Pliable Hearts

Wednesday, April 10, 2013, 7:29 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “A Believer’s Prayer” playing through my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Ezekiel 11 (NIV): [I will quote some and summarize some.]

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2011&version=NIV.

False Hopes

Ezekiel was still receiving his vision from the Lord at this point. In the vision he saw 25 of Judah’s (Israel’s) leaders. They were plotting evil and giving wicked advice in the city. They were ignoring the prophecies of the prophets and were filling the minds of the people with false hopes. They scoffed at the prophets’ warnings of imminent danger. You might compare them to the “health, wealth and prosperity” evangelists of our day. These leaders were guilty of killing many innocents in their own city, perhaps directly, or perhaps through their own apathy and complacency and failure to act appropriately in response to the warnings of the prophets and the calls to repentance. So, God promised to visit them in judgment, because they did not follow his decrees or keep his laws, but they conformed to the standards of the nations around them. Then they would know that he is the Lord.

As I prayed through this section of this passage the Lord brought to mind what he has been teaching me for the past 9 years, but in particular since June/July of 2006 (nearly 7 years ago), and that is concerning our leaders here in the USA, both in our government and in our churches, and how they are plotting evil and/or are giving people false hope.

What the Lord Jesus has shown me concerning our government is that our government in the USA is under the control of Satan and that we are part of this “beast system” which is in the process of taking over the planet one nation at a time. We, the USA, and its allies in the UN have been slowly but surely conquering one nation and one government at a time through means of weather manipulation, man-created earthquakes and tsunamis, and false flag operations, i.e. creating chaos, uprisings, terrorist attacks, mass killings, etc. throughout the globe, including in our own nation (one example is 9/11), while blaming other groups of people for what we are, in actuality, doing to people all over the world.

Our government and media give the American public (Christians, included) the impression that we are the “good guys” going throughout the world spreading peace, good will and democracy. We have been deceived into believing our nation is under the threat of terrorists and thus our military must go into these other nations, including now inside our own, in order to “protect” the American people and their freedoms, even though this “protection” comes with it loss of freedoms and more government control over many aspects of American’s daily lives. This reminds me of what I have seen in movies, mainly, about Chicago mobs offering “protection” to store owners, utilizing scare tactics to convince the owners they need to pay for protection. The same principle is being followed within the US government, i.e. the global mafia. Any country which does not “cooperate with the international community,” i.e. this global order, will pay the price for lack of submission.

Our church leaders, many at high levels in this global order, are part of this global “beast system,” too. And, out of this has come philosophies for how to build churches, which have swept across evangelical Christianity in America, and which dilute the gospel of Jesus Christ to make it more palatable to the world which, instead of confronting the world with sin, entertains the world in order to attract the world to our “churches.” Many of today’s churches here in America are following man-made religion and philosophies (teachings) over and above scripture, are operated more like big business, instead of like the NT church was taught to operate, and they give people a false hope of heaven based off a lie which teaches the people that they do not have to repent (turn from) their sins, and that they don’t have to obey Christ’s commands. Luke 9:23-25 and Eph. 4:17-24 blow that idea out of the water.

They Will Return

“They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

There were a group of exiles who were scattered to other nations. Ezekiel was among the exiles living in Babylonia when he had this vision concerning God’s judgments on Judah and Jerusalem. The people and leaders in Jerusalem thought they were safe within the city and they looked down upon those who had decided to surrender to the Babylonian rule. They falsely had the notion that their closeness in proximity to the physical temple meant they were close to God while those who fled were far away from God. I can’t help but see here a parallel to today’s institutional church. Many have the notion that attending church services in buildings called “church” on Sunday mornings somehow makes them better off spiritually than those who have fled the institutional church in favor of seeking after the NT church experience. The temple today, nonetheless, is within individual’s hearts, and we can worship God and experience true Christian fellowship anywhere and at any time.

Although this promise here was for the exiled Jews of Ezekiel’s day to be restored to their land, there is also an application here of spiritual restoration to a right relationship with God for the penitent. The purpose of God’s judgments on his people, now the church, has always been to bring his people to repentance (turning from sin and to God), revival (renewed faith) and restoration (divine healing and forgiveness). Divine discipline is for the purpose of getting us to forsake our detestable idols (the people and things in our lives that have our heart and attention over and above God) and our “vile images” (the sinful and evil things we look at on TV, in movies, video games, the internet, and the like).

When we return via repentant hearts, God will give us undivided hearts and he will put a new spirit (life; attitude; character; outlook) within us. This is called revival. He will remove from us our hearts of stone, i.e. hearts that have stubbornly refused his words and have chosen to go our own way, and he will give us pliable (moldable and teachable) hearts, ready to hear from him, and ready and willing to obey his commands. Yet, for those who still refuse to turn from their vile images and their detestable idols, only the fear of judgment awaits them.

Get Ready, It’s Coming!

This morning, when I had read through the passage of scripture, and had felt led of the Lord toward this particular title, I saved my document in a folder where I save all the writings God gives to me each day. Usually I will see the list of writings either in alphabetical or in chronological order, yet today something weird happened. The list began with writings from the early part of 2010. That had to be a God-thing, I thought, so after I saved this document, I went back to my list to check the titles of the writings from that time period, and this one, “Get Ready, It’s Coming!” stood out to me, which was dated Friday, January 29, 2010, 12:28 a.m. I will quote some from this older writing:

What I am mainly seeing here is a message to “get ready” because this next “round” of history is about to unfold in front of our eyes, i.e. this “global” government that God told us a long time ago was going to rule the earth. This new form of government or this new ruler of the earth is called “The Beast” in the book of Revelation. I believe the Lord is saying “get ready”, i.e. get your lives in queue because this is coming. When this one world government finally takes hold and life as we now know it seems to fade away, we need to remember that Jesus is the Lord of everything and that he is King. And, we need to believe God for those hidden miracles in people’s lives that are just waiting to happen. We also need to “get ready” spiritually for that time that is coming on the earth so that we can be ready to proclaim, “The Lord of Hosts is His Name.”

A Believer’s Prayer / An Original Work / July 31, 2012

With my whole heart,

Lord, I pray to be Yours,

And Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

Love You, Jesus,

You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride,

I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

http://originalworks.info/a-believers-prayer/

Idols of Jealousy

Monday, April 08, 2013, 7:23 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Trust Him.”

Trust Him / An Original Work / August 15, 2012

Based off Psalm 27:14

Wait for the Lord; be of courage;

Be strong and take heart today.

Do not fear when foes attack you.

Trust in God always.

He will rescue you in times

Of trouble and distress,

He’ll comfort you in all ways

As you trust Him with your life today.

Trust in Him always.

God is with you; He’ll not leave you.

You can always count on Him.

He will fulfill all He promised

Before you began.

His word teaches you

All that you need for this life.

Let Him lead you. Open your heart;

Let his truth envelope you today.

Listen and obey.

Love your Lord God; follow Jesus.

Repent of your sins today.

Make Him your Lord and your master;

Trust Him and obey.

Follow Him where’er He leads you

In His service; be His witness,

Telling others about Jesus’

Price that He did pay

For your sins always.

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

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Ezekiel 8 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%208&version=NIV

In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there. I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood. And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.

And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”

Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.

And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.’” Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”

Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz. He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.”

He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.

He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually arouse my anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! Therefore I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them.”

Jerusalem

Instead of going into a historical description of the situation described here in this passage of scripture of the temple in Jerusalem and of its leaders, I believe the Lord Jesus would have me take a look at how we can apply this passage of scripture to the spiritual entity known as the church, the body of Christ, to the institutional church of today, and to the political leaders of our nations, or in my case, to my nation and its capital city.

Physical Jerusalem of today is no longer the city of God; the holy city. The Bible says it is now of Hagar, the slave woman, whereas the children of promise (of the free woman) are those who, by faith, have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives (See Gal. 4). We are now the temple, and God dwells within us in the person of His Spirit. So, the temple of God today represents both our individual lives and relationships with Jesus Christ/God, and it also represents believers in Jesus Christ corporately. I will speak here of the church in the U.S.A., because that is what I know, because that is where I live.

The city of Jerusalem was not only the holy city and the religious center of the nation, but it was also their capital city, so it also represents political capitals of nations and political leaders. Since the only country in which I am really familiar is my own, I will speak mainly of how I believe this applies to the United States of America, and each of you can make application to your own countries, as well, by what you know of them politically.

Distinctives

First off I want to make a distinction between the true church and the institutional church. The true church is the body of Christ, i.e. it consists of those who by genuine believing faith have turned from their sins, have been transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God unto new birth in Christ Jesus, our Lord, and who have chosen, by faith, to walk in humble obedience to God/Christ Jesus, daily dying to sin and self (see Luke 9:23-25) – all in the power and strength of the Spirit of God living within us, and not of our own flesh. The church is not perfect, and it is not as though believers in Jesus Christ never fail God or they never fall back into sin and have need to be daily cleansed from sin – they do. Yet, this type of faith is characterized by a choice of the will to leave our sins behind and to walk by faith.

The institutional church, on the other hand, is a conglomeration of political, religious, social, business and cultural, which may characterize, to some extent, the blend of civil, political and religious as in the temple of old. It works much like any other business, and in America, is incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation underneath the federal government of the U.S. It is marketed just like big business, and it makes appeals to the world to join on the basis of those marketing ploys to get people to attend their gatherings. It usually gathers together in public buildings called “church”, may be of various denominations (doctrines, beliefs and practices), and its meetings, in general, are completely open to the public regardless of belief in God, and, in fact, many of the public gatherings are targeted at the people of the world, and they often engage in worldly methods in order to attract the world.

Glory of God vs. Idol of Jealousy

Ezekiel was visited by God via a vision in which an angel of God took him on a spiritual tour of the temple in Jerusalem. We will take a similar tour of the church of today, speaking primarily of the institutional church here in America and of its relationship to the U.S. government, to idolatry, and to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The “Glory of God” dwells within the hearts of individuals and within gatherings of the true church, the body of Christ. Nonetheless, God no longer dwells in buildings built by human hands. The scriptures make this clear. So a building is not the church. A corporation is not the church. A social club or religious center is not the church. When we enter a building called a “church” we are not entering the “house of God.” When we enter a worship center or a “sanctuary” within such a building, we are not entering the presence of God. So, with that said, the entrance (way inside) to the “inner court” in God’s temple must be seen as Jesus Christ as both the gate and as the Good Shepherd (see John 10), and the inner court represents our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Glory of God is seen at this entrance, because Jesus Christ (the gate) is God the Son. Yet at this entrance was another figure – the “idol that provokes to jealousy.” The idol is not given a name, but he comes from Satan. And, an idol is anything that is worshiped in place of or over and above God. These idols not only prevent many from even coming to true faith in Jesus Christ (entering through the gate), but they also prevent many believers in Christ from entering into true spiritual fellowship with their Lord God on a daily basis, i.e. they are barriers to intimacy with God.

The reason the idol(s) is called the “idol of jealousy” is because this idol or idols represent our spiritual adultery in our relationship with Jesus Christ, or it represents what prevents many from even entering into relationship with Jesus Christ. When we come to Christ, by faith, we enter into a marriage covenant with Jesus Christ/God. He becomes our husband and we are his bride. We promise to love, honor, obey, and be faithful to him, forsaking all others (all other gods, “lovers”, and our sins). So, if our possessions, careers, money, entertainment, teachings of mankind, sports, religious activities, belief systems, our “cathedrals,” mankind, dreams (goals), fleshly desires, etc. stand in the way of us either coming to Christ by faith, or they stand in the way to our intimacy with our Lord and our walk of obedience to him and to his commands, then they are idols that provoke jealousy, because our God is a jealous God who desires our faithfulness to him as our husband.

The Tour

The people of God were doing “utterly detestable” things in God’s temple. And, God was taking Ezekiel on a tour of his temple to see all of these detestable things, progressively getting worse with each new location. Today this would be like taking a tour of both the true church and the institutional church throughout our nations and throughout the world.

So, what are some of these “detestable things” existing within today’s church here in America? - And, in your country? Some of these I have already alluded to. The true church has institutionalized what was intended to be a spiritual entity and they have combined the body of Christ (in adulterous relationships) with the world and with the government, which I believe is of Satan here in America. And, they have taken on many of the customs and culture of today’s society, which is idolatry. As well, they have adopted this worshipful belief system concerning our nation, its flag, our military, and its government to the point of loyalty to country over loyalty to God, and refusal to look at the facts and to see what our country is truly founded upon, and what it really means when we pledge allegiance to the republic of our nation. God sees it as adultery and idolatry of the worst kind, and he is calling his true church to come out from her (Babylon).

The leaders of the nation and within the temple were given over to worship of idols of all kinds, particularly those of other cultures. The U.S. government and its capital city are marked by structures, layouts, statues, buildings and symbols associated with mythological gods of Greece, Rome and Egypt, and those associated with Satan worship and with freemasons and the illuminati. Our government was a pagan government from very early on, incorporating gods from all nations. We are not the Christian nation we grew up thinking we were, and our government and nation are not the good guys going throughout the world spreading good will and democracy. Our government and capital city are of Satan, and of the beast of Revelation, and its main goal is to bring us into this one world government (dictatorship) as is indicated on our Great Seal, our money and other symbols.

By following this government and pledging allegiance to it, we are worshiping it and are following after it with blind loyalty, giving our support to what I believe are the very works of Satan throughout the world. As well, we have adopted many of these same belief systems within the church and are following the ways of mankind instead of the ways of God; the teachings of mankind instead of the teachings of scripture; and marketing techniques for how to build big business over God’s plan for how to build his church; and the gospel of Jesus Christ is being diluted in order to make it more palatable to those who would listen, so many false confessions of Christ have taken place, and many have bought into a false hope of eternity with God based upon a BIG FAT LIE, i.e. deception of the worst kind, i.e. that God does not require repentance or obedience for salvation.

Because of all this, the true church as well as the institutional church not only have diluted the gospel to make the road to heaven broad instead of narrow, but they have exchanged the grace of God for a lie, and thus they use God’s grace as a Band-Aid to cover serious sin, and much sin abounds within the church unchecked, primarily because the leadership is either deep in sin themselves and/or because they don’t want to offend anyone and lose anyone from their congregations by confronting and dealing appropriately with continuous sin.

I don’t have the figures before me, but there is a very high percentage of pastors in the U.S.A. who are addicted to pornography because of the easy access to the internet and the lack of accountability, i.e. they are able to sin behind closed doors in secret. If our leaders are steeped in sin themselves, and they are following the ways of man instead of the ways of God, how can they lead us to live holy lives pleasing to God? Yet, we must each be responsible for his own life before God, and no matter what anyone else is doing, we must be willing to take a stand for Jesus Christ and to stand out and be different for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of his gospel. Will you be like Jesus? - Even if it means being hated, persecuted, rejected, accused falsely and ostracized from others?

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.

The Call of a Disciple

Saturday, April 6, 2013, 8:31 p.m. – the Lord Jesus has the song “Nothing Can Separate Us” going through my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Ezekiel 2-3 (NIV). [I will summarize the passages.] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%202&version=NIV; http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%203&version=NIV

Ezekiel’s Call

God told Ezekiel that he was to stand up on his feet and God would speak to him. To me, this is more than just a command to literally stand on his feet, but it is a call to action – to get up, get ready, take a stand and be ready to move out when God told him. This is not unlike a commanding officer calling a soldier to battle. God told him he was sending him to his people - his chosen ones - yet they were a rebellious (disobedient; defiant; stubborn and obstinate) people. He was to speak God’s words to them whether they listened or they failed to listen. Ezekiel was not to be afraid, “though briers and thorns are all around you, and you live among scorpions.” In other words, even if the people to whom he was being sent made life very difficult for him, he was not to fear them or their words against him.

God said that Ezekiel must speak God’s words to the people. It was imperative, necessary and essential that he speak God’s words to them. He was to listen to what God said to him, which meant he had to spend time each day in prayer and in listening to God’s words, so that he knew what to do and what to say. And, then he had to obey what God showed him. God cautioned him against rebelling like his other rebellious children were doing. The task before Ezekiel was going to be hard. God was not sending him to people who would listen, but who most likely would not listen and, in fact, would reject the words Ezekiel spoke, and some of that rejection would also be most unpleasant. Yet, he was not to reject the assignment just because it was going to be difficult and unpopular.

Then, God told him to open his mouth and to eat what God gave him. It was a scroll, and written on both sides of it were words of lament, mourning and woe. He was to eat it and then go and speak to God’s people. The scroll tasted sweet as honey in his mouth. This reminds me of words spoken in the psalms: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Ps. 119:103). Even words of mourning, woe, judgment, chastisement, correction, rebuke and calls to repentance can be sweet as honey in our minds and hearts when we take them in, because they are God’s words speaking, and because his words are filled with love, compassion, mercy and hope, if we will but listen, will heed his words to us, and if we will obey and submit to his will for our lives.

It was essential that before Ezekiel went and spoke to the people that he “ate” the words of God. This was not a casual read of God’s words or a five minute devotional and then “out the door.” Also, he could not do all the talking and God do all the listening. For Ezekiel to be prepared adequately for the task before him, he had to spend time with God drinking in his words, meditating on them, thinking about what his words meant, responding to them with his own heart, and making them personal in his own life. He had to inquire of the Lord as to what truths God had for him personally and then for him to share. And, he had to be in confession before God over any sin in his own life so that he was a pure vessel God could use in taking his messages to the ones to whom God would have him speak.

Then God said “Go now and speak my words to them.” He was prepared. He was ready. Yet, God told him ahead of time that the people would not listen to him, because they didn’t listen to God. The people of God were hardened and obstinate, so God would make Ezekiel as unyielding and as hardened as them, only not to the things of God, but to the resistance and rejection he would face from the people to the messages. Again, God told him to not be afraid of the people or to be terrified by them. So much of what God said to Ezekiel here reminds me of God’s words to Jeremiah, too (see Jer. 1). Ezekiel was to listen carefully to God’s words, take them to heart, and then go to his countrymen and tell them what God said to say to them, whether they listened or they failed to listen. And, Ezekiel did take God’s words to heart. He personally felt God’s heart and emotions as though they were his own. And, in the power and strength of the Lord he went forth and did as God directed him.

Ezekiel’s task was to be that of a spiritual watchman, giving warning to those who were acting wickedly in order to turn them from their evil ways, and to call the people to repentance. Each person was to be responsible for his own actions. Ezekiel had the responsibility to speak God’s words to the people, but each individual person was responsible to God for what he or she did with the words spoken. Some would listen, and others would refuse. Ezekiel was to accept that would be the case. He would not be held responsible for those who refused to listen.

Disciples of Christ

Jesus commissioned his disciples to make disciples of Christ (followers of Christ) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and teaching them to obey whatever Christ has commanded us (see Mt. 28:18-20). He told them that when the Holy Spirit came upon them that they would be his witnesses throughout the world (see Acts 1:8). We receive the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives. When we receive Jesus, we become his disciples. Making disciples means more than just seeing people come to salvation, but it means helping them to grow in Christ to maturity by teaching them Christ’s words to us, and by teaching them to obey his words. This is the calling of every follower of Jesus Christ. We are to be lights for the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world, yet we are also to help our fellow believers grow in Christ.

Christ Jesus is calling us to stand on our feet - to get up, get ready, take a stand and be ready to move out when he tells us to. We are to go to whomever he specifically sends us, yet it is the commission of each and every one of us not only to share the gospel with the unsaved, but to help nurture our fellow believers to maturity in Christ through encouragement, building one another up in the faith, edification, strengthening one another, turning sinners from their sinful ways, and helping restore a fallen Christian back to a right relationship with God. To encourage can mean to inspire, hearten, cheer and reassure, but it also means to urge, nurture, persuade, admonish and implore. As well, to edify means to inform, educate, instruct, teach and help improve. To build up means to inspire as well as to help develop, expand and enlarge. In other words, we are not here just to make everyone feel good, though that is really nice, but we are here to help others live holy lives pleasing to God, and we are to be Christ’s hands and feet in doing all the same things Jesus did.

Not everyone will accept our words, because not everyone accepts God’s words. We may face much opposition both from the unsaved and from those within the church who are, perhaps, just as stubborn, obstinate and rebellious as the people of Ezekiel’s day or, perhaps, we will face such disapproval from those who sincerely have just bought into lies of the enemy and think that what they have been taught is the truth. Yet, many of them stubbornly refuse to find out what the real truth is, or they reject it even if you show it to them, because they like the lies better. And, that is the sad reality of it all. Some will listen, but many will fail to listen, yet we are still to speak God’s words whether they listen or not, because we are not responsible for what they do with what they hear. They are.

Yet, even if we face much opposition, persecution, or rejection for sharing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and for teaching other believers to obey all of Christ’s commands, we are not to fear their responses to us, their words which may be spoken against us, or their attitudes and actions towards us, etc. We are to just listen to God speaking to us each day, take to heart his words and apply them to our own lives, and then we are to go and to share them with others in whatever way God would have us to share them. And, we need to rely upon the strength and power of the Lord to speak through us the words he would have us speak.

Jesus said we would be hated, rejected and persecuted just like he was, so we should not be surprised if this is the kind of response we receive for obeying our Lord. Yet, we should be encouraged to know that no matter what, nothing can separate us from God’s love. If God is on our side, then that should overshadow any who may be against us. And, we should know that God will supply everything we need, so we never have to be afraid.  

Nothing Can Separate Us / An Original Work / March 28, 2013

Based off Romans 8:28-39

Nothing can separate us

From Christ’s love now within us:

Not trouble, hardship, nor famine,

Nor danger, nor sword.

No, in all of these things

We are more than conquerors!

For your sake we face hardship.

We are sheep to be slaughtered.

I am convinced that death,

Nor life, nor anything else

Will separate us from

The love of God now in Christ.

What, then, shall we say to this?

God for us: who against us?

He who did not spare His Son

But gave Him for us all –

How will He not, with Him,

Graciously give us all things?

Who brings a charge against us?

God justifies His chosen.

Who is He that condemns?

Christ Jesus; died, rose again.

He’s at the right hand of God,

Interceding for us.

http://originalworks.info/nothing-can-separate-us/

Therefore I Have Hope

Friday, April 05, 2013, 5:00 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “I Will Lift My Eyes” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Lamentations 3 (NIV). [I will quote some and summarize some.] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations%203&version=NIV

Affliction

When we sin against God and against others, there are often consequences for those sins regardless of God’s forgiveness. Some of those consequences can be quite painful. Yet when we, as his children, continually and willfully sin against God and others, refuse correction time and time again, will not listen to the counsel of the word of truth, God’s holy words, and we refuse to repent, then God may and often does correct us with some type of divine correction and/or discipline (see Rev. 3:19). The Bible states that those God loves he disciplines, reproves and scourges, as a father would discipline his children. In fact, it states that if we are not disciplined by God, we are illegitimate children. God’s purpose in discipline is for our good, “so that we may share in his holiness.” When we are going through such times of discipline, it is painful, yet if we learn through it the lessons we need to learn, it will yield in us “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (see Heb. 12 NASB).

When we go through these times of divine discipline and correction in our lives, they can seem very dark, and we may even feel as though God has abandoned us. He has not. We might have a sense of hopelessness and even despair of life, feeling as though we are walled in with no way out. We possibly could think our prayers are going nowhere, because we can’t hear God’s voice speaking to us as we once did. That is a horrible feeling, I know! We could also possibly face the desertion of friends, either because of our sin, or because of God’s hand of discipline upon us. We may be brought to many tears, sorrow and regret over our sinful folly. People could even mock us and make fun of us because they may believe we got our “just desserts.” We might experience deep depression and loss of peace and deem the future we had hoped for has now vanished before our eyes, feeling despondent.

This I Call to Mind

It is during these times that we need to accept God’s hand of discipline on our lives as his love for us in helping us to turn back and to go the right direction (like a U-turn). He is not mean, and he gets no pleasure out of bringing us pain, but in love he will correct us so that we do not continue down a path of self-destruction - hurting ourselves, others, and our relationships with God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

When a loving parent has to discipline a child, the parent does not cease to love or care for the child. In fact, tough love is one of the hardest and greatest expressions of love because it risks the rejection of the one being disciplined in the hopes that the correction will produce the needed change. It cares more about the other person than it does itself, willing to be hated in return, in order to see the other person go free. It is the ultimate in self-sacrificial love. That is how Jesus loves us, and it is how we should love one another.

I remember my affliction and my wandering,

    the bitterness and the gall.

I well remember them,

    and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind

    and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

    therefore I will wait for him.”

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,

    to the one who seeks him;

it is good to wait quietly

    for the salvation of the Lord.

We also need to remind ourselves of God’s goodness to us - of his great love and compassion, mercy and forgiveness, for those things have not changed. His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Amen! He is ever faithful. He will do what is good for those whose hope is in him and who seek him. We cannot give up on God just because our circumstances get bleak all of a sudden. If we turn from our sins and we turn back to him in faith and obedience, he will help us to start again on the right path. It does not mean we will not have to experience some natural consequences for our sin and rebellion, but that he is a God of new beginnings. Amen! He can help us to forgive ourselves and to believe, by God’s grace, that we can live for him, and we no longer have to be slaves to sin.

Examine and Return

Though God may bring us grief for a time, he will show us compassion, because he is great in love. When we experience his divine discipline, we should not complain against him. He has every right to bring both calamities and good things into our lives. We should not expect only good from him. I think that is where a lot of people get off the mark, because they see God much like a doting grandfather in the sky who only gives good gifts but who never disciplines or corrects his children. That is not a true picture of God. We were made in his image. If we, being human parents, understand the necessity of discipline and correction with our children, then we must be willing to accept it when God disciplines us.

Let us examine our ways and test them,

    and let us return to the Lord.

Let us lift up our hearts and our hands

    to God in heaven, and say:

“We have sinned and rebelled…”

So, instead of wallowing in self-pity, or spending our energies on blaming or complaining to God and others because of our circumstances, we should take this opportunity to do some self-examination before God, inquiring of him as to what, in our hearts, needs to be changed, and then turn from whatever wicked or adulterous ways the Lord shows us, and return to our Lord with our whole hearts, minds, and emotions, trusting him with our lives fully, and being ready and willing to obey him in all things and to follow him wherever he leads us.

We should get our eyes off ourselves and we should focus on our Lord and on his great love for us - his mercy, forgiveness and compassions - and on his requirements for our lives. We should find out what pleases him, and we should begin to do those things. We should “fall in love” with our Lord all over again, desiring him above all else, and making him truly Lord!

I Will Lift My Eyes / An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes

To my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him,

Who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and

He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and

Your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes

To my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him,

Who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes

To my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord.

My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

Because of His great love for us,

He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior,

He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes

To my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord.

My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

My home now in heav’n.

Praise be to the Lord,

Who is on our side.

Our help found in Him.

He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken.

God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us.

He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord,

Who is on our side.

Our help found in Him.

He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.

http://originalworks.info/i-will-lift-my-eyes-2/

The Aftermath

Thursday, April 04, 2013, 8:26 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Nothing Can Separate Us” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Lamentations 1 (NIV). [I will summarize.] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Lamentations%201&version=NIV

The people of God in Judah and in Jerusalem, its capital, sinned greatly against God, as did the people in Israel (Israel was divided into two kingdoms at this time). They refused to repent of their wicked ways. They were obstinate in their rebellion against God, did not listen to his words, did not obey his commands, and were determined to continue to do what they knew was wrong. Time and time again God sent his messengers to them to warn them of judgment, to confront them with their sins and to call them to repentance, but to no avail. So, God said he would bring upon them all the disasters he had planned for them. Lamentations is a series of laments during the aftermath of God’s judgments on his people.

The city of Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah and the location of the temple of God for the Israelites, laid in ruins, deserted. She was once great among the nations, but now she had become a slave to her captors. The city, personified, wept. Not one of her “lovers” was there to comfort her, i.e. not one of her allies or other gods to whom she turned instead of turning to the Lord was there to give her comfort. Her friends had betrayed her and had become her enemies. No one attended her festivals any longer, and it appears no one traveled to the temple mount, either. Her friends not only became her enemies, but her enemies now became her masters. The Lord had brought her grief because of her many sins. Her leaders, in weakness, did not stand but fled before their pursuer, i.e. they deserted her. Her enemies mocked her and laughed at her because she called herself the blessed of God and now she was destroyed because of her sins, and because of her pride and her arrogance.

She became unclean because of her many sins. All who had honored her before now despised her, for they saw her nakedness, i.e. they saw her sins exposed, so there were no more allusions of grandeur related to her. She was in this condition because she didn't consider her future. She lived for the moment, and gave no regard to God’s commands or to his threats of judgment. So, her fall was astounding. The enemy took over all her treasures, and those who did not regard as holy or even believe in God’s existence now trampled his sanctuary. The people were hungry and exchanged what treasures they had remaining for food, perhaps even selling their own children and/or wives.

The city (or the nation), personified, called out to the Lord. She was despised. She recognized that the Lord had brought all this suffering upon her in “the day of his fierce anger” because of her many sins. Her sins were like a yoke hung on her neck, i.e. she was feeling the weight and the guilt and shame of them all. She wept, not only because of her sins, and because her friends had betrayed her, but because of the strong hand of the Lord against her in judgment. Her children were destitute. She had no comfort from her friends, her allies, from her other gods, and not even from God, because he had decreed this judgment upon her. She recognized and acknowledged that she had sinned against God’s commands. She stated that she was disturbed within her heart for she had been most rebellious. Her enemies rejoiced in what God had done to her. Her only hope at this moment was that God would repay her enemies and would bring upon them all that he had brought upon her.

Although I see honest confession of guilt, at this point I do not see genuine repentance from her, but only self-pity and a longing to be comforted and to find relief for her pain.

What About Us?

Israel, as a nation, and as a people of God was in a unique situation known only to her at that time. She was not only the chosen people of God and in covenant relationship with God, as a people, but she was also a physical nation. Her temple was a physical one in a physical location, Jerusalem, and many of her leaders were thus in dual roles as both religious and civil authorities.

Under the New Covenant relationship with God via the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins, the people of God today are the true church, the saints of God. This church is comprised of a body of believers who are followers of Jesus Christ, and it is a spiritual entity, not a physical one. She is the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of God and true spiritual Israel. Thus, she is a spiritual nation of people, yet she dwells within the boundaries of physical nations. The temple of God now dwells within the lives of Christ’s true followers via the person of the Holy Spirit.

This judgment of God lamented here was against the people of God and their nation. God will once again come against people in such a judgment during the time of tribulation. Many Christians, especially here in America, believe that Christians will be spared this judgment of God. I see no indication of that in scripture, though God may spare some for sure. When we read the prophecies of old that blend together the warnings and promises of old with the warnings and promises of these last days, i.e. which have dual or parallel fulfillments, we come to understand that the main reason for these judgments is for the same reasons as throughout history. They are because of the rebellion of God’s people, the church throughout the earth, who have refused to repent of her wicked ways, and are bent on continuing in rebellion, and who ignore God’s messages time and time again (see Rev. 2-3).

Yet, when God visits the earth in judgment he will judge its inhabitants and the nations throughout the earth. The true saints of God who follow after the testimony of Jesus Christ will go through a great time of persecution, imprisonments, beatings and death for the sake of Christ and his gospel.

I live in the United States of America. The Holy Spirit of God has been giving me messages of judgment against the idolatrous church (and/or the institutional church) and against our government now for the past nine years, but nearly daily since 2006. The judgments against the institutional church will be because of her yoked relationship with the U.S. government, which is an instrument of Satan. It will also be because of her idolatry and spiritual adultery and her refusal to listen to the words of God and to repent of her ways. As well, this judgment the Lord has been showing me will come against our government because it makes claims to being a Christian nation blessed of God, under God, and trusting in God, yet the very roots of our nation reveal a government formed in the image of Satan, full of idolatry and the worship of other “gods” (evil spirits), which is part of the “beast system” and much of which intends to betray their own and to turn us over to our enemies.

So, I see many parallels between the descriptions of judgment in this lament and what I believe God has planned for America and for the idolatrous church in America if we do not repent of our evil ways. I believe we will see our institutions of church and of government deserted, and we will be taken over by “the beast,” i.e. by a global rule of order (a dictatorship), not unlike Hitler’s rule, only globally and targeted against followers of Christ. Many of our allies (lovers) and “friends” will betray us and turn against us. America will be exposed for her many sins, and no longer honored among men. And, she will lament of much the same treatment as did Judah, Jerusalem and Israel of old.

No Condemnation

Many Christians will use the argument of “no condemnation” for those in Christ Jesus (see Ro. 8) to say God will not judge, i.e. not discipline (punish) his idolatrous and wayward church with disasters, hardship, famine or sword. Yet, in context, this is speaking of our salvation in Jesus Christ, and Christ no longer condemning those “in Christ” to eternity in hell (eternal punishment), thus setting us free from the law of sin and death. Yet, Jesus promised us that we would go through difficult times, hardships, persecutions, etc. and that he does discipline (correct; punish) his children as a loving father would correct his wayward children in order to bring us back into an obedient and intimate fellowship with him (see Rev. 2-3 and the entire book of Isaiah). God’s judgments of his people were always with the goal of revival, forgiveness, restoration and healing.

Yet, also in context we get a clear picture of what it truly means to be “in Christ.” We are described as those who “do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit,” who have our minds set on “what the Spirit desires” and whose minds are controlled (governed) by the Spirit; who are “led by the Spirit of God,” who love God (see 1 Jn. 2:3; 5:3 – love = obedience), and who, by the Spirit, put to death the misdeeds of the body. This is what it means to be in Christ. And, this is what is involved in coming to faith in Jesus Christ, too (see Ro. 6; Eph. 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-25; Gal. 2:20, et al).

Yet, is it possible for those truly in Christ to, at some point in their lives, fall back into the trap of sin and rebellion? I believe it is, for the letters to the seven churches were written to the churches, many to whom God gave both good and bad reports, called them to repentance and renewed faith, and warned of his judgments against them if they did not turn from their wicked ways and return to following their Lord Jesus in obedience.

Yet, if we live according to the Spirit, have our minds set on what the Spirit desires, and our minds are governed by the Spirit, and we are led by the Spirit, we demonstrate our love for God by obeying his commands, and we daily put to death the misdeeds of the body, then, no matter what we go through or what God allows us to suffer, the Spirit of God is there to help us in our weakness, he intercedes for us on our behalf in accordance with God’s will for our lives, and God will work everything out for good and for his purposes, to conform us to the image of his Son. And, we won’t have to be concerned about having physical enemies because God is for us, so those against us are of no account to us, i.e. they have no real control over us. God will provide all we need or he will take us home to be with him in glory. Nothing (no hardship, famine or sword) will be able to separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ within us we can be conquerors in all these things that come against us. They don’t have power over us, because God is in control over our lives.

Nothing Can Separate Us / An Original Work / March 28, 2013

Based off Romans 8:28-39

Nothing can separate us

From Christ’s love now within us:

Not trouble, hardship, nor famine,

Nor danger, nor sword.

No, in all of these things

We are more than conquerors!

For your sake we face hardship.

We are sheep to be slaughtered.

I am convinced that death,

Nor life, nor anything else

Will separate us from

The love of God now in Christ.

What, then, shall we say to this?

God for us: who against us?

He who did not spare His Son

But gave Him for us all –

How will He not, with Him,

Graciously give us all things?

Who brings a charge against us?

God justifies His chosen.

Who is He that condemns?

Christ Jesus; died, rose again.

He’s at the right hand of God,

Interceding for us.

http://originalworks.info/nothing-can-separate-us/

Only in Due Measure

Tuesday, April 02, 2013, 2:57 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Why So Downcast?” playing in my mind. He also woke me from a dream.

THE DREAM: I was looking at something covered – long and narrow – not sure what it was, but knew it had something to do with young (pre-adult) children (or with their generation). The covering was an off-white heavy cloth similar to what is used to cover statues before unveiling, what is used to cover weapons in transport, and/or, perhaps, what might be used to cover the dead.

[I drew it out – how I saw it in the dream - http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b58/Christsfreeservant/ImageoftheBeast.jpg. I am no artist, though. The lumps may have been a little more pronounced and spread further apart, and it may not have been quite that long, i.e. not as many lumps.]

Then, the term “image of the beast” came to mind. A man was standing there. When he saw the thing that was covered, whatever it was, his countenance dropped, and he got very quiet and still, as though he knew what it was, and as though he realized he had just been found out and that his doom was sure, i.e. he knew he was in trouble. END

I woke in a start, inquiring of the Lord as to what I had just seen. I then heard the term “Moloch” (or Molech) in my mind. This is not the first time the Lord has given me that name in a dream or following a dream, or had it stand out in scripture. A search on my computer shows up with 16 quiet times (writings) with a reference to Molech. Here are just a few: http://christsfreeservant.blogspot.com/2011/01/we-followed-after-lies.html; http://christsfreeservant.blogspot.com/2010/10/raging-bull.html

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I began reading at Jeremiah 46, which continued through chapter 51. These are the verses that jumped out at me: Jer. 46:8, 20-21, 24, 27-28; Jer. 47: 3, 5a; Jer. 48: 2b, 4, 26; Jer. 49:1, 10, 23; Jer. 51: 25 & 45.

“Egypt rises like the Nile,

    like rivers of surging waters.

She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;

    I will destroy cities and their people.’” ~ Jer. 46:8

“Egypt is a beautiful heifer,

    but a gadfly is coming

    against her from the north.

The mercenaries in her ranks

    are like fattened calves.

They too will turn and flee together,

    they will not stand their ground,

for the day of disaster is coming upon them,

    the time for them to be punished.” ~ Jer. 46:20-21

“Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,

    given into the hands of the people of the north.” ~ Jer. 46:24

“Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant;

    do not be dismayed, Israel.

I will surely save you out of a distant place,

    your descendants from the land of their exile.

Jacob will again have peace and security,

    and no one will make him afraid.

Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,

    for I am with you,” declares the Lord.

“Though I completely destroy all the nations

    among which I scatter you,

    I will not completely destroy you.

I will discipline you but only in due measure;

    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.” ~ Jer. 46:27-28

Parents will not turn to help their children;

    their hands will hang limp. ~ Jer. 47:3

Gaza will shave her head in mourning;

    Ashkelon will be silenced. ~ Jer. 47:5a

“You, the people of Madmen, will also be silenced;

    the sword will pursue you.” Or, “You too, Madmen, will be silenced;

The sword will follow after you.” ~ Jer. 48:2b (NIV/NASB)

“Moab is broken,

Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.” ~ Jer. 48:4

“Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the Lord; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.” ~ Jer. 48:26

“Does Israel have no sons?

Or has he no heirs?

Why then has Malcam” (or Molech) “taken possession of Gad

And his people settled in its cities?” ~ Jer. 49:1

“But I have stripped Esau bare,

I have uncovered his hiding places

So that he will not be able to conceal himself;

His offspring has been destroyed along with his relatives

And his neighbors, and he is no more.” ~ Jer. 49:10

“Hamath and Arpad are put to shame,

For they have heard bad news;

They are disheartened.” ~ Jer. 49:23

“Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain,

Who destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord,

“And I will stretch out My hand against you,

And roll you down from the crags,

And I will make you a burnt out mountain.” ~ Jer. 51:25 NASB

“Come out of her, my people!

    Run for your lives!

    Run from the fierce anger of the Lord.” ~ Jer. 51:45 NIV

Symbols

I am not certain of what I saw in the dream (the drawing), but I do know that whatever it is, it has these distinct features:

It is covered.

I believe, in this setting, that cover can be taken as concealment, disguise, camouflage, something hidden, masked, and covered-up, i.e. with full intent of presenting a different appearance than what is true (deception), and/or for the purpose of directing attention elsewhere, as well as it includes the idea of extending control over a particular area, such as Egypt said she would “rise and cover the earth, that she will destroy cities and their people.”

The term “False Flag Operation” comes to mind here, because “false flags” are military operations that are carried out with the express purpose of appearing as though someone other than our military or government is responsible for the carnage perpetrated by our very own. I believe, and there is much evidence to support this if you care to do the research, that 9/11 was a false flag operation, and that our own government is culpable for the deaths that day, as well as those at the theatre in Aurora, the charade, or perhaps the real deaths at Sandy Hook, and many of the “insurgencies” and “political uprisings” across the globe, all for the purpose of taking control of the governments of the nations of the world one at a time in order to bring all nations under the rule of one global government, ultimately culminating in the beast of Revelation. The Bible says this is coming.

It has to do with children.

What I saw was not only covered, but it had to do with children. I see many ways here in which children are involved. They represent our future, for one. Yet, Molech is what really jumps out at me here, as Molech was a “Canaanite version of the Egyptian god Set.” This “god” is associated with homosexuality, evil, human sacrifice, the sacrifice of children, sexual orgies, including homosexual orgies, and is “a god of destruction” associated with the Egyptian military. In Rome he was “worshiped as the god Saturn.” Parents who worshiped Moloch were known to sacrifice their own children by fire. Source: http://www.whale.to/b/moloch_s.htm

In mythology, the god Set had several siblings, such as Osiris, Isis and Horus. We learned about them in the writing “The Queen of Heaven.” Osiris was married to Isis. He died at the hand of his brother Set, and then supposedly he impregnated his wife supernaturally and she gave birth to Horus. In Babylonian mythology, it was Ishtar instead of Isis and Tammuz instead of Horus and the father of Tammuz was Nimrod who, after death, then became Baal, the sun god, so same (or similar) myth with just different names depending upon whether it was of Greek, Roman or Egyptian origin. The eye of Horus is considered to be one and the same with the all-seeing eye over top the (Egyptian) unfinished pyramid on our Great Seal and on our one dollar bill, a symbol of the United States of America.

In a previous writing, “The god of the Underworld,” I learned much about the god Saturn. For one, I learned this: Saturn was the “first god of the capitol.” And, “…the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 announced the “return of the golden age of Saturn” -http://community-2.webtv.net/westernmind/WASHINGTONDC/. The Lord, I believe, was making many connections in this writing between mythological gods (demons/Satan) being over our government from the very onset of the formation of our government, or at least from the point of this ratification of the Constitution. Even the layout of Washington, D.C., our U.S. symbols and the architecture and statues in D.C. reveal deep roots in Roman, Greek and Egyptian “gods and goddesses,” i.e. idolatry and Satan worship.

Part of this worship of these gods and goddesses, in particular Moloch (Molech), has to do with homosexuality, sexual orgies and the sacrifice of children. Children are being sacrificed in many ways in our society. They are being “molested” daily by the media, social media included, by advertising, subliminal messages, product placement, TV shows, books, the Internet, movies, video games, music and the like, including pop culture and peer pressure. I’ve tried buying clothes for my granddaughters (ages 6 to 14), and it is depressing – tight pants, short-shorts, tight-fitting shirts, see-through shirts, low-cut shirts, low-cut pants, etc. Even many of their dolls look like hookers, and I see so many young girls trying to look just like the images they see on TV and in advertising, but what message are they giving about themselves and to young men? As a grandmother, it pains me to see my grandchildren being exposed to this sexually-obsessed culture of ours.

Yet, Molech also represents the killing of our children. This includes abortions, I believe, which are done by the millions, but it also includes wars and senseless killings by our own military, I believe, all for one purpose – world domination.

It has to do with the “image of the beast.”

An image can be a photograph, a painting or a sculpture, or it can be a mental picture of something or someone. It can also be a copy, twin, duplicate, and/or clone, or it can have to do with appearance, exterior, façade, outer shell, representation, reflection, and/or concept. I did note that Moloch was a hollow statue, which would paint an image of being superficial and having no heart or soul. It is just a copy of what is real, but it is not the real thing, such as the antichrist is a fake copy of the real Christ. It also gives the appearance of being one thing while it is something else entirely. I do see that with our government in these “false flag operations,” and with news stories which are largely made up and government controlled for the purpose to deceive the people.

It has to do with shame and punishment.

In the dream, when the man saw this thing that is covered, and has to do with children, and is the image of the beast, and has to do with Molech, his countenance dropped because he knew what he was seeing, and he knew it meant he was found out and that punishment was coming. Then everything got quiet, still, i.e. was silenced, i.e. pride, arrogance, boasting, willful sin and rebellion will be stilled. This thing he saw covers the earth and destroys what it touches. It has to do with shame and punishment. It has to do with discipline in “due measure” of the Lord’s people throughout the earth who have rebelled against him and who are not obeying his commands, are being willfully defiant, perhaps are involved in horrible sins, are guilty of covering them up, and through judgment God is going to uncover what has been covered so that what has been concealed will now come out in the open.

What I also saw here with these scriptures and declarations of judgments against the nations, including against Babylon who God used as an instrument of judgment against the nations is that the U.S. from conception is both “Egypt” and “Babylon,” i.e. our unfinished pyramid and all-seeing eye of Egyptian origin show a connection with Egypt, and the relationship between the institutional church in the U.S. and its government is similar to Israel’s relationship to Egypt, for they often looked to her for help and protection instead of looking to the Lord, but that was her downfall. The U.S. is a nation (Egypt) but it is also intended to be the catalyst for a “new order of the ages,” i.e. this one world government, i.e. culminating in the beast of Revelation, so this one world government will eventually, if it has not already, consume her just like the rest of the world so that she is destroyed from within. What the man (our nation; our government) saw was destruction and punishment because of his many sins. This is what is coming, yet we should not be afraid.

Why So Downcast? / An Original Work / December 21, 2012

Based off Psalm 42

Why so downcast, O my soul,

And why so disturbed now within me?

Put your hope in Jesus Christ,

For I will praise His name.

He’s my Savior and my God,

So therefore I’ll remember Him through

Storms and tempests sweeping o’er me.

Still I’ll praise His name.

Put your hope in God.

By day the Lord sends forth His love.

In the night His song is with me.

I pray to the God of my life.

I will praise His name. I say to God my Rock,

“Why must I be called to suffer this way?”

Foes attack me; Satan sneering.

Still I’ll praise my God.

Put your hope in Him.

As a deer pants for the waters,

So my soul pants for You, O God.

My soul thirsts for God who’s living.

When can I meet Him?

My tears have been my food at night,

When men say, “So, where is your God?”

I pour out my soul to my God.

I’ll still praise His name.

Shout with joy to Him.

http://originalworks.info/why-so-downcast-2/

Do Not Seek Them

Monday, April 01, 2013, 5:11 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Awaken the Dawn” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Jeremiah 45 (NIV):

When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”

The Scroll

In Jeremiah 36 we read that God told Jeremiah to take a scroll and to write on it all the words God had spoken to him concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations. The writings were to cover a specified period of time (see http://originalworks.info/new-beginnings/). God then said that, perhaps, when the people heard it read to them that they would turn from their wicked ways, and he would forgive them. So, Jeremiah did as the Lord instructed. He dictated the words to his scribe, Baruch, who then wrote the words on the scroll. Then, Jeremiah asked Baruch to take the scroll to the temple on a day of fasting and to read it to the people there, because Jeremiah was under some restriction and could not do it himself. So, Baruch did everything Jeremiah told him to do.

Someone who heard the scroll read then asked Baruch to read it to the officials, and eventually it was read to the king by someone named Jehudi. The king, after the reading of three or four columns, cut off the portion of the scroll that had been read, and he threw it in the fire. The whole scroll was burned up. The king showed no fear of God. The king then ordered the arrest of Baruch and Jeremiah, but the Lord hid them. Then, the Lord told Jeremiah to take another scroll and to write on it all the words that were on the first scroll that had been burned in the fire. So, Jeremiah did as the Lord instructed, and once again he dictated all the words of the Lord to Baruch, and Baruch wrote all the words on the scroll.

Jeremiah

Following this account of the burning of the scroll and the re-writing of the words that were contained on the burned scroll onto a new scroll, we read where Jeremiah warned the people to flee Jerusalem and Judah, and to surrender to the Babylonians in order to spare their lives, and not to think, just because there seemed to be a lull in the advancement of forces that it meant the enemy was not coming back. They were coming back, and they planned to burn the city down. Then we read of Jeremiah’s arrest, of him beaten and thrown into prison, and then of him released from that prison to be placed in the courtyard of the guard. Then we read how Jeremiah continued to preach that the people must flee the city and surrender to the Babylonians if they want to live. The officials did not like that, so they threw him into a cistern and he sunk down in the mud. Someone appealed to the king on behalf of Jeremiah and the king had Jeremiah pulled out of the cistern, and Jeremiah was once again placed in the courtyard of the guard. Wow!

Jerusalem

Then, we have the account of Jerusalem being taken by the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon gave orders to spare Jeremiah’s life. Jeremiah was then set free for a time. Some battles took place between some groups of people. The people inquired of Jeremiah as to what they should do. The people promised to obey the Lord. The people were the remnant which survived the onslaught of the king of Babylon, and they were now in a safe place. Jeremiah told them to stay put, for the Lord would take care of them, and he would protect them, but if they fled to Egypt, they were to know that the king of Babylon would attack Egypt and they would lose their lives. The people, who had just said they would obey God, no matter the message, responded to Jeremiah by calling him a liar. So, the people disobeyed God and they fled to Egypt. It appears they took Baruch and Jeremiah with them. The officers led away the entire remnant to Egypt.

In Egypt, God spoke to the people through Jeremiah concerning their idolatry, but the people responded by saying they would not listen to the message God spoke to them through Jeremiah, and that they would continue their practice of worshiping the “Queen of Heaven,” as had been practiced by their ancestors. Culture and tradition are very strong forces (see http://originalworks.info/the-queen-of-heaven/). So, Jeremiah told them to go ahead and do what they had determined to do, but they were to know that disaster would strike and that there would be great loss of life.

Baruch

Then we have this small chapter 45 which is addressed to Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe. If we try to put ourselves in the place of Baruch, I think we can get a feel for what Baruch was feeling, and why he felt as though God had added sorrow to his pain, and why he was worn out with groaning and felt as though he had no rest. Just having to write all those messages of judgment must have been depressing enough, let alone to have to read them to the people, then to have his life threatened, then to take on the task of rewriting what he had written before, as was dictated to him by Jeremiah, then witnessing the fall of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem, then to be forced to flee to Egypt with the remnant of Judah, and then to have the people to continue to reject the words, to continue in their idolatry and disobedience, and to know that was only going to mean more judgment to come. Wow!

Yet, this chapter could have been placed in the writings of Jeremiah out of order, because the indication is that God spoke to Baruch when he wrote on the scroll the words dictated to him by Jeremiah, which would place this writing prior to the fall of Jerusalem and Judah. Still, Baruch evidently wanted relief from his suffering. That is understandable. We don’t really know what all he said to God or what was going through his head or what “great things” he wanted for himself, but perhaps he was lamenting the loss of property, the future he thought he was going to have, the loss of friends and family, and a not-so-great prospect of what was yet to face him, and perhaps he was hoping life would return to “normal.”

Making it Personal

I’ve been there. Perhaps many of you have, too. Sometimes life throws curve balls at us, and sometimes darts, yet God is absolutely sovereign over all things. Nothing takes him by surprise. Nothing can touch us but what God allows it, and he allows it for a purpose. And, if we think the grass is greener on the other side, think again. If we think, “If I just had a different job, or I moved to a new location, or I had a different car, or spouse, or house, then things would be different,” then think again! We may have some temporary relief or gratification from something new or different, but ultimately we take ourselves with us wherever we go, and life has its ups and downs no matter where we live or where we work, and marriage is hard no matter what. There is no perfect anything! And, we should never look to things of this earth to bring us peace, joy, satisfaction or to heal what ails us, because the things of this life are temporal and are bound to disappoint us and leave us empty and longing for more.

The Apostle Paul said he learned the art of being content no matter what his circumstances. When we realize that God is absolutely sovereign over all things, and that he allows circumstances in our lives for our good – to teach, mature and purify us and to make us holy – then we realize that running away is never the answer. “If only we had this or that, then we would be happy” is also not the answer. And, if we try to live our lives to please people, we will find that no matter where we go, and no matter how hard we try to do what we think people expect of us, someone will always not like us, and the rules will keep changing from place to place and from people to people. And, if it is God’s purpose for you or I to go through something in our lives, he may take us through it no matter where we end up. We can never run from God (see Psalm 139).

Yet, sometimes God says “Go! Flee! Get outa town!” That is what he was telling the people of Jerusalem and Judah before the fall of Jerusalem. And, if this is the timing of God’s words to Baruch, then perhaps the message to him was for him not to hold on to the life he had before, or the future he thought he was going to have for himself, nor to hold on to his earthly possessions, but he was to go and to leave it all behind him, yet he was not to expect that a change in location was necessarily going to be any better, for God planned to judge the whole earth.

So, a move with God, upon his orders, may not bring the promise of improvement over circumstances. Yet, we can go in the hope and promise that God is with us, and if we are going out of obedience to God, with the peace and blessings of knowing we are in the center of his will. The main thing is to bring all things to God in prayer, to trust him with our circumstances, and to not think that natural changes in environment or circumstances is our “hope,” but to always put our trust in the Lord in all things and to follow him wherever he leads us, even if it is into dark valleys or on mountain tops.

Awaken the Dawn / An Original Work / January 15, 2013

Based off Psalm 57 (NIV 1984)

O my God, have mercy on me!

In the Lord, my soul takes refuge.

In the shadow of Your wings, Lord,

I find shelter till the storms pass.

I cry out to my God Most High.

He fulfills His purpose for me.

He sent His Son to die for me,

So I could be saved.

I am in the midst of lions;

Men whose teeth are spears and arrows;

Whose tongues are sharp; words accusing.

They spread a net, my feet to catch.

They dug a pit, in hopes I’d fall.

O God, be exalted o’er all.

Let Your glory shine to all men,

So they may be saved.

Steadfast is my heart, O my God;

I will sing of all Your wonders.

Awake, my soul! Sing praise to God!

Early I will rise and praise Him!

I’ll praise God among the nations;

I will sing among the peoples.

God’s love reaches to the heavens,

So we may be saved.

http://originalworks.info/awaken-the-dawn2/