†

After all has been said so far, what is the next step we must take to get ourselves back in line with the purpose of God for our lives? How should we respond? What should we think? The Lord told me to write about how His people were being destroyed. I wanted to know how, so I asked. I was quite blown away as I studied what the words for destroyed and perishing meant in the original language of the text.

Hosea 4:6 declares, my people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge because you, the priestly nation, have rejected knowledge

Proverbs 29:18 declares, where there is no vision,

(No redemptive revelation of God) The people perish

If what the Word declares is true, isn’t it important to recognize the symptoms or signs? Destroyed how? Perish how? Killed, robbed, abused, taken advantage of, loss of job or position, kids on drugs? What? More than outward signs or manifestations we can see, it starts with our own personhood, the eternal spirit that is you, animated by your soul, (your mind, will and emotions).

Ultimately, what you are on the inside, will express the strongman within. Whoever reigns on our heart becomes stronger by our acted upon beliefs.

There are only three contestants appealing for the throne of our heart, the devil, God, and our will. The word “destroyed” in Hebrew is Dama. It has many applicable definitions. The manifestations of the definitions show up first in our mind, will and emotions long before any serious physical destruction takes place. It starts in our heart. The personhood of who we really are that determines how we respond to our environment, to God and our family and friends. It affects our mood and ability for being able to sift through the junk of life, to find the truth of a thing and our identity.

The (first) manifestation in our heart is:

A sense of rejection, cast away, isolated, or utterly cut off, forsaken and despised.

Because religion is performance oriented and rooted in law, it would tell us that when we fall short and do not repent immediately, if we were to die without confession, we would be eternally lost or cut off as if there would be no remedy for a soul that could not repent. This type of message lies against the spirit of grace and stems from an Anti Christ spirit. It sows a deadly seed into the heart of new, born-again sons and produces what I have discussed in this book.

This book is a response to this deception or the lie from the pit of hell itself. The lie has no power to nullify our position as a child of God or our security in the finished work of Christ. But, it does have power to hinder our ability to claim and experience God’s righteousness in our walk as believers. The double mindedness it produces causes us to act as a child that has a crush on someone. You’ve seen it before, a little girl holds a flower and pulls off the petals one by one saying, he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not…

The petals we pull off the flower of our lives are the good and bad deeds we judge ourselves as committing. Whether it was a good or bad one, determines our perception on whether or not were loved or rejected by Him. This manifestation of judgment that lays claims to the heart of Christ’s little lambs is perpetuated by a legalistic spirit that is subtly and ignorantly accepted in Christian circles. Therefore, a babe in Christ never comes to find their true identity or righteousness in Him if they are yoked together with sheep that are treated as goats by the law; they just readily follow the flock down the primrose path to destruction and shame. In the natural, we don’t destroy and beat our babies when they mess their diaper, we change them and apply something to soothe their chaffed bottom and something that covers the smell! Part of being a parent is expecting an infant to make a mess. Our changing them displays our love and commitment to do for them what they can’t do for themselves. Our love covers their mess until we eventually can see them to maturity. God’s love covers a multitude of sins! As I’ve stated, this destruction strikes the core of our son-ship and ability to see and possess the Kingdom. We have already entered the Kingdom at the point of regeneration by the Spirit. The result of the lie and the attitude surrounding it penetrates the weak and double minded believer, revealing an ignorant heart and mistaken tone of distrust in God, as if God is angry with me because of my failures. People begin to believe, “God is only tolerating me. If I don’t get my act together, God will cast me away” This doubt in God’s faithfulness is the result of THE LIE!

If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 1 John 3:20

The (second) manifestation in our heart is:

No confidence to come to God with my needs because

I believe He is ashamed of me

Is the baby ashamed of itself as it poops its diaper? No. In its season, it is natural for an infant to do so. Just because we are adults in the flesh, doesn’t mean we can’t be infants in the Kingdom smelling up the place. Accept your infancy and God‘s grace that goes with it. Desire the sincere milk of this word and remember 1^st John 3:21

Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, then we have confidence toward God. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward……Hebrews10:35

The (third) manifestation in our heart is:

A fear of God that brings torment, and a fear of punishment or revenge on God’s part.

Herein is our love made perfect (mature) that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment because as He is, (now) so are we (now) in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast’s out fear because fear has torment. He that fears is not (not yet experienced or) made perfect in love

1 John 4:17-18

You hear it all the time about how something horrible happened in someone’s life. A death in the family, a sickness or a tragedy and when all is said and done they say, “God used it to get my attention!” A parent’s child dies and someone says, “God used it to get my attention?” What blasphemy! We would never afflict our own children in this fashion and yet, in our ignorant bondage we accuse God of being a merciless tyrant and monster. 

John 10:10 declares, for the thief (Satan) cometh not, but for to steal, kill, and destroy, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it, more abundantly.

Luke 9:56 declares, For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them

Jeremiah 29:11 speaks, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil. To give you a blessed hope and an expected outcome of good

What an insult to the love and grace of God. What an ignorant and profuse slap to the face of compassion! Thank God, He understands and weeps with our grief while we ignorantly accuse Him of such debauchery. His is a perfect love, always heartfelt and passionate toward us as the lover of our souls and a compassionate Father. We are always on His mind and in His heart. When we are ignorantly deceived to the truth of our real position in Christ, we never understand and reckon for ourselves just how far reaching and powerful His finished work on the cross was.

These are the first inroads to our hearts and thoughts that Satan uses to begin our destruction. Satan only comes to steal, kill and destroy. Even though he is stripped of all power, we empower him to strike us at the point of our justification and right standing with the Father through what Christ accomplished, which was not based upon anything righteous we could have done, or did not do. Through false guilt and condemnation, Satan cons us out of our inheritance and son-ship because we are not skilled enough in the Word of righteousness to declare otherwise in power. He knows we don’t possess the truth of it in our hearts. He knows we don’t possess it because he pays close attention to what we say and do 24/7, more than we pay attention to ourselves! We often speak against the truth of God and let circumstance dictate our response rather than “It is Written” as Jesus did. We want people to pray for us and yet we won’t do for our self those things required for a victorious life. In reality, we are wallowing in self pity and denial when we continually ask someone to pray for us concerning the same issue year after year.

God honors us as we approach Him in Faith, first believing that He is and secondly, that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. But, He does not honor our self pity, nor will He stroke it.

A continual defeat and in our life is evidence of our being destroyed. In some area, by sowing corruptible seeds into our life, we have empowered the enemy to get a toe hold and he is hanging on for dear life! If we will go through the process of “The Reckoning“, we can be released.

Washed by the water of the Word as we draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water as declared in Hebrews 10:22

I have heard people say time after time, God isn’t speaking to me. For some reason, He’s turned me off or He’s put me on the shelf. Within Hosea 4:6 and Proverbs 29:18 lies the scriptural truth and basis for why we are destroyed and perish day by day, week by week and minute by minute. It is the basis of why we suffer loss and experience lack in the earth. Oh, there are many other contributing factors, but I believe it all starts here. Notice how God is addressing His people, the priestly nation and how they have rejected knowledge. Did you know that you literally have to fight against the goodness and grace of God to retain your ignorance?

God is ALWAYS speaking.

He has NEVER STOPPED speaking to us.

His Spirit is ALWAYS in hot pursuit of us.

How do I know that He is always speaking not only to us, but to those who don’t even know Him?  Because if it were not so, Proverbs 1:20-23 would not be in His Word. It declares,

Wisdom cries aloud in the street. She raises her voice in the marketplaces. She cries at the head of noisy intersections, in the chief gathering places. At the entrance of the city gates she speaks! How long, Oh simple ones, open to evil, will you love being simple? And how long will you scoffers delight in scoffing and you, self confident fools hate knowledge? If you will turn around and repent and give heed to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my Spirit upon you! I will make My Words known to you!

When we declare that God no longer speaks to us, we ultimately live in survival mode and force upon ourselves a sense of false confidence in our own ideas, abilities and personal charm. They are the only things we can fall back on to keep us from losing our sanity and save our hope from becoming completely dashed. Without His voice in our lives we are subject to the other two contenders for the throne of our heart, (Our will or the Devil).

Continued in The Bruised Reed