Author: Tammy Phillips

By Tammy Phillips
April 29, 2020

Take the helmet of salvation, -Ephesians 6:17

The fifth piece of the armor of God is the most beautiful.  It is the helmet of salvation. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God.”  Our salvation is a gift of God.  It is a gift we must take.  Our salvation comes with a manual that we must read to learn all the benefits of the gift. 

We receive gifts that come with directions: for instance, cars, televisions, computers, phones, Instapots and I could go on. Each of these items have benefits that we do not know about because we have not read the manual on it.

Let’s look at our Bible, our manual, Paul compares our helmet to the Roman helmet in Ephesians 6:17.  What does that look like?  The Romans soldiers’ helmet was made of heavy brass and beautifully engraved.  It was made to fit snuggly and cover most of the head like a football helmet today.  It was made so nothing could pierce it.  The soldiers wore his helmet in battle to save his head.  The same reason we wear helmets today. We wear helmets to protect us from severe forms of traumatic brain injury.  The purpose of a helmet is to reduce the risk of serious head/brain injuries by reducing the impact of a force to the head when we put ourselves in dangerous situations.

Where are we in danger? Where does the enemy of our soul attack us?  Where is our battlefield?  Our battlefield is approximately 22” in circumference and lies between our ears.  It is our mind; thus, the need for the helmet of salvation.  If the enemy can get into our mind, he can throw us off balance and knock us down.  Ultimately, he can destroy us through wrong thinking.  (If you have never read Joyce Meyers, “Battlefield of the Mind,” order it today. It was a  game changer for me.)  See, 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  Our opposition, Satan, tries to bombard our mind.  He attempts to deliver fatal blows of fear, hate, offense and weakness, daily.  However, if we have our helmet of salvation securely on, defending our mind , and, if we have our Jesus and all he said and did for us bound so tightly on, the blows of the enemy cannot hurt us.

Have you read God’s Life manual about the helmet of salvation?  Do you know all its benefits? I believe you do but here is a reminder.  When we put on the Helmet of Salvation, this is not just for eternal salvation.  It is salvation, here and now, for every trial, temptation, tribulation, sickness, disease, difficulty, marriage problem, or financial need.   Jesus is our Savior in all things.  When we put on the helmet of salvation, we are also donning the:

Helmet of Safety
Helmet of Deliverance
Helmet of Protection
Helmet of Prosperity
Helmet of Rescue
Helmet of Healing
Hemet of Restoration to Health
Helmet of Wholeness
Helmet of Completeness
Helmet of a Sound Mind
Helmet of Eternal Salvation from Hell
Helmet of Victory
Helmet of Jesus

I enCOURAGE you to take the helmet of salvation.  I encourage you to invite Jesus into every area of your life where you need saving.  We all have areas in our life where we battle.  We just need to surrender and allow Jesus to come in and save us in that area. He already has.  We have the victory in Jesus.  We must stop the enemies attack in that area by taking our salvation from our Savior

By Tammy Phillips
April 28, 2020

Stand…Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. -Ephesians 6:14 & 16

The fourth piece of the armor of God is the shield of faith.  (I will abbreviate  to S.O.F.) Where is your shield today?

Paul says we are to take it, raise it, and carry it, above all.  We might think the phrase “above all,” means most importantly.   However, the translation from Greek, “above all” means over everything, before each and every little thing.   Paul is stating our shield of faith of God should lead the way.   Is your faith in God leading the way or is your shield lying at the end of your bed or tossed in the corner?  Do you think it has lost its power and it is no good to you?

Look at these facts about the Roman soldiers’ shield in comparison to our shield of faith from Rick Renner’s book, “Dressed to Kill.”

-Romans shield (thyreos) meaning oblong door shaped.

God has given us enough faith to cover us head to toe.

-Romans shield enough to cover the whole body.

Our S.O.F  will cover any and all need that comes along. 

-Romans shield was usually made of six layers of leather woven together making it almost as strong as steel. It was extremely tough and durable.

Our  S.O.F is strong enough to endure any attack, temptation, trial or tribulation

-Romans shield had to be oiled each morning to keep it from becoming hard, cracking under pressure, and falling to pieces.

Our S.O.F.  requires  frequent anointing from the Holy Spirit to keep us from falling apart.

-Romans shield rested on a clip on the loin belt.

Our S.O.F. rests on the loin belt, the Word of God.  Our faith is attached to the Word of God.  

-Romans shield would be submerged in water until completely saturated before battle.  The enemy shot flaming arrows which would be extinguished when they came in contact with the shield.

 When we keep our faith saturated in the “washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26), Our Word-saturated shields have power to extinguish the Fiery darts of the wicked.”

-Romans shield required daily applications of oil and water to keep shield in good shape.

Our S.O.F.  requires daily applications of oil and water to keep shield in good shape.  

-Romans shields were made to hinge together.  When it was time for a big battle, they would fall in line side-by-side and interlock their shields together.  This is called the Roman Tortoise or Testudo.  They would march in unison against the enemy and be protected from enemy projectiles.   Look at this…

Our S.O.F when joined together, makes us stronger  and we can confidently march right at the enemy.  

If we lay our S.O.F. down, it is of no use to us.   If we don’t exercise our faith, it is just like our muscle.  It becomes weak.  When the enemy attacks, we just fall to pieces.  How does faith come?  Paul says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  I propose: no word=no faith, little word=little faith, large word=large faith.  Our faith is built by hearing, seeing, reading and meditating of the Word of God.  If you do not know the Word of God, you do not know the promises of God which equals no faith in God or weak faith in God.  If you don’t know Jesus paid for our healing, you don’t know to ask him for healing.  If you do not know God is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, then you do not know God will meet all our needs according to his riches.  Every answer to every question or need is found in the Word.

“If we don’t have the Word on it, we sure cannot have faith in it.   -Me!

Faith to us is like gas in a car or food in our stomach.  If we do not fill our tanks, we cannot go the distance.  Little food or gas, we can only go a short distance.  Full tank of gas or food, we can go the distance, until it is time to fill up again.  Faith is the same.  We need to constantly fill up to keep our shield up and operative.

I enCOURAGE you to pick up your shield of faith in God.  Receive a fresh anointing from the Holy Spirit and be washed in the Word every day.  But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21) Be prepared so that when the enemy comes, and you know he is coming; you will have the power and ability to extinguish his fiery darts.   When you need reinforcements, call me and call your siblings in Christ that are wielding the S.O.F.  We will fasten our shields around you and face the enemy head on.  We are overcomers in Him.

 

By Tammy Phillips
April 27, 2020

Stand…with your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  -Ephesians 6:14 & 15

Some days, do you wake up with the desire to just walk around barefooted all day?  I do.  However, most activities require a suitable shoe.  When our mission is to dance, we wear dancing shoes.  Tap dancers wear tap shoes; ballerinas don pointed shoes. Country girls wear cowboy boots to do a little line dance. Nurses wear comfortable shoes to endure their shifts of walking and standing.  Basketball players wear basketball shoes to support their ankles during a game.  Baseball players wear cleats to gain better traction while playing.  Hiking boots, running shoes, walking shoes; there is a shoe for everything.  Shoes provide us the foundation to accomplish our work, our tasks, and our goals, even if that is to only to look cute.  We choose shoes to empower us to accomplish.

Every killer power suit needs a pair of killer shoes.  I call them my stompin’ boots.  Paul mentions the third piece of our armor of God as “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (FYI… Shod means tied on tightly.)  Remember, Paul is comparing our spiritual armor to that of a Roman soldier.  The soldier’s shoes had two parts: The greave which acted as a shield for the lower leg and the actual shoe that protected the foot.  The shoe consisted of leather straps that helped secure the shoe tightly to the foot and leg.  The bottom of the shoe was heavy leather for comfort and cushion to help overcome obstacles.  The bottom of the shoe was also equipped with spikes to be used as weapons and for stability.  The spikes helped the soldiers STAND in place, immovable.  These shoes actually looked like boots and these boots were made to stomp the enemy.  Our boots are made for walking, walking by faith and stomping our enemy.

We must tie on the peace of God tightly like a good shoe.  Peace translated from the Greek is Eirene which means exempt from the rage and havoc of war, rest, quietness, good order security, assured of salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot.  The enemy’s mission is to kill, steal and destroy.  His mission is to move us from our faith in God.  Our mission is to stand in God’s peace, knowing that we are whole, healed and complete.  Peace knows that God is always with you.  Peace knows that we walk by faith.  We must put on our stompin’ shoes tightly and stomp out the devil’s plans.  We are encouraged by the words of Jesus, when he says:  “Behold, I give unto you power to tread (trample, crush, stomp) on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)   We are encouraged to walk by faith.  Our shoes of peace empower us with confidence to crush out worry, chaos and the obstacles of our day.  Our killer power shoes of peace protect us from the devil knocking our legs out from under us.  They enable us to stand. 

I enCOURAGE you to put on your stompin’ boots.  God has given us the power and authority to STAND confidently in them and to overcome.   Jesus said “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)  FOOT NOTE:   Overcome is the Greek word, nikao, meaning to carry off the victory.  It is a derivative of a word you know well, NIKE, meaning victory.  When we put on our stompin’ boots, we have actually put on VICTORY BOOTS!!! Stomp on!

By Tammy Phillips
April 26, 2020

Stand therefore…having on the breastplate of righteousness;  -Ephesians 6:14

The second piece of the armor of God that Paul tells us to put on is the breast plate of righteousness.  The breastplate guarded the heart against the attack of the enemy.  It was the accessory that you did not leave home without.  Not to mention, it made the soldier look awful snazzy. It was made of shiny pieces of metal.  When the reflection of the sun struck the plate just right, it could blind the enemy.

Just like the breastplate was a weapon of war, the breastplate of the righteousness of God is our weapon.  Knowing our righteousness in Christ protects our hearts and mind from the continual bombardment from our enemy, the devil, the accuser of the brothers and sisters.

In our Lifegroup zoom meeting this past week, a friend said it was hard to shake off sin. He implied it was hard to forgive himself.  I thought a lot about what he said and wrote him this letter just yesterday.  This morning as I was walked down the stairs to write, I realized that I should have just said to him: “Put on your breastplate of righteousness.” However, this is what I wrote:

Dear Brother:

I think you know everything that I am about to say.  I just wanted to send a reminder.  I needed it too!!!!

“There is therefore now no condemnation (no guilty verdict, no punishment) to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

CONDEMN means:	SAVE means:
to disapprove	approved
to doom	blessed
to blame	absolved
utterly rejected	accepted
judged to be wrong	judged to be right
judged guilty	Innocent
guilty by a contrary practice	forgiven
to sentence to punishment	acquitted to freedom
To judge or pronounce to be unfit for use or service	pronounced fit for service in the kingdom of God

 Jesus was condemned.  He took our place.  It was the great exchange.  The son of man shall be betrayed to the chief priests, and to the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death. (Matthew 20:18.)

BUT… God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (whole, healed and complete… NOW). He that believes on him is not condemned. (John 3:17-18)  He took the condemnation. We take the salvation.  He took the sin. We take the freedom. We take his righteousness.

Paul tells us Be ye reconciled (returned to favor) to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

He was condemned the we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Friend, how often do you remind your daughter of the wrong things she has done? Are you in her ear tearing her down?  You build her up to be the very best person she can be.  She is your daughter!  You do not want her feeling bad all the time over a mistake.   She cannot be her best self, thinking you do not approve. She cannot be her best feeling separated from you.  You know, she can accomplish great things and you want to empower her to do great things.  You want her to know that she is right in your eyes.

How much more do you think God loves you?  He wants to build you up to be the best you can be.  When the enemy comes knocking out your door trying to bring up your sin, over and over and over again, shut the door on him.  Say: “I am the righteousness of God in Christ.  My sins are forgiven, and you are defeated.”  We have to learn who we are in Christ.  We have to accept what he has given us a free gift.  We could pay for our sine.  We sure couldn’t afford it. If we could, there would be no need for Jesus.   We have to assume our places in the kingdom.  He has things for us all to do before and after his return.  You are forgiven and never condemned.

Now, the Father does train us to help us take the next steps or move to the next level.  Just like working out, the training can be very painful, but it is to make us better, not to condemn us.  It is to stretch us and grow our faith muscles.

Just sayin’!  Love you both!  Complete in Him!

Tammy

Today, I would add  P.S. to you, him and I:

P.S.  I enCOURAGE you to guard your heart above all else. (Proverbs 4:24) STAND tall in your breastplate of the righteousness.  It cost Jesus a lot, his life.  Do not leaving hanging in your closet!  Blind the enemy with it.  Reflect the glory of our God.  Be bold. Be courageous.  Shut him down.

by Tammy Phillips
April 25, 2020

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; -Ephesians 6:14

Paul, who wrote Ephesians 6, spent a lot of time in jail looking at the whole armor of the Roman soldier.  The Holy Spirit revealed to him how each piece of Roman armor has an equivalent in the armor of God.  The Roman soldier had a loin belt that girded all the pieces of armor in place.  No loin belt, the armor literally falls to the ground into pieces.  Fast forward; today, the loin belt is a man’s belt, an athlete’s compression short or a woman’s Spanx.  They all hold everything in place.  The loin belt of truth in the armor of God refers to the Truth, the written word of God.  It is what hold us together.  It is our guide to life, love and God.

By divine appointment this post appeared in my memory feed on Facebook, yesterday!  It is from April 24, 2016.  This is my reflection on “the girdle,” the loin belt of truth.

Today, as I was reading my Bible, my love letters from God, I was reminded of a heart felt letter that I received from my youngest son, Parker two years ago at Christmas.  It was one of my favorite gifts.   I purposely tucked it away that Christmas morning to prevent it from getting lost in the celebration of the day.  He gave one to Kris, too.   I came home with his letter, but not mine.  I could not believe it.  I lost something that was invaluable and irreplaceable to me.  I was crushed.  I looked for the letter everywhere. I believed that I would find it this year, somewhere in the Christmas stuff.  I haven’t found the letter yet, but I hope someday I will. 

I tell you this story because I became convicted this morning.  I LOVE my Bible.  I do.  I misplaced it once.  I looked everywhere for it.  I called doctor’s offices, car repair shops, friends, hotels and churches.  I never gave up faith that I would find it.  One day, I discovered that my Bible had lived in the back seat of Brayden’s car for months.  My eldest had been home for Easter, and I had been in his car after church.  He had it the whole time.  

The point of the story?  Had I been as crushed about misplacing my Bible as I was about misplacing Parker’s letter.   Did I value God’s love letters to me as much as Parker’s letter?  Do you value God’s Word or do you take it for granted?   It is ALIVE.  It is LIFE.  Most of all it is LOVE.  It is God revealed.  It is TRUTH.

If you are lonely, it will feel the empty void.  If you need answers, it has every one.  If you need healing, it is a free prescription.  Do not take it for granted.  God spent years divinely appointing and inspiring men to write it.  He wrote is so that we could come to know our Creator, our Loving Father God more and more each time we pick it up.  He wrote it to empower us to stand.

If your boss gave you a manual on how to successfully do your job, would you leave it on your desk and never look at it?   Would you go through a day without accessing it?  How about never opening your emails?  How would that work this day and time?  If your spouse wrote you a love letter, would you leave it on your nightstand unopened?   The Bible is our instruction guide on how to do life.  It is our love letter from Love.

I enCOURAGE you to put on your spiritual Spanx or compression short.  I enCOURAGE to tighten your belt.  I enCOURAGE you to never miss a day wrapped in the truth of God’s word.  It is what holds up and keeps from falling to pieces.

By the Way, last June 2019, I was looking through some cookbooks.  I found one that Brayden gifted me, Christmas 2014.  I found Parker’s letter.  I had tucked it in the the back of that book for safe keeping.  God is faithful because I always believed I would find it.  Ask anyone in my family!  Glory to God!  He was the Way that led me to the letter.

By Tammy Phillips
April 24, 2020

Picture this, you just sat down to dinner with your very best friends, your sparkling gems, or your boys.  You hear a knock at the door.  You are not expecting anyone, but it is the person you would most like to meet in your life.  Who are you picturing?  It could be a favorite football or baseball player, a favorite coach, a favorite actress or actor, a favorite singer, a powerful businessman, or even the President of the United States (No comments.  I would love to have dinner with Trump and pray for him.).   Do you invite this person in?  Will you ask the person to come back because you are entertaining friends?  Or, are you too busy preparing dinner to even hear the door?  Are you too busy just doing you?

Guess who is at your door right now?

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.   -Revelation 3:20

The word of God over and over encourages us to stand.  Jesus never asked us to do something that he has not already done.  Jesus did not have to stand for us, but he did.  We were nothing.  He chose to stand for us.  He always has and he always will.  He stood tallest on the cross when he gave his life for us.  He now says: “Look! Heller!  Anybody there? I am here. I stand at the door, and knock.”  This scripture picture made me so sad when I read it.  Picture Jesus at your door.  Some have not answered the door even though he has been knocking.  Many have not invited him into their lives like we have.  However, there is more to the verse.  Don’t miss it!  He is still knocking.  Jesus is calling us, now.  Our hero, the most loving, the wealthiest in the universe, the most powerful, the kindest, the most gracious, the most giving, the greatest doctor, the all-knowing, the one who has every answer to every question we ever asked, the one and only Jesus, wants to come in and hang out with us.  He wants to come to supper.  He wants to sit down and talk to us.  Jesus is not interested in just coming over for drinks and appetizers.  He wants to have an intimate dinner with us.  He wants to have a long, lingering conversation.  I guarantee, he would stay up all night with us.  He would still be going strong at sunrise and breakfast time.

I enCourage you to eat supper with the King every day.  Sit down with Jesus and feast on his word.  Spend more time talking with him every day. He is the Bread of Life and Living Water.  Open the door to Jesus and have a good old comfort-food supper with him.  We have been forced to slow down and eat at home more often during this pandemic.  I know we have had more meals outside on our deck in one month as a family than we have had in the prior four years.  Jesus wants to do the same with us.  Take time to sup with the King.

By Tammy Phillips
April 23, 2020

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore… Ephesians 6:13-14

Paul put so much emphasis on standing in the whole armor of God.  How exactly do we stand? This is how we stand:

We stand in prayer, forgiving. (Mark 11:25)
We stand in the middle and rise for healing. (Luke 6:8)
We stand in Him whole. (Acts 4:10)
We stand in the temple speaking all the words of life to the people. (Act 5:20)
We stand in grace. (Romans 5:2)
We stand in faith in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5)
We stand in the gospel. (1 Corinthians 15:1)
We stand in courage and strength. (1 Corinthians 16:13)
We stand in faith. (2 Corinthians 1:24)
We stand in Christian liberty. (Galatians 5:1)
We stand in God’s full armor against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)
We stand in Christian unity. (Philippians 1:27)
We stand in the Lord. (Philippians 4:1)
We stand in perfection and completion in the will of God. (Colossians 4:12)
We stand fast in the Lord and live. (1 Thessalonians 3:8)
We stand fast in what we have been taught. (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
We stand.

I enCOURAGE you in the stand.  Know that you never stand alone, ever.  We stand together, but more importantly we stand in the Lord.  We, you, me and He make three. You stand. Me stand. He stands.  THIS IS HOW WE STAND.

by Tammy Phillips
April 22, 2020

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withSTAND (which means stand against) in the evil day, and having done all, to STAND. STAND therefore… Ephesians 6:13,14 

Paul tells us in these verses to take hold of, receive, pick up and carry the whole armor of God so that we have the power to STAND, STAND, STAND in the evil day, the day of great trouble and pain.  This is the second time in Ephesians 6 that Paul  tells us to put on the whole armor, so that we can stand against the devil.  He tells us three times in two verses to stand using our armor, our “killer power suit.”  I do believe he is trying to get his point across.  Are we dressed to face and eliminate our enemy?  Our enemy will use anything to move us.  Our enemy will do anything to kill, steal and destroy us.  BUT GOD…tells us  to STAND.

Since we are told to stand so many times, let’s discover exactly what that means?

STAND (the Greek word histemi):
Abide
Be steadfast in mind
Confirm
Continue
Determined
Endure
Established
Get up
Fixed
Immovable
Make firm
Persist
Persevere
Remain
Resolute
Set in balance
Stand immutable
Stand prepared
Stand ready
Stand unharmed
Uphold

When lack comes, STAND.  When offense comes, STAND.  When pain comes, STAND.  When the plague comes, STAND.  When sickness comes, STAND.  When stress comes, STAND.  When temptation comes, stand.  When trials come, STAND.  When trouble comes, STAND.  When death comes, STAND.  When the enemy comes, STAND.

I enCOURAGE you to STAND, STAND, STAND!
Stand whole.  Stand healed.  Stand complete in Him.
Stand.

by Tammy Phillips

April 21, 2020

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]. [Eph 6:12 KJV]

Remember, wrestle means to throw your enemy down.  David threw the giant enemy of Israel by trusting the Lord and casting a stone.  As we follow David’s example, we need to pick up our rocks.  David said, “The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer and God is the rock of our salvation” in 2 Samuel 22:2,4.  Jesus called Peter a rock in Matthew 16:18. To wrestle well, let’s pick up our Rock, our Savior and pick up the 1 ROCK 5:7 (1 Peter 5:7), this wrestler’s stone of choice:

Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

We have heard this verse so many times.  “Cast your care. Cast your care!”  However, do we pick up this nugget?  Do we practice the verse when the care comes to visit or do we sit and wallow in the care?  Be empowered by the original Greek meanings of the words in this verse.

CASTING (epiripto) to throw upon.  Break down of the Greek compound word epiripto:  Epi means on, upon, before.  Ripto means to throw down; throw off; throw forward; to set down; to fling with a quick toss; to hurl; to violently throw.  It is similar to rhapizoa which means to smite with a rod or staff; to smite in the face with the palm of the hand, to box the ear.  (In my world this means hit the “care” right out of the park with a bat.)  See; Wrestling and casting both mean to throw down.

ALL (pas) means all.  It means each and every.  Every part.  All things, everything, the “whole thang.”  Whatsoever and whosoever.

YOUR CARE (merimna) anxiety, trouble, difficulty.  It comes from the word merizo meaning, what distracts you; divides you; separates you into parts; tears you apart; cuts you to pieces, splits you into.  According to Webster’s Dictionary 1828, anxiety is concern respecting some event, future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind, and keeps it in a state of painful uneasiness.  It springs from fear.  Think about anxiety is fear about something that usually never happens. Care=Anxiety=Fear.

UPON HIM FOR HE CARES (melei) to be of interest; to be of concern; take care] FOR YOU!

How powerful are those words?  Altogether, this is how I see 1 Peter 5:7, Throw down, throw off, throw forward, set down, fling, hurl, violently throw, hit with a bat, slap silly upside the head, all, each and every, all things, everything, the whole thang, whosoever and whatsoever care, anxiety, fear, trouble or difficulty upon him, our Rock, our Salvation, our Jesus, for He cares for you.  He is interested in you. He will take care of you and take your cares for you.

God does not care how BIG or small our care. (God doesn’t have any big problems!)  We were not meant to carry cares.  Throw it to him!  Here is a perfect example.  No kidding!  My Mom sent me this text as I was writing this:

“I’ve looked EVERYWHERE in the house, outside office, and my car multiple times for last 24 hours for my water bottle!  Exasperated, I sat in my chair to read and said, “Okay Lord, don’t know why I haven’t asked You, but please show me where it is.”  No sooner had I sat down, less than a minute, than I had to go to bathroom!!!  When I walked in, I had the “urge” to open the closet.  I did and there sat my bottle!   God is sooo Good, quick to respond, and always listening to our every prayer!  He did that to show me, He cares about everything that concerns me and that I must trust Him with EVERYthing!!!  Thank You, Lord!”

I encourage you to SLANG that THANG that is wearing you out!  David slang the thang and knocked out the giant.   Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he will sustain you: he will never permit the righteous to be moved. [Psalm 55:22]  Wrestle well.  Cast your cares every day, all the time.  Kill your giants.  Be CARE-FULL for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. [idea from Philippians 4:6 KJV]

and Tammy Phillips

April 20, 2020

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].  Ephesians 6:12 KJV

When I wrote the “You are a Wrestler” devotion, the story of David and Goliath came to mind.  David trains us by example how to wrestle against the enemy.

LESSONS FROM DAVID (from 1 Samuel 17):

•  The enemy was small from God’s view

By sight Goliath was a giant, but David was not moved by what he saw or heard.  He knew his battle was not against flesh and blood of Goliath. God was with David and David knew it.   David knew he was empowered by God.  David was not fearful at all.  David saw Goliath from God’s perspective and Israel chose to view their enemy through the eyes of man.  If we choose a Godly perspective, looking down at the problem from seated in heaven, doesn’t it get super small?  The higher our viewpoint the smaller the obstacle. Remember, “He hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus” [Eph 2:6 KJV]

• The enemy yelled loudly

Goliath was the big bully with a bullhorn who bullied Israel 40 days and nights.  He instilled fear into Israel and they were greatly dismayed.  Isn’t that what our enemy does with every problem?  He tries to deceive and frighten us into believing that the problem is too gigantic for God.  Remember, God laughs and says, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14)

• David called out the enemy

“Hey, Goliath!  Who do you think you are?  You think you can defy the armies of God?”  We need to say this to every giant that appears on the scene of our lives.  “Hey, pain in my knee.  Who do you think you are?  Jesus died for this pain. You are nothing to God.  Lack go away; you are nothing to my God.  Hey, fear. You don’t own me.  I have the faith of God.”

• David said don’t worry

David to Saul:  Don’t let your heart be troubled because of this giant!  I’ll go out and fight him.  Isn’t that what God tells us?  Don’t worry.  Don’t fear.  I will go before you.

• Saul discouraged David from the battle

Saul to David:  You are not able.  You are only a kid…he is a warrior.  We are wrestlers. We are warriors.  We are over comers in Christ.  We are empowered by God.  We operate under the authority of the name above every name, Jesus.  Don’t be discouraged by anyone or anything.  Enter the ring.

• David recalled his victories in the face of other giants

“A lion came… I went out after him… God delivered.  A bear came… I went out after it… It arose against me… I caught him, smote him, killed him.  The Lord delivered me then, and he will deliver me now, from this giant.”  We should not so easily forget where we are and how we arrived.  We have many victories in life that we so easily forget.  Call them to mind.

• David went to battle with his weapons

David tried to wrestle Goliath with Saul’s armor, but he was not used to it.  It didn’t fit him.  He could not go.  It was not God’s plan for David.  David had to go to battle with what he had.  David picked up five rocks.  He really picked up the ROCK of his salvation.  He took God with him.  I believe he could have knocked Goliath out with a toothpick because it was not his battle to win; it was God’s.  We must take the Rock of Salvation with us into every battle. The Lord and His word will provide us with the knock-out punch we need.

• David went  into battle head on.

David said to the Giant: “You come to me with your arsenal of weapons, BUT I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts…Today, the lord will deliver you into my hands…The lord saves not with sword and spear. The battle is the Lords and He will give you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:48-47)  We need to follow David’s example and say to our giants, our mountains:  In the name of Jesus, our salvation, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; we shall not doubt in our heart, but shall believe that those things which we say shall come to pass; we shall have whatsoever we say.

• David ran quickly to the battle line 

Goliath came at David and David ran quickly to the battle line.
He did not entertain fear.
He trusted the Lord.
He took immediate action against the giant.
He did not fear the giant.
He was not amazed by the giant.
He saw God and not the giant.
He didn’t panic.
He didn’t run away.
He didn’t drop to his knees and ask the Lord to save him.
He ran right at the enemy because he knew who was backing him.
David cast what he had at the giant and one rock knocked him out.
It was not the stone that knocked out the giant. It was God with David.
Should we not follow David’s example?

I enCOURAGE you with the courage of David.  Run quickly to the battle.  Do not fear.  The Rock of our Salvation will deliver you every time.