NOT LIKE THE WORLD

 JUNE 2016

1 Sam 8: Israel demands a King. ( to be like the "other" nations ) Selah.

Sitting here in my quiet time ( as much as I can with chicks and doggies and a kitty which helps me to understand Mothers needing space ) and opened the Bible and it fell to this passage. Sometimes I just start reading where it opens to and keep reading until His Spirit starts talking.  Sometimes I use a Devotional or maybe I will pull the notes from Sunday's Message or maybe something sparked from a pastor on TV.  Don't ever get hooked on "one" way of spending time with the Father.  He may want to speak to you via a different means and you wonder why you can't hear from Him.  Sometimes I don't even open the Bible but just take some time listening and He begins to talk - many people in other nations do not even have the Written Word - they only have the daily Spoken Word in their heart as they follow Christ.

Anyhow just reading and meditating on this.  The people wanted a King, in fact they "demanded" a King.  Sorta interesting that we get ourselves in a frizzy sometimes to the point of "demanding" .. hum .. from GOD.

Part of the blame did lie with Samuel's sons who were suppose to be leading the people according to GOD's way, but they themselves had gotten away from GOD. You can not lead people in GOD if you are not being led yourself by GOD. So a warning for me to keep my heart continually seeking after GOD so what I give to anyone is HIM.

The people of Israel were watching the nations around them ( error number one ) and began to desire what they saw ( error number two ) which is sorta like Adam and Eve with the forbidden in the Garden.

When the people came to Samuel and demanded a King, Samuel took it personal.  God corrects him gently and tells him that it is not Samuel they are rejecting but GOD HIMSELF.  Remember, when people reject what you say or do, it is not you - it always go back to rejecting the ONE whom you serve.  We need not take it personal which then enables us to move in compassion for their soul and not resentment for their rejection.

So to my mediation and thoughts .....

The Church should be leading the World in all aspects but yet we fall prey to the deception of the enemy that says we are lacking in some aspect of life.  Be it clothing ( yes I am brave enough to speak on this subject ) or sexuality or possessions or even Family. Yes, Family - which has become a major idol in the Christian realm.  I was listening to a pastor on James Robinson the other day and he wrote a Book "War of the GODS" and he spoke very clearly on how we have made the FAMILY into an IDOL. Yikes ... I will share on another segment what GOD showed me on this years ago when I decided to follow Him, no matter what or who.

GOD instructs Samuel to allow the people to choose a King ( God is never caught unaware and had already been grooming one in the fields tending sheep ).  HE also instructs Samuel to explain to the people what a King will do and demand from them.  Demand is a two-way street or a Give and Take you might say.  In Chapter 8 verses 10-18 the demands of a King are laid on the table.  But still the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel ( remember they were not rejecting him but GOD ) It is good to note that Saul whom the people chose was selected due to outward appearance also.  The Desire of the Eye will hook us all the time if we are not careful.

If you will take time and read these verses it is very interesting how they gave up their Freedom and their possessions for the BLING of what they saw on the surface.  We need to remember the surface is only polished and shining to attract, but hides what is lying underneath that needed to be polished in the first place.

There is only one thing that satan wants to do .. and does .. every day .. every second.  His desire is only to lead people astray from GOD the Giver of Life and to bring them to the same DOOM that is waiting for him at the end of the AGES.  Satan is so jealous of the fact that GOD has provided a means for us to fellowship with HIM and better still HE paid the PRICE that we do not even have to earn it, that he works his devious scheme to attract us to make us think we are "missing out" on something that is offered by the world.  And when I say "world" I am not talking about person or people in particular as I am talking about a system that operates according to satan's way.  He is the god of this world - which means it is under his control - and like a king, he demands. And he demands "more" all the time.  He will never be satisfied until you are destroyed.

I am going to touch on the "clothing" mentality in the world today.  See, when I was still on the other side of the bridge serving the god of this world - he was very demanding in the aspect of my body.  There is a reason that when Adam and Eve gave up their Freedom in the Garden and opened the world to satan's kingship, GOD came and clothed Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness. They tried to do it themselves but the exposure they created demanded more than what they could do themselves to coverup or regain back what they had.  To every RIGHT there is a WRONG and this goes for everything that GOD created.  GOD created us to be beautiful in ourselves as the exact Image of GOD - and satan does his work to destroy us because he knows what the Exact Image of God is and he hates us for it and tries to keep us from the true beauty which radiates from within not without.  Satan strives to have us working on the Outward beauty which will fade away with time and age.

As God covers and protects - satan uncovers and exploits for his own use and depravity.  In my years before Christ I thought to be beautiful and accepted I had to exploit myself and expose myself to be like the world.  I thought I had to dress like the world not understanding that the world was only working to destroy me and to keep me from the One who created me to be the exact image of Him and that the Beauty was from the Inside Out.  When Adam and Eve opened the door for satan to have the right for kingship on earth - it opened up a kingship of "demand" and "exploitation" of what GOD had originally created.  Satan will always attempt to exploit and destroy anything that smells, looks or taste like Heaven.  He was kicked out due to his rebellion and he sure is not going to sit back and watch as we enter into the Blessings of our Creator without doing something to try and derail us.

One of the first areas of the Holy Spirit working on my outside once He was established on the Inside was the ways I dressed this Vessel of God.  No, I did not get my hair pinned up in a bun or wear dresses to the floor to cover my ankles but I did begin to allow the Holy Spirit to instruct me in how to dress this Vessel for God's Glory so that I was not attracting by merely the outside but with what God was depositing on the Inside of this Vessel He had taken Ownership.  And I began to live in true Freedom in this area of my life.  I was no longer seeking after the world's way for acceptance - I was seeking after that inward satisfaction where I could be out there in the world but the world did not hold the "demand" on me to be like it.  So the more I grew to know and understand the Lord Jesus the more I began to cover up and protect the vessel He had chosen to take residence.  If we understand that the Father through the presence of the Holy Spirit dwells within this vessel it sure changes how we dress, feed and present our vessel.  If we understand how satan desires to steal, kill and destroy this vessel through whatever means; whether physical means or immoral means, I think we would be a little more wise and careful as to what we allow and how we present our vessels.

I have had moments where I struggle with this but I always come back to the heartbeat of Christ and what His Purpose is on Earth and in and through this vessel that I have been given ownership of.  Some may argue that they are not doing anything particular in order to be defiant with God or be like the world - but I argue the fact that I had been there and done that. If I look in the mirror and view my appearance as "appealing" or "to be desired" then I question my actions. If my heart is to reach people .. I must desire them to see past the physical as the physical is temporary but the Treasure of the Kingdom hidden in my spirit man is eternal.  I am not stating we must look like Rug Rats but there is a dimension of Christ that attracts people to Him that makes a difference for eternity in their lives that goes beyond our physical outward appearance.  One lady pastor put it this way when she would prepare to preach - she would raise her arms to praise the Lord and in doing so making sure what she had prepared to preach in did not distract from what she was preaching about.

In the Garden when GOD had created Adam and Eve or mankind in His Image - HE had clothed us with His Holiness and Righteousness and His Glory.  When we became NAKED before GOD and lost this Covering He had to provide a temporary covering until Christ completed the Work on the Cross to bring us back to the original Image which we will see once Christ returns.

Satan is always at work for us to "uncover" and "expose" and be "naked" in sensuality which perverts the purpose and plans of God for our vessel.

You need only to read the newspaper headlines and you see this in full play via Sex Trafficking and other perverted actions that humans do to other humans whether man or female.

The clothing industry has devalued the human body to be a piece of meat on display for whatever usage a person would deem fit.  And the Church has swallowed it hook, line and sinker to be "part of the crowd" and to "fit in".

It begins as being "cute" with little girls and we allow our little ones to fall prey to every demon of depravity and then we sit back and "wonder" how these young ladies could go that way or do such things.  They were exposed to his tactics as little girls in wearing "cute" exposing clothing and then he demands more as they grow older. If they are not nurtured in a loving and accepting environment then they begin to give more to the god of this world looking for love and acceptance. We can point our finger and our words all we want - but we need to start taking responsibility and taking our children back from the world's way of thinking about ourselves or viewing ourselves.

We need to begin to choose to "cover" and "protect" that which God sees as sacred and of value just like He did in the Garden when He "covered" Adam and Eve with the skins of animals.  If God saw the danger in the "exposure" via the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil .. we must also see the danger of exposure and choose to value what God values and to cover what God covered from the very beginning.

When I look in the mirror I want to see what pleases God .. not what pleases man.  To go even deeper when I look into the resources of my soul, I want to see what pleases God .. not what pleases man OR myself.