Category: Sword Fighting Class

Sword Fighting Class – For God So Loved the World

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We are just starting the long trek of memorizing Romans 8.  I know God has some special things to reveal to us as we meditate on these words by saying them over and over and over.

‘Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because, through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

And this week we add the next verse,Romans 8; 1-9

“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.”

For God so loved the world…..

The law was never going to make us righteous.  It just pointed out how unrighteous we are.  How much we need a Savior.

There is a righteousness and a holiness and a justice part of God that demanded payment for our sins.  But we were never going to be able to pay that debt because of our rebellion and sin.

So God sent Jesus to die for us.

And God adopted us as his children.

For God so loved us.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

 

Sword Fighting Class – We are Set Free!

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We are starting on a new journey of memorizing Romans 8.  It’s going to be  a long and difficult journey but we will be blessed.  I am praying more about this chapter than any other I’ve memorized so far because the wording is not easy.Romans 8; 1-9

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

And we’re adding the rest of that sentence:

” because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

The Spirit has set me free!

I love that part!

The law of the Spirit brings us life!  Freedom from sin and death!

Because of what Jesus did for us, we are set free!

Thank you, Jesus!

Sword Fighting Class – No Condemnation

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Our Sword Fighting classes are all about helping us to memorize God’s word.  Then he can clearly speak to us when we don’t have a Bible in front of us.  He can also transform our thinking by removing the old lies and etching his words of truth on our minds.

We just finished Proverbs 2 and 3 – what a blessing!Romans 8; 1-9

And now we start Romans 8.  You may have memorized a verse here or there in Romans 8 but we’re going for the whole chapter.  This is definitely a God-sized task because this wording is tough.  I’m glad God has promised he’ll do his part if we do our’s.  Here’s the first verse:

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’.

What an awesome promise!  Jesus paid the price so we didn’t have to.  Because  we can’t.  Only he could.

If we are ever in a dark place, smothered by guilt, this is a great verse to say over and over.  Because the Evil One uses guilt to keep us down, to keep us focused on our failures.  If he can keep us feeling guilty, we aren’t living in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Guilt comes from Satan.  Conviction and the desire to repent – turn away from the sin – comes from the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for your power and grace, Dear Father.

 

Sword Fighting Class – Humble Wisdom

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting Class1 Comment

We are finishing memorizing Proverbs 3 today!  What an accomplishment!  I don’t have a good memory so this an awesome testament to the activity of God in my life.  And he uses the verses I’ve memorized constantly as he talks with me and guides me.

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.  Let love and faithfulness never leave you.  Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil.  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.  Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all of your crops.  Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Do not detest the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke for the Lord disciplines those as he loves.  As a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding.  For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.  She is more precious than rubies.  Nothing you desire compares with her.

Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace.  She is the tree of life to those who embrace her.  Those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations.  By understanding, he set the heavens in place.  And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds let drop their dew.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment.  Do not let them out of your sight.  They will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck.  Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble.  When you lie down, you will not be afraid.  When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Have no fear of the sudden disaster or ruin that overtakes the wicked for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act.

Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later, I will have it tomorrow” when you now have it with you.

Do not plot harm against your neighbor who lives trustfully next to you.

Do not accuse a man for no reason when he has done you no harm.

Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways for the Lord detests a perverse man but keeps the upright in his confidence.

Thank you, God!  Here are our last couple of verses of Proverbs 3.  We have memorized the whole thing!

The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked but he blesses the home of the righteous.  He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.  The wise inherit honor but fools he holds up to shame.

We are done with this chapter!  If you have been memorizing this with me, then I’m sure you share my amazement at what God can do when we do our part.

These last couple of verses repeat the reoccurring theme of Proverbs 2 and 3.  If we want to be blessed by God, we need to be in a right relationship with him.  Our lives need to be defined by humble wisdom.  God is very clear about this.

Please help us obey, dear Father.

Sword Fighting Class – It Applies To Us

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We’re at the end of Proverbs 3!  Its very clear how much God is helping us as we memorize this chapter.  It wouldn’t be happening without him.

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.  Let love and faithfulness never leave you.  Wear them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor in the sight of God and man.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.  Do  not be wise in your own eyes.  Fear the Lord and shun evil.  This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.  Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops.  Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.  My child, do not detest the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke for the Lord disciplines those he loves.  As a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding.  For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.  She is more precious than rubies.  Nothing you desire compares with her.  Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace.  She is the tree of life to those who embrace her.  Those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations.  By understanding, he set the heavens in place.  And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds let drop their dew.

My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight.  They will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck.  Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble.  When you lie down, you will not be afraid.  When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Have no fear of the sudden disaster or ruin that overtakes the wicked for the Lord is your confidence and he will keep your foot from being snared.

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act.

Do not say to your neighbor, ‘ Come back later, I will have it tomorrow’, when you now have it with you.

Thank you, God!  Here are a couple more ‘do nots’:

“Do not plot harm against your neighbor who lives trustfully near you.

Do not accuse a man for no reason when he has done you no wrong.

Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways for the Lord detests a perverse man but takes the upright into his confidence.”

We would probably say that all of these are pretty obvious.  We shouldn’t do them.  And we might think we don’t do them.

But do we ever think someone is saying something bad about us and then we find out later that they never said that?  Do we ever get upset by something we think someone else is doing to us and then we find out later they never did it?  Are we accusing people who never did us any harm?

And do we ever envy rich people who seem to have it all…..even though we know that some of those rich people got their wealth in unscrupulous ways?

We learned in Proverbs 2 that perverse really means stubborn, unhelpful or uncooperative.  Do any of these words describe us in some situations?

Oh, yeah.  God is talking straight at us in these verses.

Are we listening?

Please open our ears, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – Do Not Wait

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We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together and we are getting to the end!  Only God could do this!

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew. My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight. For they will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

Have no fear of sudden disaster or the ruin that overtakes the wicked. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your feet from being snared.

Thank you, God, for helping us memorize Proverbs 3!  Now we are going into a section of ‘Do Nots”  Here are the next 2 verses –

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later, I will have it tomorrow’ when you now have it with you.”

I always like it when God gets really practical and talks specifically about different things we do without thinking that are not good.  He wants us to take our blinders off.  That’s how I see this next ‘do not’ section.

God is saying – “Open your eyes.  Do you ever do this?  You should stop doing it.  It’s not right.”

Withholding good.  Not complimenting someone on something.  Not saying ‘thank you’.  Not recognizing something special about someone.  Not noticing when someone does something for you or for someone else.  Forgetting to tell people you love them.

Telling people to come back later.  When we could help them now.  We could take care of their request now.  We could do something nice for them now.

God is challenging us to be a blessing to others.  Everytime we get the chance.

Please help us, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – Confidence

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As we memorize Proverbs 3 together, we are internalizing a lot of wisdom right from God.  Do you hear him talking with you through these verses?

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew. My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight. For they will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

Awesome!  Thank you, God, for writing these on our minds!  Here is the next verse –Proverbs 3 to verse 25

‘Have no fear of sudden disaster or the ruin that overtakes the wicked. For the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your feet from being snared.”

Have no fear because the Lord is our confidence!

What a great promise!

Do not be afraid.  Have no fear.  Why does God say something like this to us so often in his Word?

Fear is a weapon of Satan.  He keeps us busy with our worries.  He focuses us on the negative.  He uses fear to weaken our faith.

Fear of the unknown swirls around in our heads all day and fills our minds in the darkest part of the night.

Unless we let our trust in God conquer those fears.  God is omnipotent – he can do anything.  He promises us that he wants the best for us.  We are his children.  He is at work all the time around us.

We have nothing to fear……when we trust.

Yes, bad things still happen to us.  But God will be there.  He will guide us through.  He loves us.

I really like the promise about the Lord keeping my foot from being snared.  Yes, bad things still happen to me but, at least, the Lord is helping me to avoid making choices and decisions that are bringing even more bad consequences my way.

We can have no fear.

When we trust.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

Sword Fighting Class – Sweet Sleep

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting Class1 Comment

We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together.  There is so much wisdom in this chapter and it’s empowering to get this all in our heart and mind.  God speaks often and clearly through these words –

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew.

My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight. For they will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck.”

Awesome!  Here are the next verses, finishing this thought –

“Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”

Being safe as I go along my way – that is a huge promise to me.  I’m on the freeway for a 60-mile round trip every day to work and sometimes it feels like a war zone with cars piled up on both sides as people crash into each other.

And I really want to avoid stumbling.  Stumbling of any kind can often be painful, embarrassing and time-consuming.

I also want to avoid those fears in the middle of the night.  Fears about everything…anything….and nothing.

Sweet sleep – this promise is an awesome one!  How great it feels to sleep well all night!

God is telling us that the sound judgement and discernment that he gives us will bring all of these good things into our lives.  When we seek him first and obey, we are on the straight path which brings all of these great things our way.

That’s what wisdom and knowledge and understanding can do for us.

Thank you, Abba Father!

 

 

Sword Fighting Class- Preserve Sound Judgement

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It’s amazing to see what God can do when we review his scripture day after day.  He writes it on our hearts.  And he talks to us through it….constantly…..guiding our days through these words:

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew.

Great job!  God is so awesome!  Here are our next verses:

“My child, preserve sound judgement and discernment, do not let them out of your sight. For they will be life to you, an ornament to grace your neck. “

Dear Father, we desire sound judgement based on your truth.  We want to be able to discern what is from you and what is a lie.  We ask you to remove anything in our minds that is not true and replace it with your words.  We want your words to guide us, your truth to be obvious in our lives – so obvious that it’s an ornament that graces our neck.

We pray these things knowing that we will receive them because they are in your will for  us.  Thank you, Father.  In the awesome name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

 

Sword Fighting Class – The Foundations

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We are having an amazing journey through Proverbs 3 as we memorize God’s word together.  God’s truth reverberates through our minds as we repeat these words over and over and over:Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Awesome!  Here are the next 3 verses – they go well together:

“By wisdom, the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. By understanding, he set the heavens in place. And by his knowledge, the deeps are divided and the clouds drop their dew. ”

The words wisdom, understanding and knowledge are repeated over and over in Proverbs.  They are the basic foundation of knowing and living the truth – and it all comes from God.

These verses tell us how God used these basics to create the world we live in.   I was stuck on these sentences for a couple of weeks because, every time I got to this part, the sun was coming up as I drove into work.

And I would get lost in thinking about the majesty of God.

The omnipotence of God.

The glory of God.

The faithfulness of God …..as the sun rises again today and everyday.

I love the poetic picture of the clouds dropping their dew.

Thank you, awesome Father, for your creation!  I praise you for your faithfulness!