God GIVES. God TAKES.

Job 1:21,

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."

Philippians 4: 4,

"Rejoice in the LORD always. I will say it again: REJOICE!"

Spiritual Warfare

This skit depicts for me the struggle between God and Satan. Luke 11: 24-26 explains,

"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."

This passage from Luke reminds me of just how persistent Satan (1 Peter 5:8) is to bring us down—when he see’s us chasing after the things of the Lord, he will aggressively wage warfare (Ephesians 6:12) on us.

But our God is all powerful. The victory has already been won with Jesus going to the cross for all our sins—past, present and future. We see this in the skit as it comes to a close—the girl is thrown out of the struggle and the man steps in to deal with the situation. Jesus dying and rising again ultimately throws us out of the struggle and into eternal life with the Father in heaven (Romans 5:8).

When we hand our lives over to Jesus, we are called to lives that shine for Him (Philippians 2:15), lives that are changed because we are ALIVE in Him and DEAD to sin.

Romans 6: 11-14,

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”

Lastly, God gave us weapons and protection to combat the warfare that Satan wages—refer to Ephesians 6: 14-18 and put on the full armor of God!

Clip on Generosity

A friend posted this video on his blog and I felt moved to share it with all of you. I encourage you to watch it-- and become a follower his blog!

Sally from Dorian Belz on Vimeo.

Rooftop shouting in Iran: GOD IS GOOD

On Drudge, I saw a report pop up that protesters are shouting from their rooftops "God is good!" in response to the recent election. I found this video on YouTube:

I don't know if they are Muslim or Christians...they are saying Allah, so I am guessing Muslim? What a demonstration of faith though-- and it made me think of just HOW good God really is that He would convict these Iranians to take their roof tops to shout (considering that there have been reports of protesters being killed for speaking out).

Last night, I just started reading Inside the Revolution by Joel Rosenberg. I encourage you to pick it up if you want to understand geopolitical events, especially Iran. The introduction sets up the book as such:

"Iran's senior leaders have taught in recent years that the Revolution is now reaching its climax. They have stated publicly that the end of the world is "imminent". They have taught that the way to hasten the arrival or appearance on earth of the Islamic messiah known as the "Twelfth Imam," or the "Mahdi," is to destroy Israel, which they call the "Little Satan," and the United States, which they call the "Great Satan." They have vowed to annihilate the United States and Israel and have urged Muslims to envision a world without American and Zionism. They have come to believe that Allah has chosen them to create chaos and carnage on the plant.

Put simply, the leaders of Iran believe that Allah is on their side, the wind is at their back, and the end of Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it is near.

I believe just the opposite. As an evangelical Christian with a Jewish father and a Gentile mother, I worship the God of the Bible-- the God of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, who is also the God of the New Testament. I do not believe that God is on the side of the zealots that run Iran. Rather, I believe that the end of their reign of terror is increasingly close at hand. Every day I pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Every day I pray for peace throughout the Middle East. What's more, I pray for the salvation of the leaders of Iran and the salvation of their terrorist allies, and I encourage others to do the same. And because I serve a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God, a wonder-working God of miracles, I firmly believe that God in His grace can change the leadership in Iran."

Look for more to come-- and pray for the people in Iran.

CHALLENGE: What does your routine look like?

A friend sent this to me a few weeks ago and I've been sitting on it. I've probably watched this clip over a dozen times.

It really made me think...What DOES my routine look like? Am I clinging to the beam? Am I so focused on not falling that I compromise my routine?

CHALLENGE: I hope this clip from Francis Chan makes you think about your routine, too...

There's a barn raising and I need YOU!

Friends, family, and blog readers...

Time for a barn raising! Taken from trusty Wikipedia,

"In earlier American rural life, communities raised barns because many hands were required. Barn raisings occurred in a social framework with a good deal of interdependence. Members of rural communities often shared family bonds going back generations. They traded with each other, buying and selling land, labor, seed, cattle, and the like. They worshiped together. They celebrated together, because cities were too far away to visit with any frequency on horseback. Despite traditions of independence, self-sufficiency, and refusal to incur debt to one another, community barn raisings were a part one's life."

Ok, so I am not literally raising a barn...I don't think that would go over well in Arlington County. But I am going on a mission trip THIS July for two weeks to spread the Gospel in England... and I need many hands to help do this work!

How can you help?

1.) Prayer support.
Pray for me to seek the Lord in my preparation.
Pray for the team to be a light to all that we encounter.
Pray the softening of the hearts of those that do not yet know Christ.

2.) Financial support.

You can make your tax-deductible donation at www.frontlinedc.com/global. Click on “Global Impact Support” and follow the instructions. You may be asked to log in with a username and password but you will not be added to any mailing lists or promotional materials. Select the England team and type my name (Kim Cotterman) when it asks for team member. If you choose to make an anonymous donation to the team just type ‘General-anonymous’. If the team is successful in reaching our financial goal, all excess funds will be applied to either the needs directly related to the ministry of this trip or to fund additional mission needs within the Global Impact ministry. You can learn more at www.frontlinedc.com.

Thank you advance. Both prayer and financial support are critical to this "barn raising". Spiritual warfare on our team can only be combated with prayer support. Paying for the work we will do in England is possible with your financial support.

Romans 10: 14-15
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Joel Rosenberg: Liberate Iran

I encourage you if you do not read him already, check out Joel Rosenberg's website and subscribe to his blog. Here is the most recent update Mr. Rosenberg wrote on the geopolitical movements in Iran...

A NEW REVOLUTION IN IRAN? Reformers are on the streets

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy Reformers are flooding the streets of Iran, taking their stand against the Radicals.

A cry for freedom in Iran is rising. Why is the White House silent?

"I’ve been tracking events in Iran closely over the past few days. Not since the Islamic Revolution of ‘79 have we seen such ideological ferment and such passion in the streets of Iran. What fascinates me is how hungry the Iranian people are to overthrow their current regime. They want change. They want democracy. It’s not Mir Hossein Mousavi they want (after all, 70% of Iranians are under the age of 30 and don’t remember how bloody, despicable and tyrannical he was in office during the 1980s). They just want someone — anyone — to lead them out of the darkness Khomeini, Khamenei, and Ahmadinejad have dragged them into. They want someone who will lead the fight for their God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Will is the White House silent? Why won’t President Obama endorse and support the Reformers in Iran, rather than engage the Radicals who run the regime?

As I describe in Inside The Revolution, tens of millions of Iranians have abandoned Islam. Most are Reformers at heart, looking for political liberation. Millions are Revivalists, experiencing spiritual liberation. Both groups deeply oppose the Radicals that are strangling their country and destroying the lives of their children. Let’s keep praying for the full liberation of Iran, spiritual and political. And let’s be clear: the Ayatollah Khamenei is not really the Supreme Leader of Iran. Jesus Christ is — the King of kings and the Lord of lords. May His name be lifted up in Iran today."

Check out Joel's previous post-- "War is likely outcome of Iranian elections."