The Pride of Criticism

Criticizing involves a lot of pride. It is very self-gratifying to find you have the “one up” on your church’s leadership or your fellow christians. Some would be so bold as to criticize the body of Christ as a whole. These people are seldom brave enough to confront the people to which they have so much to boast against behind their back.
Matthew 12:25 states that, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. Criticism tears down and divides, it does not edify. It is like a sickness. What body functions well when it is sick?
Granted some people have great ideas for changes. Some people have great discernment for spiritual things. But you will forever hear me quote my father who says, “You are either part of the solution or you are part of the problem.” There is no middle ground; you’re either/ or. Criticism shows a lack of ownership for your own life and it’s function within the body of Christ. We criticize the church as though it is something outside ourselves. You, me, we are the church! Make yourself part of the solution by adopting humility and a desire to serve. Let the good fruit in your life gain you influence. Pray and fast. If the time ever comes where God releases you: confront in love and with humility and grace, knowing that you are trying to look past the plank in your own eye (Matthew 7:3).
Pray and discern what spirit your concerns come from. Do your words build you up or do they build up the whole body? Sow good seed with your words and attitude. Beware of the critical spirit in yourself and others, guard against it. If you have the arrogance to criticize, repent and ask for humility. Often criticism results from being hurt, seek healing!
“They will know us by our love.” (John 13:35) We are each known for many things. Are you known for your love?
Love is
Patient,
Love is kind.
It does not envy,
It does not boast,
It is not proud.
It is not rude,
It is not self-seeking,
It is not easily angered,
It keeps no record of wrongs!
Love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth!
It always protects,
Always trusts,
Always hopes,
Always perseveres.
(1 Corinthians 13)

Nevertheless!

I feel like I've just woken up; I feel fresh and alive and full of joy. Just a glimpse of God's glory can change your life in an instant!

I look my enemy in the face and declare:

I am undeserving of God's love; there is nothing I could ever do or have ever done that would make me worthy of His love. I know it!

Nevertheless!

God sent Jesus and he died for this unworthy woman.

Nevertheless!

I am an heir to His kindgom; I am his beloved daughter.

Nevertheless!

I stand redeemed, with the full authourity granted to me when Jesus died on the cross.

I'm not worthy. I know it. God still loves me!

"If grace were an ocean, then we're all sinking".

"Consecration that Shifts Nations"

I'm reading Faytene Kryskow's book "Marked". Chapter 7 is called "Consecration that Shifts Nations". When I was about 6 years old somebody gave me a frame with my name and it's meaning. It said my name meant pure of heart and I received that word; my name was Trina and that meant I had a pure heart. Later on I discovered the effort and surrender required to keep my heart pure.

Dwayne and I decided to watch a movie last night. To be honest as soon as I saw the name, my spidey senses began to tingle. By now I know what that means: it's not the movie for me! How many times have I sat down to watch a movie, "spidey" senses tingling, knowing very well I will regret it when it's over? Too many! I was just reading the book and debating with God on wether or not I could continue to watch that show and still be in total consecration. "Other people seem to get to watch whatever they want", I said. It's not that bad! Good versus evil…in a dark, creepy, disturbing kind of way…What about evil in the bib…(lame). Thankfully God's voice was still audible through that crap, he said, "You will prophesy, you can call yourself a christian, you will serve me and you may even make it into heaven, but your level of consecration will measure your authority". I do not want to speak words that hold no power! What kind of feel good waste of time would that be. "Oh I felt a fuzzy!" Big whoop! I want to feel the whole earth shake as strongholds are torn down and nations bow to Jesus, as the Sons and Daughters of the Most High God are revealed in the earth! God didn't place us here to blow smoke.

"God is raising up a generation whose voice is going to be recognized in the heavenliness, even if their names are not known on the earth. They will declare to the gates of our nations, both in the natural systems and in the spiritual realms, and gates will be opened. They will declare to unrighteous gates to be shut, and they will be shut. When they speak, mountains in the spirit realm will be moved." Faytene Kryskow

Though there is a terrible ripping of flesh, I would never be content with anything less than total consecration and I will fight to get there!

The Songs of God

Zephaniah 3:17 says that God exults over us with singing. Kari Jobe sings a song called "Singing Over Me". The chorus says:

Your words have never stopped. You've been singing, always singing over me. Your words are still enough and you're singing always singing over me. Give me faith, give me strength enough to wait. To stand in faith and listen, listen for your melody.

Doesn't it excite you to know that the God who spoke everything into existence is singing over you? Singing words of life. Singing what is true. Singing your hope and future over you! We need to "stand in faith and listen for His melody". Listen...what is he saying?

I dreamed last night that I gave birth to a son. There was another woman in my dream who gave birth to a son on the same day. She rejected her son and I received him. I was thrilled to have him. I kept saying, "they are twins". I was glad also to be able to nurse both sons. I named them Justice and Isaiah.

Justice is: making something that is wrong, right again.

Isaiah is an old testament prophet whose name means: God is my salvation. Isaiah prophesied God's judgment over the nation of Israel and that their sin would bring captivity. Isaiah also prophesied God's comfort, forgiveness and restoration.

Isaiah 53: 4Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows...5 He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, by his wounds we are healed. 6 ...the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Justice

Isaiah prophesied justice. Everything has been made right through the blood of Jesus. We can't reject "Isaiah" and expect justice. God's salvation is our justice.

Lisa Bevere wrote a book called "Nurture". Nurture is : 1. to give tender care and protection. 2. to encourage to grow, develop, thrive and be successful.

"There is a power that comes to woman when they give birth. They don't ask for it, it simply invades them." Sheryl Feldman

As a woman I have the ability to nurture these twins. Along with sons of God on the earth, they will make war.

Women of God you are birthing spiritual sons; sons of war, sons you must nurture. Do not be afraid. Let the power of God invade you. Be purposeful in your words and what choices you make.

"...this is in fact our season to grow, develop, and thrive. Heaven is passionately and purposefully reconnecting with our wounded, war-torn earth and the people who inhabit her. In this season I believe the daughters of God will prove integral agents." Lisa Bevere, Nurture

I prophesy Justice over every inhabitant of the earth in the name of Jesus. The Lord has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all, so that we may receive justice!

Rememberance Day- Lest We Forget...

When I was young I always honoured rememberance day because it was very improtant to my grandpa. He was also my pastor and a man I loved dearly. He always tried to stress to the young people how men and women died for freedom and what a valuable thing freedom is. It was hard for us to see then; we had always just been free.
Today rememberance day is more significant to me. It is a day where I am thankful; thankful that someone would die for me and my children. Thankful that I live in a country where I can freely worship Jesus. Thankful for a country that is relatively peaceful. At the same time it is a day where I mourn the contrast. Gone are my days of ignorant bliss. All I want is to be happy and healthy and raise my family and love Jesus. But I know things about the world now and I can never go back. People are growing evil and violent and perverse and it has gotten too close to home. Now there is a new kind of war to fight and I realize it recquires my life.
I read a story about the "Montreal Massacre" entitled, "The Men Who Ran Away". A lone gunmen came to an engineering class and ordered the 50 men present to leave the classroom, leaving 14 women at the mercy of the gunmen. It is said that those 50 men meekly filed out....the women were shot at. Some died, some were wounded. Those men could've taken him out. They had a chance to prevent a massacre and they "meekly filed out" in order to preserve their own lives. Our society has adopeted that meekness. We see tragedy, enslavement and abuse and we turn a blind eye. We think we are protecting ourselves by doing nothing, all the while violence is creeping closer to our doors, peeking in our front windows. You can close your curtains but it does not go away. "Evil prevails when good men do nothing".
Every day our freedom to worship God is being challenged, from daily exchanges to the highest levels of government. Most of the church sits idly by; dumbed down by their anti-religious sentiments. There are no standards, no disciplines, you do whatever feels right to you. And if sleeping feels good then we sleep. While our foundations crumble down around us, while the poor are begging at our door, while children are being sold for sex in our cities, while our freedoms are being taken, we sleep.
John McCrae wrote this poem "In Flander's Fields", in 1915 during the war:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

It is said that his dying words were, "If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep".

In response to his poem Moina Michael wrote, "We Shall Keep the Faith":

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,

Sleep sweet - to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw

And holding high, we keep the Faith

With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies,

But lends a lustre to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red

We wear in honor of our dead.

Fear not that ye have died for naught;

We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought

In Flanders Fields.

Have we learned the lesson taught in Flander's fields?

The other night I was at a friends and we watched the film "Fields of Mudan". It is the story of a very young Asian girl who is forced into modern day slavery by a child brothel owner. The only solace she finds is through the memory of her Mother and the promise that she would one day find Mudan and take her away to America. She also develops a friendship with another young brothel girl. I can't say don't watch it, but I'm warning you that it will rip your guts out. For me it is a horror film. I myself have a young daughter approximately Mudan's age and when I saw Mudan on the screen my young daughter was staring back at me through her eyes. I left my friends house feeling as though I had been to a funeral. I wept and wept because that movie is some little girls true story and it could be happening in my own city. I also burned, my heart on fire with righteous indignation. Church of God listen to what God would have me say:
I tremble with righteous anger. Sword in hand, I make ready. The Lord of hosts sounds the battle cry. Who will take up arms and join this fight for justice? Awake o' numb ones. Open your eyes to the world around! A cry sounds for justice! There is blood in the streets. There is blood on our hands. We think we can wipe it off on a rag as though it's something that can wash away. It is something that can only be "done" away with; their blood will only be silent when something is done. Awake Church of Almighty God! Awake bride of Christ! If you remain asleep the consequences will be born for generations. I saw a picture of men and women roaming the streets, they were all grey and looked like death. They were ravenously seeking for something to prey on. Same perversity as in Sodom and Gomorrah. There is much to lose if we do not stand up against this! After the Lord showed me this, I tried to sleep, but I still didn't have peace. I got up and went in to kiss my girls and pray over them. I found them all fast asleep, but what was odd was they were wearing white wedding dresses; dress up clothes that I hadn't seen for months. I smiled and went back to bed and God said it symbolized hope and the Church of Christ. In her book "Marked", Faytene Kryskow quotes from Revelation 19 where it talks about the bride being ready, clothed in fine linen which is the righteous acts of the saints. She says, "the church that is truly washed clean will arise and clothe herself with a response and that response is...doing righteous acts." There is a parable found in Matthew 25:1-12. It is about ten virgins awaiting their bridegroom: 5 of them are ready when he comes and 5 of them are not. Wake up! Clothe yourself. You are the hope, you are the salt of the earth. You know who you are.