Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
“Sowing and Reaping”, “The Widow’s Mite”, “30, 60 and 100 fold return”, “The Cheerful Giver”, “Don’t Eat Your Seed” and even tithing taught in some forms, are just some of the topics that have been twisted and manipulated to extract more and more money from trusting congregants. Continue reading
I know I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but this is one time I don’t mind sounding like a broken record. One day, this life will be over. Whether we go to meet Jesus, or He comes to meet us in the glorious rapture, this life, as we know it, will be over. Then, we will live forever somewhere. We will live forever because we are made in the image of our Father God, who is Spirit. And so are we a spirit that lives in a physical body and possesses a soul (mind, will, emotions). Though the physical body will perish, we will have a resurrected one!
We are eternal beings, and we will live forever. Doesn’t that sound absolutely astonishing? In the natural realm, we see life as being born, living 70 or 80 years, and dying (end of story). But that’s not the end of the story! The story goes on forever.
But we are created with our own free will – to make a decision in this life – of where we will spend eternity. Yet, many put the emphasis on this life only and get trapped by its many alluring pleasures, or should I say the pursuit of its pleasures.
Oh how foolish we are! And how great was the plan of our enemy, satan, to make everything in this life so enticing and so all-consuming! He tried the same thing with Jesus, our Redeemer. “Look over here, Jesus… I’ll give you everything you see if you just worship me”…to which Jesus replied “get behind me, satan!” Would to God that we could do the same when satan comes with his temptations to entice us to focus on this life only.
The Bible says that if it was this life only in which we had hope, we would be miserable. But God knew that, and that’s why he made a way for us to have everlasting life through Jesus.
Today is the day of salvation! Today is the day you can make that decision to give your life, your very short life, here on this earth to God so that you can have eternal life with Him in heaven.
Pray this prayer with me:
“God, I know that I have sinned against you and I am deserving of punishment. But Jesus took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. I turn from my sinful life now and with your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness – and for the gift of eternal life in Heaven! Amen!”
Woe to the Shepherds!
One of the most scathing rebukes found anywhere in the Bible is in Ezekiel 34. It is a rebuke to the shepherds, or in today’s culture, the pastors. The Prophet Ezekiel was not the least concerned with sparing anyone’s ‘feelings’ when he gave his politically incorrect rebuke in the 34th chapter. He was concerned with saying what the Lord instructed him to say. He didn’t water it down, and he didn’t consider how it might put him in social jeopardy. He was not afraid of the shepherds, but he did have a healthy fear of God, something the modern Church seems to lack. Continue reading
Forgiveness is a hefty topic and there is a great deal written about it and a plethora of different opinions. Whatever a person has a mind to do, they will probably find enough documentation, pro and con, to do it. If someone wants to hang on to unforgiveness, they will find a way to support their intention. And vice-versa. If one has a heart to forgive, they will find a way to do it, even when it seems impossible.
I’m often amazed when I hear other Christians talk about forgiveness as if it is an option. That’s not what God’s Word says! Forgiveness is a foundational, fundamental instruction in Christianity.
Forgiveness is about humility. It’s about knowing that all have sinned and come short of God’s glory.
Forgiveness is about mercy. It’s about knowing that you, yourself, are a sinner and that had God not had mercy on you, you would be headed for an eternity in hell.
Forgiveness is about the law of love. God so loved the world (YOU!) that He gave His Only Begotten Son! Why? So that you could be forgiven.
It’s about knowing that if you do not forgive, your Father in Heaven will not forgive you. Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
You see, if you’re asking the question “do I HAVE TO forgive” this person?” then your heart isn’t where it should be in the first place – because out of the heart, the mouth speaks. (Luke 6:25) When your heart is right, even when things may seem very difficult, you will want to do as Jesus did when He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!”
Forgiveness is not however, acknowledging that what the offender did was right or that you accept what they did. But it is giving up the pursuit of retribution.
I remember when I first read “I Was Wrong,” the book Jim wrote when he got out of prison. I was stunned at the level of forgiveness that Jim had exhibited towards his persecutors. He completely and thoroughly forgave every single act of malice, every reviling word, and every betrayal. I didn’t know how in the world he could do it.
But you see, Jim knew what the Word said and he set his heart in agreement with it. When you purpose in your heart (your spirit) to do something; your soul will follow (your mind, your will, and your emotions).
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
I need my trespasses forgiven, don’t you? I need all the grace, mercy and love that I can get – so I have to be willing to give it! That’s why I will purpose in my heart to forgive – and trust my Lord to make that a reality in my words and in my behaviors. When I meet Jesus on the other side, I want my hands clean and my heart pure.
Amen?
Woe to Those Who Destroy Others!
The world loves to hear gossip. In addition to printed material, we now have the ability through social media on the internet to multiply the effects of what we say for good or for evil. This is the information age, but we get a lot of disinformation!
One of the greatest travesties of social media today is the ability of anyone to start rumors, gossip and slander about anybody. Hollywood even glamorizes it! The right of ‘free speech’ is taken to the absurd and social media is often used as a vehicle to air suspicion, bitterness, and outright lies. People who are looking for something bad about anyone will usually find it on the internet! Continue reading
Woe to rebellious children who do not take council with the Lord!
How many people do you think understand that rebellious children are a sign of the Last Days? I don’t think too many Christians actually do equate a rebellious generation with the soon coming of the Lord, but that is, in fact, one of the signs. It’s easy to spot the other signs: earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, etc. Continue reading
Every so often, I feel impressed to give my testimony again. Getting free from the shame of the past is something that people everywhere struggle with every day. It is like being shackled to what you were, and unable to walk in the freedom of who you ARE – saved, healed and restored by the One Who suffered this shame for you so that you could be free (Isaiah 53:3, Heb 12:2). I pray that this message of redemption and restoration touches someone’s heart today and frees them from the shackles of shame.
Many of you know my background in the 70’s and 80’s which has now become part of my testimony. I was a ‘party girl’ – living a wasted life of parties, drugs and rock ‘n roll. Enter God! When you are truly born again, God removes your appetite for such things, and then He transforms your mess into your message. You live to give Him the glory and praise for restoring your life and delivering you from a meaningless and hopeless existence and giving you purpose, passion and purity!
Yet, I will tell you outright that a religious (Pharisaical) spirit will keep you shackled with the shame of your past – when God has already set you free! I have only one reason to refer to the former things which God brought me out of into His redemptive life – to give glory to the Lord Who has the power to save, heal and deliver! Those may sound like “churchy” terms so let’s break them down.
Saved – Forgiven! Period. No more condemnation for I am in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.)
Healed – All my hurts, hang-ups and bad habits – gone! He has given me beauty for ashes. Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of despair,
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
Delivered – The Lord has now caused me to know that I can take the stick which the devil beat me with and use it on him instead! The Lord has given me an international ministry out of my testimony that will help to free others of the same shame and condemnation from which He freed me! The enemy can’t hurt me, shut me up, or sit me down with any kind of accusation ever again. I live and move and have my being in Jesus and in Him alone.
Lori is dead to what others say or think about my past; where I’ve been, what I’ve done and all the shame associated with it. As my Mom often says “It is what it is” – or in my case, I can say “it was what it was”! It is now my testimony and I am not ashamed.
Shame is much different than guilt. We feel guilty for what we do, whereas, we feel shame for who we are. I was guilty – but I’m forgiven. I am now a new creation – washed in His Blood and I’m free from shame! As an old, old hymn says “White as snow, white as snow, though my sins were as scarlet, Lord, I know, Lord, I know, that I’m clean and forgiven!”
I’m telling you – you who are reading right now at this moment – you who may have been born again for many years yet not free – there is freedom – there is deliverance – there is joy!
Don’t allow the enemy to keep you from complete restoration. Don’t give him that power. Don’t give place to shame or any tormenting spirit! Forgive others who have hurt you and forgive yourself for the harm you’ve done to your own soul. If you have asked for God’s forgiveness, accept that you have it! He will not withhold it from you as if He is waiting for you to make some sort of recompense. That’s what the Blood of Jesus did! He made restitution not only for our sin, but our shame!
In Revelations, it tells us how we overcome: by the Blood of the Lamb (saved!) and by the word of our testimony (healed and delivered)!
Be humble – yet bold in your testimony, and open your mouth and sing, pray, and declare His great salvation! Give God the Glory for the things He has done!
When Jesus met the woman at the well, He knew she had a very ‘checkered’ past. Yet the love He poured out on her that day was to save, heal and deliver her! There was, no doubt, awful things that had hurt her tremendously in her relationships with 5 former husbands! Shameful indeed! And religion would never let her forget it or be free of it! Yet, after she encountered Jesus, she ran to the city with a testimony of His love and healing and declared “he told me all that I had ever done”! His great love had delivered her of her guilt and shame!
When Jesus comes into your life and saves you, then heals you, then delivers you of shame, you will never live in silent bondage again. Be free! Free to live and to dance and to testify of Him! Give God all the glory for what He has done!
If you haven’t heard this song by Mary, Mary, please look it up and play it today!
I’ll be dancing with you.
Love,
“Shackles (Praise You)”
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
(What’cha wanna do?)
I just wanna praise you
(Yeah, yeah)
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
(Uh feel me?)
And I’m gonna praise you
(What’cha gon do?)
I’m gonna praise you
In the corners of mind
I just can’t seem to find a reason to believe
That I can break free
Cause you see I have been down for so long
Feel like the hope is gone
But as I lift my hands, I understand
That I should praise you through my circumstance
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I’m gonna praise you
I’m gonna praise you
Everything that could go wrong
All went wrong at one time
So much pressure fell on me
I thought I was gonna lose my mind
But I know you wanna see
If I will hold on through these trials
But I need you to lift this load
Cause I can’t take it anymore
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I’m gonna praise you
I’m gonna praise you
Been through the fire and the rain
Bound in every kind of way
But God has broken every chain
So let me go right now
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I’m gonna praise you
I’m gonna praise you
[repeat x3]
Take them off
What’cha gonna do, yeah
Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I’m gonna praise you
I’m gonna praise you
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil!
Any born-again Christian who listens to the rhetoric from most of the politicians and newscasters in this country must be shaking their heads along with us. Sometimes I don’t even believe how crazy things are getting. Things that are being said and done are just completely opposite of the truth – and preachers are so busy teaching people how to get more money they don’t have time to warn the flock! Continue reading
Woe to Him Who is Alone
Up until I went to prison in 1989, I had always had lots of people around me. Most of those people were slight acquaintances, some were co-workers, some were friends, some were church folk, and some were family. I must confess that back then, I often got the priorities in my relationships out of order. I let my slight acquaintances and other working relationships preempt the most important ones that I should have nurtured. Continue reading
I really can’t even tell you how much I respect and love Jim for the husband, father and Watchman that he is! What Jim does isn’t a popular thing! Warning people prophetically of the soon-coming troubles that we, as a church and as a nation, are going to face is not a welcome message. Yet, he does it. Why?
Well, his accusers sometimes say it’s for profit. Fearmongering is profitable, they say. Well, I’ll tell you how I see it:
When all or just one of those things occur, and my children and I and all those around us have plenty of food to eat and good water to drink – I see it as a blessing of FAITHFULNESS! Faithfulness leads to favor!
Jim is not only getting us ready, he is getting people all over the world ready because he is faithful to preach the message of the Days of Revelation!
Why is it that people would much rather hear how things are going to turn around for the U.S. and how we are going to rebound? You know, the babble we hear from most of the newscasters and politicians today, and ahum… a great deal of the preachers too. But we cannot rely on what we hear from people – we must rely on what we hear from God in His Word! Matthew 24 is what we can rely on! The Revelation is what we can rely on!
Jim doesn’t preach for profit – Jim preaches because he dare not do anything else!
Jim recently preached a message on “Woe! Woe! Woe!” One of the scriptures he uses is 1 Cor 9:16:
“Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” NIV
A lot of people have made fun of us for preparing and teaching others to prepare, but we are not worried about those who mock. We are more concerned about having faith without works. The Bible tells us that faith without works is dead. We are all about hope, but hope has its roots in action. Faith without works is dead – it’s useless. Hope without preparation is pretty useless too. That’s why we prepare.
We want the favor of God – and because of that, we are faithful to preach the Gospel and to help people prepare for the Times of Trouble that are coming very, very soon to this country.
Love,
Lori