Hello dear friends! We are meeting “for such a time as this”! Let us get to the heart of the matter… Grab a cup of something good and let’s get unshakeable!
Tula, my pug, is in jail here! See her above picture! She is super cute– but can we have a conversation? My heart has been put in jail! My Holy Spirit-given gifts have been oppressed and censored. If I play the church-lady political correct game, I am in like Flynn. If I speak the truths– hard, ugly, and YES– even speak God’s truths too shiny, too brightly, I STILL receive censorship, shunning, and the pecking order begins…
I have tried and tried…
And tried…
I have heard the voices of the remnant who have tried too.
And they keep trying…
We are now setting ourselves free…
Free to roam on the range of life! No thing (no evil spirit of oppression) and no one reigning in the light of our Savior in us!
We will always stay in the race!
We will “fight the good fight of faith”!
As Paul said so well in Philippians 3:12-15 (I paraphrase): It is not that I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after the Lord God that I may apprehend the Lord Jesus Christ! Church, I count not myself to have made it yet– I am a work in progress–, but this one thing I do strive for, forgetting those things which are behind as I reach forth unto those things which are before! I PRESS towards the mark of Christ Jesus!
Paul’s life, all that he lacked and all that he gained is a witness of God’s power in God’s people. Paul relied on God to sustain him, not man. Paul sought after the Lord’s approval, not man’s.. Paul BELIEVED in the holy blessed assurance of God. Paul put ALL his trust in the coming hope of Jesus our Messiah and His salvation!
We will stay in the race, leaving the past behind, reaching forth to the mark of Christ Jesus!
Like Pumba said in the Lion King movie, “But it hurt when they stood down wind, oh the shame!”
(I told you we are not P.C here!)
Yeah it hurts! Us strong Believers can handle it. We are George Forman Believers! He was a prize fighter like we are! Our prize is Jesus! He loves God like we do! We are practiced at staying in the ring.. God sustains us to take the punches.. However, what about the “baby milk-fed Christians”. Can they outlast the attempts of the Evil One using God’s people to hurt them? That’s right, God’s people hurting one another. It happens. It hurts. We know better. We can do better, much better!
Some good people may say that I am complaining. They may say, what good are you doing by pointing at our sins? Jesus never minced words when He called out sin. Paul was also a straight shooter. I am not going to tip toe through the tulips. What is your calling? Do not back down. I won’t back down! I can’t. It would confine me. I have experienced spiritual jail; silenced, appeased, mocked, and laughed at behind my back by leaders of the church. To me it meant that I did “share in the persecution for the Lord’s name sake” because I spoke the truth.. The good truth and the ugly truths.
In some churches the only acceptable truth is the one in the prettiest package. Does anyone remember the poop-in-the pretty bag prank? Some awful kids would set a package on fire on the front door step. Some innocent person would stomp on the package trying hard to snuff out the flames. The Innocent, trying to do good, got cooked poop all over their shoes! They had no idea what was in the bag. They were trying to just do good. That is exactly what Satan hopes we do! He wants us all blind to what is inside to cause havoc, create chaos.
I believe in getting rid of the dirt so we can play in the mud (Like the picture of my sister’s awfully cute shih Tzu puppy on the bottom of my Home page).
If you don’t want to play in the mud with us, LF4JC ain’t your kind of ice cream. Our 35 flavors just won’t work for you…
Although…
We will be sweet here. But– we are not one flavor. Some of us love chocolate. Some of us plain hate it. I used to hate coffee ice cream, now I love it!
Let’s have a conversation:
We are not alone! There are many feeling the same way. They feel like they have to keep their hearts quiet amongst the church. Keeping our hearts hidden is not what God calls His people to do. We are called to be His light in the world, a city on a hill, not a candle hidden under a bushel! This is exactly why I finally set “Lighting Fires for Jesus Christ” ablaze!
Guess what? It starts here, praise God! Right here, in Lighting Fires. In you, me–all of us who are ready and waiting for the call! We are “pressing towards the mark of Christ Jesus”.
We know that the enemy is not of the flesh, but of the principalities of the air. We have our armor strapped on and our feet prepared to move!
I am done with all the churchy political correctness! The spirits of oppression, depression, passive aggressiveness, squelching the light of Christ in God’s people has got to go! Yes, not just outside of the church, but inside the church too!
However, this is NOT from the people of God. Yes, the enemy, Satan, uses our weaknesses as an open door, but the weaknesses he uses, are also the very same weaknesses the Lord uses to make us stronger (checkmate Satan!). As the song sings, “when we walk in the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way”! We are overcomers, never ever defeated!
“The Lord is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN”!
It is my prayer that this website and the podcasts will strengthen us to:
- Learn to use the Word of God against the enemy EFFECTIVELY
- Prepare us for spiritual battle
- Not just “know” what’s in the Word of God, but make what we know a HABIT
- KEEP the joy of the Lord when in the battle
- Learn to pray deliverance over our lives and loved ones
- Reprogram our church autopilot responses; speak with truth and life
- Know how to spot false doctrines and false leaders infiltrating the church
- Learn to see the bigger picture (biblically); get wise to what’s coming around the bend
- Broaden our understanding of the Word of God (Moses was more than just the happy, sandal-wearing smiling man in the coloring books)
- Refuse to let any one, leader, teacher, preacher censor and silence the light of Christ Jesus within us
- Handle friendly fire with compassion, love and grace.
Let’s have our first conversation. I have been searching for a straight-talkin’, Jesus-preachin’, Bible-teachin’ Titus 2 Christian-sister from another mister for decades. I have found some, praise God! Fierce women of God are out there! I pray to bring us together, powerfully, prayerfully, actively! This is the time of harvest. It is not going to get any easier. It is time to refine our walk.
Here’s a problem. Sadly, I have experienced a complacency and lack of grace in some of God’s beautiful people. They are the ones who tend to be interested in keeping the status quo. They still love the Lord very much, but they are not the ones encouraging the frontline soldiers. If anything, their passivity and lack of kindness is being used by the real enemy to hinder the ones who are taking the punches. I believe we are in the time of harvest… and it is time for God’s people to build up the house of God more than ever.
For God’s people to be truly His sheep, we must have both truth and love.
Some of us are better at one than the other. Like a mustard seed of faith, some have a mustard seed of love and some have a mustard seed of truth. Both are not nurturing what little they have. Some of us have allowed distraction to hinder our traction! The real enemy depends on this. He wants God’s people to be too hot-headed or too cold-hearted.
It seems that much of the church is on autopilot; giving the masses what they want to hear. Some are wrapping everything up in a pretty package or revealing all the mess at once with out prayerfully seeking after God’s will FIRST. Life is not always pretty. Sometimes we need to break through the ugly to get to the promise land! The Truth absolutely sets us FREE! Keeping the ugly wrapped pretty only suffocates our freedom to LIVE in His joy!
These issues have weakened the strength of the collective church. The relationship BETWEEN God’s people is at DEFCON 3. Satan has his army in ready position to strike, yet many of us are lacking in spiritual luster and strength.
Supporting one another in love is a crucial part of our strength. Jesus said that He is our cornerstone. He said that He is love. Love is a part of the main support of the church! The Lord also said that they that love God are a part of God, but if we do not love one another, we cannot be of God! Houston, we may just have a problem!!! I wonder how many of us actually give love the way we know we are called to? If we are wondering, it is not enough to win the battle at hand.
Scripture says that in the last days the love of many will wax cold. This breaks my heart. I have heard many dear sisters say they feel alone. This is because we are not doing well to love one another! The Lord says, love one another as I have loved you by this shall men know that you are my disciples, IF you have love one to another…
Together we make up the “house of the Lord”. We well know what God’s Word says about building a house upon the sand verses building the house upon the rock of Christ!
Ephesians 2:20-22 20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the LORD: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Together we stand, together we fall!!!!!
Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
When we build the house of God on the solid Rock of Jesus, we are able to withstand ALL storms! Much of the church (not all) is behaving like a sick puppy– naïve to the enemy and easy prey. No wonder the family is dying, marriages are falling apart, and children are hating their parents. While we continue to drink the elixir of false doctrines and false teachings, the Holy Spirit is waiting for us to wake up. We are easy pickin’s for the wiles of hell. It is time to get fired up. Time to fan the flame of the Holy Spirit within us now.
We are in the hour of the last days. We need sound biblical truth and fellowship of Christ’s people more than ever! God is “assembling the remnant… [He] is putting together a flock in the midst of their fold…”. The believers in Christ Jesus, saved by His blood, born again into the kingdom– “chosen by grace” are the remnant! It is time for the remnant to stand in the midst of the many. “…I [God] will make a remnant and those who were cast off a strong nation”.
Christ fills our cup. Every time you open a podcast in “Lighting Fires for Jesus Christ” we will have in-depth biblical conversations. The podcasts will feed your spirit and pour into your cup. It will enable you to head out in the world with “power, love and a sound mind”!
Many sisters in Christ want Titus 2 fellowship that encourages biblical conversation, deep Bible study and heart-felt transparency. We are done with fluffy church talk. Many of us feel it hinders truth. The truth is the power of God that delivers us from evil and deception! We are ready for Jesus Christ and His power to be our preoccupation amen!
Right now spiritual warfare is very real. The enemy has been relentless at going about dividing families and the fellowship. God’s people are feeling disconnected, silenced and censored. Now is the moment for God’s people to be relentless in study, prayer, living it out loud and worship!
This is a call to arms; linking arms and preparing for arms.
The enemy has sent a Trojan horse into the church world. We have opened the doors to it in many forms. “Lighting Fires for Jesus Christ” will reveal these forms and give us solutions to overcome while keeping the joy of the Lord!
Friends, I am extremely concerned that the fellowship is too divided. Scripture says that in the “last days the love of many will wax cold”. Have you observed the lack of simple kindnesses these days? There is no winning the battle behaving like this! “Lighting Fires” will help us begin rebuilding the hearts of many. The podcast will also help us handle friendly fire with compassion, love and grace.
There is a great desire amongst the remnant to LIVE God’s Truth. Some of us do not know how because our churches keep feeding us milk. However, we sense that we need richer spiritual nourishment. In order for us to have the biblical nourishment we desire we have to make some changes.
Strength in God is not about perfect church attendance! I am sorry to say this, but many of us are not plugged into God biblically. He said that “His Word is alive and active”. We cannot depend on a middleman to tell us what God is saying to us. God wants to communicate directly to us. Attending church is beautiful time of fellowship. It is not our main meal. Jesus said that a man cannot live by bread alone, but by every Word of God!
I want to live ALIVE in Christ with you! Having a close relationship with God is not built upon saying a few quick prayers or reading our daily devotional calendar scriptures. Feeling alive is not behaving passively, aggressively, or even raising our hands in Sunday worship service once a week. This battle is real! Calendar devotionals and raising hands in church are absolutely good, but they will not win the war. We are called to be ALIVE in Christ! Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.. No man comes to the Father, but through Him. We can’t get to Jesus without believing that He is the Word. If we believe that He is the Living Word, we cannot help but to read His Word and seek after Him. This is living ALIVE in Christ! Can I get a witness or what!
The starter-kit-Christianity dialogue has no power. Aren’t you done with the confines of Christian P.C.- political correctness- sweating bullets as we color in the lines? What is this having to keep all your ideas in a neat pretty package? Uncovering deceptions is not pretty! Why are leaders expecting this? This is terrific for the devil. If we sit-stay like a good puppy, we will get a treat of approval. Satan plans for this. Good puppies receive an A+ for behaving p.c. What has happened to us? Let’s light fires where ever we go! I am ready, are you? If yes, then stay with me. A few more paragraphs then I have to go to work on the podcasts.
God gave us individuality.
Our DNA cannot be replicated for a reason. We were created for a very individualized purpose. If we fall in line, allowing our gifts and callings to be silenced, the light of Christ in us can fade. The Lord said “let your light shine that they may see your good works, to glorify your father in heaven”. The Lord “created us unto good works”, “we are His workmanship” created to do His works for His glory. Why in my right mind would I allow anyone to squash the Light of Jesus in me? And what about always being on autopilot! I can’t stand it! Esther was ready “for such a time as this”. I am ready. Are you ready? If yes, stay with me here…. almost done
We need to become good at seeing the bigger picture. Biblical study will help us gather wisdom beyond our human limitations. The Bible says ” the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God…because they are spiritually discerned”. I pray that “Lighting Fires for Jesus Christ” will help us gain spiritual discernment with each new talk.
We will have guest visits. Our sisters will share their hearts with us. They will share their experiences and what they learned through Christ.
We must strengthen our understanding of the Word of God and learn how to use it against the real enemy. He gave us His armor, “perfect for every good work”…We must exercise the gift of faith and LEARN how to use it as our SHIELD from the relentless attacks of Satan. We will learn how to use our armor effectively. We will learn how to pray powerfully. We will awaken out of the slumber and live the life He called us “unto good works”… and then hear “well done, good and faithful servant”!!!!
It is time for deliverance! We Believers are walkin’ around with the power of the Holy Spirit, yet it is tucked so far away that we have forgotten it is there and how to use it! Did you know that you can say prayers of deliverance for yourself? We can be delivered from sin, we can be delivered from a mental torment, we can be delivered from ANYTHING through the power Jesus Christ. “Blessed be the Lord my strength who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight”!!! Psalms 144:1
Let’s get unshakeable! Unbreakable! Powerfully plugged in to the power source of Jesus Christ! Let’s light up the fire of the Holy Spirit! Light it up so big that it is out of control!
I am ready! Let’s get set free!
Let’s have a conversation!
See you at the podcasts!
Lighting Fires for Jesus Christ 