Amanuensis

Matthew 28:1-7 Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now. Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”

And so it will be when I reveal myself. Your enemies, those who persecute you, those who do not believe I am the Son of God (even many that say they do believe) — they will faint in fear. But you, my children, those of you who truly know me — you will not faint, you will not fear. You will be like Mary and the other Mary – you will not fall in fear. For you know my voice and whether it comes directly from me or from a spokesperson such as this angel, you will recognize it and welcome it. (2022)

Matthew 28:11-15 As the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened. A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’ If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you so you won’t get in trouble.” So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today.

And so it continues today. You are lied to constantly. You are deceived about me, about my word, about the truth of what is happening in your world at the hands of your enemy. You are deceived by your leaders, by your media, by many of those who swore to serve you, to protect you. Bribes come in many forms: money, power, position, fame, popularity. All who lie to you have been bribed in some fashion. Today, many are bribed by assurances of safety. Yet, all are lies. All are designed and executed to keep you from me, from my Word, and from each other. You are stronger than all of them. You are stronger yet when you are together. Keep meeting with fellow believers. Keep praying. Keep worshipping. All of these things make you stronger and stronger. Your enemy knows this. Why else does he try to divide you? Why else try to keep my houses of worship closed? Why else keep you apart? Never forget this: your strength comes from me. Stay close. (2022)

Matthew 27:15-21. Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd- anyone they wanted. This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas. As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you- Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.) ….. Meanwhile the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?” The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!” 

They knew that Barabbas was a murderer. They had also been listening to Jesus, had seen his miraculous healings. Yet, they were deluded into asking that Barabbas be released and Jesus crucified. Do you not see that the blindness all around you is nothing new? Do you not recognize this as an age-old tactic of your enemy? Religious “leaders” lie to the people. They prey on their fear and emotional instability. They push them to make impulsive decisions. And the people – weakened by constant pressure and manipulated by the lies of the enemy – make the wrong decisions. Yet believe in their heart of hearts that they are correct. That you – my children – my followers – are wrong. Are misled. Are evil. And even when they get an inkling of truth – it is so uncomfortable that they are not able to recognize and accept it. They double down on their delusions in order not to feel the discomfort of being wrong, of being manipulated. They are unwilling to admit any of it. That is what you will be seeing. Truth is being revealed. Canada is waking up. Many other nations are waking up and fighting back. But, your Nation will be the weakest link. Your people are so deluded, have been off track for so long, are so dug into their false teaching and beliefs, that though they see truth right in front of them, they will choose not to believe it. They will stick to their false narratives and fight back even harder. It will not be a pretty time in your history, and it will become very difficult for you, my children. 

Psalm 33:18-22 But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. (2022)

Exodus 34:12-16  “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped. Instead, you must break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you. You must not make a treaty of any kind with the people living in the land. They lust after their gods, offering sacrifices to them. They will invite you to join them in their sacrificial meals, and you will go with them. Then you will accept their daughters, who sacrifice to other gods, as wives for your sons. And they will seduce your sons to commit adultery against me by worshiping other gods.”

Do you not see that you are there? Do you not see that the culture of your Nation, which for years has pushed “tolerance” of others, of their beliefs and practices, is what led you to this very moment in your history? Can you not see that making peace with them has led to an infection and weakening of your faith? Has led to you allowing my expulsion from almost every aspect of your society? Has led to you worshiping their gods? Has led to you intermarrying with them – intermingling their false beliefs with my Truth – thus creating a false god which you worship? Do you not see that you have sacrificed Truth, Faith and a relationship with me on the altar of their “tolerance”, their concept of “equity”, their false narratives of “racism” and “sexism” and “gender” issues? Their “all roads lead to god”? It is almost too late to make the choice, but you must: Will you worship me? Follow me? Obey me? Or will you bow to their pressure, their bullying, their false narratives and outright lies? For you stand at the precipice: what you choose today will become your future. You must choose now. The path is being established. Your future as a Nation – and as a world – are being determined right now. You are almost out of time. (2022)

Ezra 4:24 So the work on the Temple of God in Jerusalem had stopped, and it remained at a standstill until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. 

Just because the work on the Temple had stopped, I did not let it go forever.  So it is with you, my child.  You have stopped working on our relationship for quite some time now, but it will begin again.  I will not give up on you. Return to me, rebuild our relationship, and we will celebrate together, as the Israelites celebrated the rebuilding of My Temple.  Offer your sacrifices – be obedient in what you know is being asked of you – your sacrifices will be pleasing to Me.   I will bless you for them.  I will help you, just get out of the way.  Acknowledge your inability – your helplessness in these matters – rely on the Holy Spirit and you will be successful.  (2005)

Joshua 1:8-9 “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

These words spoken to Joshua are those I would have you hear and take to heart also. I am your book of instruction. Seek my words. Look to me. Listen to me in the stillness of your heart. Do not allow the noise of the world around you to distract or especially dishearten you. Be careful what you are watching, listening to, reading. The traps are many and have been in place for a long time. And today, the efforts to keep you away from me are increasing. The noise is deafening. But you have known for a long time that it is in me that you find the quiet and calm that you need to hear my voice. Even I had to go away from the loud crowds, the pushing and pulling, the demands for my time and attention, the attacks and accusals of the religious leaders and other enemies. I had to go away into solitude to spend time with my Father, to renew and refresh my spirit and to restore calm resolution. Do the same. Abide in me. Absorb my word constantly. Fellowship with other believers. And diminish the amount of outside noise that would distract you.  (2021)

Psalm 74:1-23.

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame!
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me!
Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.

I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge.
My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.
For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together
and say, “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.”

O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!
May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt.
But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.
With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come; I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. 

Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things, O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed.

I know this is the song of your heart. I am not blind. I am not deaf, not to your cries nor to what the enemy is doing to my people and my land. Be brave. Take heart. All is not lost. I am still your God. I will still defend you. Wait for my timing. Trust me. They will not prevail forever. This is but for a time. (2021)

Deuteronomy 30:2-4, 6  “If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. … The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!” 

Have you not seen this in your own life? Have you not had me restore you and your life after you left the land of alcohol and drug abuse? Have you not seen the miraculous restoration of countless others who abandon lives of sin and return to me with all of their hearts and souls? It does not matter where they wandered – prison, homelessness, drug abuse, alcoholism, affairs and abandoned marriages, prostitution, crime – wherever they may have ended up, when they returned to me with all their heart and soul, when they sought me with honest desire, I restored them. So many miss this. So many say that I am no longer a God of miracles. Yet, restoration happens. Healing happens. (2021)

Deuteronomy 29:1, 9 “These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites while they were in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Sinai. …. Therefore, obey the terms of this covenant so that you will prosper in everything you do.”

When a covenant is made between two people, there are terms for both parties. In my covenants, I promise to protect and prosper my people. My people, in order to be in compliance with the covenant, must comply with my terms – obedience to my Word. So often, my children expect me to bless them, to protect them, to guide them, to be their God while not obeying me, nor getting to know me, or even spending any time with me, outside of an occasional church service. Then, when things don’t go their way, they are mad at me. But covenants require specific behavior from both parties. My children need to be reminded of that. (2021)

Deuteronomy 49-50 “The Lord will bring a distant nation against you from the end of the earth, and it will swoop down on you like a vulture. It is a nation whose language you do not understand, a fierce and heartless nation that shows no respect for the old and no pity for the young.”  

Do you not see this being played out as we speak?  Do you not see that those who are in power do not speak the same language as you? They do not speak the language of honesty, virtue, compassion, belief in me, honoring others, integrity, humility, love, respect for others. They do not respect the old – they have shown that in their treatment of the old in this time of “pandemic”. They show this by the acceptance and furtherance of the elder care facilities. They have sown into your nation, your society, a belief that once parents are old and infirm, they are too much trouble to be cared for by family, that they do not deserve to remain in their homes until death, that they do not deserve to be treated lovingly and respectfully in their old age. No, they are to be shunted off to facilities where they are not a “burden”. They are sent away so as not to interrupt the lives of their children – the same children that interrupted those parents’ lives at their birth. The same children the parents made time for, sacrificed for, lived and at times died for. Those in power do not pity the young. They do not value the lives of the young. Abortion. Abuse. Neglect. Children are a burden these days. What matters is that their parents’ lives are fulfilling, that they are free to realize their potential, reach their dreams.  No, children are not a treasure, they are the result of a lack of planning in moments of self-seeking pleasure. If allowed to be born, they are to be tolerated. They are to be raised by their teachers – with no thought or attention to what they are being taught. And as soon as they are old enough, they are to be sent out into the world to make their own way. (2021)