“The secret to success is to be ready when the opportunity presents itself!”  “The opportunity of a lifetime is ONLY good DURING the lifetime of the opportunity!!”

That’s all true for earthly success AND in regards to The Rapture (catching away of God’s people) as well!  We MUST be ready — not “getting ready!”  “When The Lord gets ready, you GOT TO MOVE!” — as an old song declares!

Have you been wasting your time?  How do you expect to be chosen for the team if you haven’t worked out & mastered your skills?  Be it for business, sports, ministry, relationship, Rapture or anything!  Well –why are you still sitting there?  Get up & do something!  One book is entitled:  “Don’t Just Sit There — Pray Something!”

Pray, find out WHAT to do & then GET busy — it’s almost START TIME!  If you can’t keep up with the footmen, how will you keep up with the horseman?

As T.D. Jakes says: “GET READY, GET READY, GET READY, GET READY!

You want to be blessed with a better life, don’t you?  Then GET READY! PREPARE! GO!!

Chaos clouds everything — audibly, visibly, etc. When there is a storm or tornado, everything is visibly clouded and in chaos; when passing by a noisy construction zone or when one hears an explosion, loud music or an argument, our hearing is impaired because of the chaos!

How deep the Light of the Lord shines into the darkness of our inner being so as to show us our actual needs — getting to the root of things, revealing them & adjusting our perspective to bring us victory from something that, perhaps being only a slight degree off, hindered us just a moment before!

“…beside Me there is no Savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed…therefore you are My witnesses…Yea, before the day was I am He; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand: I will work, and who will let it?” says The Lord… Isaiah 43:11-13

 God is changing our character flaws into usable tools to get the job done — just by changing (correcting) our perspective (understanding, ways of viewing things)! Let God reveal to you what needs to be “tweaked” (adjusted) just a bit in your character or way of thinking, THEN pray boldly for Him to meet your needs as you newly understand what they are – “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need!” Hebrews 4:16  

 The Results are DYNAMIC and SUPERNATURAL!

There IS AN END TO YOUR PROBLEMS, BUT ONLY when you acquire the wisdom of God to gain the victories! (Proverbs 24:13& 14).  No changes = no fear (respect) of God (Psalm 55:19) = no wisdom = no rewards! (Psalm 111:10)  We must acknowlege the Creator’s authority to help us over come!  We must say, “Here we are, Lord, depending on Your Grace, ’cause that’s the way to win this war!”    Never make decisions in chaos out of emotion, but rather out of principle, based on God’s Word!  In I Samuel 2:30, God says, “…for them that honor me I will honor & they that despise Me will be lightly esteemed (respected very little by God)!  

There IS no more doing it on our own!   Sooner or later we all come to a place where we can’t do it on our own!!  There IS NO retreat & no going back!  Once you are touched by God you CAN NEVER settle for what you used to do, or used to have, or use to be like!  It’s just not good enough anymore!  ‘We’ve walked this far by faith — there’s no turning back — that’s our choice!’  AMEN!  SO NEVER GIVE UP — JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

As Helen Steiner Rice sums it up — “Often we stand at life’s crossroads & view what we think is the end, But God has a much bigger vision and He tells us it’s just a bend!”

How we are like this in the United States (and the world) today, rebellious – and also in need of a Hero! We need someone to fix our economy, health care, stock market, auto industry, international interactions, national debt,  school system, churches, etc!   But here is a noteworthy truth:  THE COUNTERFEIT ALWAYS COMES FIRST WHEN IT IS MAN-ARRANGED!  [e.g. Esau & Jacob - when receiving the blessing from their father (Jacob portrayed Esau & stole his blessing as the eldest son, arranged by their mother); Abraham & Sarah - when they got tired of waiting for their Promised child (Sarah decided to make arrangements for a child through her maidservant & her husband); Moses' tactics for fulfilling his purpose & calling as a deliverer before God went with him (killed an oppressive Egyptian; but after the burning bush talk with God, he went to deliver the people in God's power instead of  his own); Saul's fervency for the scriptures before he met Jesus personally (killed Christians until his Damascus Rd. encounter - then he became the Apostle Paul); even our own lives before we are born again are counterfeits of the REAL person God designed us to be even though we show traits of the potential of the Real Life & calling HE has for each of us (that's why when we come to know Him we say we are made WHOLE, as we are only partial -- shadows, vague & corrupted indications of what we are meant to be - BEFORE WE ARE BORN OF THE WATER & OF THE SPIRIT !  JESUS says "Truly, truly I say unto you, Except a man be born of water & of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God...Don't be surprised that I said to you, "You MUST  be born again!"  JOHN 3:5 - 7  And then when you are born again: "Old things are passed away & behold ALL things are BECOME NEW!"  II Corinthians 5:17-19).]

So who or what do you think is the “counterfeit” of our hero needed; or the world’s hero?  Who or what do think is the REAL HERO?  How can you tell?  Well, even before reading it in the Bible, you can look at the symptoms… who’s offering the hope, the strategies, the solutions?  Are they working, or even making any sense?  It doesn’t look too good just for our country alone, does it — never mind the whole world…!  Strategies are leading us into more debt, more government control and socialism (though now it’s tagged as liberalism – same thing if you study it out!).  Unlike Biblical leaders who were traceable, identifiable & verifiable for generations, we can’t even be assured of who our president is or of his background (you probably never realized how important all those ‘begets and begats’ identifying lineages in the Bible were — me, either until now!).  This is not mentioned to speak against our leader, but rather to inform you that we are not to look to these MAN-ARRANGED ideas or people as our heroes!   

There is only ONE who paid the price of his life, conquered all the issues & rose again to enact His victory for our benefit…JESUS CHRIST (I John 4:3; II John 7)  “…and the government shall be upon His shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6-7); the way things are to be run successfully are His responsibility, since He’s the Victorious One – BUT WE MUST ELECT HIM TO BE OPERATIVE IN OUR INDIVIDUAL LIVES, HOMES, CHURCHES, COMMUNITIES, COUNTRY & THE WORLD! 

I John 4:17 says that ‘This is how our love is made perfect (complete/mature), that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THE WORLD!’  Who ARE we that ARE born again?  We are the Body of Christ, His Church!  It’s not us (the old, unregenerated people) that live, BUT Christ that lives in us! (Galatians 2:20) and ‘IN HIM we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28) — THEREFORE, AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THE WORLD!!  HE IS THE HERO, BUT CARRIES OUT HIS STRATEGIES THROUGH US!  THE CHURCH IS WHERE THE EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS WILL BE — WHY? BECAUSE ‘GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES ON HIM SHALL NOT PERISH (cast off restraints & become lawless due to hopelessness, and/or be utterly destroyed) , BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE!’  John 3:16.   HE IS THE REAL HERO HERE ON EARTH (NOW THROUGH HIS PEOPLE) AND TO COME — TAKING HIS BELIEVERS  & FOLLOWERS OUT OF THIS WORLD TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH HIM FOREVER, escaping the wrath to come that will come on the children of disobedience! 

HOLD OUT FOR THE RIGHT HERO!!!  DON’T FALL FOR OR SETTLE FOR A COUNTERFEIT — NO MATTER WHO IT IS OR WHEN THEY ARRIVE, OR FROM WHERE!!  IT’S NOT ABOUT US, IT’S ABOUT JESUS!!  HE’S THE ONLY HERO TRULY LARGER THAN LIFE!!  I WILL BE STILL (quiet, secure & at peace) AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!!  HE DEFINITELY MY HERO, AND MY FOREVER LORD!

http://www.woundedsoldierhealingwarrior.com/

It’s been interesting, and arresting, to me lately to see how people are so READY to break ties with the very sources that are their lifelines!  At a drop of the hat they’re ready to separate themselves from the ones that supply more strength and protection than they can imagine!  They are just ready to run off into situations they aren’t even aware of & don’t realize how much protection they will need that’s provided only through unity & agreement! 

Unity seems to be callously disregarded, when it’s one of the most important and powerful weapons on earth!!  There is strength in numbers, but there is POWER IN UNITY!!  Psalm 133 – “Behold, how good & how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious ointment (anointing)…for THERE the Lord COMMANDED THE BLESSING, EVEN LIFE FOREVERMORE!”

“…with all humbleness & meekness (strength under control) , with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love; ENDEAVOURING (putting forth serious effort) TO KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE!”  Ephesians 4:2, 3

Matthew 18:19,20 – “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any one thing (subject) that you shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Jesus)

 There needs to be a deliberate respect & honoring of especially those who are connected to God, and a deliberate choice to stay connected with them! ”Obey them that have rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable to you.”  Hebrews 13:17

“If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men.”  Romans 12:18

“And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.”  Acts 24:17

To do that, we must stay full of God’s love.  Jude 20, 21 – “But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” 

“BUT THE END OF ALL THINGS IS NEAR, THEREFORE, BE CLEAR-MINDED AND SELF-CONTROLLED SO THAT YOU CAN PRAY!”    I Peter 4:7

“IF THE SON THEREFORE SHALL MAKE YOU FREE, YOU SHALL BE FREE INDEED!”    JOHN 8:36

Note:  the word “make” (free) denotes ‘a process through work.’

We have the freedoms we do in our great country, the U.S.A. (however many or few, great or small), because of the brave men & women of our military and some of our government officials.  They do the work that makes them & us free and all we must do is just believe it and live here to enjoy it!

Jesus did the same for us — He did the work at Calvary for our salvation.  He paid the price of sin (which is death) in full, and rose again to overcome it — He got free from the penalty and therefore HAS FREEDOM TO OFFER TO US — for eternity & from the everyday curses of sin that entered this world through disobedience to His design & plan for life!  

HE worked it out for us; now we must only believe it and accept His arrangement to be able to enjoy that FREEDOM!

Let Jesus make you free in every area of your life!  Just ask Him!  Then you also may be able to declare:  “IF THE SON THEREFORE SHALL MAKE YOU FREE, YOU SHALL (WILL) BE FREE INDEED!!”  Because Jesus does ALL things well!!

ENJOY & BE SAFE!!  

BLESSINGS,  Bonnie