Tag: #Battling with emotions

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He is ascended!

“Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” – John 20:15 (NIV)

Mary Magdalene walked with Jesus during His time of ministry on earth. She was listed among His travel partners, who went with Him “through towns and villages” witnessing Him preaching and bringing the good news/gospel of the kingdom of God to them. She did not just travel as an observer but was an active participant in his ministry. The writer of the gospel of Luke states that she was one of the women who ministered to and provided for Jesus and His twelve disciples, out of their property and personal belongings (Luke 8: 1-3 AMPC).

In addition, Mary was also a recipient of, a testimony to, his healing and delivering power. She had been delivered from the possession and bondage of 7 demons. (Imagine that! She was a woman of wealth but still bound.) She, who once had no control over her own life but was led by forces of darkness, was now in her right of mind.
– NO MORE cutting of herself!
– NO MORE pain and shame!
– NO MORE being tossed and driven!
She was free; free to make her own choices and, she chose to “serve” the Christ.

Mary knew what bondage felt like and she also knew what freedom felt like. She was grateful for what Jesus had done for her and chose to be one of His disciples. In the time of our key verse, Mary, along with numerous women, had accompanied Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, ministering to Him. They were witnesses at His crucifixion, looking on from a distance. They observed where the body of Jesus was laid. NOTE: her ministry to Jesus was not confined only to when He was alive, when He was popular, or when He was being mobbed by the crowd.

Even in and after His death, she still desired to minister to Him. Because of the Sabbath, she was not able to minister as she wanted to but, after the Sabbath was passed, she and 2 other women bought sweet smelling spices that they might go and anoint Jesus’ body. The writer of the gospel told us that they left out while it was still dark and came to the tomb but, His body was not there.

Mary became distraught because, like the other disciples. she had not yet understood the Scripture and His teachings about His rising from the dead. (Isn’t it amazing how someone can love the Lord, be devoted to Him, and still lack understanding of the Scriptures, the deep things of God?) So Mary was distressed and upset. After Peter and the other disciples left, she looked into the tomb for herself and was asked by the angels, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus (vs. 13-14).

Then Mary heard that question asked of her a second time, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him (vs. 15).” Unbeknownst to Mary, today was the happiest day of her life, yet she was in despair. She wanted Jesus. She was satisfied with having just the dead body of Jesus to anoint it for the burial. She just wanted to know where they had transferred the body to that she might take it away. She sought Jesus and had found Him but did not recognize Him.

“Woman, why are you crying so? Who is it you are looking for?” Whatever/whomever you are seeking you will not find in the place of the dead. Walk away from this place of the dead, wipe your eyes, and go carry a message to my brothers. Tell them that “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” This was good news that changed Mary’s mindset and her posture. She returned to the others with the news, “He has ascended!”

  1. Because He is ascended, He is now at the right hand of the Father ever making intercession for us (Romans 8:34).
  2. Because He is ascended, death no longer has a sting for me, the grave no longer conquers (1 Corinthians 15:55).
  3. Because He is ascended, He has a name that is above every other name; every knee must bow in heaven, in earth, and under the earth He is victor. (Ephesians 1:18-21; Philippians 2:9-11)
  4. Because He ascended, one day I too will ascend (1 Thessalonian 4:16-18).

Friends, Mary learned something that morning that we need to learn as well. There is no need for tears. There is no need to grieve as those who are without hope. Because He has ascended, we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Friends, grab a hold of this message of hope that Jesus gave Mary – “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Why are you weeping so? He has ascended.

Holy Spirit, help this understanding of that message to become truth in my life. Cause me to live a life as one who knows that He has ascended. AMEN!!

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Be Encouraged!

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

I am sitting at my dining table preparing my notes for the Bible Study teaching tonight. My husband comes downstairs and excitedly exclaims, “Did you see it?”

“See what?”, I asked.

“We are at 102,” he replied.

…I grabbed my phone and texted in the family chat: Good morning. More good news! ezerwatchers has just passed the 100 subscribers mark. As of today, we are at 102 subscribers and counting. Thank you Lord!!!

Later that morning, one of my “daughters” asked, “Are you going to write a celebratory post?….100 is a milestone.” I gave it some thought and while thinking on it, my mind went to one of my journal entries from July 2019. It reads as follows:

I am somewhat disappointed this morning. I am displeased because ezerwatchers.com has not been receiving the responses I had expected or hoped for. I expected that it would be supported by my family and friends, if by no one else. But last week, it only received 1 view total.

However, in my reading this morning, I read Nehemiah 5:16a – “Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall….” This passage spoke about how Nehemiah invested in himself and continued in his assignment. Unlike the other governors before him, he was not going to trust in or rely on the people. Instead he was going to shoulder his burdens and apply himself (that is, devote himself) to the work of the wall.

Like Nehemiah, I need to look away from man’s help, from my expectations from family and friends, and continue to invest in the work that God has assigned me – ezerwatchers. I need to keep at it! Be faithful!

Dear Father, You are my support so, I look to You for support. Help me to keep my eyes focused on the assignment and not look to the arm of flesh. Help me to value Your approval more than the approval of man and above everything else. Lord, help me to remember that as long as I am obeying You, then I am successful and prosperous. I thank you for your encouragement. I will wait on You and be of good courage. Amen!

Friends, that morning I went into prayer with the weight of disappointment weighing me down but, by the time I left my place of prayer, I was encouraged. I want to share that same encouragement with you. I want to encourage you regarding those times when it seems like what God has asked you to do is not bearing any fruit. Do not allow disappointment to pull you apart from your God-assigned task. Know that all God requires of you is faithfulness. It is His responsibility to add as needed. Just as you were a part of making this milestone possible for ezerwatchers, even so God is raising up people to help make your milestone possible.

THANK YOU TO ALL MY SUBSCRIBERS!!

Know that the Lord Your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness  – Deuteronomy 2:7 (NIV).

My love and prayers are with you all!

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Journeying through the Wilderness

“Because I did not know our purpose for being THERE, my expectations were wrong and, I unknowingly frustrated God’s purpose for our lives.”

These words can be found penned at the top of one of the pages of my journals. It was written at the turn of a new year some 4 years after we had been in the USA. My family had migrated to the USA in 2013 as the result of a prophetic word spoken about 10 years earlier. We came to the USA for ministry and with the expectation that ministry would birth forth and blossom quickly. We never bargained for a wilderness.

The journey through the wilderness lasted a few years, during which time I battled with and often found myself under the influence of spirits of discontent, dissatisfaction, and discouragement. My attitude and outlook during those years left much to be desired.

You see, the problem for me was that the Lord had directed us to another ministry during this wilderness time, until He would separate us for the work that He had sent us here to do, like He did with Saul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2-3 ). However, I found myself like the children of Israel, lusting after what WAS (our ministry back home, PFEM). I kept comparing what WAS with what “IS” and kept looking back.

What I did not realize at the time was that whereas PFEM was my place of growth in salvation and training for ministry, this new place was my place of testing, my wilderness. This was where God would humble me and prove me to know what was in my heart. This would be the place that God would use to stir and challenge our faith, teaching us how to survive in what might seem as uninhabited and barren places.

I really felt like I was in a bad place. I felt that somehow we had missed God, but as the Holy Spirit ministered to me, He showed me that it was not a bad place and we had not missed Him. He brought me to study the following two verses.

Exodus 13:17-18 (KJV) – 17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 (KJV) – 2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

And this is what He shared with me.
1. The wilderness is not a bad thing or a bad place. The wilderness represents God’s love for and mercy towards us.
2. The wilderness is our place of transition before we enter and posses the Promised Land.
3. The wilderness is the place where God will develop our faith to be able to take possession of that Promised Land.
4. There is no need to be discouraged because the wilderness is not our destination, rather a part of the journey, a part of the process to get us to the Promised Land.

Friends, when we left Antigua, we felt like we were ready to possess the Promise. But God said, if we went directly the wars we would see/encounter would discourage us and cause us to repent (change our minds) from the “Yes” that we had said to this assignment. So, instead, He provided for us an alternate route that would take us through the wilderness, spending time THERE. How much more I could have learned? How much further we could have been? If I had only understood our purpose for being THERE.

I share this experience with you all today because I don’t want you to frustrate the purposes of God as a result of the navigational route that He has chosen for your journey. I don’t want You to waste Your time looking back at what was and miss what God has prepared for you now. Please remember that He is faithful and will perform what He has promised, but He may need to take you on a journey through the wilderness so that you can be sufficiently prepared for what He has promised.

Dear Holy Spirit, please help me not to resist Your wisdom in taking me through the wilderness. Help me not to resist Your training in developing my faith. May I rise in my faith believing truly that You are not a Man that You should lie, nor a son of man, that You should repent or change Your mind. May I be fully persuaded that if You said it, You will do it and if You spoke it, You will make it good. Father, I cast off the weight of every spirit of discontent and discouragement right now and receive the oil of joy and garment of praise. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!