Are You Ready?

The Holy One calls to me today. "The battle is raging and all the saints need to be at the ready to engage in this end times war." But what does it mean "to be ready'?

Good vs evil, Light vs dark; the theme of the warfare touches our lives each and every day. We can choose to remain ignorant, and deny that there is a war going on, OR, in our great human wisdom we can refuse to seek the wisdom from Heaven's Throne to gain the understanding of what the war is all about. Either way, whether by ignorance or in self-protection we will end up defeated by the enemy of our souls.

God's Word says, "the battle belongs to the Lord" and the ultimate truth is that it does. When Joshua was preparing to take Jericho, the first of many battles to be fought in the "promised land" of God's people, scripture says, "he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up and asked him, "are you for us or our enemy?" Joshua 5:14 "Neither, he replied, but as Commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come."

This part of scripture is very interesting to me because I like to think that God is for me and against anyone I perceive as my "enemy". The ground war can get very confusing unless we come to the understanding that the battle is ultimately between God and the mutinous traitor who tried to usurp the Throne of our Holy Creator and become himself a god.

Just because the battle belongs to the Lord does not mean that we are not in it. Today the Holy One speaks to the always vexing question: "what is my part?"

The picture He paints in my mind is that of His army. Each person is to be a specialist. Each person has a gift and is expected to use it for the benefit of the Body of Christ, the army of the Lord, the warring Church.

As we hone our skills in the use of our "gifts" we will be called upon to use them at the proper times. As in any battle, different specialties are called for in different situations but all are necessary to the ultimate victory.

Those who have taken the time to learn and grow in their gifts are on the font lines using them. Some are being trained for service and are waiting to step up. Sadly some are not even looking for what they have been born to do in the Spiritual arena and are languishing at the base camp.

Being ready (instant) in season and out is the important goal, and always remembering that this is not our battle but the Lord's we fight. The war is mental, the battlefield is the mind, but our part is to take the Truth about our God and Savior to the lost and dying world we inhabit.

Through the use of our "weapons", the "gifts of the Spirit", we can fight the Lord's war for the hearts and minds of His beloved creation: Man. As He manifests through our lives, others can come to know Truth.

This picture of the battle is important for me to remember each day, otherwise, I can get distracted thinking that life is my personal war and survival is the only goal.

Am I ready? Only as I surrender all that I am to the One who calls me, will I be ready. By His indwelling Presence, I can know my gift and be ready for Him to use it at the appropriate times.

Are you ready?

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

God's Wrath or His Discipline?

I wake to the voice of the Holy One. It is always interesting to come to our place of fellowship. I never know what He will speak next. The topics and lessons are so vast coming from the mind of the Creator of all things. Who can begin to know the mind of God? Yet, in fellowship and love, He speaks to His child.

Today I hear the Spirit speak, "There is a distinction between discipline and wrath: Look to my Word and see the distinction I make between My wayward, rebellious people and the nations that are not mine."

The Spirit takes me to His Word, Malachi 3:16-18, "Then those who feared the Lord talked to each other and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His Presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name. They will be Mine.......vs 18...and you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."

In the context of this promise, this book was written as the last prophetic word before the 1st coming of Christ, the Messiah.

We have the extreme blessing of the written historical account of the day in the saga of men when God, as Jesus Christ, came in the flesh to fulfill the Divine Mandate of the "Suffering Messiah". Prophecy spoke it and history recorded it, so we can look back and know it as fact.

We live today in the Prophetic anticipation of the return of our King, Jesus Christ. He has already accomplished all that it took to be our Savior, Messiah. He died for the sins of men since Adam fell in the garden. Jesus cancelled the curse, and paid the Blood debt associated with sin. God's wrath was poured out on Him as He died upon the Cross for all men and He was resurrected in new life, an event that was seen by many and recorded for all generations. He lives, and the Word says, He is coming back as the rightful King of all He created.

Yes, we live in the time zone of great anticipation. As believers in the absolute truth of God's Word and the inerrant aspect of the Holy Scriptures, we wait in faith knowing that the day of our King's return is imminent.

The question is "How do we wait?"

Jesus said, (of end times), "You will be hated by all nations because of Me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness the love of many will grow cold. But he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come."

As we look around at the events taking place in the circumstances of our daily lives, over our nation, and around the world, we are all being shaken. Consequences of our rebellion of God's principles through bad choices are being served up by a Holy God. But one thing is true; there IS a distinction between those who serve Him and those who do not.

As I face the trials of this life and in this epoch time in history, I am so thankful to know that I am safe in the hands of my Abba Father, who brings me through His Divine discipline, with the goal of my refinement and not to the end of my destruction. If I am wise, I will yield to His ways of achieving His goal to refine me and not, in self pity "judge the Judge".

Remembering His promise put forth in Malachi, I must wait, in faith, knowing that every hard circumstance will work out for my good, unlike the non-believer facing similar world events.

There comes a peace and joy in the knowledge of the Truth about our God. Being prepared and through discipline waiting for a Glorious King to come and make all things new, is quite different than waiting for "death" as an end to the torment of life. I know that Jesus' death shields me from the wrath of a Holy God, so whatever unfolds in my life is a discipline to teach me not wrath to destroy me.

And this is what we have to share with the unbelieving world around us:

Rev 22:12, "BEHOLD I AM COMING SOON"

Jesus is coming soon........

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Searching For My Beloved

I awaken today with a "sense" of aloneness. This is not the first day I have felt the "panic" in my soul and felt the darkness as if someone turned off the light. The Holy One has taken me down some dark pathways before, so I know that, true to His Word, He will never leave me nor fosake me.

In any love relationship, desire must be pursued. God pursues me and it is only right that I pursue Him. Song of Songs 3:1-2, "All night long on my bed, I look for the One I love. I looked for Him but did not find Him. I will get up now and go about the city. Through it's streets I will search for the One my heart loves..."

The delight of the "Sacred Romance" is in the assurance that I could never lose the love of my Beloved. Song of Songs 2:16, "My lover is mine and I am His"

Even today, I know that the Holy One moves in mysterious ways and although I am incapable of fully comprehending those ways, I must give my all to following my Beloved.

In the garden of my "Sacred Romance", there are times when the Lord, plays "hide and seek" with me. Suddeenly He disappears for a while and I know that He wants me to search for Him. I know that the search will end when I find Him and there He will share with me yet another "secret" of His Being.

Today, as I begin the search, sadness comes over me as I think of what my Beloved would feel if I refused the game and left Him alone in the garden. What if I got distracted by other things and refued to search for Him. I cannot imagine the hurt it would cost His heart, if He waited and waited for me to find Him and the amazing "secret" He wanted to share, only to discover that I had left the garden and never attemped to search for Him.

So today I search. To my delight (and His), I find Him waiting...and He finds me searching.

What great treasures of wisdom and truth will be unearthed today remains to be seen. What He chooses to share with me is up to Him. But I rest content in the knowledge that we are together, (my Beloved and I), and that nothing "will be able to separate us (me) from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our (my) Lord", Rom 8:39.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Blessed Assurance

The Spirit calls me today to remind me that one of His greatest blessings is assurance. He assures me that all the promises of my Father and Savior are mine.

Hope surges with the truth.

Yesterday in the world, things got so crazy after our early morning conference. The lesson of yesterday came with a test. Most lessons of the Holy Spirit come with a test after He has spoken Truth.

Yesterday, I recognized the enemy and the effort he made to distract me from applying what the Spirit commanded. The day ended with the victory of "understanding" and a peace from following the directives of my Counselor.

I glean today one of the most essential basics to my faith: Once the Lord is done using what the enemy sends against me, the opposition will be sent scattered to the four winds...gone...gone...gone....gone!

Isaiah 54:16, "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into a flame and forges a weapon fit for it's work. And it is I have created the destroyer to work havoc: No weapon forged against you will prevail. You will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and this is their vindication from Me".

The Sovereign God of all Creation, created the "destroyer" to work havoc and is therefore, in control of the havoc this "destroyer" is allowed to work.

I cannot see into eternity, the place that awaits all who trust in Jesus having paved the way by His shed Blood. But I am assured that what I face here in terms of refining trials has been allowed for reasons beyond my natural point of view at times.

For some, I realize the "destroyer" has been allowed to escort them right up to the gateway of Heaven, to receive an even greater reward prepared for those "martyred" for the faith. Yet, a Sovereign God says, "No weapon forged against you will prevail" If those called to martyrdom could speak to us, I know they would tell of great peace and victory even as they exhaled here and inhaled in the Presence of the Lord.

Today, in our conference, the peace comes from His assurance that the Lord and no other is in Sovereign control of all things. Even the "weights" placed upon my faith muscle are His to control.

Isaiah 54:10, "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will never be shaken nor my convenant of peace be removed", says the Lord who has compassion on you."

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Trust and Obey

This morning, the Spirit calls me to Himself with a question. "Why do you treat My voice commands as suggestions?"

I am seriously trying to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging His Presence and ruling authority in my life, but the question reveals and convicts me of an attitude problem.

The Holy Spirit has been given to me as "THE" Great Counselor of Divine wisdom. Yet I seem to put His wisdom together with human reasoning to find the righteous pathways of God's Will.

That process looks good on paper and most would agree that we must think with our minds through the challenging trials the world provides. However, today, the Spirit has a lesson to teach me.

When Jesus spoke to His Disciples of the Holy Spirit to come, He said, "I have much more to say to you, much more than you can bear (or understand). But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth".

The Holy Spirit was given to enable me to think and live as Christ. The mind of Christ comes with the Spirit of Christ, but it is up to us to operate with such wisdom and trust in His ways.

James 1:5 says, "if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

Now i see how human reasoning is plagued with doubt. All the anaylzing produces the "what-ifs" and the "what-ifs" boil down to faithless unbelief. The Holy Spirit has unearthed some toxic "stinkin thinkin". Do I trust the wisdom I have been given? Do I trust in His ways?

I must never throw what I read in the Word or what I hear from the Spirit in my heart, into the swirling cess-pool of mental human reasoning. Once there, Divine Wisdom can become just another suggestion among many as to how to resolve the issues of life. I may choose a different course of action than the one leading to victory, but far more devastating to my love relationship with My Lord, I risk offending the Holy One through rebellion and disobedience.

In Isaiah 55, God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, delares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thought than your thoughts.

I must no longer treat His commands as suggestions but rather trust and obey.

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Death or Deliverance: Days of the Red Moon Rising

The Spirit calls. He wakes me up on this the beginning of my 63rd year on planet earth. I have felt in my Spirit a charge, unlike anything I have felt before.

The visual I keep getting is like the day the Children of Israel were facing annihilation by the Pharaoh; boxed between the powerful Egyptian army and the natural obstacle of the Red Sea. Exodus 14

Moses spoke into their fear. He told them to stand firm and they would see their deliverance by the Hand of their powerful God. I cannot begin to imagine the atmosphere in the air on the day the Lord parted the Red Sea for His people, but it must have been off-the-chart.

I wonder if, in the stillness and hush of impending majesty revealed, there might have been "electricity" in the air, like nothing man had every experienced before. The kind of sensation that makes your hair stand on end, with every nerve in your body reacting. That is the "charge" I feel in my Spirit and I wonder what our Almighty God is about to do.

Then, today, He speaks:

"These are the days of the red moon rising, (Joel 2:28-32). These are the days the ancient prophesies foretold. You will see My Majesty unfold"

"Rend you hearts and not your garments, Return to the Lord your God".

The Word of the Lord is alive and has held personal application for every person in every generation. While it contains the historical account of man since creation and speaks of the future end of our days upon the earth in prophecies, great wisdom and personal promises lie within it's chapters and verses; enough for each one of us to find resolutions to life's daily challenges, no matter what generation, family or society you may have been born onto.

Even so, there are some generations in history and the future that are set apart and privileged to be alive as witnesses to the supernatural intervention by the Almighty God of all Creation. We belong to such a generation.

Many may mock us as they did Noah, before the rain began. Many may chase us with murderous intent as they did the Children of Israel before the Red Sea parted, and many may demand that we bow down to worship worthless idols, images and men as they did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before God showed up in a blazing furnace.

In each of these accounts of an historical event, there was a day on the calendar and an hour on the clock, when God came, took charge of the affairs of men and the debate ended. I believe we are about to experience the day on the calendar and hour on the clock, when man's days upon the earth will give way to what every believer in Christ longs for: The return of our Savior, the arrival of our King and the end of the debate. Period.

The question is not "what day and what hour?". The question is "where will you be standing when it happens?"

Too many people delude themselves into thinking the day of the Lord is far away and in the distant future. Some do not believe that Holiness will judge men for ignoring the warnings; that a "loving God" will not hold all men accountable for the way they handle their sin.

The Bible paints a different picture. The horn could blow at midnight tonight and the only place of safety from the judgment to come is in the Provision God Himself gave: Jesus Christ, the crucified, resurrected Savior.

Jesus is like the ark of Noah. Until the judgment begins to rain down, the door of the Ark is still open.

Where do you stand today? Inside or outside the Ark?

"I will show wonders in the Heavens and and the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord, (Jesus)will besaved."

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

God's Prosperity

The Holy Spirit calls today. So much time has past since I last posted. But it's time to get back to passing along the message(s) He has been speaking in the quiet of our morning conferences.

So much is happening so fast in our lives and our nation. I feel like I am sitting on the sidelines with a "tennis neck" back and forth watching the volley between Light and darkness. Today the ball stops long enough to process the action and the message.

The Holy One takes me back to I Kings 18 and the contest between the God of Israel and the fake deities of Jezebel. It was really no contest, ever. But the people had been so corrupted by the deception of the pseudo power of Baals prophets that the Lord purposed to solve this deception in a grand and Glorious way.

The Children of Israel had forsaken the Lord their God. They had allowed compromise and were suffering the consequences on their end of a broken covenant with the one True God.

Idolatry was a common practice as the people were seeking "prosperity" from any source who promised it. Jezebel, the pagan queen of Israel's King Ahab, had set up her foreign gods. Ahab took Baal worship to an official status in adulterous violation of the Holy Covenant between God and the Children of Israel.

The conditions of the land and the lives of the people deteriorated under the compromise, drought occurred and famine followed for years.

The Holy One speaks to me, "the drought and the famine in the land is the discipline for idolatry"...WOW! hard to hear, but so true. We have become so dull to truth and numb or resigned to the reality of our circumstances, we have stopped looking to understand or asking ourselves "Why?" What lessons are we to learn? The world says, "work harder, adjust this or tweak that but keep pushing". Or, "you might as well check out. Drown yourself in pleasures because nothing is ever going to change". Both separately or a combination of the two make for a K.O. in the battle.

Personal and corporate accountability is long forgotten, and the worship of government or self has taken over. Most look at "prosperity" only in worldly terms coming from successfully navigating the system. Like being stuck on a computer game, playing and replaying the same game until we "master" the system the only problem is in the reality that the "game is fixed" and there can be no human mastery of it.

But the Word of the Lord says, "I form the light and create the darkness. I bring prosperity and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things." Isaiah 45:7

God's Word is true. How foolish we are to ignore it. When was the last time we sought God's heart on where our best efforts may have violated His Holy Nature and set us up for the discipline of a drought in our lives? When was the last time we even took the time to understand any correlation between our circumstances and disobedience or rebellion of His commands?

The most casual look into the I kings chapters reveals that the "drought" causing the famine was due to idolatry. It was a discipline not a bad luck situation. Idolatry, not ignorance as to how to "make the system work" was the reason for the drought (economic failure)and the famine that follows drought.

The Holy One is our indwelling Wisdom and He is the source of all the answers to all the questions we might ask. Why do we push on and hope things will change for the better when the Lord who loves us, is so willing to show us what may be in rebellion of His ways and then so willing to lead us out of the disaster?

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?