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March 25, 2018

Lord, how unfathomable are your ways.

Dear Jesus, thank you so much for patiently teaching us that obedience carries with it the very greatest protection from the snares of the enemy. Not just the obedience of having permission. But the obedience of reading Your heart and Your wishes for us, and conforming ourselves to that.

Thank you, Lord, for taking such wonderful care of us and leading us higher and higher. Please, give us the strength we need to keep climbing. Amen.

Well, my dear loved ones, this was a most difficult three days for us, and I confess to you all I could barely stand under the pressure.

The intercession was very heavy and Ezekiel caught a painful infection. One of the medicines he was taking was working against him--he had a bad reaction. Which really tested his and our patience and faith.

But a powerful word and insight from the Lord did emerge and bring us up another section of the climb up the Mountain of Holiness. I have seen over and over again how the enemy works--in waves, touching all Christians. So, I have to believe many of you have also been tried to your faith limit and thrown into confusion in this last week.

But I want to exhort and encourage you that this is only temporary; it, too, will pass.

Well, it began... Ezekiel had a vision of the Lord weeping on the Cross and Our Father in Heaven pulling at His heart painfully. And when Ezekiel asked, "Why are you weeping, Lord?" he was given to understand that many fall into the enemy's traps, because they do not follow His prompting in their hearts to obey. And if they did, painful situations could be avoided.

I know from my own past, that when I failed to obey that deep call in my heart, it has led to a dead end. Sometimes a nine-year dead-end, like my first marriage.

And also, that because we do not confess our sins one to another--the Lord brought up--we do not have the real, honest fellowship and prayer that could deliver us from our troubles.

This was one of my problems in the main-stream churches: problems were very often swept under the rug and personal struggles, fear of ridicule, or rejection kept me in a trap when what I badly needed was unconditional love, wisdom, encouragement and prayer.

Fellowship based on the Truth and reality brings us closer, so we can pray for the real issues in each other's lives. And we are not always faithfully obedient to Holy Spirit's inspirations, Jesus' warnings, or the Father's pleadings. Rather, have seen in myself how I have chosen to live myself, and go my own way--if only briefly. This is why I fail and fall into traps.

Dear ones, when we choose to go our own way, the enemy carefully crafts the snare to entangle us to the maximum.

As you know, from a recent message I was given, the Lord gave me permission to get a few bulbs to bring some Spring sweetness into the sunroom (which accounts for 1/2 of the house). Well, when the little package of bulbs came, we prepared some soil and planted them. But I'll tell you, they didn't look too good when they came out of the bag. Some of them were moldy. Some of them were dry and didn't have any 'plump' to them. And I thought, 'I don't think these are gonna live...' And I was right. A lot of them never sprouted.

But in the process, my mind drifted off to several plants, as well, that I knew must be pot-bound by now. So, I took on the additional task of giving them some new soil.

To make a long story short, my one-day project turned into a three-day project--and my 'little' effort turned into a big, draining effort. And the enemy was behind the bushes watching me, waiting for just the right time to strike--BAM!!!

And I found myself in the midst of an ordeal that threw me back into the first days of our marriage, when things did not go well.

You see, I was not prayed up, but exhausted from my little lilies and repotting plants--and that's what the enemy was waiting for. In this way, he had the advantage, speaking metaphorically: what normally would be a sliver in my finger turned into a ruptured appendix.

Oh, precious ones! The Lord knows what the enemy has planned ahead of time. So, He guides and steers us through obedience and we never connect with the ambushes that were planned for us.

However, when we are led about by a ring in our fleshly nose, the enemy can easily predict what we are going to do and set up an ambush. If only we would be faithful to avoid the bait, so many difficult things could be avoided.

Jesus began, "I weep for My Church, My Body. I weep, because they do not understand the value of transparency and the necessity of being open and asking for prayers. I want all to see that the attacks launched against you are universal, and if you will stand together as one Body, they can be overcome.

"You will see the tactics you are the victim of, being perpetrated on others. You will see the sweep of the enemy's hand and crushing blows that torment My Body simultaneously. You will then realize it is in unity of purpose, holiness and sticking together in obedience that conquers this.

"Instead of trying to prove that you are steadfast and strong, and have no need for the counsel and prayers of others, you will all see how abysmally the same you are. Multi-millionaire, homeless man; movie star, struggling high school student; farmer, business man. I don't care what your occupation is--you all have the same problems to conquer, the same battles, the same sins and vices, the same resistance to Truth. Those with greater amounts of money and those who are poorer. All of you are wired the very same way and face the very same challenges.

"To know this, in the depth of your souls, is to conquer your ego, pride and passions--which is what Satan uses to control you all, most effectively. How can you look down on another man or woman who is captive to pornography--when you are also? Are you not both equal in your weaknesses? It is about teamwork and overcoming evil through brotherly love and perseverance.

"'Confess your sins, one to another' brings the lofty man down from his isolated mountaintop, and the soul dwelling deep in the desert up to the level plains, where both are equipped to support one another in their challenges. Fear of rejection and vulnerability cause men and women to wall them themselves up to protect their tenuous sense of security. So, they paint the acceptable picture and cleave to the status quo."

And everyone walks around with a little smiley mask...

"But the time is upon you where the status quo can cause you to lose your souls. And those who imagine they can handle their problems all on their own are sadly mistaken. When you all acknowledge your human condition, you come together to support one another--just as they did in the frontier days, when all banded together to fend off the attacks of their enemies.

"The enemy is all around you, My People. And he is counting on your need for security to control your decisions--even the decision to worship Me and only Me, when it brings you into conflict with those closest to you. When it jeopardizes your income. When it may alienate a child or loved one. There are more ways than can be counted to stealthily draw you away from Me--until you are out in the open, unprotected and walking straight into an ambush.

"But the soul that stays close to My heart will hear the quickening of the Spirit when a choice will bring you into danger.

"Many will apostatize--many. Because they will not bear the ridicule of swimming upstream. Once you all join hands and reveal your vulnerability to one another, the enemy loses the key factor of FEAR over you, because you might be rejected."

Fear of rejection. That is HUGE.

"Once our transparency reveals our shortcomings to one another, JEALOUSY is overcome by seeing the vulnerability of others. And your transparency makes for equality and understanding that I am no respecter of persons; these problems are universal to mankind."

Well dear family, at this point of the message, I sensed that I was missing something. Something a little personal and down to home for me--something the Lord was waiting for me to recognize in myself in Ezekiel's vision. I became very shaky and trembling as I realized part of Father's sorrow was over me. And I realized my little project took me away from Him for 3 days, not one. And made us highly vulnerable to spiritual attack, because my attention was watered-down on other things. Compromised.

Jesus began again, "Clare, what can I say to you? If you had refused the bait, it would not have been so severe. I look on you with great pity. I allow you to do that which you fancy will bring you joy, so that you can see what a huge, wide-open trap it is. And find your joy, without an admixture of sorrow--right here in My arms, Beloved.

"Yes. I want you to enjoy the beauty of nature. But you are all in a war zone, with grenades and bombs going off all around you. It requires ALL of you, My love. ALL of you. Because those who serve in the military do not get entangled in civilian affairs. Can you imagine a soldier in hostile territory admiring the flowers and planting a few more that might bloom on his way back?

"When I told you to go ahead and plant a few bulbs, I knew exactly what you were about to encounter. Even the small handful you received were inferior. I wanted to demonstrate to you how unstable and futile and frustrating the world can be. I wanted to discourage you in the future from even thinking in that direction.

"In the meantime, Satan--knowing full well how you react every Spring--laid a trap for you. I gave you permission to walk into it, so that you would realize it's just not worth it. In Heaven, I have everything prepared for you. Flowers that will sing to you, Clare. They will turn their heads to follow you, even call out your name, inviting you to worship Me with them. Oh, dearest, unbelievable blessings await you!

"But now your enemies, and they are many, have drawn a bead on you. They have planned this, deliberately knowing that you would end up in a bigger project than you thought, and it would squeeze our prayer time; you would find it hard to concentrate, because you were so tired. Therefore, you would be weakened. They waited for this time to see if you would walk into the trap you have avoided through obedience for the last two years. This, indeed, is what I am talking about.

"Now you will look back on this time and see how critically painful it was--and you will realize your weapons are loaded with lethal force to hit the demons--not Hyacinth bulbs. And if you load them with flowers, you will have no defense.

"I am telling you for your own good, Beloved. Nothing in this world is worth sacrificing time with Me. NOTHING.

"And if you don't learn from the past, you will repeat it in the future. You must weigh out your options ever so carefully. You cannot afford to take your eyes off the road for one moment. Because I guarantee you: the Lion is waiting.

"Had you been only occupied with prayer, as you usually are, the same events would have taken place--but your reaction would have been much stronger, and it wouldn't have been so severe. I allowed this to show you there is no room for loss of focus and chasing after the winds. no matter how fragrant they are.

"Knowing this, and having learned this very difficult lesson, I do expect in the future that you will ignore those invitations to relax and enjoy the scenery.

"Oh, I love you so dearly, Clare! It truly pains Me to see you in such distress. But I believe, in the future, you will not relax your vigilance, but decline those invitations. There is so much more for you to do, but I need this lesson to sink deep."

Thank you, Lord.

"And for the rest of you, My precious Heartdwellers:"

'The flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to one another, so that you do not do what you want to do.' Galatians 5:17

'There is another law at work in your body, warring against the law of your mind and holding you captive to the law of sin that dwells within.' Romans 7:23

And the third thing that caught my eye when He sent me after that first Scripture:

'Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.' Romans 8:5

And in another place in the Scripture it talks about a soldier does NOT get entangled in civilian affairs. 2 Timothy 2:4

Jesus continued, "You are housing passions inside of you that will lure you into anything except My glory--if you give heed to them. I want to see you resolutely walking by these temptations, knowing that they are not worthy of your attention. Nor are they worthy of what I am calling you to do, and they have no place in your lives if you are faithfully striving for the highest and best in Our life together.

"I am praying for you, My blessed ones. Yes, I am interceding that you would receive the most precious graces, to be able to distinguish the vile and corrupt from the precious, and dedicate your lives accordingly."

And that was the end of His message.

So, please, dear ones. Please forgive me for my folly. And know that Heaven is waiting on the faithful ones to bring all men to repentance before our end.

And I'd like to mention to you that I really do appreciate those of you who have taken the time and made the sacrifice to faithfully support our mission. It's very important. We have three people on staff and it's very, very, very helpful when you make donations.

I've been receiving donations for other ministries, and I faithfully send those out. But I have to tell you, right now we're at an all-time low. And any donation you send our way, we're gonna use to cover salaries and basic expenses.

And whatever is left over, I promise you. We will give to the poor. We have got four ministries now that we are supporting. Two in South America and one in India--maybe three in South America--I'm not sure. Well, they, all of them, are saving trafficked children off the streets.

So, we are faithful to give to those people. But right now, we have to kind of tuck in and take care of our basic expenses.

So, thank you so much for being so kind and loving. So prayerful. So faithful.

The Lord bless you.