Have You Polished Your Armor Lately?

I know that I am taking a departure from the "Love Letters" that I have been writing, but this week, as I have been reading the Word, I was reminded that God has given us every tool we need to fight against the "powers of darkness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6)." 

Take Gideon (Judges 6-7), God called him a mighty man of valor and told him that he would defeat the Midianites and the other nations round about them that had been besieging them for years. Gideon called for men fron the tribes of Manasseh, Asher, Zebulon, and Naphtali to come stand with him to fight their invaders. Thirty-two thousand men came.  But God said there were too many for them to know that He had given them the victory. So Gideon told all who were fearful, or anxious to go home. Twenty-two thousand left, but God Still said there were too many. So He had them all go to the stream that they were camped near and told Gideon to watch how they drank from the stream. If they brought their hands to their mouths, being watchful of their surroundings,  they were His chosen warriors.

 There were 300 who drank as God had chosen, so He told Gideon to send the rest home; and he did. But then he thought maybe God had it wrong ... that he didn't have enough men, or experience,  or the right tools. Whatever his doubts were, he had them in spades.

But God had instilled fear in the hearts of the Midianite army and He wanted Gideon to know it. So He sent Gideon down to the edge of the opposing army to listen as they spoke of their dreams.  God showed Gideon their fear and told him how his army of 300 men would win the battle in His power and might. Now Israel knows that God had fought for them. 

Let's take look at Moses (Exodus 4), he doubted that he was the man God needed to send to lead Israel out of Egypt. But God told him to look at what he held in his hand. God transformed the staff of an ordinary shepherd into a tool of wonderous, heavenly signs. 

God gave each of these men, and every other man of God throughout the Bible, exactly the tools and encouragement they needed to accomplish what He had called them to do ... and He does the same for us, too.

For us, God has gifted us His armor as our protective, offensive and defensive,  weapons (Ephesians 6:10-20).  Let's read this passage in the Complete Jewish Bible;

"Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with His mighty strength! Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary.  For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing.

"Therefore, stand! Having the belt of truth buckled around your waist, put righteousness for a breastplate, and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from The Good News of shalom. Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is the (spoken) Word of God; as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently,  for all of God's people.

"And pray for me, too, that whenever I open my mouth, the words will be given to me to be bold in making known the secret of the God's News, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may speak boldly, the way I should.

The apostle Paul told us that God has given us every weapon that we would need to stand against the devil and take from him what he has stolen from us ... our Heavenly Armor. When we are instructed to do so, we put our armor on. And we are never told to take it off. But have you polished your armor lately???

When we look at armies down through the ages, we see that every soldier keeps his weapons and protective gear in good repair. And yet, I don't think I have ever thought, even once, that I should be keeping my Heavenly Armor clean, polished and in good working order. God showed me this when He asked me this morning, "Have you polished your armor lately?" I had to truthfully answer, "no."

So, how do we polish our Heavenly Armor ... how do we keep it in good repair? 

What came to my mind are the following ways to "polish" our armor:

    Belt of truth -Look at the picture of the belt that Roman soldiers wore. See how they added the protective covering to their private parts? In most ancient cultures children were not just the outcome of a marital union, they were a sign that their gods had blessed them, so they protected that which was important to their survival. God wants us to surround ourselves with His truth, like a belt around our waist. He desires that there be no deception in or around us. When we practice being truthful in all things and avoiding deception in all we do and say, we are polishing our Belt of Truth. Not only that, but we, as His children, are His most important heritage, just as children were in ancient times.

    Breastplate of Righteousness - Righteousness is being in right standing or relationship with God. Having His righteousness as our breastplate, covering and protecting our heart, means that we are totally focused on living our lives sold out for Jesus and dwelling under the shadow of His wings, as Psalm 91 states;

"When you abide under the shadow of El Shaddai, you are hidden in the strength of God Most High. He's the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence. He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, and He will protect you from every false accusation and deadly curse. His massive arms are wrapped around you,, protecting you. You can run under His covering of majesty and hide. His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm. Psalm 91:1-4. So living IS keeping His righteousness clean and polished.

    Readiness of the Gospel of His Shalom - although the KJV says peace, but the Hebrew word Shalom has more depth to it than what we give to the word peace.  Shalom means nothing missing, to that is added the authority that abolishes all chaos ... all destruction. So having our feet covered in His perfect Shalom prepares us to walk out prepared for the work He has called us to do. That said, keeping our shoes of His Shalom polished and in good repair is to keep His instruction and walk in His ways. Leviticus 26:3-6 Amplified Bible, says, 

"If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and (obediently) do them, then I will give you rain in its season, and the land will yield her produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. And your threshing season will last until the grape gathering and the grape gathering (time) will last until planting, and you will eat your bread and be filled and live securely in your land. I will also grant peace (Shalom) in the land, and no sword will pass through your land."

    Shield of trust (faith) - Ultimately, faith in God is Trusting Him with our lives. If we trusted Jesus enough to ask for His salvation,  shouldn't we trust Him to shield us from all of the enemy's attacks? To keep us safe and alive? So how do we keep our trust in Him "bullet proof?" Romans 10:17, Amplified Bible, says;

"So faith (trust) comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ."

The more we hear spoken of Jesus, the more our faith - our trust in Him - grows. So keeping our trust strong requires that we sit at the feet of a teacher who speaks God's Word  ... who preaches accurately of Jesus our Savior and all that He did and said.

Helmet of Salvation - I love this imagery, our salvation covers our head - our ears, minds,  eyes, etc.- this tells me that God wants to guard our thoughts, what we see and what we hear with His loving care for us, sealed with the blood of His salvation. So how do we shine up our helmets? How do we knock out the dents from Satan's attacks We? We give Him thanks and praise for what He accomplished on the cross with His shed blood ... continuously. Our praise, adoration and thanksgiving let the Lord know what we think of Him and strengthens our helmets.

    The Sword of the Spirit - This is the Rehma, the spoken Word of God. Remember when we looked at the Shield of Trust (Faith)? We learned that trust is built by hearing God's Word.  So of we speak His Word into situations, then we are also hearing His Word. Thus building up our trust and also shining up and sharpening our swords. 

    All Prayer for God's people  - Prayer is the tie that binds all of our armor in place and together. Praying constantly covers us with His grace and protection, giving us Holy Boldness. Continuously praying is how we keep this weapon sharp and in good repair. 

So, now that we have looked at proper care for our God given armor, if we do these things we will be better prepared to stand our ground - and take back ground from - the forces of evil who are working to destroy this world.

Did you notice that there is no piece of armor that covers your back? This is because He has designed it so that another brother or sister stands back to back with you in the fight.  Literally having your back!

Did you also notice that most of our armor is defensive in nature? Only His spoken Word and Prayer are offensive weapons. And prayer works both offensively and defensively.  

So polish up your armor and stand strong ... fighting in the power of His Might!

Until next time, 

Leigh

Love Letters - Letter 5

Dear Lord, 

I give You praise and thanks for all that You teach me. Just this morning You showed me new things, things I had never seen and known before, in Your Word.

In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul is telling them that their (our) boasting is fruitless, it accomplishes nothing. 

On this same subject, the prophet Jeremiah said, 

  "... instead,  let the boaster boast about this: that he understands and knows Me - that I am Adonai,   practicing grace, justice and righteousness in the land; for in these things I take pleasure, " says   Adonai. " Jeremiah 9:24 CJB.

I like the way the Message Bible puts it, but let's start at verse 23. "God's message: 'Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don't let heroes brag of their exploits. Don't let the rich brag of their riches. If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you know Me. I'm God, and I act in loyal love. I do what's right and set things right and fair, and I delight in those who do the same things. 

These are My trademarks.' God's Decree."

This was an eye-opener,  Lord. But another eye opening thing of note is that too many of us are trying to walk out in Your strength using someone else's giftings ... wearing someone else's armor. But You have made us each uniquely and given us equally unique gifts all of our own. Why would we want to try using what You have clearly given to someone else? Maybe it is because we are weak in the area that You would choose to use and gift us in. 

David understood that he could not fight Your battle wearing Saul's armor. It didn't fit him as it wasn't made for him. Not only didn't it fit, but he wasn't used to wearing armor ... he was used to walking out to fight his enemies with You to protect him.  He knew You were a better covering than any man made armor. David also understood what Paul taught the Corinthians,

 " ... but He told me, 'My grace is enough for you, for My power is brought to perfection in weakness.' Therefore, I am very happy to boast about my weaknesses, in order that Messiah's power will rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 CJB

HOW AWESOME, to know that we can trust that Your power will rest upon us when we acknowledge our weaknesses and trust in You for our protection.

I love that You do this for us!

Your Loving Daughter, 

Leigh

Love Letters to the Lord - Letter 4

 

Dear Lord,

I love it when You teach me new thing in scripture passages that are familiar to me. This morning, You took me to Matthew chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount. 

I always thought that when You spoke about the many different "blessed areas" that they were many different types of people and the things that made them blessed in Your sight. But, this morning, I saw a different way - probably the very way - that You intended us to view these blessed people. This passage is Your portrait of how You view ALL of your children ... how You want us to view ourselves. They aren't many different people, but different aspects - different facets - You intend each of us to exhibit. So Lord, I want to quote back to You showed me that I could and should be.

Matthew 5:1-13 - as I read it;

 When Y'shua saw that His teachings were drawing large crowds, He and His disciples climbed up a hillside. When He reached a natural amphitheater dotted with trees, He sat down and taught all that had followed Him there. This is what He taught:

 When you have reached a spiritual drought, remember that you can be joyful, filled with the Joy of the Lord; because when you have run out of options, God will show you His Kingdom plan for that moment.

 When you are mourning the loss of a loved one, remember that, even now, you can be full of My Joy; because you will always have The One you love most there to wrap His arms around you and your arms around HIm in your sorrow.

 When you have found your contentment in Me, you are filled with My Joy; for you have found your balance point for a Spirit-filled life ... a life filled with My plans, My purposes and the Fruit of My Spirit flowing out from your daily walk.

 When you are continuously hungry for more of My Righteousness ... more of Me, when you thirst for deeper wells of My peace - for the New Wine of My Spirit, you are filled with My joy; for only I can satisfy your desires for more. And satisfy you, I will!

 When you express My tender mercy and loving kindness, you are filled with My Joy; for you know that I have showered My loving kindness and mercy on you, and I will continue to do so and you do likewise.

 When you teach others to walk in My perfect Shalom (a life without chaos, that lacks nothing), you are filled with My Joy; for those around you will see that you are truly a child of The King - My child.

 When you are persecuted for doing what is Right, remember that you can be filled with My Joy; for you are living in My Kingdom here and now on this earth. Your commitment to My Ways through the hard times drives you long for more closeness to Me and My Kingdom.

 Be filled with My Joy whenever you are put down, when others - who are outside the Family - throw you out, slander your character speaking all kinds of evil about you because of your love for Me. Jump for Joy, because I will reward you greatly for all of your faithfulness. Remember that al of the prophets were also treated like this, so you are in fine company.

 You, My children, are the salt that seasons the lives around you, that bring them robust flavor. When you lose sight of all the ways that you can find My Joy, you actually become tasteless; how can that flavor be returned to your life? Life without the flavor you can bring to it is worthless; it will cause you be thrown out into the street for those around you to trampled upon. So find your TRUE Joy in Me and keep your focus - keep your eyes centered on ME!

Lord, thank You for showing me how I should be looking at life to find Your Joy. Help me to live in it as I walk through my daily life ... today, tomorrow and Always.

Your loving daughter,

Leigh

Love Letters to the Lord - Letter 3

Dear Lord,

In the Garden of Eden, when You created mankind, You made us keepers of the Garden. That word keeper is the same Hebrew word translated as protector and watchman. This position of "keeper" was to cover the whole of Your creation, as You gave us dominion over them when You asked Adam to name them. This dominion was Your Kingdom authority to watch over the earth and all of it's inhabitants. It must have grieved You greatly when he gave it all away in that moment that he sinned their in that Garden of Your creation.

I am so glad that You made a Way for us to regain that position of authority when You gave us Jesus. When He died upon the cross and rose from the dead, He took back from Satan the keys of authority that You had given to Adam in the Garden. 

Jesus, when He taught His disciples to pray in what we call the Lord's Prayer, taught them to call forth Your Kingdom to be here on earth. Then on the day of Pentecost, You gave them the power they needed to wield Your authority once more here on earth. But we, the church in this day, are so lacking in Your authority.  We need to learn these lessons that the first disciples learned.

Lord, teach us to pray with Your authority.  Fill us to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit, so that we can take our place of dominion over Your creation.

I thank You that I have recently learned that the word translated in th Bible as "church" is the Greek word ekklesia. It does not mean what so long I have thought it meant ... it really means a seat- or place - of government. You meant for us - Your body -  to govern, or take dominion over, Your creation. And this we do with our prayers. We are the watchmen on the wall that the prophet Ezekiel called for in Isreal so long ago. A modern day prophet like Ezekiel, Dutch Sheets, has lifted up this "call to arms" to the church in this hour. And we are here, as Esther of old, "for such a time as this." Let us pray with her, "if I perish, I perish." But let us stand in the gap for this nation, America, and ALL of Your creation.

Lord, You gave a word in service last Sunday that I know You meant for a wider audience than just our congregation,  so I will share it here,

As we were singing I could hear the Lord saying, you want to see my kingdom come. You want to see the walls break down. But you are my kingdom. You are my presence here on Earth, and you're holding on to the walls you stay within them like they protect you, but I protect you. You have to break out of this place, you have to walk forth, and share my kingdom in this world. You are my presence and my kingdom cannot go out unless you go out, you go out, take my glory with you everywhere you go, present my word to others. Everywhere you go and heaven will come down, but it will not come unless you break out and walk out in faith.

Lord, thank You for this calling You have placed on Your body. May we be faithful to walk out in it!

Your daughter,

Leigh

Love Lerrers to the Lord - Letter 2

Dear Lord, 

As You know, this morning,  as a part of my time spent with You, I was reading Psalms 23. This is among my favorites, as it teaches us our position in You and where Satan sits ... just beyond and below us, but still within sight of Your bountiful table. It is beautiful and I love the imagery.  

But I felt that there was something more You wanted me to see within its lines. So I reread it in a different translation  - the Passion Translation  [TPT]. I found it so rich that I wanted to quote it back to You here.

1. The Lord is my Best Friend and Shepherd.  I always have more than enough.

2. He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love.

His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.

3. That's where He restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God's pleasure and leads me along in His footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to His name.

4. Lord, even when Your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness,  fear will never conquer me, for You lead me through it all the way.

Your authority is my strength and my peace (shalom). The comfort of Your love takes away my fear. I'll never be lonely, for You are near.

5. You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of Your Holy Spirit; You give me all I can drink of You until my heart overflows. 

6. So why should I fear the future? For Your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. 

Then afterward,  when my life is through, I'll return to Your glorious presence to be forever with You.

How awesome is this picture, Lord. I found it really bringing depth to my understanding of this Psalm I have always loved.

In verse 4, I  added shalom in parentheses as it means so much more than we think of when we say peace. It means total order and absence of chaos. So often I have forgotten that You remove chaos from our lives that I just wallow in it. But You are my peace which passes ALL understanding. 

Thank You, Lord!

Your daughter, 

Leigh 

Love Letters to The Lord * Love Letter No. 1

 

Dear Lord,

I thank you for your amazing love and grace.

As I read in Matthew 14:22 - 23 and in Luke 5: 12 - 16, I see where you went away by yourself - even leaving your disciples behind  - to spend time with the Father. So Lord, as I long to be as close to You as You were to Your Father, I choose to spend time alone with You as often as I can. Continue to hide me under the shadow of Your wings ... in Your most secret of hiding places, yet never afraid to venture forth to bring others alongside as I journey to the High Places of Your Kingdom.

Let us be ever vigilant to bring Your Kingdom to this earth so that others may see what we have and long to join us.

I  sing of Your wonderous love and mercy as I read through Psalms 91, longing to dwell in Your secret places.

From under the shelter of Your wings,

Your daughter,

Leigh

New for this Season ... this New Year we have barely begun

 OK if you are on of my Facebook friends, then you may have read that I feel lead of the Lord to share with you some of the Love Letters to the Lord that I write during my daily devotions. This Sharing starts today. Will this go through the whole year? Will there be a new "Letter" everyday? I don't know, only our Father knows the plans He has for this. So I will follow His leading and we will learn together just where all of this will go.

For the remainder of February I am participating with a group of Christian women in a study on Discernment. Today's reading was from 1 Kings 3:3-14, where God comes to Solomon in a dream and asks what he wants from God's hand. I loved the answer he gave God as it is written in The Message Bible in verse 9 of this passage. It reads,

“Here’s what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?”

This is my prayer for myself and for each of my followers. Let us all seek a "God-listening heart."

Walk with me and read the letters that I write to the Lord, seeking to learn more of Him as we journey together.

The War May Be Won, But the Battle is NOT Over. Jesus Wins - I've Read The End of The Book

 

That said, watch this video and be encouraged!

God is About to Clean House ... His Church and Our Nation's Government

 

As we know, we are in the battle of our spiritual lives and the life of our nation. America was built on the faith of our fore fathers. They made covenants with God as to how this country would be run. But over the last 100+ years we have fallen short. WAY Short, of our covenant with Him. But God has a remnant within His body of believers who are willing to stand strong in Him and do all that is required to bring this nation back to our beginnings.

It is for that remnant that He gave us His promise of Isaiah 41:13-16;

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, 'fear not, I will help you.' 

"Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Isreal! I will help you," says the Lord and your Redeemer, the Holy one of Isreal. "Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountians and beat them small, and make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; You shall rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Isreal.

 Now the right hand is representative of strength, honor, righteousness, and power. God, Himself, is promising here to stand behind us and empower us with His Strength, His Power, and His Righteousness as we do battle in this spiritual warfare in and for our nation, its people and its government.

As God called Cyrus before he was born, in Isaiah 45, to bring His judgement upon Babylon, He has called Trump and his legal teams to bring His judgement on our nation's government, the media and all of those who stand in opposition to Him. And He is calling His church to stand in faith believing that He is Sovereign.

In our church service yesterday, He gave us a word - which I posted on Facebook - to come sit at His feet and be refreshed as the battle is not yet over. In Psalms 23:5 He showed us how He would refresh us in the presence of our enemies. So come and be refreshed so that you can stand firm in Him. He has set the table of our refreshing, our revitalizing in Him ... right in front of ALL who would oppose Him, anointing us with the presence of the Holy Spirit until it overflows our beings and pours out upon and into the lives of those around us. This is the preparation He is giving us for the next wave of this battle. And when we have been prepared, He is calling us to stand firm in Him ...

"... And having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth (God's Word) having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of Salvationand the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverence and supplication for all the saints ..." Ephesians 6:13b-18 NKJV

 Be encouraged, for Christ is our Victory and He has already won the battle. Lamentations 3:21-31 says that His mercies are new every morning and that He is good to those who seek Him. So we can take encouragement from these words of the prophet Jeremiah as we seek to do the will of the Lord. But remember  there are many who may stand with us in the good times, but will walk away when times get rough. Jesus said;

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

So do not be discouraged if it seems that you stand alone ... you are not alone. As Elisha said in 2 Kings 6:16-17;

 

 "... Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than who are with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha ..."

These same horses and chariots of fire stand with us today as we battle the enemies of the Lord in our nation. So take courage, the army of the Lord is MIGHTY!

 

Election 2020 Choices

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 NKJV.

In about two weeks our country, the U.S.A., is to elect a President that will lead us forward into the future. So how are we to decide who to vote for? Democrat or Republican? Politician or Businessman? Rich man or poor? For the Believer, these truly matter not. For there is only one issue that matters when we go to the poles. It is the issue of life or death.

Long ago, as I began my adult career, a nation whose eyes had been blinded with free love, drugs, feminism and the “counter-culture” lie began searching for ways to lessen our responsibilities. So we voted in Roe vs Wade, giving mothers a legal way to kill off their young before they were even born. Thus ridding us of our duty to cherish and protect our most vulnerable citizens; our unborn children.

Now God is calling each us to repent of this sin, our own contributing and our nation's. He is also calling us to take this abominable law off the books, and to protect the lives of our nation's unborn children.

God told the children of Israel that they were not to worship the gods of the Canaanites, the people He had removed from the promised land when He gave it to Israel as their inheritance. These foreign gods – false gods - one of which was Molech – or Moloch in some Bible translations – required their worshipers to sacrifice their children by fire in order to be blessed with fertility of the land and the Canaanite women. Abortion is Satan's newest twist on the worship of Molech. And we have fallen into his trap. But God has called us out. Out of our bondage to the sin of abortion. Out of our comfort zones. And into His Marvelous Light and Life. Into His family and into His service. But it is a service of Love; His Love for us and our love for Him.

If we disregard this call to action for the body of Christ, this call to vote for life and life alone, we may well loose out on the abundant life God has promised to those who love Him. For we will be letting down the most vulnerable of our citizens once again … our unborn.

My pastor, Eddie Reed, brought this message home to us yesterday as He shared what the Lord had been telling him throughout the week last week. I have paraphrased what he shared from my notes on his sermon yesterday.

    ...We, in this country, are at a crossroads moments in our lives. We will never pass this way     again. We are being faced with THE life and death choice. The “Right to Life” or “Choice” of     death. If life is not chosen at this time, those not choosing life will not be saved. For their     hearts will have been seared … hardened to the point that they will not come back to a place of     repentance. They will have become as Pharaoh of old.

After making this statement he read this passage in Romans:

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Therefore you are inexcusable (too bad to be justified or tolerated), O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. Romans 1:24-2:1 NKJV

Several times throughout his sermon he said, “This is not a Political decision, it is a life and death decision.” And he is right. It is NOT a political decision. It is a spiritual decision. It is basically the same decision that Joshua gave children of Israel at the end of his life:

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14, 15 NKJV.

So, let Him shake up your life and your focus. Focus on Him and what He would have you to do. And Let Him Lead. Look over each of the candidates on your ballot for the upcoming election. Research their stand on the issue of life and death. And choose life. Vote ONLY for candidates who support life.

So today I ask: “Whom will you serve? What will you serve? Will you serve life or death?

Choose Life!

A Note to the Worshipers:

 While in church on August 30th, the Lord spoke a message in my ear for those who would worship Him. While this message may seem a little harsh, to begin with, I know that it was a word timely given the I, one who would aspire to be a true worshiper, needed to hear. And yesterday morning in church, He said that it was time for me to share it with all of you. So here goes:

    "You say that I am your God. And yet you stand ... worshiping from afar. Are you embarrassed by Me?  Or on My Behalf?"

    "Standing in the distance, even making a show of your worship is NOT true worship. It is a lie. my true disciples LOVE to stand in My presence worshiping. Up close ... under the shadow of my tallith. As Psalms 91 declares, I AM their dwelling place."

    "If you truly love Me, draw near to Me. I have your place already prepared here in My arms, upon My lap, hidden within the shadow of My wings."

    "Sing praises to Me with your whole heart and a loud voice, in Spirit and in Truth as I have told you from the very beginning. For I love you! Did I not die so that you could live ... and live in My abundance?"

 

  "Child, you are forgiven! I have covered it ALL with My shed blood ... just for YOU. Come close, so that I may breathe into you life anew in Me ... and Stand In My Presence Evermore; with your heart filled to overflowing with songs of Praise and Deliverance ... Songs of True Worship.

    "And all of My Holy Angels will sing with you."

God Is ...

God is my Provider, not my taskmaster.

God is my Abba Father that shares His Loving-Kindness, 

not the backside of His hand in anger.

My God is a rewarder of those who diligently Seek and Serve Him, 

not an employer that pays me wages of hardship.

He is the Truth that whispers in my ears.

He is the Light that illuminates all that is darkness, 

and Lights up my day and my night.

He is the Way ... the very path on which I tread.

He is the Song that stirs my soul; 

the Music that I sing in the night watch.

He is the very Air that I breathe …

The Living Water that flows through me …

The Spirit that He pours out onto all those that I come across …

He is Y’shua Messiah ...

He is Lord!

~*~

Doing Our Part

Last time we met here, I shared how I felt that God was calling us to pray for a "Fresh Wind" of His Spirit to blow through our country and the world. And I know that He will do just that but first, we have to our part.

I don't know if you know this but all except one of God's covenants with mankind has two parts; the part that God will do for us to ratify the contract and the part that we are required to do to complete that ratification process. In 2 Chronicles 7 when Solomon is making sacrifices as the Temple was being sanctified God tells Solomon that He will heal their land. But first His children must do their part in order to show Him they are willing to serve Him unconditionally. I believe that He is calling us to renew this covenant with Him today.

God is ready, willing and able to heal 'our land,' our country and the world, but He requires some action on our part in order to do so. We can find it in the passage I was speaking of in 2 Chronicles.

II Chronicles 7:12b-14 (One New Man Bible):
I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself for a House of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven so there is no rain, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people: If My people, who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I shall hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

We in the body of Christ have sinned by allowing our government to legalize the killing of our children in abortion. In doing so, we have stood beside them in allowing the shedding of innocent blood. Though we were not aware, by doing so we have paid tribute to the pagan gods of Molech and Chemosh. So the Lord has allowed the pestilence of the Coronavirus to become the pandemic that it is throughout our land and around the world.



If we continue to do nothing to stop this bloodshed, we will stand beside all those who have shed this blood ... the parents and other family members that have allowed it as well as the medical personnel who have actually taken those lives. I know this as my pastor, Eddie Reed of Living Stones Community Church in Shelbyville, TN, received a very difficult word of the Lord for the church the end of March. I will summarize it for you here:

     Until we as a nation stop abortion, I - the Lord - will continue shaking the land. There will be wave after wave of disease, natural disasters, pestilence, etc. For the land cannot be healed until this blood stops flowing. It continuously cries out to Me. Pray and repent ... repent for the shedding of this innocent blood.

For too long we have grown comfortable and complacent in our walk with the Lord. We have quit seeing what is happening in the spiritual realm - the 'real world' - and kept our focus on the physical, yet temporary world. But Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians that we are focusing on the wrong things.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NKJV:
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not (should not*) look at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

We must regain our focus on what is important in God's eyes. We must regain our sight of the invisible world ... the eternal world. We must also humble ourselves, seek the face of God with our whole hearts, and pray for this shedding of innocent blood to stop and stop NOW. For God has commanded it. and He will continue to punish us with the plagues He brought against Egypt if we continue down this path our country is currently traveling on.

God sent our forefathers here for the same reason that He delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, so that we could worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. This nation was founded in order to allow us the freedom to worship Him. But if we do not change our ways, we will have thrown away one of, if not the most important, of our God-given rights.

Get back on track with the Lord; Repent, humble yourself, pray and seek God's face, ask Him what your part is in ending abortion and do it. 1and look for His invisible realm. It is far more real than this physical world that we live in ... for it is eternal!



*Words in parenthesis I have added for clarity.

A Fresh Wind

This morning, as I was spending time with the Lord, I was listening to this video: This is a Move Video and praying. One of the vocalists in this video started prophesying that a Fresh Wind blow through us.

 As I prayed, I felt lead to pray for a Fresh Wind of God, A burst of His Breath ... His Spirit to blow through our nation and the world.

I prayed that this Breath of God would blow into the lives of His children; to blow upon the flame of His Spirit that lives within each and every believer to revive and renew within us our 'first love,' our love for Him and all of His ways. To bring Revival within the church that would blow out across the country and throughout the world.

I also prayed that this Fresh Wind of His Spirit would blow out the Coronavirus. To blow it out of existence in our country and around the world; ridding each nation ... each person from this disease and all of its side effects.

We as the church need to stand united in prayer for our communities, our nation and the world for a drastic move of God to blow through. We need this Fresh Wind. We need this unity. We need this revival and we need relief from this attack of the enemy of our souls. For this is what the Covid-19 pandemic is. It is not just attacking our bodies, it is attacking the hope of believers ... our faith in God and filling us with fear.

But we are told in 2 Timothy 1:6-7 NKJV, 'Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.'

So Stand in Unity, Trust in God, and His Word and pray for a Fresh Wind ... a Fresh Breath of His Spirit to blow through and reignite His Spirit within each believer bringing revival in the church as a whole and throughout the world. Cleansing it from this virus and putting the enemy in his place. For he is a defeated foe. That defeat came at Calvary. 

Yet sometimes we forget that Salvation gave us back our authority that God gave mankind in His garden in the very beginning. So please listen to this video  Then take your authority in Christ Jesus and stand united in faith and in prayer believing. For we have won this war!

Journey to the Cross and Beyond

*All Scripture herein is quoted from the One New Mine Bible.

On Friday, May 3, 2019, as I was having my appointed time with the Lord, He opened my eyes to a new view of our walk in Christ. He has shown me that Salvation is a journey and not a destination. So walk with me as I share with you this Journey to the Cross and Beyond.

All of mankind has been in bondage in a spiritual Egypt of the soul since the fall of Adam and Eve in God’s Garden. Each of us is shackled by those things which keep us from knowing, serving, and loving Our God. Yet, deep in our heart of hearts, there is a small remembrance of God, even if we have never heard of Him or His boundless Love and Grace.

One day, as we are going about our normal lives, we may find we are in need of someone to rescue us, so we begin seeking as we hope for release from our sorrow and despair. We hear of God’s mighty acts and matchless love. This brings us to a crossroads, a choice to make a change in our lives, and we begin to trust. He has taken us from Egypt and started us down the pathway to Calvary.

But our faith in Him is weak and we may wander from His path into the Desert of Sin. This is a barren land, lifeless and dry. It contains many pitfalls and fills our hearts with dread and fear. Thus wandering therein we drag around the chains of our past, even though God has broken the locks asunder in order to release us from them. But there is a mountain on the horizon … it is Sinai.

Gradually we come to the foot of that mount and learn of our sin as God’s law opens our eyes. Having found some rest and relief in this new knowledge, we long to continue our Journey to The Promised Land, that Eternal Garden of God. So off we trod once more.

On this journey there are many hills and valleys and a few places which seem barren and lifeless. As we travel we find that time spent in the valleys are times of spiritual growth, for the watering of God’s Holy Spirit floods through our souls. As we leave the valley, we ascend to the mountain heights. Once above the trees, beyond the rivers of life, we find hardships on the way to the summit; rocks and downed trees which block the path and pits that we must find a way across or around, each with their lessons to learn. The tallest of these mounts we all must climb; for it is Golgotha, the place of Jesus’ cross. It is here that we make the most important choice of our lives. That choice is to leave behind the sins of our past and all of the burdens that we carry, everything that hinders our walk with Jesus, at the foot of His cross and continue on in His life everlasting.

Once we have laid down those sins and burdens, we pick up Jesus’ cross. We never walk alone, nor do we carry His cross by ourselves; for He walks beside us, carrying the biggest share of the load. We can read this in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Though we are not physically in God’s Eternal Promised Land, we are allowed entrance to it within our spirit. We can experience its reality therein whenever we choose. This is done when we lift our voices in praise and worship the Lord, as the Psalmist noted in Psalm 100:4, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; and bless His name!” For when we are saved, He begins within us and we in Him. There He will remain in residence unless we choose to walk away from Him and in the wilderness; leaving Him outside our hearts and lives. For He has promised in Hebrews 13:5 b, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Since I allowed Jesus into my life, I have wandered from Him many times. Yet after each season of wandering, I have once again climbed Calvary, repented of my sin, laid my burdens at Jesus' feet and taken again my place beside Him, carrying is cross, yes sharing His yoke, once more. Allowing Him to share all of my thoughts and fears. He once again gave me His rest and renewed His Spirit within me.

Today I long to stay on His Heavenly Highway, though I often make time along the way to climb Mount Zion, entering into His Heavenly Temple/Throne Room to give Him praise. This is the place in which King David danced in worship before the Lord in his complete praise and adoration of Him as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem and into its new tabernacle on Mount Zion (2 Samuel chapter 6).

To recap, we each start out in bondage to our sin. We learn of our sin at the foot of Mount Sinai where we learn of God, His law and our sin. After we climb Mount Calvary lay down our sin at the foot of His cross and enter into His rest, His spiritual Promised Land, also called Heaven. ON our journey we experience trials and tribulations which produces growth within our Spirit. And Jesus is our victory in each and every one. We are allowed entrance into His Throne Room at any time by our songs of praise and thanksgiving. While there we are refreshed in body, soul, and spirit by His living water … the Wine of His Holy Spirit.

So, it isn’t a choice between Sinai or Calvary. No, both mountains are necessary in our Christian Walk. It is a choice for Love and Life, of Worshiping and Service or Death/Eternal separation from God. By to love God, we are also choosing to keep His law as is written in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep My commandments.” And again in verse 21, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and manifest Myself to him.”

His commandments, which are deeper than the Torah that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai, are these:

And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He has answered them well, asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all? Jesus answered, “The most important is, “Hear, Oh Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:28-31

This conversation also appears in Matthew 22:34-40, verse 40 reads, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” So by keeping these two commandments that Jesus declared were the greatest, we are keeping the spirit of the entire Law of Moses.

I have chosen to love Him, to keep His commandments, and to serve Him all of my days and in everything that I do …

Have you?

Thank You, Lord for sharing this insight with me. Thank You for allowing me to share it with others. And Thank You for saving my soul!

Amen!