Generally, I would be coming out the New Year’s door busting with words of encouragement for you but this year is different.  I don’t think you need me or anyone else to “sugar coat” life, smiling with big white teeth, telling you it is “all good in Jesus.”  At times, that can possibly turn a person away from the very One who can help.  He is the only one who can help you when you are feeling lost, hopeless and at your wit's end.  Do you feel hopeless as you are crossing the threshold of this New Year?

I know for certain what it feels like to get up, having no hope for the coming day, of circumstances remaining the same and praying that something, anything will happen to ease the pain of it all.  I know what it feels like to pray and fast, trying to commune with God for an answer only to end up questioning the fact of whether He heard or not.  Are heaven’s ears deaf?  Can’t God see that I need some kind of breakthrough?  I know and I fully understand.  More importantly, I want you to understand that I understand that feeling.

I don’t want you to ever feel like I am happy in Jesus 24/7 because that is just not the truth.  Someone needs to finally stand up and say that if you are going to walk the walk God has ordained for you from the beginning of time, day after day and hour after hour, it will be tough at times and you will have feelings of great hopelessness.  You will feel like you have no clue as to what to do next.  When you have tried to make it all happen, and nothing happens, what do you do?

Let the voice of experience tell you:  When you find yourself in this situation, this is a prime example of a time you DO NOT stop and you DO NOT quit.  I don’t make light of the fact that Satan wants you to stop doing anything that pertains to God.  He wants you to stop praying, giving, tithing…all of it.  When, and most importantly, IF you have tasted and seen that the Lord God is good to you, then don’t quit…don’t give up on God.  Something is happening in your circumstances, even if you cannot see it.  But, God is watching to see what you will do and how you will handle the situation.  To Him, it is your actions that will speak louder than all of the words you can muster to tell Him.  Show Him you are willing to keep getting up and going through your day no matter what happens or how you feel….He will honor your effort.

Life is not easy and yes, there are times when I wish I were young again so I could “do it all over,” but this time with the benefit of walking hand in hand with the ONE person who truly brought peace and joy in an aching heart, mind and spirit.  But, alas, none of us can go back.  So what do we do when we feel we just can’t anything anymore?   That is the time to go kneel and pray to the Father because He can change it all.  I speak to you from experience.  When you don’t want to pray, that is the precise time to pray.  But, most people won’t tell you that.

Satan has been after my butt all of my life.  Now that I am aware of where these attacks are coming from, it helps me combat the feelings and arrows of doubt that try to overwhelm me in the forms of horrible thoughts, depressed feelings and lack (of jobs, home, money, husband).  I live alone so loneliness can be a factor for me at times, but it always will pass if I keep my mouth shut and occupy my mind with something else.  I will read a book or the word or maybe watch a movie (I don’t watch anything over PG-13 and sometimes that is even too much) BUT I certainly stay away from anything that would put my mind into the gutter. Those kinds of movies will try to entwine my thoughts bringing back old feelings of doubt, loneliness and darkness that I have worked hard to overcome.  Many times a movie brings back old memories of my past life and behavior leaving me even more depressed than I was before I started, so I am always careful to ask God if He wants me to watch anything. And old songs I used to listen to…no thank you.  I had to learn (by many trials)to shut the door on the old songs as well so I could move forward.  I wanted to be new all the way through and it took a lot of effort.  But as I was faithful to put down the old man, God was faithful to give me a new one.

I know when I am feeling hopeless that that is the time to “press through,” shut up and just keep doing what I know to do.  I am careful to lay my concerns at the cross to let the Father know what is going on so He can give me wisdom.  Also, by doing that, it bursts the bubble of darkness that is growing in me, trying to destroy my walk and overtake my mind. 

We serve a God (Father) who loves us but who requires our devotion.  When we first come to Christ, He feeds us much like a baby, giving us a little at a time.  Then there comes a moment when He will require you to grow up if you want to continue to reap greater wisdom that He holds in His bosom just for you…And then sometimes He allows us to go through the darkness to see how we will handle it.  I think most people face demons inside that truly are coming from Satan but they don’t talk about them for fear of people calling them crazy.  However, if they would just get it out and address the situation, the Holy Spirit would lead them in how to truly be set free.

My word to you today in this blog is don’t give up hope.  As long as God is on the throne and as long as the Holy Spirit is here available to us, you’ve got hope.  It is only when God removes the Holy Spirit from the earth that you need to be concerned.

For some reason, in my life, no matter what I have come up against (and it is a lot), I have always come out on the other side having hope that my life will be better.  It is that hope that literally keeps me going….Ask God to give you hope and He will… just try to be patient while you are waiting….

I am here with an ear……

God bless you, and Happy New Year.

Molly

This week’s blog, if I am not careful, will turn people from this ministry and me, but I know what the Lord is saying to me and I am known for “calling a spade a spade.”  Over and again for years, I have heard bigotry coming from the mouths of people who claim to be Christians…the very followers of our Lord. 

I have a question to pose to all the people of the earth today.  Whatever in the world makes you think that needy children and adults are any different from those who have jobs, homes, and money?  Why would you think that needy children deserve or desire second best?  What makes you think God would not want them to have the very things that others desire and have?  Why do some Christians hold their hands clasped so tight when it comes to helping needy people?  Why do they want to give them “sloppy seconds?”

Jesuswithoutthejunk  just did the largest outreach, in terms of material goods, we have ever done….so far.  The help that has come forth this year to accomplish God’s will in the lives of the less fortunate has been truly amazing.  I am overwhelmed at the generosity of some.  However, on the other side of “the some,” I witness jealousy, backbiting and bigotry over the items that were purchased by our outreach to help six needy children, one mother without a job and another family who needed help with food items.  I was brought to tears and anger, moaning so deep within me over the griping of individuals that I wasn’t certain I would be able to stop…and then I knew the tears were coming from heaven.

The Lord, through different tangible circumstances, has allowed me an up close and personal view into people's true feelings who camouflage themselves as so-called Christians, but have such bigotry and hatred in their hearts.  Then He lets me see others, who are not regular churchgoers, hold out their hands unselfishly when a situation of need is placed before them. 

I was reading in Corinthians this past week about such people who, really by they own ignorance, don’t even realize that they truly are being the hands of Jesus, yet I have seen and heard firsthand that “churched” folks would be offended by those kinds of individuals….the very ones who have reached out to help those in need mainly due to their personal appearance.

I am appalled at the hate in people who say they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.  I am sickened in my heart and had to talk to God about everything that had transpired this week just so I could calm down and get His divine wisdom on what I was feeling about others.  The Holy Spirit responded by saying, “remember Lot?”  Then it hit me that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because He couldn’t find 10 righteous people in the city…are you 1 of 10 or will you be numbered with the ones God destroyed? Of course, He couldn't even find 10.

I have been doing mission outreaches for seven years now and through experience, the Holy Spirit has taught me:  Always buy name brand items because those in need get enough “hand me downs.”  Don’t buy anything for anyone YOU wouldn’t buy for your own self.  Always consider what you want and “do that unto others.” And above all, give what I tell you to give. 

Then a new revelation came to my heart that just ONE new item wanted and received by a child could give him the confidence to go a little further and a little longer, knowing in his heart he was just like every other child he encounters.  One kind act of kindness could turn a child or adult’s life around for the common good making a difference in how they perceive their life. 

This blog is being written for repentance of the heart to come forth for the way we see the less fortunate, thinking of ourselves as being better or more than we are.  For those of us who have been blessed (am I am one of the first to stand up and say, “I have been blessed”), we need to take what we are given by God and turn around and do with it what the Holy Spirit tells us.  God is watching and judgment is raining down on us from heaven.  Why do we think bad things happen to so-called “good” people?  

Peace on earth?  Well, I know you don’t want to hear this but as long as Satan is here we aren’t going to have any “Peace on Earth.” 

And Goodwill towards men? Well, I do believe we are starting to rise up and help our fellow man but, there are still those who are all about “ME.” 

But, let me close by saying this:  Jesus tells us in the word that if you have helped the least of these you have done it unto Him. 

I leave you with the question?  Do you want to do something unto the Lord? 

Molly               

Christmas 2009

I want to share a couple of observations and then ask a question.

First, as I walk around listening to others talk I hear such negative things coming out of their mouths that it brings me to tears. 

Second, I know that there are some who believe in a virgin Christmas baby.  They buy presents galore to celebrate the holiday, but then don’t seem to believe in a Christmas Savior who was born to grow up, bringing the healing, delivering power of our God….WHY?

I have tangibly seen the providing power of Jesus Christ, yet my heart is truly grieved this year, as I see people I have known who never seem to find the same resurrection power that God has shown to me.

I wanted to be healed, settled in my life, have stability in all areas of my life and I am left wondering, do you want these same things?  Clearly, the things that I have been able to attain are not just desired by me.  I have truly sought after a better way of life; the life God ordained for me from the beginning of time.  Surely, others want these things for their life as well.  My heart sinks as I see people in the same messes they were in years ago and I am left to wonder what in the world is going on.

As I reach out this year to others with the hands of our Savior, I thank God He loved me enough to draw me to Him and give me the understanding that He is so much more than a baby in a manger.  He is so much more than any chaotic situation you have going on in your life and He is the ONLY one who can help you.  If you have money or health issues, or lack in any area of your life, He is the source of your help for any issues or problems facing you…..do you know of Him in this way? 

This year, if I had only one thing I could tell to others, it would be this:   kneel at the Cross and tell God everything that you are going through.  Stay there until you get it all out, even if it takes everything out of you.  Stay there through your tears and sobbing.  Stay there and explain to Him what you are thinking.  Stay there until there is nothing left on your heart and then get up, shut up and listen for the Lord.  If you will go to Him with an honest, pure heart and motive, there is nothing He won’t do for you.  Pour yourself out to the only one who can give you it all.

Get Him out of that manger and off that Cross.  See Him in your mind as seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you.  Listen to the voice of experience.  If you want help, this will be the only thing that will change what is going on in your life.  

Jesus came to all of us, not just Molly Painter.   

I believe that all would agree there are times in everyone’s life when they feel the pressures of life try to overtake them.  This seems to be more evident now because of what is presently going on in our economy and most could use some much-needed relief.  Whether these difficulties are in our personal finances, careers, or relationships, we are left wondering where will it all end and you may be crying out, “Someone please deliver me!”

Some people feel they can solve whatever is causing struggles in their life by going to bed and pulling the covers up over their heads.  Others just know that all their problems would be solved if they fell into a pile of money.  Yes, then they would want for nothing else in their life and every problem they have, whether financial or not, would either be easier or just go completely away…if only.

I am here to tell you that when you think that way, recognize this as a sign that you are being deceived and in your heart you are making money your “god.”  Others think that if God would just deliver them out of whatever mess they are in (quickly), everything else in all other areas of their lives would be okay.

I want to testify to you today that if you are “under the gun” in any area of your life, then your ONLY answer will be found at the Cross and you will have to “walk through” what you are facing in order to get clear of these barriers.  Most of the time God will not swoop down and deliver you out of something, but He will place the answer in front of you.  He will expect you, if you are trying to seek Him out, to confront your issues.

You might very well call me a Bible thumper, always preaching that God is the only way but if you only knew me you wouldn’t say that.  I am able to make this declaration (that He is the only answer) because I am someone who has walked through the tunnel of the darkness of life in most every area that a human could experience coming out on the other side.  Jesus is the only answer to your woes, no matter how dark or deep they seem to you at this moment.  When you are in the midst of your worst times, you do not want Jesus “shoved” down your throat and I am fully aware of that but you need to come to terms that if your life is in the toilet then He is the only answer.

However, know that if you feel God ISN’T the answer it is a sure sign that Satan is trying to stop you from getting what you need.

Many feel that accepting Christ as their Savior will not help their situation.  Many are suffering right now and wonder how someone they cannot see can possibly help with tangible life problems.  I am here to declare to you that I do not care what you want or think, you need Jesus.  He is the ONLY one who can get what you need to you in the way He sees fit, and He does it in a tangible way.

Do not throw the towel in on your relationships (whether it is marriage, dating or children) unless you have had divine wisdom from God as to why it has gone astray.  Perhaps it is YOU who are the problem.  Learn not to quit so easily at everything.  Quitting and running are not from God.  When you feel like drawing the covers up and burying your head under them, know that this is not from heaven either.  Get up and face what you are dealing with, even if you must go through extreme pain to get on the other side of the situation.

The race of YOUR life has been established by heaven, by God, but most don’t believe He is big enough to really help in our everyday lives.  YOU definitively have to make the choice to want to have something better than you have at this exact moment in time.  IF you are willing to make a choice for Christ, then I assure you He is willing to come and help you in ways you cannot imagine.  It is time to face the music and if you are feeling pressure, then the ONLY place to run to is the Cross.

When financial worries hit people, the last thing they want to hear is that they need to tithe and give offerings to God, but I attest to you that it is the ONLY thing that will open the windows of heaven over your life so God can get His divine will to you.  Money is a sore subject with most people right now and that is just what Satan wants it to be.  It becomes a stronghold for people and the thought of giving to God irritates them.  You think that it is the silliest thing you have ever heard of.  I am and have been a tither since 1996 and wouldn’t stop if my life depended on it.  I have heard people say over and again, “I can’t afford to give to God.”  Well, everybody has something to give even if it is just a penny.  If you don’t have a penny then you certainly have YOUR time.  Tell God you are going to give Him your time so you can get your life straight and He will honor that.  He is always looking at your heart and your motives.

He KNOWS exactly why this pressure is upon you.  Understand you have to go to the source to get away from the problems and the Holy Spirit will guide you in doing this but you have to want it.  I cannot stress that enough.  God has taken pressure from me in many ways and He will do it for you.  Your answer to every problem, pressure, and bad thing coming at you are at the Cross and going there won’t cost you one thin dime.  People are so bogged down with everything else that they feel they don’t have the time to give to God, but Satan has got you again if you feel this way.  If you give God your time, He will give it back to you.

Mental pressure over your life, lack of money, broken relationships, broken bodies…exactly what is it that is giving you this pressure right now?  You don’t have to carry it alone but you will have to be the one to go to the Cross.  God is not going to make you.  I have to stay at the Cross in order to weather the pressure that comes at me, and even I get weary but what I get from going there is certainly more than what I give.

It is Christmas and this is the time that our focus needs to be on Christ, our living Savior, who is the ONLY one who can help any of us.  And if you need money He can get you that as well but it isn’t His MAIN focus for you….get your mind on Christ and He will show you the way.

I want to leave you with a scripture that I learned early in my own walk with the Lord:  If you will give your life to Me, then you will find you life (Matthew 16:25)….And I am a living witness that “your life” encompasses everything from money, health and relationships.  The choice though has to be yours…He is not going to make you do anything. 

Molly      

Are You Mad At God?

I was walking down the corridor of the hospital last week awaiting the delivery of my grandson and noticed two nurses huddled in the corner.  As I walked by I overheard one of them say, “I am so mad at God for letting this happen.”   I didn’t stop and blast them with what I knew to be the truth but waited upon the Holy Spirit to guide me.

My heart sank at hearing the statement, and I knew that they, along with millions of others, needed to hear the complete truth of who God really is and that none of us has any cause to be mad at Him.  What we need to do is turn our pointing fingers around at the one we need to be mad with…ourselves.

In my PJ (Pre-Jesus) days, I often made the same statement because I didn’t know any better.  Through years of various experiences of “walking through” life with Him, I learned that God was never to blame for my circumstances and that what happened was due to my lack of knowing Him.  Also, I had no clue that I had the resurrection power in me to combat most things that would try to destroy me and the temple I lived in.

God doesn’t hide the truth from us but most of us either take someone else’s word or don’t want to take the time to find out whom God truly is.  From the very beginning of creation, God tells us that what we sow we are going to reap.  Everything we do operates by some sort of seed.  Our words, our actions, and our thoughts can be seeds that we actually put into play in the earth and then we reap a return of these words, actions, and thoughts.  What we reap may be something good; it may be something bad.  Here is an example of this principle.  I have been around many people who constantly go to the doctor for help due to not taking care of the temple we have been given by God.  (Remember that this is the only one we get.)  This may be because of overeating, lack of exercise or overindulging in drugs or alcohol.  The list goes on and on but you get my point.  All sorts of sicknesses arise from human weaknesses but they can be overcome with the power of the Cross.  However, we have to understand that we have this power and then to have to know how to use this power so we can help ourselves.

To be certain, Satan is alive and well.  He is repeatedly attacking God’s children in some form or fashion and people lack the knowledge to know it is he, not God, causing these attacks.  But God is blamed for all their misery.  I want to state for the record here and now:  God DOES NOT do bad things to us….we, whether by choice, ignorance or by the devil, have bad things occur to us, all the while thinking God is doing it.  We end up blaming the very and only one who can help us.  This is twisted thinking.

I can’t even imagine what God thinks of us bickering at Him for things we have allowed to happen.  We are ignorant of the ways of God and it is time that we help ourselves so we can help those around us. 

God is not mocked…whatever a man sows, not what God sows he shall also reap.  We are reaping what we have sown, or more importantly, we are reaping nothing because we have sown nothing.  I can tell you that God is bigger than your life and there is nothing He won’t try to do to help you.  But you have to go to the SOURCE and that is God, the Father, through Jesus Christ.

Don’t blame God.  Learn to take your feelings to Him and tell Him how you feel and let Him talk to you.  YOU have an inheritance as His child if you call upon His name and you need to start to learn to talk to Him instead of everyone else.  THEY (whoever they are) can’t fix the situation for you.

If you hear nothing else from this, hear this:   GOD IS YOUR SOURCE alone….go to Him.  Stop blaming Him because it keeps you from wanting to tell Him anything and that is just what Satan wants…

Molly       

You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  (Matthew 16:3)

Knee Jerk Reactions

I am famous (to myself and to God) for having what I call “knee jerk” reactions.  I have always been a person who was hot on the griddle to jump and DO anything.  I have gotten burned a lot on that griddle because I had no idea how to discern whether to turn to the right, to the left, to go straight, be still, or how to make any well thought out move.  Thusly, it has cost me in one way or the other in many areas of my human existence.  As hard as I try and as much as I believe that I can and do hear clearly from heaven, there are moments when I know I need to be still and not make any moves.  I know that I need to keep going and doing what I know how to do.  I know that I need to quit trying to make things happen that should not.  Still, my flesh gets anxious to make what I want happen.  I have come to realize over the years that I have to face the fact that there will still be times I will war within myself for discernment of God’s divine will.

Yes, we are in the 21^st century and yes, we have the most advanced technological instruments available to us to use to advance humankind, but that does not mean we do not still boob.  I hear a lack of discernment as I move around Christians. This causes their flesh to take over and they think they deserve something better than they have.  They want what they want NOW, so they jump from the fire into the frying pan without regard to God’s will in the matter.  This is what gets one off track.  Depending on what it is they have made come to pass, sometimes their course in life, may result in taking years to be realigned.  Just because you feel something, doesn’t mean you should be doing it.

For example, I was told four years ago to get up and go to a particular car dealership.  I was told the day and the place and instructed to take a copy of my testimony with me.  I have been told before to go to places with a copy of my testimony, so doing this didn’t surprise me.  In the back of my mind I thought, “Maybe it is for a new car.”  Not knowing the exact outcome, I went as I was commanded and a gentleman came up to me, introduced himself, shuttled me into his office and we began to talk.  Of course, immediately I thought it was a “God thing.”  A few moments of conversation revealed that he was a pastor with a small church and I handed him a copy of my testimony, telling him that God had told me to come there.  He invited me to come to his church the next morning (Sunday) to speak.

Now, (remember my flesh is still weak) another salesman walked in stating they needed to put me into a new car.  (Be wise about others who always tell you “we” need to do this or that for your benefit).  He continued by saying that just the night before, a car had come in that was “just right” for me.  Within a few minutes, the issue was settled (without checking my credit references or other documentation) that I was going to have a new car.  They stated, “We’ll make it happen.”  I was very tired that day and couldn’t discern whether this was actually from heaven.  It happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to think.  I wanted it to be from heaven and thought certainly this would not be manifesting right before my very eyes if it wasn’t God’s will that I have a new car.  God knew I had wanted one (my weak flesh did) but I didn’t need a new car.  I had a car that was only four years old and I had but one more year left before it was paid off.  I thought to myself, “Well, he is a pastor and certainly he won’t deceive me just to make a commission, would he?  Well, of course not!  Anyway, I bit the apple, traded in my car (that had nothing wrong with it) and obligated myself to higher loan and insurance payments.  I drove away from the dealership in shock. 

It wasn’t too long after that I needed a new battery.  The engine light came on and stayed on.  I took it back to the car salesman/ pastor and he told me it would be $300.00 to fix the problem.  As I looked at him in a bewildered state, he said, “Tell you what.  I will pay $150.00 of the charge.”  To make a longer story shorter, he made some vile comments about the way I looked and I walked away knowing I had been taken.  All the pieces of this scam were revealed to me over the period of the next several months. 

I struggled each month to make the car payment and the higher insurance payment it carried with it.  I didn’t stop to consider or to take the time to go home and pray about it and wait on a clear answer from God before taking action.  I am still paying for this car, knowing I “knee jerked” because my flesh wanted another car.  I was deceived.

We have promises in God’s word that if we will walk uprightly before Him, that He will not withhold any good thing from us.  He promises that we will hear a voice behind us saying, “This is the way.”  But we don’t believe He will really talk to us or we don’t know how to discern His will in any given situation.  Additionally, when we are tired, we get off kilter easily and when there is someone who is telling us anything who is “a man of the cloth,” we readily accept what they are spilling forth. And, to top it off when we WANT something in a bad way we really don’t want to hear that maybe “it” is not God’s desire for us so we stifle the Holy Spirit when He is telling us to be patient.   

I have kicked myself over and over, knowing I should have been wiser.  I really hadn’t wanted to go there that day but one thing I did know was that the Holy Spirit wanted me to (but for a different reason).  The outcome of that eventful day was that by actually going to this man’s small congregation, a soul was brought into the kingdom.  In attendance was a girl who was a dancer at a local strip club.  She said, “I haven’t been here (to his church) in several months but I had to come today.”  I discovered two weeks later that she fully committed her life to Christ and stopped dancing altogether.

I did have to go to the car dealership that fateful Saturday but it wasn’t for me.  I had to meet this pastor so I could go to his church to get this particular news of the Gospel to a girl whose stage name was “Molly.”  Ultimately, this pastor did sow, as an offering, into my life for several months, which was another reason I had to meet him.   

Now I know better and don’t make a move until I hear clearly from God, even if I drag my feet.  Let the peace of God reign in your heart when you find yourself in a situation, which could very well be a setup by the devil to destroy you piece by piece.  Wait upon the Lord.  Pray about what you want, what you need, and what you think you need for your life from your Father.  Then get up, stop talking about it, and wait for God to speak to you.  Don’t try to make things happen unless it is a dire emergency.  Yet, still there will be times when God will use these situations to teach you lessons.  You will never be able to put discernment in a box but this is the way God can and will train you to hear from Him so don’t be surprised.

Discernment...  You know we all have a life to live while we are here on earth and many get trapped by Satan.  He gets them off the path that was designed by heaven for them.  The world is in what seems to be uncertain times but YOU don’t have to be.  Will you still make mistakes?  Well, I can tell you “yes” you will, but the chances of you coming out the winner are much greater if you will give God a chance first.  He tells us that if we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will He give us the Holy Spirit.  We all need the Holy Spirit for discernment and the promise of HIM is that He will tell us which way to go.

Don’t let your knee hit you in the chin…

Molly         

Away From Me, I Never Knew You….

Matthew 7: 21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in your name?’  “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

These are some pretty harsh words from our Lord, don’t you think?  Exactly what significance do they have for us here today?  

There are many, I fear, who are looking for an outward sign as to the manifestation of the anointing of God upon one’s life.  People want signs and wonders…do  you?  The above scripture states that many will perform miracles to behold but Jesus will stand on the day and say, “Away from Me I never knew you.”  Are you prepared for that?

Clearly, Jesus tells us that signs and wonders will follow those who believe.  Are you looking for signs for the sake of the sign or are you using the God-given power you have been given as His child (do you know you even have power?) to help further the kingdom of heaven upon this earth while putting the power in the right perspective in your heart?

As fallible humans, Jesus already knows that we are going to want to seek a sign or a wonder of some sort.  He is telling us that to have an intimate relationship with Him is better than performing…I have been used by God to give many signs but it seems unless signs are constantly ever present, that people tend to fall away from seeking a personal relationship with God.  We have been so conditioned in the body of Christ to look for outward signs that we can’t seem to get our heads out of the clouds and come back down into the earth and buckle down to actually “do” God.  We don’t seem to have the steadfastness and faith to believe in God unless there are signs.

We are a fallen lot of people and I honestly believe that God is beseeching us to attain a higher calling in Christ Jesus but we are still on the bottle and haven’t even come close to the true meat of the word in our walk with Christ.  We desperately need to buckle down and quit running all over hell and creation looking for a word or a sign.  We need to stop pounding on the gates of heaven asking God to give us power unless we intend to get our hands dirty by doing the will of the Father in heaven.  We need to get up and be steadfast in our everyday lives and hearts, doing diligently what God puts in front of us to the very best of our abilities. 

Hype is fine but at the end of the day when the word has been delivered, hands have been laid on to heal or the prophesy given, you still have to wake up and start your day just like everyone else.  There are no free tickets for anything in the kingdom and I can tell you that God has already tested, proven and tried those whom He is going to use for His glory and to get souls into the kingdom.  Don’t be fooled by signs.  It is the life lived wholly separated unto God that has been through the fire that He approves of.  It is the fire walked through that causes the Fire of the Holy Spirit to flow through.  Everything else is cotton candy and will be exposed for what it truly is.

Put the bottle down and come up to the big table to eat.  It is only God who tests the mind and the heart and He knows exactly whom He has chosen in this end-time harvest of souls.  This is not a game to God, so be wise who you listen to. 

Will He thrust you aside or will He beckon you come unto Him as having known Him?

Molly         

“The Beloved”

There were twelve (12) disciples who walked, talked and fellowshipped with Jesus for three years before He went to the Cross.  I thought about how they were handpicked by the Lord.  There was only one, John, who was called, “the beloved” by our Lord. 

It seems that our focus in the Body of Christ today is about material goods, especially the money end of it.  I wonder how many of God’s children are just saying, “Lord, I would just like for you to appear to me so I could place my head on your breast and love you.”  How many do you suppose would only want that and nothing else in return?

Then there was Judas who sold out the Lord for money.  How many do you suppose are doing that, saying and pretending that they are walking with the Lord?

Are you always looking for a return on your tithe or offering or do you give God money out of just sheer obedience?  Are you always looking for a handout from heaven?  Make no mistake…we deserve nothing.  Our thinking has become twisted and carnal and we are off the mark of the high calling in Christ.

Remember Cain and Able?  Able gave the first fruits with a loving heart and not because he expected to gain something.  Conversely, Cain gave God, well; I call it “sloppy seconds.”  It is time for you to check yourself and see where your true allegiance lies. 

In the days in which we live many are crying out for help because of the hard times they are experiencing, but God promises that those who are really trying to follow Him with a pure heart and motive will be taken care of …they are called, according to King David (a man after God’s own heart), the righteous.  

God is so much more than people are trying to achieve.  He is bigger than enlarging a building, implementing the latest and newest program, and keeping a count of the number of bodies that have warmed the pews in your sanctuary on Sunday.  He deserves our love.  When Jesus Christ comes ( Matthew 25:31-46 is worth your reading) to divide the goats from the sheep, which side will you be on?  Will He in fact call you His beloved?

I have committed many crimes against heaven and still, in God’s infinite wisdom, He has chosen to use me to help His children find their lives at the foot of the Cross.

I had had most things you could buy, had loved much, but was still left with a feeling that I had no life and something was wrong.  One evening, while going through the word of God, I was given a scripture Matthew 16:25 “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

I read and reread that scripture until it had really sunk in my spirit and I knew that I was being told I was going to have to lose my life.  Not knowing any better, I asked the Lord, “Am I going to have to die or something?”  I had tried so many things looking for happiness but since everything I tried failed, I finally raised my hand to Heaven…Christ was my last hope.

I was tired of my BS and I felt that if He was real, I couldn’t BS Him anyway, so I was very honest with Christ from the beginning.  I believed He would help me if I would just try to walk with Him.  I didn’t know how He was going to help me, but I knew in that moment in time if I didn’t surrender my heart to Him, that it would be detrimental to me and I was all about “me.”

I was a girl who stood outside looking in a window, peering at people who seemed so happy, hugging each other, kissing, and laughing, while “dining out” on life.  Seeing them (not realizing I was on the outside of the glass window), I began doing only what I knew to do by imitating them in the ways they behaved.  When something would knock me down and I would get disappointed or be severely depressed, someone would be placed in my path that seemed to be doing well.  Then somehow (by seeing them) I was able to pick myself up and try again to strive for the happiness I longed for…but at the end of day I was still empty.

The deep revelation of Christ having the power to set me free from the chains I was held in is what finally broke the window so I could experience true joy and happiness from within, while striving to do His will.  The torment of my mind was finally shattered.

In order to find your life you are going to have to put the effort into learning about what your inheritance is as a child of God and lose your self in Him.  I can’t do it for you, watching TBN all day long can’t do it for you, and trying to work your way into His good graces won’t do it for you.  YOU have to go after God each and every day, even though you feel you are all alone and feel that perhaps you are the only one who is doing what you are doing… but in actuality, you are never alone.  The Holy Spirit will help you just like He helped me, bringing you into your divine destiny and life.

No one can make you.  I asked God to give me a hunger and thirst for Him that I could not satiate with anything else but Him, because knowing me and my history thus far, I knew it was going to take just that to keep me steady and on the path. 

Don’t be deceived; God is not mocked whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap…sow for your life because that is the place you will be happy.

I lost my life to Christ and by doing that, I finally found it and as difficult as it has been, I wouldn’t have had it any other way…To God be the glory.

Molly

October 15, 2009

The Holy Spirit spoke to me this morning and said, “Strengthen your brethren.”

My word to you this week is:  Don’t Quit, Don’t Stop, Don’t Give Up, No Matter What!

Many are weary and in need of a refreshing from heaven about their lives, paths and destinies.  I, too, get weary of the fight.  Know, however, that when you are at your weakest, Jesus is at His strongest.  You must keep pushing forward and you must not shrink back…Don’t Stop. 

If you are one who “waters,” then God will see to it that YOU will be watered...  Hold fast.

It doesn’t matter what your station in life is, especially if you are toiling in the Kingdom of God at the moment.  I don’t care if you scrub toilets in the name of Jesus…Don’t Quit on God.  Promotion comes from the Lord and God is a rewarder of those who are diligent with His things.  If you are trying to walk uprightly before the Lord and do what is right in His eyes,  “Hold Fast” and don’t stop doing what you are doing just because you think that God doesn’t care or sees the efforts you are making.      

If you believe that God has told you to do something, then I don’t care if you have to crawl your way there with every last ounce of breath you have- just go there and Don’t Give Up.

The Bible is simple and clear, and it is a lot simpler than man makes it.  If you believe, you shall receive, but you have to keep your faith built up with God.  Faith is not faith unless you believe, and in order to receive, you must use your faith for any manifestation to occur in the natural.  Believing and then negating it with your tongue will cause defeat….that is NOT faith.

Ministry work is not easy; as a matter of fact, it is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.  But knowing that the Father is behind me, is worth everything I have done and been through….I believed God, not man, and that is why I get the victory EVERY time.

Again, my word to you from heaven is:  DON’T ………

God bless you, my brethren,

Servant of the Lord,

Molly