Amanuensis

Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother’, and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor  me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

And so my “Church” today. It is full of hypocrisy and man-made teachings and rules. How far you have strayed from My Word. How far you have walked away from My commands. Do you not see? Can you not discern by watching your “pastors and teachers”? Do your ears not burn when you listen to their lies? No, because you do not invest time in studying my Word, you do not invest the time it takes to come to know Me. Talk to Me. Listen to Me. Pray to Me. Devote yourselves to growing in knowledge, wisdom and discernment. You give me a couple of hours one day a week. Then spend the rest of the week pleasing yourselves. Worship is a state of being, not a few songs sung in a church building. Devotion is a daily choice, not a couple of hours spent in a church service. Studying my Word is not 10-15 minutes – even 30 – spent reading some Scripture without thought, without prayer for understanding, without asking Me what it means and how it applies to your lives and then listening for My answer.  You pay lip service to Me, until everything falls apart. Then you are willing to listen. But, if you were diligent in your pursuit of Me, you would not fall apart when your lives are difficult. You would understand the reality that knowing Me is the most important thing you can do in your earthly lives, followed by sharing that knowledge of Me. That is devotion. That is a true act of worship. That is pleasing to Me and to Father. And that shift in focus – from self to Me – is the key to a life of devotion and worship and true relationship with Me. 

Genesis 37:36 Meanwhile, the Midianite traders arrived in Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard. 

And so it looks to be the end of Joseph. If you had never heard this story before, you would believe it was over for him. Yet, it was just the beginning of my preparation of Joseph. It was the beginning of the road that would lead to him saving his people from starvation and death. It was the beginning of my preparation of Joseph to fulfill his childhood dreams – he would lord over his family. But he would be in a position of power in which I placed him not to subjugate them but to save them. Your life looks like Joseph’s did at this very point. He had been thrown into a cistern and then sold into slavery by his own brothers. Do not miss this Child. What looks, at first reading, to be the end of Joseph’s story is just the beginning of his glory. It is just the beginning preparation of his later leadership. It is just the first chapter in what will be an unforgettable story of redemption and miracles. I do not love Joseph any more than I love you. So I say to you, do not despair. Do not give up. Do not believe I am not with you. Just hang on. Lean into Me. Learn from Me and from your circumstances. Everything in this process is for your benefit and for your later service. I am still by your side, helping you, supporting you, preparing you. Stop listening to the lies of the enemy. Trust Me. Believe Me. Allow Me to do what you can’t. Stop thinking your life is not of value and has no significance. That is a lie. I have plans for you. I have told you that many times so do not allow this challenge to derail you. Small test, small testimony. Big test, big testimony. You have always said you wish to serve Me and make a difference in people’s lives. This is yet more preparation for that. I’m sorry it is so painful, but the most important lessons always are. Will you learn? Or will you try to escape? You choose. I will honor either choice. But you know which choice would please Me more. 

Genesis 5:9-6 And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die. If anyone takes a human life, that person’s life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.

Do you see your enemy’s plan? If you remove Me from your lives, you remove the knowledge that I created you in My image. And if you do not know that I created you in My image, that you are that important, that you are that special, that you are elevated above all other creation, then you do not value human life. And so, abortion. Genocide. War. Hatred. Violence. Murder. Human trafficking. Human sacrifice. All becomes mundane, just another part of the human experience. And you all allow it. You turn away and do nothing to stop it. Because, it doesn’t matter. Because your lives don’t matter. It was never meant to be this way. Your lives are sacred. And since you have lost Me, you have lost that knowledge, that Truth. 

Genesis 4:25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

Why did they feel no shame? They had not yet sinned. They had not yet acted in opposition to Me. They walked with Me daily, in their nakedness, and felt no shame, no inhibitions. They had not yet been shown that they were separate from Me because they had not yet done anything to separate themselves from Me. They were not afraid of Me, they were not timid around Me, they were natural and knew they were valid and loved and perfect in their creation. It was once they disobeyed, once they strayed from My command – once they chose to listen to their enemy and follow him instead of Me – that is when they knew shame and fear and needed to hide their nakedness – their essence. They tainted their perfection and there was no going back. That was the real loss of the first sin in the garden. That was the first step toward where you find your world today. That is where it all began and you are now living in the aftermath. But, though you cannot undo that original sin, though you cannot undo the millennia of sins that have piled up on top of it, you can control how far you are from Me. You can control the amount of shame you feel on a daily basis. Just keep close to Me. Follow Me. Obey Me. And when you stray, admit it quickly and get back by My side. That is where I want you. That is where I’ve always wanted My children to be. Right by My side, walking in harmony with Me, no shame, no inhibitions, just oneness. 

Genesis 1:27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

You live in a time where those who purport to represent me, “church” leaders and pastors and priests and others, claim that gender does not exist. They claim that I did not mean it when I said I created you to be in My image, that I created you to be male and female. Do not miss this. They will add all sorts of trickery and twist My Word and create arguments to support this debacle, but the bottom line is this: I said what I said. I meant what I said. I created you as I created you. And anyone or anything that says differently is NOT of Me, and is in effect calling Me a liar. They are either deceived, in which case they need your correction and prayer. Or they are deceiving on purpose in order to promote themselves, in which case you are to reprimand them and walk away from them. I will sort it all out when they stand before Me. You are to not allow them to prosper by leading My children into darkness. Speak Truth, no matter the cost. Because allowing others to be walked into darkness and sin is too high a cost to preserve your comfort. Let that sink in. Choose whom you will serve and whom you wish to please. Either your fellow man, or Me. It really is that simple. The follow up is not easy, but the choice is simple. And anyone who clouds that simple choice with flowery argumentation or personal attacks is of the enemy. Period. Truth is Truth. Lies are always lies, no matter how artfully they are presented. So choose. But remember, not choosing is a choice. Passivity is the enemy’s greatest tool in all of this cultural mess. Staying out of it to preserve your own comfort is actually supporting the lie. I know this is an inconvenient Truth, but it is Truth. Whom do you serve? Me or your culture? Me or yourself? Me or your comfort? 

Haggai 1:3-9  Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes! This is what the Lord of Hevaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! Now go up into the hills, bring down timber, and rebuild my house. Then I will take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord. You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses.” 

This is you, my Child. This is where you find yourself. You pray about needing My help to change your life, then go on building your own houses all day long. You need to return to your first love. You need to be obedient. When you know what I want, just begin. Stop allowing your mind to rumble over all the ins and outs and hows and trying to organize it best. Just do what I ask. You need to return to your first love. Me. Stop wasting time on earthly matters that could be spent on My concerns. Spend more time studying My Word. Spend more time talking to Me. Spend more time learning from those I have gifted with the ability to teach. Spend less time worrying, planning, thinking, sitting….. I have tasked you with the request that you purge your life of all that is a waste of your time – paperwork, ideas that you had that will never be accomplished, research, all of that time consuming – time wasting – fodder. You clutter your mind and heart and soul with so many things that do not matter. Yes, your brain runs from one thing to the next. When you use it correctly, that is an asset. When you do not control it, it is detrimental. Just look around you. Clean it up.

Micah 6:8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

So many would purport to tell you what I want you to do. Tithe this much money. Do this action. Do that penance. Work this, give up that. But I have told you what I require. It’s simple, really. Humility. Love in action. Obedience to My Word. My children like to make it difficult. You like to create systems and rules and regulations and stacks and stacks of ordinances. But, none of that is necessary if you just do what I ask: Do what is right – read My Word, study it, know it and live it out. Love mercy – and extend it to others. Walk humbly with Me. Stay humble. Revel in the fact that I love you and you do not have to reach – you do not have to aspire to be Me. I am capable. I am all knowing. I AM. I don’t need your help in that way. Just do the simple things I ask: act correctly, in obedience to My Word. Accept willing, humbly and gratefully the mercy I extend to you and extend it to others. Be humble. Accept that you were created by Me exactly as I chose to create you. Be that person. Stop trying to be other people. Stop trying to change what I created. Be who I created you to be – I will help you. Come to know what your gifts and talents are and use them for My Kingdom. Learn your weaknesses and work on strengthening your character. Accept your imperfections so that you may never lord yourself over others. And stop comparing yourself to others. Eyes on me. Just me. I love you, Child. Just accept that and all the rest will fall into place. 

Micah 3:9-12  Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right. You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption. You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.” Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.

Hear this warning, you who hold power. Hear this warning, you who claim to be my teachers and prophets. You serve no one but yourselves. You worship only yourselves. You make your decisions based on personal gain. You use the power bestoyed upon you – power and influence that was given you to serve My people – you use that power and influence and all at your hands to crush the people, to rob them, to seize what is theirs, to take their liberties, to make gods of yourselves. I will not be mocked. I will not be misrepresented. So woe to you. Do not mistake your ability to continue in your sin as either weakness or lack of attention on My part. That would be a dangerous error. Repent or you will reap the consequences – eternal consequences – of your words, your attitudes, your actions, your sin. You preachers and priests purport to represent Me. You say you have faith, that you are faithful to the One True God. But you are not!  You serve the enemy. You repeat his sin – striving for equality to Me. Repent or suffer the consequences of your decisions, your “teaching”, your selfish ambitions. The Day of Judgment is nearing. Your personal day of judgment could occur at any moment. Once it has, it will be too late to repent. Too late to ask Me to grant you forgiveness. Will you turn? 

Micah 4:3-4   The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise!

Beware. Do not be fooled by those who would twist these words. This promise from Me has nothing to do with the establishment of one power, one “religion”, one governing body to rule all people. That is a lie from the pits of Hell that has already begun to be prepared to fool my Children. This promise has to do with My return. This promise is about when I return to rule your world, when I return as rightful King of Kings and Lord of Lords and My Laws and My Truth are what will reign. Your enemy is preparing to take this out of context of My Word. Your enemy will use this passage from My Holy Word to make many who think they know Me follow along with their plans to subject your world to their control. Do not be fooled. They are not of Me. They do not represent Me. Be on guard and watch for the subtle twisting they will use to make it sound as if this promise supports their plans. Stay deep in My Word. Stay close to Me. Seek Me in all that you hear, all that you see, all that you experience. Be sure that you are filled with My Spirit at all times. Seek His wisdom, His discernment. The enemy’s ability to fool My children is strong, legendary. Do not be caught unawares – do not be caught without full armor against his tricks and strategies. The day is quicky approaching when they will turn this Word against Me and attempt to use to to glorify and uplift themselves. Careful, Child. Do not be deceived. 

Obadiah 1:1-4 This is the vision that the Sovereign Lord revealed to Obadaiah concerning the land of Edom. We have heard a message from the Lord that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Get ready, everyone! Let’s assemble our armies and attack Edom!”  The Lord says to Edom, “I will cut you down to size among the nations; you will be greatly despised. You have been deceived by your own pride because you  live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. ‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’ you ask boastfully. But even if you soared as high as eagles and built your nest among the stars, I would bring you crashing down,” says the Lord.

This is the message I have for your Nation. Your pride has been your downfall. You believe yourselves to be beyond reproach, beyond the reach of any real harm. You believe that you can do whatever you wish, to whomever you wish and you will not have any consequences. Yet, you are seeing this debunked. Your Nation is beginning to really suffer. You are already the laughingstock of the other nations. You are already hated above all nations. Many of you do not understand why other nations and other peoples hate your people so. You do not know why anyone would want to destroy the USA. You are blind and feckless. You have chosen to allow your government to do whatever it wishes. You have bought into the lies and propaganda of the enemy in order to justify those actions. You are lazy and uninvolved in the management of the Nation that I gifted to your ancestors. The Nation that was founded upon the principles of My Word. The Nation that put Me above all. That is long gone, and your people are to blame for allowing it to happen. So when your Nation continues to suffer, do not complain to Me. Repent. Take action. Become involved as those who founded your great Nation were. Become instrumental in the decisions that are made in governing your land, as well as decisions that are made that will impact other nations. You are an arrogant, self-centered, lazy people who have come to rely upon all of the gifts I lavished upon you at your inception. But those were other days, other citizens. They knew Me. They sought My counsel. They made decisions based upon My Law. Their Churches preached My Word. You are a very sad representation of those who founded your Nation. You would not survive a week in their world. You are weak in every way – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. You have chosen the soft bed of indulgence over a life dedicated to bettering yourselves and your world. Do not cry to me when your Nation is decimated. It is coming if you do not get up and do something very quickly. Your demise is at hand. Yet, though you lose your Nation, lose your sovereignty, lose your cushioned lives – you have My promise that you who know Me will not lose Me. I am not moving. I will continue to love and help you. But your Nation is yours to save.