I kept getting the word “prepare”
heavily upon my spirit for the past couple of weeks. Of course, I let the
precious and Holy Spirit know that I wholly agreed in my heart to absolutely
prepare for whatever the Lord meant, whether good or bad. But when I was not
told what to prepare for, naturally I asked…only to be met with silence.
As days passed, I went about my business, keeping an
open ear, watching and praying. I had no idea what was meant by “prepare”.
Did it mean “prepare for the fruition of the long-awaited promises, my
personal covenant”? (Many others have promises they wait upon also.) I would smile when I thought, “finally!”
More days passed…
Am I to prepare for something bad? I had seen a white
van about a week ago. On the back was writing about a motorcycle racing club,
but on the side of the white van was a painting of a black and white coiled
cobra or viper with angry eyes, risen up (standing tall with a coiled tail),
with its mouth wide open.
Out of its forked tongue were two flashes of lightning. Anyone who has been following the blog lately knows that it is how the Lord has been warning me since late July 2020 (almost a year ago).
Yet, I sensed it was no mistake that I did not have my
cell for its camera. No fear or sense of warning came to me. In my spirit, I
sensed the “snake” (symbolic of the adversary, Satan) was angry
at the Lord. When I saw the two lightning bolts coming out of its mouth, yes, I
thought of foul anger, but deep within my spirit, I quietly heard Messiah’s
words.
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning
fall from heaven. Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but
rather rejoice because your names
are written in heaven. [Lk10:18-20]
Ah, the enemy learns or sees how the Lord speaks to us
individually (so personally), so beautifully, according to our
individual personalities, such a personal Creator and Saviour. But that ancient
serpent, Satan, becomes envious, and desires to bring us back into captivity
(if the Lord has already delivered us, as He has me), and hold us in bondage again
to a spirit of fear.
[NOTE*: Edit added: Delivered from cigarettes 1 year, 9 weeks, 3 days as of this writing; the glory to Jesus - BP]
He will try every way he knows how, but praise be to
Yeshua (our Jesus), who sent the Holy Spirit in His place. He resides in
those born-again, causing us to be Spirit-filled.
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world. [1Jn 4:4]
Shout it from the rooftops. Hallelujah! The devil is defeated; all glory
to Yeshua, my Jesus! King of kings and Lord of lords …He is soon returning!
No one knows the day or hours, none... except God in heaven! [Mat24:36]
Faithfulness of our God
So, I sat at the table in the kitchen and just began
with, “Here I am, Lord. You tell us to seek you… I’m here seeking you Yeshua,
just to be with you.” It may not be precisely the same words, but very
close to it.
Then, I began to call out to the living God, who rules
over all the universes, who is Sovereign over all the heavens, and all the
heavenly hosts in them (angels, stars, planets), all the waters, and the entire
earth – that which is under the earth and the oceans, the waters, and all that
is within and that is above.
“All the stars are at Your command, Jesus. You tell
them to stay and they stay; You speak a word and they shoot off, or fall, as
You so will it; however You command it. All creatures, all things are at your
command. Speak to me Father…please fill Me more Holy precious Spirit of the
Sovereign living God; please tell me what it is that you want me to prepare
for, and I will do it. I’m listening…”
I waited a moment…silence. Grabbing the Bible, I
randomly opened at the book of Acts, chapter 4. Part way down the page, my eyes
fell upon the scriptures. As what I was reading registered in my brain, I burst
out into tears. “O Father, Yeshua…you really are here! You really do listen…”
This was the scripture.
And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice
to God with one accord and said, Lord, You are God, which has made heaven, and
earth, and the sea, and all that is in them: [Act 4:24]
No, it was not my exact words, but my heart soared. The tears of joy fell automatically because they were from the shock, I reckon. Yes, the Lord has done things like this oftentimes before, but does it not still amaze us? It does me! It always puts me into the state of awe, a gentle reminder of reality and intimacy of the Lord, and His deep desire to spend time with each and every one of us!
Perhaps I was feeling ignored deep within. I’m not sure why I burst out so suddenly and powerfully; just a burst of genuine gratitude and love for my Maker. His goodness; His faithfulness.
Now there was no way I had mentioned to this sister
that the Lord had put the word “prepare” upon my spirit
for the past couple of weeks. She had just texted a couple of things to me
about something we had discussed the last time we saw each other, which had
been about three weeks ago. Then, before she signed off, she mentioned a few scriptures
and asked if I had one for her. I gave her Isaiah 64:4.
Merciful, Forgiving God
Shemaiah, a prophet of God, came to the king (Rehoboam)
and to the princes of Judah with the message that the Lord had forsaken them and
left them in the hand of king from Egypt because they had forsaken Him.
Immediately the people humbled themselves before God.
Even after FIVE long years of ignoring
Yahweh, He immediately shows mercy and tells them through His prophet, Shemaiah,
that He will not destroy them or pour out His wrath upon them. He said He would
grant ‘some’ deliverance. He decreed that they would have to serve King Shisak
from Egypt.
King Rehoboam also humbled himself and the Lord spared
him from his wrath also. However, the king of Egypt took the treasures from the
temple and all the shields of gold that Solomon had made, and Rehoboam instead
could only have shields of brass.
But Rehoboam’s repentance wasn’t sincere, or at least,
it did not last. And here is the verse that LIT UP in my eyes; like a
neon light, the words seem to jump off the page.
Our Lord has been crying out to His people for a very
long time now; and in fact, I was one of the ones who came under conviction and
His correction. These were the next words in the chapter, regarding the
insincerity of Rehoboam.
And he did evil, because he PREPARED
NOT his heart to
SEEK the Lord. [2Chron
12:14]
Wow! Is the Lord not a good God? I know the Holy
Spirit was leading me. It has been posted in several articles now, but the Lord
Yahweh is most serious. SEEK Him, whilst He can still be found. He
desires intimacy. He longs to direct our steps as a good Abba, as a good
Shepherd, but first we must come into His presence and HEAR what it is
He is saying.
I continued on reading. I pass through chapter 13,
which speaks about the destruction of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar and the
Babylonians. It goes on about king Abijah and the war with Jeroboam. The 14th
chapter starts with Abijah being buried in the city of David and Asa, his son,
taking over to reign.
Asa did good in the eyes of the Lord, tearing down the
altars of idols and destroying their images. But Asa commanded Judah to SEEK
the Lord god of their fathers, and to DO the law and
commandments.
The Lord, in His goodness, saw to it that no war came
for several years because His people sought God and Yahweh gave them rest.
Right now, many of God’s people need rest. I thank Him for the Sabbath, a day
that was made for us, not us being made for the day. The Lord knew we would
need rest, and in these stressful, chaotic days, we all need rest from time to
time, so that we can regroup, refresh ourselves, be strengthened.
But we won’t get that rest without spending time in
His presence and in His Word. Fact.
Back to chapter 14. During that time of rest, Asa had
an army of men make thousands of shields and bows. Then, the Ethiopians came
against Asa and Judah. Asa cried out to the Lord and the Lord delivered them;
the Ethiopians fled.
Why? Because Asa had made a habit of seeking God, of staying
close to Him, in times of quiet, when all was well…and not just crying out to
Him when things go awry. Asa and his armies pursued and they overcame their
enemies, destroying them and gathering much spoil of cattle, sheep, camels and
all that was in the cities that they had victory over.
The Lord Gives Reminders
And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear me,
Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord with you, while you be with Him, and
if you SEEK him, He will be FOUND of
you; but if you forsake him, He will forsake you. [2 Chron
15:2] (spoken by Oded, the prophet)
Further on:
Be strong therefore,
and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
[vs 7]
The Lord gave them victory in many things. Then, it is
written:
And they entered into a covenant to SEEK
the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul:
That whosever would NOT SEEK the Lord God of Israel should be put
to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. [vs 12]
(They rejoiced with musical instruments and shouting…)
And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn
with all their heart, and SOUGHT Him with their WHOLE
DESIRE: and He was found of them: and the Lord gave
them REST round about. [15:15]
Same Always
Can you imagine? The Lord sees our lack of desire to
seek Him as evil, and to not even prepare his heart to seek God would mean that
the thought did not even enter his mind. Rehoboam never even considered setting
time aside to SEEK God or be in His most holy presence!
One of the talks Yeshua (Jesus) had with His disciples
covered many things, such as giving, how to pray, when He taught them (and us
indirectly) the Lord’s prayer. He spoke about fasting, treasures in heaven and
how God dresses the lilies in the field and how even Solomon wasn’t dressed
so finely. He admonishes the people not to be anxious for anything, including
clothes, or what they will eat or drink.
Then, He said:
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek): for
your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.
But SEEK FIRST the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore, take no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. [Mat 6:33,34]
As I stated, it has been the past two or three weeks
that I have been making more of an effort to discipline myself into spending
more TIME with my Lord. It is so easy to fall into habits, or to start the day
with “urgent” things to get out of the way; things that ‘must be’ done.
And sure enough, before I know it, a good part of the
day is gone. Even if I have spoken to the Lord off and on throughout the entire
day, which I always do, it is not the same as sitting down, kneeling, bowing,
dancing, singing, offering thanksgiving…spending quality time without
interruptions or distractions.
Calling His People
Do we behave and speak like He is our first love? The
beast system will definitely test that in us. COVID and its restrictions has
certainly tested us. This is nothing compared to what’s coming. In my province,
we can go into stores (public places) without masks now. Next province
over, they cannot, not yet.
How can the Lord instruct us if we are talking to Him
in-between our duties, or if we pray when things are going wrong with us, our
family or our friends…or if someone else asks us to pray? I know that I know
that I know that He is calling us to spend quality time with Him. I can excuse
myself and say I ‘try to discipline’ myself. Or I DO IT!
I choose the latter. The Lord has been incredibly
faithful and true, not just to me, but with brethren that I know, and also
those I do not know. Whenever He asks something of us, it is typically for our
good, and in it, He will be glorified.
But if we choose to turn a deaf ear, then it is on us.
If I do not tell others, as a watchman, to seriously take control of things by surrendering that time with God – or – reap the consequences, then your blood is upon my hands (or the blood of those I fail to tell).
However, if you read this, or if I tell you (and Lord help you, if
especially it is confirmed through another), and you still ignore what He is
asking, then your blood is upon your own head.
If when he (the watchman)
sees the sword come upon the land, he blows the trumpet, and warns the people,
then whosever hears the sound of the trumpet and takes NOT warning; if the
sword come, and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not
warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that takes warning shall DELIVER
HIS SOUL.
But if the watchman sees the sword come, and blows not
the trumpet and the people are NOT warned; if the sword come, and take ANY
person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity (sin); but his blood
will I require at the watchman’s hand. [Ezek 33:4-6]
Please take time to pray and ask the Lord if He is asking you to SEEK Him more intimately, to come in the morning to your FIRST LOVE and REST in His presence.
See and hear what He will say to you, but we
cannot rush off. Take time to read the Word, sing, pray…however you are so led.
May the Lord bless you in all that you set your hand to, to glorify Him through
His Son, Yeshua/Jesus.
A New Day
Lead me in Your truth, and teach me: for You are the God of my salvation; on You do I wait all the day. Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of my enemies [Ps 25:5; Ps 27:11]
Since 2012, the Lord has mentioned the clash of the kingdoms. After Obama was elected the second time, that still, soft voice deep within said: “Now It Begins”. I knew that the Lord meant it was now the beginning of the slippery slope that heads right into the great tribulation, chaos and beast system of the last of the last days that the Bible foretells all those who take time to read.
The scriptures I was led to:
O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endures forever. [1Chron 16:]
And say, Save us O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, and glory in Your name. [v 35]
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel forever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the Lord [v 36]
And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks and the Lord because His mercy endures forever. [vs 41]
O Abba, Abba – let your rain fall in this desert land…
He’s Alive and Listening
I decided to continue reading scripture, but also wanted Christian music in the background, so I chose to pull up a playlist on YouTube with Robin Mark and his album Revival in Belfast.
Only THIS is the LORD. Seriously! I was reading this morning, July 3, 2021 (sabbath) the book of Nehemiah.
Stand up and bless the Lord your God, for ever and ever: and blessed be Your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. [Neh 9:5]
Right then, the song, Blessed Be Your Name began on the playlist. I know it sounds surreal, but you (kind of) get used to it, when the King is your Abba. But then again, I don’t know if we ever actually get used to it because gasped, giggled, giving thanks and singing along with the song.
Well, who knows exactly how it will go down, but it truly is a glorious time! Coincidence? Call it that if you like, but I heard somewhere once that coincidence is God working anonymously.
You, even You, are Lord alone: You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the sea, and all that is therein, and You preserve them all: and the host of heaven worships You.
You are the Lord, the God who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham. And found his heart faithful before You and made a covenant with him […] [Neh 9:6-8]
The way the Lord leads each of us is differently. To all
of us He speaks through His written Word. That is a given. Nevertheless, what I
speak of is how He made each of us so uniquely. Yes, we share commonalities, or
similarities, but we are not carbon copies. Even identical twins have
differences.
There was a peace of paper stuck in-between the pages
of one of my bibles that I had on the table. Written on it were little nuggets.
Trust – soon – healed, restored, reversals, re-created
– walk in gifts [given]
Prepare – (yes, believe it or not, there was that word
again…and then) >:> As the earth’s inhabitants spin out of control, know
that I AM in control. Know, reflect upon and wonder at My Sovereignty.
Remember these days with humility (for humility is ever
before honour). If you doubt, read again about Job, Namaan the leper and
Lazarus (the deceased who was resurrected).
Just a little longer, then “suddenly” – for that is
how I operate. You know what to do – sing, praise, give thanks, fast and pray.
These you have done in the past; follow the lead of My Spirit. Now WAIT.
Appointed times – appointed times – times are
appointed
Words for June 13, 2021
Hold fast (to faith)
Trust not fear
Sin of doubt is when it causes you to fall into unbelief
(those who do not believe God’s word or promises)
Appointed time (these
things (all things) at the right time shall increase in intensity and frequency,
as birth pangs)
Time appointed
Patience
Warriors not wimps (cowards)
[Note*: Edit added: Remember the 22,000 fearful and afraid in Gideon's army who walked away from battle and returned home; only 10,000 stayed [Judges 7:3] BP]
Repeating Isaiah 55 vs 11
So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth:
it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. [Is
55:11]
Special Delivery from the Rose of Sharon
For have you wearied in believing your life is a
desert life, with nothing but dryness and hopelessness stretched out far ahead,
and nothing but the sands of time rippling in uneven, haphazard rows behind you,
seemingly random and without pattern?
Can you not see the oasis of hope where My promises flourish
over the parched land you travel? Have I not walked with you and often carried
you, when your strength failed and life made you dizzy? Can you not see with
your spiritual eyes? Has the enemy tossed you to and fro so fiercely that the “sands
of time” have temporarily blinded your eyes?
Has he seduced you into pacing back and forth like a
caged animal? Has he beguiled you into believing I have turned My eyes away
from you, or that I have forgotten you along the shores of hope? Do you feel
like one grain of sand amidst the unsearchable and innumerable grains of sand
upon that same shore?
Have you aborted the vision with the instruments of
deception that the enemy planted in your mind? Or did you toss out the tainted
weaponry smeared in unbelief and come running to Me? Look and see; My arms are
open, yet many are they that have no time for Me.
I say, Come, seek Me whilst I can still be found, for
there is much I long to tell you. Yet, if you find no time to be with your
king, then I sorrow with you, knowing you endanger yourself – a trap is set so
that many will choose to fall away in the end.
Come, come unto Me you who are weary and heavily
burdened, and I will give you rest. [Mat 11:28]
You shall see Me and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. [Jer 29:13]
Call to Me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty [terrible] things, which you know not. [Jer 33:3]
Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man shall hear My voice and open the door, I will come to Him and will sup with Him, and he with Me. [Rev 3:20]
For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if
you through the Spirit do mortify the deed of the body, you shall live. For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For you have not received the spirit of bondage
again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father. [Rom 8:13-15]
Drink of Me, drink deeply for I AM the living waters
that will flow from your heart. Come out of the wilderness. Don’t look back at
the empty rows of the past that drift with every changing wind. Be not like Lot’s
wife, who could not pull herself away from the memories and the longing for the
familiar. Taste and see that I AM good.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus
stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He
that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water. [Jn 7:37, 38]
This is For Someone – You Will Know (if it is for you), I Won’t
Rise up with faith.
Believe Me for the things I say to you. I AM still the same yesterday, today and forever. [Heb 13:8]
I have given you scriptures; I have spoken to you and given you signs. I have saved you from death; I have answered your prayers in the past. Do not fall into the wickedness of unbelief. Do not let fear grip you, for fear is not of Me.
I love you.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear has torment. But he who fears is not been made perfect in love. [1Jn 4:18] Receive My love.
Every time I test you, you wonder where I am. Every time, you have cried out to me and I carried you through each time. How many times shall I test you before you will remain steadfast, unafraid and confident? Do you not see how far you have come and the times you have risen back up, or do you see only the times you fell?
Now rise up again in confidence…or stay in unbelief. Set aside lusts (lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life). Ask Me to keep you from deception.
How do I keep you from deception? Get My word down in your heart. I protect you as you obey Me. I promised I would lead you if you trust Me with all your heart (in all things) and lean NOT to your own understanding. [Prov 3:5, 6]
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. [Mat 6:33]
Do not die in your sin. Do not die in unforgiveness; release any bitterness. Do not die in unbelief. Fear and unbelief lead to rebellion. Instead, pick up your cross and die to self.
Stand strong. So many want to be part of the remnant, but they faint in the time of testing, right at the end of the trial. Believe Me in all circumstances, even when you do not understand.
The time has come to make a decision – no matter what happens, nothing can shake you enough to fall away IF you trust Me.
Rejoice. Do you not recall? I said that yet once more, I would shake all that could not be shaken would remain. [Read Heb 12:26, 27]
There is a cost; it is obedience – laying all of the old down. (NOTE: ‘old’ ways and lusts is what I understood – BP)
Do not murmur or complain; wringing your hands and crying out, “Why, why, why? Rather determine that no matter what, you will trust in Me. No more doubts, no more fears.
Be a warrior of endurance, not a casualty of despair. Faith produces obedience to Me and My revealed word. I will direct your steps as you trust in Me, but direction requires obedience (following direction)
Feelings will betray you; but obedience brings victory. Trust Me. when I tell you a thing. Do not say, Lord God, I believe help my unbelief; but rather: “Lord, I believe your word. I hear it in my heart. I read it (truth) in your Word (Holy Scriptures), for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”
Fear the Lord for it is the beginning
of wisdom. Testing is not My wrath; it is my goodness to refine you and to prove you.
Commit to Me and I will guide you. Honour My word. Trust Me. Come, come unto Me…let
us sit awhile.
(End)
I know the Lord corrects those He loves. I’ve lost count of the times that He has corrected me but I am grateful, for He is my Father.
There are about eight or more pages that I was going to put along with this, but instead, I am dividing it up. It will be posted tomorrow morning sometime. Please keep in mind that I am west coast (Pacific time).
for His
glory alone
Bonita dovesofthevalleys4@gmail.com