Purpose in the Wait**

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  It's been a while since our early morning conference has been expressible in words for the blog.  A new year is unfolding and has involved visions, dreams and words not really clear on the surface of things. 

The time to go deep stretches out and the words to express the lessons being taught come slowly, haltingly. Clearly the world is in utter chaos and I find the words of Malachi to be so applicable to those of us watching and waiting for the return of our King.

The Lord minces no words when He is driving a point home with me.  "Pruning is painful but necessary"

Malachi 3:13, "You have said harsh things against me says the Lord, yet you ask. "What have we said against You?"  You have said it is futile to serve God.  What did we gain by carrying out His requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?  But now we call the arrogant blessed.  Certainly evil does prosper and even those who challenge God escape."

The Holy One cuts through the chaff to the heart of a matter and exposes the hidden secrets we hold but refuse to share.  He knows all things, so, reluctantly, I confess, "yes, I do wonder.  Yes, I do think about those who seem to prosper in sin, while the faithful seem to languish and wait in what seems to be futile faith."

It is a blessing to be able to be transparent with my Lord, even through it comes hard and unnatural to my flesh.  The voice of Holiness cradles my mind, "Does it ever occur to you that the delays have a purpose and it is not to frustrate you?  How do you handle postponed gratification?"

Penetrating questioning by the voice of Holiness is always gentle but demands answers.  Conviction comes, repentance follows.

My Counselor leads me to His Word and the life of one who buckled in the "wait".  King Saul, called by God, anointed by Samuel, lived  on the edge of great power and authority.  God was good to him and brought many victories.  But with the delays in life and any slow answer from the Lord, King Saul's heart of rebellion began to surface.

King Saul forgot his place, exalted himself, sought his own answers, and did his own "thing" rather than wait for God or His spokesman, Samuel.  Depravity inched it's way into his soul and he slid deeper and deeper into the forbidden until he ended up at the door of the "witch of Endor".
I Sam 28

While it should be shocking to us what Saul did in his frantic quest for answers, I am aware of how quick I am to prioritize relief rather than repentance.  Repentance brings relief but the walk is not always a fast pass to resolution.

The question Holiness poses to me is, "Are you so focused on the resolution that you will accept compromise of Holiness to gain it?  Is relief so desired that you will accept it from the enemy's hand?"   The sin of Saul is the sin of all.

Mal 3:16,   "Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.  A scroll of remembrance was written in His Presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His Name.  They will be Mine, says the Lord Almighty, in the day when I make up My treasured possession, I will spare them just as in compassion a man spares the son who serves him..."

And then, here it is....the promise for those who wait....."And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."

The purpose of Holiness stands, even in the waiting.  I can rejoice in the Lord my God, knowing and trusting the day of the distinction is coming, and as I trust, God's purpose in the wait is being fulfilled.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?


 

Release the Power**4-29-22

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  As my thoughts are brought to my conscious mind, I know I am a servant and I know my Master is beckoning me.  The Lord has been teaching me, lately about the power of the spoken word.  All that has exists began because God said and it was so.

By our own volition and free will we use our words each day most unconsciously, carelessly, and unaware of the power they hold.  Careless words hold us and others in bondage to the evil they pronounce.

James says it this way, "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person and sets the whole course of his life on fire".   James 2:5-6.   

It doesn't take much of a leap to realize that our tongue, the organ of our spoken words has great potential for setting up victory or defeat in the issues of our lives.

All the warning lights on my dashboard start to flash.  It looks like engine failure to me.  I think about how many words I have spoken and cannot begin to calculate those that have been caustic to myself and others.  From the depths I can feel a self-inflicted depression start to rev up.

I hear the Holy One say, "Don't go there". The soft comforting voice of my Counselor throws me a life line.  "This is a new day.  I have arranged for more and greater opportunities for you to speak worthy words."

But how Lord?  If my tongue is a "world of evil among the parts of my body" and even James says, "all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a reckless evil full of deadly poison."

How can I or anyone else get a handle on that body part?  "Surrender it to Me", comes His response.  "You have not fully released My power over your life and circumstances.  Use your words to release My power.  Just as you surrender your mind to My control, release the power of Holiness by your words."

His word has painted a picture on my mind.  I see the  Holy Spirit in a "cell", imprisoned, inoperative awaiting a word from the "jailer" to be released.  Shocking to me, I realize I have been that "jailer" , and negative words have set the boundaries and limits as to what my Lord can do. 

Negative words of doubt, and unbelief, dripping with the juice from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  I call it "just being real" and using my intellect to assess and speak what I "see".  God calls it faithlessness for faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things "unseen".

Oh the privilege and responsibility of free will.  Today the Holy One helps me to understand this is not an issue of sin and repentance between us.  This is an issue of a more useful and powerful life as His servant. 

Today, I will to use my words to cry out for the release of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all He desires in my life and for the expansion of His Kingdom here on earth. Yes, it is going to be a very good season as I speak His will to come into my world 

Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

2 Crowns**

The Holy One calls me this  morning with messages to my brain.  The Lord Jesus came into the world so that all might live and know Truth.

Deception creeps into the fabric of our lives quite undetected due to our busy-ness and sheep-like ignorance.  However, once truth becomes real and faith in it is tested and refined, there can be no turning back. 

The Holy One reminds me today of the Cross and that His death was was the real reason for His birth.  We cannot separate the Cross from the manger when we think of the benevolence of our Creator.

"Your King has worn 2 crowns.  You, who are His must do the same".  The visual of 2 crowns puts my mind to spinning.  Deep in meditation, the Holy One takes me to Heb 12:2, "Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross and scorned it's shame and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God".

The Holy One knows my thoughts of late have been on the "permissive will" of God.  I wonder about all that is challenging our world, but mostly about what is challenging God's chosen ones.

The crown of thorns was intended as a mockery of His Kingdom, but it represents the cruelty of the death He tasted for everyone of us.  If we dare to dive deep, the crown of thorns represents the piercing of the mind of humanity where the free will decision is made, individually, that determines our eternal destination. 

For those, who by choice are saved by the Savior  who wore it, the crown of thorns is a representation of the death to our pride and the esteem we so desire from the world.

The Holy One asks me, "Are you willing to wear it too?"  It's easy to glide through life as a "Christian" when we get all the pats on the back for our good works among men.  But what about when the Kingdom of Holiness is not so popular and standing up for our Kingdom and our King brings humiliation and scorn?

Are we willing to humbly wear that crown of thorns when people are mocking our faith, humiliating our values and denigrating our King?

Now, our Savior wears His rightful crown, for He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  And, His promise stands for those of us who acknowledge Him as Savior, King and Lord of our lives:

James 1:12, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God  has promised to those who love Him".

The permissive will of God allows for the trials we all face here on earth.  Are we willing to wear the crown of thorns of our Savior here, so that we can receive the crown of life when we see Him face to face?

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?