Poking the Bear

 

 Or - what you might experience when you are pleasing to God.

As a born-again Christian of nearly 40 years, I’m well aware how hard the enemy tries at times to pull me away from God, to distract, to frustrate. From small annoyances to major blindsides.

But yesterday was interesting!

A bit of a back story though. I am one of three volunteers who assist a pastor with her online Facebook page, acknowledging or responding to comments concerning her posts. She is quite active, as a singer, writer, and inspirational speaker, and posts minimum four to 6 items a day. I believe her to be spirit-filled and her posts usually align with my understanding of God and His Word, the Bible.  As well, I have a handful of online pastors whom I follow. Two especially after the Asbury Revival began and I became aware of their love of God and passion for true Christianity, its cost, and its rewards. (I'm not using her name her purposefully because of the health issue of one of her volunteers, to respect her privacy).

So back to yesterday – well actually nearly 48 hours ago. I saw a post about how effective and powerful prayer is. I agreed with the rest of the post and made my own comment about how prayer is so much more meaningful than the empty platitudes of “sending good vibes”, or “hugs” or “healing thoughts”. Prayer is an action, and it connects with the Creator of the Universe! It gets results!

That was the first post of note. Early the following morning (yesterday) Pastor Scott Silverii posted a clip about recognizing the enemy and what he is, and is not, capable of. One of the best and most clear “sermonettes” I have ever heard and I commented as such.

I guess by this point I now had the attention of the enemy. In short order, an issue arose within my family over an unintended slight, and could have easily mushroomed into a cancerous bitterness, but my son, wise in his own self, knew enough that it needed to be addressed and was. It was an emotional hour or so with him, my husband, and myself.

Then I received a message from the above mentioned pastor, whom I assist, to say one of our group of volunteers had been taken to hospital and was awaiting an MRI, and that another member of the team was having phone issues and couldn’t connect with the account properly and so was unable to help with monitoring posts. At this point, I’d been having my own computer issues and had to work through updates and reboots to get it to function properly.

Individually, all pretty minor things, other than the health issue of course. And then I was told by the pastor that one of her ministry assistants was in a large department store that day, and went to pay for purchases and found the hundreds of dollars he had on hand – gone!

When I related some of my experiences, combined with what she already knew, she recognized we were all encountering opposition – not the least because she had had issues with an anonymous commenter on one of her posts, who then blocked her so she couldn’t respond.

By the time I finally called it a night it was nearly midnight, but instead of feeling tired, or discouraged, I felt the opposite! Energized and encouraged, because once I put the pieces together and realized the probable source of all these annoyances, I put Satan in his place. Wise, because of experience, to his tactics, whatever he had tried to accomplish with me disappeared like dust in the wind.

I just felt I needed to share this while it’s still fresh in my mind. Because if you have been a Christian for any length of time, and your walk with the Lord is strong, I’m sure you’ve encountered your own situations where you didn’t recognize at first the source of problems that could distract, or even pull you away, from your calling.

And if you’re not a Christian, or don't have an understanding of how the enemy works, I understand your skepticism. You probably think I’m connecting dots that don’t connect. Believe me, I’ve been there, and am so grateful now to have discernment that the Holy Spirit gives me, in order to see through a deceptive camouflage.

God is the All-Powerful One, He is the one I follow, worship, and every day learn more about. Satan is the liar, the counterfeiter, and has already lost. But he doesn’t want to meet his fate alone, the more he can take with him, the better.

Please don’t join him.

In His name, and with love,

Liz

Distraction and Division

Christians - should - well understand that the enemy always seeks to undermine us, to pull us away from God, to take us down with him.

For a long time, I've felt, or been aware, that two of his greatest tools to shift our focus, are division and distraction. On global scale, political, or in the home. And recently I've added another "D" word - deceit. His lies can be subtle, with enough truth mixed in to make it sound right. But I feel like he doesn't have to try that hard anymore, or am I the only one who sees through his blatant attempts to deceive even the elect?

It's all around us and I guess one expects lies and deceit in political circles, but in my opinion, the greatest damage is done when spiritual cancer worms its way into churches. Sometimes right through an open door, but more often it starts small. A bit of gossip, a whisper of slander. Dissension among congregants over a pastor's message if it doesn't fit with what they want to hear. Dividing people over what they believe is correct versus what others believe. The Church needs to be unified, in truth, and under God's leadership. The alternative ...

Conversely, it takes courage for a church member to, respectfully, correct their pastor if he is in error. Church leaders are not immune to deception. And it scares me to see how many are distorting the Word of God, thinking they might have new revelation, or proclaiming that spiritual experiences are more valuable than the words of Scripture. 

If you don't know your Bible, or know God, you are vulnerable. Past experience in my own life has taught me to never wholly follow the teachings of any human, but to always be diligent to ensure what is being taught or preached lines up with what God has already established. 

Prophecy for the end times warns of apostasy and deception - the elect are not guaranteed to escape unscathed. In addition to putting on the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), I thank God for what I believe is the gift of discernment and I treasure it.

Time grows short - please don't make the mistake of thinking you're not ready, or you still have time. You don't have to understand everything - I know I don't. And that's a button the enemy loves to push. Make me frustrated if I don't understand exactly how God is going to work everything out. All I need to do is to remember, He IS going to work everything out. 

At the end of the day, this is my goal: 

Be discerning, be diligent, be determined - so that you are not deceived by the greatest liar of all time.

Thank you Father, for what You have done in my life, what You continue to do and help me stay the course and recognize deception when it appears.

Amen. 

Do You Feel It?

January 30 2024 

Do you feel it?  The growing and undeniable presence of the Holy Spirit moving across this globe.

Since the Asbury revival began in February 2023, I've felt a stirring. I see so many posts from various people of faith with one theme. We are getting close. God is moving. His people are having dreams and visions. Bold voices are speaking out - there are revivals.

More than 40 years ago God drew me to Him through apocalyptic teachings. I became familiar with His ordained Holy Days, including Passover and began to see and appreciate the pattern in them. They still are real. I see more and more Jewish people coming to Jesus!

Do you feel it?

The world grows cold and pushes God out, but the more He is pushed out, the stronger my conviction grows that His patience is nearly done. I'm nearly 70 and am at turns excited and - if I'm honest - a little scared to think that He could very well return in my lifetime!  Prophecies are being fullfilled at an astonishing rate.

Do you feel it - and are you ready?

Nothing in this world is of more value than a relationship with Jesus Christ, accepting the gift of salvation and living a life for him. He never disappoints, never leaves, never betrays. Can you say that about your human relationships?

How can you look at even recent weather patterns and not realize God is trying to get the attention of the world before it's too late. You may think you have plenty of time, but you do realize you are only one heartbeat and breath away from standing before the Creator of the Universe? All your wealth, privilege, accomplishments stripped away. Will He say "Well done, good and faithful servant"? Or will He turn you away, as if He never knew you?

To those who say my faith is foolish and that there is nothing after death, I say if I'm wrong, then I've lost nothing. But if YOU are wrong, you have lost EVERYTHING!

Make no mistake, just because you might not believe in God, He is real. And so is Satan - the enemy who exists to destroy us and keep us from an eternity with God. 

I have no need to defend my faith, I know where I stand. Imperfect, but a believer. Things of this world grow more dim by the day and I will not be sorry to say goodbye to my earthly existence. How wonderful, beyond words, is my belief and expectation of a life to come that I cannot even begin to imagine.

Please, please, do not delay. The time is fast approaching when spreading the Word of God will be outlawed, forbidden. Read your Bible, ask for discernment, get your spiritual life in order. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

With love, in His Name.

Liz

Trust

What does trust mean to you?

Trust with, and in, the LORD is so much deeper and true than with the best of friends or closest of spouses. Over the years, one learns that no matter how well intentioned, humans will let us down. Intentionally, of course, is the worst. But it’s the unintentional, the disappointment, the betrayal of a heartfelt and shared matter that cause the deepest wounds.

How thankful I am to be able to put my complete trust in the One who really knows me, and in whom I have complete assurance He won’t let me down.

I don’t pretend to understand all that is in the Bible, or how close we may be to Christ’s return. There are times my mind spins when I try to fathom just how will Christ fix this complete mess we humans have made of our lives and this beautiful planet. Usually these thoughts will attack as I’m drifting off to sleep, but I’ve learned to simply say, “Trust, trust, trust” and then peace quickly follows.

That time is growing short, I have no doubt. But then I’m nearing 70, so my days are already growing short! All around us, God is being pushed farther and farther away. And the darkness I see that would threaten to snuff out all that is good and Holy seems to gain more ground by the day.

BUT, God IS in control, Nothing passes without His awareness and allowance of it. For His purposes, and so often not understood by imperfect humans.

People of God have struggled to understand why nothing seems to happen, for thousands of years. Habakkuk lamented - "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, 'Violence!', but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me, there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted." (Habakkuk 1:2-4  NIV - read on to see God's response)

Sound familiar?

These days, more than ever before in my life, I need to put my trust where I know it will never fail, and although I often lack understanding, or grow impatient for Christ's return, my trust is in Him, today and forever.

There are times you have to make a stand, no matter what you are facing, to proclaim "I choose to believe God. I don't know how He's going to work this out, but I trust Him."

Do you need to do that today?

God Bless you as you place your trust in Him.

Liz

Hope

 October 23 2023

October - almost the end of another year.

The war in Ukraine persists, with devastating losses on both sides. And then an horrendous Hamas based attack on Israel, October 7. Reports indicate that in comparison the death toll in one day was the worst and bloodiest since the Holocaust.

Facebook is awash with faces of those slaughtered, or still missing. The heartache is unbearable at times and I, as a mere mortal, I wonder how much longer God will be patient.

The world, it seems, has so pushed God away, that the encroaching spiritual darkness becomes heavier by the day. Artificial intelligence frightens me. Proof once again that something man may have initially designed as a tool, has skyrocketed out of control, with mind boggling possibilities impacting the existence of mankind.

It would be very easy to feel overwhelmed by all these, and more, events. And, even as a Christian, there are some days when I DO find it easy to feel despair and lose hope. That's when I remind myself that God is still on His throne and in control. And while my finite human impatience level is often exhausted, His patience continues to endure. That there is hope, that Jesus Christ WILL return in all Honour and Glory.

We may be disappointed in the world, and in situations closer to home, over and over. But God never fails us. The hope we have in Him doesn't depend on changing circumstances. It is rock solid - nothing can move it.

"You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in  Your word." (Psalm 119:114)

God Bless you!

Restless Spirit

 January 22 2023

Good morning - I hope you are doing well. This January has been dreary and dull, with next to no sunshine. It can take a toll one one's mood.

I first wrote this in 2015, and have refreshed it a bit to be more current. But most of what I wrote 8 years ago is still valid. And this is where I first put into writing that I felt led to 'do' something with my writing.

 

I am restless in my spirit – are you?  World events, seen through a Christian’s eyes, are moving at a dangerously fast pace.  Yes, every generation has believed they are living in the last days, but that feeling is becoming stronger and stronger for me. Over several months I have felt a prompting in my spirit to do ‘something’!  I have prayed for guidance and direction – and wisdom.  And I want to be ready, to be right with God, and to be His servant, in whatever direction He leads.

I have thought about starting a web page, a blog, a voice on the internet. There are countless sites already and I’m certainly not here to prove I can do any better, but it will be my contribution.  I don’t want to be a silent Christian.

I am restless in my spirit.

We in the Western world haven’t had to count the cost very much to enjoy our religious freedoms – yet the number of our brothers and sisters around the world who are persecuted and martyred climbs. And our rights and freedoms granted by our respective governments is so very fragile and can be gone with the stroke of a pen – or sword.

To be honest, I am disturbed at the silence of my Christian friends when posts show up on Facebook concerning world events. Apathy and silence, thinking it won’t affect you is akin to the ostrich with its head in the sand.  If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.

The famous quote attributed to pastor Martin Niemoller about the cowardice of German intellectuals during the Nazi rise to power reverberates with me:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me

 

Will you be a silent Christian, will you be apathetic and think someone else will be your voice? Have you made any enemies yet?  Will you put your life at risk to assemble with fellow believers and not be ashamed of God’s word? Serious questions that need to be thought about.

Our lives are soft, we are materialistic and we love our comforts – I speak for myself as much as anyone else. But I sometimes I feel I am watching a movie, where you know catastrophe is about to strike and all around people are oblivious to impending disaster.  I want to shout out that our lives and way of life is on the brink of disappearing!  Yes God is ultimately in control and all will be done according to His perfect will, but that doesn’t mean we sit back and be silent doormats.

If I have offended you, I apologise, but I make NO apologies for acting on what I feel God is prompting me to do.

I am restless in my spirit.

A fear monger I am not – in fact I am not fearful because my faith, strength and protection lies with my Heavenly Father and my commitment to His Son Jesus Christ.  I am safe – my physical body may suffer, but no one can take away my place with Him.

Thinking we can just pray away this threat won’t work, even though  I continually pray for protection for  family and friends, our lands, for the service people who risk their lives for us, and who now are targets - for disrespect, hate, and worse.  It is the time to be alert and on watch – to be ready.  Are you ready? Are your loved ones ready?

My life, right now, will continue with loving my family and friends, and activities that are of interest to me. But, if all this is stripped away am I ready to be 100% totally dependent on God?  Or am I dependent NOW!

My prayer is we stand together and grow.  Remembering that one of the best tools of the enemy is to discourage and divide. 

Please believe me when I say I understand human fears very well.  At heart I am not brave at all, my biggest fear is that I will let God down when it really counts, so I pray now that He will guard me well against that day.

I just can’t sit silently by anymore.

 

What are your thoughts? How do you see world events - are you fearful, or do you trust God is in control and that He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow?

God is the sunshine in my life - I pray He would be in yours as well.

In His Name - 

Liz

What I've Learned

 January 13 2023

Welcome back. How are you?

There is no agenda for this blog. Merely someplace for thoughts, questions, observations that I’ve had and hoping that God will use them for a jumping off point. Very much a work in progress, just as I am, too. The title may even change at some point in this journey, but He never does.

Over the years I’ve learned you don’t bargain with God – or make promises that set you up to disappoint. Or worse, cause you to think of yourself as a failure. God never sees us as a failure and is always ready to pick us up and start again.

The closer you grow to Him, the more His, and our, enemy will work to pull you away. I have learned to never say never. To say I will never be deceived or led astray is an open invitation to the enemy to attack. And his attacks aren’t always obvious, but he knows the buttons to push. That’s why it is critical to stay close to God, to seek discernment, to seek His protection, His guidance, and His peace. To have favourite scripture verses that bring comfort. To invite the Holy Spirit to help you.

And I’ve learned you can be angry with God, that you can question Him. There’s so much I don’t understand, and in this limited human life I never will. So much of what happened in the Bible, and in today’s world, seems so unjust. But I trust Him to give me the knowledge and understanding that I need for any given day, or circumstance.

And how well I know that humans, no matter how sincere and dedicated to Him, make mistakes, falter and often find ourselves battling the same sins over and over. But everyday is new in Him and He is always there to walk with us anew.

I know that God understands grief. And the pain, often unbearable, that the death of someone we love brings to our lives. A pain many never recover from.

Above all, I know I would be adrift and lost without Him. That causes me to wonder what thoughts run through the minds of those who don't believe, as they drift off to sleep. When they are aware of a tiny, quiet voice asking them how they are. Do they brush the voice aside, or are there moments when they wonder - maybe, just maybe? 

What are your thoughts? How do you view God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. As remote, unreachable beings? Irrelevant to your circumstances or the society we find ourselves in? Or are they your rock, the source of unshakeable comfort?

I'll be back, but for now, take care and know that you are loved.

In His Name - 

Liz