Satan as Easy As The Pain in Your Back????

According to the American Chiropractic Association, 70 to 85 percent of all people have back pain at some time in their life.
A few interesting facts regarding back pain: Low back pain is the fifth most common reason for all physician visits in the United States. Back pain is the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years old. Americans spend at least $50 Billion per year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs.

When people catch a cold or even the flu, they may wait a few days or even longer to go see a doctor for treatment. Day One of back issues will get you to a physician. Why? Because it hurts!

A few weeks ago, I pulled my back out. I was completely incapacitated. I couldn't move without intense, sharp, jagged pain wreaking havoc on my body. Not a situation a mother of four with two part-time jobs wants to find herself in. Do I have a point to my seemingly self-absorbed pity party? Why yes, yes I do:

The very next morning after I pulled my back out, I attempted to crawl out of bed to use the restroom. I couldn't even stand once I had reached my destination. I called out to my husband who came in to help me stand up, which sent my back into excruciating muscle spasms. What happens next leads into my paralleled spiritual reference - so read on.

While my husband held me in his arms, blackness began to cover my eyes and the shallow breathing began. I warned my husband that I was passing out, in fact, I remember repeatedly saying, "I'm blacking out, I'm fainting, I'm blacking out". When I awoke, I was on the floor of the bathroom, sweating. My husband had placed me there and went to get the phone to call 911. Now what happens next is your typical 'ambulance shows up and takes you to the ER' scenario - but I'd like to focus on the actual act of 'passing out'.

What happened was this: The pain that my back was in was too much for me to handle. My body physically shut down to protect me from the pain.

What if we reacted to sin that way? What if when we come across temptation that normally causes us to sin, our body just passes out until the temptation goes away? Unfortunately, our natural instinct is to gravitate toward the sin, not shy away from it - we have to choose to step away from it. Easier said than done. However, we do still have that option to call 911: 1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

When we are faced with temptation that seems impossible, God tells us that He will provide a way out - Asking Him for the strength to do this on a daily basis is essential in keeping our spiritual health in check.

As a fairly healthy individual, prescription strength ibuprofin, oxycodone, flexerel and six weeks of physical therapy promises to get me back to tip top shape. However, when we let temptation overcome us, we run the risk of not only taking ourselves down to a level that may seem impossible to crawl out of, but we tend to drag others right down with us. Praying for God's strength in my back and against Satan!

There's Too Many Shoes In Here!

Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

I have read a few books, fiction, devotional, self-help, that mention the use of a 'prayer closet'.  A private place to go to spend time alone with God in prayer.  I have often thought how nice it would be to have one.  One small room set aside to spend some alone time with God.

As a reminder, I have four children - extra space in the house is just not happening.  There is not one place I can go in the house that my children aren't willing to follow me into.  Even the bathroom is not a sacred domain.  While they may not follow me in, they are more than willing to stand outside of the door making sure they are getting updates of what I am doing or when I'll be done.

I find that if I want to have some alone time, I need to get up before everyone else and then when I get in the shower, I know that I'm alone.  So, my 'prayer closet' is my shower.  I have heard God speak to me when I take the time to get rid of everything else around me and just focus on my conversation with Him.  While that time may be short, there has been nothing more meaningful than to hear what God has to tell me and the more times I spend having a conversation with Him, the more chances I give Him to offer me His wisdom.  Where is your "prayer closet"?

Time Travel - Is it possible?

I have to say - I like time-travel movies. I don't know if it's because it is a true break from reality, or just the imagination that it takes to make a time-travel movie seem. . . well, seamless. I've recently gone back and watched a few films from the early 80's and 90's: Timecop, Back to the Future, Peggy Sue Got Married, etc. Incidentally, apparently back a decade ago, no one could foresee the internet. Not one mention of Google in these early movies, and the silver jumpsuits never really caught on, maybe next year.

That being said, the main theme usually centers around changing the past so that a mistake that was made could be fixed. Somehow, by changing one or two instances, life would be so much better for the main character. Foregoing the obvious dangers of the time-space continuum and mass taking up the same space, having your future self warn you of mistakes that could change the rest of your life, seems to be a situation that draws in an audience. The allure of "what could have been" or "if I had only known".

Scientists spend long hours trying to develop this "future" experiment only to realize that the ripple effect could be catastrophic. It makes for good entertainment, but . . . 'what if?'

What if there was a way that our future self could go back and tell our past self - "Hey, that's not a good idea. When you lie about being sick to your boss and then in two weeks you really are sick and you take off and lose your job - just tell the truth" - there is a way, and it's something better....

God knows what the future holds. The answer to "what's the best decisions I can make so that my future self is right where it should be?" is simple - prayer. If we would stop and simply ask God to guide our decisions so that the choices we make are in line with what God wants - how could we want for anything more (“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm 32:8) Who knows us and wants the absolute best for us: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

He promises us in Isaiah that he will guide us - “The Lord will guide you continually …” (Isaiah 58:11)

The only thing is, we have to ask. We don't need an old DeLorean or a flux capacitor, we don't need a black hole, a wormhole or even a hot tub. All we need is Jesus.

Jabez - Are you a Cookie Monster for God?

1 Chronicles 4:10d - And God granted his request.

This is the last part of the prayer of Jabez. It is the outcome of the prayer of Jabez. It's not very climactic. In fact, it's completely 'matter of fact'. It's as simple as 2 + 2 = 4 ; Man of faith asked = God of all granted. So why did he have to ask in the first place?

As I studied the prayer of Jabez, how he asked for things and God simply gave them to him - and pondered whether it was a one time occurrence and only meant for Jabez, an analogy came to mind. Many times, I will go to the store and while buying groceries, I will pick up something for the kids. Maybe some cookies or snack cakes, I might even get them some special drink and put it in the refrigerator - simply because I love them. Now when I get home, and put all the groceries away and then get busy doing everything else, I will probably completely forget that I even bought those items for the kids. However, if one of the children comes up to me and says, "Hey Mom, Can I have a couple of cookies" - I will then say - "Yes, I got those for you".

Now God doesn't forget, but I do think He has things for us and He's just waiting for us to ask Him for it. Does that mean whatever we ask for it will be given to us, since God has it waiting? Even though I have cookies for the kids, if they ask me to eat them a half an hour before dinner, I'm going to say "no". But that doesn't mean 'no' forever, it just means they'll have to ask later when it's not going to hinder them by spoiling their appetite. However, like the cartoon, when we start to go after things ourselves that God has said 'no' to, disaster can strike.

God loves His children. Jabez was a faithful and honorable man, one who knew the power of the Almighty. One who wanted to serve God and have a personal relationship with Him. His prayer is truly an example of God's unconditional love for us.

Jabez - Freedom

1Chronicles 4:10c "and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."

A couple of years ago, I threw my back out. I wasn't even doing anything strenuous. I was holding a baby - I put the baby down and stood up, and there it went. I'm not one who might be considered an "old" person - I don't have other health issues that would have brought this on - why in the world would my back go out? The pain was intense. I have never felt pain like that before - I was immobilized. It took about two weeks before I could get back up and actually walk around normally - but even then, I was cautious for fear of re-injuring my back.

Jabez asks God to keep him from harm and free from pain. Obviously, physical pain can be such that you are not useful - that you become a burden to those around you - no one wants that. However, I think Jabez was asking for more than just that.

During a time in my life when I was not walking with Christ, sin had gotten a stronghold and I found myself in a very dark place, alone and defeated. This type of 'harm' caused, not only an immobility in daily life - just getting through the day - it also stopped and hurt any work the Lord could've wanted me to do during that time.

Jabez is praying for those things - protection from physical harm and spiritual harm - because the pain that both cause can be debilitating. God wants us to be free from pain, all we have to do is ask - Jabez figured that out.

Jabez - Take off the Cloak of Invisibility

1 Chronicles 4:10b Let your hand be with me.


I hated school. Hated going to the bus stop. Hated walking into the building. Hated finding my classes. I hated leaving my mom. I knew my mom still loved me when I was at school, I knew it wouldn't matter what I did or what I got on a test, my mom would be waiting for me at home, always happy to see me. But if I had a choice, I would've had her hold my hand all day long - from the time I got onto the bus until the walk home.


Not too much has changed. I still don't like to do new things alone - it's always nice to have someone next to you, supporting you, loving you. Doesn't go over too well to have mommy sitting next to you during your job interview though. It's socially unacceptable to have your best friend come to your business meeting while you're speaking. I think Jabez had these same feelings.



Jabez prays for God to be with him. I don't think he's actually asking God to be with him, because we know that He is always with us - I think Jabez is asking God to let him feel His presence. We all have the knowledge of understanding that God is omnipresent, but emotionally feeling Him beside us is another thing all together. Jabez wanted to feel God there with him.



This is what having a relationship with God is all about. God knows we need a friend - He wants to be our friend. He wants to be the One that goes with us on that job interview, that first college class, that doctors visit - but if we don't ask Him to let us know He's there, we're putting Him in the corner. I want to know God is standing right there beside me and I want Him to know that I want Him to be there. It all happens through prayer.

Jabez - Can I get fries with that?

1 Chronicles 4:10a Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!

My two daughters were in the bathtub. They were probably 2 and 4 at the time. We had lots of fun splashing and washing hair and playing with bubbles. When I told them it was time to get out - they were fine with that. I had forgotten the towels. In the moment that I had said "sit still", to the time I had gone to the closet for the towels - there was a 'thud'. Then tears. I quickly checked what was going on because they were both crying (when one cried, it spurred the other) - my two year old seemed to be fine - my four year old had somehow punctured herself and had a bloody hole at the top of her nose in-between her eyes. I cried out for my husband, we quickly dressed the girls and gathered the rest of the children and headed to the emergency room.

What reminds me of this story is not the cute little scar that was left on my daughters' face, but the feeling of helplessness. The need to call out for someone (my husband) to come to the rescue.

I don't know what was going on with Jabez at that exact moment - but it says he "cried out to God". The Bible doesn't tell us his situation - we only know that he was a righteous man and something in his life had caused him to seek the immediate help of God. The odd thing is what he was asking of God. Bless me. Bring me happiness. Bring me pleasure. He wasn't dying of an illness and asking to be spared his life, his wife wasn't leaving him and he was going to be alone, his company wasn't being downsized and he was out of a job - his cry was for God to make him happy. THEN, he asked for more responsibility. Asking for enlarged territory was not a cry for more acreage to build his in-ground pool - it was for leadership over a larger group of people, and in essence - more power.

If Jabez can cry out to God for power and happiness and be heard - why are we so hesitant to talk to Him on a daily basis, won't He meet our needs as well?

Sodom and Gomorrah - 911, What's your emergency?

Genesis 18:20-21 And the LORD said, "The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. "I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know."

Murder, Lying, Stealing, Rape, Adultery: Which one is worse? According to God? Well whatever sin Sodom and Gomorrah were committing, God calls it exceedingly grave. That sounds pretty bad to me.

Webster.com defines grave, the adjective, as significantly serious. Now since we know that God considers all sin very serious - to share with Abraham that these people are committing significantly serious sin leaves one to wonder what in the world these people are doing.

Here's something that's extremely interesting: How does God know about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? Well we all know that God knows everything. He's well aware of the sinning that's going on. Sin goes on all the time and God doesn't blow people up - America would've been gone a long time ago. Why is He stepping in and not allowing it to continue? Because His people have prayed. If there was ever a question about God hearing our prayers - this is the answer. The people are praying about the situation in Sodom and Gomorrah.

It wasn't just one prayer in passing that caused God to take such action - it was the constant continual prayer of His people. If you are asking God to take control of a situation - He needs to know you are serious about it. Do you care enough about what ever the issue is to offer it up in prayer on a constant basis? Does it mean enough for you to bring it before God every time you are on your knees?

Eve - Apple? Pear? Apple? Pear?

Genesis 3:4-6 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

There have been many sermons pass many ears about the importance of prayer before any decision. Now, I'll admit, at first - this seemed a little silly to me. To pray before I decide what outfit to wear for the day - or pray to decide which fast food restaurant to hit on the way home from wherever the kids needed to be that day - seemed a little redundant to me. Not that it wasn't worth the time to talk to God, but that it wasn't important enough to bother Him with.

We are bombarded with thousands of decisions every day - so the blanket prayer of guidance is always good. But it was this verse that drove home the point of praying over the every day decisions. Eve was being tempted by Satan. We are tempted every day, in every way. The decision she had to make seemed fairly small. Should I eat an apple from this tree? Or a pear from this other tree? Now, we know that she was told to stay away from that one tree, so on a side note, why was she so close to it? The Bible doesn't say she made a three day journey to get to the tree, she was there next to it. Sometimes, when we know something is too tempting, we need to remove ourselves from it - or build a concrete wall around it.

If Eve would've stopped for just a moment and asked God whether or not she should've eaten that "apple" - our lives may be very different. Adam was no help, he just took the apple and ate it too. It's not enough to go to friends and family for advice - it has to be God. What we, and everyone else, may see is a choice between two different types of fruit - but what God sees is the future of His people. And while a decision that you make may not determine the outcome of a nation, it may impact your relationship with someone else - and the opportunity to witness to them. Perhaps you go to Wendy's instead of McDonald's and God had someone there who needed to hear about Him. Maybe your brown shoes would strike up a conversation with a co-worker who compliments those shoes and that gives you an opportunity to talk about Jesus that you might not have otherwise had. Perhaps choosing vegetables for lunch over french fries will give your immune system the boost it needs to fight that flu you were exposed to and allows you to continue your volunteer work.

We have no idea what God has in store for us or what He needs us to do - but if we 'ask' and let Him guide our decisions, we could make a world of difference for Him.

Jonah - The Prayer

Jonah 2:1-9 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry.You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD."

This was Jonah's prayer when he was inside the fish. First of all, it's not like Jonah had a piece of paper and pen with him to jot it down - so all this was from his memory. The Lord gives us what we need to complete the task at hand. In all that Jonah had gone through - he remembered his talk with God.

He talks about how he cried out for God as the water washed over him - I'm gonna guess he probably didn't even know what was happening at first - it was dark, there was a storm, all that water. Maybe he thought he was dead and without God and cried for him to come and take him - how sad is that! He tells God that he knows he was taken away from Him and yet he will still look for that hope.

He describes the things that must have been already eaten by the fish and how it was on his body now, the fear that must have been haunting Jonah was pushed aside by his faith - so much so that he mentions the unfortunate people who worship idols and do not have the hope that he has. He praises God and thanks Him - even in the midst of the unknown - in his fear - in his darkest hour - he continues to claim God's unfailing salvation.

Who is this man?! We know Jonah as the guy who got swallowed by the whale - his big claim to fame. But what about his faith in the darkest moment, his hold onto God's saving grace - sure he made some bad choices - don't we all - but what strength he has in God's truth. That's what we need to see in Jonah - not that he disobeyed God, but that when the chips were down, he held fast in the truth. Can we say the same?

Esther - Taking it Slow

Esther 5:1-8 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. Then the king asked, "What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you." "If it pleases the king," replied Esther, "let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him." "Bring Haman at once," the king said, "so that we may do what Esther asks." So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, "Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted." Esther replied, "My petition and my request is this: If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king's question."

Esther got all dolled up before she went to see her husband. How many of us have pulled this trick? There's a new dress at the store, or the garage needs cleaned or mom is coming over for dinner and we pull out all the stops to do what we think is going to attract the attention of our husband.

Only upon seeing his wife, she didn't even have to speak, and he said "what can I give you, whatever you want?" You can't get a much better response than that! If Esther had known that this was going to be the kings reaction to her, do you think she would've prepared such a big banquet for him and her enemy? Is that the way we do it sometimes, we try to take the shortest route possible, do the least amount of work - just enough to get the job done.

When we take the time to pray and listen to what God tells us to do, there should be no shortcuts.