The Inner Beauty that comes from the Lord

I was gazing at an array of the most beautiful, most amazing flowers on earth. And as I looked in detail at the fineness of the flowers, I saw how exquisite they were. I saw their unique and perfect blend of colours. I saw their smooth delicate texture and truly realised that petal after petal had been intricately put together by the Hand of God.

And the voice of my Lord spoke to my heart, very clearly and very gently, ‘Look! what I made!’. My heart stood still at His word. I marvelled at this beautiful work of God.

He continued: “Are not the works of Mine Hands so beautiful? I made you beautiful too. You too have this inner beauty in yourself, in your heart like that of a flower.

But who gives water to your flower (your heart)? Does your heart drink from the streams of Living Water that spring forth from My Word?

From where does your flower receive its light and warmth like that of the sun? Does the glory of the Most High God, shine upon your heart as a flower receives light from the sun? Know you not that the glory of God radiates and penetrates through everything it shines upon to totally transform, beautify and perfect?

As I pondered on all this things, the Lord continued to speak saying,

‘Uproot yourself from the rocky mountains, from the desert sands, from the snowy hills; come to the green pastures of the Lord. Bury your roots deep into the Lord’s vine, the Lord’s garden where streams of living water flow and run deep.

Quench your thirst, find peace in the Lord. Even the birds perched high on trees in the garden of the Lord will see your beauty and marvel in song. For He who is the Lord will make you a beauty that all who gaze at you will marvel. Yet He will also prune you, and take away all that is undesirable in order to transform you to a beauty that radiates the glory of God.’

‘Desist from a life of fruitlessness in the Spirit, great spiritual thirst and dryness. Abide in me. Remain in me always. I will refresh and quench you. I will transform your heart to pureness and newness. Anger, resentment, heaviness, fear, ill-judgement, hatred, spite and unforgiveness will not be found there any more. Your heart will be full of contentment, joy, peace and love.

My Love will become constant and ever present in you; and with every breath you take, you will inhale My Love, enveloping and overflowing in you.

Quench your thirst with My living waters of life that never run dry. Let Me refresh your spirit with My precious Holy Spirit. Plant yourself in My Garden of Love. ABIDE.”

Jeremiah 17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

John 15:4-5  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 4:14-15 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

1 Peter 3:4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

The Cross

I have had blessings come my way that I’m truly grateful for. God has fulfilled His promise to see through after being in a dark endless tunnel for so long. But now that I beckon at the light at the end of the tunnel, I realize that more trouble waits for me on the other side. In a way I feel some disappointment because I truly thought I was now being led to the land of milk and honey.

But thew Holy Spirit has then reminded me that I’m in a journey in which trials and tribulations are forever present , but I must hold on to my faith and seek the Lord for strength to endure and overcome. We as men want to struggle for a short while and quickly overcome and be victorious and continue through the rest of our life's journey with no burden and no cross the carry.

But the Lord says that to truly overcome is not to quickly be done with the battle, but to carry the cross and slowly but patiently endure the long tiresome journey right until the end.

I then saw myself as if treading slowly in a vast dry hot desert, sweating hot tired weary but holding fast to my cross and getting closer and closer to the end of my journey. I felt as if my Lord was seeing me from a distance, His love- and joy- filled eyes upon me as I steadily got closer to gates of the Holy City. In this vision, I was filled with a conviction to patiently endure to the end of my journey and to finish strong.

As this vision flashed through my mind, I felt the thoughts that I seemed to carry at that time expound even more;

“I want to endure with the cross on my back to the very end of my journey. I want to endure patiently, humbly, without grumbling and complaining. I don’t wish to give up when the tribulations of my life rage; and the storms rage and the fires blaze, but I want to patiently endure. If it gets harder for me each day may I but endure. If I have to walk with blisters under my feet and on my hands and my shoulders have ugly sores as I hold on to the cross, let me but endure.

My cross has been chosen for me I accept all that it will entail.  And I ask you Lord for strength of will to endure to the end. Let me not seek for daily victories, blessings, and overcoming.

If I see no progress, I see no great achievement, I get no pat on the back, I get no hand clap and I hear no laud and no one acknowledges me, may I remain unfazed, remain resolute and endure to the end, treading on towards in golden city. Even if my eyes are so dull and weary and the dust of the desert of life rises up so high to blur the marvelous glimmer and glorious light coming from that beautiful city of Jerusalem that I’m treading towards, may my heart but burn with great desire and filled with the sure hope of meeting my Lord and falling at His feet with eternal joy on that blessed day.”

Glory to God in the Highest who gives strength to His children to endure patiently to the end so they may overcome,

That we may gain entry into that glorious City,

That we may share in the glorious riches of heaven

Grant us by your grace O Lord that privilege

For alone we are not able

Blessed be God forever. Amen.

THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Whilst in prayer on the evening of the 21st of October 2010, I received this message from the Holy Spirit:

‘It is possible to pray, praise and worship God whilst on the roadside to Hell.’

I began to think of how many of us Christians are actually on the way to Hell, doing all kinds of evil things, living ungodly lives, consumed with passions and pleasures of this world, constantly criticizing, judging, hating, stealing, killing, envying, manipulating, gossiping AND strolling all the way to Hell in total oblivion.

Whilst on this perilous journey, we constantly pause at certain times to be on our knees to pray, praise and glorify God; on our knees, we confess our sins and promise to repent and live a Godly life. Sometimes we even receive healing, anointing by the Holy Spirit whilst in prayer.

Soon after communion with God, we stand up to continue in the walk of life. But we walk in the same ungodly manner as before, in total oblivion as before and hence remaining on the road to Hell. Yet we are falsely comforted that we have been in communion with God and hence are on the path to Heaven.

The reality however is that as long as we continue to live ungodly lives, our prayers cannot save us from the flames of Hell.

We need to be holy in order to make it to heaven. ‘Make every effort ...to be holy, without holiness no-one will see God’ Heb 12:14.

Dear brethren, wish not to be part of this way of life. Make every effort to fight against this great pitfall. Seek to overcome and continually grow from strength to strength in your walk with God.

Ensure you are on the right path; the path that lead to everlasting life - the path of holiness. Flee from the path that leads to destruction.

Matt 7:13-14 says ‘Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and ONLY A FEW FIND IT.’

Isaiah 35:8-10: 'And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way.The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.'

Beloved in Christ - Be in the few; be in the number that find the path of life. Do not pray godly, earth-shaking prayers and then walk in ungodliness. Ungodliness leads to Hell, but Holiness leads to Heaven.

May God give you the grace to follow Him, to walk in His light and to be found in Jesus all the days of your life. Amen

The Church Walking with the World

"...the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.... As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." John 17:14-18

The Church and the World walked far apart On the changing shores of time, The World was singing a giddy song, And the Church a hymn sublime. “Come, give me your hand,” said the merry World, “And walk with me this way!” But the faithful Church hid her gentle hands And solemnly answered “Nay! I will not give you my hand at all, And I will not walk with you; Your way is the way that leads to death; Your words are all untrue.”   “Nay, walk with me but a little space,”  Said the World with a kindly air; “The road I walk is a pleasant road, And the sun shines always there. Your path is thorny and rough and rude, But mine is broad and plain; My way is paved with flowers and dews, And yours with tears and pain. The sky to me is always blue, No want, no toil I know; The sky above you is always dark, Your lot is a lot of woe. There’s room enough for you and me To travel side by side.” Half shyly the Church approached the World And gave him her hand of snow; And the old World grasped it and walked along, Saying, in accents low: “Your dress is too simple to please my taste; I will give you pearls to wear, Rich velvets and silks for your graceful form, And diamonds to deck your hair.” The Church looked down at her plain white robes, And then at the dazzling World, And blushed as she saw his handsome lip With a smile contemptuous curled. “I will change my dress for a costlier one,” Said the Church, with a smile of grace; Then her pure white garments drifted away, And the World gave, in their place, Beautiful satins and shining silks, Roses and gems and costly pearls; While over her forehead her bright hair fell Crisped in a thousand curls. “Your house is too plain,” said the proud old World, “I’ll build you one like mine; With walls of marble and towers of gold, And furniture ever so fine.” So he built her a costly and beautiful house; Most splendid it was to behold; Her sons and her beautiful daughters dwelt there Gleaming in purple and gold. Rich fairs and shows in the halls were held, And the World and his children were there. Laughter and music and feasts were heard In the place that was meant for prayer. There-were cushioned seats for the rich and the gay, To sit in their pomp and pride; But the poor who were clad in shabby array, Sat meekly down outside. “You give too much to the poor,” said the World.  “Far more than you ought to do; If they are in need of shelter and food, Why need it trouble you? Go, take your money and buy rich robes, Buy horses and carriages fine; Buy pearls and jewels and dainty food, Buy the rarest and costliest wine. My children, they dote on all these things, And if you their love would win You must do as they do, and walk in the ways That they are walking in.” So the poor were turned from her door in scorn, And she heard not the orphan’s cry; But she drew her beautiful robes aside, As the widows went weeping by. Then the sons of the World and the Sons of the Church Walked closely hand and heart, And only the Master, who knoweth all, Could tell the two apart. Then the Church sat down at her ease, and said, “I am rich and my goods increase; I have need of nothing, or aught to do, But to laugh, and dance, and feast.” The sly World heard, and he laughed in his sleeve, And mockingly said, aside: “The Church is fallen, the beautiful Church; And her shame is her boast and her pride.” The angel drew near to the mercy seat, And whispered in sighs her name; Then the loud anthems of rapture were hushed, And heads were covered with shame. And a voice was heard at last by the Church From Him who sat on the throne: “I know thy works, and how thou hast said, ‘I am rich, and hast not known That thou art naked, poor and blind, And wretched before my face;’ Therefore from my presence cast I thee out, And blot thy name from its place.” "...you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine." Leviticus 20:26 "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'       Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 by Matilda C. Edwards Best Loved Poems (Garden City, NY: Garden City Publishing, 1936), pages 345-347. This poem was not listed among those that required reprint permission.