Avianna Lemonier's Blog, page 4

It may not feel like it, but the smear campaign is often a blessing in disguise.

Ephesians 6:12-13

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:12-13 NIV)

Understanding this helps you see things from the right perspective. Some things are not personal – certain people attacking you is not personal. It has nothing to do with you and more to do with what is behind that person targeting you.

John Calvin Commentary, Ephesians 6:12

‘For we wrestle not’. To impress them still more deeply with their danger, he points out the nature of the enemy, which he illustrates by a comparative statement, ‘Not against flesh and blood’. The meaning is, that our difficulties are far greater than if we had to fight with men. There we resist human strength, sword is opposed to sword, man contends with man, force is met by force, and skill by skill; but here the case is widely different. All amounts to this, that our enemies are such as no human power can withstand. By ‘flesh and blood’ the apostle denotes men, who are so denominated in order to contrast them with spiritual assailants. This is no bodily struggle.

Let us remember this when the injurious treatment of others provokes us to revenge. Our natural disposition would lead us to direct all our exertions against the men themselves; but this foolish desire will be restrained by the consideration that the men who annoy us are nothing more than darts thrown by the hand of Satan. While we are employed in destroying those darts, we lay ourselves open to be wounded on all sides. To ‘wrestle with flesh and blood’ will not only be useless, but highly pernicious. We must go straight to the enemy, who attacks and wounds us from his concealment, — who slays before he appears.

Be aware of Satan’s distractions.

I thank God for each and every one of them ❤️

Make some noise if this is how you feel

Leaning on the Creator Amidst Racial Trauma | We Must Pray for America

This is a Facebook post I wrote last year about leaning on God in moments where memories of my experiences with racism and discrimination feel especially heavy and in recent days it has been a helpful reminder:

Due to the current climate of American politics, some now feel emboldened to openly voice racist and discriminatory views. Stumbling upon certain circles on social media has taken me back to the racism that, unfortunately, permeated my childhood and even adulthood.

If I’m being completely honest, when witnessing the narratives being promoted within these circles, I feel like I’m back in high school.

What is most unfortunate is that many of the people engaging in this kind of behavior are professing Christians.

We must pray for America.

2019 vs. 2024…THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THE DIFFERENCE ❤️

I put these two pictures together last year but never posted it.

The picture on the left is a screenshot from a since-deleted video I had posted on my YouTube channel at the time. Soooo much was going on in my life at that time. I was struggling under the oppression of both false charismatic teachings and new age beliefs as well as intense scrupulosity. A massive smear campaign against me had just started the year before. So many other things were happening as well. I hadn’t even realized how small I had gotten in terms of my weight. I was anorexic at that point…emaciated.

The picture on the right is 2024 and soooo much has changed for the better. I thank God for delivering me from deception. So many beautiful surprises have been brought into my life. Some of the same problems I had in 2019 (such as the smear campaign) are still ongoing, but, oh, there is a big difference now.

THANK YOU, LORD, FOR THE DIFFERENCE.

Happy Birthday Trayvon Martin! ❤️

Proverbs 1:8-19 NIV

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction
    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head
    and a chain to adorn your neck.

My son, if sinful men entice you,
    do not give in to them.
If they say, “Come along with us;
    let’s lie in wait for innocent blood,
    let’s ambush some harmless soul;
let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
    and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
we will get all sorts of valuable things
    and fill our houses with plunder;
cast lots with us;
    we will all share the loot”—
my son, do not go along with them,
    do not set foot on their paths;
for their feet rush into evil,
    they are swift to shed blood.
How useless to spread a net
    where every bird can see it!
These men lie in wait for their own blood;
    they ambush only themselves!
Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
    it takes away the life of those who get it.