Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. (Psalms 126:5 NKJV) Three years ago, today, I published my book entitled God’s Sovereignty and Our Responsibility: His Heart for All Men. Today, I celebrate that highpoint. For over eighteen years, feeling a special “calling” from the Lord, I sought the Lord, I labored with the Lord, and I wept in prayer for the book’s release. (The book carries a message of the Father’s heart that burns so deeply within me.) Finally, in the Lord’s perfect timing, the book was ready for publication. Today, would you celebrate with me God’s faithfulness to do? And would you agree in prayer with me, also, that this book would fully bear its fruit—and only good fruit that remains?  The freewill offering—God ordained it. The reality of man’s free will has been greatly debated. Some would say that, apart from God’s making him, man has no ability to even want to go God’s way. Some would debate that Scripture says nothing about the existence of a free will. Agreeably, the wording of “free will” might not often be found within Scripture, but instead just be implied through scriptural context. Yet significantly, the Lord did label a type of offering that would be given, calling it a “freewill offering.” Consider the following: “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. . . . And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.’” (Exodus 25:1-2, 8-9 NKJV) “The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the LORD, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the LORD, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.” (Exodus 35:29 NKJV)
“For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,” (2 Corinthians 8:3 NKJV) “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12 NKJV) “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV) The church is being built in the heavenly pattern of God’s tabernacle (Heb. 8:5)—as a temple “being built together as a dwelling place of God” (1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:19-22). Likewise, just as was with the tabernacle, God relationships are being built through men's free will offerings. This continues to be by God’s design. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17 KJV) Recently, I have been encouraging prayer—from the point of having victory. After all, is there anything too difficult for God (Jer. 32:17)? And yet, there is more to the matter—and perhaps a testing point. Not only must we stand with faith, but we also must stand with forgiveness in our hearts. We must forgive; for unless we forgive others, the Lord will not hear us (Ps. 66:18; Col. 3:13; Mark 11:25-26; Matt. 18:32-35). “‘And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.’” (Mark 11:25-26 NKJV) We must love even our enemies—above all, we must put on love (Luke 6:27; Col. 3:14). We must leave room for God’s vindication in the trial of our taking offense.
Recently, through a loan, my husband and I enabled one of our kids to be released from a major burden. At first, that one had resisted, not wanting us to be bothered—then, finally and thankfully, there was a giving in. Our feeling such a great joy in seeing the debt released, the Lord then gave analogy to that which is in His heart. He reminded: Our Father in heaven loves to forgive debts—it is nothing that causes Him strain to do. Quite to the contrary, it brings Him great joy! This indeed is the heart of our Father. The heart of our Father is big (Matt. 7:11; Luke 15:17-24).
Years ago, while considering what may be more deeply “at root” concerning abortion, I felt the Lord respond: “It begins in the church—when we’ve lost the joy of new life.” Today, I feel the Lord, again, would remind us that the church is salt and has had an effect upon that which is around us. So, concerning abortion, might we all agree in prayer for the following?
Even at root with the above:
Concerning the issue of life, would our Father in heaven condone the act of an abortion? Would our Father in heaven choose to abort, for some, the opportunity ever to have life in Him? As pointless as such questioning may seem, isn’t this how certain teachings, within the church, have represented the heart of the Father? Sadly, wrong thinking and agreements concerning our Father in heaven may have given the enemy inroads concerning much. Accordingly, as His people (and for His people)[1], we must break all agreement (1 Cor. 5:1-2, 6-8) with distortions of the heart of our heavenly Father, we must bring down strongholds and lies that are exalted against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:3-5), and we must cry out for an awakening of truth.
[1] Note: even though our own hands may be clean, the sins of a few have an effect on the many. “When one part suffers, we all suffer” (1 Cor. 12:26); “a little leaven [in the body] leavens the whole lump (1 Cor. 5:6).” Specially, today’s Bible App (YouVersion) “verse of the day” is on the fear of the Lord. The Word declares, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). And yet, do we know what the fear of the Lord is? Do we know what it means? Isn’t our God approachable, and isn’t He a God of love?
As it happens, oftentimes, the Lord even would have me pray for this, as the foundational need in people. I pray, with faith, that He’d put the fear of Him within people’s hearts so that they’d seek Him and not depart from Him (Jer. 32:40). I pray for people to know that He is Worthy and that He is God and they are not. Noticeably, the Word further speaks: "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths." (Proverbs 5:21 NKJV) Surely, in order to fear Him, we must know the Lord’s greatness. We must know that He is the One who sees—and that nothing can escape Him (1 Pet. 3:12; Rom. 2:2-11; Heb. 10:26-31). |
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