- araratchurch
- Oct 24, 2023
- 3 min read
In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on these passages of scripture:
“Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Proverbs 28:14 NKJV
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV
“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”
Proverbs 20:27 NKJV
“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.””
John 10:25-30 NKJV
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:16-18 NKJV
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
John 15:15-16 NKJV
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
John 16:7, 12-13 NKJV
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV
We may look at how people experienced God, how He spoke to them, in the days of the Old Testament, with envy. Yes, it seems that the Lord spoke to them in more “dramatic” ways.
But, the fact is, any of the patriarchs would have been in awe of us being able to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God!
Indeed, by way of the Holy Spirit, we have the Lord inside of us, working with us, to fulfill His purposes. We only have need to listen and follow His leading.
Sadly, even some spirit-filled Christians still fail to walk in consistent obedience to the voice of the Lord.
Over the next several days, we will be discussing what it means to live a life characterized by always being mindful of God’s way of being and doing, always being mindful of His heart and His will.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Oct 24, 2023
- 3 min read
“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.””
Acts 9:3-6 NKJV
The Lord spoke to me just before we entered into the year 2020 that it would be a “year of astonishment.”
Now, I initially thought that this “astonishment” would be something wonderful. However, the Lord quickly corrected that that was not necessarily the case. I came to understand that what we were about to see was a terrible judgment coming upon the United States of America; and, yes, the whole world.
As well, the Lord would later show me that the United States would see three areas of judgment in 2020.
Now, 2020 began much as any other year. But, as I’m sure you know, it became the year of Covid, the year of racial unrest, and yes, the year of an enigmatic election.
Now, for our purposes here, I will not comment further on any of the three areas of judgment.
What I will share with you is a prophetic word the Lord gave me on 1-4-2020:
“There are points in time—in the life of a man—that nothing past that point is the same. This is such a time for you. You have often floundered while wondering what is the secret—the window—the door—into all that I have prepared for you. What you did not know is that even that seemingly futile process was preparing the vessel I could fill, the vessel I could use. The time is drawing near that all things will be destroyed as they are, so that there can be complete renewal. Now is the time for the unseen to become seen and the miraculous to become the common place. I am breaking down every barrier that has flaunted itself against the demonstration of My power. You have asked why you do not see the things of which you have heard. I tell you it was not time. The time is now. If you desire to be the vehicle through which these wonders are performed, then you must accept—without reservation—that what I have said is true. Your self-doubts are strangling the flow of the power. I am not asking you to trust yourself more—I am telling you that you must trust in Me more. Am I not more than your weakness? Do I require your strength? All that is required is a willing vessel—the one I have foreordained to use for this purpose.”
I am sharing this with you to make the point that God—even in the midst of certain judgment—uses those who are willing, those who will answer His call, to do great things.
Now, am I saying that I am doing great things? Well, that’s for God to judge and determine. What I can tell you is that—to the best of my ability at this point in time—I am available to hear His call and to answer it.
In our opening scripture, we see the point at which Saul (Paul) was confronted by the Lord. His response to the Lord’s challenge, was this question: “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Dear friend, as we have been discussing, the challenges we face in these Last Days before the coming of Jesus Christ, are daunting. It may even seem as though you are trying to fight the good fight all alone. But I urge you, in spite of what you may feel, in spite of what you may see as being your inadequacies, when the Lord calls you to do an exploit, just do it. His power, working through your willingness, will accomplish great things!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Oct 24, 2023
- 4 min read
“Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?””
Luke 24:28-32 NKJV
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, Pat Tillman left his career as a pro football player to join the army. Tragically, he was killed in 2004 in Afghanistan—not by enemy forces—but by friendly fire.
Sadly, these types of accidents are more common than we’d like to believe. Indeed, many of these accidents are blamed on what is called the “fog of war.”
You see, battle scenarios involving high fear and danger, can cause confusion as to who is the enemy and who is a friendly. As well, the possible panic resulting from the pressure, can cause fatal mistakes.
Now, it isn’t just in situations of war that high anxiety mixed with confusion can have devastating results. Indeed, the enemy of our souls tries to throw so much in our way (on a daily basis!) that we become overwhelmed and confused. As such, we can become easy pickings for his deceit and temptation.
Now, whereas we cannot avoid all scary situations or daunting challenges, we can keep from making our situation worse by becoming hysterically blind to the direction from our ever-present Lord.
The apostle Paul found himself in many harrowing circumstances as he walked in obedience to the Lord.
However, even in the midst of great adversity and persecution, he never despaired because he never lost sight of that which is eternal: Christ, His Kingdom and His glory.
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
II Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18 NKJV
It was the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion. Two of the disciples were walking to a village called Emmaus. As they walk, they are talking about all the things that had just happened.
At some point, Jesus actually joins them. After inquiring why they seem to be so sad, Jesus listens as the disciples—oblivious to His identity—tell Him about their confusion over all the things that have just happened.
“Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Luke 24:25-27 NKJV
Now, these disciples could not have been ignorant of the prophecies of a “suffering servant.”
However, in the midst of their sorrow and confusion, they panic, forgetting all they had learned.
In our opening scripture we see the point at which the disciples realized Who Jesus was. Yes, he was known to them in the breaking of bread.
You see, they had been reminded of the prophetic word concerning the Messiah. Then, as they fellowship with the Lord, it all comes back to them, they realize He has risen!
Child of God, if we are to do exploits, we must not let any situation, any pressure or challenge, cause us to forget what we have learned from the word of God.
As well, we must not allow panic and confusion to keep us from recognizing that the Lord has not left us. Yes, He is still with us!
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39 NKJV
Tomorrow we will bring all of this together.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!