The Persistant Widow and the Judge

The Holy One calls to me this morning in the hours just before dawn. Like the metaphor that says, it is always the darkest just before dawn, I can attest to that as one who rises early to find the Lord's shalom and counsel.

 

The hardest wrestles for me, come in the night and the darkness. But just before dawn the Lord speaks of the new day about to break forth and bring His light even before the sun rises to reveal His will. I hear Him whisper into the silence as I await His wisdom for me today.

 

"When the Son of Man returns will He find faith on the earth?"

 

I know that question well. It has come to me in previous battles when I was about to get a break-through victory. It comes out of a parable Jesus spoke to His disciples in order to impress them that they must always keep on praying and not lose heart. 

 

Luke 18:1-8. In a paraphrase of that parable: There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected other people. There was also a widow in this same town who kept coming to him asking for justice.

 

The judge said to himself, "I don't fear God nor respect other people but because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see to it that she gets justice".

 

The Lord went on to speak about the Heavenly Judge. "Won't God grant justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night?" 

 

Then Jesus said, "I tell you, He will judge in their favor and quickly, but when the Son of Man comes will He find this trust on the earth at all?" CJB

 

This question is one all Believers need to ask ourselves: After we get the justice that we are crying out so desperately for the Lord to bring us personally, will we go back to our lives in status quo, shrinking back into our sleepy apathy or lethargy unwilling to fight for the justice of our Heavenly Father's cause and will? 

Judges 6:23:   

 

Will our thankful appreciation for a mighty deliverance inspire a renewed loyalty to our Kingdom and our King? 

 

We live in "the land of the free" yet there are many issues that we see as injustice and that we might bring before a judge of men here on earth.  Our sense of righteousness is challenged by evil.  

 

As we continue to cry out for justice, we must also plead that the apathy that brought us here will be corrected through revival and that restored loyalty to the God of our nation will come along with the victory.

 

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him? 

 

 

God's Alternative Scenario

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  One of the main reasons I journal is to "possess" the lessons and wisdom I am given in different situations and for application to the circumstances I face in life.

Journalling has been an important activity for so long as I can remember.  Journalling for me began like "letters to home" telling my Heavenly Father what I was experiencing and feeling along my earthly journey. 

I spent quite a few years complaining and longing for answers and making requisitions for needed resources.  Little by little I noticed I was writing down thoughts not my own and began to recognize and acknowledge that these thoughts came from another "Someone" who was not part of my thinking process; so close yet clearly from One who brought another perspective.

I began to say, "Let's get God's perspective" on each matter and I discovered the more I declared that thought as my desire, the more my thoughts and opinions would change.

Growing up, I was not taught about the role of the Holy Spirit as my internal Counselor so it took a while to identify His voice as that of my Shepherd Jesus.  Thankfully the Lord continues over our lifetime to teach, instruct and gently lead us into all Truth.  The Presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit within is the greatest Truth after Salvation through Jesus the Christ, that we can trust and build our life of faith upon. 

In this broken world, we are living with continuous threats of evil and I notice that fear motivates us to take ungodly action or paralyzes us from grasping or taking hold of the good will of Heaven that Jesus modeled when He walked among us.

Today the Holy One speaks into that place of vulnerability and weakness in my thoughts:

"Share with Me your fears ad I will give you my "alternative scenario".

I am no stranger to the Lord's miraculous intervention in my life.  Each event stands as a testimony of His love and protection over me and those I love. Today He reminds me of His "alternative scenario" when I gave birth to my youngest son.

I had my last two blessings in mid-life.  The wisdom of Dr.'s back in that day was a doom scenario of birth defects in children born to women in my age bracket.  I had given birth to my daughter two years before we were given the news that we had another baby on the way. 

My daughters conception and birth was one of those miraculous interventions and a beautiful answer to a prayer for the desire of my heart since together we had 4 boys to contend with.

As with many of the Lord's miracles, discouraging attacks come with the turf.  During that pregnancy with my daughter, my body was in a state of revolt, not uncommon during pregnancy but distressing to me as in high blood pressure that required immobility and family demands that added stress.   Birth was induced and labor a bit more difficult since having decided to go "natural" and with the risk assessment being higher than in my younger years.

The news of this unexpected pregnancy brought a fear to my heart and all the horrible "what-ifs" began to flood my mind.  Knowing my fears the Holy Spirit engaged me one day and asked me to talk with Him about all I was feeling.

I unloaded and told Him flat out, "I cannot do this".   I have learned over time that the best policy with my Lord is brutal honesty.  No faux bravery, nor phony faith, nor pride that "I am woman hear me roar".  Just the truth in my hard emotional places.

Fear was over-whelming my joy and I was thankful to share the burden without pretense.  Ever so gently He walked me back through to the Garden of Eden, original sin,  the penalty on Eve for her original sin and then He walked me to the Cross with a question:

"Did not Jesus nullify every curse and pay the penalty for sin? Like pain in childbirth?"

But then He went even further with a mind blowing promise:

"If you ask and then trust Me, I will give you a pain-free childbirth experience!"

This was an alternative scenario that never crossed my mind as a possibility.  Evil seems to have a corner on the "What-if" market and as always, threatened a doom scenario just as I tried to wrap my brain and life experience of 3 "normal" physical births around God's alternative scenario as a possibility.

I even laughed about how my Lord would humor me with this thought just to get me to be wiling to face what I couldn't back out of.  But true to His promise and despite my incredulous attitude, that miraculous alternative scenario to the one the Devil painted in fear and dread actually did happen and I was the delighted recipient of a promise fulfilled via a miraculous intervention. 

Interestingly, the Holy One took me again to His Word and this promise for the months of preparation for the birth:

Isaiah 66:7-8, "Before she was in labor she gave birth.  Before her pain came, she delivered a male child.  Who has seen such things?"

Many would rightly point out that this verse was not written by Isaiah personally foreseeing the birth of my precious last born son, but there is no doubt that God had us in mind and delivered His promise as I delivered my son.  ***note to self: not taking the Lord seriously is a dangerous proposition and it almost caused me to give birth on the way to the hospital as I was waiting for pain to signal the time and yet pain never came. 

Today the fear scenario that evil has been suggesting regarding circumstances in our lives has brought me to petition for our Lord's alternative scenario; the one that brings hope and peace for the days to come.

In this fallen turf with enemy oppression, we have been tempted to believe that the doom and gloom scenario are the only reality for us here on earth.  However, in God's eternal picture, His good will is not an alternative scenario but rather part of His glorious plan.

I look forward to seeing the Lord's alternative scenario unfold in the days to come and delight to bring Him praise in the process.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

     

   

    

   

For the Glory of God

Heading into Memorial Day, my thoughts are of the country we once were and the sacrifice so many have made to secure it for all the future genertions.  The foundation upon which we are (or were once)  established is one of Biblical values and Divine guidance. 

These are the days that try men's souls and days that challenge our commitment to our Lord Jesus the Christ and to our Biblical values.  We have been warned through so many voices who have it on "good authority" that the boom hanging over the head of the USA is about to be lowered and the Hand of God's Divine judgement is about to be brought against this nation.

We certainly deserve what may be coming due to serious acts of corporate depravity especially with regard to with the horrific abomination of child sacrifice and the shedding of innocent blood.  This "sin" at the hands of some within our nation has garnered a Divine response since the very beginning of time, so is there any mercy left upon which we might make our requests known and for the Lord to send His answers for our deliverance?

Of course salvation through the sacrifice and blood shed by Jesus on the Cross is our ultimate deliverance but absent our sudden departure from planet earth, we have been left to impact the world/nation where we have been placed, with the righteous representation of Yahweh, our God.   

The Old Testament is a recorded history of man and how Yahweh dealt with a nation chosen to represent Him to the lost and dying world of the ancients.  Israel was and is that nation so looking back to the days of Moses gives me the clues as to how we might approach the Sovereign God of all creation in intercession for our One Nation under Him today. 

I know that Yahweh is one who instructs through repetition and repeat cycles of instruction and discipline, so I look for "precedents" (previous ways of acting in similar situations) set by Him to guide my prayers for His intervention in our circumstances today. 

The verses I am drawn to today are found in the book of Exodus 23:7-14.  The children of Israel were led out from their bondage in Egypt, in a very dramatic miraculous way.  Having just passed through the Red Sea, they were camped in the wilderness to meet the One Who arranged for their rescue.  The people vowed their loyalty and worship to the God of their fathers, but even as Moses was getting Divine directives for the people to live by fromYahweh Himself, insurrection leading to idolatry broke out in the camp.  ***Important to remember that the culture they had just left was one having many "gods" and they were therein exposed to all of them.  Notably one of the requirements in Baal worship was child sacrifice.

The children of Israel grew impatient and rallied to an "appeaser" (Aaron) who fashioned a golden calf and gave it the identity of a "god".  The One True God was so angry with these people that He told Moses of His plan to wipe them out and thereafter give Moses other people to lead. Yahweh was about to "lower the boom" on the nation He had just delivered.

Moses in his privileged relationship, talked to the Creator much as we have the privilege to speak to Him today. For his part, Moses pleaded with Yahweh for mercy and made the case to Holiness that His glory, honor, and powerful reputation among the other nations was at stake should this people that He led out of Egypt with signs and wonders come to their end in the wilderness. Moses spoke of Yahweh's reputation in the surrounding nations and reminded Him of His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

Moses's appeal to the Most High for His mercy was not a defense of the indefensible.  And not to save his own skin since the Lord told Moses that He would destroy this people group and raise up another for him to lead. This appeal from Moses was based on the threat of Yahweh's diminished Glory and Honor on earth, and His reputation among the nations looking on.  And then, in a gracious act of mercy, Yahweh relented.  Was all of this (warning of impending doom) just a way for the Lord to get Moses to intercede for the nation?   

I am beginning to understand the bigger question for me today: Is it "For the Glory of Yahweh" that is my basis for wanting the Lord to intervene with His mercy in our nation today?  For His Glory? We are called One Nation Under God.  Even though we are faithless at times, rebellious at others, I believe the Lord's gracious mercy is still available for us today.  

The very foundation of this Republic is based on Biblical values of faith, freedom, liberty and equal justice for all. Could it be that Yahweh's reputation (not just our peace) at the very foundation of our Republic is on the line as we face off (and cast our vote) against a progressive and god-less society? 

I pray Yahweh, God of our nation be glorified as we determine to live by our values according to His directives and then as He enables us to stand upon His principles of conduct even as others try to destroy us.  

May the Lord be glorified as we look to Him and somehow survive yet again the assault on our God-ordained way of life provided by the Constitution written by men seeking His wisdom and Divine guidance through prayer.

I pray the Lord will hear our cries for His merciful forgiveness over  past failures to stop the shedding of innocent blood and then provide a Divine pathway to future victory over these ungodly acts deserving His judgement. 

 I pray that as He answers our prayers and petitions, He will receive the Glory due His Name.  I pray that as He intervenes and upholds this unique nation as One under Him, the other nations of the world will come to honor and respect Him as He is worthy of all praise, worship and adoration we can give him.  He is Yahweh,  the One true God and we are to bring glory to His Name.

It's up to us, His people, to intercede and call out for the Glory of Yahweh and the truth of His Being to be revealed in our nation.  May we do our part and stand in awe and worship as He does His.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

In His Name***

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Out of the desperate needs that  can surface in each new day at the first light of my conscious awareness, His message this morning is compelling.  "Whatsoever you ask (of the Father) IN MY NAME, that I will do". 

That was a promise given and recorded for us by Jesus in John 14:13.

I  look for and find this definition of the NAME in my very important tool for understanding words and their meanings from out of the King James Version of our Bible and back to the Greek origin.

http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html

"The name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one's rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellency, deeds etc.”

Taking all my petitions back to the One in whose Name I ask, gives me the challenge and confidence to rely on what is WRITTEN as the baseline of my requests. God's Word is His Will.   He will fulfill His Word and His promises to us, as we ask in the mighty Name of His Son, Jesus.

The next thing to remember is the Credentials we must bring into the Holy Place. We come by faith in and through the crucified body of Jesus. We offer as our Credentials:

THE BROKEN BODY CRUCIFIED AND THE HOLY BLOOD SHED OF GOD’S ONLY APPROVED SACRIFICE FOR MY SIN:    JESUS

THE ONLY RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT GOD RECOGNIZES:   JESUS

IN THE ONLY NAME THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ACCESS HEAVEN’S ANSWERS:    JESUS

These are the ONLY credentials we can give to justify the answers we are asking for and also we can ask with confidence that we are following Divine “Protocol” in our petitions.  Protocol dictates that all petitions go directly to our Father in Heaven. We do not pray to anyone else if we truly desire to have our petitions answered.

Reverence and respect for our Heavenly Father must come from our heart (the temple of the Holy Spirit) and in loving obedience to His requirements for access. THEN He provides the much more of what we can ask or even imagine.

The study of God’s Word enables us to understand all that is available to us as God’s beloved and to gain a better grasp of the Father Heart of God for His creation: humanity. As we come to recognize our place of privileged access and appropriate (take and use) what Jesus died to provide, (ask and it will be given) the world we inhabit will flow with the miraculous evidence of Heaven’s Good Will.
  
Remembering all is to and for the Glory of Jesus (whose sacrifice provided the privilege of relationship) and to and for the Glory of the Father (who honors the Name of the Son Jesus) through Divine answers to our earthy petitions and to and for the Glory of the Holy Spirit within whose role it is to bring their Glory through us.    

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The link provided is a tool I use as I have found different translations of the Word of God use similar words but in some cases provide a different interpretation in my mind. I have found it very interesting to use this tool to enlarge my understanding of original language and expand my grasp of Truth. Many of the different translations of scripture are provided in this link but only the KJV has the specific word translated from Greek origin.

I pray this ignites your passion to discover or to go deeper into your place and privilege in the relationship with Our Father in Heaven that Jesus died to provide through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.

It is to the Glory of the Son that we appropriate what His sacrifice and death and resurrection made possible: “Ask The Father for anything IN MY NAME and that He will give you”.

Have a blessed day in His Presence! I intent to!

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

God Whispers: "Remember My Precedents".

So much of our fear today seems to baseline as a fear of the "unknown".  So much chaos and lawlessness has rocked our world lately and we wonder what's coming next or how will this end?

Suspicion abounds when we cannot openly talk about where we stand or what we think or find others who sees things the way that we do in a shared value sense?

 

It's days and times like these when our relationship with our Lord is so critical in figuring out God's perspective over our lives and circumstances.  Our peace depends on it.  Our decisions and next move depends on it, yet this is where so many of us falter in our trust because we don't really take the time to truly KNOW God apart from the weekly sermons we get off our satellite connections.

A little information regarding the character of our God is better than none but the mystery of His Majesty awaits our determined seeking for the hidden treasure of His being.

This morning I wake up with thoughts about the protests, the violence on the streets and the enemy off our ordered society on the move robbing, destroying property and killing innocent people.  But then.........

The Holy Spirit whispers into my troubled thoughts:

"Remember My precedents!"

The history of man's days upon the earth are recorded for us to read in God's Word and are for the teaching and training of those who seek Him.  The Bible is God's love letter to us and it contains therein His will and His ways over all of human history.   First comes His relationship with individuals as Adam and Eve, the first of creation made in His image.  Then comes His relationship with a nation called Israel. And then comes His relationship with redeemed human individuals, who have put their trust in Jesus, the One God  sent to earth to save humanity from the judgment of His Holiness for the rebellion of our flesh through free will choices.

In God's Word we get truth and glimpses of how our Sovereign God acts and enacts His great power over all He created.  We have the privilege and by the Holy Spirit the wisdom to understand the character of our God and in relationship we can experience His love.

In His love, I come to realize that God acts in repetition. Cycles of repeated lessons until we get His point and change what is out of His Divine order in our lives.  These cycles reveal details about His character that He wants us to learn so that according to His Divine purpose, we can model and represent Him to others in our world.   

When I read His word, I want to grasp modern day applications from ancient truth, since there is nothing new under the sun that has not been done or faced by humanity since the very beginning of time. 

The way God acted in the past is the way He will act in every today and the way He will act tomorrow if we live another day on earth.

Th study of His Word is more than mere lessons in history, it is the study of the Majesty and mystery of our Creator God.  Seeing how He intervened in the past gives us a firm baseline in our prayers and petitions for Him to intervene in our life and circumstances today.

Not only are His promises trustworthy for those who believe on His Name but so are His ways of directing our lives reliable and always in our temporal and eternal best interests.

Today I look back to His ways of dealing with troubling times for Israel to see what precedent He set in mighty acts of Divine intervention that we can draw from today.  My peace is restored as I look for and find reminders of His Sovereign control, seek for His perspective and pray for His perfect Will.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

     

 

Understanding our Destiny

In an interesting study of the Torah provided by torahclass.com, specifically the book of Genesis, I have found some profoundly interesting details that can impact my prayers and petitions for our nation in this season  of life in the USA. 

To those who may already know these things, I am on a learning curve and so happy to be catching up with y'all.  For me to anchor to life's lessons I need to share what I learn.  So here's my share for today.

I have always understood the power of words and the blessing that the ancients spoke over their sons. Going back to Genesis to the account of Noah and his sons, Shem Ham and Japeth, I found that the words Noah spoke over these three sons, set in motion the destinies of their genealogies that stand over the nations of their descendants even today.

Genesis 9:26-27

Shem was the recipient of his father's Godly authority over humanity and vital relationship with God himself. Noah was the oldest and only surviving descendant of Adam, with all the blessing of God to continue life on earth after the flood.    Through Shem would come the ultimate authority and Savior of humanity: Jesus the Christ.

Japeth was the recipient of his father's fruitfulness to enlarge and grow the population on earth, to prosper and enlarge territory and ultimately to carry the Godly message of salvation (initially from the flood) to all nations on earth.

Then there is Ham.  Ham, due to his decision to gossip about his father's nakedness (sin) and show disrespect for him as a righteous authority, was the recipient of a curse and with it a destiny of servitude to Shem rather than an alliance for good. His reputation and name among the nations would be associated with ungodliness, evil and ultimately  the spirit of anti-Christ.

As I look at the "table of nations" that came after the flood, it appears that the original colonists who came and established our One Nation Under God called America, are of the lineage of Japeth.  Our destiny as a nation and as written in our constitution is to be fruitful and prosper in our freedoms with the liberty to share the good news of salvation with all the nations of the world.

The interesting word spoken over Japeth by Noah was that Japeth "might dwell in the tents of Shem" and therein would he fulfill his destiny and here is where the freedom to choose comes into play.

In the table of nations, Germany follows the lineage of Japeth.  The blessing is there for the taking, but did Hitler choose to dwell in the tents of Shem?  No decidedly not.  Hitler chose to follow the evil of his heart in an attempt to destroy the lineage and destiny of Shem and so doing, became an enemy of God. 

Another example is Arabs called "Palestinians".  Ironically they are of the lineage of Shem yet call themselves after the Philistines whose ancestry tracks back to Ham. The descendants of Ham according to the curse will always be in servitude to Shem.  

When God Himself spoke the blessing over Abraham, Shem's descendant, He repeated the blessing over Shem:

"I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you", signifying and confirming the destiny of Shem among the nations.

Over the course of our history in America we have had Presidents who have blessed Israel (Abraham and Shem's descendants) and Presidents who have cursed Israel through various foreign policy decisions and actions. Our prosperity and fruitfulness have always been connected to our leadership's treatment of Israel.

This little study of national destinies really helps me understand how to pray for our nation, our leaders and our fruitful evangelism.  We must understand as citizens how vital it is for us to honor and support Israel as if "dwelling in the tents of Shem".

There is always a choice to be made and evil is a choice.  There are other examples of people and nations in seasons of life and leadership who walk away from their God-ordained destinies.  I pray we are not among them. 

We must continue to elect leaders who will honor and support Israel,  since the fruitfulness and prosperity of our destiny as a nation depends on it.  I have long understood this to be true and now I know why.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

 

     

The Passover and the Plague

Passover and the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ is soon to be here.  This isolation and home bound quarantine feels almost eerily like the day of the original Passover, when the death angel passed though Egypt and only those with the Blood of the Lamb on their doorposts were spared the loss of their first born son.  It was a dark foreboding night when the sounds of death and mourning could be heard throughout the land.

The connection and symbolism that Jesus IS our Passover Lamb is the cause for celebration by the Church.

The baseline of the Christian message and the Gospel "Good News" is all about forgiveness.  The forgiveness that God has given and that we all have (potentially) received did cost Jesus a cruel and barbaric death.

For sin to be forgiven, according to the mandates of Holiness, innocent blood must be shed. Innocent blood is what it takes to atone for sin, with death as the ultimate penalty. Jesus is the only human who could claim "Holy blood" and that due to his Divine lineage as the Only begotten Son of God. 

When we get to the point where we desire a relationship with God and desire to live eternally with Him, we are brought to the place of Godly sorrow (conviction) and repentance.  That desire leads us to the Cross and the One God sent to save us: His only begotten Son, Jesus.  

Forgiveness is the bedrock of Christianity and the basis of our freedom from condemnation and judgement executed by our Creator God for acts that offend and violate Holiness. Thus the Passover and the crucifixion of Jesus.  We have the opportunity to receive forgiveness for all that lies within our "sin nature"; a nature that compels us to deviate from God's Holy nature until that sin nature has been transformed. 

Forgiveness being made available doesn't mean that it is automatically received.  The forgiver can forgive without the forgive-ee being directly affected.  God's forgiveness stands but only due to the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  Many will refuse to accept it and unfortunately live to regret that free will decision.

The exchange between forgiver and forgive-ee is best understood in the act of repentance.  Repentance is not just the feeling of being sorry for something offensive.  True repentance combines the regret with a determined change of course away from the regrettable offensive action.  Faith is a reverse of course from unbelief.

In the life of a Christian, with our flesh being what it is; corruptible and depraved by the lust for worldly things, the need for repentance should be something we recognize as quite necessary when we walk the "Highway of Holiness" with our Lord. 

Sin within causes a breech in our relationship with our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ.  Even as our old "sin nature" has been exchanged and replaced by the Lord's "Holy" nature (arrival of the Holy Spirit within) at the moment of our salvation, our flesh can and does still influence our choices and decisions to violate our new Holy nature. 

The Holy Spirit who resides within the heart of all true believers, convicts and brings us to repentance, not just to forgive our offenses but to restore us to our place of fellowship with our Heavenly Father and Lord. 

When Divine discipline comes (and it will) for those old habits and ways that need to be corrected, conviction, repentance, forgiveness and restoration of relationship happen in the transformation process whereby we gradually become more like Jesus. Before Jesus came into the world, the Old Testament is filled with accounts of how God dealt with the nation of Israel and their sinful violations of His Holiness.  Violations brought disasters.  Disasters brought conviction.  Conviction brought repentance and repentance brought restoration and ultimately relief from the disaster 

When circumstances are changing and becoming harder to understand may our prayer be like that of the Psalmist who cried out to the Lord, "Search me, Oh God, and know my heart, try me and know my anxieties and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting".  Psalm 139:23-24

As we make this the cry of our hearts, the Lord will answer.  If repentance is required, conviction will come, and with a change of course, forgiveness will flood over us and restoration will bring about our deliverance.  

When trying to gain understanding of the cause or source of what we are experiencing in the trials that touch our life and world, I have found it best to begin with personal assessment and accountability.  Knowing we stand before our God personally accountable and personally forgiven,  we can move onto corporate accountability. Discernment is critical in the place of intercession when addressing possible Corporate offenses and seeking forgiveness for the Body of Christ at large.  But our Heavenly Father is faithful and will reveal things if we petition.

Lastly and not to be overlooked in our search for truth and "discernment of spirits", we may be given the wisdom that we, the Body of Christ, are under a full on attack by demonic forces.

Knowing that we stand forgiven by our Heavenly Father both personally and corporately,  with a discernment that says that what we are facing is an attack by "principalities in high places", we can move into our position on the battlefield full of courage and strength to effectively fight the good fight of faith.

As we move through this life altering crisis resembling a plague, may we use it to grow closer to our Lord and to a greater understanding of His ways and adherence to the principles we find in His Word. 

I hope this blog has been an encouragement to remember the Passover and The resurrection of our Lord.  I hope it is an encouragement to fold our hands and not wring them; to seek our loving Heavenly Father for His perspective on our situation, to follow His lead through the dark catacombs of untoward circumstances and to find His Light that is always there at the end of our tunnel.   

Peace be unto you brothers and sisters. For our God reigns....

The Spirit is calling.  Can you Hear Him? 

 

 

  

What IS Salvation Anyway?

These are the days that try men's souls.  The world has come to a screeching halt and most of us have been given a pause in busy-ness and unexpected relief from the "treadmill" of normal life.  Of course this time is a matter of perspective that can swing from fear to faith and back again like the pendulum of time itself.  

I have been encouraged to think about some issues that have been on the back burner of my "mentals" for quite some time.  For me to share what crosses my mind and path is a task that seems to have an assignment attached and a call from My Lord that I must answer to and for. 

The most important message of our lives as Believers is the Gospel Good News of God's unconditional love for humanity and conveying that in our own way to others who make up our world is top priority lest any should miss it.  

That said, I am so thankful for all who share in this season with our feet on planet earth to make this Journey with Jesus and each other.  I am thankful for all the amazing brothers and sisters in Christ across the street and around the world who lend their faith to others whose faith might be faltering in this crisis and to the unsaved that they might seek to find the Peace we have in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World.

We recognize that this world is NOT our (Eternal) home.  We are truly just passing through.  Our Eternal Home is with God, who is our Heavenly Father.  While in this temporal place our soul is housed in a physical body subject to the elements of the atmosphere here.  At the moment of our predetermined expiration date, we all will be evacuated and transported into another realm very much alive.  Followers of Jesus call this "Salvation" and for us it will be an alive and "well" living happily ever after in a delightful place and never ending story.

For those who choose to reject Jesus, eternal life brings horrific judgment and agonizing separation from our Creator God Who is the source of all that is "Good".
  
As a follower of Christ Jesus, faith is a supernatural experience for it is written, "Faith is the substance of thing hoped for and the evidence of things unseen."  Faith is action and faith moves through conviction and belief.  Faith treats things hoped for as reality and things unseen as real. Far from a "pollyana" mentality that "everything is beautiful",  faith grabs onto the Word of God and His written promises, convicted and convinced all will come to be. 

Jesus is the One God sent into the world to save us. But to save us from what you might ask?  The simple answer is judgement; Divine judgement which is the penalty for sin that unfortunately all humanity has been born with.  It's called a fallen or "sin nature" embedded in our flesh. 

Consider that the Cross with all its brutality was the place and God's only Son the subject upon whom all God's Holy righteous wrath against sin was poured out.  And the worst of the penalty for sin was suffered as Jesus said, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  Separation from His Father God was the worst and deepest agony since it was the first time in eternity such a separation in the Trinity existed. He alone knows of the pain of such a separation because He alone knows the fullness of the love of God.  

To accept Jesus is to acknowledge that we are helpless sinners who deserve the wrath of Holiness, but with overwhelming gratitude for God's gracious provision  where Jesus took our place and our penalty; that's what makes Him our Savior, and then in surrender to His Holy Spirit; that's what makes Him our Lord.

There is no escape from the fallen sin nature other than death,  Our Creator God unwilling that any should perish, provided that a substitute, blood shedding, Holy sacrifice be made available to all and any who would willing accept His gracious gift.

Jesus, the "Savior" Son of God is that "Gift". 

We are all born as the immortal image bearers of the One True God. God's original design gave humanity the mandate to tend to all He created in this world.  It was an assignment to co-labor WITH Him, not to be independently living life here without Him.  

Free will is a God ordained component of Divine design.  For free will to be free there must come to us a choice and with it the freedom to experience the consequences whether good or bad that go with our free will decisions. 

The most far reaching free will decision and consequence that our Sovereign Creator God has established is our eternal destination point, whether with Him in Paradise or without Him in Hell.

Life on this planet for very one of us ever born, boils down to this one eternally consequential free will decision:  Where will we spend eternity and with Whom? 

Time is of the essence to make a decision and make no mistake, a "no" decision is a decision in God's gracious economy.  Either we choose and accept Jesus, as the One God sent to rescue us or not.  The "not" choice is a choice, much as choosing "not" to eat dessert is a choice at the end of a meal.

God's Word is our instruction manual for life here and beyond. Choosing to read it helps us to choose wisely in all other matters of our free will decisions, including where we will spend eternity. 

The choice is ours and one way or another it will be made and then God will honor our choice.

I implore you in love, please seek the One True God and His Son Jesus while He may be found.  

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?     

            





    

     

Supernatural Immunity: The Power of the Blood of Jesus

Connie D'Alessandro‎ to The Spirit is Calling

Today I am sharing something I believe is extremely important and with regard to the virus and Revelation 6:8.

I have been asking the Lord for wisdom in processing the current crisis and how to pray with perspective from the Throne. Today I got a post from a friend that I copied and pasted below.

Then I was taken to God’s Word in Rev 6:8 where it talks about the 4th of the 7 seals of the apocalypse. According to this reading this 4th seal releases the “pale horse” and it brings widespread death from sword and hunger but interestingly some is from the beasts of the earth (the animal kingdom).

That being said, to those who think this virus is like other human flu/sickness we might want to re-think that assumption. The post below relates a knowledgeable assessment of the real threat to humanity and I find that it related to the verses in Revelation 6.

Since this pestilence is animal in origin and we have no natural immunity to it we must then rely on an immunity of a supernatural sort. Our supernatural immunity comes from the Blood of Jesus shed on the Cross. Believers have the ability to call upon the immunity that the Holy Blood gives us in this earth realm where threats can overwhelm our “natural” immunity.

Please read this and call out to our Lord for His provision in the midst of this crisis. And by all means share the information and our faith✝️☝️✅


A friend on Facebook posted this and it explains a lot:

It has been so very hard to be quiet even though my phone is blowing up with questions that I can’t answer... for some of you who don’t know my daughter is a contractor for the CDC in Atlanta, she is a microbiologist.

My sister shared this and I hope those of you who think our government is overreacting read this and also don’t just watch the local news... pay attention globally.

This should help explain why we have to quarantine and not just those with compromised immune systems.... but everyone until this contained.... read it until the end.

Feeling confused as to why Coronavirus is a bigger deal than Seasonal flu? Here it is in a nutshell. I hope this helps. Feel free to share this to others who don’t understand..
.
It has to do with RNA sequencing.... I.e. genetics.

Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system.

This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year... you get immunity two ways...through exposure to a virus, or by getting a flu shot.

Novel viruses, come from animals.... the WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes for years watching for mutations).

Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1) (birds in the case of the Spanish flu).

But once, one of these animal viruses mutates, and starts to transfer from animals to humans... then it’s a problem.

Why? Because we have no natural or acquired immunity.. the RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn’t human, and the human immune system doesn’t recognize it so, we can’t fight it off.
Now.... sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animal to human, for years it’s only transmission is from an infected animal to a human before it finally mutates so that it can now transfer human to human...

Once that happens..we have a new contagion phase.

And depending on the fashion of this new mutation, thats what decides how contagious, or how deadly it’s gonna be..

H1N1 was deadly....but it did not mutate in a way that was as deadly as the Spanish flu.
It’s RNA was slower to mutate and it attacked its host differently, too.

Fast forward.

Now, here comes this Coronavirus... it existed in animals only, for nobody knows how long...but one day, at an animal market, in Wuhan China, in December 2019, it mutated and made the jump from animal to people.

At first, only animals could give it to a person... But here is the scary part.... in just TWO WEEKS it mutated again and gained the ability to jump from human to human.
Scientists call this quick ability, “slippery”

This Coronavirus, not being in any form a “human” virus (whereas we would all have some natural or acquired immunity). That propelled off like a rocket.

And this was because, Humans have no known immunity...doctors have no known medicines for it.
And it just so happens that this particular mutated animal virus, changed itself in such a way the way that it causes great damage to human lungs..

That’s why Coronavirus is different from seasonal flu, or H1N1 or any other type of influenza.... this one is slippery AF.

And it’s a lung eater... And, it’s already mutated AGAIN, so that we now have two strains to deal with, strain S, and strain L....which makes it twice as hard to develop a vaccine.
We really have no tools in our shed, with this.

History has shown that fast and immediate closings of public places has helped in the past pandemics.
Philadelphia and Baltimore were reluctant to close events in 1918 and they were the hardest hit in the US during the Spanish Flu.

Factoid: Henry VIII stayed in his room and allowed no one near him, till the Black Plague passed...(honestly...I understand him so much better now).

Just like us, he had no tools in his shed, except social isolation...

And let me end by saying....right now it’s hitting older folks harder...

But this genome is so slippery...if it mutates again (and it will). Who is to say, what it will do next.
Be smart folks... acting like you’re unafraid is so not sexy right now.

#flattenthecurve. Stay home folks... and share this to those that just are not catching on...
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For Such a Time as This

In honor of Purim, it's interesting to re-read and re-visit the story of Esther in the Biblical book that bears her name.

This is an amazing and encouraging book and historical account of the over-arching protection by God for His people.  I can see some interesting parallels with what was happening to them back in the days of Esther and the King of Persia, and where God's people find themselves today. 

The account tells of a time when the Jews were living in exile in the land of Persia.  Life was reasonably peaceful but a person with antisemitic hatred had the ear of the King.  

The Body of Christ is like a nation within a nation much like the children of Israel were over the course of their history.  We are a group of Christ followers living in exile away from our Heavenly Home.  We have our "Hamans"; those people in power who lie about us and the "threat" we are to the nation and the world. Their persecution takes various forms from hateful derogatory speech to acts of violence and threats of bodily harm.

The story of Esther is a story of courage and standing firm in the face of incredible odds for her people's right to exist. It is an encouraging story given the social, political and spiritual environment we find ourselves in today. 

Esther was a beautiful Jewess who had captured the heart of the King in the land of exile and he made her his Queen. Unwittingly, the King of Persia had been deceived by one of his advisors, a man  by the name of Haman, about a contrived threat the Jews (and a man named Mordecai) were to his kingdom and was manipulated into signing a decree calling for their annihilation.

Haman did not know of Queen Esther's genealogy nor the favor she had with the King.  Queen Esther was the one person of Jewish descent with standing who could approach the king for favor and she did so with humble grace and great courage.

Since the decree, once sealed could not be revoked, the King out of love for his Queen and her people, permitted anther decree to be sealed whereby it was granted the Jews the ability to fight and defend their lives against any who would come against them. When the devious plot was brought to light,  Haman was hanged on the very gallows he erected to dispose of Mordecai.

As I read this historic account, God's Sovereign providence is clear despite the fact that His name is not mentioned in this book reflecting some of the struggles the Jews have had in their lands of exile.

It is clear to me that while the "battle belongs" to the Lord, we must be prepared to do battle as He grants us the right to fight and defeat the enemy who brings charges against us.  While I see the battle in spiritual terms, the message is clear that we must fight against the attempted annihilation of the faithful here at home and around the world.

Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the dark rulers in the heavenly realm who manipulate people and fan the flames of hatred toward all who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The weapons of our warfare, we are told, are not carnal but have Divine power unto the bringing down of strongholds (power grips) that exist to challenge and if possible destroy our lives, our faith,  and our calling in God's great purpose and will. 

The story of Esther reminds me of all that our Lord God controls and provides for our victories in the trials we face in our temporal land of exile. 

It is important to note that the "Haman" hatred toward people of faith is the hatred inspired by Satan himself and is not reserved only for the people of faith but rather a hatred of all humanity in general.  No one is exempt from being a target of this demonic hatred.  The evil one hates all mankind and seeks to destroy even his loyal followers.  It's only a matter of time until they too are marked for annihilation.

It's now so important that all who are followers of Christ pray for the lost; even and especially those who self-identify as enemies of our Lord.  It's been said that the best way to get rid of an enemy (human and so far as we are able) is to make him a friend.

Who knows and perhaps you were born for such a time as this.

The Spirit is Calling.  Can you hear Him?            

Exercising Our Restored Dominion

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  His message is clear:

"Your dominion has been restored.  Do not permit the evil one to steal it again".

Today as I settle into our early morning on-going conversation, I am aware of the voice that speaks lies and so thankful that the voice of the Holy One is more clear than that of the oppressor.

Life on earth in these seemingly dark days offers up many challenges.  We have been told that nation will rise against nation, there will be earthquakes and other forms of natural disasters, sickness and disease will attack our bodies, we will find division even in our most trusted human relationships, and the faith of some will grow cold. 

God's Word promises that victories are possible even in these dark days if we will grab hold of them.  

One such promise is conveyed in in Matthew Mark 11:23.  As Jesus was walking with His Disciples on His way to Jerusalem, He spotted a fig tree and looked for edible fruit.  Finding nothing but leaves, He cursed the fig tree (Mark 11:14).  

He continued on His journey and then on His return trip passed by the same fig tree and the Disciples noted and said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree that you cursed has withered away".   

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly I say to you,  whoever says to this mountain, 'be removed and cast into the sea', and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done.  He will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them."

I heard the testimony of a man defeating cancer and what he said was profound: "When I stopped telling God about my sickness and started telling my sickness about my God, things changed."  In his case, he went into remission and was delivered from the grip of that devastating disease.

As I read the foundational promise for moving mountains in my life found in Mark 11:23, I ask myself, what is the  "fig tree" at the moment that might need to wither?  What mountain am I facing that needs to be remove in order to continue on in my journey?  What obstacles lay in the way of my mission?  This promise given by our Lord has many practical applications and gracious victories to award those who will say and believe.  

The enemy is a thief and comes not but to rob, kill and destroy.  Creating "doubt" is the enemy's most effective strategy.  Re-taking our turf and exercising our dominion as God's Beloved regents is clearly His will as the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus empowers us to do.  As regards to this truth we must never enter into or engage with "doubt."  But it takes wisdom, discernment and applied knowledge of the devil's schemes to keep from being deceived by that serial liar and thief, Satan. 

I am reminded that while this life is a battle against a dark enemy of our soul and not just a whimsical passing hope for good things, we are never alone.  God's promises will always be challenged by evil so we can and should count on a white knuckle battle for truth in the trenches.  It's sometimes even under the threat of death that we come to truly know we can speak to the mountain and it will move. 

Exercising our restored dominion is glorifying to the One who made it possible.  Thank you Jesus. To you be all glory, honor and praise and worship.  

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?