God's Weapons

He could barely move his left elbow as this arrestee was walking into the Intake Nurse’s clinic. The swollen tissues were visible. He was wearing a white over-all, torn in different spots but what was noticeable was the left pant leg, obviously cut by the treating staff at the hospital to expose his left leg, from the bottom up to the mid-thigh area. Many bruised areas were exposed, some cuts visible. There was dried blood that oozed down his leg. He walked with a slight limp, leaning more on the right leg as he slowly dragged the what seemed to be very heavy left leg. Obviously, he didn't want to put too much weight on that sore leg.


Earlier, he was resisting arrest. He attempted to fight with the cop. But the cop was quicker than him and he got his steel baton and had no choice but to defend himself before this arrestee could hurt him, possibly, even kill him. This man just wouldn’t obey.


When the melee was over and back-up for the cop came, that man was bleeding profusely. The cops brought him to the county hospital’s ER so he could be evaluated and treated prior to being booked in the jail.


This man had learned his lesson the hard way. If only he listened and obeyed, he wouldn’t have sustained these injuries. At that time, he was calm and had been following whatever was told for him to do so. He knew he was wrong but he didn’t want to admit it. He knew he broke the law when he was caught with drugs but he denied it, despite the evidence.



We, too, are in constant melees of our own. But we don’t use worldly weapons. We use spiritual ones, for we battle against unseen enemies.


As God’s children, we know the truth that comes from knowing Christ. It is not our job to oppose that truth. Instead, we must stand for this truth at all times!


Our spiritual enemies are active in hurling the darts of lies to us. Anything they will try to kill our joy and make us paralyze from working for the Lord. Lies like:


“God does not love you.”

“God is not listening to you.”

“You are not going to heaven.”

“You are a failure and can never be successful in this life.”


I can go on and on. Satan had resisted God’s authority from the get-go. He was created as the most beautiful angel but in that beauty, pride grew. He thought he was higher than the One Who created him. He still continues to resist God’s authority up to this time.


We shouldn’t be afraid of him. For we have the power that comes from Christ [Glory to God!]. In our weakness, He is our strength! Use God’s mighty weapons…


From The Message:


2 Corinthians 10:3-6 - “The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way - never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.”


Ephesians 6:10-12 - “And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels.”


Ephesians 6:13-18 - “Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”

Denied

Carrying a few charts I just initiated for those new arrestees who had medical problems, the heavy metal door slammed behind me as I headed towards the Clinic from the jail’s Intake. Passing by the Female side of Intake, I had noticed there was a new arrestee, sitting on the concrete bench. The cop who arrested her was waiting in one corner for the female deputies to start searching the arrestee.

I halted and decided to not make the cop wait. I wanted to screen the female just in case she has any medical or mental problems that needed to be addressed.

“Does she have any problem that you know off, Officer?”

“I’m not really sure, Ma’am,” the cop politely answered.

“Why was she arrested if you don’t mind me asking Sir?” [I wanted to know if she was drunk or under influence of any illegal substances].

“I found her wandering by the freeway,” answered the cop.

I turned my head to this quiet arrestee.

“Ma’am, I’m the Intake Nurse here.”

No response. She started giggling, took a quick glance at me, then turned her head and stared on one wall, still bursting with laughter.

“Ma’am, do you have any medical or other problems that I can help you with?”

Still no verbal response. She did the same, previous behavior and I felt like she was making fun of me.

She was dirty. Her shoes blackened by the thick grime. Her mid-length hair was completely in disarray, a little gray sticking out into all directions. Her sunken eyes couldn’t maintain a good eye contact. Her toothless laughter was all the means she responded to every questionnaire.

It was obvious. She has some form of mental illness. And in that state, I couldn’t clearly admit her, not knowing if she even took massive amounts of illegal substances.

Intake Nurses in the jail are the ones to determine if arrestees are medically or mentally fit to be processed and booked. If they feel that there is no stability in any area, it’s the nurses’ decisions that count, to be followed by a high-ranking custody officer, whether they may or may not agree with the nurses’ decisions.

“I don’t want her here,” a soft whisper said behind me. It was one of the Sergeants. “She looks very unstable.”

“Well, thank you Sir for agreeing with me. I feel that she needs some Psych evaluation before she can be booked in,” I replied.

“I’m sorry,” I told the cop.

He must be tired and it was nearing the change of shift that morning. But I didn’t have any choice.

“I’m sorry, Sir that I can’t admit her. Her obvious behavior necessitates for her to be evaluated by a Psychiatrist. If I may recommend for you to bring her to our county Behavioral Health, that is the best option at this time. When the Psychiatrist deems that she is okay to be booked here, then, you may return her here with the doctor’s order.”

“Oh no, it’s okay, nurse. I understand,” answered the young cop, as he started picking up his papers sitting on the steel counter and took the arrestee, back to the squad car.



And we think we are fine! When in reality, our spiritual state is in a BIG mess! We are dirtied by sins.

How about you? Be careful not to hold on to your belief that there is no God, that Jesus is not God. Be careful that you think it’s all a joke and that you can make fun of Him.

It’s not a joke that Jesus came here and gave His own life by dying on the cross. He did that to save you and I. He died, so we may live…
　
For you who are already believers, remember when Jesus warned his disciples to prepare for persecution? [Matthew 10:16-23]. The disciples were to avoid things that would give advantage to the enemies. Jesus foretold troubles, not only for the troubles to become a surprise but so that they might confirm their faith. If you are faced with persecution, are you willing to stand up for Christ or deny Him?

Persecutors are like beasts, preying. Bonds of love and duties are broken from enmity against Christ. Friendships are broken, family ties are broken. It’s grievous. As Christians, we must learn how to do well, not to speak well. We are not to do anybody any harm and wish anyone any ill-will. We may go out of way, away from any danger, but we must not get away from our duty. And that is to boldly confess Christ and show love to Him in all things.

Remember that Jesus is the ONLY One Who has the “say or power” whether you can be admitted to His kingdom or not. Don’t wait until you face Jesus and hear Him say, “No! I can’t admit you.”

Matthew 10:32,33 - “If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don’t belong to me.” - [CEV].

Spiritual Sundays - "Your Grace"

There is a special place, for you who haven't been there called "Spiritual Sundays", hosted by sisters Charlotte and Ginger. If you are looking for encouragement or uplifting stories, poems, songs, etc. and even want to join in, please go here.



Your Grace





I have 3 guitars. Don’t get me wrong! I’m not that great of a guitarist. I can only play easy chords and I learned this on my own when I was 12 or 13 years old. My husband had given all those 3 guitars as gifts for me, if not for my birthday, the last one was simply just to bless me because he knew that I always looked at that guitar every time our son had to go to his piano lessons and there I was browsing at the many instruments in that music store.


On November 8, 2004, he bought me that guitar on the right. And my oldest brother, who plays well with his guitar, asked me, if I had given this guitar a special name. He said he named his guitar to make him remember the special occasion why he had this in the first place. I told him, I haven’t really named the guitar but I thought of one name in particular right away.


What the Lord had given was what I thought of right away. Because I knew that what He had gone through was not easy. From Titus 3:7 - “Being made right with God by His grace, we could have the hope of receiving the life that never ends.”


Max Lucado wrote, “The cross was heavy, the blood was real, and the price was extravagant. It would have bankrupted you or me, so he paid it for us. Call it simple. Call it a gift. But don’t call it easy. Call it what it is…Call it GRACE…”


For You Lord, I named my guitar “GRACE”. And He gave me a song that day right away…


Your Grace


It’s not easy what You have done
You came to earth just to die
Jesus, sent by Father in heaven
You died on the cross to set me free


Chorus:


Your grace….raining down on me
Full of your love and mercy
Your grace….and it’s free
But the cost was priceless that saved me


You are my way, my truth and life
You’re just asking for my open heart
Jesus, my Savior and my Friend
Lamb of God Who takes away our sins

[repeat Chorus]


But the cost was priceless…
[repeat Chorus]


But the cost was priceless…….Your grace….[fading]

~rcubes 11/09/04

No Bias

Wearing only Velcro-strapped gray garments as the only covering, 3 bodies were put together in this particular cell. Feet without shoes nor slippers, they were stripped of any material that could be potentially dangerous and be used by their desires to end their lives.


Welcome to the jail’s “Suicide Watch”.


They were in open view, checked alternately and often by the deputies, Sergeant or the Intake Nurse. Their activities were closely monitored and logged on a piece of document. When night time came, they were given blue boats [huge, plastic beds] where they could rest if they wanted to. They would need to patiently endure a long night, only to be seen by the jail’s Psychiatrist in the morning.


Some of them were long time residents of that cell. Not until the Psychiatrist released them, if they remained unstable with their behavior, they would continue to be monitored. If the medications prescribed started to help them and if the Psychiatrist determined that they were not a threat to themselves anymore, they would be released or re-housed in the jail’s general population, or from whatever unit they came from.


I glanced at my watch. The dials were glowing at 12 midnight. I saw him there, just sitting, talking to self. He briefly looked up when he saw me peeking through the huge, glass window. He didn’t say anything. He kept staring.


I motioned for him to come closer to the window. I wanted to talk to him.


“Are you okay?” my question partially deadened by the thick partition in between us.


“I can’t sleep. I tried,” as he pressed his head against the window.


“Are you still hearing voices?”


“Yes.”


“It must be hard. I’m sorry that I can’t give you anything to help you sleep. The evening nurse had already given your medications for the night. But I want you to try to rest, even if you can’t sleep, lay down anyway. So you won’t be tired when the doctor comes in the morning to see you. Then, we’ll let him know that the medications seem not to be helping you, okay?”


“Okay. Thank you,” was the low-toned reply as his footsteps slowly traced the path back to the cold, concrete bench.


“I’ll keep an eye on you. But if you need anything, I want you to let me know,” I added.


Three bodies. Three suffering people. Three different backgrounds. Three different races. But all were in the same boat of finding solutions, of finding hope, of finding a cure to never-ending voices that seemed real, when not real to others. The voices that constantly nagged at them to kill themselves, to end their lives. The treatments consisted of medications and therapies or combination of different modalities. It was worth a try than not to do anything at all.


For life is precious. And the staff will not allow these precious lives to be ended just because they intended to do so. Most of them are not in the right state of minds. They all need help!


We are all the same…Suffering from the eternal death we are facing because of our sins. But others still deny that they are in need of help. They are living a good kind of life. They have everything. Why would they need anyone to help them?


But we all need the hope that the Good News brings. It’s not aimed to a particular person. It is not directed only to people of one race, one sex, or one background. It is aimed to save all of us, “for we are all sinners”.


And we are all precious to the One Who created us in His image... God loves us all. He sent His Son to save us, sinners. No one is outside of His mercy and beyond the reach of His gift of salvation. He wants us ALL to be saved. In God, there is no PARTIALITY or BIAS.


“Pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks.” - 1 Timothy 2:1

From The Message:

Romans 2: 9-11 -”If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say [or what you think] about you. He makes up his own mind.”


"All who are wicked will be punished with trouble and suffering. It doesn't matter if they are Jews or Gentiles. But all who do right will be rewarded with glory, honor, and peace, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. God doesn't have any favorites!" -Contemporary English Version