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Part II

 

DISRUPTIONTOTHE

                 FAMILY OF GOD

 

The more you go with the flow of life and surrender the outcome to God, and the less you seek constant clarity, the more you will find those fabulous things start to show up in your life."― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Salt. 

Let's review Paul's words from the introduction again because he describes ­­nothing less than a deep wound that'll be inflicted upon the family of God—many of His children will morph into being more worldly and powerless. Again, "they will have a form of godliness but no power."Here is Paul's full message from 2nd Timothy 3:3-5, which provides the motif for our journey throughout this work:

  • "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, four treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."

 

 ALL THAT CAN BE SAID ABOUT LIVING IN THESE DAYS: GOD'S PEOPLE ARE NOT APPOINTED TO WRATH.  I will say that many of the problems that are bearing down on the world' are the world's problems, not ours, even though end-time pressures abound. However, how we position our lives, the decisions that we make, and the paths we chose could either mitigate these effects or exacerbate them. Our problems, speaking of the people of God and the family of God, are wholly different. Our problems are the following.

 

  •   First, we must contend with problems like apathy, growing sin, increasing worldliness, finding more fellowship with our heavenly Father, not losing our power, and keeping the fire of God burning. Second, we must deal with an end-time disruption to the Body. Do you notice the difference between the world's problems and ours? Recently I felt a heavy impression from the Lord to separate the world's problems from ours. It was liberating. It prompted me to understand Psalm 91 through fresh eyes; "We are only to observe with our eyes the punishment of the wicked." Tucked Away! Do you feel tucked away under the shadow of His presence? 

 

  •  Second, take a deliberate step in separating the world's problems from yours. You see, like the Israelites that were tucked away in their Goshen as Egypt endured the punishment of God, we also have our haven of safety. Find the shelter of the Most-High! It is the essence of Psalm 91. So many of the problems that God's people struggle with are borrowed from the world's issues.

  •  Third, what is counterproductive to enhance peaceful living is that God's people are busier and more pressure-filled than ever. It seems people cannot pause even for a moment to reflect on what is taking place spiritually, politically, economically, and prophetically. People pray for a couple of days about something, and when they don't see any results, they stop. Spiritual immaturity always requires action and movement to maintain interest and resolve, which is dangerous in such times. 

    One antidote for our times comes from a familiar rabbinic saying; "Every moment has its own responsibility; no two moments are alike." Solomon wrote similarly in Ecclesiastes 3: "Let our life be guided by every season under the sun." You see, I still believe that our lives are subject to a divine force of motion. Seasons come and go that are orchestrated by Him alone; each season is unique because it ebbs and flows with purpose and providence. I have found that God is far more involved in our lives than we think, and we are supposed to be more engaged with Him than we want! ​​​​​

    Yet, the only place where we can find guidance for our souls is His Word times. To find it, we are always compelled to slow down and disengage from the world. How do we heat the gentle blowing of God's wind in the tumult and busyness of today? Elijah found God's voice in the stillness, and so he said: "Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD. And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. "After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire, a sound of a gentle blowing wind." When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?" (I Kings 19)

 What Are the Words

  What Do You Need To Hear? 

 

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