If

If I only had more money . . .

If I were only smarter . . .

If I could do that . . .

If I looked like her . . .

If they loved me like . . .

If I were faster . . .

If I had better parents . . .

If I had grown up in a better area . . .

If I could be like . . .

If I could sing like . . .

If I could speak like . . .

If I were more talented . . .

If I had been given . . .

If they only knew . . .

If only . . .

If . . .

Fill it in:

If (your greatest if thought) . . .

Some ifs matter. Some don't. Most we can't do anything about. But they hold us back, they keep us down, they stop of from being who and what God wants us to be.

But the more important ifs have already been answered for us:

"If Christ is not risen . . . your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! But now Christ is risen from the dead!" (1 Cor 15:17, 20)

"If God is for us, . . . who can be against us? In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!" (Rom 8:31,37)

Let's stop living in our own (if) excuses and fear, and start living in Christ's victory!

How Not to Build

Verse 1:

“I love you! - What's your name?”

Somehow those words always sound the same.

“You're the prettiest one that my eyes have seen.

I've said that before but this I really mean.”

The very first kiss after the very first date –

How long can you stand falling at that rate?

You're saying things now that shouldn't be said.

You're feeding a fire that shouldn't be fed.

Chorus:

That's how not to build a relationship.

You're pushing too fast and you're gonna slip.

You're building up a fire that cannot be tamed -

Destroying a plan that God ordained.

Verse 2:

“I love you! Baby, you're mine –

Handsome and attractive and you're just fine!”

A touch on the hand, just a little hug,

Leads to a kiss to express your love.

As time goes on, you're moving too fast.

Saying things, touching things – can this last?

You're real good at making this sport.

But look to your house – there's no support!

Chorus:

That's how not to build a relationship.

You're pushing too fast and you're gonna slip.

You're building up a fire that cannot be tamed -

Destroying a plan that God ordained.

Verse 3:

“Look into my eyes as together we stay –

Baby, we might get married some day."

You're digging your grave as the clock goes tick.

But you don't see you're making God sick!

“I want you – don't want anyone else.

Why don't you come over to my house?

Everything's all right 'cause our love's the same.”

But you don't realize what you're gonna defame!

Chorus:

That's how not to build a relationship.

You're pushing too fast and you're gonna slip.

You're building up a fire that cannot be tamed -

Destroying a plan that God ordained.

Verse 4:

Time has passed – now you're falling apart,

'Cause you built wrong from the very start.

Said things when they shouldn't be said.

Did things that could have left you dead.

Storms of life came – you're facing divorce.

Don't you wish now you would have changed course?

When you build on the sand this much is true:

Your house will fall in on you!

Chorus:

That's how not to build a relationship.

You're pushing too fast and you're gonna slip.

You're building up a fire that cannot be tamed -

Destroying a plan that God ordained.

© Daniel Lorimer

February 26, 2011

Does Purity Matter?

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I'm going to speak from from the perspective of what I see in Scripture as right and good. I realize that we live in a fallen world and sin has corrupted. Things aren't always as they should be, and praise the Lord, He can redeem! But I still believe that we should look at the should as what should be. I also realize we live in a world where someone can be a victim of another person's sin. If you have been abused, you are not responsible for that. God does not hold you guilty, no matter what the Devil tells you, and God has special healing grace just for you.

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Does Purity Matter?

I value purity because God values purity. God created sexuality and placed it within marriage. The Bible is very clear that sex outside of marriage is sexual immorality and sin. It's wrong. Ex 20:14 - "You shall not commit adultery." Jesus took that farther by saying that lusting was the same as committing adultery (Matt 5:27-28 ) - WHOA! He went on to say that it'd be better to cut out your eye than to go to hell because of it (Matt 5:29-30) - WHOA! That's a pretty high value on purity. Jesus thought it was important.

God's relationship with Israel was pictured as marriage (Is 54:5, others). Idolatry was pictured as infidelity. We see this throughout the Old Testament. In Hosea we see God's example of His redemptive plan, but God states "the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord" (Hos 1:2). Jeremiah talks about the many lovers that Israel has had. They had forsaken God through idolatry and become impure. God's desire was that they would keep themselves only for Him, that they would be pure.

Marriage is an image of Christ's relationship with the church (Eph 5:22-33) - a relationship that should be undefiled, holy, blameless, not polluted with the world. Christ is pure, and because we are in a relationship with a pure Christ, we seek to be pure, like Him (1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:13-15; 2 Pet 3:11, 14).

We see elsewhere in Scripture the sinfulness of sexual immorality and the value placed on purity. Acts 15:20; Rom 13:13. 1 Cor 6:12-20 – (actually go ahead and read all of chapters 5 and 6, and then go ahead and read the rest of the book :). this is an interesting concept that is also found elsewhere, that the body is not made for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; so if we participate in sexual immorality we are actually robbing God of what was made for Him; also the concept that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and so sexual immorality in the Christian is a defamation of God's temple. He also remembers that there were those in the Corinthian church that were fornicators before they knew Christ, and Christ had redeemed them from it.) 1 Cor 10:8 (it's in a list, not just by itself); 1 Cor 12:21 (also not alone); Gal 5:19-21 (contrasted with vv. 22-26); 1 Pet 4:1-6 (here he's talking about how they used to live.); Col 3:5; Heb 13:4; 1 Thess 4:3-8. There's a lot more. I've only scratched the surface. And I don't list the verses just to list them, I'd encourage you to read them, as I have done, and read the context of them, as I have done, even as I was gathering them to put in this post. They show us a lot about the heart of God (as does the whole Bible) :)

I believe in grace because God believes in grace. But I believe that grace is given because we fell short of what God wanted or required. Situations that require grace are not the ideal – that's why it's grace. Grace is a good thing. We wouldn't be here without it. In Rom 6, Paul asks, well if grace is so good, should we sin more so we can get more grace? Absolutely not! It breaks my heart to think of God's grace cheaply. You know how much God paid in order to extend grace? You know what it cost?

Grace is important. I need to extend grace just as I have been extended grace. I deserve nothing but God's wrath, and yet He showed grace. Therefore I can't prop myself up and look down at people. I'm nothing. But I dare not presume upon God's grace if I really love Him. I dare not say, "sin is a trifle because God forgives." Sin is tragic! Sin separates us from God! Sin breaks the heart of God!

God wants me to be pure. God wants you to be pure. God wants purity in His church. Purity is valuable.

Is there value in sexual purity? Yes! Does being sexually pure give us the right to be prideful and look down on those who are not? No! If someone has lost their sexual purity, does that mean they are less valuable? No! But I would say that it does mean they have lost the value that there is in being pure. They're not less of a person, and God still redeems, but there is something that is lost when purity is lost.

Physical and sexual purity is important and valuable because God has made it valuable. It is also an image of spiritual purity, which is crucially valuable.

Is there value in someone who has grown up and kept themselves for God and not rebelled or wandered off into a lot of gross sin? Yes! Does that mean they can be prideful and look down on those who have gone into gross sin? No! (Remember, we've all sinned, Rom 3:23.) If someone has been involved in deep sin, does that mean they are less valuable? No! However, I have often seen those who were saved at an early age feel inferior to those with great stories of sinfulness and wickedness out of which God redeemed them. But that's not the ideal. The ideal is that we would not become engrossed in deep sin, but accept Him early, and innocently, and purely. I'm often afraid the same thing can happen to those who keep themselves sexually pure, because the world says there's something wrong with you if you're pure. But God says, there's value in purity.

In summary, here's what I see as God's heart on the issue: He values purity. That's why I value purity. If I've lost it, it was sin, and that's tragic, and condemned me to hell. Christ died to give grace and redeem me from that. But every sin that I commit still has lasting effects on my life. Sin has real consequences. Once you lose your sexual purity, you can never get it back. Yes, God will forgive. Yes, God can miraculously heal the effects of sin, but He doesn't always do so. If I have baggage, God will give grace - that can be healed. Though most of the time the scars will never go completely away. Now, He doesn't stand over me and say you "you miserable little person you!" No, He weeps over my brokenness and is broken over my sin - we should have the same attitude. But even through it all, God still *wants* purity. That's His desire. And if you have kept yourself pure and continue to keep yourself pure, that is of huge value. If you find someone who has also kept themselves pure, that is of huge value. Never doubt the value of what God values.

Contentment

We have a tendency to be discontented. Maybe it's because we're Americans. Maybe it's because we're modern. Maybe it's because we're fallen human beings. Why is it that we so often think that life isn't fair, that our lot should be better than it is?

• Comparing ourselves to others – But we most often compare ourselves to those who have it 'better off,' and never is it holistic: We don't say, “Oh, they have it better here, but in this area they really have it rough.” We just look at what they have going for them and say, “why not me?”

• Thinking we deserve better. We are bombarded with this thinking, in commercials, advertising. We need this. We deserve that. We should not face problems. Tough times are so 50 years ago – it's silver platter time now!

• Perfectionism. Ok, go ahead and say it, perfectionism rocks! Perfectionism creates a state of discontentment in order to make things better, right? Sometimes. But perhaps more often it creates a goal unreachable which results in . . . discontentment.

• Too high of expectations. Ok, so this is sort of the same. But it's easy to get too high of expectations for ourselves, for others, for God. We think we know what God's blessings should look like, or when we should get them. We can make them something much nicer than God ever promised.

• Not trusting God. Discontentment stems from a lack of trust in God. Does He know what He's doing? Does He really love me? Does He really care?

I'm sure there are other sources or leads of discontentment, but I don't want to talk all night about discontentment, since that's not what this blog is about. I really want to talk about contentment.

I was reading Philippians 4 recently. It struck me in a different way, because I happened to read a verse out of order. Context is important, and the Scripture below is rearranged for emphasis, so I'm trusting that if you're not familiar with the full context of Philippians and especially chapter 4, that you go back and read it – but NOT until after you finish reading this blog :)

(4) Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

(11) For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:

(6) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

(12) I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

(9) The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

(7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

(13) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

(8) Brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

(19) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

A couple things stood out to me in a different way than ever before. First, Paul is talking about God supplying needs when he himself was so often 'needy' (and yet he was content). Second, meditating on the true, pure, lovely, and good applies to more than simply good vs. evil. It also applies to positive vs. negative. Given the choice between focusing on how bad our lives are, or how well off we are, which is easier to think about? For me, the negative, which leads to complaining. Is that really true? Is that at all lovely? Is that praiseworthy? I don't think so. It becomes an exhortation not just to shun evil, but also to focus on the positive.

Here's the basic framework I see happening here: (Again, go back to Philippians for the full story and correct context.)

Rejoicing -->

Contentment -->

Dispelling Anxiety -->

Humility -->

Peace -->

Guarding/Security -->

Christ -->

Positive focus -->

Supply --> (Which brings us back to:)

Rejoicing and Contentment -->

OR

We can Rejoice always

Because we've learned to be content

Instead of anxiety, we go to God in prayer

In humility – having learned how to suffer and abound (we don't assume that we should always have the best life)

Practicing this principle of humility, peace comes

Peace guards our heart and mind

through Christ (who enables us to do everything)

meditate on the positive

He will supply all our needs

Brings us back to the beginning, we can rejoice and be content

Our responsibility is to rejoice; to humble ourselves, realizing that we can both abound and suffer need; and to meditate on (focus on/think about) the positive.

And God will give His peace, which dispels anxiety and guards are heart and mind; give us the power of Christ, which is the enabling power in our lives; supply our needs.

God's supply may not fit our perception of what He should do, or what we think we deserve. But He still supplies our needs. We need to learn to be content with His supply, as Paul learned to be content no matter the circumstances. Now that releases anxiety. Now that brings peace. Now that is trusting God!

Here's some ways to help learn contentment (taken from a devotional book):

1. Consider how much harder others have it.
2. Ask God how He wants you to use your challenges for the growth of you and others.
3. Realize that just because something looks good doesn't mean it is. Erma Bombeck put it this way: “The grass usually looks greener over someone else's septic system.”
4. Pray for:

• the courage to change what you can;
• the grace to accept what you cannot change;
• and the wisdom to know the difference.

Facebook LifeStreaming

Have you ever thought, "I wish it were easier to tell my friends what I'm up to" or "I wish everybody could just see the real me"?

Well, your dreams have just come true. Facebook is introducing a new feature that will revolutionize social networking and change the way you interact with your friends, both online and offline. Scheduled for release on July 18, 2011, "Facebook LifeStreaming" brings the ultimate social experience to play and also boasts the easiest connection tools ever.

Facebook LifeStreaming works by simply inserting the wireless FLS chip near your brain, interfacing your thoughts with your cell phone app, computer, or any mobile device. The FLS chip then automatically streams directly to your Facebook LifeStream. With no need for any interaction from you, the FLS chip instantly posts all your actions, thoughts, and feelings on your LifeStream for all your friends to see, like, and comment. What's better, because LifeStreaming is instant and automatic, as soon as you make a move, or think a thought, it is instantly posted online for your friends to view, with no burdensome typing, posting, or thinking about what you'll say. No longer will your online representation be a static and partial picture of yourself. With Facebook LifeStreaming, friends will see the Real You like never before!

This never-before-seen experience allows you to communicate with your friends simply by thinking about them or mentioning their name, as LifeStreaming will also automatically tag them in your LifeStream post. All of your thoughts, feelings, actions, and more, all stored in one convenient place with absolutely no effort on your part - it couldn't get better! Except that the best part about LifeStreaming is that because it's connected directly to your brain, it will even share your subconscious thoughts and desires.

Some examples of posts you might see on the LifeStream include:

• Jan is in love with Mark
• Mark is lusting
• Phyllis is gossiping about Jan - just told a secret that she promised not to tell
• Jim is angry with Mark, wants to kill him right now
• John just told a lie
• Pat is crying because nobody cares
• Jim really wants a new ipad, doesn't have the money, thinking about stealing one from the store
• Josie just cut in front of an elderly lady and almost made her wreck

Of course, there's nothing stopping posts like this from showing up either:

• Harold is doing the dishes, nobody knows
• Janet is getting groceries for a neighbor who is bedfast
• Frank is telling Jim how awesome his coworker Phil is
• Margaret is praying for her mother's salvation
• Paul is giving a lollypop to a little autistic boy
• Charles just gave up his opportunity for a promotion so that he can spend more time with his wife and kids

All the good. All the bad. Everything that nobody knows. It's all out there - for everybody to see.

"For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." (Luke 12:2-3, NKJV)

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NKJV)

Facebook LifeStreaming. What is your life streaming?

The Rime of the Ancient College Grad (Abridged Version)

Part I

It is an ancient College Grad,

And he stoppeth one of three.

`By thy clean-shaven face and glittering eye,

Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

The classroom doors are closing soon,

And I must speak today;

The bell hath rung, I'm all-nigh late:

Please let me hurry away.'

He holds him with his skinny hand,

"There was a hat," quoth he.

`Hold off! unhand me, clean-shaven loon!'

Eftsoons his hand dropped he.

He holds him with his glittering eye -

The Freshman Lad stood still,

And listens like a three years' child:

The College Grad hath his will.

“This hat werth new, it 'twerth not old,

Stealthily did it come,

Into the hall, onto our heads,

And perched upon us some.

It came as new but soon was called

A legend and tradition,

Some said 'no' – an imposter,

but was there no remission.

Day after day, on happiest days

This hat would show its brim.

The bringer cheered, the victim feared

And left the wearer grim.

Alas my part to end this strife

Upon me it was sat

'Why thence thou said?' - “From mine own head

I crushed the Birthday Hat.”

Part II

Birthdays, birthdays, everywhere,

And all the peeps did sing.

Birthdays, birthdays, everywhere,

But not a hat did bring.

Ah! well-a-day! What cheerful looks

Had I from old and young!

Flat it sat, the Birthday Hat

And praises of me were sung.”

Part III

(skipped in abridged version)

Part IV

The selfsame moment I could sing;

And from my head so free

The Birthday Hat fell to the floor

Like lead into the sea."

Part V

Alas then heard another voice,

As soft as honey-dew:

Quoth he, `The man hath greatness done,

And greater more will do.'

Part VI

I saw a third -I heard his voice:

It is the Hermit good!

He singeth loud his godly hymns

That he maketh in the glen.

He made of me this tale to tell:

The Birthday Hat's sad end.

Part VII

I pass, like night, from land to land;

I have strange power of speech;

That moment that his face I see,

I know the man that must hear me:

To him my tale I teach.

Farewell, farewell! but this I tell

To thee, thou Freshman Lad!

He prayeth well, who loveth well

Both man and bird and lid.

He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all."

The College Grad, whose eye is mad,

Whose beard is shaven all,

Is gone; and now the Freshman Lad

Turned from the classroom wall.

He went like one that hath been stunned,

And is of sense forlorn:

A sadder and a wiser man

He rose the morrow morn.

© Daniel Lorimer

April 20, 2011

Numbers

I'm just one

What's this world coming two

If we're gonna be three

Then what's it really four

I'm feeling so divided

There's way too much subtracting

What more can I somehow add

'Cause I want one life two count!

Got to stay at five

So don't try any six

When you find yourself in seven

Then you'll really know you're eight

I'm feeling so divided

There's way too much subtracting

What more can I somehow add

'Cause I want one life two count!

Feelin' just nine

Don't want to stop ten

They've turned into X

And I don't know Y

I'm feeling so divided

There's way too much subtracting

What more can I somehow add

'Cause I want one life two count!

© Daniel Lorimer

January 27, 2011

2011: Year of the Giants

(Note: this is longer than usual, but it is mostly Scripture, so it's well worth reading :) )

We face giants. They come in many shapes and forms, but always the same size – big! Circumstances, situations, people, past, addictions, future, relationships, fears, hurts, trouble, the list goes on. There is always something bigger than us, beyond our abilities, greater than we can handle.

There they are now, those giants meeting us as we move into 2011: Staring us in the face, filling our lives with nothing but fear and promising us nothing but defeat.

Ah, but there is One greater than the giants! He specializes in defeating giants! And He's on your side!

He's even told us about some of them! Of Goliath (1 Sam 17).

4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the dservants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10 And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

20 So David . . . came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away othe reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, druddy and good-looking. 43 So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

But Goliath wasn't the only giant defeated!

Deuteronomy 3:11 (NKJV)

11 “For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.

Numbers 21:33-55 (NKJV)

33 And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”

35 So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.

Refusing to face the giants that God had placed before them won Israel 40 years in the wilderness and the death of all those Israelites who refused to face them (Num 13-14).

But for Caleb, the man that trusted in God, it meant victory.

Joshua 14:6-15 (NKJV)

6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea.

7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.

8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.

9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’

10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.

11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.

12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim [giants] were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.

14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.

15 And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim [giants]). Then the land had rest from war.

Judges 1:20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

Joshua 11:21-22 (NKJV)

21 And at that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim [giants] from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.

22 None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.

Joshua 17:15-18 (NKJV)

15 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.”

16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.”

17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot,

18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.”

2 Samuel 21:15-22 (NKJV) (cf. 1 Chronicles 20:4-8)

15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.

16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David.

17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. . . .

18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant.

19 Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

20 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.

21 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

We could tell endless stories of giants defeated by God through His servants, of impossible situations overcome through God's power, of seemingly impossible transformations in people's lives, of the impossible not only becoming possible, but reality. The truth is, God is in the business of defeating giants. He did it for Moses, for David, for the New Testament church, all through church history, last year. And He's going to do it again this year, in 2011, the Year of the Giants.

Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."

Revelation 3:7-8 (NKJV)

7 "‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:

8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it;'"

And so I'm asking you, right at the start of 2011, is anything too big for God? He wants to defeat some giants in your life this year Are you ready? God's going to defeat some giants in your life this year! Are you preparing?