Too Close to Quit Now - Seriously
Letters have been pouring in from all over...letters of discouragement, frustration, hopelessness, crushed hopes, shattered dreams, anger, bitterness. Even if I tried to cover all the emotions, I would still miss. In all my years of writing, never have I seen such a tsunami of negativity; black waves of sludge and debris.
Please, never do I say that in a flippant, judgmental or callous way. Perish such a thought! Rather, the reality of it grips me.
When trouble seems to be our portion, when trials and tribulation seem endless, when the Lord seems silent (and may well be for a season), when the waiting seems to have no end, and when it seems that every demon around is mocking and laughing, the great temptation is to shake the proverbial fist toward heaven, curse (accuse) God, and walk away in absolute disgust, angry bitterness, even rage, throwing down all faith, hope and yes, love.
OR...
The falling away may be slower, less obvious, more subtle, yet the enemies of our soul, the enemies of the cross will chip away, chip away, chip away, slowly, methodically, deliberately...like a dripping faucet that just won't quit, with only one purpose in mind - to steal, kill and destroy, thus fulfilling God's word.
Satan and his evil hordes come to steal our hope, kill our destiny and destroy our faith. The father of lies, he who was a murderer from the beginning, knows no mercy, has no compassion and only exhibits brutality, cruelty and evil beyond description - I cannot find any word in my vocabulary that would adequately describe the dark, gross evil of him or of those (his legions) who bow to him (both in the spiritual and physical realms).
Who knows what he promised them if they did follow him? The cunning and the craftiness of his words must have been filled with what sounded like exceptional goodness and wisdom, and so profound as to persuade angels, who saw God for themselves and KNEW His beauty, holiness, LOVE, perfection, goodness and so much more, to give it all up and follow after him (Lucifer).
I saw where many of these believers (who wrote all the letters) have put aside thanksgiving, for they found nothing now to thank God for. Praise was far from their lips, as accusation after accusation, and blame, and a myriad of emotions were expressed. For all of them it seems, the trials have gone on too long, as far as they are concerned. Hopelessness...talk about hope deferred!
Did the writers forget the last part of the verse, about how "when" the desire comes, it is a tree of life. (WHO is the tree of life? Jesus/Yeshua is. We forget - so tragic!
Hope deferred makes the heart sick: but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. [Prov 13:12]
All of them, in their own ways of expressing, state their lack of understanding in why their prayers seem unanswered, and how could a God of love leave them so destitute, so forsaken?
How could He be so silent, and just leave them there amidst their hopelessness, their grief, pain, brokenness and sorrow, in what (again, ALL of them) consider to be cruel, heartless and never-ending?
Trust and hope shattered, so disillusioned, void of faith and strength, and whether the writers of the letters realized it or not, I did not see in one of those letters a word of thanksgiving, gratitude or even remembrance of anything the Lord may have done in the past, or even the realization that He was/is right there with them, still loving them, still carrying them, still waiting for them to trust again.
The parallels and similarities of the words and hurts, sorrow and pain between all of the letters was astoundingly uncanny, and frankly, so is the timing - all of them coming in all at once (within a four week time period).
Now if one saw the number of letters, approximately 10 or 11, one might say that is barely any in a world of nearly eight billion (8,000,000,000) people. Yet, even one soul who gives up on Yeshua/Jesus and falls away, and goes back into the world and back into the domain of Satan, is one too many.
Repentance
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. [Rom 12:1-3]
That includes me. It is an inviting trap, set by the enemy, who works with our pride, trying to make us think we are better than others, or stronger, or wiser, or closer to God or (fill in the blank). Pride can trap us all.
I must confess that when our heavenly Father corrects me through his precious and Holy Spirit, his ways are often unexpected, yet always timely. And the correction is anything but welcome; it's extremely uncomfortable, but praise God for correction indeed. It means that we are His children. [See Hebrews 12:5-8]
Due to a horrific year, with the past five months the most challenging ever in my entire life, and in my entire walk with the Lord (and no! I don't even mean anything about Covid-19; at all), I found myself struggling as I tried desperately to understand what has transpired in the past year, and why.
Just like the writers of the letters, I found myself in a similar way. Some, but definitely not all, of the letters echoed my own thoughts and questions. Although, as the Lord is my judge, I genuinely fear the Lord, and in those thoughts and questions I did not blaspheme my blessed Maker.
Did I blame him or accuse him? Not knowingly, and I truly do not think so, but yet, I wonder if deep within I may have. Some of the letters caused me to break down in tears because I realized how dangerously close I came to being unthankful (ungrateful for all He has done for me, even before I committed to him - long before!).
When I read the angry, accusatory, rebellious, (and sadly), the ungrateful words in some of the letters, I wept harder, realizing that if I did not guard my heart, and/or keep a repentant heart, those words could be mine.
It was understood that if I did not take my eyes off myself and my circumstances (problems, troubles), my particular trials and tribulation, my pain and sorrows, and if I did not refocus and place my vision (eyes) upon my King and Lord Jesus/Yeshua, where they belong, I would open myself up to pride, self-pity, self-righteousness and any other "self-ish" thing.
It was also realized how quickly bitterness can take root. The Holy Spirit pressed hard upon me more than once in the past five months to pray for any I felt came against me. Was it easy? Not at all. My flesh felt justified and I was in the right in one very serious situation, but I had to obey.
I knew that if I did not pray for the person who was doing me wrong, not only would I be disobedient to the leading of the most Holy Spirit, but I would be embracing the devil's temptation to hate, to be bitter, to push God away through any negativity. So no, it was not easy, but I did pray - and the Lord, unexpectedly and suddenly, rewarded and blessed me. All glory to Christ alone!
That part has to paid attention to. It's not about being "good" or "nice", it is about spiritual warfare and spiritual laws in heavenly places. If we do not pray, even for our enemies (think of Job), then we would also dangerously (even if unknowingly) be welcoming the temptations that Satan lures the flesh with, those false comforts and satisfactions that will would indeed lead us away from the Lord, and place us upon the path of destruction.
Satan would rejoice. Remember that please.
Who can remember every thought they think, or every word they have spoken? I know not one, including myself. So yes, I repented because I know that at one point I did sense anger. Toward God? Very possible, yes, but definitely at the duration of the hardships and the absence of relief to recover.
So I repented, ashamed of any ingratitude I may be holding or held, all pride, all selfishness, self-righteousness, any (possible) blasphemous thoughts, any accusations, whether spoken, thought or even "felt" (our emotions will betray us often) - just everything and anything that would hinder my walk with the Lord was brought up and refused...just in case I was guilty (my flesh will try and trick me and justify things, so yes, I had to be careful, covering all the bases).
Forgiveness was sought in all humility. The tenderness of the Lord is so cherished; so glorious, invaluable, yet Jesus/Yeshua has no difficulty extending it to us. O that eyes would be opened to see his presence near you when all seems so lonely and dark.
O that ears would be opened to hear his heart beat as he holds you close to his bosom (spiritually), like a hen does with her small chicks. Why do we fuss and cry like a colicky baby when we are in discomfort and pain, fighting him even as he tries to comfort us. We can push him away and then accuse him of leaving us, but he is still there. We are just so self-absorbed that we cannot sense, feel or see him.
His goodness - ah! his goodness, in part, is in the way he understands us; the way he ignores our statements as we angrily shout, "it's enough; take away my life...", as Elijah requested [1King 19:4]. Or: "kill me....don't let me see my wretchedness", as Moses grievously stated in sheer exhaustion and frustration [Num 11:15].
There are numerous other examples. We are in good company...real people, suffering in real ways, going to God and praying from the heart, having real feelings and real emotions. Did our Creator kill them as they asked?
No! He is a good Father, and closed his ear to the desperate, frustrated, hastily-spoken requests. He is wise, patient and kind, gentle, merciful - yet we, at times, consider him cold, heartless, cruel, merciless. I could never be God, not even a "little god'', as some religious people believe we (believers) are (which is a spirit of error). Jehovah is too marvelous, too wonderful, too "everything GOOD"!
Patience and Confidence
For some time, faith has been tried and hearts severely tested. the fires are hot and extreme! This should be no surprise. The Word of God forewarns us, and we see countless examples of our forerunners who went through their own trials, temptations, trying of their faith and testing of their hearts.
We read it and get it. If some failed in areas, like we all do, such as Sampson, Saul (the king), Esau, Balaam, Ananias and his wife Sapphira, and other examples, we may read and judge, saying, "Pffft, how could they?"
Yet, we often do not see our own failures and shortcomings, our own disobedience or sins. The Holy Spirit helps us. We long to walk after the Spirit; He will guide us properly. And if we walk after the Spirit, we are not condemned.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [Rom 8:1]
Many, in justifying themselves no matter what they do, will only quote the first part of the verse and leave off the part about not walking after the flesh, but walking in the Spirit.
Patience - is hard to learn. We need to stay confident in God (YHVH) through Messiah. The story of the turtle (tortoise) and the rabbit has such solid truths. The rabbit was so confident in his speed, that when he was challenged to race against the turtle, he basically laughed within himself, knowing how slow a turtle is.
In that smug, prideful confidence, he had the audacity to try and make a fool of the turtle for even thinking for a moment he could beat the rabbit in a race. In his pride and arrogance and misplaced confidence, the rabbit decided to take a nap.
Only the nap must have been very satisfying and comforting because the turtle passed by the rabbit as he slept. The turtle did not panic or try to rush. He was patient, being fully confident that he would win the race before the rabbit awoke. Sure enough, he did!
It just seems to take forever to learn patience; the lesson just seems to go on and on and on, like the never-ending story. If only it didn't take so long! But the lessons do end; there are rewards; there is good reason, several even.
But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be confident that if we learn patience, we will finish the race to the glory of God through Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach).
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompence of reward. For you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.
For yet a little while and he that shall come will come, and not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. [Heb 10:35-38]
The testing of our faith, the trying of our hearts, is not cruel at all. It is done out of love so that we learn how to wait, but more importantly, how to TRUST God. I had a hard time learning trust because of all the betrayals and other things that happened in my life. So few really trust these days, and if they do, it's not always in every area. Yet with our Creator, guaranteed, He can be trusted.
The word of God says it is better to trust in the Lord than to put our confidence in man or in princes. [Ps 146:3; Ps 118:8, 9]
Did the Lord give up on me? No, He patiently allowed me to go through various trials/tribulations, allowed me to see my shortcomings; was gracious enough to discipline and correct me; was kind enough to repeat lessons because it was necessary, not because of cruelty, meanness or lack of care.
Patience is not learned when everything is good and running smoothly in our lives. Patience is learned through various trials (tribulation), hardships, disappointments, heartaches and experiences. It is difficult, but worth it.
Not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience, And patience, experience, and experience, hope: And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. [Rom 5:3-5]
This does not mean we enjoy tribulation or trials, but that we learn through them. We learn patience; we gain experience, and our hope is established as we learn, through these various tribulations or trials, to trust God.
My brethren, count it all joy when we fall into divers (different) temptations (trials); Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience, But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect (whole, mature, complete) and entire, wanting nothing. [Jam 1:2-4]
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
While we look NOT at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. [2Cor 4:16-18]
To all those who wrote, so discouraged, so confused, so frustrated and angry, and experiencing all kinds of trials that for some of you, have gone on for a very long time, I would like to say this.
You are not alone. I remind you, as we all need reminders, self included, to submit to God, humble yourself and acknowledge your need for him. Pour out your heart to Him but be careful not to accuse him. Tests are real and will happen, whether one likes to hear it or not, or believe it or not. They happen - frequently, as we grow in Christ - just like tests happen frequently throughout our school years - from grade one right through to the years in university or college.
Read Gods word and speak it back to him because he told us that his word does not return void. The Psalms is a beautiful book. There are prayers in there for every situation, every emotion and feeling, for the multitude of thoughts we think and so much more, all directed toward God.
If you look carefully, you will see that (not all the Psalms were written by King David. Even Moses wrote a psalm), that the psalmist would pour out his thoughts, his heart, whether angry, or frightened, or asking for vengeance or whatever, look to see how often in psalms the prayer reverts back to praise and gives God glory.
See how often praise and thanksgiving cloak the psalm. That is the key, yet it can be a difficult one to turn over, in order to unlock our victory and see our prayers answered.
More often than naught, to praise God for all he is allowing, whether it is a death, a divorce, an incurable disease, a handicap, horrific pain, financial ruin, lost employment, material losses, whatever our particular trial is, simply does not make sense and it surely defies logic.
Who in their right mind would thank God or praise Him for allowing certain things to happen? No, most often, we want to scream out the injustice, the cruelty, all the negativity that comes with hardships, but praise God in it? Ridiculous, we think! Our flesh does not want to do it.
When we are going through hard times, our thoughts can race and our emotions and feelings can overwhelm us. The enemy, Satan and his minions, work with our flesh. It is my prayer that you turn to Jesus (Yeshua); humble yourself, just as I had to do. It's not always easy; our flesh resists bending the knee quite often.
DEFY logic; forget about your feelings and emotions and get down on bended knees. Humbly. Cry out to God. Look back at the times he helped you, whether you realized it or not. Thank him even if your flesh screams otherwise.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will direct your paths (steps) [Prov 3:5, 6]
If you have no fear of the Lord (honour, respect, awe, reverence, knowing His Sovereignty and power), then you are walking with the enemy, or at the very least, toward his camp.
If you accuse God, you are Satan's spokesperson. If you cannot trust God, then you are lost indeed, heading for the lake of fire. O beloved soul, don't listen to the lies. God cares. He sees. He hears. He is answering. So often, he works in silence, or behind the scenes where we cannot see him. Wait and He will reveal - He will answer. It will be right on time. Don't cover your ears please - it is truth!
O my God, I trust in you: let me not be ashamed, let not my enemies triumph over me. - - O keep my soul and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in you. [Ps 25:2, 20]
If you are still alive, you still have time to repent and ask forgiveness for unbelief and fear, yes fear. Some may say they are not afraid, they are angry. Well, it seems to me that some are 'afraid' to trust God, as if he will fail them. Why? Because in their mind, he takes too long (they lack patience), or he has not 'yet' answered their prayer, or in a way you expected.
He WILL speak to you - countless ways, but be careful, the imitator (Satan), as well as our flesh, can trick us into mimicking the Shepherd's voice. We have to spend quality time with the Lord, and yes, sometimes even through trial and error, we must learn the Master's voice (our Shepherd), so we know him and will not follow after a counterfeit or false shepherd, who will lead us straight to a hungry pack of wolves, eager to devour God's sheep.
In the minds of some of the discouraged saints, they are convinced that the Lord has left them, overlooked or forgotten about them (lack of trust in God's Word, cloaked in unbelief).
Jesus (Yeshua) promised he would never leave or forsake us. And he does not. But He did not say he would constantly be talking. We all go through times of silence, and yes, even at times we need him most. Why? Because we must believe His word, that He IS with us, even in the silence. We must learn to trust him in all things, and especially if he is quiet.
If you are spitting venomous words at the Lord, you are on the slippery slope downward toward the abyss, heading for the lake of fire, and the enemy and all the demons are applauding, cheering you on.
Blessed is that man that makes the LORD his trust, and respects not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. [Ps 40:4]
If you rebel against God, who will you trust? If you turn away from Him, who will you turn to in the day the entire world is in the hands of the lawless one? If you died this day, will lack of trust, or unbelief save you?
There is no harsh judgment here, but there is an earnest desire to shake some of my brethren by the shoulders and ask, "Who has beguiled you?" Some say they do not want prayer, but I will and am praying because I understand God's position on these things.
If you are reading this and know deep down you have said things you should not have said to God, it's not too late to repent. He is ever ready to forgive. He is gracious and merciful. He is good and his mercy endures forever. [Ps 136]
I will leave you with two verses, then I would like to share a word from 2013 that I came across, entitled: To The Weary
Both verses are well-known and often used, but God's Word stands forever, for it is Spirit and Truth. Shalom in Christ to all readers.
If My people, which are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will i hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. NOW my eyes shall be open, and my ears attent (listening) to the prayer that is made in this place.
[2Chron 7:14, 15]
One might say: "I have not done anything wrong. I'm just tired of all the trials, or tests, or whatever all these hardships are." Perhaps the error, my friend, is in thinking he has left you, or is uncaring, or whatever else negative that you put upon him...or perhaps it is time to repent of ingratitude.
We all fall short; miss the mark...all of us, including myself. There are those who do not think so though; they believe they are "good" people and have no need of a Saviour.
Let us rise back up and run the race, and fight our battles, face set as a flint, and TRUST that God is not in need of counsel, and knows exactly what is the wisest and best thing for our [individual] lives - because He does. Walk away or turn away - and you will eternally regret it.
Rediscover the need for patience, and walk with the rest of the brethren, as together we all learn, even the hard and challenging lessons.
But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that ONE DAY is with the Lord as a THOUSAND years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is NOT slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL SHOULD come to repentance. [2Pet 3: 8, 9]
Keep pressing on, even in the challenging, seemingly impossible situations. Trust the Lord and he WILL strengthen you. Humble yourself (flesh will fight you), and the Lord WILL lift you on high.
Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves to the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed in humility: for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom RESIST steadfast in the faith, knowing that the SAME AFFLICTIONS are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. [1Pet 5:5-9]
To the Weary
July 14, 2013
To the Weary
Satan has beaten down many saints, but the Lord is
ever ready to pick the wounded back up, heal, strengthen and restore. He
is faithful to give hope and encouragement.
Just as the Lord gave me the dream with three revealing words – test of endurance (which was a warning for the Body of Christ) and how the Lord told my guest Jason Pillow about it being the time of the sealing of His people…the Lord spoke to another of His children, a godly woman, Latshia Smith, Prophetic Wind Ministries up in Buffalo NY, who was a guest on my show two weeks ago.
To her, He warned about His remnant and how Satan was not just out to attack the prophets (in the 5 fold ministry), but just as Jezebel did in days gone by, and just as many did down through history, the plan is to not just attack, but to literally kill the prophets, to kill those in the five-fold ministry (and all dedicated disciples of Jesus Christ/Yeshua).
(*NOTE* - The Lord promised in the last days, by the prophet Joel (2:28, 29) and repeated by Peter (Acts 2:17), that he would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh and sons and daughters would prophecy, I believe that every born-again, Spirit-filled believer in Jesus/Y'shua can prophesy. The prophets of old were filled and spoke by the Holy Spirit. Now, we today have opportunity, all because of what Christ Jesus did. Satan came to steal, KILL and destroy [Jn 10:10] - every believer is now targeted! BP2013)
Multitudes of God’s people are going through incredible trials at this time. Hold fast to the Lord and do not fear. It is time for spiritual warfare as never before. (Do not expect this to lessen. It will increase the closer we get to our destinies, but more so, the closer we get to the Lord's return.) We must absolutely be abiding in the Lord as never before. He must be our constant companion.
In the book of 1 Kings, chapters 18 and 19, we hear
of Obadiah who hid 100 prophets of the Lord; he divided them into two groups of
50 and hid them in a cave. If you have ever seen pictures of caves in the
east, some of them are huge and very beautiful…quite capable of hiding a great
number of people.
A sacrifice was placed upon the altar by Jezebel’s prophets, who called out to Baal to consume the sacrifice, but nothing happened. Elijah mocked them, saying that their god was either away talking, pursuing something, on a journey or asleep and needed to be awakened.
They were so upset about Baal not responding, they cried out and cut themselves until they bled, just like many people do today, not only in the east, but also amongst the youth (and others) around the globe.
Then he ordered that a sacrifice -a perfect bullock, be cut up and placed on the altar, a trench built and water to be put in the trench three times to fill it and to saturate the sacrifice. Three times; that means everything was drenched!
Then, he called down fire and the Lord, the true living God, consumed the sacrifice. At that point, when the people of Israel saw that the living God accepted the sacrifice, they were strengthened and at Elijah’s order; they rounded up all of Jezebel’s prophets and slew them.
There was a famine in the land, so Elijah climbed to the top of Mt. Carmel and prayed and asked his servant [to go and see] if he saw a cloud. After some time (seven times Elijah sent him), the servant finally saw a little cloud. He told the servant to tell Ahab to go before the rain caught him. Ahab took off and told Jezebel that Elijah killed her prophets. When Jezebel heard of this, she put out a death sentence (threat) on Elijah.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. [1 Kings 19:2]
This true prophet of God took off when he heard her words through a messenger. He was likely very weary, having slain all the prophets, having called upon God for the consuming of the sacrifice, and the rain for the drought that caused the famine in the land...so he fled from Jezebel.
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. [1Kings 19:4]
Have you not done that? Have you not said ‘It’s enough Lord, take me home…I have failed you, I’m no better than my relatives?’ (or something along those lines?)
I have…I have been so weary as to ask
the Lord to take me home and I most certainly did not do anything near to what
Elijah did, but I have had my share of spiritual warfare and my own trials and
tribulations…yet the Lord strengthened me every time, just as He did Elijah.
Listen to others. They will say similar. Our Creator is very faithful.
There the Lord asked Elijah what he was doing there, so he spoke about throwing down Baal’s altars and slaying Jezebel’s prophets, but he felt that he alone had escaped from Jezebel. Then, the Lord not only instructed Elijah further on what He wanted him to do, but He encouraged him, when Elijah once again stated that only he alone was left. He must have felt discouraged and quite alone to repeat it twice, but the Lord said:
Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel, all
the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed
him. [1
Kings 19:18]
So the body of Christ has been warned about a test of endurance, have been told that it is the time of sealing God’s people and have been warned that the remnant in the five-fold ministry (actually, not just the five-fold, but, all of God's remnant of obedient, repentant believers - and I must add; there are wolves amongst the sheep, so, be guarded no matter who a person says they are!) and particularly the prophetic (see Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17), will not just be under attack, but that the adversary seeks to literally kill them.
Many are suddenly having serious health issues. Keep strong. It has not all been for nothing; the Lord is on our side…I share this word that He put upon my heart today. (07.14.13 - July 14, 2013)
(To God the glory alone)
How heavy is your heart, My child, for the battle has been hard and long. Hold fast to Me, for awhile longer and you shall see the victory. The time of sealing, the test of endurance belongs to the remnant who are Mine and shall endure to the end, coming through victoriously, having been well-trained by previous tests and tribulations, having been purged and purified, in the fires and through the waters.
Yea, hold fast to Me, for I AM your refuge and your strong tower. Yea, the cross is heavy when it is being carried, and excruciatingly hard to the flesh to stay upon, dying to self and all that is in the world.
Yet only after death can My resurrection power go forth to raise you up to a place where the enemy cannot touch you. Healing and restoration are in My hand. Look up, look up for your redemption draws nigh. Chaos and destruction are coming upon mankind and the world, yet I AM the one who shall create the new [Is 65:17; 66:22; Rev 21:1], when all is said and done. Keep on your armor; pray without ceasing, abide in Me and do that which I ask of you to do. (*note* 0bedience is the word that came to mind as I wrote this, and keeping a repentant heart. BP)
Great blessing is about to fall upon My obedient
children; but great judgment also is falling upon all nations and all peoples
of the earth. Yes, and the wrath of the devil, the prince of this world
is coming, but he has nothing on Me.
His wrath has been loosed for a time, yea, but he knows that his time is short. [Rev 12:12] Look to Me and abide, for I AM your strength, your wisdom, your discernment, your all in all. My peace I give you, not as the world gives, but the peace I give passes all understanding. [Phil 4:7] Let not your heart be troubled [Jn 14:1]; neither be afraid.
Glory to the Lord alone for encouraging His people,
so faithful and true is our King and Lord.
ORIGINAL POST: http://crossinthewilderness.blogspot.com/2013/07/to-weary.html
for His glory
penned by
Bonita dovesofthevalleys4@gmail.com
Addendum: I cannot sugarcoat this, or tickle ears in order to be liked or accepted. It is not about me at all. It is about the eternal destiny of souls. If you are angry at God, so be it. When we read the Holy Scriptures, we can see where others were upset and voiced their inner thoughts, struggles and lack of understanding. Job comes to mind as one example.
However, to accuse God of unrighteousness or of lies; to make His word null and void, to speak against Him with disrespect or rather, no fear of the Lord is not only blasphemous, but gross error and dangerous ground to be upon.
Repent is a word people cringe at. Why? To repent means to "change your mind" and to "turn from wickedness" (see 2 Chronicles 7, verses 14 and 15). It is love that refuses to whitewash or sugarcoat truth, in order to make it acceptable.
Jesus/Yeshua was straight-forward. He called things out as they were, yet He is the epitome of love - God is love. A parent who loves their child will not lie to them. They will also correct and discipline out of that love. Our heavenly Father does that. In fact, the family in human form is but a reflection or example of our blessed Creator, Abba, our spiritual Father.
As I said to one beloved saint, I am not a counselor, but merely an ordinary woman, a sister in Christ. Does family not speak truth to one another? If we have learned hard lessons, do we not try to help a sibling (let's say, a bro or sis in Christ) avoid some of the pitfalls we fell into? Of course we do.
We can only try, but ultimately, the final choice remains with each individual. Even our Lord does not force Himself on mankind; however, He will speak the truth about the consequences of sin and the refusal to repent and believe in and receive the Messiah Yeshua/Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The lake of fire is a reality, like it or not. See Revelation 20, verses 14 and 15.
I have had a beam in my eyes before. The removal of such can be a painful process, but so necessary. Yet, it is worth it because it is the only way I can possibly see clearly to help another who may have but a splinter to be removed.
We are told to love one another; to bear each other's burdens, to pray one for another. This is love in action, and it produces bountiful fruit. Be much blessed and know deep within, more importantly, believe deep within, YOU ARE LOVED. Repentance is a lifebuoy that will keep you from drowning in sin.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. [Ps 51:17]
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
[Ps 103:8]
Who is a God like unto you, that pardons iniquity (sin) and passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retains not his anger forever because he delights in mercy.
He will turn again; He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
[Micah 7:18,19]
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