We Will Come Out of the Fiery Furnace
Greetings in the Lord!
It's been awhile since I've last written but suffice to say that it has been anything but inactive for me. Lots of spiritual warfare to deal with and may I just say to all who are with me on this--press in, beloveds! We are the forerunners, the watchmen who see danger coming and announce it to the people. So naturally, we often experience hard times before they come to the body of Christ as a whole. So, be encouraged even as I am still, that we can learn from our ordeals and share them with the body of Christ for their strengthening.
First, the fires that the Lord showed me in a vision in May coming to the US have been lighting up, unnoticed by many, just as He said. So, how can we begin to recognize these "fires" and what do we do about it? These are seemingly random acts of very violent behaviors--hate crimes--that we've been reading about in the news that are specifically directed towards people in authority (police), certain religious and ethnic/racial backgrounds, the homeless (weak and vulnerable), and child/teen violence. The enemies of our nation and against God Almighty have been praying for our destruction as a nation--for disunity, discord, financial collapse, and hate towards each other. The Lord is allowing their curses to ignite godless hearts within our nation, those who are in agreement with our enemies unknowingly. Their rebelliousness towards God and unrepentant sin in their hearts makes them vulnerable to the flames being sent our way.
We will see more people join them out of anger as events to come---whether they be over immigration, unemployment, lawlessness, racial conflicts, and the like, will serve as gasoline to the hearts that are dry with hate already. They will simply burst into flames of anger and violence as they latch onto any conflict to vent their fire and use any justification--real or imagined--for their behavior. As the body of believers we are to repent of anger, hatred, or any cultural or gender bias or favoritism that may exist in our hearts now, before these flames come and tempt us to burn, too. Be full of living waters, to quench these fires of hatred and anger, and repent to the Lord. Pray that the Church of the United States will rally together and be peacemakers, lovers of good, and faithful servants of the Lord in the days of conflict. Pray that our love rooted in Jesus will remain strong and not grow cold when lawlessness abounds. We will overcome in Christ Jesus--God will sustain and protect us from all evil if we remain in Him, serving and loving one another as He directed.
The Lord gives us Psalms 6 to understand this season of warfare. Basically, the psalmist cries out to the Lord to forgive his sins that have allowed for the rising up of enemies against him. In acknowledging that sin has opened a door for trouble and affliction to come, the psalmist petitions God to deliver him--and the Lord in His loving-kindness accepts his prayer and intercedes on his behalf. That is an important concept--we live in an increasingly godless nation and quite often we live and think as the culture around us, even when it is offensive or contrary to the word of the Lord. So, true repentance gets His attention and our humility stirs God to protect and deliver us in the days of trouble.
The second thing I am learning in this season is the importance of unity within the body of Christ and the need for us to pray for and with each other. In times of attack, the pioneers would circle the bandwagons so they could protect themselves. It is this same concept. I want to encourage you to begin to pray for your fellow believers and actively seek out those who are struggling spiritually or in their circumstances. We need to understand the days that we are in, not spend all your prayer time asking God to remove the cup that is before us, but to be with us as we go through the fire---for we will go through the fire, my beloveds.
God has put on my heart the passage in Amos 7. Two times the prophet interceded for Israel and God relented--but the Lord would not relent on His third decree of judgment because it was time for His correction to come. Likewise, the US is on the cusp of our correction, and I pray that as we draw near to God we will come out of the fires like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: "They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair on their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them." Amen.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
It's been awhile since I've last written but suffice to say that it has been anything but inactive for me. Lots of spiritual warfare to deal with and may I just say to all who are with me on this--press in, beloveds! We are the forerunners, the watchmen who see danger coming and announce it to the people. So naturally, we often experience hard times before they come to the body of Christ as a whole. So, be encouraged even as I am still, that we can learn from our ordeals and share them with the body of Christ for their strengthening.
First, the fires that the Lord showed me in a vision in May coming to the US have been lighting up, unnoticed by many, just as He said. So, how can we begin to recognize these "fires" and what do we do about it? These are seemingly random acts of very violent behaviors--hate crimes--that we've been reading about in the news that are specifically directed towards people in authority (police), certain religious and ethnic/racial backgrounds, the homeless (weak and vulnerable), and child/teen violence. The enemies of our nation and against God Almighty have been praying for our destruction as a nation--for disunity, discord, financial collapse, and hate towards each other. The Lord is allowing their curses to ignite godless hearts within our nation, those who are in agreement with our enemies unknowingly. Their rebelliousness towards God and unrepentant sin in their hearts makes them vulnerable to the flames being sent our way.
We will see more people join them out of anger as events to come---whether they be over immigration, unemployment, lawlessness, racial conflicts, and the like, will serve as gasoline to the hearts that are dry with hate already. They will simply burst into flames of anger and violence as they latch onto any conflict to vent their fire and use any justification--real or imagined--for their behavior. As the body of believers we are to repent of anger, hatred, or any cultural or gender bias or favoritism that may exist in our hearts now, before these flames come and tempt us to burn, too. Be full of living waters, to quench these fires of hatred and anger, and repent to the Lord. Pray that the Church of the United States will rally together and be peacemakers, lovers of good, and faithful servants of the Lord in the days of conflict. Pray that our love rooted in Jesus will remain strong and not grow cold when lawlessness abounds. We will overcome in Christ Jesus--God will sustain and protect us from all evil if we remain in Him, serving and loving one another as He directed.
The Lord gives us Psalms 6 to understand this season of warfare. Basically, the psalmist cries out to the Lord to forgive his sins that have allowed for the rising up of enemies against him. In acknowledging that sin has opened a door for trouble and affliction to come, the psalmist petitions God to deliver him--and the Lord in His loving-kindness accepts his prayer and intercedes on his behalf. That is an important concept--we live in an increasingly godless nation and quite often we live and think as the culture around us, even when it is offensive or contrary to the word of the Lord. So, true repentance gets His attention and our humility stirs God to protect and deliver us in the days of trouble.
The second thing I am learning in this season is the importance of unity within the body of Christ and the need for us to pray for and with each other. In times of attack, the pioneers would circle the bandwagons so they could protect themselves. It is this same concept. I want to encourage you to begin to pray for your fellow believers and actively seek out those who are struggling spiritually or in their circumstances. We need to understand the days that we are in, not spend all your prayer time asking God to remove the cup that is before us, but to be with us as we go through the fire---for we will go through the fire, my beloveds.
God has put on my heart the passage in Amos 7. Two times the prophet interceded for Israel and God relented--but the Lord would not relent on His third decree of judgment because it was time for His correction to come. Likewise, the US is on the cusp of our correction, and I pray that as we draw near to God we will come out of the fires like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: "They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair on their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them." Amen.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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