Amanuensis

2 Chronicles 14:1-5. When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years. Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. 

You have erected so many altars and shrines. You have put so many things before me. You enshrine those things that bring pleasure, fame, fortune, safety, longevity….. You are no different than the people in the days of David. The only difference is that, in the land of Judah, the altars and shrines were visibly dedicated to the foreign gods and goddesses. In your day, many of these places of worship are disguised and not readily recognizable as altars. Yet, they are. When you seek money instead of trusting me to provide, you are worshipping at that altar. When you seek fame instead of seeking me, you are worshipping at that altar. When you seek pleasure above all else, you are worshipping at that altar. When your focus is on your looks, your age, your image, instead of me, you are worshipping at that altar. When you seek power instead of acknowledging and respecting my position, you are worshipping at that altar. Whenever you place anything before me, or in the way of your relationship with me, you have enshrined that thing and it becomes a place of worship. Look at your life carefully. Find all the altars you have constructed. Tear them down. Now. They are places of weakness, places where your enemy can slip in and do real damage to your relationship with me. I do not tear them down for you. I will help you if you sincerely seek my assistance, but it is you that has to carry out the destruction and clear your life of evil. (2022)

Job 1:22 “In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.”

So often when my children suffer, they blame me. They know that I am able to do anything, so when I “allow” them to suffer, they assign blame to me. Is this what you will do when you suffer? Is this the reaction that you will have? Or will you realize that I told you in my Word that you would suffer if you were my child, if you believed in me?  Will you remember that? Will you remember that you are in a spiritual battle, that your enemy has been trying to destroy my children since the beginning of time? Will you remember that? Or will you allow the enemy to turn your thoughts and heart away from me? Will you allow yourself to be manipulated into believing that when these things happen, it means that I don’t care, that I am not paying attention, that I don’t love you? Do not ever lose sight of the truth of the matter: when you suffer, I suffer. When you are harmed, I hurt. Do not allow yourself to be torn away from me, for it is only in me that you will find the strength, the courage, and ability to endure what is coming. It is only in me that you will be able to abide and survive. And it is certainly only by abiding in me that you will be able to continue to lead others to me. Your example will lead many. Your faith will be contagious. Your ability to endure will show others that I can help them to endure also. It is your faith that your enemy fears. It is me in you that your enemy abhors. It is me that they want to destroy. You are just the physical, mortal embodiment of me. You are a walking example of me. You are my ambassador to the world and they must destroy that. Here is the key: your enemy knows – has always known – that I will win. That this war is already mine. That victory lies only in me. So, he will try to win as many battles as he can – but he knows the war has already been lost for him and his followers. So, fear not. Do not listen to nor believe his lies. Do not allow your thoughts or hearts to be taken captive. Strong in me. Dedicated to me. Ceaseless conversations with me. Just me. For without me, this will be too much for you. But in me is your victory.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18   “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”   

Amen and amen!!! 

Do not wander far from this truth. You are now seeing and will be soon seeing more and more destruction, more and more terror, more and more evil. Do not look at it and believe that all is lost. Do not allow your hearts and minds to be taken captive by what is happening in your world. That is of passing significance. Focus on me, on things eternal. That is the only thing that matters. (2021)

1 Corinthians 10:24, 31-33 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.….So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

This is key. At no time before has this been so important for my children to understand. This is the battle. Will people follow me or the enemy? You represent me. You are my ambassadors, sent out to show me to the unsaved, those who do not know me. Your actions, your words, your very being is seen and judged by the world. What does it show? Yes, I would have you follow my Word, follow me. But, in every matter, as you are obedient to me, are you doing what is in the best interest of yourself or those around you? This is the time when many will be saved or lost. Watch yourself.  Question your own motives. And show me to the world in everything you do. Their eternity depends upon this.  (2021)

2 Corinthians 4:8-10. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 

These words have never been truer. Your world is being shaken. It has just begun. But you, though everything around you may collapse, may burn to the ground, you will be fine if you keep your eyes and heart fixed on me. Do not spend your days looking around. All that you see – all that you will see for the near future – is destruction – evil – pain and suffering. But these are – can be – just birth pangs.  Your world – your earthly lives – all of this is temporal. You are here as my children to show others the way to me. You are here to be light in darkness, truth in a world of lies, love in a world of hate. But, as the world around you continues to implode, that will be impossible if you do not keep your heart and mind fixed on me. The battle is only just beginning to heat up. It will be more and more difficult by the day to keep yourself grounded in what is important – the eternal. I love you. I will not abandon you. I am and will remain by your side. Eyes on me, not on your world. Be informed yet focused on me not on what you are seeing and hearing around you. For the days grow short and time is running out for those who do not believe. Help them. Lead them. Pray for them and be a model of what it means to be my child. (2021)

Romans 7:13 Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes.

And so it is when lies take over my church. So it is today when all the false doctrines entrap and bind my people and cause them to sin. They believe they are doing what is right. They believe they are following my commands. But, sin has twisted my words, twisted my commands, mixed them with popular sentiment and set a path toward destruction.  (2021)

1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 

Be careful what you accept and what you participate in. Test the spirit of everything these days. Your enemy is strong, deceptive. It is easy to be fooled. Invite me into every decision, no matter how small it seems. This is a time unlike any other you have known. The level of evil, the penetration into every aspect of life by the enemy, is unparalleled. Beware. Be on the watch. Accept nothing that you have not brought to me in prayer.  Believe nothing that you have not brought to me in prayer. Read my Word. Be a Berean in all things, as all things are spiritual matters. Every decision you make, every word you speak, every thought you have is a spiritual matter. And the battle rages around you, above you and at times within you. Listen with your spirit. Listen with your heart. Listen for my voice, look to see my presence in all things. Commit yourself to me – and only me – and the rest will be made known to you. (2021)

Luke 12:48 “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”

I have given you much – in every way. I have prospered you financially, emotionally and spiritually. I have granted you wisdom that others do not possess. I have given you an inner strength that has kept you moving forward even when the world – and your enemy – would deter you. But, you do not stop. You may pause for a while – I understand child. I am working on that with you. But you have never completely stopped, and when it is most important you always step up to the plate. That is why I know you are trustworthy and up to the challenges ahead. Do not allow yourself to doubt, nor allow yourself to fall into fear. Be willing to do what I ask, no matter what. But remember, even when it seems that I am asking for more than you can bear – as when I asked Jacob to sacrifice Isaac – even then, I provide another way. I am not here to harm you, but I am asking you to continue to be my servant and willing to serve no matter what I ask. (2021) 

Zechariah 4:6 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.”

You keep trying to do life on your own. You keep trying to figure it out. You need to surrender to me. It is I, and only I, that can make your life work. Did I not give that life to you? Do I not know every detail about that life? I love you, child. I want your life to work, to have meaning, to have joy. Right now, you are lost. But I see. I know where you are, where you need to go and how to make it happen. Just surrender to me. Everything. Every minute of every day. It will get easier.

Romans 1:28-32 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.  

This is where your world stands. This is what you see everyday. This is the darkness that oppresses your spirit, and the spirit of your Nation. Stand against it. Pray without ceasing. Preach my Word. Do not quench my Spirit. Shine the light. Everything depends upon my children. If you did not believe that before, you can’t deny it now. All could be lost. Soon. (2022)