Speaking As Approved By God!

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. I Thessalonians 2:3-8 NIV

As a messenger of God for Gospel of Jesus Christ and a watchman, committed to telling the truth as God shows it to me and warning of impending danger, loving all unconditionally as He has commands, I declare at this moment, I will not ever write to please men, but as God speaks to my heart.

For I have noticed, through observation and actual experience that when we attempt to please men, we fall short for we can never please all the people all the time–nor at the same time. So, I’ve learned to not try pleasing people for it is a futile exercise and time waster. Since I don’t know how much time I have left on the earth, I choose not to waste my time with the silliness and irrelevance of trying to please people. For which person–clothed in flesh covered bones–has heaven or hell for me? Not one person has heaven or hell for me, therefore, I do not have to please people. However, if a person is pleased by what I do or say in my determination to please God–so be it. But my goal–is pleasing God–not people.

A caring mother or father would will always provide the child they love with instructions to keep them safe from harm and directions to keep them on a path of success in life. That’s exactly what the bible does for all who love God and claim Him as our Father and Jesus as Lord of our lives and Savior. Though they are one in purpose, I understand the distinction of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Indeed, I trust my Father to speak to my heart at all times and Holy Spirit to deliver the fully interpreted message in a way I can understand it and share it. For I recognize the way of God and His Holy language is past my understanding and I need Holy Spirit to help me rightly discern what is being said.

With the bible–written by men as God spoke to them–we have the blueprint that should be the guide to how we live. Before men began writing, God was speaking to those He chose to be His messengers and scribes wrote as instructed. Since Jesus returned to heaven after completing His mission on earth, we–everyone who believes–all have access to hearing God through Holy Spirit if we are willing to hear. Understand, when God speaks to our heart, Holy Spirit interprets so our minds will accept what is being spoken to us. Unless Holy Spirit interprets what is said–we veer off the path that God plans for us to travel and when people “think” on their own about what is right, chaos ensues.

Does not The Word remind us that, “in the multitude of counselors there is safety?” And in other passages (in Proverbs) we are warned that those who scorn knowledge will soon provoke destruction and unfortunately, the destruction will not just destroy them, but others.

I’m praying daily, almost hourly when time permits–that in the coming days the electors in our Electoral College will have hearts to hear God speak and vote the voice of the people and acknowledge the popular vote. For the mandate of this election is the voice of the people and the electors should honor their voice. Though there are some who will not agree with what I’ve just said, they’re entitled. I’m looking forward and see nothing but destruction with a president who cares nothing for protocol or dignity, integrity and honor. When the destruction comes, if our electors are not willing to hear God, it will impact all our lives and like those fleeing Aleppo, we might be next–fleeing one city after the other, but the real problem will be–where will we go?

Lord, speak to the hearts of those in position to make a decision that will impact all our lives either positively or negatively. Allow every elector in the Electoral College to see beyond the moment of their vote, so they will understand the importance of our having a future without chaos and more hatred and bigotry, marring the landscape for generations to come. Speak to the heart of every child You claim as Yours, creating in them a desire to please You and not men. I pray that every one of Your children will we willing to hear and act upon all You say so we can enjoy peace in the land–for all mankind. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!

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How Are Your Angels Performing?

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” (Psalm 34:7 NIV)

Before the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see “angels” discussed as being the messengers of God. After the resurrection, especially in Revelation, we see the angels are still referencing the messengers of God in the church–those in leadership. I say this for clarity only simply because of the misrepresentation of angels in the entertainment industry. There are angels (spirit beings) who have been assigned to every Believer and in the end, we shall judge their abilities pertaining to us.

The bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that we shall judge our angels as well as those things that pertain to this life. Contrary to what many think and say, those who believe God shall judge what people do–according to the Word--not their opinions or bias. Whatever God says, we say. And we shall judge those angels (in the spirit realm) who have been assigned to us to protect us.

While many may not believe in angels, I know that my angels have been on duty and because of them, I am still here today. They have warned me about impending danger and cushioned me from being harmed, irreparably in two accidents that should have killed me. In both accidents, cars were totalled and my physical injuries were superficial at best. I walked away from both of them without a scratch, but suffered delayed reactions due to the impact. As a result, my vision was impaired from the last accident and at one point, I was told I’d be blind before long. That accident occurred in 1994. Though I strain at times to see words clearly, I can still see. My angel(s) took the brunt of that impact and I am here to tell the story.

Now, let me move on to the gist of this passage. Those who reference (not be afraid of) The Lord, obey Him out of that obedience, can expect their angels to be encamped around them and delivered from dangerous situations. This does not mean we should be foolish and try to tempt the devil. We are to be wise as a serpent–moving cautiously in life–aware of the tricks of the enemy–never intentionally jeopardizing our lives or the lives of others.

In those instances in which we are not responsible for any danger to ourselves or others, we are protected and delivered from harm, Satan’s plans cancelled and they sizzle out with the interference of our angels. I tend to liken the darts Satan flings at us like a tennis game. We see what he does and lob the ball back into his court and he never stands a chance at winning in his attempt to defeat us when we know how to keep the ball in play.

Today, thank God for the angels who have been assigned to protect you and remember to always be willing to hear Holy Spirit when He speaks a word of caution to keep us safe.

Settling The Matter!

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” (Isaiah 1:18-20 NIV)

When The Lord speaks through His messenger–whoever it is–people should listen. If they did, they would save themselves a great deal of time and heartache. But just like then, people choose not to hear what The Lord says–through any medium (bible, prophet, pastor, evangelist, teacher) and then declare–what God said then, doesn’t matter now.

I know the most popular approach to clarifying or encouraging people to believe is to not discuss sin as sin. If we’re going to be true to God and the role He has given us, we cannot discuss His goodness without discussing sin. It is because of sin (and His great love for us)–that He came down from heaven in the likeness of sinful flesh–to redeem us (save us) from ourselves.

Through the prophet Isaiah, He spoke–“though our sins are like scarlet or red as crimson, they shall be (after He comes) as white as snow or soft as wool” (both symbolic of purity), but there is a caveat–“If we are willing to hear from Him and obey Him” then we’ll have all the good stuff, but if we don’t–we can expect all the bad stuff. I’ve stated this as simply as I can so even a child can understand. If children obey parents, they can expect a reward, if they don’t, they can expect a penalty or punishment of disobedience. Why is this concept–started by God–so difficult for us to understand today?

We have allowed the unbelieving to dictate what we do, by caving to their claims that God is not concerned about sin any more. HERE’S A NEWSFLASH! He is just as concerned about sin today as He was before. If He wasn’t, all of us who proclaim the Gospel, forgiveness of sin and grace–are wasting our time and we should have translated out of here, the moment we believed!

He’s still concerned about sinful behavior and He wants those of us who know and believe that His Word never changes to continue the good fight of faith–sharing His love with all who will hear and obey. For any who say His Word doesn’t mean what it says, we would have to conclude they either do not understand or do not have a relationship with Him, so He can speak to their hearts and they hear. This settles the matter for me. Now, what about you?

How Can They?

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14,15 NLT)

Paul reminds us in his letter to the church in Rome that, “all who call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved” and he anticipates the doubters response by answering their questions before they are asked.

Those same doubts–unbelief in Jesus Christ and in Him as the Risen Savior–still plague The Church (the body corporate) and it is evident in the things we see people–proclaiming to be Christians–do.

The real problem is that then–the descendants of the tribe expected a “warrior” to save them because that’s what they understood. They could not believe–for the most part–that a man preaching, trying to get them to repent of sin and live for God–could save anyone. When they witnessed His crucifixion, they mocked Him about saving Himself. The answer was right in front of them, but they could not see it because their minds were clouded and focused on expectations based upon their limited understanding of how God truly works. They missed knowing the relationship that God so deeply desired with them and there are those today, who still miss it.

How can they still miss the importance of being in right-relationship with God? When people think that “religion or religious affiliation” is the answer to their problems, they miss God. The answer is still right in front of us–we must repent of sin and secure our “relationship” with God. It is our relationship with Him that will draw us nearer to Him so we can clearly understand how He wants us to live.

How can we move closer to Him? WE MUST REPENT OF SIN–AS A NATION–AND AS INDIVIDUALS and learn of Him, receiving instruction and direction from Holy Spirit as He speaks to us. There is no other way that mankind is going to be saved from destruction and captivity–devised in our own minds–when we choose to ignore God and the messengers He uses to warn us!

What messengers should we heed? The messengers of God will only say what God says, they will not speak on their own behalf. God is not doing a new thing pertaining to visions and dreams–He still uses them to persuade people to hear Him, but those visions and dreams are not going to oppose His Word–no matter how much people want to change what He has said. God will use whoever is willing to be used by Him–accepting His sovereignty and love–knowing it is He who is leading them in all things.

How wonderful it is for people of faith to be used by God in promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ! These are those who are sent–not the ones who just got up and went based upon their own logic and rationale of what they “think” needs to happen. Those who just go–on their own–have a modicum of truth to share, but ruin it with their own take on how things should be and much of what they say is in opposition to what God has already said. We won’t know that if we do not know The Word and have such a close relationship with God that we can seek Him for ourselves for clarity and understanding.

What we need more than anything on earth right now–is the enough sense to know we all need to repent and receive God’s forgiveness so we can move forward, taking care of God’s business, while He takes care of ours.

Father, I cannot repent for others, but I stand before You right now, repenting of all those things that are not like You. Forgive me for daring to think I could do anything on my own without You in my life. I submit my thoughts to You, I declare my faith in everything You have said and will say to me to share with others so that all of mankind will be saved, in the name of Jesus! I will do all You prompt me to do, no matter what people say, for I  know that my eternity will be spent with You! And I pray that all who proclaim the name of Jesus will repent–individually, and as a nation and seek You while You may yet be found. In Jesus’ name, I pray, and receive Your response, Amen!