Rock and Roll - Be Still and Know

This morning while reading Psalm 46, the Lord gave me an image of an Ocean Wave/Tilt-a-Whirl…those dastardly mechanical mechanisms of gastronomical torture placed strategically on our playgrounds in the 50’s and 60’s…Go have lunch…then go “play” on the puke machines! Now THAT makes sense! NOT!

Oh…I digress…But isn’t that how our lives “feel” at times?????

Ps. 46:1-3.…”God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas. Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that!].”….

….Selah…Breathe in…pause…breathe out….

Back to the Ocean Waves of our lives….Up and over…over and up…pulsating to the thrusts of its riders…low to high…high to low…swirling and sashaying…up and around….the higher the rise, the faster the rush to the bottom…centrifugal force casting us once again up and over and around and plunging…spinning ever faster and more furiously….until it was time to head back into school….For some, it was total ecstasy…for others, we were as green as grass within five seconds flat!

Isn’t that how life feels sometimes? There are the time’s in life that give us that rush of ecstasy…but there are others that leave us with little more than an overwhelming, nauseous condition which only stopping will cure….and then when we dismount, we’re still not sure if we’re going to stand…tottering…faltering…flopping on the ground….staggering…But we’re not left alone….He is with us. The Lord, Our God, never changes. He is our Rock…Our firm foundation….Our Strong Tower….

Let’s continue to read….v. 4-7 “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning]. The nations raged, the kingdoms tottered and were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our Fortress and High Tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!”

….Selah…Breathe in…pause….breathe out….

v. 8-9 “Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations and wonders in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire.”

v. 10-11 “Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold), Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!”

….Ahhhhh….deep breath….

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest, [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good - not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Selah…pause and calmly think of that….”Come, Lord Jesus, Come….”

May your load be lifted today by the Only One Who is able to carry our burdens….

Ever yours in Christ,

Crista

http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com

Knock! Knock! Knock!!!

Yesterday on Facebook, I shared what the Lord had told me at the end of my time of pouring out my heart to Him....But I want to share what ensued prior to His word to me...and many of us...because sometimes it is very easy to think that we are alone in our struggles...and the one writing does not struggle or does not share in the agony of heart like we do. So, for those of you who feel alone in your struggle...let me encourage your heart....The Lord walks with you and me...and He's not left you nor forsaken you.

Yesterday, as I sat w/ coffee in hand....I mentally pictured the Lord on the other side of my living room...kind of a Gestalt...And my position was just open and honest...even though it was a "You stay on Your side, and I'll stay on mine, and we'll get along just fine." (I hadn't healed from the salt in my wounds yet....) So...I just sat and talked...You see, I'd been feeling personally threatened by a certain situation about which I cannot publicly write. (Hubby and I are fine!)

And this is what I wrote as He responded...

"I've been waiting for this time (together), Crista. SLOW DOWN!!! SLOW DOWN!!!! Be still and know that I AM God. In the face of adversity, you run, but I tell you to stop and stand. I know you have conflict that you didn't create (or are not responsible for the creation of it), but do you honestly think I will allow that? NO!! You are under the shadow of My wing - and I say that there, no evil shall befall you. (Psalm 91)

STAND STILL AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD! (Exodus 14:13) For the Lord is Mighty in Battle! It is I Who Do The WORK, so that the Only One in Whom you may boast is Me. I delight to give good gifts to My children and bring victory to your situation; for My Glory is one of those good gifts. You ARE more than a conqueror through Christ, or I would not have told you so. O ye of little faith, lift up a shout, for your day of victory is about to come about."

And by the end of our time together....He was sitting next to me on the couch....

Rev. 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me."

Thank You, Lord for Your long-suffering and patience and compassion and love....Please reveal Yourself even more to our hearts today...as we invite You in....

Love to all,

Crista

http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com

CMSimmons52@aol.com

TIME'S UP!

Dear Blog Readers,

This is a long entry today. It is so serious, and you may want to print it out. It has to do with how the Lord has been warning His Church about His impending judgment and being right with Him. Please know that this message is not written to one person(s) or group, but to The Body of Christ; for we all have a responsibility and an accountability to walk rightly and holy before the Lord. We will stand, individually, before the Judgment Seat of Christ. We are all called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling - not trusting in our flesh to do the work, but walking in His Truth and His Spirit.

Before we go on however, let me say this, I truly believe that for those who are truly in Christ, this is the Church’s finest hour…for the Lord promises in Isaiah 60 that when great darkness increases, then shall His light also increase. Also, be encouraged by Ps. 27:1 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.”

Many in the Body of Christ have either gone through the fire, been going through it or will go through it.

Why? It is preparation for what is to come. It is purging us of what is not of Him so that we will walk in the fullness of Christ. But with that comes also the tearing down of the Towers of Babel…places built by men to serve their own selfish purposes while all the time purporting to be from God. God has much to say about leaders who should be feeding the flock and instead feed themselves. We continue to see and hear this lust for earthly goods perpetrated in the “prosperity doctrine“. The prosperity doctrine in all of it’s various interpretations is the modern day Pied Piper of deceit leading God‘s people to the abyss. (See Ezek. 34) (We heard a pastor once say, “Wouldn’t you love to have so much money in the bank that you had to transfer it from one bank to the other?”….And I ask you, “Is this what God says our Christianity is all about?????!!!!!” GOD HAVE MERCY!….BUT HE’S SAYING: “Time’s Up!”

It was on Monday, Jan. 3, that I awoke at 5 AM to the following dream:

I “heard” my husband violently shaking the front door...because it was locked…

RATTLE! RATTLE! RATTLE!!!!...And then I "heard" Steve shout to me, "Crista! Crista! Crista!"

When I awoke, I really thought he was in the room with me and hadn't gone to work....It took me a little while to get oriented to the fact that he was not home....

Then, three days later on Jan. 6, ...I had another dream:

Steve and I were together and it was told to us that in 5 weeks (Feb. 10th) my retirement benefits would expire....I panicked...and Steve said, "We will have to trust in the Lord to provide."

Both of these dreams indicate His grace (5 AM and 5 wks)...and He's been earnestly trying to get His wife's attention, but she's been asleep. At first, the door was locked so He had to violently shake it open to get our attention...and then once in, He will be shouting to wake up His Bride....

The “5 wks and your retirement benefits are over” have to do, I believe, with the fact that He's saying His time of grace (number 5) is done....He's given The Church time to acknowledge her sins, repent and turn from their wicked ways (2 Chron. 7:14-16)...but now He's saying, "TIME‘S UP!".…

And in the following dream the Lord through my friend, Connie, He is speaking directly to leaders in the Church, because He holds leaders more accountable. See posting:

http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com/2010/12/warning-dream-and-interpretation.html

We have seen and will continue to see the Lord’s exposure of dirt and filth within leadership.

It is His Word which states that that which is done in darkness will be brought to light. (John 3:20-21)

We know that God is merciful. He gives us time and time and time again to repent and walk rightly before Him. But when His mercy is continuously met with a rebellious heart, then there comes a time for His firm line in the sand to be drawn…And His firm line is termed “Judgment”….

2 Peter 4:17-18 “For the time [has arrived] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will [be] the end of those who do not respect or believe or obey the good news (the Gospel) of God? And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the godless and wicked? [Prov. 11:31]

Now where is our Hope in all of this? It is in His righteousness…His holiness….allowing His Spirit to live and move and having His fullness in and through us; His vessels. Do we stand before Him in confidence; that our hearts do not condemn us? Or do we stand before Him knowing that we have been walking in rebellion? Are we seeking to justify our sin? Or are we asking Him to purge us of our sin? Do we want to be seen as holy and righteous before Him….or do we want to go out and partake of the filth and seek my own justification? Do we want to walk in the fruit of the Spirit….or the lusts of the flesh? Do we pray, “Lord, THY will be done, no matter what!”….Or do we pray, “Lord, this is what’s right for me…I know what’s best…Now, You do it.”

Beloved, hear the Word of the Lord:

Romans 13:11-14 “Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah). The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the (full) armor of light. Let us live and conduct ourselves honorably and becomingly as in the [open light of] day, not in reveling (carousing) and drunkenness, not in immorality and debauchery (sensuality and licentiousness), not in quarreling and jealousy, but clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).”

Determine this day….As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! (Joshua 24:15)….For we are the house/the temple of the Living God.

I’ve included another dream and word received from the Lord from 2007 and 2008 that are appropriate to this message.

12/6/07
DREAM: House About to Be Brought Down:
Walking through this huge house which had the appearance of being very expensive, but in looking at the high ceiling I noticed that it appeared almost like a hard jell (one would think initially that it was glass), because it began to sag. Through the "jell" one could see all this crud crushing down upon the ceiling. Over to the left, one area gave way and a black trash bag emptied its contents of filthy clothes (rags) onto the floor. I watched as the high ceiling began to bulge even more from the weight of the junk piled high between the roof and the ceiling (that which was not visible to the eye). ~I was thankful that I was not in the market to purchase this home...but just going through it and looking....and I saw all that was about to "fall". ~Then I was in the basement of this same house (I think).....and I saw this older man (60-ish) doing something like working w/ tools....and then he made a comment about eating these white, fat snake-like things; kind of like "well, they're not to bad once you get used to them"....and not realizing that they were gross and NOT to eat them! And the basement was dark and slimy with bugs and snake things running around.

This is the condition of many churches today, and a soon coming "cave in" to the present "system"; people eating things that they have been programmed to believe are "good" for them when in reality they're harmful. The condition of this "house" was that the whole structure was about to collapse upon itself, because of what it had laid upon itself. It was its own "stuff" that was about to create the collapse. All the "stuff" is man's creation and the yokes put upon the sheep. They are the "programs" created by man in the name of the Lord to give the appearance of elegance and that all is right with the church, but in the end, they are responsible for its demise.

1/2/08 "Great Change Is Coming"
"Life as you know it is going to change. You are very comfortable right now, but I tell you the truth, Great Change Is Coming. I AM shaking all that can be shook. I AM shaking men's hearts. Who will trust Me to carry them through? Have I not said that judgment shall begin in the House of God first? Do not be surprised by what you shall see before you. I AM God! And men shall once again revere and fear My Name! Men shall fall on their faces before me. Yes, I am full of grace, mercy and compassion. BUT I AM ALSO THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE! My wrath have I reserved for those whom I have warned and yet have not heeded My warning! My wrath have I reserved for those shepherds who've abused My flock for their own gain; for greed in My Church is an abomination before Me. My compassion do I pour out on the unbeliever. Have I not said it is better to have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble? When those who are called by My Name cause the unbeliever, the little ones, the one whose faith is miniscule, to stumble because of their selfish greed, then My wrath is stirred!!
Then, I must take action where there is no repentance. I AM long-suffering, but enough is enough. I have seen the suffering of My People and the greed of the shepherds - the very ones who've been called to lay down their lives for My Sheep, and it causes Me to vomit! It is an abomination before Me! Think not that I do not see for My eyes roam to and fro throughout the earth to see if there is one righteous man/woman. Oh yes, there are many in My sight who are righteous, but it is not the ones who've been flaunted and do now flaunt themselves across the TV screen. Have I not said that I exalt the humble, but bring low the proud?
The proud are about to be brought low - in one sweep of My Mighty Right Hand. (In my spirit, I see God's hand sweep from left to right over America - from the southernmost tip of CA to the southernmost tip of FL.)
There are those who commit adultery with the world. My Church leaders have committed fornication with the political systems of the world! Take heed lest you fall! The time of My warnings have ended. Now, I shall bring vengeance upon those who have raped My Sheep for their own selfish gain and called it of Me."
(Ezek. 34:1-22, 1 Peter 3:12, 4:17-18, 5:2-3, 5-6, 2 Chron. 16:9, Matt. 18:6, Ps. 33:18, 34:15, Is. 65:11-15.

Over the month of December (2008) I have been receiving multiples of 7's in groups of 3's (Gifts of 21 candles total in Dec., Dinner bill of $17.77 and car odometer 166,777) I continue to seek the Lord for His message to me about this.

Be blessed in all ways as our hearts turn to Him.

Ever yours in Christ,

Crista

http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com

Walking in the Light of His Glory

As the world grows increasingly darker, may we ever walk in the fullness of the Light of Christ. The greater the darkness, the brighter even a little spark will shine. Yes, darkness shall increase on the earth before the coming of the Lord. But Beloved, take heart, when we are in Christ, we are His and His Light shall shine forth as the sun. His Glory! For "In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]." John 1:4-5

It truly matters not what is going on around us...even though we are faced with issues...that is part of living on this earth...but we do not need to allow the issues to consume us. May we allow Christ, through His Holy Spirit, to consume us, for He is an all consuming fire. And when He removes something/someone out of our life, it is for His Glory. He will fill that place with more of Himself when we allow Him to do His work in and through us.

May we ever live in humble servitude before Our King. "Thy will, O Lord...Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Not my will, because I have no comprehension of what is the best for this situation....Only You do...and I yield to Thy Will; whatever the outcome. For I know that whatever the enemy intends for evil, You will use for good. May You and You Alone be praised, glorified and magnified through this yielded vessel."

Our prayer for today is so appropriate in the Apostle Paul's letter to the Colossians: Col. 1:10-11 "That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints of God (God's holy people) in the Light."

Blessings always in Christ,

Crista

http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com

Standing the Test

I hope this photo brings a smile to your face...Been there done that...again...and will probably go through it again....(I'm talking about the cat....)...Don't know about you...but this is what testing looks like at times to me....Not real happy about the whole thing....In fact, we'd prefer watching paint dry!

Yet here we are about to see what the Apostle Paul has to say about His Brother and friend, Timothy, who is like a son to him...."But Timothy's tested worth you know...." Phil. 2:22

~Wow! What does that say about Timothy? He's been through "the stuff"...time and time again...and through all of his testing...there is now a worthiness about him that is evident to others. God has been glorified through his testing...and there is a quality about Timothy that has stood the test.

~I suspect that we would use the following adjectives to describe Timothy: Trustworthy. Faithful. Righteous and holy. A true man of God.

~This reminds me of the chemistry lab experiments in high school...The flame test...What does it smell like? What does it look like when the flame is applied? For certain elements have specific qualities that identify them only when the hot, blue flame burns deep to the core.

~So when the flame is applied to our lives...Who is seen? Self or Christ? Flesh or Christ? Yet not that I live, but Christ who lives in me. Gal. 2:20

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature)…” Gal. 5:24

“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

For those of us going through testing right now….REJOICE! LIFE UP YOUR HEADS AND REJOICE!

For Christ is being formed in and through us….The greater the darkness…the brighter the light shines….

Take heart, Beloved….take heart.

Blessings always,

Crista Simmons - http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com

~In Quietness and Confidence~

Actually, this is a photo from a postcard that my friend in Germany sent me...It's a birthday card!
But as I was writing today, isn't this what we feel like we've been handed in life at times...Something that was supposed to be all good and wonderful, and instead, we get a mouthful of gravel...or a surprise plate of glop straight from the pit of hell itself. As we can tell, this poor little woman isn't too happy about her "Happy Birthday" cake....Life went terribly wrong!

And that's what happens to us. There are just those times in life that we're just plain knocked sideways into the next dimension or slam dunked in our now; whether it be a circumstance in which we find ourselves (an accident, death of a loved one, job situation)....or in dealing with people (misunderstandings or an all out frontal assault by the enemy of our soul). It happened then....It happens now....It will happen again....for we know that when the enemy came against Jesus, he left Him (Matt. 4:11), but then we know that the enemy returned at later times - especially when he thought he'd won by crucifying the Lord.

We know from Job 1:6 that Satan came before the Lord to present himself among the sons of God. And we read that the Lord asked Satan, v. 7 "From where do you come?" Then reading further in v. 8 the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"

It is from then on that Satan takes Job's property and his children, but we also know that God told him (Satan) that he could not take Job's life. (v. 12)

Trouble....It's a reality of living on this earth. It is a reality of our lives as Christians. One such event for me personally, was the receipt of an item that was totally unexpected. A slew of accusations fired hailstones into my heart...WHAM!...And momentarily I found myself spinning sideways...feeling off balance...threatened....Where to go from here?

These are the times we've all experienced...but what do we do with them?

The Lord gives us His Word for these times of trouble which pursue us, but do not overtake us.

Let me share with you what He's shown me so often, that your heart will be encouraged as well. He knows that we need His tender reminders. He knows our situation....He understands....He sees it all....and He will take care of it. And all we need to do is our part...to nestle under the shadow of His wing. (Ps. 91:1)

Be Comforted Beloved with His Word:

Isaiah 30:15 "For thus said the Lord God...In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength.."

Psalm 46:10-11 "Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold). Selah [pause and calmly think of that].

Psalm 58:11 "Men will say, Surely there is a reward for the [uncompromisingly] righteous; surely there is a God Who judges on the earth."

Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation - whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?"

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration, but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted!] For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

Romans 8:37 "Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us."

In closing, precious ones....if you've been going through a trial....rest in Him right now....He has you covered....He will take care of your situation. Rest...Abide...Snuggle in....Be at peace....

God wastes none of our experiences in life or our trials~ And as Job, may we be able to say that our spiritual eye sees Him through this even more than we did before. (Job 42:5 "I had heard of You [only] by the hering of the ear, but now my [spiritual] eye sees You.") The Apostle Paul wrote it this way in Ephesians 1:17 "[For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him."

Love always - in Him Who gave His life as a ransom for our salvation and our peace~

Crista
http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com/

Of Gnats and Camels or His Love?

Happy New Year and snowy greetings from our corner of the world in Michigan! We received a lovely, blanketing of Lake Michigan precipitation over the past two days....known as "lake effect snow" ~Well, Christmas break is over and I'm "back in the saddle" again....teaching piano and desiring to write more.

For those of you who'd like to keep in touch via Facebook, I now have a Dinner with the King FB page. Just look it up and send me a Friend Request.

During this break, it has given me time to ponder and seek the Lord about some issues...one of which seems to be the "heated" discussions that often happen between Christians regarding interpretation of scripture, various prophecies...who said what...what they meant....Letting the hairs on the back of our neck rise over this issue or that issue...and then taking the sword - either directly or indirectly to wound another member of The Body of Christ. It happens locally...it happens globally.

As I've come before Him to sit...and be quiet...and inquire....He helped me to understand even more the essence of His love...and that being the foundation of His commandments....to love the Lord, Our God, with all our heart, mind, soul and body and to love our neighbor as our self...for the law has been fulfilled in Christ and we have only one law now to fulfill and that is the law of Love. (James 2:8)

It was during this time of "pondering" that the words of the Apostle Paul resounded deep within....and I could hear him saying, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside." (1 Cor. 13:11)....and then I heard him write: "And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody)." (1 Cor. 13:2)

It's as if I hear the Apostle Paul saying, (my interpretation): "You know, there was a time that I had to be right...at the expense of the other person...but even though I knew I was right...that was not the core issue. The core issue was how I loved that person. I'm getting older, and I realize that being right isn't as important as loving...for that is the more excellent way...not on my insistence that I'm right. I'm older, and my body is wearing out. I don't have the energy I once had. Now I want to use my energy to do what is important before the Lord...and that is to love others....and I encourage you all to do the same. Don't sweat the small stuff....Let it go and let God."

And to emphasize His point, the Holy Spirit brought up the following scripture - repeatedly, from Matthew 23:24 "You blind guides, filtering out a gnat and gulping down a camel!" And isn't that what can so easily happen? We get so caught up in what so and so said, or this thing or that thing, that we forget that we are called to love each other.

I'm getting older...and feeling it....arthritis pain is my constant companion...
Pain does things to us that other things don't...It causes us to evaluate what is important in life and what isn't...It causes us prioritize and "downsize" the unnecessary issues of life....It causes us to think "How do I want to be remembered when I am gone?"...."What will be the most important when I'm standing face to face with the Lord, Himself on Judgment Day?" Next to my salvation in Christ...what is truly THE MOST important issue? Will it be that I was right about the interpretation of a certain scripture or issue....
or will it be that insofar as it was possible, I sought to live in peace with all men...that I sought to minister unto the least of these...Will men see my good works before them so that they would thank the Lord - even when they don't understand yet Who He is?

Please understand that I am not advocating checking our brains at the curb and promoting sin. God forbid! But there is a way to deal with issues that leave a person's heart intact. For it is a kind word of honey that will be received more than one of pure vinegar.

Many years ago, a Sister in the Lord sent me what she believed to be the word of the Lord to me. It came at a time when we were going through much personal grief in the death of a dear family member. I was crushed deeply and could not understand why the Lord would send me such a hurtful word. What the Lord helped me to understand is that a bruised reed, He will not break; whose word do I value more?...His or man's?...and He says in Psalm 138:8 "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me."

I have often said that persecution comes more from within the church than from without...because so often, those who are doing the persecuting think that they are doing the Lord a service to speak harshly against another Brother or Sister. But we know this should not be so.~ (1 John 2)

The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Tim. 2:24-25 "And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong. He must correct his opponents with courtesy and gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately acquainted with and acknowledge it]."

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ....may we all determine in our hearts to allow His love to live and reign in our hearts this year in greater measure.
When there is an "issue"...take it to Him....and leave it with Him knowing that in quietness and confidence, He is our strength. (Isaiah 30:15) We will never agree in all matters with all the Brethren...that is just life...and that is just people.

But when we are in Christ, Beloved let us love one another, for love covers a multitude of sins; that we may have boldness in the day of judgment...

In closing...
"If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates (detests, abominates) his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment (charge, injunction) we have from Him; that he who loves God must love his brother [believer] also." (1 John 4:20-21)

Ephesians 1:10 (Amplified) "[He planned] for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and comsummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth." v. 12 "So that we who first hoped in Christ [who put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!"

Much love always, in Christ,
Crista
http://dinnerwiththeking.blogspot.com