Category Archives: Conflict Resolution

Scriptures About the Lord is a Shield

Scriptures About the Lord is a Shield title image

Scriptures About the Lord is a Shield

Throughout the Bible, scripture names many metaphors for God. Many of these relate to and tell us about his character. A large part of God’s character, as is true of any good parent, is a protector. Thus, one of the things that the Bible says is that the Lord is a shield.

A shield by definition is a defensive armor used to protect or defend a person. It can also act as a cover or barrier to hide a person or to cut them off from observation. In our lives, God can use this kind of protection to safeguard us from danger and attacks (spiritual or physical) or even discomfort, much like a shield could act as a barrier to offensive weapons. As a shield God can also provide us shelter or concealment from things that might otherwise have a negative effect on us, much like a shield can provide protection from the sun or heat or to hide one from predators.

Matthew Henry says of Psalm 3:3 that the Lord as a shield provides safety: “”Thou art a shield for me, a shield about me” (so some), “to secure me on all sides, since my enemies surrounded me.” Not only my shield (Gen. 15:1), which denotes an interest in the divine protection, but a shield for me, which denotes the present benefit and advantage of that protection.[1]

Think about some of the areas where we might come under attack or require protection and be in need of a shield:

Our life/health (physical threats)

Our mind (emotional or mental threats)

Marriage

Our children

Other family

Relationships

Jobs

Property or personal belongings

Spiritual attacks

…to name a few

It’s comforting to know we have a shield around us protecting us on all sides

It should be comforting to us to know that the Lord is called our shield to protect us in areas and during times when we are vulnerable. He protects us because we are his own. It’s his nature. We can rest in knowing that we have someone that we can depend upon to protect, defend, and shelter us. We don’t have to do it alone. God will surround us as a shield to secure us on all sides, enclosing and encompassing us to keep us safe from diverse kinds of harm and destruction.

“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” Exodus 13:21 (ESV)

“Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them” Exodus 14:19 (ESV)

“Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.” Isaiah 58:8 (NLT)

“You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” Psalm 139:5 (NLT)

“For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.” Psalm 34:7 (NLT)

“Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, both now and forever.” Psalm 125:2 (NLT)

“The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” Psalm 121:8 (NLT)

Let these verses be a reminder and a help to us that God is our shield and we have protection available!

Scriptures About the Lord is a Shield

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The Pressing of Olive Oil – The Pressing of Jesus

The Pressing of Olive Oil & Jesus title image

The Pressing of Olive Oil – The Pressing of Jesus

About a year ago I saw an Instagram post by Dave Adamson that brought several analogies to mind and inspired me to do some research and write a post. His post was about Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and the parallels of an olive press (“Gethsemane”) and Jesus being pressed with the weight of our sin and his sacrifice.

As we enter the Lent season this week, I’d like to share the analogies that came to mind as something that we all might meditate on during this season. These can be a reminder to us of Jesus being crushed and pressed on our behalf. We can also be reminded in our own times of crushing and pressing that God is able to produce something very good and useful from every last drop of pain and suffering that we endure.

Dave Adamson’s Instagram post that inspired my post/article:

“Here’s something cool about Jesus! We all know that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane … but do you know what else was happening?
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In Biblical times, farmers would put olives in the trough of a giant stone olive press, and then roll the large, heavy circular stone over them. The enormous weight of the stone crushed the olives, allowing the oil inside to pour out through a spout cut into the stone.
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The first pass of the heavy stone produced the most precious, pure drops of olive oil. This oil was extremely expensive and was used to anoint kings. The stone was then rolled over the olives again, producing a second batch of oil that was used to heal the sick. A third pass of the stone produced oil that was used to cook, or to light lampstands.
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In Hebrew, this sort of olive press is called a “gat shemanim” (
גת שמנים pronounced “geth-sem-uh-nim”), which we translate in English as “gethsemane”. Sound familiar?
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On the night he was betrayed, Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. It was that the weight of his sacrifice caused Jesus to develop Hematohidrosis—a condition where a person under extreme duress literally sweats drops of blood.
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It was in Gethsemane that the first drops of Jesus’ blood appeared, as the weight of our sin pressed down on him. So the next time you use olive oil to cook, remember Jesus’ sacrifice … which started in the Garden of the Olive Press.


“He was crushed because of our sins; the punishment that brought us peace was on him …” — Isaiah 53:5[1]

~Dave Adamson, Instagram

3 Pressings of Olives

During my research about the pressing of olives and the uses of each pressing, I found some discrepancies about the uses of oil from the various pressings (i.e. about which of the three pressings produced oil for light and for cooking). However, the analogies and parallels that we can gather from them remain relevant and useful regardless of the order.

Here are the three pressings and their uses:

  • First Press – For Holy Use & Anointing Priests & Kings

The oil from the first pressing of olives is the purest form of the oil and was used to consecrate things as holy, used to anoint kings and priests, and used for pure light in holy places (keeping the menorah in the Tabernacle and Temple burning). *See Exodus 30:22-32, Exodus 40:9-15, 1 Samuel 16:1 & 13, 1 Kings 1:39, Exodus 27:20, Exodus 28:41, Exodus 29:7, Leviticus 24:2

  • Second Press – For Medicine & Food

Oil from the second pressing was used to make medicine or pharmaceutical ointments for healing and utilized for cooking and food. *See Isaiah 1:6, Luke 10:34, Mark 6:13, James 5:14, Leviticus 2:5, Exodus 29:2, Ezekiel 16:19, 1 Kings 17 & there are also multiple medical articles about the medicinal uses of olive oil

  • Third Press –For Soap & Light

The oil from the third and last pressing was to make soap (lye) and used for light (for lighting lamps for everyday use–we can also see from the first pressing that oil was used for light there as well but for holy purposes),. * See Job 9:30, Jeremiah 2:22, Malachi 3:2, See Matthew 25

The Pressings of Jesus

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Scriptures to help when you feel attacked or persecuted …

Scriptures to help when you feel attacked or persecuted …

Scriptures to help when you feel attacked or persecuted…

Previously, I shared how to respond when people offend you.  I discussed incidents of feeling a tad bit persecuted, and how I’ve decided to react when it happens.  On many occasions, I’ve had to fight the urge to fight back!  Even though we know the right way to respond (or NOT respond), it’s still hard sometimes to deal with the attacks.  In light of that, in this post I’ve put together a list of scriptures that can be helpful and encouraging when you feel you are being attacked or persecuted.  It’s helpful to know that we’re not alone and that God has given us some encouragement and direction on this topic.

Persecution is common for Christians

Persecution is a term we can relate to being treated differently in a negative context.  To persecute is to pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment; to harass persistently; or to annoy or trouble persistently.  The Bible is chock-full of stories where Christians were persecuted.  In the Old Testament, Noah was criticized and thought of as crazy for building an ark, the Hebrews were oppressed and made slaves in Egypt before their exodus with Moses, Joseph was harassed by his brothers, and there are countless other stories in the Old Testament.  Throughout much of the New Testament, Christians everywhere were persecuted, even (and especially) Jesus Christ, Himself.

Present-day Christians encounter persecution of all kinds…even death.  It’s both humbling and easier to bear being picked on, attacked, insulted, and persecuted when we know that across the world there are others suffering much, much worse.   

Why do you think Christians are persecuted—what’s the cause?

It’s often hard not to ask the question “why me?” when we are being treated differently, being persecuted, or just being left out, but the Bible reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that trials (persecution included) are common to man—meaning that they happen to us all.  1 Peter 4:12-29 also tells us not to be surprised when trials come against us as if it’s strange, like it shouldn’t be happening.  There are times when we will share in some of Christ’s sufferings.  However, Romans 8:18 reminds us that even though we might experience suffering in the present, it will not even compare to the glory that will be revealed to us later.  If we are ever persecuted for being a Christian or living right, God will make it right someday—He’s got our backs.  God is our avenger.  We just have to remember that things aren’t always peachy just because we are Christians.

The devil considers us a threat!

As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, we might even consider it a compliment that the devil thinks of us as enough of a threat that he has to mess with us!  That must mean we’re doing something right!  The devil comes against us (or uses other people or circumstances to come against us) because we look like God (Genesis 5:1 says man is made in God’s own image).  The devil can’t get to God so he comes after us.  A good thing to remember is this—that if you’re not pleasing God, you’re pleasing the devil; and if you’re pleasing the devil, you’re not pleasing God.  We should seek to please God by being the people He calls us to be—by being different from the world.  It is better to be a God-pleaser than a people-pleaser, world-pleaser, or devil-pleaser!!

A very sweet reader sent me an encouraging e-mail once saying, “Praise God for people like you who stand up to Satan’s “temper tantrum”.”  I loved that!  I hope these verses will be an encouragement to you too to stand up to Satan’s temper tantrums!

Scriptures to help when you feel attacked or persecuted…

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Stop Being Negative!

Stop being negative

Stop Being Negative!  How I had to learn this, EVEN in the most magical place on Earth… 

We sometimes have to be purposeful and intentional to stop being negative.  It’s so easy to get into these ruts of complaining and negativity.  We tend to dig ourselves deeper the more we give in to these feelings.  That’s why it’s so imperative that we are deliberate about not letting negative situations and circumstances consume us.  It will take some effort to stop being negative.

Not so happy and magical

To give a personal example, I’ll share about my family’s vacation to Florida to visit Universal Studios and Walt Disney World several years ago.  To be honest, at times it was very difficult for me NOT to focus on some of the treatment we received at Disney, especially with the amount of money we spent on this trip (we could have bought a small car!).  I had such high expectations going into the trip because I had always heard of the wonders of Disney’s amazing customer service and how they go above and beyond to make your stay with them special and magical.  Disney is supposed to be known for being the happiest and most magical place on earth.  Sadly, many of our experiences there were anything but that.

We encountered rude and condescending employees at every turn, saw people who really didn’t seem to enjoy their jobs at all, received lackluster service (or no service at all) on a number of occasions, and frequently had to spend close to two hours just to get from one place to another (sometimes causing us to arrive late to reservations…thus giving an additional reason for a Cast Member to treat us rudely).  Needless to say, it was hard not to be negative and to avoid complaining.  To try to be positive and encourage somebody else on top of all of that seemed almost unrealistic.  I’m ashamed to admit that I was not always successful in remaining positive and encouraging.  I was downright frustrated.

Gratitude and seeing the good

There were times though that through frustration and all, I could see positive things if I tried and if I focused on them. However, I did have to be intentional about it in my moments of disappointment.  I had to remind myself that we were very blessed to even be able to go on a trip like this because many families would never even dream of being able to do this.  It was important to stop and look at my children’s smiles and see that they were making lifelong happy memories.  I reminded myself that long after our trip is over we’ll probably only remember the happy times.  It was also uplifting anytime I heard the Christmas music and saw Christmas decorations (FYI…Christmas is my favorite. For real.).

I could also see the exceptionally good employees and good times if I really tried to focus on them.  When the lady at a resort restaurant check-in was extremely rude to us for arriving too early for our dinner reservation, we walked outside to a campfire to hang out for a while and kill some time.  It was a pleasant surprise to have one of the Cast Members outside offer to let the kids use her night vision goggles to try and see some of the animals there at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  They were sooo excited!  So instead of letting the rude lady ruin my night, I had to focus on the positive experience we had with the kind person who paid special attention to my kids and gave them a wonderful memory of seeing giraffes roaming around in the dark.

When I lost my phone

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Prayer for When You’re Verbally Attacked

Prayer for When You’re Verbally Attacked

Prayer for When You’re Verbally Attacked

Do you ever just feel attacked?  Sometimes it can seem relentless!  I think it’s high time that we just get fed up with being attacked and start doing something about it!  Previously, I wrote a post for scriptures to help when you feel attacked or persecuted.  These scriptures are helpful and comforting to let us know that we’re not alone, that God is our avenger, and that we will be blessed and graced when enduring persecution. Today I’d like to go on the offensive a little more.  I’d like to give you a prayer that you can pray when you feel like you’re being verbally attacked by people. 

We are not doormats to be walked on

I do believe there is a time and a place to endure attacks, but I also firmly believe that God never intended for us to be doormats to be walked on by people.  When we’re being verbally attacked, there ARE times when it’s okay to fight back…just not always in the way your natural instincts might want to! 😉  It’s okay to go to war.  We don’t have to hide until Jesus comes.  Nor do we have to be wimpy, spineless, victimized Christians!  We don’t always need to head for cover when we’re verbally attacked by people.

We need to be fighters and warriors!

It’s time to decide to be strong and put on the full armor of God to stand up to the devil and his schemes and strategies!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

During a Bible study in college, it was brought to my attention that we have nothing on our back with this armor.  In warfare we are meant to stand, face it, and fight–NOT turn our backs and run away.

Some attacks have to be faced head-on. 

Fight spiritual warfare

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How to Respond When People Offend You

How to Respond When People Offend You...

How to Respond When People Offend You

What do you do when people offend you, insult you, treat you badly, or persecute you?  I’ve had some practice working on this unfortunately. I’m sure I’m not the only one, so this post will discuss some of my experience in dealing with offense and responding to others.

Previously I mentioned that I was getting an increasing number of negative comments on my blog posts.  Some were from well-meaning Christians who felt the need to correct me.  Others were from people of a differing religious belief system who wanted to argue and debate over doctrinal issues.  Some were from people, Christian or not, that just intensely disagreed with things that I said (and not always in the nicest way).  Frequently I get a bit lambasted on Pinterest with comments from atheists, specifically about a post on “How to Pray for Unsaved Loved Ones”.  I guess you could call it a persecution of sorts.

The temptation to argue when offended

Apparently some of them are taking offense that I, as well as others who are pinning these prayers, might be praying for them, and they want me to stop.  Well guess what?  Not gonna happen.  🙂 And now, since they were so kind as to leave me a comment and give me their name, I can pray for them more specifically.  By name.  Which, by the way, I wasn’t doing before because I didn’t even know them. 🙂  They can’t really stop me from praying can they?  I know…I’m such a rebel.  The problem that I’ve been struggling with though when I get offended  by their comments is wanting to reply to them.

These commenters have written things that are critical and insulting.  They say things and make accusations that aren’t true.  Often, they take things I say and twist or misconstrue them.  They definitely appear to be in “attack” mode.  My first gut reaction is that I’m extremely offended.  I feel very angry because I feel a sense of injustice.  I deeply want to want to argue with their comments.  It takes an awful lot of restraint not to say anything.  Instead of arguing and fighting back, I’ve had to learn to hold my tongue and fight back with prayer.

Biblical communication guidelines

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Be An Encourager…Make More Positive Comments

Be An Encourager…Make More Positive Comments

Be An Encourager…Make More Positive Comments

Lately, we’ve been discussing some of the downsides of communication with others.  Negative communication is often inevitable so we talked about how to avoid making negative comments and how to respond to critical and sometimes hurtful communication when we are on the receiving end.  On the flip side though, not only is it important to avoid making damaging comments, but it’s valuable to go the extra mile to make positive comments and to point out the good in situations.

I previously completed a six-part series of devotions on my YouVersion Bible app that was based on the Stay Positive series by Pastor Craig Groeschel, the Senior Pastor at Life Church.  Something that Pastor Groeschel said really stood out to me (which was an indicator that it was something that I need to work on).  He said if you think something good, you should say it and that you should never rob somebody else of a blessing. He said we should be a tool of God to be a voice of encouragement to other people on a daily basis.  His advice was that anytime we think something good about somebody else we should turn it into a gift of encouragement.

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13 (NIV) 

God is an encourager

In fact, God himself is an encourager.  We need to be like God and be encouragers too!  When we encourage others, we are showing and being a little part of God to somebody else…somebody who may really need it.

“But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.” 2 Corinthians 7:6 (NLT)

I often think good things about other people, but I’m not always the best at vocalizing positive comments.  So after Pastor Groeschel’s advice, I’ve been trying to do better about immediately saying, calling, or texting whoever it is that I may have had a positive thought about.

If I see something my sister has done that is super creative, I should try to remember to call her and tell her and not just think about it. If I’m grateful for something Eric has done, even something small, I should send him a text at work just to say “thanks, I appreciated when you…”  If one of my kids did something to make me laugh or smile, I should stop right then and tell them that they make me happy.  They are all simple little things that I typically just think about and pass over every day, but when I do so I am essentially robbing them of a blessing.

What if we encouraged more than we complained?

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How to Respond to Comments…especially in touchy situations

How to Respond to Comments…especially in touchy situations

How to Respond to Comments…especially in touchy situations

In a previous post, I mentioned the ever-increasing amount of negative comments I receive on my blog.  I guess that comes with the territory of “putting myself out there” in a public format.  I’ve had to learn how to avoid making negative comments even when that might be my first reaction.  I’m still a work in progress.  However, I have somewhat of a system now on exactly how to respond to comments, negative or not.  I’d like to share it with you because you might also find it helpful when deciding how you should reply to people.

It’s often hard to figure out what to say

At times deciding how to respond to comments can be nerve-wracking even when the comments aren’t negative.  Sometimes people are hurting and ask hard questions.  Occasionally, I receive comments on a previous post, “How to Overcome Feeling Unloved or Unwanted”.  Sadly, this post is one of the most popular posts on my website.  I say “sadly” because it makes me so sad to know that so many people feel unloved and unwanted.  Then again, maybe that’s exactly why God had me write it and why He directs so many people to that page.

It also makes me very sad when I get some of the comments from people still looking for answers because I can almost feel their hurt and pain in their writing.  Then, I feel a little scared and overwhelmed knowing that I have to reply to these hurting people to try and give them some answers, encouragement, and hope.  It’s a lot of pressure!  I actually said to God, “What if I mess them up!?”  I honestly feel so completely unqualified at times to help people.  In fact, I’ve talked before about making excuses like this with God.  They never work.  He just tells me to follow his lead and he will instruct me in what to say (Exodus 4:12).

Speaking from my own experiences

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