Equipped for the fight

Equipped for the fight

Lord, oh Lord, here I am

Standing in your presence yet once again

Tired of these hurts, tired of these pains

But I’ll continue to believe in your name

Temptation, yes it comes my way

I wish it didn’t but it’s here day to day

I know I’m supposed to die to the flesh daily

But I continue to make excuses and say well maybe

I see these things that are appealing to my eye

And I pick them up and get a feeling inside

Then I hear your voice telling me this does not belong to I

And then I hear the enemy say go ahead it will be alright

It’s a battle between spirit and flesh but who will win?

Is it this flesh that resides under my skin?

Or is it the Spirit that resides deep within?

Lord I know you said you’d see me through

But I continue to make excuses not to come to you

So many choices, this thing is hard for me

But I know if I call your name, you hear me

You keep me safe from day to day

I always feel your abundant grace

Yet when tomorrow comes will I call your name

Or will I sit and say maybe another day

Didn’t you send your son for me?

He took my place on Calvary

This is warfare, yes this is a fight

To show this world that I am your light

When the flesh wants its ways, I’ll make sure I call your name

No more excuse, no more games

It may get rough, but that’s alright

Because I know you’ll get me through this fight

The devil shall not have his way

But he’ll continue to try everyday

You gave me the equipment that I need

This battle that’s trying to take over my life

You gave me your word, your shield of faith

You said you’d never leave me for my sake

Lord, I know I ran from you

But here I am, coming back to you

Telling you, I can’t do this on my own

Which I know you already know

So here are my problems, I lay before you

Crying out oh Lord, I really need you

I know this world is not my home

And I know the enemy wants me for his own.

He won’t win this battle, he won’t have my life

Because you told me victory is already mine!

I’ll go through this war with my Spirit and my flesh

But Lord, yeah you know the rest.

A Letter To the Enemy

A Letter to the Enemy

God is watching me, and so is he
Yes, I'm talking about the enemy
He shows me things that are appealing to the eye
Something I long for when I'm feeling empty inside

When I’m doing so good here he’s on his way
With a boy, some henny, and a blunt to smoke away
So bring it on devil, lets see what you can do
Because I know my God is going to see me through

As I draw nearer to God, the enemy draws nearer to me
Yeah I know he got some tricks up his sleeve
But I stand on this rock, yes I stand on this word
Sorry dear enemy but there's some words that need to be heard

My God he said I am the head and not the tail
Then he goes on and says no weapon formed against me shall prevail
You see he’s watching me just as closely as thee
But his grace and mercy it shineth abundantly

So here’s my letter to you oh enemy
I know you'll come and you may not flee
But, no temptation has seized me except that which is common to man
And my God is faithful, so here I stand

Those things you bring may look good to me
But all I’m concerned about is eternity
The word also says I am more than a conqueror
So those things that come against me will only make me stronger

At certain times we must come face-to-face
And let the enemy know we stand for grace
While remembering in our hearts him for which we stand
And worshiping him through it for the battle is in his hands

By:Tamika Nicole Rutherford

Which Path Do I Take

Which Path Do I Take?

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and to give you and expected end.”

Tired of going back to Egypt knowing God delivered me from there and I’m on the road to my promised land. God keeps telling me to let him drive, let him take the wheel so, I let him but then I grab the wheel back and attempt to do a U turn but his grip over my hands jerks the wheel right back when I begin to turn the wheel back to the place where I came from.

I let God take the wheel and continue to drive but then I tell him take the nearest exit because this road is just a little too long. As we continue driving I see an exit sign labeled fornication, lust and adultery, another labeled lying, backbiting, and gossiping and another with thoughts of suicide, thoughts of killing, hurting others. Above each sign is a picture of alcohol, a picture of a boy, and a picture of weed. Which exit do I take? Maybe I’ll just try them all until I get to my destination.

I decide to take the first exit after God says no and I am left with emptiness, loneliness, a soul tie and then another life. I turn to look at the driver’s seat and realize God is no longer there because he handed me over to the very thing that he tried to keep me from. I turn to grab the wheel and stop but then I realized I’ve crashed into a wall and am not wounded.

I wake up in a mental hospital with scars and pain. And my doctor Abba walks in disappointed because I refused to take the prescription he gave me the last time I took the same exit. He says to me, for the same thing over and over again? When will you realize you must abide to the prescription I gave you? Me, speechless, looking at what I’ve done to myself when all I had to do was follow through on the prescription I was recently given. Once again he writes me the prescription “Follow my commands, stop taking the nearest exit and let me lead you to your destination.” The same prescription he gave me before but this time he wrote STAT on it! Attached to it was a note that said, “If you would just trust the one writing your prescription since I have the requirements to keep you from crashing into the same wall, you would be better off. Trust your provider and stay on the road to your destination or, all your exits will lead to destruction.”

I now pose the question: Will you keep taking your own exits or will you follow the road, the way that your designated driver is taking you?

Tamika Rutherford