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For many years we have been warned that a financial storm is coming that will pale the great depression. It appears that a storm has come in part in the years of 2001 and in 2008, with yet more on its way in coming years, maybe even the fall of 2015!? Theses same people say it is only a matter of months; before the financial thunder roars again, and the rain pours and the floods wreck and distort many lives, both of the saved and the unsaved. Well the fact is we can see all the signs to this happening in these the end of days for earth. I often thought that perhaps I would totally escape these hard times and it would be my children's children who would experience them; but now I know that all living on the earth right now will experience many of them them together. Recently God the Holy Spirit gave me new insight into how I might respond during this time, just before The Lord "catches away" His Bride to take her to His Father's house. I can say now knowing Him and His goodness, I have "No Fear of the Storms" which are to come because He is in control and I believe that with every fiber of my being. Amen! In His graciousness God the Holy Spirit also gave me insight into how to prepare before any storm hits, and how to endure it when our lives begin to RAGE all around us. There is a KEY a BIG one, so lets go on. TO WEATHER THE STORM, ANY STORM WE GO TO PSALM 1:1-6 WHICH LETS ME KNOW THAT I NEED TO MAKE THE WORD OF GOD MY NUMBER ONE "DELIGHT!" WELL YESHUA THE MESSIAH IS THE WORD MADE FLESH! (JOHN 1:1-14) Now these Scriptures have been some of my favorite words in the Scriptures for many years. TRUSTING GOD involves finding pleasure in God's Holy Word so that we think and consider IT throughout our day, letting the Word dwell richly in us, allowing Him lead and guide our lives. Not my will be done, but Your will be done is one of the best prayers we can pray I believe. Now, this is not always an easy task for us, but a very needed one by every Believer (Christian) who claims they love God. But how is this done you ask? It is done by us "continual focusing on GOD, and wanting His BEST for our lives." And when we do this, submitting out will to His, it will bring real prosperity and much comfort to all in need of a touch from GOD. Psalm 1 1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the Toarh of the LORD, and on His Torah he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of (living) water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so with the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows far away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. I Love The Prophets The Prophet Jeremiah adds additional detail to David's words when he writes that the roots of the tree "shall NOT SEE when heat comes" (Jeremiah 17:5-8). Think about that this way: there may be troubles on every side; everything has been taken from you; your life is on-the-line everyday; yet you do not FEEL the HEAT (the pressure, despair, rejection, worry, etc. of it). I think this is a very COOL way of putting it. Of course it is incredible to consider this, but hard times can be experienced without being overwhelmed by them. This is something I am learning as I get older each day and feel my body failing me. Understand that God is in CHARGE of all Storms, He thinking I know He will get me through this one too. I tell you this now, no matter what you are going through, you are going THROUGH it with the help of the Lord if you are focused on Him! Amen. I do think the to living through a STORM without FEAR is to saturate and delight yourselves FULLY in God's Holy Word, looking for Yeshua at ever turn. Look forward to reading and meditating upon His Word in greater ways than you would delight yourself in going to the movies or spending time with your friends. That is what I do every summer on vacation. For two months every year, I try really my best to bring my full attention on God in nature. Oh I focus on God every day of my life, but even more so during the hot Arizona summers. Truly the Creation speaks to me and always gives me a "new hope in God." I cannot look at a bird, tree or flower, even a river without being blessed by His wonderful creation. Then knowing God made me in His own image, and that He loves me so much no matter what I may be going through, just blows my mind in such a good way. I am in "AWE" of God and that is the way it needs to be for every one who is in love with Him. THE RABBI SHA'UL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Apostle Paul (really the Rabbi Sha'ul) to me is a great example of one man who has NO FEAR of the STORMS. The good rabbi knew he would experience persecutions in every city he would enter (Acts 20:22-24), and he did, yet he writes that "none of these things MOVED him, neither did he count his life dear to himself." For me his words are a big WOW to me, and it reminds me I am not there yet Lord, but I want to be! Rabbi Paul's focus was NOT upon his great troubles, but upon the things of GOD and his mission for his Lord. His focus on GOD raised him high above even the preservation of his earthly life. One word of caution needs to be added right here: The rabbi knew the certainty of God and his faith was not rooted in ideological mombo jumbo, but in his "experiential meeting with Yeshua, His Lord." And so I believe God raised Paul up as an example to be emulated by us. You and I can have the same kind of faith that rabbi Paul had, so we to can say with Paul in our STORM: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Yeshua, that the life also of Yeshua might be made manifest in our body." (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). TO WEATHER THE STORM JAMES 1:2-4 REMINDS ME THAT THE STORMS OF LIFE ARE FAITH RELEASERS AND HIGHLY BENEFICIAL, BUT NOT ALWAYS EASY TO BEAR. Take a look at this passage from the Apostle Yacov (James), it's the very first ones I put to memory back in 1985 when I first got saved: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the testing of your faith works patience in you. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect (fully mature) and whole, wanting nothing." (Yacov - James 1:2-4 AGI) Notice that Yacov encourages us to "recognize that it is a good thing when troubles come our way." Why? Because troubles develop patience and patience grows us into the perfection that is Yeshua. Troubles are the stress agents that help us to grow and release our FAITH in GOD and His WORD, which it both written and Living in the person of Yeshua. (John1:1-14). Okay, how do you know if you are living by the faith of Messiah? You will NEVER know if your life is stressless and trouble free, God told me. The only way you will know if you are patient is if someone tries your patience; nor will you know how loving you really are if you don't have opportunity in your life to be MUD (Mean, Unkind, and Despicable) to someone, and we all have been one time or another. If you say you've never been like MUD to someone, honey you are lying for sure. Everyone has if beam MUD if they are part of the human race. And the way to know if you truly TRUST GOD is to consider your response if you lost your job, life savings, or health in my case. God, who is good, has ordained troubles and temptations (testing) to be faith developers for Believers, no matter what that "faith teacher-preacher" told you. Hey listen, I don't like it, but that is how He does it, and I have seen it over and over again in the lives of people who love and trust in God. I do not believe God puts anything on us, like sickness, but He does "allow" the enemy of our soul to have his way with us at time. If you do not believe that, then stop here and read the book of Job. God's desire is NOT to help us build a life on earth, but He desires to "train us" to become His sons and daughters and kings and priests in His Eternal Coming Kingdom. We are in "training for reigning" papa Billheimer use to say all the time on TBN. He wrote the book entitled many have read entitled: "Destined for the Throne." "If we are held in bondage to demons of fear, sickness, disease, or limitation of any kind, it is only through ignorance of what Christ has done for us, or by forgetting who we are in Him." (p. 91) But ignorance is only part of the answer, and not the whole story as to why God sometimes allows these things to test us. I am charismatic in much of my belief system, but on this point I see charismatics are not in-line with God's Word, but E. M. Bounds' is. I recommend everyone read his book: Winning the Invisible War. That book was written in 1984 I believe, and I was saved in 1985, and it was one of the first books I read as a new Believers in Jesus. A real Classic! GOD'S CURRICULUM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The curriculum for this training is simple: don't put your trust in anything that this world has to offer; TRUST in GOD ALONE. Though He is unseen, God is not nonexistent as some think. He will take care of each of us when we STOP trusting those things we can SEE (Matthew 6:19-34) and live by faith following Him. To help develop our TRUST in Him, He might take away all of our resources if necessary, I have seen this happen to a few people, it is not nice when it happens, but God does in the long run work it for their good, Romans 8:26. It is when our resources are gone that FAITH can be released in the way He wants it to be. It is when troubles arise that our faith comes alive. Amen. Faith also comes alive at that time we need it, not a moment too soon or too late. This is how God works, we have all seen this, and if you have not seen this, you've not been a Christian for long! The prophet Elisha was promised a double portion of Elijah's spirit if he SAW him taken from the earth (2 Kings 2:9-10). Elisha SAW Elijah disappear with the Chariots of Fire and received the double portion that he asked for (2 Kings 2:11-12); yet he did not know or feel that he had been empowered until he put-into-action what he SAW Elijah do that he knew God's empowerment: He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Yardan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? And when he also had struck the waters, they parted here and there: and Elisha crossed and went over. (2 Kings 2:13-14). Elisha struck the Yardan God's power was "known" at the "point-of-contact," the very moment the cloak struck the water. God is not interested in helping out with any of our whimsical faithless fancies we pray, but He will be there for us at the very moment we exercise our Faith in GOD. Peter and The Lord on the Sea Shimon Peter also illustrates this lesson in the Gospel of Matthew 14:26-31. Yeshua was walking on the water that faithful day so long ago now, and Shimon Peter asked to walk on the water in the storm also. Yeshua told Shimon Peter to come, and he did get out of the boat, yes he did, but looking at the storm all around him, Shimon Peter was afraid and began to sink like a rock fast. Yeshua did not help Shimon Peter until Shimon Peter cried out, "Lord, save me!" It wasn't until he put-into-action his voice and cried out to Yeshua that Yeshua saved lifted up Shimon Peter. God's POWER was "known" at the "point-of-contact," the very moment Shimon Peter cried out in his sinking. In Luke 8:22-25, when Yeshua was in a ship with His disciples, Yeshua was fast asleep when a STORM came filling the boat (ship) with water, and putting everyone in jeopardy. The disciples were helpless and really quite clue-less, not knowing that God was with them in the ship. Yet Yeshua continued to sleep, oblivious in the natural to the storm, until His disciples came to Him and woke Him up, saying "Master, Master, we perish." Then Yeshua Messiah arose, and rebuked the winds and the raging sea to stop. Thus Yeshua ended the STORM, calming the sea and their fears of drowning for sure. Once again, God's power was "known" at the "point-of-contact," the very moment the disciples woke Yeshua up from His deep sleep. I love the Bible stories because they all give me great HOPE that He is faithful, even when I am not. The assurance here is that when we are in the STORM, A STORM, The Almighty God will take care of us when we NEED Him enough to cry out in our despair, at the very moment when our "faith and crises merge" together. GOD IS PERSONAL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I do not know about you and what you have been through or going through right now, but I know God can and will help you if you CRY OUT for HIM with a heart to know Him. I have been in many many storms during life, at 34 years of age I had ovarian cancer, but I praise God I lived and did not die by the great grace of God, even when I was not living for Him. He is so faithful! I have had other very nasty things in my life that have afflicted me over my life, but I tell you the truth, in every storm I've been in, when I'd cried out to God for HELP, He showed up to save me and give me His peace in my storm. Nothing is to hard for our GOD! Amen. TO WEATHER THE STORM, THE FOLLOWING SCRIPTURE REMINDS ME THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE WHEN WE ARE IN THE STORM, HE ALWAYS HAS AND HE ALWAYS WILL. Scripture: Psalm112:7-8 The Promise: No fear during hard times. The Requirement: Make sure heart is fully focused, established and trusting in The Lord of Glory, the ONE who made you and knows what it is you need. Scripture: Psalm 31:19-20 The Promise: God will protect us. The Requirement: Fear and Trust in God, not people, money, job etc. Scripture: Isaiah 34:2, 8; 35:3-4 The Promise: God will come and save us. The Requirement: Be strong in The Lord and fear not. Scripture: 1 Samuel 4:3 The Promise: God will protect. The Requirement: Take God's Presence with you everywhere. Let Him do the driving. Scripture: Isaiah 40:28-31 The Promise: God will give power and strength. The Requirement: Wait upon The Lord and be Renewed, resting in Him is a must. Scripture: John 14:27 The Promise: You will have Peace during trouble times. The Requirement: Look up, fully TRUSTING God for Good things. One day we may face a very bad storm, we need to prepare now for that by reading our Bibles. These two steps are key: 1) make the Scriptures our number ONE delight and pleasure, and 2) we need recognize that storms come to "develop and grow our faith" so LOOK for HIM and CRY OUT LOUD like Shimon Peter did. You may hate this word today, but storms do grow us in ways we cannot fully understand until they have passed and we look back and say, "Yes, it was good I was afflicted Lord." My word for you during this kind of season is simple: "Stay strong, stay on fire for the things of the Lord, for in truth God's holy written Word has all your answers. So read it everyday!" - Adah Guzman _________________________________________________________________ When the days are long, and sorrows from all sides are found Will the Living Grace of God comfort; will it in you, abundantly abound??? I am praying for you and I am sure if you Proclaim His Word, Pray to Him in earnest, and Praise Him in your storm Things will abound to your good because God is GOOD all the time! Shalom, pass the message on for God's glory! _________________________________________________________________