The Spirit Warns

I have been many days since posting the last blog. The Spirit calls every day but my days have been so full of wrestles that I haven't been able to post all He has had to say to me. The closer we walk with the Lord the harder the evil one fights to separate us from our Leader.

I pray you have heard Him call and experienced the riches of fellowship with the Holy Spirit yourself during this time of joy and celebration of the birth of our Savior.

We are almost at the end of yet another year and one year closer to the coming our our King in His Glory. We can rejoice that the days of our troubles are almost over and our unfathomable eternity will be revealed. But there is still work to be done, lost souls to be found, and even warnings to be delivered for those who have fallen away.

Today the Spirit warns.

The world is spinning out of control and the gauntlet has been laid out. Will we, who have tasted that the Lord is good, be faithful? Within the body of Christ there is much that is grievous to His Spirit. Adultery, divorce, immorality, compromise. The list of outrageous failure within the Body of Christ is long and we have grown apathetic. Where is the conviction? Where is the humility and where is the repentance?

Today the Spirit calls me to read Ezekiel 3:16-21 with fear and trembling. I am accountable for my own failure to repent and turn as the Spirit reveals sin in me. But this passage takes my accountability to an uncomfortable place....to confront another with their sin...and warn them.

This is something we would much rather not read and not have to be responsible to obey. But it is in the Word and must be studied and if we are true to our Lord, obeyed.

All of us are capable of sin...the flesh is not yet made perfect. There are sins that we have no business pointing out in another unless we are invited by them to do so. But there are sins that lead to death and this passage tells us that we are accountable to warn the ones at risk. This takes great wisdom and we must be under the control of the Holy Spirit when we undertake to warn.

What does it take to warn those heading to divorce without cause outlined in scripture. The destruction of the family is evil in the eyes of the Lord.. What does it take to warn those involved in immoral behavior. Immorality is evil in the eyes of the Lord. What does it take to warn those involved in adultery? Breaking of our vows in marriage is evil in the eyes of the Lord.

We have become so afraid of stepping on toes and losing friendships that we fail to see our own accountability before God to warn. Ezekiel clears this up. If you do not warn the wicked or speak up to dissuade him from his evil action, he will die for his sin and "I will hold you accountable for his blood". vs 18 "But if you warn him and he does not turn from his wickedness or his evil ways he will die but you will save yourself." The passage even speaks of a righteous man who turns from his righteousness needing to be warned and our responsibility to speak out the warning.

These are treacherous times. Temptations come from all directions and few rely on God's Word for their decision making wisdom. The lines get cloudy and situational ethics prevail. Now is the time for all of us who call ourselves "Believers" to draw close to the Lord through His Spirit...listen for and to the warnings He gives to us personally and for others, then to speak out to warn those who are at risk....Love warns...

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Immanuel....God With Us***

"The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son and they will call Him Immanuel which means "God with us" Matt 1:23.

The Spirit calls me today and says, "let that sink deep into your heart and mind..."God with us".

"Why do you fail to realize the powerful purpose that the Father had in sending Jesus Christ, His Son in human form so long ago? His purpose was to usher in a New Covenant. People who lived and died before Jesus Christ was born were not all lost or unsaved by God. The purpose of the "New Covenant" was to establish and model the "new" relationship potential between God and His beloved Creation...Man.

God's desire over man since the Garden was to enjoy deep intimacy and fellowship with him for all eternity. Free will, the flesh with all it's choices and an evil arch enemy providing temptation at every corner, requires a very supernatural "covenant".

Hallelujah....that our God had the perfect plan...and executed it over 2000 years ago. Christ in us the hope of glory...Col 1:23....(and unity with our God.)

The "New Covenant" involved one last and final sacrifice for sin. One Holy Lamb slain. One Holy life given to stand under the Righteous judgment of our Holy God to pay the mandatory price of death for sin. "The wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23, "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".

The Cross of Christ is the place where God's ultimate judgement of sin was poured out upon the Savior of the world who is Jesus Christ. Now each one of us must decide whether we will accept the Holy Substitute provided by God, to be our personal Savior or to blow off the priceless gift of Salvation and stand in the place of taking that wrath upon ourselves.

There is no other choice when it comes to God's Righteous judgment. We must either accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and substitute, or take personal responsibility for sin and have God's final judgment fall upon our own head.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

What we must believe ABOUT Him is that He came to be the Savior of the world. But what represents belief IN Him is that He paid the price for me personally. I acknowledge the right of Holiness to condemn me for falling short of the Perfect standard required for salvation. In humility of heart I willingly accept and embrace Jesus Christ as being the only One who can save me from the wrath and judgement of a Holy God.

Christmas is the day we celebrate the Priceless gift; the coming of the Savior of the world. The fact that God chose to come in human form blows my circuits. The fact that He would die for me so I can live forever with Him is hard to fathom but the the fact that He loves us so much He would come from Heaven and all of it's glory to relate to His beloved creation in our arena is beyond my comprehension.

I cannot even begin to process and handle all that it means..Immanuel". But I am convicted that I must seek to know the fullness of a life now and forever that bears the evidence of "Immanuel"....God with us. What amazing things might we see and do if only we believe.

As we celebrate this great historic day on the calendar of our days, may we all come to the manger in thankful appreciation for the One who was placed there and why. If the humble Savior is not enough for anyone, may we consider this:

We bow at the Manger or we bow at the Throne of Judgement, but sooner or later all will bow:

Philippians 2:10-11 "Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father."

I choose to bow at the manger.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Out of Bondage

The Spirit calls and I say, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."

Today, the thoughts of yesterday's reading of the Word of God flood my mind. Meditating & processing takes time so there are days when the blog must wait for another entry. Not that I didn't hear the Spirit speak yesterday but the Lord unfolds His plans hour by hour in my day and sometimes the Spirit speaks in preparation not just in explanation.

With the U.S. in such a difficult place and the reality that so many of us are suffering losses, the Word is such a comfort to my soul. The government is doing all it can to try to control us and take away our freedom, and I can't help but compare our plight with that of Israel in the days of Egyptian bondage. In those days, each one was indentured to the Pharaoh's "society", slaves assigned to building his empire in exchange for their daily provision.

They were provided just enough to give them the strength to work, but not enough to give them the strength to resist or flee their bondage. Day after day, year after year, the only break being their celebrations of hope that one day the Holy One would set them free and take them to "the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac & Jacob" Gen 50:24.

And the Lord heard their cry of misery.

I delight to read how there was a day on the calendar when God said, "Enough". A day when He would begin to move this nation within a nation out of their cruel bondage to another, better place. The Pharaoh was not prepared to lose all the slaves so he heaped upon them tighter and tighter restrictions, with more and more demands of their time, strength and energy, all in the hopes of breaking their "spirit". But God's Will for His people could not be stopped then and cannot be stopped today. He promised and He delivered.

Exodus 3:7-8

"The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey."

I just love how the Word of God is relevant to each one of our lives and every generation can find their own situations spoken about and find the solutions to their situations revealed within It's pages. The Holy Spirit shows us, through the Bible, that God IS the same yesterday,today and tomorrow.

Today I find my hope in the account of the Red Sea crossing. The Lord has heard my cry of misery and is on the move. I know I can make the journey out of bondage in confidence that the Lord goes before me and is my rear guard no matter what. I know His Will is to deliver me from anything that holds me in bondage. He hears my cry of misery always and He will part the Red Sea to deliver me from any hand of any Pharaoh.

We each have our "Egypts"and our "Pharoahs". But none is more powerful than the Lord who promises to deliver us from their hand.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

The Clash of Kingdoms***

The Spirit draws me today into a "Heavenly Perspective". He has been training me in my quiet times and even throughout the day to pray according to the model prayer given by the Lord Jesus before He returned to His place of Divine authority in Heaven.

I see how important the "Lord's Prayer" is in understanding "how" to pray but now I am moved to see "why". Matt 6:9-13,

Our Father in Heaven

Hallowed be Your Name

Honor, respect, reverence, and relationship is revealed in those words.

Your Kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in Heaven

We belong to another Kingdom than the one we presently reside in. The kingdoms of earth established by men have risen and fallen throughout the course of the history of man's days upon the earth.

When Jesus was born over 2,000 years ago, something amazing took place. The kingdoms of men got invaded. Jesus birth was nothing less than an invasion by the King of our Heavenly Kingdom and there has been a clash of kingdoms ever since.

As believers, we have the Word of God and the Prophetic Word of "Revelation" included, that we know and trust will come to pass in God's timing. But even knowing that the earth will some day be completely renovated when Jesus Christ returns to take up His place of rule does not exempt us from continuing to do our part in what our King began so long ago during "The Great Invasion".

We ever live as citizens from another world. When Jesus walked the earth, He commissioned His Disciples to preach, "The Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out demons". The continuation of His commission in Matt 10:7-39 reveals the war He declared on earth, what we will encounter and what we might expect to see in this clash of kingdoms.

Important to remember, we do not continue this invasion without the King's authority, support, resources and protection, which is why the model prayer is so important to our success and victory in this clash of kingdoms. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.....on earth as it is in Heaven!

Our Heavenly Kingdom is nothing like the earth realm. The Kingdom of Heaven is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise suffocating furnace. Broken things are made new; hearts, lives, bodies, relationships. Our Heavenly kingdom represents all that is good and a fulfillment of all we need in life here and for all eternity.

Consider what our King revealed during His first appearance that is to be our model and goal as we live our lives in this temporal earthly kingdom. So much can be said here and now but I leave that to the Holy Spirit to reveal to the reader as He calls each one of us personally to Himself.

Kingdom rules apply to it's citizens and so do all the Kingdom benefits. Jesus never took up dual citizenship. His loyalty was to His Heavenly Father. We must always be loyal to our Father, our King and our Heavenly Kingdom never to take up duel citizenship or forget to whom and under whose authority we belong.

To our Father we pray:

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in Heaven

But all that must start with a "Heavenly Perspective" during this clash of kingdoms here on earth.

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Happy Feet

Oh how I love the Lord's sense of Humor. Some of the visuals He gives are funny to me. I find myself dull of mind at times and I am so blessed when the Spirit paints a picture to make a point.

The Holy Spirit has been working with me on my "walk" with Him therefore "feet" are the subject of today's early morning meeting. The Spirit reminds me that there is so much work He desires to do through my life. While He is the One who will manifest Himself through me it is up to me to take Him into the world of people around me. I must take the initiative and walk the steps that will take the Holy Spirit where He wants to go.

He wants me to go with "happy feet" willing and even dancing with the privilege and opportunities He will provide to manifest His Presence and Power over the circumstances in other people's lives.

I see myself as that penguin in the movie with "happy feet" taking the Spirit where ever He wants to go in the sheer joy of Who is inside of me just wanting to bust out, in anticipation of what He is going to do next to bless the people I encounter.

Being shy by nature and not bold, the past has been earmarked by reluctant feet. All my body weight dragging against the forward motion of feet that are being asked to go into unfamiliar places.

Today is a new day. Now that I understand that is not me the Spirit wants to place in unfamiliar places but rather Himself. It's about getting to places where the Spirit wants to go among people He wants to manifest blessings toward and I am His vehicle to get there. Understanding this takes the fear out of "performance issues". I am only the vehicle to transport the Holy One to His intended destinations. It is not my "right" to dictate where we go but it is my privilege to watch Him work there.

This may sound like I am "losing" my life but then "whoever loses his life for My sake will find it". Matt 10:39. And then, John 10:10, Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."

What glorious opportunities await those with "Happy Feet" going with the Spirit and finding the full life that only the Lord can give.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Wait Upon the Lord***

Today the Holy Spirit calls to me as my patience is being tested in every way. Waiting for a new season to begin while desperately wanting the last season to end doesn't seem to have that clear cut line in the sand. Floating in a sort of limbo marks some of the long days on this leg of my journey with Jesus.
He gently takes me back to His word:

Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

I have to admit that waiting drives me crazy. How did I ever get so impatient? Waiting is just one of the hardest things I have to do.

The Spirit reminds me today that "waiting" is the test that causes many people to stumble. Our response to God's deliberate delays to our need for immediate gratification in answers and resolutions develops character in us and character brings hope.

Romans 5:4, "suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us."

My impatience has driven me to seek my own resolutions and the pressure to make split second choices or bad ones seems to come from every direction. But the deeper question for me is "why did I live so long with such a temporal perspective and fail to see that God's time table is eternity?"

The Spirit draws me into that eternal perspective. The Spirit comforts my heart. As I learn from Him, He teaches me to slow down. He instructs me to let go of striving. This life is not an Indy 500 race but a journey, a road trip of wondrous discovery and I have to ask myself "what is the rush?"

Today I ask the Spirit to re-set my pace. Help me to stop racing to the "resolutions" but instead look for the opportunities to "work out" faith in every situation.

Every trial comes with a myriad of opportunities to watch, record, and stand in awe of God's sweet sovereignty. Waiting upon the Lord is the only way we have the time to register the impressive wisdom that the God of all Creation reveals to us in the small details that add such dimension to our lives.

As believers we are living our eternal lives now. The Spirit brings the ability and the encouragement to wait but He also brings the promise of even greater things IF we wait, like say, the "gift of the baptism with the Holy Spirit" as Jesus promised in Acts 1:4. I can now see that the Spirit's gifts and anointing only come with patience. How many times have I failed to "wait in Jerusalem" for the power to come before I tried to do the "work"?

Looking forward with focus on God's intervention into each new day in itself produces a peace in the waiting. Faith says He will never leave us or forsake us.....so why not savor the moment and find the greater things He is prepared to do as we wait?

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Do You Trust His Ways?

The Spirit is calling and today He reminded me of a conversation we had a long time ago. I am thankful that the Spirit reminds us of lessons we may have forgotten or been tempted to ignore.

Sometimes the reminders come in the form of having to go around the mountain one more time like the Israelites had to circle Mt. Sinai in their wilderness experience due to rebellion and disobedience. Lessons refused translate to more "opportunities" to obey. (I.E. more trials of the same sort until we come into agreement with God)

But sometimes the reminders come in the form of a flash back to important truth, spoken previously, to comfort our weary minds and hearts. Today came one such reminder.

A while ago the Spirit told me about myself....He said, "you trust Me but you don't trust My ways". While that may seem like a contradiction, He took me back to the Word and the account of Lazarus, Mary and Martha on the event of Lazarus' death in John 11.

Mary and Martha had sent for Jesus when their beloved brother was sick. They were devastated that He failed to come in time to heal their brother. Lazarus was dead....good and dead.....when Jesus finally arrived. They trusted Jesus to do what He had previously done for others as God and didn't understand this "betrayal". But for them, the Lord had something greater in mind.

Their ultimate desire was to have their brother back. They wanted him healed and returned to his place and role in their lives. God's desire was the very same thing. The only difference was in the way God planned to accomplish it.

We trust God in the ultimate sense, but then falter when His ways are unclear and our desires or desperate needs are postponed. Mary and Martha wanted and expected a healing to restore their brother. The Lord wanted and delivered a resurrection. His ultimate provision was exactly what they desired, but God's way was unfamiliar to them and required a greater trust.

As I face the days of uncertainty and waiting for resolutions and answers to my heart's desires, am I willing to trust in His ways as I ultimately trust Him? "For my ways are so much higher than your ways" says the Lord in Isaiah 55: 8-9.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Jesus is King!

Today, the Spirit reminds me that my Lord and my Savior is also my King. Here in America we don't operate under the authority of a King and therefore may have a problem understanding the Sovereignty of a King's rule in His Kingdom.

The King's will is not up for discussion, debate or a vote. His authority is final and while He may give audience to those in His kingdom, His authority requires allegiance and submission by all His loyal subjects.

Those under His rule experience the blessings of His Kingdom and when the King is righteous and powerful, the people enjoy great peace and victory.

The Holy Spirit has encouraged me to pray in all matters the prayer our Saviour taught us to pray in Matt 6:9-11:

Our Father, who art in Heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in Heaven

The Kingdom of Heaven does have a King, His name is Jesus. He is the Father's Son. If we are citizens of that great Kingdom, we must acknowledge our King in all ways.

We who live on this side of the Cross, have a different mandate than those who lived before Jesus came as the suffering Messiah. Jesus is now seated on His Heavenly Throne as King. Our mandate is to share the great news of the Kingdom of Heaven and the love of the One who rules and reigns from there as He modeled through His life and time here on earth.

The Kingdom of heaven is beyond our scope and comprehension but can be described as a paradise where all that is good, lovely, and supportive of our entire being is provided. Jesus came to show us His Kingdom and the Father of all creation. But the Kingdom of Heaven is not for everyone. Matt 7:21. It is only for those who come to love and acknowledge and submit to the King and the Father who sent Him.

All are invited to become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven but some will refuse because they do not care to be under the authority of the King or subject to His rule.

Today I am convicted because I am here to represent my King and my Kingdom. I am here to see what this world of people needs that my Kingdom and my King can provide. I am here as a servant and loyal subject of my King to do what He did when He came the first time, and to show people what His Heavenly Kingdom is all about as a form of encouragement for them to become part of the Kingdom of Heaven too.

In my own strength this is impossible but the Spirit has been sent by my King to facilitate His will through me.

My King, may the Spirit find me a loyal subject ready to help advance our Kingdom on earth and do Your will as it is being done in Heaven.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Conformed to His Image

The Spirit woke me this morning in a gentle but powerful way. The first thought that met me was a question, "Do you realize that to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus is also to be conformed to His power and authority?"

When I consider what it means to be conformed to His likeness, realizing it is the Father's will for us (Romans 8:29), I usually see this conformation as a "painful" re-configuration of who I am. To be conformed to His image has been in my mind, at least, like being pressed against my nature and therefore in a sense, painful.

But the definition of "conform" means to bring into agreement, and that is not a painful term at all. It is our Father's will that we be brought into agreement with the likeness of His Son, and by the Holy Spirit this otherwise impossible agreement can be made with delight. As we agree, we change.

While I have been wrestling the issues of humility, gentleness, unconditional love, patience, kindness, faithfulness, self control, the Spirit just introduced the other side of His Glorious Image which is power and authority over the enemy and his works.

To be conformed to the likeness of our Savior and King is to radiate His powerful authority over evil no matter where it appears. We are to represent Him against the darkness of the times and to confront the evil in His powerful authority.

For many, we have not considered this aspect of being conformed to His likeness. We may have engaged in such a confrontation but without the true understanding that this is part of being conformed to His likeness and therefore lacked the confidence in our stand. We may have failed to recognize this other side of His Glorious image to which we are called to be in "agreement with".

Holy Spirit, please bring me into agreement and conform me into the complete image of my Christ Jesus.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?