Mary Lindow ~ The Messenger Podcast

Hidden in God

Episodes

Monday May 16, 2022


By Mary Lindow 
I am by far not an expert on the subject of plumblines and righteousness, so take what I say in the light of one who at time gropes like a child in the dark, ever reaching for the hand of the ONE to lead me into a safe place filled with His Hope, His Mercy, His Light and Life.
 WE LIVE IN A CORRUPT WORLD and therefore, have the “effects and affects” of that corruption ever influencing, ever tainting and ever wooing the flesh. 
Plumbline: a tool that consists of a small, heavy object attached to a string or rope and that is used especially to see if something (such as a wall) is perfectly vertical or in alignment)  
A plumbline is a simple but accurate tool used for determining whether or not something is perfectly vertical or upright. The Lord also used, and uses, a "plumbline," His Word, to determine how upright His people truly are in His sight.
How upright they think they are, or how upright they proclaim themselves to be, means nothing to God.
 "Behold, I WILL set a plumbline in the midst of My people". 
-Amos 7:7 
 
A PLUMBLINE SET OUT BY THE HAND OF GOD IS ONE THAT WE CAN ANCHOR OUR HEARTS TO.
It will always, always, ALWAYS, direct us to the truth in a matter; even if it requires pain, loss, persecution and perhaps death in areas we feel we may well have rights to. 
It will also be a shield, a balm, a comfort and a teacher to those who will yield to the directive positioning of the Master. 
“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumbline.” -Isaiah 28:17 
 
LIFE – DISTRESS - AND PERSECUTION 
I have found that in my life, distress and persecution do not feel like God’s care being poured out on me. My heart is not immediately drawn to thanksgiving and gratefulness for the faithfulness of God on display as I cling to the battered pieces that look like potential “rafts” of hope, only to find out that many of them have gaping holes or slow leaks in them. 
Rather, it feels like yet another hurt is being permanently woven into my tattered and war-torn soul. It seems as if another mound of questions are piling up and just waiting for an answer and a true solid REAL anchor of hope. 
 
I CAN REALLY CONNECT TO THE WRITER OF PSALM 42 
He said “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” It’s at those very times that the words of the Savior are so important. When we are down and in turmoil. 
But, how do we connect the dots between what we know is true about God’s faithfulness and what our hearts feel? When flipped and flung around by the waves, weary from crying and when no answer seems at hand, what is the answer? 
When my circumstances show many foes and tyrants rising up against me and my heart is prone to wander and fear, what hope is there of peace? 
When my feelings start controlling my thoughts, how can I rest in God’s promises? 
 
AT THIS POINT… I HEAR THE “GASPS” … 
…And perhaps shocked comments of a few who are amazed that someone who appears to walk so fervently and intimately with the Lord would have such difficulties! 
Well! Guess what?
I do struggle, I do hurt, and yes I do doubt when I have been side swiped or “rammed” by skilled cons and those who, although may have the appearance of godliness and offered friendship or fellowship, end up having private and evil agendas behind their well placed and planned schemes.
And boy oh boy! Those skilled players know the wicked art of wounding the heart and causing people to reel in pain! 
 
BUT, THERE IS ONE WHO FULLY SEES IT ALL 
The main skill in the issue of dealing with life as a spiritual person, is to know how to handle yourself when things not only crush and grind your heart, but what to do with the anguish and toll of their aftermath. 
We have to get ourselves into a place where we hear clearly again. 
We need have to address ourselves, preach to ourselves, and ask questions about ourselves. 
We must say to our soul: "Why are you cast down –Why are you so anxious and lacking in peace?" 
We must urge ourselves, and say ‘Hope in God’–instead of remaining in this paralyzed, aching state!” 
 
AND THEN WE MUST TAKE IT A STEP FURTHER
We must go on to remind ourselves just “Who “God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has promised that he Himself said that He would do. 
Having done that we can stand up and sing out strongly, defying the torment of the soul, and resist other people’s wicked tongues and arrogance, and refuse to go along with the devil and the whole world, and say: ‘Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” 
The hope and promise of the fairness of God’s justice when dealing with the hurtful things and presumptions of others gives me the confidence to know that God will never turn away from me in my need. No matter how they seem to prosper in the short term, wicked men and women will ultimately pay for their sins, in this life or the next. Jesus died to meet my greatest hardships and sorrows for me, and I need to preach this to myself every day.
His power is greater than my weariness and suffering. 
The comforting and instruction that comes from simply running to feed upon His word instead of the toxic poison of the replaying of trauma reminds me that what Jesus has done is strong enough for my soul to rejoice in and to be set into a place where it can rest and regroup, gaining a healthy perspective about what to give out to others and what is simply…
…. To be enjoyed by the Lord Himself. 
 
THE NATURAL IMPULSES OF MANKIND ARE SINFUL AND DECEITFUL! 
Human willpower alone will never be able to change this. 
We need God's help to truly change our hearts. 
 
REMEMBER. You cannot change the heart of anyone else either. 
If you try to, you will feel the bite of stinging venom or be laughed out of a room. Only the power of the conviction of the Holy Spirit can permeate and get around the jam-packed hardhearted egos of the self sufficient and bitter. 
Jeremiah 17:9 says that the human heart is deceitful in all things and is even beyond cure!
We must be cautious and wise in reproving and warning such types of people about their bad behaviors and wicked actions where there seems to be no appearance or hope of change and where there is danger of experiencing great and heart wrecking retaliation and slander. 
These types trample the warnings and urging for repentance and humbling of the heart under their feet, and turn again and slash at you, despising the warnings that are “tearfully and fearfully” given, and often hurt the persons who give them, either by words or deeds. 
 
"Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy. 
Don't throw your pearls to pigs! 
They will trample the pearls, 
then turn and attack you.” 
-Matthew 7:6 
 
"GIVE ME THE FACTS MA’AM JUST THE FACTS” 
I remember that phrase from a TV show called “Dragnet”. The detective would not allow the details of the case to be skewed by any assumptions or pontificating from those he interviewed. He stoically and firmly demanded only the facts. 
And so, here are the “facts” about the heart of a good man or woman.
1.) The good man or woman: Brings good things out of the good stored up in his/her heart. And the facts about an evil man or woman. 
2.) The evil man/woman brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his/her heart. For out of the overflow of his or her heart his or her mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 
 
THE FRAILTY, BRIEFNESS, AND INSECURITY OF LIFE 
The frailty, briefness, and insecurity of life should hold down the vanity and presumptuous confidence of all of our projects and boasting about future greatness and bragging rights! We are always to depend on the will and leading of God. 
 
OUR TIMES ARE NOT IN OUR OWN HANDS, BUT ARE INSTEAD IN THE TIMING OF GOD. Our heads may be filled with cares and plans for ourselves, or our families, or our friends; but Divine intervention often throws our plans into bewilderment. All we have in mind, and all we do, should be with a humble and deep dependence on God.
It is foolish, and it is hurtful, to boast of trendy “latest happening” things and prospective projects, and it will bring great disappointment and will prove destructive to relationships and meaningful help to others in the end. 
 
“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.” 
-1 John 2:16
 
LISTEN KINDLY - BEFORE SPEAKING YOUR THOUGHTS 
People don't need a lecture on the meaning of suffering or to have a barrage of scriptures “machine-gunned” at them as a reprimand for sharing their moment of grief or struggle! (Especially when their hearts are breaking, weary of the battle and if they are fatigued.)
Job could have done without some of the self-righteous answers that came from his “well-meaning” friends. All of the answers could have even been true, but Job didn't need to hear any of them. 
He needed their love, not their value judgments. 
In fact, it appears as if God judged THEM for trying to offer simple solutions to things that were beyond their comprehension. They had never walked in the loss he was in anguish over. 
 
WHEN WE SUFFER UNJUSTLY WE HAVE A MAJOR CHOICE TO MAKE
How will we respond? We can feel sorry for ourselves (and understandably so, for a while), become bitter and cynical, get drawn into a war of words, or even become mixed up in a major conflict.
On the other hand, we can take our suffering to the cross and allow our pain to draw us into a deeper place of understanding of what Jesus went though in his sufferings. This does not remove the pain, but does help us to know what to do with our hurt. 
 
This is the 'fellowship of his sufferings' (Philippians 3:10), one of the gateways to closeness with God and the release of his power in our lives. The weight of heartbreak shared with a loving friend cuts it in half. When the burden is shared with many friends, we can cope with almost anything.
We never feel more revitalized than when a friend loves us enough to walk with us in our pain. Not lecture us. 
 
The apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth: 
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God". -1 Corinthians 1.3-4 
 
SOMETIMES GOD GETS INVOLVED WITH DIRECT MIRACLES, Giving supernatural strength to those in need. But for the most part, he depends on us, his people, to do his work in the world. We love each other, work for healing, and suffer with those who suffer. 
The next time you see a friend who is suffering, Jesus may just invite you to be the warm embrace! We comfort each other with the comfort we have received in Christ. And when we do, we become the Body of Christ and he receives the glory! 
 
THE BIBLE IS CLEAR! 
We are to bear one another's burdens. 
We are to comfort others as Christ has given comfort to us. 
Your hard time becomes my hard time. 
We join hands in the journey. 
When you succeed, I succeed. 
When you suffer, I suffer. But we do it together. We share it together. 
And we do it, not so much in our wisdom or our words, but in our availability, our understanding, and through our presence. 
 
THAT'S WHAT FELLOWSHIP IS ALL ABOUT! 
But not “bland” fellowship.
It is CHRISTIAN fellowship. It is the business of burden bearing.
Authentic CHRISTIAN fellowship says that when you need me . . . I'll be there.
Support in suffering is at the core of what it means to share life together in Christ. The word for "comfort” is the same root word as the name Jesus used to describe one of the functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Paraclete). “I will be a comforter, one who comes alongside to give help.” And so as God comes alongside you, now you are able to come alongside another. As the Comforter is at work within you, so you also can be of comfort to those around you. 
 
WE ARE CALLED TO BEAR ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS. 
To mourn with those who mourn.
To be a follower of Jesus means to come alongside people who are hurting and find ways to help them walk even through the valley of the shadow of death. We are called to do this, as the word of God and care of God is shared with the intention of stirring, plowing up hardened hearts, creating a place for repentance and challenging saints to hope again, I know and believe that as we learn again as believers, to care, to truly listen and to hope fully again, that the sweet and heavy weight of HIS Glory will be made known and will manifest in unfettered and uncontrolled waves of worship and spontaneous adoration of the King of Heaven. 
HE REALLY DOES KNOW WHAT HE WANTS
Let's focus on bowing low and seeking His heart and plans in what matters to Him.
Indeed, HE is the Plumbline. 
 
Prayer 
God, I ask in Jesus' name, that you comfort, strengthen and encourage all who are hurting deeply right now and are going through so much pain and heartache. 
Don't allow them to give up in the heat of the battle. 
Let them feel your arms wrapping around them and your love overflowing and filling them up. Lord, I will pray often and I know that you will hear my voice, even when I speak to You in my silent thoughts. 
To You, I am crying out and my prayers are now before You. 
Father, I give to You my problems, I do not want them. 
Father, please restore them to You. I know that you have compassion for your children. Father, show them your ways and teach them your paths. Lead them in your truth and teach them you are the God of our salvation and on you we will wait. 
Protect them from the evils of this life and guide them through all of their days. Father, thank You for hearing my prayer Father and for considering and for having compassion on all who hear and read these words, and all who hurt, in this troubled world we live in. 
Keep them in the center of Your love. 
In Jesus’ Name
~ Amen 
 
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~ Mary Lindow www.marylindow.com
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Monday Jul 06, 2015


“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:14
WE ARE
STRANGE AND EXQUISITE CREATURES.We can ache for God tremendously; yet find ourselves getting
nervous if God gets too close!  After
all, the closer God gets, the more we hear the call to be “unpolluted”.
It is both exciting and frightening to hear that call!
 A SHORT STORY
 “Once upon a time
there was a little plant that was small and whose growth was stunted, for it
lived under the shade of a giant oak tree.
The little plant
valued the shade that covered it and highly enjoyed and relished the quiet rest
that it’s majestic friend provided. Yet there was a greater blessing prepared
for this little plant.One day a lumberjack
entered the forest with a sharp ax and cut down the giant oak! The little plant
began to weep, crying out, “My shelter has been taken away”. Now every fierce
wind will blow on me, and every storm will seek to uproot me!”
The guardian angel of
the little plant responded, “NO! Now the sun will shine and showers will fall
on you more abundantly than ever before! Now your stunted form will spring up
into loveliness, and your flowers, which could never have grown to full
perfection in the shade, will laugh in the sunshine. Many will say, "Look how
that plant has grown. How gloriously beautiful it has become by removing that
which was it’s shade and comfort!"
THE
TRAINING OF THE SPIRITUAL COMRADE
We need to see that the Lord wisely trains his soldiers by
calling them into difficult travels and service. He strengthens them through
wildernesses and mountains. God knows that spiritually armed Soldiers can only
be developed in battle and are not developed in times of calm. We can only
become true seasoned soldiers of Christ when we train and serve in the
preparation time of the uninviting, and at times "unfriendly"  surroundings.
TRUST FOR
A SEASON!
It's all about trusting God in the end. Oh yes it is!
We often ask in the heat of difficult battles whether they
are mental battles, spiritual battles, and financial battles…”Will He REALLY
refresh us in this time of struggle?” His Loving Word says so.
 "For I satisfy the
weary ones
And refresh everyone who languishes."
Jer. 31:25
 
 THE LORD IS PRODUCING STAMINA…
 …WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT!
"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;
For once he has been approved,
He will receive the crown of life,
Which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
James 1:12
  
THE
FATHER IS URGING US TO RUN TO HIM, TO CRY TO HIM!
He is there! Even in this fog of struggle, loss, anxiety, or even seeming success! He wants us to be desperate for Him and is training us to rely
on His voice. To make our decisions based on His plan for the whole earth!
 
 TIE YOURSELF TO THE HAND OF GOD!
 Get a "rope of
expectation" (the word of God) and tie yourself to it.
Hold on! The boding evil is nearly over!
 
"The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.
So let us put aside the deeds of darkness
And put on the armor of light."
Romans 13:12
 
INTIMATE
PLACE OF COMMUNICATION
It would be a powerful opportunity for all of us to get on
our knees in an “intimate place of communication” with the Lord, and refresh
our commitment to purity and with a willing heart to yield to the bidding of
the Father.
 
"They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line, not swerving from their course."
Joel 2:7
 
 LET OUR HEARTS WILLINGLY...
…Give Him Room to Move Freely in our daily action in this
Life.
We do this by
clearing away or removing anything that feeds and pampers our flesh and our own
concepts of the Kingdom.
 "No one
serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—
He wants
to please his commanding officer."
2 Timothy
2:4
 
WE
PREPARE HIM A PLACE
A throne in our hearts, from which He can reign and activate His anointing.
" As for you, the
anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to
teach you. But as HIS anointing teaches you about all things and as that
anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, Remain in him."1 John 2:27
 ***********************************************
 Duplication and
re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source,
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Copyright © 2015 " THE MESSENGER " ~Mary Lindow
 www.marylindow.com
www.globalprayerrooms.com
 
If you would like to assist Mary in crowdfunding this podcast and teaching, it would be a great blessing to her and those around the globe who listen and grow in the knowledge of Christ and His love for them. This link will take you to a secure and detailed site.http://www.podbean.com/patron/crowdfund/profile/id/8d4jq-135 
 
 
 

Monday Jan 14, 2013


By Mary Lindow



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IT’S A STRANGE AND TWISTED WORLD THAT WE LIVE IN
Many well meaning people try hard to give pep talks, cheery texts and even send emails with profound  topics or inspirational contents all in the hope of giving a bit of relief from the ever increasing “noises” of an uncertain world.
“ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
John 16:33

WHAT DO YOU FEAR?
This is not always an easy question to answer right away. Emotions and physical reactions to the question begin to swirl and elevate stress levels when anxiety creeps in.
And, fear is a terror that can paralyze anyone if enough of it is allowed to enter our minds. And that is exactly where it first penetrates our peace. In the Mind.
Fear
noun
Fright, fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, agitation, trepidation, dread, consternation, dismay, distress; anxiety, worry, angst, unease, uneasiness, apprehension, nervousness, foreboding;
WHEN WE FEAR WE MAKE POOR CHOICES
If you are afraid or “fear” being misled by someone, you will limit your intimacy or openness with him or her. Many believers in need of healing emotionally from harsh or indifferent parenting tend to keep deep relationships or friendship at arm’s length in order to maintain a sense of control or privacy for themselves.
This can become a form of “selective hearing or selective listening” if the individual feels that they need to remain aloof and frosty in order to gain the respect or validation that they feel that they need to exist.
The problem with this cycle is that is creates a private  “terror” of not having a solid place of safety with a few dear and treasured people, flawed people… but those willing to also be vulnerable and open.
Psalm 27:1
“The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?”
Every situation, location, and relationship of our everyday lives is in some way broken. As fallen creatures, the best we can ever do in this life is to know how to live in this broken-down house/earth suit that’s our current address. And, nothing and no one but God himself, in the fullness of his time, can change where we live. So as we experience the reality of life in this house, sometimes it will leave us confused and overwhelmed.
Sometimes it will leave us hurt and angry. Sometimes people will give way to envy because the house or “life” of someone living nearby seems far less broken. Sometimes we just get weary of the stress of it all and long for a house in perfect repair.
YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE
In those moments, those days, those seasons, remember that you are never on your own. The Master Builder has given us a copy of his renovation manual, the Bible. It will help us to understand why things are as broken as they are. It teaches us how to live well even in the midst of the brokenness. And it will explain the only way in which repair can ever happen.
Just never forget that the Designer himself has moved into the house with you. You’ve not been left alone. You can rest assured of his presence and his wisdom. His grace has blessed you with both of these.
However, He must be fully welcomed and invited into all of the “locked and hidden access areas” that others are not often trusted to enter into.
He who offers you such grace and guidance will never ask you to do what you are not fully capable of doing by God’s grace and ever present Spirit. He will not demand things of you that are beyond your abilities. Our Lord is tender and kind. He knows who you are and he knows where you’re living. He knows how hard it is to live in your broken-down house because in the flesh he lived here himself.
The Lord invites you to walk away from trying to figure it out on your own and he welcomes you to sit at his feet and learn the simplicities of living; things so full of meaning that you will see your world in a completely new way; things so practical that you will never live the same way again.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”
Philippians 2:3

TAKE A LOOK IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR FOR ONE MOMENT
Have you recently made decisions about who you will share with on any level such as giving, talking of dreams, sorrows, losses, major life events, and then afterward - pulled back only to run to either another source for additional validation or to agree with your choices or decisions? Or, have you reacted to some of the counsel or responses you have received by testing those whom you have shared with by removing your favor, kindness or former warmth from them?
These actions are often made rapidly when we are fearful or fear being wounded, and shift us into a place of survival and self-protection.
They can also isolate us from a loving, safe and healthy “corrective course” or direction away from fear and its tentacles.

FINDING THE PLACE OF SAFETY AND ACCEPTANCE
When we step into the hand of God we find the place of acceptance, and safety and an opportunity for service. It is the place of real authority, as well as of hiddenness.
God only works with those who are in His hand and those who do not keep jumping out of it, attempting to either control their own fears, but instead, often try to control others around them due to being fearful of the choices others make possibly affecting them.
Both greatly hinder the ability to trust other godly people and above all, to trust the safety of letting God do His job, while we rest in His hand.
The more we lie sheltered there, the more surely will He use us down the road. And it will be alongside others who freely share all that they have, without fear. Just as you will learn as you let go, and allow the Father to build a “Safe House” out of your life in His presence.
May the Lord do for us according to His word.
He said, "I have put My words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of My hand."
Charles Spurgeon spoke such a beautiful statement and I want to share it with you here.
“The shadow of God is not the occasional resort,
but the constant abiding- place, of the saint.

Under His shadow we are to feel that we are at home,
and then He will make Himself at home to us by becoming food unto our souls,
and giving spiritual refreshment to us while we rest.”

NO MORE HOOPS TO JUMP
When this is learned and treasured, you will then not withhold from or test others with rules or regulations set up to certainly fail them. We ruin great friendships or opportunities when we expect from others total vulnerability and openness and then only give part of what we have and who we are back in return.
Colossians 3:12
“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
Perhaps you are waiting on Christ, desiring His company, and while you are thinking these thoughts you are asking, "Will He ever direct His full gaze upon me? Will He ever speak loving words to me? Will He ever let me sit at His feet? Will He ever permit me to lean my head upon His shoulder?"

COME AND STEP BACK INTO THE SHELTER OF HIS HAND.
Though you might shake like a leaf in a strong wind. Come! Sometimes those who come trembling are those who are aware that they are the lowest and the Creator the highest. When finally admit that our own self-esteem is less than nothing and is total vanity, then Jesus is the more good and lovely in our eyes.
Let your humility of heart, and your sense of hollowness, as a replacement for disqualifying you, be a sweet instrument for leading you to receive more of Christ.
“Before his downfall a man's heart is proud,
But humility comes before honor.”
Proverbs 18:12
The emptier I am, the more room is there for the Lord
The more I lack, the more He will give me.
The more I feel my weakness, the more shall I adore and bless Him when He makes me whole.
You’re never in a better place than when you give up on you and begin to trust in what is certain.
The life-shaping wisdom of the One who created you - in the first place.
“After all, every house has a builder,
But the builder of everything is God.”
Hebrews 3:4


Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You!
Copyright  2013  " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com

Monday Dec 17, 2012



By Mary Lindow


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THE SPARROW IS A CLEVER LITTLE BIRD
In Psalm 84 David describes his longing to be with the people of God and in the actual moment that he wrote this, he was a wanderer; he was a fugitive.
He was not able to be in a place where he could have fellowship with God or other people, and this is when he wrote Psalm 84.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,  Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out
 for the living God.

Have you ever felt this way or longed for fellowship like David wrote about with the Lord? His word so clearly express what it meant to David.
Then, he remembered one of his bird watching experiences. He remembered how at one time when he was in the house of God, he looked up toward the altar and he noticed some movement. When he looked closer, he found a sparrow building her nest, so he wrote in verse 3:
“Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may have her young—a place near your altar.”

“Lord Almighty, my King and my God!” he said. “I wish I could be like that sparrow.
I wish I could be like that swallow that is able to build its nest at the very altar of God.” What David is saying here is, “Can you think of anything better than to have your home in the altar of God in the sanctuary?”
This is something so very precious to me because I am always so tremendously interested in nurturing and loving my family that I cannot pass this over.
Did you notice this swallow chose the altar of God to build a nest for her family?   She could have chosen any place to build a nest, but she chose the altar of God.
Yes! The sparrow is a clever bird.
BUILDING YOUR NEST IN THE SANCTUARY
I believe that things are put here for a reason and for instruction; so I am going to suggest that if you want your family to be all that God wants it to be, build your nest, metaphorically speaking, at the altar. Build your nest in the sanctuary because in the sanctuary is the answer to every question that you have. And I hope that you understand that I am not talking about a church building! I am talking about your fellowship with God. There must also always be room in your nest to include those with broken wings, or who have been abandoned or left as orphans.
A SPARROW IS VALUABLE
One more lovely thing about the sparrow. The sparrow is a valuable bird. I am sure that some people might question this statement! But it is a valuable bird, indeed. Some may say, “But not to man”! It is Valuable to God though!
I am sure the Lord did some bird watching as he travelled to places with his dear friends, but this particular instance that He records is in the temple.
As He went into the temple one day, He saw a whole bunch of sparrows, (remember that we are talking about a small bird) with their legs tied together, and they were being sold for a sacrifice in the temple.
In Matthew, chapter 10 notice what Jesus has to say about sparrows.
As He looked at those sparrows, He said, in verse 29:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?”
That was the least expensive offering that anybody could make.
If we were to stop there, we would say what we ordinarily say, “What is a sparrow? They are not worth anything at all,” but the Lord said, in the last part of verse 29:

…and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father knowing about it.
That is how valuable they are. Not one sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing about it.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU SEE A DEAD SPARROW?
Do you just kick it out of the way and go on?  Often we see someone much like the little dead sparrow, wounded or suffering from the cruelty of others too busy to really care about a “broken wing” or perhaps a broken heart.
So many are busy licking their own wounds and getting on with their own lives, that they are unaware of the “sparrows” that God has placed in their midst. Those who need to be invited into a place of “Sanctuary”.! Do you treat your employees like this or a friend who has been through a season of sorrow or loss?
Do you find yourself simply walking past the Wounded or “dead Sparrow”? That would be a normal reaction, but evidently when the Lord saw the sparrow that fell very differently.  He said,
“MY FATHER KNOWS ABOUT THAT SPARROW…
…And my father cares about it.”
Then notice what He says:
Matthew 10
30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

A SPARROW IS SO IMPORTANT TO GOD,
…that it doesn't fall to the ground without God knowing about it, and you and those whom He has placed around you to radiate truth and hope to are of more value than many sparrows.
In Matthew, chapter 6 I think that Lord has done some bird watching and might want us to do some as well!
He said:
Matthew 6:26-34 (NCV)
26 Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds.
27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves.
29 But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.
30 I clothe the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even surer that I will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith!
31 Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32 The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them.
33 Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.
34 So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A very well spoken and eloquent preacher said one time,
“There is never a sparrow that dies but that God goes to its funeral.”
This really touched my heart and impressed me. Not a sparrow dies, but that God goes to its funeral.
THE NEXT TIME THAT YOU SEE A SPARROW…
…Remember that God is paying attention to that little sparrow. God is interested in you and He is interested and concerned about me as well! Remember that God cares about you so much more than even that sparrow and that He wants to draw you closely into a safe place of Sanctuary with Him! A place of safety and peace, where you can rest and learn about His love for you, for your family and those dear close friends and perhaps a few lost or weary lonely souls that He has sent to you.
HE HAS MUCH TO TELL YOU REGARDING ALL OF THE PLANS THAT HE HAS FOR YOU!

“Settle into the nest…
…And Rest!”
God is waiting to speak and meet with you!
“The Lowly Sparrow”
~Author Unknown
I am only a little sparrow!
A bird of low degree!
My life is of little value.
But the dear Lord cares for me
He gave me a coat of feathers
'Tis very plain I know:
With never a speck of crimson.
For it was not made for show.

But it keeps me warm in winter,
It shields me from the rain.
Were it bordered with gold and purple
Perhaps it would make me vain


I have no barn or storehouse:
I never sow or reap:
God gives me a sparrow's portion.
But never a seed to keep.
If my meat is sometimes scanty.
Close picking makes it sweet:
I have always enough to keep me.
And life is more than meat.

I know there are many sparrows:
All over the world they're found:
But our heavenly Father knows
When one of us falls to the ground.

Though small, we are never forgotten-
Though weak, we are never afraid.
For we know that the dear Lord keeps
The lives of the creatures He made.

I fly through the thickest forest,
I light on many a spray,
I have no chart or compass,
But I never lose my way.


Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You!
Copyright  2012 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com

Thursday Aug 30, 2012



By Mary Lindow
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The question is often asked, "What is the reason for the weak spiritual lives of so many Christians?"
This is an excellent question and it is amazing how little the church responds to Christ's voice, which is ever calling out! How little the church is what Christ wants her to be!


What really is the matter? What truly is needed?

Many answers will be given but there is one answer that includes them all. each believer needs the full eye-opener of a personal Christ as a spiritually internal, “living inside of me”  Lord  and as someone who was a satisfying portion.
When the Lord was here on the earth what was it that distinguished his disciples from other people? I think the answer is that Jesus took them away from their fishnets their busyness and their homes. He gathered them around himself and they knew him.
He was their Master, and he guarded them, and they in turn followed him. What is supposed to make the difference today between Christ's disciples-not those who are just hoping to get to heaven, but those who are Christ's wholehearted disciples-and other people? I think it's this. When Jesus was upon the earth, he was able to keep the disciples with him for three years day after day. Now that Jesus is in heaven, and he is able to do what he could not do when he was upon the earth - to keep in the closest fellowship with every believer throughout the entire world. Imagine this!
You might know the verse in Ephesians: 4:10
“He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might  fulfill all things.”


Why was our Lord Jesus taken up to heaven?

Away from the life of earth? He ascended to heaven because the light of the earth is confined to localities, but the light of heaven has no limits, no boundaries, and no localities. He was taken up to heaven so that in the power of God the ever present omnipresent God, that he might be able to fill every one of his followers on earth and be with every individual believer in a personal way.
This is what my heart wants to experience by faith. It is a possibility, it is a promise, it is my birthright, and I want to have it! By the grace of God, I say to Jesus, “Jesus, I will not rest until you have fully revealed your self fully to me.”

How did the disciples get their burning hearts?
Remember that day that they were on the Road to Emmaus? It was through the way in which Christ opened the Scriptures to them. He made it all look different and new, and they saw what they had never seen before! They could not help feeling how wonderful and how heavenly the teaching was!
Many Christians have discovered that the best time of the day is when they can read and pore over their Bibles, and they love nothing more than to find a new spiritual insight. Just like a person who mines diamonds rejoices when they have found a diamond these individuals delight when they get some new thought from the Bible, and they feed upon it.
Yet, even with all of their interest in God's word and with the joy that is stirred in our hearts, when we return to work or attend our daily duties, we find that there is still something missing in our lives.

From time to time…
…We must leave all the many and unique blessings that Jesus gives us,
and come to the one blessing that outshines all of them.
The blessing that Jesus makes himself known, that Jesus is willing to make himself known to us!
If I were to ask you, “Isn't this exactly what you and I need, and what many of us have been longing for?” I am sure you would answer, “Yes! This is exactly what I want!”
Listen to this poetic verse.
“Oh, the peace my Savior gives!
Peace I never knew before,
And my way has brighter grown,
Since I've learned to trust him more.”
An individual in the midst of great trouble and difficulty wrote this poem.
She stated that it brought wonderful comfort and strength to her.
However, how can a person maintain peace in his or her life? It was the presence of Christ that brought the peace; therefore, peace must be sustained through the continual presence of Jesus.

Remember that when the storm on the Sea, was threatening to swallow up the disciples, that it was the presence of Jesus himself that brought the peace.


Do you want peace and rest?

Then you must have Jesus himself.
We talk of purity, and we talk of cleansing. We also talk of deliverance from sin!
Praise God, for the deliverance and the cleansing, when the living Jesus comes and gives us power and strength. It's there that we find that we have that resurrected Christ who sits on the throne, who is making himself known to you and I. This is the secret of purity and the secret of strength.

Perhaps some of you may be now asking,

“How will Christ revealed himself to me? How will he come?” That is the secret no one can know, it is the one that Jesus keeps to himself. It will come in the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus?
They had a sudden revelation of the living risen Christ!
The Scripture says, “Then they knew Him!” He revealed Himself, he showed Himself fully to them, and then he vanished from their site! Was that moment of Christ visiting them revealing Himself to them worth much? It was over in a minute, yet it was worth heaven, eternity, it was everything!
From that time on Christ's disciples were no longer to relate to him in an earthly way. Thank the Lord that Christ now reveals Himself to each and every one of us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, how He does this is a sacred thing between Christ and each individual believer. Take this as an assurance, “their eyes were opened, and they knew Him,” and believe that this was written for you!


You might be able to say that I have experienced a sad heart at times.
When I mourned that I did not know the living Christ. And I have had times when my heart is slow to believe and have struggled with my lack of faith, and I also know this stage of a burning heart in what I experienced and the  great times of joy and blessedness.
If you can say these things you will come to a place where you have a satisfied heart.


You will have a heart that has been made glad and will last until eternity!
You will have a heart that cannot keep and hold its joy but is poured out on other believers and shared, just as the disciples ran back to the believers in Jerusalem and said, “It is true! Jesus has revealed himself! I know it! I feel it! It has been made personal and real to me, alone!”

Dear child of God.
I'm sure you are asking but how would this revelation come?
Jesus will tell you. Just come to him and say a simple childlike prayer. You need to come to Jesus yourself. What I share with you here today is finished! I have pointed you to the risen One. Now you must step into the presence of the Holy One and begin to crying out, saying, “Oh my precious Lord and Savior! I have come to you and fully abandon my dreams my will, my hopes, and my sorrows.   I have come so that I might have this blessedness with me at all times.

Dear Jesus!  I want you completely the fullness of all that You are. I want to know you personally and completely. Not just simply by hearing the experiences of others. No Lord! I want to know that I can have your blessed presence surrounding me at all times because I am your child and I have been set free from my own condemning self-hatred, religious thinking, performance-based actions, and fear of not measuring up.

Jesus! Help me! Be my portion forever!”

Is this possible? Can we always be thinking of Jesus?

Thank God you don't need to be consistently thinking of him. You may be the manager of a grocery store and your whole attention may require you to carry out the business that you have to do. While you were thinking of your business, Jesus will be thinking of you and He will come in, and if you listen to Him he will take charge of you.
When I was holding my new Grand-daughter just today, (5 months old) I was thinking about when an infant sleeps in his or her mother's or grandmother’s arms, he or she lies there helplessly. He or she hardly even knows it’s mother or grandmother, he or she does not think of her, but the mother and grandmother does think of the child. And this is the great mystery of love.

Jesus waits to come to me in the fullness of His love.
And when He is allowed possession of my heart, He gathers me into those Divine arms and tells me, “My child I am the ever faithful one, I Am the mighty one, and I will remain with you. I Am watching over you and will keep you every day.”

Oh I can hear many of you saying, “Oh, if only I could believe that, if only I could believe it is possible to have Jesus constantly taking and keeping charge me every hour and every minute!”
But you see this is exactly what He said to you. He said these words,
“For low I am with you always”.
He meant it in the fullness of His divine love, and He is longing to show himself to you and to me, as we have never seen Him before.

“Your heart says this is too good to be true,
And that is just too wonderful to be possible for you.”
Still you do admit that it is an amazing way to live!

Oh you fearful one, mistaken one, and anxious one!
I am bringing to you God's promise; it is for me and for you.
Jesus will do it! As God, He is able, and Jesus is willing and longing, having been the crucified one to keep you in perfect peace.

This is a wonderful fact…
… And it is the secret of unspeakable joy.

*****************************************
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete message and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You
Copyright © 2012 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.globalprayerrooms.com

Copyright © Mary Lindow. All rights reserved.

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