Amanuensis

2 Timothy 2:22-26 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. 

This is how I would have you live. Focused on Me. On My Word. On sharing Truth. You are surrounded by people who have been trapped by the enemy. They are held hostage by lies and manipulation and darkness and evil and most don’t know it. But you see. You know Me. You know Truth. You study My Word. You have eyes to see and ears to hear – you can pierce the darkness that surrounds you. Use that. See beyond what everyone else sees. See Truth. Then share it. Denounce the lies. Expose the enemy and all his ways. Some will hear, many will not. But is not saving even one worth the energy? Worth the fight? Watch yourselves, however. Be patient. Be kind. Be loving. Exposing lies does not have to be done with malice or anger or hatred. It does not have to be a dirty fight. Remember, this is not personal. You know that the enemy is not the person you are speaking to, it is not the person you are trying to help see the Truth. That person has been taken captive. The enemy is the same each and every time – no matter what minions he uses to do his will, no matter how much it seems as if the person you speak to is the enemy. And, as well, remember that it is I in you that is being rejected. This is not personal against you – it is personal against Me in you. Pare it down, Child. It is the battle that has been waged since the beginning of time – the same two main players – the fallen one against Me. The current battlefield is your world – in all of its iterations. Your minds, your hearts, your spirits, your allegiances, your families, your bodies, your politics, your ethnicities, truth, reality, objectivity, morality…… any and everywhere possible, your enemy wages war through you against Me. You are the target because you were made in My image. Because I love you. Because I have made salvation and eternal life available to you. Because harming you harms Me. 

Jeremiah 8:8-9 “How can you say, ‘We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,’ when you teachers have twisted it by writing lies? These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?”

Watch, Child. The time approaches when those who have been twisting my Word, preaching false gospels, tickling the ears of those who would not hear Me – the time approaches when they will be trapped by their own foolishness. The day approaches when I stop allowing them the ability to lead my children astray. I am not blind, nor deaf to what they are doing. I understand the depth of depravity in their souls. Do you? If you do, then not only do not stop speaking out against it, but speak louder and more often. Pray that all lies would be exposed, that all those who are teaching falsities would repent and turn back to Me, and that all those who have been misled by their false gospels would have their eyes opened to Truth, repent and turn to Me and be saved. This is not a game. There are those churches who play the numbers game. How many have been baptized? How many are members of the church? How many attend prayer services and Bible studies? How much money are they tithing? How big is our building? How many listen to our podcasts?  These are matters that do not matter. What matters is whether what is being taught is true or false. What matters is whether the teachers are obedient to Me or to their enemy. For do not be misled: any who twist My Word, any who preach false doctrine, any who are focused on their “church” rather than on Me – all of them are serving the enemy. There is no gray area here. Every choice you make, every action you take, every thought you choose to keep in your mind and nurture – every one of those things is a spiritual decision or action. Be aware. Your enemy is very sly. Very intelligent. Very crafty and manipulative. He is able to clothe evil in the semblance of good. He makes you seek “good” over “best”. He allows you to accept compromise for ease in life. My road is not easy. It is not comfortable. It is not often man’s first choice. But it is always the best choice, the best way, the best of the best in everything. For in it are salvation and eternal rest in My Presence. Your time here is limited, short really (though you do not understand that as you do not understand eternity). But, Child, trust Me. Choose the narrow path. Choose the difficult road. Choose the Truth over convenient lies. Choose Me over everything else. Everything and everyone else. Look to Me, study My Word, focus exclusively on your relationship with Me. All the rest will sort itself out as I guide you, mold you, protect and help you. When I say I love you, it is with a love that you do not comprehend and will not understand completely until you stand in My Presence. For now, just trust Me. It is worth any and every “sacrifice” you could possibly make in your life on earth.

Colossians 3:1-4 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. 

Daniel 3:19-30 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.” He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”  Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 

It was not that long after Daniel miraculously told Nebuchadnezzar his dream and interpreted it that this same king, after acknowledging Daniel’s God as the One True God, built an idol to himself and demanded that everyone bow down and worship it. How quickly he turned from acknowledging Me to self-worship. Eyes off of Me and on to self. You see that everywhere around you. You live in a culture of self-worship, self-elevation, self-promotion, self-involvement. How many invest their lives in promoting themselves on social media? How many seek fame and fortune at the cost of their souls? How many are incapable of real relationship with others as they are incapable of separating anything from the filter of self? Look at parents who push their children into the lies about gender identity, who dress them in the opposite gender’s clothing, who allow them to “transition”. This is not about the child, but all about the parents’ identity as “accepting” and “loving” and woke. They sacrifice their children on the altar of self, all while convincing themselves that they are helping the children. The cult of self is a cult of massive delusion and deception. Nebuchadnezzar believed himself to be equal to Me, until My power was demonstrated to him before his very eyes. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were not deluded, were not deceived and stood on their belief in and knowledge of Me as the One True God, capable of saving them. Yet do not miss that they stated that even if I did not save them from the fire, they were willing to burn to their death before they would betray Me and bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. So into the fire they went. But they were not in there alone. I sent reinforcement, protection, a guardian. And not only were they not burned up in that fire that killed the men who threw them in, but they were completely unaffected by the fire, down to not smelling of smoke. You are facing fiery trials. You are going to be facing decisions – to betray your faith and renounce Me and what I have commanded My children, or to stand firm and suffer whatever consequences may await. Know that, whatever the trial, whatever the storm, whatever the circumstances I am with you. What is important will not be lost nor damaged. I will protect you from irreparable harm. I will honor your faith. You must decide – whom will you serve when these trials come up? Me or yourself? As you have seen in the past and in My Word, I will honor whatever decision you make. 

Daniel 2:19-23, 27-30   Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks aned praise, for You have given me wisdom and power; even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us the king’s matter.” …. Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. But as for me, this mystery has not be revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.”

Be a Daniel. Your world is full of those who would make gods of themselves, in an effort to be equal to or even more powerful than I. Gene modification. Weather manipulation. Cerebral implants. Hooking humans to the internet. They believe they are smarter than I, more powerful than I, more creative than I. Woe to them. They have much to learn and will be held accountable for their sins. Yet Daniel, Daniel was chosen to be my spokesperson because of his humility. Daniel never forgot who I am. He always acknowledged his role in My plan. The king’s “wise men” would have immediately taken credit had they been able to tell the king his dream and interpret it. They would have been quick to promote themselves and their “gifts”. Yet they could not because they did not have access to that knowledge. But Daniel was given that information to share with the king. Why? Because I chose him. I chose him because I knew his heart. I knew he would not take credit for what he was not able to do on his own. He was chosen because I knew he would tell the truth to the king – that his knowledge came from Me. That there was one God – a true God – in Heaven and that I was He. That this knowledge – not only of the dream but the interpretation of that dream – was given to him by Me. Daniel was humble and had a servant’s heart. Daniel was quick to say that he was not able to do what he was about to do in and of himself – and that no man could do so either. He was quick to point the king towards Me. And, though he was a captive, taken from his home and subjected to the rule of a foreign king in a foreign land – in spite of the treatment he had received, he was generous and willing to save the lives of all the king’s “wise men” along with his own and his friends’. That is a heart I respect, I honor, and I would choose to represent me.  Will you be a Daniel? Will you listen for My voice, obey and then give all honor to Me?  Are you willing to follow my instructions, even if and especially if it means helping/saving your enemy? Can you extend My love to those who are not loving to you? This is the heart I seek. A heart that trusts Me, listens for Me, obeys Me – no matter the cost. Can you be that? Can you – will you – bend your will to mine in all things? I want to use you, but if you cannot commit to My will, My plans, My instructions, My lead – you are not fully available to be used. Can you serve Me in humility, always pointing to Me? That is the heart I seek. That is the heart I can fully use. That is the heart that will be honored. Is that your heart? 

Daniel 2:1-18  The king said to them, “I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.” Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.” Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 

Do you see the differences between Daniel and his friends and the Chaldeans? Do you see the discernment and wisdom displayed by my son, Daniel? The Chaldeans were charlatans. They “told the future” and “interpreted dreams and visions”. But on what basis? With information from their gods?  Or did they just make up whatever they felt was the best thing to say to the king to garner his favor? They functioned based upon emotion. They were motivated by power and position. They would say anything in order to save themselves, promote themselves, keep the king happy. Had the king told them his dream, they would have been quick to give an interpretation that made the king look favorable, that would have given him a sense of power and protection and safety. Yet, without the details of the dream, they were lost. They had no real power to divine anything. They could not access the dream. They could not utter any prophecy without the information the king was withholding. So, in essence, they were charlatans. And this instance demonstrated that fact to the king. So, in his emotional response to not getting his way, he demands that all “wise men” be destroyed. That includes Daniel and his friends, even though they had nothing to do with this exchange. Now, note Daniel’s response to the news that he and his three friends were slated for an agonizing death. Did he despair? No. Did he overreact? No. Did he act at all emotionally? No. We are told he replied with “discretion and discernment”. How could he remain so calm? How could he not fall on his face and beg for mercy? Because my son Daniel knew the One True God – Me. He knew that his salvation, his safety, his future – all were based upon his relationship with Me.  So he sought Me. And I gave him the right words to say that would allow him to seek My counsel, seek information only I could give, seek the way to approach the king with that information and save them all. You are being controlled by evil forces that do not speak truth, do not know Truth. You are faced daily with situations that are unjust; you are confronted with constant lies and half-truths. It is human nature to become angry, to react emotionally – fear, depression, anger, irritation, anxiety. Do not. Turn to Me. I will guide you. I will help you control your emotions instead of your emotions controlling you. You live in a world where your enemy is almost completely emotion-based. Everything is about “feelings”. Do not enter that world. Do not allow yourself to engage in that world. Does that mean do not have emotions? No, Child. I gave you emotions. They help you to understand right from wrong. They can help you determine what issues are worth fighting for, and what is necessary to fight against. I am saying, turn those emotions over to me immediately, that I may keep you from living in them. It is one thing to be guided by emotional responses after prayer and thoughtful determination of what is good and true. It is another to live in those emotions, to allow them to permeate your being, to allow them to determine the quality and direction of your life at all times. That is not what you are to do. So, Child, pay attention. What are your feelings? What are the facts? What is really motivating you? And is it the correct motivation? Have you sought My counsel in the issue at hand? Give it all to me, all the time, and allow me to guide you. Stay above the fray, and under My wings. 

Daniel 1:8-9, 15-20. But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself….. At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hanahiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. 

Four young men. From seemingly charmed lives in Jerusalem. Then a foreign king captures their land and takes them captive. They are to be groomed for his personal use. First choice they are confronted with: be angry at their God or continue to be obedient? They chose obedience and were rewarded for it. Notice that instead of becoming depressed, rebellious, righteously angry…..any of those sinful responses, they accepted the fact that I had allowed this and chose to remain faithful and obedient to Me. That is a choice that you face daily. You don’t understand the insanity that surrounds you. You don’t understand why you are in the middle of such evil. You don’t understand why I don’t just quash it this instant and impose my rule in your world. But that is the key: you don’t understand. And you won’t. So your choice is: accept My decisions and remain faithful, obedient, trusting – or – be petulant, angry, depressed and seek self-gratification or, perhaps worse, obedience to the evil surrounding you. A choice every minute of every day. Will you trust Me? Will you remain faithful and obedient to My Word? Will you reject the evil – all of it in as much as you are able? Will you stand for Truth and true Justice and what is good and true? Or will you take the easy way out (for now) and capitulate to those who, at the moment, hold the power? Look at these four youths. They were young men. But they were wise beyond their physical years. They were faithful and true. And because they chose that path, I rewarded them. I granted them intelligence and wisdom and courage and strength – everything they needed to withstand the powers that had control of their physical lives. That’s the key: their physical lives. Nebuchadnezzar had no control over their minds, their spirits, their souls – not even over their emotions. His commanders could not force these four young men to commit their eternal souls to their king. So it is with you. There are those who can control your surroundings. They can control your movements. They can control your physical freedom. Yet, they have no real ability to control YOU. They can only control your thoughts, your feelings, your beliefs, your allegiances insofar as you allow them to. Do not allow it. I will give you all you need to withstand. I will give you all you need to stand strong. I will give you all you need to remain faithful to Me, to My Word, to My Truth. I will give you all you need to remain unscathed in the fire – in the ways that are important. Your eternity, your inner peace, your character – those I will protect. They are what matters. So, Child, trust Me. Cling to Me. Life is tumultuous at the moment, and it will be much more so very soon. Your feet are planted on solid ground. Remain so. Under My Wings. In My Arms. Surrounded by My Angels. Fight the good fight. Stay true. Your enemy knows he can only harm, damage, wound you in the temporal. He has no power over what is essential: your soul, your faith, your eternity. Those are – and will remain – in My Hands. Trust Me, Child. I will not fail. 

Zechariah 4:1-10. Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep. “What do you see now?” he asked. I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks. And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.” Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?” “Don’t you know?” the angel asked. “No, my lord,” I replied. Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’” Then another message came to me from the Lord: “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

You have been asleep for a while now. I am waking you up, and will show you what you need to see in order to do what is necessary.  Stay awake. Pay attention.  Stop being distracted. It is time.  Hear my words. It is not you that will accomplish anything. You have no strength outside of me. Your abilities, your gifts, your strength is only in me.  Stay close. The days are dark. There is a mighty movement afoot, and you are one of my foot soldiers. But you cannot have any sort of victory if you cannot hear your commander – Me. You have no ability to fight the fight I am placing before you in your own strength or your own abilities. This is not said to make you feel inferior, it is only to make sure you understand the nature of the battle you find yourself in. It is not a battle of flesh or blood or human intelligence. It is spiritual and you need spiritual armor and knowledge to fight and come out victorious. That is what I will do through you. See my name here:  The Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I have an army, prepared to do battle. Already doing battle. Join with them. Do not attempt any of this on your own. You will not prevail. Just as Zerubbabel was but the beginning of my mighty work of rebuilding the Temple, it took many hands to do the work. You are one of my soldiers, there are many more. You do not work alone, but your work is necessary in the overall battle.  You feel as though you are accomplishing nothing, but do not believe this my child. Each soldier is important. Each is vital to the overall victory I have in store. And I will be victorious, in My time and My way. Stay close. Be obedient. Do not give up or believe the lies of your enemy. You are mine and important to me and to my plan.  The time is coming when all those who use my name incorrectly, those who say they are mine but work against me – a time is coming when they will be revealed and crushed.  They will no longer be allowed to lead my people astray. They will have no power to divert souls. They will be released to their true master and will be crushed. Listen to everything with discernment. Be a Berean. Look to me to see what is true and what is false. Speak up against false prophets and teachers. Listen in the Spirit.  I will guide you to truth. Listen to me and speak only when you are assured that what you have to say is from me.There is much more evil to come. It will seem overwhelming, it will seem to encompass the entire earth. You will despair of it ever being quashed. But do not fear, do not dismay, do not listen to the lies of your enemy. I know what is coming. I am allowing it. But I will have complete dominion over it and will conquer it and restore what is right. In my time. In my way. You have a part, but it will seem insignificant. It is not. Stay the course. Pray constantly. Seek my Word constantly. Run everything by me, through my Word. You will remain safe, but hard times are coming. Remember the end result, the prize that awaits you. It far surpasses anything that will happen here. You are in me. I am the victory. Never forget that. (12/23/18)

 Isaiah 24:5-6 The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted God’s instructions, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.

This is what you see. You are paying the price for rejecting Me. Abandoning Me. Replacing My Word, My precepts, My Truth for whatever it is that pleases you. Oh, My Children, that you would see before it is too late. That you would turn from your evil, self-pleasing ways and repent. Repent of your evils. Repent of your selfishness. Repent of your love of lies and deception. Repent of your overwhelming desire to feel good instead of a desire to actually be good. That you would repent of your decisions to divorce Me from your government, your schools, your businesses, your homes and families. That you would turn back to Me. Seek My face. Listen for My voice. Worship Me, not what you can create. Your “gods” are all useless. They have no power other than to separate you from Me. That is it. They can not create. They can not heal. They can not regenerate life. They can not protect you, guide you, save you. They have nothing other than destruction for you. Yet, that is what you continue to seek. Pleasure. Entertainment. Distraction. Woe to you. If you could just peel back the curtain, you would see the charlatan behind it all. Just as the wizard in the Wizard of Oz, your gods are useless pretenders. And, if you would only really peel back that curtain, you would see the face of your enemy. That is who is behind all of it. Your enemy – whose only real purpose and desire is to harm Me by harming you. By separating us. By driving you away from Me and all that is good and pure and true. Do not miss this: every choice you make, everything you do, every thought you entertain – all of those are spiritual choices. You elevate someone in each and every one of those choices – either yourself, your enemy or Me. And every time you elevate yourself or your enemy, you dim My light in your life, you make My voice less easy to hear, you dampen your ability to discern My wisdom. Often imperceptible changes, minute incremental distances, but they add up over time. And you awaken one day wondering why you can’t hear Me as well as you used to. Why you don’t feel My presence in your daily life. Why you can’t make good decisions, based upon My Word and My Truth. Do not miss this: it is because, little by little by little, you have inched away from Me. Stop. Now. Repent. Seek Me in all things. There are no safe spaces any more. You are surrounded by spiritual battles at a level you could not withstand actually seeing. Survival for yourself and your fellows depends upon you staying glued to My side. Every.Second.Of.Every.Day. Armor up. Eyes on Me. Ear attuned to My voice. Equipped for battle, for at this juncture of history, every second of every day is spent in battle.

Galatians 1:15-16 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.

So I have chosen you, Child. You were chosen before you were born to know Me, to know My Son, and to proclaim the Truth about Us to the world. Your world is more lost than ever. You see it. You feel it. You are often overwhelmed by the blatant moving of evil, the open acts of your enemy upon you and others. You feel crushed by the loss and sadness and devastation that surround you. Do not dismay. I know what is happening. I know the effects it has on you. But, remember, you were chosen. Chosen. This is not random. None of My chosen children are here by mistake. You were handpicked for this time, for this day, for this season. You were chosen because I knew you would have faith, you would trust, you would follow Me. You were chosen because I knew you would not be misled by the false doctrine that prevails in My Church. You were chosen not because you are so strong – though you are stronger than you know. Not because you are so smart – though your ability to reason and think are critical in this battle. Not because you are holy and perfect and better than others – you are none of those things in and of yourself. You were chosen because you trust Me – which means I can trust you.  Guard your heart and your mind against the deceits of the enemy. Guard your mind and heart against the assaults he is bringing – assaults to entire cities and peoples. Yes, the devastation right now is massive. The deception is ongoing and the air is thick with lies and half-truths. But you have been gifted with discernment. Use it. Put emotion aside. Does that mean you are never to experience feelings associated with what is happening in your life, in your family, in your community, in your world? No, Child. You will need to mourn, to lament. There will be some fear and anxiety. Those are all emotions I gave to you. Experience them. Express them. Give them to Me. Cry. Shout. Journal. Pray. Talk to safe friends and loved ones. But then, purge the emotions and act. Act thoughtfully and prayerfully. Seek My guidance, My wisdom, My Truth to guide your steps and actions. Do not allow the circumstances of your life or the lies of your enemy to deceive you. You may not “feel” My presence, but I am with you. Always. Always. Always. Trust that, not what you may feel at any given time. Remember what I taught you years ago – feelings are not facts. Your world believes they are. But you know better. Fact: I AM. Fact: I love you. Fact: I have chosen you to be My warrior in this time. Fact: I have already won this war, but there remain battles to be fought. Fact: I alone am your source of all things. Armor up. Stay close. Eyes on Me, not on your surroundings. Cling to My Truth. Only that. And know that as you are opposed, as you are beleaguered, as you are attacked – My warrior angels surround you and will not allow any real harm to befall you. Your eternity is safeguarded and not able to be compromised. Your life on earth is temporary. It is what awaits you after your time in your world that matters. (9/14/23)

Exodus 13:5-31 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly.  9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.  11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Egypt brought 600 of the best chariots among all the chariots and their commanders to bring the Israelites back into slavery. All the forces in Pharaoh’s army. The best army in existence. It should have been an immediate slaughter, an instant re-capture of the Israelites. But for Me. The Egyptians believed in themselves. They believed Pharaoh was a god and that their army was undefeatable. They saw their slaves, the Israelites, and did not know the power available to them. They did not believe the Israelites could escape them. They did not believe the Israelites could defeat them. Until they tried to cross the river behind My chosen ones. Until the waters of the river crashed down upon them. All perished and the world was made aware of My awesome powers. So it will be with your enemies. They believe they are unstoppable. They believe they hold all power. But, they do not know me. They do not know what awaits them. Just be patient. Remember as you study this period of history. You read that the Israelites walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground. You then read that they moved out into the desert. It sounds as if this occurs quickly. But there were millions of people, their animals, their household belongings. There was no fast way to move them. So, what you read about in mere minutes took weeks, months. Do not despair if what you seek, what you await, takes longer and longer. You are asking Me to undo hundreds, thousands of years of evil. You are seeking an unraveling of a world-wide system. For this to last, and for all to learn about me – just as in the past, many times the lesson is for the enemy to see who I am – for all of this to be of eternal value, it must be done correctly. And there are many many moving pieces that must be in place – perfectly in place – for this to work. Breathe and learn to wait. Learn to look for what I am doing at all times. See the movement forward, which at times seems so incremental. But, it is what I know to be best. Trust. (2/1/20)