Joyful Bouquet

 

Six years ago, after a trip to France I started taking art lessons for the first time. Going to Monet’s home and gardens was a marvel to experience where he actually painted so many of his master pieces.  Over the next few years, I ended up painting in oil.  Above and throughout this post are some of my latest paintings.

 

For me “showing up at the easel,” is a lot like showing up for life.

 

Painting doesn’t come easy for me. I had rather sit and write than “stand at the easel.” Writing comes easy but painting is difficult.

 

Radnor Lake Reflections

 

“Showing up at the easel” for me, means standing up and doing the hard thing; not something I want to do, but rather something challenging!   Because I have so little training as an artist, it is not always a joy to step into the art room.

 

Radnor Lake in Winter

 

Most of us have things God has directed us to do, but we don’t want to show up! It’s easier to make excuses, procrastinate, ignore “the word” and pretend you didn’t hear.

 

 

God is calling us to obedience without understanding. I am learning, on this often-lonely journey, that breakthrough and blessings come through blind obedience.

 

The narrow gate to holiness is getting narrower. The highroad to surrender is squeezing out compromise and “mixture.” God is serious about us showing up at the “easel” in obedience listening.

 

God is speaking a lot of hard things people don’t want to hear. We are so busy chasing the “next word of God”  that we are not listening to what He is saying to us.

 

He is saying, “come up higher.”

 

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 Mexico Silhouette

Of late I have learned a powerful spiritual truth. I found myself in a difficult place where I had dedicated a lot of time and energy. It was a dead-end street going nowhere for me. My health had been and was being compromised because of the stress and pressure with no solutions in sight. After months of this, something happened that made me willing to let go of some of the responsibilities.

 

When I became willing to let go of some things, God came in and took it all in a matter of days.

 

 

It was quite a whirlwind trying to discern the voice of God as He was speaking continually during those days and pulling back the veil on things I needed to see.

 

Once I clearly heard His voice, discernment and direction, it was evident it was time to step down and out.

 

 

 

Sometimes we are slow on the uptake of when “enough is enough.” At key junctures in my life, I have stayed too long ending up in disappointing mess.

 

 Wisdom pulls against the grain of what appears to be grand and glorious. Situations usually aren’t what they seem. When I was young, I stumbled through these life landmines coming out on the other side a bit wiser, but bruised and tattered.

 

In my older years, it’s a little easier to shake the dust off my feet and move on.

 

Are you holding on to things you need to let go of?

 

A sport you have long outlived; a relationship that makes your life miserable; a church denomination that keeps you bound up in the traditions of men; commitments and responsibilities that don’t work anymore, an unhealthy lifestyle?

 

 What do you need to let go of that can change your life for the better?

 

 

 

If you have enjoyed this writing, please share with family and friends, and go to my blog site and subscribe at Home – Dr. Brenda Rambo Author (drbrendaramboauthor.com). Comments and conversation are welcome.  You can also purchase copies of books I have written at this same website:

 

 

Through a long winter of isolation, I started gaining weight.  As I started to discuss this situation with friends, I discovered they were having the same problem. We decided to have weekly accountability talks and see if we could turn our weight gain around.

 

In the process of assessing why I was gaining unnecessary and unwanted weight, I discovered food addictions.

 

 I was living to eat, rather than eating to live.

 

So much junk food had crept in over the past several months that it seemed I was living to eat Cheetos, potato chips, and M & M’s, and the list goes on.  Many of us medicate boredom, loneliness, frustration, depression, anxiety, and general misery with food.

 

Our food and lack of responsibility with it is killing us.  In the past twenty-five years, America has become the “fat nation” and proud of it!

 

If Satan can’t take us out one way, he will take us out another. He has come to steal, kill, and destroy in whatever ways work. Well food works! Our food addictions are killing us!

 

When I hit 50, I ran into some health issues. I had a cardiologist tell me I needed to keep my weight around 130 pounds for the rest of my life. I got serious about my health for a few years, lost twenty pounds and hovered around 130 for two years. My bloodwork reflected the major changes I had made in my diet and lifestyle.  At that juncture, I adopted a macrobiotic lifestyle that was rigorous and demanding, and I was able to adhere to it for about two years.  The lifestyle and eating were so rigorous and restrictive that I couldn’t continue to live like that for the rest of my life, so I gave it up.

 

Over the years, I packed on the twenty pounds I had lost. Thus, the need for a major attitude and behavioral shift.

 

I have a book titled the FastDiet.  In the past eight months, I have read it three times.  It recommends intermittent fasting. In my last read through two weeks ago, I finally GOT IT!

 

 

Intermittent fasting allows the body to recover from constant eating and allows for major adjustments in overall attitude toward food.  The more we pull unhealthy food out, the more we are forced to replace the bad with good nutritious food. I have lost almost five pounds in the past two weeks, so I am motivated.

 

God expects obedience in all things, and I don’t believe He is excited about our blatant disobedience in the area of food.  We think no one sees and knows. 

 

WRONG! Everyone sees and knows!

 

“I have the right to do anything,” you say – but not everything is beneficial.  “I have the right to do anything” – but I will not be mastered by anything.

1 Corinthians 6:12

 

In the middle of this transition, I have learned God expects obedience in ALL things. Even food.

 It is our job to figure out what obedience looks like in this area of our lives.

 

 

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The Apostolic Church Arising: God’s People Gathering and Contending for the Glory Today

 

Chuck D. Pierce & Robert Heidler

 

 

Once again, I recommend the above book for a greater understanding of the apostolic era we are in and how we can prepare as the Church going forward.  The content of this post comes from pages 48-57.

 

In Chapter 5 of The Apostolic Church, the authors discuss the need for a new wineskin to hold the new wine God wants to pour out. “When the Early Church compromised with paganism, God’s glory departed. The power was lost and we have still not recovered. God will not put His glory into a pagan temple” (page 48).

 

What is a Wineskin?

 

“A wineskin is a leather bottle for holding wine. A new wineskin gives fermenting wine room to expand. But when a wineskin gets old, it becomes hard and brittle, and is no longer useful.”

 

“In most of the Church today, when we pray for revival, we’re pleading with God to pour new wine into our old wineskin” (page 49).

 

 

The results of this have been tragic. The Welsh Revival one hundred years ago swept through the nation of Wales as one of the greatest revivals in history. The revival transformed the country.

 

“The Welsh Revival was a great move of the Holy Spirit, but the Welsh Church was an old wineskin. It’s legalistic structure quickly quenched the results of revival” (page 49).    

 

“It’s estimated today that only 5% of the Welsh people are born-again. The old wineskin allowed the new wine to pour out and the wineskin was destroyed (page 50).

 

In Ephesians 4 God told His people how to set up a wineskin (the Church) to hold the new wine.

 

 

When He ascended on high, He led captives in His train and gave gifts to men…It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers to equip God’s people for the work of the ministry so that the Body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

 

Ephesians 4:8-13 (paraphrase)

 

God’s administration of the Church was made up of five distinct gifts:  apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. I personally heard people talking about the “five-fold ministry” 30 years ago, but had no idea what they were talking about.  The problem is that most Christians have no idea what is meant by five fold ministry, nor do they know how to set it in place.

 

Jesus gave five distinct ministry gifts:

 

 

Apostles set the church in order so all gifts can operate.

 

Prophets reveal God’s heart and mind to His people.

 

Evangelists get people saved.

 

Pastors act as “shepherds” of God’s sheep.

 

Teachers provide understanding, instruction and training enabling God’s people to grow (pages 51-52).

 

An evangelist “births babies” into the Kingdom of God. After someone is born again and experiences salvation, they need a pastor to nurture, comfort and protect them. The problem with most churches is a pastor is all they have. (Page 53)

 

We need prophets to grow up Baby Christians, “Where you have prophets people gain vision and are motivated to fulfill their destinies.”

 

Teachers are needed to train the baby and grow him/her up by delving into God’s Word.

 

The apostle sets that whole process in order and makes sure all these gifts are functioning together (Page 57).

 

“The fullness of Jesus IS the new wine.  If we prepare the new wineskin, God will pour out His new wine” (Page 57).

 

 

The next post will be a summary of the reminder of The Apostolic Church Arising.

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Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and close your doors behind you; hide for a little while, until indignation runs its course

 

 

For the past several weeks, I have heard this scripture resonating in my spirit. I was talking to a friend as I was walking my dog, and she was reading from this scripture. One morning early I was quiet with the Lord, and He spoke “page 27 in Whispers.”  I looked up the page in my devotional book, Whispers of the Spirit. Page 27 was “Tighten Down the Hatch.” I think God might be speaking to all of us about coming away for a while until “His indignation runs it’s course.”

 

Whisper 11

 

Put a guard around yourself and tighten down the hatch. You need extra protection from the enemy in the days ahead. Close the doors and openings that invite enemy activity in your life. Find Me in a place of safety and fortification. My Spirit desires to speak and draw you into the inner sanctuary of peace where I dwell.

 

The darkness is getting darker, and My children need to learn to pull in and tuck away from the evil that so easily besets them. Dwell with Me in the quiet holy place. I will show you the places where the enemy has gained access to your life through relationships. Run from godless relationships and people who desire to live in their own deception and godless ways. I will tuck you away and cover you under My wings. Find refuge in Me, for I am your shield and rampart.

 

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

 

 

Nehemiah had tremendous perception and insight about the plans of his enemies. As the men of Israel rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem, they were guards by night and workmen by day. I covered them as their rear guard and allowed the work of their hands to be completed in fifty-two days. I fought their enemies and brought their enemies’ schemes and plans to nothing.

 

They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

 

Nehemiah 4:8

 

 

Be wise and discerning about the wiles of the enemy. His strategy is to kill, steal, and destroy. Do not be deceived about his intentions, for he wants to stir up trouble and wreak havoc in your life. Identify his schemes and resist him through prayer, binding him in My name. Be on guard day and night to meet this threat.

 

Take up your intercessory position and build up the broken walls around you. Stand in the gap for those you love. Do not expect this holy work to be accomplished quickly. Your job is to pray and My job is to answer in My perfect timing. In the meantime, rejoice in My perfect work.

 

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During this year of great hardship, God has drawn the line in the sand about most things. He has flushed out what we believe and where we stand about everything.

 

Did you believe all the propaganda about Covid? The fake numbers, the fake everything, and what they told you about the vaccine. For those who didn’t believe all of this garbage, we are considered to be socially irresponsible.

 

Was Covid real? YEAH! My husband and I had Covid for two months.  It took the third month to recover, but even with that I refused to live my life around this disgusting man-made virus and bow my knee to so many of these ridiculous liberty infringements.  Luckily, in my state we have been relatively free to live our lives. Our politicians had nothing to prove and didn’t have to justify mail-in voting.

 

Many Americans are so self-absorbed they don’t really care about truth and are too lazy to seek it out.

 

Deception runs rampant.

 

They certainly couldn’t go to church and find out anything relevant to the culture and what’s really going on in society for fear someone might be offended.

 

God’s plumb line has been dropped in the churches across America, and He is flushing out fake churches, fake prophets and pastors who have been on an apology tour since the fake election. In the days ahead, we will see these fake churches and pastors crumble and fall. Gird up and prepare for what is going to be revealed in the days ahead.

 

Many of the churches in the states where they could open the doors during or after Covid still kept their doors shut. Those decisions tell you all you need to know about those churches.

 

Woke churches are arising. (If you don’t know what that is, Google it. You will be shocked.)

 

Most mainline denominations are finding themselves compromised and no longer believe the Word of God to be inerrant. Some social version is ok with them.

 

What side will you be found standing?

 

Now is the time to make some hard decisions. Where do you stand on the serious issues of today?

 

You have a voice, so use it. If you do and say nothing during this critical juncture in American history, you will be judged as part of the problem.

 

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