If My People***

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  With all the chaos in the world we call home, the Lord's promise in II Chronicles 7:14 is always somewhere in my thoughts:

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways  then I will come and heal their land". 

This morning He draws me to His Word and that promise:  "Humble yourself, pray, seek Me and turn from YOUR wicked ways".

Now it is getting personal.  I find that this is a promise where I have blame shifted and I need to talk this over with my Holy Counselor to see what He sees.  I know that this is a word addressed to only one group of people:  those who are called by His Name, (that name is Christ) and who are Christian by title and claim.

In this world of evil it is not the unsaved, non believers that this Word and promise applies to.  This is clearly a call to God's people.

As I ponder His personal words to me I have to stop and see where I have been acting in any wicked ways.  Since I have the vestiges of a carnal mind and the pride that goes with it,  I sense I need to let Him reveal such things to my heart and then listen to His strategy to fix me. 

Always thinking I am better in my own estimation than  I find myself to be in His, meetings like this are indeed lessons in humility.  Recently He has shown me the truth about rebellion and that it can be in the form of bitterness toward Him or others for my life situations.  These are the situations that He has ordained for my life.  The bitterness can be hidden in a bad attitude especially if we come to feel justified in self-pity. But that is only one side of the problem as I am about to find out. 

God's ways and perspective is higher than ours and we need to be careful about what we see as an inconsequential stubborn mood that might be a huge betrayal to our Lord and even a denial of His Lordship if we go too far in self-comfort and self-will.

Today, the Holy One takes me to the book of Acts chapter 7 to make His point.  This is the account of a man called Stephen who became the first person martyred for his faith in Christ Jesus.  He was seized and brought to a council of Jewish scribes and elders by those who wanted to stop the spread of the Gospel.

He began to testify to them of their own history that pointed to the Son of God and that Son being Jesus but then in his final remarks, he said, "You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you". Acts 7:51 NKJV

What could this possibly mean to me?   Then The Holy Spirit began to connect the dots:   "When you entered into the Salvation agreement you willingly made the great exchange.  You gave your life to Me, but then proceeded to live it your own way. You have asked Me to bless your way and rarely ask to know MY way."

Grief floods my heart with that truth.  Conviction becomes repentance. How many times have I resisted the Holy Spirit?  How many times has this servant said "No Lord, I will not go there", "No Lord I will not testify to them" "No Lord, my plate is too full, I am too busy with my life and my plans".  "I know I gave my life to you but it is really mine to live".  "I am more comfortable serving you in this church rather than in that mission field".

I know that I cannot turn from my wicked ways without His Spirit.  I cannot lay down my life for Him the way He laid down is life for me without The Holy Spirit. I know I have His Holy Spirit.   The question He has for me today is  "Will you listen and then obey Me?" 

I know that we are all in a process so I do not lose hope even in the rebuke.  I am thankful that My Lord cares enough to correct me when I am wrong and is patient in the process.  His best for me is what we both desire.  His best for all of us is what He desires.  I long for Him to come and heal our land.  "If ...Then....."   Since there is a condition to that promise, I must press in to meet it. 

If My people.........

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?               

         

                

The Truth That Sets Us Free***

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  The world is in such chaos and it is apparent that evil is on the march.  We, as Christians, know that in the last days we are to keep our eyes on the Middle East for the last great battle on earth will take place there.

To see it all start to play out in real time speaks to how man's technology has developed in God's great plan as to how every eye will be able to "see" the return of our King, Jesus and even witness the lead up to that great battle in a land far away.

I confess that I struggle with God's Sovereignty knowing it is nothing for Him to intervene in our days and yet there is a time table for man's days upon the earth that is not altered even by the evil that I see.  There is Divine purpose for each and every one of us in the time we have been given to spend on this planet.

The Holy One speaks into the early morning darkness and calls me to conference.  "Sometimes you have to feel the lie in order to know the truth".

It is understood that we must walk by faith and not by sight.  The "sights" we see generated by the evil one triggers our deepest emotions and that is where our faith can fall to unbelief as we begin to "feel" our way through the assault.

The Lord takes me back to His Word in Rev 12:7-12 (NKJV), "And war broke out in Heaven;  Michael and His angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in Heaven any longer.  So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast with him."

This entire chapter speaks to the birth of Christ Jesus and the battle Satan is waging against those of us who "keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" on our lips and in our hearts. (Rev 12:17 NKJV) .

Jesus came in flesh form.  He came as the Creator in flesh form to identify with us, His created.  He was born in our same flesh form with a human brain, nerves, emotions and all that we are born with.  The only exception and due to His virgin conception and birth, He was born without a sin nature that dictates our human vulnerability and failure in flesh temptation.

I know my Savior "feels" and because He suffered emotional pain, He validates my feelings.  But then He asks me to get past those feelings and walk on the higher ground of Holiness. In some cases that means forgiveness and in the bigger picture that means trust.

The Holy One knows me well  He knows all of us well.  He has taken me today to the very place in His Word that draws me out of my funk.   Satan is the accuser.  He has been cast down and no longer has a place of authority in the Kingdom of our God or over me.

Satan uses a 3 pronged fork of accusation in his war for our hearts, minds and our souls: First and foremost,  He accuses God to us.  That makes for unbelief.  Then he accuses us to ourselves.  That makes for self-defeat.  Then he accuses others to us and us to others.  That makes for division and therefore corporate weakness and dis-unity.  But before we throw in the towel and head for the hills to hide, let us remember:  We have the power to overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.

Heaven rejoices because this nasty accuser has been silenced by the only means whereby God could save man and maintain His Holiness in judgement.  God became like man in flesh to take our place.   Satan thought he had God over a barrel seeing how humanity could be tempted to rebel as he did, whereby God would have to send all His beloved humanity into the lake of fire for their rebellion too.

But the Creator had a plan from the very beginning that the devil knew nothing about.

The Cross was that plan.  Jesus came to earth as the Son of Man AND as the Son of God and was sacrificed to preserve humanity AND God's Holiness in judgment.   Satan's nefarious plot to hurt the Creator by seducing His created, making us liable for Divine Judgment was foiled when Jesus died in our place.      

Heaven rejoiced on the day of his eviction but then grief came to earth's inhabitants because of the wrath of this celestial being (AKA Satan) who makes war with those of us who keep the commandments of our God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Satan threatens death, but the Cross promises life.  The power of the Cross is the Truth that through the sacrifice Jesus made in His flesh body and the life blood He shed, the death sentence for all humanity was paid in full.  And His resurrection is the proof of that final verdict:  God is still Holy and humanity is now saved.  That is the testimony we are to give to the world that God so loves.

The message of this morning calls me out of the "feeling" that evil is winning, and encourages me to beef up and shout out my testimony of his defeat.  I am reminded that the devil is a defeated foe.  His outrage is temporary and by the Blood of Jesus who died in my place and by my testimony of faith in His death and resurrection, the enemy's power over me is neutralized.

The message of the Cross is that all humanity has been saved, but not all people know or believe that as Truth and this is the challenge and task for all of us who know we have been saved:  To share our testimony of the power and purpose of the Cross.  The Cross is where God's ultimate judgment for sin was poured out.  Jesus died the death penalty required for all who have sinned and fallen short of the Holiness of our Holy God.  His resurrection is the fact and evidence that the penalty has been paid and accepted by the One who gave the law: death for sin.

Today at first light, I did "feel" the lie but that despair drove me to know and remember the truth and it is the truth that did ultimately set me free.  Now to share it!

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?









  

         

Get God's Eternal Perspective***

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Lately I have been overwhelmed by all the evil that is being brought to bear here at home and around the world. From the earthly perspective, things relative to our persecution as devoted followers of Christ, are not looking so good for the home team. 

It is a time when many are in deepest despair and yet for others, it is a time of great anticipation as we await the return of our King.  What makes the difference seems to be whether or not we possess an eternal perspective over the events unfolding in our lives.

I have been asking my Lord for help since He has told me that to focus on the evil robs me of my peace.  I need His help to understand how to look at the evil and not allow the despair to take over.  Today He speaks of a perspective:  "The eternal perspective of temporal circumstances is crucial during these end times of the enemy's rage". 

With that He takes me back to a familiar passage in Isaiah 54:16-17, "Behold I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the spoiler to destroy.
 
"No weapon formed against you shall prosper.  And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord."NKJV

This was for many years my "life verse".  It is a battle hymn in my heart.  I found it years ago when trying to grasp the evil, that was coming against me at that time, much like it is coming against all of the Lord's Beloved today.  I was trying to grasp the lessons tucked within the circumstances of my life.  For to understand the Lord's ways is to have a greater understanding of  Him.

When I found and pondered Isaiah 54, much came in to focus and vs 16-17 provided a picture of the "spoiler" aka Satan, as under the ultimate control of the Creator Himself.  We get a more detailed picture of this ancient foe in the first two chapters of Job.

If I believe and accept the Majestic and absolute Sovereignty of my Creator God Who is beyond our temporal universe and all circumstances on earth, then I must acknowledge that He knows exactly what this "spoiler" will do and has Divine purpose for me in what He permits, just like He did in the life of Job and I must pray to find it.

Once this becomes my faith reality then I can move on to live in the promise that; "No weapon formed against me will prosper and I will condemn every tongue accusing me.  Why?  Because my righteousness comes from the Lord.  The accuser is made silent and I am free from wrath or penalty executed by a Righteous and Holy God.  Jesus took my penalty and God's wrath. 

Now I am being prepared for an outrageous eternity.  I have been bought and paid for as a servant of the Most High, but then, even better,  I have been adopted into His family and with the inheritance rights of a child of the King.

The spoiler has but one purpose and that is to keep us from our Sacred relationship in knowing and loving our Creator Who, by the way, is his Creator God too. 

The "why" of it all is very simple:  Angels in creation were provided free will by design just as humanity has been given.  But for them, there is no savior for their kind.  Lucifer used his free will to rebel against the Creator and was evicted from Heaven with an irrevocable ultimate death sentence. 

One who was the most beautiful of his kind became proud and chose to make war against God in Heaven and was cast out and down to earth where he now and for a little while longer makes war with God's beloved.  (See Rev 12)

Having been catapulted to the earth realm,  yet being in essence more powerful than man, Satan has made it his ambition to tempt God's beloved humanity to follow him in rebellion of the Most High.  We were created in innocence to co-govern with the Creator over this earth realm,  but the spoiler's presence here is the very thing that provides a choice for our free will to make:  accept or reject God and His one and only way of reconciliation in relationship.

Satan uses the very same deception today as back in the Garden of Eden and that is to challenge God's rule and question His love.  His attack and attempted assassination of God's Character is relentless because he has nothing to lose, his fate is set.  Humanity on the other hand has eternity to lose if we miss and refuse the rescue that God provided through His Son Jesus.

The truly amazing part of our reconciliation is the priceless unity we now have with our Creator and that brings a whole new perspective to life on earth. Now I can process what I see and experience in light of eternity and there I can see the Lord's better purpose even in temporal suffering.  I can be like Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame. 

If the eternal purpose of my life is to testify about my eternal Lord and Savior to enlarge the citizenship of my eternal home,  then I must look to the people whose lives my circumstances put me in contact with and then testify to the goodness and salvation of my Lord.

The mercy of God may call me into untoward places.  But His mercy at that moment is not so much for me but for those who oppose me, even the unsaved.  His mercy for me is that I am already rescued and His promise is that "He will prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies".

As I pray for fulfillment of God's eternal purpose in my temporal circumstances my perspective changes.   Hard times will fade into a distant memory as I press on into eternity.  To be able to understand how my "hard things" are actually a sacred trust place here by my Lord to further His will, in the salvation of humanity, gives me the determination to look for and find the better and greater purpose He has than the personal pain I feel at the moment. 

His message this morning reminded me that while the enemy is attacking our temporal circumstances, the victory will be experienced as we look for and find God's eternal perspective.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?