Sweet Sounds From Heaven

When anyone has their identity stolen, they are in a heap of trouble. They cannot prove who they are and someone else is enjoying their possessions, playing with their toys. These possessions have been stolen from the rightful owner. This can turn into a real freak show. May be the reason this writer relishes St. John 10:10, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Our enemy should constantly be reminded that he cannot steal, kill or destroy anything that belongs to us and ours.

When we realize who we are in Christ, and therefore what our rights are in Him, we will not tolerate the thief. When the thief has been found out, he has to return the ‘stuff’ to the rightful owner. When we are born again, or some translations say born from above, we are new creatures. II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any person is engrafted in Christ, the Messiah, he is a new creature altogether, a new creation; the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

We have rights. We are now a child of the King, yet so many continue to live and act like orphans. This writer knows a little bit about orphan mentality because of her past. Seems like things were somewhat unconventional from the very beginning. However, once light came and she realized that God loved her, everything changed; no more distortions from the dark side of town. She is moving out and moving up, she saw herself in a brand new light.

Remember when Moses sent the spies out to check out the land and they returned carrying a pole full of grapes on their shoulders (Numbers 13). That was the evidence that the land was indeed plentiful, however they saw obstacles; big, strong obstacles. They saw what the Lord had given them, but they cried and felt sorry for themselves because they saw themselves as grasshoppers ~ small, unable to take possession. These people did not know who they were or who their God was. They did not know they had been given a ‘helper’. Believers are still living that way today, clinging to their past; not realizing that it’s a new day and a new game plan. Hey! We are new creatures.

David, on the other hand, viewed obstacles differently, (I Samuel 17). Even though he was not given a fair shake by his brothers and others, David knew his obstacles did not have a covenant and he knew that he did have a covenant. This covenant relationship makes all the difference in the world. I Samuel 17: 45, 46 Then said David to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand; and I will smite you, and cut off your head; and I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistine this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

Glory to God!! What an attitude; take that devil. That jerk may have kept us in the dark for a season, but that season is over. We have learned of our covenant rights. No longer are we held back because of our past. It does not matter that we were born on the wrong side of the tracks, or that our parents never got out of the 3rd grade, or that we got stuck in the 8th. It does not matter that we were born in a particular ethnic group. It does not matter that we were so poor, we slept 5 in a bed to stay warm and hand-me-downs were exciting. Good news, even ‘blonds’ can have brains because of the Blood of Jesus. It does not matter that we were identified with deep, dark sin and rebellion, and thought that was just our lot in life. Like David, we may have been way down on the world’s totem pole; however, God had a plan and Jesus was His Man, and we were the reason for it all.

What matters is that we are new creatures, a new species of beings that never before existed. God chose us before we were in our mother’s womb, so get used to this Royalty. We don’t dare live an unsatisfactory, joyless, humdrum life when the King has adopted us into His family. Scoot up to the table and say “pass the biscuits!” When thoughts come into your mind about your past, don’t identify with them. Things have changed. You are forgiven. Let all the earth know that there is a God in Israel and His Spirit dwells inside of you. Receive your inheritance. Step right up and take it like a worthy, covenant man.

Don’t let the enemy of your soul, who stole your past also rob you of your future. Read your ‘bill of rights’ to that sucker. He knows he lost a good sinner when he lost us, but the point is, he lost us and God found us. Thank You Jesus! We’ve been found and the accuser of the brethren has been found out. We have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.  Now it’s our time to shine and rule and reign in life through the one Lord Jesus Christ, who always causes us to triumph. Our Identity Determines Our Destiny!!!

Jesus legally defeated our enemy and took away all of his authority. We can rest in that victory knowing that the battle has already been won. Trust me, Jesus knows how to deliver a knockout punch. Jesus knows how to pick us up and stand us upright on our feet. He knows how to surround us with His Spirit so that we can go forward without fear. II Timothy 1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity ~ of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear ~ but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of a calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.

Jesus smashed the competition and the partition ~ the wall is down. Walk on in and recover everything that legally belongs to you. Don’t let the devil steal your identity. Just because he is going to hell, does not mean that you have to live like you are going there too. When Jesus revealed Himself, you were immediately marked. You are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ and set aside for His service. Don’t let the accuser of the brethren continue to toy with you. For goodness sake, put an end to the freak show. What do you think this is, Halloween????

Agree with what God says about you. Believe what God says about you. Say what God says about you. See yourself like God sees you, and Become Fully Transformed!! This is your new I. D.  With this New Passport, God can use you anywhere, anytime!!

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Not long ago, this woman of faith and power was sitting in her prayer chair, when a preacher came on television that she did not usually follow. Curious, she lingered, and heard him say, “today we are going to deal with sin.” Yes! was her response with uplifted, touchdown arms, as she immediately headed to the bathroom for the pause that refreshes, because she wanted to listen very carefully. As she turned the corner, she heard him say, “the sin of anger, resentment, jealousy, selfishness, and pride.” Oooh ~ if you could have seen the expression on her face as reflected in the bathroom mirror, it was not pretty!! Flags down, touchdown turned fumble.

Slowly washing her hands and heading back to the prayer chair to take the medicine prescribed for her, she felt like a 900 lb. gorilla with the swine flu. The mirror had captured it all, and she got to see it. God is so good to reveal to us the very things that we don’t see in ourselves. Thank you Jesus for your Cleansing Blood shed for my sins, and the power of forgiveness.

No, there were no hidden moral sins, like pornography, sexual impurities, lying, stealing, backbiting, drunkenness, or carousing; most of which are fairly blatant; (not that they were not part of her past). It’s those spiritual sins that no one sees but God, and as He reveals them to us by His Grace and Mercy, we must by faith apply the Blood and render them dead. See the relationship, co-laboring together? Remember that old 60′s song? It still takes two baby!!!

Several years ago she took lunch to a friend with anticipation of spending quality time with her. They had just unwrapped the sandwiches and in popped the grandson, eager for attention as usual. Well, quality time went out the window and her attitude reeked. Disappointed and squirming on the inside, but trying not to show it, again she went to the bathroom, looked into the mirror and said out loud to the reflection “ you are so selfish and I don’t like you.” She admitted it and dealt with it, and rendered it ineffective. She still did not get quality time, but she was free. Just get this straight, grandchildren are always going to need and get special attention, and you are not the grandchild, girlfriend.

Sin is sin, regardless of how severe or insignificant it may seem. Jesus’ Blood paid the price for all sin. Can we believe and receive His atonement? God, I pray we can or He will never be able to use us in His Kingdom. Every unfulfilled destiny grieves Him. We cannot afford to let this happen, because He has so many Blessings planned and stored up for us that we would miss.

1 John 1:9 If we freely admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just, true to His own nature and promises and will forgive our sins, dismiss our lawlessness and continuously cleanse us from all unrighteousness, everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought and action.

Romans 8:1-2 Therefore there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong, for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit, for the law of the Spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus, the law of our new being, has freed us from the law of sin and of death.

Don’t be like the woman at the well, who thought she was unworthy to have a man of her own. Sure, she had a lot of baggage, but JESUS saw right through her to what He knew she could become. He was not concerned about her past so much as He was convinced of her great future. After all, He is the Redeemer and He is standing right in front of her; however, she had to believe and receive that future. She had to receive forgiveness for all her sins and believe she was indeed worthy of God’s Amazing Love. Don’t be like Thomas. Just because he did not see Jesus with his eyes, he would not believe the report of the other disciples. Abraham had to look not at what was obvious to his eyes when God promised him a son.

Romans 4:17-25 As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations before him whom he believed, even God, who quickened the dead and called those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope (Abraham) believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken so shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb; He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform. And therefore it was accredited to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, but they were written for our sakes too. Righteousness, standing acceptable to God will be granted and accredited to us also who believe on God, who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. Who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our justification, our acquittal, and make our account balance, absolving us from all guilt before God.

Obviously, it’s not just about us, but what God wants to do through us. If Abraham could believe God for the miracle of a son in his old age, not to mention his old wife, how much more should we be able to believe God to forgive our sins, big and small. This is a serious question and we must quit playing doctor (examining ourselves), and examine the Word of God regarding ourselves. We have not exhausted God’s Grace, trrrust me! We are not too old, wallowed in sin too deep, too dirty, too despicable, too anything, that God’s Great Grace will not destroy. Once we are forgiven, what others think just does not matter, besides it’s nobody’s business, not even the devils. Jesus’ Blood is that powerful!

Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us (14) How much more shall the Blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today and forever.

He has not changed and He’s waiting for you to believe that. Don’t throw away your future because of your past. Receive His amazing Grace and light up your world. Let Jesus shine through you. He has counted you worthy and He’s counting on you ~ don’t disappoint!!

Philippians 4: 13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

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The yard had recently been mowed, just in time for a nice soaking-in rain, which we desperately needed. Leaving for church to meet my prayer group, I noticed a fallen limb in the front yard. Not too big, about 8’ long and about 5” in diameter. I’ll get it and toss it when I return. Our prayer team is always faithful. God meets with us every time. It’s invariably different, and always effective. We just love meeting with HIM and receiving direction and confirmation for things yet to come; fighting the good fight of Faith.

Thursdays are very exciting, and after prayer, I try to accomplish things while in town so I don’t have to make another trip. It’s exciting and exhausting all at the same time. After a short rest on the couch, I arose and went to the window. Glancing toward the fallen limb, there was another fallen limb, not as large, nor as long, but now I have two. Oh No!! The second limb was moving. No time to waste, got to get the gun. I’m thinking that sucker is too big to miss. I don’t like snakes period, especially when they are huge and dangerous. This one was both.

I opted for my 38 which I knew was loaded. Back outside, and careful to stay on the porch, I began shooting toward the reptile. He just kept crawling. My neighbor called inquiring about the commotion. I informed him of the situation and told him if he came to be careful between the two saga palms. Now the reptile is curled up with his egg sized head resting on his 4” diameter body. Is he dead or just playing possum? Do they give up that easily? Did I kill him? Binoculars were grabbed for a closer view. Golly Gee!! He sure looks dead. I must have looked like a moron. Binoculars around my neck, pistol in one hand and phone in the other. How do I get into these messes?

My pistol locked up, Oh Great! I called my other neighbor, the snake man himself. He said he would come, and I’m hoping soon. Back outside and the sucker is stretched out and crawling toward the porch. I had retrieved my 357 and loaded it with 38 bullets. Now I’m shaking, but I‘m thinking, ‘Sandy, focus, scope, aim and shoot!’ It’s now or never. At least this time I hit him, but did that stop him? No, no, he’s determined. I sure needed help. Called for backup. Here they are. With a real close view of his head, I’m saying, “shoot him, shoot him!” My other neighbor is saying, “don’t shoot him, I’ll get him.” Too late!, He’s dead (I hope) and pulled out from underneath my porch.

Wow! That’s a big one, they don’t generally get that big was the comment from the snake man. “He’s healthy.” I asked if he was dead, “Oh yeah, he’s dead.” Now he’s healthy, I’m thinking. No way to equal the excitement of the morning prayer time; however, this event was frantic, which brings me to this specific point.

Sometimes, we think sin is dead in our lives and it raises its ugly head. Sometimes we deceive ourselves which causes confusion in our midst. We live in this fallen world and must deal with the consequences of Adam’s transgression. We have to kick sin out or sin will take us out. We are in a war ~ not just with the reptile, which is symbolic of the devil; but good and evil are clashing stronger than ever before. Things are shifting, sides are being clearly and distinctly etched and the line is being drawn in the sand. Just like that snake curled up and played dead, sin hides and acts innocent. We must push through the pain to the liberating truth. No face masks allowed. We must be transformed by the washing of the water by the Word. We cannot allow pride to hide.

Ephesians 4:17 -24 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: In their spiritual apathy they have become callous and past feeling and reckless, and have abandoned themselves (to prey) to unbridled sensuality, eager and greedy to indulge in every from of impurity that their depraved desires may suggest and demand. But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Notice that the understood subject in the previous verses is “you.” You have something to do with what God wants to get out of your life and into your life. We can’t do anything without HIM, Good news ~ we are not without HIM!!! Even as that snake was preparing to shed his skin due to growth, we must shed baggage in our lives in order to make room for the new things God wants to bring to us. It is definitely a time of transition for the entire body of Christ. The things that people have relied upon are no long stable ~ never were. Christ is the only Rock-Solid foundation which is durable, and we must prepare ourselves a sanctuary for His dwelling.

Matthew 9:16, 17 And no one puts a piece of cloth that has not been shrunk on an old garment, for such a patch tears away from the garment and a worse rent is made. Neither is new wine put in old wineskins, for if it is, the skins burst and are torn in pieces, and the wine is spilled and the skins ruined; but new wine is put into fresh wine skins, and so both are preserved. St. John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease ~ He must grow more prominent, I must grow less so.

Sounds like a model for success to me. It’s a process, however. The blueprint has been handed to us. If we will just connect the dots, things will come into full maturity. It’s that ‘shrinking’ that is difficult.

Genesis 1: 26-27 And God said. let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Any way you look at it, we were created to dominate. Me? I need shootin’ lessons! I have great tools, but need instructions in their use. We have been given exceedingly great and precious promises; we do need to put into practice what we know and keep seeking after truth, learning and growing in Grace. Don’t get discouraged, call for backup! God’s got us covered. It’s time to get excited about the new things God wants to do, and He wants to do them through you.

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