Dec 6, What is the Lord Saying to the Churches?

Recently I believe the Lord led me to go back and read what He has to say to us through the prophets, that is, folks like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc. I just re-read the book of Isaiah and I was impressed with many thoughts. The Lord gives us a panorama of what's going to happen in this world.

First, things are going to be very very bad for those who do not know the Lord, and choose what displeases Him. All those who are plundering this world today, who have no regard for the poor or the ways of the Lord, they will be plundered just as they now plunder others.

As for believers, we see how problems arrive for them. When people who are called by the name of the Lord forget Him and instead seek their help from the world, bad things happen for them. Should a people called by the name of the Lord seek their God or not? People are looking for answers today in all the wrong places. This world does not have political problems, it has a sin problem. This world does not have social problems, it has a sin problem. This world does not have banker problems, it has a sin problem. If you want to know why the treasuries of the world are being plundered by robber bankers today, its the same reason why foreign peoples were sent against Israel in the past...sin and lack of remembrance of their God.

We need to refocus ourselves, re-center ourselves on the basic fundamentals of the faith. The Lord has not asked us to do things that require a Ph.D to figure out, we have been asked to love and be faithful, to seek the face of the Lord and choose the things that please Him. We are told to seek peace and pursue it. How hard is that? It's not hard, its a matter of choice and today everyone chooses their own way instead of the Lord's way.

The earth is staggering under the weight of the sin that is upon it. Those of us who are called by the name of the Lord should seek His face and turn away from our sin. We are not like the wicked of this world. For them, wrath and judgement are coming, for us, redemption and salvation. We cannot however sit back smugly like so many who rest in a false gospel that gives license to do "what thou wilt" as the satanists do and still expect to receive such a great salvation. Paul said we should "work out our salvation" with fear and trembling. John 15 tells us that there are those who are "in the vine" (meaning "in Christ") who can be cutoff from the vine if they are not fruitful. There is a big difference between entering into Christ and remaining there.

John 15:4
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must
remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Remain in me is a command to you and me. We are to "remain" in Him. Apparently many people choose to disregard such instruction since it doesn't fit with their satanic "once saved always saved" doctine. Being cutoff from the vine does not sound "always saved" to me. Disregard at your own peril....

So, what is the Lord saying to the churches today? We were given the old testament as well as the new for a reason. We learn the character and nature of God through His Word. We also learn the character and nature of the mistakes made by our big brother (Israel) in the past. Let us learn how to please the Lord in every way, let us be thankful and rejoice always (yes...always), let us seek the Lord's face every day while He may still be found. Let us put away every thing that hinders our walk with the Lord in any way. Let us not turn to "Egypt" for help as Israel did (read Isaiah for the details) but instead let us seek the Lord for everything.

We were created as highly dependant creatures. We need so very much just to make it through each and every day. We were created with this large dependancy so the Lord could display His infinite grace to us in an ongoing fashion, day in and day out. The Lord loves us, we are His wife, His bride. This world is facing some really bad news these days, and they haven't seen anything yet. We are not the world though, we are children of the Most High God. We are members of the royal household. We have an inheritance that none of us can wrap our mind around. So then, let us keep in stride with the Spirit of God. The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God. He is leading, we must follow.

The Lord has been dropping little singposts along the path in life that I am walking. Those signposts and the guidance they give leads me to believe we have awhile yet before He shows up. Nevertheless, we must be watching and ready to meet Him each and every day.

grace and peace

What is The Lord Saying Today?

Before I tell you what I hear the Lord saying to me today, I'll tell you what he's not saying:

he's not speaking to me at all about the time of Jacob's trouble/the tribulation/the rapture_escape from all (Luke 21:36), and or the end of the world.

Why is he not speaking to his servants about the end that appears to be near?

1. Maybe its not as near as we think
2. Maybe it is near but he prepares his servants for these things in a different way than we would think

The Lord has dropped this into my heart this morning:

We must figure out how to get these things right before we stand before our Lord:

Focus on Jesus
1. Rejoice ALWAYS in him: Phil 4:4-7
2. Delight ourselves in him: Psalm 37:4
3. Maintain Jesus as our first love...always: Rev 2:4

I'll be honest with you when I say that I am not sure that I have quite figured out how to do these things yet. The Lord has dropped them like a cluster bomb in my heart and my request/prayer back to him is "Lord, please show me how to do this?"

Although I am a bit foggy on the "how" I believe the initial response back from the Lord on "how" is: we will ourselves to do it. We use our God given free will to decide "I'm going to rejoice in my God today, I don't care what the world looks like or what my circumstances look like. As an act of my will I choose to delight myself in my God today, Lord I choose to delight myself in you today, please allow me to do this according to your word today. I choose you as my first love today Lord Jesus, everything I am and every will be, everything I have I lay at your feet that I may have you. You are my treasure in heaven, you are my treasure on earth. I consider all things rubbish in comparison with the surpassing greatness of gaining you, Christ Jesus my Lord and master."

^^This, or something like this being said and meant within our hearts and minds is what our Lord is looking for.

Self Talk
Read your bibles and see the miracles and other ways our Lord has responded to our "self-talk." What we are saying to ourselves is being read directly by our Lord moment by moment and he responds to what we say within ourselves. Example:

Matt 9:18While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.

Conclusion
Our God comes first, every time all the time. We must learn to get this right....rejoice in him, delight in him, maintain your first love. HE is everything. grace and peace