The Straight Jacket of Poverty

November 23, 2013

Welcome back.

Well, today I want to share with you the message that the Lord gave me about the financial condition of America. And basically of the world, but especially for American Christians. The Lord had a message for you, and He asked me to share it with you.

Very briefly, because I've already spent a great deal of time on Wounded Waters, the 5 part series on the Worldly Church. In it are a lot of Scriptures and answers to questions as to why we're going through what we're going through right now.

So, the first thing He told me was that the title of the message was to be "The Straight Jacket of Poverty." Not a real popular subject! Don't run away, I think it's still worth listening to... I thought to myself "straight jacket. Oh boy, this is not good!' What is a straight jacket used for? Well, when someone is out of control, they're hurting themselves and a danger to others, they put a straight jacket on them and four point them on a gurney. So, these are protective measures that are taken to ensure the safety of the person and the staff or personnel that is helping them.

I thought about that for a moment, and kind of got the idea, but still I was kinda dumbfounded and I thought, 'Lord, I just spent all this time on the Love of Money and all the other things You gave me to teach on. I probably said everything in those teachings along with all the Scriptures...so. What do you want me to say?' I was confused about what to say.

He began speaking to me, and this is what He said:

"What is a straight jacket used for? For someone out of control. American Christians are out of control. They have made superfluous things essential. And as a result, are tied in knots financially and chasing their tails looking for the latest improvement to the version they now have, both in clothing, cars, gadgets and what I call 'cell phone madness'. All of this very superficial stuff is making them into cardboard cutouts. Their spiritual lives are starved by distractions. I am coming soon. I will make this promise to all reading or listening to this: If you will spend as much time with Me as you do window shopping, net surfing and going to the malls, you and I will have a profoundly deep espousal relationship. Think about it. Log your hours traveling to and from shopping trips, surfing on the net, eating out at stores and paying for everything. Add up all the hours and give them to Me as a Christmas present, and watch out relationship grow to everything you ever wanted from your life."

I can testify to that. NOTHING that I've given up to the Lord - Nothing - do I regret giving up for Him. Every time I give Him more of my time, more of my attention, I am so blessed to the point where I really don't want to come out of prayer.

He continued: "And for you gentlemen, count your hours watching sports, along with the ladies' shopping trips, and your shopping trips as well."

One particular Christmas, when my children were still at home, they were young. I had a little money to spend and I went to Walmart. Normally I would get them Christian things: books and Bibles and so on. This time I went to Walmart to get a few things. I didn't spend too much time there, and I kept it down - kept the total cost down, because I didn't feel that was something we needed to be spending a lot of money on. Just little tokens. Well, I came back with a cart full of things. My husband was standing there. He looked at me, he looked at the cart and all the things in the cart, and he said, "Honey, this isn't what the Lord wants." Now, my husband has very keen discernment on these things, and I honor what he has to say, for sure, because he's the other leg that I stand on. And my covering, as well. And he said, "This is not honoring to the Lord, this is not what He wants." Well, I kinda swallowed - gulped - my pride down, and I took everything back, put it back on the shelves, and we left Walmart without spending any money.

It turned out that particular Christmas, people showed up at the door with presents for our children, so that was very sweet. But what we did is, we made a little crèche, a little adobe, (we have a lot of adobe here in the southwest)a little town of Bethlehem, with a cave in the background. The children made little adobe houses, and when we celebrated Christmas that night, Christmas Eve, it was just so sweet, so beautiful and so pure. The spirit of the Lord was truly, truly present in that time together.

"Now you have the secret - I'm clamping down on American Christians because they pray to Me to save their country. That salvation starts one at a time, with each individual. You see, when one person devotes this kind of time and attention to prayer, there will be an outflow of love that will move others. Soon it will happen exponentially and your country will be on fire with love for Me. Then, I shall move on your behalf and restore the foundations. But as long as you lead shallow lives centered on the dollar and all the things it can do for you, you and your country will suffer. America is out of control with spending. She needs a straight jacket to help restore her sanity."

Folks, the things that really matter, (that's the end of the message) the condition of our souls before God. We don't know when the Lord is going to take us. We could die on one of those shopping trips and be totally unprepared to face Him. For the things that are coming upon our country, the things that are going on in churches, the apostasy that's being taught - there's so much that we truly... we need discernment to understand what's going on, and to know which way to go. If we don't spend that time with Him, really deep quality time with Him - the more you devote to the Lord, the more intimacy and the more beauty is in your relationship with Him. We just have no idea sometimes of the things that are going on. A lot of times people use judgment and social norms, and what have you, rather than using discernment, spiritual discernment. That's' not easy to come by. That's a fruit of a deep relationship with the Lord, with knowing the mind of Christ. Feeling the Holy Spirit quickening you. That's not gained by a superficial prayer life.

The Lord once told me, "Some people swim in the shallows, romp and play. Other people swim and play in the water in deeper levels. Some go boating in the water. But the ones that dives for pearls - that's what I want you to be. I want you to be a pearl diver. Not someone who sits on the beach and wiggles their toes in the water. Not someone who plays in the shallows or swims on the surface. But someone who goes DEEP to find the Pearl of Great Price."

And that takes time. It takes time to rest our minds, and allow the Lord to stop all the business that's in our heads.

I ask Him all the time, "Lord - help me pray." Because I can't always stop my own mind. I want to enter into that place with Him, but I can't accomplish that on my own. So, I confess it. I'm too little, I'm too weak - I need YOUR strength. Lord, help me - do it through me.

And He's told me time and time again - you can either do it yourself, or let Me do it through you...and I much prefer Christ living in me, doing the doing - because when I try to do it on my own, it doesn't work.

So, the Lord bless you and keep you. I'll be coming back soon with another video. It will be music this time, because He's' asked me to take a season away from teaching and finish some songs that are written and record them and share with you.

I'll be back soon - God bless you. Thanks for listening.