#162 - Steer Clear!

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GOOD MORNING! Man, what a blessing! Do you ever just reflect & think, "Wow! This is awesome!" "THIS" meaning, your life. That you are operating in your gift, you are following your calling, you are excited to be doing what you love, you are fulfilled. That is how I feel this morning! :)
So, yesterday, I picked up my book again. The draft of "Fairytales Do Come True" is completed. I got the "go-ahead" yesterday to dive back in and begin the editing process. The book is right over 74,000 words, I read & edited the first 5 chapters yesterday. Wow! It's so fun! If I could ask you to pray about a few things for me... that would be awesome!

1. I'm thanking God for the Provision & Favor to go to a Conference in July. It's called SheSpeaks, put on by Proverbs31.org. The cool thing about this conference is that it will allow me the opportunity to meet with Christian publishers, bring my book, as well as some of the top Blog posts. It will be a big opportunity for me! If you want to check out the conference details... check out the website... I will be taking the Writers Track (there is also a Speakers Track & Leadership Track). Here's info about what to expect. My goal is to apply before April 15th. 
2. Please pray for me as I am in the editing process of my book. Some key areas of prayer... since it is my testimony, I have changed some names in the book of people who may not want their names shared. Please pray that God gives me wisdom about how to go about it. A few of the main characters played a major hindrance in my life. So what if they ever read this book? I've changed their names... but the role they played, is still the role they played. Please just pray that I would have Wisdom. 

Thank you! :) If you want to read a quick "snap-shot" on the book, I did write a devotion on it: Fairytales Do Come True

OK, lets get going! 

Proverbs 5:4 - But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged and devouring sword.

Hebrews 4:12 - For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

Proverbs 5 is our classic... it talks about the "loose woman." How God amazes me even this morning, that He can continue to bring NEW things out of His Word! Praise the Lord! Proverbs 5:4 is describing a bit of who the "Loose Woman" is... her characteristics and the deadly role she can play in ones life, IF one lets her! As we skip on to Hebrews 4:12... we also see something else that is described as a TWO-EDGED SWORD! Here we have 2 very opposite examples, ONE bringing DEATH, the other with the ability to bring LIFE! Hebrews 4:12 is talking about how God's WORD is SHARPER than ANY two-edged sword. ANY! Including the loose woman. How the WORD OF GOD has more power than the SHARPEST two-edged sword, that the WORD OF GOD has the power to penetrate. The Word has power to expose us, reveal us, show our hearts and our true deep desires. I believe that EVERY Christian has a deep desire to please God. That deep down, no matter what you're doing in life, whether you are living a life with reckless abandon to loving and serving your King, or whether you are living a life cussing, drinking, or running from God. I believe that IF a person has made a decision to accept Jesus as their Savior, deep down they have this INNATE desire to serve Him, to please Him, to make Him proud. Even amongst the yelling, the arguing, the countless beers, the revealing clothes, the wrong association, that DEEP down even this person has a DESIRE to please our Father! It's there, deep in their heart, a longing, a passion, a drawing to - like a magnet - the King of Kings. Christians have a desire, a longing to be close to the Father!

Something extremely cool about that.... is SURE... here in Proverbs 5:4, the loose woman is luring people in and she is like a two-edged sword. She = "sin", "the World", "bad association", "Wrong motives".... you may not be drawn into what the "outset" of Proverbs 5 looks like... when we just read the words for what they say, many of us think, "This doesn't apply to me, this is talking about a prostitute on the streets trying to lure men in to have sex." But, if you REALLY look a little deeper, SHE is any area that is trying to draw us away.

An awesome thing? Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the WORD is SHARPER than ANY two-edged sword! Including the loose woman! Including sin, temptation, sluggishness, lack of desire, procrastination, lack of motivation.... the WORD is MORE powerful than ANY of that! The WORD has the POWER to PENETRATE! It has the power to get you right in the heart and CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!! When we read further down in Hebrews, the last verse in chapter 4, tells us additional good news.... let's check it out....

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

HALLELUYAH! That is good news! Even if you have messed up, fallen short, run from God, avoided Him... that it says EVEN YOU can come CONFIDENTLY and BOLDLY to His throne! That even YOU will receive mercy for your failures, your mess-ups, where you've fallen short. And PRAISE THE LORD, that HIS help will be well-timed, coming just when we need it!

UNMERITED FAVOR is favor that is undeserved! You did not earn it. You just receive it. Because Jesus went to the cross for you, died for YOUR sins, and here you have it... YOU are receiving UNMERITED, UNEXPLAINABLE, UNDESERVED FAVOR! A promotion why? Because of favor! Increase why? Because of favor! A compliment from someone un-expecting why? Because of favor! Forgiveness for screwing something up why? Because of favor!

Just a reminder... STEER clear of the loose woman... and ALL she represents. Bad association. Are there certain people that pull you down, draw you away from a relationship with Jesus? THEY are the "loose woman" in your life. STEER CLEAR of them! It may just be for a season.... but the loose woman is the enemy to us drawing near in a relationship with Jesus. 1 Peter 5:8... be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [^[a]in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. 


Steer clear and CONFIDENTLY press in to the THRONE OF GRACE! Everything you desire is at that throne! Your dreams, they are there. Your desires, they are there. Your answers, they are there!

#114 - Are You the TARGET?

Good morning! Sometimes I just marvel at how blessed I feel! What a good boy I have! He is just so good! He did two kinda "new" things this morning. While he was eating breakfast, he took a drink of his drink and then PUT IT BACK in the cup-holder on his tray! WHOA! Go Tyler Jr! That is definitely a step up from throwing it on the floor! ha! AND, he very obviously did the sign language sign for "all done." It was so good! So, we celebrated and clapped and yelled about how good he did! He liked the praise! He clapped too! Then... we went upstairs after breakfast and read HIS Bible... now he is in his bed talking, playing with his toys and reading his books.... and having the rest of HIS Quiet Time! :) He's so good! I never imagined being a mom would be this fulfilling and joyous! Praise the Lord! 


Well, let's get started today! :) 

Proverbs 9:13-18 - The foolish woman is noisy; she is simple and open to all forms of evil, she [willfully and recklessly] knows nothing whatever [of eternal value]. ¹⁴For she sits at the door of her house or on a seat in the conspicuous places of the town,
    ¹⁵Calling to those who pass by, who go uprightly on their way:
    ¹⁶Whoever is simple (wavering and easily led astray), let him turn in here! ....
    ¹⁸But he knows not that the shades of the dead are there [specters haunting the scene of past transgressions], and that her invited guests are [already sunk] in the depths of Sheol (the lower world, Hades, the place of the dead).

Proverbs 31:25a - Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure... 

I thought today's reading was very interesting. In the scriptures above we have 3 different main people it is talking about. 

(1) The Foolish Woman - AKA: Sin, Temptation, Evil, Lust, the Wicked 

(2) The Proverbs 31 Woman - Strong, Sure, Confident, Secure, Stable - Nothing is moving this woman! She is steadfast & knows who she is.  

(3) The Wavering - This person is unsure of themselves. They are unstable, on rocky ground. They are wavering, like the verse talks about in James 1:6-8 - this person is tossed to and fro, has two minds or is double minded, lives in a constant state of doubt. 

The big question... Who is the Target? Who is the Target here in Proverbs 9? Who is the "Foolish Woman" looking for and WHERE is she taking the person she finds? Well, just reviewing the verses above, the target is simple, the TARGET IS THE SIMPLE. The Target is the person who is wavering! They are the TARGET! 1 Peter 5:8 tell us, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." What type of prey would the a lion look for? If he saw a herd of gazelles, which one is the lion going to lock a TARGET on? The WEAK one. If there is a gazelle that looks weak, is hurt, is limping or struggling to run, the lion knows that lunch is just a few seconds away. The devil is looking for the weak! If he sees you are weak, he will attack you in that area. The foolish woman, she was looking for those who look unsure, the wavering, because she KNOWS she could persuade them with her cunning words and get them to come down her path. They lack confidence. They lack vision, they do not know where they are going and since they seem to be "wandering" about anyways, THEY are an EASY TARGET for the foolish woman. So what did the foolish woman do? She locked TARGET on the Wavering, and led them down her path. Unbeknown to them, the Foolish woman's other "invited guests are already sunk in the depths of Hell, the lower world, the place of the dead." As she spotted the WAVERING person, she led them like a calf being led to slaughter, she led them to their death. 


Why is this all so important? As a believer, we can look at this section of scripture and determine, Which one are WE? Has life been a series of instability? Do we really know WHO we are in Christ? If we were spotted, would we look like the WAVERING? Would the enemy lock TARGET on us because we appear to be unstable? Would the lion see us and then seek to devour us because we look weak? 


With New Years coming around the corner, a lot of people begin to think about New Year's Resolutions. Now may be a good time to evaluate if you are truly the Stable, Confident, Unwavering. As you search yourself internally, if you feel like you may be the "Wavering", maybe it's time to determine this year that it is going to be a year to develop STABILITY & STRENGTH. Maybe this be the year that you NOT focus on loosing the same 20 pounds you've wanted to loose for the last 5 years, but maybe this is the year that you focus on being STABLE & SECURE like the Proverbs 31 Woman. Men, like the Proverbs 31 Husband. Maybe NOW is the time for you to determine that the buck stops here, "I WILL NOT BE A TARGET!" 


So... which category do you fall into now? Which category are you going to be in next year?