God's Grand Eternal Plan

 The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning.  His Presence is the sweet comfort I need when I wake up in a world that most often seems to be spirally out of control. 

He always brings me back to His grand plan and provides pieces that are almost like those of a jigsaw puzzle. Each one has a specific place, and I am to find where each fits.  

In this season of life, I am learning much about the overarching big picture of Yahweh's Divine plan that we are living out on our days upon the fallen earth.  Distinct from the day-to-day challenges and trials we weather, comes the Truth about Yahweh's Eternal Sovereignty and His Control over our days and times.  

The Book of The Revelation of Jesus the Christ is the last recorded message and completes the cannon of Divine revelation of His eternal Being and what is to come at the "end of days" and on into the glorious plan for our eternal habitation with our Creator, whose desire it has been to dwell among His Creation with Humanity since the very beginning. 

To merely look at the big picture in bits and pieces is to miss the grandeur of it. 

We are the center piece of a "Never-ending-Story" that has unfolded chapter by chapter since the beginning of time itself. The eternal nature and character of our Sovereign Creator is a mystery we cannot comprehend in our finite minds.  But we have the hope that the clues we have been given in His Word, enable us to seek and find a few of the answers to the many questions "inquiring minds" might want to know.

In His great mercy and the record of His delight in what He created in the beginning when it is written that, "He saw that it was good", we can actually rejoice in the value He has placed upon us and for the relationship He desires to have with us. 

What began as a companionable relationship in a beautiful garden, became a test of human free will response to the love offered to abide with Him and live within the boundaries of protection He set.  There was only 1 rule the original pair had to observe and live by:  Avoid the tree bearing the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  That one rule was to preserve the innocence of their design and keep them safe.

Humanity was created with a "free will" and with that freedom came the necessity of options with which to exercise that "free will".  The one rule provided the opportunity for the original pair to exercise their free will.  Enter the "tempter" and a convincing lie that over-ruled the truth:  "If you eat of this fruit, you will become "Like God".  They did not consider that in reality they already were "Like God" for in Genesis 1, His Word tells us:

 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.   (KJV).

The seed (from the forbidden fruit) embedded in that careless act of rebellion, was the penalty of death.  Toxic and poisonous, the pair experienced the death in their relationship with the Creator and died in their radiant glory as Yahweh's imagers. I can only imagine the horror of suddenly being wrapped in skin with the original glory dimmed and exchanged for a body of sin.  More than nakedness as we might understand in our flesh, I would imagine the sudden awareness of separation from the Creator's comfortable Presence and loss of innocence was indescribable devastation.  

Praise the Lord, the amazing plan of Yahweh our Creator, did not end with the rebellion in the garden that day.  Because Yahweh Elohim is Sovereign, knowing the end of everything from the beginning of anything, planned for a future rescue for His imagers from the death penalty.  

Perfect justice required the penalty to be paid, but perfect mercy provided a flesh representative to pay it for all humanity.  That "flesh representative" was none other than God's own Son, Jesus.  Just as in the original free will choice to rebel, we each are given a free will choice to accept a substitute who died in our place. 

The death penalty will have to be paid by every human ever born, and not just the death of our temporal flesh, but the eternal death of our relationship with our Creator.  And yet, our merciful Creator God, has provided a way of escape if we choose to take it.  

Paul sums it up in Romans 7 where he gives word to the cry of our hearts and praise to God for our rescue.  

24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

As we come to accept the One who died in our place, acknowledge our need and His sacrificial death in our behalf, an amazing supernatural thing takes place within us.  We are beneficiaries of a new nature.   That new nature restores us to our original glorified immortality when upon the physical flesh death, we are fitted with a new and glorified body that will not decay and will instead provide what we need for our eternal existence.            

This is why Jesus modeled for us His resurrected body as a preview of our own.  The resurrection of Jesus is the embodiment of our hope. 

Paul speaks of it in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Paul argues that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, making Christian faith futile and leaving believers still in their sins. 

The resurrection is therefore essential to the gospel, validating both Christ’s victory over sin and the hope of eternal life for believers. 

In God's grand eternal plan, a resurrected glorified body is necessary to house our being. Non-believers will not have a resurrected body to inhabit.  The soul lives on but not in a "body".  

As we learn more and more about God's Grand Eternal Plan, it is our privilege and responsibility to share such knowledge and wisdom we have gleaned with others along the way.  The Gospel is meant to be shared.  The story of our Savior. Jesus, who came, died to pay our debt and then resurrected to show us the future of all who trust in Him, is meant to be shared.  God's Grand Eternal Plan is too good not to.  

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

The Spirit is Calling: The Book now the Blog

I wake up every morning to the call of the Holy Spirit.

It is in these quiet times, just before dawn, that the Lord

speaks to my heart. This blog is an attempt to share some

of what I hear and to encourage others to listen for His

voice because…

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

I Will Bless Those Who Bless You.

We were born into a world at war.  The battle we are told is not against flesh and blood (each other) but in conflict with dark and deceitful entities who inhabit the unseen realm. The author of the deception that convinced original man and woman to rebel God's ruling authority is alive and well today.  

Let it be understood that the battle is for the mind and the power of the evil one is in the lies and deception he whispers to an unguarded mind, that our flesh considers and chooses to act upon.     

As we march toward the end of temporal time and toward the renewal of this planet according to the eternal plans and purposes of our Sovereign Creator, the deceptions continue to grow in an effort to manipulate hearts and minds to reject God and hate His chosen. 

Way back in the beginning of time, after the fall of man and the penalty was issued, it was conveyed on the Sacred Scrolls of history that at a certain future moment, a Savior would come to defeat the enemy of God's people (humanity).  

This Savior would come forth from a woman and there would be animosity between woman's descendant (singular) and the enemy's descendent (singular).  That singular "Descendent" from woman is Yeshua, the Redeemer and Savior of the World. 

In our day and times, antisemitism is reaching a fever pitch. Israel as a nation was brought forth and designated as chosen by Yahweh (God) to represent Him and His Kingdom to the world. The world has hated the "children of Israel" and yet they are Beloved by God and have their future completely secured by His Mighty Hand.  

This hatred is ungodly and inspired by those who refuse to live in submission to Yahweh's ruling authority and who seek worldly power and self-rule in and of themselves.  Despite any failure on the part of Israel to represent His Kingdom, hatred of Israel is inexcusable for a true Christian and lover of Jesus.       

The bottom line is that the Savior of the World of humanity came to us as a baby wrapped in Jewish flesh, walked among His creation, lived in perfect submission to God's ruling authority and died the death penalty we all have been required to pay for flesh rebellion.  

He came to die so that we might be reconciled to our Creator and by faith in His sacrificial death, become eligible to be restored to our original immortality and eternal life with Him.  He is a Holy God and cannot abide with sin in any form.  Rather than have all to perish, a great exchange was made possible.  

In a magnificent supernatural way, we are able to exchange our rebellious sin nature for Yeshua's Holy one and that, not by performance, but only by trust and faith in His promise recorded in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, (Yeshua/Jesus) that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life      

Over 2000 years ago, Yeshua (Jesus) was conceived by way of a of Divine conception, born in Bethlehem, lived a perfect life as a Jewish man under the terms of Torah, was crucified and then resurrected in Glory making physical appearances for His disciples and others to see, touch and feel Him alive before He returned to His Heavenly Throne. 

The Church was established upon His death and resurrection message. The Original Disciples and therefore the original community we call the "Church" were Torah observant Jews and followers of their long-prophesied Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus).  When He came to earth, He was wrapped in Jewish flesh but Divine in Nature, as Yahweh Elohim, the Son of God.

It is a mistake to try to understand our faith in Jesus, apart from understanding the Jewish culture He was born into.  It is also a mistake to regard the Nation of Israel as "perfect" because in truth the great tribulation is the event that will bring them into alignment with the ultimate and final recognition of Yeshua as their Messiah. (true Salvation). The Book of Revelation tells of that coming and glorious day. 

Hatred of Israel is hatred of those God loves.  Hatred of the "Jews" is hatred of Yeshua's kinsmen.  When He returns there will be a price to pay for those who have ravaged His Beloved. 

As we approach the final chapter of earth before Yeshua's return, it is important to understand Divine justice and judgement within the Jewish culture as it will (most likely) be part of the tribulation and Millennial Reign of Yeshua.   

That said, here is an important thing to understand.  In the culture of the Jewish nation of Israel, there is a "Kinsman Redeemer" role which entails being a "Blood Avenger" of His people. The cultural responsibility to avenge the family follows and is within the definition of the kinsman-redeemer: A kinsman redeemer is a close family member in biblical times who had the responsibility to rescue or restore a relative in need, which could involve buying back family land or marrying a widow to preserve the family line, or avenging the bloodshed of a family member. This concept is prominently illustrated in the Book of Ruth, where Boaz acts as a kinsman redeemer for Naomi and Ruth.

This is a picture of Yeshua, Jesus, who is the Messiah promised to the descendants of Abraham and the Children of Israel. 

True "Christianity" is founded on the Nation of Israel and the One Who was promised and foretold by the Prophets, as they spoke over the course and history of Israel and over the world we know. Do not miss this by failing to dive into the riches of our Redemption story. 

We know that Jesus came for the salvation of all of humanity, first the Jew and then the Gentile.  Speaking as the "Good Shepherd" in John 10:14-16, Jesus declares, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; (born-again Gentiles) them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."

Rather than live in animosity with God's chosen nation why not seek to understand His will and ways though it's culture and history?  One day we will all be in unity as "One flock and having One Shepherd".  Until then, why not value the nation who brought us the lineage and story of our Savior.  Yahweh Himself promises to bless those who do.    

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

 

 

Do You Know HIM?

 The Holy One calls me this morning. Together we are working to rid my heart of any and all unbelief. Actually, the unbelief seems to start in my mind with lies by the enemy of my soul and without realizing the toxic nature of the lie, the "evidence" supporting it begins to surface, and it seems like truth.. 

As the "evidence" falls into place, there comes a heart shift, subtle at first, but left unchecked the heart becomes cold, indifferent and resigned to what the enemy wants me to believe. 

People around me are sick and some have died. Compromise in the lives of those who claim to be "Christian" is obvious and yet we are told that grace covers all sin. Doom and gloom prevail with famine and drought, physically and spiritually being experienced by most of us who live on the earth. Yet when Jesus came, He brought such relief to those suffering the same things we experience today.

The Holy One has taken me to the gospels to recall the account of the Centurion who brought the plight of his paralyzed servant to Jesus for a healing "Word". Matt 8:5 begins the account and Matt 8:10 reveals how Jesus felt about this Gentile and his faith in a "Jewish Carpenter". "When Jesus heard this (the Roman's statement of faith) He was astonished and said to those following Him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith". The Centurion's servant was healed at that very moment.

Reading past this account are many other accounts of Jesus confronting a variety of infirmities and physical suffering. All were "healed". All were "cured". Then the Holy One brings me to the encounter between Jesus and a ruler named Jairus, whose daughter had just died. In Matt 9:18 the short version of the story captures my attention. 

What is interesting to me is that, as this Synagogue ruler told Jesus about his daughter he said, "but, come, put Your Hand on her and she will live." This seems to speak of an even greater faith in what Jesus could do. The confidence of the ruler demonstrated by his words was faith in Jesus to resurrect his daughter from the dead.

As I ponder the two accounts, I wonder why this man's faith for a resurrection was not the subject of similar astonishment to Jesus? Knowing my thoughts the Holy One gives understanding. Jairus knew Jesus. By all the Holy writings the Jews had in their hands, they knew and recognized Jesus was the Messiah and knew what Messiah would do when He came. Jairus' faith was expected from one who knew who Jesus was: the promised “Messiah."

Then it hits my mind, the Centurion came out of spiritual ignorance and decided that Jesus was One in whom great authority rested. His faith was based on what he heard or saw Jesus do. "Even if you do not believe in My words at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." John 14:11

Faith from the Jewish ruler was expected for all he knew about the coming Messiah. The Centurion on the other hand took the initial but huge leap of faith to believe in the One standing before Him.

Holiness takes me back to the issue of unbelief. Then comes the hard truth:

"Unbelief prevails because you don't really know Me. Doubts arise because you are too busy to come to Me. Fears rule your circumstances because you refuse to trust that I can or will take care of you". 
 
As soon as I start to object, I realize the truth He has just spoken. Until I acknowledge the problem I cannot begin to be healed. Unbelief is like a disease. Unbelief kills hope. Unbelief kills dreams. And unbelief, ultimately, kills the soul. The only cure for unbelief is to really get to know the One I have trusted my eternity to. For those of us who have the Holy writing available, there is no excuse to remain in ignorance and unbelief. 

The Bible embodies the Person of our God. It is a living testimony of our Creator for all who feed on its Truth. The Gospels tell of the day when God came down from Heaven in a form (wrapped in Jewish flesh) that humanity could relate to in every sense of the word. Jesus came in flesh form as the exact (copy) representation of God's Being. Heb 1:3. 

When He returned to His place of Glory, after demonstrating His power over death through resurrection, the God of all Glory sent my Counselor called the Holy Spirit to teach me personally about Himself. He is the One who calls me every morning and moves with me throughout every day. And He is the One who enables me to know God in ways that the infamous sheep know their Shepherd.

Familiarity brings trust. Like dealing with a very vulnerable sheep, the Good Shepherd, guards, protects, provides for and loves...me. Even as my penchant is to wander past my boundaries, He always brings me back to safety. At the end of the day, even if I do not grasp all the whys and wherefore's of what life brings through what He allows or what He doesn't, I just must trust in His love.  

I know that changes have to be made. I purpose to spend more time with Him. To know better and trust more completely the One who gave His life for me. He bids me come. When I do, I know the doubts will fade, fears will vanish and unbelief will never find a habitat in my heart ever again. 

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 condemnation, no bitter words or even an innuendo that suggests rejection.

The Holy One continues, "I see sin differently than you do".  Since His "opinion" of me 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.  

When Isaiah said in 53:5, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, by His stripes we are healed", he was talking about the deep soul sickness that our sin nature causes, not as some promote as a promise for temporal physical healing, we might need in times of illness.   

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.  Relational separation from the Creator is soul death. 

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."  Jesus brought life sustaining reconciliation in relationship with our Creator, that was lost at the fall. 

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?

Be Ready: A Revisit of Sodom and Gomorrah

 As the Lord's arrival is imminent, we are all being called to give careful thought to our ways. We are all being shaken down and out. We are being tested to see what is in our hearts, before we are called to have audience with our King where we will be required to give an account of how we lived our lives here on earth.

Most fail to realize the seriousness of our choices. Jesus has said that narrow is the way that leads to life eternal. Grace has been reduced in our minds through some teachers to a distortion of true accountability.

Perfect love and perfect justice come together under Grace. Liberties have been taken and the dread associated with a Holy God has rarely, if ever, been felt.

The Spirit calls me this morning to look at Lot's life and where he "pitched his tent". Lot was Abraham's nephew. He had moved with Abraham, and spent years in the presence of the Patriarch, God's chosen.

The day came when the Lord had so blessed them with livestock and other things, they needed to separate. In Gen 13, Abraham and Lot discussed the division, and Lot was given the choice of the land. Gen 13:12, "So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordon and set out for the east." Vs 12, "Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord."

As the account continues, we fast forward to Gen 18. In this chapter Abraham gets a visit. Gen 18:1-2, "the Lord appeared to Abraham. Abraham looked up and saw 3 men standing nearby."

Abraham was privileged to have an encounter with the Trinity, and the Lord revealed the purpose for His visitation. "Then the Lord said, The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous, that I will go down and see if what they have done is a bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know it."

The Lord came to Abraham, His friend, shared with him the Divine purpose about to be fulfilled and even the "why" behind it.

Abraham was given the great privilege of a visit, but we can also see though this account a picture of the intimate relationship between God and His covenant people. We, in Christ Jesus, are God's covenant people and have access and privilege before our God to intercede and voice our thoughts, concerns and fears for others in the pathway of God's Divine judgement.

But today, the Holy Spirit calls me to look at Lot's life and where he chose to pitch his tent.

The wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah was so great that the outcry against it reached God's ears. Lot chose to live just outside the city, perhaps thinking that he could live with the perks without the liability. It is quite obvious that this close proximity to such wickedness had an impact on Lot's life and his family suffered as a result of where he pitched his tent.

When the angels of destruction were given the assignment to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the real devastation of the family unit was revealed. Lot attempted to barter his virgin daughters to the crowd of depraved men about to assault the "heavenly" visitors sent to destroy them.

As I look at Lot's life, I realize the ultimate risk of living in such a place of compromise. For whatever the reason, Lot had no impact on the place of wickedness. Conversely, that place of wickedness seemed to have a great impact on him and his family. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah was about to be destroyed, not even Lot's pledged sons-in-law were willing to listen and leave town with him and his family which included their wives-to-be. Lot was not able to persuade anyone, that judgment was about to fall.

God's mercy was the only thing that spared Lot and his family from being destroyed along with everyone else in that corrupt place. With judgement about to be executed, Lot was still hesitant. Gen 19 says, "when he hesitated, the men (Angels) grasped his hands and the hands of his wife and of his 2 daughters and led them safely out of the city.

God is so faithful up to the last minute providing a merciful rescue even to those who might hesitate in fear.

But once the family was on the road to safety, God's command and warning, "flee for your lives. Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere on the plain", was not heeded nor obeyed and Lot's wife died along with all the others associated with the ungodly city.

God's mercy has an expiration date, and we don't know when it will arrive until it is too late. There was a day on the calendar when the door of Noah's ark closed and all those outside the ark perished in the flood of God's judgment.

The Spirit is calling to all of us, "beware where you pitch your tent". The world is full of evil. Temptations abound for us to participate at different levels of life. Yet, we as believers are called to be separate, bound to our God and His principles of Holiness.

Today the Spirit has revealed truth about the dangers of living on the borders of wickedness: compromise with wickedness, tolerance of wickedness, apathy toward wickedness. Lot apparently did not have the reputation for witnessing the truth about a Holy God to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. At the moment of Lot's appeal to the depraved citizens of Sodom to leave his guests alone, they told him to get out of their way, saying further that Lot had come to them as an alien and now, "wants to play the judge"

God warns His people, "give careful thought to your ways". In these end times, knowing the judgement to come, we must all consider where we have pitched our tents. Are we in that border town, having no Godly impact on those around us and in danger of the judgement that will come upon the earth?

Are we bartering our children to the whims and demands of the world, failing to protect them from worldly dangers whether by assault or acceptance of ungodly principles of living?

Are we so entrenched in the lifestyle of the world that we cannot leave it's perks even if our eternal lives depend on it?

Where have you pitched your tent?

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

From Combatant to Observer

The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning. Life has been so hectic and chaotic for months and lives have been forever changed. My blog has sat silent for a long, long time, but the Holy Spirit continues to speak to me each and every morning, so I am trying to return to the discipline of writing and scribing what I hear from Him.  

The dust of the battlefield is finally clearing, and now, I can spend time processing the wisdom and putting the details together in my mind.  All my adult life, I have been engaged in understanding the battle between good and evil and found the call to be a "combatant" in the war against evil.

"Spiritual warfare" was my wheelhouse, and I sought to learn and operate in Divine strategies provided by my Commander-in-Chief according to His Holy Word and in the revelations of His Sovereignty, since the beginning of history and all of time.  

That said, a new season has begun for me and the "calling" has changed.  I have heard the Lord tell me, "My judgement (of evil) will not be postponed. The battle is too big for you; I will take it from here."  At first, I objected, since the battle was familiar to me.  But the Holy Spirit has revealed things I would never have imagined regarding the evil in the world and in our own nation.

Jesus knows me, and my strength along with my weaknesses.  If He says something is too big for me, I know, I must surrender to His assessment.  Thankfully He has brought the understanding of my new "assignment", and it is that of a "watchman".  From combatant to observer, from the "battlefield to the watchtower", I can now see things from a different perspective, and act accordingly.

I pray this blog touches hearts and lives for my Lord, and offers encouragement for those who need it, but at the end of the day, I write and blog for an audience of One, and it is His prerogative to place the journal of my life and thoughts before readers, wherever He so chooses.

My job is to observe and write what I see, not to worry if others agree or have another perspective of what is unfolding as we await the coming of our Lord.  With this as a disclaimer, I pray the reader understands that The Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus, desires intimacy with each one of us and seeks to engage us in a personal relationship with Himself. 

My goal in sharing what the Holy One speaks to me from out of His word, is to encourage each of you who belongs to Jesus, to listen for His voice and what He is speaking to you, because His Word is alive and:   

The Holy Spirit is Calling.  Can you hear Him?   

The "Politics" of Christianity

 

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  I hear Him say “Watch Me work”. Then as if on a banner in the sky I see the words: "take Courage"

These are very exciting days on planet earth.   And there is no greater comfort (or challenge) to my heart than these words He has spoken to me today. 

Lately He has given me the directive in Isaiah 26:20-21:

 “Come, my people, enter your chambers and shut your doors behind you.  Hide yourselves, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past.  For behold the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood and will no more cover her slain”.

The reader may say this verse belongs only in the context of history and applies only to Israel.   But I would respectfully disagree.   The Word of God is applicable to every generation of His people in every nation and in every age. 

In this verse, I see the Lord's anger against the abortionist and the bloodshed of babies in the womb.  I see His anger for the slain and blood shed of the poor and needy from the hands of the ruthless tyrants who hunt their souls (and demand their vote) for personal gain and to reinforce the power of their own empire.  This draws me to judge politics and politicians beyond their personalities to the platform upon which they stand.

The Lord God is not a democrat nor a republican but a Savior.

As a follower of the One True God, Jesus the Christ, I recognize that the principles of our country’s foundation are based on the God-ordained freedom we have to choose our eternal destination after leaving planet earth.

There is a nefarious and wicked agenda being offered to our citizens that brings chaos, lawlessness and war to our gates.  Under the cloak they call “freedom of speech”, the call for anarchy is filling the airwaves and since the enemy of our soul is the “prince of the power of the air” it should come as no surprise to God’s people that cyber space is dominated by his calls for anarchy and rebellion of order that destroys our peace. 

While at the same time we know and understand that the ultimate goal of God’s enemy, is to silence our freedom of speech rights by which we share the message of God’s love for all humanity through the sacrificial death of Jesus and His resurrection victory over death that He provided for all of humanity who believe (trust) in Him

If we are silenced, then the message of the love of God that Jesus brought is silenced.  The battle then is not a right or left flesh battle but rather a kingdom battle between good and evil.  The battle is to destroy the foundation of freedom upon which our country was founded.  Our history and legacy is God ordained and freedom to choose Him and Jesus is His idea.  God's will is good government. 

The freedom to take or leave Christianity is a heart and individual decision.  The freedom to take or leave Christianity is every citizen’s right and no one by law is required to accept Jesus as Savior or follow a religious or faith doctrine.  But the plot to destroy our legacy and silence the offering to become a follower of Christ is not a “right” but an undermining of our equal right to speak.

Add to that the movement to persecute and prosecute those of us to choose to live out our faith in the world and not participate in lifestyles we consider to be unethical or ungodly, and we must be ready to battle against such an attack no matter what "beings" whether spirit or flesh are involved. 

To those who are considering the upcoming elections as a time for "sitting this one (or any time leadership is being decided) out", I would caution you to consider this:  

What if the Lord wants the righteous in the land to defeat the evil in the land?  

What if this is a test of our loyalty to the Word and principles of our Lord and our love and understanding of His being?  

What if, with all that has been revealed of corruption at the highest levels of government the Lord is willing to send His warrior angels to come to defend us and fight this battle against the oppressive forces of evil trying to destroy this nation that bears the title as “One Nation Under God”?  

What if, our greatest act of loyalty to our King is to simply vote for the leadership over this nation?  

With the words of Mordecai to his niece Esther, (the chosen Queen of Persia) who was still a Jewess living in a national situation not unlike our today: “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.  Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4)

We may not always understand nor completely agree with the ways of our God and how He might deliver us from evil.  I am sure the Jews could not have fathomed that a Persian King would provide them the freedom to fight against and have victory over their plotted annihilation.

As a Christian I feel that this is a white-knuckle fight for our established freedom to share the gospel to a lost and dying world.  If my voice is silenced, things like this post will not be permitted and while I know we will be taken care of by the Lord, our ability to help others will be constrained and resources to aid and assist the helpless will be reduced and even taken out of our hands.  The nation of Israel fought many wars to survive, and I see that we are no different.                 

To those who point to prophecy to justify inaction, I will share my thoughts in another post for this is a very active and fluid situation with events changing each day. 

I will end with the reminder that the Lord lived His earth life with the same challenges we face today:  John the Baptist was beheaded for his message and “religion” not relationship with God was dictating the life of the people of God.

Much prayer is being sent up to the Throne and God is sending answers.  The Lord is a Warrior for His people.  I am excited for his message to me today, “Watch Me work”.  I am on the edge of my seat, and yet just a little fearful of what courage will be needed, but then, I trust my Lord in what He will provide and I find, I truly don’t want to miss a thing….

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?   

Do You Trust God's Ways?

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  I confess that I live my life in God’s Word.  Many have tried to convince me over the years that the Word is not to be taken so literally but I do tend to see my life literally or symbolically on every page.   All my struggles, all my hopes, and all my circumstances are somewhere written in God’s Word.

I guess I am a hopeless romantic for the Sacred Romance that I read about in the Holy Scriptures.  From the damsel in distress waiting for her rescue to the kingdom battle between good and evil, I see the Heavenly things as my earthly reality.

The Holy One challenges me periodically to check myself in the trust department.  He questions me on that issue today.

“I know you trust My will BUT do you trust My ways?”

God’s Word is His will.  And I do definitely trust His will.  But there is, in my mind, a difference between trusting His will and trusting His ways of bringing it to pass in my personal life and trial. 

When I cannot see the road ahead, it is harder for me to trust my Navigator.  Many times, the Lord has told me to “fly by the instruments” when clouds cover my view of the terrain.  Today He reminds me of His Word:

2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith and not by sight”.  And then, Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.

I understand by God’s Word that I am being sanctified (made Holy) through the trials of life that come my way.  But when the “bee stings and the dog bites”, as they say, I wonder about His ways.  In the beginning of a hard trial, I find it difficult to see or accept what appears to be His “way” of perfecting me.  Bottom line is that I squeal like a stuck pig and try my best to avoid the cross until I come to terms with what He allows as His “way” within His will.

My Lord brings me to the faith crisis where I must, on shaky legs, stand.

Mary and Martha were brought to a similar place when their brother Lazarus died.  In the culture of the day, the death of their brother was in many ways the death of their life as well.  He was their provider and protector and held the inheritance rights that were needed for their future and lives as women.

Their desire was to have him healed to carry on in life as one they loved and needed. The account of Jesus raising him from the dead in John 11 was a beautiful representation to me that their desire and God’s will was the same.   But for a few agonizing days and in a life and death trial they were forced to accept God’s ways, which were quite different than they imagined in the discovery and execution of His Will.

They suffered in a temporal loss to have revealed to them God’s eternal gain: Jesus their friend, was also the Resurrection and the Life.  God wrapped in flesh and the One who holds power over death as well as sickness.   God’s will was the greater revelation and His way for them required Lazarus to die so Jesus could come and exercise His power over death.  

We have this account as an applicable principal foundation for our faith.  Today I simple confess, “Lord, your will AND Your way, may it be as You say.  Please give me the faith to trust you even when I do not understand Your way”.

When it seems that surrender means my death and I surrender anyway, the Cross has had its perfect result and resurrection/restoration is soon to follow.   I must continue to stand firm believing that my heart desire and His will are one in the same, but I also must trust His way of bringing it into my life. 

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

Resurrection Life in This Realm

The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning. We celebrate Resurrection Sunday every year and then, every other Sunday as we gather in community with fellow believers in Jesus.   It is a precious reminder of the amazing relationship with our Heavenly Father that Jesus died to provide.

As we settle into our daily familiar routine, I am compelled to ask the Holy One what resurrection life for us here on earth should look like now that we understand the significance between Passover and the Blood of Jesus shed on the Cross that defeated death, now that Jesus is secure on His Throne?

His response is as peaceful as His Presence and He speaks out of His Word through 1 Thessalonians 4.

The value of learning the Word of God must never be underestimated for the Holy Spirit speaks through the Word of God to our minds.  In a divine thought exchange, He brings scriptures back in personal communication and application to all these situations I encounter and questions I might have in life.

Today the Holy Spirit draws out of my mental file cabinet just a few words that start me into today’s counselling session for Holy Living.

Inquiring minds want to know more.  I always seem to wonder.  When I wonder, I ask my indwelling “Truth Teller”.  And He always provides interesting conversation on the subject of my inquiry.  It is important to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.  That is part of His role as the Holy Spirit of Truth.

When we ask for wisdom from our Lord and Father God, the Holy Spirit is the One who provides us with the Divine wisdom.  When we ask for such wisdom, James 1:5-6 tells us that God provides, but then warns that as we ask, we receive, and we must not doubt that we have the wisdom we request.

Faith trusts the “Source” of our petitioned wisdom even as the enemy of our soul tries to twist God’s Word at times. The Holy Spirit is our reality and the possessor of our being. He will always cue us when we are being deceived and bring our thoughts back into right alignment as we surrender to the truth whether it be easy or “inconvenient” to our flesh will.

Today as I ponder the resurrection life we can live here while still on planet earth, thoughts of the supernatural and great miracles that can stop even time itself, flood my mind. 

My desire is for all to come to the saving knowledge that Jesus is the One sent by our Sovereign Creator to redeem and restore us to the original relationship we had in the Garden of our origin.

The miracles that Jesus brought as the evidence of His Divinity and partnership in the Trinity Godhead are the ones we all would love to replicate.  Sight to the blind, hearing for the deaf, strength to feeble arms and feet of the weak and lame, all great and mighty works of supernatural intervention is my idea of living the "resurrection life".

But then the Holy Spirit says this in I Thess 4:11:

“But we urge you brethren that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, mind your own business, work with your own hands as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside and that you may lack nothing”.

Hmm, not exactly the grand display of mighty and powerfully convincing proofs we all might have thought to be God’s dramatic way and display of Heavenly intervention. 

Once I get past the awkward confession of my flesh pride that hoped to hear of mighty acts on the horizon, I begin to get His point:

The resurrection life here on earth, is uncommon power in day-to-day struggles with our flesh enemy that demands satisfaction for our flesh lusts.

This word to the church in Thessalonica exhorted them to continue on in the “brotherly love” and orderly lifestyle they exhibited.  But there was also an important warning brought in this letter that they should abstain from sexual immorality and exercise self-control in the sanctification process, in honor of our Lord Jesus, and not in “passion of lust” like the non-believing world around them. 

He goes on to say: “That no one should take advantage of or defraud his brother, for the Lord is the avenger of all such inappropriate behavior.  God does not call us to uncleanness but to Holiness.  Therefore, he who rejects this does not reject man but God who has given us His Holy Spirit.”

Brotherly love and purity is the expected lifestyle of one who follows the Lord Jesus into His resurrection life. I know that this is not a shutdown of my desire to see and experience miracles but rather a reminder that we live the majority of our life in the valleys not on the mountain tops.

Faith is tested in many ways and miracles are sometimes very simply the reality of uncommon power in the face of great adversity or strength in our everyday battles with the lust of our flesh.  

Thinking about the temporal life of Lazarus post his resurrection from the dead, he must have gone back to a “common” life with his sisters and community.  His was a true example of resurrection life on earth and yet there is no record of supernatural events associated with him even in the wake of Jesus calling him out of the tomb.

The Holy One has returned my inquiry with a question of His own and it is all about my obedience and contentment:  Can I pursue a “common life” (to me) of resurrection power with the miracles being simply His strength in all my weakness?   His sweet love pouring out from me to the world of angry and hostile people I might meet in a day?  

Can I be content with my assignment if it is simply to lead a quiet life, with no great fanfare but only a peace in the storms of my temporal existence? And can I be a cheerleader for those whose gifts may be more dramatic and exciting than mine?

My idea of “resurrection life” has been refined today.  The fact that I can have a conversation with the God of all Creation IS a miracle in and of itself.  The supernatural life we all might long for looks different when we understand that apart from the Lord, we can do nothing in and of our flesh selves that He is asking of His servants.  

In looking at all the miracles Jesus performed in the lives of those who crossed His path, love was the motivation.  What if living the resurrection life is as simple as living a life of uncommon and unconditional love?

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

Remember God's Precedents

 The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Man's ingenuity is amazing and enables us to communicate with each other in real time.  Word travels around the globe at amazing speed and we know what is going on within seconds of a major event. 

Not only do we get to share the best of what is going on in each other's lives, we also can share the struggles we face and trials that come along with the journey here on planet earth.  It seems that trials bigger than our personal ability to control them are being shared and in that I find countless opportunities to pray without ceasing.  I cherish these opportunities provided not to feel the pain they represent but to come to know the Great I AM as I cry out for Him to intervene in our sorrows. 

The Holy One speaks to one such prayer need: "Remember My precedents".   

Not too long ago, the Lord started weaving me into His word, after He had spent most of my life weaving His word into me.  I began to see myself and my family's struggles on each and every page.  It is as if His word was written just for me. 

I learned that our God is the God of "precedents".  By that I realize all the amazing stories in the Old Testament; of His power and Presence in the lives of the ancients speak of what we can ask for and expect Him to do today.  These are the things He has already done and are written for us as a model of what He will do again. 

In the Old Testament, God:

Healed the sick: 2 Kings 20

Raised the dead: I Kings 17

Provided children from a barren womb: I Samuel 1

Ended slavery: Exodus 14

Brought His people to a land flowing with milk and honey (good provisions)     Deuteronomy 6

Arranged for the rescue of kidnapped children: I Samuel 30

Traveled as a Presence with His people: Exodus 33

Protected His people from vicious curses and witch crafted oppression: Numbers 23

The list goes on and on.  Then we see in the New Testament as recorded in the Gospels, where Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, built upon those precedents and even more, set up the model of resurrection life after death.  As He departed for His rightful place of honor, He gave us permission and privilege to ask, seek and knock for what our world needs so that in the answers provided, God the Father will be glorified.

Trials are designed to bring us to the end of ourselves.  Trials are designed to draw us to the One who Sovereignly controls all things and even our next breath.  Trials are designed to test our faith in God and His word.  Trials are designed to stretch our patience, strengthen our endurance and challenge our relationship of love, loyalty and trust in the One who died in our place.  In all our trials we can be sure that He is preparing us for an eternity in His Presence, and that the trials are a necessary part of that preparation.

So, the question is: What are we facing today that is so different than the situations we can read about that the Lord has already provided with His answers to human suffering?

Habakkuk was a prophet of old who saw the problems vexing his world and in his day.  Conditions were not unlike the ones we are facing in ours.   As I look around, see the needs and remember the precedents of His past actions, The Holy One takes me to his prayer and I make it my own:

"Lord, I have heard of Your fame.

I stand in awe of your deeds, Oh Lord.

Renew them in our day

In our time, make them known" Habakkuk 3

I find that remembering God's precedents provides hope for the trials that come in each new day.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

ANGELIC ENCOUNTER

What a way to end my day: Sitting along the side of a busy freeway during “rush hour”. Even the weather was working against me as the mist became droplets of rain from out of the dark threatening clouds of an autumn storm.

The delivery deadline for an order of imprinted T-shirts going to one of my customers was cascading down to the wire and here I sit with a flat tire. As I began to assess my crisis, I shot up a “flare” prayer with thanksgiving that the “blow-out” in my right front tire in the 3rd land of a 4 lane freeway didn’t cause a major accident for me or anyone else. That was a miracle in and of itself.

Over the years of my life and journey with Jesus, I have seen and experienced many miracles of God’s Divine Hand of intervention, so I acknowledge when His hand moves, whether to protect or provide or comfort me in my daily experiences. Today, I am thankful for the safety that brought my vehicle to rest on the side of the road.

“No problem”, I thought to myself. “Even as a middle-aged woman, I can still change my own tire”. The Lord is my constant companion, so my thoughts and petitions always flow to Him as the circumstances unfold.

My thoughts became quiet words, “Lord, you know my fear of being a woman alone on the side of the road, with all the crazies in the world today. It’s getting dark and starting to rain but I ask you to make me invisible and have no car stop to help. We can do this together. I don’t need anyone but You.”

With my protective shields up, I went about the task of locating the spare tire, jack, tire wrench and all that I would need to change the tire. All the equipment was found, so I proceeded with the personal confidence that I could do what was necessary. “I am woman, after all”.

I put the wrench to the lug nuts and tried to twist them off. Over and over trying each one, but none would yield to my strength or my determination. Then the stark reality hit. These lug nuts must have been put on with a machine at the factory because I couldn’t get them to budge off the tire rim.

I prayed again, this time a little more specifically. “Lord, I need more strength. Please give me more physical strength. I need these lug nuts removed.”

Suddenly, a man walked up from behind me. I turned to see who could be on the side of the freeway in this remote place with no vehicle in sight. The man looked a little scruffy, but he spoke kindly to me, “You look like you could use some help.”

I found my voice amid the confusion of trying to “figure” him out. “Yes, I could use some help. I can’t seem to get these lug nuts off. I’m not strong enough”.

The stranger instructed me to go to the driver’s seat and keep my foot on the brake. I did as I was told and, in a few minutes, when I saw him stand up at the side of the vehicle, I rejoined him by the tire that was flat..

He said to me, “do you think you can take it from here?” I told him I could, and I thanked him for his help. I looked at the lug nuts sitting in the hubcap and back to the place where he had been standing and he was gone.

He just disappeared. That was weird, but then the lug nuts were removed just like I asked in my prayer petition. I was exhilarated by what just happened and now I could finish the job of changing the tire and be on my way, with yet another personal experience and testimony of my Lord’s gracious attention to my needs.

As I sat there for a moment pondering the situation, I found myself shaking my head at the humorous reality of it all. I asked for the lug nuts to be removed and that is exactly what I got. “Why”, I asked myself, “did I not ask the man for help changing the tire?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the lesson the Holy One was teaching me in this experience. How many times have my prayers been incomplete? How many times has the Lord been so willing to send help for the task at hand, but pride or ignorance or even fear got in the way? I could only take a deep breath and sigh for this classic example of half the need expressed even as the answer itself was complete.

I could only speak of my regrets to the One who sent help in response to my cry.

I looked at the lug nuts again and rejoiced at the answer to what I had asked my Lord to do, while confessing the sheer stupidity of not asking for all I needed.

We had a good laugh together and I tucked this lesson into my heart. Talking to myself, “I daresay I won’t make that mistake again, but if only I had asked for the complete need to be met and the tire changed. I could be back on the road already. Now I have to finish the job”…blah…blah…blah.

Suddenly, another, different man walked up behind me. I turned again to see who was on the side of the freeway in this remote place with no car in sight. He looked a little scruffy but spoke kindly to me THE EXACT SAME WORDS, as the first stranger had spoken, “you look like you could use some help”.

This time, without hesitation I conveyed my complete need. “Yes, I could use some help changing this tire.”

This other “stranger” looked at the lug nuts in the hub cap and said, “At least you got the lug nuts off”.

I related to him how the “other” man had come to my aid and removed them for me. Then he asked, “Don’t you think it strange that he would remove the lug nuts but not change the tire?” By then the whole insane situation became quite clear and his question provided the opportunity to put it into words. I replied, “Not really, when you consider how I prayed for help. That was all I asked for!”

The man just smiled.

He quickly and efficiently finished changing the tire. I asked him if I could give him some money or a ride somewhere, since it was starting to rain harder and I saw that he had no vehicle. He replied, “No thanks, I am just going to go sit under that tree over there”, and he pointed to a big tree on the down slope side of the freeway. This time I watched as the man walked away. Sure enough he took his place under the tree.

Nothing the Lord does surprises me anymore. It always brings up a deep sense of His Presence. The supernatural unexplainable ways He deals with me just sets my heart to praise Him. Who knows, maybe someone else will be coming along the road needing this “angel’s” help.

As I got back onto the freeway, I could picture my Lord smiling, the lesson having been learned. And it only took me two tries to get it.

The questions continue to vex my “need to know” mentality. So who were these two men I met up with on the side of the freeway that day? Were they just two homeless humans sent by the Lord to the exact co-ordinates on my life map with a heart to help a woman in distress?

Were they supernatural beings who took on the body of flesh for a moment in eternity to aid and assist a child of their Master?

Whoever they were in “reality”, they were the ones I needed to learn a little more of the deep mysterious ways of the One who died for me over 2000 years ago, Jesus, the Christ.

The Lord has told me in His Word that He will never leave me nor forsake me. Does He really care about all the details in my life? This mysterious encounter with beings sent at His command to help me when I needed a hand in the situation I was facing are yet more convincing evidence that He does.

I need to humbly confess that I am no one special. What the Lord does for me, He will do for any and all who call upon Him for help. Does He always send visible angels? No! Does He always do things the way I expect? Not even close! But can I always trust Him to be here with me? Absolutely! 

These are some of the days that make life with the Creator the most exciting and interesting life we can live this side of Heaven.

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him? 

The Battle is Too Great for You!

 All the little pieces of random trials and pictures are now in focus.  We have been transplanted to be in the place of the Lord's Kingdom battle against foreign gods and depraved ideologies.  Even as the Lord has said, "I'll take it from here", meaning the battle for our nation that we fought for the four years 2020-2024, is now totally His battle.  

He has told me that it's too big for me and I am to stand down and watch Him bring His victory to our nation and re-set us back on our constitutional foundation of law and order.  Hallelujah!  

I am thankful that years of invested prayer and intercession for our nation and future set the stage for this understanding of His control and Sovereignty.  We prayed and petitioned for His will and now He is performing His will.    

I have listened to a roundtable of people on the front lines of the places where anarchy is being allowed to act in our nation bringing terror and treachery to our citizens.  This includes the administration and journalists and those from TPUSA .

Interesting that this administration is committed to bringing law and order, justice and penalty to the perpetrators of this agenda.  What I learned is the reason Yahweh said, "the battle is too big for you.  I'll take it from here!"

The situation is like a roach infestation and cannot be eradicated without the "Exterminator" taking them out.  We have been infested with this vile army of rebels and suffered under their violent agenda and vile ideology for years on our home turf.  Not just the Islamists but also the anarchists, insurrectionists, and seditious traitors of our nation.  Abba has founded this nation for His purpose to represent Biblical values and the blessings that follow are from Him. Others who oppose Him and our Kingdom and our King want the blessings intended for His people and are willing to take them by any means and are willing to destroy the nation that holds them.

I am well aware that my privilege and duty is to WORSHIP MY GOD AND KING who is performing His Word and to continue to seek His Face and align with what He tells me that He is about to do.          

Since understanding His stand-down order was given, not because I am spiritually weak or unwilling to do battle, but because this threat is widespread and entrenched and a product of evil human free will choices, fear of personal failure has been eliminated.  It takes a mighty move of His Sovereign intervention to arrange circumstances to expose and eradicate that which has festered in the darkness over decades and, in reality over the history of man's days upon the earth.   Such power and authority is not mine but His. 

As the time of His coming draws near, the line in the sand between right and wrong, good and evil, is getting murky and deception harder to discern.  Only the Presence of the Holy Spirit provides the Truth from our Creator.   While there are many "influencers" in this fallen world, there is only one True and Sovereign God and only through His Son Jesus (Yeshua) and His Indwelling Holy Spirit can we come to know Him as our Father in Heaven.  

The Holy Spirit is calling.   Can you hear Him?