Random April Musings

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

Stand fast… stedfast… half of this year’s word God gave me to concentrate on for 2023. Cara Whitney points out that wild horses seem to be free, but horses need help from humans to survive. Humans living without Jesus think they’re living free, but looking for love and provision in all the wrong places is not freedom. Knowing Christ frees us from the law of sin, death, and lack. God’s freedom offers us what we long for: unconditional love, purpose, and meaning. The yoke of Jesus is light, freeing, easy when you walk with him. Our adversary, the devil, is a hard taskmaster. Our selfish, fleshly nature is no better. Let’s surrender daily to our Lord and walk in true freedom.

‘Wild Horses’ pages 220-221 Cara Whitney from Unbridled Faith

9. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10. who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

11. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. 1Thessalonians 5:9-11

Uta Milewski titled today’s devotion, Courage. God sad he’s done his part, so whether we live or die, we live together with Jesus. Praying in the Spirit builds us up so we can encourage each other. Praying in tongues, even for a short while each day, results in big change over time. Join in and see how you will become a source of courage for others, participating in the Kingdom of God. This explains what’s happening in my life these days!

12. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2Timothy 3:12-13

As I’ve said, my first book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, is available for purchase. It is not without persecution… let me explain. I have been working with my publisher and librarian to schedule a date to promote my book. The date has changed three times, my book printing being delayed. My books came in God’s Kairos time, my second word for 2023. This brought the first snag, not enough time for the library trustee board to read my book before promoting the event. I immediately signed a book for each of the 9 trustees, thanking them for being my pre-readers. I checked in with the librarian about a week later to set another date. She said she’s not gotten my book to all the trustees yet. Also, she is not allowed to use the library name for any promotional materials if it’s a Christian book or church event. I could see if the person scheduling the community room would let me schedule, then she could do the promotion without the library name on it.

The second glitch was that my Facebook account got scammed, and when I tried to log in, the password I’d recently changed, due to another scam, was rejected. After going through Facebook security measures, I was totally locked out. So, I made a new page. In my first post, I told how privileged I was having my Facebook scammed and blocked just when I was promoting my Christian book. Several people commented, giving links to use to unlock my original account. My so, Chris, messaged me not to click on any of them, they’re scams! So, if you’re friends with me on Facebook and get a friend request from me, it’s legit! Look for the selfie of me with Joyce from Tanzania on the profile.

I’ve been playing phone tag with my publisher, Sabrina Adams, for a week. I finally got her on the phone. She’s in the hospital, and they’ve found cancer has spread throughout her body. Last week, she told me that on the way to her treatment for the first cancer, she was ready to give up. In a vision, God told her she had two choices. He could end this and take her to heaven, or he had a mandate for her to start a publishing company named Zoe Life and publish Christian books for His glory. We’ll, you know which she chose. In the middle of publishing my book, her breast cancer was reoccurring, and she had a radical mastectomy. She refused chemo but agreed to radiation. She went for treatments for about a month, but chose to quit because it was taking so much out of her. Join me in praying for a miracle, complete restoration of her health!

For such a time as this! Keep tuning in to my musings, I will be making dates for signing events and will keep you posted. You can purchase my book, Musings Along Life’s Journey, at http://www.zoelifebooks.org, and if it still says, “Coming Soon,” ignore it because you can still order my book there.

Jesus paid it all! His precious blood is still available. Let us appropriate it!

The Thrill/The Agony

The Agony

Luke 9:23 Then He [Jesus] said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

The Commission

Luke 10:2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.

The Joy

17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

The Truth

18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

The last book I finished reading, The Thrill of Victory The Agony of Defeat from Randy Clark’s Message Series is one I got when the Global Awakening team came to our church. Randy Clark has spent decades learning about healing and shares his experiences. This short book explores our responsibility Jesus gave us to heal the sick and what that looks like. We receive power and compassion from Jesus and in His compassion, Randy admits there is a high emotional price tag that comes with praying for the sick. A man who came to Randy’s Baptist church to lead a healing workshop said this:

“Don’t say this doesn’t work until you have prayed for at least 200 people because some of you will start praying for the sick and will not see anybody healed a few times and will quit. But I am telling you, do not quit or say you did not get anything until you have laid your hands on 200 people and you, yourself have prayed for them. If you will do that, I promise you will be hooked for life because you will see people healed.”

page 6

Randy has found that victories and defeats go hand in hand with healing, as ABC’s Wide World of Sports used to say, “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”. I encourage you to read the quote from page 6 and take some time thinking how it applies to you.

Randy shares five principles for healing, cautioning that principles cannot be made into laws. The five principles are:

  1. faith

2. sin blocking healing

3. the anointed person

4. feeling the anointing

5. moving with compassion

Healing can work through anyone willing to let the Spirit flow through them. All these principles are true, and these things give confidence to step out in faith, but they don’t always work. Healing works even if there’s little faith on your part or the other person’s, even if there’s unconfessed sin, if you are not anointed to heal, don’t feel the anointing, or feel no compassion. I see this as key to walking out the Christian life. If something works, we take the principle and make it a law. Since God can’t live in a box we make, we cannot pin down what will work every time and have to be open to the flow of the Spirit. Randy says:

“The whole point of this two-part booklet is for you to believe that God can use you. That you personally can experience the thrill of victory.”

page 21

Randy Clark shares many examples of his experiences. Many healed, others who were not. It’s a real taste of the victory and the agony he has personally experienced. I recommend this book as great encouragement for anyone wanting to see God move in and through them to keep going.

Every day is a new day to serve the Lord, every night is time to give thanks and let God speak to you in your dreams.