Picture from a few years back but I am still standing!
by Tammy Phillips
January 27, 2024
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power…stand…stand…stand. (Eph 6:10-14 NLT)
Be standing in your place of wide-open space. The Hebrew word for salvation is a derivative of a word that means wide, open, free, safe, and spacious, not narrow nor dangerous. Jesus Christ bought our salvation with his life and blood. He is our Savior. He paid our entrance fee, and we have a place in His Kingdom, as long as we follow Him and do His word. We have benefits purchase by Him. He gave us the authority and ability to stand and remain standing. We do not have to lose our place. When Satan and his legion come to whisper in our ears or knock on our door in order to move us from OUR PLACE, we have the right to remain…
Standing in the place of faith. Standing in the place of shelter. Standing in the place of refuge. Standing in the place of safety. Standing in the place of protection. Standing in the place deliverance. Standing in the place of grace. Standing in the place of love. Standing in the place of joy. Standing in the place of peace. Standing in the place patience. Standing in the place of kindness. Standing in the place of goodness. Standing in the place of faith. Standing in the place gentleness. Standing in the place of self-control. Standing in the place of favor. Standing in the place of power. Standing in the place of righteousness. Standing in the place of forgiveness. Standing in the place of freedom. Standing in the place of wholeness. Standing in the place of health. Standing in the place of completeness. Standing in the place of victory.
Paul encourages us to be equipped for battle in Ephesians 6:10-18. God gives us the weapons to fight off our adversaries attack. He encourages us to stand, stand, stand.
I enCOURAGE YOU to stand, stand and remain standing in the place purchased by Jesus for you and me. You are not going to let a burglar break into your house and rob you without a fight. As a parent you will guard your child from every harm. God, our Father, empowers us to do the same. We must choose to remain, standing in our place when Satan tries to break into our life and steal from us. DO NOT LET HIM steal from you what Jesus paid for. Do not let him steal your faith and move you into fear. Do not let him steal your peace and move you into a place of worry. Do not let him rob you of your joy and move you into depression. Do not let him steal. Make a choice to remain standing in YOUR PLACE.
This morning is a battle of the mind that I intend to win. Honestly, I am writing to find peace in the midst of absolute shambles in our home. Disorder creates lost things. It’s 6 am and these are questions Kris, or I have asked out loud so far this morning.
1. “Why is my wedding ring not where I put it? I put it in this little heart bowl. PANIC!”
2. “Where are my shoes?”
3. “Have you seen the Listerine?”
We are currently painting our entire home. VICTORY! However, here lies the battle, I need to change my attitude and be thankful that we are able to paint our home. I need to be grateful I have someone painting who patient with me, cares and is very meticulous. However, to be honest with you all, I was done with it all this morning. DONE. DONE. DONE.
We have two rooms that are finished, and I do not want to go in either of them because they are pristine, but we had to sleep somewhere last night. The kitchen is ok, but who wants to cook. LOL. The rest of the rooms…UGH!
At this point in my thought process, I have a choice, victory, or defeat. I can choose to be stressed or I can choose to see blessed. I can elect to continue down the road of discouragement and defeat or I can put on my big girl pants and march toward victory in the blessing.
I enCOURAGE you to turn your frown upside down no matter what you are going through! Mine was a little battle this morning but my choices could have led me into a good or bad day. I resolved victory in the chaos.
“But thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Co 15:57 NKJV)
For the last seven years the Lord has given me a word for the Year. He may have done it all my life and I did not listen, nor pay attention. The word is my guiding theme for the year. It is what I usually write about to begin the year. However, this year has been different. He gave me a reoccurring word for December and January. I could not ignore it because I was hearing it multiple times a day. I still am. If you have not read prior blogs for January, the Lord has been calling, “COME TO ME!’ (Read here if you missed… COME TO ME and YOU ARE INVITED
This morning I read, “To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”( Revelation 2:7 )
In an instance He wove the word. “COME TO ME,” together with my 2024 word. I heard Him as clearVICTORY: My Word for 2024 as a doorbell, “You have to come to me before you can OVER COME or in other words, see the VICTORY. Victory is the word he has given me for 2024. BAM!
There is no true VICTORY in life unless we come to Him!
He is the Savior who saves. He is the Helper who helps He is the Deliver who delivers. He is the Healer who heals. He is the Provider who provides. He is the Victor who gives the victory.
“See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” (Isa 12:2 NLT)
“Victory comes from you, O LORD.”(Psa 3:8 NLT)
“You are the one who gives us victory over our enemies.” (Psa 44:7 NLT)
“My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.” (Psa 62:1, 7 NLT)
“The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him–my father’s God, and I will exalt him!” (Exo 15:2 NLT)
“Do not be afraid of them,” the LORD said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.” Jos 10:8.
I was so excited to hear my word for the year was “VICTORY.” What a great way to start the year, the month, even the day, standing in victory. However, and that’s a big HOWEVER, victories do not come without battles. Some battles may be easy, and some may be more difficult. They are still battles leading to victory. Know that battles are coming. Good news! He goes before us, is always with us, “but thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Co 15:57 NKJV)
I enCOURAGE you, “therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”(1Co 15:57-58 NKJV)
Every time we come to Him; He gives us the strength for the battle that leads to victory in Him.
I know in this post I was supposed to be sharing my Word for 2024. I believe it is more important to continue to share the word the Lord has unceasingly spoken to my heart since the beginning of December until today. I did not post on Monday because quite honestly, I was listening to the Lord. I was asking Him “the what and how” of this letter to you.
Thank God for praying friends. As I was trying to write to you this morning, my lifelong best friend texted me at 5:10 AM, “How can I pray for you today?” She is so good about always asking. My response:
Back at you! How can I pray for you? Funny you should ask. I have heard a simple message. OVER AND OVER AND OVER again!!! I went back to my journal and recorded on an excel spreadsheet the number of times I have heard “COME TO ME” since the first of December.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mat 11:28 NASB20).
And, “I AM COMING SOON” (Rev 3:11, 22:7, 22:12, 22:20)
Whether it be through Bible reading, multiple authors, devotionals, texts, emails, a billboard, songs in church or on the radio or sung to me, YOU NAME IT… God has used it! Want to guess how many times I have heard the Lord inviting me to come? (The different occurrences do not include the multiple times in the invitation.) In 43 days, I have heard it 75 different times intertwined with the message of how very much God loves us and WHO HE IS.
It is the gospel message BUT…I am bumfuzzled! I know our Heavenly Dad wants me to crawl up in His lap and marinate in His presence because He has been in relentless pursuit of me. I know He wants me to live and pursue Him as passionately as He pursues me. However, it is an invitation to ALL.
It has been hard to express in words His resolute pursuit, His love, the magnitude of who He is and what He wants for us because of His great love. My prayer…the people in my sphere and really the whole world will answer Him by picking up the phone and answering His call, by an RSVP TO HIS INVITATION!
Friend, during these 43 days, I have actually wondered if I was dying or if He was coming that soon. My heart is full to bursting! I believe it is his heart for the world!
Last week, I was like I hear you LORD, I really do, but I am not getting it a 100%. I pray. I read Your word every day. I am in Your presence. I am Yours but what do you mean? What are you saying?
I was out running some errands and Ci Ci Winans song, Hunger, came on the radio. I marinated in the lyrics. I finally got my answer. I jotted this note to the Lord:
“I get it Lord. I see what you are doing.
You want me to hunger for You the way you hunger for me. You want me to surrender to You the way your surrendered for me. You want me to relentlessly pursue You like you pursue me. You want me to love You the way You love me. That is why your keep saying, “COME.” LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Ps. I hear you also say, ‘Take sin seriously! It breaks your heart.’”
I enCOURAGE you to RSVP to the Lord’s invitation of “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mat 11:28 NASB20).
Please take sin seriously! He sent His only Son to pay for our sins and mistakes. It was so costly to Him, yet He warmly invites, “Come. Crawl up in my lap and spend eternity!”
“Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.” (Pro 1:23 NLT)
2024! Hello! We welcome you because we know that you will be one for the books. I am excited about the year because the Lord has given me a GREAT guiding word that I cannot wait to share with you all. Before I share mine, what is yours? Have you asked the Lord for a “word,” or has He thrown one in your lap? A word for the year is a theme. It is kind of like a cheer for a football team. It encourages and guides one through the year with its ups and downs. It’s a word God speaks to your heart to bring you into wisdom as needed. After the last thirty days, you, if you know me, and I might think that my word is “come.” It was definitely a theme for December and the beginning of January. Guess what? God is God and He can give you a word for a month, too!
So COME…if you don’t have a word and ask God for yours, He will answer.
Last week Intercessors for America posed this question to their followers, “What verse inspires you to keep showing up to the battles God has called you to in 2024?” I shared my guiding verse with them. They shared the above graphic which included my verse. They had others continue to contribute and then put out the below graphic. Wanted to share a graphic of exactly what I was talking about.
I enCOURAGE you to ask for your word from the Lord. He will share His heart with you and make you wise.
Viva Magenta: Live. Breathe. Be…looking for your word.
“But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. … “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.” (John 5:40, 43 NKJV)
For weeks, I have been hearing the Lord say COME over and over again!
Come,now.
Come up higher.
Come to me.
Come.
Yesterday, I read a devotional and there it was again…
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
As we drove into downtown Memphis yesterday, I was sharing the devotion about “COME TO ME” with a friend via email, I looked up and there was Matthew 11:28 again, high in the sky on a billboard.
No sooner did I see the billboard, which Kris did not, and out of nowhere, he started signing, “Come Unto Me”by Charles P. Jones, pub.1908
Come unto Me, I will give you rest; Take My yoke upon you, hear Me and be blest; I am meek and lowly, come and trust My might; Come, My yoke is easy, and My burden’s light.
What in the world? In amazement I could only respond, “I hear You Lord!” When I have heard His voice so clearly for two weeks saying, “Come!” I have no other choice but to come and follow Him. I also have the duty to share with you. How simply and easy a call for me to share with you TODAY…”123123 Come to Me!”
“Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live.” (Isa 55:3 NKJV)
“Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”(Mat 11:28 NKJV)
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, come and follow Me. (Mat 16:24 NKJV)
“On the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37 NKJV)
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16 NKJV)
I enCOURAGE you to hear the call of Jesus, “COME TO ME!” Jesus came so that we could come to Him and have life. All year I have declared to you, “VIVA MAGENTA: LIVE. BREATHE. BE.” Live the magenta colorful life. Live, breathe and just BE. We can only truly live our very best life by coming to Jesus. He is life, love, and breath. “COME TO ME,” Jesus.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Rev 3:20 NKJV)
No kidding, my Bible reading this morning:
“And behold, I AM COMING QUICKLY, and My reward [is] with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, [the] Beginning and [the] End, the First and the Last.’” (Rev 22:12-13 NKJV)
Cesar Augustus, the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, reigned during a really dark and evil time in Israel. The darkness was a lot like our present day circumstance. Cesar was a dude who thought he knew it all. He sent out an Executive Order; big brother wanted to know who and where you were! He wanted money! And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. Everybody went to be taxed, EVERYONE into his own city, even nine month pregnant Mary!
Joe went up to Judea, not to New York City, but to David’s City, Bethlehem… from Galilee from his hometown, Nazareth. He was a descendant of King David, you know. He had to drag Mary along with him a top some animal. The ride alone would have been so hard. She was about to pop because she was so pregnant. It wasn’t long after they arrived that she told Joe: “IT’S TME!” It was probably the 80-100-mile hike, the 4-7 day walk, that put her into labor. You know that girl had to be worn out. Joe forgot to make reservations at the Holiday Inn-Bethlehem. Everything was sold out. There was a big crowd in Bethlehem to be taxed. You know how crazy the post office is on tax-day. Bethlehem was buzzing just like that. “No Vacancy” signs were everywhere.
Mary had sweet baby Jesus in the only place they could find…a cave in the ‘hood. They didn’t have barns, fyi. (Light brought into darkness. God Almighty laid aside His Glory and appeared on the scene as a baby.) She had her first son, her first child, away from home. She probably left his onesies in Nazareth, so she wrapped him up like a peanut with what she had. She swaddled him and laid him in a manger, hewn out of the rock. You know, the things that farm animals ate out of. He came to the earth just like he left the earth, all wrapped up and lying on a stone.
Out in the county there were some shepherds minding their business. They were sleeping out in the field taking care of their animals, so no harm would come to them. Out of the darkness, “kabam-shazam,” out of nowhere, a HUGE angel appeared. He had to be at least 20 feet tall. He showed up from nowhere. The mega angel lit up that whole field like sunrise over the ocean. It nearly scared the farmers to death. They were shaking in their boots. The angel roared, “DON’T BE AFRAID!” Look! Listen! I am bringing you GOOD NEWS!!! You have hit the lottery. It is going to make you so HAPPY. Everybody is! It’s good news for everybody. It is the BEST NEWS. Today. T-O-D-A-Y! In Bethlehem…Are you ready for it? Our Savior has been born, the Savior of the World. He is here! Christ the Lord is here! Our Savior, our deliverer…from Greek word “sozo” which means to save, keep safe, and sound, to rescue from danger, to save from perishing from disease, to make well, heal, restore, doctor/healer when you need him, restorer to health from the oppressor (you know the one who tries to harm and hurt you, the one who tried to keep you beat down).
Feel like you’re missing something? The Savior will complete you. Anxious? He says don’t worry! Sick? God has no big problems! Need something? He is more than enough! Lonely? He will never leave you nor forsake you? Need a constant in your life? He will never change. He always has been, always is and always will be. Want to do well? He has the keys to the kingdom. His name is I AM, I WAS, I always will be. HIS NAME IS CHRIST, the anointed. He is smeared all over, bathed-in, like suntan oil at the beach…it was/is all over Him to be who He was and is supposed to be. He was/is furnished with all necessary powers to perform his position with duties as assigned by God.
The LORD, the man of the hour, has power for decision making. He gets things done. He is supreme. He has it all under control. He is our Savior for such a time as this. He is our SOZO now. LIFE IS NOW. He is not a fire policy. He is the Son of God and he is here.
A child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (the Chief of Completeness) – Isaiah 9:6
Get it? I AM is here!
This is the sign. You can find the Savior of the World wrapped in swaddling clothes and he is lying in a M-A-N-G-E-R. (A manger? The king is in a manger?) Don’t miss the sign boys.
The heavens could not stand it anymore- the good news!
Bam! The angel’s back-up singers the Heavenly Host (Heard of them? They were a popular group with God) I mean I am talking a platoon, a troop of hosts showed up and put on a show. They were praising God and rocking the stage saying:
“Glory to God in the highest. Peace on Earth. Good will to men!” You could probably hear them all the way in Nazareth. After the field concert (And Luke Bryan thought this was an original idea?), the Angel of the Lord & the Heavenly Host – poof- they jetted back to heaven in an instant.
The Sheps chatted and thought it might be a good idea to let the flock hang out and for them to head on to Bethlehem. They wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I mean the Lord had dropped a concert in the middle of the field in the middle of the night to let them know the good news. Talk about virtual reality. The Sheps sped to Bethlehem.
Lo and behold! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Can you believe it? They found Mary, Joe and sweet lil’ baby Jesus lying in the manger. After they saw BABY JESUS, they went and told everybody about it! Anyone that would listen, heard the story. They didn’t go to bed for days. Everybody they told wandered in AMAZEMENT. You can see them just shaking their heads.
Mary was just blown away. She kept quiet and to herself. She thought…I birthed the King? He’s lying in a manger? The Savior of the world? After the long journey, the labor, it was too much. She just kept all this to herself and let her thoughts just circle in her tiny little brain. It was just too much to process.
The Sheps! They just kept on partying. Glorifying, praising, singing to the top of their lungs to God. What a story, a Glory Story of the Savior of the World!
“ForGODso loved the world that HeGAVEHis only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”(John 3:16-17 NKJV)
“God is Love.” (1 John 4:16)
God gave. God is Love. LOVE GAVE! What did Love give?
Love stepped down from heaven and came to us. Love came entered the earth humbly as a precious baby. Love grew into a faultless teenager and then to a man. Love readily accepted his assignment to die for us. Love patiently listened to the strife of twelve at His last supper. Love agonized in the garden. Love was in such agony that he sweat great drops of blood. Love was sorrowful and very heavy. Love was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death Love knew the cup He was to bear and did it anyways. Love asked Abba Father that he not have to bear the cup, three times. Love said the spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. Love said save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Love said not my will but my Father’s. Love found His best friends sleeping through his darkest hour. Love was betrayed. Love said, “I AM.” Judas and the multitude fell backward to the ground. Love did not call down a legion 80,000 angels to fight the multitude against Him. Love was bound. Love allowed Himself to be taken captive by a multitude. Love was again forsaken by the disciples closest to him. Love was repeatedly spit in the face. Love was shamed. Love was humiliated. Love was insulted. Love remained silent. Love was punched. Love was mocked and made fun of. Love was beat. Love was blindfolded. Love was slapped on the face by the multitude. Love was reproached, reviled, and blasphemed. Love was vehemently falsely accused. Love remained silent. Love was utterly despised. Love was made no account. Love was mocked again. Love was scourged. Love was stripped and tied in a bending posture to a pillar. Love was whipped with leather thongs, weighted with sharp pieces of bone or lead, which tore the flesh of both his back and his breast. Love was beaten and beaten and beaten Love was stripped naked in front of about 600 soldiers. Love was robed in a scarlet robe. Love was crowned with a crown of thorns. Love was mocked again. Love was spit on again. Love was nailed to a cross. Love was crucified. Love said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Love said, “”Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” Love said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Love was mocked again by the soldiers at Calvary. Love cried with a loud voice, “It is finished.” and gave up the ghost. Love died so we could live. Love declared our debt, “paid in full.” Love was buried for three days and nights. Love defeated death and the grave. Love arose as He as he said He would. LOVE LOVED US THIS MUCH. Love gave so that we may be saved. Love gave so that we could live. Love came as baby JESUS!
I enCOURAGE you to stop and reflect on what the birth of Jesus really means to mankind. Accept the love. Turn from your sin and this wicked world. Accept the love of Jesus who died so we could have life more abundantly. Choose Jesus.
“I knowthat nothing [is] better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also, that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor— it is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 NKJV)
I have seen “MERRY AND BRIGHT” everywhere since I read this verse. I could only laugh when I saw the words on a big sign in our hotel lobby! I have seen them on shirts, mugs, ornaments. I cannot seem to run away from “MERRY AND BRIGHT.”
What does this phrase have to do with Ecclesiastes 3:12-13? Glad you asked. It comes from a treasure hunt of the word “rejoice.” Early in life, I would ask my stepfather what a word meant. He would curtly say, “Look it up!” I do not know if it was because he didn’t know the answer or because he wanted me to grasp its meaning. I have learned to love the treasure hunt in discovering the definition of words in the Hebrew and Greek. There is usually an explosion of light and significance in the words. For instance, “rejoice” is the Hebrew word, samah,which means be glad; cheer up; be merry; brighten up. You got it. Rejoice means “Be MERRYAND BRIGHT!”
“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance…” (Proverbs 15:13 NKJV)
Solomon, said to be the wisest man ever, declared that nothing is better than to be merry and bright! He also followed that statement up with do good in your lives, eat drink, and enjoy what you have worked for. Do good; eat, and drink. Be merry and bright. God expects and want us to work hard. The fruit of that labor is to enjoy life. It our choice. We can choose to be merry. We can choose to be bright, or we can choose to be a fright. “Merry and Bright” are gifts of God and ours for the taking.
Why do you think we say, “Merry Christmas?” We encourage others with our words. We urge others to enjoy the season and to celebrate Jesus.
“‘AMerryChristmas and a Happy New Year to You’ was the verse that was shown on the first commercially available Christmas card in 1843. Christmases had been merry long before. The use of ‘Merry Christmas’ as a seasonal-salutation dates back to at least 1534, when, on 22nd of December, Bishop John Fisher wished the season’s greetings in a letter to Thomas Cromwell, recorded in Strype Ecclesiastical memorials, 1816):
I enCOURAGE you not to get caught up in the nonsense of the season. We just have to keep focus on the reason, Jesus! Spread the joy. Enjoy your gifts! Share you gifts! Share Jesus! Be MERRY & BRIGHT! And don’t forget, “MerryChristmas!”
“Amerryheart does good, [like] medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”(Proverbs 17:22 NKJV)
Complete in Him 