Amanuensis

Isaiah 45:18-19 For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the Lord,” he says, “and there is no other. I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I, the Lord, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.”

These are the facts that your enemy would obscure, that your enemy would proclaim as false, that your enemy would take from you if you allowed it. You know what is true. You know what is good and real and eternal. Share those things. That is what I would have you do. Share my Truth. Share who I am, what I do, what I promise, what I provide. Share me with others. Many will reject what you have to say. So be it. But, you will know that you have given them an opportunity to accept the only gift that matters. That you have introduced them to the only One who matters. That you have given them the opportunity to change the destination of their eternal lives. You share and they choose to accept or reject that information.  Again –  free will. You have chosen wisely. Others will make their decisions – some good, some bad. You have no control over that. All that you can control is whether or not you give them an opportunity to hear Truth. Time is short. Many will not be with you for much longer. Help them.

Isaiah 45:11-12 This is what the Lord says – the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.”

Hold fast to these truths. I am who I have always been. And I am in control of all, as I have always been. Do not fear. Do not doubt. Do not question if I am still here and if I still love you. I am and I do. Rest in these truths. And do not live in the fear that your enemies would cause you to feel. Do not allow what is happening in your world – the evil, the fear, the sadness over lives being taken – do not allow that to sway you from your faith, from your beliefs, from your relationship with me. You have known for some time that I do not force anyone to believe in me, I do not force anyone to obey my commands. I allow free will and choice. With that comes the reality that many will choose badly. Many will choose to reject me, and in so doing, reject my commands and reject their responsibility to love others. Many will choose to follow the world rather than follow me. Many will choose to act out of fear, hatred, prejudice, anger, self-seeking – all of those emotions that your enemy would exploit. You choose differently. That makes you a target. Know that. Expect that. And at the same time, know and expect that I am with you, that I will be beside you, that I will protect what is important in your life – your faith and your relationship with me. Your eternal destiny. Those are the main things. And out of those will come your decisions and your actions. Do not allow the enemy to distract you and change your course. Faith. Trust. Decide to remain in both. It is a decision and a decision which is getting harder by the day. I know, my child. I know. 

Isaiah 37:28 “But I know you well – where you stay and when you come and go. I know the way you have raged against me. And because of your raging against me and your arrogance, which I have heard for myself, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth. I will make you return by the same road on which you came.”

And so I say to your enemies. And so it will be. They have no power over me. They have no power over my children, only that which you give them. Stand tall and firm. I have spoken against them. I have ultimate control. They will not succeed. I will put my ring in their nose. I will lead them to their ultimate destruction. Just trust me and do not allow them to distract you. It has been decided since the beginning of time that your enemy will lose. He knows it. Just trust. 

Isaiah 37:6 This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers.

And so I say to you, do not be disturbed by the blatant evil that surrounds you. Do not be disturbed by those who speak against me, who blaspheme my name. Do not be dismayed. Do not be surprised. All of this is to be expected in a dark and sinful generation that serves to please itself, not me. This is what happens when the enemy is worshipped in place of me. And that enemy does not always manifest in his true form. He takes the form of money, fame, power, prestige, possessions. He takes the form of self-worship. He takes the form of drugs and alcohol and sex and gambling and electronic devices and all addictive substances and activities that give pleasure. He takes the form of group think – of conforming to the insanity of the culture in order to be “part of”. He takes the form of gender ideology, of false science, of politics. He takes the form of conformity to tyranny. He takes many forms, all of which my children reject. Do not be dismayed that you do not belong. Do not be dismayed that you do not feel comfortable in this present world. Do not be dismayed that it appears that all that is good and true is disappearing. I have not left you. I have not changed. I have not abandoned my creation – at least not forever. For the moment, I am allowing my children to choose – and bad choices abound. But I am not gone. Eyes on me. Ears tuned to my voice. Do not be distracted. That is the tactic of your enemy. To distract you and take you off your game. To lead you into despair over the state of your world. Remember, you are but a voyager in your current world. You are a visitor. That remains true. This is but temporary. I will help you. I will care for you and carry you. Just keep focus on me and on sharing my Truth. Time is passing quickly and the time for people to come to me is coming to an end. Lead others into the Truth. That is what is important. 

Psalm 50:16-23 But God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant? For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash. When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers. Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies. You sit around and slander your brother – your own mother’s son. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you. But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

Time is scarce. So many believe my silence is approval. So many have been taught the lie that I am solely love. That “being your best self” is a form of worship. That living in constant sin is ok, since I am a forgiving God. So many of you have believed that the New Testament of your Bibles made the Old Testament void. Not so. I am still a God of judgment. I am still a God of vengeance. I am still a God who will go to any lengths to protect my children – those who obey me, who trust me, who have true faith in me – even if that means protecting you from yourselves. Do not be deceived. I know your hearts. I know all the thoughts and ideas you have. I know what is truly in your spirit. And I will not allow deceit, dissimulation, false faith. Humble yourselves while there is yet time. Repent – truly repent – in thought and deed. Turn your paths around. Reject lies. Embrace truth. Embrace correction. Embrace my plan for you – not your plans. I have not moved. I have not changed. I will not move, and I will not change. I am the same today, tomorrow and forever. You cannot understand that, yet you have the choice to believe it and act accordingly. You have a choice to always seek my will, seek my face, seek to please me – not please others or yourself. You judge every word and action of others, yet ignoring your own black hearts. I am not fooled. Dig deep. Check your own hearts. Check your own motives. And ask yourself if I would approve. Live your life as if I were right next to you – because I am. You may not see me. That does not negate my presence. I see it all. I hear it all. I feel it all. I am aware of it all. You may fool others – many of you even fool yourselves. Yet, I am never fooled. I am never surprised. I am never placated when you do wrong. Repent. The days grow darker. The time is coming when you will not have the chance. An eternity of regret is, in and of itself, hell. Is that what you choose? 

*Not an easy message to receive. But a timely one. These are dark days and my focus needs to shift.

I chose David to be king of my people. So, did he immediately become king and all was easy? No. He was hated by Saul, whom he served well. He had to flee as Saul tried to have him murdered. His best friend was killed in battle. He spent years and years in exile from his home. As you know, later his own child would try to murder him and take over his kingship. Yet, as stated before, I chose him. Your life has not been easy. You have suffered loss upon loss upon loss. Yet, I still love you. I have still chosen you to be my child and to be my ambassador in this lost world. I know your heart is heavy and grieving. I know you have turned to things of this world to give you comfort. Yet, it has not worked. Turn to me. Only to me. Get back to the things that brought you peace and joy: praying, study, journaling, hiking, taking care of the birds. Learn to garden. Trust me for money. Get rid of all that stuff. Make room for me. For my plans for you. For my gifts to you. You have filled every crack and crevice in your life – in your heart – with useless things and activities. Empty it all out. I want to be the center again. 

Psalm 36:1-4 Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are. Everything they say is crooked and deceitful. They refuse to act wisely or do good. They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots. Their actions are never good. They make no attempt to turn from evil

And so your world today. Your political leaders. Your educational leaders. Corporations. Those who harm your children. You are surrounded by evil. It does not hide any more. Yet, you still survive. You still battle for what is right and good. Do not ever forget, the reign of evil is but for a time. It will not survive into eternity. But, as for right now, it is strong and is doing irreparable damage to many. Stand firm. Cling to me and my Word. Discipline. Trust. Faith. The battle intensifies. The end is not within your sight, yet it is known to me. Trust me. You are needed so do not give up. I am still in control. I am still the God of all. Yet, I allow my creation to choose. I allow the choice between good and evil. I allow the choice between faith and lack of faith. I allow the choice between obedience and blatant sin. Choose. Choose wisely. What may seem to be the right and usually easy path is almost always the wrong choice. Do not pacify those who sin against me. Do not agree with what you know to be wrong. Do not stay silent. That time is gone forever. Speak. Speak loudly. Speak with your words and your actions. Stand up for what is right. Stand up for the children. Stand up for the Nation. Stand up for me. I will be with you. And I will protect what matters – your eternal soul. Your enemy can only harm your physical being. Strong in your faith, he cannot touch what matters. 

Proverbs 21:21-22. Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor. The wise conquer the city of the strong and level the fortress in which they trust. 

1 Chronicles 22:6-10.  Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God. But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’”

David wanted to build a temple for me. He wanted to give me a permanent home instead of the wandering Ark. And as much as I loved David and he was my appointed king, I did not choose him to build my temple. He was not the right man. He had committed too much violence, yes as king and warrior. I condoned (up to that point in his life) what he had done. It was done in service to me and my children. But, that blood on his hands made them unfit for building my home. Was he disappointed – yes. Did he want to be the one to build the temple? Yes. But he obeyed. Instead, he began gathering all the materials that would be needed when I chose to have my temple built, when I chose the man to oversee it. You have so many ideas of what you want to be for me. What you want to do. And though you do have a sincere desire to serve me, many of them are rooted in the idea of who you want to be. I know who I want you to be, what I want you to do. Let go of your thoughts about it. Stop making plans. Listen for me. You are not ready, but are getting closer. 

Ezra 9:6-7 “O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift my up face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors until now, we have been steeped in sin. That is why we and our kings and our priests have been at the mercy of the pagan kings of the land. We have been killed, captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today.” 

This should be your prayer. This should be the state of your hearts. Your Nation, your people, are steeped in sin. You have opened up your lives to be ruined by your enemies. You have allowed evil to reign in your Nation. You have looked the other way as the laws and rules of your land have been compromised, changed, ignored. You have allowed evil to slip in slowly, in small increments, until you arrive at what you have today: blatant evil, utter lawlessness, tyrannical leadership. Your Nation is bereft of moral standards. Your “leaders” are your enemies. They are lauded as I am reviled. When will what is left of my children stand up and refuse to participate in this? When will you stand firm on my Word? When will you trust me, not just with your words, but with your actions?  When will you refuse to participate any longer? Ignoring what is happening has not worked out. Why continue? You see what is wrong. You see the evil being perpetrated all around you. You see that the government of your Nation is succeeding in tearing it all down, in decimating your land, your people, your laws and rules and precepts. Yet, you wring your hands and do nothing. You wait for me, or for someone else, to save you. You must save yourselves. And it all begins with facing the truth about your utter debauchery. Your endless sin. Your lack of faith. Your spiritual laziness. Your desire to please yourselves and not me. Want my help? Repent. Truly repent. Humble yourselves. Turn to me, wholeheartedly, with all of your hearts and souls. Change course. And do not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Choose your course and stick with it. If that means allowing the evil to continue to exist in your lives, then do so. But do not ask me to intervene. You will have chosen. If you choose to stand and fight, do so without looking back. Seek me. Only me. I am here. You just look in all the wrong places. 

Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

I haven’t changed since the days of Ezra. If you – if your people – would fast and earnestly seek me, I will answer. Earnestly. That is the key. Not just seek me in those moments that life is impossibly difficult, or scary, or when you believe you will lose everything. Not just when you can’t handle life on your own. Not just when you need me to save you. Those are wrong motives. At those times, you seek me to help yourself. Earnestly seeking me means seeking to know me, to obey me, to please me. Earnestly seeking me means seeking a relationship with me. Ongoing. Daily. Growing. Deepening. When you seek me in this way I will answer.