Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Saturday, July 5, 2014

No Longer Closed

Saturday, July 05, 2014, 7:14 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “I Do Not Seal My Lips.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Isaiah 31:1-32:8 (NIV).

Mere Mortals

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
    who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
    and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
    or seek help from the Lord.
Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster;
    he does not take back his words.
He will rise up against that wicked nation,
    against those who help evildoers.
But the Egyptians are mere mortals and not God;
    their horses are flesh and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
    those who help will stumble,
    those who are helped will fall;
    all will perish together. ~ Is. 31:1-3

This is a warning against putting our trust in humans. Especially we are being cautioned here against trusting in humans over and above our trust in God. The humans we trust in may even be ourselves and in our own resources. Sometimes we may get impatient with God and so we feel as though we need to help God out, as though he needs our help. Oftentimes we, as humans, will look to everything or to everyone else first, and God will be our last consult when everything else fails. It may even be our normal course of action to automatically turn to human resolutions and resources without even thought to consult God. Oh, how sad! Why do we think, or where do we get the notion that God should be our “backup” plan rather than him being our first call?

About five years ago now the Lord Jesus spoke to me about my trust in medications. I would normally just turn to medicine every time I had pain or a head cold or whatever. One of the medications I took about 20 years ago ended up causing damage to me instead of helping me, but God healed me about 12 years ago of that. I stopped taking all meds at that time, but gradually I reintroduced some of them back into my system. Why? I don’t know. Lack of trust in God I suspect. But then five years ago he spoke to me about this again, and so I stopped taking all medicines, and so I pray through every pain and sickness and trust the Lord Jesus, my great physician, for healing. Yesterday was one of those days. I had fever, chills, extreme face pain, congestion, sore throat, cough and dry heaves. Yet, I prayed it through and all that is left of it today is congestion and cough, praise Jesus!

One of the biggest areas where this trust in humans over trust in God is taking place is inside the institutional church. And, that is really sad! So many are following the marketing schemes and business plans of humans for how to build their churches rather than following God’s plan as laid out for us in scripture. So many are teaching humanistic philosophies and teachings over the word of God or mixed in with scripture, but as a twisting of what the scriptures actually say. So many in the church are relying upon the government, and upon books written by humans, to give support and/or direction to the church in place of Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone (support and foundation) of the church.

The warning here is that one day God will judge the people of this earth, and then all of those things, people, buildings and organizations in which we have placed our trust will disappear. All those humans in whom we have trusted will vanish or be destroyed or will be brought down and then what good will any of them be to us? What good will all those marketing schemes, gimmicks, and entertainment be to the church then, which it now uses to bring in large crowds of people into their buildings? How will we get our medications then? What would happen in America if all of our electrical and cell power was shut off, and we no longer had access to TV, cell phones, IPads, computers, movies, and the like? I think it would be awesome! People would come out of their homes, and they would no longer bury their faces in electronics or shut themselves off from the world using headphones, but people would talk with each other. I honestly think that would be a blessing for the church.

To Do Battle

This is what the Lord says to me:

“As a lion growls,
    a great lion over its prey—
and though a whole band of shepherds
    is called together against it,
it is not frightened by their shouts
    or disturbed by their clamor—
so the Lord Almighty will come down
    to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
Like birds hovering overhead,
    the Lord Almighty will shield Jerusalem;
he will shield it and deliver it,
    he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.”
Return, you Israelites, to the One you have so greatly revolted against. For in that day every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold your sinful hands have made. ~ Is. 31:4-6

God is going to bring judgment against his adulterous church, but not to destroy her, but to save her. Through judgment he will rescue her from those with whom she has committed adultery; from those who have deceived and manipulated her, and who have gotten her to believe their lies. So many people who claim to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives have been duped by master manipulators who are within our government, media and within the church. They so easily believe everything they read, see and hear as though it is truth without ever checking it out to see if it is truth. Yet, through judgment they will have their eyes opened, and they will reject all those idols on which or on whom they have placed their trust, their dependency, their hope, or their sense of happiness and pleasure. So, the call here is to the church to return to Jesus Christ as her only hope.

They Stand

See, a king will reign in righteousness
    and rulers will rule with justice.
Each one will be like a shelter from the wind
    and a refuge from the storm,
like streams of water in the desert
    and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,
    and the ears of those who hear will listen.
The fearful heart will know and understand,
    and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.
No longer will the fool be called noble
    nor the scoundrel be highly respected.
For fools speak folly,
    their hearts are bent on evil:
They practice ungodliness
    and spread error concerning the Lord;
the hungry they leave empty
    and from the thirsty they withhold water.
Scoundrels use wicked methods,
    they make up evil schemes
to destroy the poor with lies,
    even when the plea of the needy is just.
But the noble make noble plans,
    and by noble deeds they stand. ~ Is. 32:1-8

In the day that Jesus Christ comes to judge the earth and then to set up his kingdom reign upon the earth, all that is of the flesh will be gone. There will be no more lies and deception. Amen! Those who have been blinded by the lies and deceptions of our government, media and the institutional church will have their eyes opened to see the truth. Those who have followed the lies and who have rejected the truth will now see and hear with spiritual eyes and ears. They will reject the lies and hold to the truth. We will no longer have anything to fear, for no one will harm his or her neighbor. All will live at peace with one another.

No longer will we exalt humans who lie, deceive and manipulate us with their lies, while disguising and hiding their evil deeds. We will give them no more honor and praise. We will no longer accept their lies against the godly of this world, for the truth will be made known. Although I have no desire to see judgment come and for people to be hurt and killed, I long for the day when everyone’s eyes will be opened and when they will know the truth and will no longer believe the lies, for what is worse? – Merciful judgment? Or for the people of God to walk around this world following after the lies of the enemy, deceived, and following after the gods of this world instead of after the One and Only true God? With judgment the bride of Christ will make herself ready for her husband, and with his return and reign she will now put her complete and total trust in him, and he will be her only source of shelter, refuge and satisfaction for all that she desires and needs. I look forward to that day!

I Do Not Seal My Lips / An Original Work / January 13, 2014

Based off Psalms 37, 40

Do not fear when evil man
Has success in all their plans,
For like grass they’ll wither soon.
They’ll be cut off from the land.

Trust in the Lord and He’ll give you peace.
Find your delight in Him through all stress.
All of your ways commit unto Him.
All your desires from Him He’ll fulfill.

Wait for the Lord; keep His way.
Delight in His Word always.
He’ll be with you to the end;
Life eternal found in Him.

I waited patiently for my Lord.
He turned to me, and He heard my cry.
He set my feet on the Solid Rock.
He gave to me a firm place to stand.

Blessed are we, who trust the Lord,
Who do not turn to false gods.
Our desire’s to do God’s will.
His word is within our hearts.

I will proclaim salvation to man.
You put a new song now in my mouth.
I’ll not withhold your love and your grace.
I’ll speak forevermore of your truth.


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