The Remnant…

“When people sugarcoat Christianity, arrange it all nicely, they have, in effect, taken away the cross.” A.W. Tozer

Let’s be honest. Most of us have been/are still going through a tough season. “Ugly tough”, if you know what I mean? Today I feel led to share some things God has been showing me about this season as encouragement, to persevere.

First of all – The season is changing, the baby is being born and as with all births, its uncomfortable, painful, tough and we are getting impatient, to say the least.

Secondly – you are not alone. Even though it might feel like it now, your not. I have daily contact with Christian brothers and sister from around the world and they all seem to be experiencing some sort of shaking/ challenge/ struggle. This is important: Discern between fellowship (with fellow Christians) and evangelizing those who are

still in the world. Choose your friends wisely especially in this season. I wrote in a previous blog about the “mixed seed”. Don’t step into the same trap as the Israelites did. Be wise and ask Holy Spirit who you should talk to or ask advice. The world will not understand the Kingdom and will not be able to give you Kingdom, Holy Spirit led advice. Its either all for God and walking in His ways, or its all for the world. Make your choice and live it!

Thirdly: You are capable of much more than you think, you are much stronger than you think. You and Jesus together as a team. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were(Daniel 3) threatened that they will be cast into a fiery furnace because they were declaring their faith in God and refusing to worship any other god. They found themselves in a difficult situation, to say the least, and they were persevering through it all. And then, lo and behold, the furnace was heated seven times more than usual! Things got worse. You know the story. They were bound up and thrown into the furnace. Next, they were walking around in the midst of the fire, they were loose, not hurt and there was a fourth person with them whom, as Nebuchadnezzar put it, “the form of the fourth is like the Son of God”. In seasons like these, dear reader, sometimes when you feel like you have no more to give, the heat gets turned up even more. You find yourself bound up and unable to save yourself and then the next moment you are thrown into that dreaded furnace. But it’s in this place where chains and bondages fall off, its here where you encounter the Fourth Man, Jesus Christ, like never before. The key? Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego did not compromise. Rev.12:11 “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony and THEY DID NOT LOVE THEIR LIVES TO THE DEATH.”

Fourthly, especially now, we need to keep all eyes on Jesus. He is the FOCUS.

It’s in His Presence that we are renewed, strengthened, equipped, encouraged, led. Our battles are his battles. Allow Him to fight for you! Praying for someone recently, God showed me an awesome picture that stuck with me. I saw that we sometimes find ourselves in a dark, long tunnel. At the end of this tunnel, there will be light again. I asked God what to pray. I felt Him saying not to pray to look forward to the end of this tunnel, but rather to focus on Christ in us. He is the Light. When we focus
on Him in and with us, then that Light shines from inside of us towards the outside revealing that, actually, all along we were in a mineshaft and all around us on the ground there are many diamonds to pick up in this season. You see, the most precious treasures are many times only found in the dark seasons. Seasons change, this one will pass too. But don’t miss out on what this one holds for you.

Fifthly, its all for Jesus. Very bluntly put, and in a terribly small nutshell, If this is not your motivation in everything you do,

you are going to struggle in this journey, to say the least. This is about dying to self and discovering true Life. Walking in freedom of self. You will never be satisfied apart from the Presence of God. Make time for Him, spend time with Him, live from that place of intimacy and fellowship with Him. Our hearts should be like that

of Moses in Exodus 33 where he does not want the Promised Land without the Presence of God. He would rather stay in the wilderness with the Presence of God. Romance Him, invite Him, tell Him your hearts desires, be brutally honest – He can handle it. Actually, He so deeply desires you to come to Him wholeheartedly just as you are. You might say, “well that’s nice and all but I also have very real responsibilities and needs to meet so time

is of the essence”….well, you are completely missing the point here. You are dealing with a God who created you, knew about your needs and responsibilities long before you were born and has all the answers to them. He is just as aware of your pressing needs, if not more! Go read Deut.28:1-14 and tell me, that when you obey His voice, He is not about to bless you out of your socks not to mention meet your needs, put food in your children’s mouths, bless your business, bless your storehouses, not to mention what he will do with your enemy, the list goes one. The Bible is one big Love Letter. Make time, be romanced by Him and love Him in your own unique way. The rest WILL fall into place.

In the past few weeks the word “remnant” has been on my heart and one morning God spoke to me about this.
Wikipedia explains “remnant” as “What is left of a community after it undergoes a catastrophe”.

Rev.12:17 “And the dragon was wroth with the women, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keeps the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

In this season the sugarcoating is cracking and falling off, the Remnant is standing up – deeply rooted in Christ. Come on church! (Ps.46) “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the Tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved; God shall help her….” Is.61:3 “...to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord to display His splendour...”