Seduction of Hell©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a queen named Jezebel.

Who worshipped the deities of Hell.

Seduction.

Deception.

Crafted into an evil cartel.

History is recorded for the benefit and survival of the human creation. God knew what He was doing when He created in humans the desire and need to document history for mankind.  One of the greatest history books we have is the Bible. It is an epic story of love and redemption.

The stories recorded of the Twelve Tribes of Judah are a worthy subject to research in understanding where we are today in the timeline of history. For now, let’s look at the fateful decision of the Israelite’s request for a King to rule over them.

For generations, the people of Israel were ruled by prophets and judges. All judges were prophets but not all prophets were judges.  And not all of them followed God’s ways.

The first prophet and last judge of Israel before the reign of kings was a man named Samuel.  His mother, Hannah, prayed many years that God would end her barrenness and if so she would dedicate the child to the service of God. God answered Hannah’s prayer and she bore Samuel. Once he was weaned from his mother he was sent to live and grow up in the sanctuary under the direction of Eli the high priest. Samuel was called at a very young age by God and he became a priest, a prophet, and a judge. He was highly respected by the people because he followed God’s laws.

But he was human too.

Samuel had two sons Joel and Abijah.  Like his father, Samuel, often failed to discipline his children correctly. The fruit of that failure resulted in his sons, who had also become judges, were not held accountable and became exceedingly corrupt. They were dishonest, accepted bribes, and perverted justice. 

Samuel was growing old. His time as  Israel’s Judge was ending.  The people saw the corruptness of his sons and wanted nothing to do with them. Instead, they cried to Samuel, “Give us a king like all the other nations.”  Samuel knew this was not a good idea.  He tried to warn them.  He went to God for counsel and God agreed.   In 1 Samuel 8  God said this to him:

⁷ And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. ⁸ As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” 

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. ¹² Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. ²² The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.

”Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”

The First King

God tells Samuel to find a young man named Saul and anoint him King. King Saul was the first King Of Israel. He started well but pride and insecurity caused him to disobey the things God told him to do. He is killed on the battlefield and David,  one of his chief warriors, is crowned king. King David is described as a man after God’s own heart.  He wasn’t perfect either because no human is but his heart was humble towards God so God promised there would always be a seed from his family that would rule over Jerusalem. King David  reigned thirty three years over all Israel and was loved by the people.  He kept Israel united. He passed his reign over to his son Solomon. King Solomon became known as the wisest King in the world. He was also the wealthiest.  But he did not fully walk in the ways of God like his father King David.  Remember Samuel’ s warning to the people about a king? King Solomon took wives from foreign kingdoms that became a downfall to his following God with his whole heart.  These wives caused him to worship other gods.  This displeased God and God told him He would tear the kingdom from him.    After his death revolts broke out over who should reign next. The Kingdom of Israel was split in two. The southern part was called the Kingdom of Judah. Two of the twelve tribes made up this kingdom, Judah and Benjamin.  The northern part was called the Kingdom of Israel.  It was comprised of the ten remaining tribes. They were Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, and Zebulun.

The Kingdom of Israel rebelled against God’s ways and was led astray by many wicked kings. They were filled with greed and lust for power.  One of these kings was King Ahab. He worshipped false gods. He married a Phonecian woman named Jezebel. The Phonecians worshipped false gods also. She introduced Ahab to Ba’al. Ba’al is a demonic spirit that is the primary enemy of YHWH, pronounced Yahweh which means “I Am” or “HE That Is.” YHWH is the One True God, the God of Israel and the world. Ba’al is an evil lying entity that is controlling, seductive, manipulative, and deceptive.  It could be likened to the definition of a cartel in our present world. A cartel is an entity that restricts competition and inflates prices using a combination of domestic, political, and/or international groups to gain control. I would add to that definition acts of coercion, violence, and murder. (Anything or anyone come to mind?) King Ahab built a temple dedicated to this evil god in the heart of Israel.

A Jezebel spirit, with Ba’al worship as its god, is still alive today. 

The story of Jezebel and King Ahab is found in I and II Kings. Ba’al is the demonic entity behind the evil cartels of ancient times and current times. This demonic spirit can change many forms controlling nations through evil leaders. God gave a prophecy of Ahab and Jezebel’s fate.  It wasn’t a good ending.  God gave them free will as He does for all humanity.  They continued to worship evil. What might have been their fate if they chose Yahweh instead?

How are we to be free of this demonic force which is all around us? God is patient with us, giving us much time to repent and turn from evil.  When we know the truth but choose otherwise we also  will have a bad ending.  God is merciful in His judgement against evil throughout history. But don’t mistake mercy as God winking His eye at evil. Judgement comes often at the price of your life. His mercy will include signs, wonders, prophecies, and second chances.  AND WARRIORS!  Jehu was one of God’s warriors.   

Jehu Warrior and King.       

Jehu was a great warrior who was anointed the tenth king over the southern Kingdom of Israel. He is sent to fulfil God’s Prophecy over Ahab and Jezebel. King Ahab is killed  in battle just as God said in 1 King 22. He was enticed by a lying spirit that said he would have the victory in the battle even though he heard the truth from a prophet of God named Micaiah.  After King Ahab dies his son Ahaziah rules.  He is wicked also and falls through a window of his home.  He never fully recovers but goes to Jezreel to rest. His brother Joram steps in as king. He also is wicked and God has had enough.  As these events are occurring Jehu has become a great warrior and God calls him to finally end Ba’al worship in  Jezreel where King Ahab had built the temple worship for Ba’al.  He ends the lives of these two wicked kings and then goes on to kill Queen Jezebel who has remained wicked still,  along with a great many other false prophets. Ahab’s family line continued with her in the evil worship of Ba’al. The Bible says Jezebel would be eaten by dogs and her body like dung.  She perished, (II Kings 9) along with the prophets who worshipped Ba’al and all of Ahab’s family, his chief men, his close friends, and his priests.  Jehu  called a ceremony for all the servants of Ba’al to come and worship at the place where King Ahab built the temple. The servants were unaware that Jehu was about to destroy them all.  Jehu also destroyed the temple of Ba’al and its sacred stone in Jezreel.

God was pleased with Jehu’s obedience to cut down Ba’al in Jezreel. God was almost completely reigning. Remember our free will?  God uses people for His glory even though He knows they may fail at times.  HE is always wanting us to be totally on His side but He will never force us to do so. Jehu still had idols in his heart. He continued the practice of worshipping golden calves. He did not cut down those places of worship.  His whole heart was not for the God of Israel. That little opening again led the people astray.  He reigned for 28 years over the Kingdom of Judah.

“The little opening” is what so easily trips us up. Whenever we do not fully surrender our whole hearts to God we fall prey to the influences of Ba’al.  Remember I said Ba’al can take many forms. The spirit of Jezebel is one of those forms. By using deception, lying,  seduction, and manipulation. Jezebel stole a vineyard for her husband (1 Kings 21). This spirit is so deceptive we can be enticed by our modern-day leaders who talk a lie their of democracy, freedom to kill an innocent life under the guise of women’s healthcare, change your sex as though God made a mistake, let you identify as a cat if you choose, make it their right to steal your hard earned money by increasing taxes for their pockets and on and on stealing our vineyards, our sons , our money, and making us modern day slaves to a corrupt government.  They entice others to join their deceived thinking and before you know it you have empowered the cartel with Ba’al as its god. 

The leaders of nations have a great responsibility to lead their people in truth and morality. They will answer to God for their actions even if they don’t believe He exists. Without God they are easily manipulated by Ba’al, unaware how they become increasingly evil, perverting God’s ways in all things as they continue to lie.  They are under a strong delusion.  But… that doesn’t leave us free from the effects of God’s judgements. We have the responsibility like Jehu to destroy evil.  In ancient times God wiped whole nations out for their disobedience.  When a nation repents, God relents. Like Jehu, we must become Warriors and restore God’s justice and holiness. He used a sword as his weapon. Our weapon now is through Jesus and His Authority.  We are called to be WARRIORS who pray without ceasing. The Word of God is our sword.  Read the Bible. Pray the Word over all situations and circumstances. Stay alert.

This pattern repeats itself many times in the history of man. The people who wanted a king could never have envisioned the centuries that would go on filled with evil kings who did indeed take what they wanted from the people as God said. If we consider a modern King like  King George III it may be easier for us to relate to a king who was still living out God’s warning through Samuel that a king takes whatever he wants. What spirit may have been controlling King George III? What cartel was funding his reign?  

The Bible also records the sins of perversion, abortion through child sacrifice, slave trafficking, greed, violence, murder, usurping authority, lying, and deception. Demonic spirits are behind it all. They can only operate through humans who reject God’s truth and laws. Decide today to do whatever you can to have a heart after God. All He needs is your permission and He will begin to reveal His ways and truths to you.  Keep your heart open and honest before Him no matter what it looks like around you. With Him on the throne of your heart, He is the only King you will ever need. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords who loves and judges perfectly.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Nothing surprises You. You have known the heart of man since the beginning. We humbly come before You giving You permission to search our hearts and see if there be any wicked way in us. Reveal so we may repent and have a perfect heart before You that You would hear us and answer our prayers.  We repent of our  own sin first. Then we bring before You our nation and its terrible sins. Forgive our Ba’al worship that has murdered innocent babies, and abused and trafficked children and adults. Forgive our greed and lust for power and control. In Your Name Jesus we bind the spirit of Jezebel in all governing authorities, educational places, businesses of every kind, arts, sports and entertainment, churches, and families. Make us warriors who are alert and ready to come against anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and all His ways.  In Jesus Name. Amen

---

Psalm 51:1-13 KJV

51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

⁴ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

⁶ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

 

 Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

 

The Price of Freedom©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a document written,

Against the tyrant king of Britain.

The price to be free,

Blood for liberty.

America, forever smitten.

 

Have you ever been smitten?

To be smitten is to be affected by something overwhelming. We usually equate it with the feeling one gets with love at first sight. The word smitten is mentioned 231 times in the Bible.  It is used in the context of injury or death. In the Bible story of Moses and the Ten Plagues, God smote the firstborn of the Egyptians because of Pharoah’s hardened heart. When God called on men to smite HIS enemies in the Old Testament it meant death. They were conquering evil doers who would not honor God and His Holy Laws.

Would you be shocked to know God would smite His own Son?

 It’s true. It’s found in Isaiah 53.  Verse 4 says this,  “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”   I know it seems unbelievable, cruel, and underserving. Why God? Why would you smite Your own Son?

Jesus became an enemy of God.

WHAT! Hersey. No, my friends.

Let’s look at what was going on. Verse 5 in Isaiah 53 goes on. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The inequity of all of humankind was laid upon Jesus like an overwhelming weight as He hung the Cross. We are the real enemies against a Holy God. He took all the blows and all the pain. Verse 7 continues, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”

The sin of the world being laid upon Jesus was so horrific God could not bear to look at Jesus until the finished work of the Cross brought him death. His soul was the offering for sin. The rest of Isaiah tells us this: 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus smitten so you and I could be free. He freely gave His life and blood so all men could live without fear of eternal damnation. We have it recorded in the documents of the Bible.  The Bible is the writings of how we are to live, no matter where we live.

This living document first traveled to America in 1607 by the Jamestown settlers. America has based its laws on the Bible. Our nation’s capital buildings and state houses have inscribed words taken directly from scripture. Our Declaration of Independence was formed with Biblical values of freedom and justice. Our Constitution and Bill of Rights are founded on the principles of scripture as well.

America is called the Land of the Free.

This title that all the world knows came at a costly price of blood too. America had been ruled by Great Britain for 167 years.  The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) finally ended the control of Britain’s King George III. He was a tyrant and a globalist. The blood spilled for that freedom cannot be compared to the power of Jesus’ blood.  But it certainly was fueled by the teachings of the Bible that men ought to be free, everywhere. I dare to say that America was smitten with the overwhelming truth that God has called us all to live as free men and women. And we may be called on again to defend that truth with our blood.

Galatians 5:1 KJV

5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear God,

Forgive us for so often forgetting the blood sacrifice of Your Son that has cleansed us from our sin. Forgive us for forgetting America has lived free because of the men and women who gave their blood sacrifice.  We are painfully aware of the evil and perversion in our present world. Please come and intervene in the battles that daily take place trying to ruin America and bring us back under rulers who are not tyrants and globalists.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

 

A Perfect Mystery©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was created a perfect mystery.

Only the Divine could know its full history.

Beginning to end,

Life never does end.

The mystery of life is contradictory.

 A Perfect Mystery

The mystery of life.  Sooner or later we all ask the questions, “Why am I?, What is my purpose? Many people do not bother to search for the answer. They just let life happen to them instead of life happening for them. I have fallen into this trap on many occasions only to snap out of it at the realization God is not against me. He is for me.  He wants me to succeed more than I do. In 2023. I signed up for webinars, coaching, and challenges. I listened to YouTube books while I slept. I bought cd’s on self-help. AND surely I thought by the end of the year I would be done with my books, run a challenge, and have a podcast. What happened to the whole year!? 

It’s interesting how we measure time by a year, 12 months.  If we seem to fail at what we thought would happen it can easily cause us to want to give up.  I know, I have felt that way.  I look back at 2020 and see how passionate I was with my plan to write 12 journals that would become my retirement income.  You learn much about yourself while you write. You are your own mystery. Search out your heart. I learned I needed constant prodding to keep moving forward and not condemn myself for days of not writing. I realized my day job became busier than it had been in ten years. My energy levels were depleted by the end of the week. God revealed it was a blessing from heaven that only looked contradictory. My books appeared halted as He provided many more patients making provision for a better retirement check. I am trusting in the mystery of His timing as I rest in His peace believing my books will be right on time.

To say this is 2024 seems even more futuristic than the time we were waiting for 1984 to happen. Time can appear motionless. Then SUDDENLY, like a flash years have traveled by. Our finite minds can not fully understand a God who has no beginning and no end. We live by time, not eternity.  We are told to redeem the time, the days are short, and work while it is day because night is coming when no man can work. James 4:14(KJV) Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

What happens to your life after it vanishes away? Do you just die and are no more? Does your life matter?  Does your death matter?

God is eternal.  So are we.  God is the creator of life. By His Spirit Breath, He makes us alive. God can not kill his Spirit.  Death as we know it only takes on a different form.  Your spirit will live forever once it leaves this earthbound body.  What you do now as you live out your time on earth is of great importance. The question will come, “Did I do what He asked me to do? 

These are mysteries of the Divine Word. How do we understand them? We must search the scriptures. God loves to reveal His mysteries.

The year 2024 is the prophetic sign of the open door. The new year begins in September for the Jewish calendar. It is the year with the number 4 for open doors. I wish the world had just one calendar.  Mysteries of time would not be so complicated. The debate about Jesus’ true birth circulates every year.  Why is that so important to us?  It does not change anything about His purpose.  He came to do what God asked of Him.  HIS DEATH RELEASED POWER TO UNDERSTAND MYSTERIES. His death tore the veil that kept us from entering the Holy of Holies. Heaven and Earth were united that day.  We were granted the revealing of the mysteries of heaven.

But hold up…..

It isn’t like all the mysteries of heaven suddenly come flowing into our life. We must still search them out. The bible’s definition of mystery can only be understood by divine revelation. The honor is in the discovery. Proverbs 25:2(KJV) It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.  To be a king is no light thing. It comes with trials, tests, and humility. You must honor and bow down to the King of Kings through it all.  Who is this King of Kings?

JESUS.

Is Jesus your King? If not make it so this day.  He is calling you to repent of your sins.  Do so quickly.  Ask His forgiveness. HE freely gives it.  Ask Him to come live in your heart and help you obey His Word all the rest of the days of your life.  Ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

Let’s begin 2024 by releasing all sin, pain, and disappointments of 2023.  Shut that door. The new door of 2024 is open.  We are walking through it into a new vision of more and more. Many things will seem contradictory in this new year. A mystery for sure. Search it out.  We will see mysteries unfold. It is the year of the open door and more.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

You opened the door to heaven’s mysteries through Your sacrifice on the Cross.  We release the past of 2023.  A new door is open now. The door of more. (This is your time to be sure Jesus lives in your heart, you cannot enter without Him.) We freely walk through it, knowing You are with us as we search out greater mysteries that only You can reveal.  Ready our hearts so we may truly live in the more of 2024. Send us more of Holy Spirit for divine revelation and understanding.   In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

 

 

Shield The Field©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was made a specialized shielding.

To cover man from the world’s fielding.

Epidermis, dermis,

and the hypodermis.

The skin of a man can be unyielding.

The word fielding can be used to describe a battlefield. Our current world is a battlefield. Someone or something always warring for your mind, your heart, and your soul.  But it isn’t new. It has been that way since the day Lucifer was thrown out of heaven and began his war against humanity.  He started with deception.  And he still uses that same tactic.  Like the skin of the apple as he tempted Eve, making it look so desirable, holding all the ways she could be like God. The deception of its beauty as gazed at it.  Then reaching out to take it into her own hand.  Did she pause or immediately bite in? It wasn’t until Adam willingly followed his wife’s disobedience. The result was disastrous and the glory covering God had made for Adam and Eve left them with only their human skin.

Our human skin is an amazing covering.  It lets us know the slightest touch.  It tells us if we are hot or cold.  The skin stores water and fat. It prevents bacteria from getting into the body.  It uses the sun to make the body’s need for vitamin D.  AND the skin acts as a barrier between us and the environment.  The skin is truly an amazing shield! Perhaps that is why we have a myriad of sayings involving the skin.  Let’s look at two well-known sayings:  thin-skinned people and thick-skinned people.

Do you know anyone thin-skinned?

Do you know anyone thick-skinned?

Can both these types of people be unyielding?

Let’s take thin-skinned people. These are the people who are easily insulted.  They cannot take any type of criticism.  They are easily hurt, vulnerable, insecure, and touchy.  They take offense often. The root of this is pride. Proverbs 18:19 KJV A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Now let’s take thick-skinned people. These are people not easily offended. They can take an insult and shrug it off.  But most likely they had to go through some painful experiences to get that way.  It takes humility to stay unoffended. Proverbs 19:11 NASB A person’s discretion makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to overlook an offense.

So can both these types of people be unyielding? YES!

A thin-skinned person may never yield over their hurt and pride. This is to their detriment and will eventually cause deeper pain. A thick-skinned person may never yield over their pride as well.  That pride will eventually cause him or her to be humbled.

Can you be thin one day and thick another?  YES!!!

How can we stay yielded to humility and unyielded to pride?  We must constantly remain close to our true covering which is Jesus.  HE is clothed in the Glory of God.  You will have to battle for this closeness but the fight will be worth it. The Lord gives you every weapon needed for the battlefield in His WORD. It’s up to you to search the scriptures.   Psalm 28:7 KJV The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

We know nothing is hidden from You. You see past our skin and into our heart. Reveal the pride that needs healing. Let us confess our sin knowing You forgive. We yield to Your truth and Your loving ways. You are our shield from the enemy seeking only to destroy.  We ask to be covered by Your blood for the forgiveness of our sins and the healing of our minds and bodies.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Psalm 85:2 KJV  Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

 Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

 

 

 

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was a plan no one could thwart.

Planned by the Highest of The High Court.

Free will the gift,

The course to shift,

The Love of Heaven to Earth transport.

 

There was a movie made in 2011 called The Adjustment Bureau. The plot is about how we humans do not know how to use our free will to course-correct what we need to do for the good of mankind.  Instead, we need “The Adjustment Bureau” (referred to as TAB from this point on) to constantly monitor all our comings and goings.  They can hear all our thoughts and redirect them to what they understand is the right course. Only two things can be used to defend ourselves against TAB: free will and water.

The movie stars Matt Damon (Dave) and Emily Blunt (Elise).  They have a “chance” encounter in the men’s bathroom where Emily is hiding from her personal security team and Dave is rehearsing a concession speech he is about to give.  The movie is a bit sketchy on why she needs security but alludes to the fact she is destined to become a world-renowned ballet dancer. The act of her own free will to hide in the men’s bathroom, a place where her security team would not think to look and she would feel safe, is eye-opening in light of today’s gender bathroom stupidity. That subject won’t be part of this month’s blog, just in case you thought it might. So, keep on reading, please.

As the movie progresses, we feel the heart emotion of love that compels the will to act out in heroic ways the need to love and be loved. Love is one of those things we have free will over. Circumstances and situations may try to change it but we still have free will to continue to love or not. And these TAB workers, who are depicted as superhumans living longer than humans, believe “their decisions” are best suited for humanity because we have messed things up repeatedly. They believe our free will is the problem and without them, we will destroy the world. Love is of no consequence.

The symbolism of water as the other defense against TAB interference could seem of no coincidence. I wondered if the writers had any idea of the power of water from a biblical viewpoint.  For Christians, water is the symbolism of baptism for the washing away of our sins. A deeper truth is water baptism comes after confession and repentance of sin.  It is an outward expression of dying from the old life of sin and being raised to new life with Jesus. Jesus, being baptized in water by John the Baptist, came up out of the water to see Heaven open and the Holy Spirit descending upon Him. He heard the voice of the Father speaking.  Immediately Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tested by satan. Jesus as a man with free will was shown all the temptations of the world that could be his if he turned his back on God. Never let it be said Jesus doesn’t understand or feel the pain or joy of humanity.  He does. How blessed we are he chose God through it all.

The movie uses the idea that only water can thwart the TAB from hearing the thoughts of humans. If there is no interference in the ability to think and exercise your free will the question becomes, “Will I use free will for good or evil?”  As one confesses their sin upon conversion to be a Christ-follower and is baptized in the water their old self is washed away. Heaven’s portal is opened and Holy Spirit descends upon the person. Hearing the voice of God becomes clearer. Holy Spirit is now your guide to truth. The covering of water in the movie allows David to be guided by one of the TAB workers who seemingly messed up the plan that had been set in motion by The Chairman of the TAB as he is referred to.   The TAB worker summons David to meet on a ferry boat out on the water. The water again is the defense that allows David’s thoughts not to be heard by the Chairman. David is free to ask the TAB worker why they are trying to stop him from being with a woman he loves. He cannot accept what he is told and finds a way to be with Elise.

God gave us free will.  This often seems so contrary when we are faced with a decision to follow Jesus.  The natural part of us wants to hold onto our autonomy for fear we will be manipulated or forced to give up things we don’t want to.  The world tells us God is a dictator, a tyrant.  Satan, wants you to believe God just wants to control you.  But the truth is satan is a liar and it is he who wants to control you. God cannot lie.  God is a compelling force, a compelling force of love that is always calling us unto Himself.  HE desperately wants us to experience how much His love will free us from the bondage that the gift of free will, freely given by HIM, when freely given back makes us even more free.  It truly does seem so contradictory. 

Dave tells Elise he will never hurt her.  She opens up her heart and begins to trust him.  That is until TAB interferes again. Dave feels there is no way out and believes it is better to break Elise’s heart than risk her harm.  He leaves her with no explanation as he begins to question the possibility, he may not have free will. Three years will pass.

The same is true when we first believe God, especially a loving God we believe will never hurt us.  We open our hearts and say yes God, I will let you in. I will follow Jesus. But interference like TAB comes. Situations and circumstances that cause heartache.  Pain, sometimes so deep we want to die. The questions fire out of us.  Why God? How could you?  I don’t believe you anymore!   God will not let us stay in that pain because His love will continue to pursue us.  HE is trying to get us to the truth. HE will orchestrate another “chance encounter”. Sometimes it takes three years for all the planning God had to do to prepare our hearts for the next time we can open up and trust His love again.

Dave’s heart fueled by love for Elise and another “chance encounter” after being convinced he is not supposed to be with her will compel him to accept the possibility, though he may fail again, to pursue her with all his heart and willpower.  Love is a compelling force.  The TAB worker assigned to him finds he is so perplexed by Dave’s love for Elise and his determination to use his own free will he summons Dave again. This time a plan is devised under the cover of rain. It will take Dave all of his focus and energy to stay the course hoping Elise will believe him that his love for her has never stopped.  He will pursue Elise until she is by his side.  What a beautiful picture of Jesus pursuing His Bride, the Church.

The power to control one’s own willpower is found in the transport of Heaven’s love to our earthly life. Our life freely given back to the One who created us opens a door (which by the way is another amazing metaphor in this movie that you will easily understand after reading this month’s blog) to a whole new world of what can be ours when we give our hearts to the One who has loved us from the start.

 

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

I thank You that You do not force Yourself on anyone.  What a marvelous gift of free will mankind has been given. Love has not demanded of us to worship You but has desired it as one who desires to be freely loved. Help us pursue You with every part of our will.  From there we will discover how free we really are.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Psalm 121:8  The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Isaiah 55:8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

Mark 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Psalm 143:10  Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

Revelation 3:20   “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

 

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

Desire White Fire©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once lived a gal of intense desire,

Her subconscious mind began to inquire,

Thought is a plan,

Rise up, I can.

Let my action begin a white-hot fire.

How many times have you felt this intense desire to do something you always wanted to do?  You feel this fire inside you.  Your mind has all kinds of thoughts, ideas, dreams, and plans. You think you are going to burn up with excitement if you don’t immediately do something.  I learned an important truth from Napoleon Hill’s writings on white-hot fire and desire from his book Think and Grow Rich.  I did a deep dive three times into this book.  It is one of those books we should read every year, like the Bible.

We begin immediately.   Our thoughts are fanning the fire’s flame. We have risen, creating a plan.  The plan is heating up to a white fire. Things are moving in the direction we want.  That white fire is burning hot. Perhaps we are making some much-needed financial gain. Our mood is lighter.  We feel more energetic. Maybe even lose weight by burning all those calories.  We look up and miraculously the sky looks bluer against that white–hot fire!  We begin to breathe a little easier.   We even feel quite comfortable in this white-hot fire.  So much so we become…

Distracted

That’s the knockabout thing for us humans.  It is our natural propensity to become  distracted.  Our world is full of non-stop data.  We have become accustomed to distraction as a means of comfort. AND comfort has a way of making us, well…comfortable.  But comfort only stays comfortable if you keep the fire burning.   All fires die out eventually without a constant supply of fuel.  The right fuel is imperative.  The question becomes…

How do you keep your white-hot fire going?

You need ACTION!

JUMP INTO THE FIRE

I am part of a group that meets regularly.  This small action is just one part of the fuel to keep the fire going.  Multiple actions are needed, big and minute. Just like a real fire, twigs to begin, then big logs, and the need to stoke it regularly. All those things are done with action. Almost everyone knows the mantra, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”.  Thank you, Sir Isaac Newton, for your third law of motion. The interesting thing about this law is that if the objects/things are the same, the force cancels the opposite reaction.  IF, you believe thoughts are things (and they are) and these things have a powerful force, your thoughts can cancel the opposite reaction.  Let’s take this example. You have trained your mind to believe your action of writing daily will keep your white-hot fire going.  The thought arises, “I don’t feel like writing today so I am going to skip it.”  The next thought is, “Writing is not based on my feeling but on my action of doing it.”  Which thought is going to cancel the other one out?  How does one thought become more forceful than the other?  ACTION. You must take the action of writing if that is the thought you want to win out and cancel the thought to skip writing.  Action produces results.   Word of caution though, focus on the action, not the result.  Often times the results distract us and keep us from consistently jumping in the fire.  My challenge to myself and you is just keep jumping into the fire. 

Rise up, you can.  Make a plan.

Let the plan fuel constant action.

I love this song by Harry Nilsson.  We will never be free of thoughts but we can master them.  Let’s make our thoughts be the fire we don’t want to be free of but instead the fire that fuels the God given creativity He has given every one of us.  Think on these scriptures.

1 Samuel 2:3 KJV   Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

2 Corinthians 8:11 Living Bible   Having started the ball rolling so enthusiastically, you should carry this project through to completion just as gladly, giving whatever you can out of whatever you have. Let your enthusiastic idea at the start be equaled by your realistic action now.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the abundance of creative desire You have given us.  Help us overcome the natural desire to be slothful.  Open our natural and spiritual eyes and ears to the beauty around us.  Draw out of us the desires You placed in our hearts to create white-hot fires that bring comfort to meet not just our needs but the many that are hurting all around us. Truly we have been created to produce good. In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

 

 

Secure Surety©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once was an Act of Security.

Fueled by the hearts of social purity.

Care for the old,

Turned lie for gold.

Stolen by the government’s surety.

HAPPY AUGUST BIRTHDAY TO ME!

This month I celebrate another milestone in the numerical age of society’s timelines.  This number had the power to shift whole mindsets. The social thought behind it was for the aging population as well as the future hope of the young generation. The *surety of government proves evil when greed mismanages the money “freely” given it.  My hope is not in the government of men but in the Kingdom Government of GOD.  This Kingdom neither has lack nor greed.  There is always more than enough for all your needs, not your wants.  Living now this many years God has had to teach me many times to ask for what I need, not want.  And many times He has been so good to me He supplied my wants too because I trusted Him for my needs.  God is awesome like that. Jesus said these words to remind us –   Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

August 14, 1935, the date the Social Security Act was signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Tax collection began in January 1937.  That same month, lump-sum payments were made until 1940. From that point forward a regular monthly payment would be distributed. Before the law was signed FDR’s wife Eleanor wrote a passionate speech in 1934 about her belief in the need for social security for the entire nation.  A quote from her speech, “We can hardly be happy knowing that throughout this country so many fine citizens who have done all that they could for their young people must end their days divided–for they usually are divided in the poorhouse. Old people love their own things even more than young people do. It means so much to sit in the same old chair you sat in for a great many years, to see the same picture that you always looked at!”

I completely resonated with that statement being a single parent, now grandparent, as my retirement age was extended 20 more months because the surety of the government felt it necessary. In contrast, visiting one of my sisters also named Eleanor, a single parent also with grandchildren, now spending her days in a nursing home (poorhouse). Besides her clothes, which often never make it back from the facility’s laundry room, despite the sign that says, “Family will do laundry”, she has a single picture of our parents sitting on a night table that is not hers, sleeps in a bed that is not hers, and stares out a window into a courtyard at people she doesn’t know. Eleanor Roosevelt understood. She commented on her state of New York having 70 the age before one could receive payouts.  She saw the truth that some people at 70 were still well able to work and others by 65 were not, as in the case of my sister.  That led me to a little side search that revealed something our 21^st century may not think of. The industrialization of America had sucked the life out of workers much earlier than the years when almost every family had a farm and family units stayed close in their communities allowing for better care of their elderly.  Much research had been done on the issues of how to care for the aged before Eleanor’s speech and the subsequent signing by FDR of the 1935 Social Security Act. The age of 65 was calculated as the least cumbersome of taxation for all to sustain the ability to collect social security when the time came. Of further interest was how the government collects the social security tax. We think of social security as a benefit because that is how the government labeled it.  In reality, it is our hard-earned money taken by the government who in turn, invests it, makes interest on it, and then gives it back to the taxpayers with less interest BUT does possibly cause people to save for retirement that might not. I wonder if FDR anticipated this….

In 1983 the Federal Government raised the age of full retirement to 67 for those born in 1960 and later. They also lowered the monthly payout amount. The result hurt the economy, decreasing the timeline for Social Security Longevity. It had the opposite effect intended. This is where I realize again how our mismanaged taxes become the “surety” of the government when I ponder the following definitions for the word.

1.  

Surety:  noun:   a guarantee that an obligation will be met

            noun:  a prisoner who is held by one party to insure that another party will meet specified terms

 noun:  property that your creditor can claim in case you default on your obligation

So, as I celebrate my societal milestone birthday, I will continue to look forward to a social security check providing it will still be available when that time comes.  If I look at this check as a need I must have to survive I will surely be in lack. I will be like a prisoner of the government that we know continues to change its terms.  My surety is in the God of the Kingdom of God who is the guarantor that never changes His terms.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the surety of YOU.  You clearly established Your Word for the world.  Forgive us for living our own kingdom laws which clearly cause lack and greed. We repent and ask You for wisdom and guidance as we seek Your Kingdom first… Then all these things will be added. In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

John 3:3

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,  Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

 

 

 

Flag of Glory©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once flew a glorious flag so high.

Tyranny, we will no longer comply.

Called old Glory.

Freedom’s story.

American Liberty, never die.

Every country around the world has a national flag.  My national flag is the United States of America.  I love and defend my flag for what it represents: Freedom over Tyranny.

By 1775 Britain’s Monarch Rule by King George III had been imposing overbearing taxes and intrusions into the colonies using militia forces. The colonists had enough!  No longer would they be subject to a tyrant. The American Spirit of freedom was birthed.

On June 14, 1777 the Star and Stripes became the official flag of America. It  represented the first thirteen colonies fighting against  tyranny.  Seven red stripes and six white  totaling  13.  The color red was used for valor,  white for purity,  and blue for justice.

Our celebration of July 4 is to never forget the 1776 Declaration of Independence from Great Britain and all its forms tyranny.  Patriots everywhere fly their flags at parades, on their homes, vehicles and some towns on telephone poles. Today the American Flag represents the fifty states that make up the United States of America.  Our beautiful flag has never lost its symbol of freedom over tyranny.  The entire world knows this.  It is why many people around the world want to live in America.

Before America’s official flag of today,  with fifty stars for each state,  there was a flag called Old Glory.  It received its notoriety from William Driver.  At thirteen William ran away from his Salem, Massachusetts home to become a cabin boy on a large sailing ship. By 1824 Driver,  who was still  a young man of twenty three, was commander of his own ship, the Charles Doggett. His mother, with the help of some Salem women admirers,  gave him a hand sewn American Flag with 24 stars on it as a birthday present. Hoisting it on his ship he named it Old Glory, the symbol of freedom over tyranny. Driver travelled all over the world flying his flag until retiring in 1837. After retiring from the sea, Driver settled in Tennessee where he continued to fly his flag. He became a salesperson for many Nashville businesses and served in his local church. When the Civil War broke out in 1860 Driver hid his flag to keep it from being destroyed. Tennessee was a Confederate state but Driver was a Unionist. The Confederates came to his door demanding the flag but he had hidden it by sewing it inside a quilt. Nashville fell and was occupied by the Unionist Army. Driver gave his flag to them to be draped over the capital building. The flag is now displayed in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. 

When I read the story of the flag called Old Glory I am reminded of the tyranny Jesus endured for the Glory of God.  The tyrant of that time was Herod the Great. That government also interfered in religious freedom, much like our current government.   One of America’s founding beliefs is religious freedom.  The writings of the Bible are crafted into every facet of our Declaration of Independence, and ten years later the Constitution. We base our three branches of government, Legislative, Executive, and Judicial on Biblical Scriptures.  Never let anyone tell you otherwise.  It will always be necessary every generation be taught the original writings of our great American History, especially the Founding Fathers.  They rightly understood without Divine Intervention and living out the principles of biblical teachings all peoples eventually destroy themselves.  Let’s not let that happen to America.

 Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for loving all people.  Thank you for loving America. We ask You , to open our minds and hearts to the role America plays for freedom for all as we remember we are great only because of Your hand upon us.  Forgive us for forgetting You and taking our blessings for granted. Grant us wisdom to govern ourselves and this beautiful land we live in. Help us love the Scriptures from where all wisdom and knowledge comes from. In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

Behind Great Minds©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

There once were two talkative minds,

Telling stories of double kinds.

Truth or dare,

Still must bare,

Words from lips or words from behinds.

 

“You are talking out of your behind.”

I hate those words. I hate them when spoken by someone who doesn’t know my heart.  I love those words.  I love them when the person who speaks them does know my heart.  It is like two stories with different outcomes. 

As the middle child of seven kids, three older sisters and three younger brothers I was caught between doing all the girly things and trying to fit in with the boy things.  It’s not so bad until your brothers realize you are a girl and they don’t want you being part of their toys and games.  Your sisters are okay with you playing with the brothers but they can’t figure out why you want to play with the boys more than them.  

Most of my life up to my early twenties was centered around on trying to fit into the male model.  My father supported my desire to go to college to become a toolmaker even though it was definitely considered a male occupation back then in the  eighties.   I think it was mostly because my plan was to get into the best company in my local community that also was recognized worldwide.  We were raised with the mindset that a good job is all you need. You stay there until you retire and that makes a complete life.  I didn’t realize that was “talking out of your behind” talk.  My father didn’t realize it either.  That talk cost him his own dead end job. I can look behind now and understand  how depressed he was.  This affected my mother and siblings in ways we never understood until much later in life.

I am thankful my father did not talk me out of my truth to dare to break the traditional all-male toolroom. It was indeed a great company and when I was hired I surely believed my struggle to get here was behind me.  For a time it satisfied my need to be in a boy’s world.  I will always be grateful for the skills I learned but… some of those boys didn’t want me in their games either.  I endured many more experiences of “you are talking out of your behind.”  (Stories of that will be in the book I am writing.)

If I had stayed in that toxic work environment until retirement I believe my life would have become bitter and resentful.  I needed to dare to tell a story of truth.  It was time to leave, to leave the job that paid very well with the “promise” of retirement.  I had been daring to for years. I hesitated once when I could have left with the company paying for employees to leave.  I talked myself out of it because I was listening to the voice of my behind.  It was telling me I was not worthy of a better life, I would let my family down, I would never make the same money elsewhere, my dad would be disappointed and on and on the lies screamed. It cost me 9 more years of living a behind life.

This reminds me of a story found in Genesis 19. A man named Lot had a wife and two daughters who were pledged to be married. They lived in a city called Sodom. It was a wicked city, part of the five cities of The Plains. The cities were to be destroyed because of their wicked sins of perversion. The stench of the peoples’ sin had reached heaven and God said enough. HE was about to destroy all the cities by fire and flaming sulfur. The people had told themselves a story, God was not watching the way they lived.  They were engaging in sodomy.   Only Lot, his wife and two daughters who lived in Sodom were to be spared. The Lord sent angels to warn them with instructions to flee quickly and not look behind. As they fled, Lot’s wife disobeyed.  She looked behind for a moment at the city and the story says she turned into a pillar of salt. What story did she tell herself?  What was she afraid to leave behind? That one glance of hesitation cost her. It cost her, her life. How thankful for the grace we live in today that our momentary hesitations may not physically kill us but they may kill opportunities to truly live.

Words are powerful tools to keep our behinds, the ones we sit on and the ones we speak to move past our behind and move forward to living out our stories.

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for loving kindness.  Today I put behind me anything that has kept me from moving forward.  Help me forgive anyone who spoke evil intent over my life knowing or unknowing the power of their words.  Forgive me for doing the same. Let my life story speak only truth from this day forward.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

 Philippians 3:13-14

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 

 

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. © 

 

Sheep Talk©

A Limerick A Day to Keep You On Your Way©

 There once was a flock of socializing sheep.

Unaware they were the prey for a sly creep.

One word,

 Is heard.

The Good Shepherd saves the sheep from the sly creep.

 

What do you feel when you hear your name called?

Fear,  Excitement,  Hope,  It’s about time!

May is typically remembered for Mother’s Day.  Every person born had a mother, barring crazy scientific experiments.  Every child born is given a name.  You may love your name or dislike it. Your name is part of your identity.  What happens the countless times you hear your name spoken develops beliefs about yourself.  If you were blessed in a home that invoked feelings of love and acceptance when your name was spoken, regardless of times you may have been disciplined, you are most likely secure in who you are.  But what if you weren’t?  What if you dreaded hearing your name?

Is it any wonder the evil propagating our children is trying to erase their identity?  If you don’t know who you really are you can easily be preyed upon.  You may follow anyone who calls your name.

Did you know sheep have their own language?

I learned some fascinating traits of sheep.  Sheep talk to each other.  They have different tones, like humans.  Like humans, if we are in a crowd looking for a friend or a child, and we call out their name,  they know the sound of our voice: Even if their name is the same name as another.  Amazing!

How do you react when a robot calls your phone?  Especially the ones now that sound so real you interject a question only to realize it is not a real person. I started to shout at them! Then realizing I am shouting at a robot, is only upsetting me.  That’s how deceptive Artificial Intelligence is, getting you to interact with it.  I know it can be used for good things too.  But that is the plight of mankind, we tend to corrupt the good. 

Sheep also have these traits.  They have four stomachs.  They are timid, easily scared, follow the next sheep without hesitation, and often get lost. They wander together like socializing sheep.  An easy target of prey for an evil sly creep.

The Good Shepherd Calls

We are all like sheep. We will stray, get lost, and become prey for a sly creep.  The Good Shepherd arrives to call the sheep back. A sheep may be so lost the Good Shepherd has to go and find it, leaving the flock. I was one of those sheep.  I may have heard him call more than once but I was far from him, grazing with the wrong shepherds. My name had been spoken many times with disapproval, accusations, and other peoples’ judgmental projections I forgot who I was.  I could still eat the grass in the wrong pastures but it somehow never digested well. Your stomach knows when something isn’t right.   Has that happened to you?

The Good Shepherd Speaks

A word spoken at the right time break opens a path never seen before.  I had socialized with all kinds of sheep. The majority of them were wandering and falling prey to the sly creep.  I wrestled for a long time with my name and pronoun.  I can only look back now and see how many times The Good Shepherd saved me from changing who I had been made to be from what I was hearing I should be.  I heard it deep in my spirit. “Paula, you are my beloved child.  Walk with me.”  It allowed me to look up from grazing in the wrong pastures.  Have you ever heard a feeling? Your gaze on what is around you starts to push outward, side to side. And there in front of you is something you never saw before.  The Good Shepherd has found you. He speaks your name.  You have never heard your name spoken with such love. You will want to hear over and over.

The Good Shepherd Saves

Grazing with the Good Shepherd saves you from the sly creep.  You begin hearing differently.  Don’t be fooled.  We are still like sheep. The sly creep is always around. But now we must do our best to keep following the Good Shepherd. One good way to do that is to become familiar with the WORD of God.  The more you read the bible the more you discern who is speaking truth to you.  I want to always be in His pastures, hearing only his voice. What about you? 

 

Pray this prayer with me.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for being the Good Shepherd. Thank You for calling my name.  Forgive me every time I didn’t respond to Your Voice.  Today I say, “Here I am. I want to follow You.”  Lord, we ask You to orchestrate all of our paths.  We know along the way the sly creep will set many traps. Keep our eyes and ears open.  Train us by knowing Your word and speaking it over all our comings and goings. We like sheep have gone astray but now today we follow only Your way.   In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

 

Isaiah 53:6 KJV

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

John 10:7-16 KJV

7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Written by Paula Ann Kochanek

All rights copyrighted. ©