Amanuensis

1 Kings 9:1 So Solomon finished building the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do.

Notice that Solomon built a temple for Me before he built a house for himself. Where were his priorities? Was he more interested in his own comfort, or My abode? Was he more interested in his kingship or Mine? Where are your priorities? What is more important to you, your comfort or Mine? What drives you? Will you focus on what is pleasing to Me, or keep worrying about what is important to you? Yes, you will not have a car. Yes, your property is falling apart and overwhelming you. Yes, you are in almost constant pain in your legs and feet. So, will you offer all of that up to Me as a sacrifice and allow Me to be your first consideration? Will you allow Me to be the focus so that we can get everything superfluous out of your way and create a life that is beneficial to you and others, and that serves and glorifies Me? Will you let Me empty your hands so I can fill them again? Choose this day whom you will serve….those are not just empty words. They carry meaning into the cracks and crevices of your life. Every bit of your life. Your thought life. Your feelings and emotions. Your actions. You inactions. Your comfort or lack thereof. Your wants and desires and beliefs and needs and…every breath you take. Pneuma. Remember that? Breathe Me in, breathe all else out. 

Acts 11:17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?

You focus on what I give others that I have not given you. Others have gifts and talents and special assignments that I have chosen for them. Others have doors open to them that I do not choose to open to you. Others have personalities that are different than yours. Others have lives that are distinct from yours. These are all decisions that I have made. Do you not trust Me? Do you believe I do not know what is best? You are envious because you believe you should have these gifts, talents, lives. But I have not chosen any of that for you. Stop disliking them. Stop being jealous of them. Pray for them. Pray for their success in following Me, in representing Me, in doing my will. Is that not what you purport to want for yourself – to follow Me closely, to represent Me well, to do My will? Then why do you get in the way of others doing so when their success is beneficial to Me and to your fellow man? Stop looking at everything through the lens of yourself. You used to be able to better look at life, at circumstances, at people through the lens of others. Get back to that. I have plans for you. But you are too wrapped up in you to be ready for them. And you are bitter and angry and judgmental because you believe others have what you should have. Not so. If it were so, I would see that you have it, would I not? This is yet another level of stripping you bare so you can see what is not working in your life. You need to get out of you and step back into My view of things. Your self-centered lens on life is what is keeping you from stepping into what I have for you. So, do you really want to be of service to Me? Do you really want to be a Kingdom warrior? Do you really what to make a difference in the lives of others? Get out of self. 

John 19:1-3 Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” They mocked, as they slapped him across the face.

You read this and sigh and shake your head. How could they slap God in the face? How could they nail a crown of thorns into the head of the Lord of Lords? How could they scourge the back of the God of all Creation? Yet, have you not slapped Me in the face countless times? Have you not abused Me over and over and over again throughout your life? Have you not spit in My face repeatedly? When you deny Me – My holiness, My pureness, My omniscience, My love – when you deny My existence in any way, you do those things. When you disobey what you know to be My Word, My law – you do those things. When you mistreat others and do not minister to those I send to you – you do those things.  You are, at heart, no different than any of these – Jews or Roman. The only real difference is that for them, I was a flesh and blood Man. Their abuse, their gross mistreatment was inflicted on a human body that I indwelled. Your abuse is more nebulous in that you do not physically see Me, you cannot physically touch Me, you do not look into My physical eyes. Yet, the abuse is at its essence the same. The same denial of My Lordship. The same denial of My place in your life. Who am I to you? Do you walk that out in your life? Or do you give it lip service and continue to live as you want to, ignoring Me? Choose. Decide. Submit your life to that decision. If it is to follow Me, to worship Me, to give your life to Me, I will help you. But if it is just lip service, I will – sooner or later – spit you out of My mouth. Hot or cold. Choose. Lukewarm – playing a role that has no real life in your heart or soul – that I will not accept. 

John 18:28  Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be able to celebrate the Passover.

Do not miss the hypocrisy of this act. Here you have religious leaders setting up an innocent Man to be tortured and ultimately crucified – the most painful, humiliating form of death ever invented. They were murderers. They were liars. They were prideful, hateful, spiteful men setting up an innocent Man for death because they feared Him. Yet, they would not enter the Roman governor’s headquarters because it would “defile them”. Do you see how it is? Do you see the blindness you are capable of? Your hearts and souls are defiled – black as night. Yet you are blind to it and continue to go about your religious practices as if you were walking in My light. Search your own hearts and souls before condemning others. Be sure you are not defiled before calling out others. Are you truly walking with Me? Are you aligning your lives with My Word? Or do you “go to church”, read the Word with some regularity, even go into deeper “study” – and thus fool yourself as to how pure and righteous you really are? What are the motives of your heart? What are your desires and do they align with Mine? What are your plans? Do you seek My input for them? On what basis do you call out the behaviors of others? On the basis of your perfection? There are two directions in which you should focus your sight, your attention: inward and upward. Look to your own heart and check it always. And look to Me for direction, wisdom, guidance. Looking around only distracts and allows you to become other-focused, leading to judgment and a lack of attention to your own actions/motives. That is a disaster in the making. That is the quickest way to walk apart from Me. And once you stray even a bit, the distance between us can quickly become a chasm. 

John 15:18-21, 26-27 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the One who sent me.” …. “But I will send you the Advocate – the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.”

Did I not speak this to your heart just an hour ago? You are not home any more. Once you became mine, you left this world. It is not yours. You wonder how the evil are rewarded time and time again, and the righteous and innocent are persecuted and harmed. You are unable to justify how this world works. And so. It is not My world yet. It is under the control of your enemy for the time being. And as such, it is not your world. It is not a world you will understand or accept. It is not a place where righteousness is able to reign – yet. It is not a world where the innocent are protected and cared for – yet. It is not a world where evil is exposed and rejected and punished – yet. That day will come. For now, it is not your home. Your home is with Me. And for now, while you are physically in this world, I am with you. I will continue to indwell you. I will continue to walk with you, to protect you, to guide you, to nourish you, to give you all you need to walk righteously, to be My ambassador, to lead others to Me. But I remind you – you will do all of this as you walk in an unrighteous, evil, ever-darkening world. The world as you live in it this day will continue to spiral until I return. Do not be surprised. Do not be dismayed. I am still in control, and I will put an end to it. When the time is right. When the Father directs. In the meantime, walk with Me. Listen for My voice. Read My Word. Obey My commands. Pray without ceasing. And trust, Child. Always trust. Even when I seem to be silent, even when I seem to be far away. Don’t trust your human perceptions, your emotions, your errant thoughts. Trust Me. My Word. My Promises. Trust and believe. I have already worked it all out, it just needs to continue to unfold as the Father directs. 

1 Samuel 17:34-37 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

Do you see young David’s faith? Do you see how he was not afraid of the Philistine giant, because he had experience with My faithfulness? My protection? My provision? David knew that the giant was no match for Me. Follow his lead. When you face problems, when you face the giants in your life, do not look at them through your earthly eyes. Look at them through the lens of what I have done for you, how I have proven Myself and My power to you. Look at your giants – your problems – through the lens of them facing Me. Because, Child, when you have Me – when you are one with Me – then it is I who fights the battles, not you. Your enemy is a liar and a deceiver and will distract you with issues, problems – things you seemingly can’t handle or resolve. He will try to make you forget that you have all you need in Me. I am not leaving you. I am not distancing myself from you. I am more than enough to resolve any and all problems you face. I am able to defeat any and all giants in your life. Just remember. Breathe. Look up, not around. I have not moved.

Psalm 106:34-41. Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them. Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters. By sacrificing them to the idols of Canaan, they polluted the land with murder. They defiled themsleves by their evil deeds, and their love of idols was adultery in the Lord’s sight. This is why the Lord’s anger burned against his people, and he abhorred his own special possession. He handed them over to pagan nations, and they were ruled by those who hated them.

Do you not see? This is your Nation. You murder the unborn and call it “reproductive health care.” That has been going on for so long that most of you don’t even blink an eye when it is mentioned – even when the statistics of the rate of that murderous practice are published. You have become numb to it. Now that your enemy has won that battle, you have been drawn into another area of idol worship. Today, you sacrifice your living children to the pagan gods of your society. No, you are not literally putting them on an altar and murdering them. But is not allowing all of this gender nonsense in effect killing your children? Is not allowing them to be butchered psychologically, emotionally and physically the same as outright ending their lives? Once a child is allowed to alter the identity given to him or her BY ME at conception, have you not in essence murdered that child? Does not the child I created cease to exist? When you give in to the lies of your enemy, are you not bowing at his altar? Are you not committing spiritual adultery? When you believe the lies that are being pushed down your throats by a godless society, are you not abandoning Me and My Truth? Instead of bringing up your children to know Me, to know My Truth, to study My Word, you allow them to be immersed in the lies of the overly-sexualized garbage your enemy has managed to get placed into the public schools, the public square and, outrageously, even in some “Christian Churches”. Do you not see your blatant sin? Even if you are not participating actively in this blasphemous evil, by allowing it to continue in your Nation you are guilty. You, who claim to know Me, to follow Me, to obey Me – if you are not actively participating in dismantling this web of murderous deception, if you are not actively protecting children, you bear guilt in all of it. Repent. Choose whom you wish to please, whom you wish to obey, which standards you wish to measure up to. Do you wish to be My follower, or a follower of your world? Do you wish to please Me, or man? Do you wish to conform to evil standards, or be a standard-bearer of My Truth, My Word? Silence is participation – passive yet participation nonetheless. What is worth fighting for in your world? Is it the ability to “get along” or the protection of the innocent? I will not choose for you. Like everything else, your free will comes at a cost, ultimately. What you choose to do with it affects not only your life here and in eternity, but the lives of those around you. Choose wisely and unselfishly. The blood of your children is flowing on the altar of false doctrine and the lies of the enemy of your soul. 

Mark 8:34-38. Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” 

Do you not see how applicable this is to your life today? Do you not see how your enemy keeps your attention diverted in order to keep you from serving Me completely? Do you understand yet that, at the bottom of it all, this is always been the only real focus for you? Think back, think carefully. When has your life worked best? When you are focused on yourself? Or when you are completely in for Me? When are you the most joyful? The most calm and focused? The most peaceful? When you are striving for what you want, or fully committed to what I ask? When you are swimming upstream in the river of selfishness or you have, as you have always liked to visualize, flipped over and are floating downstream on the currents of My leading? Your life, Child, is IN ME.  Your real, authentic life, my sweet Child, is hidden in Me. I created you. Only I really know you. I am the author and finisher of your life, of your faith, of everything, really. So when you seek outside of Me – for whatever it is – pleasure, safety, peace, excitement, fulfillment, purpose – when you seek anything outside of Me, you are not seeking what will fulfill those desires. You are looking in all the wrong places. Your enemy would distract you, tell you that you have to do certain things to maintain your life, your safety, to provide, to move forward. I am here to tell you that you have to do nothing outside of Me. All outside of me is temporary, inauthentic, fleeting. Pneuma, Child. Breathe. I am the breath of life. I am the provider of all. I am your all in all. And when you seek elsewhere, you rob yourself of precious time – time to grow in Me, time to show Me to your lost and fallen world, time to become even more spiritually centered in a maelstrom of evil. Me. Seek Me. Let Me guide you. Let Me teach you. Let Me be what you focus on. Only your soul lasts- and the state of your soul depends upon the state of your relationship with Me. 

Exodus 10:1-2 Then the Lord said to Moses: “Return to Pharaoh and make your demands again. I have made him and his officials stubborn so I can display my miraculous signs among them. I’ve also done it so you can tell your children and grandchildren about how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and about the signs I displayed among them – and so you will know I am the Lord.”

Could I have just snapped the Israelites out of Egypt, placed them in a safe and prosperous land and had it done? Of course. But, as you know from your own life, anything that comes too easily is not cherished, is not cared for. So, instant salvation would have been easy but even more easily lost. My ways are always much more layered than yours, Child. There is always a deeper meaning, a more relevant lesson, and a more precious gift involved. Yes, I could just make all of your problems disappear. I could replace all that has been taken from you in the unjust actions against you. I could just fix everything that is broken, find all that has been lost, restore all that has been damaged. But, what would you do then? Just go on as if nothing…. Would your faith be stronger? Would your enemies see My power? Would your walk stand out amongst those who reject Me? Would others see Me in what is happening in your life? Would you be a walking testimony to obedience, trust, faith and perseverance? There are always more layers to what is happening. The surface is just that – the surface. I strive for deeper, more lasting lessons and events. The Israelites were delivered. In My time. In My way. For My purposes. And it made lasting impressions on them, on their enemies, on all those who saw or learned of it. Lasting. Eternal consequences. That is it, Child. Eternal consequences. Learn to wait for temporal deliverance while enjoying the knowledge that you have obtained eternal deliverance.

Exodus 7:22-23 So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted. Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind.

You are sad and perplexed when people to not listen to My Word. You are concerned that you are not showing them who I am, that you are not sharing My Word appropriately. Listen, Child, there will always be those who are not able or not willing to hear. Just sow the Word, and move on when you sense that you are hitting an immovable wall. The seed has been planted. It is not for you to know if it ever produces a crop. That is for Me. You sow, others may end up reaping. All that matters is that you do what you can and leave the rest to Me.