THE MAJESTY OF GOD

THE MAJESTY OF GOD

Tonight there won’t be much of a moon, so I’m planning to go out to look at the stars. Whenever I do that, it reminds me of how enormous God is. I experience a similar reaction when I read passages from Isaiah 42 and 40. 

 

“Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein” (42:5).

 

“I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands” (v.8).

 

“The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and devour at once. I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs; and I will make the rivers islands, and I will dry up the pools (vv.13-15).

 

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them (v.16).

 

“They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, ‘Ye are our gods’” (v.17).

 

Though God has a sense of humor and fun and delight, sometimes we need to look at the “no fooling” side of Him as well. We see it in Isaiah 40: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God’” (v.1).

 

“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

 

“The voice said, ‘Cry.’ And he said, ‘What shall I cry’? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

 

“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

 

“Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

 

“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

 

“Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

 

“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

 

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

 

“The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

 

“Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

 

“Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

 

“To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

 

“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

 

“Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

 

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

 

“Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Is. 40: 1-31).

 

These scriptures from Isaiah have magnitude and majesty, and although we do not understand all the details, we will undoubtedly be impressed by their impact. I read these verses several times this morning. They are powerful and inspiring.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

DO YOU FEEL ME?

 

“DO YOU FEEL ME?”

Peanut and I lay on the grass to get some fresh air and sunshine. A couple of hours later, my back felt itchy, so I put my arm inside my shirt and scratched where it itched. But it was still itchy afterward, and I couldn’t figure it out, that is, until I went to bed! I took my T-shirt off and saw that there were all kinds of foxtail stickers in my shirt! No wonder I was itchy! It was from the outside of me, not the inside.

 

Jane and I often ride down the Strip here in Las Vegas to check out the atmosphere. And many times, we don’t even have to go there, because we can feel it right in our living room. We can tell when people are really having a great time, and on the other hand, we can feel when people are depressed. I’m sure you have felt this in your own locations.  You can be perfectly happy, and then you go out, and suddenly you feel something come over you, and you know it’s not from within you, but it’s a feeling coming from without. We feel it sometimes on a Sunday afternoon when it’s football season. We can sense the tension in the air, the people losing money on bets, the women angry because their men are out at the casinos, that kind of thing—the atmosphere in the air.

 

There’s a slang phrase: “Do you feel me?” Well, yes, we do, and more than you think! In the Bible, we find out why this is so.

 

Because we are human, we are connected to all humans. We can feel the atmosphere created by the people around us, and even far away from us, if we think about it.

 

But this is what God says specifically about Christians:

 

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Rom. 12:5).

 

In our physical bodies, if we are hurting in one part of our body, our whole body, mind, and emotions can be affected by it. It’s the same way in the body of Christ.

 

And in First Corinthians 12, God has Paul put it like this:

 

“God hath tempered the body together… that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

 

“And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

 

“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1 Cor. 12:24-27).

 

Okay, so it’s good to know that we’re going to feel things from the bigger body of Christ, but is there anything we can do about it when we get the bad vibes when we feel itchy like I did, and we don’t know the source?

 

The answer is yes. There is a reason we feel specific ways when we do. God is trying to tell us something. So when I get a bad feeling or something just doesn’t feel quite right, I ask myself: “Is it something with me?” If I can’t find anything that makes sense with what’s going on with me, I go straight to God. Most of the time, I’ll get a quick, specific answer, but if not, I can always pray: “God take this atmosphere away. It has nothing to do with me. Show me what to pray for and do, if specifics are needed.” And every time, He does.

 

It’s a fact: We’re all going to be affected by events outside of us. Everything we feel isn’t going to be about us. It’s not. We can learn to recognize what’s us and what’s not us. For instance, we wouldn’t necessarily need to take an anti-depression pill for the oppression we’re feeling from others. Instead, we need specific antidotes for each unique problem.

 

We feel the foxtails that itch us, but sometimes we just need to take the T-shirt off and wash it. We have Holy Spirit in us so we can empathize with what others are feeling and do something about it in prayer. Many times God inspires us with wholesome good-sense actions to take as well.

 

Learning to discern the origin of our itches is essential to living from the standpoint of accuracy and wisdom.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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FROM FUZZY TO CLEAR - REVEALING THE MYSTERIES OF GOD

FROM FUZZY TO CLEAR - REVEALING THE MYSTERIES OF GOD

God will show us small pictures or visions at any time of the day or night, not just when we pray. He does it while we’re listening to someone or reading, while we are speaking or even just daydreaming, while we’re working, playing, anytime at all. They can seem to come “out of nowhere,” but they’re not out of nowhere.  They are pictures from the Lord. They usually have an ethereal, light, almost transparent quality, and if we don’t grab them, they flee or drift off like a wave or vanish like a wisp of smoke. But God wants us to hold those fuzzy pictures and look at them, really look at them, because it’s when we observe them that they become substance. The particles come together, and the picture is clarified.

 

Research in Quantum Mechanics has shown that an electron or a photon of light existing as a wave, changes into a particle when observed. The remarkable double slit experiment studied the nature of subatomic phenomena. A photon of light was to pass through two slits. When not observed, it acted as a wave. But when observed, it acted like a particle. So we need to focus on the pictures God shows us as quickly as possible so that they don’t float away or blow away like the wind but, in fact, become substance.

 

It’s much easier to get God’s picture message if we describe the picture out loud or if we write it down. I’m often surprised at how many details my mind actually observed in a God-given picture message once I start to focus on it and try to describe it—more information than I initially thought existed. When we concentrate on bringing the wave image into a clear picture, we will get the revelation God intended.  

 

We are told several places in the Bible that we as believers can “crack” some of the mysteries of God as He reveals them to us. We do it through Christ. Colossians 1:27 says we have Christ in us. Jesus always received and understood the messages God showed Him. The Christ in us does that for us today.

 

Jesus told His disciples they would receive the knowledge of certain mysteries that others may not be able to grasp. “He answered and said unto them, ‘Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given’” (Matt. 13:11).

 

In Luke 8:10, He told His disciples that they could know the mysteries of how God operates, but others would have to be told in parables because they wouldn’t be able to see as clearly, spiritually, as those who had spent time with the Master.

 

“And he [Jesus] said, ‘Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand’” (Luke 8:10). When we see through our spiritual eyes, we have the privilege to focus and the Christ in us works quickly to put those wavy, ethereal pictures into solid particles of revelation.

 

Have you ever wondered why God is so mysterious and doesn’t always talk to us in a distinct and unique human voice rather than clandestine ways? Proverbs 25:2 tells us: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings [or queens – Strongs 4427] is to search out a matter.”

 

God wants us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to seek Him. When He gives us a message in a wavy, fleeting vision, He wants us to capture it, seek it out, or it will quickly disappear. Kings search out a matter. And in Revelation 1:5-6, Jesus calls us the kings: “Jesus loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” The word, kings, is derived from a word that means a person with a foundation of power (i.e., male or female). Jesus is the King of kings, and He’s so happy to be with us and let us in on the great mysteries of His Father, God. He knows we will delight in knowing things He knows and sharing them with Him.

 

I don’t know if every born-again believer sees these small pictures, blurry snapshots, and fuzzy message images, but if you are someone who sees them, take notice next time. Stop and focus because God is revealing to you one of the mysteries of heaven.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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THE DEVIL IN DUCT TAPE

THE DEVIL IN DUCT TAPE

Christians gather souls into the everlasting family of the one true God. Jesus said: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and low, I am with you always” (Matt. 28:18-20). The devil is also working to gather souls. But until the final takedown of his kingdom, we have been given power in Christ to bind Satan and his minions so that the message of Christ gets to the people.

 

Notice that Jesus spoke to Satan directly. We are supposed to do that too. Jesus “turned, and said unto Peter, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men’” (Matt. 16:23). Jesus wasn’t saying that Peter was the embodiment of Satan, but rather that Satan was present and was spiritually influencing Peter’s mind with a lie. Peter believed the lie and passed it on. He told Jesus he didn’t have to die. Not true! Jesus had to experience death. He paid the price for our sins so we could live forever with him.

 

When Jesus spoke to Satan, he showed us that we are not in a flesh war, but a spiritual one. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).

 

The strongest entity in the devil’s kingdom is Satan himself (named by some as Lucifer or the devil). If we are to win souls to God, we often need to take them back from the devil’s possession. In Revelation 18, we are told that the devil considers people as mere merchandise.

 

“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her [Babylon]; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, . . . and cinnamon, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine . . . , and horses, and chariots, and slaves [bodies], and souls of men” (Rev. 18: 11-13).

 

Jesus says we must enter the strong man’s house to take back captured souls. Then he asks the question: “How can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house” (Matt. 12:29).

 

“Spoil” is translated from the Greek for “plunder or seize.” And “goods” is translated from the Greek words meaning “men of quality, chosen instruments.” So when we read Matthew 12:29, we know that we can bind the ruling demons and then take back the hearts and souls of God’s chosen.

 

 

So how do we do this? Jesus said: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matt. 16:19a).

 

And “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19).

 

The strong man in every evil situation will be the devil or one of his minions. So, if we are to bind a demon, I like first to bind Satan himself. I get a mental picture of Satan wrapped tightly in duct tape: arms bound to his sides, feet bound together, mouth covered—you get the vision. The Lord may give you a different picture that works for you.  

 

When I bind Satan, he has no effect, no mobility; he is captured entirely in duct tape. So then, in the same way, I bind the ruling demon groups mentioned in Ephesians 6:12: principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.

 

Then I do the same with any other specific demon names that the Lord drops into my spirit. Lately, it’s been a lot of spirits of blindness, which includes the lack of spiritual perception (connected to those “rulers of darkness of this world”). Looking up the use of the word “darkness” in a Bible Concordance is a revealing, informative, and fascinating study.

 

Lastly, I ask for angels to go out to do whatever it takes to get to the hearts of whoever I am praying for. With this mental/spiritual duct tape picture, I can see and believe for an opening to the victim’s heart and soul.

 

Binding the devil himself is top-level stuff. But with our Lord Jesus Christ, we are top level! Colossians 1:27 says: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you.” And one of my favorites: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

 

You and I are way more powerful than we think when it comes to power over any enemy. With eyes on the Lord and duct tape in hand, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper” (Isa. 54:17). We make a big difference in the world now and into the world to come.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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