Times
of Silence
Yes, I have been silent for a time…again (with the exception of a recent message from
the Lord, which I posted). I do realize that is almost like signing a death
warrant in this day of “instant”, “daily” words and messages, but God leads
his people faithfully. Yet, there are times to speak and times to be
silent.
For the most part, the past ten months have mostly been
a season of silence as far as writing goes, with fairly long gaps in-between, yet
in God’s goodness, He continues to speak through other faithful and obedient
messengers. (Did any of you see Balaam’s
donkey in the crowd?)
It is astounding the number of Christians who have been
through situations that have shaken them to the core, taunted by the flesh or the
enemy to ‘give up’ because of being weary,
zapped of strength, confused in weak moments and even frustrated at God’s
timing, not to mention the exasperating temptation NOT to look at the outward appearances that absolutely defy what
you are believing for.
I find it much easier now to understand Peter when he
stepped out of the boat and onto the deep, turbulent waters, even though Jesus
was right there with him. It is not easy to force our natural eyes to overlook
the chaotic circumstances of the physical and our personal storms, or the
giants that boldly stand before us.
Yet, those who have the fear of the Lord and love Him
more than life itself simply cannot let go or turn away from Him, finding
ourselves crying out, completely dependent on Him. But even though we do not
let go, as those who fall into apostasy, it can still be incredibly challenging
at times. Even the godliest men like Job, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, David and
others cried out to God to take their lives in their season of overwhelming circumstances.
Surely Jesus and the most Holy Spirit have interceded
on our behalf, praying as Yeshua/Jesus did for Peter that our “faith not fail” us. Countless wait on
God for visions and dreams to come to fruition, for personal promises (personal covenants between the Lord and them)
to manifest in the physical.
Some have waited a long time, some months, some years,
some even decades. It is such as these
that grow weary and such as these that the enemy comes strongly against,
knowing how very close they are to walking into their promised destinies. I
think this goes for all in the body of Christ Jesus
(Note* - I was led to add this...It is to say that all in the body of Christ who are doing as God has instructed them are very close to walking into their promised destinies. If you have not as of yet done what God has instructed you to do, keep in mind that those who made a covenant with God in the past (as it is written in his Word) had their part to do and obeyed..."then" God fulfilled His personal promises to them. How often does God say, "If you...", "then I..."? Selah - BP 2019)
There are those who say God does not make personal
covenants today, that those were only made in ancient times before the time of
Jesus (Yeshua) or before the time of
the Holy Spirit, who comes to us just as Christ (Messiah) promised, into those who are born-again.
There are others who teach that healing is not for
today, or those who go to the other extreme and say that “faithful believers”
never get sick, and if they do and are not healed, it is because they lack
faith or are in sin. Others will go so far as to say that we cannot do the things that Jesus
and the apostles did; that even through Christ and HIS power and authority in us (His
alone) that true believers cannot do as He commanded.
But what did Jesus/Yeshua say?
And he said unto them, Go into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be
saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow
them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with
new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing,
it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall
recover.
[Mk 16:15-18]
Did Yeshua
say, “…and these signs shall follow them
that believe, who are alive today” (in His day only)? No, He left it open, which to me
indicates that it is for them that believed in that day, as well as those who believe
in times that were to come (futuristically), including this day and age.
It is the work
of the enemy to take God’s word, pervert it and make a doctrine of devils out
of it. It is the same strategy he used in the Garden of Eden when he deceived
Eve. It is with confidence that I say that the Lord is indeed the same
yesterday, today and forever because I believe the Word of God. He still
delivers, heals, restores and does many miracles and wonders to this day.
I also believe
that God still makes personal covenants with people today, whether through
dreams or visions, a prophetic word or by speaking deep within our spirit via
His Spirit. His promises are for our good, but ultimately and always for the
glory of Jesus. God never contradicts His character or His Word and He most
definitely will never make a covenant that will cause us to sin or to hurt
others, especially fellow believers, but the counterfeiter Satan will do all he
can to discourage us and cause us to go astray in disobedience.
Many have
already begun to see miracles, but multitudes are on the very verge. Yes, we
all know that some people have in some ways resigned and are tired of hearing about revival,
and miracles and breakthroughs coming, or being upon us now etc.
Yet, it is
guaranteed that the ones who have hung on, despite all the trials and
tribulations, who have not turned away or denied the Lord’s name, are indeed
about to see their miracles, their destinies come alive, just as Abraham’s did,
or as Joseph’s did, or as Joshua, Gideon, David and onward with so many others.
It was taught to me long ago that our “soon” is not the same as God’s “soon”.
We are on a time clock, whereas he is not.
Do not be
deceived though. Yes, miracles are coming, but what the Bible foretells is true
and we are in the last of the last days. We see the chaos, the corruption, the
violence, hatred, persecution and above all, the deception all around us,
covering the entire globe. The stage is being set for the one who will bring about a
false “peace treaty”; one who will seem to solve all the problems; one who is
well-received by the world, the one called the “lawless” one.
Deception was
the main theme Jesus Christ warned about for the last days. I have written
about it several times over the past few years, and I’m sure others have as
well. Read Matthew 24. Jesus begins
with, “Take heed that no MAN
deceive you.” (emphasis mine) So, yes, miracles are coming, but be
discerning because we were also forewarned that the false prophets would
perform many signs and wonders, but the Antichrist will trump them all.
Satan is a
counterfeiter. He knows the word of God. He used it to deceive Eve, having
twisted (perverted) it to cause her to doubt, and he used the word of God against Jesus (who IS the WORD that comes in the flesh), when
he tempted him in the desert wilderness. So, do not be surprised when his evil
ministers/teachers and false prophets use the word of God to present their
false doctrines, miracles, signs and wonders. The miracles will be so real, so
convincing that we are warned that the elect would be deceived, if possible. That means it is possible. Stay guarded.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect. [Mat 24:24]
Even the false
teachings convince multitudes. One example of this is the Word of Faith crowd,
with many promoting the prosperity gospel. The teaching does hold elements of truth
or else it would never have been received, but the teachers took the truth of
God’s word out of context and twisted it to produce great deception.
God is not the
author of confusion, Satan is. Speaking the word of God as intended does bring
life, but many use it as a weapon against each other (sword fights people jokingly call it, but it is no joke). Others
use it thinking they are ‘little gods’ who can command the God of truth or
manipulate him to grant or give them their heart’s desires.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh
shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us
not be weary in well doing: or in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. [Gal 6:7-9]
God’s
Word
Some feel that it is not important to speak God’s word,
but I disagree. It is the sword, part of our spiritual armour (see Ephesians 6). However, I believe
that we must find out what our Lord’s
will is (regarding personal
situations), and walk in obedience (which
involves complete surrender) to His instructions.
The prosperity gospel is only one false doctrine
amongst thousands, but it is a dangerous one, leading many people astray. This
doctrine strongly urges people to “speak God’s word” and bring what they want
into the natural, whether it is regarding finances, relationships, health,
marriage, careers, possessions (homes,
cars, planes, etc).
There are variations in what different preachers preach
in the Word of Faith teaching, but overall, it is believed that health,
prosperity etc. are our right as a child of God, but that it requires faith
when speaking over these things to bring them to pass. Some preachers go so far
as to say we are “little gods” or “little Jesus’”, which is not true.
There is one living God of truth, the Creator of all;
we are part of his creation. He made us a little lower than the angels, and we
are molded into Christ’s image, but we are not Jesus (He was perfect, without sin), nor are we little gods. It is difficult to put the entire Word of
Faith belief system into a few short sentences because there are several errors
in the doctrine (although some say it is not
a doctrine).
However, I do call it a doctrine because doctrine comes
from the Latin word “doctrina”,
which means: “teaching, instruction; a
collaboration of beliefs, particularly theological or philosophical.”
Doctrine can cover arenas other than religion, such as politics, for example.
If there was no truth or elements of truth in a
doctrine, very few would listen or adhere to it. But just as in the Garden of
Eden, the enemy takes the truth and perverts it, and many times even adds to
it.
The majority of Christians know that we are to go to God in prayer about
everything on our heart and wait upon him to answer. Yes, we all know that
waiting can be one of the hardest things we are required to do, but it is to
teach us trust, patience and endurance.
I realize that the reader is likely well aware of all that I have written, but in case there are those who do not know, I write it. It is also important that it is understood what I believe, which is equally important to the reader. We are to try every spirit to see if it is of God, and we try it by the Word of God.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all
truth; and those born again of God are Spirit-filled. We speak the Word of God,
according to GOD’S will, not our will – HIS will be done, not ours. God is a
good Creator. Sometimes something we want is not the best for us and only God
knows that.
Ephesians six warns us about spiritual warfare and the
spiritual armour we have available to us. We are told that the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strongholds. [2Cor 10:4] And that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of
this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places. [Eph 6:12]
The sword of our armour is the Word of God. If we are
not to speak the word, then we might as well leave the sword in its sheath, or
the Bible collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. How can we call things that are
not as though they were (once God reveals
a matter to us through His precious and holy Spirit), if we are not to
speak forth God’s word?
I do believe in speaking God’s word, as well as
abiding, surrender (dying to self) and obedience. When the Lord has revealed
His will to us in personal matters, we stand on His word, with thanksgiving and
praise. We do not worship our destiny or God’s personal promises to us, as that
would be idolatry. However, we do worship the Creator who planned all things
ahead of time out of His agape love.
I cannot pretend to know everything, far from it. Why
some are healed and some are not, I cannot even begin to know or explain why. I
only know that our Maker/Creator is wise, loving and all-knowing. He sees and
knows that which we do not, and that is where trust comes in. Trust in certain
areas can also be very difficult and challenging.
We have to learn
to fully trust Him. Yes, I do believe that it is something we learn and at
different levels. Like I once said, it is one thing to trust God for enough gas
to get home when your tank is on empty and no gas stations are around, but it
is quite a different level to trust him for what is (or appears to be) the impossible, such as healing an incurable
disease or raising the dead back up alive. That is all that I meant by
different levels; perhaps “depths” is a better word.
So, do I believe in speaking God’s word, or praying
some of the prayers the patriots and prophets prayed, or speaking forth Psalms,
Proverbs or other scripture? Absolutely! I believe what it says in Ephesians 6
about it being our sword, but it is also a discerner.
For
the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
[Heb 4:12]
Jesus himself (who
IS the Word that [came and…] comes in the flesh) resisted Satan in
the desert wilderness by countering every temptation with scripture. Christ
Jesus (Messiah Yeshua) is our example. Therefore I am firmly convinced that we
are to speak the Word of God as part of our spiritual warfare, in our prayers
etc.
Sweet
Surrender
I must interject in my own writing here. The previous
had been started (began writing)
before I posted the last word on the blog, but interruptions and then a work
assignment stalled the writing. Somewhere in-between, a close friend and dear
sister in Christ sent me a prophetic word, in the hopes to encourage me. It had
apparently been posted on Facebook, a social media website that most are
familiar with. I do not go on Facebook myself, but most people that I know do.
I asked my friend yesterday if it would be alright to
post it. She said it would be fine, as she had read once where someone had
asked the messenger if they could post her message, and there was no problem to
do so whatsoever. I believe in giving credit where credit is due.
I do not know the person, but am confident she is a
sister in Christ. What was rather uncanny was the fact that my friend sent it
to me shortly after the Lord had given me a personal message (about a week after, although the messenger wrote it around the same time or before (not sure).
The following is the message sent to me. It was written
by Kathy Mote. To God be the glory!
Life has brought me to the place where I am very tired of my
struggle. The Lord has brought me to the place where even in the face of His
beautiful promises of healing and restoration, I said in all seriousness,
'whatever'.
Not the whatever you hear from rebellious teenagers, or even the 'whatever' you
get out of a disinterested stranger, but the completely yielded 'Whatever' you
utter with your last breath. I was feeling the kind of surrender that doesn't
have the gumption left to put an 'I' in front of 'surrender'.
In that moment I was given a vision and I found myself standing before the
throne. Declaring that yielded 'whatever' had automatically brought me before
Him. This makes sense, because calling Him Lord is accepting His authority and
that's where He is seated. Not my version, not my understanding of it, not even
what I figure He means. My heart had cried out, From now on, Lord, it's all
You.
I heard my Father forcefully say, Don't give up on what you were promised, as
the Lord rushed up to me and knelt by my side. He explained this to me, holding
both my hands, The devil has been taken from his place so you could be given
yours. Because of rebellion, he was knocked down from his place in the stars.
Because of submission you have been raised up to walk among them. I saw how
flawlessly beautiful Christ is, and how beautiful we are as we lean into Him
and yield to Him.
Submission puts an end to being burdened by a life without God's promises, and
the beginning of receiving what the Lord came to give. It was also a revelation
to see that submission instantly places you in front of the Throne and in His
presence. Quoting the Word does not place you there, calling Him Lord does.
(End of message by Kathy Mote)
At first my heart took a double beat with the last
line, but upon careful consideration, I concur, if I understand the message
correctly. Who am I to argue with the Holy Spirit? God forbid. My understanding
(and I pray the Lord correct me if I am
wrong) is that we can quote the Word of God until we are blue in the face,
but what our Lord desires is complete surrender, in all areas, a sign of our
love and trust in Him. (Remember what I had written before...in the Word, it is written: "If you"..."then I..." (obedience is a must) ).
The Word of God is powerful indeed, if used properly
and not perverted as Satan does when he quotes it. Yet, Kathy’s message struck
home with me in more ways than one. It came in my email within a week or so
after the Lord had given me a personal message, which I will share further on.
The word that stuck out to me was “surrender”. The
Lord does not condemn his people, but he surely convicts/corrects. He is, after
all, a holy and righteous God, but also a good and loving Father. Thank you
D.L. for sending this word, and thanks goes out to God’s messenger, Kathy Mote, who
shared it publicly in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The fruit of faith is obedience; trust is learned and
that by the love and grace of God. Surrender would be evidence of the depth of
that trust. My heart pounds even as I write these words. In the next part of
this article (the next posting), it
will be most humbly yet transparent, in the hopes that another who is “struggling”
in an area of complete surrender may be helped.
There comes a time when the struggle must end. A
struggle of any sort means that there is opposition, or a resistance by someone
or something. Kathy’s message from the Lord brought me out of denial. Our flesh
(our fallen, carnal nature) can deceive us, if we allow it to rule where only
God should rule. Satan works with the flesh and with the world. The reader will
have more understanding later on. May God forgive me for my “struggling”, but I think all of God's people struggle at times in different areas and at different times. It's part of our growth; part of the process. So
much makes sense now – clarity. What a good Father we have!
Onslaught
of Attacks
Just as many felt that they were finally coming out of
a dry place like a desert, or a long season of hardships that seemed
never-ending, there suddenly comes another onslaught of grievous attacks for
many, whether in the physical (body),
the mental/emotional (soul) or spirit.
The attacks may be against us personally or against those we know and care
about.
This has always been so for Christians, but I believe the increase is a sign of the times we are in. It is the clash
of the kingdoms, but it is only a precursor. Evil, violence, unrest, rebellion,
depression, immoral behaviours, abominations, lies, deception upon deception, etc. is all on the increase. All
of God’s word is coming to pass. Even though miracles, breakthroughs, fulfilled
promises, or even revival are coming, the fact still remains that we are in
perilous times that shall worsen, according to God’s word.
It is (as was revealed to me) akin to when
Joshua and Caleb crossed over Jordan and into the land promised to them. They
still had to face and conquer the giants in that land. Satan is not going to
sit back and let us walk into our destinies without a fight. His hatred is
beyond measure; his ways so vile and evil it is beyond imagination for most of
us. I myself have been learning of the depths of it, and even still, I likely
do not have the full measure in knowledge and understanding of it.
If the Lord allows the enemy to come against us, as he
did Peter and countless others who are children of God, there has to be good
reason, and that reason may all be a part of our learning endurance, or learning
to endure to the end.
Although we can rationalize and try to explain, none of
us can know for certain why we must go through some of the things that we go
through, which includes our loved ones and brothers and sisters in Christ. Satan comes against all of mankind in one way
or another, believer and unbeliever alike, because he despises mankind.
All I can ascertain
is that we are indeed involved in spiritual warfare, whether we are willing to
admit it or not. Those who do not think so are deceived by the adversary,
Satan. We are hated by one (as well as
his legions) who oppose (and opposed)
God Almighty himself. Satan/Lucifer will do all he can and all he is given free
rein (even free reign) to do. Satan
intends for all that he brings our way for evil, for our destruction (to steal, kill and destroy), but
whatever God allows is always meant for our good, whether we understand or not.
For
we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God and are
the called, according to His purpose. [Rom 8:28]
The Lord is not saying every thing is good (think of Job or Joseph, Jacob's son or Peter, for examples). What God is saying is that he works all things together for good, in His way, in His timing, whether it be for our time on earth or whether it be for our time in eternity with him.
Encourage
Each Other
I will be quite frank here. Though the Lord has made me
an instrument of encouragement (as he has
many others…please understand), there are times that I myself become
discouraged. Not discouraged in God (He
has been the most faithful, amazing Creator and Father any of us could ever
hope for or imagine), but discouragement regarding my failures and
shortcomings. Who is it that condemns us? Many times, it's us condemning ourselves, but make no mistake, Satan always and gleefully condemns!
I speak of faith, trust, obedience and surrender (more on that later), how crucial these
are in our walk, yet in one area I have struggled to surrender (as previously mentioned) a thing due to
fear, which is always accompanied by doubt and the grave danger of unbelief.
It behooves me to say that this will allow Satan legal
right to torment us. Even if the door is ajar a crack, the dragon can take just
one claw, much like an eagle’s talon, and swing that door wide open. He will attack
in mind, emotions, feelings and logic if we have any area in our life not given
over to God through Christ Jesus.
Satan will breathe fiery darts, fill our mind with vain
imaginations, doubts and fears in order to steal, kill and destroy us. God is
greater than Satan. Jesus/Yeshua defeated him when he surrendered to the will
of the Father and obediently went to the cross as the precious, sinless (spotless) Lamb of God. The
Holy Spirit will convict us and do all to help us, but the final choice will
remain ours alone.
The fear and unbelief that I have had regarding God’s
miracles or promises never pertains to others, but only my personal promises.
Why? I cringe to think of an answer,
although I am sure many would answer it for me. There are those who are sure
that God has removed me from passing along messages or has given up on me or
rather, passed me over as he did Saul, but that I know is not true (undeserved grace and mercy has been
immeasurable).
Though I fail Him, He has never failed me, nor will he
fail any of us. That being said, I must add that over and over, more times that
I can count, the Lord has exhorted His
people not to give up. In fact, due to His faithfulness and love for
us, from August 2018 to December 2018, there are at least four articles with “Don’t Give Up” or “Don’t Quit” in the titles because the Lord knew that others were
struggling as well.
The Lord also exhorted me
about “surrender” and “trust” more than once. In July, I
wrote the following down as the Holy Spirit placed the words within my spirit.
It is in my personal writings, but I did not post it. However, I will share it
now. It was written only a matter of days before Kathy Mote posted her message,
which was then sent to me, as explained. Now the reader will understand why
Kathy Mote’s message struck home so hard and why my heart pounded.
The words came to me after
I made confession to God in prayer about my struggle to obey in one area…the
struggle being my flesh and fear, and unbelief that I actually could do it or
overcome. My heart was aching. Do not misunderstand please. When the Lord spoke
an instruction, I would immediately obey, for I love the Lord and fear him as
we are to do (the godly kind of fear, not
the fleshly kind).
Yet, after beginning in
obedience, it seemed when it became unbearable, time and time again, I came
down off my cross. That is why my heart was aching…why could I not overcome? My
flesh would get so angry! Why?
Because
the carnal mind (fallen nature) is enmity (hostile) against
God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. [Rom 8:7]
For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of
sin and of death. [Rom 8:2]
I write this so the meaning of the message
given to me is more fully understood. It is very humbly that I present the
following publicly. The Lord was instructing me and addressing the thing I
struggled with, the part of my flesh that had to be overcome in order to walk
in complete surrender and obedience.
July
26, 2019
Do this! Slam the open
door to the enemy who seeks to take you down and take you out.
The
thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, but I have come
that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. [Jn 10:10]
Yes, I open doors and shut doors than no one can open
or shut after Me. Yet, My people must learn what overcoming is and do it. For
it shall be said of them:
They overcame
him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony and loved not their life unto death.
[Rev 12:11]
Each child of light has something they must overcome,
and each one knows what it is, for that will be the hardest thing to surrender
– the part of self that does not want to die.
Taste and see that I am good. It is upon you. Trust.
Trust. Believe. Let fear go and unbelief will flee. Surrender… Selah
(End of message)
I also believe that surrender should be enveloped in
thanksgiving, true worship of the One who is worthy of such.
In the next posting, which will be the continuation of
this article, I will share what has been going on in the past year and where I
am now in all of it. Jesus Christ is exalted; His name is magnified. He alone
is worthy of all praise, glory and honour…so it is written; so it is true.
for His glory alone
Bonita dovesofthevalleys4@gmail.com
