Stay strong til the end

/in , /by
January 2016 God woke me with the names Hilkiah and Josiah. I didn’t know who they were so I went to the Bible. God had been speaking to me in dreams for about 4 months when He showed me these names. I spent a good deal of time reading about these 2 and trying to discern what God was showing me.
Recently God brought them to mind again and I felt He wanted me to revisit these portions of Scripture.
I opened my prayer journal from 2016 where I referenced 2 Chronicles 34:22-28 and 2 Kings 22 and 23. I wrote, “Lord, protect us like Hilkiah and bring us a Josiah.”
What I meant by this prayer I think you will see shortly.
This was pre-election 2016.
The story of Josiah is pretty cool. Hilkiah was the priest who discovered the book of the law that had been lost/hidden from sight prior to Josiah, the king, calling for the repair of the temple. It was brought to Josiah. When Josiah heard the reading of the book, he understood God’s judgements to come because his ancestors had not obeyed God and had provoked God’s wrath by the shedding of much innocent blood.
Hilkiah and a few others sought a prophetess (Huldah), who spoke what the Lord said. Disaster was coming because the people had abandoned God, they worshipped false gods, they did much evil.
But God had this to say, “As for the words that you heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and because you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I Myself have heard you – this is the Lord’s declaration – therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster that I am bringing on this place.” Then they reported to the king. 2 Kings 22:15-20
Josiah brought forth reform. Major reform. Read all about what he did in chapter 23. He followed God’s ways and made changes in the nation that aligned with God’s heart and will. He reversed what had been done. Josiah was a good king after a string of evil kings. In fact 2 kings prior to Josiah, Manasseh was king and was one of the most evil of all the kings. He shed much blood and did extreme evil (sacrificed his own son, consulted mediums, practiced witchcraft, and so much more!)
While Josiah was king, the nation prospered. God protected Hilkiah and Josiah and they didn’t live to see the disaster that devoured their nation. After Josiah, only evil kings took the throne. They had short reigns and the nation was taken and deported to Babylon where they remained in captivity for many years.
Does this sound familiar to you?
Now, today, I see what God wanted me to see. I believe we’ve been blessed with one like Josiah, willing to bring reform and change that aligned with the will of God. But evil hates good because evil hates everything. No good resides in the heart of evil and its one goal is destruction.
During this season of dreams, on this same journal entry I wrote, “the enemy will use fear to separate us and divide us. When we resist fear, it’s like standing up to a bully.”
The urgency I feel is back to where it was in 2015/2016 when God began speaking to me in dreams. My urgency died when the world began to prosper in a sense and all was well. I thought I’d heard God wrong. All the warnings and alarms He sounded to me I now realize were in preparation for today, where we are right now in the timeline.
I know the tendency is toward fear. But we have nothing to fear, even death. We are to resist fear at all costs. You know how we do that? We press in and pray. We don’t stop praying. We meditate on scripture. Let it sink into our souls.
I believe we will see some very scary things soon. But I believe God’s Word. He tells us to persevere all the way to the end. We have crowns awaiting us friends!! When we stand with Him and receive our rewards for our faithfulness here, all of this will seem tiny. Hold tight. Stand strong. Don’t bow to fear. Ever.
“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:25-28

 

On Paul, Philippians, & Perspective. On Goals, Stand Firm, & Agree.

/in /by

Recently, I read through the book of Philippians. What a powerful book. Today I’m sharing posts I shared on social media each day God showed me something in Paul’s letters.

Image may contain: tree, plant, sky, grass, outdoor and nature

“not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your deliverance- and this is from God.” Phil 1:28
Our peace comes from God alone. When the world shakes we are held steady. Our peace drives the enemy mad. He can’t conquer it. It’s a secret weapon he wants us never to discover.
Truth is under attack. Don’t fear speaking the truth. Stand in His peace. This world is fleeting.

When I think about my goals, they typically center around me. When I read Paul’s goals in Philippians chapter 3, I am convicted.
“My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” Phil 3:10
This is so powerful. The goal- know Jesus. To know the power of His resurrection, we have to die first. Resurrection comes after death. Die to myself, my pride, my selfish desires, my cravings.
To know the fellowship of His sufferings has never been a goal of my life. I try my best to avoid suffering. To fellowship in His sufferings is to be rejected, ridiculed, mocked.
I want to love Jesus so much that I am willing to lay my life down daily. Only then will I see resurrection power.
One of the many things I love about Paul’s letters is how he starts many sentences with “but”. I lost a few points in high school English for starting sentences with but, but now…..I love starting with but. But that’s beside the point.
In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul says, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”
Paul had proper perspective. Look up. Reach forward. Go for the promised prize.
In verse 20 we are reminded why we feel like strangers living in a strange world. “but our citizenship is in Heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
This isn’t our final home. We are visiting. Don’t lose hope. He’s coming back soon. In the meantime, keep pursuing Him!!

As I read Philippians 4 today, a phrase caught my attention. It was 3 small words which were directly after 3 key phrases.
The 3 phrases: Stand firm. Agree. Rejoice.
It seems that today to stand firm equates to disagreeing. And to disagree leads to complaining rather than rejoicing. In my humanness this is true. But Paul shows us the key to unity.
These 3 words: in the LORD.
Stand firm ——>>in the LORD
Agree ————>>in the LORD
Rejoice ———->>in the LORD
Wait. What? And how? You see we are incredibly distracted. Years ago I studied The Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer. I’ll never forget one image she drew of the way the Romans fought. How one tactic was to set arrows on fire and shoot them about setting fires that demanded attention. The defending soldiers would put all their efforts into putting out fires leaving them defenseless.
Friends, satan has set ablaze distracting fires. Fires of viruses, fires of civil unrest, fires of masks, fires of school decisions, fires of racial wars, fires of corruption. Oh the fires. They are everywhere. And we have set down our offensive weapons and picked up buckets of water.
Let’s step away from the smoke, clear our vision. We stand firm in the Lord. His ways, His truth, His Word. We don’t deviate. Ever. At all. Stand firm. We agree in the Lord. All the stuff we bicker about, refocus. Where do we agree? We agree in the Lord. His ways, His truth, His Word. Finally, we rejoice in the Lord. Because we stand in Him and agree in Him we will rejoice in Him.
And to be sure we understand, Paul says it this way, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: REJOICE!” Phil 4:4

 

Killing Entangling Sins & Invading Weeds

/in , /by
Image may contain: plant, flower, tree, outdoor and nature
Andrew and I tackled our side yard yesterday. The idea was to pull a few weeds. We knew what we were looking for. It’s a weed that loves our yard, grows tall and spiky, but with shallow roots. Pulling this weed type is fully satisfying because it takes little effort to root that thing right up and watch the pile grow. You see immediate progress.
What we encountered surprised us. The easy to pull weeds made some friends and we had many types of weeds to deal with. I grabbed a hold of a net of vines and pulled.
Andrew cried out, “No, Mom! Don’t pull those. They are beautiful flowers. You are taking away all the pretty plants.”
“These are weeds.”
“But they look nice.”
“Yes, but look what they’ve done. They’ve become like a net on top of all the plants that are good. Now they are trapped and unable to grow. Some are dying under the weight of these weeds.”
“But, Mom, when you are pulling the flower weeds, you are pulling out some of the good plants too.”
“I know. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to deal with these weeds. If I had kept an eye on them, I could’ve pulled them before they caused this much damage.”
I continued, “Andrew, these weeds are like the sins in our lives we allow to grow. Like these different types of weeds, some are harder to pull up and get rid of than others. Some take more work. And some sins, like the flowering weeds, don’t look so bad so we ignore them. But what we don’t realize is that all sin is dangerous. Eventually, it will do what it sets out to do. Consume our lives. These “beautiful” weeds provided a cover but that cover killed what we actually wanted to see blooming in this spot.”
“God wants our lives to flourish and bloom and grow strong and beautiful. It’s important that we notice when weeds begin to grow in our hearts so we can pull them from the roots and get them out of our lives before they grow into a mess like this.”
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…..” Hebrews 12:1-2

 

Defending the Truth, Offenses, Divisiveness, oh my!!!! And the coming day!

/in , , /by

Here’s some posts over the past several days. Scripture I’ve pondered, books I’ve read, thoughts I’m taking to God. And at the end of the day, settling back on the only unchanging hope we have. He is good always.

The only power to help us


“The crisis of the age we live in is the abandonment of truth, inevitably in the decline of moral values.”“Most of the early twentieth-century sociological works I read claimed that crime was caused by environmental forces such as poverty and racism. But in 1977 psychiatrist Samuel Yockelson and psychologist Stanton Samenow published a landmark seventeen-year study called The Criminal Personality, which refutes that claim. The only adequate explanation for crime, they conclude, is individual moral choices. The solution to crime, therefore, is “the conversion of the wrongdoer to a more responsible lifestyle.”

“But in an age of relativism, this worldview has steadily lost its grip on American culture, largely because Christians themselves have failed to recognize how God’s truth applies to every aspect of life.”
Charles Colson quotes from Born Again.

I just finished book 46 of 2020. Born Again by Charles Colson. He was convicted of Watergate-related offenses and spent time in prison on those charges. Jesus Christ saved Him, made him a new man, and used him to shine a light in the dark prison world. He has a unique story from inside the White House and political system, inside the prison system, inside law and justice as an attorney, and finally as a converted man, saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

This book, again, was timely and powerful for me to read.

Let His Word settle you

Image may contain: plant

 

“We are not made for brilliant moments, but we have to walk in the light of them in ordinary ways.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest.

This inspirational #teatowel reminds us that the majority of our lives are filled with ordinary, mundane moments, but lived in the Spirit of God they are holy.

May we do all for His glory.

Image may contain: text that says 'Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28,30'

 

Anyone weary? Our souls weren’t created to receive the load of information and news we take in each day. Is God asking you to come to Him and receive rest?

Shop here

Image may contain: text
“But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, knowing that such a person is perverted and sins, being self-condemned.” Titus 3:9-11

Image may contain: sky, grass, cloud, tree, plant, outdoor and nature

“Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7

Image may contain: text

Jesus told the crowd that it wasn’t what they ate that made them unclean, it was what was already inside them, residing in their own hearts. The disciples came to Jesus, talking about the religious Pharisees, and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this statement?”

I love how Jesus responds in Matthew 15:13 “Every plant that my Heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. Leave them alone! They are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both fall into a pit.”

In the margin of my Bible I have written “it’s not worth arguing with the blind.”

Jesus spoke the truth and the truth offends. Period. The truth is offensive to the blind. Is it our job to make them not offended? Nope. We speak the truth in love. It may offend. Jesus didn’t go back to make sure they weren’t offended. He said “Leave them alone.” They are blind and my Father will deal with them.

Another thing worth noting, be careful we aren’t following the blind. Otherwise, we may find ourselves in a pit when they fall. Stay in step with Jesus and you never worry about being on the wrong side.
For the full account read Matthew 15:10-20.

There will come a day…

Imagine a day where millions of people simply disappear from the earth. You are driving down the freeway and cars start running off roads because drivers disappeared into thin air. Planes fall from the sky as some pilots are gone. You are at the checkout counter and the clerk is gone. Literally people vanish. Chaos is everywhere. And no one knows what has happened to all the people. Then lawlessness takes over. Evil has taken over. Sounds super freaky and far fetched right? Well, it’s not. It will happen. And I believe sooner than we realize.

Here’s some of my story.

I’d been resisting God for years in my life. I didn’t have all my questions answered, I thought my life would become stale and boring, and I didn’t think I could live to God’s standards. So I kept pushing Him away. But He chased me down. Everywhere I turned someone was telling me about Him or inviting me to something. Then my mom gave me the book Left Behind. I devoured the entire series. I read about what the Bible says will happen at the end of the world and I was stunned. I was terrified and realized I didn’t want to be left behind. The horrible things were coming to deal with evil. Yet I didn’t feel I fit on the side of God or of evil. I was just hanging in the middle, doing “good” on my own without repenting and surrendering to Jesus. I realized that by default put me on the side of evil. I had to make a choice now before it became too late which side I wanted to be found on.

I gave my life to Jesus and He made me a new person. The burden that lifted off me that day I didn’t even know I’d been carrying. I remember standing in an atrium feeling free. Like a prisoner who was just released from jail. I didn’t know I’d been living in chains.

That was almost 20 years ago. I’d been married for 4 months. Jesus saved my life and I have made the rest of my life about knowing Him and making Him known to the world.

I remember in Left Behind the main characters trying to figure out where their mom and brother had disappeared to. The mother and brother were Christ followers but the dad and sister were not. The beginning of the book became about survival.

When Jesus takes me and my family out of this world while He deals with evil once and for all, I know that strangers will be in our home taking all the things we left. I wrote a letter placed in a Bible explaining where we went and how they can join us there. How they too can still be saved.

My goal in the next few days is to make copies of that letter and place it in all our Bibles and all over our home. When evil comes in, I want to still leave the path that leads towards hope. To Jesus.

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thes 4:13-18

Is Silence Really a Bad Thing?

/in , /by

 

Catchy phrases that rhyme don’t make them true. I’ve seen this one quite a bit lately “Silence=Violence”. Well, that’s simply not true no matter how cute it sounds.

The word silence has drawn my attention the past few days. I’ve held close to my heart the scripture from Ecclesiastes 3:7 that tells us there’s a time to be silent and a time to speak.

I continue to let that be the prayer of my heart. Often I’m tempted, or even follow through, on speaking out of my emotions or my sin of pride. The Lord will reveal to me, often through the convicting word of another, and I have the opportunity to repent, remember, and choose wiser next time. God’s mercy is fresh daily. Praise God!

So I’ve been mulling over the word silent. When does God instruct us to be silent? Some circumstances demand we speak, but others request our silence.

First, we ask God. We seek Him. We find Him in prayer, in His Word, and later He will speak to us through others and our world as we move through our day seeking Him.

As I prayed asking God to direct me toward knowing when to be silent, He brought me to the book of Amos.

Verse 5:13 “Therefore the wise person will keep silent at such a time, for the days are evil.”

Friends, we are in fact living in evil days.

The study notes say that because the people with power were so hostile to anyone who told the truth in the courts of law, honest and decent people were being silenced. Now if that doesn’t make us pause and consider what we are seeing in the world today, I don’t know what will.

I read a further commentary on this verse that said it didn’t apply to the prophets who were called to reprove no matter the consequences, but the private person by speaking out would only bring on ill will and hear God blasphemed, which would hurt them deeply.

Remember last week God kept bringing me the word light especially connecting the light to the darkness? Well, here we are again.

Amos 5:20 Won’t the Day of the Lord be darkness rather than light, even gloom without any brightness in it?

Amos 5:8 The One who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night who summons the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the earth. Yahweh is His name. He brings destruction on the strong and it falls on the stronghold.

The Day of the Lord is near. God will deal. God won’t be silent. For a little while more, evil will remain, but its escalation is simply due to the fact that the demons at work know they are on borrowed time. I believe we are seeing events played out we’ve only read about. Now we are living them in real time. That means we better be living armored up, strengthening our faith, and shining light everywhere we go.

Seek God.

Ok, so there’s definitely times to be silent. But when do we speak?

Proverbs 28:23
“One who rebukes a person will later find more favor than one who flatters with His tongue.”

There’s a lot of flattery going on right now friends.

In my study Bible, the notes explain the exception to this is when rebuking a mocker with a cross reference to Proverbs 9:7 “The one who corrects a mocker will bring dishonor on himself; the one who rebukes a wicked man will get hurt.”

Looking at the study notes again it explains we are to avoid the unteachable.

Avoid the unteachable, the fool, the mocker. They will NOT receive your wisdom. They speak a different language. You will become distracted and dishonored in the process.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Again looking at the study notes to help it make sense. “The wise are teachable BECAUSE they are humble and they fear the Lord.” They don’t fear man, they fear the Lord.

This is key. I’ve approached people with truth and love and received vastly different responses. But as believers we are SUPPOSED to be humble and teachable. So if we are rebuked, and a friend speaks truth into our lives, we should be humble enough to consider the words by taking them to the Lord. And if we see something false or needing correction in the life of our fellow believer, it’s loving to point them back to God’s Word.

James 5:19-20 “My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his life from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

Right now the world is filled with prideful spirits totally unteachable and believers wandering from the truth. I pray out loud a particular prayer with one of my boys every single night. “Lord, give him a soft heart and a teachable spirit.” The reason I pray that with one child is his bent is not towards teachability ?

Here’s where I landed as I wrestled this down with God yesterday. Each situation is unique for when we speak and when we are silent.

For our brothers and sisters in Christ, when we see them following a path of lies opposed to the truth of God’s Word, I believe we speak. But when the mob is speaking and we feel tempted to speak against it, it’s likely wiser to remain silent unless we speak the gospel and the gospel alone.

Until God captures the human heart, it lives in rebellion to Him. Right now more than ever we need to be praying for wisdom and discernment. Otherwise we may be carried away with the popular voice that echoes the world.

Lord, our prayer today is to give us a heart for you. Guide us by your Spirit, fill us with your wisdom, teach us when to speak and when to be silent. May we spend so much time with you that we overflow your love to those around us. This world is in desperate need of You and You’ve been here the entire time, but we’ve removed you from our schools, communities, and our lives. Forgive us. Heal our land. Send us out to make disciples of all nations. Protect your people, ready our hearts for the season we are living in. Amen.

Shine a light in the darkness

/in , /by

This is a series of posts I posted on social media the day many people muted themselves in order to listen and learn in response to the riots happening around the nation. When I began my series I didn’t realize it had been given a name “Black Out Tuesday”. The interesting thing is God began to show me over and over again ‘light’ and to call out the light.

Post #1 of I’m not sure how many….

Apparently the latest social media trend is to mute one’s self, go silent, darken the screen, and listen in order to solve sin and wounds that began thousands of years ago. Like a fast of sorts.

I’m baffled. 100% baffled. I sat with the Lord so speechless this morning and told Him I just have no words anymore. Covid seems to have disappeared overnight, and what took its place is worse. Not only is the world at war, but the responses have me with my jaw dragging the ground.

I’ve been asking God to direct me when to speak and when to be silent. Today the first verses He led me to were in Isaiah 58.

“”Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.”

I think it’s about time we let God’s voice speak. All these posts saying we are going mute to allow other voices to be heard, what about God’s voice? Why aren’t we making space for His Word?

Honestly I’m wearied of man’s thoughts and opinions. I desperately need God right now. I need to hear His voice.

As He directs today I’ll be sharing from His Word. Maybe it’ll be only this post. Maybe it’ll be many. I don’t dare plan how God will move, but I’m asking Him to speak.

Image may contain: text that says 'JESUS'

Post 2 of ?

Jesus is the answer to every single social issue, every virus, every fight, every hurt, every fear.

Jesus is the light for our dark world.

Just Jesus. Jesus plus nothing. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

John chapter 1

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

Lord, we cry out to you. We realign our hearts to you. Forgive us. Heal us. For those who have salvation in You, lead us by your spirit. For those who are crying out for help and don’t know you as Savior, may today be a day of salvation. Light up their world by your love and supernatural reach.

Today, may God’s light shine.

No photo description available.

God lights the dark. He didn’t call us to sit in the darkness. He illuminates our darkness!! Only Jesus.

Psalm 18:28-36

28 Lord, You light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.
29 With You I can attack a barrier,[f]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.
30 God—His way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is pure.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God besides Yahweh?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
32 God—He clothes me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the heights.[g]
34 He trains my hands for war;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand upholds me,
and Your humility exalts me.
36 You widen a place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.

Post 4 of ?

Isaiah 58:6-12
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

Post 5 of ?

This is why we don’t lose hope. This is why we don’t despair. This is coming!!!!

Revelation 21:23-27

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

No photo description available.

Post 6 of ?

“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lamp stand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

No photo description available.

Post 7 of 7

“Everything exposed by the light is made clear, for what makes everything clear is light.”
All of Ephesians 5:6-14 is so good!

God has much to say about light. Shine a light, shine a light. That song is running through my head today. God takes me on interesting treks. Thanks for joining me on this one today!

 

God continues to bring me to scriptures pointing out the light. 1 Thessalonians 5 tells us that when Jesus returns, it will feel like a thief in the night for those who don’t believe. But for those of us who do believe, it won’t be a surprise because we are able to discern the seasons and times we are living in.

2020 has felt like a living nightmare. One thing after another, each event more intense than the one before, events closer together. As we draw closer to the return of Jesus, we will experience world events the Bible says will feel like labor pains.

I had no epidural with my last birth and I know that I thought I was dying near delivery as the pains were so intense and close together. So it will be for us here as we wait for Jesus to rapture us home.

Verse 4-5 “But you, brothers, are not in the dark, for this day to overtake you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.”

It’s time we move back into the light where we belong. Shine a light so bright for the world to see God’s glory and His intense love for this world.

It’s time to live ready to leave this temporary home at any moment. It’s time to stop living distracted by the chaos Satan creates around us. Time to stop focusing on the issues and get back to loving God and people with such intensity we change the world, one person at a time, until we meet Jesus in the air

 

Image may contain: cloud and sky, text that says 'WE DO NOT BELONG TO THE NIGHT OR THE DARKNESS RENEE-ROBINSON.COM RENEE'

Avoid Dissensions and Factions

/in , /by

Proverbs and Galatians spoke right to today’s culture and climate. God’s Word always delivers the truth and sometimes pokes us awake.

I knew we had found the church God had for us in Omaha when I learned the heartbeat of the church: develop self-feeders, people who read the Bible for themselves every single day. Today’s readings from our church reading guide were perfect for what we see today in this climate and culture.

“Mockers inflame a city but the wise turn away anger.” Proverbs 29:8

“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man holds it in check.” Proverbs 29:11

“When the wicked increase rebellion increases, but the righteous will see their downfall.” Proverbs 29:16
(I confess I felt guilty when this verse made me feel better. But keep reading with me and you will see why I let that guilt go.)

“An angry man stirs up conflict and a hot tempered man increases rebellion.” Proverbs 29:22

“A person’s pride will humble him but a humble spirit will gain honor.” Proverbs 29:23

“The fear of man is a snare but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.” Proverbs 29:25

“An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.” Proverbs 29:27 (Well doesn’t that just explain why when we post about Jesus or anything in line with His teachings we receive such pushback)

Ok, now let’s move to Galatians.
“You were running well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from the One who called you. A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough. I have confidence in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty.” Galatians 5:7-10

Here’s where I let go of my guilt over wanting to see the downfall of the wicked. Paul continues explaining to the Galatians why they weren’t bound to the Jewish law of circumcision because the cross fulfilled all the law and now they lived under grace. But Paul says this and I have to admit, I love when I see a little fire and sarcasm from Paul. “I wish those who are disturbing you might also get themselves castrated!”

Then in verses 16-18 we are instructed to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. To be sure we knew the difference, Paul calls it out directly to us. Emphasis added by me….
“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, HATREDS, STRIFE, jealousy, OUTBURSTS OF ANGER, SELFISH AMBITIONS, DISSENSIONS, FACTIONS, ENVY, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance – as I told you before- that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21

Believers!!!
The definition of
dissension: disagreement that leads to discord.
factions: a small organized dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics.

Please don’t miss this. It’s in the bible for a reason.

“Believers” everywhere are splitting by joining dissensions and factions. We are called to a higher standard.
We have the mind of Christ. We are called to live in unity.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:22-26

God’s Word changes me every single day. It convicts me when I’ve been walking in my flesh. It guides me back to His heart. It shows me the better path. It fills me with joy I can’t get in the world.