Tipping Point

Greetings today from my backyard. The weather has been lovely here in Modesto so our table with the sun umbrella has become my getaway retreat. Other than an intrusion by my kitty wanting to sit on the keyboard, it’s quite peaceful in the mornings in my garden setting. It’s wonderful to have natural realms quiet in a sunny green place. As I reflected on that, I had the thought that it’s even more wonderful to have peace in a SONshine setting! During this roller-coaster transition time to reopening our states and nation my prayer for all of you is that you find a SHALOM retreat in the restorative light and wonderful presence of our Lord!

As I prayed this day in the warm sunshine, the Lord highlighted to me for all of us in the Body of Christ Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us?

With everything going on in our nation and the world, it has come to my attention that many intercessors/praying Christians are overwhelmed with requests for prayer from their family, friends, co-workers neighbors and even strangers. Combined with an assault by the enemy against our own families and work situations, stress and a sense of being pummeled by the enemy can sneak up on us. This is especially so when our personal challenges increase in intensity, or become chronic in persistence with no apparent answers from God to ease the storm we are experiencing. And, on top of it all, we usually have ministry commitments that require more prayer, not less.

Thoughts or feelings of abandonment can cloud our life as we wonder if we are being effective or if our Father in heaven has heard our prayers. Have you ever asked Him if He’s there? Wondered if Jesus is interceding for everyone but you and yours? Asked Holy Spirit if He was ever going to move on your behalf? I have, and I figure I’m not the only one!

In the middle of seemingly insurmountable personal challenge I am facing right now, those questions flowed out of me with tears. Then I picked up a book I just started called “IF” by Pastor Mark Batterson. Chapter 2 starts with Romans 8:31. About the verse he writes:

God is for you.

God is for you in every way imaginable.

God is for you for all eternity.

And a bit later he says: Spiritually speaking, the tipping point (in a person’s life or situation) is when you believe, without any reservation that God is for you. It’s the revelation that God doesn’t just love you, He likes you. He loves you enough to die for you, He likes you enough to spend eternity with you.

I believe many of us are at a tipping point time in our lives. A time of critical mass, on the threshold of huge change, and it’s about to boil over, or tip like a balanced rock when the earth shakes. The question for us overwhelmed intercessors/believers is will we tip for God and the new thing He has for us, believing He is for us? Or, will we tip toward giving up on His promises and against His new thing? This is reality right now for many, maybe all of us, as what our God is doing is very different. It can make us hesitant and afraid to venture His direction. This season has brought us to a place of deciding whether we are “all in” knowing He is good all the time, or rejecting His high call. Rejecting results in mediocrity, walking with Him constantly struggling in the land of fear and doubt.

The tipping point choice WILL change our lives forever. It’s scary, but it’s GOOD, because God is good and He is for us every step of the way! He, in His love for us, has brought us to this place of choice. Now, we must believe He is for us and bravely choose His new plan. The result? More powerful connection with God, more power packed prayers, and more of MORE! Not only that, there’s more on top of the more, because the verse also says that if He is for us no one can be against us! He will scatter the enemy!

In this season, May the King of kings surround you with His army of angels as you crossover the point of no return and head full speed into the GOOD THINGS our God has for you, in Jesus Name and for His glory alone…AMEN!

Praying health and wholeness for all of us!

With Love and JOY in our Lord,

Cheryl

copyright 2020 Cheryl S Birch
May be share with copyright and end notes intact
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The Very Great Test

The last couple of days as I have prayed and pondered the ever increasing life changes we are all facing two thoughts keep surfacing:

1. This is a very great test.
2. The Lord is looking for changes of heart and habit.

In the midst of these circumstances of illness and fear,  be assured Holy Spirit is on the move in our lives BIG TIME! His goal is not only to help us but to teach us and change us.

Yes, the virus itself and the fear that is manifesting is certainly the work of the devil. We must stand in faith against it relying upon our God. And, that stand is the basis of the test.

Holy Spirit is dealing with me, perhaps you as well, during this stressful time. Soul searching questions arise out of my heart for myself and for the Body of Christ: Are we standing in faith praying trusting in and relying upon the amazing grace and love of God bought for us by the precious blood of Jesus or self-reliant? Are we panic praying or are we asking for direction and listening to the guidance of Holy Spirit? Are we still selfish beyond belief with an hoarding attitude, ungrateful, complaining, and reacting to these changes with deep seated fear? Or, are we thanking our God for what we do have, asking Him what changes we need to make during this time so that our lives are more pleasing to Him, and listening to Him regarding what we can do so that our neighbor’s needs are met?

You see we get an F on our test for fear response. God still loves us of course, but we will suffer greatly as we choose to do things out of selfish fear versus taking our fear to Him and asking Him to help us and, much more importantly, to help us to help others. 

Did you know that Holy Spirit will tell you who to help? And that He will tell you when to go out to get supplies. He will even tell you where to go to get what you or someone else needs.  He probably won’t direct you to what you want or what you desire to hoard, but He will direct you to the places where you can get what you and your family actually need. How do I know this? Because He is taking such good care of my husband and me. Wherever we feel led to go, what we really need is there! It has been astounding to walk into places with so many empty shelves and find the last package of noodles, the last bottle of anti-bacterial cleaner, the last package of toilette bowl cleaner, the last tube of Aspercreme (needed for sore muscles), the only bottle of tomato sauce, the last can opener (ours broke and we needed one), and tissues, wipes, foods, etc all there when needed. If we desired something and it wasn’t there,  after all His provision, its apparent we really don’t need it yet. When we do, I know I can trust Holy Spirit to guide us to the place where it can be found!

During this time it is vital we as a Body defeat our tendency toward fear and self-reliance. As stated earlier, Holy Spirit is impressing on me the great need for heart changes and habit breaking in all of us. Even the best of us can fail and fear, exhibit selfishness, complain instead of thank, and deal with habitual behaviors/attitudes that are displeasing to our Father in heaven. What better time than during isolation, like this season, to stop depending on other things, on other people, or on ourselves and choose to learn how to lean fully upon our wonderful loving God? What a great time to start praying together as a family or having family Bible study!  Living alone? What a great time to pray, read, and have a retreat with God; just you and Him where you can learn about His plans for your future.  For every one of us, what a perfect time for calling neighbors and friends to see how they are doing, especially those that need Jesus in their lives. Your call could be a salvation call. How exciting!

Remember, He is on the move. He is drawing people to Him. He has HOPE for us all! He has thoughts higher than ours and, as we call upon Him, He will tell us great and mighty things we don’t yet know.  He will even tell us who to call, email, or text.

A final word coming to me today is isolation is not really isolation in the Body of Christ. We are all ONE in Christ Jesus our Lord. We all listen to and are helped by the same Spirit and we all have the same Father in Heaven. He has already, way in advance, provided the perfect vehicles to not feel so alone. Reach out via telephone. Call instead of text and be blessed by the voice of a fellow believer.  Plan a video call, set up a conference call, and be encouraged by your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus or encourage them. Tune into the streaming on Facebook and other sources featuring churches that are having online services. Watch inspirational messages and praise songs on YouTube and other websites when you feel down.  Praise God for the phone lines, internet, for Wifi and 4g. Isolation lonliness is state of mind and we must purpose to overcome it and help others in the process! With Holy Spirit’s help we will overcome and be victorious in our Lord.

How we go through this challenge is a huge witness to those that are pre-believers. It is indeed a very great test and it is hard to repent and change our ways, but we can pass the test and get an A+ (an awesome achievement heart change award) from our God as He sees the depth of our desire to do things His way no matter our circumstances.

You, we, are all very loved. God has not abandoned us or forsaken us! Instead, He is drawing us closer to Him. Transformation is His goal as we take a stand against this demonic attack and choose to lean fully upon Him as we do.  To all who are willing He is opening the treasures of His heart. Abundance of His presence awaits us!

With love and peace to you and yours,
Rev Cheryl

Copyrighted 2020 Cheryl S Birch
Photo found on Google labeled for reuse
May be shared in whole with name of author, copyright, and end notes intact

The Deadly Duo

The Deadly Duo? From a recent movie?

No, I’m not speaking of a Marvel Comic Book team of evil characters! This team is far more insidious than that and real, not make believe. The deadly duo that I see destroying lives, visions, dreams, ministries, and people themselves is FEAR and PRIDE. These two are experts at hiding behind facades while eloquently manipulating situations and people. Fear is spirit, a really evil one, and Pride is a condition of the heart that allows the evil to do its nasty stuff.

They work in concert to keep an individual in a prison of what is familiar and easy, creating a life that requires little change and no risk-taking. In order to maintain that kind of environment, everyone around the person under the influence of the Duo is expected to remain the same. When the boat of life gets rocked, as it always does,