Today, I woke up and saw an old year book picture. The picture was of a girl I used to know from school and church. In the pic, she was happy. She was smiling and radiant. There was a look of youthful innocence on her face. In the pic, she looked to be about 12 years old. I broke down when I saw it. She passed away a few years ago. Truthfully, I wasn't really close to this girl, but her death still hit me harder than I expected. I had followed her on facebook for a while until she unfriended me for some reason.
What did her life look like? Was she happy? Was she whole? Did anyone ever really show her the love of Jesus? Was anyone merciful to her? I think she was atheist or agnostic. Did she turn away from Jesus because of Christians who raised their stones instead of showing a good and loving Jesus? Did she have joy and peace?
My heart broke as these thoughts swirled around in my head. You see, I believe in a merciful Jesus. I believe that Jesus will be a good judge of our lives when we stand before Him. The Word also tells us that there will an ENORMOUS amount of people in Heaven. We are told in Revelation ( ) that there will be multitudes of people in Heaven that reach farther than the eyes can see. I can't even tell you how much hope this gives me.
But now for the sobering part of this message.
A few years ago I had a dream. I dreamt of an hourglass. The hourglass was separated into two parts; The spiritual realm and the natural realm. As we pursue the Lord, seek His will, and follow Him, we will begin to walk in the fruits of His Spirit, which are peace, joy, love, gentleness, kindness, patience, etc. Our relationship with God will be living and active. He will speak to us, and become extremely REAL to us. I could tell countless Jesus stories of times when I was actively walking in the spirit. Even though I don't understand a lot of the Old Testament, I can tell you of times in my life when the Word of God became alive to me. I could tell you stories of dealing with demonic torment, but learning the power of Jesus and feeling demons FLEE at the very mention of His name. All of these experiences have sealed my faith. I believe because I have experienced Him.
And then there is the natural realm..the everyday world where we often allow ourselves to get distracted and often push Jesus to the side and replace a walk with Him with dead religion works that don't really help or heal or set anyone free.
In the dream, the sands of the hourglass were pouring out. The message from the dream is that TIME IS RUNNING OUT. I honestly don't know if there was some mystical message to the dream. I do, however, know this...
People are dying. Our days are numbered. At some point, we are all going to stand before our Father for judgement. He judges our words. Do our words lift others up or tear them down? Do we gossip? Do we talk bad about others? Are we encouraging others and speaking life into their lives?
He will judge our deeds. Are we hurting others?Are we abusive? Do we walk in the fruits of the flesh? Lust, anger, greed, hatred, malice, etc?
Jesus wants us to hear Him. He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to go to the people who need help and be a light to them. Are we doing that? He longs for us to be close to Him. He wants us to Hear His Voice, and actually listen and not fear.
If Jesus tells you to hug the lady in the grocery store, then HUG her. Don't be afraid. You aren't a shrinking violent. You are a WARRIOR. You CARRY LIGHT, and that lady NEEDS a hug!
If He tells you to tell the bank clerk that Jesus loves him, then just do it. Don't worry about sounding silly. If He tells you to something, there is a deep reason behind it.
Every day, people are dying. They are killing themselves. We live in a broken world with broken and oppressed people. Get on your knees, seek the face of the Lord, ask Him to fill your cup and give you what you need. ASK Him to speak to you and then listen to what He says.
I'm far from perfect, but everyday I am learning. YOU are a disciple. So, put on the boots of peace and Go!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emIE6KzYFOA
Above is a link to a YouTube video that I made about this subject.
What did her life look like? Was she happy? Was she whole? Did anyone ever really show her the love of Jesus? Was anyone merciful to her? I think she was atheist or agnostic. Did she turn away from Jesus because of Christians who raised their stones instead of showing a good and loving Jesus? Did she have joy and peace?
My heart broke as these thoughts swirled around in my head. You see, I believe in a merciful Jesus. I believe that Jesus will be a good judge of our lives when we stand before Him. The Word also tells us that there will an ENORMOUS amount of people in Heaven. We are told in Revelation ( ) that there will be multitudes of people in Heaven that reach farther than the eyes can see. I can't even tell you how much hope this gives me.
But now for the sobering part of this message.
A few years ago I had a dream. I dreamt of an hourglass. The hourglass was separated into two parts; The spiritual realm and the natural realm. As we pursue the Lord, seek His will, and follow Him, we will begin to walk in the fruits of His Spirit, which are peace, joy, love, gentleness, kindness, patience, etc. Our relationship with God will be living and active. He will speak to us, and become extremely REAL to us. I could tell countless Jesus stories of times when I was actively walking in the spirit. Even though I don't understand a lot of the Old Testament, I can tell you of times in my life when the Word of God became alive to me. I could tell you stories of dealing with demonic torment, but learning the power of Jesus and feeling demons FLEE at the very mention of His name. All of these experiences have sealed my faith. I believe because I have experienced Him.
And then there is the natural realm..the everyday world where we often allow ourselves to get distracted and often push Jesus to the side and replace a walk with Him with dead religion works that don't really help or heal or set anyone free.
In the dream, the sands of the hourglass were pouring out. The message from the dream is that TIME IS RUNNING OUT. I honestly don't know if there was some mystical message to the dream. I do, however, know this...
People are dying. Our days are numbered. At some point, we are all going to stand before our Father for judgement. He judges our words. Do our words lift others up or tear them down? Do we gossip? Do we talk bad about others? Are we encouraging others and speaking life into their lives?
He will judge our deeds. Are we hurting others?Are we abusive? Do we walk in the fruits of the flesh? Lust, anger, greed, hatred, malice, etc?
Jesus wants us to hear Him. He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to go to the people who need help and be a light to them. Are we doing that? He longs for us to be close to Him. He wants us to Hear His Voice, and actually listen and not fear.
If Jesus tells you to hug the lady in the grocery store, then HUG her. Don't be afraid. You aren't a shrinking violent. You are a WARRIOR. You CARRY LIGHT, and that lady NEEDS a hug!
If He tells you to tell the bank clerk that Jesus loves him, then just do it. Don't worry about sounding silly. If He tells you to something, there is a deep reason behind it.
Every day, people are dying. They are killing themselves. We live in a broken world with broken and oppressed people. Get on your knees, seek the face of the Lord, ask Him to fill your cup and give you what you need. ASK Him to speak to you and then listen to what He says.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emIE6KzYFOA
Above is a link to a YouTube video that I made about this subject.
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