Iron Rose Sister Ministries

SPECIAL POST INSPIRED BY COVID-19 CIRCUMSTANCES AND REALITIES
My health is a wreck. I have another perfect storm of symptoms hindering me from living life as I would’ve liked. No, I don’t have COVID-19, but that novel virus has complicated my efforts to seek treatment or find answers regarding what is going on in my body.

Strange health issues are not new to me. In 2009, my digestive and immune systems were turned inside out, upside down, and have never been the same. Adjusting to that new normal took time, but is so much a part of my daily routine that I don’t let it phase me anymore—or I at least don’t let it stop me from being who I am and doing what I feel that God has called me to do.

Having lived in Venezuela, I have experienced shortages of food, scarcity of goods, isolation for safety, lockdowns, and other uncertainties. That aspect of new normal, at the time, created tremendous reverse culture shock when I returned to the U.S. finding a dozen different types of ketchup and forty types of bread (before I ended up gluten intolerant in 2009).

While on the phone with a friend today, diligently practicing social distancing, but two extroverts struggling with social isolation, I had a meltdown and a revelation.
1. Everyone’s longing to “get back to normal” will never be “normal” as we once knew it.
2. Many of us who have navigated a “new normal” in the past know the pain, the agony, the grief, the challenge, and the extra grace in the transition that all come with the adjustment.
3. My previous and current health issues, my experience in Venezuela and other Latin American countries, may trigger PTSD type symptoms, fears, and exhaustion....
4. BUT God is not surprised by any of this. He is still sovereign. His power is made perfect in weakness. He’s got this. And I can trust Him.
5. God gives us permission and space to lament. Don’t believe me? Just read the Psalms!

Some may find these words ironic in the midst of the publication of a video series on being Victorious and Joyful in Battle. Suffice it to say that I have lived through a few battles (most of which don’t bear mentioning here). With greater authority as someone who is currently in the trenches, I invite you into the acknowledgement of the trenches of the battle in order that we might together declare victory with the King.

Love, a fellow warrior and Iron Rose Sister
M.

A survey of the various definitions of victory includes the following verbs: defeat, overcome, or triumph. Not to bore you with a grammar lesson, but these are all transitive verbs, which means action verbs that they require a direct object or something that receives the action.

You can’t just say, “I defeated” without stating what or whom you defeated.

“I overcame…” But what did you overcome?

“We triumphed…” And what did you triumph over?

We long to be victorious, but the unfortunate reality is that we cannot taste victory without first having gone through the battle. Triumph is not claimed until defeat has been threatened. Victory is realized through the struggle of overcoming the thoughts that assail us.

Can you have victory without a battle? No.

But we can be victorious and joyful inthe battle.

And that is the aspect of victory we will explore this week and at the Ladies’ Retreat I will be speaking at this weekend.

When no other Israelite would go against Goliath, David stepped up. His brothers were trembling at the threats; David became indignant that someone would defy Israel, God’s name and God’s people.

However, when David began to inquire about fighting the giant, he was accused of seeking his own glory.

“When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”” ~ I Samuel 17:28

The man after God’s own heart – conceited or wanting God to shine?

A few verses later, we get our answer…

“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”” ~ I Samuel 17:45-47

When you think of the story of David and Goliath, who do we credit with the victory? Our first thought is likely David. We recognize the person who has tasted the victory and can neglect to give honor and glory to the one who made the victory possible.

Let’s take a moment to hail the true conquering hero – the One who grants us victory by his name.

Friday morning, I visited the Ponderosa Retreat Center in preparation for the Destination Retreat in October. I am so excited to see all God does in preparation for and the execution of that event!

As I was processing the information I gathered on my visit, I received an email from the publishing company we have been in negotiations with for the book, Who Has the Last Word? Two weeks ago, they were ready to offer a contract, but the message I received on Friday was that there had been some mixed reactions from the staff, so they were unsure about extending a contract at that point.

The wind was knocked out of my sails and while I trusted that God would lead me and the ministry in the right direction, this was a big step back from the progress we had made.

There was no time to do more than lift up a prayer and ask for the prayers of others before I headed to the weekend retreat. My thoughts were a jumble and I didn’t want to lose focus on what God had called me to do over the weekend.

So, what did I do? I read Psalm 20 at least five times in English and Spanish, letting God’s words of truth bathe over me. I took the lessons I was going to teach that weekend from the Psalm and the premise of the Who Has the Last Word? book and gave God the last word when discouragement and Satan’s lies were making their attack.

I invite you to go to the Word to answer Satan’s lies and remember that God is in control. He goes behind and before us. He is bigger than any circumstance. And that is what brought me joy in the midst of the battle, victory in the face of defeat.

Looking at some of the moments in the apostle Peter's life during Christ's ministry on earth you can see a young man ruled by impulses, emotions, doubts and his own perspective of Jesus's purpose. He wanted to know the limit of forgiving others and what was the gain of following Christ. He was in one moment willing to cut off a man's ear (the sentiment was pure but the application faulty) and then the next moment he fled naked abandoning the One he was before willing to fight for. Peter scolded Jesus about his plans. He didn't want Jesus to wash his feet at first. He fell asleep instead of praying with Jesus during a profoundly trying time for Jesus and denied Jesus when Jesus was on trial.

But he was also a young man that in the midst of these low points, had great desire to be who God wanted him to be and to follow Christ. He had faith to leave his nets, to admit he didn't understand and ask for explanations, and to be the first of the apostles to declare that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. He followed the arresting soldiers and waited to see what would happen in the trail (we know of only one other apostle who went). He ran to the tomb with one other when news came about the resurrection.

I think most of us struggle between the two "personalities" of Peter. The faith to choose to leave his known and secure world to follow Christ, his deep inner conviction that Jesus was worth it and the only way to God and his desire to do the right thing. (A great book about this is: "If You Want to Walk on the Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat" by John Ortberg.) But he was not perfect and he struggled with himself and because of that often tripped and fell over himself in often public ways. Sometimes we can only see how much we struggle, just like most often people see the denying, impulsive, "you of little faith" Peter before the resurrection. Peter had his failings (as we do) but he was one of Jesus' closest friends. He was chosen (just as we are). Peter did and said some incredible, mountain moving things. Some very important things that we do also.

He believed: "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Matthew 16:16)
He was honest about his desperate need for Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:68-69).
He recognized his sinfulness in the light of Christ's holiness: "Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man" and then walked away from his old way of life to follow Jesus (Luke 5:8, 11).
He took a chance and asked permission to do something that no one else besides Jesus ever did- he asked to leave his comfort zone and had the faith and strength to do something different: " 'Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water'... Then Peter got down out of the boat and came toward Jesus" (Matthew 14:28-29).
He cried out to God when he needed help and couldn't make it himself and trusted Jesus to save him (Matthew 14:30-31).

I believe, in one form or another, whoever has decided to follow God has made similar statements. Peter had victory in the midst of his failures and so do we. We are victorious and stronger than we see ourselves. We have decided to follow God, to leave behind our former way of life, to believe, and to occasionally leave our comfort zones to go toward Christ. We are victorious because we go forward. I encourage you to focus on the victories. There is no such thing as a small victory, only victory. It is you walking with God and God working through you.

God bless and keep the faith,
Angela Myers
Sucre, Bolivia

This Psalm is the inspiration for the weekend Ladies' Retreat: Victorious and Joyful in Battle. May it be an encouragement to you as well!

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…”  Hebrews 12:1b 

This verse took on new meaning as I watched hundreds of runners last year embark on a 25 or 50 mile race in the mountains of Colorado. My brother-in-law and another friend of ours were among those who started the race at 5:30am.

In preparation for the race, my brother-in-law did training runs – some for distance, some on trails, all designed to prepare his body and his mind for the marathon-length or longer race.

I was forced to reflect on the spiritual implications of preparing for the race marked out for us.  How can I expect to run with perseverance if I have not trained? What does it mean to spiritually train for the race marked out for us?

What kind of training is involved to prepare you to be victorious?

“Read your Bible and pray every day and you’ll grow, grow, grow.”

A children’s song with simple lyrics and a simple tune that I remember singing as a child. It expresses the basic truths and importance of reading our Bible and praying.

A prayer before meals and a verse in a devotional reflection is good, but do these perfunctory acts reflect a deep relationship with God that will allow us to be victorious through the tough times?

I offer a reminder today that there is great value in digging deeply in the Word, allowing God to speak to you there, and reveal transformative truths through Scripture. There is also a wealth of joy and promise found in pouring our hearts out to God in prayer.

There are many ways in which we can read Scripture, many methods of prayer, various other spiritual disciplines that serve as spiritual training. But the point is this: communication and relationship with our Father is foundational to be able to run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1b).

My encouragement is that you transform your view of prayer and Scripture today. Look at them as spiritual training for the race marked out for you and rejoice in the opportunity to train and thus be able to persevere and be victorious.

There are many benefits to spiritual training and many ways to go about it. It is an active process that requires commitment and dedication. Even the decision to undergo spiritual training is a first step to being able to run with perseverance the race marked out for us. However, if you don’t get adequate sleep, it becomes hard to run any race or even go through spiritual training.

In Darryl Tippens book, Pilgrim Heart, he mentions rest or sleep as one of the spiritual disciplines. I couldn’t agree more. I can’t focus as clearly, run as far, or persevere as long if I have not had adequate rest. My attitude is affected, my stamina, and even my physical health suffer when I have not gotten the sleep I need.

Sleep, for some of us, can be hard to come by. Take a moment to reflect on rest as a part of your spiritual training. Make sleep a priority at least one night this week. Other things can wait until tomorrow. Rest is another vital part of our spiritual training and achieving victory.

Armies have conquered lands and achieved victory for king and country. While it may require significant work, discipline, or talent, victory is possible for one or the other party under most any circumstance. The outcome may not be what we would desire, but victory is feasible.

The one thing that it is impossible for man to gain victory over is death. But, guess what?! “Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God.’” (Luke 18:27, Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27)

Jesus overcame death and thus became the perfect sacrifice through whom we can conquer sin and death, and taste victory.

“Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 15:55-57

I’m not referring to standing up for what you believe. That is it’s own victory for sure. And I applaud those who stand up for what is right.

However, the victory of standing up that I want to recognize today is the victory for those who battle depression and fight the daily battle to get up out of bed in the morning and stand up for the day.

The victory of standing up when you've been suffering from a migraine, chronic pain, or other illness.

The victory of standing up when all you want to do is stay seated on the couch.

The victory of standing up to do something productive when you just want to veg in front of Facebook for another thirty minutes.

The victory of standing up to go get something from the other room after you have become one with the chair.

Standing up may not be a challenge for you. For others, you relate perfectly to the examples listed above.

So, today, please take a moment to celebrate your own or someone else’s victory that may seem insignificant, but IS a powerful victory.

I’ll leave you with a couple more examples:

You may have never been tempted by alcohol, but for a recovering alcoholic, saying no to one glass of wine is a huge victory.

You may not struggle with anger, but a kind word instead of lashing out in reaction to someone else’s harsh word is a huge victory.

What victory can you celebrate today?

This weekend, I will be speaking at a Ladies’ Day in Spanish for the Rural Hill Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee. The topic: Victorious and Joyful Women in Battle. Please join me in prayer for a blessed weekend, that God will speak through me, and that the women will be encouraged to be joyful in the process of obtaining victory.

Joy in the process toward victory. The topic this weekend is a perfect transition from our March blog theme to the theme for April: Joy and Contentment.

And the perfect example of joy in the process toward victory? Christ, himself.

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2b-3)

What does it look like to be joyful? That is exactly what we will explore this month. Please share your answer to that question in the comments or as a blog post we can share with others!

This weekend I will join with ladies from the Eastside Church of Christ in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to look at Hope Renewed: Victorious and Joyful in Battle. We will walk through Psalm 20 in lessons, small group time, quiet time, worship, and prayer. I am also excited to hear testimonies from several women about how they have found victory, joy, and hope through their own personal battles.

We each have our own story: our own battles, victories, and the feelings that accompany them.

And we all identify with stories. Through them, we find hope. We recognize the emotions. We connect with the moments of despair, the challenges, and the fears. We are reminded of God, who is bigger and, that by His power, we will become victorious and joyful in the battle.

In the throes of the battle, we can learn to walk by faith and not by sight (II Corinthians 5:7), we can accompany others in their own battles (II Corinthians 1:3-7), and we can gain access to an inexpressible and glorious joy (I Peter 1:6-9).

None of this makes sense according to earthly wisdom, but godly wisdom grants us a new perspective – we can recognize and cling to the living hope and inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade (I Peter 1:3-5).

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. ~ I Peter 1:3-9

We each have our own story: our own battles, victories, and the feelings that accompany them.
And we all identify with stories. Through them, we find hope. We recognize the emotions. We connect with the moments of despair, the challenges, and the fears. We are reminded of God, who is bigger and, that by His power, we will become victorious and joyful in the battle.

II Corinthians 4:5-10

5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

The LSU Christian Student Center had a homeless man living in its hallways for several years. He started out visiting the building in order to receive counseling from the church’s onsite licensed counselor. From counseling, to friendship, to a brother in Christ, Ernie Spiers, former bar owner and the biggest LSU fan you will ever meet, became a fixture at the LSU CSC.

Ernie would make sure girls got safely to their cars after a late night of studying. He was honorary night watchman and served as a listening ear to the students who griped about their professors, wrestled with financial burdens, and struggled to get a certain grade. He would later ask them how a test went or encourage them with a word of wisdom gleaned from a long, hard life before coming to know Christ.

At his memorial service in January 2012, preachers, former students, counselors, and friends shared special memories and funny stories. Their very presence was an honor to his life and a testimony to family in Christ.

But one of the most important moments, for me, at the memorial service, was when we sang Ernie’s favorite song – the one he always requested on Sunday nights for college worship: Victory in Jesus.

At that moment, Ernie was tasting true Victory in Jesus and, in his honor, I will leave you with the words to that song.

Victory in Jesus

I heard an old, old story,

How a Savior came from glory,

How He gave His life on Calvary

To save a wretch like me;

I heard about His groaning,

Of His precious blood's atoning,

Then I repented of my sins

And won the victory.

Chorus

O victory in Jesus,

My Savior, forever.

He sought me and bought me

With His redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew Him

And all my love is due Him,

He plunged me to victory,

Beneath the cleansing flood.

I heard about His healing,

Of His cleansing pow'r revealing.

How He made the lame to walk again

And caused the blind to see;

And then I cried, "Dear Jesus,

Come and heal my broken spirit,"

And somehow Jesus came and bro't

To me the victory.

Chorus

I heard about a mansion

He has built for me in glory.

And I heard about the streets of gold

Beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing,

And the old redemption story,

And some sweet day I'll sing up there

The song of victory.

Chorus

Today is my dad’s 62nd birthday. I am proud to call him my father and my brother in Christ.

In light of this month’s theme, I would like to recognize the integrity with which he has fought many of life’s battles, humbling seeking God’s will and giving God the glory each time.

That one sentence carries so much weight and history in the personal struggles he has faced. They are his stories that I will not take too much liberty to tell. And only he knows the depth of the pain and the challenge of each battle he has faced. But no matter what the battle, he has continued to fight. He has gotten back up after facing defeat. He has not allowed that defeat to define him, but rather has sought to move forward with integrity. Integrity. That is one of the top words that first come to mind when I think of my dad.

The integrity is maintained through the battle when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus – the one who gives us hope to overcome and rise again, victorious on the other side.

So, today, March 9th, I want to wish my dad a happy birthday, a feliz cumpleaños, and thank him for being an example in my own personal cloud of witnesses that strive to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ~Hebrews 12:1-3

Is there someone’s battle and victory you identify with in Hebrews 11?

Psalm 20 ends with “Lord, give victory to the king. Answer us when we call.” Therefore, the last class at the Eastside Church of Christ Ladies’ Retreat focused on the difference between personal victory and a victory for the King of Kings – in other words, we don’t always get what we want, but we are on the winning team!

As part of that winning team, we can call and cry out in celebration (Psalm 20:5, 9), not just in pain (when you are in distress… Psalm 20:1).

God wants us to remember and celebrate the victory, which is why he assigned 200 singers in the book of Ezra and 245 in the book of Nehemiah to proclaim victory in song. Purim was established in the book of Esther to remember victory each year and sing of it in celebration.

In light of those directions given by the Lord, at the close of the retreat this weekend, I had the ladies stand in a large circle and sing the song, “This is how we overcome” (taken from the texts in Esther 9:22 and Jeremiah 31:13).

After singing, we read the Lord’s Prayer out loud together as a united prayer lifted to the Father and a reminder that we are asking for hiskingdom to come and hiswill to be done – not our own.

Finally, we read Psalm 20 to one another, spoken as a prayer over each of our Christian sisters present. We looked into each other’s eyes as we read verses like, “May the Lord grant all your requests.” And “Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed.”

But the most powerful moment for me was when we got to verse 7. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses…” The volume rose and the certainty swelled as each lady finished the verse as one voice “BUT WE TRUST IN THE NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD.” They owned it. They believe it. And they were strengthened to remember it as we carried on beyond the weekend events. I had chills and my eyes filled with tears, humbled by the simple and heartfelt proclamation by these women.

I pray you can come to own that verse and the other promises of Psalm 20 as well.

When I think of the word " victory", my mind goes to these two verses: Romans 8:37 "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." And Hebrews 10:39 "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." I also think of the book "Victory Over the Darkness" by Neil T. Anderson. But instead of the normal blog post, I'd like to just list some things that came to mind (I added an occasional book or verse that has helped me, although there are endless references and resources). Some of these have been very hard for me to learn and to accept; most I struggle with often, but in the end I have to trust that I have victory even if I can't see it.

So what is victory to me?

It is finding confidence in who I am in Christ ("Victory Over the Darkness" is a good book for this and focuses a lot on what you find in Ephesians).

It is being able to forgive others and myself ("Praying the Word of God" by Beth Moore).

It is being at peace with who I am and where God has put me.

It is being able to say "yes" and say "no" ("Boundaries" by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend).

It is resting and enjoying God without feeling guilty about not "doing" something ("Rest of God" by Mark Buchanan).

It is getting up and going forward after every failure or fall (Proverbs 24:16).

It is not being ok with my sins and not giving up the fight with them (Hebrews 12:3-4)

It is not beating myself up for not being perfect.

It is crying out to God with complete sincerity of what I feel (Psalms).

It is walking with God even though at times I want to give up.

It is receiving grace and mercy, not just giving it ("What's So Amazing About Grace" by Philip Yancey and "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning)

It is not letting fear win in the end.

It is trust and hope even when I cannot believe and there are no possibilities (Romans 4:20-21).

It is continuing...questioning....growing.

It is loving God and others just a little bit more than I did before.

It is putting one foot in front of the other and knowing that, even though the change might be small, I'm not the same person I was... I am closer to God and He is changing me.

It is letting God carry me, fight for me, love me, cherish me, pursue me.

Every time I do something like this I am victorious. I am victorious even though I do not do all of what I know I should, even though I do not do it everyday, even though I can only do it halfheartedly. I am victorious because I have God and that is who He made me and how He calls me. I am victorious because when I am weak, He makes me strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

God bless and may you find rest and hope in Him.