From the desk of Steve Shultz:
The title of this word itself should encourage you. It has been a hard, heavy season of spiritual warfare for many... there is no doubt about it! But LOOK UP! And you'll be greatly encouraged by Kathi Pelton's latest word.
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NEW!
R.A.W. (Radical Anointed Worship)
by
Jason Upton, Paulette Polo, JoAnn McFatter, Robert Stearns, Robert Stearns, Steve Swanson, Julie Meyer
7-Set Music CD, DVD or MP3
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Kathi Pelton:
"Don't Give Up...Look Up!"
Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him." But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May Your blessing be on Your people. Psalm 3
For many of you it has been a long, hard season of testing and warfare. Though the hope of deliverance remains, the manifestation seems to be deferred. Though you do not have full understanding of why you have been surrounded by such harsh warfare, you have remained in a place of dependency upon God.
This morning, I woke up and wanted to scream at the top of my lungs:
"DON'T GIVE UP!"
I want to release a shout into the atmosphere and exclaim: "God will deliver you!" I want to cry out to the turbulent emotions that leave you feeling abandoned: "He will never forsake you!" I want to release a roar against every wicked, lying force that tempts you to believe that God will not deliver you. I feel a deep conviction that your hope has not been in vain and that the vindication of the Lord will deliver you!
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You. Psalm 9:9-10
Disappointed In You?
I continue to sense that many of His people are disappointed in themselves for the way they have weathered this stormy season. I imagine that when Peter stepped out in faith on that stormy water, but then began to sink, that he felt disappointed that the storm seemed bigger than Jesus' outstretched hand. I am sure that on the night of Jesus' betrayal, when Peter's fear caused him to deny his Lord, that he was mortified by his failure and overwhelmed with despair.
But God understands our weaknesses and yet is still mindful of us!
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them? Psalm 8:3-4
This God who formed all creation, who is able to keep the celestial bodies in their places, who sustains the entire universe by the Word of His power, is never put off by our weakness. The same Lord who stretched out His hand to keep Peter from sinking has His hand outstretched to you. Though the battle will never fully end during our journey on this Earth, we are not alone and never without a Deliverer.
You may have stumbled and faltered in this season of testing, but you are never too far from His rescue and love. He is quick to forgive and restore. He has not forgotten you or what you are going through. The Father sees you through the righteousness of Jesus. You do not approach Him in your own righteousness but in the righteousness of Christ which never fails. Let Him wash you of all the shame that you are mired in, and do not give up, my friend.
Regrets?
I also feel strongly that the Accuser has been laboring to cause God's people to look back on their lives with regret. The other day as I was driving with my son, Jonathan, we passed the church where his dad and I were married. I began to share with him what a beautiful day it was and how God gave us such a perfect first year of marriage together. Then he asked, "What about the second year?" I told him that in our second year we left California and moved to another state to attend Bible College. This began a very difficult time of separation from all of our family support, our friends, and our home church. In fact, we even rarely had free time to just enjoy one another.
Instantly, a deep regret filled my mind. In a moment, years of decisions that created hardship – and these were mostly decisions made in obedience to follow the Lord – filled my mind, and I felt a dark shroud of regret wrap around me. I quickly realized that the Accuser had come into a sweet moment of sharing precious memories with my son and turned it into a time of sorrow. The enemy is happy to turn even every moment of following our Lord into something negative if he can get us to focus on the warfare he brought our way during those times. In reality, it wasn't God who brought hardship on us; it was the enemy of our souls who tries to steal our joy and our peace.
Do not let regrets hold you down. In giving birth to our children, do we have regrets because of the pain of labor? No, we look back with great joy because of the baby that was placed in our arms at the end of the pain. We need to do the same with all of our lives. Don't let the pain blind you from the beauty.
Look Up!
When I prayed about writing my monthly article for July, this is all that I sensed: "Encourage My people! Tell them not to give up but to look up."
I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121
Standing with you!
Kathi Pelton
Compassion Arise
Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net
Kathi Pelton has a passion to encourage, uplift and serve. As well as being a published writer she has traveled extensively with Watchmen for the Nations, spoken at conferences, been a member of a national prophetic round-table and co-directed a house of prayer. Her favorite pastime is to spend time with her husband and children.
