The Morn of Song

     Does He desire to deliver us from sadness and distress, or are some of His children more melancholy than others? Are they identifying with their Master, a man of sorrows, who is acquainted with grief? Are they, perhaps, weeping in the night, attuned to the things that break His heart, expecting the dawn of joy, that, indeed, will appear in the morning upon His promised return and no sooner? Are they relegated to the faith walk without sign or wonder to hold them, but only to rest on His integrity alone, expressed through the promises of His Word? Are they set apart from the laughing crowd to receive the fellowship of His sufferings; the crown of intimacy with their Regent? Oh, what value the dark road offers those whose travelers invest in the life to come with deposits of hope, which will not disappoint, because they believe without wavering that He who has promised is faithful. Each sorrow suffered will bring forth a comparable joy, as the Daystar rises in their hearts, when they see Him face to face. Hold on, fellow Pilgrim. Faith will become sight. Oh Lord, haste the Day!!!

Some Thoughts on Forgiveness

     Do you forgive someone so that your unforgiveness won't cause you problems, or do you forgive to follow in His steps, because you have realized the depths of depravity of your own sins, that He died and forgave you for? Did you mourn over your own sinfulness when you accepted Christ? Have you realized what your own sin has been before holding others in unforgiveness? Was their sin against you greater than yours against God? Will you pass on the gift of grace He gave to you? Can there be such a thing as self-centered forgiveness instead of forgiveness out of a heart that's been cleansed by His? Is the first kind genuine, or is it contrived, only seeking it's own relief?
"Blessed are those wo are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven."-Matt. 5:3
"Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith; prove yourselves."-II Cor. 13:5.

Fruits Worthy of Repentance

     It's more than a mother can bear to know/face/realize that her behavior has harmed the souls of her children. It's something she may suffer with for the rest of her life, and pay for with distant relationships as they become adults, and the vision of what could have been "if only."


Galatians 6:7-8
^" Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."


     The only thing that can stop the reaping, and restore the relationships to wholeness, is the offering of forgiveness from her child to her, but then that even seems too much to expect, and might be too much to receive if her heart has been hardened by prideful justification and self-flagellation. If this is the case, she will need to suffer longer in the reaping, until she lets God use it to plow her heart, and by this, soften it to receive the forgiveness it so desperately needs. Until that time, the reaping is fulfilling it's God-given purpose. ("For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death."-II. Cor. 7:10)


When her heart is finally ready, from many tears and deep sorrows, she waits in humility, not demanding, expecting, or entitled to her child's forgiveness, but truly grateful, when and if it comes. She knows she doesn't deserve it, but if it does come, that she's been graced by it, and she rejoices at His mercy and love.

The Mark of the Beast

  
      I just read something on FB about how, in some places, you can use your phone to pay for things, and then it showed one guy who actually used his hand because he had received an implant in it.
    
Well, for those who know about the mark of the Beast, spoken of in the book of Revelation, this sounds an alarm, and it's kind of scary.


Rev. 13:16,17-
"And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.…"


Questions like, "Is this the mark and if it is required, should I refuse it? Do I have the fortitude to refuse it?" That my friends is what scares me the most. Not the mark itself, but my own strength to resist. Of course, as I write this, I see the words "my own strength," and God quickens me to see that nothing I do in "my own strength" will be strong enough for such things like this. No, it's the Holy Spirit of God within me that will not only reveal if this is the mark and if so, will empower me to resist it, if it is. So, I am at peace knowing this. Sometimes, when I write what I am feeling, then I see the error in it, and only then, like what just happened now. Praise God!!!


In all things, our total dependence and hope in Him will not fail us, because He will not fail us, which reminds me of something else (Someone else) in the book of Revelation.

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."-Rev. 19:11-13. 

This faithful and true man, who is God, will come to the rescue and put all our fears to rest, as we put our trust in Him!!!! Canter on, white horse!  Yes, Lord, we will ride with you!!!

The Window Awaits

     I think I have held onto something too long. I had thought it was the Lord's will that I continue making connections with certain people and, indeed, I had done that for about 20 years now. But now that I am getting closer to thinking I'm hearing the Lord say "let go" I am wondering if He's been saying that for sometime now, and for some reasons deep within me, perhaps I had not wanted to hear what He had to say, because it may have been connected to my emotional well-being, or so I thought.
     How much of what we believe is the Lord's direction and counsel really is and how much of it is what we really want to happen/not happen anyway? With our excuses and justifications tucked safely, deep inside of us (even outside of our own view) we seem to have confidence in what we believe we are hearing Him say, when actually it all has been filtered through our own fleshly desires all along. I'm sobered, humbled, and mortified at the thought.
     Today I thought I heard Him saying, "Put it in the rearview mirror." In other words, He was saying (I think) to let these relationships go, and trust Him with what He has for provided for me in their place.
     Have you heard the saying, "when God closes a door, He opens a window, but it's hell in the hallway"? Well, I think the hell comes from our own will holding onto the door with one hand, and stretching for the window with the other. It hurts to do that!!!
      It takes extreme trust to open ourselves up to hear Him, on one hand and to let go of the door on the other hand. Then we can walk safely and expectedly in the hallway, as we view the window opened, beckoning us to "come and see" what the Lord has in store for us. It sure does save us from a few pulled muscles along the way.