WORDSMITH WEDNESDAY

Wordsmith's find joy in words. Some words are stored in their memory banks. Some catapult the mind to another time and place. Catapult is such a word for me.

Catapult can be a "fun" word for mouth exercises. I know because I had to exercise my mouth after my cancer surgeries. Catapult: A word to retrain me to pucker and blow. 

Catapult can be a spiritual ACTION---as when God's word "jumps or springs" into my mind at just the right moment.

The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say, the moment that you need them. (Luke 12:12)

My knowledge of physics is very limited. But spiritually as I examine this catapult, I see the spring as the Holy Spirit who releases the payload. The payload is the transmitted data from God's word to my mind---a message intended for me during my hour of need. Spiritual warfare showcases one's need for God's truth.

As Robert Morgan states, when his heart is downcast, "Even the most familiar passage of Scripture can take on new life as we read them day by day. Sometimes a verse or word will leap off the page as if catapulted by the Holy Spirit."

Today may God's prefect words "catapult" into your mind for your edification on this Wordsmith Wednesday.

CHOOSE: A DANIEL-TYPE PRAYER

Frustrations were the "order of the day" yesterday, though I certainly didn't order it.
OOPS, I still had a choice in my response to all the snafus.
As Anne Graham Lotz reminds us in The Daniel Prayer, (p. 245) :
IF prayer is...

• one of the supreme boys of your life,
• the throbbing heartbeat of your relationship with God,
• the nearest will be this side of Heaven,
• our compass that helps keep us on the right path

....then why is it so hard?
Because prayer is a battle---a fight.

That's why, when I struggled yesterday to be clear minded and self-controlling, (1 Peter 4:7),
I used God's Word from Daniel 9:1-23.
I Chose a Daniel-type prayer.

Tac-TEA-cal

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God,....so that....you may be able to stand your ground,.....Stand firm....with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,..... the breastplate of righteousness in place,....and.....your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition......take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:10-17, NIV)

Are you ready for war? Christians need to be---now more than ever before, it seems. Just watch the nightly news. The warfare all over the screens are literally spiritual. But those battlefields are not the only tactics that the evil one uses.
On the homefront. In the ordinary times. Daily onslaughts are real, even if they are not as obvious as automatic weapons. Therefore, we, too, need a strategy to ward off those attacks so that we and our loved ones are not broadsided.

Friend, Suzie, follows the Ephesians 6 method of preparation as she "dresses" herself every morning in the military garb needed for such spiritual warfare.

This adroit planning has her thinking beyond the day---she's tactical as she prepares for a military-type end to overcome any obstacles or traps which might be set by the enemy. Think victory!! Spiritually victorious as she overcomes the attacks and temptations. How? She had not only spiritually done (dressed) her part, but full preparation included reliance on the Lord and His strength through prayer.

Fill a cuppa tac-TEA-cal preparation.  It a good way to start one's day.