Here we are, the first week of a new year, a new season and new chapter. I have talked to many over the Christmas season and I discovered a couple of things:
- Many families were affected by Covid or some kind of sickness over the holidays – we are talking different provinces, cities, families – almost everyone I talked to; for many of us, plans were cancelled and isolation again took its toll
- This long, long season of covid has left some of us folks, confused, discouraged, and forgetting who they are in God. The isolation, the bickering from people even within families, the constant fear from the media, lack of freedom, lack of consistent messages, the confusion of what to do, what not to do and who to listen too has been wearing and many have been left standing there looking for some kind of help from somewhere
This blog is the first of the year and it is a kick in the butt blog but I will not apologize, sometimes we need a little shaking and waking up especially if we have been slumbering or lingering in confusion. This blog is directed to people who have a living relationship with God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit. If this is not you, you can message me to know what I am talking about but this blog will not pertain to you.
For you readers who know the Living God, I call your spirit to attention as you read this blog to stand up and pay attention and remember who and whose you are!
I am doing an in-depth study on Elijah right now. Elijah the “man of God”; the prophet, the intercessor, the father, the mentor and called out as “the troublemaker of Israel,” no one wanted to hear his message, it was uncomfortable.
It is not my intention to criticize you, judge you or think that this message is not for me as well. So how about if we picture us, you and me, having a cup of coffee or tea together and you can hear my voice softly saying, “hey friend, do you need a reminder today, let me help you remember….whose you are.”
You see Elijah had a message for the people back then and quite possibly it is relevant for people today. He called them out, he reminded them who is their source of life, their source for everything they need. He reminded them that their lifestyle is not what God commanded them to be; God wants their hearts to be all in, not wavering. Elijah knew that our prosperity, our comfort, is not God’s main concern. The people were living a double life, turning to God when they need Him and turning to other gods and the king (government) when they need it. They are confused over who is the true king over their life because the king has made other gods and other messages stronger than the message of God. God had been taken out of the picture. Elijah reminds them of whose they are and who rules the universe. The Elijah messages can be regarded as prickly, judgemental but it is these exact messages that we sometimes need reminding of. Elijah is willing to be the only man to take on the whole Israel nation, to take on an evil king who wants him dead, and his powerful false religion priestess wife, the church, and basically the entire country.
When God has been taken out of the picture, and the country has been left in a void, or isolation where we cannot remind each other, this is the exact feeding ground for evil to saunter in and take over. When a person has left God out of their picture, their life and not done the work of growing with God in the hidden, isolation times, this is also the perfect time where evil saunters in to maim, kill, confuse and destroy. Oh, your salvation is not in jeopardy because your salvation was never up to you, all the work was done by Jesus, but your purpose, your mission, your family, your legacy is very much at stake. You have a lot to lose.
I feel like there are a great many of disillusioned Christians who have sat back and watched, and oh how they prayed and expected God to come riding along on His white horse, complete with flaming sword (and one day He will come just like this) and kill Covid. After all it is what they prayed for, so why did it not come true?
God is not phased by Covid, not even one little bit, He is not wringing His hands wondering what to do. “But,” you say, “people are sick, people are dying why would God let this happen?” God did not create Covid. Just like God did not cause cancer, the nazi’s, or even death, God’s plan was always the opposite. We tend to blame God for the evil ravaging the world and when we throw God out of our life because of our disbelief, then our family, our work, our city, our province, our country, whatever we have left open, will get filled up with something else: darkness.
God’s purpose has not changed, ever. God put man on earth (Adam) to have a relationship with Him. Period. That purpose still stands and Jesus’ last words on earth before He was taken up to heaven were: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
What are we supposed to be doing, right now, today? The message has not changed, “Go and make disciples of all nations”…
We are called to be living, visual aids of God’s grace, peace, freedom and love for all the world to see. That means, your neighbours, your family, your fellow workers, your community, your coffee line up, your grocery store, your doctor, your nurses, in other words: your world and all that pertains to you.
God did not say, “oh let’s put this all on hold until Covid is over.” Nope, not ever. God’s purpose remains firm during Covid, Spanish flu, any flu, cancer, depression, isolation, separation – God’s purpose is to remain faithful to His command because let me tell you, He is faithful to you every minute of every day regardless of what you think He should or should not be doing. Our redeemer, our God is very alive and well.
God’s purpose is not for you to show yourself perfect because news flash, that will never happen, it means being real, showing ourselves to be needy people who have a perfect God who will never leave us or forsake us. It means offering hope to a hopeless world. It means offering love in a world where that is hard to find right now. It means putting aside differences and opinions and offering love and acceptance no matter what others believe or do. It means being Christlike in a world that hates to hear what Jesus has to say.
Once you have accepted Jesus sacrificial death on the cross for you and asked the living Holy Spirit to come into your life and take up residence, you my friend ceased to be simply “human”. You have always been a spiritual being but your dead man’s bones without hope and purpose just rattled with fresh wind, fresh fire, the fresh life of the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that we now have “the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, living inside of us” Ephesians 1:20-22
Do you get that? The very same power, supernatural, God given power now lives inside of you. You will not die, you will simply transfer from this life to the next, it is called “eternal life” for the very reason that is does not end, it is eternal. What is there to be afraid of? Transferring from this life to next? Hallelujah! What a glorious thought! (The Matrix movies have nothing on God’s world – where do you think they got the idea from??? There is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9)
We belong to the Living God, not the dead and sleeping God. The God who is still performing miracles everyday (often through His believing and faithful people), the God who still talks to His people, the God who loves His creation (you) so much that He died for them, the God who shows up when we need Him. God never, never stops working. Is there sadness, death in the world? Yes, and there always will be because we are in a war zone between darkness and light. Darkness would have you believe the light has been snuffed out, do NOT believe it for one second, no matter what your eyes see!
My friend you are not alone. You have joined an army of 2.38 billion people, stand up and be counted!
God is the General of the army and His Word is the ultimate source for our orders. If you have found yourself floundering in a sea of confusion and isolation, pick yourself up, and take up your position in the army of God again and go back to obeying the command from your General.
I had a vision given to me a couple of weeks ago and it was so powerful. Jesus was walking on the earth, complete in His robe and sandals and I was one of the throng of people walking along in the crowd with Him. He walked by all kinds of horrible, hurtful things on the earth: sickness, death, starvation, evil but He did not waver, He was not scared by these, they did not phase Him. He said to me, “just stay next to me and you will be fine.” I was on the edge of the crowd and found myself hugging closer to the crowd next to Jesus as I surveyed the darkness on the edges of the path, waiting and lurking there. As long as I stayed next to Jesus with the crowd in the light, the darkness could not get to me. At one point I was standing and watching Jesus sit and talk to the crowds and He turned to look straight at me. He flashed me the most amazing smile, there were no words, just His smile. It caused me to tear up, it was so warm, so safe, so beautiful – nothing else mattered but that smile. I knew if I stayed close to Jesus no matter what, I was safe no matter what happened around me or to me. Life is hard, bad things do happen but when you know that you are on the right road, the only road, you have peace.
My friend, you too are invited to stay close beside Him, walk with Him and the crowd in your journey, do not turn aside, or wander off because you are unsure of the way. He is the way, He shows you the way, follow Him.
For those of us who need a visual reminder of who you are in Christ I have copied Neil Anderson’s “Who I Am in Christ” below – post it where you can remind yourself every day of all that God has given you, namely because you are His child.
Immerse yourself in worship that builds you up, that tells you who you are and whose you are. We all get moments of doubt, but let those only be moments, not days, weeks, years. Call on your brothers and sisters in the army, encourage each other because you never know when your call is the light that another person needs to hear: “Hi, you are not alone.”
Songs for building: My Redeemer Lives by Nicole C. Mullen & Bless The Lord Oh My Soul
Who I Am in Christ - Copied from Freedom in Christ Canada www.ficm.ca
I Am Accepted
Jn 1:12 I am God’s child
Jn 15:15 I am Christ’s friend
Rom 5:1 I have been justified
1 Cor 6:17 I am united with the Lord (one spirit)
1 Cor 6:19-20 I am bought with a price: I belong to God
1 Cor 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body
Eph 1:1 I am a saint
Eph 1:5 I have been adopted as God’s child
Eph 2:18 I have access to God through the Holy Spirit
Col 1:14 I have been redeemed and forgiven
Col 2:10 I am complete in Christ
I Am Secure
Rom 8:1-2 I am free forever from condemnation
Rom 8:28 I am assured all things work together for good
Rom 8:31-34 I am free from any charge against me
2 Cor 1:21-22 I am established, anointed, sealed by God
Col 3:3 I am hidden with Christ in God
Phil 1:6 I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfected
Phil 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven
2 Tim 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind
Heb 4:16 I can find grace and mercy in time of need
1 Jn 5:18 I am born of God; the evil one cannot touch me
I Am Significant
Matt 5:13-14 I am the salt and light of the earth
Jn 15:1,5 I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life
Jn 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit
Acts 1:8 I am a personal witness of Christ’s
1 Cor 3:16 I am God’s temple
2 Cor 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God
2 Cor 6:1 I am God’s co-worker
Eph 2:6 I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm
Eph 2:10 I am God’s workmanship
Eph 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence
Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me