It's About Covenants

It's About Covenants

Confusion runs rampant within Christendom concerning the New Testament versus the Old Testament. Just the other day a man was over to do some plumbing at our house. Years ago I decided that whoever came to my house was going to hear the Gospel. As we discussed the Bible, he voiced his problems between the God of the OT versus the God of the NT. I shared with him how God is a God of covenants. The OT is mainly God’s dealing with the nation of Israel and the Covenant He had with them. The NT is the Covenant God made with all mankind through His Son, Jesus. God’s covenants dictate His dealings with mankind during the time of the current covenant.

The NT is clear that the New Covenant is in the Blood of Jesus Christ. All Christians would agree. In fact, to disagree means you are not a Christian. The Blood is central. Blood is a very deep subject from Genesis onward. However, Hebrews 10 clarifies the sacrifices under the OC (Old Covenant) compared to the Blood of Jesus Christ, establishing the NC (New Covenant).

7 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come — In the volume of the book it is written of Me — To do Your will, O God.’” 8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:7-10

As I explained the difference between covenants, the lights went on. For the first time he saw God as a God of covenant.

Why do so many Christians stand in the NC, while fearfully reaching back and grasping parts from the OC? I think many, if not most, do not know how to handle the Old versus the New.

Currently I am reading through Acts. In Acts 15 we find that these Christians were also confused over the role the Old Covenant Scriptures had in NT living. In fact, they, the apostolic leaders, had to have deep discussion about it. Acts 15:1 begins the chapter with: 

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 

This caused a great dispute between these men from Judea and Paul and Barnabas. They decided to send a group to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question (Acts 15:2). (In Acts 14 many Gentiles had become Believers in Jesus Christ.)

When they arrived in Jerusalem, verse 4 continues:

… they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

They again considered the Gentiles regarding the Law of Moses, specifically about circumcision. Verse 7 says there was much dispute among them as they discussed the subject. Peter finally rose up and said:

“So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” Acts 15:8-9

He continues by emphasizing that no one has been able to keep the Law and furthermore, trying to mix Old and New is putting God to the test (:10). The apostles discussed in detail the wonderful things God was doing among the Gentiles and concluded this “apostolic session” by writing a letter stating:

(:24) Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” — to whom we gave no such commandment — … (:28) For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

Interestingly, in Acts 16 Paul circumcises Timothy (Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and Greek father.) before he takes him into ministry with him, because of the Jews. This coincides with 1 Corinthians 9 where Paul says that he became all things to all men so that by any means possible he might save some. Here Timothy became like a Jew, taking away any offense to the Jews by becoming circumcised. This had nothing to do with justification through circumcision.

1 Timothy 1:8 states that law is good if one uses it lawfully. The law’s intent was never to make mankind right before God, indeed it could not. And as stated above, God never took delight in sacrifices (Hebrews 10). All this was but a shadow of things to come, namely Christ.

All of the OT pointed to Christ! From Colossians 2:

13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us [OT], which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. [The OT Law was nailed to the Cross with Christ.] 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, [All these are OC requirements.] 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

Colossians 2 is vital to understanding the OC and its death upon the Cross with Christ. (You might want to read it again.)

The OT law was nailed to the Cross and died with Him there. People are justified freely apart from works through faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:4 also clearly exemplifies this: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Do we not yet understand?

In Christ alone!


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A Significant Dream

A Significant Dream

This is a dream George, my husband, had on April 21, 2020. 

I [George] guess I am getting old because I never used to remember my dreams.  I still don’t dream much and only remember one once every several months and almost all have no significance, but last night was something different.

As the dream started, suddenly I was swept into a familiar setting, a Local Church I used to attend.  At once, I felt nostalgia, but then I also noticed some differences.  The decorations of the Church were very intentional and had nothing to do with Christian trappings.  In fact, they seemed to be geared to what is probably a large segment of that community which was a rustic western theme.  Anyone who knows me knows I do not typically care about decorations, but these were so different than when I was there before and so striking that it was jarring enough for me to remember this detail when I woke up.

Next, I was minding my own business and a Woman approached me.  I knew her but she was “generic.”  This was perplexing to me.  I later prayed about this and I believe Holy Spirit showed me that this was a representation of THE WOMAN, THE BRIDE.  When I got this revelation, I decided I needed to write this down immediately.  She told me that she could not preach today and said that I should fill in.  I was shocked.  Why me?  I mean I had not been here for a long time.  Maybe I was a leader there 25-30 years ago, but why me now?  She gave me some notes.  They were discombobulated and the message that she said to convey was just confusing and incomprehensible.  So after she walked away I looked at some of the scriptures she had listed and they were about “love,” but were taken out of context and applied to society in general, where the context of the scriptures were about love for God directly.

So, the pressure was on, the people were assembled, and I had to say something.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, a man got up and went on for what seemed like an hour listing all the programs the Church had going on that week or month or whatever.  As he was going thru his materials, I saw a scripture she had listed in Ephesians 3, which in part states that we are to be rooted and grounded in love.  I then remembered Revelation 2 where Ephesus is rebuked for having forgot their first love. 

When it was time to stand, I preached to this Church and proclaimed that they had lost their first love.  I commended them on how they discerned and rooted out false teachers (which this Church did in real life).  I commended them on how they try to serve the community, but I had to say with tears in my eyes (something else I do not do very often) that they had lost their first love.  I reminded them what it was like when they were first saved.  I reminded many of how they could not wait to read the Bible or talk to their friends about Jesus and how they worshiped and prayed.   The prescription is to remember and do the deeds that you did at first.  They at first had a communal relationship with God.  He was with them and led them by the hand, but now they had become cold and ritualistic responding with works to the community with minimal impact.  They were trying to make their gatherings geared to the community, but marginalized God in the process.  In their lives, there was little to no prayer or true worship and Bible reading was a drudgery. Even though they were not weary, compromise had seeped in and was undermining all the good that was once done.

Oh, the mighty Ephesus Church, founded by Paul, the Apostle, and once pastored by no less than Timothy and the Apostle John doing works and out in the community.  Trying to be a light to mankind, a leading Church, raising a standard, and yet utterly ineffective and in danger of losing the very light they try to be.  The only answer is to repent, remember, and redo what you once did!  If you go to Ephesus today, what is there but ruin?

So, after all this, when I woke up, I asked what was all this about?  Why so vivid where I could remember actual faces of actual people (people I chose not to mention here)? And that generic woman that is familiar, not anyone and yet everyone. 

The answer is there are multitudes of people in the Church of Ephesus.  What nature and the devil mean for harm, God can use for good.  Use this down time to pray, reflect and take inventory of where you really are with God.  Read Revelation 2-3 and ask the Holy Spirit to help you see.  Why Ephesus?  It’s because it is where I live and where millions of other American Christians live, but there are six other Churches.  To him/her that overcomes God will grant you to eat of the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God!  Eternal rewards are real and coupled with a true love for God, will cause you to do things and go further than self-will or religious discipline ever can.

Which Church do you go to?  I believe it is no accident there are seven listed, as seven is the number of completeness.  Is it Philadelphia or Smyrna who received no such rebuke?  Even if that’s your “Church,” there are still things you need to do.  Or it could be Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, or Laodicea; churches that are really messed up, but even now, there is a reward for those that repent and overcome. 

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.


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The Revealing

The Revealing

In a recent blog I wrote about the revealing of the person taking place through the coronavirus (C-19). Here are three points to further discuss:

1.   How C-19 surfaces and reveals what is hidden.

2.   After the reset, what remains?

3.   God’s enemies taking advantage of the instability in the world.

When you bump a glass whatever is inside comes out. We see this happening all over society, in governments, in the world, and in individuals. We are seeing the best and the worst surface in people. We see hording, fear, manipulations, and we see kindness, giving, reassurances, hope, and love. 

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Roots are bringing forth their fruit.

Hebrews 10: 24 says that we are to consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Most of us really cannot effect world events (except as we agree with God and pray according to His will), but we can stir up those in our circle. Let me encourage you to stop for a moment what you are doing, ask God who needs a phone call. Ask the Holy Spirit to use you to encourage that person, then give them a call. Pretty easy, right?

Now let's move on to 2 and 3: 

After the reset, what remains? There is reset happening in many—most—parts of the world right now. In our country alone it's as if puzzle pieces have been thrown up in the air. How the pieces fit together when they land is up to the church. We can, as the church, stop the enemies of God from taking advantage through the instability in the world. We need to hear the Holy Spirit and then agree with Him in prayer. Previously misfit puzzle pieces need rearranging, while others, which are properly placed, could end up manipulated by the enemies of God. When we pray we have an audience with the King of Kings. He invites us to partner with Him through prayer as He rules and reigns. What an incredible invitation.

I have often thought about what Satan was up to after he tried to temp Jesus in the desert. There are some references of both Jesus’ and the disciples’ encounters with demons, but not about Satan himself. So what was he up to? My belief is that he was community organizing. He community organizes by influencing the minds of the human race. I also believe this is the purpose of the principalities and powers who are assigned to cities, governments, and nations. (As an example see Ezekiel 28 concerning the prince of Tyre.) Areas, large and small, seem to have groupthink and personalities of their own. Satan’s focus was to stop Messiah and His Kingdom come, which would mean his overthrow and imprisonment (Revelation 20). (I doubt Satan knew the plan of God otherwise he would not have killed Jesus.) Furthermore, I believe Satan always has a man ready to rule the world, since he does not know the time of or the events that will lead up to of Christ’s return. He therefore must always have his man ready to usher in the one-world-government (Revelation 13). There are two men who will have a one-world-government: the anti-christ during the tribulation and Jesus during the Millennial Age. 

Is it time for that man of sin to rise (2 Thessalonians 2:3)? I have no idea. But what I do know is that the enemy and his people will take advantage of every opportunity we, the church, allow them to. We want the puzzle to reflect the picture God has in mind when all the pieces land. And that is likely up to us.

Let’s stand in the gap for the world.

Let’s be the kind of people God can tell His secrets to.

Then, let’s talk to God about those secrets.

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Prophetic Lesson: Stalks of Corn

Prophetic Lesson

Sometimes things are just not as they appear at first glance. We need revelation from the Holy Spirit!

The other night I had a spiritual dream.

Photo: niklas_hamann on Unsplash

It was an undefined void I found myself standing in. As I glanced over to the side, there was a greenhouse filled with luxuriant plants and radiant colored flowers. The stocks of corn were so unseasonably large that they nearly blocked the other plants from sight. As I viewed the thriving plants within the greenhouse I felt like I had been living in deception.

Sadness gripped me in the morning as I considered the dream. I thought I was doing well spiritually, but I had to come face-to-face with the realization that maybe I wasn’t ok. Someone else had planned ahead and their growing had far surpassed mine. I was behind spiritually.

Later in the day I went into my closet—literally my closet—to pray. In my closet I keep a folding chair and a small light for prayer time. The darkness and seclusion is just the right ambiance to help me focus. After I had my prayer time and was getting ready to leave, I felt the Lord nudge me to stay just a little longer.

This time, as I sat in His Presence, He initiated the conversation. “Take another look at the corn,” He said. As I glanced again at the stocks, still vivid in my mind, I was startled; they really weren’t stocks of corn after all. They were some sort of bizarre mutant plant masquerading as corn. They didn’t have ears either, which they should have had for their size. 

Photo: Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

The plants weren’t corn and they had no fruit!

Now my dream became clear. But had I not entered my closet, I would possibly never had understood it correctly. My mindset would have continued that I was behind in my walk with the Lord, I wasn’t really pleasing Him, and I wasn’t where I should be spiritually. 

A few insights from this dream:

Often we are comparing ourselves with something that isn’t real—at least the way we are evaluating it isn’t real.

If we compare ourselves with another person the Bible says we are not wise.  

Unless the Lord brings illumination we don’t see it accurately.

We, the body of Christ, need the gift of discerning of spirits. (Note that it is not the gift of discernment—it is the gift of discerning of spirits, whether human spirit, demon spirit, angelic spirit, or Holy Spirit.)

There are impostors in the church. The Bible talks about them in many places (2 Peter 2). We must be willing and bold enough to call things as they are. Love does not blanket everything in niceties.

Only staying close to the Holy Spirit will enable us to live in such a way that we don’t buy into mutant masqueraders of light, but are in reality quite dark.

We must pray, people of God!

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Revelation of the Heart

Revelation of the Heart

Today is likely a good indicator of your relationship with the Lord. Are you fearful today? Has fear of contacting the COVID-19 (C-19) virus paralyzed you? Or how about the plummeting economy, has that fear found a seat in your soul?

Or are you confident in Him?

Many scriptures reveal the heart of a person who trusts in the Lord. Here are some of my favorites:

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

Those who trust in the LORD Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. Psalm 125:1

And then there is Psalm 91. A most beloved psalm. As you read through this psalm, consider that these promises are to those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High and abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Excerpts from Psalm 91:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"

3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. 5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, Or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand, [But] it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes And see the recompense of the wicked.

9 For you have made the LORD, my refuge, [Even] the Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him [securely] on high, because he has known My name. 15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 16 With a long life I will satisfy him And let him see My salvation.”

Way back in the 1990s a man gave a prophecy about a leveling earthquake that would hit Portland, Oregon. He had many confirmations; the warnings rang out. Many people left the area. I called a friend who was recognized as a prophet in the Abbott Loop Family of churches. His answer was that God hadn’t told him about an earthquake. He assured me that God wasn’t required to tell him either. He further said that since the Bible says there will be famines and earthquakes in many places, and that hardships will come, and because of the clear warning in the Bible, he and his family had a storage of necessities for both his family and another family for two months. This is wisdom.

About a week ago, I believe the Holy Spirit spoke this to me concerning prayer.

The prayer that was initiated by President Trump on March 15, the National Day of Prayer, is to continue. It is to continue by Christians calling friends and family to pray. Short voice to voice prayers for our country, wisdom for our president and medical experts, for God to intervene and stop the Corona-virus, stabilize the world economy, and protection for our families and friends and the people throughout the world. I saw these as short 30 seconds to 2 minute prayers. It is a two-fold plan from God. First, we know God hears our prayers and that if we would pray God would answer. Secondly, this would also initiate communication between God’s people during the isolation many will feel during this time.

Please consider picking up your phone to call others for prayer. I don’t believe this has to be phone calls, face-time works and so do other means of voice communication. The point is to reach out, pray together, and communicate with your voice and not just a text. I have made some calls and every time there were tears and deep appreciation. So many people are lonely. So many needs, and not just due to C-19.

C-19 has revealed us on so many levels. It has laid out our hearts in full view to ourselves mostly. God already knows us, but we easily deceive ourselves. Trusting God is a choice. Choose the right thoughts and your emotions will follow. Again Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. God is already on the other side of C-19. He knows how to protect us. He is looking for our trust.

Who are you today?

What has C-19 revealed about you?

Do you trust God or are you living in fear and “hordation”?

Choose trusting God. 

And take some time today to talk to God and to others.

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Holiness

Holiness

What has happened to the church? Have we lost our understanding of the darkness and total depravity of sin? Sin is deadly, my friend. God didn’t just make rules because He wanted to, to form a cute little society where streets go one way then another, forming order. No! God made rules because sin is bad. It is evil. Sin leads to death.

How long has it been since you have heard a message on holiness? How long has it been since you have heard a message on fornication? How many people do you know in church that are living in blatant sin? Is there no fear of God before our eyes?

The church has slid into numbness without a cry or whimper from her leaders. Not just the ones who stand at the podium, no, all her leaders: you and me. Do we preach holiness? Do we warn those who are fornicating? No we call it “living together.” Maybe even worse, we don’t even know those in our church well enough to know whether or not they are living for the Lord or not.

Yesterday my husband, George, and I had a conversation about Sunday morning service. What is the purpose of it anyway? We get up early, shower, eat, feed the dogs, rush out the door to horses in order to get to church on time. A little fellowship, “worship,” announcements, message, song, prayer (maybe), then out the door with a “good to see ya” to others. So many messages seem to be so well put together. Listeners can tell time was spent putting sentences together, adding a relevant story or two, and adding a joke, but where is the anointing of the Holy Spirit? Where is the depth? Is the Sunday service supposed to surround a well put together message? Or is it meant, in God’s heart, to be something far different? Better yet, is Sunday service, in God’s heart, even supposed to be the focus? 

In the Book of Acts Christians met often. They went from house to house. They broke bread together. They knew each other. They lived and died together. And because they lived in community they knew each other’s business. The Corinthian church knew about the man who was fornicating with his step-mother. Paul, their apostle, told them to deal with it: expel the immoral—no wicked—person from among you (1 Corinthians 5:13):

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Do we preach this anymore? Do we even hear this anymore? Do we call sin sin? Sin, I’m afraid, in the church, has lost its sting. Probably better stated, the church has lost her fear of God. Yes, I believe that is it. We do not know God and therefore we do not fear God. We wink at sin and think that it has no impact on us. Oh, but my friends, we are sadly mistaken.

Sin is so dark

Sin is so evil

Sin is so costly to mankind

That God died to set us free from it.

And yet, the church rarely even talks about it.

Something is terribly wrong.

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Prophetic Gifts and the Local Church

Following is an excerpt from “Soaring in the Prophetic.”

Prophetic Gifts and the Local Church

Administration of spiritual gifts varies in each church community. Our focus and energy spent on what matters to God, not our own opinions and wants, leads to a healthy flow of spiritual gifts and community. God warns, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19­21) The whole community of believers has a responsibility to flow with the Holy Spirit, and not to put out our hand to steady Him as Uzzah did at the threshing floor of Kidon. (1 Chronicles 13:9) Many churches have walked away from their call as they have put out their hand to steady the ark, when the ark was supposed to steady them. “Test everything. Hold on to the good” is the remedy for dealing with well-meaning people who miss the mark when they manifest the revelatory gifts and not, “Let us avoid mistakes by never allowing revelatory gifts.”

God sometimes gives extremely pre­­­cise details on how He wants to build and other times He does not. For example, God gave Moses precise instruction for building the tabernacle and all its furnishings. (Exodus 25:9, 25:40) Consequently, the artistic work for the lampstand (Exodus 25) had meticulous details, and yet, God left some room for the artist’s own inspiration. 

Interestingly, Jesus interprets the seven golden lampstands, which John saw in Revelation 1, as the seven churches (Revelation 1:20). Some details in His church are to be meticulously precise and other details flow with the personality of the leaders, and the community of be­­­­­lievers represented. However, a lampstand has the purpose of providing a place for fire—and the Fire was never to go out. This Fire is the Holy Spirit. (Revelation 4:5) People of God—do not put out the Spirit’s fire. As we build, one thing is certain, we must build in such a way that our church is a habitation for Fire—His Fire. As His Fire burns, the natural reaction is for His gifts to manifest. Churches that do not allow for the manifestation of spiritual gifts are quenching the Spirit’s fire; this environment quickly becomes problematic for Spirit-filled Christians, and they will eventually find another church.

Administration for the Holy Spirit’s gifts in the New Testament is much like the lampstand—some precise details, and some broad principles. We should flow with our leaders and fellow Christians. They will miss the mark from time to time, and so will we. If we have an idea, let us share it with our leaders. If they like it, great, if they do not, leave it alone. How spiritual gifts are to flow in churches is not a formula, rather it necessitates an ability to hear God for His plan for each church. God, otherwise, would have given clear and precise instructions in His word, as He did other things. Nevertheless, if we are disgruntled, murmur, and complain, causing division and pain to our leaders, and fellow believers, God will not take it lightly. Let us follow the way of love instead. Work with the church and not against her. When we cannot flow within our community of believers, then it is time to find a place where we can. 

Not all churches are for everyone, but The Church is.

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And the Books Were Opened

And the Books Were Opened

Have you ever been reading through the Bible and thought about what it must be like to have your name written in God’s Word? What an honor. David comes to mind. And Abraham, Zadok (David’s priest—I love him.), John the Baptist, Mary and Martha, and Paul. Their names and heroic acts, because of their faith, will forever be written in the word of God. I admit it stirs me up as I read through places like Hebrews 11’s exploits of faith’s heroes.

Do you know God is writing more books? In Daniel 7, in the midst of this most intense revelation, Daniel says:

“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took [His] seat; His vesture [was] like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne [was] ablaze with flames, Its wheels [were] a burning fire. 10 A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.”

Daniel 7:9-10

In Revelation 20 we again read of more books:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Revelation 20:11-12

We will be written in God’s books! Not only His book of life, but also His other books. This is something to look forward to or to dread, depending upon how you live your life. Not as to whether or not you won nations to Jesus or gave all you had to the poor. But rather did you love Him, did you trust Him, were you obedient, were you faithful? These are the things that He is writing about in His books. David is remembered as the man after God's own heart. Rarely do I hear of David's military exploits unless someone is systematically teaching through the Bible. Usually it's his heart for the Lord that is heralded.

Rahab is in the Bible. She was a harlot. She had faith. She is in the linage of Jesus Christ—King David’s great great grandmother. Rehab didn’t conquer nations, she didn’t win her city, but she did what was at hand; she hid the spies because she had faith. And God wrote about her.

What would God’s books that He is writing now say about you if you died tonight? Would God write about how you had faith in the midst of trials? Would He write about you giving that $5 or $50 or $500 to the needy even though it hurt? Would He write about how you leaned into hearing the Holy Spirit in order to minister to others, how you waited on Him for the right message to feed your church, or how you loved the people who mistreated you? Would He write about your pray-life and how He heard you and moved mountains and changed lives because you prayed? Or would the books read, “Well she made it after all”?

What will God’s books say about you when they are opened? You can change your story today, if you want to.

It is forever, my friend.

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