You will be hated by everyone

You will be hated by everyone - oh yay!

I am reading some 'meaty' scriptures this morning from Matt 10

v16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard, you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ....v22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." v26 "So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known.
v32 "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my father in heaven."

For many I believe we have this image that in Christ and in His love and showing his love to all around that it is just going to be wonderful. But what I have found, and perhaps this is just my experience, but the more I have gone deeper in the Lord, in His love, the more I have been persecuted, hated by people I come in contact with, spiritual challenged at every corner, threatened with all sorts of things.

For me, the more I love on Jesus, the more I get opposition, people walking away from me, and I wonder, ponder and question with the Lord about what I am doing that people have walked away? And what I am learning is that there is a clash of Kingdoms. Light exposes the darkness. Often times it leaves me feeling hurt, rejected, not wanted, questioning, but what the Lord is showing me is the overwhelming pure love of God, the unconditional love of God, the forgiving nature of God, the freedom found in God can be too much for people at times.

In the quiet He is there

And so when reading these scriptures this morning, I am reminded once again, "It's okay Sarah, what is happening is part of what it is being a Christian. This is the walk of those who follow me, what you are going through is to be expected and a part of life. I am teaching you how to be shrewd, I am teaching you how to forgive and to love those who persecute you, I am teaching you not to be afraid".

So I share some of my encouragements from the Lord this morning.
Have a great day!

Whats in the garage?

The garage, a place of storage, a place of dealing with things later when time allows, a place often of mess. That's whats in our garage anyway. I woke up out of my sleep last night with this 'there's something in the garage'. So at midnight I woke up Jim and got him out checking out the garage and I found the cars had been left unlocked outside with the windows down, the water heater in the prayer room (one of our garages) was still on from the prayer time that morning, milk on the bench and so thankful that I was woken to check things out. But after this I then had another dream and in this dream we were quests at someone's home invited for dinner but in this home after dinner the host was so concerned about her home and the particular way her curtain was hung it was really fascinating. She was so wrapped up in her house and how things should be done that she failed to notice her husband sitting on the chair waiting to talk to her and in the end he got up ...

Expectations and frustrations

Last night I had this dream and I saw myself going up the mountain with my husband and as we went up the mountain to the snow I saw the most beautiful waterfall flowing in the bush and the scenery was just beautiful and as we reached base camp there were many people waiting to go on the ski lift to the mountain but they were having to wait because as I watched the snow was melting so fast because the sun was coming out so strong the the snow was melting like right before your eyes and people were no longer able to ski. People were getting frustrated because they had come to go skiing and now no longer were able to, but for others like myself I so was enjoying the scenery that because the snow was melting there was so much beauty all around. At the same time there was aeroplanes flying around doing acrobatic flying in the sky and other people were in stands watching the planes flying around. As I looked at this this morning, I believe we are coming into a time where the ...

The rats where running....

Last night I saw this picture where we went into this room to collect stuff with lots of other people and all these rats ran away as we came in and the stuff in the room was just all bits of rubbish now and the word that came to me was Matt 6:19 "Don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It is so easy to think you are storing up treasure in heaven but the reality is that if you are wanting praise from man in any way then you are actually receiving your inheritance now. When you work for the Lord the things done in secret I believe, is what is stored up in heavenly places awaiting a time of release and when that release comes is unto the Lord, it may be on the earth while you are alive but it may also be later....

Continuing on in Luke - Chapter 22:40 "Pray that you will not fall into temptation"

A couple of things that struck me this morning from Luke. Jesus says to his disciples in 22:40 "Pray that you will not fall into temptation" , and then a few verses later while praying on the Mount of Olives Jesus, 'prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground'. (22:44) His prayer was obviously quite intense and I thought how much of my prayer is so intense that my praying produces sweat? But the prayer he said to the disciples was 'pray that you will not fall into temptation'. And then again in verses 46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." This call to pray that we don't fall into temptation I believe is so needed. It is when we pray that we realise the different areas that we have fallen into temptation in such seemingly little things, but over time they become big things. We succumb to temptation in so many ways and somethi...

Today's complacency will lead to tomorrows captivity

While Jim & I were in bible college training to go on to the mission field, one thing we learnt was that we needed to be continual learners. And over time I have found if I am not learning, if I am not growing in the Lord in some area of my life, then more than likely I have stepped into a place of pride without even realising it or have become 'comfortable' and content with where things are at. To be a continual learner is to position yourself that you are continually growing, being challenged in your thinking, perhaps being called to step out in something you have never done before that you know God is speaking to you about. It's a place of questioning yourselves "why am I not seeing what I believe for yet?" in the Lord, those promises perhaps that He has already spoken about, and then stepping into them in faith trusting that God will lead the way. Samuel Rodriguez say's "Today's complacency will lead to tomorrows captivity." I ...

Do you want to walk in signs, wonders and miracles?

People say to me that they want to walk in signs wonders and miracles and yet..... the cost it takes to do that they are sometimes not willing to pay - yet Because the reward far outweighs any cost that might come. And I pray that people get a revelation from God of the joy set before them through Jesus! The cost of perhaps walking away from friends that don't believe what you believe or wan t, the cost perhaps of family who reject you because you are radical and taking your faith too far - in their eyes at least, the cost perhaps of leaving houses, fields etc, the cost perhaps of going to a friend and apologising for your behaviour, as you obey what it is the Lord puts on your heart to do and you may need to surrender these. Yes salvation is free through Jesus, but to walk in the anointing of God where you see captives set free around you, where you see the sick healed, where you see lives changed before your eyes, costs you to believe in what Jesus has done and can do, thr...

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