Just a Repeat

 

Fear Not!

 Like everyone, I have known fear in my life, and for the first twenty-five years of my life, I allowed

fear to completely rule me. Fear was a constant companion of mine in childhood (which could not be helped), in my teenage years, and in my young adult years. It even followed me into adulthood for a short while. I can't say that I have overcome fear completely, but I no longer allow it to rule me. The biggest reason is because my focus has shifted, and that focus grows more acute with each day that passes. However, the most important reason for this is because of my heart's recognition of the root of fear. Yes, fear is the absence of faith, but it goes so much deeper than that - far deeper than most of us know or understand.

These are crazy times in which we live. They are also prophesied times. Satan and his minions are raging in the hearts, minds, and souls of many. He is always looking for an entry point, always looking for a weakness in us. Fear and corruption are his business, and we flawed human beings are regular cash-paying customers. We give him plenty of business and his demonic helpers are never idle on the job. So many of us think we can handle the adversity Satan dishes out on our own and we forget to call upon God for heavenly assistance. Or when we do pray, at times, it may not be with our whole heart because of fearing that our prayers won't be answered. For me personally, whenever fear was present in my heart while praying, it was defeating to my spirit, and the phrase "Thy will be done" became void. It wasn't until I learned to pray without fear of not having my prayers granted that "Thy will be done" really began to settle into my heart.

Just as Satan has completely been unleashed to rampantly spread evil in the world, so, too, has fear spread like a plague - and indeed, it IS a plague, one that is a constant struggle to fight, and sadly, it is taking over and darkening the world at an increasing pace. The adversary thrives on fear. It gives him power, and he in turn bestows that power on those he corrupts, thereby strengthening the enmity of the willing wicked against those who are striving to be righteous. He is his own government and has been enslaving minds and hearts for eons.

God is the author of faith, Satan, the author of fear. And since faith is far more powerful than fear, it stands to reason that no matter how strong the storms may rage or how many darts the adversary fires at us, if we stand with the Lord in faith, allowing Him and the hosts of heaven to do battle for us, Satan and the powers of darkness will have no place in us. AND HE WILL LOSE!

Now, some may not like what I am about to say, but I'm only writing what the Lord has impressed upon my heart for a very, very long time now, and I cannot fear what others think, so please, don't throw darts at the messenger. It's not about me. It's never been about me. It's about the Lord and His work. It's about stepping up and speaking out. It is about letting our light shine and glorifying the Lord in word, deed, and every aspect of our lives. Again, I am not judging. I judge no man, not even myself. So . . . what I need to say is simply this:

The time of separating our personal life from our professional life is over, as are the days of Sunday-only Christianity. If we are true followers of Christ in our personal life, those beliefs should merge with our professional life. So many speak of Christ at home, but are terrified to share anything about Him or even speak His name to anyone in the workplace. And I'm not talking about jumping up on an office desk, donning a robe and staff and preaching hellfire and damnation. (I love the prophets of old, but I don't think I could pull off that look, not to mention the hair! :-)) I'm talking about little opportunities that God presents us with here and there to be an example, to allow the Lord's countenance to shine though our own, to be true Christians to the best of our ability. To strive to follow in His ways in the workplace or business setting.

AND TO DO IT WITHOUT FEAR!

We are about to be tested in ways that are unimaginable. Some of us already are. And if we don't have the courage to stand as witnesses of God in whatever circumstance we may be in now, how will the Lord be able to use us to help others through the metaphorical flood? How will we have ears to hear the spiritual cries of help of others or eyes to see suffering beyond our own? How will we even hear His voice amidst the chaos?

The Lord loves us with a love beyond our understanding. I feel His love for me every day, but even I cannot grasp the magnitude of it. I pray for the day when I will, but until then, all I can do is be watchful and prayerful and try to use what gifts He has given me to glorify Him. Because as I said, it's not about me. It's about Him and His work.

May we all go forward with faith, giving no place to fear except the fear of God, and let that fear in the Lord increase and strengthen our faith.

Faith in Him is where true power lies.

Happy Sabbath!

Letting the Lord Lead

How grateful I feel to be where I am in this life - to be on the earth at this great and terrible time! This is

an amazing time to be alive! It is a time of learning, growing, strengthening, purification, and sanctification. And none of these things would be possible without the Lord's atoning sacrifice, and without His love and tender mercies. In good times and bad, I can feel His presence in my life continually. The Lord knows I would be lost without Him, and when I submit to Him fully, He always meets me where I am and places me exactly where I need to be, to enable me to grow in areas that I need growth. I know my progression is never ending and I never want to fight His will for me. I've fought that fight too many times in the past, attempting to lead Him instead of allowing Him to lead me. During those battles, the lessons were sometimes brutal, but I learned, and I will continue to do so.

I never want to run ahead of the Lord, so now, I do my best to let Him lead. His intended destination for me is far greater and far more grand than my own, and I will follow Him, no matter what valleys His path leads me through, because I know I will never have to make the journey alone.

None of us will.

Happy Sabbath!

A Sunday God

 Something I have worked on for a very long time - years actually - is living my beliefs every day,

which means worshipping God all day every day, and not relegating deep worship to Sundays only. It also means taking every opportunity placed before me to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Living the gospel is not a part-time responsibility, and we shouldn't be picking and choosing a lower level of obedience during the week and a higher level on the Sabbath. God is NOT a Sunday God. Yet how many of us treat Him as such?

The Lord, Jesus Christ doesn't just want our deep praise on Sunday only, He wants it 24/7, and with all He and the Father have done for us, that's not asking too much. It's nowhere near enough! They watch over us, care for us, and comfort us according to our needs - and righteous desires - every day of the week. God is our 24/7 God, and the Lord is our 24/7 Savior. They don't take a break in Their care for us, so why should we think we are entitled to a break from worshipping and giving praise to Them? We must draw closer to the Father and the Son all day every day. They are our Guides and the roadmap to eternal salvation. The Lord is the way through the mounting tribulations, and walking in His path will lead us back to the Father.

"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." ~Isaiah 12:2

This scripture describes exactly, the feelings I strive to keep in my heart at all times and in all things and in all places. And though I am a flawed human being and fail constantly, exaltation and a permanent place with my Savior is my goal and I can settle for no less. Even the thought of not obtaining that indescribable freedom pains me greatly. So I choose to stay focused.

I pray that we will also stay focused and make every day a day of worship, and always put the Lord first.

Happy Sabbath! :-)

Glory in Persecution

 We have been taught that the days would come when Christians will be persecuted for their

beliefs, no matter their Christian religion, and they have. Christians have been persecuted in some countries for decades, and even longer, but in far worse ways than we can imagine. In the U.S., my own religion has seen much persecution in the past, and though it slackened through the years, it never truly stopped. But neither has the Lord's work.

However, there is a persecution problem going on now that should never be.

Sadly, that problem is Christians persecuting other Christians.

To call ourselves true Christians means we are followers of Jesus Christ. It means we believe in Christ, we worship Him, and we look on Him as our Savior and Redeemer. It means that, though we aren't perfect, we are devoted to walking in His ways and obeying His commandments.

I can't help wondering what Christ thinks when He witnesses religions that are supposedly Christian bashing each other because of differences in our beliefs. This is the time when Christians - no matter our beliefs - need to be drawing closer and supporting one another, not in judgement or persecution, but in love. We should be united in our mutual love for the Savior, and that love should carry over to each other. When we persecute one another, we are allowing Satan to use us in his attempt to thwart the work of the Lord, thereby casting aside the influence of the Lord's spirit in our lives.

The day is fast approaching when EVERY knew will bow and EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ. I pray that it will not be a day of grudging, but one of pure realization that we are all Children of God, and we are all loved beyond measure.

The Lord is in charge and He will judge accordingly. How grateful I am for that!

To Be His Bride

 Over the past while, I have learned so much about what it truly means to be the "Bride of Christ" and

what it means to fall completely and irrevocably in Love with the Lord - to fall so in love with Him that He and the Father have become the center of everything in my life. I tell the Lord frequently, "I love You so much, and I want to be completely lost in You. I want my whole heart to belong to You. Please hold me close and don't ever let me go."

That is how I feel every minute of the day!

In Hebrew marriages, when the groom's offer is accepted by the woman, she then becomes his bride. Once that happens, she is no longer of her old house. She prepares herself, says goodbye to her old life, and gets ready to move on to a better home.

She is called the Shalom Bride. She has been brought up to one day leave the house she was raised in for a new permanent home, forever attaching herself to the groom.

When we say goodbye to Babylon and the things of the world, we are accepting the bride price the Lord has offered - and paid - and we are preparing ourselves for the coming of the Bridegroom. We are preparing ourselves for our marriage to Him, and the world is no longer our home. When He finally arrives, the marriage will take place and we will be taken to a far better home, one that is more glorious than we can imagine.

But are we truly ready to say goodbye to the things of this world?

Are we willing to say goodbye to our worldly aspirations, our old self, our egos? Are we willing to let go of pride, vain and foolish traditions, worldly possessions, and desires of the flesh? Can we leave worldly burdens behind and let go of our past life. We MUST let go of all of these things in order to fully accept the price that the Savior has paid for us.

To fully accept Him, we must turn away from everything that is not of Him. We must turn away and never look back. We must long for the Lord more than we've longed for anything. Only the things of Him should be precious to us. Only the things that lead us to Him should we treasure.

In Hebrew, not only does shalom mean goodbye, it means hello, too! And every time we say goodbye to things of this world, we are saying hello to the things of heaven. Each and every worldly thing we let go makes room for bridal gifts that the Lord is just waiting to give us when He comes for US, His bride.

And oh, how I long for, and look forward to, my wedding day!

Happy Sabbath!

The Price of Cruel Judgments

During this time of trial (which is only the beginning) I have learned something very

important. It is that everyone has a strong opinion about things that we know far less about than we think. Also, it seems that every one of us thinks that his or her opinion is of utmost important, and only our opinion is right while others are wrong, unless . . . they agree or coincide with our own somewhat.

Because of this, judgments abound, and in the process of delegating truths and errors when it comes to the narrative that is being spoon-fed to the masses, we are placing ourselves in the seat of judgment and relegating the TRUE JUDGE to the back of the FRUITFUL TREE in the pasture while we take our place in the great and spacious building, pointing our finger and laughing at those seeking shelter beneath that TREE.

Why are we doing this to each other? Why are we allowing this separation to occur among us? We are children of a King, royal sons and daughters of God, yet our actions are anything but.

Over the last few weeks, I have seen and heard things and witnessed actions among God’s people that have literally broken my heart. How far we have fallen in six months’ time! How wide the division has grown, and how deeply planted the seeds of contention have been sown! The roots as so embedded that only the Master of the Vineyard will be able to dig them up.

Oh, how I pray to never be a part of the resulting crop of tares that is plucked up and cast

out to be destroyed! And how I long to be bundled in with the precious wheat, to be safely stored up for the Master’s use. This is an endless prayer I carry inside for myself, my family, and all my brothers and sisters of every religion.

I wish with all my heart and every fiber of my being that we could all glimpse the big picture, that we could all catch the vision of the beautiful masterpiece we are a part of.

As I mentioned in my previous posts, God is not the author of contention, and as soon as we allow contention to enter our daily dealings, the Spirit leaves. Once we allow that to happen on our end, we truly don’t have anything solid to stand on to justify our reasons for giving it entrance, nor any power from the Lord when pleading our case. Whenever contention seeps into our hearts, it manifests itself in our thoughts, words, and deeds. So, in essence, the BEST thing we can do is to pluck the seeds of contention before they take root.

I have spent many a night lately crying myself to sleep and praying–crying and praying for my family, for friends, and for my fellow church members, as well as all my brothers and sisters in Christ. The time of preparation is shortening by the day, and instead of using this time to point fingers and betray our neighbors in hasty judgments and criticism, we should be anxiously engaged in spiritual preparation and doing all we can to get our ducks in a row and get right with God.

Because in the end, the opinions and judgments of man won’t matter; they never should have mattered in the first place.

If we have a heart for the Lord, it is Him and only Him, that we will look on as our judge, for He will indeed be our judge, jury, and executioner.

And I pray that the last role will not be needed in my life, or yours.

Much love to you all 