Comments by Joan Boney:
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
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When God calls a scripture to mind, take that scripture, and "reason it", making it alive in your own life. Allowing that scripture to become a part of your daily life. When you do that, the verse becomes a part of you and you become a part of that verse. Jesus lives in you by that Word. And you live in Jesus.
Paul said: "I can do all things through Christ "the word" which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)
For example: In 1975, when I owned my business in Dallas,Texas, in American Indian Arts, a man I had never heard of filed a law suit against me for one-million-dollars.
It was so ridiculous I couldn't take it seriously.
Then after a few days, I realized if I didn't respond this man could obtain judgment against me in the USA Courts and I could end up losing my business, and all my merchandise.
So I hired an attorney ... and then my troubles really began!
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Legal bills from my own attorney began arriving almost weekly: I paid each bill when it arrived but at the rate it was going I would be bankrupt in a few weeks. I was a very small business.
I cried out to God! "What should I do about all these legal bills?"
God caused me to remember a scripture:
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of ME, saith the LORD.
I started to "reason" ... I'm a Christian now so this promise of God pertains to me and should be valid in my own life. This law suit is most certainly a weapon formed against me. The Bible says, "No weapon that is formed against me shall prosper."
As I continued to look at this scripture, I felt God was showing me to dismiss my lawyer, thus stopping the legal bills, and go to court without any human legal counsel, defending myself.
" every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn."
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As such a young Christian, I felt I needed to consult my pastor. I made an appointment and drove to the church office. As I was driving, I prayed for God to give the pastor wisdom.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Pastor listened and then said ... "Joan ... I perceive that you have faith to do this this way."
Now I felt I had confirmation of the way I should go in the matter at hand.
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When I got back to my shop, I called my lawyer and I said: "Gordon ... I'm a Christian. The legal bills are destroying my business. I prayed and God gave me a scripture. Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of ME, saith the LORD. Therefore I have decided to terminate my legal service and go to court representing myself without any human legal counsel.
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"Joan," said Gordon ... "You can't do this! You don't realize how evil these courts are today! And we are willing to work with you. Why, it will only take about $10,000 more to try your case."
Now I was very shocked, and cried out: "$10,000 more. Gordon STOP. Don't do another thing."
(With that, I dismissed my attorneys and terminated the legal bills.)
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About a week later, Gordon came into my shop. He said, "Joan ... at the law firm we have decided to represent you without any further legal fees."
What's going on here? One week it is $10,000 more ... now the legal service is free? I didn't hear him mention God in this.
I said, "You're just going to have to let me get back with you on this."
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I began praying: "God ... What do YOU want me to do about this "free" legal service?"
God reminded me of the following scripture to show me"
Genesis 14
There had been a war.
16 And he (Abram) brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.
21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
I was very excited when I read Abraham's statement. I cried out to God, "That's how I want to live. I want my possessions to be from YOU."
I knew God was telling me to turn down the "free" legal service. So I called Gordon and declined their offer.
And I prepared to go to court without human legal service!
I was terrified.
But God began giving me scripture to sustain me and to give me courage. I took each scripture and recorded it on front and back side of a cassette tape. I played the tape at night when I would go to bed and when I awoke in the night, I would turn the tape over and play side 2 of the recorded scripture. I did this every night as I waited for the court trial date.
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Six days before we were to go to trial I received a phone call from Mr. Settle's lawyer. He told me he was calling me because I didn't have a lawyer. He told me Mr. Settle had dropped all charges and the case was dismissed.
I asked if he dropped all charges against everyone. (He was suing the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth. The Better Business departments of each of these cities. And several dealers in American Indian Arts. He charged that we were conspiring to keep him from doing business in the Metroplex.)
He was an itinerant dealer of Indian jewelry and he would come into town, rent a motel room, and advertise having Indian jewelry for sale at less 70-percent cost.
The Dallas Morning News had called me asking me to write a consumer guide for the purchase of American Indian Arts, which they had recently published.
Apparently he used this article to make his claim that we were conspiring to keep him from doing business in Dallas-Fort Worth.
His lawyer said they tried to get him not to sue me. He had no grounds. But the lawyer said he was like a "mad man" and they could not reason with him.
Now it was over.
Later Gordon came into my shop and said he wanted me to know they had often discussed my case at the law firm and wanted me to know they believed what I said had happened.
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.
God used this legal case to teach me to stand on scripture which HE had brought to me by the Holy Spirit and to follow HIM this way by the scriptures brought to my mind!
Colossians 1:27 Christ (the Word) in you, the hope of glory:
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