The war is on. It's time to get militant with the enemy. Like never before in the history of the world, the battle is intensifying. Why?
Because Satan knows that his time is short. If his time was short before, it's a lot shorter now.
He's pulling out his big guns so we have to pull out ours. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but we DO wrestle. Every day is a battle. Every day the enemy's tactics take a new little twist.
He'll never get ahead of us if we are staying close to the Lord and hidden in His Word because God knows everything way ahead of time. Our God knows the end from the beginning. The question is:
Are we hearing from God?
Little details, little hints and leadings from the Holy Spirit can set us out of the enemy's reach. God doesn't often yell in your ear. It does happen rarely.
One time, though, I remember hearing the voice of God very distinctly as though it was an actual person talking to me. The effect was very strengthening.
I was sitting at the back of a small commercial plane and we were landing in Siem Reap, Cambodia when I heard a voice that came sort of "out of the blue" or just detached from my normal thoughts. Of course, I was in a posture of praying and preparing to transition into a country where I'd never been before.
Often in these times of change, we get a chance to stretch our faith and get our character tested. And, for me, the area of finances has always been my "Achilles heel". (God knows me so well.) So, when the voice said,
"You're not going to like this," I knew it was going to have something to do with money.
At the same time, I had to smile. It was like a warning but in an ironic sort of way. It made me relax and "go with the flow" knowing that I had to face whatever there was to face and try to grin and bear it.
Sure enough, inside the airport, I was informed that Immigrations wanted $50 US to enter the country. Holy cow! Skimming right off the top. My usual attitude would have been. . . bad. With this warning under my belt, I straightened up and put on a grin to give the impression I had lots of money and could have put out ten times more.
The voice sure was right. It was prophetic in fact. I didn't like it.
The funny thing? I LOVED hearing that funny warning. It was worth much more than fifty bucks. God can take the pain out of life. And He really does have a great sense of humour. Of course He does, He invented it.
The point I was trying to make is that, these days, with the battle intensifying, we must be able to hear from God. Always be open to hearing from God. Give the Holy Spirit a chance to speak.
Be still and know that He is God.
Another thing too: I really feel that the Great Tribulation is going to be worse for unbelievers, those who don't have the Holy Spirit's protection and those who profess to be Christians without the power of God.
Those believers who are serious about their faith and read the Word, those who trust in Jesus and call on His name in trouble, those who are not playing games with God, these people will see the power of God during the Great Tribulation. They will receive power from on high.
When darkness falls, a little bit of light will be seen for miles. When there's nothing left but God, we'll discover that God is enough. God is sufficient. He is much more than enough.
Don't be afraid of your fear. Give it to Jesus. He's more than able to take all your fears and weaknesses on Himself. He'll heal every disease and provide every need. He never fails.
Has He ever failed you yet?
Saturday, November 19, 2016
THE WRATH OF GOD
When is the Wrath of God?
The Wrath happens after the Resurrection of the saints, or what some call the Rapture.
The Rapture happens after the Great Tribulation.
According to scripture, the Final Seven Years begins with the confirming of the "Holy Covenant" by the Beast/Antichrist.
The Tribulation begins half-way through the Final Seven Years when the Antichrist breaks the "Holy Covenant". He will place the "Abomination of Desolation" in the "Holy Place". [Note: Just because it is referred to as a Holy Place does not mean that God sees it as being holy.]
Timeline:
[That is not to say that there will not be church-goers and nominal, so-called "Christians" on the earth. Jesus said that He simply would not even know some of these people who think they have been serving God. Only God knows His own.]
Know Jesus
If you know Jesus like I know Jesus, you know we will not be here during the Wrath.
So, why am I talking about the Wrath?
It's something to avoid, that's why. There's a description of the Wrath of God in Joel, chapter 2 which will blow your socks off. This is what's going to happen to all those who are deceived by the False Prophet and all those who receive the Mark of the Beast.
That ain't us. That's our enemies who tribulated us. We really need to know the difference between the "Great Tribulation" and "The Wrath of God" because they are two very different things.
The Second Return of Jesus with His army of 144 thousand is going to be a thing of AWE. (The first time Jesus returns, He will gather together His elect and we will go flying UP to meet Him in the air. The second time, He will land ON the earth on the Mount of Olives [Rev. 14:1] with His army to pour out His wrath and to avenge the gentiles for their destruction of Jerusalem.)
Joel 2
1 Blow ye the trumpets in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the Day of the Lord cometh, for it is night at hand;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be an more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
[A picture of scorching the land, leaving nothing behind.]
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
[Bet they're sorry now for not repenting. Those mega bunkers won't save them now.]
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
[Nothing can stop these beings, this army of God!]
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
[They cannot be killed!]
9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth shall quake before them; [That places the Wrath of God immediately after the "Great Earthquake" of Revelation 6:12, Rev. 11:13 and Rev. 16:18. That "Great Earthquake" is a time-marker, if you will.] the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the Day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
[God is going to fulfill His Word. He goes on to warn Israel and all non-believers.]
12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
[All it takes is a sincere turning to the Lord to receive His "great kindness".]
14 Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thing heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
The Happy Ending/Beginning
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for His land, and pity His people.
19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, (God is still referring to Israel as His people. He loves Israel so much and wants them to come back to him.) Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. (the Antichrist)
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
(It seems that there will still be farming on the earth after the return of Christ. There will be a Millennium of peace while the Devil is languishing in the bottomless pit.)
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
The Wrath happens after the Resurrection of the saints, or what some call the Rapture.
The Rapture happens after the Great Tribulation.
According to scripture, the Final Seven Years begins with the confirming of the "Holy Covenant" by the Beast/Antichrist.
The Tribulation begins half-way through the Final Seven Years when the Antichrist breaks the "Holy Covenant". He will place the "Abomination of Desolation" in the "Holy Place". [Note: Just because it is referred to as a Holy Place does not mean that God sees it as being holy.]
Timeline:
- Confirming of the Covenant
- Building of the Temple in Jerusalem
- Daily Sacrifice
- Breaking of the Covenant
- Daily Sacrifice Stopped
- Placing of the Abomination of Desolation
- Great Tribulation and Enforcing of the Mark of the Beast
- End of the Tribulation
- Death and Resurrection of the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem
- Resurrection/Rapture of the Saints
- Marriage Supper
- WRATH
[That is not to say that there will not be church-goers and nominal, so-called "Christians" on the earth. Jesus said that He simply would not even know some of these people who think they have been serving God. Only God knows His own.]
Know Jesus
If you know Jesus like I know Jesus, you know we will not be here during the Wrath.
So, why am I talking about the Wrath?
It's something to avoid, that's why. There's a description of the Wrath of God in Joel, chapter 2 which will blow your socks off. This is what's going to happen to all those who are deceived by the False Prophet and all those who receive the Mark of the Beast.
That ain't us. That's our enemies who tribulated us. We really need to know the difference between the "Great Tribulation" and "The Wrath of God" because they are two very different things.
The Second Return of Jesus with His army of 144 thousand is going to be a thing of AWE. (The first time Jesus returns, He will gather together His elect and we will go flying UP to meet Him in the air. The second time, He will land ON the earth on the Mount of Olives [Rev. 14:1] with His army to pour out His wrath and to avenge the gentiles for their destruction of Jerusalem.)
Joel 2
1 Blow ye the trumpets in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the Day of the Lord cometh, for it is night at hand;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be an more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
[A picture of scorching the land, leaving nothing behind.]
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
[Bet they're sorry now for not repenting. Those mega bunkers won't save them now.]
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
[Nothing can stop these beings, this army of God!]
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
[They cannot be killed!]
9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth shall quake before them; [That places the Wrath of God immediately after the "Great Earthquake" of Revelation 6:12, Rev. 11:13 and Rev. 16:18. That "Great Earthquake" is a time-marker, if you will.] the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the Day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
[God is going to fulfill His Word. He goes on to warn Israel and all non-believers.]
12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
[All it takes is a sincere turning to the Lord to receive His "great kindness".]
14 Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thing heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
The Happy Ending/Beginning
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for His land, and pity His people.
19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, (God is still referring to Israel as His people. He loves Israel so much and wants them to come back to him.) Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. (the Antichrist)
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
(It seems that there will still be farming on the earth after the return of Christ. There will be a Millennium of peace while the Devil is languishing in the bottomless pit.)
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
Monday, September 26, 2016
What is Witchcraft?
Witches are modern "soothsayers" or "diviners", people who tell you your future or perform curses on other people for you.
They may use tarot cards, tea leaf reading, palm reading or crystal balls, etc. These sort of objects that draw demons to them are like talismans. We don't want to give any ground to the enemy by having these sort of items in our homes.
Neither should we have books, DVD's or other material that refers to witches and witchcraft or idols of gods or even figurines of gods. In fact, we shouldn't even have statues of the Virgin Mary in our home because Mary was never a god.
All that to say that we should be very careful about things of witchcraft and the occult.
Three Ways to Summon Demons:
Idols draw demons through sight. Pounding drums and noise or humming draws them through sound. And incense draws them through smell.
When we burn incense to an idol, the demons know they are being worshipped (even if we don't know that ourselves). Offering incense to an idol is the same as idol worship. Of course, no Christian should ever take part in this.
The "Dragon Dance" or the "Lion Dance" of the Chinese is also a form of devil-worship. Demons love noise, clanging and the beat of the drum. They also love the sound of "Om" used for meditation.
Rebelliousness is Witchcraft
Why does the Bible say that rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft? Because, when we rebel against God, we are denying His power and authority and handing it over to the devil.
Give no place to the devil. Make sure your home is not accidentally inviting demons in. Allow the Holy Spirit to do a thorough cleansing of your heart and home if you have any heaviness or depression in your life.
Fill up on the Heavenly Holy Ghost and let Him haunt your house.
They may use tarot cards, tea leaf reading, palm reading or crystal balls, etc. These sort of objects that draw demons to them are like talismans. We don't want to give any ground to the enemy by having these sort of items in our homes.
Neither should we have books, DVD's or other material that refers to witches and witchcraft or idols of gods or even figurines of gods. In fact, we shouldn't even have statues of the Virgin Mary in our home because Mary was never a god.
All that to say that we should be very careful about things of witchcraft and the occult.
Three Ways to Summon Demons:
- Sight
- Sound
- Smell
Idols draw demons through sight. Pounding drums and noise or humming draws them through sound. And incense draws them through smell.
When we burn incense to an idol, the demons know they are being worshipped (even if we don't know that ourselves). Offering incense to an idol is the same as idol worship. Of course, no Christian should ever take part in this.
The "Dragon Dance" or the "Lion Dance" of the Chinese is also a form of devil-worship. Demons love noise, clanging and the beat of the drum. They also love the sound of "Om" used for meditation.
Rebelliousness is Witchcraft
Why does the Bible say that rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft? Because, when we rebel against God, we are denying His power and authority and handing it over to the devil.
Give no place to the devil. Make sure your home is not accidentally inviting demons in. Allow the Holy Spirit to do a thorough cleansing of your heart and home if you have any heaviness or depression in your life.
Fill up on the Heavenly Holy Ghost and let Him haunt your house.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Earth's Final Hours
The New World Order enters the world's stage. In the midst of economic failure and threats of another World War, heads of state gather at a G20 in China to come up with solutions.
When a 7 year Peace Agreement is confirmed, the final 7 years of the world's history will commence. There will be a certain relief at first and calm. Political correctness, acceptance, tolerance and even a common unity of religion will bring about a sense of peace. But, it will be fake.
The price for this peace will be a total surrender of freedom and basic human rights to a one-world government that demands control of our every move. This government is not to be trusted.
When the Mark of the Beast becomes mandatory, our lives will be in constant danger. We will need to learn how to survive without money in a world without mercy.
Our only hope will be Jesus. Our survival will depend on our relationship with God, our leading of the Holy Spirit, our protection of God's angels.
Do you know Jesus enough to love and trust Him with your life? Have you put your life in His hands? He knows you better than you know yourself because He is your creator. He loves you more than anyone in this world and He knows what's best for you.
Will you be spending eternity in the loving presence of our wonderful Creator, God and His Son?
Don't be duped by the deceptions of the New World Order. Don't take the Mark of the Beast computer chipping to be able to buy and sell. Don't put your trust in this world's system. It's all a scam. The biggest scam in the history of mankind.
Get your directions from the Saviour. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Be led of His Holy Spirit and the Word. Follow the road-map of the Bible. Depend on the Truth.
WATCH AND PRAY beloved that you don't enter into temptation. We are at constant spiritual warfare. This is a serious, life or death situation we are entering into. God help us to be brave.
It's time to pray like never before. And remember, a little light shines brightest in great darkness.
When a 7 year Peace Agreement is confirmed, the final 7 years of the world's history will commence. There will be a certain relief at first and calm. Political correctness, acceptance, tolerance and even a common unity of religion will bring about a sense of peace. But, it will be fake.
The price for this peace will be a total surrender of freedom and basic human rights to a one-world government that demands control of our every move. This government is not to be trusted.
When the Mark of the Beast becomes mandatory, our lives will be in constant danger. We will need to learn how to survive without money in a world without mercy.
Our only hope will be Jesus. Our survival will depend on our relationship with God, our leading of the Holy Spirit, our protection of God's angels.
Do you know Jesus enough to love and trust Him with your life? Have you put your life in His hands? He knows you better than you know yourself because He is your creator. He loves you more than anyone in this world and He knows what's best for you.
Will you be spending eternity in the loving presence of our wonderful Creator, God and His Son?
Don't be duped by the deceptions of the New World Order. Don't take the Mark of the Beast computer chipping to be able to buy and sell. Don't put your trust in this world's system. It's all a scam. The biggest scam in the history of mankind.
Get your directions from the Saviour. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Be led of His Holy Spirit and the Word. Follow the road-map of the Bible. Depend on the Truth.
WATCH AND PRAY beloved that you don't enter into temptation. We are at constant spiritual warfare. This is a serious, life or death situation we are entering into. God help us to be brave.
It's time to pray like never before. And remember, a little light shines brightest in great darkness.
Friday, August 12, 2016
Dreams
It's sort of interesting to note that the only way to have an actual dream is to go to sleep. We must sleep to dream.
To be able to sleep, one must "let go". It takes letting go of this reality, in a sense. In other words, we have to let go of the "here and now" to allow our thoughts (or our spirit) to go somewhere else.
I think that may be the reason why so many of us find it difficult to sleep. We're exhausted, in desperate need of a good, deep sleep to rejuvenate us. Yet, we can't sleep. Our brain won't allow it. Or, our thoughts won't slow down.
It just seems that, although we do sleep, it takes longer than it should for us to fall asleep; deep sleep alludes us and we feel unrested when we awake. Waking up again is so difficult, yet it's also difficult to fall asleep.
The reason, I believe, that we have sleep problems is . . . technology.
This is just a theory of mine, but I do believe that we can trace most of our sleep problems to technology. And, when I say technology, I am including electricity along with computers, laptops, Ipads, Ipods, Smart phones and all that.
We have to look at electricity first and think about how much life has changed since the advent of electricity. Wires pass through the walls of our houses and apartments carrying exciting vibrations. Bright light sneaks through the cracks of our curtains and under our doors at night time. More vibrations.
It's night time. But, where is the night? Where is the dark? It's not really dark, so how can our brains know that it is really night time, time to sleep?
Perhaps that phone charger is only putting off a teensy bit of light. But, it is light.
Now, to address the bigger problem which is all-encompassing: computer technology. Ouch. If you're like me, you don't like to admit how much time you spent on your computer today. It gets away with me. Before I realize it, I've got TB (tired bum) from sitting so long on my laptop. Yike! The sun is going down! Don't tell me another whole day has gone by.
But, it has. The day is spent. The sun has gone down. But, my brain is firing messages back and forth like lightning in an electric storm. It's buzzing like a hive of bees getting ready to swarm.
If I'm outside during the day, the people I encounter are either on their phone, on their Ipad, plugged into their Ipod or sitting at a computer or laptop. And, I'd have to say, "Without exception."
You know it's true.
Even reading the Word, we use our gadgets. We certainly don't read a big old Bible by candle light anymore. If we have a "hard copy" of the Bible, it's usually a 3x5 or a 4x6. And there's nothing wrong with that. Even if it's a 1x1, the Word is the best publication to carry around.
Like "ET", we get loads and loads of "input". We're constantly firing on all-cylinders and multi-tasking. And, we can't seem to stop! When it comes to our "electronic lives", self-control has flown out the window. Along with all the time in our day.
Just one more message. Oh, one more phone call is all. Just this text and I'm done. Oh, I forgot about the 'so-and-so' and I have to tell 'So-and-So' about the 'such-and-such'. What time is it? What? It can't be! I have to get up at 7 tomorrow.
So, we reluctantly shut it all down. The screens go black. But, our brains are still humming with messages lit up and flying along the highway of our neural passages.
What about this message? What about that piece of information? What about that picture? Wasn't it funny? What did that mean? Why is it like that? Do people really say that about that? Try to sleep. Try to sleep. Try to sleep. Ok, I should pray over my dreams.
Yes, we try so hard to calm down. We even listen to some soothing Christian music. And that helps a lot. But, falling to sleep takes a lot longer than it should and waking up does too.
One hundred years ago, who would have thought that sleeping would become such a problem for so many? Most people worked long, hard hours with little time to spare. Falling asleep at night was probably the least of their problems.
Nowadays, the days seem shorter. It's a different world. That's easy to see. And, there are pros and cons.
But, we need to sleep and we need to dream. It's a necessary part of our spiritual lives. When else does God have the chance to speak to our hearts and minds without interruption?
Dreams are important. They can be messages from God. They can be prophetic. So, we should really try to remember them.
I had a powerful dream the other night. It was powerful in that it seemed to last a long time, seemingly all night long. That's why I was able to remember it. And it was a very drastic sort of dream,which made me think it could be a warning about something in my own life.
I dreamt a snake had appeared under the floor of our big house. The snake was long and thick. It seemed to go on and on and on... It was coming up through a grate in the floor and traveling around the house through the heating ducts.
Since it came up into my bedroom through the grate in the floor, I decided I had to move to another room to sleep because it would probably crawl into my bed while I was sleeping. So, I moved to another room. But, I realized that room also had a grate and even if I covered it, the snake would be able to push through if it wanted to...
When I woke up, I told my sister the dream but I told her, "I know it's not a real snake. It represents something." And that same day, I found out what the snake was.
I got a computer virus on my laptop. It was a scam, but for most of the day, I thought I had a huge problem. After making two phone calls and listening to an agent go on and on about how he had to save my computer, I discovered they were going to charge almost $100 for this "huge problem" to go away. I was told it had traveled through all my files, threatening to destroy them, gain access to my banking information and on and on.
That's when I realized, "This is the snake." So, I laid hands on my laptop and prayed for the Holy Spirit to rebuke the devil.
Although it caused me some stress and worry, it turned out to be an invisible snake after all. I was told by a nice young lady that there was a scam going around and that I shouldn't pay anyone to get rid of the "virus". And, in the end, it all just went away as if it had never existed in the first place.
Come the end of the day, I felt as though I'd done battle with a very long . . . snake.
Why was there a large house in my dream that the snake was entering into?
Well, it turned out the "virus" came in through a site I went to to watch "Downton Abbey". Now, that's a big house, isn't it?
I don't know about you, but I've decided to limit my tech time by setting a schedule. And to turn off my laptop a couple of hours before bed-time. If possible.
To be able to sleep, one must "let go". It takes letting go of this reality, in a sense. In other words, we have to let go of the "here and now" to allow our thoughts (or our spirit) to go somewhere else.
I think that may be the reason why so many of us find it difficult to sleep. We're exhausted, in desperate need of a good, deep sleep to rejuvenate us. Yet, we can't sleep. Our brain won't allow it. Or, our thoughts won't slow down.
It just seems that, although we do sleep, it takes longer than it should for us to fall asleep; deep sleep alludes us and we feel unrested when we awake. Waking up again is so difficult, yet it's also difficult to fall asleep.
The reason, I believe, that we have sleep problems is . . . technology.
This is just a theory of mine, but I do believe that we can trace most of our sleep problems to technology. And, when I say technology, I am including electricity along with computers, laptops, Ipads, Ipods, Smart phones and all that.
We have to look at electricity first and think about how much life has changed since the advent of electricity. Wires pass through the walls of our houses and apartments carrying exciting vibrations. Bright light sneaks through the cracks of our curtains and under our doors at night time. More vibrations.
It's night time. But, where is the night? Where is the dark? It's not really dark, so how can our brains know that it is really night time, time to sleep?
Perhaps that phone charger is only putting off a teensy bit of light. But, it is light.
Now, to address the bigger problem which is all-encompassing: computer technology. Ouch. If you're like me, you don't like to admit how much time you spent on your computer today. It gets away with me. Before I realize it, I've got TB (tired bum) from sitting so long on my laptop. Yike! The sun is going down! Don't tell me another whole day has gone by.
But, it has. The day is spent. The sun has gone down. But, my brain is firing messages back and forth like lightning in an electric storm. It's buzzing like a hive of bees getting ready to swarm.
If I'm outside during the day, the people I encounter are either on their phone, on their Ipad, plugged into their Ipod or sitting at a computer or laptop. And, I'd have to say, "Without exception."
You know it's true.
Even reading the Word, we use our gadgets. We certainly don't read a big old Bible by candle light anymore. If we have a "hard copy" of the Bible, it's usually a 3x5 or a 4x6. And there's nothing wrong with that. Even if it's a 1x1, the Word is the best publication to carry around.
Like "ET", we get loads and loads of "input". We're constantly firing on all-cylinders and multi-tasking. And, we can't seem to stop! When it comes to our "electronic lives", self-control has flown out the window. Along with all the time in our day.
Just one more message. Oh, one more phone call is all. Just this text and I'm done. Oh, I forgot about the 'so-and-so' and I have to tell 'So-and-So' about the 'such-and-such'. What time is it? What? It can't be! I have to get up at 7 tomorrow.
So, we reluctantly shut it all down. The screens go black. But, our brains are still humming with messages lit up and flying along the highway of our neural passages.
What about this message? What about that piece of information? What about that picture? Wasn't it funny? What did that mean? Why is it like that? Do people really say that about that? Try to sleep. Try to sleep. Try to sleep. Ok, I should pray over my dreams.
Yes, we try so hard to calm down. We even listen to some soothing Christian music. And that helps a lot. But, falling to sleep takes a lot longer than it should and waking up does too.
One hundred years ago, who would have thought that sleeping would become such a problem for so many? Most people worked long, hard hours with little time to spare. Falling asleep at night was probably the least of their problems.
Nowadays, the days seem shorter. It's a different world. That's easy to see. And, there are pros and cons.
But, we need to sleep and we need to dream. It's a necessary part of our spiritual lives. When else does God have the chance to speak to our hearts and minds without interruption?
Dreams are important. They can be messages from God. They can be prophetic. So, we should really try to remember them.
I had a powerful dream the other night. It was powerful in that it seemed to last a long time, seemingly all night long. That's why I was able to remember it. And it was a very drastic sort of dream,which made me think it could be a warning about something in my own life.
I dreamt a snake had appeared under the floor of our big house. The snake was long and thick. It seemed to go on and on and on... It was coming up through a grate in the floor and traveling around the house through the heating ducts.
Since it came up into my bedroom through the grate in the floor, I decided I had to move to another room to sleep because it would probably crawl into my bed while I was sleeping. So, I moved to another room. But, I realized that room also had a grate and even if I covered it, the snake would be able to push through if it wanted to...
When I woke up, I told my sister the dream but I told her, "I know it's not a real snake. It represents something." And that same day, I found out what the snake was.
I got a computer virus on my laptop. It was a scam, but for most of the day, I thought I had a huge problem. After making two phone calls and listening to an agent go on and on about how he had to save my computer, I discovered they were going to charge almost $100 for this "huge problem" to go away. I was told it had traveled through all my files, threatening to destroy them, gain access to my banking information and on and on.
That's when I realized, "This is the snake." So, I laid hands on my laptop and prayed for the Holy Spirit to rebuke the devil.
Although it caused me some stress and worry, it turned out to be an invisible snake after all. I was told by a nice young lady that there was a scam going around and that I shouldn't pay anyone to get rid of the "virus". And, in the end, it all just went away as if it had never existed in the first place.
Come the end of the day, I felt as though I'd done battle with a very long . . . snake.
Why was there a large house in my dream that the snake was entering into?
Well, it turned out the "virus" came in through a site I went to to watch "Downton Abbey". Now, that's a big house, isn't it?
I don't know about you, but I've decided to limit my tech time by setting a schedule. And to turn off my laptop a couple of hours before bed-time. If possible.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
God Wants Lots of Nothing
How to come into the presence of God?
God wants nothing between Him and me. He wants me to get everything out of the way. He wants lots of nothing.
That's not always an easy task to perform. It takes getting quiet. It takes letting go. We have to let go of all of our worries, fears, stress and activities of the mind. It takes TIME.
In a way, giving up our time and allowing God to have our time is a big sacrifice. By giving up some of our precious time to the Lord, it's letting go of the ownership of our time, which is, in essence, our life. Isn't it? Our lives are made up of time.
So, to come into the presence of God, we have to:
1. STOP - Quit trying to figure everything out with our own minds, our own figuring and calculating.
2. LOOK UP - Get our eyes off ourselves and our circumstances.
3. BE QUIET - Sh-h-h-h-h-h-h.
4. LISTEN - God has plenty to say. After all, it's His universe and He has the plan.
5. RECORD WHAT YOU HEAR - Writing it down is a great way to assimilate what God has told you.
How to receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
The scripture says that God wants us to come to Him with a pure heart. But, I think we often see "pure" in a self-righteous way, thinking that we can make our own hearts pure.
Well, we can't. We cannot. Only God can make our hearts pure. And even then, they won't stay pure because we humans are constantly sinning. Anyway, being pure is not even really the goal. Hard to believe? That's because we are conditioned to think of purity as a goal to achieve instead of a letting go of our own plans, ideas, thoughts and reasoning.
Ok, so here's how I see purity of heart.
Yes, we should ask God for forgiveness. That's true enough. (By the way, we should ask Him to forgive us for all the sins WE DON'T KNOW WE ARE GUILTY OF because, there are plenty. We are ALL blind to our sins. Besides, it is impossible for us to be good or anything like "good" or "pure" of ourselves. That kind of self-made goodness is called "self-righteousness" which, as it happens, is THE BIGGEST SIN OF ALL in the eyes of God. It's SO bad that God calls it filthy rags or menstrual rags. So, do we really want to hold up our filthy rags to God and show him how "good" we are? I don't think so.)
As far as purity goes, I'd say the only way to really get purified is to get filled with the Holy Spirit that cleanses all our sins and spend time in the presence of God. Only God knows what purity is. But, I'd say that purity is LETTING GO. Letting go of everything. Not just the stuff we see as bad, but EVERYTHING.
If we let go of it ALL, it will create a vacuum that God can fill with HIS purity and goodness and power and love and the things that are truly godly.
To get filled with the Holy Spirit:
1. Confess sin and ask for forgiveness - May I suggest not to make long, long lists of sin? God knows what our sins are better than we know.
2. Praise God! - Praising the Lord brings down the Spirit of God.
3. LET GO - speaking in tongues is a great way to empty the mind of confusion. Sometimes our tongues are a confusion, but, the longer we speak, the clearer the meaning of the tongues becomes. There can be messages that come through in our tongues that God can interpret for us. Allowing our spirits to cry out to God without constraint is a wonderful release.
4. ASK - Ask God for His Holy Spirit. You won't be disappointed.
5. Thank Him in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Amen.
God wants nothing between Him and me. He wants me to get everything out of the way. He wants lots of nothing.
That's not always an easy task to perform. It takes getting quiet. It takes letting go. We have to let go of all of our worries, fears, stress and activities of the mind. It takes TIME.
In a way, giving up our time and allowing God to have our time is a big sacrifice. By giving up some of our precious time to the Lord, it's letting go of the ownership of our time, which is, in essence, our life. Isn't it? Our lives are made up of time.
So, to come into the presence of God, we have to:
1. STOP - Quit trying to figure everything out with our own minds, our own figuring and calculating.
2. LOOK UP - Get our eyes off ourselves and our circumstances.
3. BE QUIET - Sh-h-h-h-h-h-h.
4. LISTEN - God has plenty to say. After all, it's His universe and He has the plan.
5. RECORD WHAT YOU HEAR - Writing it down is a great way to assimilate what God has told you.
How to receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
The scripture says that God wants us to come to Him with a pure heart. But, I think we often see "pure" in a self-righteous way, thinking that we can make our own hearts pure.
Well, we can't. We cannot. Only God can make our hearts pure. And even then, they won't stay pure because we humans are constantly sinning. Anyway, being pure is not even really the goal. Hard to believe? That's because we are conditioned to think of purity as a goal to achieve instead of a letting go of our own plans, ideas, thoughts and reasoning.
Ok, so here's how I see purity of heart.
Yes, we should ask God for forgiveness. That's true enough. (By the way, we should ask Him to forgive us for all the sins WE DON'T KNOW WE ARE GUILTY OF because, there are plenty. We are ALL blind to our sins. Besides, it is impossible for us to be good or anything like "good" or "pure" of ourselves. That kind of self-made goodness is called "self-righteousness" which, as it happens, is THE BIGGEST SIN OF ALL in the eyes of God. It's SO bad that God calls it filthy rags or menstrual rags. So, do we really want to hold up our filthy rags to God and show him how "good" we are? I don't think so.)
As far as purity goes, I'd say the only way to really get purified is to get filled with the Holy Spirit that cleanses all our sins and spend time in the presence of God. Only God knows what purity is. But, I'd say that purity is LETTING GO. Letting go of everything. Not just the stuff we see as bad, but EVERYTHING.
If we let go of it ALL, it will create a vacuum that God can fill with HIS purity and goodness and power and love and the things that are truly godly.
To get filled with the Holy Spirit:
1. Confess sin and ask for forgiveness - May I suggest not to make long, long lists of sin? God knows what our sins are better than we know.
2. Praise God! - Praising the Lord brings down the Spirit of God.
3. LET GO - speaking in tongues is a great way to empty the mind of confusion. Sometimes our tongues are a confusion, but, the longer we speak, the clearer the meaning of the tongues becomes. There can be messages that come through in our tongues that God can interpret for us. Allowing our spirits to cry out to God without constraint is a wonderful release.
4. ASK - Ask God for His Holy Spirit. You won't be disappointed.
5. Thank Him in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth! Amen.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Practise Prayer
Never stop praying. You can pray all the time, anywhere, everywhere, no matter what else you're doing. It's free. It's your life-line. And prayer can change your life.
Prayer doesn't need to be complicated, poetic, dramatic, eloquent or even grammatically correct. Quite often, all I say is,
"Thank-You, Jesus." Because that expresses what's on my heart at the time. I'm thankful for life, for good health, for strength, for the ability to tie my shoes.
I believe that God hates to be ignored.
I'll often mention His name and sometimes when people hear the name of Jesus, they think I'm using His name in vain. Ha. That's how programmed we are by religion. If you think about it, it may be one way the devil has of stopping us saying the name of Jesus. It's easy enough to say "God" and everyone does it. "God" is ambiguous or vague. It could be any god. But, when we say "Jesus", there's an incredible, indescribable power that extends out of the sound of those syllables.
JESUS!
Now, look at His entire name: JESUS CHRIST.
What do you envision? Do you see a man covered with blood hanging on a cross? Well, to hang on a cross was a CURSE. It says so right in the Bible.
"Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." Galatians 3:13
Actually, wouldn't it be more cursed to ignore Jesus? We would be cursed if it weren't for Him. So, to speak to Him all day, every day is to keep the connection strong. That way, whenever He wants to tell us something, our ear is already attuned to His voice.
If I had one piece of solid GOLD advice, it would be, "NEVER STOP PRAYING." or, in other words, "NEVER STOP TALKING TO JESUS."
Talk to Him ALL the time about EVERY LITTLE THING. Ask Him questions. Any questions. Aren't you curious? Don't you want to know?
I used to ask a lot of questions when I was a little kid. I was FULL of questions, as most little kids are. But, what happened was, I would get either NO answer or else, really STUPID answers. I hope other little kids don't experience this but, in my case, the adults and older kids around me used to enjoy keeping me in the dark. It was as if knowledge was a deep, dark mystery that they were hiding from me and that's how I felt. So, I decided to find out the answers for myself. I went to the library.
Of course, nowadays, one only needs to go to the computer. It's all there at the touch of a button.
Yet, there remain some DEEP, DARK ANSWERS that are not readily available online. Those are the ones that can only be gotten by digging deeply into the mines of Heavenly Knowledge through PRAYER.
Prayer doesn't need to be complicated, poetic, dramatic, eloquent or even grammatically correct. Quite often, all I say is,
"Thank-You, Jesus." Because that expresses what's on my heart at the time. I'm thankful for life, for good health, for strength, for the ability to tie my shoes.
I believe that God hates to be ignored.
I'll often mention His name and sometimes when people hear the name of Jesus, they think I'm using His name in vain. Ha. That's how programmed we are by religion. If you think about it, it may be one way the devil has of stopping us saying the name of Jesus. It's easy enough to say "God" and everyone does it. "God" is ambiguous or vague. It could be any god. But, when we say "Jesus", there's an incredible, indescribable power that extends out of the sound of those syllables.
JESUS!
Now, look at His entire name: JESUS CHRIST.
What do you envision? Do you see a man covered with blood hanging on a cross? Well, to hang on a cross was a CURSE. It says so right in the Bible.
"Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree." Galatians 3:13
Actually, wouldn't it be more cursed to ignore Jesus? We would be cursed if it weren't for Him. So, to speak to Him all day, every day is to keep the connection strong. That way, whenever He wants to tell us something, our ear is already attuned to His voice.
If I had one piece of solid GOLD advice, it would be, "NEVER STOP PRAYING." or, in other words, "NEVER STOP TALKING TO JESUS."
Talk to Him ALL the time about EVERY LITTLE THING. Ask Him questions. Any questions. Aren't you curious? Don't you want to know?
I used to ask a lot of questions when I was a little kid. I was FULL of questions, as most little kids are. But, what happened was, I would get either NO answer or else, really STUPID answers. I hope other little kids don't experience this but, in my case, the adults and older kids around me used to enjoy keeping me in the dark. It was as if knowledge was a deep, dark mystery that they were hiding from me and that's how I felt. So, I decided to find out the answers for myself. I went to the library.
Of course, nowadays, one only needs to go to the computer. It's all there at the touch of a button.
Yet, there remain some DEEP, DARK ANSWERS that are not readily available online. Those are the ones that can only be gotten by digging deeply into the mines of Heavenly Knowledge through PRAYER.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)