Joslyn Rose Ervin

Good Morning, You are warmly invited to join me for a daily scripture break. Hebrews 4:13: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Fingers are pointing in all directions. The election cycle for 2028 has begun and it is interesting; everything is up for grabs. One might ask, what can I learn from our culture at this specific snapshot in time?  As voters, Americans represent a myriad of viewpoints. As Christians we are expected to judge and select the person who best personifies those things we hold so dear.  This process of discernment will take time. However, I believe the most constructive action we can take at this very moment is to prepare for spiritual battle; as we must paddle against the stream and examine ourselves. So how do we prepare for spiritual battle? Consider this as your start point: what am I trying to hide from God?  What do I mean by that? What am I justifying to myself that God’s Word instructs me to address?  I unequivocally believe the Holy Spirit is instructing us to be faithful Christians and obedient followers. Many were disheartened by the results of the midterm elections last week.  Sometimes, the Lord allows things to happen that appear to be detrimental but He will orchestrate circumstances for our good. Also, our culture is so corrupted we can’t allow ourselves the luxury of naivety any longer either; God 's judgment is evident in our land. Let’s begin where we are. So I will ask again.  What am I trying to hide from God? What am I justifying to myself that God’s Word instructs me to address? Is it unforgiveness towards someone, did I lie, cheat or steal something that wasn’t mine, did I commit acts of immorality, the list goes on. We must encourage one another to share our insights.  We obviously can’t control the unscrupulous behavior of our political leaders but we can seek to be informed and meticuously search the flawless guidance of the Holy Spirit. How?  We can prepare ourselves for spiritual battle.  The first step is what I want to spend our time together studying. What I am justifying in my life that God’s Word repudiates?   This is where we, as Christians are vulnerable to the whispers of the enemy because we convince ourselves that all of the commandments we faithfully observe and the works of goodness and mercy we perform for the Kingdom of God, well that's good enough.  It is better than most people. Whatever the sin is - stop and acknowledge this too must go.  Before we approach God to seek forgiveness we must acknowledge the underlying problem. We are intentionally ignoring sin - something offensive to God. Why am I going on about this? Because "...wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it." (Matthew 7:13) God doesn’t expect perfection from us. I believe He's delighted when we demonstrate we love Him so much we don’t want to sin, because we don't want to offend Him (not just to avoid eternal damnation). Please take a second and review these scriptures that reveal to us that there is nothing that can be hidden from God. 1. Psalm 139:1-4 - "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.” This passage so eloquently describes how God has an intimate familiarity with us. He knows our character, our inclinations, our humor, our pain; He knows us completely.  So that there are no barriers between us and God (and sin creates a barrier between us and God); we are instructed by the Holy Spirit to correct our error and re-establish our harmonious communion with Him. This is such a beautiful passage because it clearly refutes the idea that God is far off from us; a disinterested bystander in our universe. No, on the contrary.  We all know we will be waging a full scale spiritual war for the soul and survival of our nation. You should lay bare before Him; aligned in purpose with His Will. 2. Matthew 10:26 - “So do not be afraid of them (local councils, governors, or kings), for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” As we have discussed many times, II Chronicles 7:14 is our blueprint to pray exactly what the Holy Spirit informs us. It says, "if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 1. Humble yourself and be willing to lay bare before the Lord. 2. Pray. 3. Seek My Face - With the help of the Holy Spirit, we seek specifically how and in what manner to pray. 4. Turn from my wicked ways - all of them.  God doesn’t negotiate; we either choose to obey or reject His commandments. And when we have done these things; THEN God will listen to our prayers - forgive us - and heal our land. If we try to ignore any of these steps then we will not be heard and we will lose our land because there are forces determined to destroy this land. They don’t even hide their intentions anymore because they think they have already won. So just let the Holy Spirit give you the perfect utterance for your prayers to God. 3. I John 1:8-9 - "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” So I will ask the question again. What are you hiding from God?  What have you justified in your life that is contradictory to God’s Will? Is this secret thing more precious than your relationship with God?  The fact is we can’t obscure anything from Him. 4. Psalm 32:5-6 - "Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all the faithful pray to You while You may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.” God faithfully listens to His faithful children who seek forgiveness for their sins and reconciliation with their Lord. We expect God to hear us and forgive us and reconcile with us. Now, He promised He would justly forgive our sin and reconcile with us; never forget that. God is also a just God and our nation has greatly sinned against God. Let us, His children obediently with a loving heart to the best of our ability be faithful to His Word. 5.  I Timothy 5:24-25 - "The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.” No one is getting away with anything; good or bad all deeds will be revealed.  Some of you last week were down in the dumps because you thought God didn’t answer our prayers.  First and foremost, God’s timing is always perfect. Trust Him completely; a spiritual warrior will make sure they have done all they were instructed to do - trust your training. Secondly, example after example in the Word of God, the Lord has proven He will never leave us or forsake us. 6. Proverbs 28:13 - "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” 7. Jeremiah 23:24  - "Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord." In this verse, God Himself confirms nothing is hidden from Him and so I implore you to check yourself.  Be honest with yourself and if you are not sure, ask the Holy Spirit. If you get quiet before Him, the Spirit will show you what you need to do. Repent of all sin in your life. For those of you who have been injured by others whatever the deed, forgiving the offender isn’t letting them get away with it. Take the pain, the hurt, and the burden and lay it on the altar of God.  God wants you to let Him carry the burden; He will in turn grant you peace and healing. By forgiving those who have harmed you in any way, you must forego any vengeance and let God handle it.  That is what He expects.  Reconciling with someone who injured you and yet hasn’t asked for forgiveness and repented is not God’s expectation. You forgive and then rest in His peace. (That was for someone out there.) Identify your secret (we all have one) and seek forgiveness with God so your prayers will be heard by God.  We need to prepare ourselves so that we can effectively join the Body of Christ for the days ahead; waging a spiritual battle on behalf of the Kingdom of God (we all have different callings - fully embrace your calling like a faithful servant in the vineyard.) Many blessings to you. Peace and be prepared.