"Talking to men for God is a great thing but talking to God for men is greater still."
~ E. M. Bounds
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Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
Through the weekly and daily devotionals you can be constantly encouraged in your great role of parenting, the highest career in the nation. You can also stay updated on what's happening with the Above Rubies ministry.
“The father is the head of the home, with gentle dignity acting his full part as head. He is the priest and minister to his household. The simple word of thanksgiving at the meal, the gathering of the family together, morning or night or both for reading a bit out of the old Book of God, and in simplest language giving thanks, and asking a blessing upon the circle – these belong to the father.The father is a human mediator between God and those whom he has created with God’s partnership. He stands to his for God, to teach of God, to lead in the worship of God, and to act the part of God’s man to his own inner circle.
The father is the administrator of the home, with wisdom and firmness and much loving gentleness . . . He is the teacher and companion of his children . . . With the mother, he is in his home the teacher of the school, the consulting librarian of the book world, the president of the literary society, and of the social club, the chief craftsman of the workshop to the group he is fathering.”
~ S. D. Gordon
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Before we can knock out national and international enemies, WE MUST FIRST OVERCOME OUR PERSONAL ENEMIES! These personal attitudes are indeed our enemies for these are the adversaries that rob us of our character, our will, and resolve to fight in the day of battle.You are familiar with the powerful words in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 but let’s remind ourselves of them again:
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but MIGHTY THROUGH GOD to the PULLING DOWN OF STRONGHOLDS;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and brining into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” That’s one long sentence but lifechanging if we truly appropriate into our lives.
Can I repeat verse 6? “And having in a readiness to REVENGE ALL DISOBEDIENCE, when YOUR OBEDIENCE is fulfilled.” That means that we cannot deal with evil or disobedience in any other area until we have first dealt with it in our own lives. We must bring everything to obedience to Christ in our personal lives before we can push back disobedience and evil in the nation.
Let’s look at this powerful passage of Scripture in The Passion Translation:
3,4. “For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons . . . Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively DISMANTLE the defenses behind which people hide.
v.5. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and INSIST THAT IT BOW IN OBEDIENCE to the Anointed One.
v.6. Since we are armed with such DYNAMIC WEAPONRY, we stand ready to punish any trace of rebellion AS SOON AS YOU CHOOSE COMPLETE OBEDIENCE.”
Did you get that? When you choose obedience in your own life, only then you can be used in prayer and standing up for righteousness to put down evil around you! It must first begin in our personal lives.
Let’s read Revelation 2:26 (NLT):
“To everyone who is victorious and continues to do my works TO THE VERY END I will give you AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS . . .”
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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Our country stands in a very challenging hour. The tragedy is that multitudes of our fellow countrymen do not realize how desperate the situation is. Even the general population of the so-called Christian church fail to realize the seriousness of this moment of time in our nation’s history.We stand on the verge of being taken over by a New World Oder that will obliterate and destroy our great constitutions of biblical and godly values and standards, our freedoms and liberties to own and pursue business and the career of our choice. Even the church of our voice, the home of our choice, and even the size of our family will be taken away from us.
The first premise on the list of the World Economic Forum, which they are fighting hard to bring upon us, is: ‘You will own nothing. and you will be happy.”
The big question is, how close are we to all this happening?
How easy it is to forget what we have all recently been a witness to! Entire countries have been locked down all over the world and major cities unable to go out of their houses, being forced to comply to the questionable World Health Organization mandates.
Our current administration is trying to ramrod through a bill that would permit the World Health Organization to close down any city in the world, including our great nation, just as they are now doing in Shanghai, China.
The Supreme Court will soon give their verdict on Roe V. Wade.
And what about the coming election? How could this great nation allow such a magnitude of election fraud as is irrefutably exposed in Dinesh D/Sousa’s 2000 Mules movie? Have you watched this documentary yet?
If we as a nation do not arise, stand up, resist, and deplore such corruption, what will be the point of voting at all? We have opened the door and given away one of the most important rights we have to be a voice in the righteous governing of this nation. This is tragic corruption.
The point is, do we as a people have the fortitude, the will, the grit, and the backbone to refuse to cave into such corruption on a scale that has never been witnessed in our country before? With all my heart I pray so.
If ever there was a time when we need to call upon God to save us, it must be now, or it will be too late.
In Part 2 we will look at what it takes for us to become RESISTERS OF EVIL.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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"Adversity is not simply a tool. It is God's most effective tool for the
advancement of our spiritual lives. The circumstances and events
that we see as setbacks are oftentimes the very things that launch
us into periods of intense spiritual growth. Once we begin to
understand this, and accept it as a spiritual fact of life, adversity
becomes easier to bear."
- Charles Stanley
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Do you make this a daily habit in your family life?
Communism: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and gives you part of the milk.Socialism: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes both cows and sells you the milk.
Nazism: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.
Bureaucracy: You have two cows. The government takes both of them, shoots one, milks the other, then pours the milk down the drain.
Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one of them and buy a bull who fathers many more.
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God looks for men who will stand out from the crowd--men who will not be crowd lovers, crowd blenders, crowd pleasers, or crowd followers, but men who will dare to be different (Numbers 14:24 and 2 Chronicles 16:9).
~ Colin Campbell
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Men, if we are going to be men of courage, we must speak up for what's right when the opportunity presents itself. If you have any truth in you, for goodness sake, SAY IT! Do not hide truth behind closed doors.Edmund Burke wrote, "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."
God is calling for all Christian men to use every opportunity possible to be light shiners and salt preservers. It is high time for us men to tell it the way it is, no matter who is listening. We may get persecuted for it. We may lose our job for it. Even our friends at church may despise us when we do not toe the party line. So what! It's time for men to "play the man" and get rid of all that is gutless.
No more time for powder puffs who hold their peace when the sword should be drawn.
~ Colin Campbell
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"Marriage is not about me. It's about us. The "me first" mentality is the main reason many marriages fail."~ Colin Campbell
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“A father and mother living together with their children, tender in their love, pure in their lives, strong in their convictions, simple and orderly in their habits, do infinitely more than presidents and governors, legislators, educators, and clergymen can do in making a strong nation. And that is a “more” that can be replaced by nothing else. True strength can come to a nation only as the genius of the home pervades the whole inner life of the people. The home nations are the most enduring nations . . .”~ From Quiet Talks on Home Ideals by S.D. Gordon and Mary Kilgore Gordon.
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The nation needs men with backbone--
Men with backbone in their commitment to Christ and His course!
Men who have stickability in the battle of life!
Men who will not bend and bow in the face of opposition!
Men who will not give up on their marriage and fatherhood!
Men who will not give in to the tyranny they are trying to force on this nation!
Men who will be bold like lions instead of acting like lambs.
Men who, no matter what the enemy hurls at them, will not quit.
~ Colin Campbell
Painting by Alfredo Rodriguez
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How do you come home to your family? Like a wet blanket with a frown and a gruff voice? Or do you bring joy and happiness the moment you arrive home?Why not come home with surprises sometimes? Some interesting things for the children or flowers for your wife.
Walk in the door with an encouraging word and a smile for everyone. What a difference you can make to your wife who has been home with the children all day! Let your wife and children anticipate your homecoming with joy and excitement.
~ Colin Campbell
Painting by Roger Wilkerson
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Matthew 18:18 states: “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”Our prayer meetings should be more than a sweet, cozy, chitchat with pious platitudes that sound religious. OuR prayers must have teeth in them. They should have backbone, fervor, and faith.
If we do not pray it through, we will most likely not see it through. That means we will not see our enemies broken in the natural realm until we have first broken them in the spiritual realm through strong battle axe praying.
Psalm 81:10: “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.” Ask big things from God and He will give big answers.
Our prayer meetings must trample down our enemies. Our prayer meetings must become war rooms. We saw this explained in The War Room movie.
A battle ground is the ground of earnest, prevailing prayer. It is the desperate cutting power of a righteous man when he chops down the towers of the enemy in prayer. It is the earnest, effectual, prayer of a righteous man that availeth much (James 5:16).
May God save us from blunt axe warfare with no zeal, no heart, and no fervor. James 5:16 says: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
No standing on the promises equals no victory. Do we understand the importance of pleading His promises? It’s better to stand on the promises than sit on the premises!
Before we pray, we should examine our hearts as to whether we really mean business with God, whether we rally care that much if He hears and answers. Do we have a strong desire for what we are praying?
Battle axe prayer meetings should include biblical, imprecatory prayers, e.g. Psalm 69:22-28. David’s enemies are God’s enemies.
Our battle axe prayer meetings break the spiritual chains from off our leaders. When you pray next, ask the Lord to break the chains of darkness of evil doers.
Jesus calls us to pray for those who persecute us in Matthew 5:43-45. We can bless them with prayers for their repentance, but if they will not repent and for the sake of many innocent people being destroyed and tortured, we must pray that the wicked will be toppled off their thrones so that will not be able to continue their evil atrocities.
Whatever the means God uses to topple them off their thrones will lessen the judgment when they stand before God and give an account for their wicked deeds. This type of praying will in fact spare them from being accountable for crimes they would have committed if they were continuing their wicked ways. Our prayers to topple them off their thrones will lessen their evil deeds.
Many of David’s prayers contained battle axe ingredients. We must pray against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world through imprecatory praying (Ephesians 6:11-20).
Keep your battle axe sharp!
Ecclesiastes 10:10 TLB says: “A DULL AXE REQUIRES GREAT STRENGTH; BE WISE AND SHARPEN THE BLADE.”
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
P.S.
A list of imprecatory psalms: Psalm 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 25, 28, 31, 35, 37, 40, 41, 52, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 63, 68, 69, 70, 71, 74, 79, 83, 94, 109, 129, 137, 139, 104, and 143.
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The US Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court THIS COMING MONDAY, APRIL 4. Senate Leader Chuck Schumer wants the full Senate to vote on her confirmation.We haven’t got much time left. Can you please call the US senators in your state and plead with them to vote NO to her nomination. We cannot have a woman on the Supreme Court of this nation who despises the Constitution, who has a liberal agenda, and who does not even know the meaning of the word “woman.”
Go to the Internet and ask for the Senators in your State and their information will pop up. Give them a call immediately. You will get a secretary and just ask them to VOTE NO. You can also email.
Pass this on to every contact you have.
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Our God is a man of war. Exodus 15:6 states: “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.”
He called His people an army. Exodus 6:26 tells us how Aaron and Moses brought the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt “according to their armies.”
The Bible talks about many different weapons of war. These weapons can also be used spiritually in the place of prayer.
Jeremiah 51:20 states: “Thou art my BATTLE AXE and WEAPONS OF WAR.”
The battle axe in this passage describes the people He chose to go to war against Babylon, one of the greatest empires of the ancient world who had taken Israel captive and brutally mistreated them.
The battle axe is an instrument to break IN pieces all the enemy’s strongholds. Let’s look further in verses 20-24 where we see 10 things God will break in pieces through the battle axe:
1. “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee” (that's YOU fighting), “will I break in pieces the nations.” (That's GOD fighting). The overcoming church will be given power over the nations. Revelation 2:26, 27 says: “He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers even as I received of my Father.”
2.“And with thee” (YOU are fighting) “will I destroy kingdoms” (GOD is fighting);
3.“And with thee” (YOU are fighting) “I will break in pieces the horse and his rider” (GOD is fighting);
4.“And with thee” (YOU are fighting) “will I break in pieces the chariots and his rider;” (That's GOD fighting)
5.“With thee also (YOU are fighting) will I break in pieces man and woman; (GOD fighting)
6.“And with thee (YOU fighting) will I break in pieces old and young;” (GOD fighting)
7.“And with thee (YOU fighting) will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;” (GOD fighting)
8.“I will also break in pieces (GOD fighting) with thee (YOU fighting) the shepherd and his flock;”
9.“And with thee (YOU fighting) will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen;” (GOD fighting)
10. “And with thee (YOU fighting) will I break in pieces captains and rulers. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion IN your sight, saith the LORD.” (GOD fighting).
Here are some similar Scriptures to check out:
Deuteronomy 7:2, 16: “When the Lord thy God shall deliver them before you” (that's GOD fighting), thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them; thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver you.” (That’s the children of Israel fighting).
Deuteronomy 7:24: “He shall deliver their kings into thine hand” (that's GOD fighting) and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven.” (That's YOU fighting).
Deuteronomy 9:3: “The Lord thy God, which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire, He shall destroy them and He shall bring them down before thy face.” (That’s GOD fighting). Then it goes on to say: “So shalt thou drive them out and destroy them, as the Lord thy God hath said to thee.” (That's YOU fighting,)
In 1 Chronicles 14:15-16 we read a strategy that God gave to Israel for one of their battles: “When thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle.” (That's YOU fighting). “For God is gone forth before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.” (That's GOD fighting). “David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon, even to Gazer.”
Are you getting the picture? God does His part BUT He also wants us to fight.
Be encouraged.
Colin Campbell
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I am sure that you must be so concerned, as I am, that they want to indoctrinate the children and young people of our nation with this deceptive Critical Race Theory.BANNED
Praise God, the following states have banned it:
Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Florida.
INRODUCED LEGISLATION TO BAN
The following state have introduced legislation to ban it. If you live in any of these states, please call, email, and write to your Governor, federal and state Senators, local commissioners, and school boards and urge them to say No to this deceptive brainwashing in the schools of your state.
Utah, Arizona, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maine, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
ALLOWING IT IN SCHOOLS
The following states are allowing it to happen in their schools. If you live in any of these states, please do something. Please call your governor, all your state and federal senators and congressmen, local commissioners, and school boards. And urge everyone else you know to do the same to tell them to please put forward legislation for this to stopped in the schools of your state.
Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
You will find all their phone numbers and emails by going online.
This nation belongs to WE THE PEOPLE. Let’s be the voice.
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