Author Archives: Matthew, Karen, and God

Spiritual warfare

I’m considered a hobbiest beekeeper at the moment. Everything I have has been put into our bees. I am surrounded by knowledgeable people that have been working with bees for 20 + years. It’s been a scary adventure to say the least bees are dying all over the place, people who have been in this business for years or experiencing significant loss. No matter how skilled they are at preventing diseases. I pray over what little bees that we do have and do the best I can, but leaving them in God’s hands. Physically and mentally we can do many things and overcome many obstacles, but spiritual warfare is something that only faith and trust in God can overcome. I’ve tried many times to Trump our common enemy, the devil, but to no avail. Without God’s help, Satan wins every time. Heavenly Father thank you for this wonderful day thank you for opening our eyes to keep our eyes set on you and not of the evil things of this world. Please be our shield against the devil today. Help us to overcome Satan’s obstacles to stay on your path. In Jesus precious name amen. Ephesians 6 11 through 12, put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against The Wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Show the love of Christ

My wife and I belong to the Oakdale Rescue Mission. the house that the Oakdale Rescue Mission owns is in a residential neighborhood. Directly across the street from it lives a couple that runs a music shop out of their home and are not fond of our organization being so close. We have had problems with them from time to time, nothing large but bothersome none the less. We hoped that one day they would see the good things that we are doing there through God and end up being friends. We been in this home for a year now and God has answered our prayers. My wife owns a cleaning service and cleans for the music shop. My wife calls me yesterday and asks if I can help with something God asked her to do. I agreed and after we met up she filled me in on our mission. Turns out the homeowners daughter is homeless and has two grandchildren that live with the daughter in a truck. The daughter allowed the grandkids to stay with the Grandma for a bit and were in desperate need of clothing. My wife and I hit the pavement in search of these items. We even purchased some dressier clothes because the Grandma and Grandpa wanted to take them to church! I’ll never forget the look on her face as we pulled up with two armfuls of clothing, toothbrushes, and some food. The children were so excited. We talked for a bit then got into the car to drive away and the little girl told my wife,” Can I give you a hug!” My wife agreed and touched both our hearts. So many things happened in that one interaction. These kids and grandmother just witnessed the love of God through total strangers. They will more than likely come to follow God, not only because of God’s kindness but because of their circumstances. The grandmother just witnessed what we do on a daily basis for those in need. Plus it is a great feeling for my wife and I to do these Good deeds for God, that’s why we keep doing them. Thank you Heavenly Father for the opportunity to go out and show your love to others. for opening up lines of communication and being able to share the good news with everyone that we can. In Jesus precious name amen. 1 Corinthians 3:13

Lust

What are some things that we lust over? Cars, money, popularity, sex, drugs, alcohol, chocolate, tobacco, shoes, clothing, tools, food. So many things in this world can trap us into addictions and the devil knows this. He tempts us with all sorts of advertising, like t.v., internet, billboards, and radio. The devil knows how to tempt us and hold us once we grab onto our lustful feelings. If left unchecked we will fall into Satan’s trap falling into a downward spiral. We need to be prepared for these traps and the only way to do that is to have the will power to call upon your Heavenly Father. God can help you with fighting those lustful feelings keeping you on His path. If you keep falling into lustful feelings be strong and know that you can lean on God to get you through it. Heavenly Father, please help us to keep our eyes on you today. Blind us to sinful desires and the devil’s temptations. Give us your eyes today to see what you would see. In Jesus name amen.