 "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame." 1 Corinthians 15:34 All glory and honor and praise and thanksgiving to the One True God, our Heavenly Father. Let Your words and Your Will be mine, and let those with a mind to understand, see and hear. In Jesus' Name. Amen. In 2019, God told me that we are in a Spiritual War and a Spiritual Revival. A Spiritual War is not a war in the physical realm, but in the supernatural realm. Ephesians 6:12. (Also see my blog titled, 'The Narrow Gate" here) You cannot be a warrior for God in this Spiritual War, but will only barely escape through fire 1 Corinthians 3:14-16, if you are not wearing the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:11-24. I know. Broken record. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. Now, as I have said before, we can see the Spiritual Revival happening all around us, here and there, thousands being brought to Jesus Christ. Amen. It was not until a couple of days ago, however, that I came to a very important realization. God turned on my light again, so to speak: The Spiritual Revival is around us, but more importantly, it is inside of us. See more under 'My Testimony to God's Power.' So, when God's Spiritual Revival began, the world did not all of the sudden become darker. No, it has always been dark, because, as God said, men have nothing but evil thoughts continually. Genesis 6:5 If the world did not become darker, then what did happen? Well, God is awakening His children. Some of us, 'believers,' have awakened from our sleep of spiritual complacency (Romans 13:11 below), and others continue to awaken. All of a sudden, murdering unborn babies at all, ever, but especially at nine months old in the womb, the day they are suppose to be born, became a real life horror movie, against everything Godly, or morally right. Or, silencing and censoring people on social(ism) media, who do not agree with you, which is called communism by the way. These are just a couple of in-your-face examples, but awakening is so much more. See my blog titled 'Sin No More.' Awaken from your sleep of spiritual complacency, or I will come like a thief in the night. Romans 13 8 [2]Owe nothing to anyone except to [3]love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one’s fellowman]. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,” and any other commandment are summed up in this statement: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor [it never hurts anyone]. Therefore [unselfish] love is the fulfillment of the Law. 11 Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ]. 12 The night [this present evil age] is almost gone and the day [of Christ’s return] is almost here. So let us fling away the works of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light. 13 Let us conduct ourselves properly and honorably as in the [light of] day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and irresponsibility, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for [nor even think about gratifying] the flesh in regard to its improper desires." Footnotes biblegateway.com
'Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.' v. 11 below: 1 Corinthians 10 1 "For I do not want you to be unaware, believers, that our fathers were all under the cloud [in which God’s presence went before them] and they all passed [miraculously and safely] through the [Red] Sea; 2 And all [of them] were baptized into Moses [into his safekeeping as their leader] in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all [of them] ate the same [1]spiritual food; 4 and all [of them] drank the same [2]spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not well-pleased with [3]most of them, for they were scattered along the ground in the wilderness [because their lack of self-control led to disobedience which led to death]. 6 Now these things [the warnings and admonitions] took place as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did. 7 Do not be worshipers of handmade gods, as some of them were; just as it is written [in Scripture], 'The people sat down to eat and drink [after sacrificing to the [4]golden calf at Horeb], and stood up to play [indulging in immoral activities].' 8 We must not indulge in [nor tolerate] sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand [suddenly] fell [dead] in a single day! 9 We must not tempt the Lord [that is, test His patience, question His purpose or exploit His goodness], as some of them did—and they were killed by serpents. 10 And do not murmur [in unwarranted discontent], as some of them did—and were destroyed by the [5]destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come." Footnotes biblegateway.com
I had read somewhere before that not everyone who left Egypt with Moses and the Israelites were allowed to enter the promised land, which was one of the reasons God took so long getting them there. All of the original warriors from Egypt had to die before the Israelites could enter. The warriors were too hardened and would not obey God. I had no idea, however, that it was only two people, Joshua and Caleb, from the original group that left Egypt, including Israelites, who were allowed to enter the promised land (along with others who were born during the 40-year trip). See v. 5 above, and footnote 3. The road to hell is wide and easy to find, but the road that leads to eternal salvation is narrow and difficult to follow, and few will find it. Matthew 7:13-14 These are not just words. Think about it. How could it be narrow and difficult to follow if all you have to do is say, I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior? That is easy, but it is just the first step. Anyone can speak words. But, can we obey God? That is what the Scripture repeatedly tells us to do, the apostles and God's prophets in the Bible tell us to do, Jesus Christ himself tells us to do, obey God: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13. Do we think that God is not talking to us, that He is talking to someone else? Awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]' before it is too late. Also see my blog titled, 'Are You a Lukewarm Christian?' The world is broken, but YOU are not. God is moulding us. Let the pieces that no longer serve God fall off. Let God mould you into His Will, and 'Become, Become, Become.' (See "Become" poem by clicking here.) Let us all pray that God's children, His chosen, every one, awaken from their sleep of spiritual complacency, are not too hardened to obey Him, and will all be allowed to enter into the promised land. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and obey God's precepts and commands. All glory and honor and praise and thanksgiving to the living God, the great I Am. In Jesus' name. Amen. 
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 " Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose]." James 4:10 Heavenly Father, thank you for hearing our prayers, and promising healing, restoration, and the peace that passes all understanding, if we pray. Let Your words flow through me and not my own. Let those with ears to hear, hear. In Jesus' name. Amen. Praying is new for me. I think that is another part of the reason why I started attending Saturday Night Prayer Meeting at church. I was hoping to hear people pray, so I could get a clue, and also, hopefully, the courage to pray out loud with other people. Of course, I now realize that it was not courage that I needed, but the Holy Spirit, because if you have the Holy Spirit, then God will give you the words to say at the right time: "For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict." Luke 21:15 Knowing that still does not break down 'the Wall' we have put up around ourselves, which comes from a lifetime of self-conditioning to keep people away. I say, "we," because I know I am not the only one. I have heard too many people say, even recently, that they like animals more than they like people, or even, God forbid, 'I hate people,' which a family member told me very recently. Since some coincidences, however, are God-scheduled opportunities, I took that opportunity with my family member to tell her what I had learned about hating recently. I said something like, I was there (hating people) not long ago, but I love them now. It is hard, but you have to look at everyone as if they are you. Thank God, she is on her own path with God, and she replied, 'You know what is so weird? I had that exact same thought yesterday. I was judging someone. I literally thought to myself, what I would have said in her position.' Praise God. God is Great - All the Time! LOVE EVERYONE Hate Evil: Proverbs 8:13 Love Your Enemies: Matthew 5:46 Bless those who curse you: Matthew 5:44 Now, God's Word literally tells us everything we need to know to have productive, happy, fulfilling, and abundant lives, now and in life everlasting. Jesus boiled down all of the Law and the prophets that were prior to Him into two things, two things that could change the world: Love God with all of your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as if it were yourself. That is it! Most, if not all, of God's blessings are unlocked by loving Him and others: tithing, offerings, meditation, healing, prayer, which brings me back to the topic of this blog: Prayer. We only began attending church at the end of 2021. I had been watching some Pentecostal sermons online during the lockdowns, and was hoping to find a Pentecostal church. However, when there is a church a half a mile from your house, you have to give it a shot, so we did. Lovely church, lovely people. It could have been home, except it was missing one very important element to me: The Holy Spirit. Not only could you not feel the presence of God in the church, it felt almost stifled. We attended only twice, and then started looking again. Thank God, we found our current church. I really believe the presence of God is in the entire church building all of the time. Prayer is a big part of the church. After each worship service, we have a prayer time. Our pastor has always encouraged people to come up to the altar and pray. Again, I am new to prayer, and to God for that matter, but what I know is that God has been talking to me for three or four years now, and almost all of that time I was not even attending church. Really, I just started praying more regularly, other than at meals, in the last couple of years, in my home, in the shower, in the bed half asleep in the middle of the night, occasionally getting up and praying, but never on my knees. I mean, it hurts. So, recently, the last couple of services, Pastor has been encouraging us to kneel to pray (at the altar, in the pew, wherever). Again, I was like ugh. There is a little bit of guilt then, for not kneeling, which probably comes from the Holy Spirit, so I got up and kneeled to pray when he said it. But, again, ouch. In the back of mind, I am thinking, God listens no matter where you pray. I know this firsthand. So why should I cause myself pain? Forgive me, Lord, and Pastor David. Then, today, because God is Great All the Time, this showed up as the Verse of the Day on biblegateway.com: "Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose]." James 4:10 Now, as I have written about many times recently, we know God's Word is alive and powerful. I also KNOW that the Holy Spirit is present in my church. Knowing those two things, and now knowing the Scripture James 4:10 above, I would be pretty dumb not to humble myself in the presence of the Lord by kneeling. God's Word tells us to do this one thing, humble yourself in His presence, and be exalted, raised in character, elevated, raised high. Merriam-Webster Definition of exalt: 1: to raise in rank, power, or character 2: to elevate by praise or in estimation 4: to raise high So, do you have to kneel, or even pray around the altar? No, of course not. We have something called 'free will,' and it allows us to do pretty much whatever we want, within the law, and hopefully within some moral limits. To activate God's blessings, however, we have to obey Him. His Word is written for us, to tell us how to activate His Power on earth, and, of course, in eternal life everlasting. Kneeling, as a sign of respect for, and surrender to, the One who created all things, may hurt for a moment, but the blessings may very well last a lifetime. "O come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and prayer]." Psalm 95:6 And, of course, in the end, we know that every knee will bow to Jesus, and every tongue confess to God. Romans 14:11-12 This body of flesh is temporary. This pain is temporary. God forbid we ever forget the pain Jesus endured for us (see video below). Isaiah 53:5-12 Hallelujah. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Amen. GOD'S SIGNS AND WONDERS |
Melanie GarciaFaithful and humble servant to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Archives
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