God expects you to overcome evil – Romans 12

God expects to overcome evil and not just do that but with good. 

from alittleperspective.co

We all have blown our lid sometimes at the snarky customer rep on the phone or just got annoyed at the friend who said they were going to do something and forgot. Did you even think it may be the devil wanted you to get down on his level? 

Hmmmm— I know. Guilty as charged and frustration is not an excuse when we lose it if we have found Jesus. 

So how do we do it this overcoming thing and NOT allowing evil to have fun with us? 

Romans 12:1-21 is a good place to start. We can not alone defeat evil but overcome it with good and really show the devil his place. We all have had our weaker moments. But, can you think of time when you did change someone’s day by being kinder than expected?

How sometimes a smile or a kind word makes someone day when the rest of the world has been less than nice to them. 

1.Doing good towards our enemies is not always easy.  The phone call with a customer service rep that is just “not getting it” or just that friend you have not talked to for years or a stranger  that is standing between you and a better day because they don’t know what you have had to deal with in yours.  We need to take a step back and see what we can do that is kinder than expected of us and change our behavior for the better; overcoming  evil with the all the good we have in us because of the Holy Spirit, prayer, rejoicing that we have Jesus and maybe they don’t. (Verses 16-17) I like when God says don’t “over estimate ourselves “. I think HE knows that pride gets in the way and evil wins with our emotional responses that are not of God’s love. (Verse 9) Any of this sounding familiar? I am so glad I am not the only one! 

2. We must hate all evil to the point of detesting and holding tight to love. Devoted to another as in verse 9-10 takes serving, rejoicing, having hope, being devoted in prayer, and seeking constant wisdom and strength. God knows this battle with evil is not easy but he also knows we can overcome it with the tools He has given us. (Verse 10-12)

4.When someone curses us (Verse 14) we need to bless them. Sometimes that takes a lot  of  prayer right then and we need to do  it. We should never curse our worst enemy because the way I look at it – how I am different than the ugliness I see in someone that is cursing anger towards another child of God. 

And if we do, we need to reset, ask forgiveness and take the GRACE that we need and bless them with the humility we can dig up within. I can say personally that God can even use our mistakes for His glory as in Romans 8:28. We have grace abound but we must repent and allow God to intervene and not allow evil to take over the situation that really is worth our anger or frustration damaging another’s soul and spirit. Forgiveness takes a lot to swallow but asking for it can really make you push your ego down. 

5. God expects us to overcome evil. (Verse 21) He knows that he has given us the strength and the Holy Spirit to conquer, rise above, do good, and not harm people that may have harmed us. God knows that evil may be trying to use us for the devil’s schemes. Do we want to be part of God’s plan?  Then that requires us to be humble and allow the Lord to take revenge. Not so easy at times.  We all have been there but with faith and the Holy Spirit guiding us— We must and can overcome evil and not just overcome it but with good. 

God will bring out the best in us. (Romans 12-1) We are His living sacrifice. God will transform us more and more into spiritual maturity. It takes reading His word, taking note that it is not always easy to overcome but we have the tools that God has given us; in His word, by His spirit, and by our actions.  We can maybe change and move someone towards God instead of moving them towards evil. We are His witnesses and we need to be alert to battle evil if duty calls.

I would love to hear about your struggles and how Romans 12 has helped you. Please leave comments. May the love that transforms us always be before us and we kick the devil’s butt! 😉 

IN JOY your day – DeeDee 

The devil and the duck

The Duck & the Devil

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a bb gun to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the bb gun fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said, “Well that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help” She whispered again , “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help. After several days of Johnny doing all the chores — his chores and Sally’s; he finally couldn’t stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

Thought for the day and every day thereafter?

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done… and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying , cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.)…whatever it is…You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are
saved.

Go ahead and make the difference in someone’s life today. Share this with a friend and always remember: God is at the window!


When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you! 

Anonymous taken from Joyce Meyers lesson – Edited by DeeDee Fetters for this site

Photo by Armando Are on Pexels.com

Negative thoughts much?

If a butterfly spent all that time trying to avoid its pain, we would miss its beauty and be left with a fuzzy worm. Give yourself the love to find out what has been stopping you from getting your wings.

“Does your head ache and heart break at the same time”– I usually ask because they go together. So many times we forget that our head is the force in front but our body is left behind in the battlefield of our thoughts.

So where do you go when you are agonizing and obsessing over anxious thoughts?

First, what is your body telling you? There are reasons sometimes we have stomach aches or we have unknown tics that happen to only one part of our body. It is because our body is usually trying to tell us something or even holding on to something painful. Believe it. There is proof that our body and more specifically our muscles do hold memories that are from trauma. Those memories know that time does not matter but they can remember that exact pain on the exact day like it was “yesterday” because your mind has filed it away unseen. I see you shaking your head- so are you with me?

Remember – our bodies know how to react but they overact to trauma to get our attention. It may mean you are avoiding the very pain that your body is trying to remind you of in the first place or your mind is trying hard to forget.

We exert massive amount of energy trying to run away from pain when in the end — it is the very thing that will help us heal all along. Pain is uncomfortable but we need it to move on. So how do we?

First, pay attention to your body- treat it with love and kindness. Even write down your sensations.

Second, write down your thoughts and see if these somehow go together and have meaning more when you put them down then trying to run away from the pain.

What if the butterfly avoided the painful journey it took to transform itself from that fuzzy little worm? We would miss the beautiful creation that we are in awe of so much today. What has your pain been holding you back from? Are you a butterfly or are you going to stay in your cocoon?

Listen to your heart— DeeDee~ Therapy Heart Talk

Who are you listening too?

You are trying to get to class as fast as possible- invisible as  possible, knowing that they will notice you. 

Then you hear the conceited laughter – the snickering sickens you – then the voices begin – 

“You think you are better than everyone else!”

 “Do you hate people not like you?” 

“What is your problem anyway?“ 

Words that come in fear, pain, and hurt loud and clear nauseate you. 

You try to ignore them but they follow you all the way to class. Teachers ignore what what is happening and count as just “what kids do”.

You feel defeated. You feel alone. You feel like . . . why does this happen to me. 

Words hurt and lead to negative thoughts that send us downward.

But you are NOT alone. Words  at school, on social media, or from a phone screen are just that —-only words and NOT truth. This is the truth.  WRITE THESE DOWN / Copy these and memorize these; 

God tells us many things to help us. Here are a few passages to encourage you. 

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10: 23:39 (NIV)

Ephesians 4:29

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. (NLT) 

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (ESV )

Psalm 55:22

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. (NIV)

Isaiah 41:10

‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ (NASB)

Matthew 11:28-30

If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light. (CEV)

John 14:1-4

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.  And you know the way to where I am going.” (NLT)

1 Corinthians 10:13

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will  show you a way out so that you can endure. (NLT)

We must memorize God’s truth or have it to remind us to battle words and thoughts that feel like they can send us downward. Because in the end, it is how God loves redeems us and what our worth is in Him that matters. Those people and words will only be here and gone in a moment but Jesus’ love is  eternal and we belong to a King.  Who are you listening and what voices are your paying attention to? Do you hear more of the world than Jesus? It is time to pray and read your Bible and know His word.  It is the truth you need to trust over the world’s voices that hurt. 

Keep these words written on your heart but also close by in your locker and other places where you can see them daily. You never know when God’s voice  is needed to drown out fear, hurt, and pain that come in forms in this world. Be Blesses and remain in Jesus’ arms.  

I am His sheep. —— DeeDee