I don’t “do” new year’s resolutions. I haven’t in years. Somewhere along the way I realised they didn’t work for me.
And somewhere along the way leads me to my point now, today:
2022 has to be about intimacy with our Father Yehovah GOD. And it is about loving one another. This will bring together the church as the bride of Yeshua Jesus, and this will bring others outside the “church” — ie the communion of believers — to see our love for GOD, our love for one another. Either observers will mock us or will draw closer to GOD Himself.
“Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy and spoke of what we shall do to inherit eternal life.
This is a short post because I’m spending quality time with my Father this week. And today I’m also researching and preparing some words to deliver to our brethren in due season.
Let’s no longer seek approval from man but from GOD. As we do, we will find favour with some and receive attack from others. But if we know we are doing as the LORD commands, we have peace within. And that, in the BIG PICTURE will please Him, one another and ourselves.
Let us be present with Him today. Let us be still. Let us abide (John 15). And let the world turn toward us and say, “Now that’s commitment!”
To grow in our lives as followers of Jesus, we need the word and the spirit of God.
As Samuel said in 2 Samuel 23:2, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.”
When we grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Word of GOD — which is both Jesus: the person who was originally The Word (John 1:1) and what is written in the Bible — then we have ammunition against temptation and the flesh.
When we live by the spirit of GOD — both the Holy Spirit prompting us and the spirit who resides within us who has authority over our mind and body if we yield — we grow in the likeness of the Son.
We “worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). Since it is written in John 17:17 that “Thy word is truth”, therefore it is by both the word and the spirit together that we best grow as believers.
If we follow the Word only, we can become legalistic, prideful of our knowledge, or religious. If we follow the Spirit only, we risk error and temptation. It is by applying both the Word and the Spirit in our lives that we build a solid foundation upon which we mature and grow.
And so we pray
While we pray “Thy will be done, LORD” as Jesus told us when he gave us the Lord’s Prayer, let us also pray that we become convicted by the Spirit for anything which we are doing that does not please the Father, and that our hunger for His Word increases. When we increase our knowledge of the Word, our knowledge helps us to recognise when we are out of GOD’s will; likewise, when we grow in our relationship with the Spirit, we can receive GOD’s leading and prompting better. Word and Spirit working in us together, we become more surrendered and more free.
There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus
Jesus came “that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).
Also, in John 8:36 is written, “Therefore if the son has made you free, you shall be free indeed.”
And so we who are followers of Jesus, are free.
However, abundant life is not absolute freedom since while “all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.” (1 Corinthians 23)
The maturing believer does not want to stumble (1 Peter 1:10) nor to cause others to stumble (1Peter 2:8).
Yes, we have freedom. We are also called to love GOD first and foremost, and to love another. And so, when we consider our behaviour, let us recognise we have a choice to show love for the Father and for one another, rather than licence for our own excessive or fleshly behaviour.
Let us pray for the conviction within ourselves and for the Spirit to convict and guide our brothers and sisters likewise.
My prayer
Father teach us to pray Your Will. Help us to follow Your Word and Your Spirit as we pray, live and move and have our being. And Father, let us not condemn ourselves or others, but rather lead us as we pray that we all might grow in the knowledge of Your Word and relationship with Your Holy Spirit, that we all might be a part of Your matchless bride, Your offspring, Your beloved, holy as You are holy, perfect as You are perfect. Jesus said, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Let that be our goal and that be our prize.
I don’t write regularly because while I do enjoy it, I am attempting to write only what the LORD leads me to write, when He leads me.
I send out Soaring Post sparingly because, as there is so much that all of our email in-boxes are bombarded with, I aim to be read when I post, and not overlooked.
Today I’m posting and sending about the upcoming federal election in the United States of America. The presidency is at stake. Some say the leader of America is the leader of the free world. Certainly, the country is extremely influential globally in many spheres, namely: morally, financially, culturally. When America has preached righteousness, it has touched the world. When it has preached carnality, likewise it has influenced the world.
The current series I am writing for Larus Press is Preparing You for GOD’s Call.
So, how is the US federal election tied to readers, most of whom are probably not American and therefore, not eligible to vote in an American federal election? There is a vital connection, so I ask you to please bear with me as I explain my thinking…
Sometimes we are called to learn and to grow, while at other times we are called to application. Today, and over the next few days, we as a Nation of Believers in Jesus are called to pray; the days are short. In preparing you for God’s Call today, I am encouraging you to grow in your prayer life, and in particular, your intercessory prayer life. To pray for American and the voters there is the Call.
UNESCO – the world organisation that “encourages international peace and universal respect for human rights by promoting collaboration among nations” (see: UNESCO) has just voted that The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is only an historic site for Muslims, not for Jews, nor for Christians. Perhaps their thinking is that if they grant Arab supremacy, the Muslims will be appeased.
But what does this UNESCO vote signify in the Spirit?
Time is short. Zechariah 12 speaks about the attempt that will come to sever Jerusalem from the Jews; it prophecies the rage and battles that will ensue as a result. We are called to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122). The war over Jerusalem is inevitable. I say time is short, because the signs that this war is coming sooner rather than later, are increasing.
How is the election in America hinged on the events in Jerusalem? They may or may not be directly connected… What is significant in this US election is that, because the days are short, the state of the nation now, perhaps more than ever before, is critical for its fate. Like the vote over Brexit* – which has touched the hearts of many of my readers as a significant number are British – I think this particular election in America is pivotal to the way GOD sees it: Will America, in these Last Days, be seen by GOD as a sheep nation or a goat nation? (Does this mean that Jesus will only look at the immediate and not at the history of a nation? I do not know. Witness the virgins and their lamps… Matthew 25)
As recorded in Matthew 25, in the Last Days, upon Jesus’ return to earth (to Jerusalem), he will judge the nations and separate those of his (sheep nations) from those who will go eternal punishment (goat nations). I believe the American election is significant to the judgment it will incur as a nation in GOD’s eyes.
So, it is important that we pray for those who must vote. And for those with the right to vote, I say it is important to vote, to vote the way the LORD leads you.
Now this election is very unusual, because both candidates are so appallingly unpopular. Neither is particularly moral, trustworthy or righteous; they do not seem to me even to be “nice people”.
Imagine standing in the polling booth and gazing at your ballot, marking the person you dislike the least. With the bizarre way the candidacies have developed, this is the situation many in the United States face on Tuesday 8th November.
To say the situation surrounding the main candidates in the upcoming US election is bizarre is an understatement. There are several candidates, although only the two main party candidates get national and international press and television coverage. Of the two candidates, one is bombastic, rude to the degree of almost lewd, a creator of a casino empire with multiple sins, yet who defends the rights of the unborn and stands for Christianity in a bold, unapologetic manner. The other is deceptive, sly, cunning – like a fox or snake, she is untrustworthy and is currently under FBI investigation – yet, she is an experienced politician, is cool under pressure, and extremely intelligent. Neither Hilary Clinton nor Donald Trump are particularly moral, though their weaknesses are different. It is almost unfathomable to think these are the choices out of 300 million people. And yet, doesn’t a nation get the government it deserves (French lawyer Joseph de Maistre, 1789, who opposed the bloody French Revolution)? Perhaps it is the American people, more that these two candidates, who are to be scrutinised for how the nation got to this point of amorality.
Now, while American voters must choose the path of their least resistance, the rest of the world awaits.
Perhaps it will be as a Believing American I spoke to recently said… that after the election, the winner will drop dead, or will step aside and a capable Vice President will step in. Nothing is impossible with GOD, and in these times in America, with this particular election, anything could happen!
The Brexit result came as a shock; even those who wanted to leave thought they’d lost before the ballot boxes closed. The election predictions for the US also are “too close to call” at this stage. We don’t know if there will be an acceleration of the liberalisation that Hilary Clinton heralds. Or, if Donald Trump wins, perhaps there will be a turn back to old standards, including both good and bad.
I believe, whichever the result, the LORD knows and has the result in the palm of His hand. But just as He wants that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9), He wants us all to stand in the gap and call for His will to be done upon this once GOD-fearing nation, itself born to give liberty and freedom to all who come to its shores or are born into it.
We don’t know whom the LORD would choose to win this election. One might think to have a leader who wished to abolish abortion would be GOD’s choice (Trump). But perhaps this is not the mind of GOD. Perhaps he wishes Christianity to be persecuted, so that more would come to Christ. What I do believe is that a vote toward morality and truth, a vote that stands for the truth of Jesus, a vote away from selfish ambition and personal gain, could herald this nation as a “sheep nation” and so be saved at the coming of Jesus.
So, as I write to prepare you for GOD’s call, I encourage you to be as one who stands in the gap for the nations and the world. Let us pray for this nation of the United States, with its rich history of defending Christianity and God’s truth. Let us pray that the nation does not get “the government that it may deserve”, but a Godly government that will lead people back to Him. As the world stands on the brink of change, let us draw near to GOD, that He might rescue the nation of the United States from itself, and lead it – and all the nations – back to Himself.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. And everyone says…. Amen.
*Brexit is the nickname given by the British media and its citizens regarding the referendum held last June to determine whether the UK leaves or remains as a part of the European Union. The vote was in favour of leaving; therefore, steps have begun in the process for Britain the leave the EU. Personally, I believe the result of the vote also speaks spiritually, declaring that Britain is a sovereign nation. To make a long discussion short, for me, the result of the vote signifies (knowingly or unknowingly by the voters) a rejection of the worldly principles encapsulated in the EU, and that Britain now stands as a Godly nation – a “sheep” nation – before GOD.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV)
Our faith is strong, our commitment true, so why read, study, pray and praise daily?
We need our lay our dependence totally upon him. As we journey, and go deeper into the purposes God has for us, the way is uphill… not only invigorating, challenging, awesome, but also debilitating, full of the unexpected, and – at times – painful.
We read the Word to discover Jesus and our way to walk; we’ve become committed and know Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, so what is the need for daily refreshing?
We study the Word to show ourselves approved; so once we know the Bible, why do we continue to review it?
We know and trust God’s sovereignty; so why refresh His mind with our prayers? Why are we called to pray without ceasing? (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Because sometimes the Way is stormy and hard, to be full of the Spirit and the Word of God is not only the best way forward, but even the only way forward.
God is all-knowing; he knows we are thankful. So, is it really necessary to praise Him and thank Him frequently?
The answer is a clear and resounding “Yes!” because of the battle between the flesh and the spirit. When I pause from the habit of reading, studying, praying and praising, my flesh rises up and all-so-quickly, my frame of mind shifts from hope, faith and love to worry, despair and fear.
In the battle between flesh and spirit, the weapons of the Word and prayer guard my heart and mind. To walk in His Spirit is freedom, and to do so requires repeated and continual surrender. Yes, I have been saved and am born again (John 3:7), but the process of sanctification – of becoming purer and more holy and loving – will continue for the rest of my life.
As a follower of Jesus, my life’s work is to grow deeper in love with him and to share that love. The flesh cannot do this. So, to pray and praise, to read and study enables His Spirit to fill me. More of you, Lord, and less of me is the heart’s desire of Believers.
So we to study and live, surrendering our flesh; we draw closer and closer to the person God has created us to be: in His image. That’s why taking nothing for granted, we read, study, pray and praise.
Come Holy Spirit, fill us to be more like you. Prepare us for all you have for us, so that we may overcome every obstacle and rejoice in all circumstances.
This quote – which is actually my own – hangs beneath a magnet on the fridge and is referred to by members of my family periodically. As we continue to wrestle, and to fight the good fight, we need to remember the reality of opposition.
When we seek God’s Call and choose to walk in His ways, our flesh tends to resist surrender. Or sometimes people throw doubt our way; our faith can be shaky and vulnerable to opposition. And then there’s the enemy himself, throwing problems and complications at us, trying to force us to give up.
But God is sovereign. He knows our Call and everything we face is preparation to enable us to fulfill it.
Thankfully, it isn’t in our own strength that we are called to fight. Instead God gives us what we need to face the opposition: He gives us grace, the fruits of the Spirit and the gifts as well.
“It’s not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts” (Zech 4:6)
Quite simply, in order to be prepared for God’s Call, we need to face and overcome opposition. It is through opposition that our character is built. It is through opposition that we learn to rely on God. It is through opposition that we discover the authority and power of God that is within us.
This is my perspective on the Christian Journey. My ambition is to enable all of you to move forward on that journey.
Today I want to start with a rallying cry. We may face hurdles but none we can’t overcome. Where there is opposition, there is triumph. Where there is pain, there is breakthrough. And where there is the LORD’s will, there is abundant joy.
The Call of God is to be discovered, embraced, and lived. Therein is fulfillment – both for God’s purposes and to our reward. I hope and pray that each reader will receive what s/he needs in order to continue on the path to perfection: fully human, fully alive, fully satisfied that s/he is living the life God has created.
This newsletter marks the re-launch of “Soaring Post”. It has been dormant for many months, as I focused on fiction and on making guest contributions to other sites (see below for links).
Many new people have joined. Welcome to each and every subscriber, old and new. I hope this new phase of our adventure with Jesus will bear much fruit for God’s Kingdom.
In Christ we are all on the same page 🙂 but I’d like to take a moment to introduce the newsletter and LARUS PRESS, so that we are all in the same paragraph.
“Soaring Post” at LARUS PRESS exists to prepare you for God’s Call.
If like me you believe time is short, there is no time like the present to give God our All. We rely on the Bible, the inerrant Word of God. We depend on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who dwells within every believer. We are called to “be strong” and to persevere against inconveniences, obstacles and opposition, so that we can grow in love and overcome fear.
Isn’t the goal for every believer to become all loving and completely fearless?
My passion is to be prepared to be all God has called me to be. I want that for you as well, so that you can achieve your purpose, as you grow more and more like Jesus.
There is no greater satisfaction than to fulfill God’s Call in our lives. There is no greater peace than in knowing we are in His perfect will. There is no greater joy than to experience fully the life we’ve been given to lead.
God’s Call on my life is to discern, watch and pray. My call to action is to write my discoveries in order to encourage, prepare, illuminate and motivate all of us, so that we can bring God glory and we can experience the satisfaction, peace and joy God has for us.
“Sarah Tun @ Larus Press: Building the Kingdom one Reader at a Time” means recognizing the challenge to become the persons God has created us to be, so that we do all God has given us to do.
Let us allow the LORD to unveil His plan and timing for each of us. Please embrace with me: the beginning… God bless.
And if you have 3 friends for whom you’d like the same, please forward this on, that they too might board this new train.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
“…I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 20:17)
We have surrendered our life and our will to God. We want to utter His prayers and do His works, based on His will and not our own. Jesus said we can move mountains if we have faith. Bathed in prayer, we can walk in the Spirit and not in the Flesh.
But how can we be certain we are praying the prayers of the Holy Spirit? How do we pray God’s prayers and not our own? Is there a ‘ceiling’ above which our prayers do not rise, unless they are prayers inspired by the will of the Father?
I’d like to suggest a strategy that works for me, to help me be ‘less of me and more of God’ in my day-to-day walk.
1) ‘He who waits upon the LORD shall renew his strength’ (Isaiah 40:11)
As I wait in a quiet place I find God joins me. As I make room for Him, he shows up to inspire and to lead me ‘beside still waters’.
2) ‘All scripture is God-breathed’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
As I sit, reading and re-reading a passage of scripture, those words become alive, guiding me and inspiring me. Through the Word of God I hear the Will of God on a daily basis.
3) ‘I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength’ (Philippians 4:13)
Expecting God to speak or to move through my prayers and my actions creates in me humility and hope. I can’t make Him do as I please but I can expect Him to respond to the prayers and intercession He has anointed me and inspired me to pray.
4) ‘Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness’ (1 Chronicles 16:29)
When I pray in tongues, when I sing or dance as led by God’s encouragement and freedom, I begin to lose myself in worship and adoration. When that happens I am beginning to enter into a private place with the LORD where He draws me close, speaks to me and leads me in His way everlastingly.
5) ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.’ (Matthew 7:7-8)
Breakthrough comes when we wait, spend time with God’s Word, expect Him to come, and worship Him. This is not a formula but a promise.
If we want to ‘live and move and have our being’ in Him, we need to commit our way to Him and He will give us the desires of our heart. Meditating with Him will draw our desires toward Him and His will can be done on earth in and through us, His surrendered servants.
Ready: Decide to spend quality (and quantity) time daily with the LORD
Set: Choose a time and space that will ensure freedom from distraction
Go: Start tomorrow: Commit your way onto the LORD and He will direct your path
Ready: When I want God’s will in my life, how to I overcome the urge to have my own way? How do I surrender to God’s will? How do I find God’s will and yield my day-to-day life to Him?
Set: I know God’s will is superior to mine, in power, in goodness, in wisdom. But sometimes I just want to do it my way. Sound familiar? Even Paul wrestled with his will, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Romans 7:19) How can I surrender to God, when my will seeks its own way? Our flesh is strong – not just the physical part of us but our soul as well. Our soul or mind is made up of our will, emotions and intellect. But we also have a spirit, which is that which separates us from all other living beings, and is revived through our faith in Jesus. Though the will may seek its own way, our spirit hungers for God. Our spirit is superior in wisdom to our soul, and just as we can be led by our will, so too can we learn to live by the spirit.
1. Daily, hourly, moment-by-moment, seek for God’s will to be done in your life.
2. Surrender your soul (will, emotions, intellect) to your spirit
3. Surrender your spirit to the Holy Spirit
4. Discover the power of your living spirit over your willfulness. Therein is life!
Go: Be refreshed now, and be willing to allow your living spirit to lead you closer to the LORD God and to life as He wills and purposes for you.
What is the difference between Jesus as Lord and as saviour?
Life is a journey of decisions and experiences, achievements and mistakes, victories and defeats. When we choose to live a life surrendered to the creator of the universe, we have peace with God, man and ourselves. We have the assurance that every outcome is within His purposes and for our ultimate good. There is a difference between Jesus as Lord and as saviour.
Ready: If you have become born again, you are saved by God’s grace, and you have received eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8) Jesus is your saviour. But have you surrendered your life to his Lordship?
Set: When we allow Jesus to be our Lord it means we follow him, we surrender our lives to his will and direction. Jesus as Saviour means our spirit is reborn; Jesus as Lord means we allow him to lead us, even into the valley of the shadow of death; yet will fear no ill.
To receive all God has for us, surrender is the key. While salvation leads us in to eternal life in Heaven, surrender ensures life on earth is within the Father’s will. When we know we are within the sovereign will of God we have peace – peace that passes all understanding.
If you have hard decisions, are stressed or confused, suffer persecution or prejudice, you can rest assured that the LORD God, in His sovereignty, is aware of it. He has allowed you to be in your current situation for your ultimate benefit. He does not will that any perish. When you surrender to Him, you can be certain that the creator of the universe, with ultimate authority and power, has things in hand. There is nothing that passes His gaze or awareness.
1. Choose to place your life into His hands, surrendering your will to His.
2. Trust God. He loves you; he knows you intimately, and has placed the deepest desires and passions within you and wants them to be fulfilled.
3. Search even the nooks and crannies of your will and yield them to the Father. In this you will find peace.
Go: Surrender! God has the best plans and purposes for us. His protection is complete. He even watches our backs! So, we surrender, knowing ‘not your will but mine Lord’ is the safest place we can be.
“Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; Thegloryofthe Lord shall beyourrearguard.” (Isaiah 58:8 NKJV)
