Encouragement

The Lord Spoke

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , ,

The words of the Lord are timeless, as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago, and if we listen we will hear His voice. When it happens, may we all be like the young boy, Samuel:

And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 1 Samuel 3:10

One day I heard the still small voice of the Spirit whispering truths as I journaled. As thrilling as that was, it was also very encouraging because each word that was spoken was a relection of familiar scriptures, and evidence to me that over the years I had hidden His words in my heart.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Psalm 119:11-16

The secret place, the secret place
Treasures are hidden in the secret place

Follow my way, follow my way
From darkness into day, from darkness into day

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”
when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Evil may think that it has you trapped
The entrance caved in and the road isn’t mapped
But a way has been opened, a way bright and clear
And the angels cry out, “Never fear, never fear”

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord
shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them,“Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:9-10

I am the way, the truth and the light
As you focus on Me, I’ll increase your sight

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
Psalm 119:18

Go steadily forward; in pain persevere
You’ll soon be amazed as I wipe every tear

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

Stand faithful, stand faithful; the trial’s almost done
And you’ll walk in the light, hand-in-hand with the Son

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
For by it the people of old received their commendation.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God,
so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Hebrews 11:1-3

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Psalm 73:23-24

The Spirit’s voice continued, but the message changed from one of encouragement to one of end-times expectations, which I will share in my next post. We are there, folks! If ever there was a time in history to hide His words in our hearts so as to be prepared when trouble comes, it is now. In my next post, In the meantime:

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5

A Promised Land

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , ,

Biblically, the Promised Land is that which was first promised to Abram in Genesis 12:1-7. Today, it has also come to mean a happy place or condition that someone wants to reach; it’s a place where dreams or hopes can come true.

My friend, Persis Tiner, recently shared some wonderful insights into the concept of a promised land; and I’m grateful for her pemission to post them here:

Have you ever stopped to consider the Israelites journey through The Wilderness? Wow! They did a lot of camping on their way to their Promised Land – forty years of camping, in fact! How long do you think it will take you to get to your Promised Land? Do you ever think of your life’s journey in terms of camping; of being a full-time camper? Do you even suppose you can reach your own Promised Land in forty years?

How many nights do you think the Israelites spent in one spot? Did God move them every night, every week, or every month? Any way you put it, they could not put their pegs too far into the ground; consider of all the work. Our lives are also like that if you think about it. This life, and everything in it, is temporary; this is not our home; it is what we are journeying through to get to our real, eternal home. We could call this existence our ‘camping world’, or perhaps our ‘tent world’, and everything in this world of ours is constantly changing. Every circumstance, every experience, every stage of life – they’re all like tents and camping. We dwell in one place or circumstance for a season, and then move on to another. Our childhood was a tent season, and then we moved on to adolescence; good times, bad times, success and failures, problems, joys and sorrows, adulthood and old age; all can be likened to camping out before moving on.

As Christians, our Promised Land is a place called Heaven; a place where temporary is changed into eternal. Every problem will be solved, every temptation resolved, and joy everlasting will be ours. Therefore, don’t let the temporary things of life, the scenery of life, determine how you see things or how you feel and respond to them. Tread lightly, don’t put your tent pegs down too deep. Keep your eyes and your mind set on where you are going, looking ahead your permanent home. Live every day as a camper, and don’t get caught up in your circumstances. Tread lightly and focus on the Promised Land; focus on Home.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down
(that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this,
and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
(2Cor. 4:16-5:5 NLT)

Be Encouraged

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BibleLet the people of God be encouraged!  The unrighteous decision of the US Supreme Court this week is an affront to God as well as to His people, and it is surely one more nail in the coffin leading to His judgements on man.  But His purpose in judgement is to cause people to look to Him and be saved, not to pour out His wrath on the righteous.  We must come into agreement with His plans and purposes to draw all men to Himself, even if it takes very severe/difficult/unpleasant circumstances; and in the midst of it all we must stand in faith and rejoice that our God is on the move!

I have sort of been in mourning for a few days over the increase of evil that has been unleashed, with a heaviness of heart over it all, but this morning the Lord directed me to three Psalms that brought things into perspective for me.

First, Psalm 131, just 3 short verses, but they pack a punch, and I believe show the way to the first thing we need to do, which is to quiet our soul and rest in Him. What peace!

Second, He directed me to Psalm 75, which speaks of judgement, and there are some truths there we need to hold onto. In verse 2, we see that in the set time that He appoints,  He will judge with equity.  Wow!  From our calm place of rest in Him, we can be assured of the righteousness and justice of His judgements, for God is the One who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another, and as He does, the wicked will be cut off but the righteous will be lifted up (verses 7 and 10).

Third, was Psalm 35, David’s prayer the God would “contend with those who contend with me and fight with those who fight with me.”  We must realize we are at war, and it’s much bigger than just the “gay agenda.”  It’s an all-out attempt by all spiritual forces of evil, aided by their physical allies, to overcome the world.  But it’s simply not going to happen!!!  Jesus has already won the victory, and even as we witness the terrible consequences that come in any war, we must commit to the attitude of verses 27 and 28:

Let those who delight in my righteousness
shout for joy and be glad
and say evermore,
“Great is the Lord,
who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.

In the midst of the judgment that God will undoubtedly be pouring out, is our opportunity to tell those who are deceived of His righteousness, of His grace and mercy; it is an opportunity and a call for righteousness such as we’ve never had before.  There no hope except in God, and we are the ones who know the truth and are equipped to deliver His hope to those who are desperate.  Let those whom He has called rise up and joyfully enter into battle, for our commander in chief is Jesus, our Soon and Coming King!!!

He told us repeatedly not to be afraid, so heed His words.  He wouldn’t have instructed us to be fearless if it were not possible, so kick fear out the door and focus on Him.  Remember the power of obedience and praise, and watch from His rest as the present-day “walls of Jericho” are taken down.