in love for my brothers and sisters as I share what I know to be on His heart. And finally, I write this in obedience to Him, to respond to the prompting of His Spirit, as well as utilize the gift He has given me. Please be willing to give this post some time, reading all the way to the end. What I am sharing is something very out of line in these last days, something that needs immediate repair. It also includes a word from the Father to another sister that was divinely timed and will speak greatly to your heart and confirm all I am attempting to share. To keep this from being too long, I initially didn't want to type out this entire scripture below, but it is certainly worthy for this post, so I must start here. As you read the verses below, read them slowly and let each word sink in. I have put extra spaces in on purpose, just so each verse can be easily read and absorbed. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good. 4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we know in part and prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Most of us can say we know this scripture well – we know it intellectually and spiritually. But the question I have been asking myself, obviously through the guidance of the Spirit, is, “Do I really know this love intimately… to the point that I consistently live it, where it comes out of me in word and deed regardless of the situation, person, circumstances, or emotions involved? Is this something I seek to have Him perfect in me on an ongoing basis? Am I rooted and grounded in love, comprehending (receiving) the breadth, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ that I am now filed with the fullness of the Father? Do I live this out consistently in purpose and authenticity – truly loving Him and my brethren, abiding in His love, fulfilling the whole of the law, understanding that only this love is the kind that will enable a person to lay down his/her life for another?” I personally am not there, but I hunger and thirst to get there; it is much of what I think about anymore. I know I can’t be the only one, and obviously, nor should I be. There is no argument that most of us want only truth, and in our love for our Savior and God, we seek it with all that is in us. And through that seeking, we find ourselves wading through the lies and half-truths that have been planted amongst the pure truth. But it is in this quest for truth where many have gotten off track and distracted, even going so far as to diminish the simplicity of love and grace (2 Cor 11:3). I’ve heard some say that the “love gospel” is inflated and even not applicable to all people, thus over-spoken and over-applied. I’ve heard grace spoken of as “greasy” – in other words, over-applied and yes, certainly slippery when mis-applied. Even though these two words can be abused in a deceptive way in the mainstream, I’ve also heard these precious words sorely minimized by some believers’ misguided interpretations and perceptions, although these are foundational to our own salvation and eternal life. I’ve even seen it go so far that the mention of the words “love” or “grace” actually makes people uncomfortable. It seems we’ve forgotten the magnitude and depth of these incredible gifts that have been given to us! It’s very sad that some have come to this place, but we can’t imagine the sadness of the One who offers these things to us, unconditionally. Our misalignment with truth in the areas of love and grace is showing itself clearly in both the very evident lack of love (true agape, Godly love) and unity (as one body under the Headship of Christ) that we see amongst believers who say they love and serve the same God. Generally, the “church” is out of the plumbline of the God of love, and this should not be. We are way off… and in some cases, we can become worse than an unbeliever. Let me add this important disclaimer… As I share this post, I am talking to myself as well as sharing with you all. This is a general issue within the Body of Christ, and only you know if anything in this post applies to you, just as I know what applies to me. This really is a serious issue; there are times I can feel the sadness in His heart over it, as well as in my own. The Father has been teaching me about this for years now, and while I know it and get it, to fully walk it out is another story. He is teaching me how to do this THROUGH HIM… with His love in me. He is showing me that ultimately the call is to love to the point that you would literally die to save another… and this “another” may very well be your worst enemy. This is the epitome of what He did as He laid down His life for His enemies – us! This is the fullness of the love we are expected to walk in – and it is clearly outlined in the commandments of Christ that He shared with us while alive on the earth. But... have we turned our focus away from His words? Some of us can see from our own experiences, things we read, videos we watch, and even in our own assemblies and fellowships, that this “true love” does not seem to be the topic of focus that it should be. It’s as if it has been discounted, even to the point that we have allowed cognitive dissonance to wipe it from the forefront of our minds. Whether we realize it or not, we choose this “discounting”, and that is really not a choice afforded to us. Have we become such a law unto ourselves that we have forgotten the commandments of Yahusha (Jesus) Himself… the red letters?! Are our eyes somewhere else, and therefore, so are our hearts? Have we turned from our First Love and HIS words to go back to our own interpretations and doctrines, the letter of the Mosaic law that kills, and even shying away from grace and love for the sake of our fear of being deceived by it? It seems that by the division, disunity, condemnation, unforgiveness, and pure lack of love that exists amongst some believers that we have! This we have to change… and we have to change it now. Our lack of love will not only hold us back from everything holy and everything heavenly, it will keep us out of the presence of God! The main inspiration for this post comes from what I myself am regularly witnessing within the Body of Christ in my view… these are things we should not be seeing in a true assembly of Christ. I see these things quite frequently and have been for several years. I myself was a direct victim of the condemnation and division that comes from the wrong focus. And I can tell you that once you are exposed, you can start to become the same way. I thank the Heavenly Father that He quickened me and pulled me out before it got too far. However, the damage that was done to me from the infliction of this “lack of love” has taken years to overcome.. This is a very real issue to me as I lived it and learned from it, so it puts me in a good position to speak about it. Before I move on, I do want to say that with this personal situation I just shared, separation was absolutely necessary. A very destructive false doctrine was involved, requiring my rejection of it and separation from those walking it out. It was “another gospel” that Paul spoke of which warranted not only separation but a curse (Gal 1:9). But the person who was inflicting this false doctrine is someone I loved and still love. This person is His child (I know this, because I’ve now known her for over 25 years). This person is in need of forgiveness, deliverance, and repentance. Even though I was a victim, I had my part in it too; I learned many things! I am expected to LOVE this person, even now, in the fullness of what Christ has shown us… as HE loves her! I am to be as Stephen as he was being stoned to death, saying, “Father, please don’t hold this to her charge. Father, please look upon this offense as if it didn’t happen. Don’t give her what she deserves in this case, but instead, lead her into all truth – that truth that will set her free! And if it be your will, bring her back to me in full love and unity!” By His grace, and yes, time, I have been able to reach this place. And wouldn’t that be a glorious day if He did bring her back??! But, what if not? His will be done. And with that… I would like to share the meat of this post that I believe to be the very truth the Father is repeatedly trying to impart and instill into His people in this hour… His disciples, His “set-apart ones”… His priests; not just His children… but His sons and daughters. His message to us is so clear in His Word, but somehow, we have veered off and are facing a very concerning dismantling… and all right at the very end of time when our King is at the door to retrieve His Body/Bride! And from what I have witnessed and experienced myself, I can say with all conviction that this division and dismantling are very much a result of disagreements over the not-so-weighty matters. We have taken our eyes off the weightier matter – LOVE – as well as the One who is the weightiest of all, and we’ve placed it somewhere else… primarily on self, as this typically encompasses all distractions, even the seemingly “righteous” ones. So, because God is love, and our Savior Yahusha (Jesus) is the express image of that love, then how is it that we find it okay to operate outside of His love but yet still say we are in Him? We do… and we do it regularly, and we do it even to our brothers and sisters in Christ – the ones who we know make up the same Body with Christ as our Head. In some cases, we hold offences against them, we talk about them, we feel “ick” when we think of them, we stay angry and bitter towards them, we condemn them because their walk is different from ours, and we are in disunity with them over ancillary matters. What in the world would we do if our Savior operated in this manner towards us… while we were yet sinners against Him? Obviously, we would be dead. I am not saying this is easy, and I am not saying it’s not a process to overcome these things. But… is it possible that we have gotten too complacent and “justified” in this manner of living that it no longer convicts us, and therefore, the “process” lingers and lingers and lingers and our hearts grow harder and harder? Through many trials and tests and failures, Paul and Peter learned this love and then explained it to us very precisely… 4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it [b]keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 8 And above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, we are to not seek our own, not keep an account of wrong suffered, and not be provoked… just to mention a few. Yahusha even said that it is easy to love those who love us and treat us right – the heathen can do this too. But it is precious in the sight of the Father when we still love and even serve the one who has treated us wrongly, falsely accused us, and ultimately betrayed us. There is a cost with this, and that cost is what makes it true love. Love means we hold nothing against them, just as nothing was held against us! How is it that Stephen was able to forgive those wicked Pharisees who were stoning him to death only for preaching the One who saved him, but yet he pleaded with the Father in His dying moments to not hold the offence against them?? This is the very act of love and forgiveness that set Paul free to be converted shortly after. Stephen’s love, through Christ’s love in him, covered a multitude of sins and released Paul! That love endured all and conquered all! In this love, Stephen released the very one who stood by to “supervise” and approve of his murder; and these murderers hated Christ. Could we do this?? It is impossible without the fullness of the love of the Father in us, and we receive this when we know the love of Christ. It is only in Christ and is not found anywhere else. Something to think about that my mentor said the other day… Many of us have discussed this and know that it is literally impossible to follow all 613 of the Mosaic law commandments – and yet there are still some who put much of their effort and heart into doing so. Aside from that, the point is that while we think that is impossible, have we ever considered the impossibility of following the two commandments that Yahusha said made up the whole of the law – to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself? It is impossible for man to follow these two commandments without the Spirit of the Living God in us – impossible! This is what He is after with us… LOVE! The letter is not our goal, nor our source. Our goal is Yahusha and being filled with His Holy Spirit, obeying the Holy Spirit, and allowing our flesh to die enough so He can love through us… first loving the Father and then loving our neighbor. The law alone cannot do this in us – only the Spirit can conform us into the image of the Son that we may love as purely and completely as He does. This is why we are told that the letter kills and the Spirit gives life… life is Yahusha, and Yahusha is love! Only He fulfilled the law – in love, bringing its absolute fullness (the fullness of the Father), which is written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is written in us, we receive it and obey it, and He then works it out in us that we can love the Father as He did, as well as love our brethren as He did – sacrificially! The law is good, but Yahusha is GREAT; He is better! I am very often asking, and I have heard others express this as well… “Why are love and Christ not the sole focus of the whole Body anymore? Have we lost our first love? Have we chosen to put our time and energy and focus into the not-so-weighty matters; hence, causing us to drift away from the love of Christ, which in turn makes us unable to fully love our brethren? Have we lost our dove’s eyes (our single eyes) for Him and become divided in our sight?” In my mind, these are rhetorical questions, because I know the answer. I’ve lived this and seen it played out before me, and this is exactly what is happening in many cases. And this is the very reason that our ability to forgive and love in haste (like Stephen) is waning; it seems to be fading away. We have become numb and almost delusional in some cases… completely lacking the reverent fear of Almighty God in following the weightier commandments that His sacrificial Son left heaven to come to earth and show us and sow into us… in person… in His life and in His death. What did Yahusha say – what were His commandments… He being the express image of the Father living out love in His flesh? He is the only One worthy to tell us, and that He did! But it seems we are not consistently living His words today. I can tell you that the minute I took my eyes off Him and began to seek how to do my own works, HE DIMINISHED! At that point, it was me increasing and Him decreasing, as opposed to what John the Baptist said… He must increase, and I must decrease. My eyes had drifted off Him, and boy could I tell! He did it all – slain before the foundation of the world and slain on earth, and only His finished work can make us righteous and loving – the way He requires. There is nothing we can do but submit and obey the Spirit that He sent to teach us, lead us, and ultimately be our “seal” and guarantee of salvation! Our eyes and minds must stay on Him! Yahusha pointed out one specific thing that would show the world that we belonged to Him, and that is our love for one another (John 13:35). In all of His teachings, He said nothing about us focusing on church denominations, Torah observance, calendars, or anything else – not one direct word; and neither did any of His disciples or apostles. They all continuously preached love, faith, and obedience to the Father through the Spirit – remembering that you cannot have faith or obedience without love! We can’t even have hope without love! This is what they wanted us to understand, and this is what they drove home to us, because this is where they wanted our focus. Yahusha preached love, because in and by His love, He fulfilled all the Father’s requirements for us, making us righteous by His righteousness alone. The love in Him, which was the Father’s love, caused Him to set His face like a flint, for the joy set before Him, and endure the cross and hell for our sake. And He knew that it would only be through His love in us that would enable us to love the Father and our brethren, with the kind of love that would enable us to lay our lives down and endure till the end. Love endures all things! There is, nor ever will be, anything else we can do to accomplish this in ourselves. Here’s what the Word says about this... Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:!0 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 Just as mentioned before, our love for one another is the sign to the world that we belong to Him. Our love is a light that leads to the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Furthermore, we are to be made perfect in unity – in one – in love. These words were included in Yahusha's high priestly prayer to the Father about us. He even went further to say that this is how the world would know the Father’s love. 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 17:23 So, we must ask ourselves, what is the world hearing and seeing by our love? Are they seeing a love that is conditional, unforgiving, and condemning, or are they seeing the love that will sacrifice to another under any circumstance, bearing the true fruit of the Spirit? Are they seeing brothers and sisters falling in and out of various doctrines, unstable and unwavering in love and forgiveness, or are they seeing the Body stable, solid in the Word of truth and living with each other in the unity of the bond of peace? Are they seeing divisions and backbiting over ancillary, non-salvational issues, or are they seeing the harmony of a Body focused on the gospel and sharing the love of Christ with a lost world? Are they hearing the good news of the salvation by Yahusha ha Mashiach, Jesus Christ, the best news in all the world, or are they hearing proud, provocative messages that only diminish their child-like faith (which I would be remiss in not mentioning the seriousness of this as Yahusha spoke about in Matthew 18:6). As we ponder answering these questions, I would like to end this post with some of Yahusha’s direct commandments where He told us exactly what to do. These are His commandments, those which encompass the whole of the law, those which He told us would prove our love for Him as we obeyed them. These are the ones to which we must take heed and stay focused upon first and foremost... those commandments which He said are greater than all. 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34-35 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another. John 15:9-17 Yahusha also shared many parables about this love, and these need our focus as well (Luke 10:25-37, Luke 15:11-32, Luke 15:1-7, Matthew 18:21-35, Luke 14:15-24, just to share a few). There are so many more confirmations of this spoken by His disciples that solidify His commandments to us for this time! We cannot forsake His commandments of LOVE – these are the things He lived out in His life and death on earth, and these must be our priority. And again, we cannot fulfill these unless the Spirit of Love is in us and is allowed to do it through us. It is our following and obedience to the Spirit that will lead us into all life and love and liberty! And it is love and love alone that first must be fully received by us, abiding in us, and operating through and out of us (like rivers of living water!). This will please the Father and show the world the Light of the world that can save them! We are ambassadors of His love, and for this we will give an account. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2 And there is one final thing that I must add – something quite profound. Shortly after I finished this post, I listened to a message from my mentor that she had just left for a group of ladies (myself included) who are in intercessory prayer training. She had received three dreams from the Father (one of her own and two others from other sisters) that confirmed His message to us in this hour, which in essence is somewhat of a warning. As she was sharing this with us, she also shared a specific related word that the Father gave her back in 2022. When I heard this word as she spoke it forth to us, I basically heard the main points of this post that I had just finished... repeated one by one. Of course, I immediately knew I needed to share this word with this post, because He wants His precious people to hear it! He wants us to take heed regarding this issue of love! This word says so beautifully and gracefully, just as He speaks, that message which I feebly attempted to convey in this post. Overall, this confirmed to me that I am hearing His message and that we are to speak this forth, so we can all search our hearts to see if residing there is any offensive way and then immediately take action, with His mercy and grace and strength, to repent and walk in obedience. So, in further glory and honor to Him and in love for my brothers and sisters, I share this word from our Father below (again, received by my mentor, Pietra de Bod, in October, 2022). LOVE ONE ANOTHER My children fight amongst each other as children in any household do. And just like earthly parents suffer the wounds of their children’s pain, so do I. For I love My children as I love My own body. Nobody who loves himself harms himself, but lays value on all his members. So there are many members in one body. There is only one body. Did you know that? And yet My children do not see that just as they are part of Me, they are part of Me and them. Did I not pray that they may be one as we are one? Is this not My earnest desire before My Father in a time of such great division? Yes, it is a time of great deception, and my children seek truth without love. Truth without love is as the letter without the Spirit. The truth will set free, but when truth is not spoken in love, it hurts the body. It hurts Me. The time you find yourself in is a time of removing the veil – the veil of deception. However, My children, do I not still seek the fruit of a peaceable spirit that sows in peace? Is this how the world will know you? By how well you can show them their error? What goal is there in knowing the truth, fighting for the truth, when your heart has grown cold? For everything there is a season and a time. Great wisdom is required for such a time as this of unveiling. Will you stand before Me naked? Will you stand before Me as the accuser, as you accuse the members of My body? Love covers a multitude of sin, and mercy triumphs over judgment. Therefore, bind mercy and truth, and walk in humility before Me, for I alone know all things and you only know in part. Come to Me first and learn of Me before you speak. I desire that all would come to the truth; not just the truth of the letter but the truth of My Spirit… of who I am. Are you covering your brothers and sisters in prayer, or do you find yourself uncovering them before Me? Will the world not then recognize you by the love you have for one another? Have you checked your fruit lately? I have. As the husbandman I come soon to seek fruit from My garden, My plantings. Therefore, search your hearts afresh whether you are walking in love as you desire to walk in truth. I have said that many hearts will grow cold and that there will be a famine in the land of the Word. You are the epistle they need. Search your hearts towards one another. Think not you can say you love Me whom you cannot see whilst hating your brother you can see. Lie not to yourself, but repent and seek that love My servant Paul spoke of above all things. Have mercy Heavenly Father, and give us the strength and mind and love of your Son to do that which you require of us --- and that is to LOVE at all cost, just as you did for us!
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** If you are new to this blog/site, please consider clicking here and reading the quick intro, "Why this Site?", so you will understand the reason and "Spirit" in which I write and share. Thank you! ** Regarding the subject for this post, I had been thinking about it for a few weeks, and then it came up multiple times in other things I read or watched. It’s a about a subject most of us are familiar with, and that subject is... idols. When we think of idols, oftentimes we think of a little gold Buddha or some other graven image of a person or thing. Sometimes we even take it lightly, because we think to ourselves, “I don’t worship those little idols, so this doesn’t apply to me”. You might be surprised that it does apply to you; please keep reading. Granted, these graven images are definitely considered as idols, and we should ensure we have nothing of the sort in our homes or possession, especially something or someone to which we give any attention or reverence. The Most High God of Israel (Yahuah) is to be worshipped second to no one or no thing (including the Virgin Mary or any other “good person” or saint), as He is a jealous God solely deserving all praise and adoration. Our Father was very clear with His people of His expectations in this area, so much so that two of the 10 commandments are related to this. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 20:2-6 Furthermore, He knew the temptation of man to have an image to worship before His eyes – something he could see or touch. I believe that this is one of the reasons that He told them not to even touch a tool to the altar of stone they would prepare for their offerings, because doing so would profane it (Exodus 20:25). Could it be that He knew they would be tempted to shape it into something from their minds – an image or idol of their own making? It’s possible. These are not really the idols I had on my mind; these are the obvious. It’s the not-so-obvious that was brewing in my heart. Aside from the little graven image idols, there are three others that I wanted to write about. I will list them below but would mainly like to focus on one in particular. An idol can be a physical image of God or Yahusha (Jesus) that we have received and kept in our minds. This is typically based on what has been fed to us by the powers that be, who say they know what He looked like. Since when have “they” told the truth? Some have adopted the image of the white Jesus with the long brown hair – the one Catholicism has given to us through religion. Others have the more middle-eastern Jesus in their minds, and others can’t seem to shake Jim Caviezel (from The Passion of the Christ movie) or Jonathan Roumie (from The Chosen series) from their minds. I will admit, it is hard not to picture these images, as they have been in front of our eyes for a long time. I will not pretend to know what my Yahusha looks like, but I have serious doubts that He is a white man; but that is another topic altogether. This is important regardless, because we must be careful of the picture we have in our minds of Him. We cannot allow this to be any part of the reason we believe Him, love Him, or follow Him. Yahusha said that the true worshippers of the Father would worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Any images we allow in our minds can cause us to deviate from the Spirit and from the Truth, so we must be aware. Another type of idol is a person or thing… that person or thing that we place on the altar of our hearts, whether knowingly or unknowingly. This can be a spouse, a child, a friend, a drug, a food, or anything or anyone that causes us to compromise obeying all truth. Think about this for a minute, because many of us have idols such as these and are not aware. This is no light matter. This actually happened with me twice – and my two idols were big enough to cause a lengthy detour in my walk as well as an open door of false doctrine to creep in and steal my joy and almost even my assurance of salvation. Yes, it was that serious. Both of my idols were people that I never meant to place above my King, but it happened. I allowed my needs and their words to trump His truth and thwart my uncompromising obedience to it. Believe me, there is a price to pay for this. Whether intentional or not, our Father will deal with it by judging it and allowing His child to walk out the consequences no matter how long or how difficult. How else would we learn the gravity of this transgression and truly repent? He corrects in love, and I am truly grateful for the whipping I received for my own “idol worship”. The last type of idol I wanted to mention is the one I’ve really pondered on much. This one I feel is the most common of all. Also, because it is so cushioned in warm and fuzzy feelings, it is the most dangerous and can have everlasting consequences. This one we must ask ourselves if it applies to us, even slightly. We must be willing to be honest, repent if necessary, and then make sure our "image" of the Father and His Son are based on His truth and not our own. This form of idolatry is the “image” of Yahuah God that we make in our minds of who He is – and who He is not, outside of truth. It is the image we make of His character based on our religion, our feelings, our experiences, and our know-it-all human wisdom. I have seen it all through my Christian walk, and it is quite easy to fall victim to – that is, if you are not seeking Him through His Word, prayer, and in fullness and wholeness of truth, no matter how it makes you feel. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, “God wouldn’t do that”, “God just wants you to be happy”, “God is all love”, and so forth. I say, really? Is that what His Word says in its fullness and entirety? Is He so small that the fullness of His being and nature is found in one or two scriptures that we hold onto for their warmth and fuzziness? The depth and gravity of this false idol is humongous, and it is prevalent amongst Christians today. When we take the Almighty God of the universe who has created all things for Himself and through Himself, and in Him all things hold together; and we make Him to fit our wants and desires and our thoughts of how He should be, then we have a false idol in our hearts that will slowly and ultimately kill us. This is the very image that satan wants us to have of the Most High God – OUR image. This is why the enemy allows this watered down, sappy sweet, all-accepting, shallow “truth of God” to be mainstream. Have you noticed that he does not fight that truth at all – he says, go for it, take it and eat it, because this will keep you satisfied and well fed with deception. The real truth is NOT mainstream – it must be craved, desired, requested and sought after as if it were precious jewels and your life depended upon it (and it does); and it must be treasured and valued. My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; t hen you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5 I think this human mental image of the Most High’s nature and character is the worst form of idolatry, because it is the most hidden and deceptive. It is quite comfortable, in some cases keeping people captive all their lives. There are people, some of whom I know well, who will argue about the truth of the Heavenly Father and His Son. They actually argue with His truth as if they know, and they don’t pick up a Bible and read at all. Where did their truth come from? What a falsely confident and powerful deception that is! They have an idol in their hearts of a god, and it is not the Most High God at all! How can they ever truly love and worship Him in Spirit and in Truth when they have formed their own image of Him, as if they were His Creator? What will happen on the day when they stand before the Son of Man, and they see that He is not at all what they thought, and He says to them, “Away from Me; I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23)? But yet, when they had the chance to hear the truth or seek the truth from the only Source, they argued that they knew the truth of God and were settled and confident about it, claiming their own gospel to be all they need. I will never understand this or accept it; but it is out there all over the place. We Americans are the worst about this. Our fatness and over-confidence has ruined us to a degree. We think we can claim the title “Follower of Christ” simply because we believe in the Son of God. The question is, do we truly KNOW Him? Do we know His ways and His expectations of His children? Are we unknowingly rejecting Him and His ways, because we don't seek His truth?? There are many who believe in Him and know He is the Son of God, including the demons, but they are not His and they will not be with Him in His Kingdom. They will fall short, because they do not know the truth of His ways. They will not be wearing the righteous, holy garments of Yahusha. Instead their sin will still be as crimson upon them and judgment will be their lot. This is because they chose their own image of God to worship -- their idol -- because it was warm, good, comfortable, and it did not require any change or sacrifice or suffering. They chose to ignore His Word, His ways, and His righteousness and stay within their own comfortable understanding. This is not meant to be pompous or harsh; this is the true state of many Christians today, and it is not Truth. The Word says these who do not seek all truth can ultimately be at risk of exchanging the truth for a lie, and the result is strong delusion that will lead to death. Please read Romans 1:18-32 to see the magnitude of the potential outcome of this problem. Staying in a state of mind where we are halfway in, believing in Yahusha as our only way of salvation back to the Father, but being unwilling to accept and live out all His truth is what Yahusha calls “lukewarm”. These are the ones He said He will spew out of His mouth. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- Revelation 3:15-17 But we won’t stop there. For those included in this group of people, there is still great hope to still seek all Truth, find Truth, and live and speak His Truth. This next scripture is what He says to these, the church of Laodecia, after He chastises them in the previous verses. His words are founded in a love we cannot comprehend, but it is His definition of love and His way of love – the very love He demonstrated His whole entire life and death – 100% total sacrificial obedience. This is His ever-enduring merciful love extended to a rebellious people when it is undeserved. And the way we reciprocate and truly love Him is to obey Him -- His words and His commands – not our ideas of Him, just as Yahusha said in John 14:15. I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:18-21 I want to say a bit more about this next powerful and demonstrative scripture of Yahusha's words to a sinful woman He met (intentionally) by one of Jacob's wells. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:22-24 When Yahusha said this to the Samaritan woman at the well, He was erasing all she knew at that point and giving her the absolute truth straight from His mouth. This is the same truth we have available to us today – from His Word! This is the only way that we can know Him and obey Him. To know Him is to follow Him by the Holy Spirit and in the fullness of Truth, including picking up our own cross of sacrifice and suffering, to love and obey His ways, and to allow Him to work His nature into our image. It is His image we need to replace ours, because our image must and will be destroyed. His image in us is what the Father is looking for, and this image will not be judged but instead be accepted into the Beloved. So what do we see when we look in the mirror? Do we still see our own image... the image that takes precedence over His -- our flesh that determines its own truth? Or do we yet see the death of self and the image of Christ being formed in our reflection? This is the reflection that the world will see, and His reflection is what the world so desperately needs! If we have His image, then we carry within us His truth -- His message of fiery truth that will melt us with love and burn us with purification. His truth is the only truth that saves! This is not based solely on feel-good emotions or feelings (although we will definitely feel His love and power and conviction!), but it is a truth that will also cut and divide and birth a new creation within us. We can only impact the world with His image and His truth! We must always be willing to test our truth -- everything we have ever been taught and even all we know to this point. We must be humble enough to believe that we don't yet have all truth and remember that there is a very present and prevalent enemy that is working to not only steal truth but suppress and corrupt it -- and he has. In this day and time, we must test everything we hear or want to receive by fire, which is by His Word and His Spirit. When we stand before the Son of Man, and He looks at us with His eyes of fire, nothing apart from Spirit and Truth will stand. It will literally be burned off of us, and the question is... how much of us will be left standing before Him? Nothing false or evil or self-serving can stand in His presence. His fire of holiness, love, and light will burn it right up with only ashes remaining. In closing and to bring all glory to Him, I say... Spirit and Truth is Yahusha – His Spirit in us teaching us Truth and empowering us to live Truth. This is how we believe, know, and worship Him. This is what He is seeking. He is not seeking our version. Only His will do, and only His is absolute holy perfection! It is sooo worth every tear, trial, loss, pain, and every ounce of anguish that may be experienced as we are transformed into His image. We must die in every aspect of our fallen being; but the good news is that when we do this, that is when we truly live… and it will be forever! So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 Amen and so be it!
All throughout our walk of faith in Yahusha (Jesus of Nazareth), most of us have had various experiences with fasting and praying; it truly is an integral part of the walk. And now, as we are walking out a very trying time in our world, literally marching toward the fulfillment of all things -- including our standing before the Son of the Living God whom we profess our allegiance -- many are feeling the compelling to fast and pray all the more. When we are serious about our walk towards holiness and committed to running the race to the very end, we know that fasting, with prayer, is necessary and offers great rewards. Although the scriptures in Isaiah 58 are specifically directed at the Day of Atonement (referencing this "sabbath" holy day in verses 13-14), they reflect perfectly the end result that general fasting with prayer can bring: Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Isaiah 58:8-9, 11-12 Also, in verse 6, He says further, "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" So, if we put all this together, true biblical, obedient and pure fasting, with prayer, can bring about the following beautiful things in our lives:
Most who have made fasting and praying a regular part of our walk have experienced many of these things, bringing even further meaning and confirmation to the word. We know in our heart of hearts that it truly is a must in our spiritual life. Having said all of this, I will also say that fasting is not always easy; and sometimes even prayer can be difficult. I was lead to write this post this morning, as I prayed and struggled through my most recent compelling to fast. I want to share this in all transparency, as lead, so that this writing may even confirm for others that this time in which we are living is surely a time of fasting and praying. I would also like to offer encouragement for the same, in case others may be struggling to follow through for whatever reason. Although fasting and praying is not new to me, I have recently developed a new struggle with intense and more extended fasting, because of its correlation to the events of my life, specifically since 2015. I have had times of fasting on the heels of losing each of my family members (3 of them), and these were times of great despair, anguish, and isolation. Although I eventually experienced the reward of the fasting, those times are times I wish not to ever experience again. When I think of these times, it brings back a stressful intensity that tries to squash my desire to fast through negative emotions that I do not want to re-live. Because this is very real to me in my emotion, it can and will affect the purity of my heart to fast and pray as Father desires. As a result, I have to deal with this "correlation" that has developed in me before I can move on and fast in shalom and with clear purpose. My soul initially wanted to feel guilty for this, because it has now caused me to be weaker in my fasting; but my spirit by the influence of the Holy Spirit has received peace and comfort that this is only happening -- it is only surfacing -- because Father wants me to see it and deal with it, and He will heal me and deliver me. He is so wonderfully understanding, compassionate, and long-suffering. Never do I ever want to take advantage of this or disobey Him in any way, but I do believe that He is immensely gracious and will deliver us and equip us to move forward in His call upon us. In other words, He WILL finish what He has started in every aspect of our walk. This propels us forward to repent, pray, and trust that He has us, without guilt and condemnation, which will only sidetrack us all the more. As always, I stand so grateful that sometimes I cannot adequately thank Him with English words! I am prayerful that my sharing here will inspire as well as help any others who may be struggling, especially in the area of fasting. This is such a powerful way for us to truly crucify the flesh, even the desire for those things that are required for the body, and dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to seeking the Father with no distractions or impediments. And furthermore, when done with a pure heart and dedicated prayer, there are always results! We simply need to talk more about this topic! There is so much more I could say about fasting, but that is really not the purpose of this post. The last thing I wanted to do with this post is to share several inspiring quotes that will shed even further light on this subject as well as inspire and encourage -- and we all need this now, as this is truly a time for focus, full surrender, and unceasing prayer. May you be blessed and enriched with the following words of dedicated, holiness-seeking people... I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:2-7 Most of us know this scripture as Yahusha (Jesus Christ of Nazareth) is speaking to the church of Ephesus, and I feel like many of us may not believe that this pertains to us. We love Him so much and are seeking to truly know and please Him, so surely we don't fit here. Well... I don't know about anyone else, but I found this to have some truth in my life. It is surely not what I wanted or intended, but about a little over a year ago, I had to accept that this was the case for me in some ways. Not a good feeling, honestly. The gist of this whole issue is love. For me, it came down to two questions... First, have I fully received His perfect love that casts out all fear (1John 4;18), and secondly, am I giving all my love to Him... the pure love that comes from intimately knowing Him and obeying Him (John 14:!5)? This right here was my vice... gripping me for so many reasons and for too long. By His graceful hand, the last seven years of my life have been pointedly focused on this, and I have learned so much! It has come with intense trial, heartache, correction, and inner searching -- and has resulted not only in greater faith and a deeper level of obedience, but also an understanding of how to receive the long-suffering, patient, and infinite love of a God who not only authored our faith but promises to bring it into the fullness of completion in Him. And then.... yes... my love for Him grew more and more intense and pure and real. This overall topic is so vast and has recently culminated in such a wonderful truth that I cannot write about it here; it's too much. However, I am compelled to share this journey in the form of a "book", just because it is way too long for a blog post. I pray that by the grace and wisdom of the Father through His Holy Spirit, I will be able to write this in a manner that flows with the power, pain, intensity, and joy that I experienced throughout, and that it may result in healing and encouragement for others as well as praise and glory unto His name. I share all of this for this particular blog post to say that I am thrilled to be working back towards my first love of almost 28 years now and doing the things I did back then. One of those things was to be overflowing in the love of Yahusha to the point that I wanted to share His love story - the gospel of salvation - with anyone and everyone. Granted, He sets up perfect circumstances for us to do this, and there can also be times when it's just not the right time; but the key is, being alert, watching, ready and willing for this at any given moment... having a craving spirit to pour out of myself all that has been so lovingly put in... for the sake of the lost. I can say with all assurance within me... now is the time! The lost are everywhere amongst us, and they need our attention, our prayers, our compassion, our love, and our voice! All that is placed within us, learned and attained first through His grace and mercy, and then through much discipline and experience, is not just so we can be righteous and be in His presence for all of eternity... it is also meant to be poured out, shared, declared, and used to bring in the rest of the Body of Yahusha of which we are a part. The Body is still incomplete, which means we are also incomplete! All must be reconciled back to the Son so then all can be subjected back to the Father that He may be all in all (1Corinthians 15:28)! Much of the way we love our God as well as our brothers and sisters, which Yahusha said are the two commandments that sum up all of the law, is to be a willing vessel to be used in any way the Master desires to bring in the rest of His beloved children! This is His heart, and because we are of His body, this is ours as well! There are so many verses to support this calling! For the sake of space, I will list a few below with links so you can view them if you desire: Finally, I wanted to share something special with you on this post. I haven't published a blog post in a while, and one of the reasons is because I've been in the midst of what I would like to call the culmination of the last seven years of my life. And once again, it's all about love. I have been working on a few things that Father has placed before me, all of which have been rich and fluid and even fun! I would like to share one of the little projects that I have now almost fully completed. This is something I plan to spread out as a call to the lost... something I have been praying will be used by the Father, through His Holy Spirit, to send His call to those wayward sheep -- those right now struggling with fear, doubt, loneliness, confusion, and all the workings of the enemy in this last hour -- those Father has prepared to now receive the words of His Son. I share this now with you in hopes that you will see it as something you can also use to spread the most wonderful truth that the created human being has ever heard. The link below will take you to an evangelistic website that is actually something that was birthed over 10 years ago. I pray and believe that Father used this as a foundation and then expanded it through wonderful truths, learnings, and experiences gained over time, as well as the critique and input of a few of my close sisters, and made it into a call... His loving call for this time for those who are ready. I would say that this site is about 90% His word, so it is truth and will only have any anointing or power through that. I pray this is something that you find useful and will desire to use as you are led. And if not, of course that is good too, as all things should be directed by Him. You can access the site by clicking on the picture below or here. Please note, this picture is actually the front and back of a business card that has been created and will be distributed throughout the highways and byways! And also please note that this site is best viewed via a desktop at this point in time. I am working with the website builder to make improvements to the mobile view, but it is currently a challenge! Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled... Hebrews 12:14-15 ... and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, our King, Yahusha ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ)... This part of the scripture is most profound, and since it is pointed and direct, it obviously demands our attention. We will not see Him without holiness. Do we know if we have attained holiness? Do we know what this holiness is? These are questions I often ask myself, and I think the very foundation of these questions is something that requires full understanding as well as a daily internal check. First, we cannot ever attain holiness by our own works or our own efforts. Most of us know this... but some of us have to be reminded. Not because we think we are holy, but because we have been trained much of our lives to work and earn love and approval and goodness. We think we must work to be accepted. There is not one inch of holiness in us, and therefore, all our working is considered filthy rags in the sight of our Holy God. Holiness comes from the finished work of Christ, our complete faith in this, and our abiding in this throughout the sanctification process, whereby He, and He only, makes us holy. And this is the only way we will see Him and know Him in this life and certainly in the one to come. I would like to share a very strong connection to this holiness that has been on my mind so much in the last week. But before I do that, I wanted to share some scriptures I was reading this morning in Ephesians 4 that are so helpful in outlining what is holy and what is not holy, kinda like that black and white list we all like to see sometimes, to help us really understand. (Note, I am only focusing on Ephesians 4, but there are many more, maybe even more profound, scriptures all throughout the word on holiness.) What holiness is... I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (verses 1-3) ... for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ... (verses 12-13) ... but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head— Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. (verses 15-16) ... that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (verses 22-24) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (verse 32) What holiness is not... ... children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting... (verse 14) ... walking as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (verses 17-19) ... your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind... (verse 22) ... lying... and do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer... Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth .... And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. (verses 25-31) Obviously, this is much to take in on both sides. Holiness is so much more... so deep and mysterious and pure, and it is a kingdom requirement. We won't see our Beloved without it. Therefore, if we really want to see Him, we will want to search out what this really means and then seek it through His grace. I will say this... living life in carnal Christianity is not it. This holiness has nothing to do with flesh and its pleasures and everything to do with holiness birthed by fire... and as we know, fire is not comfortable. I won't go into this, as this is a totally different topic. The one connection with holiness that will not come as a surprise is its direct tie to forgiveness. It's even clear in the first scripture shared above... I don't believe it's any coincidence that a warning about a "root of bitterness" is given right after we are told we cannot see our Lord without holiness. While we know forgivness is a requirement of salvation and an ongoing requirement of sanctification, its direct correlation to holiness is so precious and beautiful when we can see the whole picture. While this may be somewhat of an "elementary" concept, I had a vision of it in my mind this past week that I spoke out with words, and then it became a prayer. And through the prayer, Father showed me some little leftover tidbits of "angst" I will say, which were actually crumbs of unforgiveness still lurking in my heart. The general topics associated with these crumbs had been dealt with and I thought fully forgiven, but as I could feel the lingering "right to be upset" feelings in my heart, I realized I had not fully forgiven as I am about to explain in the next paragraph. I will tell you that these crumbs are associated with the death of each one of my family members as well as my own almost spiritual death by a direct contribution of someone I love. I share this, because these are the big ones in my life, making the full release all the more amazing, to His glory and praise! Forgiveness is letting someone off the hook, so to speak, right? Not holding someone accountable for a wrong done to you, regardless of the depth and magnitude of this wrong, is another good way we describe it. While this is true, I have another take on it that is an even further understanding that brings us full circle to perfect love and holiness. It brings us to the epitome of being renewed in the spirit of your mind and putting on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness, AND, being kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. We are told in Romans 12:19 that vengeance belongs to our King. Judgment and any needed vengeance is His to determine and carry out. We are told to trust Him and release any wrongdoing committed against us to His faithful and perfect justice and judgment, and we are told to love and pray for even our enemies and those who spitefully use us (Matthew 5:44). Our only responsibility is to wholeheartedly trust Him and His ability to avenge -- or even save!!! -- so much that that we lovingly place it on the altar for Him to handle. This means we don't ponder on it and we don't speak of it. Remember that if we even speak of it, then we have connected it back to us and spoken forth the offense once again. Either it is released to Him, or it is not. Sometimes the offense is so great that it takes time to fully release it, but any desire to do it His way in His strength, will always result in victory! I know this firsthand, and the crumbs He showed me are the evidence, while all along I thought I had fully forgiven. So look at the beauty of this!! The people that we have held accountable in our minds for hurting our loved ones or hurting us have souls, and their souls will either join us as our brothers and sisters in glory, or they will be condemned to a place of eternal judgment. What do we really want for them? What does our Father, their Creator, really want for them, knowing that He does not desire that one soul perish, no matter what they have done!! When we can disconnect the offense from the soul, we can hand it over to our perfect Father so that He may either save them or condemn them, as He extends grace and righteous judgment according to His will. We are then set free -- free indeed!! What about this? If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. John 20:23 I believe that when we do not fully forgive, our unforgiveness can keep the person in bondage, especially in the area of the offense committed. Can you imagine that your unforgiveness of someone can directly impact their deliverance from something that can hold them in bondage? I believe this is exactly why Yahusha so vehemently said that if we fail to forgive others, neither will we be forgiven! Our unforgiveness has power, but praise be to His name, even moreso does our forgiveness!! There is great magnitude in this understanding, and as we prepare to be a holy, unspotted Bride for our King, we must grasp this and deal with it! A precious sister of mine recently shared a revelation with me that Father gave to her some time ago, and since then, I have pondered it over and over in my mind. Of course, as I was dealing with my crumb issue, it came back up again. As I share this, I pray you will receive it into your heart and the blessing of its depth will bring further understanding, just as it has for me. So here it is...
As my sister had been pondering the violent stoning death of our brother Stephen outlined in Acts 7:54-60, she realized something so beautifully amazing. It is there that we see Paul, then Saul, standing by very likely with his arrogant arms crossed, complicitly supervising and encouraging this heinous crime against one of Yahusha's own servants. And then we read the last words of the servant as he is dying (and try to hear them in your spirit)... "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not charge them with this sin." My sister explained that at that moment, when the sin was not charged against them (including Saul) through Stephen's forgiveness, the very Spirit of the Living God prepared to meet and indwell the man who would become one of the greatest apostles of all time, Paul. It was Stephen's full forgiveness that opened the door, so to speak, to Paul's magnificent conversion!! So with this, do you see the power of our full forgiveness, for the sake of the one who has committed the offense against us??! Isn't this love -- the very love that our Savior extended to us -- that while we were yet sinners (His enemies), He died for us? THIS is what is also required of us! It's as if our obedient release says to our Beloved... "Yes my Lord, I will forgive them that you might save them!!" Full and complete forgiveness, in pure love, unto holiness. This is the connection to holiness! This is why we cannot be forgiven unless we forgive! It's foundation is perfect love... love that casts out all fear, love that conquers all, and love that never fails! HIS LOVE!! And finally, I have one more thing to share that will put some really nice icing on this wonderful cake feast! This is something another very special sister shared with me yesterday, and just now I have found out that she has also included this same story in a devotional she just posted today! I have not yet read this devotional, so it appears our minds may be on similar tracks - and I do not think this is a coincidence! As I was just now searching for a summary of this to share with you, I went to her devotional to find exactly what I was looking for. With that, I will use an excerpt from this to make my point: To them He (Jesus) said in that moment of extreme agony and complete devastation, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”. It is not just that He died for them, but how He died for them. With love. What kind of love is this that dies for the ones that crucify Him? The same love that caused Richard Wurmbrandt after being beaten under His feet with rods for years, causing it to become a pulp, confronted by the prison guard with the words, “Why do you still pray? Don’t you realize by now after all these years that no one is coming for you? That your God is not going to save you?” To which Richard replied standing on his knees, “I was not praying for me, I was praying for you”. It is that love that transcends human understanding. In this excerpt above, my sister is referring to the man Richard Wurmbrandt whose story is told in the movie, Tortured for Christ", of which you can access here should you be led to watch. This is an example of the forgiveness, grounded in love, that is required of us and that when is observed in action can change the hearts of the most vile and sinful humans. Are we prepared for this? Are we willing to forgive at this level unto holiness? I know I desperately want it, but I also know it cannot be done in my strength but only through the fullness of the Most High God that comes from knowing and receiving the height, depth, width, and length of the love of Messiah Yahusha! (If you would like to read my sister's devotional post where I obtained the excerpt, you can access it here. I have shared many of her writings on this site, and as with all the rest of them, you will be filled and nurtured with raw truth poured out from the Spirit.) I pray this post has blessed you in some way, as everything in it has blessed me. It is my desire to share my experiences and blessings with those who are truly seeking the face of the One True God, through His Son Yahusha ha Mashiach, as we feel the urgency to prepare for His soon return! And to that we say... Make us ready! Come King Yahusha!!! One final note that I would like to share as I proclaim the good works of our God... My Father has blessed me with the most amazing group of sisters who have inspired, encouraged, taught, and supported me... and in all of this, He constantly shows me how much He loves me through them! They are like the most beautiful, exotic flowers in a dry and lonely garden! I am so very grateful! This morning, I was reading about John the Baptist and how while he was in prison, he sent his messengers to Yahusha (Jesus) to ask and make sure that He was the One that should come or if they should look for another. Keeping in mind that John both saw the Spirit descend upon Yahusha like a dove when he baptized Him and had just previously proclaimed that He was the Son of God, the One that had come to save Israel... it seems that something must have caused John to need a bit of reassurance and confirmation at that time! I began to ponder on how John must have felt in prison, being left there, not rescued by his Messiah, and not being able to see all the miracles that were taking place fulfilling all the scriptures that John knew so well that confirmed Yahusha's messiahship. John, in great sacrifice for almost all his life, prepared the way for Yahusha only to be left in prison to die a very horrible and humiliating death, even having his head served on a silver platter to a gloating enemy. This got me thinking of the sacrificial life that was purposed for him and how it was one of loneliness, separation, and ultimately not being allowed to see the culmination of the ministry of which he was the forerunner. And I ask... Did John have his "best life now"? John committed and surrendered to a divine purpose-driven life that gave him a fulfillment the world would not understand, but John did not live his best life now. That life was waiting for him afterwards... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 When we read this scripture, do we automatically feel that we are entitled to our best abundant life now through Christ? Or do we consider the whole of the scriptures and grasp the superior, beyond-measure, and exceeding kingdom life that Yahusha truly speaks of here? The entire goal of Yahusha's "ministry" of sacrificial death and then His defeating of death through resurrection unto an endless life was to reinstate and restore His children to their initial divine state of creation... which is holy and immortal in His presence, outside of this world. If we miss this or lose focus of this, then we will likely have our sights set on having our best abundant life now... here in this temporary, wicked place where life is fragile and fully incomplete. This misdirected mindset will keep us self-focused on self-satisfaction as we bask in our entitlement to all our abundant blessings. This is not to say we won't be blessed in this life as we experience all of creation's beauty, giving and receiving love, the joy of family, and all the things we really don't deserve that our Father has so graciously given to us. However, this abundance of blessings should not be our ultimate focus and goal, and we certainly aren't entitled to them. So what is this abundant life that Yahusha speaks of and how do we attain it? When we understand His kingdom mindset, then we know the abundance is primarily kingdom-focused. And as we obey and follow Him, we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and then all the things we need, and even at times desire, will be given to us. And the truth of the matter is that when we seek this type of abundant life, we actually find death -- death to all self-related intentions and self-seeking now in this life. Our self death brings us to seek only His path and provision as we run the race to true abundant life outside of this world. At this point, we begin to set our affections on things above and not on the earth (Col. 3:2). We can also ask the same question of Yahusha that was asked of John... Did He find His best life in this world? No He did not, but He found the joy of fulfilling His divine purpose in this life, and it had nothing to do with self. As our example, we are to follow Him and how He lived out His life in this world, which can be summed up in two words... sacrificial and obedient. As we attempt to walk out this journey in this world, we trust all His promises and obey all His commandments - all for His glory and the betterment of others. It's no longer about us receiving all our abundant blessings here... it's about preparing for our holy, immortal, and abundant life in the kingdom. We basically become a sacrifice in obedience, although not to the ferocious and bitter end of our Savior, but for His purposes alone. That IS His purpose-driven life for us now that we may have the glorious abundant life in the kingdom to come. And this is the entirety of the reason He created us! John the Baptist is an excellent example of living a divine purpose-driven life wandering the desert in his animal skins and feasting on insect delicacies, preparing the way for the King of the world and then losing his life because of it. However, he is far from the only one. We have a great cloud of witnesses standing right beside John cheering us on to stay focused and endure, some of these witnesses having never received the promises in their lives but instead endured great persecution, tribulation, and ultimately martyrdom. Was this the best abundant life now for these dear saints, or do we dismiss this by saying, "that was then, and this is now". Granted, we are now in an age of grace, but the Heavenly Father does not change. Our mandate as disciples of Yahusha is the same as then, and He left us this understanding all throughout the red letters of His word. However, today many are choosing to adopt as truth the plethera of devil-dangling distractions and deceptions leaving us feeling entitled to our best life in the here and now; and this is not the full truth at all. The following somewhat sobering scripture states the truth very well: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:25 Grace is a gift to us right now and oh how incredibly abundant it is, but the overall Truth of what it means to be a true disciple of Christ who waits for his most abundant life in the kingdom to come is firm and unchanging. In this very late hour, it is imperative that we recognize this, embrace it, and ask Yahusha to fill us with all truth and the ability to walk it out in full obedience through His strength, His mind, and His love. It's the only way we can accomplish this now, and it's the only way we will have the full abundance of life that He came to restore. As I write this, it is as much for me as it might be for anyone else who reads it. This seeking of kingdom everything in this life does not happen overnight, and it may take some time to even understand at first. It's taken me a good, long while to come to the full understanding to the point that I am beginning to actually walk it out. If we truly love our Heavenly Father through His Son and want to walk in all truth, this is the first step. He will put the desire in our hearts and will take us down this very narrow path, and as it is narrow, there aren't many others on it making it quite lonely at times. And because this is a "path", it has to be walked out over time where we may stumble or even fall some. But if we press on with our eyes on Him, longing for and seeking Him in all truth, He will take us all the way to the end of the path where we will find the real abundance He has prepared for us that no human mind can conceive or imagine. He is oh so faithful when we are willing to stand in His truth in full obedience. In closing, I leave a few scriptures that give us the hope of the abundant life that is waiting for us as we keep our eyes fixed on the King of the kingdom! And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah 35:10 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4 And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah 25:6-9
At first I wasn't sure why I dreamed this, but as I pondered it this morning, believing that Father had a message in it, I began to see it. This wall and correlating word "diminished" is a picture of where the world is today with regard to spiritual things. Every day that passes, we diminish more and more in our care and concern for righteousness and true faith succumbing to mediocrity and slothfulness... we're fading into the great falling away where the great delusion awaits. And just like the wall, it is blatantly obvious, but the world goes on in its current state simply ignoring it. I believe this overall message is a continuation from my last few posts and also correlates with a message my sister from South Africa just posted yesterday. These messages keep my spiritual heart beating with understanding as well as warning me to continually examine myself as to avoid any diminishment from the truth. It is amazing how Father will give us a focus to share the burdens of His heart with His people. And in this last hour, the issues of lukewarmness, shallow faith, and diminishment are taking center stage. The question is, do we see it and will we hear? This applies to all of us, myself included. When I was thinking about this word "diminished" this morning, I wrote down the things that first came to my mind where the world has diminished. I listed the following:
Coming to the conclusion that everything is now diminished, I thought of how the world is surely turning dark as the light is diminishing. Darkness is taking over. In reality, we here especially in the western world do not realize the level of diminishment in which we currently exist. We know things are getting bad and that we are nowhere close to how it was when we were younger, but there is a good chance that we don't realize the fullness of the diminishment, because we were born into it. It's the same ole cliche I mentioned in one of my last posts... like the frog slowly being boiled, we were born into very warm water already and do not realize the level of boiling in which we sit now. It's very very hot, but is there a chance we only see it as quite warm or maybe just beginning to get hot? We have to think about this, because this realization will help us in our willingness to truly examine ourselves, as the Bible tells us, specifically with regard to faith. Our culture and blessings have blinded us to a large degree, and in order to see through these rose-colored glasses, we must have the fullness of truth to set us free. Are we willing to believe this and to look closely and deeply within our own hearts to see if we really are of the faith? Or does our western comfort keep us too comfortable and distracted, inadvertently making us complacent and a target for deception? If we are truly followers of Christ, we have no choice but to actively and purposefully ask this and search deep within our own hearts and check and test ourselves. And the only way to do this in truth is to compare ourselves to the perfect Word of God, of which our Savior and King IS! When we examine ourselves as the scripture says, the Hebrew meaning shows us the depth of this being to scrutinize, discipline, test, and prove. Furthermore, the root word means the idea of piercing... a test. Obviously, it is no coincidence that this is exactly what the Word does! It cuts to the heart... if we let it. Many today only get offended and therefore reject the piercing, forfeiting the resulting reformation that it brings. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 The American culture has created an "American faith", and I am confident this "faith" is nowhere near the biblical faith we see detailed to us in the Word as well as demonstrated to us by those who truly exercised it. The faith we see in the Word was steadfast unto death; it healed the sick and raised the dead; it walked on water and submitted to being sawn into. It was founded in a focus on hope of a future blessing in a heavenly place and not on immediate blessings and answers. It was not of this world, just as those who demonstrated it were not of this world. It was true biblical faith founded and grounded in the love of Yahusha's (Jesus) finished sacrifice... pure love received and pure love given back... again, unto death. Are we ready for this? Have we looked internally to see if we are at the stage where Peter was when he denied Yahusha, fully and boldly thinking he was ready but instead ready to immediately deny to save his life?? This is reality, and if we are not considering this in our own hearts, we are not in reality. This thought scares me, and I confess now that I could very well be where Peter was; but I can also stay in confidence that I do not want to stay there and am willing to do what it takes to get beyond it. We were told this story about Peter for this reason... that we would test and prove ourselves and then be willing to be perfected in truth through suffering, repentance, and true reliance upon Yahusha to work this faith in us unto completion. In all fairness to us, we have been born and raised with western thinking, western culture, western blessing, and western lies. We have been programmed by the matrix we live in, and if we truly think that we have not been influenced by this, then the programming has worked. However, our being born into this will never be an excuse to stay there. Our desire to search ourselves at all costs and walk after Yahusha will cause Him to open our eyes, applying the eyesalve of Revelation 3:18, and take us into His truth. Yahusha, the Word, is the only remedy. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17 In addition to begin born into a matrix of lies, we cannot forget the innate state of the heart that we were also born with. It's a double-whammy to overcome! The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23 But we have a merciful and compassionate God who will not leave us in this state, if we will only humble ourselves and examine ourselves and submit ourselves to Him... with all our hearts and in genuine faith in His love and goodness! In essence, we are willing to become poor in heart that we may be rich in faith through His perfect promises! And we who have partaken in His undeserved blessings for so long should the first, not the last, to do this! We have been given wonderful examples of how to begin this true heart-searching and examination process, as those in the past who truly sought the heart of the Father left us some of their cries and pleas to Him in this regard. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. Psalm 86:11 Within this last hour the Heavenly Father is calling out to His own and warning us of the diminishment that is surrounding us. It truly is all around, and it is subtle; and many are ignoring it as if it doesn't exist. It has crept in unawares and will deceive us if we are not careful. If we cry out in examination of our own hearts, He will hear and He will lead us into all truth. It starts with us and ends with Him! And where He is, there is no diminishment nor shadow of turning! HalleluYah! Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 2 Corinthians 13:5 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure... 2 Peter 1:10 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. Luke 17:5 I would also like to include a link to my South African sister's recent post regarding PseudoFaith (I would like to recommend listening to the audio if you can, as you will feel the experience and tone of the message in its fullness). This message is the humble sharing of her own heart and experience regarding the faith that is required of us, and it is not the "American faith" that we know. I pray both my blog post and her message will speak loud and clear and quicken your hearts, just as ours have been, as Father is so desiring of His precious children. And if today you hear His voice about this, please harden not your hearts but respond to His sweet call in faith.
In the last few months, there has been a growing intensity in many of the Heavenly Father's people... one of urgency and time running out... and one with heaviness towards the spiritually lukewarm. I am one of these people feeling "the tug", thus the reason for my last post, It's Time to Take Our Temperature. In my circle of brethren whom the Father has given to me, which the vast majority are all over the world through the airwaves, this is the cry of the hour. Honestly, it is the cry of the last hour. Please take a minute and read the following warning just posted by my South African sister, whom Father uses greatly to minister to the Bride. Many of you are feeling the same thing, and you are also sending out this cry. I send out this cry again today, just in case there may be even one who needs to hear it. He is speaking... actually, I feel He is crying out with a heavy heart some of His last words during this time of grace. I pray that we all, myself included, will forsake all to listen, heed, and act, for our King is speaking, and HE IS EVER SO WORTHY! WORD OF WARNING - NO MORE GREY
No longer will you be able to sit on the fence of indecision. No longer will you be grey. Have I not said that in these days I require of you to choose? Hot or cold? But many still remain in their valley of indecision. You hide behind your vain knowledge. You hide behind vain arguments. Yet I am never unclear. I speak and they know. But with much knowledge comes grief. For in trying to decide for yourself, the decision has already been made. I draw the line in the sand. You have to choose which side you stand. You have to choose. No more grey. It has always been a question of whom do you serve. Your indecision will not exempt you from the consequences, because by your dispostion you neither stand, nor fall. And therefore have become irrelevant, both to Me and to your enemy. I will spew you out. For as salt you have lost your flavor, not even fit for the dunghill. As light, you hide yourself. Truth falling by the wayside as you pass by. Your indecision vexes Me and shows your fear of man! Of what man can do. Have I not said fear Me who is able to cast you into hell? Indeed your fear of man in your indecision is in fact your choice, and they revel in it. Many are still in this valley of indecision. Repent, because I will come in judgment on all those who refuse to stand with Me. My wrath upon the children of wrath, those who side with my enemy. Why is My enemy not your enemy? Because you hate the truth and love the lie. These are the days that the tares are seperated from amongst the wheat. Have I not said that I will wait until the end? Do you not recognize the season and the time? It's time to decide whom you serve! Explanation: In Joël 3 the Lord speaks of The valley of Jehosaphat, which means The valley of judgment. I believe what Father is saying here is that many are standing in their valley of indecision, whilst He is standing in the valley of judgment. He is already pronouncing judgment on those who are in indecision. We know this scripture relates to Trumpets etc. But the scriptures are often not just one time events, but also like a scroll opening, untill it reaches a climax and is fulfilled. This is why we see His wrath already all over the world, but will see His final judgment at the end. In the same way, we see the tares being separated from the wheat presently, even though that particular scripture also points to the end, and yet it is unfolding like a scroll now. Remember a tare looks almost identical like wheat. One of the differences is that when wheat is ripe for harvest, the blade of the wheat goes down, where as tares stand up straight. Submission and humility versus pride and arrogance. Also, the tares are amongst us in many ways, but indecision makes you one of them. In this He is saying, the time for sitting on the fence is gone! Indecision is as much a sin to Him as the sin itself. Because any indecision based on the premise of fear, makes you as salt without flavor and a light hidden. And that in itself makes you a tare. This makes you open and a candidate for His judgment. He is saying you better choose, because He is standing in the Valley of Jehosphat... The valley of judgment. He is not coming as the Lamb, but returning as the Lion who will devour His enemies. This is a call to the lukewarm, those who still sit on the fence with regard to the VC (not warning people, but keeping quiet), those who still dabble in secret sin and those who have a double mind, who live in fear. He is not going to cuddle you out of your disposition because He "understands", He is saying... WAKE UP! Scripture references:
A great sadness came over me a few days ago completely out of the blue. I know this sadness all too well, as it has been a familiar feeling during much of the last few years of my life. However, this was sudden with a twist of dread. Because it didn’t make sense at the moment, I went to my little prayer closet and began to ask Father, crying and feeling such a sense of loss. For a while, all I could do is pray for mercy, because the sense of loss was so great. And this sense of loss felt very connected to those who find themselves separated from the Almighty God, whether in this life or in eternity. I could feel the blackness of an abyss that I could see, and the loss was absolute torment. I felt the torture of eternal separation from Father and His Son. It was horrible, so of course I cried and repeatedly asked for mercy that I never go to this place and for those who may already find themselves there. As I continued to experience this, I asked Father what this was several times; I asked Him what I was feeling. I then began to sense very clearly in my spirit that the time of the lukewarm church is over; He is done. The words “fed up” kept coming into my mind. And then, the following scripture flowed: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. Revelation 22:11 Realizing that the context of the scripture is at the end of time, all I could think of was… “let he who is lukewarm be lukewarm still”. Then I wondered, has the time come when as Yahusha said, “I wish you were hot or cold, but because you are lukewarm I will spew you out of my mouth”? Has He reached the time when He will cast away those who honor Him with their lips but their hearts are far from Him? Or is this time upon us when those who are lukewarm will fall for a great delusion that will seal their fate and reward them their just recompense for their abuse of the name of Christ? I even wondered if the reason He said that He wished they were cold (instead of lukewarm) is because those who are cold still have a chance in their ignorance and the lukewarm have reached the place where they do not, simply because they know what they are doing? Needless to say, I was upset, and my heart ached for all those who may find themselves in this spiritual state, and I prayed that I would never enter into it myself. Of course, I cannot say for certain that we have reached this time, but I do know in my heart that it is at the door. How long? How long is the Savior of the world, who left His heavenly habitation in the glory of His Father to be birthed into this human dimension and walk amongst His brethren suffering the greatest death in all the world to save them from their wretched sin… how long is He to stand aside while the vast majority of “Christians” continue to profess His name but yet live like the devil? How long is He to watch their love of the world and all its trappings clearly trump their professed “love” for Him? How long is He to watch them in their western fatness and bliss trample Him underfoot as they continue to sin against Him? All the while He has said to them… And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Revelation 3:14-22 He has told them of their deficiencies, those that make him literally sick to the point of vomiting, but yet He has still offers to sup with them if they will open the door. He has told them what they need to truly be what they profess, and then He has told them what they can have if they repent. After all their trampling of His costly sacrifice, He still offers them forgiveness and a special part in His heavenly kingdom. He has done this now for 2,000 years, and it seems we have reached the pinnacle… that time where sin has reached its fullness and the cup of iniquity runs over; and thus grace runs out. Is this not what we see today? Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Hosea 4:1-3 In this day and age, especially in America, we have perfected the meaning of the lukewarm state of Christianity. This is not to say all, but yes, generally speaking this is true. I heard a traveling pastor say that someone from another country said to him, “America’s Christianity is as wide as the world but is only a few feet deep”. It is true; our Christianity is shallow, lukewarm, and the perfect example of how not to be. For many years now, I have felt this and even been embarrassed and ashamed to be an American. Considering the atrocities committed against other human beings in this land, even if it was in the past, as well as our what I like to call “fat basking”, which is quite prevalent now, I have just felt a sense of shame. We have become very prideful and self-focused in every aspect of life. We think no harm will ever come to us, because we are America. We think we have need of nothing. But we truly are blind, naked, and very poor in spirit. This is what we have become… He [the wicked] hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. Psalm 10:6 (Please read all of Psalm 10 and see if this sounds familiar.) This is not to say there is not good in America, because there is, even today. It is America in its infancy that was a beacon of the true Light of Christ and had an influence that impacted the whole world. It is America that received all the blessings of its faith in the Almighty God and obedience to His word and commandments. But something happened over time, and now we have become the complete opposite. We waxed fat and forgot the Almighty just like Israel, although we love to say His name and call ourselves by it. We have become the lukewarm capitol of the world. So, do we… myself included… feel that we have not been influenced by this “American way”? Do we think our minds have not been tainted to the point we have lost touch with reality, including spiritual reality? Have you ever travelled outside of the US and seen the intense and degrading poverty that exists elsewhere? Have you seen the tyranny and control that attempts to steal its people’s very right to worship the God of their choice (I speak of Christ here)? Have you seen the simplicity of life that what we would call inconvenient and primitive? I visited Hondurus once on a cruise and could not enjoy any of it. I was convicted in my heart to be travelling to a country to “sight-see” and enjoy the beauty of it, all while many of the residents were living in extreme poverty and filth. If we speak in all honesty, a great many of Americans are clueless; and if they are not atheists, they are very likely lukewarm Christians. I do not say all of this as if I am pointing the finger. The intense feelings of loss and torment I experienced were for those who are lost in their lukewarmness, and I could very well be one of those people. I am not living this way right now nor have I in many years, but there was a time in my Christian walk where sin still had a grip on me; and while my convictions may have been there, they weren’t near strong enough to stop the sin in its tracks. But, because I am His, and because of His mercy upon me, He turned me fully towards His face and made me desire to be completely HOT! Woe to me to ever turn aside even an inch towards the lukewarm life. It is my humble prayer that I will never live like that again! I share this simply because I used to be there in some form. And even now as I type this writing titled, “It’s Time to Take Our Temperature”, I am included in the “our”. So, it is… it is time for us to examine ourselves and get our spiritual thermometer out and take our temperature. The Word is very pointed about this very thing… Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. 2 Corinthians 13:5 We are told to examine ourselves and prove whether we really are of the faith! And when we go in for a physical examination, many times our temperature is taken. Our temperature will reveal the health, or lack thereof, within our bodies. The same is true of our spiritual health! Although this could be seen as an allegory somewhat, this is an extremely important part of our walk. We must look deeply inward, with all humility and honesty, and check the temperature of our spiritual health. I know I am writing this by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to admonish and forewarn us all… time is almost out; and I am certainly not the only one saying this! And if you or I are living even an inch close to lukewarm, we are in great danger of being cast out by Yahusha Himself and given over to our intense self-reliant works and self-indulgent desires, fully subjected to the great deception and delusion that awaits. That time is not coming; that time is now! So, let’s do this. Let’s take our temperature. Are you hot or cold… or are you lukewarm? Obviously we know what it means to be hot or cold; it is absolute and there is no question. But lukewarm is in the middle somewhere… gray, fuzzy, and uncertain; it is tepid and undesirable. Isn’t it ironic that so many things in our world and country now fit this description? We have gone so far into the gray and fuzzy that even gender has become un-absolute. Oh how far down the drainpipe towards the abyss we have gone… Back on track now… Let’s look at the scriptures to first see what it means to be “hot” as Yahusha mentions in Revelation 3:15 (above). As you read these scriptures, allow the Word in its living and active state to quicken you and delve deeply into the crevices of your heart to expose all truth. This means to set aside all your current thoughts, beliefs, and emotions and allow the Word to be the Word – absolute truth. As you read these, honestly and with integrity ask yourself… is this me? Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 2 John 9:9 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-40 If ye love me, keep my commandments. John 14:15 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Hebrews 12:14 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32 And paying special attention to the following words spoken directly from Yahusha Himself, all the way till the end: And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Luke 14:25-35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. Matthew 16:25 The scriptures are so very clear that when we are hot, we are all in to the point of sacrificing everything, including our own lives, for the One who gave us life. It is also clear that when we have refused this place of full surrender where we exhibit our faith through how we live, then we are good for nothing but to be cast out. This is exactly why Yahusha says He will spew out the lukewarm from His mouth. He will not utter our names with His mouth to His Father, but rather He will forcefully cast us away as if He were vomiting us out of His body, only to say, Away from me your worker of iniquity; I never knew you. When meditated upon, this is a horribly sobering thought, very similar to the tormenting feeling of loss I felt a few days ago. On the contrast of being hot, cold goes without saying. It is an absolute state of not believing and not following. People who are cold simply have no faith in or love for Yahusha. Many believe He does not exist, and hot Christians are repulsive to them. These have received no truth, or they have rejected the truth. This is obviously a very bad place to be, because unbelievers will have no part in the Kingdom; they will die in their sin, and the wages will be eternal death. How is it that Yahusha says He would rather the lukewarm even be cold? It is possible that those in the cold state have less of a hardened heart than the lukewarm and still have the full potential to be converted? It is possible that the heart of the lukewarm is terribly hardened as they know the truth of Yahusha and what He has done, they proclaim His name, but yet they trample Him under their own feet by continuing in the very behavior that nailed Him to the tree, knowing full well it is sin! Couldn’t this be considered a form of blasphemy? This is the behavior of the lukewarm. It is my prayer that through this writing, particularly the spoken Word of the Most High, the Holy Spirit will quicken and convict anyone operating in the lukewarm, to the point of repentance and lasting change. The world’s lukewarm truth is a lie, and it has many hearts seared in its grip. Although Yahusha still offers repentance and forgiveness to these, we must remember what He said awaits for those who refuse to turn to Him: And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 Is this strong delusion amongst us now? Take a look at the world and see what is being constantly programmed into us at this very moment. Is the great delusion lurking, or is it already here in the form of a false savior (and a false “savior” does not necessarily have to be a person)?! Remember, this great delusion could deceive even the very elect, if it were possible. Know for certain, the elect are hot, and they know the truth, and they are free from the great delusion! And finally, we must realize that the time of grace will come to an end, and we are almost there. The lukewarm particularly are at great risk and will experience the most loss, even moreso that than of the unbeliever (remember, the servant who knows His master's will but does it not will be beaten with many blows!). We must know in our hearts that there is coming a day very soon when He will cast these away, and they will be forever separated from Him, left to eternal weeping, darkness, and damnation. Can you imagine the day when He will say to those who have remained in this lukewarm spiritual state… Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 22:13 Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:30 I realize this is not a warm and fuzzy writing, but the scriptures speak for themselves, and the Word of our King is purified, even seven times! I know we are nearing the end, and therefore, it is time for messages that compel us to examine ourselves to ensure we are truly of the faith. There is too much at stake not to speak up when the Spirit of Truth leads. The Father chastises those whom He loves, and those who truly love Him will be not offended but instead respond to His call! The Spirit is saying at this very moment… … Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Ephesians 5:14 Our only hope is in Christ – fully in Him through absolute surrender and obedience. Our only love is for Him as the apple of our eye (He is in our thoughts and heart day and night!). Our allegiance is to Him and Him only … no religion, no man, no tradition, no solution or potion of man, and certainly not ourselves! We love Him and trust in Him, and we walk out our faith at all cost. So simply said… we are on fire for Him; we are HOT! I do realize this is a long post, but I have one more related thing to share. The following is an excellent teaching by an evangelist named Paul Washer. If you are not madly in love with Yahusha ha Mashiach, you will likely be offended by this message. Please, it is better to be temporarily offended to the point of repentance, rather than to be eternally condemned. Please consider giving this your full attention, and please consider sharing it along with this writing as you are led. It really is the time to do so. I pray blessings of truth, shalom, love, and wholeness in Yahusha to all! In these final days of the age in which we live, the battle of the two kingdoms has never been so visible in our realm. The lord of the earthly kingdom is no longer hiding himself and his followers, and he is bringing out all his tricks to prevail, even though he knows his time is very short and he will lose. On the other hand, the Creator and Kingdom of all eternity, who resides in the heavenly realm, is also showing Himself and urging all whom He has created to follow Him... and it will be, at all cost. It is past time for us to be sober, watchful, and both seeking and living in Truth, which can only be found in Yahusha (Jesus). Just in the last week, I have been blessed enough to watch and read two things that fully contrast these two kingdoms, at the root. I know this is not by chance, and I believe I am supposed to share this. Please make time in the coming week to watch and read what I am about to share. Although it may take a bit of your time, it is worth every second. The first thing I would like to share is a 5-hour video by a man from Australia who was apparently a winner on the X-factor TV show. Through his striving for fame, he became deeply entangled in something where he was able to see the tentacles of the kingdom of darkness -- of course, all cloaked in fake light. He was then miraculously saved by the grace and mercy of Yahusha ha Mashiach (Jesus Christ) and set himself in motion to fully expose this dark kingdom that exists right in front of our eyes -- one which many choose to minimize and ignore and even participate in, eventually to their own peril. And of course, throughout the duration of the video, He is exalting the One True Lord and King, Yahusha! Throughout this video, the speaker encourages us to please stay with him, and I encourage you to do the same. Make it your business to know in-depth your enemy, as we are admonished in the very Word of our Creator: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8 ...Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Corinthians 2:11 And no wonder, for even satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14 You may access the video below (and I encourage you to please watch it very soon, as I fully expect for it to be removed). And just so you don't stop here, please make sure that you continue reading beyond the video so that you can access the best part... a beautiful reminder and explanation of our ultimate heavenly Kingdom which will be brought to earth to rule and reign for all of eternity. UPDATE 10/13/21: As suspected, the video was removed from YouTube, but I was able to find it here (and this is one of only two places I was able to find it!) In stark contrast to the kingdom exposed in the video, we know that our Master and Lord, Yahusha ha Mashiach, has already attained the victory with His own blood and will rule this earth and all heavenly realms with His Kingdom where no evil will exist! He has already won the battle of the kingdoms, and He has done this so that we too, those who will sacrifice all to follow Him, may be with Him forever.
I would like to share a very recent writing by my sister from South Africa (Pietra de Bod) from her book, Kingdom Mandate. This is actually the very last chapter of her book, and in summary it offers the most perfect contrast to what we have learned about the wicked kingdom that constantly wars against the heavenly Kingdom. We need to know these things about our Kingdom!! Click here to access the last chapter of the book, "A Moral Conflict". In addition, click here to access the entire Kingdom Mandate book, which can also be found on the Resources page of this site under "Writings, Books, and Blogs". It is my earnest prayer that you are blessed by what you watch and read from this post. Please take sometime to feed yourself with this wisdom and understanding that is sure to equip you in these last days. |
Special NoteThese writings are written in love and a spirit of servitude. They are not designed to judge but make us think. We are all sinners in need of saving, and we all need encouragement and absolute truth to endure on the narrow road to sanctification and ultimately eternal life. Categories
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