Dear Mothers,
It's early morning. I was praying in my bed and knew the Lord was calling me to get up and write. I am telling the Lord, "Oh, Lord, this bed is so warm and comfortable next to Papa." Yet I knew that the Lord was stirring me and calling me. Many times I have ignored His early morning call. I have lived to regret it, as then I have to go the whole day with a message in my heart and wait again for the night to write it. Kind of like swallowing an elephant and holding it in all day. It's better to just obey the Lord and get it over with, then rest.
Yesterday I got to rest, thank the Lord. Papa and I watched this preacher on tv. Anyway, I liked what he was saying. It was such a sweet message about loving the body of Christ. About sticking with folks and praying them through. It was a good message. It had a lot of truth to it. It was about seeing a believer do something wrong and praying for them and not gossiping about them, etc. Yet the sermon was missing something. It was like drinking Pepsi that sat out all night. It was missing the sizzle, POP and BANG!!!
Anyway, I was praying to myself about it. I said to the Lord, "Oh, Lord, probably what I teach is a crock of bull. Maybe I wind too much up in the home and family." The Lord reminded me of 1 Peter 3:1 "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands." 1 Peter 2 is a writing about Christ and His work at the cross and then Chapter 3 begins with "Likewise ye wives..." In other words, we as wives act out the work of Christ on the cross, as keepers at home. Now, this is the backbone of Christ's teachings to us wives.
Then the Bible speaks to the heads of households that if they want to have a place in the church, they must have their families in order. The preacher, as he talked, spoke only of the church ministry. How we should behave and relate to the other members of the church building. Of course, Preacher always refers to the ones who are in church as the "Body of Christ."
The Lord spoke again to my heart that Jesus is to be our personal Savior. Jesus is with us when Baby cries in the night and we get up to care for him. We are not just operating in the gifts of the Spirit when we are at church and can relate to another church member. We learn to take on Christ as we lay in bed beside a husband who has sinned against us and we have forgiven him. If Jesus isn't your personal Savior in the night in your bed with your husband, then He is not your personal Savior at all. In other words, it's how ya operate when no one from church is there with ya.
Lately I have been counseled by my mentor MaryL. I was having terrible headaches and she has prayed me through for the millionth time. Thank God for this godly Mother of age 75 (I think) ... but she told me, "Connie, your writing has power in it ONLY because you live it. You quit living it and only write about it and the power will leave you." Very wise words from the older woman. And, by the way, Mary and Russ are married and divorced -- have been married now for 29 years -- yet they have been the glue that has kept my marriage together many times. Jim and I wouldn't have any sorry hide left if it were not for Mary and Russ.
But, heck fire, we can all behave at church. Yet the Body of believers is not only at church. The Lord's body is made up of those who know Him as personal Shepherd. We are a part of many other believers that we don't even know about. We know them in the Spirit, but not always in the flesh.
See, many of you all know me in the spirit. When I write something you say, "Well, that gives me peace and helps me to understand the wisdom of God." This is because the Lord spoke this to you first and my writings somehow cleared the message so you could hear it better. Jesus is the teacher if you are a true believer. You hear His voice and another's voice you will not follow. He is the true Shepard.
Ya know, in the organized church building, it seems to me the false shepard stands by the feeding trough and will try to convince the sheep that the food is good. And (supposedly) if they were true sheep, they would love the food and they would come often to eat it. And they don't want to eat it because they are rebellious. And so the hungry sheep keep eating the false shepherd's food and wondering why they cant digest it. And the false shepherd tells them, "Well, you would like it and digest it if you were a true follower of Christ." Yet this does not play out in the word of God. The true sheep hear the shepherd's voice and another they will not follow.
Ya know, years ago, my brother Scott had a flock of sheep. We would go out with him to feed them. Oh, when they heard his voice, they came running to the fence! Scott didn't have to convince the hungry sheep to eat. They loved him and trusted him and they didn't stand idle when they heard his voice. Even if Scott was talking to one of us away from the fence, the sheep would hear him and come running. They knew his voice and they knew his food was good. They had never gotten sick from the food he had fed them and they knew his food would be familiar to them.
The Bible says that Jesus told the disciples to feed His sheep if they loved Him. So a true shepherd is one who feeds you spiritually and the food is familiar and sweet. You love the shepherd and can't wait to hear His message. He teaches you not be afraid n the dark when husband is late coming home ... it is in this place of fear and panic that Christ proves Himself as Lord of all. If Jesus isn't with us to help and protect us at home, then He isn't with us at all. Our true fellowship is with the Father God. As we know Him and live on His body ad blood, we come into the body of believers and we are able to be a blessing to them. And it is never us who is the blessing but Christ's power in us. And the power of God comes upon us as we keep company with the Power Jesus Christ.
You won't get power from the fleshly so called fellowship you get at church. Just because you eat a potluck dinner and sit next to a spiritual person, it won't just rub off on you. Well, it will if you are a new believer. But if Satan has a choke hold on you and is pulling your fingernails out by the roots, then no one can help you but the shepherd. True fellowship is with the true shepherd, Jesus Christ. As you are built up in Him, then you have something to bring to the body of believers. Then what you say will ring a bell and call the sheep to a true supper that will feed them, refresh them and make them strong and able to face sudden fears and dangers. If He, Jesus Christ, is not your own Savior then you have nothing to bring to the body of believers.
Often the weeds among us choke us with guilt and condemnation. The weeds are the folks among us that we can't discern or understand. They don't hear our shepherd and we can't understand them. They have a familiar ring in their voice and yet their message is unclear. Now, Jez is like that, too. She has a few familiar rings to what she says and yet? Not really. This is a deception, as each deception has a truth to it or we wouldn't get caught in it. Right? I mean, if someone is an obvious liar, then we won't get caught by them. We would never follow them.
I guess the message here tonight is to discern the spirts around you to see if they are of God. Is Jesus your Savior and provider?
The home is the first church and this is where the true Christian learns to put on Christ. Your home is your church. And as you learn His power here at home, you are able to bring to the body of believers food that will feed and nourish them. If you are only getting teachings that tell you how to respond to other church members, then it is an escape from your true responsibilities in the body of believers. The home has to come first.
Some of you wives face a hell on earth and the church is just not feeding you at all. Jesus is your answer and your only answer.
Ya know, if you have a couple problems, then these so called Christian "How To" Books are your ticket out. You CAN do what they say to do and the flesh will, in a way, take you through. But you get some old boy that is your husband and demon possessed from the "Get Go" -- ain't no "How To" book out there that will make that old mule walk. Forget it. In the Bible is the story of the demon possessed man that ran naked among the tombs. The Bible says that no man could tame him. No "How To" books would have helped that wild monster. But, ya know, Jesus healed him. He wasn't hopeless. Jesus set him free.
And we are living now in an age where many around us are demon oppressed. These folks are suffering and going to counselors, etc. But no flesh is the answer for these people. Unless they find the true healer of their souls, they won't be healed.
Jesus Christ is the answer. And you can know Him as YOUR True and LIVING SAVIOR. If He can't heal your husband, then how can you know Him as the true lover of your soul? God didn't leave Daniel in the lions' den to be eaten or in the firey furnace to burn. God doesn't leave His sheep in the dessert to die. He has a voice and He calls you to safety and rest. He leads you beside the still waters. He will restore your soul. He is the God of VICTORY AND PROMISE. Turn away from the world and hear the true Shepherd's Voice, Jesus Christ.
