Destiny Blockers in Black and White

"NEW" INFORMATION FROM VISION DECEMBER 15 FACEBOOK POST

Friends, we all need wisdom. It's the principal thing but we cannot achieve it without Christ in God. We can walk in wisdom only when we are submitted to Him. Otherwise, we are doomed. But if we come to Him as a child, then He will be to us as the Father we need and will give us constant guidance through the Holy Spirit, Whom Jesus asked the Father to send us. And, boy, do we need Him!" Read Proverbs 8 and 9 but here are some excerpts to ponder before you read the following re-post of my December 15, 2016 Facebook post with the most information from the vision that I had forgotten and promised to share.

WISDOM LEADS US TO LIFE

Proverbs 8:32-36

³² “Now therefore, listen to me, my children,
For blessed are those who keep my ways.
³³ Hear instruction and be wise,
And do not disdain it.
³⁴ Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the Lord;
³⁶ But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul;
All those who hate me love death.” 

 Proverbs 9: 10-11; 13-18

The Way of Wisdom

...

¹⁰ “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
¹¹ For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.
¹² If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you will bear it alone.”

The Way of Folly

¹³ A foolish woman is clamorous;
She is simple, and knows nothing.
¹⁴ For she sits at the door of her house,
On a seat by the highest places of the city,
¹⁵ To call to those who pass by,
Who go straight on their way:
¹⁶ “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here”;
And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
¹⁷ “Stolen water is sweet,
And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
¹⁸ But he does not know that the dead are there,
That her guests are in the depths of hell.

NEW INFORMATION AND RE-POST OF DECEMBER 15, 2016 FACEBOOK POST

This post is for someone specific but I believe it could apply to more than one person. Here is what I saw:

A man, professing believer, has gotten caught up in habitual sin. He has no idea it would become habitual and certainly did not plan it that way. But what has happened over time is that now he is literally trapped behind enemy lines. Sir, I see a wall of demons preventing you from getting away. So at first you are happily doing your thing, completely ignorant that you are trapped on the wrong side of this war for the souls of man - and it's because of your own choices. Then, you suddenly become aware that you are on the wrong side, and you make a gallant try to bolt out from behind these enemy lines. At first, it seems as if you will be able to do it. Then your 2 or 3 efforts become less and less fervent. What you had not noticed was that your decision and subsequent indulgence in habitual sin, was making you weaker and weaker.

NEW INFORMATION:

There were two lines of demons preventing him from escaping. Before, I only mentioned the dark ones who walked him away. What I did not remember, as they almost faded into the rest of the scenery to almost invisibility, was a line of demons/demonized people in white. They were facing him and were essentially his inner-circle of people who are just like him. Whatever they were they were almost invisible. These inner-circle blockers were wearing clothing in the same light gray color as the man. And while there were familiar to him, the did indeed form a barrier to his freedom. They formed that first line of the "fence" that kept him in. It reminded me of the Scripture that warns, even "Satan [can] appear as an angel of light." That means he looks good and makes everything he presents look good, that is, until it is too late.

The whole point here, is that by the time you figure it out, it's too late. In this particular case, I believe the man who is considering himself as a Christian, though he is in habitual sin, is surrounded by others who are like him but they are not for him. Their sole purpose is to block him and keep him bound in order to prevent him from pursuing and completing his purpose for being here. This man is set apart and called out but he stays where he should not stay. And in the vision, as some point, he is able to get past the first line of those in white, but not the second line of, they are the ones in black who are set there to prevent him from returning to God. You see, he has stayed so long that he has past his window and strength for getting out. When the hood is put over his head, it is symbolic for the shroud put over the head of someone who has died. For that person, it is too late. That is why this appeal is going out to anyone who the Holy Spirit is prompting. If this is you, run back to God. He is your strong tower into Whom you run in and are safe.

Please note that the Lord gave the sense that the demons in white represent a group of religious people whom the man thinks are for him but are actually against him as they are working for the devil. What I mean is the group represents those influenced by the religious cluster of pretending, hypocritical spirits that are very good 'hiders.'

[But perhaps your blocker is something you think is harmless and invisible but to God it is a blocker and separator. Could be something you think it's just a part of your personality, hence the white color of invisibility. If you are stuck (you may or may not realize it) ASK GOD.]

What is upsetting is that, at no time, did the man cry out to God, whether it was his pride or presumption, it was to his detriment. But praise God! Thankfully, this does not have to be the case. That is the reason for this warning vision.


THE LAST SCENE

The last scene was heartbreaking and that is where I need ALL INTERCESSORS TO PRAY FOR THIS PERSON OR PERSONS. I saw that you made your last dash with all the energy you could muster but it was too late. The demons who made up the demonic wall grabbed you by the arm put the hood of your hoodie over your head, and marched you off. It was too late and you had waited too long.

We know in Christ we can cry out in repentance for His forgiveness up until our last breath. The only time it's too late is once we have breathed our last. DO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN TO YOU. REPENT NOW!!! COME OUT NOW!! CHOOSE JESUS AGAIN NOW!!! PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. NO ONE KNOWS WHEN IT WOULD BE THEIR LAST OR WHEN JESUS WILL RETURN, AT WHICH TIME IT WILL BE TOO LATE.
YOU HAVE BEEN DULY WARNED. GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU REDISCOVER YOUR PLACE IN THE LIGHT! PRAYING

IMPORTANT NOTE:
When I speak about the religious cluster of spirits I am referring to hypocrisy, pretense, lying, witchcraft, seduction, Jezebel, infirmity, fear, jealousy, stealth, et al. And while the victim is being victimized, he/she also manifests some or all of these things and needs deliverance from the trauma and the influence of this cluster. Left unchecked he/she will continue to be hindered and will never reach the level of intimacy the Lord is calling them to or accomplish all that He has set before them.

Please also know, that this is not to scare anyone into non-action but to exhort and motivate anyone who identifies with this vision and condition to cry out to God and HE WILL HELP AND BRING YOU DELIVERANCE!

Finally, in the end, it's all God, as long as we come to HIm, because:

Romans 8:28-30

AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, TO THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.

²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Spiritual Warfare Series: Curses as Earthquakes in the Spirit Realm

MORNING REVELATION ON MONDAY DECEMBER 19, 2016

This is a warning to gossips and those who wish harm and destruction against the Lord's servants the prophets. This is what the Lord revealed this morning.

Those who gossip and spread rumors against God's prophets are attempting to and, in some cases, cursing them. The Lord says, this causes an earthquake in the Spirit realm. And like an earthquake causes much damage far beyond its epicenter so, too, is the damage caused by a curse. The worst part is not the curse itself, however. It is the wrath of God on the "curser" as long as the object of the curse releases/forgives and blesses those who have become their revilers. Until the curser is released into God's hands, to Whom vengeance belongs, that curser remains undealt with to the fullest degree. Additionally, no one can control the effects of an earthquake.

I remember the first time I experience an earthquake while in California training for the mission field in 2008. To a native Californian that was negligible, but to me, a novice, it was terrible because of the absolute lack of control. What can you do when the firm ground you are standing on begins to shake and buckle as if it's about to give way from right under you. That is something you never want to experience twice. However, in the Spirit we stand on the ultimate Rock, Who cannot be moved. A person who claims to be a believer but reviles and hates another is on shaky ground, not planted on the solid Rock, Who is Jesus Christ.

With that said, let's get into a very important lesson the Lord just recently taught me about curses, intense hatred, and the opportunistic nature of the enemy in such situations.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Although this lesson I am about to share came from the Lord, I do not presume to make it as important as Scripture and the theological instruction of the Bible. Only Scripture is Scripture. In addition, my experiences are indeed subjective, because they happen to me, but they are instructive for how we respond according to God's word and how to overcome the works of the enemy, which is what Jesus came to model for us. Please read the Scripture references in depth and do further study on your own.

If you are doing ANYTHING for the Lord, seeking to live righteously, and to teach others how to do likewise, YOU WILL ENCOUNTER SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND INTENSE HATRED. THE KEY IS TO ALWAYS, ALWAYS, RESPOND IN LOVE, ESPECIALLY WHEN REVILED!!!!

CURSES THAT TAKE EFFECT

Curses, and destructive prayers, are the results of demonically energized hatred. They can cause havoc in the life of the one who is cursed, depending on the unique situation and any left-over access the enemy may still have on the life of the one cursed. That access could be in areas of the life undealt with from past generations, life before Christ, or sin in which they still indulge.

That sin, by the way, does not have to be  something  illicit; it can be something as subtle as an aspect of the person's thought-life. For instance, it can be a wrong perception of God based on a lie of the devil. Consider the original lie Adam and Eve believed that precipitated their sin against God. (Genesis 3 :6 ).

OPPOSING, AND SPEAKING AGAINST, THE PROPHET'S ASSIGNMENT IS
OPPOSING GOD HIMSELF

     MOSES, AARON, AND MIRIAM

Back to the spiritual earthquake and speaking against the prophet of the Lord. When you engage in opposing the work the Lord has sent the prophet to do, you oppose God Himself. That means, you are now at war against God. Thankfully, in that war, there can only be one loser - and it's never God. Consider, for a moment, the resulting judgment when Miriam and Aaron gossiped against Moses. She was struck with leprosy; and it was Moses, the target of the gossip, who was the only one who could effectively intercede for her to be healed. See how God set that up? (Numbers 12:1-14).

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. ² So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. ³ (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)⁴ Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. ⁵ Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. ⁶ Then He said,

“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak to him in a dream.
⁷ Not so with My servant Moses;
He is faithful in all My house.
⁸ I speak with him face to face,
Even plainly, and not in dark sayings;
And he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?”

⁹ So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. ¹⁰ And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. ¹¹ So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. ¹² Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!”

¹³ So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”
¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.” ¹⁵ So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. ¹⁶ And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

      JOB AND HIS "FRIENDS"

Similarly, remember Job and his "dear" friends who for 7  days told him what a terrible person he was; and, essentially, that he deserved his misery. Again, in the end, God told Job's friends how wrong they were in their assessment of his situations, and that He was coming after them. God warned them that they'd better repent and ask Job, the object of their rebuke, for forgiveness as that was their only recourse to avoiding God's wrath. Imagine, they had to ask the object of revile to intercede with God for them. The same God they seemed convinced, they knew better than Job. And we see that Job did not hold them in contempt as He did just as God knew he would. (Job  42:7-10).

⁷ And so it was, after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has. ⁸ Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.”  

⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord commanded them; for the Lord had accepted Job. ¹⁰ And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

WHAT ARE THE LESSONS HERE?

TO THE REVILED/CURSED

1) Let God take care of your enemies. He is best at it anyway.
2) You still have to love everyone
3) If there is any truth in the criticism, take it to God
4) Seek healing and deliverance for areas where needed

TO THE REVILERS/CURSERS

1) You are fighting God and you will lose
2) You are at the epicenter of the earthquake
3) The one you revile has the answer to your deliverance
4) You are harboring an anti-anointing/anti-Christ spirit
5) Seek deliverance and healing from the areas that cause you to curse and revile the Lord's anointed and anointing
6) Get into God's presence and experience His love
7) Spread His love to all including those you have reviled

Remember, when you gossip, curse, revile others as believers in Christ, you cause spiritual earthquakes that cause years of after-shocks in the soul realm, for which you will be held responsible until you repent and obey God in whatever He tell you to do in remedy if anything.

Finally, God is good, and His love for everyone, regardless of which side of the equation they are on, is exactly the same. None of us are better than the other. And ...

THE SHOCKER

We have all, at least once been on the side of the reviler, and have gossiped and either knowingly or inadvertently, "cursed" someone. If you think you have not, then you are lying to yourself. That is why the Bible says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21). Ouch! Can you imagine eating the fruit of death when loving and speaking death? Put away the idea that you have to be practicing the magical arts to have given into a spirit of witchcraft. First, of all, that is the nature of witchcraft, attempting to manufacture results for selfish ungodly gain by illegal supernatural power. The biblical definition also focuses on the manipulation and control aspects of it to control/steer the future to a desired end. We may use human soulish efforts but that very quickly descends into something demonically energized.

Habitually practicing such things does make a person a witch. And, yes, witches do sit in pews, lead ministries and even pastor churches. Hard to imagine but we live in a day where it is not difficult to gather people and purchase credentials. But that's another matter for another day.

Thankfully, God forgives and His Love saves us through Jesus Christ. Therefore, none of us have to stay where we are regardless of which side of this equation we find ourselves.

MY OBJECT LESSON: GOD PROVES LATER THAT SAME DAY WHAT HE HAD REVEALED/FORETOLD EARLY IN THE MORNING

As is so often the case with the Lord, He solidified this lesson with action. That He would let me know ahead of time what I would face, is the very reason to meet with the Lord early in the morning before facing the world. Goes to prove that the early bird catches something much better than a worm.

You see, the previous day during prayer with a friend, she said the Lord impressed upon her to reveal something she had just learned because she sensed that for me it hit close to home in terms of my moms constant bout with "illness" within the past 18 months. She had bought a book written by a medical doctor, Rebecca Brown, who began having bouts with mystery illnesses. Through some means, it was revealed that the illness were a result of her being the object of intense hatred. The connection is that with intense hatred comes the bad thought and words spoken over a person, which manifests in to curses. Hence, the reason for my opening conclusion. Once she dealt with the issues according to God's recipe, and she did not have to know the exact source, she experienced healing. She sensed my mom was the object of intense hatred and we prayed according to the remedy laid out by the Lord. However, we know that Scripture tells us to bless those who curse us. That releases us from any effects.

       A CURSE WITHOUT A CAUSE

So later in the day after sending off a document that I knew would meet challenges, I was driving and got off my exit and immediately felt like I would pass out, yet I knew it was not due to illness but "something" literally, in the spirit, flying over me and trying to knock me out. I thought something was going on at that moment. I later realized from a communication I saw several minutes later, that it was a curse sent at me, borne by intense hatred. Praise God or deliverance. It could not sit on me and cause the desired effect because it was without cause. I was simply doing God's will.

Proverbs 26:2

Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.

So the Lord taught me an object lesson and fleshed out the Scripture for me to see and pass it on to you. (He had even told me where to find it except for the verse.) If you know you have been cursed in such a way, release your revilers - and yourself - by forgiving them.

SOLVING ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS - NO MORE CURSING EACH OTHER

Friends, the Lord is reminding me that if we but lived according to the Greatest Commandment, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." and the Second Greatest Commandment which is like it:

Matthew 22:37-39

³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and great commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 OBEDIENCE TO THESE TWO GREATEST COMMANDMENTS WOULD SOLVE 100% OF ALL OF THE WORLD'S PROBLEMS WITH GOD AND WITH EACH OTHER.

PRAYER OF RELEASE FOR THE REVILED AND THE REVILER:

FATHER GOD, THANK YOU FOR REVEALING AREAS THAT GRIEVE YOUR HEART ABOUT OUR DEALINGS WITH EACH OTHER. LORD HELP US AS WE SEEK TO LIVE IN RIGHT RELATIONSHIP TO YOU AND EACH OTHER IN KEEPING WITH THE TWO GREATEST COMMANDMENTS. LORD, FORGIVE ME WHERE I HAVE EITHER INADVERTENTLY OR PURPOSELY THOUGHT BAD THOUGHTS AND SAID BAD THINGS INTENDING TO HURT ANOTHER OF YOUR PRECIOUS CREATIONS AND CHILDREN. TEACH ME HOW TO LOVE LIKE YOU DO, LORD AND MAKE ME AN EXAMPLE OF THE WAY YOU LOVE THAT THE EVIL WOULD NEVER AGAIN HAVE USE OF EITHER MY TONGUE OR MY MIND OR MY PHYSICAL BODY TO DO HIS DIRTY WORK. THANK YOU, LORD, THAT I MIGHT NOW WALK IN DIVINE FREEDOM FROM THIS BONDAGE. I RELEASE ALL THOSE WHO HAVE CURSED ME AND BLESS THEM TO RECEIVE OF YOUR FULLNESS FOR THEIR LIVES. PLEASE BRING RECONCILIATION SPEEDILY ACCORDING TO YOUR PLAN, LORD. IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS THE KING AND FOR THE GLORY OF HIS KINGDOM. AMEN!

Spiritual Warfare Series:Spiritual Warfare in Real Time - This is no Joke

INTRODUCING MY MOM AGAIN

To all those who follow my blog or Facebook posts and those who are new, I have been writing from my mom's hospital room, where I "lived" for 5 of the 8 nights she was there. Now she is in rehab. This could potentially be a long post but I will try to keep the main thing in view and not get lost in the details. I do so love to tell a full story. Where to begin?

Ok, for the 3rd time in about 19 months, my mom has come down with a mystery illness that looks like seizures but have no physical evidence of anything wrong. From all of her tests, including multiple MRI's, she is perfectly normal for an 88 years old with her history. After a 3rd time, which occurred the day after her 88th birthday celebration this month, the doctor(s) are finally willing to admit that the cause might be spiritual. Now, for a scientist that is HUGE! Even when the scientist is a Christian one. I had witnessed the 1st episode and even and told the doctor then that it was a spiritual attack, but there was no indication that I was taken seriously. I suppose that's to be expected. After a third time, the second being only 2 months ago, they are again baffled by all of the normal vitals and willing to admit that the problem cannot be explained by science. I know this. I have experienced seasons of multiple visits to emergency rooms only to reveal that everything is normal. So I have history and experience in the area. For more information, please check out my first book, Walking in Fulfillment of Prophetic Revelation: The Naturally Supernatural Life , (or see AMAZON TAP AT TOP OF THIS POST).

This is what spiritual warfare often looks like. You don't feel well, it gets worse, you go to the emergency room, they run a battery of tests and find nothing. Sometimes, it could be that the cause is evading the medical team for a season. I am not referring to those times. However, what is often overlooked even by medical professionals who are believers, is that the affliction is a spiritual attack meant to kill the afflicted. Why do I say this, because the Bible tells us that the thief (Satan) comes ONLY "to steal, to kill, and to destroy...but that [Jesus] come(s) to give life and to give it more abundantly." John 10:10. So picture this; the enemy comes and strikes a person hoping to cause total destruction. Then Jesus, Who has been there for His child all along, goes before AND responds with a sharp rebuke.
Sometimes, the believers own ignorance may have opened up a door or given a toehold to the affliction where the devil comes to totally annihilate the believer. But friend, we have to pray. That is the first act in protecting, repentance might be involved. Get intercessors you trust to co-labor with you in prayer. Yes, God protects! Yes, God is there to pick us up again, but we engage Him in prayer, worship, and a total given over of self. I, for one, know I do not pray enough; and frankly, I only know one person who prays for hours on end. Yet, God is faithful, loving, and merciful.

Back to my mom. She experienced what I truly thought would be the end with this latest episode. She knows the Lord, so I was not worried about her destination. Yet, she clearly has some more work to do.

GOD'S STEALTH SOLDIER

At 88, my mom as been a follower of Jesus Christ for over 60 years, yet I see her increasing in her connection to God and her availability to speak forth in recent months than I have see before. And, incidentally, it was just around when we were experiencing some amazing times in God's presence, more specifically after she had spent 2 morning speaking to me as an oracle of God without knowing any of my "questions" before God. It was amazing! So amazing I asked her permission to start a blog in her name, sharing with people what God has saying through her. She had said, "yes." The next day after that, she had this recent attack. The amazing thing is, and this just demonstrates how God uses what the enemy does to strengthen us and make our walk more effective, every time his happens, she advances in her walk in the Spirit. I will demonstrate that towards the end of this post.

My mom has spent her Christian walk, evangelizing, interceding, and starting Bible studies are work where she could. Sharing about Jesus was just like breathing to her, and this was more prevalent in her mid-life to early senior years before the memory problems began. [I refuse to call it dementia as I do not believe the child of God has to accept something such a diagnosis because as children of God, we have constant access to power, love, and sound mind. 2 Tim. 1:7.]

My mom has gladly operated in obscurity for all of her Christian life. No big name, no big ministry, no big following. Yet, the devil seems to "have it in for her." You might argue that he has it in for all of God's children. I would argue that some of us experience more warfare than others. My mom has had to endure her fair share of ailments and since the enemy could not get her with 2 bouts of cancer, he is now trying with demonic afflictions. Well, we who are in Christ are never victims as the world wants us to believe, but we are victors in Christ. In Romans 8:37, Paul says "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."

PRAYER REQUEST: As you are lead, please pray for my mom's continued deliverance from memory and other problems that have been manifesting. I believe we can beat this. Thank you.

WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS YET THE BATTLE IS REAL

We are the victors and more than conquerors. However, the enemy never gives up. Why is it so important to him that my mom is taken away from here? What does her life stand for.    I blogged about this here.  Whatever the reasons he is fighting you, no devil in hell can make the decision on when a submitted child of God goes to be with the Lover of her soul. All of the enemy's tactics, therefore, result in furthering  her connection to, and love for, God and elevating her gifting. See my post on suffering here.

Jesus said in this world we will suffer but that He has overcome the world. That means, since He overcame the world, we, too, are overcomers. As He has been, so are we to be. That is the only option for His followers. Therefore, we keep going "through the valley of the shadow of death." (Psalm 23:4). We don't set up house there -- not even a campsite. We go through it following the Good Shepherd. In addition, shadows are not substantive; they can only be cast when there is a Greater Light. We know Who is that Greater Light, the Light of the World: "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12). So shadows will come and go but as we walk in the light following the Light of the World Who now lives in us, we will not die unless it is on His terms. Otherwise, according to ...

Psalm 118:15-17

¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁷ I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the Lord.

PROOF IN THE MAIN

It's taken me a while to get here to the spiritual warfare that happened in real time a few nights ago. What I am about to share, some will tune out because this is well outside of their paradigm, theological constructs, or realm of possibilities. Remember Ephesians 6:10-20 (We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the demonic spirits [paraphrased]), and Daniel 10:13, (when the arch angel Michael who had been engaged in battle in the heavenlies with a principality called the prince of Persia delaying the answer to Daniel's prayer.) We are not alone but there are indeed, more with us in the Kingdom of Light than in the kingdom of darkness.

 NOTE TO SKEPTICS AND UNBELIEVING "BELIEVERS" OF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ

For those who will receive it, I must share this latest experience. Friends, God is real! God's power is real, and He is not to be played with. To a much lesser degree, Satan is also real, and he does have a measure of power.  Yet everything Satan does is subject to God and he is always and in every way subordinate to God. This is hard to understand, especially with all of the suffering in the world. I will say that, we live in a fallen, sinful, and corrupted world all because of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden. God has a timetable for complete redemption of His creation but it is His timetable and it must play out in His order in time before the redemption of that which became corrupt. Jesus' death on the Cross was the single-most important event in that redemption. Everything that must occur afterwards in supplemental to that sacrificial act.

As shared before, my mom seemed to have come very close to death. I say seemed because there was no medical indication but her demeanor was as one preparing for death, even her language. I know, I spend time with her in the hospital room night after night when it sounded as if she was drowning yet when they listened to her lungs they were clear. I won't go through the litany of bad experiences, I am simply thankful to God for His marvelous works. Yet, she took a very long time to bounce back; and it was long enough that I had thoughts this perhaps, this was it. I am being honest. But it only seemed that way. [It was different this time, and I now know why.]

Although mom made progress at the hospital, she still had not returned to her normal self by the time she got to rehab, and I did not know what last night* meant until I returned that night and saw her.

     WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?*

There are several things that occurred last night, my mom's first night at the rehab facility. She was very restless and I did not feel released to leave her alone so I stayed in the recliner, hunkering down for the night. However, like the mother she is, she waking up to make sure I was okay, and so on. We did not sleep through the night. At some point, a person, with a dark presence, came to the doorway and just stood there. She was dressed in her overcoat and bag and seemed very interested in us. I thought it was odd that she just stood there. I asked if I could help her, with something and there was no response. I thought, "How rude!"

Later on, I heard a commotion and it was a worker yelling at a crippled man whose bed alarm had gone off because he moved that warned that he was out of bed. It was terrible to hear and it seemed like one of those documentaries you see of how some old people are treated in homes. Yet, this is not that kind of place so I was shocked. She was using the Lord's name in vane and was very condescending. I know she was not one of God's and whatever she was carrying was very interested in who was in this room.  I decided I could not let this persist. I would have to say something to her. I gently encouraged her to show more patience and grace to the patients (hello, "patience!"), as they are not here for their enjoyment. I assured her that as human, circumstances sometimes test our patience, but that is never okay to speak in such a manner to an elderly person who is already suffering. She claimed I did not understand. Blah. Blah. Blah. I decided then and there, she was not caring for my mother. I even told the night nurse not to let her care for my mom. [Who told me to say that?]  I, then, headed back to my mom's room to settle down while she rested.

    AWOKEN BY "VISITORS" 

I was resting on the recliner when I heard my mom exclaiming about what she was seeing. And no, she is not on any medication that would make her see things. My mom was seeing in the spirit what I was not. She kept telling me there was something above my head yet to get her to describe it proved fruitless. What color is it? What does it look like? She kept responding with the location. Then it was over where she was. Well, clearly there was more than one entity in the room. One was like fire. I only know this because she was afraid something would catch on fire. I asked her if what she saw was dark, she said, "yes." I have not idea what she saw exactly. But I now know, that what God showed her was spiritual warfare over her health. She saw an angel or angels that were sent to set her free, and a demon or demons that were afflicting her. I would not know that had happened until later on that day.

   MY RESPONSE DURING THE COMMOTION

In the meantime, during the commotion, which lasted a good 15 to 20 minutes, my tired response was something like, "Ok, mommy. It's okay. Lets just get back to sleep." I was fine because God had not given me any unction to pray or press in or war on her behalf. She seemed fine and more fascinated with a sense of urgency. She thought I was somehow in danger. I knew God had it and just wanted to get some sleep. But my mom was seeing so clearly, she could not settle down. She thought her baby was in danger, did not feel any although the room was not very light I just chalked it up to the spiritual condition of the place with so many people and things happening. I had not idea it was a continuation of the trouble surrounding my mom and the warfare being waged on her behalf. We so often underestimate God. We pray and pray and when God shows up to deliver, we want to sleep. Again, I felt no danger but the disturbance from the dark figure in the doorway.

   MOM HEALED - GOD PREVAILS - AGAIN!

I had mostly forgotten about the previous evening's events described above until I saw my mom again that evening. I was not ready for what I would see. My mom was walking normally, speaking normally, and reasoning normally and praying in strength, to boot. I was shocked, to say the least. My sister had been with her during the day after I left around midday and she just said mom was walking stronger. She had not prepared me for what I would find. It was then that I knew, that the battle that had ensued the previous night had been over this latest affliction of the soul and body by the evil one. God had dispatched an angel or angels with the mission of warfare and deliverance. The atmosphere in the room is clean and she is sleeping soundly as I tap away at my computer. Yet, I believe we are to continue to pray for her protection and to encourage her to continually speak life over herself. That goes for all of us if and when we become afflicted with either an actual or a mystery disease. As we pray and speak life God will dispatch angels of deliverance so that we can sing Psalm 118:15-17. More and more, I believe diseases of the body, mind, and soul, do not have to result in death. We know the One Who is the Giver of Life and we need to use the authority He has given us to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received. Freely give." Matthew 10:8. There's no time like the present.

CONCLUSION

Why do I share these things that to some might seem imaginary, nonsensical, and unrealistic. You see, the spiritual realm is more real that the natural because the unseen world will outlast the seen world. God is merciful and in His mercy He is releasing as much revelation as it takes to gain new family members and to encourage the old ones. We need to know that this life in Christ is real, and signs, wonders, miracles, healings, and more are to be the norm. We have to question when they are not. Whatever Jesus did, we can too since we died to Him and He lives in and through us. (Matthew 14:12: Galatians 2:20). God shows me a lot, directly and through others, and I believe it's at least in part because He knows I need it and that I will share it. I still have a long way to go. Time is short! There is no time to make it sound or look pretty. It's time for action. What are you going to do with the information He has given you to disseminate for expanding His Kingdom!

SIDE NOTE: The very lady I did not want to care for my mom is the very one that turned up to do so twice during the night. God is not intimidated by those who are clearly "crying out" in some way for Him. She commented on what a nice lady my mom is. Still, I was glad I was there. 

Friends, I believe Jesus' return is very close, yet He waits so that none should perish. (2 Peter 3:9). That means the Father is seeking to include as many as would receive His Son and He is pulling out all of the stops to do so. As with my mom, He is pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, the old are dreaming dreams and seeing visions. He is pouring out His Spirit on the menservants and maidservants. Ask for eyes to see and ears to hear what He is making available to all in these days. (See Joel 2:28-32).

I LEAVE YOU WITH GOD'S PROMISES TO CARE FOR YOU IN THE WORST OF TIMES

The Lord the Shepherd of His People

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
² He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³ He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell^[a] in the house of the Lord
Forever.

* 2 nights ago

God's Attributes Series: When We Call God a Liar

Who Us?

Such a shocking title. Who would ever call God a liar? Surely that could never be the case. Well, I hate to break it to you but we do. When do we do it? When we doubt, when we disobey, when we worry, when we forget the vision and promise of provision, we are calling God a liar. We can go on and on. What is a lie?  The definition of a lie, according to dictionary.com is, "a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood." Sounds pretty bad doesn't it? Yet, people do it all the time, even categorizing them into colors and sizes. Some people claim to only tell "little white lies." Yet, you would not expect God to be One Who would lie, but we do, at times, "call" Him a liar.  But not to worry, you are not the first and you certainly will not be the last to experience this. Thankfully, God is kind, gracious, and faithful even when we are not. The purpose of this blog post is to explain how we tend to call God a liar along with encouragement to stop.


When did all of this start?

So when did this all start? This started In the beginning of the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. Do you remember how God made the man and woman and placed them in the most beautiful Garden where they had no needs or wants that He had not provided for? The only stipulation was they could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Everything else was for their use and all they were asked to do in return was to tend the garden and have dominion over everything on earth. In other words, they were charged with ruling over the earthly dominion. That was not a bad deal at all.

Of course, you know the story of what happened. That honor turned out not to be enough for Adam and Eve, our fore parents. The first instance of calling God a liar was when they believed the devil above what God had already told them. They varied from the Truth and in so doing called God a liar. Let's roll the tape, shall we:

Genesis 2:15-17: "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

 Genesis 3:3-9 - The Temptation and Fall of Man

3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
⁹ Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

Satan's Beguiling Started With a Cunningly Asked Question

So this is pretty big. It's where it all began to go south. Let's take this in slow motion. First, look at how Satan phrased the question. He asked it negatively as if to say, God did not give you as much as you think He did. Satan was essentially saying to them about God: "He said you cannot eat of every tree. He is holding something back from you." Yet, the truth of the matter is, there was only one tree He told them not to even touch, much less eat from it. And of course, Eve made it worse by proving she had not forgotten God's warning but chose to disbelieve it. She even stated the command positively. "Yes, we may eat of the tress but there is only the one tree in the middle of the garden that we are not even supposed to touch, or we'd die that very day." She was clear on what God had said, but chose to rebel against it anyway.

After Eve's Answer, Devil Shot Back Accusing God

First of all, the minute the serpent spoke in this questioning manner of God, proving by the way that He knew fully well what God had spoken to them, she should have ended the conversation right there. Instead, she kept listening and engaging in conversation. Yet, even if she continued to speak past that point, once the devil's response to her explanation was "You will not surely die...," accusing God of lying to them, she should have ended it.That would have been the prefect time to excuse herself after making the mistake of entering into conversation with the deceiver. But no, not only did she continue this deadly discourse, she noticed the fruit looked quite appetizing, took a bite and offered some to her husband. Notice the "progression," going to the forbidden tree, speaking to an accuser, doubting God, the fruit begins to look good, they acted on their desire. And it all began so well, too.

That Day We Began to Die

Isn't it interesting that the day we sinned was the day we began to die? It went exactly the way God said. Before sin, God's plan was for man to live together with Him in perfect harmony. Otherwise, there would be no need of a warning of death from sin, if death was not a reality before. No, before sin, death was not a reality. Not only did man become corrupted by sin, God then cursed the serpent, the woman, and that ground.  And since through the woman everyone else was birthed, all of mankind was cursed because of that one sinful act. Did you notice how simple and easy it was to sin? It was as casual as eating fruit, yet that fruit had been forbidden. And to think, these people hung out with God on a daily basis. It makes you wonder, which one of us is unable to sin? The answer is one, if we continue to follow the first Adam, the natural man -- our flesh. Everything was cursed after that. And we know the first slaughter happened as a result of man's sin when God had to shed the blood of an animal to obtain the covering for the man and the woman. After that point, sin would always need to require a blood covering for its atonement. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Precautionary Measures

After the man and woman sinned in the Garden, the earth fell under a curse. However, God had already put certain measures in place so that mankind would not be lost for eternity and would have a chance at redemption. He already knew Eve and Adam would sin. So what did He do? He evicted Adam and Eve from the Garden and placed security at the gate and, furthermore, He placed security at the Tree of Life.

Genesis 3:22-24

²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. 

A Foreshadowing of Hope Restored

Isn't God amazingly good? He gave man free will with which he sinned. Then God secured the entrance to the Garden and the Tree of Life to prevent them from eating and living in a sinful state for eternity. Man would have been hopeless forever. But God keep them away from the Tree of Life until He sent Jesus as our new tree of life so that all who chose to could eat of His body and drink of His blood, spiritually and symbolically, and thereby live a sin-free life forever.

Our Part in Accusing God

But Adam and Eve were not the only ones accusing God of lying. We do, too. I mentioned this in my opening sentences. We accuse God of being a liar when we doubt that He will do as He promised, when we disregard, when we disobey, and anything that is inconsistent with trusting that He will do as He has said. Yet, God cannot tell a lie. If He speaks it, it must come to life.

Numbers 23:19

“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Then in Isaiah we learn that God cannot lie because anything He speaks cannot go undone:

Isaiah 55:11-12

¹⁰ “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 

God simply cannot lie. So let's remain consistent with His Word and His promises to us. Let's do this no matter what life looks like. Let's stay in faith and though it may not have come, wait for it, it will surely come. (Habakkuk 2:2-4).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please watch for a future post on how God's consistency throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Please Keep an eye out for the connection between the Fall in Genesis and eternal life in Revelation. God is a Keeper of His promises, His consistency, love, and faithfulness in keeping His promises never ceases to amaze me. Praise Him!