Nothing Good Have I

A Personal Testimony of God’s Amazing Grace

Monday, September 30, 2013, 6:11 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Jesus Paid It All” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Acts 26 (ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2026&version=ESV

The Apostle Paul was under arrest for his testimony for Jesus Christ, and false accusations were being brought against him. Paul had come before Felix over the course of two years, then Festus replaced Felix, and then Paul was brought before him. Festus wanted to send Paul back to Jerusalem where the Jews were most certainly waiting to kill him, so Paul appealed to Caesar. Then King Agrippa arrived in town, so Paul appeared before him. Agrippa then gave Paul permission to speak for himself. So, Paul gave his testimony. And, I believe here that the Lord Jesus is prompting me to do the same, so this is my testimony.

From My Youth

My parents brought me up in the church – a strong evangelical denominational church at that time (in the 1950’s and ‘60’s). My father was a strong legalist. Yet, he was a bully. He was verbally and physically abusive to us all, and sexually abusive to me and to my two sisters. I also have two brothers who endured his abuse. The church and God were my refuge. We went to church all the time – Sunday morning and night, Wednesday night, and every night there were extra meetings, etc. Yet, all those meetings did not impact our home environment. I felt much unloved. I cried myself to sleep many nights. But, the church is where I met Jesus. Amen! I believed in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior when I was probably about seven years old. I cried out my sins to him, and I asked for his forgiveness, and he came within me in the person of his Holy Spirit, and he transformed my heart.

I very much had a child-like faith that believed what God’s word taught, and that desired to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his will, and I often did, though not always. Yet, I frequently faced rejection for that child-like faith, too. I began teaching Children’s Church, and then got involved with Child Evangelism Fellowship when I was a teenager. I was also involved with Youth For Christ on my Junior High and High School campuses. I was even voted in as president one year. So, I went to training camps for that. In college I got involved in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. My heart’s desire was to obey Jesus in all things. I talked with him often, spent time in his word, called upon him in my sorrow and suffering, and trusted in his divine mercy, comfort and healing for my broken heart.

Early Adult Years

I started dating in college. I had a strong conviction of the Holy Spirit that I should remain morally pure, so I entered dating with that belief. As time progressed, though, I gave into my flesh and I did not remain pure. I battled against that flesh, called upon God in repentance, determined I would not give in again, trusted in the strength of the Lord to remain morally pure, set appropriate boundaries, but eventually I would give in again. So, when my husband and I got married, it was very difficult for me to feel good and positive about our sexual relationship, for not only had I, due to the abuse of my father against me, been given an early lesson that sex was evil and sinful, which it is outside of marriage, but then I fell into a trap during my dating years where I willfully gave in to my own flesh, and so only reinforced in my own heart and mind that sex was dirty. So, we struggled with our sexual relationship. But, then I believed it improved with prayer and communication.

In 1977 we housed a missionary in our home for about two weeks. She taught me much about God and trusting in him, listening to his voice and obeying him in all things. She helped me to know how to read the word of God in such a way as to where I could gain practical understanding from what I read as applied to my daily life. God’s word began coming alive to me as never before. I loved to sit at his feet each day, just drinking in his word, listening to him speak to my heart, and then stepping out in faith in obedience to him. We had (and still have) such sweet times of fellowship together. And, I began journaling that spiritual walk with my Lord, too. I was not perfect, and I can’t say I never failed my Lord, for that would be a lie, but I was walking now in his Spirit, following his lead, trusting in his promises, obeying what he taught me, and stepping out in faith. And, I was much involved in Christian service and ministry in teaching the Word and in singing.

The Years of the Locusts

In 1987, just ten years after I had really begun a serious time of walking with the Lord, I had my first moral failure. I bought into the lies of Satan, allowed myself to be persuaded and influenced by others, and I had an extra-marital sexual encounter with another man. I told my husband about it, confessing to him my sin, and I began my journey with the Lord Jesus again. Yet, other voices were telling me to do it again, and eventually I listened to those other voices and did it again, and again, and again. Each time I would repent of my sin, and I would begin walking with the Lord again, but it seemed like every time I began my spiritual journey again there were always people (in church) to push me back under again through their rejection of me and unjust mistreatment of me. So, I retreated to what I had been taught in my early childhood. I, not unlike the woman at the well whom Jesus spoke with, was looking to have my needs for love and acceptance met in the wrong ways.

In 1993 I settled things with the Lord, he healed my broken heart, and I began walking in faith and obedience to him once again. This lasted seven years. And, then during a time of great suffering and emotional pain, and giving in once more to outside influences, I failed again. So, I humbled myself before the Lord once more, asking him to cleanse my heart. His grace still amazes me. He loves me so much. He picked me back up and he set me on my feet once more and he set me on the right path once again. And, two years later I went through a time of serious revival when he taught me something amazing. I asked him, “Lord, if I am not forgiving anyone, give me that name.” He gave me the name “Jesus.”

What he taught me that day was that I was blaming him, i.e. not forgiving him – not only for the pain and suffering of my childhood, but also for all the pain and unjust suffering I had had to endure in my adult years, and from those within the church who were supposed to love me, but who didn’t. I realized that, as a child, if I had truly believed that God was absolutely sovereign over my entire life, I would have had to accept that he stood by and watched as I was sexually abused and yet did nothing to rescue me. So, in my mind I fashioned God/Jesus to be limited in power, though I had no idea I was doing that. I even told God one time, “But God, you don’t understand!” Wow! I believed very much that he loved me, that he was always there for me, that he comforted me with his love, and I turned to him continually, yet in order to believe that he was loving, I could not allow my mind to accept that he would allow me to go through that and do nothing. So, because I saw God as limited and thus unable to help me completely in my suffering, I did, at times, revert to what I learned as a child and I turned to what was evil to find “love”.

He Shut the Door

At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

In 2004 the Lord Jesus did some amazing things in my life. For one, Rick and I were working toward ordination/consecration underneath the Christian & Missionary Alliance, so we were assigned books to read and we were asked to read the Bible through, beginning to end. So, I did what they assigned us to do. As well, I acquired my grandmother’s journals. I never met her. She died when I was 2, I believe. When I began reading her journals I wept. She was me in so many ways – her love for Jesus, her desire to do his will, the way in which she expressed herself, her favorite scripture verses, her understanding of God’s heart, etc. I felt connected to her in ways that I believe most people in my family would not, because we were alike in so many ways. I felt her heart. And, I knew her tears and the longings of her heart for revival in the church, and for people to be set free from slavery to sin. She even used many of the same phrases that I use. I had never met anyone else like this before.

Then, I went to a prayer retreat with the C&MA pastors and church ministers. My husband was supposed to go, but he became ill, so I went without him, representing our small group of young adults with whom we had been ministering for six years in our home. God said some really profound and amazing things to me there through the various speakers and through his word. He said:

“Preach the Word of God, not the teachings of man. Listen to God, hear what he is saying, and then obey him. Tell the people what God wants you to tell them, and leave the results in his hands. What you are going to do, do it NOW. You were appointed by God as a herald and as a teacher of true faith. God has given you a clear sense of his purpose for you and an urgency to get it done. Fan into flame the gift(s) of God within you. Give your ministry over to God – it is not yours, it is his. God may have something else for you to do that you have not even thought of. Write down what God shows you, and then wait on him to bring it about. What you are going through is much bigger than you can imagine. NOW is your time! For such a time as this you were placed upon the earth. The church is in crisis – the crisis of Supremacy of God. It is indistinguishable between the lives of evangelical Christians and the world. We need to get back to the basics – we need to put our focus on Jesus and the cross of Christ instead of on the teachings of man.”

So, God shut the door on my former life, and he put me on a new journey of faith and obedience. The call he gave me was similar to the one he gave Paul, and I have been following that call ever since. I am not perfect, and I am not sinless, but I am no longer walking in the flesh, but am walking in the Spirit of God, obeying his call upon my life, and doing what he says to do. For the past seven years he has been having me do just what he told me at that prayer conference in 2004. Yet, it is only by the grace of God that I am here and that I am doing what he has called me to do. There is nothing within my flesh that deserves such grace.

Jesus Paid It All / Elvina M. Hall / John T. Grape

… your sins… they shall be as white as snow… Isaiah 1:18

I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.”

For nothing good have I whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white in the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stone.

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down all down at Jesus’ feet.

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

A Bloodletting

Wednesday, September 25, 2013, 5:11 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “When in the Stillness” playing in my mind. The words to this song, which the Lord Jesus gave me to write two years ago, have much significance in relation to the passage of scripture I read today, and to current and future (Biblically prophetic) events. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Ezekiel 22 (ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2022&version=ESV

The Appointed Time

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult.

“Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst... One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord God.

The Lord Jesus is showing me that this is a description of the United States of America (and her allies). The United States government and military (and the institutional church by support and compliance) are guilty of a bloodletting across the globe, including inside Nairobi, Kenya and in many other countries, too. The CIA is involved, as well, or let’s say the CIA, underneath the authority of the president, and working in conjunction with their allies (the New World Order, alias the beast), serves the purposes of the president (who is a puppet of the New World Order) in giving intelligence and even advice as to what targets, across the globe, to hit with drones, et al. Our government leaders in the White House are liars, manipulators and murderers of the worst kind. And, God will judge them!

They and their allies give the pretext of “search and rescue” (such as in Nairobi, for instance), but really the mission is “search and destroy.” In other words, we (and our allies) didn’t go in there after terrorists or to save human lives. Our government and their allies, including the government of Kenya, who is an ally of the US, UK and Israel, went in there to kill followers of Jesus Christ who preach the true gospel of salvation, and who expose the government’s lies. These Christians, after whom they went into the mall, are the ones they are accusing of being the attackers, but the attackers were comprised of people from the US, the UK, and other western nations, so say some of the reports. Security has now increased in churches and throughout the city. Security checks have become routine. It is not terrorists they are after. They are after Christians. They are on a mission to shed human blood, not to rescue, and their mission is global. And, it is coming to America, too!

All of these countries we have been going into or are making plans to go into are “search and destroy” missions. They are “Command and Control” missions, and Obama has selected just the right people for the job. The Lord was showing me the “control” part of this command and control duo as the newly appointed Deputy Director of the CIA, Avril Haines. Check her out. She has the right qualifications for the job. She is/was “a White House lawyer who advised the president on ‘sensitive’ intelligence operations;” “who worked as deputy assistant to Mr. Obama and legal adviser to the National Security Council.” [1]

Blow on You with Fire

“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”

In the book of Revelation, in chapters 17-19, it describes the sins of the “Great Prostitute,” as well as it describes her punishment. I believe the Lord Jesus has been showing me the US government and institutional church in America as the “Great Prostitute” of the book of Revelation. The prostitute sits on the beast, meaning she is in a position of power, rule and authority world-wide over the people of the world (the many waters). She is drunk with the blood of the saints, “the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” The beast and the ten horns, though, will hate the prostitute. “They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth” (Rev. 17:16-18 ESV).

I believe they hate the prostitute because of her arrogance, her pride, her feeling of superiority over other nations, her power and authority, her military strength, her wealth and her hypocrisy, because she calls herself a Christian nation – “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Our government, and institutional church, by association, is part of this beast (New World Order), so they will turn against America, too. This means that the leaders of our own nation have sold us out, and they will hand us over to the beast, i.e. they will give their authority to the beast to do what it wants to do.

I believe very much that the Lord Jesus is showing me some kind of nuclear blast which will result in a huge burst of electromagnetic energy, which has the power to shut down our internet and to collapse our economy. It appears to me that it will come from the west section of the US and go to the east section of the US, i.e. this will be across America. When this happens, the Lord Jesus is showing me here that the “Commander in Chief” will be debunked, i.e. exposed as false; disproved.

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.

God is not judging America solely because of our governmental leaders and their inhumanitarian and evil actions against the people of this world, and against the followers of Jesus Christ throughout the globe, nor is he judging America just because the institutional church is in a covenant relationship with the government, thus going against her commitment to make Jesus Christ her only Lord and husband. He is also judging America because the institutional church (though not every individual) here is living in spiritual adultery against God, in idolatry, and because she, the church, has not repented of her sins, even though God has sent her many messengers with the truth of his word to warn her, and to call her to repentance. Her sins are that she has sold herself out to other lovers - the government, the world, entertainment, social acceptance, thirst for power and prestige, worldly success, sexual sin, fun and games, humanistic philosophy, etc., thus she has diluted the gospel so as to give people a false hope of eternity with God in heaven.

And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”

Lastly, the Lord Jesus gave me the name Ron Paul. Ron Paul appears to be a man of reason, and he has a lot of things right. The things he says about our government – much of them are true. He opposes many of the same things God opposes, and he speaks out about them publicly. He is a voice of reason in a world of chaos. He knows what our government is doing. He verbalizes many of the same things God has me write about concerning our government. We are bullies. We attack the innocent, and take advantage of people for our own thirst for power. And, we lie about other nations and their intentions (like Syria and Iran) so we have an excuse to go into them and conquer them. So, perhaps Ron Paul is part of this beast who is coming against the prostitute to destroy her. Only God knows. But, for certain, judgment is coming against America, and all will be silent, I believe, when this hits. Yet, there will be survivors. May this be the prayer of all of us now and then.

When in The Stillness / An Original Work / September 26, 2011

When in the stillness

Of this moment,

Speak to me, Lord,

I humbly pray.

Be my desire,

Set me on fire,

Teach me to love always.

Help me to walk in

Fellowship with You,

Listening to You;

Sit at Your feet.

Whisper Your words to me,

Oh, how gently,     

Guiding me in Your truth.

While we are waiting

For Your blessing,

Lord, in our hearts

Be King today.

Help us to live for

You ev’ry moment,

List’ning to what You say.

May we not stray from

Your word within us,

Help us obey You,

Lord, in all things,

Walking each moment,

Lord, in Your presence,

Our off’rings to You bring.

Help us to love You,

Lord, our master;

Be an example

Of Your love,

Helping the hurting,

Lift up the fallen,

Showing them Your great love.

Teach them to love You,

Follow You always,

Bearing their cross and

Turning from sin;

Walking in daily

Fellowship with You,

Making You Lord and King.

http://originalworks.info/when-in-the-stillness/

News Resources:

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10117458/Avril-Haines-appointed-first-female-CIA-deputy-director.html

The Others Were Listening

Tuesday, September 24, 2013, 3:16 p.m. – Around 12:30 p.m. I was on my way out the door to have my car checked out for a noise it was making, and then the Lord Jesus had the song “Blessed Are You” playing in my mind. I already had Bible, pen and paper with me to spend time with the Lord while I waited on my car, so I quick grabbed the lyrics to the song, and then I was out the door.

When I got to the car dealership, and gave them my car, I sat down at a table in the waiting area with my Bible, pen and paper, and a drink of water, and I asked the Lord Jesus to speak to my heart. I read Acts 16:16-34. I will quote it in the NIV.

Going to the Place of Prayer

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

The apostles were going to the place of prayer when this evil spirit began mocking them by shouting the truth about them, but in a way that was disruptive to their time with God and to their ministry. This continued for several days. Satan sometimes tells the truth if it serves his purposes to do so. He is especially good at mixing truth and lies together so that it has the appearance of truth when, in reality, it is deception.

What jumped out at me about this first part of this passage of scripture is that the apostles were on their way to a place of prayer. Have you ever noticed that Satan will attack you most when you are getting ready to pray? He doesn’t like it when we pray. He will find all kinds of ways to disrupt our time with God, provide all types of distractions, whisper stuff in our ears to get us sidetracked, and remind us of other things we need to be doing, etc. He may taunt us, accuse us, or do whatever he can to try to keep us from praying. We need to know this so that when we go to prayer, we are ready to pull out our spiritual armor against him, and so we are not caught off guard and thus become vulnerable to his attacks.

The slave girl followed the apostles for days, so now Satan was attacking them while they were out sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, too. Although the girl was telling the truth, she was shouting, and it appears it was continuous. I am surprised Paul let it go on for days. Yet, he had a point where enough was enough so, in the name of Jesus Christ, he commanded the spirit to come out of her. At that moment, the spirit left her.

Into the Marketplace

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Satan will pull out all the stops to try to interrupt our witnessing for Jesus Christ and our service to him, in obedience to him, and he will use human instruments to do his dirty work, too. He will try to fill us with fears, or to put false thoughts or doubts in our minds, or he will send people to attack us, because we teach people the awe and respect of Almighty God - that they need to believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation; that they need to turn from their sins, and that they must turn to God to walk in obedience to him.

The business owners dragged the apostles into the marketplace to face the authorities, and the crowd joined in on the attacks. The word “marketplace” stood out to me here. The institutional church of today is a “marketplace” because they operate like a business and they use secular and humanistic marketing gimmicks and schemes to attract people to their churches. So many of them follow philosophies and teachings of humankind over and above scripture, and they follow marketing books as their Bible, many times, to tell them how to grow their churches (their businesses) into successful organizations.

Because of this, the gospel is diluted to make it more appealing and acceptable to the masses, to make it non-threatening and inclusive, and to make it easy for most people to “believe.” So, if you are a servant of the Lord Jesus, preaching the true gospel of salvation, calling people to turn from their wickedness and to turn to walk in faithful obedience to Christ, then you, too, may be called into the “marketplace” before the church authorities, and you may be accused of teaching what is intolerant, hateful, unloving and even bigoted. They may not throw you in prison, yet, but they may ask you to leave and to not come back. And, the reason they may do so is because they are a business, and we are hurting their business when we tell people the truth about Jesus and his gospel of salvation.

About Midnight

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

The midnight hour is often a phrase used to describe these final days before the return of Jesus Christ and/or the time of tribulation to come upon the earth. Not that believers in Jesus Christ have not been severely persecuted like this down through the ages, but this final time of great persecution against followers of Christ will be unequaled, and I believe it has already begun. Satan has declared an all-out war against the saints of God who hold to the testimony of Christ, unlike any other time in the history of the world. We can read about it in the book of Revelation, in many of the New Testament writings, and in the Prophets.

Yet, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Amen! What is our first reaction to being treated unfairly? How do we respond to unjust treatment? Do we whine and complain? Or, do we sing praises to God? Do we get depressed and despondent? Or, do we trust in God’s sovereign grace over our lives? Do we listen to Satan’s lies? Or, do we listen to the voice of truth? Do we worry and fret? Or, do we increase in our faith? Do we give up and give in? Or, do we hold fast to our testimony for Jesus Christ? If we have not already, one day we will find out what our response will be when our faith is put to the test through severe persecution and even the murdering of our brothers and sisters in Christ, just because they bear testimony to his name and his gospel of salvation. Will we curse God? Or, will we sing praises to him?

Because Paul and Silas did not grumble and complain, but they prayed and sang hymns to God, the other prisoners heard them and they were able to bear testimony to Christ’s saving grace, even in the midst of severe trial. And, because they did not flee when they could have, they were able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the jailer and his family, and they all believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Amen!

What a wonderful example this provides for us to go and do likewise. I pray that my response to severe persecution, false accusations, injustice, unkind treatment, and the like, will always be to respond with love and kindness, the joy of the Lord, and with a forgiving spirit that prays for my enemies, and that seeks no retaliation whatsoever. People are watching us and they are listening. Our response can make the difference in their lives between them accepting God’s invitation to salvation, or them rejecting it. May we all be in tune with God always so as to respond to our unjust treatments with God’s grace.

Blessed Are You / An Original Work / August 29, 2012

Based off Luke 6:20-49 NIV 1984

“Blessed are you;

Blessed are you who are poor

For God’s kingdom is yours.

Blessed are you;

Blessed are you who are hungry,

You’ll be satisfied.

Blessed are you;

Blessed are you who weep now,

For you will laugh with joy.

Blessed are you;

Blessed are you when men hate

And reject you because of Christ.”

“Rejoice in that;

Rejoice in that day and

Leap for joy; great your reward.

But I tell you;

But I tell you to love those

Who hate you; do them good.

Pray for those who;

Pray for those who treat you wrong

And say kind things of them.

Do to others;

Do to others as you would have

Them do; have them do to you.”

“If you love those;

If you love those who love you,

What praise is there for you?

Because Christ is;

Because Christ is kind,

Be merciful, just like He is.

Forgive others;

Forgive others their offense

Against you; be ye kind.

Hear My words and;

Hear My words and put them

Into practice, then you’ll be fulfilled.”

http://originalworks.info/blessed-are-you/

Church and State

Monday, September 23, 2013, 8:00 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song “Oh, To Be Like Thee” in my mind this morning. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Ezekiel 21 (ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2021&version=ESV

I AM Against You

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. And all flesh shall know that I am the Lord. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again. ~ Ez. 21:1-5

In Revelation chapters 2-3 we read the Lord Jesus’ letters to the seven churches. Actually, the whole book of Revelation was written to the churches. In these letters, God/Jesus encouraged and/or strongly exhorted the church. The letters were much like a spiritual report card. They listed both the positive and the negative aspects of these churches. To those whom God/Jesus had something against, he warned them that they must repent, turn from their wicked ways, and turn to follow God and to walk in his ways. If they did not repent, and if they chose not to obey him, he would bring upon them various forms of divine discipline and correction, i.e. he would judge them for their refusal to repent, to turn back to God, and to obey him.

We still have these words today to encourage and to strongly exhort the church, as well as to warn and to call for repentance and obedience. If we, the church in America, do not listen to his words, and we do not repent and turn back to God, we can expect that God will do what he said he would do. We can expect his divine sword of judgment against us.

Why?

I believe that God/Jesus is against the majority of the church in America today. Why do I believe that? Well, for one, God himself has revealed these things to me through the study of his word and through opening my eyes to see what I did not previously see. As well, I have personally experienced and/or observed what is going on in today’s church, so I speak, as well, from personal knowledge and experience. And, I have read the writings of others who are renowned in the faith, and I have listened to many sermons on this subject, so I know I am not alone in my beliefs concerning the church in America today.

I believe God/Jesus is against the institutional church in America for several reasons, but I believe it began with the inception of the 501 (c) (3) non-profit incorporation status for the church, which took place in 1954 under the Internal Revenue Act. What this did, basically, is bring the church underneath the authority of the United States Government, with it as its head in place of Jesus Christ. You can’t have two heads. The church was thus brought underneath government regulation, instead of the regulation of the Holy Spirit of God. This, brothers and sisters, is in violation of the First Amendment of our constitution – our legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ said Thomas Jefferson. Most importantly, it is in violation of our covenant relationship with Jesus Christ, with him as our only husband and head.

Another reason God/Jesus is against the institutional church here in America is that the church has been turned into a huge theatre, i.e. into places of entertainment. They put on great concerts, have wonderful stage productions with all the lights and cameras; they are centers for all kinds of sports, crafts, parties, and fun and games, etc. In other words, going to church is much like going to the circus, or to the movies, a sports’ game, or to a live stage production. Not all churches operate this way, mind you, but the majority of them do. Church is now supposed to be fun and must be entertaining or we will go someplace else where it is more fun and more entertaining. It is never to be boring, and woe to us if we should even mention sin, repentance and the need to obey Christ and his commandments.

Also, because the church has come underneath the U.S. government under the 501 (c) (3) incorporation status, it operates more like a business than it does like Christ’s church. Many pastors spend hours upon hours reading books on how to market their churches and grow their businesses, and they are all becoming clones of one another. They use the same gimmicks, advertisements, manipulations and lies that often accompany marketing a business in order to attract a large audience of people. So, the word of God takes second place or is barely even mentioned anymore. Humanistic teaching has replaced the truth of scripture. The gospel is diluted. Sin abounds! And, the church loves it that way!

With Breaking Heart

“As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord God. ~ Ez. 21:6-7

So, what should our response be, as believers in Jesus Christ, to the moral decline of today’s institutional church? Should we praise it, support it, and participate in it? I believe this is the “Babylon” that God/Jesus is calling us out of (See Rev. 18:3-5). If we do not come out from her, I believe we will take part in her sins and her punishment.

We should be weeping and mourning and grieving over the condition of today’s church here in America, and we should not be ashamed of our groaning, but should do so publicly. And, when people ask us why we groan, we can tell them it is for the church, and because of the moral and spiritual decline of the church, and because of the judgment God/Jesus is bringing against the church here in America. We should not be like the people in Noah’s day just having a big party, but we should be on our knees in humility and repentance before Almighty God, and we should remember that we were bought with a price, so we are not our own to do whatever we want to do without regard for God and his will for our lives.

The Sword Shall Be Drawn

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment, thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.” Ez. 21:24-27

Our government and military (though perhaps not all), and their allies, have been forcefully taking over the other nations of this world, and have been bringing them underneath the control of the New World Order. They have looted, raped, killed the innocent, stolen, robbed, and slaughtered perhaps millions of people worldwide, and all in the name of humanity, mercy, democracy and Christianity. And, they are on an all-out campaign against Christ’s true followers and witnesses, too, and they will soon come against their own, though this might already be happening here in the US, only a small scale presently.

Our government in these United States is our Judas. They have sold us out, and we will soon see the reality of that. They are the “great Satan” Iran accused them of being. They are the “great prostitute” of Rev. 17-19, and she will be brought down, and that is why we must flee the institutional church so that we do not share in her sins and her punishment.

I believe the Lord Jesus Christ is showing me many forms in which this judgment will take place. In some respects, it will be like history repeating itself all over again. We will come underneath a dictatorial form of government, our constitution will be defunct, we will see an increase in biological and chemical warfare, we will be under martial law, the church will suffer great persecution, and many will be killed for their stand for the true gospel of salvation. We, as a nation, will be under occupation of a foreign government, but we should not be afraid. There will be outbreaks of diseases that will kill large numbers of people. There will be much shedding of blood. There will be famine and economic hard times. The institution of church will be destroyed, but the true church will be revived! Amen! And, many will flock to Jesus Christ and to his gospel when the church is renewed. Hallelujah!

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer / Thomas O. Chisholm / W. J. Kirkpatrick

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

But If Not

Sunday, September 22, 2013, 5:55 p.m. – the Lord Jesus has the song “Believe Him” going through my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Acts 14 (ESV).

This afternoon I lay down for a nap. I woke around 4:00 p.m. Then, the Lord gave me a vision of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. I got up, read the news, and saw a news article concerning these killings in Kenya and in Pakistan, and also listed in this article were killings in Iraq. I didn’t see how that related to S, M and A, so I put it aside. Then, I was back in the bedroom and this vision came back to mind, so I inquired of the Lord as to what he was showing me, and he reminded me of this news article [1], and then I saw it! He was, I believe, showing me these killings in these 3 locations as similar in nature to the circumstances behind S, M & A being placed in the fiery furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

Taken from Daniel 3 - King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold. He called all the important people to the dedication of the image. A herald proclaimed:

“You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.”

The people complied, and they fell down and worshiped the golden image… well, not everyone did. When the king learned that S, M & A did not bow, he was furious! He called in the 3 young men, and he gave them the opportunity to bow. If they did not, they would be cast into the fiery furnace. King Neb said: “And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” I love the young men’s response to the king:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Awesome! May this be the response of all of us!!

The king was filled with fury, and he did indeed throw S, M & A into the fiery furnace, but he was surprised when he saw, not three, but four men in the furnace, and the fourth one had the appearance “like a son of the gods.” So, the king called for the young men to come out of the furnace. They were not singed. They didn’t even smell like smoke. Amen!

Today’s Parallel

The thing I noted in this vision the Lord Jesus gave me today, though, is that there was not a fourth person in the furnace, just the three. And, then that reminded me of what the young men said to the king. They said that even if God did not deliver them, they would still not serve the king’s gods or worship the golden image he had set up. Amen!! Praise Jesus!!

Seven years ago the Lord Jesus began leading me to read news stories and he began showing me the truth behind these stories. So, I have been following these world news events for some time now. What I have found common among them is that the international community usually steps in, and tells the governments that they must cooperate with the international community or they will face severe consequences. This happens over and over again. I believe this “international community” to be comprised of the US government and their allies, and this parallels over to King Neb, alias the New World Order. I believe the N.W.O. demands such worship and compliance of the people of the world, and of the governments of the world, and if those people do not “bow” to the N.W.O., alias the “international community,” then they pay the consequences with human lives. I also believe this N.W.O. is of Satan, and it targets and kills believers in Jesus Christ (see Rev. 13).

Thus, what I believe the Lord Jesus is showing me about these 3 situations in Kenya, Iraq and Pakistan is that they are a picture of S, M & A, i.e. that King Neb (the US and their allies) are demanding the people of the world bow down and worship them – bow to the international community. If they will not bow - which means denying that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, and denying that we must turn from our sins and we must obey Jesus in order to be saved – then it means the fiery furnace for them. It may mean severe persecution, beatings, imprisonments and death. And, this is coming to America soon!

Through Many Tribulations

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Ac. 14:19-23

God does not always miraculously deliver us like he did with S, M & A, or like he delivered Daniel from the lion’s den. Many prophets, apostles, and followers of Jesus Christ throughout the ages have been severely persecuted and even slaughtered by the masses for their faith in Jesus Christ. I believe we are now in an era where we will see the fulfillment of Revelation 13 before our eyes, and that believers throughout the world will be slaughtered for their faith in Jesus, for their testimony for him, and for their bold witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, I believe this New World Order Pope is setting the groundwork for that by stating that God is in everyone and that we should not concern ourselves so much with the moral issues the church once took a strong stand upon.

Yet, we should be encouraged! Jesus Christ lives within us as individual believers in Jesus Christ, so although I did not see a 4^th person in the fiery furnace in my vision does not mean he is not with us, because he is now IN his followers, and he will never leave us. He may deliver us from our fiery trials by removing us from the circumstances, but he may not. He may see us through them while not delivering us from them. Yet, we have the hope and assurance that he will give us all we need to endure these difficult days ahead, and that he will give us the strength, courage, encouragement and stamina to stand up under these fiery trials we may be going through presently, or that we may yet have to face. He will give us wisdom and direction, and he will guide our steps all the way, and then he will take us home to be with him. Amen! So, do not fear. Trust in God. He has a plan and a purpose. I believe that through this time the church will be revived and that many will be saved.

Believe Him / An Original Work / July 15, 2013

My heart cries: Lord, won’t You hear me

Seeking You for the answers

To my heartache and questions

I have concerning my life?

Speak, Lord, to me right now.

“Oh, dear one, why don’t you trust Me

With your life’s circumstances?

Give your all on the altar

In submission of your will

To My purpose for you.

“Surrender your life completely

To your Lord and your Savior.

He has all things planned for you

For His glory and honor.

He’ll work all things for good.

“Believe Him. He will fulfill all

Of His promises to you

For your life and your future.

Trust Him. Rest in His love.

He’ll give you peace from above.”

http://originalworks.info/believe-him/

[1]  http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/AP-PHOTOS-Hundreds-die-in-weekend-attacks-4834199.php

A Shedder of Blood

Saturday, September 21, 2013 – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Return to Me” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Ezekiel 18 (ESV).

“…the soul who sins shall die.

“If a man is righteous and does what is just and right— if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God.

“If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things (though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself…

“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?

“…Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”

It is now Sunday morning, around 9:30 in the morning. I read the news yesterday and I read the news again this morning. There were purportedly two mass murders that took place in those two days. There was a mass shooting of people in a mall in Nairobi, Kenya yesterday, and there was a “suicide bombing” (purportedly) at a church in Pakistan today. The killings in Kenya were reported as being a terrorist attack, though it was suggested that the attackers were targeting non-Muslims, and that the group they suspected of the attacks had previously attacked churches. So, in both of these stories, one clearly, and one possibly suggesting it to be so, we have attacks against people, and the murdering of people just because they bear testimony to the name of Jesus Christ. And, it appears these attacks and murders are being blamed on terrorists, militants and/or Islamists militants.

Yet, the Lord Jesus is giving me a different picture as to what took place and who is responsible. He is showing me that it is the government of the United States and her allies, i.e. the New World Order, who are responsible for these murders of believers in Jesus Christ. With the New World Order Pope now coming out and saying that God is in everyone, and that we should not get so concerned about certain moral issues as the church once did, it sets the stage, I believe, for the persecution and/or the killing of all those who still hold to the belief that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth and life, and who believe that no one comes to God the Father except through faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible told us this time of severe persecution of the saints of God was coming. And, this morning he gave me a picture of this New World Order as digging its heel into the ground, i.e. as resisting its opposition stubbornly – resisting Christ’s true servants and witnesses – while refusing to yield or compromise. And this, and world domination, is really what Obama and his administration is up to. The stuff we read about with Congress is all a stage play, acted out for our “benefit.”

Each One Responsible

This passage of scripture makes it clear that we are each responsible for our own sins, and it gives a list of some characteristic traits and actions that were considered to be sinful or righteous. The Lord Jesus is giving me some pictures here of what some of these sins look like in today’s world. He showed me the invasion of one’s privacy, in particular of spying on people and invading private communications, particularly between them and God, perhaps taken from the reading of people’s private journals, and the coming against them because of their beliefs, thoughts and feelings about certain things, in particular about sin. He is definitely showing me the murdering of innocents and the killing of Christ’s servants and witnesses throughout the world, I believe now in America, too. These people who do this are worshipers of false gods, idolaters, God-haters, adulterers, and betrayers of the people, etc. These people will surely die for the sins they have committed and will yet commit.

Yet, if we have been made righteous in God’s eyes through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for our sins, then we shall surely live for eternity with God in heaven. Yet, belief in Jesus Christ is more than just intellectual assent to what he did for us, or an emotional decision made at an altar, or a get-out-of-jail-free card. We must turn away from our lives of living for sinful pleasure and for self-gratification, and we must turn to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands and to his will for our lives (See Lu. 9:23-25; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6; 1 John 1; Gal. 2:20, et al).

There are many people who are under the false notion that they are going to heaven because they simply prayed a prayer to receive Christ, but they never turned from their lifestyles of sin and they do not see the necessity of obedience to Christ, either. They do not walk in his ways, and they are not faithful to walk according to his rules, and he does have rules for the Christian, too (we find them all throughout the New Testament). They will die in their sins because they did not repent, and they did not turn to walk faithfully with God.

God said a day of judgment is coming. For some, it has already come. He said that Satan will go after the saints of God to kill them. He is presently doing that. The Bible tells us that nations will conspire together against the Lord and against his anointed ones. That is happening in our day and time, and I believe we are not far from experiencing this BIG TIME here in America, too, when Christians will literally have to run for their lives, as is depicted in these stories of these mass murders in Kenya and in Pakistan.

Yet, blessed are the ones who die in the Lord from now on, scripture says. We will have our eternal rewards in heaven because we remained steadfast in our faith, and we remained true to the testimony of Jesus Christ. Yet, we must also be careful to not just trust everyone, for I believe many are being targeted and killed because they trusted the wrong people. Please pray about what I have shared here about our government and their allies. God said this time was coming. We should, thus, not turn a blind eye away from the truth.

Return or Turn

God is calling out to the world and to his idolatrous church to repent and to turn away from all our sins, lest iniquity be our ruin. We may be saved for eternity, but we may still be judged by God on this earth because we refused his voice and we did not repent until judgment came (see Rev. 2-3). We are to literally cast away our sins, i.e. scripture teaches us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us so we can run with perseverance the race God has marked out for us (See Heb. 12). And, then we are to allow the Spirit of God to transform us in heart and mind and to give us new or renewed hearts and spirits committed to God and to Jesus Christ as our only Lord and Savior.

Return to Me / An Original Work / September 5, 2013

Based off Jeremiah 31; Cf. Rev. 2-3

I have loved you with an eternal love,

Which I give to you, in my faithfulness.

Keep your voice from weeping,

And your eyes from tearing.

You will be rewarded

With much fruitfulness.

There is hope for you that My family

Will return to Me; live in victory!

Though I discipline in My love for you,

My heart longs for you that you walk in truth.

Turn your thoughts to your Lord.

Choose to walk in His ways.

Turn from your sins daily.

Follow Jesus Christ.

Oh, how long will you wander in your sin?

Give your hearts to Me; be restored within.

I will satisfy ev’ry weary soul

Who repents of sin; is renewed within.

Behold, days are coming;

It will surely happen;

Though I discipline them,

They will thrive again.

I will be their One and their Only God.

They shall walk in white; be in Me, made right.

http://originalworks.info/return-to-me/

A Rebellious House

Friday, September 20, 2013, 4:57 a.m. – The Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Do Not Fear” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Ezekiel 12-14 (ESV) this morning for my quiet time with the Lord Jesus.

Peace and Security

…Thus says the Lord God, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! … You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the Lord…

Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall!

“…You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies… Ez. 13:1-19

I read several news stories which I will reference below. Evidently, the General Assembly of the United Nations is presently in session, with the general debate beginning in just four days from now and going through October 1^st. And, supposedly the new president of Iran is there or is planning to attend. Purportedly a senior Iranian legislator made some comments with regard to the president’s visit, and this visit being “a good opportunity to foster peace and security in the world,” and that Iran’s presence will “prepare the ground for establishment of security and order across the globe” [1].

In another article, the president of Iran evidently made some statements of his own with regard to the whole nuclear issue, stating that his country would “never seek a nuclear bomb.” The White House responded to this by stating that they remained “ready to engage with the Rouhani government on the basis of mutual respect to achieve a peaceful resolution to the nuclear issues.” And, the author of the article posed the question concerning Rouhani’s message: Is it “a sign of thawing relations or more diplomatic deception?” [2]

This is what I believe the Lord Jesus is saying in response to all this. I believe he is saying these are false prophets, i.e. they speak lies and/or else the news media speaks lies. They are promising peace, but peace is really not what they have planned. I don’t know about the Iranian leader, but I do believe the Lord Jesus is definitely showing me that our leaders are speaking lies to the people, and that the “thawing relationships” are truly taking place between them and their own people, i.e. they are turning their backs against their own nation and are aligning themselves with the enemy, i.e. they are committing adultery against their own people and are plotting ruin for them, not peace. They are not serving to protect us, and they have made no plans for peace and security for our nation.

Stumbling Block of Iniquity

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage… ~ Ez. 12:1-3

Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” Ez. 14:1-6

I believe the idols that are before our government leaders and their allies, which they have taken into their hearts, are a thirst for power, authoritarian and dictatorial control, world domination, suppression of the human race, and the elimination of all those who stand in opposition to them (in opposition to Satan’s rule), et al. Their words are deceptive. They can’t be trusted. They are occupiers; usurpers who do injustice to the people of this world. They practice “war-mongering policies,” and they send people to Syria “to slaughter innocent civilians.” They are wolves “in sheep’s clothing.” They are “long on smiles but short on substance,” and they are people of aggression and practitioners of injustice throughout the world. They mouth empty words of loyalty, devotion and commitment, but “actions are more important than words.” In other words, they don’t and they will not keep their promises. They are adulterers and murderers and extremely hypocritical as they pretend one thing but they do another, and they blame others for what they do. [3]

Yet, it is not just our political leaders who are at fault here. The church is at fault because a large percentage of today’s church has watered down the gospel of Jesus Christ, and thus they have not turned people away from their sins, but in many cases have actually helped facilitate professing Christians to continue in willful and unrepentant sin. Idolatry has become a huge problem within today’s evangelical church, as is spiritual adultery. With the introduction of home computers and the internet, and now with tablets, IPads, and smart phones, children and adults alike across these United States have unfiltered and private internet access to a world of evil 24/7. To many, their smart phones, IPads and the like have become their Bible replacement, and are what are in front of their faces 24/7 instead of God/Jesus Christ, and the truths of his word. And, this has been the moral downfall of a large percentage of the church population, including a large percentage of clergy.

So, God is calling out to us as a nation, and he is calling out to his church here in America to turn from our sins of idolatry and spiritual adultery, and for us to turn our faces away from all our abominations, specifically the idolatrous use of the internet leading us to sinful practices, i.e. that of allowing our idols to be taken into our hearts, and covering our sinful practices with lies, deceptions and spiritual and religious hypocrisy. God is saying that we can pretend all we want, and we can continue in our lies and deceptions, but he is not fooled. When we willfully continue doing what God has said not to do, we show great contempt for God. God says he will judge us (See Rev. 2-3 for NT parallels).

Potential Results for Acting Faithlessly

“Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the Lord.” ~ Ez. 13:20-23

“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.” ~ Joel 2:23 ESV (Bible Gateway Verse for Today)

“For thus says the Lord God: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast! But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it. They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.” Ez. 14:21-23

Concerning these “magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds,” the Lord is definitely showing me these drones that our government uses against people of other nations and now against our own people; which are what are truly “looming” overhead [4]. They can shoot to kill with no arrest warrant at all. He is also showing me military might, nuclear weapons, guns (these mass shootings being of them), and “natural” (man-made) disasters (they can control weather). I believe we are responsible for these storms in Mexico [5], the uprisings in these various countries of the world, including inside Syria, these mass shootings in our own nation, etc., and I do believe God is going to bring these things down upon our own heads in judgment – it will come back to bite us, in other words.

I believe one of the judgments coming from God, in addition to shutting down our government [4], is a shutting down of the internet. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, have been called out of the world. In Christ, we no longer belong to the world and its practices. Yet, so many Christians don’t get this, for they behave just like the world, and they are just as addicted to the pleasures this world has to offer as the world is, and have made them their idols which they put in front of their faces, and which have become their stumbling block. “I pray, Lord, that I will not be taken captive to the world, but that I will remain steadfast in my commitment to obey you in all things. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

I also believe we are going to see our land taken over by an enemy, and that we are going to experience economic hard times, great tribulation, famine, sword, pestilence, etc. because of our many sins, and because we have refused to listen to our God and to obey him and his statutes for our lives. Yet, we are not to fear what is coming. If we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and we depend upon him for all things, and we remove our idols from in front of our faces, and we return to our first love, he will give us all we need to make it through these days of hardship ahead. And, I believe revival of the church and the salvation of many lives will result from this judgment of God. Amen!

Do Not Fear / An Original Work / June 2, 2013

Based off John 14

Do not let your hearts fear.

Trust in God. Trust in Christ.

“In My house you will find

Many rooms I have

Prepared for you,

And I will come back

And take you to heav’n.”

“I will take you to be with Me;

You’ll be where I am.”

“I am the way and

The truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father,

Except he comes through Me,

So put your faith in Me,

And do all of what I command.”

“Whoever has My commands

And obeys them loves Me.”

“I did not leave you as orphans.

I sent you the Counselor;

The Holy Spirit to live in you.

He teaches you all things,

And He reminds you of Me.”

“My peace I give to you,

So do not fear, trust in Me.”

http://originalworks.info/do-not-fear/

News Resources: [1] http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920628000628

[2] http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/09/2013919145137928913.html

[3] http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Israel-pushes-world-not-to-be-deceived-by-Rouhani-as-he-takes-charm-offensive-to-US-airways-326582

[4] http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/19/20581426-shutdowns-and-debt-limits-making-sense-of-the-fiscal-deadlines-ahead?lite

[5] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24170297

A New Spirit

Thursday, September 19, 2013, 8:17 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with this song:

My Heart’s Desire / An Original Work / June 29, 2013

Based off Rm. 10; Lu. 9:23-26; Ep. 4:20-24

Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire

Is that you might come to Jesus.

Many appear zealous for God,

But they do not trust in Him.

They have not submitted to the One

Who saved them from their sins;

Not forsaken their sins,

Nor have they obeyed their King.

The word of the Lord is near you:

The word of faith we’re proclaiming:

That you must confess your faith

In Jesus as your Lord and King:

Believe in Him as your Lord,

And follow Him where’er He leads.

Share the gospel; be a witness,

And meet others’ needs.

Beautiful are the feet of those

Who bring the good news of Jesus:

Anyone who would come to Him

Must deny himself today;

Die to sin and self, and

Let the Spirit transform you in heart;

Put on your new self in Jesus,

Yielding to the cross.

http://originalworks.info/my-hearts-desire/

Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I am still feeling led to continue using passages both from Ezekiel and from the book of Acts. I read Ezekiel 11 and Acts 9 today in the ESV.

Many Appear Zealous

“I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.” ~ Ez. 11:1b-12

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ~ Ac. 9:1-2

In the time of Ezekiel, the Jews were God’s covenant people. He gave them the commands to turn from their lives of sin and to walk in his ways, just as he does today with those who would choose to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior (CF Eph. 4:17-24). So, they represent God’s covenant people today, the church, who are not walking in the ways of their God.

Saul/Paul was a Jew and a Pharisee. He followed the letter of all the Jewish laws. Since he lived in the time when Jesus Christ had lived, died, and had risen again, and had ascended back to the Father, and thus in the time period in which God made a new covenant through faith in Jesus Christ, he was no longer part of God’s covenant people, for the old order of things had passed away and now the new covenant had come. So, he represents those who think they know God, and who are even zealous for God, but who have never submitted their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, he was a non-believer in Jesus.

A New Spirit

And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. ~ Ez. 11:18-20

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” ~ Ac. 9:3-6

The people of God of Ezekiel’s time were in great need of revival and renewal in their relationship with God. Saul was in great need of conversion, away from his old life of religious hypocrisy and unbelief, to new life in Jesus Christ. From these two examples here, I see three basic types of people within today’s church, though there is also a 4th.

1)    I see that there are those who are unbelievers in Jesus Christ. They have rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. Saul/Paul had rejected Jesus and was also persecuting Jesus through how he treated the Lord’s servants and witnesses.

2)    I also see those who think they know God/Jesus, and who are religiously following a set of man-made rules or even, perhaps, some of the 10 commandments, but whose hearts are far from God. I believe many within today’s church have bought into a false gospel of salvation (absent of repentance and obedience), so they think they know Christ, but truly they do not know him for they have not forsaken their lives of sin, and they have not chosen to walk with him in obedience.

3)    And, I see those who have come to true faith in Jesus Christ at some point in their lives, but who have turned back to some of the ways in which they used to live, and who are acting and believing according to the ways of the world, instead of according to the ways of God and his word.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, he did not die merely to remove the punishment (eternal damnation) of sin from our lives so we could go to heaven one day. He did not die just so we could be positionally saved by his grace. He died so we could walk in freedom from bondage to sin and to live and walk according to his truth day by day. And, it is his desire that we not only come to know him, but that we truly trust him with our lives, that we forsake our detestable idols, and that we allow him to give us new or renewed hearts, minds, and lives fully devoted to him and to his service.

How Much He Must Suffer

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. ~ Ac. 9:15-19a

Once Saul/Paul believed in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and he chose to accept God’s call upon his life, and he began to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, he did suffer much persecution and threats against his life. He would now represent the 4^th group of people within the church – fully committed followers of Jesus Christ. The Jews plotted to kill him, for he was no longer on their side, but had moved to the side of the “opposition,” in their thinking. They may have seen him as a traitor to the cause, for he had been very zealous in his pursuit of followers of Christ to persecute, arrest and to kill them. Even the Christians were afraid of him and were hesitant to trust him, so he had a very rough beginning to his new life in Christ.

Though the believers did eventually accept him as one of their own, the Jewish leaders continued to pursue him and to persecute, imprison, and beat him, as well as they made many attempts upon his life. Yet, Jesus said we would suffer as he suffered if want to be his true disciples. If someone tells you the Christian life is happy-happy all the time and is about having fun and playing games, they are feeding you lies. Jesus said that we can expect to be hated, persecuted and even killed for our testimony for him and for his saving grace. Yet, we must die daily to sin and to self and follow Jesus Christ (See Lu. 9:23-25).

He Preached Boldly

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. ~ Ac. 9:19b-22

Despite the threats against his life, and despite all the rejection and persecution he now faced, Paul spoke boldly in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen! May we find encouragement in this story and may we follow his example of tenacity, determination, and perseverance in preaching boldly the gospel of Jesus Christ despite all opposition, rejections, persecutions and even threats against our lives. Amen!

Fully Ready! / An Original Work / June 19, 2013

Based off Acts 20-22, 26; Mt. 28:18-20; Ac. 1:8

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?

I’m fully ready to suffer for Christ.

If I must die for the sake of His name,

I am convinced it will not be in vain.

Glory to God and to His Son Jesus,

Who has redeemed us; bought with His blood.

May I speak to you? Jesus came to me;

Asked of me, “Why do you persecute me?”

He said, “Now get up and stand on your feet.

Go, and you’ll be told all I have for you.

I have appointed you as a servant,

And as a witness; you have been sent.”

“Go into the world and preach the gospel.

Open the blind eyes. They will receive sight.

Turn them from darkness to the light of Christ;

From power of the evil one to God,

So they may receive forgiveness of sins,

And a place among those who’re in heav’n.”

http://originalworks.info/fully-ready/