The Day of the Judges

 Life in these days can be quite confusing and it's hard to know which voices to listen to and which to dismiss. The best choice is to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and see what He is communicating. 

 He is our indwelling connection to Yehoveh and Yehoveh's wisdom is greater than any human wisdom we might try to rely on.  The Holy Spirit will always take us back to the Word of God and today He leads me to consider the day of the judges.  

Back in the day of the judges, Israel refused to evict the Canaanites out of the promised land and instead decided to make peace with their enemies. Their peace making efforts led to accepting and then participating in Canaanite pagan rituals and worship of their Baals.  This was not a complete rejection of Yehoveh but rather a duel worship of Him ALONG WITH the worship of foreign gods.  Of course this was evil in the sight of God and carried a penalty with it.  

Oppression by these other nations was a consequence of Israel's attempts at appeasement. When the oppression of untoward circumstances caused them to cry out for Yehoveh to deliver them, He sent human rescuers and these are the ones called "judges".  Their role was not just to judge cases of conflict but more to exhort the people to align with Yehoveh and His ways.  They were raised up as valiant courageous men and women as human rescuers, who would lead Israel to throw off the yoke of their oppressors and turn back to their God and His ways (the Torah). 

In Judges 2:22, I find that Yehoveh put His people to the test (to confirm the loyalty of their hearts) by leaving the Canaanite nations inside the promised land for Israel to deal with rather than evict them through Joshua's military campaigns. 

I wonder:  Are we, Yeshua followers (the church), being tested in this hour through a foreign nation and foreign god (s)  controlling things to see if/where we will stand or fall?

One example we all are facing on a personal level is the subject of vaccines.  If forced vaccines and other violations of our freedom are implemented are they like unto "the mark of the beast", will we accept it?  Is there a Divine consequence if we do? 

For me, since the vaccines are developed and produced using aborted baby (fetal) tissue, a jab would for me be participating (however indirectly) in the abomination of the shedding innocent blood.  Furthermore, for me, it would be a sure (direct) desecration of the temple of my body to inject these precious soul cells acquired by murder even for the "good" of myself or others and I must not allow that to happen.

There are many compromises we can point to today challenging us as we live in our faith, that if we do live in our faith will cause some heartburn or worse.  Society endorses many things that Yehoveh finds unacceptable. We are penalized if and when we disagree. Are we then moved to participate? Will we open our eyes to see the compromises that grieve the heart of Yehoveh?  Things that clearly violate His Word to us?  Will we then repent if we have caved, stand firmer if we have not, and cry out for His deliverance so we can return or faithfully continue in His ways?  

I believe it is critically important to rightly assess where we are today.  We must think about where all this is leading us and then choose this day whom we will serve.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

 

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

Uncommon Deliverance

 The Holy Spirit calls to me this morning.  My heart is heavy for various reasons.  The circumstances in our nation have caused many to lose hope.  Hope deferred makes the heart sick and as I look around and hear my fellow citizens, I realize the truth in that proverb.

The Holy One sends me to His word and asks,  "So what does the next part of that proverb say?" From out of His wisdom, I find the answer:

 Proverbs 13:12. "But when (when, not if) desire comes, it is a tree of life".

As a follower of Yeshua and one who trusts in the plans and purposes of Yehoveh, the one true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I return to the OT and the history of our sister nation, Israel. 

When looking for hope, the stories and accounts of victory are all throughout the OT and many are very uncommon to our human "right" mind thinking.

I remember a day when all Israel were shaking in their boots because of the threats being hurled at them by a fierce warrior by the name of Goliath.  A brave but young shepherd stepped onto the stage in Israel's defense and the story of David and Goliath was written. 

One young man with faith, courage and a personal relationship with Israel's God brought down the threat, not with conventional weapons of war but with a sling and a stone.  

King Saul's armor didn't fit and I can only imagine the thoughts running through the minds of the mighty seasoned men of war when they saw young David go out to face the giant with his sling and stone. 

It's been said that Goliath's armor covered his huge body and all his vulnerable areas were protected EXCEPT a 1 inch square under his helmet right between his eyes (forehead).

As David swung his sling it gathered velocity and when he let the stone fly to it's target, the Lord directed the kill shot to that 1 inch square place of vulnerability and brought the giant down.

The point that I take away from the ancient account of this uncommon deliverance of Israel is to be careful in our thoughts or judgements as to how our Almighty God might take out our enemy.

Let us remain focused in unity that: 

A. We need deliverance.

B.  Only our Adonai has the power greater than those who have been installed to oppress us. 

C.  His ways of rescue might not look like we might imagine in our human "right" mind.  His thoughts and ways are higher than ours.

As we nit-pick and judge someone else's hope, we nit-pick and judge how and by what means we might be delivered. That can set us up to miss the miracle of Divine intervention as it unfolds. God's Divine strategy for winning a war and delivering His people has been  unconventional and uncommon over the course of Israel's history.

A young man with a sling and stone.

An army reduced in size from 30,000 to 300. 

Impenetrable walls of a fortified city falling down at a strategic moment.

Who in their human "right" mind would honestly expect to see fire fall on a water soaked altar? Or a meteor hit a place called Sodom and Gomorrah at a predetermined  moment after a visit from supernatural beings?  Or an earthquake to collapse a thick city wall at the sound of a Shofar?

Who in their human "right" minds would honestly expect for the water of a great sea to part? Who in their human "right" mind would expect 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed and satisfy 5000+ people?

Adonai has countless ways to rescue and protect the righteous as He goes about His Sovereign business "to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wickedness" when the cup of His indication is timed to pour out over those guilty in the shedding of innocent blood and the persecution, even murder of those trying to defend it.  Isaiah 26:20-21. 

We who are of the faith must never put our Lord in a box or doubt His uncommon way of bringing about our deliverance. We must not allow those who may have a difference of opinion as to the method or manner of a God-ordained miracle to discourage our faith in the Mysterious One who is the source of them all.  May we, the people of faith, stand firm and watch without preconceived notions as to how our Majestic God will save us and our republic from all our enemies, foreign or domestic.

The Spirit is calling Can you hear Him?   

   

     

 

 

 

The Persistant Widow and the Judge

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

Judges 6:23:   

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him? 

 

 

God's Alternative Scenario

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

     

   

    

   

For the Glory of God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

In His Name***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE ONLY RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT GOD RECOGNIZES:   JESUS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

God Whispers: "Remember My Precedents".

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

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

 

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

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

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

The Holy Spirit whispers into my troubled thoughts:

"Remember My precedents!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?