Pam Funke's Blog, page 5
October 22, 2012
A Call to a Captive People
Have faith in God, He will lead you through whatever trials and tribulations that come your way. Trust Him! Every time that you get an opportunity to do something for God, it is an honor and a pleasure. Even if it is just giving someone a ride somewhere or saying a kind word to someone.
"Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chain on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion. For this is what the Lord says: "You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed." For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately Assyria has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?" declares the Lord. "For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock," declares the Lord. "And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I." Isaiah 52: 1-6
The definition of captive is one that is taken as a prisoner or exiled from his/her homeland. Those that are under the power of the devil and you do what the devil says. When you allow yourself to fall deep in love with the devil and he takes complete control over you (your heart and your mind) you do what the devil says.
Israels had many years of being in captivity. This was a tough time in their lives.
"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy." Psalm 137:1-6
In the middle of the night when you are going through a situation and you are wondering who you are going to call for help. Just call on Jesus! He can and will take care of it.
Call to wake-up
Call to get-up
Call to dress-up
Sometimes some of us are hard to wake-up as we have too many doubts. Sometimes we have to go through things more than once in order to get our wake-up call. Wake-up from despair.
Sometimes ins life we have to move from where we are so that we can be where God wants us. You talk about what you don't have now. Wait a few more years. Let us wake-up and understand clearly what's going on.
Some of us want everything to come to us, but we need to get-up out of our situation. The Lord will always make a way somehow. It doesn't matter what's going on around us, but we are too comfortable where we are. We need to be able to get-up out of our comfort zone sometimes and be willing to do what God asks of us and do it with gladness.
God pour our your spirit on us! It's time for us to start standing up and doing what God has called for us to do. Jesus will wake you up! He will pick you up! He will dress you up! Jesus will place you on solid ground.
Wherever you go you should be spreading the good word and allowing God's light (love) to shine through you.
When Jesus touches your heart you can see better. You can love better. You can understand things better. When you get-up you better stay up! Don't allow your trials and tribulations to stop you and bring you down!
God will never let you down if you stick with Him.
"Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chain on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion. For this is what the Lord says: "You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed." For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately Assyria has oppressed them. And now what do I have here?" declares the Lord. "For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock," declares the Lord. "And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I." Isaiah 52: 1-6
The definition of captive is one that is taken as a prisoner or exiled from his/her homeland. Those that are under the power of the devil and you do what the devil says. When you allow yourself to fall deep in love with the devil and he takes complete control over you (your heart and your mind) you do what the devil says.
Israels had many years of being in captivity. This was a tough time in their lives.
"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy." Psalm 137:1-6
In the middle of the night when you are going through a situation and you are wondering who you are going to call for help. Just call on Jesus! He can and will take care of it.
Call to wake-up
Call to get-up
Call to dress-up
Sometimes some of us are hard to wake-up as we have too many doubts. Sometimes we have to go through things more than once in order to get our wake-up call. Wake-up from despair.
Sometimes ins life we have to move from where we are so that we can be where God wants us. You talk about what you don't have now. Wait a few more years. Let us wake-up and understand clearly what's going on.
Some of us want everything to come to us, but we need to get-up out of our situation. The Lord will always make a way somehow. It doesn't matter what's going on around us, but we are too comfortable where we are. We need to be able to get-up out of our comfort zone sometimes and be willing to do what God asks of us and do it with gladness.
God pour our your spirit on us! It's time for us to start standing up and doing what God has called for us to do. Jesus will wake you up! He will pick you up! He will dress you up! Jesus will place you on solid ground.
Wherever you go you should be spreading the good word and allowing God's light (love) to shine through you.
When Jesus touches your heart you can see better. You can love better. You can understand things better. When you get-up you better stay up! Don't allow your trials and tribulations to stop you and bring you down!
God will never let you down if you stick with Him.
Woot there it is
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mery, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deed s and glorify God on the day he visits us." 1 Peter 2:9-12
"No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:37
Have you ever worn a mask? A false face. They are usually designed to disguise our appearance. The fun at a masquerade party is to try to determine who is behind the mask. Well, some of us wear a false face or mask every day of the year. They are a great pretender. They are deceptive and hide the real agenda behind their mask. Some pretend to love although they really do not; some have even pretended to be Christians. But God knows the real you.
How do you recognize a real child of God? It is not just in what they say, but it is in their actions and life style. Be true and dedicated in your Christian service and remember whose you are. If we really knew who we were in God we would not hang our heads down so much. Things in life would not bother us so much. God empowers us with the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us.
Let your light so shine before men. The world cannot take it from you. Do you know how much swagger you have in Christ? You've got to know who you are. You cannot mess with what God created. God designed each of you to be who you are. If you want a good man/woman, then stop trying to be who you are not. Women stop revealing your bodies, be modest and cover yourselves. Likewise men, pull up your pants no real woman wants a man with his underwear hanging out. Just be yourselves and stop thinking that what we have (material things) or don't have defines who we are.
We can be easily recognized because we are God's special people. So what if we don't fit in with the world, we weren't meant to. We were meant to stand out and be a beacon for God. "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6 Don't depend on man to do everything for you--you need to depend on God!
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." You are redeemed, bought with a price. Jesus has saved our whole lives. Who I am is not what you see on the outside but what is on the inside. When you receive Jesus you become a peculiar people, a chosen generation. You don't need the world to dictate who you are.
"No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Romans 8:37
Have you ever worn a mask? A false face. They are usually designed to disguise our appearance. The fun at a masquerade party is to try to determine who is behind the mask. Well, some of us wear a false face or mask every day of the year. They are a great pretender. They are deceptive and hide the real agenda behind their mask. Some pretend to love although they really do not; some have even pretended to be Christians. But God knows the real you.
How do you recognize a real child of God? It is not just in what they say, but it is in their actions and life style. Be true and dedicated in your Christian service and remember whose you are. If we really knew who we were in God we would not hang our heads down so much. Things in life would not bother us so much. God empowers us with the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us.
Let your light so shine before men. The world cannot take it from you. Do you know how much swagger you have in Christ? You've got to know who you are. You cannot mess with what God created. God designed each of you to be who you are. If you want a good man/woman, then stop trying to be who you are not. Women stop revealing your bodies, be modest and cover yourselves. Likewise men, pull up your pants no real woman wants a man with his underwear hanging out. Just be yourselves and stop thinking that what we have (material things) or don't have defines who we are.
We can be easily recognized because we are God's special people. So what if we don't fit in with the world, we weren't meant to. We were meant to stand out and be a beacon for God. "For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." Deuteronomy 7:6 Don't depend on man to do everything for you--you need to depend on God!
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." You are redeemed, bought with a price. Jesus has saved our whole lives. Who I am is not what you see on the outside but what is on the inside. When you receive Jesus you become a peculiar people, a chosen generation. You don't need the world to dictate who you are.
Help is on the way
Press your way through, God's got something waiting for you. Don't give up! Don't get discouraged. Keep praising Him no matter your situation!
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." Psalms 121:1-8
Guess what?? I got news for you, your help is already here.God has not changed. What you need is already here. God is unchanging. Everywhere you turn there is always something going on that affects you. (both good and bad) God is revealing people and things for what they really are. We are allowing the things around us to hinder our growth in Christ. God is transitioning the church to where He needs us to be.
Lift up your eyes to whence cometh our help. Quit looking down and allowing yourself to be despondent. Deliverance will always rise you up above your situation. Remember all of your help comes from the Lord! We serve an on time God. Although He may not come when we want Him to, but He always shows up right on time. He wants us to exhaust all of our abilities so that we will depend completely on Him! Quit trying to do God's job! Allow Him to fix all of your cares instead of trying to fix them yourself and messing it all up! Remember that there is a God and we are NOT him. So just allow Him to fix all of your problems and trust Him! Stand on your principles of God; don't allow the world to dictate who you are in God!
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
Seek God first in all things. God loves us, He cares for us, He cares about our well-being. God never sleeps; He's always on the job. He is keeping us, He allows us to press on. God is our right hand (authority). God will not allow the heat of your circumstance to take you out; He will see us through it. Hold onto God's unchanging hand.
Remember that joy comes in the morning, so there is no need to worry or fret. God will not allow us to go through anything alone. He will never bring more than we can bear. He will always walk with us. God has us in a spiritual mason jar. Nothing can come in and nothing can go out. Our help (God) is already here. Things are always going to happen~things that we don't like or don't understand. Don't allow it to stop you from being who you are in God!!!
Remember these two things:
Our help is already here
We have a lot of work to do
When you stand before God, you will have to stand lone to defend yourself. There will be no lawyer, no public defender to defend you. It will be you and you alone standing before God. So make sure now that you will be ready to do so.
Ask yourself:
Where do I stand spiritually?
Where is my spiritual relationship with God?
Am I where I need to be?
What do people see when they look at me?
Am I allowing Jesus' light to shine through me in all that I do?
Now give it ALL completely over to Christ! Your heart, your mind, your body, your soul, your family, your finances, EVERYTHING!!!! Allow God full reign of your life and never worry about anything again.
"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." Psalms 121:1-8
Guess what?? I got news for you, your help is already here.God has not changed. What you need is already here. God is unchanging. Everywhere you turn there is always something going on that affects you. (both good and bad) God is revealing people and things for what they really are. We are allowing the things around us to hinder our growth in Christ. God is transitioning the church to where He needs us to be.
Lift up your eyes to whence cometh our help. Quit looking down and allowing yourself to be despondent. Deliverance will always rise you up above your situation. Remember all of your help comes from the Lord! We serve an on time God. Although He may not come when we want Him to, but He always shows up right on time. He wants us to exhaust all of our abilities so that we will depend completely on Him! Quit trying to do God's job! Allow Him to fix all of your cares instead of trying to fix them yourself and messing it all up! Remember that there is a God and we are NOT him. So just allow Him to fix all of your problems and trust Him! Stand on your principles of God; don't allow the world to dictate who you are in God!
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
Seek God first in all things. God loves us, He cares for us, He cares about our well-being. God never sleeps; He's always on the job. He is keeping us, He allows us to press on. God is our right hand (authority). God will not allow the heat of your circumstance to take you out; He will see us through it. Hold onto God's unchanging hand.
Remember that joy comes in the morning, so there is no need to worry or fret. God will not allow us to go through anything alone. He will never bring more than we can bear. He will always walk with us. God has us in a spiritual mason jar. Nothing can come in and nothing can go out. Our help (God) is already here. Things are always going to happen~things that we don't like or don't understand. Don't allow it to stop you from being who you are in God!!!
Remember these two things:
Our help is already here
We have a lot of work to do
When you stand before God, you will have to stand lone to defend yourself. There will be no lawyer, no public defender to defend you. It will be you and you alone standing before God. So make sure now that you will be ready to do so.
Ask yourself:
Where do I stand spiritually?
Where is my spiritual relationship with God?
Am I where I need to be?
What do people see when they look at me?
Am I allowing Jesus' light to shine through me in all that I do?
Now give it ALL completely over to Christ! Your heart, your mind, your body, your soul, your family, your finances, EVERYTHING!!!! Allow God full reign of your life and never worry about anything again.
October 2, 2012
The World at War
The second book in my new exciting Christian thriller series The Four Horsemen will be released soon.
Join us as General Alexander Ludlow continues on his mission to save the world. At least that is what he thinks that Operation Dark Angel is all about. He is however starting to suspect that this mission is not all that it's cracked up to be. The world is in complete chaos as major nations wage war on each other. The fighting continues as the world is on the brink of World War III. Nicolaitanes Balac is steadily gaining political power and recognition. The entire world is watching this one man and wondering if he will be the one to save them from the chaotic spiral that the world is headed towards. Can he save the world? Do we even want him to? Is he really who he appears to be or is he something much more sinister?
Join us as General Alexander Ludlow continues on his mission to save the world. At least that is what he thinks that Operation Dark Angel is all about. He is however starting to suspect that this mission is not all that it's cracked up to be. The world is in complete chaos as major nations wage war on each other. The fighting continues as the world is on the brink of World War III. Nicolaitanes Balac is steadily gaining political power and recognition. The entire world is watching this one man and wondering if he will be the one to save them from the chaotic spiral that the world is headed towards. Can he save the world? Do we even want him to? Is he really who he appears to be or is he something much more sinister?
