"We endanger the peace and confuse all issues when we obscure the truth; when we refuse to name an act for what it is; when we refuse to see the obvious and seek safety in Almighty. Peace is only maintained and won by those who have clear eyes and brave minds. Peace is imperiled when we forget to try for agreements and settlements and treaties; when we forget to hold out our hands and strive; when we forget that God gave us talents to use in securing the ends He desires."
The above statement I read just this morning...an excerpt from Ronald Reagan's speech given on Veterans Day, 1985. It is stirring up the heart of God and forming words here that have collected from a message that was spoken to my heart just yesterday. In the above, I see verses to ponder that the Holy Spirit has given me to write below....
1 Timothy 4:1-4 (Amplified) BUT THE [Holy] Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach, Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized), Who forbid people to marry and [teach them] to abstain from [certain kinds of] foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and have [an increasingly clear] knowledge of the truth. For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be thrown away or refused if it is received with thanksgiving.
Ah, yes! Receive love in your heart this up and coming thanksgiving; that great and endearing love that covers the multitude of sin...turns away all sin that desires to have you.
- Psalm 133:1 (Amplified) BEHOLD, HOW good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
There is glory all over this verse...let it sink in to the deepest parts of your being! Unity...not distance...
How I long for the real...the Spirit manifest; yet that which you can taste, touch and feel in truth.
Oh Church! Drink...drink deeply from the stream of the Holy One!
Romans 12:5-11 (Amplified) So we, numerous as we are, are one body in Christ (the Messiah) and individually we are parts one of another [mutually dependent on one another]. Having gifts (faculties, talents, qualities) that differ according to the grace given us, let us use them: [He whose gift is] prophecy, [let him prophesy] according to the proportion of his faith; [He whose gift is] practical service, let him give himself to serving; he who teaches, to his teaching; He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity and liberality; he who gives aid and superintends, with zeal and singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness and joyful eagerness. [Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good. Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.
As I reread the above I heard a shouted word, “Fellowship”. Praise God! That is for me I know and for all. There is power in exhortation! We have witnessed it in each other! There is an energy it in that carries a portion of grace as it has been spoken of late. And underneath that grace is like a blessing of love poured out; no hidden thing. Our quest to love one another!
Backing up a moment...Though I taught my children based on history. The following is copied right from the site referred to for many years...”KONOS is the Greek word for cone. KONOS uses the inverted cone to symbolize God at the top of all creation and all knowledge. God is not simply a part of our lives; He is at the very apex of our lives overseeing all areas of life. He reveals His character to us through His Word and His creation. The more we study subjects with the enlightenment of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, the better we see God and His character through the world around us. It is Gods character we seek to emulate. He is the source of both what we should know and what we should be. As we grow in godly character, we become more like Him, and in so doing, glorify Him.” Anyone who knows me or read what I write for the past many years knows I am not a chop chop sort of writer or teacher ...the above statement makes me shout! To glorify Him!
I have never been one to memorize dates and such that was of importance to every test we took in school and remember them to date; all the dates that I recall my step dad telling me in high school I really needed to know as he quizzed me for the upcoming tests the next day. However, I made it by the graces of God. Finding the love of history has came for me in the Word of God.
History. Veteran's Day means many different things to each of us. Wars, battles, storms...we can all attest to these whether you have fought in a physical war or a spiritual battle of sorts, which no one is a stranger. I have never fought in a 'call to duty' kind of war; in physical war but spiritual battles, as it has been spoken rightly to me has permeated my life. There has been much experiential knowledge. We all have this. It is the testimony that saves you and me. There's an old saying that says...Walk a mile in my shoes and each of us can attest to what we have learned good and bad in our walk. It's also where, in part, our authority comes. I will right now be bold and say, 'you might want me on your side when it comes to this very subject'. I can lend a heart of love and of learning to you in your time of need. It's what God has graced me with and I look back in great love of what he has done for me through the very roughest spots, the grace bestowed and in thankfulness I have breathe in my body and promises of the abundance to come. All old things have passed and the new has come. Yes, it is my victory! But foolishness one would rear an ugly head and say...It's all mine. This is not what the fight of faith is all about. All things are measured in love, no matter how short or long the line is.
Right now...I hear to copy the below verse I have revisited this week and many times. There is so much, church to take in from it...so much...to hear, to see, to believe, to rest in, to tuck in a safe place of your heart and pull out when you need it. Let it become you....So much good in it for me and you...enjoy!
Colossians Chapter 2 and 3 (Message)
I want you to realize that I continue to work as hard as I know how for you, and also for the Christians over at Laodicea. Not many of you have met me face-to-face, but that doesn't make any difference. Know that I'm on your side, right alongside you. You're not in this alone. I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." I'm a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I'm on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ. From the Shadows to the Substance My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that's not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything. Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. If it's an initiation ritual you're after, you've already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ. Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are. They're completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us. So, then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? "Don't touch this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!" Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important. ...Colossians 3...He Is Your Life. So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master. Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don't take advantage of them. Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end. Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits. Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't cover up bad work.
I recall many words over time that have been spoken to me. The Word would say this to you...not that you get caught up in checks and balances...that you who are spiritual will judge all things. Judging things as with the mind of Christ...not a dreaded judgment...
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NKJV)...it's really beautiful... But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
I recall a few prophets that have spoken words over me; those whom one would deem a public preacher/teacher of the word; not that we do not all have the ability within each of us to prophecy but these stood in office. I recall a woman preacher once in a meeting gaining a lasting stance of respect in my heart as she stated very quaintly that she can get very angry. It showed forth truth of what God was doing through her and what one could fall to in their own flesh. It shouted discipline in love containing a righteous anger. Some words spoken to me have come to pass and others still so very aligned but have not yet come to pass. The word says if it aligns with word and spirit then Amen! And all the promises of God are yes and Amen to the glory of God! So when we go back and take a look at the blessings that have been received it is because we believed them, is it not? And every curse spoken over me lies in the pit where it belonged to begin with. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you. If love is being poured out; receive it. But be vastly aware that so many words tossed out there are put into the airways for your harm and for the speakers good. While there is a pressing in, God honors words spoken of a right heart and there is grace in love for the rest. I choose to believe the prophets that have spoken good and promising things to me straight from the heart of God; those being a righteous vessel, because indeed it is that which I have also to give away....the kind of vessel we long to be.
I heard a preacher more than once say...Thank even the devil for what you have learned; just as you pray for your enemies. I can recall often words spoken against me, poking fun, unedifying remarks from within even the same room. Do I love these? ...Oh, more than you know. God sees the motives of the heart. Have you ever wondered why some meetings there is such grace flows so readily and then at other times the spirit seems so halted? Sometimes all it is is the sacrifice of keeping a contrite heart. Communing with; not standing against. Communication. If we are not speaking; communicating there is a loss. Indeed the prince of the powers of the air get that which does not edify. We are all human; but God infused! In this there is an authority that will not accept what has always been as the reward or the barely enough settled for. It presses in knowing the hundred fold return is for us in what we have believed for. I used to keep a sticky note in my bible underlining Luke 8:8. Take a look! It will bless you. Let no deception become you. Loving others through troubled times just because He first loved you! Healing to you and healing to the other. No shame. No guilt. No distrust. Just showering of love.
We have all heard and sometimes daily...you are sick, deceived, wrong, unworthy, poverty stricken, lost dreams but what does God say and moreover who is speaking...yes, the enemy, so that word is void, is it not? What does the Word say? The enemy has indeed told me lie after lie after lie of where my destiny is that looks doomed and the many shouts of harm and where he is taking me and that wilderness journey is where its at. Wow, I say. What will you believe? Actually, this accusation is turned around toward him from beneath because it is the righteous that sends him where he shall go. Oh, I say devil...your mouth is shut already even by the love and joy that permeates me! The enemy flees when praises are lifted. Heart of worship. In this- my future now is.... blessed, loved, rich, full, blissful, ministry-filled, worshipful, traveling in it, friendships, life, glorifying him in all things and the abundance that speaks of all the wealth of God's heart that He has promised to me and also to you. This is the prime reason I am hated by the enemy himself and all his cohorts because God the Father has fused me with a love that doesn't relent. This doesn't mean tolerate demonic hosts trying to set up camp in a sister or brother. We honor and love each other. Love comes in many packages. Correction and curses are vastly different. The dividing line is love. How are you gonna receive it? And how are you giving it? Is it your intent to cause harm? Answering these questions in your heart answers your motive. The motive of the heart is that which sees the place you are. A prophet shall also receive a prophets reward and a righteous man a righteous man's reward...Matthew 10:41 says.
Beware of those who would mutilate you with false comfort and truly long for your bondage and not freedom; that which has been spoken to me. Ask yourself where is your freedom through the wide open opportunities available to you in the Word? Negativity spreads like disease. Sickness is not of God. Lies build more untruth. Takes that which does not belong to it and it seeks to build from there until the pain has spread. True fruits have no conflict. And evil has no reward. How are you gonna receive it? And how are you giving it? Is it your intent to cause harm? Answering these questions in your heart answers your motive.
Grace is love and always looks onto joy. This is why we get so excited to see one another on Sunday morning! : ) There's gonna be that celebration; its grandiose, royal, full of love. I have saw and heard. So to all veterans of hope...let us all realize together the substance of our faith; the confidence in what we are hoping for will actually happen. Blessings to all the veterans this day and thank you heavenly Father for bringing real realities to us that wipe out all that tries to take away from the reward set aside for each of us. God Bless America!
