It is Finished!!

I know, I know...you're thinking that the title, "It is Finished" has to do with Easter right? Hello....it's almost the holiday season after all, so why am I writing about Easter??  Well, first of all, Easter is a pagan day that has to do with the fertility Goddess, Ishatar! “Later, when this adulterous and idolatrous woman gave birth to an illegitimate son, she claimed that this son, Tammuz by name, was Nimrod reborn.”[4] Easter/Ishatar “claimed that her son was supernaturally conceived [no human father] and that he was the promised seed, the ‘savior’”—promised by God in Genesis 3:15. “However, not only was the child worshipped, but the woman, the MOTHER, was also worshipped as much (or more) than the son!”  (Kind of makes me like Babylon...) emphasis mine...hee hee...[5]Nimrod deified as the god of the sun and father of creation. Easter became the goddess of the moon, fertility, etc.

...I know some of you know this fact already...but did you know that Ishatar was Nimrod's queen?....What's more, did you know that together they represented massive perversion?? Last but definitely not least, did you know that in ancient Babylon, you know where the sinners just love to babble only to hear their own thoughts about everything, Nimrod organized major cities into perverse places, such as Babel, Asshur and Nineveh....!!!! Now, that fact is Biblical, just check out Genesis Chapter 10! 

So...there is the connection for all of you who doubt the relevance of Easter on a blog about Nineveh at Christmas time!! So, when you think you know something about religion and about Easter or religious holidays...think again.....!! In fact, any time that you think you know anything...think again, save your salvation with our Lord of course! I'm constantly surprised that we buy into just about everything false that the world throws our way!! Even about our own Christian holidays we let the world write the script, don't we? As if our story is not written yet by a master scribe, we look everywhere for others to tell us what's next. Sadly, we let the world tell us how life should be celebrated and how the story of our lives really ought to go. Moreover, we listen to the fact that we, not Christ should be in charge of our own lives...!! Friends, don't be like the prodigal child, always looking for the answer to your story somewhere outside of God's story; don't be deceived!! Be like the Bereans who searched with great intensity to find out what is true; the Bereans found it in Christ our Lord. Want to know another example of something else that is deceiving??? Simply put, there is a phrase, "It is Finished"! These words, "It is Finished", make up a phrase that for most Christians just means that Christ finished His mission on the cross and then it's time to eat the chocolate out of our Easter baskets!! Well, good job, Ishatar and the pagan gods of Babylon, because "it is finished" means sooo much more than that basket of pagan chocolate and fruity jelly bellys!! It is finished means that Jesus is Lord...that He writes the story, that He conquered the grave, the giant and the pagan goals of our lives that will turn out for bad rather than for good. He conquered the decisions we all make to run to Tarshish and avoid Nineveh!! When you are confused, seek His counsel, John 16 and when you are lost ask for His light to guide the way, John 1 and when you are lonely, ask for the comforter to come and remember, Emmanuel, God with us! When you are sick remember Jehovah Rafa, the great healer and when you are wondering how everything will turn out for you or whatever else you must do to be safe remember above all, the phrase and glorious truth, "It is Finished"  and then run home oh prodigal child...stop writing your own story and let Jesus read to you one chapter at a time of the greatest love story ever told, it starts with Love...it has love wrapped up like a baby in the middle and it ends with a blazing fire ball of love at the end...Lost today?
 Ask Jesus...Tell Jesus, Follow Jesus...Just let the finisher of your faith be the director of your steps and your job here will be done, and finished...capiche? 

Caught in a rut

Whenever you are caught in a moment of disappointment or you simply have the blues, remember....get caught up in the glorious King...he has ever increasing light, glory and grace!!
Ever had the birthday blues, the Christmas blues or the Thanksgiving blues?  LOL..the Thanksgiving remorse of eating too much??  Valentines? Aw, come on of course you have! The great anticipation of any big holiday just almost stresses you out so powerful is its affect on your mind. Quickly the holiday approaches and every morning has excitement as you make yourself ready for its arrival, right? Then, the day arrives and ...??? And, what? Just like any day, there is an end! The long awaited Birthday is over...whether or not it was your party and you cried if you wanted to cry...now you get to cry because it's gone!
The truth is that we love to have something to hope for don't we? We need to cast our energies on something that promises joy, happiness and excitement! However, we so easily cast our hopes on things that fade and on things that do not save! Friends, God is Faithfully present for you, standing ready to gift you with all his glorious riches. As we enter this holiday season, let's cast our hope on His arrival....on His faithfulness...He's already faithful and he's already here and His day is never going to be done! Walk daily in His holiness and your Holidays will be so much brighter.

Lamentations 3:20-24 says,

I well remember them,

    and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

Principle, when you get caught up in the hope of what cannot last

you will be down and out for all the fun and excitement will be left in the past

When you hope in Christ, your days are blessed,

for his rewards never run out and the expectations are always exceedingly met.

The real evil....

1 Corinthians 9:24New International Version (NIV)

The Need for Self-Discipline

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Again we are all admonished to throw off all that hinders, 

Hebrews 12:1-3New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Happy Halloween to you! Trick or treat? Which way would you like to be deceived today? We are all so deceived and we have all lost our power to reckon with the deception, because we have chased after other things, things that cannot save. Often I think about the masks we wear and why we wear them, don't you? Well, I think that I know why I do! I'm to interested in the treat to face the truth head on in my life.  Treat? The tricks are a little more vicious on the surface, but far more easily reconciled once the deception has taken place.  The treat is a little more under the radar and in many ways...far more dangerous. The tricks of life last only but a part of our day...a moment in our week and are then thrown into the fire and burned with the rest of the rubbish, right? But, it's the treat...the promise of that candy or carrot that invites us to pursue something that will never lead to joy, that will never lead to peace. Sadly, sometimes this wild, wilderness pursuit is the pursuit that takes our life time! Our goal and true prize is lost and we are heading towards the dangers that call us in the night! So, on Halloween...I hope you are not tricked....!! However, careful of the treats that promise things they lack the power to give? Grab for the real prize...the one set forward for you in Christ Jesus our Lord and then run for it without ever looking back. By the way, running with a mask on isn't safe! Take off all that hinders and just run!

Safe?

¹safety!!! This blog is dedicated to a little girl who's strength comes from God alone, who is her safety!!!

noun safe·ty \ˈsāf-tē\

: freedom from harm or danger : the state of being safe

: the state of not being dangerous or harmful

: a place that is free from harm or danger : a safe place

Safety is a real freedom from harm and danger! Do you remember playing Hide and Go Seek when you were little? Or just the game of tag? Remember how once the enemy had discovered you and began to chase you...there was always a place you to where you could run to or find that was the "safe zone"?  Remember that rush and adrenaline as you pushed your whole body to reach that place and as your hands and then body crossed the threshold of the "safe zone" and then out of breath you cried, "safe"? I remember the sudden warmth and peace that encircled my whole being when I made it to the tree of safety in my backyard! Phew! In fact, so comforting was that tree that I was not so quick to leave its branches of embrace and calm. Remember? In reality, there is only one place where we are safe..and that's in the arms of Jesus...free from harm and all that threatens to choke the life right out of us!! I've often wondered if Jonah knew the safety of Israel and not the safety of God!! Friends, sometimes, others make us feel safe and things seem to protect us..at least for a while...!! Although that feels pretty good....for a while...please remember A hurricane can still come knock over your tree!! LOL...! The safety of your family can be ripped from you suddenly by death or tragedy or sin!! Sometimes, we are all just barely holding on because something that we love has been ripped from us so violently..so suddenly..and we cannot move because the pain has left us paralyzed..even too paralyzed to obey God...like Jonah!! There is a little girl out there that I love, and her name will stay anonymous.  The girl to whom I'm referring is anchored so strongly on Jesus that although she has lost everything ...she knows her Saviour knows her name and calls her His own...she is unafraid tonight to just Be Held...I hope her strength is yours tonight...we can all learn from her life...She has lost her Mother, her Father..access to her only Grandmother and at the age of 10 knows that there are no orphans of God. So, when God's your safety....even when God calls you into something that doesn't feel or look safe at all...you are protected under His wings of eternal strength and power.

Principle: When God protects you it's a protection that goes beyond the grave...When man protects you, there is a limit to what can be saved.    Who protects you?  

When Power isn't Power!!

1 John 4:3-5New International Version (NIV)

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

Are you following the Great Overcomer?? Is the God of Israel your power source?? Do you listen only to God or do you listen to the voice of the World?? You know something? There are a lot of impostors out there in this world that claim to have power...!!! Ever heard of the "Love Doctor"?  Oh yeah Baby....!! All of us can relate to the impostors, impostors such as Love...!! Yes, the Love Doctor can heal all things..or, all things are healed by the power of love!! Oh, and then there is Money....Money fixes everything!! Right? What about position, prestige and political sway??? With the right position of power, everything would be alright and needed change would fix everything, right? Well, hold on to your chairs because if you think that there is any real power in "Love", "Money", or "Position", then you are wrong, wrong, wrong!!! All these things fade away like the flowers in the field...but the Power of God increases exponentially, never fading, always glorifying the Master, never dying, always living for the King of Kings...and that same power lives in all of us!!!! So, then why? Why are we under the power of anything else??? Why are we chasing after anything else? Seriously?? Why would you take the best of the best and exchange it for something worse????  How does that make any sense??? 

Principle: When you fail to overcome something difficult in your life, you have failed to serve the Great Overcomer!! Powerful things crush your pursuits, while a powerful God makes them possible!!! 

Under whose power are you operating today??? For whom do you serve....a false power...or God's Power...??? 

Role Playing

We are all defined by the roles that we play, aren't we? Men and Women play different roles and those roles define in large part who we are as people, as christians, or as enemies. Just ask the question of any man, "what do you do for a living" and he will tell you as though he's sharing his soul. In the same way, ask a woman about her children, her babies, or her home and she'll tell you a tale of unending story about what makes her breathe, and about what makes her exhale. Now, consider a less gender specific role, such as a prophet, a preacher, or a teacher, especially a teacher of a specific topic, and he or she will tell you...the complete story of what makes their heart beat..it's their life's work, that is still working, growing, and evolving, making them into what they were meant to be. Truly, when Jonah was called by God..the God he served by the way...LOL, I only point that out because the bible is so full of characters that were called before they knew God, which in someways was a plus for their faith. Well, Jonah knew God...knew Him well....and when God called Jonah...he was a prophet of Israel... Jonah 1:1 reads,

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. 

Now, we've said this before and we'll say it again....to go away from Israel is to go away from the Lord....So, when Jonah ran, he was not just running away from His calling to serve God in Nineveh, he was running from God...!! Why not just stay in Israel and defy God...?? At least, Jonah would have been still in his home, carrying out his role as prophet...yes, that heart could've kept on beating, right? Jonah...Jonah Jonah....the prophet, called the dove of Israel...he couldn't fly straight anymore because he was mad at God...!!! At the very suggestion that Jonah give up his role as prophet to Israel and compromise himself as a person, a Christian or as a rightful enemy to Assyria....Jonah was mad!! So mad, So sad, too bad for Jonah who had no where else to go but away..away from the presence of the Lord.   Are you running from God today because His dream for you means giving up a current dream you are living..?? Consider that even in the loss of the roles we tend to need...desperately need...that God gives us a more definitive role in Him, a role that will last forever....Remember...there is no God like your God..there is no plan, like His plan and there are no roles as great as the ones He has yet to ask us to play on this earth and into eternity...

I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

Psalm 119:60 NIV  Amen!

The Words are Worth the Effort!!

When we are raised Christian, we are taught to read God's Word and to make sure to hide those words in our hearts....that.....That what?? That we might not sin against God!! Although hiding God's Word in my heart will definitely assist me in not sinning against God, what about the other perks and benefits??? After all, let's be honest..where's my incentive to read His Word..a book of commands and directions to do everything God's way, not my way...and a book that doesn't guarantee that people in this world will not hurt me or torment my life? Maybe I want to do it my way and not God's way and just maybe I don't agree with God all the time...Where's my incentive to obey despite all of that? What about the whole reward package?? Friends, do you realize what God's Word is and or does in your mind, heart, soul, and body? LOL ...I think Jonah really understood the whole fringe benefit of God's Word and that's why he didn't want Nineveh to have a piece of that pie!!

Consider the Word of the Lord..Romans 10 8-12“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 

12 For there is no difference 



between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord 

is Lord of 

all and richly blesses all who call on him, 


For Everyone who calls upon the name of 

the Lord shall be saved!!  

Okay  We do want to sin sometimes...or even a lot of the time...We do not trust God and want to try things a different way...!! However, the Word of the Lord is a great protection from danger...it is a gateway to major blessings and it is the peace that passes all understanding in the storms of life. There are keys in the Bible...Keys that unlock the mysteries of all knowledge and understanding.  In Galatians 5-22-23 we learn that the fruits of the Holy Spirit..Love, Patience, Joy, Peace, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Goodness, and Self control answer to no one..!!!! Against such things, the word of God says, there is no law!!! 



Guess what...??? All the rules in the world that we are going to face that will limit us and hurt us and wreck all of our plans can not stand up against the fruit of the Holy Spirit!!! Let's stop worrying about how God's Word might limit us or not line up with our plans and let's start enjoying the simple facts.....


Principle: When you hide God's Word in your heart...

There are no limits to the joy and the life that will start...

When you choose your way and plan

Anything can go seriously flat!!! 

Jonah didn't want Nineveh to have a piece of that joy and power...He wanted to lay them flat....Don't you want a piece of it?  Friends..I want all of it!! Praise His Name...and Praise His Word!! His Words are so amazing...so full of freedom and joy!! I want them all!!!!