We have thus far viewed God’s perfect peace through the stories of ordinary men and women: Gideon and his outnumbered 300, to Elisha and his servant surrounded in the natural by the Syrian army while in the spirit they were surrounded by the host of heaven, to Peter walking on the frothing waves, to Paul and Silas beaten, bloody, in pain, in shock, shackled in the innermost cell of prison praising the Lord, to Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy communing with God while walking outside on a frigid morning in a Nazi concentration camp, to the ten spies who believed their doubting eyes contrasted with Caleb and Joshua who believed God more than what they saw, to King Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah when fell on their faces before God when they were unjustly challenged by three overwhelming armies whom God wiped out when Judah chose set their eyes and minds to believe God and praise the Lord in spite of impossible odds. From countless enemies on bloody battlefields to Nazi concentration camps to bombastic giants against people who felt like grasshoppers, to raging seas, to a murky prison, in all this we have learned that we are not to be anxious about anything. This anxiety is that which consumes our minds, steals our peace and causes us to believe problems are bigger than God. The issue becomes a skyscraper and we appear to ourselves as insignificant ants because we place the magnifying glass of our focus upon it and not on God.
Godly Concern That Leads to Godly Prayer
But, God calls us to do the reverse. Though it’s totally natural to be concerned. Even Paul was concerned. In many epistles he states he is concerned for the churches (2 Corinthians 11 is one such place). This is the same word used for worry in Philippians 4:6. The difference is, Paul took his concerns to God, and took productive, God-inspired, Spirit-directed action regarding his concerns.
So, yes, we’re going to be concerned. But, we are not to let it become all consuming. Rather, we are to, like Paul, take our concerns to the Lord–and leave it with Him, even if that means we must leave it time and again and again and again and again.
We are called to set out minds on things above (Colossians 3:2). We are called to lay up our treasure in heaven, to seek first the kingdom and then all things would be added to us. We are called to keep our minds set and at rest in God, to find our safety our security in Him, and thus God will guard with perfect wholeness in all areas of life. As Isaiah 26:3 clearly states, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Why We’re Not Abiding
So, then, why is it that so few Christians actually abide in God’s promised peace? Has He, who cannot lie, not fulfilled His word to us? Or has something else gone wrong?
I had thought initially that there were missing puzzle pieces regarding the topic, and I wondered where to find them. But, just as in the case of my Mom’s friend who had health-improving vitamins in her cupboard yet had not touched them, even so, God has and is extending His peace to us, but we will not receive it. His peace remains in our cupboards, and when asked about it, we point to the bottles of peace on the shelves. Nevertheless, God gives us the prescription of Philippians 4:6-9, but it is up to us to take it. The puzzle pieces were not missing; they instead, had been overlooked.
Philippians 4:7 and Isaiah 26:3
In Philippians 4:7 we learned that God guards us with His peace. That is what “keep” means here in Isaiah 26:3 when it says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace.” The guard that God sets round about us is the guard called peace. His peace protects us like a Roman guard set to watch the gate of a city. Nothing would get past those Roman soldiers. But, if people were outside the gate, the soldiers could not guard them. The guard was set for the city, and all inside the gate would be safe. To “stay” our mind on God, to “trust” in Him, is to be at rest in Him, to abide. Only the branch abiding in the vine will find the life giving sap of the tree. And just as only the abiding branches survive and thrive, only those who were within the gates of the city would be protected by the protection of the fearless Roman soldiers. Even so, only those who abide inside Christ and are hidden with Christ in God, who surrender all of their concerns and fears and anxieties will know the protection of God’s incomparable and unconquerable peace.
So, how do we as branches remain in the vine? How do we abide behind the gate with the Roman guard as protection? How do we abide in Christ? Obedience. And one such obedience is that of not worrying, but instead, of casting all of our cares upon the Lord because He cares for us: to let Him be our focus, instead of our worries, to let Him be magnified instead of our problems, to let Him be exalted instead of our fears.
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
There is a hymn entitled “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” It was written by Helen H. Lemmel. “The author and composer of this hymn, Helen H. Lemmel, relates that one day, in 1918, a missionary friend gave her a tract entitled “Focused.” The pamphlet contained these words: “So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness. “
These words made a deep impression upon Helen Lemmel. She could not dismiss them from her mind. She recalls this experience following the reading of that tract:
“Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody. The verses were written the same week, after the usual manner of composition, but none the less dictated by the Holy Spirit.””
O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free!
Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; O’er us sin no more hath dominion— For more than conqu’rors we are!
His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!
“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus: Featuring Loyiso Bala, Neville D., and Ivan Siegelaar,”
In the Spirit of this hymn, let us indeed, turn our eyes upon Jesus, even now as 2020 turns into 2021. Though much is uncertain and everything up in the air, Jesus is still worthy of our focus and will keep us in perfect peace if our eyes remain on Him, and Him alone.
Our God is a powerful God of peace, and He promises this powerful and empowering peace to all believers, even in the Last Days. We have learned this truth through the stories of Gideon and his 300 men up against a murderous multitude, Peter walking on the stormy sea, Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy in a German concentration camp, Caleb and the ten spies about to enter the Promised Land, Elisha, his servant surrounded by the Syrian army that in turn was surrounded by the Lord of Hosts. God has freely offered us this peace, and so I began to puzzle over why it seemed we as Christians do not rest in His peace all of the time. Something appeared to be missing. Just as my Mom’s friend had health-improving, doctor-prescribed vitamins in her cupboard yet had not touched them, God has prescribed us Philippians 4:6-9 and stocked our cupboard with His peace, but we have not made use of it.
Last time I mentioned four overlooked pieces to the puzzle of perfect peace, and then focused on the first puzzle piece, “do not be anxious about anything.” With the insightful stories of Caleb and Elisha, light was shed on how what we focus on is magnified in our eyes. No matter how small the matter, when we hone in on it through our magnifying glass, it becomes overwhelmingly huge. Our faith is then placed in how big that problem is instead of being placed in the greatness of God. Instead Isaiah 26:3 says that when our minds rest on the Lord and we confidently trust Him, that we will be guarded by God’s peace. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Today we’re going to look at puzzle piece number two: Thankful Prayer.
Five Steps
“…in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”
There are five life-altering words listed here in puzzle piece number two, five foolproof steps (Renner calls them “steps” which seems an appropriate term) we are to do when anxiety threatens to sink our ship: prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, requests, and made known.
Prayer
Step number one: prayer. The word that Paul uses for prayer in this passage is the word for prayer used upwards to 127 times in the New Testament. It is the compound of two words. The first word of the compound means “toward” and renders a sense of closeness, even face-to-face. “One scholar has noted that the [this] word is used to portray the intimate relationship that exists between the members of the Godhead. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.…” The word “with” is taken from… [this] word… By using this word to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit is telling us that theirs is an intimate relationship. One expositor has translated the verse, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face-to-face with God.…” (Rick Renner, “Five Important Steps to Move from Fear to Faith,” https://renner.org/five-important-steps-to-move-from-fear-to-faith/). The second part of the compound word is an ancient Greek word which means, “a wish, desire, prayer, vow.” “It was originally used to depict a person who made some kind of vow to God because of a need or desire in his or her life. This individual would vow to give something of great value to God in exchange for a favorable answer to prayer. Thus, inherent in this word is the idea of an exchange — giving something to God in exchange for something wanted or desired,” (Renner, “Five Important Steps…”).
Now, I used to work for a prayer group that believed in something called “seed faith.” Basically that meant that someone calling in with a prayer request was to give some money in faith that God would in turn answer their prayer for wisdom, healing, salvation for a family member, or to cast out a devil etc. However, giving God money to do something like heal you is not Scriptural, nor is that what is being referred to here. Jesus never had anyone pay Him for healing nor for a deliverance. The only ones in Scripture who required payment for their spiritual services were the false teachers and false prophets (as found in Jeremiah specifically). Furthermore, when we give monetarily, we are not ever to expect money to be given back to us, but instead are to look forward to treasures in heaven. That being said, God does want us to be givers and He does bless people who are givers. But, this is a topic for another time!
Interestingly enough, there is a give and take in prayer—just not a giving of money in order to pay for what you want. God does want us to give something to Him, namely our anxiety and our burdens. When we come face-to-face with God in prayer, He wants us to give Him our cares, our anxieties, our fears, and our desires in exchange for His peace.
Supplications
The second step is supplication. This word pictures a person who is begging or earnestly beseeching God for something. Shamelessly, the person boldly cries out to God for help. In James 5:16 this word is translated as “fervent prayer.” “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Again, this is a type of prayer.
A story that depicts such supplication (though the word is not used in the story) is found in Luke 7:24-30. “And from thence…[Jesus]…arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.”
Thanksgiving
The third step laid out in this passage is that of thanksgiving. Again, it is a compound word used here wherein part of the word means “good or well” and the other part means “grace” and conveys the picture of “an overwhelmingly good feeling about something” (Renner, “Five Important Steps…”). Essentially, one gives thanks for God’s grace (“2169. Eucharistia,” https://biblehub.com/greek/2169.htm), for His promise to answer and for His hand of favor upon us that renders us able to boldly approach His throne. It is worshipful. “By using this word, Paul teaches us that when we earnestly ask God to do something special for us, we must match it with an earnest outpouring of thanks. Although the request has only just been made and the manifestation isn’t evident yet, it is appropriate to thank God for doing what we have requested. Thanking Him in advance demonstrates faith” (Renner, “Five Important Steps…”).
Requests
The fourth step is requests, which comes from the Greek word meaning “to ask, request, petition, demand.” “In the New Testament…[this] word is used to portray a person who insists or demands that a specific need be met after approaching and speaking to his superior with respect and honor. Additionally, itexpresses the idea that one possesses a full expectation to receive what was firmly requested,” (Renner, “Five Imporant Steps…”). In other words, through Jesus we have a God-given right and God-given favor that lets “…us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need,” (Hebrews 4:16). Again, this is another type of prayer.
Made Known
And the fifth step is that of making known. It literally means, “To come to know, to make known; to declare.” In the words of Rick Renner, when we declare our fervent requests to God, we “broadcast it so loudly that all of Heaven hears you when you pray,” (Renner, “Five Important Steps…”). Not only this, but this type of knowledge is experiential. Thus, God wants us to tell Him about our experiences, our needs, our pains, our desires, our tragedies, our feelings. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Let Us Now Apply Puzzle Piece #2:
2 Chronicles 20:1-26 gives an excellent picture of how to apply what we’ve learned today. So, we conclude with the reading of the testimony of Jehoshaphat and the assembly of Judah. May we take to heart their example of prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, requesting, and making known our needs to God in faith that He will do what we request.
“1 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria… 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. [Do Not Be Anxious] 4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. [Making Known] 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us–sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine–we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ [Prayer] 10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir–whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them– 11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” [Supplication and Requests and Making Known] 13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah…in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them…17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” [Do Not Be Anxious] 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. [Thanksgiving] 20 So they rose early in the morning and went out…and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” 22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day.”
To Believe or Not Believe God’s Word
Isaiah 55:10-11, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory.”
We go before God in prayer like Philippians 4:6 says to do, but we pray in fear and in doubt instead of thanksgiving and faith, and we then wonder why we have no peace. We will say that we still believe that God is love and that God never leaves us or forsakes us and provides for our every need, but in the next breath we doubt Him or accuse Him of not doing so. How many times have we thought God has forgotten us or simply doesn’t care? How many times have we fussed and fumed and felt we could do better than God and have at times (when we could) taken matters into our own hands? And in this manner we pray and then as we leave God’s throne room we pick up our anxiety again and exit.
We fall prey to the enemy when we chose to believe we can handle things, we can fix it, we can figure it out.
But, Jesus said that He came that we might have life and life more abundantly, and that life is found in reading and hearing and believing and living His word. And so in faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), we approach our Father God with prayers and supplications with thanksgiving. We must not doubt God, but instead, must stand unwaveringly on God’s life giving word.
Conclusion:
Here are a few good questions to consider. What do we believe in more? Is our problem worthy of more faith than God? Is worry and fear more important to us than peace? Is the word of a person or people greater than God’s word?
No matter what we pray, may we do so with a thankful heart, because our good God is worthy of our thanks, even if we don’t get what we want when we want it. In this Last Day’s age of entitlement and selfishness and ungratefulness as well as uncertainty, let us instead like Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah, walk in the peace of fervent, worry-free, thankful prayer.
Jehovah Shalom, the LORD of peace has been our topic over the last two lessons. With the help of Gideon and Peter we found that the peace Jesus gives us does not rely on our circumstances but rather relies on God in spite of all circumstances. Gideon faced a massive army compared to locusts both in number and violence, yet with 300 men achieved victory. Peter faced a fierce wind and a thrashing sea, yet walked upon it.
Then, with the aid of the testimony of Paul and Silas we have seen that this peace is beyond our understanding and is a guard of our hearts and minds. It is a peace that boggles the mind and defends the mind and is like Roman soldiers who served as gate monitors to the city and who would let nothing and no one in that was not supposed to be there. This peace not only is otherworldly and defies our mind’s ability to understand, but it is incredibly powerful.
The Enemy
It’s odd. When I hear the word peace, I think of softness, stillness and gentleness. But, in reality, the peace of God is a force to be reckoned with that overwhelms and overcomes the wind and the waves, even the violence and intricate tactics of an enemy seeking to destroy us. God’s Word says that the enemy roams about like a lion, zealously seeking whom he may devour – which literally means to “drink down, swallow up” (1 Peter 5:8). He desires to stealthily steal us, sacrificially kill us on his altar and to violently and completely annihilate us, as if we never had existed (John 10:10). We are essentially born spiritually blind on a battlefield. We cannot see the battlefield much less the enemy waiting to pounce upon us. And how he attacks most effectively, even since our childhood, is in our minds.
This is where God’s peace comes in to play. Our Jehovah Shalom, the LORD of peace, the Prince of Peace has given us peace that is our protection against Satan’s extermination, battle plan in our minds. Satan comes against us with selfish pride, anxiety and fear based on very real circumstances, but God’s peace is greater if we “abide.”
“In” Christ
There is an often overlooked word in the passage of Philippians 4:7. Actually, it is an overlooked word throughout the New Testament. It is a word that I just read over time and time and time again. It’s a simple, two lettered word. A preposition actually. Do any of you remember what a preposition is? Well, in Greek “The original or core meaning of…prepositions often indicates DIRECTION.” (“Prepositions and Prefixes,” https://ancientgreek.pressbooks.com/chapter/13/) In other words, is the person moving away from something, into something, under something?
In Philippians 4:7, the overlooked preposition is the word “in”. In some translations the word is translated as “through.” Although, when I studied the Greek this past weekend I cannot figure out where the translators got the word “through.” For, the Greek word does not mean to go “through” something, but rather that you are “in” something. After all, the Greek word means “in”. It carries with it “…the primary idea of rest…[of] remaining in place.” (pg 579). This preposition “in” is also found in the well-known passage of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things [in] Christ who strengthens me.”
This little word is vitally important, for without it, we would not have this peace. It is only when we are “in” Christ that we are empowered to do “all”. It is only when we are “in” Christ that we are powerfully protected by the peace of God that boggles the mind. For it is only when we are “in” that we are at rest, that we are at home.
“I Want To Go Home”
As an former employee of a health care center, I had to watch certain training videos online every month. They are called Relias training. In one of those training videos, the narrator asked a question concerning what the phrase “I want to go home” means to different people. When someone says “I want to go home” it can mean a variety of different things.
What does it mean to you? When you think about going home, what does it look like to you? What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “home”?
Some who say this may be referring to feelings like security or safety or acceptance, others may think of home as a certain place, like where they grew up or where they raised their children, others may think of it as a place where their things are, like their favorite chair or a fireplace, and still others may think of it as a person.
Grafting
John 15:1-11
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”
To “abide” means just that, “to abide, to dwell, to remain, or live.” When in relation to a person, it means to remain with that person, to be united with them, to be “one with him in heart, mind, and will,” (pg 959).
Jesus in this passage uses an agricultural word picture when He states that He is the vine, and God the Father is the husbandman/gardener. In Israel a lot of pruning, cutting and grafting was done to olive trees, but also other fruit trees. There were branches that were not producing, so they would be cut away. Others simply needed pruning to encourage production. Still others required grafting. In the book of Romans, Paul even talks about how the Gentiles were “grafted in” to the vine of Christ. Since this word picture is so important, I did a little reading on the grafting of trees.
It is amazing how one can take a small twig of one fruit tree and make it part of another tree. Basically, one whittles down the end of the twig into a point, and a cut is made in the bark of the trunk of another fruit tree. It is into this cut that the little sharpened twig is wedged and then wrapped up tight with plastic tape. Within a short period of time the little twig becomes an actual part of the fruit tree. It’s incredible how through grafting, there can even be three different types of apples growing from one tree. So long as the fruit is from the same family, grafting can be accomplished. One can even have apricots, peaches and almonds grafted together into one tree because they are all a part of the same family. And thus, the one tree becomes the “abiding” place or the abode of the different fruits. It is now their home.
Whether the original branches or the grafted branches, they are to abide in the tree, to find their strength in its life, their sustenance in its sap, their stability in its roots, their home in its soil. Even so, we are to find our home “in” Christ. So that no matter where we are, who we are with, what financial status we are in, or what location in which we reside, whether a five-star hotel, a straw hut, a mansion, a cockroach infested hovel, a war torn landscape, a prison, the Poor House, the White House, or a care center, we will be secure, we will be at home, because our home is in Christ.
Conclusion
We conclude today with a quote from the book Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom. Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch woman of God, who, along with her family helped many Jews to escape from Holland after the Nazis invaded during WWII. She and her family were imprisoned in a concentration camp, and all of her family died in concentration camps except for Corrie who went on to become a traveling evangelist and author of The Hiding Place. In the sequel to The Hiding Place called Tramp for the Lord, Corrie ten Boom drives home the point that Christ is our home no matter where we are, when she writes,
“Betsie and I walked to the square where roll call was being held in the concentration camp. It was still early, before dawn. The head of our barracks was so cruel that she had sent us out into the very cold outdoors a full hour too early. Betsie’s hand was in mine. We went to the square by a different way from the rest of our barracks-mates. We were three as we walked with the Lord and talked with Him. Betsie spoke. Then I talked. Then the Lord spoke. How? I do not know. But both of us understood…The brilliant early morning stars were our only light. The cold winter air was so clear. We could faintly see the outlines of the barracks, the crematorium, the gas chamber, and the towers where the guards were standing with loaded machine guns.“Isn’t this a bit of heaven!” Betsie had said. “And, Lord, this is a small foretaste. One day we will see You face-to-face, but thank You that even now You are giving us the joy of walking and talking with You.”Heaven in the midst of hell. Light in the midst of darkness. What security!” (Tramp for the Lord, pg 30)
No matter what we in America or the world or the Church may be facing right now at the end of days, no matter what personal or familial or physical problem or issue we may be enduring, not one thing of it compares to Christ. If we think the issue too big, then we’ve made our God too small. If we’ve got our eyes on the problem, then we are not seeing God’s handiwork. If we are focused on the storm, the unknown, the insanity of it all, then how can we possibly be focused on God as well? Truly, the more we focus on anything other than Christ, the more we will fear, worry, fret, get angry and make bad decision and do stupid things, and on top of it all, we will always want a vacation. We will want to get away.
After years of studying Scripture, I have come to notice something. No one took vacations. Well, once someone did (David) and it led to adultery and then murder and then lying and then the death of a child. In other words, God did not create us to go on vacations. But, He did create us with a need for a Sabbath rest (once a week), and most importantly, to learn the vital nature of learning to rest completely and totally in Him at all times. When He is our abode, our dwelling place, our hiding place at all times then we will find that He is all the vacation we need…and oh! what security we’ll have when Christ is our home!
Below is an appalling video put out by CBN (the Christian Broadcasting Network of Pat Robertson and Gordon Robertson), trying to lull people by explaining away what RNA does in the body and by dismissing the use of aborted fetal cell lines. I am beyond disgusted. This is both despicable and diabolical. Indeed, it is downright evil! Judas Goats! I am calling them out. I am standing against their deceptive words, in the name of Jesus. May every word fall to the ground, and may they fall into their own net, into the trap they have set for the unsuspecting and trusting sheep. How dare they deceive God’s people! How dare they speak such lies in the name of truth, calling good evil and evil good!!!! False prophets and liars, foul and from the pit of hell! Talk about betrayal.
And it gets worse, for many other Christian leaders and pastors have done the same. More are listed below. Their sin against the flock and against the Great Shepherd is great.
Bill Gates with NIH Director Francis Collins and NIAID Director Anthony Fauci at the NIH in June 2017 (Photo by NIH, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)
On April 15, 2020 I wrote an article (again with many sources) regarding Collins and Fauci and Gates. They not only know each other, but work together and as this picture shows, they even laugh together. Please take a look at this link for more info: “Days of Preparation: Time to Wake Up,” https://holylight4u.wordpress.com/2020/04/15/days-of-preparation-time-to-wake-up/
Here is a link with a long list of medical experts and important sources for your benefit, including many links from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s website Children’s Health Defense. “A Founder’s Warning,” https://holylight4u.wordpress.com/a-founders-warning/ One such medical expert is Sherri Tenpenny who recently appeared on Daystar Television in an interview with Joni Lamb. In the interview, Dr. Tenpenny explains the Moderna, Pfizer and J&J vaccines, what they are and how they ultimately and irrevocably and irreversibly destroy the human body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iaKAWWGyWI
Furthermore, there is a very covert Clergy Response Team (via FEMA) whose role it is to play the Judas Goat in Churches. Judas Goats are known to lead sheep to their death at the slaughter house. They are able to do this because they are trusted and calm. “Strangers Among Us: The Clergy Response Team,” https://holylight4u.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/strangers-among-us-the-clergy-response-team-2/
CBN, you are Judas Goats. Repent before it’s too late!
However, there are more so-called Christian organizations luring people to take the “shot” and thus, ultimately leading people to their own doom. This ever growing list includes Christianity Today, the Christian Post, Baptist churches around the country, Florida and New Jersey churches, and New Jersey ministers who have themselves taken the vaccine. Indeed the very churches who closed their doors on their sheep so willingly for a virus that 99% of people recover from, are now just as willing to open their doors to countless strangers for the sake of the government and the “greater good.” Really? Who are you serving pastors? You are an affront to God! You are wolves in sheep’s clothing. You are not worthy of the title shepherd nor pastor. Ezekiel 34 and Zechariah 10 be on your heads, for indeed, God is against you, shepherds. For instead of protecting the flock you have led them to destruction!
And it gets worse! Now Franklin Graham has come out as a Judas Goat too, even going so far as to say that Jesus would have been for this vaccine, the vaccine that is killing people, the vaccine that has aborted fetal cells in it, the vaccine that is destroying humanity’s immune system, this gene-altering vaccine!!!!!!!!!!! I am beyond appalled. I am beyond angry. I am beyond grieved. How dare this man do such a thing as this! How dare he pull the wool over the eyes of God’s chosen people. How dare he! May God indeed deal with him be it ever so severely!!!!!!!!!!!
HolyLight Ministries 