I opened Oswald Chambers' devotional reading for today and meditated long on this passage: "A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought - 'What a fine person that man is!' that is not being a true friend of the Bridegroom; I am increasing, He is not."


I personally do not think there is anything wrong with sharing our testimony of what God has done for us (or through us). One hopes that in doing this it will build up another's faith and bring encouragement. However, I believe I know what Chambers is talking about and the caution he is bringing us. I've experienced it myself. My years of walking with the Lord have been so incredibly blessed and I certainly do give Him all the glory for that! But I am sitting here recalling quite a number of times when I would return from mission trips to Kenya or Nepal or Peru or Russia, so eager to share all that God did and the miracles I witnessed. One day, with great exuberance and joy I shared how I laid my hands on a very young boy who was blind in one eye and how I watched in awe as God created an iris, then a pupil, and the young child covered his good eye and then squealed with delight when he could see out of the new eye God had created! The person I was sharing with shrank back, lowered his head and softly said, "God has never done anything like that when I pray. I guess I'm not worthy of it." My heart sank. I was increasing, God was not. Though I meant to testify of God's mighty power, this man interpreted it as Chambers said: "What a fine person that woman is!" But then he felt unworthy to be used of God.


Another time I was sharing with a woman in a church about how life-changing a trip to Israel can be. "I felt the Presence of Yeshua in every footstep, and I came to know Him as never before!" I exclaimed. Her response was almost one of resentment. "That must be nice. I will never be able to afford to go there." What did I do wrong in testifying about my joy in the Presence of the Lord?" Clearly I presented what the Lord did for me instead of presenting Himself. 


I believe in the power of second witnesses. It's biblical! So when a word came through my email this morning from Pam Jackson (a word sent not just to me but to hundreds), I knew I needed to write this blog and share with all of you. This must be something that's on God's heart for each of us in this season.
Pam Jackson
March 25, 2025. How brightly are you shining? Are you at 100 watts or are you at 50 watts? Are you shining or are you just flickering? It’s time for you to fully shine in My light. When you try to shine in your own power, you will start to flicker then you will completely burn out. So let Me charge you daily so you shine brighter and brighter. You will be a light in the darkness.
2 Corinthians 4:6 (MSG) “Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.” 
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In light of this "double message" I'm going to try to concentrate on simply shining the light of Yeshua brighter and brighter...without drawing attention to myself. All I am, really, is a messenger, an errand runner from Him to you!

Looking through my OLD blog files for something specific, I "inadvertently" came across this Blog I posted on August 22, 2010. That was written almost 15 years ago, and yet the message is incredibly relevant for this Purim of 2025.  I don't believe I came across this blog by coincidence because with God there are no coincidences! I'm re-posting it below:

STOPPING CLOCKS
An unsual series of events transpired today. I am out in the Seattle area, caring for two grandchildren while my son and his wife are away on a trip. I was sitting with my 11-year-old granddaughter on the couch when she turned around to check the time on the microwave clock. "It's not really 10:20 is it?" she asked, surprised. I looked at my wrist watch and it said 11:40; then I glanced at the microwave and sure enough, it read 10:20. "I guess there must have been a power outage," I told her, and I went over to reset the digital clock. About 15 minutes later I walked upstairs and went into the master bathroom. I glanced at the clock on the wall and it was stuck at exactly 10:20! This clock was battery-operated, completely unaffected by electrical power! I was stunned.

About 30 minutes after that my cell phone rang and it was a dear sister from my home fellowhship. I told her about this strange experience with the clocks stuck on 10:20, and she responded, "Daniel."

"What?" I asked her.

"Daniel is what instantly popped into my spirit," she said. "Daniel 10:20, but I don't know what it says."

I went immediately to my bible to look up the verse, which reads, "...Soon I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia..." Once again I was stunned. Aware that over these past two days Iran (modern Persia) has been powering up their nuclear reactor, this region has been strongly in my prayers, and I have been pleading with the Lord to give clear wisdom and direction to the leaders of Israel in responding to this situation. The Prince of Persia is surely a principality that has been in operation since ancient times, with the specific goal of annihilating the Jewish people, in order to eliminate the seed (Messiah) of the Woman (Israel). In these days, the God of Israel is getting ready to fight against the Prince of Persia in order to establish His Throne over all the original boundaries of the Land of Israel.

After pondering all this, I eventually was on the weather channel website and my eye caught a headline that said "Tropical Storm Danielle Forms in the Atlantic." Daniel? 10:20? Is all this somehow related?

The region where the Iranian nuclear reactor is located is a territory known as Elam in ancient biblical times. Elam is mentioned first in the geneaology of Noah, Genesis 10:22. Then in Jeremiah 49 there is prophecy that has never been fulfilled, with the subtitle A Message About Elam: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the heavens; I will scatter them to the four winds and there will not be a nation where Elam's exiles do not go. I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives; I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce anger,' declares the LORD. 'I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her kings and officials,' declares the LORD."

I cannot say that I fully yet understand how all this ties together, but the God of Israel is clearly reaching through time, even stopping clocks, to get our attention. When these prophecies are fulfilled, the evil principality of the Prince of Persia will be replaced with the Everlasting Throne of Yeshua, and He will reign forever! Amen!