Glamdring – Foe-Hammer (credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcassaa/)

I am more than a conqueror.

Romans 8:37

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

We shrink from war and battle in today’s society.  It’s not a war against terror, no mention of strikes or maneuvers, on the outside chance we offend or seem too harsh.  We are bred for pacificity, not peace or war.  But we are strong warriors in Christ!  We don’t just kinda conquer, we overwhelmingly conquer the enemy!  That should make us want to grab our swords, take a battle stance, and start hacking away at the enemy’s kingdom!

A strong arm with shield held high
A strong hand with sword wielded skillfully
A strong mind to plot the enemy’s demise
A strong heart to take courage and endure
Strong feet to stand firm and strong
Created to conquer
No longer content to stand by
No longer willing to watch
Stride confidently
Win overwhelmingly
No shrinking back
No fear
For our God is greater
Our God is stronger
Our God is a mighty commander
And His army has already won the battle!

* Incidentally, the sword in the picture is a replica of Glamdring, the sword carried by Gandalf in The Hobbit.  It is called “Foe-Hammer” and “The Beater” by its enemies.

Dead to sin (credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mugley/)

I am dead to sin.

Romans 6:2. 11

May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?  Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 2:24

and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

Being dead to sin means I am not controlled by it.  I have authority to stand and walk in righteousness.  Does it mean that I will not sin?  No.  But, I am not ruled by sin, and I have forgiveness in the blood of Yeshua.  The sin that ripped into my body leaving jagged, gaping wounds are healed by His blood.  He took them upon himself when He chose to die for me.  All the ones before and all the ones to come, have been erased by His love.

My sins, horrible, jarring
Jagged lines, stripe my body
Gaping, weeping, seeping
Infection poisoning my soul.
In one porentious moment
Faded, vanished
Erased
As Yeshua stretched out His arms
On a plank of ragged wood
To die
For me
I look and see my wounds
Appear
On his perfect body
Scarring, tearing
Killing
Him.
I died that day – my sin
I arose that day – free
Dead to sin
Alive in Him.
Whole, healed, strong
Free!

strong (credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/s-t-r-a-n-g-e/)

I am strong in the Lord.

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

I am called to put on the armor of God every day, to stand strong, to fight the powers of darkness, to stand witness to the miracles and glory of God, and to praise my Lord!  In His strength, in His protection, I stand strong.  It is not by my might but by His power that I overcome.  This day grasp His hand, stand in His promises, and possess the strength of the might of the Almighty God, the one True God, YHWH!  Amen!

When I stand in You
I shall not be moved
When I stand in You
I am established in Your strength
Your power and might wash over me
You make me to breath
To sing Your name
To declare Your glory to the heavens
In You I am strong
In You I stand unmoved by the trouble of this world
In You I am strong
For You are my strong tower
My rock of refuge
My firm foundation
Hallelujah!

So caked in grime
It’s become my skin
No matter how hard I try
The stains seem to stay.

A hissing in my ear
Whispers subtly to me
So unworthy, so unworthy
To speak to God today.

It’s been a weird, good, off week.  For some reason I feel like I’m standing in, covered in sewage. I feel filthy.  Yes, I’ve bathed.  It’s just a metaphorical stench.  Yet, it seems that I can’t shake it.  I can’t think of anything major I’ve done that I need to confess.  And, honestly, confession and forgiveness seem so simplistic.  How can that be enough?  How can my heart be contrite for sins I may not even be aware of doing?  I know I’m not perfect, so why does it seem so hard to figure out what I’ve done?  My past has risen up to haunt me this week, too.  Maybe it’s because of Halloween last week.  (Have I mentioned how much I hate Halloween?)  I’m confused by the things I’ve learned on Skip’s site, but there’s no one who is able (or willing) to take the time to help me sort out the jumbled-ness.  So I’ve stopped reading for a while because I feel like the relationship I have/had with God was being crushed under the weight of it all.  Add to that the spiritual battle we’ve been fighting (and that part I mean literally), and it’s a heavy load.

Anyway, Antithesis is the other side of Anthem.

I am the apple of my Father’s eye
I am sweet, overflowing, and beautiful
I am protected by His hand and opened wide to let in light
Given out to bring hope, I am useful

Thoughts for the Day

Genesis 1:22
God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”


Did you ever notice that there are only two things that God blesses and commands to multiply?  It’s true.  He blesses the creatures in the sea and the birds of the air, and He blesses the man and the woman.  I think it’s interesting that He doesn’t bless the animals on the land or anything else that He created.  I wonder why this is?  Maybe because the creatures of the sea and the birds were intended to be food and therefore needed to be plentiful.  I don’t know, but it’s kind of interesting.

I am silver refined in the fire
I am shaped, I am hammered on the anvil of God
I am slowly releasing the muck and the mire
Each day that I wait I grow less and less flawed.

I am a song in the blackest darkness
A soft note of hope in the cold of the night
I am a melody written by His hand
A gentle harmony in the midst of the fight.

Anthem Pt 2

I think it’s kind of funny that my mother-in-law sent me and my husband a list of 60-odd things that we are in Christ (from a woman they’ve been working with) the day before I wrote Anthem Pt 1.  I guess God wants me to remember these things, too.  My necklace is silver (the chain is), sort of.  It’s kind of that silver that you get after it’s been in the shower a million times.  But anyway, it holds the charm with the pearl.

A long time ago (it seems) a dearly missed friend told me that I was a Psalmist.  I really miss her wisdom and counsel.  Her words have echoed in my mind for a long time.  I’m not sure what a Psalmist is or what a Psalmist does.  It seems that God is calling my husband into a difficult ministry; I hope that being a Psalmist is a way to support him as he prays to set the captives free!

Other Notes

In Genesis 1:3-4 did you ever notice that God created the light and the darkness (as well as the earth, plants, water, etc.) long before He created the sun and the moon and the stars?  Those things didn’t get created until the 4th day!  The light that God created was enough to make plants grow and to separate the waters.  The sun and moon and stars were signs to mark seasons, and kind of as an afterthought to give the earth light.  The light was already there.  I wonder, if the sun and moon and stars weren’t there, would there still be light?  I guess, short of God restructuring gravity, the tides would get really messed up… but what’s a small detail like that when He can speak and all of creation springs from His breath?

I bought a cheap necklace with a pearl charm at Wal-Mart a while back, and I was thinking about some of the reasons I bought it.  The main one was to remind me that I am of value to my creator.  But, He is also a pearl of great value.  Perhaps He is echoed in my life after all.

There’s a showdown at high noon;
It’s all over town.
The enemy’s shaking;
He’s gonna go down!

1 Chro 29:11  ”Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

Psalm 20:5 We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

Psalm 98:1 A Psalm. O sing to the LORD a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.

Proverbs 21:3  The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD.

1 Corinthians 15:57  but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.