Good morning body of Christ, it has been quite a while since the Lord has moved upon me to send out a blog. If you find yourself here reading this, then you were led by His Spirit, for you are seeking. Our Lord is moving at a very rapid pace in these days, and if we are not asking of Him to line us up under His plan, then we are not keeping His pace. We should find the text of our bibles leaping off the page, being fulfilled right before our very eyes, yet are we a part of all that God has planned for us from the beginning of time? Are we in a place of past lies that are saying, "you cannot __________________________, fill in the blank. If we ourselves are 'filling in the blank', then we are hearing someone other than our Creator, either our flesh or the old tape, the lies of Satan himself that wants us to remain in Egypt. But God says in Matthew
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (KJV)
Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." (NLT)
With this, I come to you to share my recent personal experience, in order to encourage you, to spell out His truth, and to hopefully give you a boost to the next upward step God has for you to reach. I have been blessed by a sister-in-Christ who has played a part in doing just that for my life in Christ.
Now if you will go get your bible, turn to 2 Kings 18. This 'story' has come alive (in) me, a story meant to reveal to us the importance of, taking a stand in Christ, and not wavering under ANY circumstances. As we are told of the reign of Hezekiah as the King over Judah, we are given details about his character. Revealed is his devotion to the one true God, as seen through his acts of obedience in removing high places and pillars, even the ancient bronze serpent that had belonged to Moses, as these were ways devoted to destruction for God's people. But then, after standing strong, doing these wonderful 'acts', he chose an action based from fear, not based on the truth of God, trusting God is who He says He is, and that He will complete the good work He has begun in us or through us, Philippians 1:6. Remember the 'story' of King Solomon, sold out for the Lord, was blessed with the mighty gift of wisdom, yet in the end, he did not finish well. His choices he followed from a heart turned towards what he felt were his just rewards, riches, power and lust for women, became THE national disaster, resulting in the Kingdom of Israel being divided into two Kingdoms. What does the Lord say to this?
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (KJV)
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. (NLT)
So back to Hezekiah, were we are given lines in his story, where he departed from the way of complete trust in the Lord, leaning on his own understanding. He feared the Assyrians instead of seeing spiritually, walking in devotion to what is, not what his eyes had seen with Israel 5 years prior as Samaria was taken captive by Assyria. If you will look at verse 14, "I have done wrong". This is what spoke to me, the hidden treasure when we are digging for every treasure the word has for us to find if seeking for it. "I have done wrong", was saying to the King of Assyria, okay, I will agree to the way you see things in order that I can help Judah remain in a place of comfort, a place of peace, not being taken captive like our sister Samaria. This, my sisters and brothers in Christ, is called, a policy of appeasement! Say what you have to say to keep the peace, do what you have to do to keep the company you desire, at the cost of saying to Jesus that His giving of His life for us was not good enough. May this never be! But if it has been, as I humbly admit it has been an unknown policy wreaking havoc in my life, then we can make a new choice. In His mercies that are new every day, ask of the Lord to show you anything in this area that may be hindering your upward call in Him. Then take it into your 'heart', where changes are made through Him. Allow Him the time, the space, the relinquishing of your spirit unto Him, to change that which needs the light of truth. Then step-out immediately as you enter into walk of truth into His marvelous sight, being used to glorify Him in the difficult areas of change.
I myself have just begun my walk in that difficult terrain, rocky, often mountainous and deep valleys, cliff-hangers as I have waited for rescue; but waiting all the same, trusting that He is at His work in me. Last night I submitted myself to Him in this journey, in a difficult part of the journey, determined to come for as gold in His sight. The only way I could do that is as Peter, step-out of the boat, knowing He is there as my eyes and heart stay laser focused on who He is. And I sit here before you this morning to say to you, it was so challenging but has become an incredibly powerful part of Katie's 'story', as I walked through the valley, and made it to the mountaintop to give praise to our mighty God!
2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (KJV)
2 Corinthians 4:8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. (NLT)
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (KJV)
Romans 12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (NLT2)
Sister Katie Siegler
