When we are children, we often needed self-protection to survive deprivation (to take something away from), neglect (the condition of being neglected), or violence (the use of force in a way that harms a person or property). As adults, our learned ways of protection can become walls that close us in and keeps everyone else, including God, out. They become obstacles (something that stands in the way) that block intimate relationships. In fact they are the roots (an original cause, source – the root of evil) of our sinful attitudes (particular feeling or way of thinking about something) and actions (the process or manner of acting or functioning.

Children learn methods to protect themselves when they feel insecure and threatened. Some of us as adults still want to hide under our beds, cover ourselves up, and go to sleep rather than face our fears and our sins. Children learn to cope with situations that are not within their power to change. Children get stuck at the very point or place that they were dropped (received the hurt, deprivation, neglect or pain). Self protective habits, especially those that were established (developed) during childhood, can become the broken glasses through which adults view their world.

When hurting adults live this way it is like living in a prison. The person who is coping with life from a defensive position cannot believe or realize that they have a choice. My responsibility is to help them to see the Father through His Word and to share my testimony of what He has done for me and been in my life. I know Him as a Father (the Daddy I never had) , a friend that sticks closer than a brother, a way maker, and a deliverer. I know Him as a healer, a counselor, a lawyer, a provider, a priest and a protector. I have learned how to run to Him when I want to run away from Him. I know that sin is in me. I am my own worst enemy. Why because sin operates in the flesh and that which is flesh is flesh, but that which is spirit is spirit.

The Father says in Deuteronomy 30:19,20, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

No matter what you have gone through in life, the Word says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child. I thought as a child; but when I became a man (adult), I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now, I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am also known. (to be continued………)

Behold, I have put My Spirit upon you. I want you to cry loud and spare not. Why are you silent? Do not keep quiet. Yes, I have spoken to you that you might know the burden of the Lord. I want you to understand what is in My heart. I love My people, yes, My chosen people the ones who belong to Me, the elect. My heart grieves (to cause to be sorrowful, distress, to mourn for) continually over them, because they are turned aside. My people have turned away from Me.

To turn means to cause or reverse one’s way, to become hostile or opposed, to direct one’s attention, interest, or thought toward or away from something, to become sour or bitter. To turn means to become indifferent, to cause or act against, to cause change; transform. Aside means to step aside, to put aside, out of one’s thoughts or mind, exclude from consideration.

I say unto you, hurting people hurt other people. When are betrayed (hurt) by the ones we love and trust, we have a tendency to become bitter, sour and indifferent. We act against or turn away from those who us love and the people we love the most. The trust we once had is lost and we start to believe that everyone is against us. We are easily disappointed and tend to become distrustful. It is at this point that we need to run to or turn to God. We should not become indifferent. To be indifferent means-not interested or concerned about others (indifferent to the troubles of others, not important).

God says to us:  My people have known My love; yes, they have tasted of My goodness, and entered into My grace. I have given them My salvation; but their love has waxed cold (Waxed means to increase gradually in size, number, strength, or intensity and cold means feeling no warmth, or having a low temperature) and their desires have been turned to others, and their ways are the paths of self-seeking and folly (lack of good sense or judgment; foolishness).

For I am a jealous God, says Jehovah, and I will not share My glory with another. Yes, I will pour out My goodness without restraint upon every open heart: and to all who cry unto Me, I will be gracious. But My (says the Lord, God) people have not cried: they have not called. Lo, they have been satisfied with the husks (usually a thin or hard outer covering of a seed or fruit, an outer layer or shell) of this present world, and in an hour of indifference, they have allowed the pleasures of this life to fill that place which belongs to Me (The Lord, God). Yes, it has displaced (to remove physically out of position) My Spirit (The Holy Spirit), but it satisfied not (failed to satisfy, displease).

Oh that they might return unto Me, says the Lord, for as the Father waited the return of the prodigal son, so long I for My people. Yes, My heart is lifted up with grief, and My tears flow as a fountain. For I love them: My soul is drawn unto them.

Return unto Me; for lo, I have sought you, but you have continued on in pursuit of your own ways. I have called unto you, but you have disregarded Me. I have placed obstacles in your path, hoping you would stop and consider and inquire of Me, but you have obstinately and determinately forged on ahead.

What is God saying to His people, who are called out of darkness into the marvelous light of His dear Son? Let us take a closer look….

Return to Me; for lo (lo means – used to call attention to or show wonder and surprise) I have sought after you (to seek, to go in search of). How awesome is this, that God Himself would seek us? But you have continued on in pursuit (the act of pursuing, an activity done especially for your own pleasure) of your own ways. I have called (to speak to as to be heard from a distance) you, but you have disregarded (pay no attention to) Me. I have placed (to appoint to a position) obstacles (put something in the way) in your path (a way of life, conduct or thought, a track made by foot travel), hoping that you would stop (to halt the movement of progress) and consider (think about carefully) and inquire (to investigate, to ask about) of Me. But you have obstinately (sticking to an opinion, purpose or course in spite of reason) and determinately (having fixed limits, definitely settled) forged (to move forward steadily but gradually) on ahead.

Return unto Me, says the Lord and I will return unto you. Put away your idols, and give Me your heart. Open your heart to Me, and I will purge (make clean) away the dross (the scum that forms on molten matter, waste or foreign matter). I will cleanse your heart and fill it with My glory. Yes, you will no longer crave the leeks(a garden herb closely related to the onion) and garlic of Egypt. You will no longer feed upon the chaff (the trashy matter, as seed coverings, something worthless); but I will satisfy your soul with manna (food miraculously supplied) from heaven, and nourish (feed) you with milk and honey.

And your health will return to you, and your vigor (strength, energy), and you will serve Me with fresh (pure) energy. You will go forth in new power, and My joy will be your constant (remain, occurring over and over) portion (one’s share of a whole, part). Though you labor in the last hour before sunset, your reward be like those that preceded (came before) you. (Matt. 20: 1-16)

My Prayer for you today: May the Lord instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go. May He guide you with His eye. Be not as the horse or the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle.(Psalm 84:11) May the Lord cause you to hear His loving-kindness in the morning, trust Him and know the way wherein you should walk and lift up your soul to Him. (Psalm 32:8,9) Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding. (Proverbs 3:13) Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

My desire is that these resources will influence both your life and mine, and that God will strengthen our walk with the Lord.

Oh My beloved, abide under the shelter of the lattice (a window, a door, a gate), for I have married you, and though you were sometimes indifferent towards Me, My love for you at all times is as a flame of fire. My warmth never cools. My longing for your love and affection is deep and constant.  Do not be slow in coming to spend more time with Me. Drop what you are doing and seek My face. Things are not as important as you think. Our time together is like a garden full of flowers, whereas the time you give to things is as a field full of stubble. I love you and if you can feel My Heart, you will know many things, the knowledge of which will give you sustaining strength. For the joy of the Lord is your strength. I bare your sins and I wish to carry your burdens. You may have the gift of a light and merry heart. A merry heart does good like a medicine.

My love bower( a safe and private place for rest, a shelter in a garden made of boughs or vines twisted together) is the place where you will find it, for My love dispels (drives away, scatters) all fear and is a cure for every ill (harm or evil, causing suffering or distress). Lay your head upon My breast and lose yourself in Me. You will experience resurrection life and peace; the joy of the Lord will become your strength; and wells of salvation will be opened within you as you spend more time with Me.

Love Calls us to Salvation

Everyone is separated from God because of sin and sinful behavior. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Sin must be punished- separation from God = Hell Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There is nothing a person can do to gain status with God or to earn merit toward salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For it is by grace you have been saved, though faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. Titus 3:5 says, “He has saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

Isaiah 64:6 says, “All of has become like one who is unclean, and all our righteousness acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

Recognizing this dilemma, God provided a plan from creation, a way for each of us to have a personal relationship with Himself. The way was through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Each of us must repent of our sin and personally believe (trust) in Jesus Christ as the only way to receive God’s forgiveness to gain entrance into heaven. John 1:12 states, “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. Luke 15:7, 10 says, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine persons who do not need to repent…In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Salvation is assured. 1 John 5:13 says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” John 5:24 states, “ I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

Bound To Obey – Love Calls Us to Obedience

Hebrews 5:8 Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things He suffered. Philippians 4:8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Matthew 26:39 “And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, you know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said unto Him, we are able.

The Spirit of Life

Romans 8:1-4 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Some people believe that since we are saved by grace and are no longer under the law, then we are no longer bound to the law. That is true in this sense: we are not bound to the penalty of the law. Since we came to Christ, the law no longer has power to condemn us. However we are bound to its precepts (commands or principles intended as a rule of action), for God has not changed His morality (system of moral rules). The Apostle Paul said clearly. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set (made) me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:1-3). So, the sacrifice of Christ freed us from the penalty of the law – He died in our place. So then, we are free from the law only in the sense that it cannot condemn us, yet we are still commanded to obey its precepts.

Love calls for us to be healed. God’s unconditional love provides the beginning of healing. Healing itself is accomplished by the Lord as He is invited in prayer to do His good works. But every person must take hold of his or her own healing and walk in it; no one can do that for you.

In Ephesians 3 we are given an example by Apostle Paul as He says, “For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God.”  (Eph. 3:14-19)

My Prayer for you today: May the Lord bless you and keep you and yours… though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. ( Colossians 2: 5-7)

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