I am Not a Bum-1

by Tom Hartley | Apr 5, 2026 | bum1, Christian Living

I Am Not a Bum

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:13-14

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27

I am not a bum, a loser, or a failure. And NEITHER ARE YOU. My life is not worthless, useless, or good for nothing. And neither is yours. But let me tell you something — I spent most of my life believing it was. And if you’re reading this right now, there’s a fair chance you believe it about yourself too.

Has someone’s words or actions hurt you so badly you don’t think you can take it any longer? Are you constantly depressed and tired of putting on a happy face for the rest of the world? Feeling like dying would be the answer to everything — that you have nothing left to live for? Are you feeling suicidal?

DON’T YOU DO IT. I mean it. And read on.

Or maybe someone’s words or actions hurt you so badly it makes you really, REALLY angry. Is that anger building and building inside you, boiling away and needing an outlet? Do you find yourself taking it out on others — those weaker than you, or those who are different? Would people call you a bully?

STOP IT. NOW. And read on. Because this is for you too.

I know both of those people. I HAVE BEEN both of those people. The one who wanted to disappear off the face of the earth, and the one who hurt others because the pain inside had nowhere else to go. So I’m not talking down to you. I’m talking TO you. From the inside. Pull up a chair, because this is going to be the most important conversation you’ve had in a long time.

Have You Ever Stopped to Think About How Valuable You Are?

No? I didn’t think so. Neither did I — not for decades. And here’s why: you’ve been too busy DROWNING. Negative words became negative thoughts. Negative thoughts became a dark, screaming inner voice demanding dark actions. You didn’t have time to consider your value because someone, or SOMETHING, has been working very hard to make sure you never do. And that’s not an accident, my friend. That’s a STRATEGY.

The Oldest Trick in the Book

Let me tell you something that changed my life. Not a self-help technique. Not a motivational poster you stick on your fridge next to the shopping list. This is an ancient secret — as old as time itself — and it is devastatingly simple.

Here it is: there is an enemy, and he has a playbook. It has ONE play in it. And it works almost every time.

The Bible calls him Satan. The name literally means “the accuser” — the one who points the finger. And here’s what makes him so effective: he doesn’t come at you with a pitchfork and a cape. That would be too obvious, and honestly, a bit ridiculous. Can you imagine? No. He comes at you through the mouth of your father, your mother, your teacher, your classmate, your boss, your so-called friend. He comes through the people who are SUPPOSED to love you. He whispers through them: “You’re a bum. You’re fat. You’re ugly. You’re stupid. You should never have been born. You might as well just kill yourself.”

Now here’s the thing — he CAN’T tell you God doesn’t love you, because God’s Word says otherwise, and that’s a fight he’ll lose every day of the week and twice on Sunday. So he does something much sneakier. He gets to you BEFORE you ever open a Bible. Before you ever hear that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Before anyone tells you that God has plans for you — “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Before you learn that God deliberately chooses the people the world considers foolish and weak and overlooked — to do EXTRAORDINARY things (1 Corinthians 1:27).

That’s like a restaurant giving you food poisoning before you ever see the menu. By the time you sit down, you don’t want to eat. HOW SNEAKY IS THAT?!

He plants the lie first. And then everything God tries to give you after that — love, purpose, belonging, a future — bounces off the wall that lie has built. That’s the strategy. That’s the whole play. And it’s been running since the Garden of Eden.

Why It Works So Well

Here’s what makes this so maddeningly effective: when you hear something often enough, especially as a child, it stops being somebody else’s words and becomes YOUR voice. Psychologists call it internalisation. The insults move from the outside in. They become the voice in your head. And once they’re in there, you don’t even recognise them as lies anymore. They just feel like… the truth.

You stop thinking “My dad says I’m worthless.” You just think “I’m worthless.” And then the dominoes fall. You destroy the good things in your life because you don’t believe you deserve them. Or the pain gets so unbearable that dying seems like the only exit. Or the anger gets so explosive that you start inflicting the same wounds on someone else — because that’s the only thing that gives you five minutes of relief from your own agony.

The victim becomes the bully. The bullied child grows up and bullies their own kids. Hurt people hurt people. And the cycle spins, generation after generation, exactly the way the enemy designed it. It’s the world’s worst hand-me-down. Nobody asks for it, but it keeps getting passed along like a fruitcake at Christmas — except this one actually does damage.

But Here’s What He Doesn’t Want You to Know

If you were truly worthless, NOBODY WOULD BOTHER ATTACKING YOU. Let me tell you, you need to sit with that one for a second.

You don’t put a security system on an empty house. You don’t send an army to guard a pile of dirt. The very fact that you have been targeted — that someone, or something, has invested THIS much effort in tearing you down — is actually evidence that you are valuable. Deeply, dangerously valuable. Valuable enough to be a THREAT. Smith Wigglesworth used to say the devil knows your potential even when you don’t — and that’s why he hits so early and so hard. The enemy isn’t wasting his ammunition on nobodies, friend. He’s spending it on YOU because he’s TERRIFIED of what you’ll become when you figure out who you are.

God chose the weak things of this world to shame the strong. He chose the overlooked, the despised, the people others write off as bums and losers — and He said, “Those are Mine. Watch what I do with them.” The enemy knows this. He’s seen God do it a thousand times — with David, a shepherd boy nobody took seriously. With Moses, a stuttering fugitive living in the back end of nowhere. With a bunch of uneducated fishermen who turned the world upside down. He KNOWS God has a purpose for you. And that terrifies him. So he gets to work early. Before you can discover who you are, he tells you who you’re not.

My Story (A Taste)

I was about seven years old. My father would come home from work, wrestle with me on the living room floor — playful, the way dads do — and then he’d lean in close and whisper the same words into my ear, over and over: “You’re a bum. Nothing but a bum. You’ll always be a bum.” His breath tickled the tiny hairs in my ear. But the words didn’t tickle. They took root. They grew into something that shaped every decision I made for decades. No matter what good things God put in my life, I found a way to destroy them. I didn’t deserve them. That’s what the voice said.

But at the same time — and this is important, so don’t miss it — that same seven-year-old boy would secretly open the family Bible. I’d look at the pictures: Noah and the ark, Daniel in the lion’s den, David standing over a giant, Jesus carrying a lamb on His shoulders, talking to little children, hanging on a cross. Something in those pages was speaking to me, even then. Two voices, competing for the same child. One whispering death. One whispering life. And I didn’t know it yet, but the one whispering life had already won — it was just going to take me a while to catch up.

What’s Coming

I’m going to unpack this in a short series of posts so you can peel back the layers one at a time without your head exploding. Here’s the roadmap:

Post 2: My full story. The darkness, the destruction, the moment I hit rock bottom, and the breakthrough that changed everything.

Post 3: The truth about your value — what God says about you versus what the enemy has been whispering — and how to start replacing the lies with what’s real.

Post 4: How to take the high ground and keep it. Practical, spiritual, and lasting. So you don’t go back to that dark place again.

All you have to do right now is keep reading. I’ll do the heavy lifting. Because here’s what I need you to hear today, even if you can’t believe it yet: YOU ARE NOT A BUM. You are not a loser. You are not a failure. You are not “good for nothing.” You are someone the Creator of the universe took the time to put together with His own hands — fearfully and wonderfully — with a purpose so significant that the enemy has been trying to destroy you before you could discover it. Which means, in a strange and beautiful way, the very pain you’re in right now is proof that you matter.

Stay with me. The best part is coming.

* * *

A Moment Before You Go

A.W. Tozer wrote, “The enemy is not error; the enemy is the absence of truth.” The lies you’ve been carrying aren’t just wrong — they’re placeholders. And the truth is coming to take their place.

C.S. Lewis put it this way: “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.” The enemy’s been attacking the body and the mind — but he can’t touch the real you. Not unless you let him.

* * *

Next: I Am Not a Bum — Post 2: Two Voices, One Child

* * *

If you or someone you know is in crisis right now, please reach out. You are not alone.

New Zealand: Lifeline 0800 543 354 | Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737

USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 988 | Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

UK: Samaritans 116 123 | Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14

Always i-CH

I am not a Bum-3

by Tom Hartley | Feb 5, 2026 | bum3, Christian Living

I Am Not a Bum

Part 3: You — Yes, You

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:3-5

“Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

The Portrait

I ended the last post by saying that when I read the Beatitudes now, I see you. I meant it. So let me show you what I mean, because this is where everything starts to shift.

Most people read the Beatitudes as a list of things to BECOME. Be more meek. Be more merciful. Be more pure. Like a spiritual self-improvement checklist. Like God handed out homework on a hillside and everyone’s been scrambling to get a passing grade ever since. But that is NOT what Jesus was doing up there. He wasn’t handing out homework. He was PAINTING A PORTRAIT. And the person in that portrait? It’s the one the world wrote off. It’s YOU.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). You think being broken disqualifies you? Jesus says it’s your ENTRY TICKET. The kingdom of heaven doesn’t belong to the people who have it all together. It belongs to the ones who know they DON’T. If you’re sitting there thinking “I have nothing to offer God,” congratulations — you just met the entrance requirement. HOW COOL IS THAT?! The whole religious world is trying to climb the ladder, and Jesus is at the bottom saying, “The door’s down here, mate.”

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). You’ve mourned. You’ve carried grief that nobody around you could see — the kind you wear on the inside like a lead vest. Jesus doesn’t say “get over it.” He doesn’t say “chin up.” He says you’re BLESSED in the middle of it. And He promises comfort — not the bumper-sticker kind, but the kind that comes from the God who collects your tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8). Let me tell you, He hasn’t missed a SINGLE one. Not one tear has hit the ground unnoticed.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). The meek. Not the aggressive. Not the loudest voice in the room. Not the one who clawed their way to the top over everyone else’s backs. The one who got pushed to the bottom and STAYED GENTLE. That’s not weakness. That’s strength under control. And Jesus says the WHOLE EARTH belongs to you. The scoreboard is rigged, friend, and it’s rigged in YOUR favour. God’s been cooking the books since before you were born.

What God Says vs. What You Heard

Now I want to do something simple. I want to put the lie right next to the truth and let you see them side by side. Because once you see them together, the lie starts to lose its grip. It’s like turning on a light in a room full of shadows — the shadows don’t fight back. They just disappear.

The voice said you’re worthless. God says you are FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE (Psalm 139:14). The voice said you shouldn’t have been born. God says He KNEW you before He formed you in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). The voice said nobody wants you. God says He CHOSE you before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). The voice said you’ll never amount to anything. God says He has plans to PROSPER you and give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). The voice said you’re too broken to be used. God says His POWER is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). The voice said you should just give up. God says He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). The voice said you’re alone. God says even before a word is on your tongue, He knows it altogether (Psalm 139:4).

One of these voices has been lying to you your entire life. The other one CREATED THE UNIVERSE. I’ll let you work out which one to trust.

The Replacement

Here’s something important that a lot of people miss, and it’s the kind of thing that can trip you up right when you think you’re making progress: healing isn’t just about removing the lie. It’s about REPLACING it. Jesus actually warned about this, and He wasn’t messing around:

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first” (Luke 11:24-26).

Let me tell you what that means in plain English: a house swept clean but left EMPTY gets filled with something worse. An empty house is just an invitation for squatters. And the spiritual kind don’t pay rent, don’t clean up after themselves, and they bring SEVEN MATES with them. You can’t just stop believing the lie. You have to start believing the TRUTH. And that truth isn’t a philosophy or a mindset or a positive affirmation you tape to your bathroom mirror next to the toothpaste stains. That truth has a NAME.

Jesus. He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He didn’t say He would SHOW you the truth or TEACH you the truth. He said He IS the truth. The replacement for every lie the enemy has ever planted in you is a PERSON — the same one who was speaking to you through those Bible pictures when you were seven, the same one who sat on a hillside and told broken people they were blessed, the same one who went to a cross so that the wall of lies between you and God could be torn down FOREVER. When you fill the house with Him, there’s no room for the squatters. Wigglesworth used to say, “I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe.” And what I believe is that the truth of Jesus Christ is bigger than any lie the enemy has ever whispered.

You Don’t Have to Wait

It took me DECADES to get free. Decades of believing a whisper that was never true. I don’t want that for you. Not one more year. Not one more month. Not one more WEEK of living under a lie that the Creator of the universe has already contradicted in His Word.

You don’t need to clean yourself up first. You don’t need to understand everything. You don’t need to have the right words or the right feelings or the right amount of faith. You just need to be HONEST. Tell God where you are — even if where you are is face down on the floor with nothing left. ESPECIALLY if that’s where you are. He’s been waiting for you to stop pretending. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). That’s Jesus, talking to YOU. Not to the put-together people. Not to the ones who have it figured out. To the HEAVY LADEN. The exhausted. The ones who’ve been carrying a lie so long their back is breaking.

Come. That’s it. Just come. And when you do, He won’t remind you of what you’ve done or where you’ve been or what was said about you. He’ll do what He’s been wanting to do since before you were born. He’ll tell you who you REALLY are. And it won’t sound anything like “bum.”

* * *

A Moment Before You Go

Lord, I’m tired of the lie. I’m tired of the voice that tells me I’m nothing. I don’t have the strength to fight it on my own, and I’m not going to pretend I do. I’m coming to You — empty, broken, and honest. Fill the house. Replace the lies with Your truth. Tell me who I am. I’m listening. In Jesus’ name, amen.

* * *

A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” If the first thing that comes to mind is fear or judgment, the enemy has been at your theology. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

C.S. Lewis said, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” That’s not a metaphor. That’s a job description. And the position is yours.

* * *

Next: I Am Not a Bum — Post 4: The High Ground

* * *

If you or someone you know is in crisis right now, please reach out. You are not alone.

New Zealand: Lifeline 0800 543 354 | Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737

USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 988 | Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

UK: Samaritans 116 123 | Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14

i-CH
Always

I am not a Bum-4

by Tom Hartley | Jan 5, 2026 | bum4, Christian Living

I Am Not a Bum.

Part 4: The High Ground

“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

The Morning After

So you’ve heard the truth. Maybe you even believe it. Maybe for the first time in a long time, something inside you shifted — a crack of light in a room that’s been dark for years. Feels good, doesn’t it? Hold onto that. Because tomorrow morning you’re going to wake up, and the old voice is going to be right there waiting for you like an unwanted alarm clock. It didn’t get the memo. The lie doesn’t pack its bags and leave just because you’ve seen the truth. It comes back. It knocks. Sometimes it BANGS on the door at 3 a.m. when your defences are down and you’re too tired to fight.

So what do you do? You take the high ground. And you HOLD it.

This isn’t a motivational speech. I’m not going to tell you to “believe in yourself,” because frankly, that’s what got most of us into trouble in the first place. Self-belief is a terrible foundation — it cracks under pressure every time. I’m going to tell you to believe in the One who believes in YOU. And I’m going to give you some practical, simple, doable things that will help you keep standing when the lie comes back for another round. Because it WILL come back. But so will you. And you’ll be ready.

Feed the Right Voice

Here’s a simple principle that will change your life if you let it: WHATEVER YOU FEED GROWS. Whatever you starve dies. That’s it. That’s the whole secret. You can write it on a napkin.

If you keep feeding the lie — through isolation, through toxic relationships, through scrolling through content that tears you down, through replaying the old tapes in your head at 2 a.m. like they’re your favourite album — it’ll keep growing. It’s a weed, and weeds don’t need much encouragement. I’ve never met a weed that needed a pep talk. But if you feed the TRUTH — through Scripture, through prayer, through people who speak life over you — it grows instead. And the truth grows STRONGER than the lie ever was, because the truth has roots that go all the way down to the throne of God.

This is basically the spiritual version of “you are what you eat.” And some of us have been eating junk for YEARS. Time to change the menu. Start small. One verse a day. Even if it’s the same verse for a month. Psalm 139:14 is a good place to start: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Say it out loud. Say it until the voice in your head starts to sound like God’s voice instead of your father’s. Or your bully’s. Or your own worst self-talk. “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Faith comes from HEARING. So give yourself something worth hearing. Turn off the garbage and turn on the Word.

The Armour

The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to be attacked. Beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, left for dead — the man had a rough run. Let me tell you, Paul’s CV reads like a disaster movie script. And his advice on how to stand? Put on armour. “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). I’m not going to walk through every piece — you can read Ephesians 6 yourself and I’d strongly encourage you to. But let me hit the ones that matter most for what you’re dealing with.

THE BELT OF TRUTH. Paul says truth holds everything else together. You know what a belt does? It holds everything up. Without truth, your pants fall down and you’re standing there looking foolish — spiritually speaking. Although let’s be honest, literally too. The truth of who God says you are is what holds your whole identity in place. Strap it on first thing in the morning. Before coffee. Before the phone. Before the world gets a word in.

THE SHIELD OF FAITH. Paul says it extinguishes EVERY fiery dart of the evil one. Every dart. Not some. EVERY. That includes the whisper of a father. The taunt of a bully. The voice in your head at 3 a.m. that says you should give up. Faith doesn’t mean you don’t feel the heat. It means the dart doesn’t PENETRATE. There’s a difference between getting shot at and getting shot. The shield is the difference.

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. That’s the Word of God. And notice — it’s the ONLY offensive weapon in the list. Everything else is defensive. The Word of God is what you SWING. When the lie says “you’re worthless,” you swing back with “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” When the lie says “nobody wants you,” you swing back with “He chose me before the foundation of the world.” Jesus used this EXACT strategy when the devil came at Him in the wilderness. Three temptations, three lies — and every time, Jesus answered with “It is written” (Matthew 4:1-11). He swung the sword. And the enemy LEFT. He’ll leave you too. Not forever — he’s persistent, I’ll give him that — but he’ll leave. And every time you stand, you get STRONGER.

Find Your People

You can’t do this alone. I tried. For DECADES. It doesn’t work. Trust me on this one — I have the scars to prove it.

The enemy isolates you because isolation makes you vulnerable. When you’re alone, the lie is the loudest voice in the room. But when you’re surrounded by people who know the truth and aren’t afraid to speak it over you, the lie starts to SHRINK. It’s like a bully who only picks on kids when there are no adults around — put some truth-speakers in the room and watch how quickly the lie shuts its mouth.

I’m not saying you need to join a committee. Nobody needs another committee. The world has enough committees. But you need SOMEBODY who’ll look you in the eye and remind you who you are when you forget. A church. A small group. A prayer partner. Even ONE person who will stand with you. Remember David in the cave of Adullam? Four hundred broken men — distressed, indebted, bitter in soul — gathered together in a place called Refuge. They didn’t heal in isolation. They healed in COMMUNITY, gathered around a leader who knew what it was like to be hunted. And God turned them into mighty warriors. Let me tell you, if God can turn four hundred bitter, broken, indebted blokes into a mighty army, He can do something with YOU and the people He puts around you. You need your Adullam. Find it. If you don’t have one, ask God for one. He’s been putting broken people together since the beginning of time. He’s VERY good at it.

Forgive

This is the hard one. And I’m not going to pretend it isn’t. If I told you this was easy, you’d know I was lying, and we’ve had enough lies in this series to last a lifetime.

If you’ve been carrying the weight of what someone did to you — the words they said, the damage they caused, the childhood they stole — you might feel like forgiveness is letting them off the hook. It isn’t. Let me tell you what forgiveness actually is: it’s cutting the CHAIN so you can move forward. It’s saying, “I’m not going to carry YOUR sin anymore. I’m giving it to God, because it’s too heavy for me.” Unforgiveness is the anchor that keeps you stuck in the wrong river. As long as you hold onto it, you’re tethered to the person who hurt you. And they might not even KNOW it. They’re going about their day, having their coffee, watching telly, while you’re drowning in a current you were never meant to stay in.

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13). As the Lord has forgiven YOU. That’s the standard. And if God can forgive you for everything you’ve done — and He HAS, through Jesus — then by His grace, you can forgive the person who hurt you. Not in your own strength. You don’t have enough. Nobody does. In HIS.

Take the Land

When Joshua was about to lead Israel into the Promised Land, God said something to him THREE times. Not once. Not twice. Three times: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

When God repeats Himself, PAY ATTENTION. He wasn’t saying it three times because Joshua was forgetful. He was saying it because taking new ground is HARD, and the voice of fear would try to stop him at every turn. Smith Wigglesworth once said, “Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests.” The fight is real. But so is the victory.

The truth you’ve heard in this series — that you’re valuable, that you’re chosen, that the lie was never yours to carry — that’s your Promised Land. But you have to WALK into it. Nobody can walk for you. And every step you take forward is ground the enemy LOSES. There will be mornings when you don’t feel strong. Take the step anyway. There will be days when the old voice comes back louder than ever. Swing the sword. There will be seasons when it feels like nothing has changed. KEEP WALKING. The Jordan didn’t part until the priests’ feet touched the water (Joshua 3:15-16). Sometimes God waits for the step before He moves the obstacle. He’s not being difficult — He’s building your faith with every step.

YOU ARE NOT A BUM. You are not a loser. You are not what the lie said you were. You are who GOD says you are — fearfully made, wonderfully designed, chosen on purpose, and armed for the fight. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). MORE than conquerors. Not barely surviving. Not hanging on by a thread. Not scraping through by the skin of your teeth. MORE THAN CONQUERORS. Through Him.

That’s who you are. Now get up. Take the land. And don’t you dare look back.

* * *

A Moment Before You Go

A.W. Tozer wrote, “God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” The high ground is yours. Take it one step at a time. He’s already there waiting for you.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.” And the test of the enemy’s strategy is what he does TO them. But God’s response to both is the same: “These are Mine. And I’m coming for them.”

* * *

If you or someone you know is in crisis right now, please reach out. You are not alone.

New Zealand: Lifeline 0800 543 354 | Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737

USA: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 988 | Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

UK: Samaritans 116 123 | Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14

i-CH
Always

Power of Righteousness-5

by Tom Hartley | Dec 9, 2025 | Current

Part 5: Don’t Look Back

“Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2

The Warning We Don’t Want to Hear

A few months ago, we walked through the story of two rivers — one flowing from the Tree of Life, fed by God’s righteousness, and the other polluted at the source by the self-righteousness that entered the world in the garden. We followed those rivers from Eden to the cross, from the cross to today, and we ended with an invitation: come to Jesus, drink from the right river, and never thirst again. That invitation still stands. It will ALWAYS stand.

But today I need to talk to you about something harder. Something that Jesus Himself brought up, and He didn’t bring it up casually. He didn’t mention it in passing like a weather update. He brought it up as a WARNING. And He used a story from the oldest pages of Scripture to drive it home. Three words: “Remember Lot’s wife.” That’s it. That’s the whole verse. Luke 17:32. Three words. And they carry the weight of ETERNITY. Let me show you why.

The Cities on the Wrong River

Back in Genesis, two cities had become so consumed by wickedness that their names became synonymous with judgment: Sodom and Gomorrah. These weren’t cities that had never known God. They existed in the time of Abraham, the man God had chosen to be the father of nations. Abraham’s own nephew, Lot, LIVED in Sodom. The knowledge of God was near. But the people of these cities had given themselves over entirely to the polluted river. They drank from it without shame, without restraint, without any thought of God, as if it were on tap and the tab was paid.

Now the prophet Ezekiel tells us what was really at the root of Sodom’s sin — and it might surprise you: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it” (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Pride. Excess. Ease. And a complete disregard for the people around them. Sound familiar? It should. It sounds like the world outside your window. It sounds like the six o’clock news. It sounds like half the internet.

Sodom wasn’t just sexually immoral — though it was that too. It was self-righteous to the BONE. It had decided for itself what was good, what was acceptable, what was right. It had built an entire culture on the fruit of the wrong tree. And it was THRIVING — by the world’s standards. Beautiful buildings. Full stomachs. Prosperous ease. The kind of place that would have had a five-star rating on every review site. But God saw it. He ALWAYS does. And a five-star rating means nothing when the foundation is rotten.

Abraham’s Plea

When God told Abraham what He was about to do, Abraham did something remarkable. He BARGAINED. He stood before the Lord and pleaded for the city — not because he loved its sin, but because he loved PEOPLE. “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?” (Genesis 18:23-24). And God said yes. If there are fifty, I’ll spare it.

Abraham kept going. Forty-five? Yes. Forty? Yes. Thirty? Twenty? Ten? “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it” (Genesis 18:32). TEN righteous people. That’s all it would have taken to save the entire city. Ten people walking in God’s righteousness. Ten people drinking from the right river. There weren’t ten. In a city FULL of people, God could not find ten who walked with Him. The polluted river had taken EVERYONE.

This is what self-righteousness does when it’s left unchecked. It doesn’t just corrupt individuals. It corrupts whole communities, whole cultures, whole GENERATIONS. And eventually, it brings judgment. Not because God is cruel — He’s not. He’s the God with no shadow of turning, remember? — but because a holy God cannot call evil good forever. There comes a point where mercy has knocked on the door so many times that even mercy steps back and lets consequences do the talking.

Get Out

God sent two angels to Lot. Their message was simple and urgent: GET OUT. Take your family and go. Don’t stop. Don’t hesitate. Don’t go back for the photo albums. And then they gave one specific instruction that matters more than all the rest: “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away” (Genesis 19:17). Do NOT look back.

Lot and his family started running. Fire and sulfur began to fall. And Lot’s wife — the woman Jesus would reference by name THOUSANDS of years later — looked back. “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26). One look. That’s all it took.

Now, she didn’t just glance over her shoulder the way you check behind you when you hear a loud noise. The Hebrew word here suggests she LINGERED. She longed. She looked back at what she was leaving behind — the life, the comfort, the familiarity of that city — and in that moment, she made her choice. She chose the old river over the new road God was setting before her. And it cost her EVERYTHING. The distance between salvation and destruction was the length of one backward glance. That should terrify us and sharpen us in equal measure.

Remember Her

So why does Jesus bring her up? And WHEN does He bring her up? He brings her up while He’s talking about the last days. About the time when He will return. About a generation that will be living just like the people of Sodom — eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building — carrying on as if God isn’t watching and judgment isn’t real. Business as usual. Netflix and takeaways. Like the sky isn’t about to split open.

And right in the middle of that warning, He says: “Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it” (Luke 17:32-33). Whoever holds on to the old life — the old river, the old ways, the old self-righteousness — will lose EVERYTHING. But whoever lets go and follows Jesus will gain everything that matters. This isn’t ancient history. This is a warning for RIGHT NOW. For you and for me.

The Days We’re In

Paul wrote to Timothy about the kind of people who would mark the last days. And when you read his words, it’s hard not to feel like he’s looking out the SAME WINDOW you are: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Read that list again. LOVERS OF SELF. Lovers of money. Proud. Arrogant. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having the APPEARANCE of godliness but denying its power. That last one is the one that should keep us up at night. Because it doesn’t address people who reject God outright. It’s talking about people who LOOK religious. People who show up on Sunday. People who post Bible verses on social media but live as if God’s Word doesn’t apply to them Monday through Saturday. People who’ve got the bumper sticker, the worship playlist, and the Instagram aesthetic — but no POWER. No transformation. No fruit. The appearance of godliness. That’s fig leaves all over again. That’s self-righteousness wearing its Sunday best.

And Paul’s instruction? It’s blunt: “Avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:5). Don’t follow them. Don’t drink from their river. Don’t look back at their version of Christianity and mistake it for the real thing. Smith Wigglesworth put it this way: “There is a difference between the manifestation of the gift and the counterfeit. Don’t be afraid of the real because you’ve seen the false.” The real river is still running. Don’t let the counterfeits scare you away from it.

The River Still Runs

I know this is heavy. I know it might feel like I’m painting a dark picture. But I’m NOT. I’m pointing you to the LIGHT. Because here’s the thing about Sodom: God still saved Lot. He still sent angels. He still made a way out. Even when the whole city was lost, God’s mercy reached in and PULLED PEOPLE OUT OF THE FIRE. He’s doing the same thing right now.

The river of Life — the one that started in Eden, the one that flows through Jesus Christ, the one fed by the Holy Spirit — hasn’t stopped running. It’s still clear. It’s still straight. It’s still available to anyone who will turn away from the polluted water and comes to drink. But you have to CHOOSE. And you have to keep choosing. Every day. Every moment you’re tempted to look back at the old life, the old comforts, the old lies that felt like truth — remember Lot’s wife. DON’T LOOK BACK.

The writer of Hebrews put it this way: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). LOOKING TO JESUS. Not behind you. Not beside you. Not at what the world is doing or what you used to be or what you’re afraid of losing. Look at JESUS. He is the author. He is the finisher. He is the river, the gate, the vine, the way, the truth, and the life. And He’s not behind you. He’s AHEAD of you. So why on earth would you look back?

One Last Drink

If this series has done anything, I pray it’s made you THIRSTY. Thirsty for the right water. Thirsty for something real in a world full of imitations and knockoffs and five-star-rated polluted rivers.

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). That hunger you feel? That restlessness? That sense that there’s got to be MORE than what the world is selling? That’s not a problem. That’s a BLESSING. Because it means you’re being drawn to the right river. Don’t fight it. Follow it. Follow HIM.

Don’t look back. Don’t settle for lukewarm. Don’t let anyone — no matter how polished or popular or how many followers they’ve got — lead you down a river that ends in death. The narrow river leads to LIFE. Jesus is standing at its banks right now, hand extended, saying the same thing He’s been saying since the beginning: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Come. Drink. Live. And NEVER look back.

* * *

A Moment Before You Go

Lord, I don’t want to be a pillar of salt. I don’t want to stand frozen between two rivers, one foot in Your kingdom and one eye on the old life. I’m turning my face forward — toward You, toward the narrow river, toward everything You’ve prepared for me. Burn the bridges behind me if You have to. I’m not going back. In Jesus’ name, amen.

* * *

A.W. Tozer wrote, “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us.” Stop looking back. Stop giving orders. Let go, and let His river carry you forward.

C.S. Lewis said, “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” Lot’s wife didn’t believe that. Don’t make her mistake. The best is ahead of you, not behind you. It always has been.

i-CH

Always

Fear

by Tom Hartley | Dec 24, 2024 | Christian Living

FEAR

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us who can be against us? Romans 8:31

As I see it, fear can be classified into 2 categories; unhealthy and healthy. And within those categories 2 types each; spiritual and personal. I will only quickly review three of these because I want to emphasize the one type that concerns us as Christians. If time allows at some point in the future I will come back to these others however I believe a quick look at them will be enough to lay down the foundation for us.

Unhealthy Fear

Fear of Evil

This is the basest of all fears. This fear concerns all things Satanic and demonic. As Christians we’re encouraged in that we do not have a “spirit of fear” and as such we should have discernment of spirits but not a fear of them. The real power in this type of fear is really the attraction to it for many in the world. There is typically an attitude to overlook this as the reason for a lot of horrific crimes that take place. Those who are attracted to this fear leave themselves open for possession of demonic spirits. When I was living in Charlotte NC for a time I recall going down to our local video store looking for a weekend movie to watch. I noticed that over time the newly released and hot topic sections were literally filled with horror movies of all natures. I used to ask myself “who could even think of this evil let alone make it or even worse watch it.” But there were many people taking them out. Many who watch horror movies play gory video games and see news reports of evil acts are drawn to repeat them or even outdo them. There’s a story of Smith Wigglesworth when one night while having a restless sleep filled with frightening dreams he was woken by the feeling of evil in his bedroom. Looking around it’s reported he saw Satan himself at the foot of the bed observing him. Wigglesworth eyed him and said “Oh it’s just you.” and rolled over and went back to sleep. While we’re not to fear evil we must be aware of it’s presence and our authority over it.

Carnal Fear

This fear is the kind we associate with sinners. It’s the kind of fear that finds them looking over their shoulders. Guilty as charged; waiting to get caught. Following the lusts of the flesh. If the soul becomes numb to this it attracts evil spirits and many people fall further into darkness. However, some are deeply affected by this fear and are drawn out and into the Fear of the Lord; the beginning of Healthy Fears. The Proverbs are filled with many lines of wisdom on these fears: “For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:29-33

Healthy Fear

Fear That Leads to Salvation

This fear is one we are all familiar with: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge:” (Proverbs 1:7a). It is the saving fear of the cross. And as our walk in the Christian life continues it leads us onwards and upwards. However some there are who backslide because of the cares of the world or other such things and are drawn back into unhealthy lifestyles and fears. “But now after that ye have known God or rather are know of God how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” Galatians 4:9

Our Greatest Fear as a Christian

So here we are. Walking the Christian life free from the cares of the world not having “a spirit of fear; but of power and of love and a sound mind.” We go to church on Sunday read our Bible occasionally attend conferences listen to Christian music; we pray sometimes and we’re at peace in our soul. So what kind of fear could we need that would be so healthy as to keep us going on to perfection? It’s a wonderful fear. It has power. And Satan has made it easy to miss seeing it in our lives and to make it easy to fail because we don’t see this fear at all. And we believe that since we’re the wonderful children of God that no matter what we might do wrong everything is okay. We have nothing to fear at all.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians wrapped up this fear in one sentence “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30. Grieving the Holy Spirit of God – this should be our greatest fear.
We should be afraid of disobeying and grieving our Heavenly Father his Son and his Holy Spirit with our actions words and thoughts. Having laid out instruction on how to live together as a community Paul reminds the Ephesians that disobedience grieves the Holy Spirit. He tells us simple things; we should put off the old man refraining from old ways; lying stealing anger evil speaking becoming kind tender-hearted forgiving edifying one another. These things we see and do.

I have four wonderful children. Well they’re teens and young adults now. But when they were very little it used to grieve me if I said or did anything that even so much as hurt their feelings. When the disobeyed or did something wrong I always tried to remind them how wonderful they were in the sight of God and myself but what they did was wrong. The focus on the action and not the person. And if I did it wrong it grieved me to see them cry to hurt them.
And this should be our greatest fear; that our actions would grieve the Holy Spirit.
And yet I’m seeing more and more of it especially in the area of prayer. Because with answered prayer comes God’s blessing fruit and the opportunity to glorify Him. In America Satan has caused Christians to fear corporate public prayer because they might be sued or arrested. And yet children are being shot in schools. Rape murders and other unspeakable things are happening all across the country while we sit idle. The most powerful nation in the world is not the United States. It is not Russia. It is the Christian nation of God. And we have lost our power because we have become soft with our authority and it has grieved God.
We have to ask what is prayer? It’s nothing other than talking to your Heavenly Father. It’s no different than talking to your earthly father. But talking to God scares Satan so much that he’s used the world system to denounce it. Knowing that you have reasons to cry out to the one true God and that you do not grieves the Holy Spirit.

What do the Scriptures say? “If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 If we as Christians which are sealed by the name of Jesus will humble ourselves and PRAY and seek His face and turn from fear of men then He will hear from heaven and forgive our disobedience and will heal our land.

How did Peter and John reply under persecution? “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge ye.” Acts 4:19.

And what do the Scriptures say about answered prayer? God knows what you need even before you ask Him. And yet I see people treat answers to prayer as if they were gifts from Santa Clause which can be accepted if we like them enough rejected them or set upon a shelf to be repackaged and regifted or returned from where they came from. You wouldn’t ask Satan for anything but he would gladly give you whatever you wanted if you would disobey God and worship him (Matthew 4:8-9). And you would reject it if he gave it to you. But why do you reject the gift of God?

Let me tell you. Whatever God gives you is meant for three things: to bless you to bear fruit and to give Glory to God! And when you reject them you disobey God and grieve His Holy Spirit.

“It is very foolish to hesitate to trust God” -Aimee Semple McPherson

Let’s say that you pray for that lovely cardigan you saw in the shop window. And someone gifts you that ugly Christmas sweater that you wouldn’t get caught dead in. So you groan inside and say to yourself “God must not have heard me right. I’m not going to wear this. I don’t want to hurt the giver’s feelings so I’ll put it on the shelf this year and regift it next year and pray again to God that He will give me the sweater that I really wanted.” Let me tell you God heard you. You should have worn that sweater. God gave it to you for a reason. It would have born fruit and someone would have glorified God because of it.

Once I was a student at MorningStar’s School of Ministry. During that time I had a job that took me to the panhandle of Texas for a few weeks. While there I had a long weekend and decided to drive down to Waco to visit a relative. One evening we went to dinner with some friends to a Barbeque restaurant. I bought a T-shirt that had the restaurant logo on the front and a slogan on the back that I thought was funny. It read something like “I didn’t climb to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables.” One Saturday morning after I got home I took my youngest son to his soccer game. It was early Spring and the weather was very cold. The ground was covered in frost so much that the grass crackled as you walked on it. All I’d worn that day was a hooded sweatshirt over that T-shirt. As the first half wore on I started feeling warm. But from the inside. I knew that something was happening. At one point I was so warm I took off my sweatshirt and walked around in that T-shirt only. I noticed an older woman a grandmother from a boy on the opposing team watching me pace the sideline. She was watching me more than the game. At half-time she came to me and asked me where I’d gotten the shirt from. She said something to the effect that her husband was in early stages of Alzheimer’s and that the shirt came from a restaurant back in his hometown. She thought that if she bought him one it would help his memory and that perhaps I could tell her the address of the restaurant. I knew this opportunity was a gift from God. I was being used to bear fruit and give Him glory. I pulled off the shirt and gave it to her. I told her that as cold as it was I had been getting warmed inside to the point I needed to take off my sweatshirt. I said that God had me wear that shirt that day just for her and it was God’s chance to bless her and that I wanted her to have that shirt. It was a gift and I knew that God would touch her husband through it. But I told her with a laugh that she was going to have to wash it. She was obviously touched and cried and smiled.
Fruit and Glory.

Maybe you pray for something warm to wear and someone gifts you a beautiful cardigan sweater. You think “I’m not pretty enough to wear something as beautiful as that.” And just when you’re ready to put it on the shelf to regift next year a small voice of God inside says “Wear that today.” Off to work you go and you’re feeling embarrassed and awkward as others around you tell you how beautiful that sweater is. But you notice one person in particular looking at you more than others. And the Holy Spirit says “Go and talk to them.” You learn that they had been gifted a sweater that was plain when what they wanted was the same one you were wearing. They tell you that they wore it anyway and that someone was touched by the sweater they had received. They hadn’t recognized at first the true gift of that ugly sweater until they gave it away to someone who they accidentally bumped into. What if they didn’t know Jesus? What an opportunity to share the Gospel (bear fruit) and glorify God together. A Devine appointment orchestrated by God.
Fruit and Glory.

Consider Ananias of Damascus and Saul of Tarsus:
And Saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord went unto the high priest
And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues that if he found any of this way whether they were men or women he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.” Acts:1-2

Now the disciples in Damascus certainly must have heard that Saul was coming to the city to persecute them. And Ananias must have been a very prayerful man. He would have prayed that the Lord deliver the Christians from the hands of Saul and save them. And his prayers were heard.
What happens?
First the Lord meets Saul on the way:
“And as he journeyed he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying unto him Saul Saul why persecutest thou me?
And he said Who art thou Lord? And the Lord said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” Acts 9:5-6
So Jesus could have sent him back to Jerusalem. He could have killed him there on the highway or any number of other things BUT what an amazing and glorious series of events come forward from here!
The Lord blinds Saul and he’s led into Damascus. It doesn’t tell us about who Judas is at whose house he is led but he is to wait there until he is told what to do.
Now the Lord came to Ananias in a vision and sent him to the house of Judas in search of Saul of Tarsus. To which Ananias replies “Lord I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to thy saints in Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.” Acts 9:13-14
And Jesus’ response is just not dismissive or angered but demonstrates the depth of repentance and forgiveness fruit and glory:
But the Lord said unto him Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel: Acts 9:15

FRUIT AND GLORY! Thanks be to God!

What fruit would Paul have produced had Ananias not put his full trust in Jesus and doing what he was told? But the fruit that Paul produced was counted to Ananias also. I bet that the two of them became lifelong friends after that. And we know what fruit the man now called Paul produced and the glory of the name of Jesus spread.

Fruit and Glory of God.

What happens when we disobey?
Consider Moses! The savior of Israel. The prophet of God to Israel and Egypt.

Through him God parted seas fed a nation from Heaven and Moses even intervened and kept God from wiping out the entire nation; and yet for one act one time that did not glorify God he was kept from entering the Promised Land. There was a penalty for disobedience. Of all people it was Moses that should have entered into the land.

Was there fruit? Yes. Was there glory? Overall a resounding yes and amen. But what of Moses? There was a penalty.

Consider Zacharias. Father of John the Baptist.

While serving in the Temple an angel of the Lord appears to him:
And when Zacharias saw him he was troubled and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said unto him Fear not Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother’s womb.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. Luke 1:12-16

From Zacharias and Elisabeth (in answer to prayer) would come one who would bear fruit and glorify God and usher in the Saviour. Talk about an answer to prayer!
But!
And Zacharias said unto the angel Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is well stricken in years.
And the angel answering said unto him I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee and to shew thee these glad tidings.
And behold thou shall be dumb and not able to speak until the day these things shall be performed because thou believest not my words which shall be fulfilled in their season. Luke 1:18-20

Disbelief. What if Zacharias had decided not to accept the word of the angel as many Christians today do not accept the answer to their prayers? He was punished albeit temporarily because the answer to his prayer was great and the fruit and glory brought forth by him would be amazing.

Was there fruit? Yes. Was there glory? Overall a resounding yes and amen. But what of Zacharias? There was a penalty.

These are special days.
The Lord is answering prayers in amazing ways. But Christians are not responding in ways that bear Fruit and Glorify God. Their disobedience will have penalties.
I have seen first-hand AMAZING things. Devine relationships meant for these times. Opportunities for healing miracles and more all missed for one reason or another. And the Holy Spirit grieved of it all. Don’t believe that God will let this go. I’ve seen Him first hand take His mighty hand off of lives who have grieved Him.
I personally know of two people who God had tried to bring together to produce fruit for His glory. Not just once BUT TWICE- TWENTY YEARS APART! Through dreams and visions and prophetic words God gave wonderful proofs and showed what Fruit and Glory they would bring. Both of them had been praying for the same thing and twice God brought them together. In fact in the course of that time God put them in the same place at the same time as a sign. So at least three times they came together twice in answer to prayer. But one of them hesitated and did not trust God. It was grievous to witness. The gift was laid down like fruit on a counter. God kept saying “Take and eat.” to no avail. And what happens to fruit left out. Over the course of a year Satan breathed on the gift in this relationship evil spirits gathered like fruit flies and what was meant for greatness became spoiled. I had the chance to witness this twice with the same two people. And in the end God had me deliver a difficult message to them. I was torn; it was the hardest thing I have ever done. It was not God’s desire; it was not mine. It was agonizing. I knew that delivering the message would mean that I might never hear from them again but not delivering it would have meant I grieved God.
Was there to be fruit? Yes. Was there to be glory? Overall a resounding yes and amen. But what of them? Unless there is repentance a penalty is waiting.
If all we are going to do is obey God when he gives us the beautiful cardigan we want and not when he gives us an ugly sweater who are we to him? Jesus was obedient unto death. And that death bore the Fruit that saves us and Glorifies God.
I delivered the message and have not heard from them again. It truly grieves me harshly and I pray fervently for them all day every day. I have seen the goodness of God in their lives and I pray that they might repent and be healed and bear the Fruit and Glorify God as they were meant to.

The scriptures say:

Jesus said “But whosoever shall deny me before men (do not those things that glorify God) him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33
“Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.” (Matthew 7:19) EMPHASIS ON EVERY!
“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell severity; but toward thee goodness if though continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” (Romans 11:22)

Mark Chapter 3 recounts the time that Jesus entered the synagogue and there was a man there with a withered hand. All the religious leaders who should have known that God was working through Jesus were waiting to see what he would do. It says “And when he had looked round about on them with anger being grieved for the hardness of their hearts…” (Mark 3:5a). Here he was about to do a miracle (bear fruit) that should have caused them to glorify God and their hearts were hardened.

Read the parable regarding the servant who was given just two talents in Matthew 25. He was unprofitable (produced no fruit) which did not bring glory to the master and he was cast into outer darkness. (25:30)

Every time that you don’t do God’s will you grieve His Holy Spirit. Some things are small; worth 2 talents. And some like Ananias and Zacharias are worth much more. Did you walk past that homeless person and not give them that $10 note you had. Even though the thought came to you? Repent the next time you see them and give them $20.

Again I say these are special times. Know that God loves you and wants to bless you above what you ask for and His GIFTS to you ARE PERFECT. But you have to take what He gives you. Right away. You can’t say to yourself “Well I’ll put it over here and think and pray about it.” You’ve already done that and He’s given it to you. What happens to fruit that’s put on the counter? I like bananas. Put one on the counter and it turns brown. The meat inside bruises. Fruit flies gather around it and in time it spoils and is thrown away. Don’t think that if you put a true gift from God aside that Satan isn’t going to spoil it.

Read the Gospels again. Look at the acts of Jesus. What does it say? People marveled at the fruit (healings and miracles and words) and glorified God. It says that Jesus fame went all around the area. Read what Jesus said to God. He had come to glorify Him. When we accept God’s goodness in our lives it gives us cause to tell every one of His loving kindness. To glorify HIM. And that is what he wants and demands of us. God is looking for us to accept all that He gives us. The gifts the work the fruit and the glory.

Should you fear God?
YES!
You should fear God knowing that your immobility grieves him and pray that it causes you to leap into action.

I say to you; if you have done wrong and grieved the Holy Spirit. REPENT. If you were meant to give your coat go give your coat and your scarf also. If you were to walk one mile go two. If you were to give $100 give $200. If you were to accept love ask for forgiveness accept it and give love back overflowing.

Then God will say unto you “Go your way eat the fat and drink the sweet and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

Joy is the opposite of grief. Today grieve not the Holy Spirit of God but let the joy of the Lord be your strength. Let the name of Jesus Christ be glorified in all the earth. And rejoice in all things.

i-CH

« Older Entries

Next Entries »