Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Heaven is Real (My Personal Testimony)

The fire in my spirit is momentarily subsiding.  I've been reading my Bible (as I stated in previous posts) from Genesis to Revelation and Revelation to Genesis.  I am reading from the beginning to the end and the end to the beginning.  I want to see from God's perspective.  I want to see the world through His eyes, not my own.

It's hard to see from the perspective of Almighty God who can see the hearts and lives of all men at once.  He sits high above it all and looks down, like we are glorious pieces in the chess game of life.  But we are not just carved images on the board, we are living and breathing, made in the very image of God.  We are precious to God.  Everyone is precious to God, regardless of name, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or even religious beliefs.  He formed us with His very own hands while in the womb, delicately shaping our being.  We are precious to God.

God is LOVE...the purest form of love that ever existed.  Love originated from God because it's the very essence of His being.  However, the love we know on earth is not the love of God.  Love can get quite twisted here on earth, barely even resembling the true (agape) love of God.

However, although God is love, He has other character attributes as well.  Keep in mind that everything God is...He is 100% purely that character trait.  There is no mixture or impurity in Him.  He is 100% love, 100% truth, 100% just, 100% wrathful (righteous indignation), 100% peaceful, 100% joyful, 100% merciful, 100% faithful.  He cannot be less than 100% of any pure and good character trait.  He is 0% evil--in any way!  There is no darkness or evil in Him--at all.  He is pure Light, and this Light cannot dwell in coexistence with darkness.  There is no shadow of turning in Him.  He is Light on every side, glorious and beautiful Light.

If I may, I would like to share a very special testimony with you about the Lord.

Many of you may know this (or not), but I was a victim of sexual abuse when I was five years old.  I met the spirit of perversion at a very early age and it defiled me.  It's the same spirit running rampant in the world today.  This is probably why I hate it so much.  It's nasty and foul, likened to a deep, dark dungeon place full of rats and smelling of mold.  It's dirty, but it's lust is uncontrollable.  It's desires cannot be satisfied and it seeks to fulfill it's own desires at any cost.  It takes no thought of harm to others and you become a piece of meat, set before a ravenous wolf.  I hate this spirit--as does God.  It's a fallen angel that was once glorious and beautiful in every way.  God created these angels to be full of His righteousness, but they chose the sin of pride and acted in rebellion--not unlike many people today.  The once beautiful creature became defiled and nasty.

The same thing happens with humans when we sin before God.  We are created in His own image, the most shining example of His character and glory.  We sin, we fall, and shame covers us.

After suffering for 6 years following the abuse, I became very withdrawn and depressed.  I was lonely, but did not want to tell anyone about what had happened to me.  I felt that it would make my parents stop loving me forever.  It was dirty and shameful--a dark, desperate place.  Shortly after the abuse, a "presence" started to come visit me in my room.  The essence of love, peace and joy would fill my room and then I would hear it speaking to me...not from outside my own body, but from somewhere within.  When it spoke, it brought me great peace and comfort.  After some time, the voice seemed to transcend out into my room and it would speak to me all the time.  In counseling, a person can be diagnosed as schizophrenic following a traumatic event.  It was rational when I spoke to my parents for them to believe I might have a psychosis.  According to the world's view of spirituality...that was the only answer to what happened to me.  However, hearing voices and seeing visions does not automatically meet the criteria for schizophrenia because all diagnoses must be considered in the perspective of the person's own religious and cultural contexts.  Hearing voices, as a Christian, does not mean that a person is schizophrenic, according to the DSM-5.  If that were the case, I know a lot of schizophrenic Christians who claim to hear the voice of God speaking to them (and see visions of things that are not visible to the eye).

No...something else was happening to me.  This presence would come, almost daily, to visit with me. He began to show me things (visions and dreams) of places that were full of his attributes, peace, love and joy...and the presence would also show me bad things that were still coming.  I had visions and dreams of horrible catastrophes.  At the age of five, I started knowing things were going to happen before they happened.  People suggested that I had a gift--or maybe I was a psychic.  I had dreams that I would tell my closest family and friends, and I always had "feelings" that things would happen a certain way--and they did.  I knew when people were going to die, and with my own grandmother (later in life), I spoke about it with details about the exact timing of her death.

I am not psychic.  The presence would tell me about things that I did not understand.  When I grew older and started to study the Bible, I realized that many of these things were biblical places, events and even future events that were prophesied about in the book of Revelation.  I began to see that everything the Spirit told me was true.  I realized the presence was the Holy Spirit and He had been visiting me, speaking with me, teaching me--since I was 5 years old.  My family didn't attend church and I didn't study the Bible at home.  HE taught me the Bible, and that is why I believe it has such a special place in my heart.  He was the only friend I had that I could really talk to during those days of my childhood.  I was really afraid to talk with anyone else, but He was always there, always comforting me--telling me to keep pushing forward and to never give up.

At 11 years old, I don't remember falling asleep, but it seemed I had a dream.  In the "dream", I was in a foreign place, standing at the edge of a body of water.  There was a little inlet and a small, single island in front of me.  It was only large enough to hold one house.  The house stood in the center of the island.  Everything around me was black and white, there was no color.  I was afraid to wade through the water, but I decided to go into the house.  I waded through the waist-deep water and went into the house.  I looked around and there was no furniture.  Everything was empty.  I walked down a hallway at the end of the house and there was a single folding chair at the end of a long hallway.  I walked toward it.  There was no furniture anywhere except that one folding chair.  I suddenly felt very tired and stumbled toward the chair and fell onto it.  As I collapsed onto the chair, my spirit rose from my body and I was immediately surrounded by these twinkling, sparkling little lights.  They formed a whirlwind around my body and within seconds, they whooshed me up through the ceiling (that just opened above me) and within a few more seconds, I was in the most beautiful glorious Light that anyone could ever imagine.  I was suspended in the Light, and I had a body, but it was not like the body I had on earth.  It was light and airy and felt completely free of any imperfection, sickness or hindrance of any kind.  It seemed the Light could pass right through my body and it filled every place inside of me.  The love that I felt was unlike anything I could describe.  I had never imagined that someone could be loved so much.  The peace I felt was perfect, and in perfect harmony with perfect love, and perfect unending and unrestrained JOY.  In a matter of moments (although I sensed there was no time in this place), I knew I NEVER wanted to go back or be in any place except THIS place.  It only took milliseconds to realize this.

As I was suspended in the Light and enjoyed it flowing through me and filling me completely, I suddenly heard a thunderous voice (but it wasn't scary).  It was the LIGHT speaking to me.  The Light was buttery and golden and glowing, and it was soft to the touch.  Describing it in human terms is difficult because there are simply not adequate words to describe what I have experienced.  The LIGHT spoke to me and said, "Do you want to stay?"

I thought for just a moment.  While I was thinking (for a few milliseconds), another figure appeared out of the Light.  At once, I knew this was Jesus.  I had never seen Him before, and I knew little about Him from the Bible, but my spirit recognized Him immediately.  He just stood and looked at me without saying a word.  The Light seemed to be waiting patiently for my answer, even though it had just been a moment.  I spoke to the Light and said, "I have to go back.  I will miss my family."  At once, the sparkling light beings (angels) surrounded me and whirled me back down through the roof of the house and back onto the chair.  This only took a millisecond to get me back.

As I had left the presence of the Light, I began to cry in the second while I was traveling back to my body.  I was sobbing and weeping when I re-entered my body on the chair.  I could feel the cold, darkness of the world around me.  I had left the most glorious place to return to shame, guilt, filth, anger, hatred, sickness and everything dark and evil.  I wondered if I could ever go back.  I was crying on the chair in the house on the tiny island.  I got up and immediately knew I had work to do.  I needed to tell my family about this place, so that they could one day go there too.  I looked down the hallway where there had previously been no furniture, and there stood one small table with a red rotary phone on it.  I went to the table and picked up the phone and called my aunt.  I began to tell her where I had been and what I had seen...

Then I woke up.  My pillow was soaked and sopping wet from my tears.

When I woke up, I felt very different than when I went to sleep.  I had a peace that I had never had before and I felt that any fear of death I had was GONE.  I have never been afraid to die since that night.  The presence (the Holy Spirit) began to visit me less and less.  I became angry that I was "stuck" in this world with all these evil people and darkness all around me.  Instead of putting my full faith in Jesus, I began to walk away from God.  Even though I made the choice to leave the Light, I was angry that I could not go back.

I know that I will be in that Light again.  I have turned to the Lord with all my heart and have surrendered my life to Jesus, putting my full faith in Him for salvation.  By His grace, I will make the journey back HOME.  That is my home.  This is NOT my home.  This dark world is NOT my home.  I have tried to stop being angry at the world.  I love the world.  I came back so that my FAMILY (and I've come to realize it wasn't just my biological family, but my spiritual family) can come to that glorious place that I visited.  Heaven is real.  God is real.  Jesus is real.  Everything that is described about how the new heaven and earth will be in Revelation 21 & 22 is real!

I know that I'm going home.  I will return.  I want YOU to go with me.  Please don't be so prideful, stubborn, or think yourself wiser than God....just be humble, ask forgiveness, believe in the Lord Jesus as the full payment for your sins, accept His wonderful grace....and COME WITH ME!  I want you to be in the family of God.  God wants you in His family.

I have a mission to fulfill on earth...to gather as many people as will come, and to bring them home to Jesus.  That is why I do what I do.  That is why I speak what I speak.  I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to compel you to come into the kingdom of God.  I cannot ever forget that place--my home.  In years since then, God has given me other visions and shown me other things about heaven.  I used to think that we just had to endure this horrible place on earth and then eventually we would be in heaven, free from it all.  Although that is true, this place is horrible, there is abundant life to be found NOW through a relationship with Jesus.  We can bring the things of heaven to earth to enjoy while we're here and show people what eternal life with Jesus is like.  The Lord's prayer says, "God's will be done, on earth AS IT IS IN HEAVEN."  Believers, children of God, we can bring the goodness of heaven to earth so people have a glimpse of what heaven is like.  They can realize that this place is not their home, and they can come home to Jesus.

People are right.  I can't cry loud enough to change the laws of earth to match the perfect law of heaven, but I cry loudly in the streets the message of salvation because those who don't hear and respond will experience the opposite of what I just described--a place that is utterly devoid of that Light and presence of God.  God has shown me this place as well, and it's worse than you could ever imagine.  It's not the hellfire, the worms, or the 8-9 foot demons with foot-long razor sharp claws, and the smell of death all around you, with no light and constant torment....because that's all real too...it's the knowledge you have that you could have been with God in heaven forevermore, and YOU (YOU ALONE) made that choice to reject the goodness of God through Jesus Christ and sent yourself there for eternity with NO HOPE of ever being released or having salvation.  You clearly know what you lost in rejecting Christ and you feel that you want to kill yourself every second of the day, but you know that you can't.  You can't escape.  That is the torment of hell.  The Lord allowed me to see it and feel it.  It's why I shout loudly the message of salvation.  NOBODY has to go there.  It's your choice...and it's truly a choice of life or death (forever without end).

Choose wisely and choose quickly.  Time is running short.  I'm warning you now.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Revelation 21 New King James Version (NKJV)

All Things Made New

21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John,[a] saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God iswith men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me,[b] “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
And He said to me, “It is done![c] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things,[d] and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving,[e] abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

MATTHEW 25
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9“ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.


Saturday, June 27, 2015

The Anointing of God Breaks Yokes of Bondage - Separation is Happening!

One of my greatest gifts is discerning of spirits.  To discern means "to discover", so this gift means to "discover spirits."  It has often been called discernment by churches and there are, indeed, translations of the Bible that list it as such.  Even discernment is to the discover the spirit behind a specific thing, action, or spoken word.  I once had a woman in my church test something that I spoke "from the Lord" (I was just learning to hear from God), and she said, "Sarah, the words you are speaking are true, but the spirit behind what you are speaking is not God."  She taught me that you have to discern (discover) what spirit is speaking, whether it be God, the demonic, or just that human's soul.  As I have learned and grown in my spiritual knowledge of God and biblical truth, I have been presented with new teachings by people that I have needed to discern the spirit of what is being spoken.  The devil, Satan, knows scriptures too.  He used them to tempt Jesus to sin and give up obedience to the Father.  He used scripture then and he still uses it today.

Yesterday, I had a great spiritual conversation with my sister in the Lord, a prophetess.  She and I compare notes on what God is speaking to each one of us, and also the words He is giving to the church.  I submit the prophecies God gives me openly for the body of Christ to judge.  They are called to discern the spirit of what I am speaking.  They are told to take what is good, but also not to despise prophecies.  I have encountered false prophets.  A little over a year ago, I was talking with a woman about the Bible and she said the Lord had a "word" for me.  She began to tell me that my husband was abusive and rejecting me, and that he was hateful and raged at me, and ultimately the LORD was telling me to leave him...immediately...to protect my children from future harm.

Immediately, I could tell this was NOT from God, because first God had been speaking to me at the same time to not give up on my marriage, to stay with my husband, to love him despite his faults and weaknesses, but also to recognize that I have faults and weaknesses too...and to work on my marriage and that God would help us grow together in unity.

This was the current word the LORD had truly been giving me at the time.  The enemy seeks to kill, steal and destroy, and it was easy to tell that this "word" was not from the Lord.  When I rejected what she spoke to me very boldly, she got very angry with me and told me that I was a false prophet, that I didn't hear from God, that I needed to study the Bible and get past the elementary teachings...and so on, and so on...

I spoke truth...she attacked me.  Because in truth, that was not God speaking to me.  It was a lying, deceiving spirit that tried to imitate the word of the Lord.  I recognized it for what it was and called it out as error. She was prideful and said she had taught many people how to hear from the Lord and was a teacher in the gift of prophecy.  I told her that she might want to go back to the Lord and ask Him about this, because at the time, it was probably destructive for her to continue to "teach" things were in error.  I loved her through this interaction, despite her hurling insults and persecution at me.

She stopped short of calling me an outright liar and a child of the devil, simply because I rejected something that I knew was not from God.  She attacked me to bring reproach to my character and then immediately started posting on Facebook about how I was a false prophet and people should be "warned" not to listen to me.  She didn't keep it between us, she went into an outright attack publicly. Those demonic spirits will do that.  They don't want to be persecuted with the truth of the Word of God.  It drives them crazy and makes them go on the attack.  The truth is, demons don't want to be discovered in people.  They are quite happy having strongholds in the lives of people and getting to wreak daily havoc and destruction in the person's life.

I have another spiritual gift that works in conjunction with the gift of discerning of spirits (although it is actually a branch of the gift)...I am a seer prophetess.  I can see into the spiritual realm and actually see the demonic in people.  I've walked into a room and seen demons scatter and flee.  I've seen them sit on rooftops and look down onto me as I talked with people.  I've seen people shake, convulse and vomit when I speak to them because the demonic starts to manifest when it interacts with the anointing of God (the bondage breaking anointing that Jesus walked under).  The anointing of God breaks every yoke of bondage.  The anointing of God can break any bondage, and we are not just talking about in the lives of unbelievers, believers can be under demonic oppression too.  I have preached to, taught, and prayed with many believers who are struggling with demonic bondage that has been broken and destroyed by the anointing of God.

Demons hate truth.  Satan hates truth because he is the father of lies.  There is no truth in him.

The spirit of perversion is running wild in the world today, but the body of Christ is not immune.   Perversion (in the biblical sense) is not just sexual in nature, although it manifests in sexual immorality, homosexuality, bestiality, incest and pedophilia.  It also manifests in false teaching, false prophecy, error, twisting the truth, rebellion and approving of sin in others and calling it truth (and love, which is not demonstrated through perversion, lying and deceit).

When people do not retain God in their knowledge, they are given over to reprobate mind and given over to the lusts of their flesh to destroy themselves.  My friend who is a true prophetess was speaking to me about the lack of discernment (or discerning of spirits) in the church today.  Because these demons don't want anyone who speaks truth to be in the church, where they can destroy yokes of bondage by the anointing of God, the demons are pushing out any truth that exists in the four walls of the church, running off the true children of God so they can have their way with those who are weak.  They are ravenous wolves among the sheep.  Shepherds are not rising up in discerning of spirits to protect their flocks from evil and demonic infestation, and therefore, people are not coming to know the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and the church is being judged and defiled from the inside out.

It's a very sad time in the history of the church, but God is separating the wheat from the tares, and soon the tares will be revealed, along with the true sons of God.  The wheat and tares have been existing and growing up together, but they cannot stay in the same place together anymore.  Truth, and the anointing of God, is breaking yokes and doing the great work of separation and revelation inside the church.  Real children of God are not imitating the works of the Lord, having godliness but lacking the power of God...real children of God are standing up, not loving their lives, even unto death and having a bold spirit in them right now.

As many say, we cannot judge the ultimate salvation of a person or his standing of righteousness before God, but God is doing that work right now.  He WILL show who belong to Him, and which of those who are pretending are not really children of God.  He will bundle them to be thrown into the fire, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Pride cannot save them from God's wrath.  Only true faith in the Son of God, Jesus, can achieve a person's salvation and make him a true child of God.  God knows, but God is getting ready to show the world...He will reveal the true sons of God.  The fakers, imitators and haters of God (lovers of money and self) will be revealed by God soon!  Just because you are in church every time the doors are open does not mean you are a CHRISTIAN.  Get right with God now because judgment starts in the house of God, and it's already started now.

Don't be a foolish virgin and have your lamp empty (lacking oil) when the bridegroom returns.  He won't wait for you to go and buy oil.  You MUST be ready when He comes.

The doors of the wedding banquet for the children of God WILL close, don't be left outside where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

ROMANS 1:18-32 (NKJV)

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,[c] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,[d] unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Isaiah 10:27King James Version (KJV)

27 And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

Friday, June 26, 2015

Boldly Speak the Truth in Love!

People these days are afraid to speak the truth in love.  We are not doing anyone any favors by speaking anything other than TRUTH.  Be bold, be strong and courageous!  Don't be afraid of what man can do you to, be afraid (and reverently in awe) of the One who has the power to throw you in hell (Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:4, Psalm 118:6)  Open rebuke is better than secret love (Proverbs 27:5).  I will openly state that I do not agree with legalizing homosexual marriage.  I believe in the biblical definition of marriage, and I always will.  You can say hateful things back to me, unfriend me, call me judgmental, say I lack love, whatever you want to say, but I hear from God and I know His Word (in it's full context) and He does not approve of sin of any kind, but His love is for everyone and all can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ and His free gift of grace that will lead to eternal salvation.  We can only become righteous in the eyes of God through accepting the sacrifice of Jesus, His only begotten Son.  It doesn't matter whether that's what the world wants to hear, that's all you're ever going to hear from me...so if you don't want to hear it, just know that I'm going to keep speaking it.  You won't hurt my feelings by un-friending me.  I have to be accountable to speak the truth in love.  If God approved of homosexuality, that would mean He also approved of all types of sexual sin, lying, stealing, adultery, murder, incest, rape, bestiality, pride envy, worshipping other gods, making idols, witchcraft, divination, rebellion, etc.  They are all sin and God does not approve of any of them, and that is why there WERE laws against these things made by man to agree with the law of God to keep peace and order in the land.  One by one, those laws are being torn down and changed to meet the desires of men to be lawless.  As these laws are being changed, we are seeing a complete breakdown of order in our country and sin is abounding and lawlessness is increasing.  America did not have a victory today, it was a sign of a societal breakdown.  Love did not win today.  The good news is that Jesus knows that we are ALL sinners, when we break just one part of the law, we are guilty of breaking the whole law.  We are all guilty in God's eyes and He is the righteous Judge over all.  He has extended His free gift of grace and salvation to ALL people, but He does require that we repent our former sins and come to Him, so that He can declare us fully righteous before Himself after we are washed in the blood of Jesus and take on HIS full righteousness.  However, even after we are saved by God, we continually must look into ourselves and allow God to reveal areas of our hearts and lives that need to be changed and transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are being made into the image of Jesus Christ, taking on His nature and character.  I have a responsibility before God to love people, but when reading Ezekiel 33, I also am accountable to speak the truth and warn the people of consequences of their sinful nature.  By speaking the truth to them and not approving of their sin, I am showing them the highest form of LOVE because I care deeply about their eternal salvation and their experience of the abundant life while on the earth.  We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and all have been given the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, but continual rejection of the work of the Holy Spirit to show us truth and bring us into a relationship with Jesus Christ is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit--the ONE unforgivable sin according to the Bible.  Repent, turn from your wicked ways today--accept the free gift of salvation and grace through Jesus, and YOU WILL BE SAVED!

A Choice--Life or Death?

At a rare moment in my life, I am at a loss for words.

I haven't posted in a few days because I've needed to digest what the Lord was telling me about the state of affairs in the world today.  I've been having dreams and visions, and what the Lord is showing me has been overwhelming and takes my breath away.  When I was 5 years old, I started having dreams about events that had not yet occurred.  I dreamed of places I had never seen before, and events that were spoken of in the Bible, but I had never read the Bible before.  To puts things in perspective, my family did not attend church and I was not taught the Bible at home.  I was having dreams that were straight from the pages of a book I had never read.

God was speaking to me then, and He is speaking to me now.  He has spoken to me throughout my life.  When I tried to tell others what I experienced, it was hard for them to understand and they often rejected what I was saying.  It still happens today.  People don't want to hear what they have trouble understanding.

It wasn't until I reached adulthood that I read the Bible and began to understand what God had been showing me in the dreams and visions I was having.

As an example, when I was 18 years old, I was attending a fraternity party with my brother.  I had barely arrived at the party when I became overwhelmed with the feeling that I needed to go speak with a specific person at the party.  While I was walking toward him, I could hear the voice of God say to me, "Tell him that if he rides his motorcycle tonight, he will die."

I walked through the crowd of people, my heart pounding in my chest, wondering if I was brave enough to deliver such a dire message of warning.  I didn't understand why I even needed to tell him. What if the voice was wrong?  I would become an outcast from the group, laughed at, humiliated...and probably end up in a psych ward somewhere.  People had mentioned that I was psychotic for years and needed mental health counseling (in fact, every time I shared a dream or vision).

I didn't care, the pounding in my chest and the vibrations of power running through my body overwhelmed my rational thinking.  I HAD to tell him.

I walked up to him, and he looked at me for just a moment.  I had his full attention.  The party was loud and I wasn't sure he could hear me, so I leaned in really close and said, "If you ride your motorcycle tonight, you will die."

He looked at me and said, "WHAT?"

I spoke in a louder voice, "IF YOU RIDE YOUR MOTORCYCLE TONIGHT, YOU WILL DIE."

My heart was pleading with him to LISTEN.  Listen!  Maybe it wasn't true, but the rational thinking of it was that he had been drinking alcohol that night and shouldn't be riding his motorcycle anyway!

It was just sound wisdom, to be honest...

He gave me a unconcerned look (that I will never forget) and I walked back into the house.  I was shaking in my body and decided to just go sit by myself in the living room.  Everyone was outside in the back courtyard of the house and I was left alone.

Within just a couple minutes, I heard him start the engine of his motorcycle.  My heart raced and I just closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  A couple more minutes passed and a young man came running into the room in a panic.  He was frantic and ran back outside.  In that moment, I heard the voice say again, "He is dead."  I crumpled onto the floor and became so overwhelmed with sadness that I was unable to move.

Another young man came inside and yelled, "Sarah, J.T. has been in an accident on his motorcycle down the street. Your brother went with him to try to get him back, but it doesn't look good."

I turned to him and as he was running away, I quietly said, "He is dead."

I'm not sure how much time passed, but someone came and got me.  I was still crying on the floor.  He said, "Sarah, let's go to the hospital."

My brother was at the hospital and I knew I had to go.  I almost couldn't stand the thought of hearing what I already knew was true.  He was dead.

We walked into the waiting room and I was in shock.  My skin felt cold and the world around me seemed blurry.  I had cried my tears and now sat in silence.  Someone came out and declared that J.T. had passed away and there was nothing more that could be done.

I had stopped crying, but the sadness continued.  Why?  Why didn't he listen to the warning?  Why?  Why?  Why?

How many of us get the opportunity to receive such a direct warning of impending doom from the Lord?  Why don't we listen?  It's a gift that God is giving the opportunity for things to turn around, to work out differently, but we choose stubbornness and pride over humility and salvation.

We all have this warning from God.  We are going to die soon.

We can make a choice to turn in a different direction and heed the warning.

All have sinned.  All are going to hell without the mercy of a Savior.  We are all J.T. deciding whether to ride the motorcycle...to take the risk.  Some will choose to continue down the path of destruction, some will turn the other way.  It's your choice.

Don't let those around you make the decision for you.  It's a big decision.  Have the courage to do what God is telling you to do, even if the world thinks you're crazy.

This one event in my life has shaped the way I approach everything.  First of all, I know that life is a gift and can be taken away at any moment.  I also know that God is speaking to His people.  J.T. claimed to be a Christian.  If he was a Christian, despite his bad choice, God's grace is sufficient enough to have saved him from damnation.  His death has greatly impacted my life.

Since that day, I have become bolder about speaking the truth of God's Word to people.  Although I went down the path of destruction for several years following his death, it still continues to impact me now that I am walking the path of righteousness.  God has called me to speak the words that He gives me from His heart--for His people.

Just like on that fateful night, I am not afraid to speak the truth in love.  Some will listen and turn around, some will not.  I have accepted my calling, my gifting, and my purpose on this earth.  I am a watchman on the wall and a gatekeeper.

I still see visions and dreams of things still yet to come.

Take everything I say and compare it to the Word of God.  Discern what is said...and keep what is good.

You have a decision to make today.  Do you want to be humble and turn from your wicked ways, or keep moving toward certain destruction?  It's your choice.

I think back fondly of J.T.  I see his smiling face and I hope that I will see him again one day in heaven.  His death impacted my life.  Our lives intersected at one pivotal moment--a moment where a simple choice was the difference between life and death.

We don't know what is going to happen today.  Although I dream of future events (and see them come to pass), I still respect the fact that I do not know everything that is going to happen.  I get small glimpses into the events of the future, but I don't see the whole picture at once.  I still have to live one day at a time, putting my faith and trust in Jesus Christ to walk through life with me.  I don't know when I will die, or what my last moment in life will be like.

However, I have peace and I am not afraid of death.  Death comes for us all, but it's how we live and WHO we put faith in that really matters.  If today is my last day on earth, I know that I have lived well and that I am a child of God--I will spend eternity in perfect intimacy with God.

It's your choice. Do you accept the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in your life?  Do you know without a doubt what would happen if you died today?  Do you have peace?  Are you afraid of death?

These are questions that you might want to answer now...because (like with J.T.), 5 minutes later, you might not be alive anymore.

Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)

"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

Make your choice now!  Don't wait!


Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Eye of the Storm--The Center of God's Will

In 2006, my family and I moved to the island of Guam.  I was entering my third trimester of pregnancy and my whole life was changing at once.  In the same year, I got married, got pregnant and moved 8,000 miles across the world!  Needless to say, it was a stressful time in my life, but also a very exciting time for me.  It was the beginning of a new adventure.

I love adventure.

After arriving on the island, everything was a whirlwind.  We moved into our new house. Everything felt stable and we began to get comfortable with our new life.  We began to really feel the excitement of a new baby coming soon, new experiences and new adventures together as a family.

Two months later, I found that adventure was coming my way...in the form a typhoon.  A giant swirling vortex of air and water, barreling down on the island.  I was getting close to my due date.  My husband works on generators, so he was called out into the rain and winds to pull in generators from around the island.  This left me at home, frantically pulling outdoor items into my living room and dining room, having no idea what was about to happen.

On the island of Guam, if you are close to your due date, the hospital requires that you come to stay with them during the storm--just in case your baby makes his/her arrival.  I packed a bag for the hospital.  I realized at that moment that my daughter couldn't come to the hospital, my husband wasn't home and I knew nobody to watch her that I trusted.  It was a horrible thought to leave my child with near-strangers in a storm without me.  You want to talk about stress?  I definitely was stressing out.  I called my parents, in-laws, pretty much everyone I knew and was crying.

The storm was going to come.  It didn't care what I needed, or didn't have, or wanted to have.  It was just simply coming toward me.  I sent my daughter to the next door neighbor's house and they promised to keep her safe until my husband returned home. I had to get into my car and drive away from her.  The winds of the storm were already quite strong.  At this time in my life, I was not believing in Jesus and following God in my life, and the anxiety was unbearable.  I cried all the way to the hospital.

As I lay in my hospital bed, I couldn't sleep for a minute.  All night, I worried about the safety of my husband and daughter.  I believed that I was safe in a large, sturdy building, but in my mind our house had never been storm-tested (not true, but that's what I believed).  It was miserable for me.  It was one of the longest nights of my life.  As the storm passed over, I could hear the strong winds howling outside the building and I knew the rain was pouring down, but I didn't turn to God in my time of distress.  I just suffered in fear, anxiety and dread.

This is the way many people experience life...

Life can feel like a road that travels from one stormy place to the next.  Life can be full of trouble, trials, fears, anxieties and uncertainties.  Life can be downright scary sometimes.  We just don't know what will happen next to us, our families, or friends.  We don't know when a major storm might be coming.  Where do we find comfort and peace, or does it just seem like the longest night ever when we face a trial?

Is there peace?

As a Christian, storms come.  They come, and come, and come--sometimes.  The trials do not stop.  The fears can begin to weigh on the heart and we do feel anxiety.

As Christians, we have a place of refuge.  Jesus Christ is our refuge and our strength.  He is our place of perfect peace.  Turning to him can make a devastating storm feel like a day on the beach.

I remember experiencing the eye of the storm as it passed over us.  I have experienced the stillness of the center of a storm (more than once) and it's strange and eerie, but everything is very still and absolutely nothing is moving at all.  It's a place that I wish everyone could experience--at least once.

When the storms of life come and we turn to Jesus, He draws us into the eye of the storm...that strange, but beautifully still place where we can ride out the storm's swirling winds.  You know you are in the center of God's will when troubles are all around you, and yet you feel the peace of God overwhelm you and keep you perfectly still.  Your eyes may see the fast-approaching storms of life, but you retreat into the stillness of the eye of the storm--you seek the will of God and get into the center of it.  When you're there, you just know it.  It's a stillness and a peace that you can't describe.

Everything seems to be going wrong--and yet--you are exactly where you need to be.

You just know it.  You feel it.  It's the refuge of God.

Next time you face a storm in life, ask God to take you into the center of His will.  Ask Him to still your heart and calm your fears, and to give you perfect peace that surpasses all understanding.  The eye of the storm--the center of God's will--is the perfect place to be.

Psalm 91:2 (NASB)

I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"

Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (KJV)

Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 

Saturday, June 20, 2015

A Real Love Story

I am a hopeless romantic.

Tonight, I watched a super sappy, corny romance movie and loved every second of it, even though it was a maybe a B movie (probably more like a C).  Now, I know there are some truly romantic men out there, but I also know that women are much more likely to get sucked into the world's view of a perfect relationship--and a perfect marriage.

Little girls imagine the day when they wear a perfect white dress (the most beautiful dress in the world) and get to act like the premier princess in a Disney movie.  They spend a year or more planning every detail of the perfect day to marry the prince--the man of her dreams.  It's a perfect fairy tale love story...

But--it's only a story.  For so many people, cold hard reality hits them in the face after a month, year, or a few years of marriage.  They find out the perfect mate is not perfect at all!  The perfect mate leaves messes all over the house, never does the dishes, and makes an annoying sound with a mouth when he (or she) is nervous.  That perfect mate is always late to everything, doesn't seem to like the same things as when you got married, and suddenly has developed (GASP) new....life....goals.

It leaves a person wondering...WHO did I actually marry?  This surely is not the same person that walked down the aisle on that perfect day.  This person is driving me crazy!  This person has problems that seem like deal-breakers ten years into marriage, and it leaves you wondering if you made the worst mistake of your life just getting married.

Then...the dreaded "D-word" comes out.  Let's just (GASP)...get...a...divorce.  This isn't working anymore.  You're not the person I married, I'm not the person you married.  We were too young and too stupid and didn't think it all through.

(NOTE:  This is a situation that I am presenting as a model--I am not getting divorced).

You find yourself spending more and more time in separate activities, and then a person comes along who seems more your style...pays more attention to you...really understands you.  If you haven't read my story about the modern day tale of the Garden of Eden--go read it now on my blog!  This story that started as a fairy tale has turned into one of the Grimm Brothers tales...a nightmare in the making.

You have one, two, three (or more) kids and you're talking about divorce.  You're not fully understanding the weight of your decisions and you have no idea about the lifelong effect it may have on your children to see their parents' marriage fall apart.  Kids lose their sense of stability and feel they cannot trust love, or relationships anymore...perhaps, they end up with commitment issues.  This is not to bring condemnation on those who have been divorced--God's grace is there for you and your kids, He can restore and work all things for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), but don't be deceived either, divorce brings difficult consequences.

There's a song that says, "What is love, baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more..."

Does the world really know what love is?  Do they have an understanding of the word "covenant" and not just the feeling of loving someone.  Love is a choice. Love is an action and love is a great commitment to another person.

Enjoy your wedding day (if you're not married yet), but know that real love is not a happy fairy tale.  Real love takes dedication, gut-wrenching perseverance and a never-give-up attitude.  Real love is very difficult to find, and even harder to cultivate in a relationship--and anyone who tells you otherwise...well, this person would be a liar.  Watch out and do not be deceived.

When Jesus died on the cross, He made a covenant promise TO YOU.  He promised to love you, to care for you, to be with you, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer...He promised to bring you toward heaven to be with Him, and that no one would snatch you out of His hand.  He promised to love you on your best days AND your worst days, when you turned your back on him, and when you lavish Him with praise.

This is the only true love story.   It's about a man, fully man and God, that hung over 2000 years ago on a wooden cross being crucified because He loves you so much.  He died when you had your back turned toward Him as the enemy of God.  He loved you when you did everything against His ways and commands.  He loved you when you persecuted Him and His people and declared His truth to be lies, through words and actions.  He loved you then and He loves you now.  He will never stop loving you.

Maybe it's time to say "I do" to the One who truly loves you.  It's a love story that started before you were ever conceived in the womb, and it's a love story that will never end.

Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:35-39 (NKJV)


Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors  through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


John 15:13 (NKJV)


Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Staring in the Mirror

Have you ever stood and stared at yourself in the mirror?  (Let's be honest--we all have done it!)

What are we looking at?  Why do we look in the mirror and notice every imperfection, spot and blemish?  We may notice that we are aging, that we have new spots, or that a mole is getting darker.  We may notice how our noses are not exactly straight, stretch marks from having babies, scars, weight gain (or loss), or a number of other things about ourselves.  We are good at noticing imperfections in ourselves.

However, when it comes to spiritually looking in the mirror, many have an opposite perception.  We see ourselves as better than others, doing better, knowing more, and thinking we have it all together.  We go to church every week, we pray every day, we don't do drugs, we don't lie, steal, commit adultery or listen to that ungodly music.  We don't have struggles with pride, or fear, or spiritual apathy.  We look at the faults in our fellow human beings, but seem to miss the spiritual faults in ourselves.

Even worse...we begin to feel entitled to make judgments about another person's relationship with God, that person's salvation or God's desire to bless that person!  We think we know it all.

The Pharisees looked at Jesus this way.  Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, holy and perfect, matchless and blameless in every way.  PEOPLE thought they had to right to judge his motives, his thoughts, his actions and his ministry...simply because they couldn't accept that God would send His Son (the Messiah) in a person such as him.  The Pharisees' self-righteousness grew to bitterness, resentment, anger and hatred.  The evil in their hearts led them to do the unthinkable...to kill Jesus, the one who came to save them.

The people that God chooses to use in His kingdom can be interesting characters.  God does not choose the smartest or the most naturally gifted and successful people.  Throughout scripture, He used those that had great weaknesses.  He chose the ones that He could use to shine His glory into all the earth.  He chose the despised and misunderstood--the misfits--of the world to do great things in His name.

Why would God use those who are weak to show His strength?  The one who is weak looks in the spiritual mirror and sees every spot, every blemish, every stronghold and instead of persecuting others in self-righteousness, this person relies on God's strength.

Going to church does not make you a good person.  Praying does not make you a good person.  Constantly performing good works does not make a person better than anyone else. It does not give people the right to judge the salvation of another--or reject a person from God's house, or God's service.

We all need to stare into a spiritual mirror.  We need to seek our nakedness, our brokenness and the areas of our lives that are not refined or perfected.  We have the righteousness of Christ and our salvation is secure, but we need to know that we are all the same in God's eyes--we all have fallen short of the glory of God.  We are all saved only by the grace of God.

In this world, I am drawn to those that the world has thrown away, forgotten, rejected and despised.  I love hanging out with drug addicts (both former and current), prostitutes and those who definitely do not have their lives together.  I feel more comfortable around these people than those who act like they have their world in order.  I don't have my world in order.  I never have.  My world is organized chaos, and God is the conductor of my orchestra.  He is making it all come together--somehow, but inside, I'm the same mess that I was in the day I cried out to Him, pleading with him to save a wretched sinner like me.

In that day (June 10, 2007), I said to the Lord, "Lord, I have messed up my life beyond repair.  I don't know how you're going to fix it, but I TRUST that you will.  Please forgive me.  I believe that Jesus died for MY sin and was the Son of God, and he was raised from the dead.  Please come into my life and help me."

If you, or someone you know, is wanting to accept the complete grace of God (salvation) through the finished work of Jesus dying on the cross and being raised from the dead, you can pray this same prayer (or pray with someone else).  There are no specific words that accomplish salvation, but what matters most is that you look in the spiritual mirror, see how flawed and broken you truly are, and then ask God to save you.  Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you WILL BE SAVED!

Once you are saved, don't look into that spiritual mirror and think you're now better than everyone else.  You're still that wretched sinner, but you've been saved by the grace of God.  The righteousness of Jesus has become yours--but in yourself, you could never be righteous...just remember that.  Be humble and reach out to those who are lost, broken, forgotten and hurting.  Don't judge a person by tattoos, or drug habits, homelessness, lifestyle choices or poverty.  Just reach out with the grace of God and let God do His perfect work in them.  Love really is the answer.

We can rightfully judge the fruit that a tree is bearing (as good or bad), but we don't judge the person bearing the fruit.  You have no idea who that person is to God, how much God loves him/her, or the future plans that God has for this person.

Take a good look in the mirror...He rescued you from a broken state.  He'll do the same for others.

Romans 10:8-11 (NASB)

But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART "-- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; or with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

Philippians 2:3-4 (NASB)

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Romans 3:21-23 (NASB)

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,



Wednesday, June 17, 2015

God's Strength

Have you ever bitten off more than you can chew?  I think I never learned the art of taking small bites.  I always seem to get myself into situations where I am committed to finishing too many projects at once, attempting to conquer the world (all by myself).

My mom says that when I was little, I would always say, "I do BY MYSELF!"  She says she tried to help me, but I would insist on doing everything my own way--and without help.

Yesterday, I had a wonderful conversation with a friend about this very topic.  She lives in a part of the United States where farming is prevalent and people are extremely self-sufficient.  They work hard, and they may trust God in some ways, but their motto is to do everything on their own and then ask God for help in case of emergencies.

Is that really what God wants?  Does God help those who help themselves (a phrase that is not scriptural)?  Does God want us to do our best and then He fills in the gaps where we are simply not able to be all self-sufficient?

Is this the gospel found in the Bible?

Lately, I have been planning a big reunion for people in my hometown.  I do not live in my hometown anymore, but I have desperately wanted to bring back "the good ole days" and get friends together for a reunion.  My heart's intentions are very good.  I want to see people reconnect and have a wonderful time, getting to know the people as they are today, not as they once were in high school.  Maybe it will happen that way...

I volunteered to coordinate this event while trying to finish my master's degree program in counseling (at the same time my husband is attending college), while we both work, and we are raising three very rambunctious children.

When I told my parents I was planning this reunion, they had some concerns.  They asked me if I could really handle taking on another project right now.  In my classic style, I told my mom, "I can do this all by myself.  It will all work out--somehow."

I have a persevering spirit.  I am one to look at a mountain and just tell it to move.  God has given me a gift of faith, and faith tells me that I can do anything, and with God--all things are possible!  All things are not EASY, but they certainly are possible (in my mind). I have always been one to jump in the fire and not think everything through in the beginning.

What does God think about my nature?  Is it a comical show that He watches from heaven--watching me try to dig out of endless holes that I have created?

I am sure that God laughs at me sometimes.

God allows me to attempt something in my own strength, and then when I become exhausted and frustrated, I can hear Him ask me, "Sarah, are you ready for Me to take over yet?  Can I help you and just do it through you?"

By then, I am worn out from trying.  Ok...God.  Do it through me.

Why do I not learn that God wants me to come to Him first and foremost?  The statement that God helps those who help themselves is completely wrong!  God helps those who come to Him and rely completely on His strength and GRACE working through them.  It's not about showing what we are able to do in this world by our own strength, but we are vessels to show off the strength and glory of God and all that He is able to do in the world THROUGH US!   It's all about Him...not about us.

I think God laughs a little when we try too hard, but He loves us very much.  He is always there to give us grace and pick up the pieces and accomplish His will through us...but we must be willing to relinquish control over the situations that we face.  That's the hardest part for humans.  We can't stand to think we are not in control.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NASB)

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Psalm 18:31-35 (NASB)

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God, The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless? He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.

Monday, June 15, 2015

A Double Rainbow - A Double Portion of God's Grace

My daughter loves animals more than anyone I know.  One day, I was encouraging her to make some human friends (she has enough animals), and I was asking why she doesn't try harder to make friends.  She has a couple of friends, and possibly one good friend.  She is quite content with not having many friends.  My husband is the same way.  I, on the other hand, can be quite extroverted and thrive off relationships with other people.

I have a love/hate relationship with people, though.

I want to love people.  I want to see the best in people, despite their outward appearances.  I have often found the best, softest and most loving hearts inside of the most outwardly disheveled and gnarly people.  I have learned not to judge a book by its cover.

It's the people who look the best on the outside (sometimes) that truly scare me.  Although they look friendly enough, they are like ravenous wolves on the inside.  I always keep one eye on my six when spending time with these people.  You just never know when they might turn on you and eat you for lunch.

Back to my conversation with my daughter...I asked her why she likes spending time with animals more than making strong relationships with people.  She said, "Animals love me unconditionally.  People are just harder to get along with."

Amen to that, sister.

As any good mother would do, I encouraged her to keep trying.  "Don't give up on people," I said.

Don't stop trying.

Yes, people are a mess.  If you look back in the Bible stories of old, people have always been that way--since the Garden of Eden and the incident with the serpent.  People have been evil.

Lately, I have been reading the Bible in a new way.  I am reading the Bible chronologically, starting at Genesis, and then also reading my way backwards from Revelation at the same time.  I am seeing the beginning and the end--at the same time.  I believe this is how God sees the story.  He sees the beginning, the end, and everything in between all at once.  This is also how He sees our lives.  He knows the beginning from the end, and every moment in between.  He has a plan to prosper us through it all, and to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

As I read through the account of Noah building the ark (the other day), I saw people as God saw His own creation.  It says that He was sorry that He had ever made humans.  That is a very sad statement.  People were so wicked in their hearts all the time that God was sad that He made them.  Then, He did the most unthinkable thing...He sent a flood on the earth and killed people, animals and every living thing.  He destroyed everything except a few people He had predetermined would change the world and live righteously.  He chose Noah and his family to start over in the world, to be fruitful and multiply.  If he had not saved Noah, we never would have come along, and Jesus never would have come to earth to save us.  Some may think this would have been the best option.  Even then, God still loved people.  He wouldn't have saved anyone if He didn't.

I wonder how God views people today.  I know He loves people.  I know He desires us to live righteously, but now it's through accepting the sacrifice of Jesus, and his death and resurrection that we might live.  People are wicked.  People hate each other and kill each other, and seem to be evil in their thoughts all the time.  People act like they are happy.  They eat and drink and give their children in marriage, but what makes us any different from the people in the days before the flood?

God saved many more animals than humans in the ark.  Humans were outnumbered by the animals, but immediately upon leaving the ark, God again gave men authority over the land and everything on it, even to eat the meat of the animals for food.  God showed that He loved His greatest creation--humans.  He was giving people a second chance.

God loves people.  If God can love people despite their great wickedness, I pray that I might love them also this way--unconditionally.

After reading the account of Noah and the flood (and the ark), I went to dinner with my family.  As we left the restaurant, I saw the most beautiful full double rainbow.  It reached all the way up and across the sky. Its colors were absolutely radiant and glorious.  I stopped in the parking lot and just gazed upon the glory of God's creation.

As I stared at the rainbows, God spoke into my heart and said, "Sarah, I send the rainbows so that I can remember the promise that I made to never flood the whole earth again.  I am reminding myself of that promise."

Tears began to fill my eyes.  He is truly the God of love.  He is full of mercy, patient, slow to anger, full of grace.

I heard my husband calling me to get in the car.  As I looked back into the sky once more, God spoke to me again.  He said, "Sarah, if you wonder how much I love you, look at these double rainbows--they are a double portion of my grace."

I turned away and drove home, but I stared at the rainbows until they were gone.  God is not flooding the earth again--even though man is exceedingly wicked--because He is pouring out a double portion of His grace instead.

Genesis 6:6 (KJV)

And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.


Psalm 86:15 (ESV)

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.


Isaiah 54:9 (NLT)

Just as I swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the earth, so now I swear that I will never again be angry and punish you.


Genesis 9:8-17 (NASB)

Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, "Now behold, I Myself do establish My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. "I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. "It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. "When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."