THE LORD OF SABAOTH STILL ROARS

THE LORD OF SABAOTH STILL ROARS

There are several names used in the Bible to describe the nature of God. One of the names for God is Jehovah-Sabaoth (săb'ā-ŏth), the Lord of hosts.

 

If you have a concordance and want to study this out, you will find that “hosts” are all the physical elements of the earth and beyond, and also angels. Whenever God reveals himself as the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts, watch out. This is where people get the idea of “the fear of the Lord” or the “anger of the Lord.” Yes, God does get angry even though He is still love. He gets furious when his people get hurt, when his people are oppressed and treated wrongly. He gets angry when leaders of His people keep on doing evil things in His name—acting real religious but totally against His will. He’ll put up with it for a while, waiting for someone to do something, but even God can only take so much, and then the Lord of Sabaoth comes into the situation, and the effect is extremely powerful.

 

I want to give you a very practical example of the Lord of Sabaoth working in everyday life. James 5:4 says: “Behold, the hire [money] of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” In other words, the money is trying to get to the workers, and the workers are crying out to God for their rightful money. The Lord of Sabaoth doesn’t like His children to be cheated.

 

This is what happened:  I had worked a full week, and it was pay day, and I was going out of town for a few days. When it came to getting my check, my boss said he didn’t get paid, so I wouldn’t get paid. I was shocked and depressed. I told my friend who had been studying the Lord of Sabaoth with me. She was very quiet at first, and then she exploded.

 

All of a sudden, she opened her mouth, and she was furious, so mad that it even scared me. I tried to get her to calm down, but she wouldn’t. The fire came out and kept coming in peals of anger, fury, and roaring; it escalated. Then we both stopped and realized: This is the Lord of hosts. This is the Lord of Sabaoth who’s really angry! The message was to call my boss and demand my money. We were working in one of the casinos, who refused to pay him right away, so he tried to delay me. I’d done the work and expected to be paid, and I told him so. I wouldn’t be put off. I insisted, and he managed to find the money and paid me in cash. He never tried to pull that again. Once we realized what was going on and took the appropriate action, the Lord of Sabaoth was quiet.

 

Knowing about the Lord of Sabaoth is certainly not an excuse for justifying anger. The only way to really know if it’s your anger or God’s is to study the Lord of Sabaoth from the Bible and ask God to show you in your own life experience.

 

There are lots of examples in the Bible of how the Lord of Sabaoth works. Take the record of what happened with Sodom and Gomorrah as recorded in Genesis 18 and 19, for instance. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was living there. He allowed all kinds of evil to take place, and he never stood against it. Finally, it got so bad that even the earth itself couldn’t take it. The Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts, was there, and only Lot and his children were saved. Paul states: “Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom, and been made like unto Gomorrah” (Rom. 9:29). 

 

It was the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts, behind the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the saving of Lot. The hosts in this situation were the physical elements of destruction—fire and brimstone—in and above the earth and the angels that came to get Lot out.

 

Another example is with Noah: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Man became so evil that he corrupted everything, including the earth itself. Man was given dominion over the earth, and sin continues to affect it in a destructive way. The Lord of hosts was there for Noah to allow the flood and save Noah and his family. 

 

The following section of Psalms 18 shows us how God works as the Lord of Sabaoth to rescue David from the oppression of evil men. God will do the same for us. David says:

 

“I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented [were before] me.

 

“In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken because he was wroth.

 

“There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down: and the darkness was under his feet.

 

“And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind…. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire…. He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me” (Ps. 18:3-17).

 

Yes, there are times when things or people are too much for us. We can’t handle everything. Some things are too much for even the strongest of us, and God can only put up with so much abuse toward His people. It is then that the attributes of God as the Lord of Sabaoth goes into full action. 

 

So how does this apply today? The Lord of Sabaoth still roars. As Christians, we have God in Christ in us. That means that every aspect, every characteristic of God, is in us, including the Lord of Sabaoth. David didn’t have this. God, in Christ, in an individual, wasn’t available in Old Testament times, but He is now. Think about it. Have you ever felt so angry that you could hardly contain it? I’m not talking about fleshly anger. I’m talking about a spiritual anger, a holy anger, an anger that rises up from deep inside you, an anger that is unusual, kind of just out of nowhere. You might even wonder, “Why am I sooo angry?” That’s the Lord of Sabaoth.

 

We’ve got to get to where we recognize the Lord of Sabaoth. If no one has the guts to allow the Lord of Sabaoth to operate, then the devil will just continue to walk all over God’s people and hurt them and abuse them just like with Lot, Noah, and David, and the devil will have the opportunity to win in their lives.

 

In Isaiah and Jeremiah, God says we are the watchmen on the towers of the walls of the cities, there to watch and sound the alarm when the enemy comes against God’s people. In Ezekiel 22:30, God said He looked for someone to stand up for His people, but there was no one. Philippians 2:13 says: “For it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” His good pleasure is to protect, save, and deliver, as well as give hugs and kisses. Adam didn’t protect in the Garden of Eden. He was a wimp, and look what a mess became of that.

 

When God works through us or someone we know in the capacity of the Lord of Sabaoth, it’s strong and often scary and uncomfortable. I have seen two friends allow the Lord of Sabaoth to work in them. One friend is very aware of the Lord of Sabaoth and has studied this aspect of God and experientially knows when the Lord of Sabaoth is brewing in her and ready to roar. The other friend may be more like the rest of us who have experienced the Lord of Sabaoth at times but haven’t really known what it was. The second friend is generally a quiet person, but one day I heard her just get so supernaturally angry that the guy she spoke to backed off and left her alone with a new respect for her from that day on!

 

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry and sin not.” In the notes for The Companion Bible, E.W. Bullinger explains that the word “angry” is in the imperative mood, [which indicates a command or strong request], and it is a positive command showing that righteous indignation is referred to. We are to allow the Lord of Sabaoth to work in us and not be afraid of it or second guess ourselves. We need to just let it fly, knowing that it is in love that we act, to defend and protect and rescue. The Lord is willing to teach us how to know the difference between our own anger and His. Our part is to believe and step out in faith.

 

Recognizing and allowing the workings of the Lord of Sabaoth in our lives is an important aspect of our spiritual growth.

 

Love, Carolyn

Here are some other places in the Bible that you can learn about the Lord of Sabaoth:

Lord of Sabaoth, Lord of Hosts:

1 Samuel 1:11

1 Samuel 15:1-3

1 Samuel 17:45

2 Samuel 5:10

2 Kings 19:31

1 Chronicles 11:9

Psalm 24:10

Psalm 46:7

Psalm 59:5

Psalm 84:12

Isaiah 1:24

Isaiah 3:15

Isaiah 9:7

Isaiah 10:33-34

Isaiah 13:4, 13

Isaiah 14:27

Amos 4:13

Amos 5:15

Zephaniah 2:9

Haggai 2:6, 8

Malachi 1:14

Watchmen:

Isaiah 56:10

Isaiah 62:6

Jeremiah 6”17

Jeremiah 51:12

Ezekiel 22:30

 

Power in us:

John 17:23

Galatians 2:2

Philippians 2:13

Colossians 1:27

Ephesians 1:18-20

 

BEAUTY AND WONDER

 

 

BEAUTY AND WONDER 

God created the earth and all the wonderful plant and animal life that exists here. Though we are in the middle of a chaotic time, we can still see the constant God factor. God’s goodness doesn’t change; we just have to want to see it. Matthew 5:45 tells us: “He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

 

And Romans 2:4 tells us: “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Not one sparrow falls without God noticing, so believe me, He is noticing us right now. Here are just a few pictures I took recently. God’s filled the world with beauty and wonder, and I’m so glad He’s given me some in my own backyard.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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REPENT - IT'S THE WAY TO A BETTER VERSION OF ME

REPENT – IT’S THE WAY TO A BETTER VERSION OF ME

I love this quote from T.L. Osborn, one of the great healing evangelists of the ’70s: “Jesus did enough! He did enough to even cover the worst thing we can do. He did enough for ALL mankind, FOREVER. There's nothing we can do to shock Him, scare Him away, disgust Him so much He'd ignore us. He got tempted by whatever tempts us. And when He was crucified for all the results of giving in to those temptations, He took it to the devil and shook it in his face and dumped it off at the devil's feet: ‘There, finished for all time!’”

 

Jesus paid the ultimate price for every sin against nature, against God Himself, against each other, and things we do against ourselves, as well. But if someone doesn’t think they’ve ever really sinned, then they don’t believe the Bible, and they’re not going to ask the Lord for forgiveness because they don’t think they’ve done anything wrong.

 

People may not be concerned about changing anything they do or think. Some who can’t say they are truly sorry for anything they’ve done to God, themselves, or anyone else, will not perceive any need for a savior. And they don’t think they need a Lord because they believe they’re doing okay by themselves. They think life’s full of necessary bumps, and they’ll handle it themselves in their own ways. These people have been taught to accept themselves as they are. This philosophy is deceptive.

 

God, our creator, accepts us as we are so that He can help us change into better. Anyone who believes they can’t be better is being deceived. And anyone who doesn’t want to be better is also deceived.

 

To be a better version of ourselves, we need to be genuinely sorry for things we’ve thought, said, and done in our lives, that we know in our hearts were wrong. It’s not necessarily shameful that we did them, but it is shameful never to say we’re sorry about them. Jesus told his disciples to repent.  

 

The word “repent” is translated from a Greek word, “metanoeo,” which means to think different afterward, to reconsider morally. It means to change one’s mind for the better and heartily amend.

 

Right after the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he came back, and the first thing he preached was repentance. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17).

 

Jesus also said: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matt. 9:13). And Matthew 11:20 tells us this about Jesus: “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.”

 

Repentance is essential for everyone when they first want to believe in Jesus and want Him in their lives. They say they’re sorry for all past sins, and they accept Jesus as Lord of their lives because they know they have not done a very good job at leading themselves. They believe He took their sins to the cross and that He even went to hell for them and then was raised from the dead to everlasting life.

 

But repentance is an ongoing thing. A lot of Christians think that repentance is for things like thinking evil of others, being rebellious, swearing, sexual sins, stuff like that. Yes, those things need to change, but we also need to repent for thinking too little of ourselves. We are not to be doormats that people walk over and wipe their dirty boots on! 

 

The older and wiser we get, the more apt to learn about our past, which means we discover a few new things we need to think differently about now, things to reconsider Biblically. I know that has been the case with me. Things I’d written off, things I did where I thought I was right, and didn’t find out until I was 50 or 60 that I wasn’t right at all. But I found that when I told God, I was sorry, and I repented of my past ways of thinking, I experienced new freedom, and it’s been awesome! Heavy loads I didn’t even know I was carrying were lifted off, and that continues to happen in the present as well.

 

God’s will is always that we have a better and better life physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Repentance is a significant part of that.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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"THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN"

  

“THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN”

I got this birthday card from Marie in 2018 and kept it since I thinks that cat is so darn cute and the message so appropriate for so many occasions. The greeting says: “BOLDLY GO TO AN AGE YOU’VE NEVER GONE BEFORE – HAPPY BIRTHDAY.” Every day can be a birthday celebration, a new day that we step boldly into as we expect God to do something amazing in our lives. This cat with the goofy space hat is ready to go, and we can be too. That kitty looks kind of foolish in the food-container hat, but the Bible says: “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise” (1 Cor. 1:27). How foolish is it to think we can go into a new day, expecting something good to happen? But according to God’s Word, we can start fresh. But why? And how do we do it?

 

When God looks at us through Calvary, He doesn’t judge our past. WHAT??! That’s right. God is so thrilled that we took His son Jesus as our Lord, and He’s excited that we believe Jesus took our sins away on the cross.

 

God’s quickness to forgive and forget may look foolish to some, but does He care? Nope. Not one bit. Because “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25).

 

God gave us His precious son Jesus, and He sees us through the blood of Jesus. His love is radical, unfailing love, and He sees us as his beloved sons and daughters right along with Jesus too. 1 John 3:2 reminds us: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

 

So what about the past? What about last year or last month, or even yesterday? Proverbs 13:12 tells us: “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.” We hoped for a lot of things to happen in the past year, month, or day, and they didn’t happen the way we wanted or as fast as we wanted, so we got discouraged, angry, and disappointed. We felt defeated and unstable, rejected, full of turbulence and/or heaviness. Many lost hope because they didn’t see results.

 

But just because something is delayed doesn’t mean it’s declined.

 

When we feel like we’ve lost hope, the Word of God says our hearts get sick. We don’t want that, so we need to keep hoping for the things God promises in His Word.

 

And sometimes, we need an exit strategy to clear our brains. We need to exit from where we’re at mentally and emotionally by reminding ourselves that God forgives and forgets, so we can too. Then we can start fresh, even with a fresh thought in just moments.

 

Romans 12: 1 tells us: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Since we can only think one thought at a time, we can, on-purpose, put a new thought, a good thought, in our mind and begin the transformation!

We may have to repeat the good thought, but it’s the way our brains were created to operate – to take a thought, believe it, and be it. God says it works, and it does—transformation!

 

God gives us the freedom to be able to accept a clean slate. How awesome is that? No need to keep battling the wounds of rejection, disappointment, or discouragement. He’s opening new doors and large doors. “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me” (1 Cor. 16:9).

 

And all things are made new. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

 

God tells us in Jeremiah 31:33-34: “They shall be my people. . . . They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

 

We don’t have to be the people we were last year, last month, or even yesterday if we don’t want to.

 

Every day is a new day.

 

I love that card that Marie gave me. As silly as that cat looks, he’s definitely got the right idea!

 

Love, Carolyn

 

BIBLE PRINCIPLES FOR EVERYDAY LIVING

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PRAYING FOR CELEBRITIES TO BE RELEASED FROM BONDAGE

PRAYING FOR CELEBRITIES TO BE RELEASED FROM BONDAGE

On FB there was a photo of Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Take a look at their faces. For me, the picture showed not their possessed self, but I saw young girls, lost, not even that pretty, and I felt pity for the girls I saw. God showed me that at some time in their past, they felt unworthy of love. Yes, they had some singing talent, but they weren't happy on the inside. This inner turmoil is what the Lord was showing me, and they might even tell you that, if you got to know them personally. But Satan offered them something so different - fame where they would be loved by many! But fame came with a price!

 

These girls and many others in the movie industry accepted the demons that would make them famous celebrities. Beyonce has made it public that when she gets up to perform, a different personality takes over. She calls her Sasha.

 

I never gave celebrities much attention, but with this photo, God woke me up to start praying that as many as possible be freed from the demons who have put them in so much terrible bondage.

 

There are some good Christians in the LA area, and Jesus told us we could pray for laborers to be able to reach the people we can’t get to ourselves. “Then saith he unto his disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest’” ( Matt. 9:37-38).

 

I’m praying for laborers to be able to get to the hearts of these girls and other actors, producers, directors, and workers in the entertainment industry.

 

Jesus is the answer to rescuing all of us, including crazy celebrities. The Lord directed me to read Luke 4:18-19 in answer to what to think about certain celebrities. Jesus tells us:

 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

 

The above scripture comes from Isaiah 61:1-2: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God.”

 

Certainly, our God will take vengeance on the demons that have taken control of certain individuals in the entertainment field. Jesus came to set people free from these demons. There are many ways He can do that. Praying for Jesus’ laborers to find a way into these celebrities’ lives and hearts is what I am inspired to do, but the Lord may show you something else.

 

Thank God that no one is exempt from the touch of the Lord when we pray, and true freedom is available to all who choose to believe.

Love, Carolyn

 

STAY IN THE LANE

STAY IN THE LANE

When we drove from Sonoma to the Oakland Airport, Jane and I would always remind each other: “Stay in the lane!” If we got into the wrong lane, it would take us around in circles for quite a while until we could get back to the right direction. It works that way in our spiritual lives as well. When we find what the jobs are that God has ordained for us to do, we need to stick to them.  

 

Romans 12:6-7 tells us: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching.” [etc.]

 

In Judges 9, God tells the same message, but He uses plants and trees to illustrate His point.

 

“The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them, and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, ‘Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?’” (vv.8-9)

 

The olive tree produces olives for food and commerce. Olive oil was also used in commerce, as well as being a chief element in food, soap, religious festivals, and providing the main fuel for light. The olive tree was a symbol of peace, prosperity, and wealth. In this story from Judges 9, the olive tree tells us it already has a great job for God and man, and it didn’t have any interest at all in being a boss over all the trees. The olive tree was wise enough to tell the trees it would rather just stay in its lane.

 

“And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’ But the fig tree said unto them, ‘Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?’” (vv.10-11).

 

The fig tree, like the olive, knew what its job was, and it was perfectly satisfied. It wanted nothing to do with the supposed promotion.

 

“Then said the trees unto the vine, ‘Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?’” (vv.12-13).

 

The vine stayed in its lane like the olive and the fig. But then there was the bramble.

 

“Then said all the trees unto the bramble, ‘Come thou, and reign over us.’ And the bramble said unto the trees, ‘If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon’” (vv.14-15).

 

A bramble can have some good fruit, but it’s a plant that needs to be controlled. Its nature is to take over.

 

In this story from Judges, when the trees foolishly asked the bramble to be their king, they brought on their own demise. The bramble told them that if they wanted him to be king, all the trees would have to “put their trust in my shadow.” Everything the trees used to do would have to take second place to what the bramble wanted.

 

In nature, trees that grow close to bramble bushes can easily be taken over, strangled, and killed. They no longer get the sunshine they need. Also, if the rambling bramble catches fire, many trees, as well as the bramble itself, will burn. However, the bramble sends roots out way beyond the trees, and in quick time it will be back to cover the small new trees that try to grow.

Some trees don’t put out fruit for many years. I planted a Crepe myrtle, and it didn’t have any flowers until about the 15^th year, and now it has lots every year. Not every person finds out at an early age what they do best for God. Some of us need to try several roads before we find our clear path.

 

But along the way, beware of the bramble. Don’t let anyone smother who you are. Don’t let others tell you how to think or how to act if it doesn’t feel right to your spiritual self. We need to grow into what God has called us and be willing to follow His way to being our best. Let’s not be pushed around or swayed by others, but stay in the lane with the Lord.

 

Love, Carolyn

 

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A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN IS UNSTABLE IN ALL HIS WAYS

A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN IS UNSTABLE IN ALL HIS WAYS

We’ve all strayed from doing God’s Word, knowingly or unknowingly, a time or two in our lives. But once we know what God’s Word is really saying, we are responsible throughout our lives to stay on the path, or at least come back to the truth if we discover we’ve gone astray.

 

When I was 21, and I first started to really commit myself to Jesus, I carried my Bible everywhere, but being a 60’s child, I was also living by the words of a popular song, “love the one you’re with.” Free love wasn’t just a saying; it was a way of life. I figured if I slept with a guy who I wanted to convert, it was the way I could show him God’s love. Stupid, yes, but I was so brainwashed by that time, I didn’t think it was wrong.

 

I continued to practice free love in the name of Jesus for a little while until the day an angel visited me as I was walking to my boyfriend’s house to have sex. The angel appeared next to me. He was tall, with a large build, dark hair, and with an unusual air of confidence. I was surprised but not afraid. He looked down at me, and in the calmest, nicest voice, told me that what I was doing was wrong; it wasn’t the way to win people to Jesus. That’s all he said, and then he just disappeared. I didn’t stop my ways immediately, but it didn’t take long before I did see the errors of my ways. I hope young people these days aren’t as stupid as I was, but maybe some still are?

 

I was double-minded, trying to live the sex life and serve Jesus at the same time. It just didn’t work. It was like two opposite ends of a magnet repelling each other in my brain. I was fighting in my own brain. Why is this important?

 

God says in James 1:8: “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:24: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

 

In 1 Kings 18:21: “Elijah came unto all the people, and said, ‘How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.”

 

In Revelations 3:16, God says: “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”

 

There’s a reason Jesus said you can’t serve two masters at the same time. He wasn’t making a mere off-the-cuff suggestion. He was telling us that our brains can’t handle it. It’s not just a choice we make, but it is physically impossible for our brains to go two ways at the same time. Our brains aren’t wired to be double-minded. If we insist on putting our brains through the test, it seems to be risky at the least and perhaps fatal if pushed too far.

 

God knows what He’s talking about. When He says, “don’t be double-minded,” He’s trying to save us from the awful results of developing serious mental illnesses. We see the consequences of a double mind in many Biblical characters throughout the Bible, people who were walking a mental tightrope, including Lot’s wife in Genesis, Nebuchadnezzar in 2 Kings 24, the man of the Gadarenes in Mark 5, and even the Apostle Paul in Acts 9, and many more.

 

We truly can be risking the physical makeup of our brains as well as our sound thinking, by teetering on the tightrope between God’s way, and Satan’s concocted ways.

 

When my sister got Alzheimer’s disease, I did some studying on it. Apparently, two different types of mutated cells form, and they attack and destroy good brain cells. One type of the destroyer cell is called a “tangle”! Isn’t that just exactly what our minds become when we try to make things fit into our own ideas of Christianity instead of what God says? Our minds get into a tangle or start splitting. God created our minds to be stable and healthy.

 

No one knows exactly where the breaking point is, so why even risk it in the first place?

 

God can and will rescue, forgive, and deliver us at any point along that tightrope like He did for me. But is anyone really aware of when they’ve gone past the point of no return? I don’t think so.

 

If we look at the Bible, we see several examples of men and women who endangered their minds. Take, for instance, King Saul. He was double-minded. One minute he was getting David to play the harp for him. “David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Sam. 16:23). Then the next minute, Saul was trying to kill him. “And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, ‘I will smite David even to the wall with it’” (1 Sam. 18:11). Eventually, Saul’s mind was so messed up with indecisiveness that God couldn’t even get to him anymore. Saul went to see a psychic (who he’d previously threatened with death); he got her to bring up a demon who imitated Samuel; Saul listened to her advice, and sure enough, it got him killed.

 

It’s not okay to be double-minded. It’s time to check the soundness of our minds. Are we getting a message from God one day and doing something different from what He says on the next?

 

We need to get a hold of 2 Timothy 1:7 and make it our declaration and our daily practice. Let’s live it! “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” This is how they did it in Old Testament times, and it’s how we need to do it now:

 

“And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, ‘If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines [your enemies]. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. (1 Sam. 7:3-4)

 

Note: the “strange gods” and “Baalim and Ashtaroth” come in many forms, but they all work to destroy the soundness of our minds. We need to take this message as a warning. Let’s make sure we untangle our brains from mixed messages and go back to the source of all health, the living God.

  

Love, Carolyn

 

Check out my books and booklets on Amazon. Lots of great true-life stories – HOW THE BIBLE APPLIES TO THE ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY DAY

 

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