While the woke part of the world may be celebrating the demonic “Transgender Visibility Day”(of course, of ALL DAYS-the evil elite choose TODAY to do that-no 😡coincidence!),
WE who are Christians celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord JESUS CHRIST-the SAVIOR of the world, and Who has defeated DEATH and HELL(Rev. 20:13-14)!🙌✝️🕊️
He made a way for us back to the ✡️Father-giving ALL of us another opportunity at Eternal Life. 🙏✨🌈
All a person has to do, is:
CALL upone the Name of the LORD to be saved (Joel 2:32; Ps. 124:8; Zeph. 3:9; Rom. 10:13)
REPENT of their sins ( Is. 44:22; 59:2; Matt. 3:2; Acts 2:38; 3:19; Rom. 3:10, 23),
humbly ASK for forgiveness (Mk. 11:25; Luke 17:3-4; 23:34; Ps. 51:10; Col. 3:13),
ACKNOWLEDGE the Lord Jesus as both SAVIOR and LORD of their lives (Rom. 6:23; 10:9-10; Jn. 3:16; Acts 16:31, Jn. 14:6)
WHOLEHEARTEDLY commit to being His child (Jn. 1:12) and invite the HOLY SPIRIT to DWELL IN you to lead, guide, teach, correct, strengthen, and comfort you (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Jn. 3:3,5,7; Acts 1:8; 2:38; Jn. 14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13; 1Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Eph. 1:13-14; Titus 3:5; Rom. 5:5; 8:16, 26-27; Gal. 4:6; Mk. 4:9, 23; Luke 14:35; Rev. 2:7; 3:6, 13:9)—so make SURE you HEAR HIS VOICE speaking to you!!
🙏✡️📖✝️🕊️ONE BODY, ONE SPIRIT, ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM= ONE GOD and FATHER OF ALL!!! (Eph. 4:4-6)🙌✨🌈
NOW more than ever, a true believer of the MOST HIGH GOD will be tested, because these days are evil (Eph. 5:16), and increasing in evil. (Ps. 14:1; Micah 7:2; Is. 5:20; Ps. 12:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-2; 2 Tim. 4:1-5).
STAND as a true servant and warrior of God (Eph. 6:10-18) WITH THE LORD JESUS, and He WILL rescue and 🙏deliver us from all the evil (Ps. 71:4; 140:1; Jer. 15:21; Matt. 6:13; Gal. 1:4; 2 Thess. 3:2; and the last one I will write out—(2Tim. 4:18): “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to HIM be the glory FOREVER and EVER—Amen.”
Sometimes I feel like the Apostle Paul, with how long these posts are getting–like I am writing a letter, begging the people to listen and consider to have the Lord in their lives, as he did to the Corinthians, Ephesians, Galatians, etc.
I apologize that it is so long, but when the Holy Spirit SPEAKS through me, I cannot limit Him to a certain amount of words. I let Him speak, because I too, realize more and more, how SHORT our Time here on Earth is, and where the increasing evil is taking us to–the time of the Anti-Christ, and the horrible times that the Word of God speaks about in Daniel, the Gospels, Joel, and especially, Revelation, just to name a few books about the Great Tribulation period at the end of Days. So here it is…
What I can I say, that I have not yet said, when it comes to looking at ourselves, and being RESPONSIBLE and ACCOUNTABLE for our own words and actions?
I included several verses from Chapter 18 of Ezekiel in the pictures that this devotional speaks on today, besides verse 31.
I am also going to try and help EXPLAIN what it means to go from a heart of STONE (sin) to a heart of FLESH = pliable, having ears that are WILLING to “hear what the Spirit has to say” (Ez. 3:27; Matt. 11:15; Mk. 4:9, Lk 8:8; Rev. 13:9).
It is imperative that we as created beings who are sinners, realize that we must REPENT (Ps. 7:12; Jer. 5:3; Ez. 14:6; 18:30; Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 11:20; Mk. 1:15; Lu. 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; Rev. 2:16; 2:21) for those sins; and IF we do, the LORD God WILL forgive us. He did not allow His Son to suffer through so much pain and go to the Cross, taking upon Himself OUR sins, for nothing.
But humans must ACKNOWLEDGE their sins, and RID themselves of them–“cast away from you ALL the transgressions that YOU have committed…” (vs 31) What will happen IF and WHEN we REPENT of those sins? Will the LORD truly forgive us? Will He seriously save us from those eternal Fires?
YES–because His Word is true (Ps. 18:30) and just–LOOK at what it says at the last part of that same verse (31):
“…and make for yourselves a NEW HEART and a NEW SPIRIT…”– 🤔Gee, where did we see similar verses like that before?
Ezekiel 36:26 states (and the LORD GOD is speaking here), “And I WILL GIVE YOU a NEW HEART, and a NEW SPIRIT I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of STONE (unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness, anger, hatred = sin) from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU…(vs 27)”
Let’s jump over to the NT in the Gospel of John, when the Lord Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus about the new birth, in verses 3-8, concentrating on verses 3,5, and 7-I’ll put those three verses here:
“Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, UNLESS one is BORN AGAIN he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (vs. 3).
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of WATER (baptism) and the SPIRIT (confession of sins = REPENTENCE, calling upon the name of the LORD to be SAVED -Joel 2:32, Rom. 10:13), he CANNOT ENTER the Kingdom of God” (vs. 5).
“Do NOT marvel that I said to you, ‘You MUST be BORN AGAIN’ “(vs. 7).
It is the SPIRIT OF MAN that was “connected” to the LORD GOD when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, BEFORE they sinned, and could have COMMUNION with the Most High–seeing Him, speaking to Him, etc. There was NO SIN separating man from God at that point. Mankind is MADE IN THE IMAGE of GOD (Gen. 1:26-27); we are essentially (and in THIS ORDER!) SPIRIT (an eternal being that NEVER DIES), SOUL (our minds, will, and intellect), and FLESH (the covering that encases our spirit and souls, and meshes with and protects the vital organs, muscles, nerves, bones, etc.).
The problem is, ONCE Adam and Eve SINNED, that broke that SPIRITUAL “connection” and “fellowship” with the LORD GOD (who I will TELL YOU–whether you believe it or not, that’s up to you), who was JESUS HIMSELF as a CHRISTOPHANY (because they could see Him, and speak with Him), while they were IN the Garden of Eden with Him. The Lord had no choice but to drive them out of the Garden of Eden because of their sins, breaking that spiritual bond with Him, and also–He did NOT want them to take of the Tree of LIFE, eat that fruit, and then eternally have no opportunity for redemption and salvation (which Genesis 3:15 hints to us that the LORD God already had a plan in the works for that).
The Lord Jesus provided a WAY for us to have that “spiritual connection” “repaired” or “re-established” in us humans, by allowing US to have FREE WILL CHOICE (just like the sons of God and Adam and Eve had) to either ACCEPT or REJECT Him and His Word (remember–the Lord ✝️Jesus IS THE LITERAL WORD 📖OF GOD!). Hence the term in John 3:3, 7 where the Lord Jesus states, “born AGAIN”. The “connection” to the Spirit of God that was no longer there in us humans due TO the sins mankind committed at the Fall, COULD BE “reconnected” or BORN AGAIN within a person BECAUSE that person CHOOSES LIFE in the Lord Jesus = GOD=that selfsame SPIRIT of GOD (see 1 Cor. 12; 2Cor. 3:18), Who then LIVES WITHIN the human spirit, soul, and body, and LEADS and GUIDES them, as LONG as they WHOLEHEARTEDLY accept the Lord as both SAVIOR and LORD of their lives. The Holy Spirit will then RULE over THEIR human spirit, and teach, lead, correct, chastise, rebuke (lovingly!), comfort, encourage, etc. them for the rest of their days here on Earth.
You are not part of a certain “church group” with that term–EVERY PERSON WHO CALLS UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD GOD AND HIS SON FOR SALVATION, REDEMPTION, AND DELIVERANCE (also very important–to get rid of any and all demonic interference and infestations the person allowed IN their lives!) THEN WILL HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT DWELLING IN THEM!!! GET IT OUT OF YOUR SKULLS, PEOPLE–YOUR DENOMINATIONS WILL NOT SAVE YOU–ONLY THE LORD GOD AND HIS SON WILL!! I WILL NOT HAVE JUST ONE “DENOMINATION” OVER ANOTHER–I HAVE NO DENOMINATIONS IN HEAVEN–THERE IS BUT THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, WITH ALL THE HOLY ANGELS, CREATURES, AND THOSE WHO HAVE THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB ON THEM, WHO ARE PART OF THE RIGHTEOUS, AND WHO HAVE BEEN GRAFTED INTO THE COVENANT I MADE WITH ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB!
🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️OH–IF YOU HATE MY PEOPLE, YOU HATE ME, AND I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. YOU WILL FIND YOURSELVES IN THE ETERNAL FIRES, WAILING AND GNASHING YOUR TEETH, FOR YOU WERE NOT PART OF THE TRUE INHERITANCE THAT I CHOSE FOR MYSELF, WHICH IS ISRAEL! MY DELIVERER–YESHUA–WHO IS ONE WITH ME (see Jn. 17:21,23; Eph. 4:4-6) CAME OUT OF THE SEED OF ABRAHAM, WHO HAD ISAAC, WHICH PRODUCED JACOB–WHO IS ISRAEL!! 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️
🙏📖For ALL that would say something like, “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner; I know that I have said and done things that I am ashamed of. I ask You and the Father, and the Holy Spirit, to please FORGIVE ME of ALL my sins, and I ask You to CLEANSE and WASH me clean, with the water of Your Word, which I promise that I will learn to read, study, trust and OBEY, with Your help. PLEASE ALLOW the HOLY🕊️ SPIRIT to come INTO me, as it says in Your Word that He will (Jn. 3:5, 14:26, 16:13), and let Him LEAD, GUIDE, and TEACH me all that You want me to know. Bring to my remembrance ALL those things in Your 📖WORD, that I should be doing, so that I NO LONGER CHOOSE TO SIN. If I do make a mistake and sin, I know that I can come to YOU, and the Word says that “If we CONFESS our sins (as true children of God), He is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE us our sins, and to CLEANSE us (with again, the water of His WORD) from ALL unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). I know Lord, that even though man has many ways of trying to teach who YOU are, YOU ALONE can do the job (1Jn. 2:27) if I cannot find worthy Spirit-filled, Bible-believing teachers and pastors–YOU ALONE can teach me as You taught Ezekiel, Elijah, Jeremiah, and even Abraham, David, Moses, etc. I have NO EXCUSE but to come to YOU, and allow YOU to lead and guide me in my daily FAITH walk here on Earth, until the Day You call me Home to be with You. I ask You to please accept me as not only Your child, but Your servant, to do the work that YOU, LORD God my Father, Lord Jesus-my Lord, Savior, Master, and KING-and Holy Spirit, Who is ONE with the Father and the Son–allow me to live the rest of my days out WHOLEHEARTEDLY SERVING YOU, in whatever capacity You desire me to. I thank You for SAVING MY ETERNAL LIFE–for without You, and what You done on the Cross for me, Lord Jesus, I would not have any chance for Eternal life in Your Presence; I would deserve to be with all those who have rejected You, and will find themselves unfortunately, in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15), for that is their just judgment that THEY CHOSE for themselves, by rejecting their God and King. I ask You to SAVE ME, and bring me into Your eternal family of God, and I THANK YOU for the MERCY and GRACE You already have shown me. I pray all of this in YOUR NAME, Lord Jesus–Amen.”
Beloved, CAST AWAY THOSE TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS–NOW, while the “wood is (still) green” (Lk. 23:31), and the MERCY and GRACE of God is still WITH us, during this Time and Dispensation of His Grace–CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS TODAY.
This day may not even END, because He can call us children HOME at any moment, for “No one knows the Day or the Hour” (Matt. 24:36). For those who DO NOT choose the Lord God, or His Son Jesus in their lives–they DO NOT HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT in them; but they have ANOTHER SPIRIT–the spirit of ANTICHRIST, which “already has come into this world” (1John 4:3).
****Those who are NOT HIS–the Lord’s–are RULED BY THE EVIL SPIRITS–the REBELLIOUS sons of God and their offspring–demons, disembodied spirits. They have NO ETERNAL LIFE in them, but ONLY ETERNAL DEATH. They have LEGAL GROUND to be in a human being who REJECTS CHRIST. Once a person’s breath is NO LONGER in them, and if they were NOT the Lord’s, they IMMEDIATELY are transported to the PIT of Sheol–the section which is overflowing with all those who have REJECTED the LORD God and His Son. They will be judged accordingly, at the White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Hebrews 9:27 tells us plainly: “And just as it is appointed for man to die ONCE (no reincarnation!!), and AFTER that comes JUDGMENT…”
If YOU know that you need to CONFESS your sins, do it NOW–TODAY. We are NOT promised yet another MINUTE here. ALL those who have decided to transgress themselves, and CHOOSE to NOT have the Triune Godhead in their lives, nor have His HOLY SPIRIT DWELL within them, The LORD God will allow them to choose for THEMSELVES, their ETERNAL destination, and He WILL recompense back on THEIR heads, ALL the evil that they have done, as they wail and gnash their teeth (Matt. 8:12; 13:50; 24:51; Luke 13:28).
🙏Beloved, I beg you, CHOOSE THE ✡️LORD GOD, His ✝️Son, and His 📖Word, and then you will have chosen ETERNAL LIFE with Him, and receive the HOLY 🕊️SPIRIT Who will guide you to that Eternal life with Him, when That Day comes. ✡️📖✝️🕊️✡️📖✝️🕊️✡️📖✝️🕊️✡️📖✝️🕊️✡️📖✝️ From today’s Days of Praise devotionals: February 8, 2024 Cast Away Your Transgressions “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 18:31)
Ezekiel likely penned this call to repentance in 592 BC, six years before the fall of Jerusalem (please get that–he was INFORMING and WARNING “before” the fall!). He hoped that Israel would turn from their transgressions and seek God. Chapter 19 begins with “Moreover take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel” and references the past and future fates of evil kings of Judah—Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin, and the present king, Zedekiah. What are the implications of Ezekiel’s call to action and warning for today?
🌟One, we are responsible for our own sins, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 5:12). But “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” and become a new creature (Romans 10:13; 2 Corinthians 5:17). God is faithful and just to forgive believers if we confess and repent of our sins (1 John 1:9).
🌟Two, leaders are responsible for where and how they lead their followers. The kings of Judah led their people into rebellion, and they suffered God’s judgment. Believers must not let themselves become victims of “grievous wolves” who would lead them into sin (James 3:1-2; Acts 20:29). Paul warns, “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them” (Ephesians 5:6-7).
🌟Three, if we “cast away” our transgressions, God offers hope and salvation. This is available not only to the house of Israel but to everyone through Jesus Christ. Through Him, we can be “born again” (John 3:3) and be given “a new heart and a new spirit.” How will you heed Ezekiel’s sober but encouraging plea? CCM
When I did my Ancestry search back in May of 2018, mainly because I am ADOPTED, I was hoping to find some siblings and other family members. I always left this part of my life, in the Lord’s hands, and figure IF and WHEN He wanted me to know anything about my biological family members, it would happen as HE willed it. I received the DNA test kit as a Mother’s Day gift that year (2018), and I knew it was time to find out whatever there was for me to discover about my family-good, bad, or otherwise.
One of the (many) blessings was finding family members who were alive and well, and willing to converse with me, either after I reached out to THEM, or they first reached out to ME.
One of those siblings happened to be my brother Chris on my bio father’s side. We met, and after a few years when I finally had a bit of time between school and moving, I wanted to finally change my name back to my maiden (family) name. I thought of incorporating my biological father’s name of GEIST in there, because it IS my family name, and it suits me exactly to WHO I am in Christ—GEIST = “ghost/spirit” in German. Many people a century or two ago with the GEIST name, would have a dove representing the HOLY SPIRIT, somewhere in their house, because of the association with their family name.
Anyone who knows me, and who I am in Christ, and being the servant of God that I am for Him, can easily see how much that was a “God Wink” connection between me and my family name.
So with the approval and blessing from my brother Chris, I took the last name and incorporated it into what would become my official name: JEANNETTE -what my name was changed to (named after Jeannette DiCapua/DeMaio-my Nana), after I was officially adopted a year and a half after I was born, and was called:
My Godparents Bill and Helen (The “Elizabeth” name is cut out on the top)
ELIZABETH-my ORIGINAL birth name given to me by my biological mother Doris, before giving me up for adoption; so I took that name, and made it my MIDDLE name; taking that name of Elizabeth and using it as a middle name, allowed me to ❤️honor the woman who, despite many issues she had in her life, decided to give me life, and bless a family who could not have children, with a child. (McGRAW is my bio mom’s maiden family name) GEIST—my biological name of my father, Robert, who I found out by my brother (and I actually have another brother Robert, who was named after our father) Chris, that he was a great ☺️dad, and an awesome cook!😋 Chris loved the idea of me using the family name, and that made it possible to honor my biological father that way.
MARCELLI—Rose and Ralph Marcelli tried to have children, but after a time, decided that it was not God’s will, and became foster parents. I was their third foster child they took in by Mid-March of 1965, after spending a couple of weeks in the hospital as “little orphan Elizabeth”😏; they already had two boys that were with them almost a year at that time, and desperately wanted a girl. Ralph and Rose went through way too much red tape in this awful, demoncratic state (even way back then!) of NJ, to try and adopt me; they finally got the “green light” in September, 1966 to call me their own. After a year and a half of having to call me “Elizabeth/Lisa”, they finally changed my name to “Jeannette”. I was an official member of the Marcelli family, at least to them. The MARCELLI surname means the world to me; THESE are the people who took me into their home, gave me their love, disciplined me, raised me to be a decent human being, treated me like their own flesh and blood child. I sure didn’t appreciate it all back when I was in my younger years (they both died within six months of each other, when I was 25/26 yrs old), but I miss them terribly now. I honor them by KEEPING the MARCELLI name alive and well. I may not have been a flesh and blood “Marcelli”, but I DID find out (and my parents would be THRILLED 😄😁at this!) via Ancestry a few years ago, that I DO have Italian blood in me, and —another God Wink—my ancestors are from around the SAME AREA😃as the Marcelli’s were (Naples)! How’s that for a GOD-MATCHED, HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRED adoption?😉😄😁😏
Ralph and Rose Marcelli’s Wedding-September 17, 1960
Some may wonder why, after being divorced, and able to go back to my maiden name, why I would go that extra step and take all FOUR names—JEANNETTE ELIZABETH GEIST-MARCELLI—yes, it’s a mouthful, but there is MEANING behind each name.
Jeannette (female name for JOHN)-YOHANNAN-“God is gracious”, from Yah-the shortened name of the LORD, and the verb “hanan”, to be gracious. Obviously, this name is found all over the Scriptures, such as John the Baptist, John the Apostle, the father of Simon and Andrew, etc.
Elizabeth-the Hebrew name ELISHEVA (Ex. 6:23; Luke 1:5). The name is made up of two parts-the first (Eli) is “my God” and the second (sheva) is the number of holy attributes: “seven”. Put it together, and you get, “My God of the Seventh” (sounds like “sabbath-which is a holy day to be recognized by the LORD God).
Another meaning for that name “sheva” is “swear”, which I’ve seen mostly as “My God is my Oath/Promise”; also, “(In) My God (I) swear”.
Elizabeth = Elisheva and John = Yohannan
So there you go. A bit of a long explanation why I took my original birth name, both first and last, and incorporated it into my adopted first and last name—to give both sets of parents the honor due THEM, and to also recognize what the LORD GOD was trying to tell ME (finally), when that spiritual 💡💡lightbulb finally switched “on” fully, to understand WHO I AM in HIM. I am His DAUGHTER, one of many, and His SERVANT, because I finally (back in 2016) said “YES” to wholeheartedly following Him, hence the “title” if you will, on the address label.
So when I send out a birthday, Christmas, or some other type of card, or have to pay a bill, or whatever other type of correspondence that I have to make, my NEW address labels state THIS (and some of you have actually received something from me with the label ON it):
Servant of the Most High God Jeannette Elizaabeth Geist-Marcelli
That is my WHOLE name; please use it, whenever you send correspondence to me. It means the world to me, because those who gave me LIFE, and those who RAISED me, meant the world to me, even though two of them, I never got to meet in this life. But I sure do appreciate what they did for me.
Thank you for reading this—I realize it was a longer post than usual.
Maybe you, the reader, should take the time and look up what the meaning of your names are; you may😉end up being quite surprised😄like I was!☺️
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.
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. 💖✡📖✝🕊💖
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).
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).
Every human being who has lived on Earth, is primarily a SPIRIT BEING.
We are 1)SPIRIT, 2)SOUL, 3)BODY, in that order (1 Thess. 5:23).
The LORD GOD Almighty is the FATHER of spirits (Heb. 12:9).
The spirit of a human returns unto the Father when the human’s body has expired (Eccl. 12:7).
The LORD sends it either (now that Christ has been risen from the dead) to the “Hell” portion of Sheol temporarily until both body and soul (Matt. 10:28) will be raised and judged at the White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15; 21:8), and from there, the spirit, soul, and body of the person will endure eternity in the Lake of Fire;
OR–if the person was a believer in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and His Word (granted, 99.9% of all humans living on earth sinned), accepting the Lord Jesus as both Lord and Savior of their life (Rom. 10:9-10, 13; Acts 2:21), and lived a life according to what the Father commanded in His Word, then being a believer, they would “enter in the joy of the Lord (Matt. 25:23). “The one who conquers will have this heritage (Rev.21:3-4), and I will be his God and he will be My son” (Rev. 21:7).
EVERY person who does not only PROFESS Christ as Lord (Matt. 7:21), but actually LIVES the life of a believer, and is NOT ashamed of Him as some are (those who are ashamed of Christ will be like those in Luke 9:26 and Mark 8:38), will be rewarded with not only a new life and Spirit here on Earth (John 3:3,5,7), but will go on to see all that inexpressible beauty and glory that Revelation 21 and 22 speaks about, when it comes to the New Heaven and New Earth.
They get to spend all of Eternity with the Lamb who was slain, and sit at the Marriage Supper (Rev. 19:7,9), because they were part of the Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:24-27), and although a metaphor there in those verses, believers know that they are to keep themselves as spotless (sinless) as they can, when they are presented to the Father by the Son as the “Bride of Christ”. Hence the reason why Paul prays that the believer in 1 Thess. 5:23 will keep their WHOLE spirit, soul, AND body “blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
BUT–the person MUST have a NEW SPIRIT (Acts 4:31; Luke 11:13) dwelling within their spirit in order to have Eternal life. THAT Spirit IS the Holy Spirit, living and dwelling within them. He ONLY dwells within those who have CONFESSED CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR. 1 Cor. 6:19 plainly says that our bodies are to be TEMPLES of the HOLY SPIRIT. He is to teach, guide, correct, and remind us (Jn. 16:13; 14:26) of all that Christ in His Word, wanted us to know and learn.
The world, the flesh, and the devil (James 3:15; 1 Jn. 2:16) has made 99.9% of the human population think it is supposed to be BODY, soul, and spirit (and there are some humans who do not believe in anything spiritual), but it is NOT.
The body of a person becomes a VESSEL for other spirits who never belonged there–demonic entities who found a “crack” due to unconfessed sin in the person’s life, and thereby made themselves “at home” with that person. More can come in if the person is unaware of what is going on spiritually, until that person ends up vexed, obsessed, depressed, oppressed, or-worst of all-possessed. The person ends up in a “spiritual prison” right in their own BODY, being a “slave” to those sins, surrounded by evil entities that will NOT give that body up, until that person either confesses Christ, or those demons kill them off.
Our bodies were meant to be vessels of honor (2 Tim. 2:21) for the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to dwell within us-NOT dishonor, nor being taken over by evil spirits, who only cause chaos and seek to steal, kill, and destroy the human vessel (Jn. 10:10).
The SPIRIT of a person is the part that goes on to live FOREVER–whether in Eternity with Christ, or in Hell “prepared for the devil and his angels” ( Matt. 25:41), and ultimately, in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15). You either are in darkness (evil) or light (Christ).
I am working on a book about the Holy Spirit, and pretty much everything else I can speak about concerning spirits, and how we either allow the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD into our lives, or else we WILL end up with evil spirits controlling us in one way or another. After all, it IS of the Lord’s doing for me to work on this, as plain as my last name (Geist = spirit), that He revealed to me back in 2018.
I hopefully will be done with that book by the end of this summer, prior to starting my PhD in Bible Exposition.
No matter whether a person believes it or not, we ARE in a VERY SPIRITUAL realm, hidden by much PHYSICAL, earthly “junk” to distract us.
🙏I pray every day for the Lord Jesus to save as many souls from that prison of darkness and evil, and bring them to His light of Eternal life. 🙏Set them free, Lord Jesus; please set those souls free!!
I ready today’s “Days of Praise” devotional from ICR, and it rang loudly in my heart and spirit. This is what I have been seeing happening in the churches more and more as the decades have gone by. More church leaders are willing to give up the very callings of God on their lives, and no longer teaching the truths of the Bible, in order to change with the times and follow Satan’s lead instead of God’s. It is creating a recipe not only for spiritual disaster, but imminent JUDGMENT from the Almighty that is prophesied to happen. This is the time of “mercy” that the Lord God has given this generation, since the time of His Son Jesus’ death on the Cross, and resurrection. But this time will not last forever.
Judgment WILL come, and as St. Peter wrote in his letter, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do NOT obey the gospel of Christ?” (1 Peter 4:17). The judgment will start with God’s own—His leaders of the Church, and those who have at one time, committed themselves to teach His Word. Then will be all those who say they are Christians, from whatever branch of Christianity they hail from.
For the Lord Jesus, it will be both a time of happiness and sadness, because He will end up condemning some who have said, “Lord, Lord” (Matthew 7:21), but never really followed Him due to their fear of being “offensive” and hurting people’s feelings with the truth of His Word. They will find out the hard way that there was always to be division and offence in this world, because the truth of the Word of God is exactly what it is written as in Hebrews 4:12–“For the Word of God is LIVING and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, PIERCING to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God’s Word is hated by those who follow the evil ones who deceive them and turn them away from His Truth, and the father of lies himself—Satan.
May we always strive more each day, to have an ear to “Hear what the (Holy) SPIRIT says to the churches” (Rev. 2:11a), so we do not get caught up in either learning or teaching wrong doctrines, and causing more division between the Body of Christ. Allow the Holy Spirit to do His job here—“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, BUT WHATEVER HE HEARS (from the LORD God) HE WILL SPEAK, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you” (Jn. 16:13-14).
TRUTH offends. TRUTH of God’s Word causes divisions, BUT those who are OFFENDED by those truths, are not really looking to be humbled by His Word. Their hearts are hardened like Pharaoh in Moses’ day. We all know how THAT turned out for him.
A major part of what the LORD God has been doing with me these past few years is written right in 2 Timothy 3:16–learning the right doctrine, for reproof, correction, for instruction in righteousness…”. He has shown me were my errors were, the corrections that needed to be made in my spiritual walk with Him, and now, after “maturing” over these past 6+ years, I will now be able to speak more about it, and pass on the information to you. But truth always comes with some pain—the “faithful wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6). I’d rather offend with the loving truth of God’s Word, than deceive someone with the hateful lying tongue of the enemy.
The Body of Christ has been split thousands of times over, that shreds of the Truth of Scripture has been spread out amongst the Body; some have much of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but are lacking in doctrine, while others have the richness and beauty of the liturgical truths, but do not pray through the Holy Spirit as they ought, leaving them powerless against demonic attacks and also personal growth and maturity in the Word of God.
The Body of Christ has been too busy fighting with one another, causing divisions, making their own gains in this world, and forsaking the reason why they were called to preach and or teach the Gospel of Christ to begin with. Satan loves that, and he makes sure that he keeps them chained up with just enough of the worldly lusts to make them a vessel of dishonor, instead of one to be honored by the Lord Jesus, at the end of their time serving Him on Earth (Romans 9:21-23; 2 Timothy 2:20-22).
Decide whether or not you will be the one who will cause divisions because you want to live in the worldly sense while saying you are a Christian, not becoming a vessel of honor, or–
Be like JESUS, Who caused divisions and offences BECAUSE He not only spoke the truth of the Word, but taught it and LIVED it.
I choose to be like JESUS. If I am to cause divisions, it is only because those who do not like to be called out for their sins of the flesh, the world, and all the lusts they love to live with, hate when I speak the TRUTH. It is “offensive” to them. TOO BAD.
I’d rather be right with the LORD God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit at the End of Days and the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) as a true believer and servant of Elohim and His Maschiach, than standing naked before Him at the White Throne Judgment Seat (Rev. 20:11-15), hearing those words, “DEPART from Me, for I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23).
I just finished my Master’s Degree in Biblical Languages yesterday. I should have been there for the commencement at Liberty University, but I did not want to go alone. It is also Mother’s Day weekend, so emotionally for me, it ends up being a double “whammy”. I should be thrilled and excited to want to celebrate such events, but honestly, my heart is just not in it.
This is the second time I could have celebrated a major event in my life (last time was my Bachelor’s), but because for other reasons, I did not want to go to that commencement ceremony. Nevertheless, no one in my family did or said anything to celebrate the huge achievement with me. But I did hope that there would be a special dinner out with close family to celebrate such an event. It just did not happen. I was a bit surprised, but considering at the time all that happened that previous year (2020), I let it go. I figured there was so much more other things on everyone’s mind, it just was quickly forgotten by them and life moved on.
Now this major achievement has be accomplished, and although because I put something on social media to alert others to finishing my Master’s and I did receive many a congratulations, I fear the same thing will happen again—it will be here and gone without some type of celebration. Who wants to go to a graduation commencement all by themselves anyway?
Unfortunately, I do not have a spouse; my daughter stopped all communication with me last year (end of July), at first acting like she needed time to think about what needed to be said to me on whatever it was she was upset about, but never made a concerted effort to reconcile any differences with me. So I have lost both her and my grandson (soon to be 6 years old) in one fell swoop out of my life. It’s like the breath was taken out of me when that happened.
I have and continue to reach out to her to let her know I love and miss her so much, but so far, to no avail. I have also tried to keep in touch with my other family members, letting them know they are in my thoughts with either a card or text. I’d love to even talk to them on the phone, and have repeatedly said that they can call me whenever, but my phone hardly ever rings. At this point, I’d take a text of “hello” over nothing at all. It seems like from 2020 forward, Jesus’ words, “And because lawlessness will increase, The love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12, ESV), really have come to pass. And it is not just in my family that this has been happening. I have heard it from many people that they are suffering similar heartbreaks in their families as well.
This Mother’s Day will be even a sadder one for me. I do have a step-daughter (I’d rather just call her my daughter) from a previous marriage, as well as a step-son. Since I am away this weekend due to an extended family member’s celebration, I am able to see my “oldest” daughter and her family, and be with her on Mother’s Day. It wasn’t planned to happen that way, but the Lord I know, had something to do with it. He knew of my sadness and broken heart, and made sure I would not be alone this weekend. He truly shows me all the time His love and concern for me.
I also am missing my mother Rose Marcelli. She passed back in April of 1991, but any child who has lost a mother can tell you it still feels like it was yesterday when they left this world. My mom always made sure that whether it was a birthday, holiday, etc., we were celebrating something, and together, especially going on family vacations together. They were awesome times, and I have so many good memories from them. If not just our immediate family, then it was a party with many family members gathered, so we could all celebrate together. I most certainly miss those days.
Most of my family is gone; all I have left are cousins. I will be able to see some of them actually later on today, as a matter of fact. It will be wonderful to see them at a happy event, rather than a sad one (usually wakes/funerals). I can only wish that we all would make a more concerted effort to stay in touch with one another. To have family is a gift from God, and to have the time to spend together with them should not be wasted.
Although I will be around many this weekend, and I am thankful to be invited to both a family party and backyard picnic, my thoughts will be also on those who I have lost, whether they are no longer here like my mom, or those who still are here physically, but do not have any desire to share their life with me any longer, like my daughter and her family. It continues to break my heart, but even the LORD God my Father reminds me now and then, that even as He cannot force Himself into a person’s life, neither can I do the same. Our love for those people will always be there, and never go away, even though they want nothing to do with us.
Would I have liked to celebrate my achievements with my friends and family, and gather us all together like my mom would have? Yes, but it certainly is not going to happen this weekend, nor the next, or the one after that. Is someone going to throw a party for me? No—my mom’s long gone, and I seriously doubt anyone else would step in and do something like that. I’d even would have just like to go to dinner with a bunch of people who care to be in my life. That would have been nice. But one day, hopefully some time this summer, maybe I can get some friends or family together, and we can have a nice day or evening out, celebrating not just my achievements, but all our lives, and just have a good time together.
The Holy Spirit reminded me of where the Lord Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you…” (Luke 6:38). This was not just about financial giving, but giving of yourself to others, in many different ways. You really do get blessed by giving to others, whether it be your money, your time, your kindness, etc.-whatever it happens to be. Somehow, the Lord makes sure it comes back to you, and in a greater amount. The giving part of it actually puts a smile on your face, knowing you are helping others in whatever capacity it is needed. I recently had an opportunity to do that. Suddenly, you forget (even if it is just for a minute or two) about that which saddens you, as you realize you just made someone else smile, knowing that you care about them enough to help them, or let them know you were thinking about them, or included them in a conversation, celebratory event, or even invite them out for a bite to eat. Just a card in the mail does wonders for a person; a lady friend of mine has a ministry of doing just that, and most of the time throughout the year, if it wasn’t for her thinking of me over the holidays and such (even my birthday) I would not receive any cards. Amazing how the Lord puts these people in our lives, to “fill the gap” of those who were there, and no longer are, for one reason or another.
So if you are reading this, and it strikes you one way or another, let me know. If you can relate, let me know. But we who have Christ in our lives must remember, that HE will NEVER leave nor forsake us, even if others do. He will always remember us, love us, care for us, encourage us, strengthen and comfort us, even if there was no one else in our lives. The Lord truly IS the One True Friend that sticks closer to us than a brother (or sister, mother, daughter, etc.).
On this Mother’s Day weekend, let us be thankful for who we do have in our lives, and remind them that they are loved and not forgotten. For those of us whose mothers have passed, I feel your sadness, pain, and the loneliness; BUT, some of us also do have some good memories of all the years we had our mothers in our lives. Let us keep those memories alive through the pictures we have of them, and all the times we had with them. But let us also thank the LORD God, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, to move us forward in faith, hope and love, being the example of a child of God that we can possibly be for one another, as He desired us to be, for all those who we do have in our lives, whether they are a mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, best friend, cousin, etc. Showing our love to one another does wonders to the soul.
Walking in the Dark with Faith 