Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. If I searched every word in my vocabulary I’m not sure I could adequately describe the morning sky of this new day. It’s a little cool, a little hazy, and a little mysterious looking. There is one deer in the field ahead…at least just one that I can see. With a large herd of deer so close by I’m always curious when one wanders off alone. It’s amazing how what I see outside impacts the inside of me and my time with the Living God, and how He speaks to me through the simplest things. When I approached the Throne of my God this morning and I opened up His Word, He sent a Sweet Reminder to me of how easy it is to lose our way when we surround ourselves with things (and people) that drag us down instead of lifting us up. I read about how to guard my mind, and my Life and my Soul. I was Instructed on how to think, how to Love, and how to Live. If there’s anything I will need to guard myself against today, it’s anyone determined to rob me of my Peace. My Heart is Right (in part) because it is continuously guarded against anyone set on discouraging me today because I am certain of where those “tactics” come from. My adversary would LOVE to have me stopped and he will use whoever he can to discourage me in the Journey of Faith. Isn’t that the way you look at your Life too?

Being a woman of Faith comes with lots of responsibility, none of which I could handle if I just relied on myself and my own Ability. It requires Love and Patience and Compassion…and sometimes tolerance too…IF I want to be a Light in this dark world, that is. It requires that I focus more on the person than I do on their “wrongs” and sometimes that’s not easy when we encounter the “difficult ones”. It requires that I “be nice” even when they aren’t so nice to me, and it requires that I “turn the other cheek” when they wrong me. My Purpose in this Life is much bigger than anything I can totally understand on this side of Heaven, but I do understand this – there can be no doubt in the mind of a Christian that the Biggest Part of our Purpose is to be a Good Ambassador for the Living God. So, how I handle myself, how I treat others, how I react to conflict, and how I Love through it all is a Priority of mine, and it takes a lot of Work on me and a lot of Time with Him to even begin to pull this off in a way that Pleases Him. There is a balance between being a “Stepford Christian”…one that just merely exists and one that follows the crowd instead of thinking and Living for Him…and a Christian on a Mission to please the God of all Creation. I know that God won’t care about how many Bible studies I attended or how many prayers I prayed IF I’m not Willing to Live for Him, and if I refuse to be an Ambassador for Him while I’m here. I don’t put in the Effort because I’m afraid, or brainwashed, or because I Live under the “bondage” of Rules….I put in the Effort because He’s the Love of my Life and THAT’S what Love looks like. As a woman of Faith I am a Child of the Living God… I am Royalty, and I am Worthy, and I take my Role very seriously. While I am called to be Kind, and Compassionate and Love Unconditionally, I’m also expected to draw boundaries around those “difficult ones” that are determined to rob me of my Peace, and when I walk away it’s not “cold”…it’s God Designed.

It seems to be pretty easy for people to pull the Christian “trump card” whenever they are unhappy with someone else or whenever they want to manipulate a situation. Some people can be so toxic that they can almost suck the life out of you without even trying, and when you draw a Boundary Line around your Peace they are quick to say “That’s not being a good Christian”. Some people use their Faith like a weapon, so quick to remind another about what God says about this, or what God thinks about that, whenever they want to change the behavior of another without changing their own. Some people use fear tactics and some people use guilt tactics and some people will go so far as to suggest that you aren’t a Christian at all when things aren’t going well between you. Some people attempt to hold you hostage in the relationship when they paint a picture of God that fits their own way of thinking, and they’ll warn you that God won’t be happy with you for whatever it is as if they are Judge and jury. There is no end to how many times the Christian “trump card” can be played by those “difficult ones”, that’s for sure. But I serve the God who Breathed His Rules into existence and I Know them pretty well. I Know that Christ had little patience and less tolerance for the Pharisees when they played the Christian “trump card” because of their irresistible urge to judge and control. I am Confident in my Role and I understand my Mission…and when I draw boundaries around those people so eager to get my attention and to draw me into their schemes I’m not being “less” of a Christian…I’m doing what God tells me to do in those situations instead.

When the Disciples of Jesus set out to visit their hometowns to share the Good News with their people, Christ warned them that they would face opposition and that there would be plenty of their close friends and family that would go against them because of their beliefs. He didn’t instruct them to stick around his friends and family no matter what, and I don’t think He would have been pleased had they surrendered to the manipulation or guilt trips from the others. Instead, Christ told them to “kick the dust off their feet” and to keep moving forward in His Name. “Kicking the dust off” in those days could best be described as a sign of disgust and a way of saying “NEXT” in biblical times. “Kicking the dust off” was definitely a way of making a statement. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and if He warns us about the company we keep…about how we’re inclined to stumble when we surround ourselves with people intent on taking our peace…if He told those closest to Him to walk away from their own people for not being willing to Listen; I’m pretty sure that He’s okay with me when I walk away from the Christian “trump card” players too when they set out to manipulate OR discourage me…as long as I Love them, I forgive them, and I remember to pray for their hardened hearts.

I’m going to enjoy every minute of this beautiful day with a Heart that’s been Tenderized by the King and Prepared by my God. I’ll love big, I’ll laugh often, and I’ll have a tender Heart for ALL people. I’ll speak the Truth, and I’ll be willing to ask for Forgiveness and I’ll be forgiving others too. But what I WON’T be doing is surrounding myself with thoughts of defeat…I’ll be thinking and Believing in Victory instead. I won’t be spending my time with people who set out to discourage me in my Journey…those so willing to toss out the Christian “trump card” whenever they want my attention. I’ll pray for them and I’ll be hoping that they can find their way to Fulfillment from the Living God instead of relying on that “trump card” to rule their world.

How about you?

Isaiah 54:17 NKJV

No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.