Encouragement

It was written here yesterday that the bible says we should assemble ourselves together for the purpose of encouraging each other. Many people read blogs from all over the world so we cannot all assemble ourselves together physically, but we can assemble ourselves on the internet. If you are reading this then you "assembled" yourself together with me here and since you are here I would like to encourage you today.

The Lord came through again for me and my family in a big way over this past week. I don't even want to discuss the "what" it was He came through for us on but it was big. It took 9 months (not a baby :-) for this thing to come full circle and actually land in our lap. The thing is, this "big thing" should be an encouragement for you to know that our God still answers prayer today. Sometimes it takes 9 months, sometimes less, sometimes more to see answers but He does answer. If we are faithful and patient, if we walk in His ways then we can be sure He hears us and we get what we ask for. Many people do not see answers to prayers because for one reason or another, their walk is not right with Him or they are weak in faith/belief. That's not a reason to give up praying because He knows that we know we are not perfect, but we should be working toward perfection...the question is: where is your heart?

The Lord only knows how imperfect my walk has been toward him in the past, yet through his grace and mercy, he gently guided me, picking me back up from the dust, brushing me off and sending me on my way toward His way again. Although our walk may not be perfect before Him today, I think the attitude of our heart should be. We are at war with ourselves, the world and the devil, so there will be casualties. The thing is, do we have faith enough to get back up each time we are knocked down and try try again?

Our God is a God who answers prayers. If you seek him you will find him if you seek him with all your heart. This is my testimony, that the God we serve is GOOD. He longs to be gracious to us..
Isaiah 30:18
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

The problem is, when the Lord is gracious to many people, because of the condition of their heart, they fall right back into doing things that displease the Lord. So we should ask, what's the condition of our heart? Where is it? What are we thinking about? Does it please the Lord? Are we working on ourselves in whatever ways, however small to inch our way if necessary toward our God in order to center ourselves in his will?

Be greatly encouraged today that our God answers prayer and has been merciful, kind and gentle with me, the least of your brothers. I have screwed up SO royally in the past, my sins were stacked into the heavens but he did not destroy me as I deserved, instead, over time in a gentle and merciful way he turned me around. I am nothing, HE is everything and I want to point you to him today to let you know that his great goodness toward me and my family is not just for me. His goodness to me is goodness toward you. Stand in faith today on what is written in the bible. Every promise in there is true. Be encouraged today by the testimony of this nobody (me) and the goodness of God toward me in spite of all I did in the past.

Let us set our eyes on Jesus, reach inside and grab our faith and courage, then step out of the boat to walk on water with Him. He wants us to do this, he wants us to stand in faith on the waters with the wind and waves roaring all around us. We have been called to faith, hope, patience and love. Our way is not an empty way like the heathen and those who have a form of godliness but deny its power. Our way is one of POWER through faith. The least of your brothers is testifying to you today that he is nothing special and anything good done for him can and will show up abundantly in your own life if you will walk right before the Lord and put your love and focus on Him. We are dearly dearly loved children. May the Lord bless you and keep you today, may his face shine upon you and may he grant you peace.

done for today, grace and peace

Encouragement

1 Thessalonians 5:11
... So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing. ...

Hebrews 3:13 ... Instead, continue to encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "Today,"so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin ...

I want to let you know that today the Lord has greatly encouraged me. He has set before me a great mission/vision that I am pregnant with to bring glory to his name. I wasn't sure if I was even going to post today but I am. We who are "in Christ" are one body. What's good for the toe is good for the elbow and good for the knee and shoulders etc etc.

I want to tell you today that we serve an amazing, awesome God. I often say that I am the least of the brothers because I know how many times I have screwed up royally...with a capital R. Through it all, he has been patient and gentle, longsuffering and loving. He has put before me, right in front of my face the two paths..over and over again. Choose one path and get one result, choose another get a different result. Why He has put up with me for so many years only He knows. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows where he is leading us. We choose at every step of the way whether we are going to accept his grace or reject it.

I want to let you know that this God we serve IS a God who answers prayer. This world is drowning in fear and doubt. Darkness is everywhere, but our God is not deterred. Our God could care less what signals Satan is sending to the world today. What does it matter what Satan wants to do? Really, what does it matter? Who controls the universe and everything in it? Our God does, its that simple.

It has been written here for months that its time to get back to fundamentals. Put first things first. Jesus is our "first love" (rev 2), he must remain first. Jesus IS the word of God which means if we claim to be "in Christ" we are really saying we are "in the Word of God"..its saying the same thing, when you say one you are saying the other. If we are not putting him first, spending that time alone with him then we are in trouble. Everything else you are doing today apart from that one on one time with Jesus is irrelevant. Let me say that again, if you are not spending that one on one time with Jesus/the Word of God, EVERYTHING else you are doing is irrelevant. Don't believe me? Go re-read Matt 7:21 where we are told that MANY will say to him on that day "did'nt we do all kinds of wonderful things for you Lord" and He tells them "away from me you evildoers I never knew you."

This isn't rocket science, this is a call to the simple things, simple childlike faith in Jesus Christ. Putting him first is everything. Remember this one?

Matthew 6:33 "... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;and all these things shall be added unto you.

Seeking the Lord is not something we do out of duty like "going to work" or "going to church" because we "have to." That's the way the world does business and look where its got them. We are in an eternal love/marriage to the God of Eternity. We go to Him because we love him and he loves us. Seek him and you will find him when you seek him with all your heart.

Our God is so wonderful. I am the least of his servants but I have seen great and mighty things from his hand. Seek his face, spend that time with him. Get on your knees before him and pour out your hearts to him. This world is going down the toilet, thats true, but our focus is NOT on the toilet, its on GOD ALMIGHTY. Remember.... first things first, everything else can take a number for our attention and wait. A big hug for all of you who are "in Christ" today. grace and peace

Encouragement..The Escape..A Few...Scoffers

Psalm 32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Interesting words used there "Thou art my hiding place"....Our Lord is a very real refuge from the storm we see all around us. He shall preserve me from trouble, He shall compass me about with songs of deliverance. Who will deliver us, preserve us? He will.....

1 Peter 3:20 Who once were disobedient, when the patience of God ...
... who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah, when God waited patiently while the ark was being built. In it a few, that is, eight persons, were saved by water.

Luke 17:26 "And just as it happened in the days of Noah,
... "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so itwill be also in the days of the Son of Man:

Noah had an ark, we have the Son of God. "in Christ" we are in the ark. The Lord promised us an escape from all that's about to happen. As the storm clouds move over us we get closer to the time of Jacob's trouble, more and more people will begin to wonder whether the Lord meant what he said when he declared:

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Those who are counting on the escape face a growing barrage of ridicule from the atheist, the godless and outright hate from the pre=wrath, post-trib crowd. I liken all of these people to those who stood around while Noah was driving nails and cutting boards for the Ark. They all stood around mocking and criticizing. Things won't be so funny though on the day the ark rises up above the earth and some of us are nowhere to be found.

Today I want to encourage you to walk in uprightness and righteousness with the Lord so you are found worthy of the escape that's coming. Satan and those who serve him go immediately after your faith by first creating doubt...."did God really say....?" Did God really say to pray for an escape from all that shall come to pass? Unless my eyes are deceiving me, YES he did tell us to pray for the escape. Is that being "escapist" YEA, IT IS.

There seem to be many people these days who believe that they need to go through the tribulation for one reason or another...maybe they do. We each need to be firmly convinced of what we believe because what we really believe will be tested.

The Lord told me years ago "we can do this the easy way or the hard way" referring to some changes in thinking and behavior on my part. The easy way is for us to engage our mind, willpower, heart and rear end to come into conformity with God's will. The hard way is for the Lord to impose external pressure on you to get you to the same place. Same destination, two different ways of getting there. Today there are people on the earth whose attention does not belong to the Lord..yet. There is a pressure cooker coming though, called the tribulation, that will burn off the impurities with fire and bring them "in Christ." These are known as the tribulation saints. For those living in todays pre-tribulation world, who are "in Christ," who have chosen the "easy way" of willingly and obediently following the Lord, its already mission accomplished if they continue "in Christ" up to the point in time of the escape. What difference is there between those who have died "in Christ" up till now, and those of us living today "in Christ?" If those who died before us "in Christ" did not go through "the" tribulation, give me a good argument for why we should? If never heard one yet, and I've heard about everything out there.

The pre-tribulation "escape" will be a double edged sword. On one hand, it will devastate the apostate church. The day however many of us "escape" and they don't what's going to happen? What happens the day all the apostate preachers and teachers are still here, and we are not? There will be widespread defection and destruction of so called christianity aided by the persecutions coming, aided by the great deception sent by the Lord himself to deceive those who refused to believe the truth. As history has proven, then as now a few will be saved through it all. It's always a remnant, its always a few that make it "in Christ" no matter how you want to look at it.

Romans 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "THOUGH THE NUMBER ...
... Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED

Romans 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to
... So it is at the present time: there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

I did'nt make this stuff up guys. Go to an online bible search engine and type in "remnant" but make sure you pack a lunch because you will see it over and over and over again.

What does that mean? Always a remnant? It means its always a FEW that "get it."

Matt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

^^^^^that's what it means. Writing these things to you is the core of what the Lord has given me to do in this life. Remind you of what's already been written. The wrong time to be reminded of these things is after the escape, or after you die, whichever comes first.

I know much of what is written here is not pleasant to read, but my task is to put it out there. If one soul is turned away from their sin, what's that worth? Its priceless..beyond measure. Each soul is unbelievably precious.

Predictably, just as the bible said, scoffers are on the increase. Anyone who points to Jesus alone (which in fact is "the Word of God") is hated. We are not surprised by the hatred because if the master was hated to the point of being murdered, should we expect the people around us to dance a joyful jig when we come saying the same exact things that got our Master crucified?

This alone puts the messages preached at the "mega churches" into perspective. Mr. Joel Osteen goes out of his way to make sure there's nothing offensive to anyone in anything he says. Results? The largest so called christian church in America. Contrast the message of Osteen (and all those like him) to the message that got our Lord crucified...could they be any more different? One set of words leads to throngs worshiping you, the other set of words gets you killed. You figure it out....

Time is short guys. The coming reality for this world is stranger than fiction. I wonder if we'll be around for the soon coming day when "the powers that be" disclose to the world that alien life has been here on earth for quite some time. I wonder what it will be like when these things/superheroes/aliens/demons in disguise get wheeled out. I don't want to know, but that's what's coming. The bible clearly tells us that mens hearts will fail them from fear of seeing these things that are "coming on the earth."

Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Coming on the earth? From where? ...for the powers of heaven (THE HEAVENS) shall be shaken. Outer space, that is, outside the earths atmosphere is where the heavens are.

We have before us both the carrot and the stick. We can choose what pleases our Lord today, or some can choose it later under a pressure that will melt the earth. Pray that you may be counted worthy of the escape from all that's coming and stand before the Son of Man.

A clue to the physical location of where we escape to: Where is the Son of Man? Answer: sitting at the right hand of the Father. Where is the Father? Answer: sitting on his throne in the highest heavens. Which means when you escape and are standing before him who sits at the right hand of the Father, you WON'T be here on earth....grace and peace