Jesus Sets The Captives Free

He Came to Set the Captives Free

Ten years ago, my husband of 31 years made his great escape.  Imprisoned in a decaying body, he made the cross over into eternity and out of the shackles that held him bound to this earth.  By the Lord’s grace alone I can celebrate his translation.  Rather than having a funeral to mark his departure, we had a going away party instead.  Since that day I have lost more of my Beloveds, but their situation is the same: Freedom from a decaying flesh body. 

Today as always, I am thankful for the eternity that Jesus our Savior provided through His death on the cross and the resurrection hope we have in Him alone.  I cherish the Word of our God that gave us (believers) a picture of our death-defying glorified bodies that we, who belong to Jesus, can take claim to after we depart the flesh shell on earth, that houses our immortal soul.

There is so much about the man that I miss but I would not wish him back to face the pain and decline of a physical body for anything in this world.   As most of humanity, he did not exit this life as a hero but rather a prisoner.  We are all prisoners in one form or another and that is why Jesus came:  To set the captives free.

Of course, there are various forms of prison for it is a written fact that Satan is the jail keeper here on earth.  He is after all the “prince of the power of the air” (the spirit realm that surrounds earth and its inhabitants.)  One person’s prison may be addiction; another may be cancer or some other body infirmity or incapacitation or disease.  

One may be the prison of a love-less marriage or the actual place of incarceration for breaking society’s laws.   Here on earth, there may be any number of situations that represent a prison, but Jesus came to set each and every one of us free.

Soon we will celebrate the day when God wrapped Himself in flesh to walk among His creation. His birth marked His invasion into our various prisons to set the captives free from the grip of a powerful adversary who hates us. He came to buy us back for himself having paid the price with His very own blood.  

Today I celebrate freedom from Satan’s grip.  We have been redeemed and bought with a price.  Because of Jesus we believers in the One True God, can experience deliverance from any and all the mental and emotional prisons we have been made to languish in.  Some of us may even experience deliverance and miraculous physical healing here on earth.   

The Lord Jesus came to deliver us and at the beginning of His short public ministry He spoke the words out of Isaiah 61:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

Over the course of my life, my Lord has released me from many prisons; like the prison of unforgiveness. Today I am thankful and look forward to spending eternity with the One who paid the ultimate price for my soul and has truly set me free.  And I look forward to sharing eternity with those who like, my temporal husband, (and others I have lost sight of here) are already there in His Presence….  

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

  

Fear Not

Today, with so much fear in the world that touches our lives, I am

 nudged to share a chapter out of my Book, "Heaven Bound: A

 Devotional", written during a time when fear was on a relentless

 rampage with me. 

 

At the end of the chapter, you will find "Points to Ponder" with

 questions for you to mediate on regarding the chapter. This Book is

 available from Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  

I hope you are blessed reading chapter 9 of "Heaven Bound"

Fear Not

The Holy One calls to me this morning. Fear has come calling

and has been tormenting me through the watches of the night.

The world news is providing a very effective backdrop of evidence

that evil is alive and well on planet Earth. Personal trials close to

home and in the lives of loved ones remind me that the war

 producing the trials is everywhere.

As Christians, we are told over and over to not fear. Philippians

4:4 is one such command: “Do not be anxious about anything but

in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present

 your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all

 understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ

 Jesus.”

The Holy One calls, and I answer out of a fitful wrestle with the

dark lord of fear. I feel like a lone sailor frantically typing out an

 SOS as waves are about to capsize my boat.

The conscious comfort of His presence and authority offers a

deep relief to my heart and mind. The Holy One reminds me how I

am like the disciples during one furious storm on the lake they were

crossing as Jesus was asleep in the boat. Matthew 8:25 says, “The

disciples went and woke Him saying, ‘Lord, save us!’ We are

going to drown.”

The Spirit speaks to me this morning like Jesus did to His disciples

that day, “You of little faith, why are you afraid?” When Holiness

puts it that way, the fear and tension melts away and the processing

can begin.

“Well,” I hesitate as my mind tries to explain my faithless

thoughts to the only One who can correct them. But before I pick

more words to justify the wretched sin, He gently reminds me of

what I already know, “Fear and faith cannot cohabitate. One

 cancels out the other. The fear you have is sin, not just an

 emotional response to the threats you hear in your mind.”

His words confirm the lessons of late regarding the need for

daily repentance and even a humbling foot washing by the Lord to

clean off the dust of the fallen world that clings to my feet.

Job was a man who experienced the deepest of trials during a

season in the permissive will of God. Satan accused him of being a

spoiled child who would curse God if his blessings were taken

 away.

The Lord’s confidence in the man was challenged by the enemy of

Holiness, and Job was put to the test while Satan brought blow after

blow of hard adversity against him.

The account of Job holds many important lessons regarding

the sovereignty of God: His permissive will, His boundaries and

 protection, His control over the adversary, and His ultimate love

 and relationship with Job, the man.

The Holy One draws me back to this account to make an interesting

point regarding fear. As I read the beginning of Job’s life of

trials, Job 3:25 leaps out as a clue to the rest of his recorded

 suffering.

“What I feared has come upon me, what I dreaded has

 happened to me.”

Could it be that Satan’s attack followed a direct line of Job’s fears

right into his life and being? Could it be that our fears provide the

open door of access for the enemy of our soul to enter and bring the

trials we experience?  If that is so, it is to our great advantage to do

 as the Lord commands and “fear not.”

The enemy of our souls is an ancient foe who is aware of our sin

nature, the fall, and the fears it brings to the hearts of men. He is the

great deceiver, so if he can keep us trying in our flesh to overcome

fear, or worse yet succumb to it, then evil triumphs.

The Holy One reminds me that not only is fear a powerful

emotion, it is also sin. “You cannot get rid of fear just in the facing

 of it. Fear, like any other sin, requires repentance.” It is important

 and most interesting to get down to identifying fear as the sin that it

 is.

I always equate sin with a strong emotion that has a flesh perk at

the end, but that is not so with fear. Fear erodes all peace,

 confidence, and assurance of good things coming to pass. Fear

 leaves me shaking and quaking and waiting for the next shoe to

 drop. Fear seems to be the one sin that has no flesh appeal, and I

 wonder, if that is so, then why do we fail to acknowledge or treat it

 as sin?

Society has alternative ways to beat the cycle of fear bondage,

otherwise known as anxiety, rather than take the sin to the Lord for

removal. Doctors prescribe drugs, therapists suggest other assorted

escape mechanisms, but nothing man can offer really cures the

problem.

The Holy One again asks, “Why are you afraid?” I noticed that

He did not ask, “What are you afraid of?” The why and not the what

is the key. There can be an endless list of "whats" to the fear issue,

 but the answer to why is simple: somewhere in the assessment of

 the situation I face and wrestle, the storm got the better of me. I

 failed to remember that the One who formed the clouds, the winds

 and the rains, is with me in the boat.

He gently repeats His question, “Why are you afraid?” But then

He goes on to cut through the fear, “For I am always with you.” 

The sense and power of His presence fills the room and my soul.

 “Fear not” is the command, and clearly, I understand He is the

 reason I can obey it.

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Points To Ponder:

1. How do you define fear? Does it register to you as

being sin? Or does it seem more like wisdom. Reread

Philippians 4:4. Since fear is a God-given emotion,

why do you suppose it is then counted as sin? How

much does fear play a part in your life and decisions?

Are you willing to confess fear as sin in order to get

rid of it?

2. Look up Matthew 8:23–27 for your own encouragement.

Do you think to thank the Lord for being in

your boat and for His power to save you from the

storms in life? Can you recall a situation like the disciples?

faced in their storm where the Lord rescued you?

Will you offer a prayer of praise to Him now? If you

are in a storm at the moment, will you pray like the

disciples did and ask Him to save you?

3. Dealing with our sin weakness is part of being saved,

as one definition of being saved is to “be healed or

delivered out of a bad place.” The Lord is calling us

into a relationship whereby we talk to Him and relate

to Him. Healing is part of the privilege of relationship.

Confessing sin is the first step in deliverance and

ultimate healing. Does it occur to you that in your

weakness, God says He will be your strength?

4. Does this promise give you hope? Tell the Lord how

you feel. The Bible has many verses that address fear and

being afraid. Most begin with “Do not.” Look up

Isaiah 35:4. Then read Psalm 91. Each of these speak 

the command “Do not,” but each offers reasons. 

List some of the reasons we are commanded to not fear.

5. Read Matthew 28:18–20. Think about why He

would tell us in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore of all

the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe

all things I have commanded you and lo I am with

you always, even to the ends of the earth.” Do you

consider yourself as a strategic part of His plan for

the salvation of others? Are you willing to do your

strategic part? What if your strategic part is just to be

willing to allow Him to work through your life? Will

you ask Him to use you?

I Will Pour Out MY Spirit

The Holy Spirit calls me on this day to be thankful, and then reminds me of the Father's great promise recorded in Joel 2:28 and again in Acts 2:17:

In the last days, God says, 

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy

your young men will see visions

your old men will dream dreams

even on my servants both men and women

I will pour out my Spirit.

I doubt that any who know God's Word and sees what is going on around the world would argue that these are not the last days spoken of by the Prophets of old. The collapse of societies everywhere speaks to the reality that our times are coming to an end.

This means that time is short for the salvation of the lost. The stakes are high: lost souls yet to find their way into the Kingdom of God. It is God's unfailing mercy that He is willing to pour out His Spirit and give evidence of Himself though supernatural signs and wonders to the unbelieving world.

So, I listen with eager ears to what the Spirit is saying to me. I am compelled to desperately seek the spiritual gifts promised and now confident that these are the days and times when a "spirit filled", supernatural walk with the Lord is not only possible but necessary to fulfill God's purpose for those of us with the privilege of being alive at this great, grand finale of man's days upon the earth. This is a time of the final harvest and we have been chosen to participate in it.

I speak to a lot of God's people and we all seem to be full of the same desire: to know and operate in our Spiritual gifts, under the anointing by the Holy Spirit that can only come from our Heavenly Father.

God is speaking to all of us who believe and His Spirit is calling for us to walk in the fullness of our potential. Our gifts strengths and talents are given for such a time as this. But to have the power and authority and anointing necessary for us to glorify our Father and our Lord, and to share His Gospel unto the salvation of the lost, we must be under the control of His Holy Spirit.

Today, I praise God and thank Him for His Holy Spirit who speaks to all with an ear to hear. I praise God for what is about to take place in the Body of Christ and through the witness by His people of the miraculous signs and wonders that the Spirit of Holiness is working.

Jesus said to the unbelieving world, "even if you do not believe in my words at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 10:38) May we, the Church of the Living God, be able to speak the same word, having miracles we can point to as the evidence.

Get ready Church, for a mighty move of His Spirit. Pray that each one of us will co-operate with His Divine Will, and do our part as the Spirit desires to use each one of us and the gifts He will impart.

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Angels in our World

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  When YHWH created all things, humanity was not the only "beings" He created and breathed life into.  At what point in eternity these celestial beings were created is not know through scripture.  We know they exist and that they, like us, have a Divine role and position associated with God's purposes.

Lately I have been moved to share testimonies of the lessons I have been taught through Divine intervention.  This morning the Lord reminded me of the time He sent 2 angels when I was stuck on the side of the road.        

While usually "invisible" to our human eye, once in a while angels might take on the form of a human to assist us when we need help here on earth.  Hebrews 1:14 gives a bit of an understanding as to the role the angels play in the everyday lives of believers.  "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth (on a mission) to minister for (by, through, or for the sake of) those who will inherit salvation?"  Such was Paul's understanding of these celestial beings we call angels.  

There are many instances of Adonai's Divine intervention through His angels written about in Scripture but I wanted to share a personal story of my own.

It was a fall evening in California and as the sun was setting, a storm began to sprinkle down rain. I was on the freeway making a last minute rush delivery to a customer and running late.  Speeding down the 91 in Riverside heading into Anaheim, I heard a sound like a helicopter over head.   Fearing it was the speed police I slowed down and moved from the 4th lane into the 3rd lane.  I still heard the sound and moved into the 2nd lane but then realized the noise was coming from my car. 

I pulled all the way onto the shoulder shut off the engine and realized I'd had a blowout in my right front tire. Praising the Lord for His protection from loss of control and a worse catastrophe, I got out to see the damage. Sure enough, totally flat right front tire. I know how to change a flat so I got out the jack and tools.  

As  I was getting those things out of my car, I was praying that the Lord would help me change the tire, but in my fear of someone stopping on the freeway and the potential harm, I also prayed that no one would stop even to help.  

I found the spare, and set about to change the tire.  Unfortunately, the lug nuts had been put on with a machine and I didn't have the strength to loosen them in order to remove the flat tire.  The tension in my heart was welling up as I was late on the rush delivery and no way to finish the tire change.  I put my head in my hands and pleaded that the Lord give me the help I needed to get the lug nuts off.  I was waiting for a surge of supernatural strength.

Just then, a man appeared out of now where and approached me saying, "You look like you could use some help".  I looked around for a car and saw none.  I responded that I could use some help getting the lug nuts off the tire.  He said he could do that and told me to go into the driver's seat and put on the breaks.  I noticed he stood up so I went around the car to where he was standing and looked at the tire.  He said "Can you take it from here?"  I said "sure, I can change a tire" and with that he walked away and when I turned back around, he was gone and the lug nuts were in the hubcap. Total answer to my prayer.

Scratching my head on that one, I was talking to the Lord and laughing at myself.  Next time I will ask for all that I need.  Why didn't I ask for the tire to be changed? Many reason I suppose, but next time I will present the complete need to my Heavenly Father.

Just as I am pondering the lesson about asking for more not less, another man walks up to me from the other side of the car and says, "you look like you could use some help".  The exact words the first "man" spoke.   I looked around and again no car.  I responded better this time.  "Well, actually I could use some help changing this flat tire."

We were both looking at the lug nuts in the hubcap and I explained someone ese had stopped earlier and removed the lug nuts for me. 

He asked if I thought it strange that this man would remove the lug nuts and not change the tire?  I laughed at myself and I told him "not when you know how I prayed". He proceeded to change the tire and get me on my way. I  noticed he had no car and asked if I could give him money for his help and a ride somewhere?  He said "no, I'll just go over there and sit under that tree",  which was part of the landscape off the freeway. I drove away marveling as to how the Lord brought not one but two "strangers" to assist me.  

That experience taught me a lot about prayer; make it complete to the need you are praying about. About angels; they come in a "variety" of looks and these two looked quite scruffy. About our Heavenly Father; never underestimate the sudden appearance of His Heavenly hosts and their role in helping us in big and small ways.

I know for a fact there are angels in our world and I'm thankful to have them keeping us in all our ways.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

 

        

The Power of God's Love

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Infirmity has been an unwelcome presence in our home and stayed longer than we liked.  The forest does not respect the rest that is needed and weed sprout up when no one can pluck them out of places where they do not belong. 

The Holy One uses all things in my life to teach me ad instruct me in the knowledge of Himself and to help me understand our relationship.  Being down in the weed fest of the forest brings up visions of the National Geographic show about earth, post humanity  and how vegetation will take over all our habitations.

Being overwhelmed at the view from my back door would be the understatement of the year as I see all the living areas overtaken by undesirable vegetation.  Weeds can quickly overgrow a garden and choke out good fruit, much like wrong thinking can despoil righteous works.  

The Holy Spirit begins today's lesson as I turn my attention to His gentle Presence and away from the problem of the weeds.  I hear Him say, "Many people want a relationship with Me only for the love of My power, not for the power of My love."

I have to admit, I was expecting to hear more about weeds and tares than about a "power" problem.  His wisdom begins to impact my thoughts and I realize the Truth behind the statement. At the advent of His first coming, many were looking for a powerful King Messiah, who would rescue them from the power of Rome and establish a kingdom for them here on earth.

God's chosen needed only a powerful King for them to rule and reign on earth. Imagine the disappointment when Jesus was mocked and crucified and did nothing to defend Himself or punish those who impaled him on their death stake.

Luke 23:35, "The people stood watching and the rulers even sneered at Him.  He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the chosen One".  Even the thief on the cross voiced his exceeding disappointment that this "Messiah" wielded no power that he could tap into.  Luke 23:39, "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him "Aren't you the Christ?  Save yourself and us".

Until Jesus came to show men the Father, God was distant and unapproachable except by a few and not very friendly or relational except to a few.  His power was not in question, but His love was.

The power side of humanity wants to have and control the power.  There is nothing new under the sun, so as we manage our relationship with our Lord we need to be aware of our flesh lust for power.  

We can know God as Father, and we understand Jesus came to save, but with the miraculous model of supernatural power that laced the ministry of the Messiah, we can fall victim to the possibility that a relationship with the Creator might become a power-grab of sorts.

I am sure there were some heady moments when the Lord sent out his disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, and evict demons from their human habitations.  Left unchecked, pride can rule our flesh life and make us altogether unfit for any assignment to serve the Holy One.

By His words to me this morning, I know the Holy One wants me to assess myself.  I know that He sees things in me that I may not detect and they are often times things about our relationship or my understanding of His being that need correction.

If I love my Lord I will pay attention when he tells me things that may be bothersome or a grief to Him.  Rather than defend myself, I must ask Him to show me what He sees.

Back in the day before His first coming, the people were looking for a King Messiah.  Instead Jesus came as a suffering one.  The cross cut through all their pride in relationship and the thoughts of being on the "winning team".  Loyalty to their friend, Jesus, cost them their very lives and so it is for us today.

For those who may be thinking that Christianity is like a "power grab" and that the power of Heaven delegated to the saved means an easy road and constant victory with temporal blessings for the asking, they might need to take another look at the Cross.

One of the clear distinctions our Lord made by His voluntary crucifixion unto death, is that He died to restore a relationship lost;  not through human power but through Divine love.

What does the Lord want me to glean out of today's counsel?  I see it boils down to a motive check.  Do I seek the Lord for what I want or need Him to do?   Or do I seek Him for who He is in relationship?  The sacred romance can be tainted by a love of power and desire to be on the winning team of this life.

Trials and temptations come hard and fast.  Some days I meet the brick wall of silence from Heaven and realize it is shaped like a cross.  These are the days when our true motives in following Christ get tested and checked.

Are we captivated by the love of His power or by the power of His love?

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?  

Cure for the Sin of the Soul

 The Holy One calls to me this morning.  He always brings a refreshment to my soul.  Even as He is working to purify my "stinkin thinkin", His Presence brings relief.

The accuser of the brethren (as Satan has been described) hurls his insults at my mind.  The attack begins during the watches of the night, just under the radar of my conscious awareness.  The enemy begins early to try to infect my thoughts and make his evil presence known on the battlefield of my mind.

I am thankful that Holiness wakes me each morning with reminders that He rules my life; that the enemy can hurl his insults and take his potshots at me, but in the end my relationship with the Holy One always prevails unto victory.

Today, as the enemy reminds me of past failures that seem to relate to current issues, the Holy One speaks:  "The past does not dictate the future.  You are a different woman today than the one who got deceived years ago".  His gentle voice and sweet love floods my soul.  The One who knows me better than I know myself comforts me.  There is no guilt, no condemnation, no bitter words or even an innuendo that suggests rejection.

The Holy One continues,  "We see sin differently than you do".  Since the "opinion" of Trinity is the only one that counts, I press in to hear what  my Lord has to say to me on this subject.  "The sins of the flesh that you are so prone to focus on are temporal.  The laws I have given for the temporal, affect the best interests of your flesh life in a fallen world.  The more important sin to be dealt with is the sin of the soul and My Law in that regard affects the best interest of your Spirit life for all eternity.

I am always amazed at the simplicity of Truth.

The sin of the soul is willful independence from the One who created us.  The sins of the flesh are just symptoms of the sin of the soul.

Humans seem to be in the constant turmoil over the flesh failures, and  thinking that our Savior, Jesus Christ,  came to offer one more tool for the "big" issue of sin management.  Or worse yet, one more impossible requirement to an already inexhaustible list of what is required to have peace within.

Far from that, the Savior came to obliterate once and for all the "soul sin" that separates us from our Creator God, and that which is the source of all the "flesh sins" we see being carried out in ourselves and others.

God, Himself,  has offered the only way to cleanse the "soul sin" we are all infected with at birth; the soul sin that leads to soul death for all eternity.

Jesus was sent into this fallen world to bring the cure.  We always quote John 3:16 as God's great love for us but the next verse brings additional clarity regarding the Heart of the Creator for His beloved creation I.E. each one of us.  "For God did not send His Son into the world (of people) to condemn the world (of people) but to save the world (of people) through Him".

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

From God's end the problem is solved. The cure has been granted for any who would choose to take it. Jesus came and did what was necessary to save every person ever born from the "soul sin" that causes death of the person/soul for all eternity.

Now,  the big question we each, individually, must answer is: "will I take the cure?"

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

Father Rejection and A Fresh Start

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Each day represents a fresh start.  As a temporal widow, that truth is so important to my emotional well being.  The past is gone, the regrets of yesterday must be left behind, and the lessons learned must be carried forward.

If we choose to live in the past we will be useless in today.

Having said that, deep healing sometimes requires a fresh look at an old wound.  The Holy Spirit pulls back the bandage for some fresh air on an old heart injury.

Mine is a big family.  Marriage became a melting pot of his, hers, ours and theirs.  God's purposes arranged for that beautiful tapestry of lives interwoven.  The trial of life and the hand of God always make for an interesting collision especially in the dynamics of relationships.

God's ultimate purpose is to bring us into the image of His Son.  The image He is after is not the physical but rather the relational image of a father to His child.  We are taught and have seen graphic examples of the physical torture Jesus suffered and the sacrifice He made for us.

The suffering Son was marred beyond human recognition:

"Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God. smitten by Him and afflicted.  But He was pierced for OUR transgressions.  He was crushed for OUR iniquities.  The punishment that brought us peace (with God) was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)

I often wondered why Jesus had to go through all the maiming of His physical body.  I ponder the questions:

"Why did He submit to the torture inflicted by Roman soldiers and the Cross of crucifixion?  Was there not a less brutal way to save our souls?"

But then, the Lord delivers a mental picture of one of our wounded warriors lying on a hospital bed.  Their physical pain and emotional trauma are off the charts of any other human experience.  Jesus, the Savior of mankind,  looked down through the ages to this day and that wounded warrior.  He chose to go through all that physical torture to be able to whisper in that ear, "I know how you feel!".

The love of humanity's Savior caused Him to surrender to all the forms of suffering that His Beloved might go through, and there is nothing we can take to Him that He does not understand from His human experience in a flesh and blood body.

Today He is addressing an emotional injury that has been inflicted on all generations through weak human vessels.

The love of a father is the earliest and most important relationship we need in order to truly grasp the picture and face of God, the Father.  That sacred relationship between the father and child is the target of such evil in these end times.

Outside influences, personal rejection, and spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms have targeted fathers and wreaked havoc against  the role ordained to represent the Father Heart of God to their children.  I see how relational alienation and estrangement in our society makes it very difficult to find our way back to our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ the Son.

The Holy One welcomes me into His presence to share a truth for healing that is like the balm of Gilead to my heart.

Strained relationships seem more extreme in an Italian family.  Passions seem to ratchet up and perceived betrayal is often handled through the ultimate severing of relationship and disownment of the offender.  My temporal husband passed over into eternity with the stigma of being disowned by his parents and most of his family of origin.  

That emotional pain was always just under the surface of his ideas about family.  The sword of Christ is a God-ordained reality (Jesus said it would divide closest family members) but that does not lessen the sorrow associated with its purpose.

The Holy Spirit directs my intercession today to that deep family wound with a stunning truth:

"Jesus death on the cross nullified every curse.  He made all things new and gives everyone the hope of a fresh start.  Everything is washed and purified by His shed Blood".  

I believe that to be true, but He continues, "even the curse of the father disowning the son".

I am utterly speechless with that revelation and its profound implication.  Jesus suffered the emotional disownment that all of us fear and many have suffered in the human arena: Father rejection.

On the Cross and for the first time in eternity, the Son was emotionally and relationally estranged from the Father.

For the first time in eternity, the Father was emotionally and relationally estranged from the Son.

The picture of the Trinity broken is shocking to my mind and yet I realize the day when Jesus said, "My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  (Matt 27:46) was ordained before mankind ever sinned and the effects of betrayal were ever suffered.

I never really thought too far past the physical torture and human betrayal inflicted on my Lord to process the ultimate sense of abandonment and Father rejection He went through that day.  Human betrayal is one thing but Father God estrangement is complete devastation.

I feel the sorrow and I feel the joy.  My heart is broken and healed all at the same time.  "How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called Children of God" (1 John 3:1).

Jesus suffered the wrath of His Father, taking on our sin to remedy the separation and heal the Holy disownment all humanity would otherwise be forced to endure.  The curse has been broken as has the generational chain through which it was passed. Now I can and must take claim to the healing provided so that my Savior did not suffer His emotional (and physical) brokenness in vain.

Peace floods my heart.  Just as the Holy Trinity was restored in love, we can trust that our families can be restored too. I know that my Prayers and petitions have a strong basis in the principles and precedents established by my Heavenly Father.

Today is a new day and a fresh start.  Even as we have felt the pain of human rejection, we can know the unconditional love of the Father.  The Blood of Jesus atoned for everything in me that would cause my Father in Holiness to have to reject me.  Perfect Justice has been satisfied and the penalty for sin has been paid in full. 

I understand even better today, that by His wounds we are healed, even and especially those emotional ones.  

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?        

   

 

The Dark Corridor

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Earlier than my usual 4 am conference, I am reminded that Yeshua prayed all through some nights in His earthly visit and time spent among His created.

Since 3 am is the time I have come to call the "witching hour", when evil tries to torment me, The Lord speaks to that fear: 

"The enemy comes at this hour to torment you but I will use this time to teach you, so don't be afraid". 

I have recently developed the habit of listening to worship music as my mind comes to attention and prepares to receive all the Lord might want to speak as we get to the sunrise and light of this new day.  

The Jewish day as revealed in the Torah and back at the beginning of time as conveyed in His Word, begins at sundown.  Just as the Spirit of Adonai hovered over the darkness of a world in chaos and brought order, so He brings us out of the darkness into the light of His ordered creation and life. 

Worship is therefore a brilliant way to welcome the Heavenly Light and purpose of the new day.

As I'm going through my playlist of favorite worship, I am drawn back in time to the worship time during the National Day of Prayer when Believers in Yeshua from all over the nation and even Believers from other countries assembled in Washington DC before the 2020 election to cry out to the God of our nation in repentance and beseech Him for Divine intervention as we see our personal and collective sin and make our plea for His forgiveness. 

As I am thinking back to that time and all that has happened since, I hear Him say, 

"That was when you entered into a dark corridor, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.  You are in a birthing canal, about to come forth with and in new life." 

Truly, I and so many others are moving through that dark corridor being squeezed and stripped of what represents our flesh comforts and familiarity with the things of this world.  What we hoped and even assumed would be a Divine manifestation of immediate answers and protection from a supernatural enemy and his human agents of a wicked agenda being proposed as our "choice, reality hit us hard in ways that made no sense to our common collective minds.

"Do you trust ME?"   

Humanly speaking, we hate what we cannot control yet we are being asked to put our full dependency upon our Savior here and now not only in a future there and then.  

I understand His great mercy in what He speaks to my heart and the picture He paints in my mind.  Hope comes forth like the sunrise of this new day.  I repent for the impatience and the doubt that follows when being asked to persevere through all the contractions that are now seen as a "birthing process". 

Yeshua's  ancient words come to life from Matthew 24:4-8 (CJB):

"Yeshua replied, "Watch out! Don't let anyone fool you!  For many will come saying,  'I am the messiah!' and they will lead many astray.  You will hear the noise of wars nearby and news of wars far off;  see to it that you don't become frightened.  Such things must happen but the end is yet to come.  For people will fight with each other, nations will fight with each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world.  All this is but the beginning of the birth-pains". 

There is a command we must follow nestled in His expose of the conditions we find and experience in the corridor, "See to it that you don't become frightened".

The renewing of our mind takes place when we re-place the threats of the evil one we hear in our ear with the powerful Holy Word of Adonai as in Psalm 91 NKJV  Here's some excerpts of this wonderful Psalm:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High 
shall bide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will SAY of the Lord "He is my refuge and my fortress
My God. in HIM I will trust. 
Under His wings you shall take refuge 
His truth shall be your shield and buckler
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night
Nor of the arrow that flies by day
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness 
A thousand may fall at your right side,
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
and see the reward of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord Who is my refuge,
even the Most High your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you.
Because he has set his love upon ME, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he has known MY name.
He shall call upon ME, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will extricate (deliver) him and bring him honor.
I will satisfy him with long life
and show him MY salvation".

The dark corridor is a passage way to new life when seen in the light of Adonai's Word and promises.  But as every birthing experience is personal and unique, we must draw close to the Holy One with calm perseverance to find that wonderful light at the end of the dark corridor we find ourselves in at this moment in time.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

***Note:  for those who might be word sensitive in our interpretation of these verses, plague is a Biblical word usually in reference to a Divine chastisement like that which we read about in the days of Moses and the Pharaoh of Egypt as opposed to a sickness that IMO may have been unleashed by human agents under the influence of evil celestial beings who hate us.  

  

Draw Me a Picture

 When a person gets saved, it's been envisioned like taking off an old worn coat and putting on a new garment like unto a clean white "robe of righteousness".

I am a visual person and have always asked the Lord to draw me a picture so that I can grasp the important lessons He has for me to understand.

Our gracious Lord accommodates my need for visuals and has always granted me mental pictures that are symbolic of the principles that words sometimes cannot convey or that I fail to understand from His perspective. 

Yeshua spoke in parables for similar effect to an audience of people in the culture of His day so that simple minds could grasp deep eternal principles.  

For me, one such mental picture came about when I was struggling with a sin stumble and feeling so dirty in my spirit.  

I got this moving picture of being on my Father's estate.  It was grand land with lots of room to roam around and so many exciting things to discover and enjoy.  On this estate was a place and a pig pen I was warned not to go near.  Of course the "child-me" was fascinated by that forbidden place.  

On this day, I was playing on the edge of that pig pen and low and behold, I fell in.  My robe got dirty and just then I heard my Father call to me from the big house. I couldn't go in and have him see me in my dirty robe, so I found a hose and started rinsing off all the yuck.

After I assured myself that my robe was clean enough, I went into the house and found Him waiting.  He looked me over and I thought I was "good enough", but then his face contorted and he began sniffing the air.

He looked at me and said, "were you playing by the pig pen?"  I knew I was busted.  I realized at that moment, nothing I could do would eliminate the stench of my sin in his nostrils.  But what could I do?

I confessed my sin, told him the whole story about having fallen in and how sorry I was for my disobedience.   I was ready to face the punishment.

To my surprise he told me to go to the closet and get a fresh clean robe with the parting words, "And don't go near that pig pen again."

In that visual experience much was learned that I carry in my heart and mind today:

There is a reason the pig pen is forbidden:

IT STINKS

Our Heavenly Father sees and knows all things:

STOP TRYING TO HIDE SIN

No matter how much we try to cleanse ourselves:

THE STENCH OF UNCONFESSED SIN REMAINS

Our Heavenly Father is gracious and forgiving:

HE IS THE ONE WHO CAN MAKE ALL THINGS NEW

I continue to ask for mental pictures to understand spiritual principles and my Lord continues to provide them.

If you struggle as I do sometimes, to understand God's ways, maybe its time to ask Him to "draw you a picture".  Just sayin'

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

When God says No

Our Journey with Jesus is life long once we begin it.  Lessons in Holiness as well as sweet blessings in getting to know the One I will spend eternity with, come all along the way.

The mystery of God's Sovereignty keeps me fascinated and excited in our Sacred Romance.  There is so much to learn and experience in the fellowship being offered this side of Heaven until I see Him face-to-face.  

None of us will ever reach that place of all-knowing and that's in part what makes for the thrill in the journey, as there is always one more delightful thing to learn about our Lord and His ways.

Learning to discern the voice of our Shepherd is the basic lesson for all us little lambs. Once you know His voice more and more of the relationship opens up and delightful fellowship begins.

Prayer is a wonderful dialog when you know the One with whom you are communicating. 

There are times when our prayers meet with Heaven's "No".  I find that a "No" response to some of my petitions opens the way for a greater intimacy if I don't run away to lick my wounds but stay for some time in His Presence to understand the why of it should He choose to share His wisdom with me. 

There was a time when my sweet momma was sliding into dementia. It was a hard situation to watch as her full time caregiver.  She was the last remaining member of my family of origin and losing her mind before her body was such a struggle.   Caring for her meant praying for all her needs, spiritual, physical, emotional and even mental. 

In prayer, I asked my Lord, her Healer, to restore her memories.  I confessed my trust knowing He can do anything including what my petition represented. 

I heard Him say, "Please don't ask Me for that... and here's why". 

That answer confirmed much about Adonai and our relationship as He went on to explain the deep knowlege of her life and her vulnerbility at her age and condition to the dark pain those recalled memories would cause.  

For me this incident taught me much about the Lord's care of my mom, and His honoring of His Word and promises to me.  

Jesus said, "Whatever you ask for in My name that I will do and the Father will give."  

In keeping with that promise, He requested I withdraw my petition, which I did.  In the explanation He gave as to why the petition should be withdrawn, an even greater intimacy with Him was found.  Prayer is a two way conversation but it takes a while to realize and recognize the sound of His voice speaking back. 

Once we are saved, the relationship with our Creator becomes one of  a growing friendship that eventually turns into a sacred love story of epic proportions.  We understand His love as we learn about Him.  We rest in His love as He provides and protects us.  We act in His love as we realize it pleases Him.  All our life after the moment of salvation is to be spent in that personal intimate fellowship with our amazing God getting to know the Very One we will spend eternity with.

Interaction with us, is part of the dynamic of Who He is, not just as an overseer but an active Lover of our soul.

When Adonai passed through the camp of Abraham on the way to see and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, it is written that He said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I AM about to do?"  

Genesis 18:17 CJB 

With humble thanksgiving for what that one verse tells me about our potential relationship with the Holy One of Israel, I seek to be open to what He is willing to tell me in the circumstances of my life.  Whether I hear yes or no to my petitions, I am thankful to know that He is speaking to my heart.  

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?       

Do you Trust My Ways?

Whatever we give to the Lord, He takes it and will transform it from death to resurrection.  But we must leave what we give to Adonai with Him and watch what He does, and how He does it.

The Holy One has spoken to my heart and asked me, "I know you trust My ultimate will but do you trust My ways?"

Are they not the same?  "NO, they are not the same".

The Lord reminds me of the story of Mary, the mother of Yeshua and the wedding feast in Cana and the crisis of no more wine.  Running out of wine was a devastating social situation for the family of the bride.  They were facing a form of "death" to their social status. Upon hearing that they had run out of wine, Mary solicited the help of her Son.  She brought the problem to Jesus, trusting that He could and would bring about a resolution to the crisis.  (John 2)

Notice what Mary didn't do.  In bringing Him the problem, she did not come to Jesus with a long list of potential ways for Him to handle the problem. She gave the problem to Him, told the servants to do whatever He directed them to do, and then she just watched His miracle unfold.  

Sometimes His rescue from out of a crisis situation is not so instant.  Trusting Adonai's ways can be hard when the resolutions are delayed.  Mary and Martha called for Jesus to come and heal their brother Lazarus who fell ill.  They had seen Jesus heal others and  they hoped Jesus would come heal their brother too. (John 11)

As they waited Lazarus died a physical death.  They were distraught in grief and for three more days they clung in hope to a cultural thought of the day that the spirit of the person hovers for 3 days over the body of the dead so there is a slim possibility of revival.

Four days later..... after the the outer most hope for revival had passed it's time, Jesus finally arrived. 

Jesus tarried His arrival for four days during which all human hope was extinguished.   BUT THEN....He did arrive with the ginormous blessing of resurrection life for Lazarus and in that day, provided a lesson for all of us to see that He, Jesus, is the source of resurrection life, post our temporal death, for those who Trust Him. I also found the profound principle in play:  the sisters' desire and Adonai's Will for them were one in the same but His way was not their way. Hope had to be resurrected along with Lazarus.  

How many times have I given a problem to Jesus in prayer then set about trying to resolve it according to my own "way" of intellectual  reasoning rather than in faith believing and trusting in His "Way" of bringing about the resolution. 

As in the situation in Cana, where the servants had a job to do to be part of the answer, we too may be called to participate but always in obedience to Yeshua's directive.  I'm pretty sure the servants were questioning in their natural mind,  how water was going to get by the "master of the banquet" when wine was expected, but when the "Master of the Universe" is in charge, we must not doubt or question His ways.

When we give our problems to Yeshua for Him to resolve, we must refuse the temptation to take it back.  Being in doubt, we will go back to the mental struggle we were in at the beginning.  

Hebrews 11:1 "Trusting (faith) is being confident in what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see". CJB

May we learn to leave what we give to Adonai with Him, listen for what He may want us to do to facilitate His move, and watch as He does His work. Any time He enters into our dilemma, it becomes a supernatural event and we must accept His Way to resolve us, whether natural or supernatural.   Praising Him in the "tarry" time, keeps us in anticipation of His Divine Way of bringing about our resolution and His Will.

Jesus alone can turn what evil means to use to harm us just as He turned death into resurrection life. That is His Will! That is His Way!   We must learn to trust both.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?     

  

 

 

Renewing of the Mind

 The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning.  Our household has been attacked by the dreaded flu that has brought such fear to people all around the world.  I hear my Lord say:

"It's time for the renewing of your mind!"

When trials hit our lives often we become so overwhelmed with the struggle that we fail to take into consideration that there might just be an important lesson from Adonai and a purpose beyond the temporary suffering. 

True confession.  For a few years I have struggled with anxiety that I am sure many can relate to.  All the upheaval of life and the fears that we are in a dark time in history for those who follow prophecy, can bring out the fear of what we cannot control.

Anxiety can become a familiar "spirit"; one that hovers and at first we don't realize the oppression is actually a supernatural being who turns our thoughts to the negative worst case scenario rather than how we have been instructed to think by the Word of God.

The conversation continues with my indwelling Counselor.

"Do you notice all the negatives that are flooding the airwaves and impacting people?  Don't give audience to the negativity".

It is a fact that we are being bombarded with negative things day and night and since we are addicted and connected to cyber space we cannot escape negative thinking that comes with negative knowledge.

The saddest part of all the information is in the reality that many are subtly being trained to think that Adonai is responsible for all the bad things that are happening or that He is angry.  He is, after all Sovereign and can stop or start any and all things in the twinkle of the eye.

If we know and understand the Word of God, then we are reminded that Adonai delegated the ruling authority of this world to humanity. He delegated oversight and assistance for redeemed humanity (Hebrews 1:14) to His other created beings: "angels" or the elohim, who are powerful supernatural beings, yet created as we were by Yehoveh God.

The rule of Eden was broken by humanity in allegiance with the adversary, a fallen elohim. God's rule was to be enacted by humanity with help from the elohim but both fell at different times and now have engaged in the wicked destruction of Adonai's creation by rejecting and rebelling His Divine order.

This understanding begins to explain why all the negativity. God's will is positive, good, ordered, delightful and creative.  People and fallen angels have chosen to oppose Him and any who are called by His Name.

The reason this is important to understand as Believers is that God sent One to deliver us from the grip of the evil ones.  The first step in our deliverance is to have our sin nature forgiven and replaced.

That is what our Savior Yeshua was sent to earth wrapped in flesh to accomplish.  That is what He did!

By His death we have been forgiven of all that separated us from our Creator at the fall. For flesh to be forgiven, flesh had to die whether ours or Yeshua's. This is a Holy God requirement for eternal life with Him.

By His death and resurrection, Yeshua defeated the adversaries of our Kingdom and our God, leaving us a legacy of eternal peace with our Creator should we choose it along with the ability to exercise forms of dominion over the dark rulers of the age. 

It seems that Adonai awaits His image bearers to commit to Him and to call for His ruling authority to govern our lives and hereby influence the lost world around us.  The Holy Spirit enables us to faithfully fulfill our commission and be in alignment with Adonai's Will.

To that end we are commanded to proclaim the wonderful Good News of God's Love against a backdrop of negative evil

As I focus my mind on whatsoever is good, true, noble, admirable, praiseworthy, and pray all the goodness of Adonai's Kingdom to come, and His will to be done here on earth as in Heaven, I am emulating the life of Yeshua and renewing my mind.

With His enabling, I can push back the ungodly ruling authority of evil that I see.  Apart from Yeshua I can do nothing, but with Him nothing will be impossible.   

Yeshua said, "The gates of hell will not overcome My community" (Yeshua followers.)  Until we are evacuated, our assignment is to reject the evil and stand firm in the delegated authority Yeshua died to provide.

We must make it our ambition to represent our Heavenly Father well, true to His character in a world that is being lied to.  If you are bound by the negative, it's a good time to work on the renewing of your mind. 

The Holy Spirit is calling  Can you hear Him?