Courageous Dads Come Forth

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." Malachi 4:5,6.
This prophetic utterance of the Lord through His servant, Malachi, foretells what the prophet Elijah will do before the day of the Lord comes. This prophet, Elijah, has always been a mysterious one to us humans. He has already walked this earth when this was written as we remember the showdown on Mt.Carmel he had with Jezebel to determine whose God was better, Jehovah or Baal. The true God, Jehovah, shows himself the mightiest, but then Elijah becomes discouraged because he feels so all alone in the stand he has taken for God.
As I was seeking God one day about who this Elijah is who is coming before Jesus comes back, He was showing me that the prophet, Elijah, who was really here in the flesh represented a type of the Holy Spirit that would do a work of "heart turning" before He did indeed return. So, how He will do that, we don't know. "The wind blows where it will...."
To be sure, as we look around, we see fatherless children, whether it be Dads who have left the household, ones that were never there, or ones whose eyes are turned other places and not towards their children. The same result of feeling rejected and unloved leaves many opened to the devil's devices of bringing condemnation on those helpless ones, paralyzing them even from receiving the Life that Jesus brings. They have been lied to and contain a false belief about themselves that they are not worth it. (Receiving the Life of God) So, they go about heaping death on themselves, not even realizing it. Many are convinced and accept the edict of their fathers on them of rejection. Then they become familiar to it, and actually feel more comfortable there.
Malachi says that God (spirit that consumed Elijah) will turn those hearts to their children before the great and terrible Day of the Lord-the day of His coming back. As Elijahs' God won the battle of Mt. Carmel, signifying the victory Jesus has won on the cross over the powers of darkness, there will come a time, and is coming now, when fathers who are His, will realize the significance of their roles and begin to focus on imparting the life of God into their children. Elijah's spirit was courageous and full of faith, and when he was discouraged, the Lord came and ministered to him.
So, there's a call out for all fathers to first "Come back to your Father's house" and then allow Him to turn your heart back to your children. In all of this there is a call to men in the Lord to be spiritual fathers to those whose earthly father has passed away or IS away to help raise up these children by pouring out Jesus' love to them which brings Life. Required first is submitting under "the Father" for His strength, encouragement, and guidance.
The father and child relationship is paramount. More understanding of this can be seen with Jesus and His Father and we read about that in His Word. The strength of this relationship developed in purity can change the world. The lack of it, as seen today, can tear down the house the Lord is trying to build. This house is the dwelling place that God seeks to live in.
Oh, spirit of Elijah come and possess the men of God, so You can establish a place of peace in us for You to dwell in!!!!!

This Same Jesus

Those who know about the ascension of Jesus are familiar with this portion of a statement "this same Jesus." It was made by two men in white garments to the disciples who looked upward as Jesus floated upwards toward heaven. The" angels" were saying that Jesus would someday return in the same manner in which He left. And that day is quickly approaching-Check the signs of the times in God's Word. Matthew mentions some as does Peter. In Timothy he reports that they will be "perilous times."
The question then becomes-Are you ready? Have you, who have called yourselves by His Name, really put Him first, forsaking all others? Things and people? If you haven't, then you've been idolatrous, which He says is being an adulterer or unfaithful. How that plays out in life for each one of us is probably different, but we have to ask Him what He expects. He is looking for chaste virgins-those who have not sold out to the world and it's kingdom (which Revelation says will be destroyed) but have allowed Him to really be Lord and have to the best of our ability done what He's said or atleast are in the process of learning how to let Him. This is not just a Sunday-go-to meeting thing, and then go home and live your life the way your flesh wants to. I was there once, thinking He was my Lord but not even knowing that Him being Lord meant, "You are not your own. You were bought with a price." Oh, so that means I don't make the decisions or just do whatever I've been accustomed to doing? Right. You hand over your rights and desires to the One who died for you and trust Him to rule over you. Of course, He's loving and kind, but He's also promised to discipline you. He has to. We've been so used to doing our own "feel good" thing that there is a deprogramming and a re-programming that must take place, and He'll use any and all things to get us changed into His image. Oh, we're a far cry from that! Yes, we are, and it begins by giving Him the reins. It hurts, it is lonely, and it feels like everyone is rejecting us. But He warned us that the road is narrow and only a few will find it. Guess what, guys. This thing is real; just as real as when He ascended into heaven. When He descends in that same way, I pray that I will not be ashamed at His appearing but that I will have lived my life totally devoted to Him alone. I do believe (and this is not a prophetic statment) that I might possibly be alive when He does, and that I will be one of the virgins , who has been unspotted by the world, who has her lamp filled, and can fearlessly say, "Here comes the Groom," with excitement!!!! I hope you are too as He desires to bring many sons (and daughters) to glory. But it comes at a cost. Are you paying it?