"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Submit, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Ephesians 6:12, James 4:7-8a

Christmas greetings to you, Precious one. It seems too long since I've had the opportunity to sit and write you. I am so thankful, to our Lord, for John and for the inspiring devotionals he has sent out the past few weeks as I've tended to the various tasks that arise this time of every year; I have been blessed and spoken to by his encouragements as I'm sure you have.

Beloved, have you had trouble with keeping your daily time with the Lord? I must confess I had. When I would awake my mind would start turning regarding all the things that 'had' to be accomplished that day. I found that as I sat for morning prayer my mind would wonder to things to add to the shopping list, "should I juice carrots this morning or afternoon?", along with figuring out how long it would take to get to the dentist so I'd better leave at ... . I had problems with my focus. Because of this some mornings where not fruitful because the lack of focus and the business of the day would draw me away before I'd truly given the day to the Lord. This caused my commitment, to be in the word and seek my Lord daily, to suffer. And until I stopped and truly surrendered to the Lord - giving Him all - the day would reflect my morning, my lack of time with the Supplier of all my needs.

Is this happening or has this happened to you? (please, tell me I'm not alone) It's called spiritual warfare, and each time we give in to the calling of the world around us we are giving victory to our enemy. It doesn't have to be like this, Precious one. We learn in Ephesians Six that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." You are probably saying, "April, haven't you been out shopping lately? What do you mean our struggle isn't against flesh and blood?" Well, Beloved, as we see, the Holy Spirit pushed the pen of Paul as he wrote the Ephesians. Yes, we may have discomfort while out and about (I've been there), but our spiritual struggle isn't with the people, these encounters are "faith testers", I know, my faith is put to the test too! But, we serve a faithful God who always provides a way out and in the book of James the Lord tells us to "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to (Me) and ( I ) will draw near to you."

Next time you find that you are bombarded with business, focus difficulties (on prayer, study, etc) or your daily commitment to meet with our Lord lacking, recognize that this is warfare, Precious one, and drop to your knees (figuratively speaking) and seek His forgiveness, then draw near to Him; make Him number One again. He is faithful, He will draw near to you, He will give you the strength you need to resist and your day will once again be filled with His wonderful grace and peace.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for Your faithfulness to draw near to us as we draw near to You. Help us, Holy Spirit, to be sensitive and speak to our hearts before we have a chance to allow the day to go any further without drawing near to You first thing every morning. You are our strength, our peace, our love, our reason to go on, our comfort, our all in all. Lord, I lift up each of these precious readers to You and seek their travel mercies during this special time of the year. Lord may we all rightly represent You as we are out and about finishing up the last minute holiday shopping, get togethers, etc. May we keep our focus on the reason for every season - Jesus. And, Father, I lift up those who struggle due to lose of loved ones, separation from their family, hardened and bitter hearts ... give them Your peace, Your strength, Your healing touch, give them focus Lord, that they may not only draw near to You, but that they would let their minds dwell on the reason for this time of year - the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest gift ever given. To You be all glory. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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Encouragement From The Heart Website updated March 17, 2000 (note: web address changed).
http://www.geocities.com/correiaville/encourag.html there's a new page, "The Master's Garden" stop by and check it out!