Power in the Blood

There's power in the blood of Jesus! Cameron experienced Ps 91:11 in his life as God's angels kept Satan @ bay. NO FEAR!

Cameron is the athlete in our family. He loves sports of all kind and excels. He was named MVP at Bill Self's (head coach at the University of Kansas) Basketball Camp and voted to the All-Star Team in baseball. He has great instinct, good hands and is fast. This was his first year to play tackle football and he was so excited. Truly, we simply expected things to go like they always do for him and sports.

However, he found himself paralyzed by fear. He was afraid of messing up. He was afraid of letting down his coaches and teammates. Most especially, he was afraid of getting hurt. Fear has always touched him when he tries new things. He has stood frozen at the top of a six foot skateboard ramp not able to let himself go. He has been frozen at the edge of the diving board unable to backflip into the water.

He has memorized II Timothy 1:7..."God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." He knows that fear is from Satan and power is from God. He has heard the question, "Are you going to let Satan control you or the all-powerful God?" Needless to say, the six-foot ramp is a piece of cake and backflips are beautiful!

I assumed he would follow his pattern of quoting the word of God, remember who he wants controlling his life and be "cured." Football season has not gone this way. Last week, it was so bad that fear completely paralyzed him. Cameron is the backup quarterback and in our divisional playoff game, the starting quarterback was injured in the beginning of the game. Cameron came out and on his first snap, the runningback wasn't where Cameron expected him and the handoff was fumbled. The other team came up with the ball. Cameron went to the sideline and you could see his shoulders slump.

Our defense forced a fumble and we have the ball back. Cameron comes out for three more plays and then it happened. He grabbed his stomach, went to the sideline and took off his helmet. He sat on the bench and there he remained for the rest of the game. Fear had paralyzed him once again and this time he was physically sick. He had severe stomach pains. At first, I was so mad at him for allowing Satan to control him in such a way. I knew his pain was real, but I wanted him to make a choice for Christ and stand against Satan.

I had to leave the game a little early to get Jackson to golf and while I was sitting under the trees during the golf lesson it dawned on me that Cameron is 9. It is my job to guide him to the truth of God's word. I am responsible for the spiritual battle that is being waged on my precious son. When I saw him later he expected me to be mad at him (how convicting that moment was!) and I told him I wasn't. I let him know that I simply wanted him to learn to let Christ have the victory over Satan.

We spent the week reading various portions of Scripture as we prayed over Cameron. Psalm 91 really got him. I read it as my prayer as he fell asleep. He asked me to read it over him several times throughout the week. He would repeat certain portions of it and memorized verse 11.

"You who sit down in the High God's presence,
spend the night in Shaddai's shadow,
say this: 'God, you're my refuge.
I trust in you and I'm safe!'
That's right - He rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you -
under them you're perfectly safe;
His arms fend off all harm.
FEAR NOTHING! Not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day.
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon....

Yes, because God's your refuge,
the High God your very own home,
Evil can't get close to you,
harm can't get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they'll catch you,
their job is to keep you from falling."

Cameron knows that Satan was the one bringing the fear. Satan was the one that was causing his pain. He realized that he was allowing Satan to have power in his life. He prayed and asked God, his high refuge to not allow Evil - Satan - to get close to him. Cameron prayed that through the power in the blood of Jesus that the angels God had placed around him to guard him would defeat Satan from having any touch on him.

Practices this week for Cameron were amazing. (btw, we won the division and were playing in the Super Bowl) He came alive and decided he loves defense. He intercepted some passes and caused some fumbles. He was learning that through the blood of Jesus, Satan cannot touch him.

Saturday came and as gametime approached Cameron became quieter and quieter. When it was time to dress for the game, we prayed, quoted our verses and he said he was ready. However, I wanted him to have a weapon down on that field. I wanted him to have something visual and available, so I went and found a sharpie. I wrote Ps 91:11 on his wrist and told him that when Satan came a-calling to hold it up and shout the name of Jesus! As Christians we are covered in the powerful blood and Satan has NO power over us.

Once again, the quarterback went down and Cameron was called in. He was a little tentative, but he played every down he was asked to play. He is on the kickoff return team and caught a kickoff and ran it down the field. He was tackled several times, hurt his back from a late hit but never felt pain. He never felt fear. He never gave in to Satan's attempts. And, he had a couple. He told me after the game that each time he felt like he was getting nervous or scared, he would make a fist, quote the verse in his mind and the feeling disappeared. Praise the Name of Jesus!

What a wonderful week of spiritual growth for my precious nine year old! So thankful that God allowed me to be the one to teach my son how to fight victoriously over the Evil One. Satan, watch out...Cameron is here!

(In case you are wondering, we lost the Super Bowl! 28-0. Who cares though?!! Jesus won during the Super Bowl!!! )