"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37 Having walked many years now with the Lord, I can testify to the absolute truth of this verse. Many times I have just sat in awe at how the Lord has fulfilled this perfectly in my life, fitting the elements of my life in perfect harmony, uniquely and personally fitted to the way he has made me. But usually it's only years later that you will see how he wove your story perfectly and with purpose. That's the key: "to the way HE has made me." Every individual who comes into the world has been uniquely created. Once one understands DNA it opens up a whole realm of understanding of the magnificence of God's creation. He has put within you every detail of what makes up you, every personality trait, every talent, every ability, every like and dislike, every limitation, all that makes up the uniqueness of you. Even the things that interest you come from the very uniqueness of your being, and it's all designed for the plan and role your creator has pre-established for you. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared BEFOREHAND that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10 IF you walk with the Lord, surrendered to his will, he who alone knows your makeup will fit his plan exactly to the way he created you. No one else can fulfill your role, and you cannot fulfill the role of anyone else in the universe. Each is truly uniquely and specially made, each one is a marvelous work of God. "For you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works..." Psalm 139:13-14 If you truly understand this, then you'll understand that the most important thing in life is to find out what God's plan for you is. You are the only one who can fulfill it - so what could be more important in life than true surrender to the will of God who created you? He alone can work together all the intricacies of your makeup and bring about the details of your calling which will result in fruit that will last for all eternity. You can't do it on your own for two reasons. 1. You don't know your own self as he knows you. He can bring out things in you that you didn't realize were there. And 2. There is an enemy hell-bent on preventing you from realizing your purpose. This enemy knows more about you than you have any idea, he knows where to tempt you, how to seduce you, he whispers lies into your mind, lies about yourself and lies about God. It's difficult to recognize where thoughts come from, but you can be sure that your thoughts do not all come from you. Therefore, the most crucial thing in life is surrender to the God who created you. In your surrender, the Lord takes over and he will lead and guide you to his purposes for you and make sure you get there. "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and he shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37 vs 5: Pray with me: Father God, I confess as sin the pride with which I have determined to make my own way according to my own will. I realize how foolish that is, because I don't know what you alone can bring out of my life, and I also am not aware when Satan interferes, planting thoughts that convince me of untruths about myself, and about you. This is too big for me, Lord - so I come to you to surrender myself and my life to you, because you alone see all and you alone know all about me, and my security is in the fact that you will never allow Satan to derail your plan for my life as long as my life is surrendered to you. Please help me to truly, truly have an attitude of surrender to you, and help me to always remember that I've made this commitment and can now live in the faith and trust that no matter what, you are in total control of all that affects me. Father, with all my heart I thank you for the life you have given me and the assurance of success as long as I remain in you.
"Those who make an image, all of them are useless, and their precious things shall not profit; they are their own witnesses, they neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed. Who would form a god or mold an image that profits him nothing?" Isaiah 44:9-10 It's hard to understand how a rational human being would trust a medal or a charm to confer protection or encourage a victory. Does a piece of metal have some kind of power in it? Among the entertainment "stars" in our culture, reliance on inanimate objects is common. But when you think about it, does it make any sense? In my youth, I wore medals and scapulars, items that promised protection and special favor. I was told that the "blessed virgin" promised that if one would wear a particular scapular, he or she would not die unsaved. Friends, to win the war you must know your enemy, and your enemy is a powerful impostor, able to do supernatural "signs" in order to deceive you. Deception is rampant. There was no apparition of the "blessed virgin." The mother of Jesus Christ was a flesh and blood human being like you and me. She died and is in a place called heaven. She is NOT "omnipotent," nor is she "omnipresent," those are attributes of God ALONE. She does not appear to people, and when people see apparitions, they are actually seeing fallen angels and demons, spirits about whom the Bible has a lot to say – spirits who are able to counterfeit and deceive many. People who fall for deception are people who do not know the Word of God. The mother of Jesus Christ would not appear to people and tell them to make statues and shrines to her. Not EVER! To wear an image in obedience to an apparition or to bow before a statue, is the essence of idolatry and is clearly forbidden by the Word of God. In fact, rather than convey a protection, an image or charm can actually bring a curse because the wearer is placing faith in the power behind it, and the power behind it is always demonic. God would not strongly forbid such things and then be the power behind a medal or any object for that matter, nor would he allow Mary or anyone else from heaven to do so. God doesn't violate his own Word. The Roman Catholic church actually took OUT the second commandment which forbids bowing before graven images. See: https://pmailletwebsite.com/2025/04/19/the-ten-commandments/ Get rid of anything that you have put your trust in, get rid of any "religious" object that you think will bring you favor. They won't. The Word of God says that they are inanimate objects that cannot see, cannot hear, cannot speak, cannot protect, nor can they gain you any favor from any one. The only power they have is sourced in the satanic power working behind it to put a person's faith in something demonic, and THEN ...comes the curse. All idolatry brings a curse, and many times it goes down to the third and fourth generation of anyone involved in this evil (Exodus 34:7). What is idolatry? Idolatry is anything or anyone that takes the place of God. It is a sad commentary that our Creator has given us his Word explaining to us who he is, who we are, what it's all about, where we're going, how we're going to get there, and why, yet people choose to bow to idols instead of to him. The answers to all of these questions are liberally provided to us in his Word which he gave to us so that we might know him. Man has no excuse for not taking up his Word and searching out the knowledge God has made available to us. People will turn to mediums and fortune tellers, tarot cards and Ouija boards, false prophets like Edgar Cayce and Nostradamus who got their "knowledge" from demons - yet they will stay away from the Word of God!? Instead of turning to the One who has liberally presented all to us through his Word, they turn to the impostors. How does that make sense? "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey his voice, and that you may cling to him, for HE is your life and the length of your days;" Deuteronomy 30:19-20 I present you with a challenge. If you doubt what is written here, I challenge you to get on your knees, go before God and ASK him. When he answers you, then repent of the grave sin of idolatry.
“Through God we will do valiantly, for it is HE who shall tread down our enemies.” Psalm 60:12 Do you have a weakness, an “enemy” that you have tried and tried to overcome, but cannot? Does it seem like the New Year’s resolutions you make - you start out with a bang, but know you’ll only keep them for a short while? When it comes to our weakness concerning sin, we can do no more than a New Year’s resolution. We see it in ourselves and we determine to overcome it, but we find that we cannot. Or if we do, it will be replaced with something else. The alcoholic who stops drinking might take up smoking, or something else to replace it. That kind of thing. That’s because we were BORN in a fallen human nature. We are PRONE to sin. One is most weak in this area, another in that, but we are all in the same boat - we are sinners, and we do not have the ability to win over the sin in ourselves. Add to the mix an enemy who knows our weaknesses and who takes advantage of them and drives us with strong temptation, and we fall. Again, and again, and again. All of us. So what does one do? Is one doomed in his sin forever? Indeed the apostle Paul spoke of this: “For I know that in me - that is, in my flesh – NOTHING GOOD DWELLS; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” Romans 7:18-19 Even the great apostle had the same struggle we all have. No one is exempt. Paul cries out: vs 24: “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” And then he comes to the answer: vs 25: “I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!” It’s the same answer as in the Psalm quoted above: “…for it is HE who shall tread down our enemies.” All births produce babies. When a person is born again, he is born again as a babe. From that point he begins growing and learns one thing at a time. He falls, gets back up, takes a few steps then falls again. And so it is with us. The born again person starts out in all his weakness, and only gradually does he overcome and become adult in his faith. It is the Spirit of God within that provides the growth. The truly born-again person has surrendered everything to his Lord, and his Lord will be found faithful who will grow him up to adulthood as one who, as he grows, has less and less interest in the carnal things that ruled in him when an infant in the faith. A baby demands his way. But a loving son gladly depends on his father for everything - everything in its time, according to the wisdom of the Father. Does that remove the guilt of sin? Does our inability to overcome our weaknesses justify our sin? No. We are guilty from day one. A young child having a temper tantrum can cause a lot of grief to the father - but the father knows that with proper love and discipline the child will grow out of his childishness, and the father looks to the day when maturity will come. And so it is with us. When one is born again, the Lord has his eye on the day when we grow out of our temper tantrums and all the weaknesses and sins that make up our lives. In the meantime, our sins are forgiven because Jesus Christ bore the judgment due them in our place. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1st John 1:9 Be quick to confess your sins. Be quick to acknowledge your weaknesses. Be a cooperative child, pleasing the Father as you submit to all the corrections he applies as you grow. Stop the temper tantrums. Stop the demands. Stop trying to get your Father to do what YOU want. If you surrender all to him and COOPERATE with all he sends your way, you will be pleasing to him even when you haven’t yet reached maturity. It is the attitude of the heart he’s looking for, the attitude of total surrender to the wisest of all Fathers, the attitude of complete faith, the attitude of willing cooperation and repentance as he shows you your sins. He brings you to repentance which is a grace he supplies. THEN you will be a joy to him even in your immaturity. It is the surrendered heart that will be the Father's joy and delight. He grows you up into all the potential he has placed in you as he waits for your maturity, loving you all along the way, waiting for the day when “through God you will do valiantly.”