Two Streams, One Rock

          It has been awhile and much has happened in my heart. In asking the Lord recently if I really hear His voice, He answered me very clearly. There was no doubt for He let me know something that I couldn't even tell myself. I think a lot of us have been hearing His voice but we either doubt it is Him or we excuse it as our imagination. But after all these years with Him, I am one of His sheep and I know my Shepherd's voice. This past month it came to a choice. So I tested it by asking a question that only He could answer. It was very obvious and I could no longer deny that I had heard Him. Yes those things He has been putting His finger on and asking me to do were not deniable. And 3 different people shared in a week's time how hearing is not enough, there must be the obeying. I shared my challenge with a few friends who are holding me accountable. Now the test to see that what He promises will happen.........(I know it will).
         One of my challenges is to remain faithful to writing what He shows me and to continue a project that will take a lot of time and effort. You can pray for me........really you can! To go along with the last blog on Sabbaday Falls I was given another vision and message from the beautiful White Mountains. Sometimes majestic in beauty and sometimes treacherous in inclement weather. I have climbed many a mountain to experience the change that comes sometimes without notice. One moment clear and the next, clouds rolling in and you have a hard time seeing a few feet in front of you. Once during one of those sudden rain storms I climbed down the second mountain of the day to have the cold causing such pain in my extremities. Thanks to my brother Gerry who pushed me on.
         There is a story in the White Mountains that has always intrigued me. The story is of the Willey Family that Mt. Willey is named for. Here in 1825 this family had made their home to house the travelers going through the Crawford Notch. If you type it in your search engine you will be able to read it in detail. Let me just share this portion......because of drought a ferocious rain storm cause a landslide which ultimately took the whole family's lives. The odd part of this story is they had fled from the house because of a panic only to have the house remain untouched in the end. When others came to check up on them they found the dog howling and an open bible on the table. The flood was split in two above the home by a great rock ledge.(There is so much more so please look it up)

        When I was praying for the new year, I felt such a burden to intercession. As I was praying I saw this story come to me in a vision. I saw the house and and two floods beside it. Then I understood that we are the house, the bible being God's Word within us and the Rock of course Christ.  There are 2 flooding streams in our society today. One is against Doctrine or Truth the other is against Kingdom Culture. I have heard and read some very disturbing diatribes from my fellow believers that have left me speechless at times. There is so much anger and personal opinion that has challenged our very foundation of faith. The bible is left on shelves rarely read or meditated on, prayer and worship has become "on a need" basis, (which if we confess the truth, we'll admit these are a constant need). My husband always demonstrated this to me, of how we are to remain in prayer, worship and in His Word daily. That this is essential to our personal relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ. His life has and will always be an inspiration to me and a constant reminder that no matter what I am not to let anything come between me and my Lord. I know there is a debate always going on about the traditions that have cropped up in the church and their biblical basis. But I am not addressing those. I am writing about the Foundation or our Faith, Jesus Christ the Chief Cornerstone. I do not trust my heart, feelings, opinions, or traditions. I seek Him daily in His Word and prayer because He is the North in my Compass, True North. The world system, the styles, the trends, politics, culture should not dictate who I am or Who He is. If we remain in the center with Christ Jesus, the floods will pass and we will be untouched.
         I end with this.....this is what He told me, "The Narrowing will bring the Broadening." As I put all my energy in abiding, in seeking Him and keeping Him first, He will broaden my path of effectualness. The rushing and running about without the fresh Knowledge of Him causes us to crash and burn and may eventually bring us to deception. Don't let anyone or anything rob you of your time with Him. Come apart and be cleansed from the world only to go back into it as world changers.
 I end with this about the Willey Story......
       ....The area had been prone to mud slides in the past. Each time there was a slide, the Willey family stayed put. Samuel argued it was safer in the house. This time, however, the Willey family, along with 2 hired men, decided to flee. But instead of running to safety, they fled right into the path of the mudslide. They all died. Ironically, the slide split in two, each half passing on either side of the home and leaving the house intact. Inside, on the table, sat a Bible, open to the 18th Psalm, Samuel Willey's glasses on the page. 

                          Taken from  http://www.weathernotebook.org/transcripts/2000/03/01.html

Psalm 18

   I love you, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my irock and my jfortress and my deliverer,

my God, my irock, in kwhom I take refuge,

my lshield, and mthe horn of my salvation, my nstronghold.

I call upon the Lord, who is oworthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

pThe cords of death encompassed me;

qthe torrents of destruction assailed me;1

pthe cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

rIn my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his stemple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

Then the earth treeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

Smoke went up from his nostrils,2

and devouring ufire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

He vbowed the heavens and wcame down;

xthick darkness was under his feet.

He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on zthe wings of the wind.

He made darkness his covering, his acanopy around him,

thick clouds bdark with water.

Out of the brightness before him

chailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

The Lord also dthundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his evoice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

And he sent out his farrows and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings and grouted them.

Then hthe channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your irebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of jthe breath of your nostrils.

He ksent from on high, he took me;

he ldrew me out of mmany waters.

He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were ntoo mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into oa broad place;

he rescued me, because he pdelighted in me.

The Lord dealt with me qaccording to my righteousness;

according to rthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

For I have skept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

For tall his rules3 were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

I was ublameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

With vthe merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

with the purified you show yourself pure;

and with wthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

For you save xa humble people,

but ythe haughty eyes you bring down.

For it is you who light my zlamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can aleap over ba wall.

This God—his way is cperfect;4

the word of the Lord dproves true;

he is ea shield for all those who ftake refuge in him.

For gwho is God, but the Lord?

And who is ha rock, except our God?—

the God who iequipped me with strength

and made my way jblameless.

He made my feet like the feet of a kdeer

and set me secure on lthe heights.

He mtrains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand nsupported me,

and your ogentleness made me great.

You pgave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

and did not turn back till they were consumed.

I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

they fell under my feet.

For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

You made my enemies qturn their backs to me,5

and those who hated me I destroyed.

rThey cried for help, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

I beat them fine as sdust before the wind;

I cast them out like tthe mire of the streets.

You delivered me from ustrife with the people;

you made me vthe head of the nations;

wpeople whom I had not known served me.

As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

xforeigners ycame cringing to me.

xForeigners lost heart

and zcame trembling out of their fortresses.

The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be the God of my salvation—

the God who gave me vengeance

and asubdued peoples under me,

who delivered me from my enemies;

yes, you bexalted me above those who rose against me;

you rescued me from cthe man of violence.

dFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and esing to your name.

Great fsalvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his ganointed,

to hDavid and his offspring forever.

Praise God for His Word and for His ever guiding Presence. Let us not rush into the path of the oncoming floods panicking that our Faith is not enough, our Savior not Present, or His Word is not true. You will be tested, the roar is deafening at times, accusing us of being fools for staying put but we must remain steadfast and firm to the end.

Let us hear what the Spirit is saying.......

     

Sabbaday Falls

I have to discipline myself lately when it comes to writing. I sit at a computer all day at work so sitting at a computer at home is not my first choice. But recently I was asked to write what I shared with a friend lately. She gently reminded me that I needed to use a gift The Lord gave me. So here goes........
      I work as an assistant in a firm that does financial planning. Right now that is not the most promising job considering the upheaval of the economy and the manipulation of the market. The men I work for are believers that are constantly seeking God for wisdom and direction for their clients. As I sit nearby hearing their daily discussions, I feel that I need to find a quiet place to pray. As a widow who lives alone, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the ongoing words we hear about an economical crash. Some preach gloom and doom, others prosperity and ease. I choose to pray and hear what the Spirit is saying to me.
     One morning as I laid out all my cares to Jesus, His voice came, as it often does, gently but strong.
He said, "Have I taken care of you so far?" "Yes Lord", I replied. "Then you need to continue to trust Me." Just then I had a vision of Sabbaday Falls on the Kangamangas Highway. I went on vacation in North Conway with a friend and took her there this summer. It is very beautiful and an easy hike. When I was there this time I took the time to read every plaque. My friend likes to do that too so we were not in a hurry. The falls used to cascade straight down the mountain many years ago next to a large ledge near the top. Some catastrophic occurrence split the ledge causing half of it to fall and lodge itself some ways below. This caused a total turn of the falls to the right, making it go in another direction altogether. As I read this I took note of the wall of rock that blocked the cascade from continuing in its usual direction.
      So here I am sitting at my kitchen table seeing this scene and hearing this verse......
       The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. Proverbs 21:1
       He said that I have experienced what seemed like a catastrophic experience which caused my whole life to shift direction. I was devastated and grieved but like the falls the flow continued unhindered. He is the living water that flows in my innermost being. I always have felt His Presence, even in the darkest places.
          He began to tell me that cataclysmic circumstances were coming to this country and still for many in the body of Christ as individuals and groups. Some of us (and I'm including myself) get in a rut, we are used to what we are used to and as we get older we dig even deeper into our ruts of existence. We think we are led by the Spirit but we are "comfortably led" where we are...... well....comfortable. He wants us to move in a new direction, we feel the stirrings, yet we ignore them or we doubt them. In the end, by His eternal grace He lets things "fall". Circumstances out of our control change our existence, our path. We are in new territory, totally out of our "skin" and the only thing to do is look to Him and trust.
      The wonderful surprise in all of this? His river of life flowing out in newness. Though we find the surroundings changed, the rut is gone and fresh revival is started in our hearts. What we feared most is not fearful anymore because He is there with us. And as long as He is with us, no matter what the future holds, we bring His hope, His joy, and His love into it. This new path may be unknown to us, but He knows it and He will meet us there.
       The news we hear is dreadful at times and there is so much despair in the world. Unless the church is shaken out of its rutful existence we will miss this opportunity to let Him flow through us in places where we would never go on our own. Sabbaday Falls actually was aptly named Sabbath Day Falls at one time. Sabbath means rest, not fear, not torment but rest. Resting in His arms, trusting in Him even in the darkest of times. This will testify to a lost and dying world that our Savior lives.
        May we hear what the Spirit is saying and recognize what He is doing for He is faithful who called us.

July 16th

        I've had a full weekend with my family, kids and grand kids. Always grateful for the gift they are to me, and especially now that I'm widowed. That word is still strange to me, almost unbelievable at this stage of my life but it happens to everyone at some stage of life. As I approach July 16, I dread the memories of that night that keep trying to plague me. It was a  traumatic experience, one I shudder to remember. I've only shared it in some detail to close friends but refuse to tell it all. As I spent time weeping today and talking to The Lord about it, the pain was intense. I didn't even get to say goodbye or I Love you. Within minutes he was gone  after I feverishly made the 911 phone call  and then watched my son do CPR on his own father.
      As I sought The Lord tonight He spoke, as He always does, sending the comfort I need. I hear His voice, I do! I really do! It's amazing to me how His voice reaches to the depths of my soul, to the darkest places and brings light. He said, "I was there Celeste, I was right there." And He showed me how He held me up, gave me His word through my tears. The memory became vivid of when we reached the hospital and they pronounced John dead, I had fallen to the floor and wailed, through my tears later by his body these words came out......
       
            " The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. " (Psalm 23)
   
 I could hear my voice and thought, how can I do this now?!! Because I'm strong? No! I'm one of the weakest people I know. It was because Jesus was right there with me, and supernaturally He spoke to me through my own mouth. Later the next evening I collapsed in exhaustion on my oldest son's couch but would wake up every hour gasping as I realized John was gone. Yet each time I did, I would feel the Holy Spirit close to my face say "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24. Every time I woke up I heard this word, over and over. I wasn't quoting it to myself, I know I wasn't, I could barely function! My body and mind were useless, very weak, but within my spirit the Living Word of God gave me what I needed to go on.
     Today as I wept before Him,  He reminded me gently and so patiently, that He was there and THAT is why I survived. He continues to be there and I yearn to hear His voice because His Word IS life, real life.

"O you who dwell in the gardens, with companions listening for your voice; let me hear it."            Song of Solomon 8:13

   May you hear His voice ........and believe His Word to you.......

First Move

         I know you don't hear from me as much. It is because I am working on a bigger project and it will take much of my concentrated time and effort. I must stayed focused so it will come to fruition.
     But today I would like to mention something that came to me today as I was preparing for Sunday meeting. I depend greatly on the Lord's constant love for me. It is the one thing that keeps me going everyday. I had a devoted love in my husband and it fed me for many years. Now that he is with the Lord in heaven, I find myself alone without that constant support and love from one so close to me. People are not God, they cannot fill the void in us created when sin separates us from Him. Along the way we encounter some blessings but they are temporary. We still feel the vast emptiness that cries out for more. We all seek to be loved and accepted without the fear of rejection. I have found that love in my Lord, He has never disappointed me or given up on me. Even if I am rejected by man, I have One who will never leave me nor forsake me. I was His enemy, and He made the first move to bridge the gap that separated us. I did not seek Him, but He sought me, and He found me, bound in sin and chained in slavery. He came to me.....and I received Him........
      You & I have the choice now to be like Him. We can bridge the gap that separates us from others. We can make the first move to reach out to another. I am finding that the only way I can do this is to be satisfied in His constant love for me. To do for another without expectation or demand takes a security that is not of this world. I am loved, I am accepted, I choose to move out from that security and point others to it. If we will keep this ever before us we will not be shaken by rejection or disappointment. We won't find a cave and hide in it but we will rest in knowing that Jesus can't love us more than He does right now. There is nothing you will do that will make Him love you more......what you do is only the response to His abounding love for you! When I rise in the morning I seek Him so I can get that massive void filled with Him and from there face the world. No matter what you did in your past or what you will do for Him now, always remember....He made the first move.......