The Fellowship of His Suffering

This morning I read in Ras Robinson's devotion for July 27: "Are you satisfied with how you are aging? It is inevitable that God's eternal plan for your life will demand your attention in various ways until He is satisfied that His intentions through you are complete."

I sat to ponder that a long while. What are His intentions through me? How about through you?

Aging is becoming real to me. I am only 65 - but already there are the signs of "this tent" breaking down; torn meniscus in my knee, pain in my back, so much less energy! Life has been hard the last five years since my glorious wedding - and I reflect on the three times that God brought John back to me miraculously, amid life-threatening crises. Then we watched my parents go through the dying process, their suffering still painful in my memory.  But recently I watched a video of Pastor David Davis in Israel - after he came back from near-death to cancer. He said he believes - and in his near-death experience God showed him - that our aging process is difficult, rife with much affliction, because we are being transformed into Messiah's image. 

Oh, how You suffered, Yeshua! Your submission and suffering was the process of sanctification - a pure and holy Sacrifice unto God. Your resurrection assured Your people of eternal life with You - but our journey to get there also includes suffering and submission. The Apostle Paul writes, "Yes, I gave it all up in order to know Him, that is, to know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death, so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead." (Phil. 3:10)

I have now watched some people in my life - including my parents - suffer in faith and joy, never losing their focus on Yeshua and the destiny they were moving toward; eternal life with Him, where all suffering ceases and all tears are wiped away! John and I are leaving this weekend to go visit and minister to a long-time friend, who is now in what appears to be his last days here. Because he is spending his days playing his guitar and praising God, despite his grave illness, I suspect he will minister to us!

Through these lens I begin to see why believers who love Yeshua/Jesus are suffering so much right now. It is not all an attack of the Adversary! Much of what we are going through is so that we will draw deeper and deeper into God, submitting the pain and the sorrow, the disappointments and the illness to Him, knowing and believing that it is all conforming us to the image of His Son, our Redeemer-King, who first suffered for us. In this way, His intentions through us will bear fruit for the Kingdom.

David Davis' legs quivered and fought to stay upright as he delivered his message. His voice strained to be heard in its weakness. His eyes beamed Christly Light through heavy lids. Looking at his cancer-ravaged body, I thought of the passage from Isaiah 53: "...he had no beauty or majesty that we should be attracted to him; nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." 

So, there he was, on the stage at Kehilat haCarmel in Israel, where he has stood for untold years proclaiming the True Gospel to Jews, Gentiles and Arabs, bringing them together to worship Messiah-King Yeshua. And he showed that he will do this until his last breath.

God's saints do not have it easy. Perfection is not attained on the road of comfort. "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Messiah not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him." (Philippians 3:10).

To be inspired by Pastor David Davis' message, click on this link. The video is about 30 minutes long, and the message carries the Power of God:    
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81msGU0N8I8&sns=em

Hillary or Trump?

We've seen mud-slinging before in U.S. elections; scandals are nothing new. But to watch election news THIS year feels like one is literally taking a bath in mud, like a pig wallowing in filth! The scandals and the profanity have reached new heights - but then isn't that a picture of our society as a whole?

John has a nephew who is a Captain in the Salvation Army. He's a guy I love and really admire. Last week he posted something that stirred my spirit. He said he was inquiring of the Lord:
Hillary or Trump?
Democrat or Republican?
E.U. or Brexit?

He paused to listen, and this is what he heard: "The answer to your questions is found in Joshua 5:13-15."

So I turned immediately to this passage and heard the heart of our Messiah, blowing a shofar through the mess, calling each and every one of us to look to HIM, YESHUA/JESUS, the CAPTAIN OF THE ANGEL ARMIES!

Joshua 5:13-15:

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a Man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as Commander of the Army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

What an answer to the questions! Ponder it. Meditate on it. What does it mean to you? What message does He have for you?

To me, it says that all the answers to all our questions about the confusion, the terror, the lies, the deceit and the fears of this world are found and fully answered in Yeshua, the Commander of the LORD's Army (Adonai Tzava'ot!!) If I take off my sandals in reverence of Him, and fall on my face in repentance, He will commission me to "fight" in His Army through prayer and through His Word.  There is no answer for America's woes apart from the repentance of her people!

Hillary or Trump?  The LORD says "Neither. But as Commander of the Army of the LORD I have now come." 

Who was and who is and WHO IS TO COME.

A Whole Lot of Shaking Goin On

Hebrews 12:26-27:
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Is there a shaking going on in your life? In my prayer time I have been impressed that the Lord is showing us that He is shaking our relationships and alliances with others.  These relationships are being tested, in order to see if they are built on the solid Rock of Messiah, or on fleshly gain and desires. Some of us entered into alliances for the sake of convenience - without inquiring of the Lord as to whether it was HIS will or not. Some are clinging to relationships or friendships that continually drag them into the world or into false beliefs, and despite their best intentions, they start ignoring God and the time they used to spend with Him in favor of people who do not even know Him or care.

But He is even now beginning to shake those alliances so that what is NOT of Him will fade away from our lives, and what IS of Him - withstanding the test and holding fast - will remain.

The shaking may get painful, disappointing, difficult. The Father says, "TRUST THE PROCESS." It is for your good and will draw you closer to Me."