"He Who Has Ears, Hear What the Spirit Is Saying"

I love what Jeremiah 9:23says, Thus says the Lord; "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight." says the Lord.

We are living in a time where God is going to get the glory! He alone deserves it. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Praise God that Jesus did not fail. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross. Lift up the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is worthy.

I can remember being a child and first learning about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. I still recall the way it made my heart feel knowing that God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die in my place. My mind could not comprehend that kind of love. Later in years when I held my newborn baby in my arms I wept again at the thought of this immense love that God has for me.

Who could sacrifice a child to pay the penalty of sin for a world that would prove to be ungrateful and selfish? Only Jesus, the hope of glory in us. Who can understand the height, the depth, the width and the breadth of His amazing love?

When I think of the sinful nature of man, my own selfishness flashes before me. How could God send His Son in my place? I know the real me. I know the way I act when no one is watching. It still brings me prostrate before His throne to think that His love is unconditional. He who knew no sin, became sin for me!

When I was asked what I felt was the greatest compelling thought in the mind of God it did not take me long to answer. Souls! He is the lover of souls. For God so loved the world, (not the earth, but the people, His beloved children) that He gave his one and only Son. Why? That we might be reconciled to Him. Doesn't it make you want to fall in love with Him all over again.

Know that there are seasons of prayer in our lives. I feel as if I have just entered a new season. The deepness of this place that God has brought me to is immense. There are souls hanging in the balance. God is looking in our direction asking us to cooperate with heaven and cry out like never before for the eyes and ears of men, women, and children to be open to hear His voice. Do you hear His voice? Do not be like the stubborn of heart that turn a deaf ear. CRY OUT!

We are living in the last moments of time. Jesus is coming sooner than we think. Our goal should be how many souls will I have to my credit when I leave this earth, not how much stuff can I store up along the way.

Do you find yourself grieving over the condition of the world? Do you find yourself hating what you see on TV? Do you feel like you are swimming against the current? Even though many are saying things like oh it's not that bad. Watch this movie, you just have to get past the swears and there are a couple of bad scenes in there but once you get past that stuff it isn't that bad.

If you are anything like me then you are asking yourself, "Why would I go through the garbage dump thinking I am going to find something nourishing to eat"? The answer is you wouldn't. I hear others saying, "Well that's all that is out there right now"! Like that is really a defense. Here is a suggestion. TURN THE TV OFF! Concerning movies, DON'T SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY TO WATCH WHAT THE WORLD DECLARES RESTRICTED!

Should our standard be higher than the world's? If you answered yes to that question then I will ask you another. Is an R rating on a movie a low standard? Even PG 13 is very questionable. I challenge you to raise the standard. I was saddened during Sunday School one morning. I asked for children who needed prayer to come forward. Two little girls raised their hands and asked me to pray for their parents. The evening before they had been taken to the drive in movies to watch the movie Transformers. I haven't seen the movie so I cannot judge it fairly. I am only sharing from the perspective of little children who felt it was not an appropriate movie for their little eyes to view. They told me how they blocked their ears and covered their eyes because they did not want to hear the swears or see the bad stuff. "Even the jokes were not funny," they said. I know that this might sound too radical for some. These two little girls I believe were 5 and 7 years old. They heard what the Spirit was saying and to the best of their ability they wanted to obey God.

Our children are watching us. Is our response, "As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord." I do not stand in judgment of these parents. We prayed for this family, and it is a good family that I believe loves God with all their hearts. But I have to say that after hearing the girls little hearts cry out to God in prayer it shook me! It's time to raise the standard. Children are very sensitive to the voice of God. He is listening to what their hearts are crying out for. They want more of Him! Do we?

I am more aware now than ever that it is not what we say so much that matters. It is how we conduct our lives when we think that no one is watching. NEWSFLASH God is watching. I expect the world to act as though they do not know any better. They do not have the Spirit of Truth living inside of them. We do! The question is Do we truly hear what He is saying to us? I believe it is time for us to turn up our hearing ear. We can learn so much from our children if we just pay attention.

For the record, you will not go to hell because you watched an R rated movie. The Holy Spirit said that He came to convict the world of sin, and convict the church of righteousness. The word convict means convince. He is trying to convince the world that they are in need of a Savior. He is also trying to convince the church that she is the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. It has been said that we live by our convictions. Are you convinced?

Our actions demonstrate where our convictions lie. Small adjustments bring radical change. Are you in need of change in certain areas of your life? I believe we all are. I touched on one small point. Not to point fingers in judgment, believe me that is not the intent of my heart. My pastor taught me that if you point a finger at someone in order to judge that person, then you have three coming back at you. Heaven forbid! I also stand in grace, working out my salvation daily. As a Christian, and as a leader I do however believe it is time for us to raise the standard.

Sin is knocking at our door. Let's stand in agreement to keep the door slammed shut! Maybe Hollywood would stop producing such filth if we as a body refused to be entertained by it. The world is watching us. Do we stand apart? Do we look different or do we blend in so much that they cannot see any difference? If we do not stand for something, then we will fall for anything. I cannot remember who said this, but it still stands true today. Let's stand for righteousness. Jesus deserves our whole heart. When we give all of ourselves to Him then His glory has a place to rise from. Just some food for thought.

If you are reading this and have never experienced the love of God I challenge you to open your heart and invite Jesus to come in. He stands at the door of your heart knocking. He is such a gentleman that He would never force His way in. You have to give Him the invitation. It is as simple as that. It does not matter to Him what you have done in your life. There is no sin that you ever committed that would turn Him away from you. Just as you are, He loves you. He came to earth for you. You were the one that caused Him to leave the splendor of heaven and come to earth taking upon Himself the sin of the world. He loves you just the way you are. He also loves you so much that He will not leave you the way you are. He will bring you to a Higher Place.

Maybe you have tried allot of things, maybe even religion. I am not offering you another religion. I am talking about relationship. Someone who promised will never leave you or forsake you. Maybe your own parents left you. Maybe your wife, or husband, or children, or friends. Not Jesus. He will never leave you. If you knew Jesus the way I do, you would love Him. I promise you that. I would love to pray with you. If you have any question that you would like to ask me, write to me below. My hearts desire is that you would know Him. I look forward to hearing from you,

In The Master's Service,

Pastor Marie Richard

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