Are you wearing your combat boots?

    

   One day when I was “putting on the whole armor of God” (as instructed in Ephesians 6:10-18), God stopped me at my 👞 shoes. (“your feet shod with the gospel of peace”). “You know, He said, “these aren’t lightweight footgear for the world’s idea of peace. This is not ‘Tiny Tim dancing through the tulips.’ [You have to be old enough to get this reference] These are combat boots you put on to fight for others to receive My Shalom.. I responded as I often do:  Huh?

   He proceeded to further confuse me: “You are a minister of reconciliation.” Wait, combat boots and reconciliation? Oh, is that like warring for peace? Hmmm. 

   2 Corinthians 5:18* declares that we as believers are ministers of reconciliation.. What does that mean? I know that Jesus was and is the Great Reconciler, reuniting us with Yahweh through His sacrificial death in our place. Holy Spirit is continually drawing all of Creation back to the Father. Separation from the Holy One Who made us brings eternal death…All life is in God. Without Him we are but dust. Yeshua laid Himself down as a Bridge across the gap so we could return to The Great and Holy I Am, of which He Himself is a part, (‘begotten not created’). I get that, but I still needed help with our role…..with the combat boots we are supposed to put on. Thankfully, He is always patient to explain:

   When we put our whole trust in the grace and love of our Lord and Savior, the Father seeds and anoints us to become more and more like Himself. Like the Holy Trinity, we are Reconcilers. We are assigned this occupation for the rest of our lives. We become more like Him, ministers of reconciliation.

   “What does this really mean?” I asked Him. “And why, again, is it that I am donning much too big combat boots instead of loafers or ballet slippers?”  

   Here’s the gist of what He expressed to me:  Encouraging, fostering, and nurturing reconciliation between humans and, more importantly, between people and Himself, is not an easy assignment. It is not for the faint of heart, so to speak. It requires courage and tough warfare in the spirit realm, as well as in the natural. Fear of man will try to outweigh our desire to fulfill our calling. For someone to experience God’s full Shalom of body, soul, and spirit, a battle usually must take place. It isn’t all sweetness and light, an absence of conflict, or “let’s all agree to make up and play fair.”

   Unforgiveness, deep-seated resentments, bitterness, trauma, abuse or neglect as children, the lies of the enemy, our own sins and selfishness, a sense of unworthiness, and all sorts of injustice, real or perceived, including anger at God Himself, can serve to block true reconciliation between people and between ourselves and our Heavenly Father. 

   We are also prone to try to take God’s place on the throne and judge others as deserving or undeserving of forgiveness. Mature Christians know this is totally irrelevant to the forgiveness to which God both calls and commands us. Are we worthy of God’s forgiveness? Yet we still find ourselves hopping up onto His cosmic judgment seat.

   “Be reconciled to one another.” Ok, we get it. We can visualize our roles as both forgivers and mediators for others. But what about serving as ministers of reconciliation between someone and God? Jesus already accomplished it, right? He suffered so much physically that he was unrecognizable as a man.****. Not to mention spiritually bearing the sins of every single human being past, present, and future on His own shoulders, in order to reconcile us to Yahweh and grant us His true Shalom of body, soul and spirit.

   The problem is: 

1) Many people have never even heard the the gospel, the Good News of His Shalom

2) Many people don’t believe it when they do..

3) Many people believed it at one point in their lives and then began believing lies.

4) Many people believe Jesus suffered and died for them to live in Heaven one day, but they are angry at God because of circumstances on earth they think He didn’t care enough to prevent. (If they were to really think this through and weren’t being deceived by the enemy of their souls, they would realize how ridiculous and illogical this is. So God would suffer excruciatingly in body and soul, take the weight of the world on His own shoulders out of His unfathomable love for us, but He can’t be bothered to help us out here on earth? Or He will help our neighbor but we’re chopped liver? Hmmmm.)

   Some people even believe God gave them an illness so He could make a good out of it. (See my post linked below, “Everything…) Because God makes good out of evil doesn’t mean He creates evil situations. He is absolutely and totally Good. There is no mixture of good and evil in Him, as some religions and philosophies teach. No ying yang  balancing to = good. (See my post on “Avoiding Modern Idolatry” linked below.)

   If we are going to fight for reconciliation, we must be prepared to do battle in the spiritual realm (through  praying, listening to Holy Spirit, decreeing, praising, etc., especially with other believers. We must be prepared to face rejection and ridicule and persecution. Not every minister of reconciliation will be received with joy and gladness***. Despite our best intentions, we may find ourselves the brunt of anger, judgment, criticism, and other forms of rejection. However, God calls all believers to this ministry, not just pastors, apostles, prophets, and teachers. 

   I am one of those ‘avoid conflict whenever possible’ people. I hate confrontation. I would rather be comfortable in my own little world. However, watching someone else drown because I don’t feel like swimming is not an acceptable excuse for a bond servant of the High. King. Part of my donning of combat boots 🥾 is simply to get myself to move and obey in response to His direction. To listen and be willing to be deployed to battle. To enter the huddle (see previous post) and be ready to follow the Coach’s brilliant Plan. He wants none lost, none alone, none unhealed, none unloved, none deceived, none wandering off in left field….none unreconciled to others and, most of all, none separated from Him.

   Colossians 1:27 declares we are “carriers of the King of Glory.” Let’s don those combat boots and get about His business, work the Plan, love the unloveable, draw people back together and back to Him.

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17 Therefore, if anyone is united with the Messiah, he is a new creation — the old has passed; look, what has come is fresh and new! 18 And it is all from God, who through the Messiah has reconciled us to himself and has given us the work of that reconciliation, 19 which is that God in the Messiah was reconciling mankind to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation —2:Corinthians 5:17-19

*** Caveat: If we don’t follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, this may be our own error rather than our being persecuted for righteousness sake.

**** Just as there were many who were appalled at him his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being  and his form marred beyond human likeness—Isaiah 52:14 

I have an unction from the Holy one, and I know all things, — 1 John 2:20. 

I have the mind of Christ, —1 Corinthians 2:16,

I am anointed by God, —1 John 2:27, 

I was created by Him for good works, —Ephesians 2:10 

• Everything happens for a reason, but not always a good one” December 7, 2024:  https://tennyandi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-huddle.html 
• The Huddle, July 7, 2025 https://tennyandi.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-huddle.html
• “Avoiding Modern Idolatry, January 8, 2025: https://tennyandi.blogspot.com/2025/01/avoiding-idolatry-in-current-times.html

The Huddle

   

   In the last decade, I have been reading, studying, and listening to teachings about the Lord’s desire to partner with His people to see His plans manifested on the earth. Recently, He gave me an image of a football huddle. His arms were intertwined with the shoulders of His team. Heads were lowered and ears attuned to the Coach. The players were envisioning the play as He spoke. 

   We often think of God as the One Who answers our prayers and ourselves as relatively passive petitioners who then wait for His answer. He is indeed the Source of all power, knowledge, wisdom, efficacy, and fruitfulness. However, He did not create us to be passive servants, but rather born-again, informed, active, and authoritative co-workers and friends. Jesus said, “I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father. [John 15:15] 

   When we put our whole trust in His grace and love, turning our lives over to Him, Holy Spirit ‘seeds’ us, endowing us with His very own spiritual DNA. We join His team to help see “His will done on earth as it is in Heaven.” 

   “For you have been born again [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] not of seed which is perishable but [from that which is] imperishable and immortal, that is, through the living and everlasting word of God” [1 Peter 1:23 AMP]

   “So,” He says in the huddle, “here’s the Plan…. John, you will sprint down field, while Larry fakes a pass but then runs down center field, instead of passing the football 🏈. Mary, you will….” Sometimes the Coach’s plays don’t make sense to His players. They don’t understand how His plans will work. If they trust the Coach and follow His directions, however, they will eventually see surprising touchdowns. Success is not accomplished by the quarterback or any star player, but by the whole team’s [Ekklesia’s] movements, orchestrated by the Coach.

   God has given us authority* to change things on the earth and in the heavens under His direction. To speak life into death-bound situations, hope where there is despair, light where there is darkness, turn-arounds to wrong directions, transformation of lives, freedom from deception, truth to those steeped in lies, and all-around failure to the plans of our opponent, the enemy of our souls. Scripture says* angels hearken to the Word of God and work to help see it manifested on the earth. They, too, are part of the team. Yes, our actions, under the Coach’s direction, absolutely have power to effect change, but so do our words in accordance with His Word. Just as He created the cosmos with His Words, so we who contain His seeded DNA can bring life in place of death, when we agree with and say what He says. We declare and decree His Plan. “Yes, Coach, so be it! We’re with You. We trust You! We’re listening! We’re on it! 

   So be it.

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“For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].” 1Cor 2:16 AMP

“Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word”. —Psalm 103:20

“Nothing activates the Kingdom of God and the angel armies like the Word of God. Holy Spirit hovers until He hears the Word of God. God’s Word activates His power and Kingdom resources.”

Psalms 103:20 says that angels hearken to the voice of God’s Word. The entire universe is made to respond to the voice of God’s Word. The heavens and the earth are made to respond to the powerful voice of His Word. Amazingly, human beings made in His image and in His likeness are carriers of that Word when they are activated at the new birth. They are “lifed” by it when they are born again

—Tim Sheets, Planting the Heavens

“Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19 NKJV). Using the original Greek word meanings, it says this, “Whatever you at any time encounter of hell’s council or authority that I am determined My church will prevail against, you will then face the decision whether you will or will not bind it. What transpires is conditional to your response. If you do purposely and consciously involve yourself in binding the issue on earth, you will find at that future moment when you do that it has been yes’d in Heaven.” If we say yes, it’s been yes’d in Heaven, and if we say no, it’s been no’d in Heaven. In other words, the authority He has delegated to us is backed up in Heaven. —Tim Sheets, Planting the Heavens

“We do not create from nothing like God did, but we take what God has done and steward it in such a way that we can decree a creative force into the heavens and the earth. —ibid

“If we are going to plant the heavens and lay God’s Word into our culture’s foundations, we must learn, practice, and activate authority language. The King’s seed that is sown into us, the King’s DNA that has been transmitted into our spirit at the new birth, needs to manifest inside of us. We need to become who and what we really are. We are under the Lordship of King Jesus, forgiven, re-imaged, and born again into His family. We truly are in the King’s lineage. We are heirs of God and we are joint heirs with Christ. We are a part of the Kingdom of Almighty God and are expected to reign with Him right now.” Ibid

You were born anew of incorruptible seed through the Word of God. The Greek word for “seed” is spora, and it’s filled with new identity, new purpose, and new destiny (Strong, G4701). It also reveals the love of God for a son or a daughter, and it explains His combined affection and care for His new “born-gain” ones. It’s a love that is real, pure, and constant. A love that caused the apostle John to exclaim in First John 3:1 (MSG), Tim Sheets, Planting the Heavens

“Never speak negative words or unbelief. They are contrary to the seed of God that is in you.” —Tim Sheets

“The Power of life and death is in the tongue.” —

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. —Proverbs 18:21

“God’s Words are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.” —Proverbs 4:22

Keep Swimming

   

   Remember Dorie from “Finding Nemo”? Such a loveable fish. The older I get, the more I am identifying with her short term memory issues. God brought her to mind this morning as He spoke to me about being free from anxiety in my daily life. 

   My sisters and I are sometimes attacked by what psychologists call “free-floating anxiety.” We all know the definition of anxiety in general, but with this type, there is no reason to be anxious, no circumstance in particular causing concern. There is just this sense that there is something wrong, that we are not doing all we should be doing, that we aren’t keeping up with needs or necessities somewhere, somehow. It’s almost as if we are reaching out and searching for what we should be concerned about.

   This, of course, is the exact opposite of how our Father wants us to live. He knows us inside out…our struggles, our vulnerabilities, our hearts’ desires. He longs for us to live in the Shalom of the abundant life He suffered and died for us to have. Anxiety, worry, and fretfulness are not part of His plan for us.

   Lately, in my retired state, I have become aware of my underlying concern that I am spending my life the way He wants me to. Am I wasting the gift of time He has given me? Am I fulfilling the destiny and meeting the divine appointments He has planned for me? Am I leaving untapped some of the. gifts He placed in me before I was born?  Are there people whose lives He wants me to touch that I am too lazy or too uncomfortable to pursue? Will He speak over me when I come Home to Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant”? Sometimes I feel like Dorie that I need to “just keep swimming,” but maybe even harder.

   He knows my heart and those of all His children. He is merciful and forgiving and full of lovingkindness. This I know. That is the very reason I want to please Him by the way I live my life. This morning, because He always reads my heart, He told me (as best I can record: “I love you. Don’t fret. I will show you (and remind you ha ha^) what to do. Flow in the river of My grace. You don’t need to do laps. Settle into My grace and float on your back. I will keep you buoyant. Your head will not go under water. It is panic and anxiety that can lead to drowning.”

   Have you ever felt that you were “not enough”? Are you, too, sometimes attacked by “free-floating” anxiety or awash in the sense that you aren’t doing enough, that you must keep swimming harder to please others…or, more, importantly, your Heavenly Father? 

   Turn over on your back and float in His grace. Keep your ear attuned to Him. He won’t allow your head to go under water. You will find the true Shalom of His abundant life. There, floating peacefully on your back, look up.

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• Here is one of my drawings for God from my journal from 2020. No fair making fun of my ‘art.’  

• For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].  —John 1:16 AMP
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• Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb —Revelation 22:1

• Ezekiel 47 also describes the river flowing from under the throne of God

• “To “drink deeply” of the Spirit is the same as receiving his power and gifts until rivers of living water flow from the inside of us. See John 3:34; 7:37.” —Brian Simmons, TPT note from 1. Corinthians p-12-13
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• ^I have difficulty, sometimes, recording the chuckle or outright laughter I hear from Him. He is also a great punster. (To remind ‘Dorie’ is worth a guffaw.)