The LORD has been speaking to me about all the many people who are spiritually asleep in this time. And He began to make it very personal to me as He showed me how easily I give in on some days to the temptation to "just veg" and watch a movie with John, forget about starting our day reading His Word or even blow off the little voice in my ear telling me that my body needs some exercise!
Apathy has overtaken us on many levels. Perhaps this happens when we come face-to-face with the reality that we want to contribute to the good and make changes in our government, only to find that we aren't even in a constitutional republic anymore and there is no avenue for us to take. Perhaps apathy sets in when we get excited about sharing the Gospel with others around us, and for the most part no one wants to hear. So as I've been pondering those thoughts, the Spirit has led me to several scriptures that have really shaken me awake! I do believe that we really ARE in a season when God wants us to come out of our apathy, pursue a deeply close relationship with Him, and begin to follow the instruction he wants to give us. It is to be a season of awakening spiritually slumbering people - and it starts with us! Isa. 52:1 1 Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! This verse illustrates for us that to be awake is to be clothed with strength, splendor and light in these dark days! It is to shake off the “dust.” We are covered with apathetic dust particles. The Lord calls to us, "Free yourself from your chains!" I think we are chained by this modern world of DISTRACTIONS. Cell phones, Facebook, Instagram, TV....these are all things that keep us chained and prevent us from spending intimate time with the Lord. Let's take a look at Matthew 25:5-9: The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' " 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'" ALL the virgins became drowsy and fell asleep! That is the season of the past few years - a time of spiritual slumber. But then there is a midnight cry, a great blast of the shofar, when Yeshua, the Bridegroom comes, and they all awaken. The virgins who did not have oil in their lamps desperately seek those who DO have oil and beg them "Give us some of your oil!" But those who do have oil reply, "Go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves." This used to be very astonishing to me and I could not understand why, as a Spirit-filled believer, I would not be willing to share my oil with someone who has none. Then the Spirit showed me what this oil represents - the ONLY thing I couldn't give my sisters and brothers even if I wanted to: A RELATIONSHIP WITH YESHUA. He showed me that each one has to cultivate that precious, intimacy with the Lord for themselves and they cannot get it from someone else. The virgins who did not have enough oil in their lamps, and then were prevented from going into the Kingdom with Jesus, the Bridegroom, had been lazy, asleep for a long time, and maybe even disinterested in knowing Him. Matthew 26:40: Then Jesus returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Yeshua was in the garden waiting for those He knew would come to arrest Him. He wanted His disciples to be near Him, close to Him, sharing this agonizing time with Him. I wonder, is that US? Is our slumber keeping us from sharing some incredible, cross-bearing time with our Master? Our scarcity of oil prevents us from yada- knowing HIM and his ways. Yada is the Hebrew word for "knowing" your spouse in deep intimacy. It's time for us to wake up and seek Him! Proverbs 6:9-11 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. Being spiritually lazy results in poverty - financially, physically and spiritually. Dry, thirsty, uninterested, without faith; unprepared for His coming and caught like a thief in the NIGHT. Ephesians 5:13-16 says, "But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Messiah will shine on you. Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." We live in evil (dark) days. Messiah calls, “Wake up O Sleeper! Rise from the dead! Apathy sets in, there is no desire (or time?) to want to study His Word, and spend time with Him. I confess that when one day sort of melts into another, with little change and no variety, I become lax and find it hard to invigorate myself and motivate myself to spend time with my Heavenly Bridegroom. But He tells us that when we DO SPEND TIME WITH HIM, HE WILL SHINE ON US AND THEN WE WILL REFLECT HIM TO OTHERS! Mark 13:32-37: But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” This is, as you know, something I've always loved to do. This blog is called "Doorkeeper Watch" because I truly do love to watch what is occurring in the world and track it with the Word of God. In this way we can glean important insight as to where we are in the Bible prophecies we've been given. And in this way, we will not be found sleeping when He comes. Remember that the Bridegroom came while five of the virgins were out looking for oil from somebody else and they MISSED HIM! A beautiful verse in Song of Songs 2:10 says, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with Me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.” Winter in this text referred to spiritual barrenness. The Lover calls, "Now winter is over, come with Me and participate with Me in this great harvest!" Song of Songs 2:14-15: "My dove in the cleft of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face. Let me hear your voice. Catch for us all the little foxes that ruin the vineyards." This is Yeshua (the Lover) saying, “Show Me your face.” That means, “Look up! I’m here, near you – let me hear your voice – TALK TO ME!” The phrase "catch all the little foxes" is a Hebrew idiom for distractions. What constantly distracts you from spending time with Him? Song of Songs 5:2 says, "I slept, but my heart was awake. Listen! My Lover is knocking: 'Open to Me, my sister, My darling!'” Think about that for a minute: "I slept, but my heart was AWAKE." What does it mean to sleep with your heart awake? I believe it means that the Holy Spirit will speak in dreams and visions – or a voice in the night. Be ready with a journal! Have your spiritual ANTENNA UP! Job 33:14-18 14 For God does speak—now one way, now another-- though man may not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, 16 he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 17 to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, 18 to preserve his soul from the pit his life from perishing by the sword. I want to be heart-awake from now on, all through my days and all through my nights. I believe that time is growing very short and if we are still slumbering in apathy, we may miss some very glorious and exciting things that the Lord has planned. Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor! Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned! Free yourself from the chains on your neck! And be sure to have plenty of "oil" in your lamp!
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I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. (Jeremiah 23:3)
I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isaiah 41:18-20) I have been rejoicing that John has so enjoyed all the wee parties and birthday celebrations I've given him this past week. He made it clear to me, early in our marriage, that he disliked birthdays because of so many painful childhood memories. How wonderful that God has carefully, gently erased all those memories that prevented him from marking his years with joy. This year, his 76th, he opened gifts and blew out candles and celebrated, even as the remnant of Israel came back to the Land and flourished! John was born in 1948 and I've often wondered if our generation - the generation that was alive when the announcement came over loudspeakers that Israel had been granted statehood - might be drawn by the Spirit into the love and support of Israel. Perhaps this is why he and I have gone back home to Israel so many times, to touch the soil, prayer-walk the land, and connect deeply with the people, forging friendships from across the globe and pouring out love-blessings on them. How grateful I am that the Lord God brought me such a faithful husband, who is a part of the remnant of Israel! Even when English words fail him he can still recite the Hebrew blessings over the bread and the wine. I am grateful too that Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet are taking a strong stand this time and not making compromises with the evil nations who forever seek to destroy them. Our God has written a very strong warning in his book about anyone who pushes the division of HIS Land and then brings it to pass: I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Y’hoshafat [Adonai judges]. I will enter into judgment there for my people, my heritage Isra’el, whom they scattered among the nations; then they divided my land. (Joel 3:2 CJB) Israel is indeed a sovereign nation that has every right to defend itself in accordance with modern international law. But she has every right to defend herself based upon a much more everlasting, ancient, time-honored document: the WORD OF GOD! I tremble to think what will happen to our own country if this administration continues to push the division of the Land of Israel in order to establish this so-called "Palestinian state." I wonder if you have taken the time to research the history of this term "Palestine." It involves a fascinating turn of events in Israel's modern history, but nowhere does it actually refer to a legitimate country. If you've been wondering "Where is Palestine?" and you begin to search, I believe you will find that it exists only in the minds of the politicians who are woefully ignorant of Scripture, as well as history. The name Palestine has always represented the world's opponents to Israel's right to possess the Land (the WHOLE Land). The Anti-Defamation League states that the phrase FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA “would mean the dismantling of the Jewish state (from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea). It is an anti-semitic charge denying the Jewish right to self-determination, including the thorough removal of Jews from their ancestral homeland.” Some believe that the term Palestinian refers to the ancient Phoenicians - or Philistines. Jeremiah 47:4 says, "Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon (modern Lebanon) every helper who remains; for the LORD shall plunder the Philistines, the remnant of Caphtor," referring to Crete, a people who are not and never have been native to Israel. Originally the Greeks dubbed the land of Israel Philistia; and the Greeks and Cretes were opposed to the true Israel, in favor of Greek/Roman culture. Later the Land of Israel was named Palestine in an attempt to erase Jewish heritage. (Hasn't that always been Satan's number one objective?) It wasn't until the 1967 war in Israel that that the Arab peoples claiming to be "Palestinians" came into vogue. As Bill Cloud stated, "The term 'Palestinian' was weaponized in order to demonize Israel. The slogan 'Free Palestine!' is a fantasy designed to erase Israel's true history - much as the slogan 'Cancel Culture' is doing in America. We know that Psalm 83 mentions the nations whose agenda is "Come let us destroy them (Israel) as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more. With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you - the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, of Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, Philistia, with the people of Tyre. Even Assyria has joined them to lend strength to the descendents of Lot." I was there, in Jerusalem in 2005 when the Jewish people were forced to leave their beautiful homes and lush gardens on the seacoast of Gaza in order to allow the "Palestinian people" and Hamas, their elected officials, to take over the whole strip of land. I saw these grieving, now homeless Jews, carrying away a suitcase, wandering the streets, trying to find a place to stay. It vaulted me back to the spine-chilling photos of the ghettos in Germany and Poland during WWII. So, do I hate the people who are calling themselves Palestinian? My personal answer is, "No, I hate their agenda. I stand with those who love the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and I am against those who want to destroy them." Those are not the people, by the way, who lived all around me on the Mount of Olives when I spent months living in Jerusalem. They were Arabs living among Jews who actually love Israel, who work in the fields alongside the Jews, and who invited me into their homes for coffee and kunafa (the best pastry I've ever tasted!) Much of what is taking place in this horrific war is foretold in the pages of Scripture, and it is there that we find true understanding. That is why I am encouraged that Israel is finally recognizing who they are as the apple of God's eye. IDF soldiers are praying and worshiping their God in the battlefields. Secular Jews are flocking into Messianic congregations to ask "Who is this Yeshua?" God is working. God is always working to bring His Word to pass! And I am praying that Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet will continue to take a strong stand against the nations who want to divide God's Land. It seems to me that they are awakening to the Word of the Lord who says to His enemies, "The One enthroned in Heaven laughs; the LORD scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.'" (Psalm 2:4-6). King Jesus! He will come and He will reign forever! Let these passages from Isaiah 60 be the prayer on our lips over God's beloved people and over all who have joined themselves to Him. Let these words that He uttered through the mouth of Isaiah resound throughout the earth and awaken many peoples: 15 “In the past you were abandoned and hated, so that no one would even pass through you; but now I will make you the pride of the ages, a joy for many generations. 16 You will drink the milk of nations, you will nurse at royal breasts and know that I, Adonai, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Ya‘akov. 17 “For bronze I will bring you gold, for iron I will bring you silver, bronze in place of wood, and iron in place of stones. I will make shalom your governor and righteousness your taskmaster. 18 Violence will no longer be heard in your land, desolation or destruction within your borders; instead, you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. 19 “No more will the sun be your light by day, nor will moonlight shine on you; instead Adonai will be your light forever and your God your glory. 20 No longer will your sun go down; your moon will no longer wane; for Adonai will be your light forever; your days of mourning will end. 21 All your people will be tzaddikim; they will inherit the land forever; they will be the branch I planted, my handiwork, in which I take pride. 22 The smallest will grow to a thousand, the weakest will become a mighty nation. I, Adonai, when the right time comes, will quickly bring it about.” Shabbat Shalom! |
AuthorKelly Ferrari Mills SubscribeArchives
February 2025
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