15. It's Not a Phase 10.13.19

15. Gee Ash, you’ve been awful quiet lately that must have just been another phase you were going through. Why did you stop?

Well, nay sayer. It’s been quite a week, I can tell you that. I mean a week. I have always had an addictive personality where I tend to throw myself into things head first and then obsess about them and then have it all die out and give up. This journey with the Lord is quite different. However, the addictive personality type that I have, had me obsessed with fasting and writing and praying and reading and I was letting my priorities get out of wack there. The Lord God always has a way of nudging me back to where I need to focus, but when I don’t take the hints He has to get my attention, and get it He does.

Enter whatever sickness has been plaguing my kids and my home this past week. I’ve had to slow down, spend time with the kids, sometimes doing nothing at all other than holding the baby (who really isn’t even a baby anymore, when did that happen?) I’ve had to relax with Leah, spend time with her sitting on the couch playing with her hair and rubbing her feet. Spending more time with both of them helped me remember why I’m on this journey right now.

It helped remind me why I’m putting all of this out there. For them, for you, for anyone who needs to be encouraged. For the messages in my inbox that say, you knew just what to say when I talked to you. For the 4 or 5 people that I’ve prayed with and have said that they’ve felt so much better. For the girls who stop and talk to my mom in the store and tell her that my stories have touched their hearts. For the girls who message me and say your words have made me look at things differently or have made me start to try and pray again after a long break from the Lord. I’m putting my stories out there and my messages out there for everyone who needs to hear them. I’m still flesh and blood so I will continue to make mistakes but luckily Jesus will always get me back on track. Faithfully, regardless of any backsliding, any mistakes, any screw ups that you think you may have made on your journey, or even the ones you think you’ll make after you start your journey, He will always forgive and come back to help you home.

Pastor Harry spoke a wonderful message today about stripping it all away to the basic need of Jesus. Making sure that no matter what, Jesus is always there. Knowing that no matter what, Jesus is front and center and always will be. Jesus is why we go to church. Jesus is why we connect with one another. Jesus is why we are saved from the evil in this world. Jesus.

I’d like to elaborate a bit with my opinion on what I think has been happening lately in this world and share another vision I received yesterday and go into some scripture if I can find a way to tie this all together some how. I’m on a Holy Ghost whim here typing all this in my car.

I think that we are in the beginning stages of the great falling away, there will be a great revival but we are very closely approaching, if we are not already in the falling away. Let me elaborate a little bit on what I feel led to say this means.

We can look at 2 Thessalonians 2 (NKJV)

The Great Apostasy
2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Fast
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

Now Ash, biblically the great falling away is when the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who exalts himself above all that is called God, showing himself that he is God. That person has not shown up yet so how can you say that this is the falling away?

Well, I’m feeling led to say this.... But what if, what if it’s not just the revealing of this one single person exalting himself as God in one fell swoop. What if there are smaller parts leading up to that? What if part of the falling away is the rise of the Vanity Christian churches? What if it’s a Vanity Christian nation that ends up exalting this son of perdition? What if the falling away includes the falling away of Vanity Christians from true Jesus Holy Spirit filled churches in search of the bells and whistles that they are believing are the Lord? Leading them to these larger churches with hundreds of people so they are lost in a sea of congregation not knowing who comes and goes each week?

Vanity Christians, Ash? What does that even mean. Well it means they’re “Christians” who call themselves that, but who judge you, who are critical, who are gossipy, who care more about the looks of the church, the clothes people wear, the bells and whistles, the large meetings, the pot luck dinners all of that. They want to be part of this big amazing church organization so they can finally say that they are a member there all those fancy people at that big church loved their rigatoni and asked for the recipe. They are Christians that need to have their ego fed as much as their spirits, they’re Christians who are missing the point of Christianity.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not in any way saying that anyone who has left our church is this way. I’m absolutely not! I will miss everyone dearly who has left. Not all of the people that leave churches to go to other churches are like that! If the Lord God puts good people in your path and you are led by the Lord to move on and change churches then you should do just that. You should always do what the Lord God leads you to do unapologetically and not be condemned or judged in any way for that.

But many will be misled and many will be lured away in search of things that will feed the flesh and not the spirit. Not all of the people in those large churches are vanity filled, there are great churches out there that are Holy Spirit filled and doing wonderful things. But please be mindful of the company you keep and remember the reason you were part of where you were. Sometimes “Christian” friends can hurt you the most because you expect it the least but Jesus will never forsake you if you keep him front and center.

Being one of 1000 is great for larger churches but I have always felt more comfortable in smaller churches where people are welcoming and remember your name. I think it’s amazing when you can message or text your Pastor and they actually get back to you and care about your life and your family and your salvation through your journey with Jesus Christ. I think it’s wonderful to have people who you can reach out to when you need encouragement and whom you can also know enough about to hopefully encourage them and their family as well. I am being led to mention again how much of a blessing it is when people can come together for Jesus and worship in his name.

The vision I received when I was driving yesterday was another one that shook me to the core. I was on 119 going to meet a friend for dinner in Connellsville and as I traveled on 119 I began to see these giant fireballs start to rain down from the sky. They were hitting the ground larger than cars, vans, planes, with this fiery reddish black intensity of hot molten lava. Bridges were being torn in half with one blow. I began to notice people in their cars, some not even paying attention at all. Oblivious to the fact that there was danger all around them. Some were glued to their phones taking pictures and videos, only concerned to see that they were the first ones sharing the action getting likes and shares. There were very few helpers who stopped their cars and got out and were motioning and waving with their arms for people to stop and pay attention, trying to get those who were obviously driving around to hurry up and look before their cars were smashed by these fire balls. Waving their arms frantically trying to get the attention of those with their phones, saying turn your heads and look, but the phone holders would just move their arms to get the helpers out of the video or picture shot. The looks on these few helpers faces as they pleaded to everyone and begged them, open your eyes, look, the fire it’s right there, the evil it’s right there and BOOM! One after another their cars were smashed with fireballs and the people inside who were oblivious were gone in an instant. The phone holders were struck from behind or from the side, too self centered to even turn their heads to look. Clueless as to what just happened. What stuck with me, the pain and devastation that stuck with me, was in the look on the faces of the people who were helping and trying to save these strangers they barely knew. Their eyes were so hopeful that they could get just one person to look before it was too late. They were the ones waving their arms saying look, look, watch out, please...they were so heartbroken with tears streaming down their faces with this devastation in their hearts because they knew the outcome for these people was eternal damnation and they could do nothing else to save them, as if theses strangers they had never met before today were loved ones who were being and had just been destroyed and kidnapped by the devil. There was nothing they could do. No one would listen until it was too late. BOOM!

Please take the time to listen. Take the time to be still, turn the tv off, put the phone down, pray, read, LISTEN. Before it’s too late.

Why are we in these towns that we are in, why are we part of the community we are in, the church, the state, the family? Because God put us there for a reason. Do you ever think about who you are on an elevator with? Or who you are in a doctors office lobby with? Maybe you are there for a reason. Maybe you need to put your phone down and connect with the people around you. Maybe you can help someone. Maybe someone could help you. Maybe just maybe you are supposed to be part of the solution or a greater cause that you have no idea you’re a part of? Think about that when you have your nose down in your phone. Think about kindness. Think about stripping away all the bells and whistles and bringing it back to Jesus. Think about the way that Jesus ministered. Remember that Jesus is all you need.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Jesus is our Savior and Lord – “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).