NOW —
For such a Time as this (Esther 4:14) have you been born.
MAKE IT COUNT. God is watching…and waiting for you to do the right thing.
He already knows Who wins in the End.
🙏✡️🛡⚔️📖✝️🇮🇱🕊
It is Time…
Walk Worthy of the Calling by Being Obedient
During one of my courses this past year while obtaining my Master’s degree, I had to choose a passage to write a paper on, and I was led by the Spirit to choose Ephesians 4:1-6.
I had to take it apart, line by line, and exegete it, explaining what Paul was truly saying in the original Greek language.
The first three verses seem to tell a message of how we are to grow in Christ, within the calling that the Lord placed on us (myself, it is in the office of a Prophet and to fight against the demonic in Spiritual Warfare), letting those virtues take hold of us, as we “let go” of ourselves more and more, to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29-30).
The next three verses, 4-6, is the KEY to allowing the Lord to do is work within each of us—Paul reminding us that there is ONE (εις) Spirit, that is, the HOLY SPIRIT of God, which enters into each “born again” believer of Christ (Jn. 3:3,5,7), once they truly become His child through faith in Him (Jn. 1:12).
We have that ONE HOPE that keeps us moving forward in our faith (vs. 4),
Along with knowing there is ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, and ONE BAPTISM—not several thousand splinters of beliefs that they enemy of our souls managed to deceive us to do within the Church Body;
Because there is only ONE GOD and FATHER of us ALL (vs. 6), who is the Father of Spirits (Heb. 12:9), to Whom One Day, we ALL must appear before and give an account of ourselves (2 Cor. 5:10) at the Judgment, and how we used the gifts, talents, skills and abilities that He gave unto each of us.
If we choose to HONOR the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in this short time here on Earth, He faithfully promises to reward us at the End of Days, as long as we serve Him with the right heart and mindset (Col. 3:23-34), and by not losing heart and growing weary (Gal. 6:9), while striving to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3).
Remember, the Lord CALLED us to be HIS servants. Servants OBEY the Master.
The LORD is the Captain of the Host—we are part of His Holy Army, as are the angels that serve Him.
He IS the ONE God and Father of us ALL—both the angelic and the human spirits—Who is OVER all and THROUGH all and-don’t forget this child of God-IN all (vs. 6).
HANG ON—He WILL Return!
DO NOT give up!!
The Lord WILL fulfill all His promises!!
STAY the COURSE!!
FIGHT the good fight of FAITH!
PRAY and LIVE OUT His Word daily!
SHARE this HOPE with others!
Pray Like Never Before, Beloved, For Those Perilous Times Are Upon Us
I woke up (as usual🙄🤦♀️) about two hours or so after I fell asleep. I got up and walked to my desk, and checked my phone; I noticed that there would be thunderstorms coming my way soon (around 2am). I tried to lay back down again, but because of what happened to the REAL President, Donald J. Trump, I could not help but vent to Abba for some time about it.
I know that “perilous times will come” (2 Tim. 3:1)–they are already here, along with the lawlessness that is abounding (Matt. 24:12). All the evil that we who CAN see what truly is going on, is just part of the pieces of the puzzle, that will eventually bring the Anti-Christ onto the world stage, to take over for SEVEN years (Dan. 9:27), bringing on the Tribulation.
What some people, even Christians, do not realize is–the FIRST SEAL OF JUDGMENT IS THE ANTICHRIST.
I am not here to mention anything about the Rapture or how or when it will happen (the Lord Jesus promised us He would take us Home with Him when it was time -Jn. 14:2-3- once He was done “preparing a place” for us), for no one knows that Day or Hour (Matt. 24:36)–just that it WILL eventually HAPPEN.
What I DO want to point out to you, especially to those who DO NOT BELIEVE, is that all who reject Jesus NOW, in 2023, and do NOT humble themselves and REPENT by the Time the LORD allows this FIRST SEAL OF THE 21 JUDGMENTS to be OPENED by the LORD JESUS CHRIST (the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 6:1-2)–those people, who are among our loved ones, friends, other family members, co-workers, etc., WILL BE DECEIVED INTO THINKING that this Anti-Christ IS the one who will save them from the world’s increasing economy and financial problems, social and political issues, etc.
They will end up BELIEVING A LIE–as they do now, by the very DEMONS who have helped them REFUSE and REJECT the Lord Jesus Christ into their lives–that this ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT LEADER–the ANTICHRIST–is going to solve ALL their problems.
🙏I stayed up and prayed for the next couple of hours, rebuking the enemies of our souls, asking the LORD to reveal Himself more to those who are BLIND and DEAF to Him, pleading with Him to do whatever it takes, to take their cold, stony hearts, and turn them into hearts of flesh (Jeremiah 36:26), so that they could SEE and UNDERSTAND that He LOVES them, and wants a relationship with THEM, and that they would finally accept the Lord Jesus into their lives, and ESCAPE the COMING JUDGMENTS.
🙏I ask YOU, dearly beloved, to do the same for your family and friends. Take out even an hour before you go to bed (or do as I did, if you wake up in the middle of the night), and PRAY mighty spiritual warfare prayers to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, asking the Godhead to allow those who still reject Him, to see Him in a new light, taking away the scales from their eyes, and unstopping their deaf ears to His Word, so that they may finally have a chance of eternal Life in and with Christ, for all Eternity.
The LORD is patient, but He WILL finish what He started several millennia ago. And the Time for the End is SOONER than we think.
In These Days of Trouble, Keep Watch and Pray, and Anticipate the Day of the LORD
Does the LORD hear us in our day of trouble? He sure does.
Lately, this world hasn’t had a day or two of trouble–it is a DAILY thing now, as we approach the End of Days.
I know most people do not want to hear about that, even those who profess Christ. They want to continue on with their daily lives, doing what they want, how they want, and when they want.
But we all cannot ignore the obvious for much longer–it is evident to me and many others who are “sober and watchful unto prayer”, that the time that the Lord Jesus spoke about, and the prophets warned us about-even the Apostle John in his writing of the Book of Revelation-that there would come a day when THE Day of trouble–the Day of the LORD–would happen.
It IS approaching, and I suspect those of us who are paying attention, SEE and HEAR the signs and warnings of all that is going on around us.
I can only hope that many more will wake up to the reality that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have to FINISH what they started several millennia ago.
There was to be a generation of people who would experience such things. There was the generation in Noah’s day to experience the worldwide Flood; then the generation in Moses’ day to experience all the 10 plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea, and Moses coming down from the Mount with the 10 commandments.
There was a generation who witnessed the birth of the Messiah, and also in that generation of people, became some of His disciples and followers (and also His mother and foster father!). They saw and experience many miracles, and walked with the Image of the Invisible God for 33 years, until He was crucified for all of our sins, died, and then was resurrected, defeating Death and Hell in the process, making a way for all of us to have that opportunity to return to the Father–the LORD of Spirits.
There was a generation of believers for many centuries, starting with the first disciples, that became martyrs of the Faith, because they would not deny Christ. They longed for the Day that Christ would return and deliver them out of the evil they were witnessing more and more. But all of that was just the beginning of the walk of Faith with Christ and His Word. More was to be fulfilled, but many years hence.
NOW there is a generation, who after 2000+ years after the resurrection of Christ, that has seen MANY changes in this world, ESPECIALLY in the last 150 years or so. Rapid changes in technology, finances, society, behaviors, faith, families, etc.
Dare I say that since the 1960’s, there has been much more work in the demonic realm than anyone has seen in a long time. I do believe that we may just be that generation to see and experience much more supernatural events than we have ever bargined for.
That’s because the demons and fallen angels themselves know, that That Day is NEAR. And they are getting bolder and acting out in the physical realm more than ever before. They know their end is near, and do not care how many humans they take with them to the eternal fires. The more humans they can trick and deceive into falling away from the faith, or staying away from The Lord altogether and continue to deny Him, the more they get to spite the LORD God for casting them down and sentencing them to an eternal death. Billions already have entered into perdition…
The Day of the LORD approaches. We must be ready for it–mentally, emotionally, physically, and most of all–spiritually. One day of trouble in a person’s life is nothing these days. The world is FULL of trouble, because it has forsaken the LORD God, and He is about to remind them very SOON, Who rules and reigns in Heaven, on Earth, and below the Earth. He will finally take back ALL that is His, including His children, and Israel, which is His inheritance. Anyone who is not of the Lord’s will suffer unimaginably with the 21 Judgments that are to come.
Be watchful unto prayer, and stay sober minded, beloved. Keep your sword (Bible) with you at all times, reminding all of That Day that is approaching, and quicker than ever before.
Do the Will of God, And He Will Bless You, For He is Forever Faithful
I cannot begin to tell you how much of a “Godwink” this is, to see this specific verse this morning in my daily morning devotional. It brought tears to my eyes, especially after the conversation that happened in the middle of the night.
Even us kids who study the Word of God all time, need reminders of certain commandments that Abba has given us. I was reminded of one very important one last night.
I have been struggling with not being able to obtain a good enough paying job, in order that ALL my bills are paid, not just some of them. I’m so tired-actually, exhausted- of living like a pauper for the last 5 years. I know I’m speaking to the choir about this–we’re all in the same boat, just on different levels, and going through different specific situations when it comes to finances.
I thought for sure that everything would turn around for me, once I graduated with my Bachelor’s, but I still could not find a decent (preferably remote at the time) paying job. And even AFTER writing four books and receiving hardly any royalties for them (very few people have purchased my books), I continued to live on either school or tax refunds, which had to pay for anything and everything I needed, and any and all bills that came in–now including rent. Talk about slicing the pie VERY thin–almost to the point of it being transparent!
One mystery that has yet to be solved–it was the LORD’s will for me to write those books–so why would I not make any money off of them? Was that all out of obedience, and nothing more?
BUT–it seemed more like that was the Lord’s will all along on this faith journey of mine, proving Himself faithful again recently, when I finally did get (albeit part-time and just above minimum pay) a job. It also proved to me, that what His will IS, will be, no matter whether His child likes and or approves of it, or not.
Now that I have a M.A., I thought that would open even MORE doors of opportunity to get a much higher-paying job, and something I can be proud of, paying all the bills, saving some money, tithing, etc. But that hasn’t happening either-at least not yet-no decent enough paying job has come my way. So I went to the LORD once again, grumbling and asking why He will not open up that door (Rev. 3:7), and pour out His financial blessing, enough that I can finally breathe and not feel like I’m suffocating anymore.
When I went to sleep last night, I was not in a good mood at all. He knew what was on my mind, and except for the normal prayer time, I said nothing more, and fell asleep.
As usual like every other night, I woke up a couple of hours later. The Holy Spirit wanted to “discuss” something with me–I could tell, because I was wide awake, and He had me look up something in the Hebrew Torah prior to “answering” my question of why I continue to struggle financially all this time.
The answer finally came. He reminded me of one of the promises I made IF I were to get a job–any job–and that was, I would start to pay my TITHES again.
Oh my gosh–tithing?! “You mean another 10% off the top (gross) every week–” Ugh…
YES–tithing. I haven’t done much of that, because of the very little paychecks I have received from this part-time job, ALTHOUGH I have managed to put aside 10% for my church back in 2018 when I worked a seasonal job (making $1 more an hour, but way less hours).
BUT–it IS His will; it always has been. That is how the priests were to survive and provide for their families, because the people would support them by giving a tenth of their income (Malachi 3:10; Num. 18:21,26; Deut. 16:17; 2 Cor. 9:7).
Lord knows my priest does not get any help from the hierarchy of the Church, especially when it comes to the TLM portion of the Masses; he survives on a stipend at least a couple of hundred dollars LESS than my total monthly income. But he has a small but faithful flock, who also purchase his delicious breads, soups (when in season) and pies throughout the year to also help him out financially.
But that is what my Father wanted to remind me of–to tithe, as I promised I would. I got so caught up in finally having a paycheck again (it was almost two years that I went without one) to pay some of my bills (and believe you me, I’m still about $800 in the hole with my car bill–it’s only the grace and mercy of God that they haven’t taken it away!), I seriously forgot to include that in my WEEKLY expenses (yes, even if I do not show up to church a certain week, I STILL am obligated He said, to put that money aside for the priest). “Give and it shall be given unto you”(Luke 6:38)–remember, Jeannette?” “Yes, Father”, I said, now feeling worse than I did before. All I could think of is what 📖Malachi stated in vs. 8–“Would man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me…” Ugh…
Nevertheless, He also reminded me of what it said in the latter part of 📖 verse 10–“And thereby put Me to the test, says the LORD of Hosts (Adonai Tze’vaot), if I will not OPEN the windows of Heaven for you and pour down a blessing until there is no more need.”
No matter what the specific situation in a believer’s life, if the LORD’s will needs to be done, DO IT. He is faithful, even when we are not (2 Timothy 2:13). He is forever merciful and gracious, and understanding of our needs, and will remain faithful to us (Lam. 3:22-23; Deut. 7:9), unto the end of our days. We should be faithful as well, and trusting in Him to see that, according to HIS WILL for our lives, make sure that we accomplish all that HE set us out to do. He in turn, will PROVIDE for all our needs (and a few of our wants as well!).
BUT–the LORD’s WILL comes FIRST–no matter what the circumstances are. As long as we honor Him and abide in Him, He will make sure to bless us in whatever way He seems fit to do it, and will strengthen us along the way to accomplish all His will He purposed for us, until the Day He calls us Home with Him.
Mankind Has Ceased to Do Good, Thinking God Will Not See The Sins They Commit
As I am going through the “Lauds” section of prayer today, I was reading this and it sounds just like mankind of today (and pretty much of what Psalm 14:1 echos as well).
It is amazing how BLIND humans are, even those who profess to know God and His Son (Luke 7:21) ; how much evil we allow into our lives, and just ignore it, or think those little vices and sins mean nothing to the LORD…
If sin was not an issue to the LORD God, mankind can live whatever way he would please to, and the LORD would not convict and sentence man to an eternal damnation. Why also then, would He have sent His Son Jesus (Yeshua), to the Earth, taken away from the eternal glory He already had with His Father from the Beginning (Jn. 1:1-4, 14; Colossians 1:13-20) only to be disrespected, rejected, and treated like dirt, even being MURDERED by mankind, if sin wasn’t something that stood in the way of having a relationship with the LORD Most High?
Even the angels who sinned, would have “gotten away” with all of what they have done–Lucifer (Is. 14:12), Samjaza, Artaqifa, Armen, Kokabel, Turael, Azazel, and all the others who rebelled against the Most High (see 1Enoch Chapters 6-8; 15; 66 and also Gen. 3 and 6:1-5), and did abominable acts like deceiving and lying to Adam and Eve, but also procreating with human women, making to themselves offspring who end up being even worse than they were, being half-breeds and beasts who some still now roam the earth (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6); to get themselves not only removed from the Divine Council (Ps. 82:1; Deut. 32:8-9), but forever sentenced to the eternal flames come the Time of Judgment (Ps. 82:6-7; Rev. 20:10-15.
The LORD GOD has a way of allowing man the gift of “free will”–to CHOOSE who he will serve–either those evil ones who have “gifted” to mankind things those rebellious sons of God never should have shared with them, in exchange for their souls, making war, spilling blood, doing more abominable acts than ever before-only to lead to both the angels and the humans’ entrance into the eternal fires–
OR–
Choosing to humble themselves before Him, repenting of their sins and transgressions, accepting the free GIFT of ETERNAL LIFE through His Son Yeshua HaMaschiach, Who suffered, died and rose again, in fulfillment of the Scriptures, in order THAT mankind would have a way back to the Father, and a spiritual REBIRTH (Jn. 3:3, 5, 7) that was lost at the Fall of mankind.
WHICH one will YOU choose?
Will you be like those sons of God who had EVERYTHING — they not only were created like we were, but SAW the Most High, LIVED in GLORY with Him, felt the LOVE and JOY of being with the Triune Godhead–and then gave it all up, and for what? To SIN, only to end up in the eternal flames??🔥🔥🔥🔥
WE have that opportunity to live in ETERNAL GLORY with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, IF we choose wisely to TRUST and OBEY in His WORD–ALL of it, even if we do not understand it al right now. ALL He wants from us, is to TRUST and OBEY, and LIVE out the life He chose for each one of us.
🙏I pray that you think long and hard on this, because SOON, and VERY soon, That Day WILL come, when the LORD God will have to FINISH what He started here (Is. 24:21-22; Jer. 30:7-8; 46:10; Ez. 30:3-4; Joel 1:15; 3:12-14; Zephaniah 3: 11-13; Rom. 2:16; Matt. 7:22-23; 24:30-31; Jn. 12:48; Rev. 20:8-9). PLEASE do not give in to the desires of the flesh, the world, and the lies that the angels who sinned, and their offspring–the demons–deceive the whole world with!! You WILL end up in the same fires as they, for they ALSO will be judged(2Pet.2:4)!!
CHOOSE LIFE, by choosing to be a child of the ✡MOST HIGH GOD-Adonai Elohim Tz’vaot, and ✝YESHUA, His Son, and by accepting Him into your life, you will then have 🕊RUACH HaKODESH-the HOLY SPIRIT–🔥📖LIVE within you, leading and guiding you TO eternal life, as long as you TRUST Him with ALL your heart, and lean NOT to your OWN understanding (Prov. 3:5-6), as those rebellious sons of the Most High did, and transgressed before the LORD God, and lost all their positions in glory with Him, and are sentenced to an eternal Hellfire.
I put the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin here along with the English, so that you can clearly see it is written in the ancient languages. I use Blue Letter Bible to study these languages, and you would do well to utilize them or Logos for your Bible and ancient biblical language word studies.
📖Psalm 31:1
Susúrrat iníquitas ad ímpium in médio cordis eius;*
non est timor Dei ante óculos eius.
N’oom pesha larasha bekerev libi eyn pachad Elohim leneged eynav.
εἰς τὸ τέλος τῷ δούλῳ κυρίου τῷ Δαυιδ (35:2) φησὶν ὁ παράνομος τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ οὐκ ἔστιν φόβος θεοῦ ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God before his eyes.
📖Vs. 2:
Quóniam blandítur ipsi in conspéctu eius,*
ut non invéniat iniquitátem suam et óderit.
Ki hechelik elav be’eyanav limtzo avono lisno.
ὅτι ἐδόλωσεν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τοῦ εὑρεῖν τὴν ἀνομίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ μισῆσαι
For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
📖Vs. 3:
Verba oris eius iníquitas et dolus*
désiit intellégere, ut bene ágeret.
Divreyfiv aven oomirma chadal lehaskil leheytiv.
τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἀνομία καὶ δόλος οὐκ ἐβουλήθη συνιέναι τοῦ ἀγαθῦναι
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
Wretched Sinner Called Holy by the LORD
I was up sometime after 12:45am, and could not go back to sleep. So I did what I normally do–talk to Abba about anything and everything.
One of the obvious subjects was family–how especially after the events of the past week, I felt more ostracized than ever, not even getting a phone call to let me be part of birthday celebrations and to see my grandson. I’ve asked the LORD to forgive me countless times, just in case there was something I missed. It has been almost a year that this estrangement has been going on without any improvement, and yes, although I know it is also the work of the unseen evil ones, us humans have a lot to answer for at the Judgment of how we treated one another.
So as I sat there crying, the Spirit said to me, “Do you not realize that the more holy and obedient you have become, the further people have distanced themselves from you? It is a natural occurrence, especially in the light of your improved faith walk.”
😳Holy?? I immediately said, “LORD, I am not that holy of a person, especially 🙄with my mouth–not that it’s bad, but I know you don’t like certain words I say. I do not consider myself to be “holy”, but a wretched sinner who is saved by Yeshua HaMaschiach, my Lord and my King.”
The Spirit said, “The light that has emanated from you since your improved faith walk with Me, has gotten brighter; to a point where now that when your light shines, it makes them look away, because they do not like the brightness that ends up exposing their own sins. Hence their distancing themselves from you, to the point where they would rather be walking around in utter darkness rather than having the Light on them.”
“Also, you remember what was said about this time–about the coldness of men’s hearts and how they would be.”
“Yes–Matthew 24:12–“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” “That’s exactly what has happened, and I know not only to myself, but to so many others of my brothers and sisters. It’s just a horrible feeling of loss.”
“What is funny is that you, Daughter, consider others holy (like St. John Vianney, the prophets, other Christians down the centuries, etc.), yet do you not think they struggled in their sins as well? They sure did. I said in My Word, “Be holy as I am holy”–you are doing so by following Me and My Word. That is all I ask.”
“So then, LORD, I hope that our lights shine even brighter, as the world gets darker and darker with this evil. Just like I see more stars, the darker the night becomes.”
As sinful as we all are, the LORD God sees us as He called us to be–a holy people, yet having to discipline ourselves constantly (although it does get a little easier 😊 as time goes on) to make sure we stay on that Path He called us to, because after all, isn’t He worth it? After all He has done for us–even to the point of sacrificing His Son for us–should we not make a concerted effort to live out holy lives for Him, to “let your lights shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in Heaven”? (Matt. 5:16) He most certainly IS worth it.
I may still feel weird (even by the LORD calling me “holy”) being called “holy”, but I understand that’s just because I still see myself as I was years ago. One of the last things He said to me very early this morning was, “That is the way you WERE; you are no longer that person.”🥰 He sees me for who I am NOW in Christ. A sinner, yes, yet one who recognized the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Someone who I could never want to live without. 💖✡📖✝🕊💖
Let The HOLY SPIRT Lead and Guide You Each and Every Day Through HIS WORD
This has been on my heart for some time. When I saw today’s “Daily Verse” on The Catholic Company’s devotional today (of all places!) the Spirit inside of me decided today was the day to speak about a certain issue that I noticed in the Church, specifically, the Roman Catholic Church, and the more specifically, the Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Mass.
Now, before you start raising eyebrows and want to silence me (because 🙄that’s what normally happens), HEAR what the HOLY SPIRIT has to say about this part of worship in HIS Holy Scriptures.
Yes—this is a “Holy Spirit” rant within me, and I am going to let Him say whatever He wants to say, because honestly, the TIME is SHORT, and God’s people are in such a mess spiritually and Scripturally, that only the grace and mercy of God is keeping us ALL (and I do mean ALL!) from eternal perdition at this point (“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one…”—Rom. 3:10; see also Rom. 3:20,23)
The ONE main problem I have encountered as a Catholic growing up, and now again as a revert, is how most of the the faithful church goers do NOT read their Bibles. Church history teaches that the laity were not taught to read and study the Word of God. Hence they do not know the very verses I just copied from Scripture on the image (notice the man’s outstretched😉hands?😏)I purposely chose.
So certain authoritarian figures of the Church down through the millennia, made decisions on what the celebrant can do, and what the laity can and cannot do, without paying mind to what the LORD GOD said WE can do, in His Word.
This has been the crux of the problem with the hierarchy of the Church almost since the beginning.
“Man’s interpretation”—I’ve 🙄heard that until my ears have almost bled, yet the very ones that say that, know very little themselves what is IN the Holy Scriptures!
It🤔seems like every human being that desired to follow the LORD God, accepted Jesus Christ as (or at least😕should have)BOTH Savior AND Lord of their lives, FORGOT what the Lord Jesus said was to happen when a person truly becomes a child of the Most High, the LIVING God: the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:3,5,7) comes INTO that person, ONLY because that person made a DECISION (if it was a true and certain one!) to accept the Lord Jesus, and then the Holy Spirit DWELLS IN that person (Jn. 14:16-17; 16:13-14; Rom. 8:9;
1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14).
There’s no hard saying here enough to confuse anyone—it’s simple enough to understand that because of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension, and then sending the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to the disciples (Acts 1:5, 8; 2:1-4), that was appointed time HE was to LIVE IN us! The Lord Jesus not only made it so, but He told us BEFORE He even did it(Jn. 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:7-11).
And if there is one thing that has irritated me more than most other things pertaining to the faithful—that I, even I as a wretched sinner saved by the grace and mercy of God, yet I must “occupy” (Lk 19:13) until the Lord Jesus comes back, and “endure to the end” (Matt. 24:13) in order to be saved and counted as one of the righteous—is that many who profess faith in the Lord Jesus, have forgotten that it is the HOLY SPIRIT Who (notice the capital “W”??) is to LEAD and GUIDE us, teaching us these very things that are in Scripture, bringing them to our MEMORY (Jn. 14:26), so that we would not end up making all these exegetical and hermeneutical errors in Scripture?? But it is like no one even BELIEVES that the Holy Spirit, the THIRD PERSON in the TRIUNE GODHEAD, even DWELLS in them!!
From the top down when it comes to ecclesiastical hierarchy, from whatever “branch” of Christianity one hails from (there never was supposed to be all these splits in the Church!), EVERY person, no matter what title they took for themselves, or someone gave them, WILL be held responsible and accountable for NOT teaching the faithful the REAL hermeneutical and exegetical Holy Spirit-inspired teachings of Holy Scripture!! The LORD God never meant for man to just “figure it out” on his own—THAT is exactly why the Holy Spirit was to LIVE IN each and every true child of the LIVING God who “called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Rom. 10:13; Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21)”. The problem is, most human spirits, even those who call themselves believers of God, do not HUMBLE themselves enough to even trust the LORD God that He WOULD carry out His Word, and dwell with them 24/7.
If a person who professes to know the LORD God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, thought about that enough each and every day, that they actually HAVE the LIVING HOLY GOD dwelling INSIDE of them, they (we!) would all most likely watch more what we would think, do, and say. Maybe, just maybe, IF we “had ears to hear” what the Spirit said to us (Rev. 2:11,17; 3:6,13, 22), and actually paid ATTENTION to HIS interpretation of Scripture, instead of what we all “think” it means, we would not have split up thousands of times, and had so many different Christian sects out there in the world, to further confuse those who know not the LORD, and also drive them farther away from ever wanting to have a relationship with Him. 🤨😣😞
So what did this all have to do with my pointing out the earlier verses about “lifting holy hands” and “singing” and “dancing” -especially within the temple of the LORD?
WE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD (1 Cor. 3:16-17,19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21). WE are commanded to PRAISE Him, WORSHIP Him, give Him thanks and LIFT UP our holy hands to Him in both worship and when we pray. The early church, and even those worshippers in the Old Testament did not seem to have issues like we have now—who’s raising their hands in church, who’s folding their hands a certain way, who’s singing louder or who’s NOT singing, who’s dancing in the aisles, who’s praying in a certain ecclesiastical language (Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, Greek) in church—or not; who’s better than who because they go to a certain church and sing certain songs, whether an organ is playing, or someone plays a guitar, or NO instruments are “allowed” to be played (like some of the Amish, for example), but only singing is permitted, etc. WHO made up all these extra “rules”?? WHERE are they in Scripture?? And WHO (hint-I know it is demonic-a fiery dart🤨) started all the arguments about NOT reading the Bible because we may not be able to understand it all, so it was better for only CERTAIN people of the clergy to read it TO us, and explain it??
THIS is the reason why man’s so-called “Christian witness” to the unsaved and unregenerate looks so hypocritical! Because almost ALL believers in Christ were not trained by their clergymen (who they themselves NO longer were LISTENING!) to HEAR what the Spirit says—so how can anyone who is under the authority of such men of God, ever possibly KNOW such things in Scripture, if they are not taught them? And how is a person of God to GROW and MATURE in their spirit man, ALSO knowing how to fight the very enemy of our souls—the one who desires to see mankind FAIL miserably, and end up in the same eternal fire as they are destined to be in? HOW does one solve all these problems, and many more (individual, marital, family, church, social, global)? One who truly has the Spirit of the LIVING God inside of them would not get all flustered about people lifting up their hands in church to pray or praise God, because they would already know that Scripturally, it is permitted, and God is pleased with such that praise Him, whether they desire to lift their hands in the sanctuary, or not. The important point of it is—they ARE to pray to Him, and also praise and glorify Him!
DO what the WORD OF GOD tells you to do. “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD. With my WHOLE HEART I seek You; let me not wander from YOUR (not man’s!) commandments! I have stored up YOUR WORD in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; TEACH me Your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of Your mouth…I will meditate on YOUR precepts and fix my eyes on YOUR ways…I will delight in Your statutes; I will NOT forget Your Word”(Psalm 119:9-13, 15-16).
ALLOW the HOLY SPIRIT to be that ONE Spirit that Paul the Apostle spoke of in Ephesians 4:4-6, to lead and guide you. There was only supposed to be ONE BODY of CHRIST—as it is written in Ephesians 4-6, “There is ONE body and ONE Spirit—just as you were called to the ONE Hope that belongs to your call—ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of all, Who is over all and THROUGH all and IN all.”
But, is He really “IN” all professing Christians? LOOK at their “fruit”—see if it is good, or rotten. That is what the Lord Jesus told us to do, is it not? Are those who are in leadership within the BODY of Christ (no matter what sect they are in, or hail from—they will ALL be held accountable—James 3:1; 1 Peter 4:5; Heb. 13:17). ALL of us will be held accountable for what we learned not only from those leaders, but also ON OUR OWN, and have to stand before the Lord Jesus at the Day of Judgment (Matt. 12:35-37)—none of us will escape that.
If this post has been something that has made you think about where you stand with the Lord Jesus, and whether or not you fully have the Holy Spirit leading and guiding you, then spend time reading all these verses I put in this post, including these here: Ps. 143:10; Ez. 37:1; Rom. 8:4; Matt. 4:1; Acts 8:29; 10:19-20; 13:4; 16:7; 20:22; Gal. 4:6; 5:22; 1 John 3:24; Rev. 4:2, 17:3. SPEND TIME in prayer to the LORD God, and ASK (as the Lord Jesus told us to do in Matt. 7:7) the Holy Spirit to TEACH, GUIDE, CORRECT, INSTRUCT, CHASTISE (where necessary), ENCOURAGE, and COMFORT you, each and every waking day henceforth. Ask Him to REMIND you of His Word, by also READING and STUDYING and MEDITATING (Joshua 1:8-9) on it, so that it will embolden and empower you to speak that very Word of God out, when the Spirit INSIDE you, desires for it to be SHARED with others, as you have seen me do (because He leads me to do it!).
I lovingly CHALLENGE all of you who call yourselves children of God, and followers of Christ, to make sure you have the ONE Holy Spirit leading and guiding you daily. Also, have Him point out anything that is NOT to be in you, and ask the Holy Spirit to deliver you from any and all evil spirits that have managed to influence you in whatever way, making you stray from His Word, and causing confusion and contention with it. Allow the Spirit of God to “sanctify” you, “cleansing” you “by the washing with water through the Word”, so that He can “present you to Himself as a glorious Church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:26).
Are We In the Time of “The Beginning of Sorrows”?
I put two pics here of Scriptures that have been mentioned, so that you can read and hopefully retain in your heart, what they say.
It is evident of the longer one, that THIS generation (which I am pretty sure is the last; if we are not, then the LORD will spare one more time at least, to move mankind forward into Time, until “the appointed Time” of the End) and the way it has been in the last few years, SO vile, violent, arrogant, full of hatred of God and His Word AND His people, that unfortunately, this prayer of the Psalmist has not been answered.
There are those who have (and still are, thank God!) waking up to realization that we ARE on a increasingly rapid downspiral of humanity. The days of peace, obedience, and love for God and His Son are quickly being diminished, and the days of Sodom and Gomorrah (“as in the days of Lot”-Luke 17:28) and the days of Noah (Luke 17:26), are NOW upon us, and INCREASING.
But you need to read that WHOLE passage in Luke 17:26-30, for in verse 29, because of how the people were behaving in Lot’s day, the LORD God held back His anger no longer, and the day He charged two of His angels to get Lot and his family out of Sodom, “it rained fire and brimstone from Heaven, and destroyed them all” (vs. 29).
THAT is what is yet to come, because verse 30 states, “So it will be on the Day when the Son of Man is revealed.”
The Lord Jesus TOLD us 2000+years ago, that ALL the vile acts that we see INCREASING right now, as we live and breathe on this Earth TODAY, 2023, WOULD happen–and they ARE.
So do you realize what that means??
That means, HE is 100% RIGHT in ALL of His Word. Remember, He IS “THE” Word of God–He cannot leave any of what was to come, “out” just because it may “offend” some people. ALL of it WILL happen, just as the Scriptures said it would.
And it looks like that we ARE that “generation” to see and hear many of these “latter day” events come to pass.
So if you still have doubts about WHO the Lord Jesus is, WHO the Father is, and WHO the Holy Spirit is, and have concerns whether or not the Word of God is REAL–buckle up, buttercup (and I say that with all love and respect-I really do!💖), because
YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING YET. We are entering into what is called, “the BEGINNING of sorrows” (Matt. 24:8), which happens BEFORE the time of the great Tribulation. Basically, it is the “woman in labor” and she is “contracting” even more so, as that time moves forward to the coming of the Anti-Christ.
After all, the world’s spiritual atmosphere must be in such a vile and ungodly state, as to want to ACCEPT this “man of sin, son of perdition” (2 Thess. 2:3).
I think we are pretty much “there”…I ended up having my daughter Ashley via c-section (she was breech), but I still was very much aware of the contractions that I should have had. I’d 🤔say this world is between 6-8 (15-20 minutes apart), leaning heavier on the 8(10-15minutes) , especially for what has taken place with all the vile Sodom and Gomorrah acts in the past year or so. It is quickly advancing towards those days of Noah and Lot which each and every passing day here in June, 2023.
Any woman (and I do mean ONLY women!) that has had contractions due to childbirth, KNOWS what I am talking about.
Those last couple of numbers (8-10) can happen very quickly. Bottom line–If you’re approaching contractions less than 5 minutes apart (active labor), you better be on your way to the hospital, or else you’re having that baby at home!
Can you imagine what 6 months from now is going to look like?
Will we approach near the “10” (less than 5 minutes) by that time?
No one knows, but I would seriously get your spiritual life in order now. Once the “birth pangs” start=once those contractions begin, sooner or later that baby is going to arrive on the scene. What has been foretold in such passages as Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13, Daniel 12:1-4, 2 Tim. 3:1-5, 1 Thess. 5:2-5, Isaiah 2:12 (these are but a few).
It will increase in ungodliness, because the Lord Jesus TOLD us to EXPECT more of it, and lawlessness (which we are already living in right now!).
Do yourselves a favor, and make sure that you ARE on the side of the LORD God Almighty, and that the Captain of the Host, Adonai Elohim Tzevaot, is Your Savior, Lord, Master, and KING. Keep Him first and foremost in your lives NOW, from this day forward, if you have been lax in doing so. I beseech you now more than ever, to please make sure the Lord Jesus IS not only Savior, but LORD of your life. 🙏📖✝
So when you DO say, “Lord, Lord”–HE knows you MEAN it, and it is not just words coming out of your mouth (Luke 7:21).
Walking in the Dark with Faith 