions, but only God knows best. 

 

I'm deeply troubled today by Kathryn Lorenz' FB status update.  She has openly posted that she is in a relationship with a HS junior in Valdosta, GA.  Sadly, the HS student is a young lady.  As we've discussed, there is a difference between trying to live a Godly life wherein we are guilty of "messing up" or slipping into sin and those who willfully choose to live a sinful lifestyle and refuse to acknowledge the fact.  Whether intentional or unintentional, there seems to me to be a fundamental difference between trying and failing and thumbing our nose at a high and holy God.  I certainly had my prodigal moments in HS and early college (and probably still do today!!) and I praise God that he saw enough value in me to save me from my poor decisions.  I carry a huge burden for a whole world that seems to simply be ignorant about the need and benefits of not just accepting Christ as savior, but truly letting Him guide our steps.  I thank you and admire you for fighting for your wife, family, and faith.  I hate that it took such a large failure to get your attention, but perhaps the prodigal experience is universal.  I know you'll join me in prayer for the Lorenz family and especially for Kathryn as she undergoes her own prodigal experience.  She has bought into a lie by Satan and is feasting on rotten fruit.   I pray that our Lord for whom nothing is impossible will reach out to her in a way that gets her attention before she suffers permanently.   I pray that she doesn't fall away.

A Friend

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

How great it is to have a friend.  Someone who is there.  The best friend is the one who doesn't always agree with us and is willing to call to us when we are going in the wrong direction.  Unfortunately, most people consider that person a non-friend as they view such support as judgment or non-support.  I know people who claim the verse from Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."  Yet when you confront them about something in their life that is wrong and they disagree with you they then stop communicating with you.  I think that people, in general, want a friend to agree with them and not to hold them accountable for their actions or behavior as it relates to God.  But what kind of fair-weather friend is that?  How does that build up or make sharper?

When I read these verses I immediately think of my wife (especially the keeping warm part) and I would hope that every spouse would also think first of theirs.  Together we have a better return for our work.  Together we can pick one another up when we are down.  Together we can stay warmer.  And together we can defend ourselves.  Marriage is a together work, not a one working with another one working and they just happen to live together.  These verses describe the benefits of being together.

Again, how great it is to have a friend.  Someone you know you can call anytime with a real need and never have to worry about them providing the support to pull you out of the need.  You know and do not doubt that they will be there for you, even if you haven't seen or talked to them in a while.  You trust them.  But how many of us Christians do not have that same regard for the living Christ?  Jesus said that He is closer than a brother.  Jesus called us friends.  Do we know and have confidence in Him?  Do we know that with Him we will have the best return for our labor?  Do we know that He will always pick us up when we fall?  Do we not know that He will always dwell in our heart and keep our spirit warm?  Do we not trust that He will defend us?  Walk with your Master today and let Him walk with you.  How great it is to have Him as a friend!

Apr 25

Ecclesiastes 4: ⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: ¹⁰ If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. ¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? (NIV)

I noticed many years ago that I work much better & faster when I have help.  When I work alone, my mind wanders and I have little reason to bring it back into focus.  So, I work at an overall slow pace with short bursts of productivity separated by lulls in activity as I daydream.  When I have help however, I want to make maximum use of my counterparts time and therefore stay focused.  In reality its a synergistic effect wherein one plus one is more than two. 
My walk with Christ is no different.  When around other Christians and I'm expected to behave as one, I pay attention to my walk: actions, words, deeds, attitudes, and Christian disciplines of prayer, study, worship, etc.  When separate from other Christians, my true character and moral compass come into view.  It is at these times, when I don't have immediate and obvious accountability from others that my true nature can come out and be exposed. 
This exposes my need for an accountability partner.  Besides the obvious advantage of having someone who daily lifts me up in prayer and is always there to support in times of any kind of trial or simply celebrate in times of joy, I need someone who helps me grow.  Someone who expects to see these posts daily and "bugs" me when he sees my walk slipping.  I was blessed as a child growing up to have parents that filled this role (and my Mom still does so well!).  Later, God has placed a very key individual in my life who has continued to challenge me to grow. 
I've learned, however, that good, true accountability needs to go much deeper.  I need to be willing to expose my vulnerabilities - those areas where I know I'm susceptible to temptation and where my partner needs to both pray and probe to ensure I'm not falling into sin.  This has proven difficult in my life.  I've been willing to have accountability partners that hold me accountable for Christian discipline, but I've not been as willing to blatantly expose my known vulnerabilities.  First, I don't want to admit them, but second I think I secretly want to hold onto them as if they were some sort of source of temporary fulfillment. 
I know deep in my heart that Christ is challenging me to overcome several issues with which I struggle.  I pray about them, turn them over to Him, but then at weak moments pick them back up.  Accountability is only as good as the honesty put into it.  When I'm unwilling to be honest with my accountability partner, he cannot know how to pray, support, or probe.  In the end, I'm the loser.  I'm the one remaining shackled in sin, and its my fault. 
How about you?  How is your walk when away from Church or Youth Group?  Is Christ your source of fulfillment and contentment or do you seek worldly satisfaction?  Do you have an effective accountability partner?  If so, are you willing to be transparent and honest about those things that trouble you the most or are you content to simply be superficial?  Superficial accountability has cost me and my closest friends dearly.  Don't waste your time!  Go deep or go home!

Serve As Unto the Lord

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.  Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.  Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.  And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him. - Ephesians 6:5-9

The term "slave" is such a terrible term in today's world.  Yet Paul calls himself a "slave [bondservant] to Jesus Christ" in Philippians.  Being a slave to anyone or anything other than Jesus is a terrible thing, yet we all are even if we don't admit to it.  However, in these verses the term is used and since we are not very familiar with the concept in our society in its real form except through history books, praise be to God, our best ability to relate to it is to relate this to our work.  That is, the work we choose to do in what we are able to do and that we hopefully enjoy doing.  All of which is very unrelated to a "slave".

Even so, in our "work" we are to serve with pure hearts doing our very best for the betterment of the place where we work.  We do not do this for the people there but for the God the lives within us.  By serving Him with our best work we serve others.  This concept is so hard to teach except by example.  For some people I just feel cause to wonder if they are even able to grasp it.  Yesterday I had a conversation on this very topic discussing how hard it is to find people who will willingly work hard from their own desires to do so.  Yet, I find myself lacking in this area at times.  I have worked very hard for many years and there are times when I feel it is someone else's turn.  But as I look at these verses I do not see an exception clause for previous services rendered. 

We do not "work as unto the Lord" for extra rewards for ourselves from our extra work but because we know that the Lord will reward each person for how they have worked diligently as unto Him.  Too often, we are willing to do that extra bit of service but only if we are getting compensated for it.  This is a worldly view and too often it carries into all of our relationships.  We forget the abounding grace and mercy we have received and put ourselves in a position of only showing grace and mercy to the other person IF we are going to get something.  And if we don't then we are mad about it.  We did that extra thing and they didn't notice or they don't care so we're never doing that again.  ...  Really?  Did you just do that Mr/Mrs Baby Christian?  ...  "Work as unto the Lord" KNOWING He "will reward each one".  I imagine that His reward is substantially more suited for you and beyond your expectations than anything any person could provide.

And once we've been a worker for many years we find that we are then the masters, or managers, bosses, supervisors, etc.  The word here is that as such we are to treat those we are in charge of "the same way."  That is, reward each one for the good that they do, and work for them as if you were serving the Lord.  The Scripture goes further with masters as it specifically instructs to not threaten them.  Do not rule with an iron fist looking to crush whomever you can.  Do not create circumstances where the workers feel as though they might lose their job at any instance.  This is a commonplace threat method in today's world.  Look at the workers as your greatest resource and do your best to make them the most productive people they can become and in so doing you are serving them, but really you are serving the Lord.

Apr 23

Ephesians 6: ⁷ Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, ⁸ because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. (NIV)

These passages in Ephesians are some of my favorite in all of scripture.  Chapter 5 tells us to be imitators of God and to avoid sexual immorality and all other kinds of sin.  It also defines how spouses are to treat each other: husbands are to love their wives like Christ loves the church and wives are to submit to their husbands.  There must be hundreds of books written about this chapter alone as people grapple with just exactly what this means and how to do it. 
Often we overly complicate rather simple things in scripture and miss the true message.  Truly learning how to agape, phileo, and eros my wife is a life-long task that I am a very long way from mastering.  Submitting in every sense of the word is an anathema (look it up!) to almost every wife I've ever met, yet scripture isn't vague here.  It is clear that husbands are to love and wives are to submit.  The thing I like most about this section of scripture isn't that I find it easy, but that scripture gives me the how.  In order for me to love Reja like Christ loves the church, I must put on the full armor of God daily. 
I confess that I've been lazy for most of my life about the command to daily put on the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the "shoes" of gospel message that provides us with readiness (for what?), the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation (daily! - another interesting command to contemplate...), and finally our only offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit - scripture.  It goes on to urge us to pray daily.  So why does scripture go from commanding the impossible (love and submission) to arming us for battle?  Because at least for this 1 person out of about 6 billion currently living, I struggle.  I battle.  I'm at war with my sin nature and when I don't take time each day to arm myself, I fail miserably.  When I fail, Satan wins.  He takes over my witness, my relationships, my service, and my kingdom effectiveness. 
So, this is why I write these every day.  I don't do this because I know you need it.  You do, but that's not my primary reason for writing.  I write these because for years I've been lazy about DAILY putting on my armor.  Therefore my relationship with my wife isn't what it should be and its my fault.  My relationships with others aren't what they should be and its my fault.  My witness to and about Christ isn't what it should be and its my fault.  My, well you get the picture.  Scripture doesn't give us the opportunity to blame others for our sins.  They are our fault.  Yet scripture does provide us with the key to overcoming sin.  It begins with suiting up for battle, but doesn't end there.  Once suited for battle we are to be in constant prayer.  
How is your battle going?  Have you suited up today or are you accepting less than what God intended for you by being lazy?  Carpe Diem!  Seize today not with your own skills and talents, but with the full armor of God.  THEN we are prepared to SERVE wholeheartedly.