Lion Nation

Where will the lion go when hunters aim their rifles to shoot, or gather overhead like vultures? Lions do not swim. The lion is surrounded by water. 

Does it have friends or is it alone? Is this lion without a pack, without a pride. Does it have the ability to produce noble offspring? Is the lion old and impotent? Is it suffering with mange, has it lost its roar and can now only shriek? Is it toothless and clawless, without a tail? Has it had its day, no longer in its prime? An old lion, limping, lost and frail, laden with cares, confused, pitiful. Has it lost its crown?

Or is it now a mere circus lion, caged and prodded, forced to do tricks? Does the circus master make it dance by cracking his whip? A slave, a puppet, a performer. A sorry show.

– What is at the heart of the lion nation? I see perversion, pride, arrogance and distraction. The heart was once good, but has become corrupted and decayed. It is hard and cynical and deeply confused. He has forgotten his identity and no longer knows that he is a lion. He thinks the circus master is his friend and does not see through the flattery. And so he performs tricks with his arthritic hips. His hair is sprayed pink and he wears a tutu. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. The great lion does not know.

– Who does the lion purr for? Does he not purr for the one he calls “master”, as his master scratches him under his chin?

Yet it’s all counterfeit! The “master” is no master. For the lion is Mine. The “master” is an illusionist who hoodwinked the lion. He breathes clouds of smoke so that the lion does not see. He keeps him deceived. He is under a spell. Hypnotised and entranced with magic and power. The lone lion has no pride but he is very proud. Should I bring him down?

Lord, if the lion is yours, He needs you to defend him, against the hypnotist, the illusionist, the trickster and deceiver. He is not in a position to defend himself. He needs to come to his senses. How can he choose right while he is under a spell?

– He enjoys his trance, for he likes to eat the fruit of rebellion while feeling no remorse. He has a dimmed conscience, caring no longer for holiness. Should I shoot him with My bow or leave him to dance his fanciful dances? The once great lion is now a laughing stock amongst the nations.

Yet he hasn’t completely lost his conscience, Lord? There are some in the nation who care and plead and pray and intercede. Surely you will hear their prayers for they are the lion’s pulse? These are what keeps his heart beating? For the sake of the earnest, will you not deliver him?

For the sake of the faithful few I will remember him. When the shadow of death hangs over him, he will come out of his trance. The magic is weak. He will seek Me and cry out as a young cub. And The Great Lion will stand over him; the punishment that brings him peace was on Him. One Lion shall protect the other. I remember the sacrifices of this nation. The seed lies dormant and can be awakened. But who will the lion turn to when imminent threats die down?

God gives us peace for our pieces.

Every broken piece of our lives we offer Him He replaces with peace as we put our trust in Him.

I fancied myself as a prophet

I fancied myself as a prophet but I merely spoke my opinions to the wind. 

My assumptions and presumptions brought the same comfort as Job’s friends

I did not notice the hypocrisy in my wise speeches 

Nor the heat of judgment in my prayers 

My vain words could not mend.

I elevated myself to exorcist

a demon hunter

chasing down 

destroying

But my authority was nothing more than a noisy distraction

bringing about confusion 

I left the tormented as I found them

tormented and alone

I chose to walk in the way of faith 

I will move mountains

I can do all things

everything

I can scale a wall

In the midst of danger I can walk tall

I will heal the sick and perform many miracles 

I will gain acclaim

I will be sought after

respected 

But when the sick were not healed I blamed them

I told them their faith was too small

that they do not want to be well

It had to be their sin; it was surely worse than mine

They were not trying

I became a pastor but did not much like the sheep

especially the wounded ones

So I became a teacher but could not put into practice the words I spoke 

They were good words; sound doctrine

But speaking is easy and doing requires effort

with long suffering

So I moved onto evangelising

going to the streets

But people didn’t want to be saved 

so I quit

I decided to be an intercessor

But God didn’t answer my demands and decress

So I became angry and disillusioned

Then I went through grief upon grief

loss upon loss

sorrow upon sorrow

And I broke 

Then through the words of the prophets 

the faith healers and exorcists 

the pastors and evangelists

I reaped as I’d sowed

The intercessors got bitter with God 

for not answering their prayers for me 

I became a stumbling block

a reason for grace to stop

Then one day I was kissed by Mercy

lifted by Love

humbled by the Judge

And I realised it was love and only love 

that was worth living for, speaking for, dying for

God in me, Christ in Me

Only His love will set us free

If I speak in the tongues ^a of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, ^b but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Note:

I think one big blockage to Christians not receiving healing (despite the sick person usually getting the blame) is because other Christians tell them a million and one things to do to get healed eg exercise, try this treatment or that treatment, don’t try treatment or see a doctor at all, just pray, no don’t pray – command and declare, play worship music, speak in tongues, take communion, worship, pray for others, give to this or that cause, believe without doubting, get free from ancestral curses and covenants, make sure you don’t sin at all, repent, confess your sins, get deliverance so that demons manifest and leave, read bible, fast, don’t fast, have oil, laying on of hands, ignore symptoms and do things by faith, even though the exertion might be making you iller, the list goes on and on as if any of these acts will bring healing to the person who is ill, when in many cases it doesn’t happen just like that.

It is ok to share what may have helped you or someone you know but to command others to do a b c d e f g etc as if that’s the formula for their healing gets people so screwed up and in a place of striving and like there is a formula to healing. It gets overwhelming and can even make people iller from the stress of the striving. Please be gentle to those who are not well and don’t burden them with commands and demands. A gentle suggestion/testimony of what helped you is different from throwing demands on people who are already struggling

Have more faith in Me than your sin, Beloved; more faith in Me to deliver than in your ability to sin. – Almighty God

Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. Hebrrew 7:25

Do you know how many tears you have shed, Beloved? Have you weighed or measured them? Your complaint against Me is bitter, that I am not a feeling God, that I do not care nor listen nor understand. Yet I know the weight of every tear, the length and depth and I know how many tears you have shed both inside and out. It is time to trust again. I know all things, I hold on things, I sew and mend and give. I am not a withholder of goodness. I bestow My goodness upon you hour upon hour. Trust Me for the next hour, Beloved. We will get through it together. – Loving God

When you do a kindness

When you do a kindness for someone, forget about it, Beloved, for the one you helped might never be in a position to repay you, even though they may externally appear able. 

Consider your offerings and the weight of your sacrifices in advance to see what needs you can meet. But once you have sown your time, your talents, your funds generously, do not keep these things in your remembrance. 

Too often has shame and humiliation been heaped on the helped one, long after the help was given and many times they feel pressured to pay back something I generously gave them through you.

Keep no record, Beloved, for I keep track of every forgotten gift and sacrifice. Are they not memorials before Me? 

I never ask you to pay Me back or return a gift or blessing that I have generously given. So give generously as I do, Beloved. 

Why do you look for the living among the dead?

I pictured someone holding a dead baby. I didn’t feel that the baby was necessarily a baby, but a representation of something that someone was clinging to because they couldn’t bear to be without it, even though it was dead ie fruitless. They wanted to treasure and nurture this ‘baby’ and not let go, even though it was gone from their life.

I kept having the words impressed on me: “Why do you look here for the living among the dead?” Amidst the dead is not the place to search for something that connects you to life, makes you feel alive, and bears fruit.

And then, conversely, the words came to me: “Why do you look for the dead among the living?”. I pictured someone either not letting go of something or someone that passed or trying to make contact with the dead through forbidden powers/Spirits.

The dead will not redeem, nor restore, nor comfort with true and lasting comfort. The dead things are out of reach and if we try clasping at and clinging to them we will be binding ourselves to the spirit of Death. The power of death has been defeated by the Living God, the Lord Jesus Christ through His shed blood and Resurrection. Therefore seek life, choose life, live life, and leave the dead things dead.

I call heaven and earth as witnessesagainst you today that I have set before you lifeand death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendantsmay live, 20and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life Deuteronomy 30:19-20

And as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? Luke 24:5

Leave behind what is dead, Beloved

Leave behind what is dead, Beloved, and move on. Do not try to exhume the dead things. What has passed away is gone. You do not want the burden of dead matter in your life. Leave the rotten to the earth. Seek out the living and nurture Life. The fragrance of life in the air will be healing to you. Be of good cheer, show good will, treasure what is to be treasured and keep your mind fixed on the joy set before you. I treasure you, My beloved. So shine!

God is bigger, stronger, more loving, more merciful and more compassionate than illness. God is kinder, wiser and a willing Healer.

His touch is restoring, His whisper encouraging, His kiss reviving. His words are as His promise and His promise is dependable.

His peace is lasting, His goodness unbending, His faithfulness unending.

His power is undiminishing and His love unceasing.

There is beauty in everything He does and despite His strength and power He is a tender, feeling, understanding, relational God. He will make wrongs right and cause the darkness to shine as bright as day. He works it all out for good. Blessed is the one who trusts in Him.

End of the road?

Lord, did the darkness have to be so very dark? Did the wasteland have to be so wasteful? Did the valley have to be so deep and the wind so cold? Did the desert have to be so dry and heat of the sun so scorching? Did the ocean have to be so wild, its waves so high, and did the sickness have to be so brutal? Did the flames have to be so tall and the river so rough? Did the wilderness have to be so lonely and the enemy so victorious? I have nothing, am nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. I have reached a place where all I feel is pain, and sometimes fear. Hope seems to have taken a different route but when I try to retrace my steps to find her I find her tracks have been hidden. Do I proceed without Hope or stop here on my journey?

Ahead is fog, behind me desert. Night times and morning are the same; there is no end to this day, this night, this route. Am I even advancing or merely walking around in circles? Not one tree offers fruit. All are barren. If I could taste sweetness I might remember what Hope last told me. But my mouth is parched – should I eat mud for food? For drink should I lick the dew when it appears and clings to the sharp stones? Does it matter what I do? Does anything matter? Isn’t it all meaningless? I am alone and my prayers evaporate before they reach you. My way is hidden from You. My cause is unseen by You. Who am I even talking to?

I will eat the mud and wait for the dew. Right now I cannot be certain if I am even alive or walking through some sort of purgatory. If I see vultures circling overhead I will know I am still alive. Then do I rise or do I cease to be? That is up to You now God because I am weary and there is nothing left of me to give. If You say You are with me I need to see Light, I need to feel peace, I need vision and direction. If You leave me in darkness I am a dead man already and how shall I ever find Hope again? I watch for You God. I strain my ears to hear Your voice. I lift my hands, in surrender, in need of being picked up. Yes both. I wait for Your answer.

I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. Psalm 142:1

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint. Habukkuk 2:1

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

My son, My daughter, I have heard your groans and collected your tears. I am weighing them as we speak. They are tears of the ancient paths and of the Narrow Way. Blessed are they for they are the songs of the pilgrims coming out of the world, forsaking all for the sake of the cross and of eternal life.

Nevertheless, your soul and flesh are mixed within and so I am separating the pure from the impure, for the flesh shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. Your tears are becoming purer and this will help your vision, but still I must sift out the flesh and your soul must be filled with Living Water. Do not throw away your confidence in Me. I reward faith and I am refining yours to make it as gold. You still do not see do you, Beloved? Behold, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. I seek true faith and I am filtering the world from out of you. Rejoice in the squeezing! How can a baby be born without the squeezing and the time of confinement? I bring my plans and purposes to fruition and you will not be left out. Your steps are determined by Me. Keep yielding and keep believing. Do not throw away your faith. There is much beauty yet to see. My purposes shall prevail. Be encouraged and be of good cheer. I am working closer than you realise; I am performing surgery within. Hope is close, just a step away. Before you called I answered and am reconnecting you. You shall not be left for dead in a barren land. Hope has brought you sweet fruits to eat. When you thought she was gone she was collecting what you need for the next part of your journey. I am with you always, Your ever present God.

Why do you complain, Jacob?

Why do you say, Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord;

my cause is disregarded by my God”?

28Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

29He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

30Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

31but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:27-31