"ChoosingThe Desert Of Trouble OR The Door Of Hope" - Prophetic Insights and Encouragement

Note: There is a time of prophetic ministry at the end of this message during the audio version of the podcast.  
Please Take A Moment to Listen
So That The Holy Spirit Might Speak Over Your Life! 
 
 "Choosing The Desert Of Trouble  Or The Door Of Hope" 
 Prophetic Insights and Encouragement
By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit 
 
TODAY’S PODCAST MESSAGE IS GOING TO ADDRESS 
ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT MOST CHRISTIANS 
ARE A LITTLE EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT. 
THEY DOUBT!
 
Sometimes it comes from being so absolutely crushed that you are afraid to trust or believe in anything.
Or, we create our own false narratives and wonder WHY things don’t happen, and then we doubt that God can get us out of our messes.
 
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THAT “DOUBT THING” THAT KEEPS BEATING AGAINST THE THIN MEMBRANE OF HOPE IN YOUR THINKING?
 
WE CAN CERTAINLY SEE TODAY THAT PEOPLE HAVE PUT THEIR HOPE IN SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE OFFERED, looking for a way out of confusion, wanting to know themselves better or to find someone to love or to validate them.
There's Enneagrams, horoscopes, overloads of self-help books/blogs, medications, politicians, gurus and more, and most all of these have failed those hope seekers, or maybe have caused them to flail even further.
 
BUT HONESTLY...
...MOST PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY SEARCHING FOR THE "REAL DEAL".
They want to see genuine people expressing living and radiant hope.
They want an anchor in Achor (troubled times).
They are attracted to that and yet, the soul does love intellectual reasoning more than humility and yielding to God, the Supreme Guide.
 
HOPE. 
It’s what nourishes life.
It’s the motivator to move us into action.
It’s the promise of tomorrow.
What each one of us needs more of is hope.
What our country and world needs is hope.
 
Discouragement. 
It’s what siphons the joy right out of you!
Discouragement leads to desperation, which leads to feelings of anxiety, dread and hopelessness, which can move people into depression and suicidal thoughts, and those thoughts lead down a path of complete and utter darkness.
Trouble looms large in every face, every place and every happy space.
 
SO… DEFINE… HOPE! 
We often use the word hope as a kind of wish.
“I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.”
“I hope the Broncos win their next game.”
But friends, hope in the Bible, has quite a different meaning.
 
RAW AND BIBLICAL HOPE IS A CONFIDENCE AND EXPECTATION THAT GOD HAS PROVIDED A WAY FOR A GOOD FUTURE FOR YOU. 
God wants to fill every person reading  or listening this with hope, that He has a wonderful future planned for you!
Ah…. Ummm......  Really? Does He? 
Can God REALLY create “good” out of the trouble you are passing through or that you got yourself "IN" to?
 
THE WORD ACHOR MEANS TROUBLE. 
So very aptly named, the valley spoken about here (Achor- from Hosea 2: 1-8) is the place where a man named Achan, brought trouble on Israel, by willfully going the opposite way and blew off the Lord's plan. So, God sees the sin, and brings it to them through Hosea’s warning.
 
THE SIN OF THEIR IDOLATRY, their mixtures of spiritual practices and beliefs and forgetting God and their sincere dedication to him, and his ways of doing things. (Read Hosea 2: 1-8 to fully see the raw details.)
 
YIKES! 
These folks were exploring and trusting in things much like many who are probing and immersing themselves into questionable spiritual practices and who distance themselves from the warnings of God today!
 
God in His grace, in the New Testament freedom of Christ, will put sin to death in your life and my life and also the trouble brought against us from the results of the sin of others.
He prepares the Valley of trouble - Achor, to become a door of hope.
 
God wants to show you the door…
...Right there, in the midst of this grief or very hard trouble that you are parched and exhausted by.
 
A door where you see HOPE written on it….
…And you move towards it.
Crawling is absolutely permitted! 
Just get moving, and get THERE!
 
JESUS SPOKE IT CLEARLY TO US WHEN HE SAID, "I AM THE DOOR. 
"To enter through me is to experience life, freedom, and satisfaction. 
A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. 
But I have come to give you everything in abundance, 
more than you expect life in its fullness until you overflow!"
-John 10:9-10
 
THE VALLEY OF HUMILIATION, OF TROUBLE AND DEFEAT WILL BECOME THE FIRST POINT OF YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE DOOR OF HOPE.
You let go of the dragging baggage of woes and stop chewing on the dust.
You admit your secret idolatry of pessimism and stubborn defiance to yield to the probing of your heart, admitting that you account to no one but yourself.
You put down the whip of control and anger and take up the walking stick to lean upon while you humbly limp towards the door of Hope.
That's a valley of trouble my friend.
But, listen closely!
 
THIS DOOR OF HOPE THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED THERE STRATEGICALLY PLACED IN THE MESS, DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. 
WHY? Because it’s appointed by God Himself.
It opens up new opportunities for you; even those that were lost will be restored to you. It will cause a new song to rise again in your heart.
 
SO, YOU WEARY, RED -EYED AND CRIED OUT ONES, 
PREPARE TO LEAVE THE VALLEY OF TROUBLE (ACHOR) BEHIND,  
AND PASS THROUGH THE DOOR OF HOPE.
 
We Have To Wait With Hope For God!
“Wait with hope for the LORD. 
Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Yes, wait with hope for the LORD.”
-Psalm 27:14
 
WE HAVE TO BE COURAGEOUS AND STRONG IN OUR WAITING 
FOR THAT DOOR TO BE SHOWN TO US. 
The word “wait” is a very upsetting word for many!
We don’t like waiting!
We want things fixed. NOW! PRONTO!
Waiting can make us feel like we are doing something wrong, hesitating, lagging behind.
This isn’t why we have to wait sometimes.
 
WAITING HELPS US TO MATURE IN CHRIST. 
Waiting burns out impatience and defensiveness and impulsive reactions that decide to not deal with our deeply entrenched ruts!
Waiting is better then rushing into something without God’s wisdom and direction.
This door of Hope when there has been trouble, sin, loss pain, cycles of grief, is a sign of God’s tender mercy towards you.
“I will give back her vineyards to her and transform her Valley of Troubles (Achor) into a Door of Hope.
"She will respond to me there, singing with joy as in days long ago in her youth after I had freed her from captivity in Egypt.”
-Hosea 2:15
 
LET THIS PROMISE BRING REASSURANCE TO YOUR HEART. 
Let the past with all its sin and defeat be locked behind you, never to be reopened again.
Leave the Valley of Achor behind.
Let your eyes look ahead.
Walk through the door of hope that God has opened for you!
 
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source, podcast and website information 
for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You!
Copyright © 2025 - "THE MESSENGER " ~Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.marylindow.podbean.com
 
If you have been impressed by the Holy Spirit to assist and bless Mary to minister, helping her to meet needs such as web site and podcast and video teaching costs, or desire to bless her service with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:  
Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 
► Personal Checks ► Business Checks
► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks 
To: His Beloved Ministries Inc. PO Box 1253Denver  Colorado 80614USA
Or feel free to use our send a tax deductible gift with 
Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow
Under the name of - His Beloved Ministries Inc.
ALL gifts are tax deductible underHis Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.
We are financially accountable 
and have been in full compliance since 1985 
 
THANK YOU!
To Learn More About Steve and Mary Lindow Click Picture 
Do you or a loved one need prayer?
There are faithful intercessors around the world who areready and who are prepared to pray for you.
 Please Click Picture To Send Prayer Requests
 

"DISCERNMENT vs. SUSPICION" - Telling The Truth About Abuse and Wolves In Leadership Positions

 
By Mary Lindow 
 
I’m going to make a few statements about this podcast before I begin.
I hope I am not required by Lord to make many podcasts like this one, but I will obey him if he does ask me to do so!  To even things out a little bit, my next few podcasts are going to be sharing about some magnificent and overwhelming experiences that I have had in meeting First Native Chiefs throughout the United States and Canada.
All of these events were orchestrated by the Lord in order for us to meet. The things that I learned from these godly individuals who love Jesus, but understand the strongholds in our cities, our nations and upon our lands, has been absolutely Life-changing. I hope to share at least two podcasts telling you these stories and experiences that glorify Jesus, and show the power of his supernatural ability to get us to the places we need to go without ever having to push our way in or manipulate anything.
 
Now let’s begin today’s crucial podcast.
We are in a time when many people are seeing much evil take place, not only in our nation, not only in large and small corporations, but in church organizations and organizations that claim to bear the name of Christ on their letterheads.
 
One of the greatest deceptions taking place is that people are being told to NOT “discuss”/not to tell the truth about the abuses that are taking place in some of these organizations.
With the multitude of public exposures that is taking place right now all over social media regarding unconscionable and difficult happenings, I have been agonizingly yet strongly prompted by the Holy Spirit, to share my thoughts and the experiences that I have had in walking other people out of dark places, because of the harm done to them in some of these institutions.
 
I do this with a heavy heart, and yet I must take courage and be obedient in order to be an “Advocate of Hope” for those who feel that they cannot speak out for fear of being threatened or ridiculed, letting them know that there are others who will champion and stand with  them by calling “wolfish abuse” what it is, instead of sweeping it under any kind of Church Carpet, Corporate Carpet, or Institutional Carpet.
 
I am by far, not the perfect believer by any means!
I’ve had some wonderful mentors and training from others in ministry as well as in the counseling arena who have been strong and good people of discernment.
When something inside of you is alerted or feels really uncomfortable, or even just the thought of, “there’s something not right about that” pops in, that’s a built-in radar God gives us.
Now, if someone’s judging someone because they don’t like that they’re loud, or seem to be "too meek, obese, skinny, or speak a truth that they aren’t comfortable with or don’t have wisdom about", then that’s where all the speculating and suspicion move in.
 
Being set free from critical behavior and suspicion takes a willingness to admit that we don’t trust anybody, or, that we think we have an exclusive lead on how God speaks all the time.
 
I certainly need the accountability friends in my life
who speak truth to me firmly and regularly!
 
The soul loves to put itself in its own place of authority and override discernment, humility,and often the need to prove that our opinion matters. Honestly, keeping a heart pure and clean before the Lord every day, (and that’s truly not just an easy thing), but pursuing him with the right heart, keeps that place where we hear from him very sharpened and aware!
Studying his word, digging into what it really means, provides a depth and place of resource to go to, to check whether our heart is in accordance with his word or if we’re making up our own ideas about things.
It’s so easy to let other people think or speak for us, or their opinions, being strong, driving a message to us that says we should probably do what they say. This is where we get into trouble!
 
We are supposed to question or “test” things
and not just take everything hook, line, and sinker!
 
In 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 it tells us,
“Do not quench the Spirit.  Do not despise prophecies,
BUT, test everything; hold fast to what is good.
Abstain from every form of evil.”
 
Friends! Evil can be deceptive and cunning!
The word of God has an omnipotent power that cuts through all of the fog of self-deception and definitely pontificating! Many people quote the scripture and use it to their benefit when they want to self promote or appear to be somewhat spiritual. This is where discernment has to come in!!!
 
If something feels wrong, if something is spiritually off key, is not in alignment with what Jesus said or what the scriptures speak, then discernment has to come in to play.
 
The road gets narrower as you walk your Christian journey with Jesus, and you absolutely will be called many names because of the stance of wanting to be more like him, and more detached from the volumes of worldly knowledge.
Wisdom isn’t easily gained!  But, it’s so worth it when you get a little nugget that lasts for eternity.
 
Suspicion vs. Discernment.
I’ve seen this destroy and have been painfully more than a few times, a recipient of ugly and ruthless “suspicious” judgments.
Suspicion destroys relationships.
It destroys lives.
It listens to hearsay rather than God’s inward warnings.
Suspicion can feed a self satisfaction (which is actually pride) when our choices to put others in a lesser and suspicious light, even sabotaging them, justifies our own agendas.
 
When we are constantly suspicious of the motives of others, we drive people away that could be a great blessings to us. (They may even walk with a bit of a limp due to the battles and hard fought victories they’ve fought throughout their lives.)
Check your life today.
Are you discerning, or merely suspicious?
The problem is, sometimes we label suspicion with the pious name of “discernment” and think we're being super spiritual.
It’s so important to learn the difference between discernment and suspicion!  
 
The difference is quite simple.
Discernment comes from God and will recognize evil for what it is.
Suspicion come from or soul and will imagine evil when there is none.
If you see genuine compassion, kindness, mercy, accountability, humility and a forgiving nature in someone, you are seeing a surrendered soul.  
 
Not many want to talk about how hard spiritual growth and dying to ourselves, our opinions our interpretations is.
It's not a one time thing, it's every day.
It's remaining quiet when we want to speak.
It's trusting God's timing when we would, rather control.
It's doing it God's way when it doesn't make sense to us.
It’s quietly walking away from what might “appear to be a lucrative or more publicly promoting opportunity” when you know there are political or spiritually abusive environments involved.
 
We don’t get a lot of accolades or crowns here on earth for that kind of brave but necessary decision. But in heaven, when we do behold the face of the one who literally bled out for us, and he says, “Well done, so well done my good and faithful servant! Enter into my rest!” Oh my goodness, how absolutely all of the hardship and persecution will melt away in that moment, and the joy that is unspeakable and has yet to be fully understood, will be complete in our lives.
 
It is necessary in life to learn from those
who have more wisdom and experience,
because they can help us see things that we don't notice.
 
Even though modern culture tells us that we should “live our own truth and do whatever we think is best”, it’s this type of thinking that leads us into trouble. This is why Scripture tells us not to be wise in our own eyes.
 
True wisdom comes from fearing God. This means we should have a high regard for God's Word and His instructions to us. He knows all things, including, what is best for us.
We can also gain wisdom from other people. When we can learn from the mistakes and experiences of others, we're better equipped to not make the same mistakes. However, if you think you're the only one who knows best, you are bound to repeat the same errors.
 
There’s a huge amount of exposure taking place in pulpits, Ministry organizations, Christian Media Corporations, Governments, Christian Universities and Bible Schools...
...Right now.
 
Of course, we all know the Lord is doing a lot of the exposing and dealing with painful and shocking events that have or, are currently occurring, or are being investigated.
 
Why is he doing this? Because he will not allow these kinds of charades, criminal acts or hiding of sexual misconductsto NOT be caught.
Sadly many individuals who are sitting in church pulpits or are serving in ministry environments such as youth ministries, children’s church, Young adult groups and more, are often made uncomfortable by things they see taking place with some of the staff members.
The big question now is do you dare say anything?
 
If you see a male individual in a place of authority as a teacher, a pastor, any kind of youth worker anywhere, being over familiar with females, and by that I mean, resting their hand on their back too often with letting it linger, standing too closely to them in their personal space, spending time alone with them in their office etc. with doors shut and no visible way to see anything taking place. These are red flags!
A little bit of investigating and watching and taking notes is appropriate. Always document things that you see that make you feel there is something wrong going on and always date it. But be honest, not suspicious and don’t exaggerate or embellish. If necessary, take pictures. These are now used as evidence in court cases.
 
Another example!
If you would happen to know that there was a youth minister who sexually approached or interfered with a child or a young adult, and it was hidden and “dealt with” in an internal investigation among elders or leaders of a church or youth organization, club or scouting group, but was never reported, and this individual was then packed up and sent off to another state to minister or workelsewhere, they have basically turned this person into a repeat offender. These things must be reported to the police!
 
Here’s the hard thing.
We sure hope that we could go to people like elders or other leaders in the church if we see something taking place and know that deception is involvedand that others are covering it up.
If there has ever been a question that you have seen or a child has reported to you, that a young adult has reported to you or a teenager has reported to you that something inappropriate, whether it was conversation, whether it was physical touch, whether it was a threat that took place, you must go to the police.
 
Taking it to the pastor or taking it to the leadership "feels" like a good idea. But when there’s a wolf in the crowd, when there are wolves in leadership positions, we don’t take time to try to defend ourselves against wolves or predators. 
 
If you know, for a fact that these things have taken place, you must document and you must protect the children. You must protect the young developing adults. And, you must protect the future generations that would be affected if this perpetrator is permitted to be allowed to continue to remain in any organization, and not have appropriate legal consequences take place.
 
There are many who are holding positions in churches that are hiding inappropriate events of their own, within their own staff, or within their own organization, who value their building, their notoriety and their income, more than they value protecting the sheep or telling the truth.
 
Some people do not believe this is true! They think that surely the Holy Spirit would be exposing these things if they were really happening!
Well, my friends, the Holy Spirit uses practical human beings who are aware and have cultivated discernment and see that there is something very wrong and very out of order going on, and these human beings must be bold, courageous, and speak out like the prophet Nathan spoke to King David when he was having a long-term affair with Bathsheba and murdered his own military leader in order to cover his own manipulative and adulterous behavior.
There were terrible, painful consequences that took place because of what David did. Yet God in his mercy when David repented, restored David’s relationship back to himself.
But if forever changed David, and there were things that he was no longer permitted to partake in because of his wickedness.
But God did not shun him.
God corrected him.
 
Here are a few basic recommendations I’d like to share as a Pastoral counselor (and as a minister myself), with those who are in some form of ministry.
It’s not wise for men to counsel Women alone, but if necessary they must have a glass window where another safe office or staff member can see into the room. I have seen too many people get enmeshed emotionally with intimate counseling and I have historical documents that sadly indicate where several ministers who fantasized or planned or, actually have run off with people they were counseling for marriage difficulties! They have devastated marriages, families and churches because they crossed a line and blew clear past healthy boundaries, and safety protocols for counseling.
 
I also strongly recommend that men are not often alone in an office setting or ministry facility with women, especially if single, because they’re vulnerable women, because the table can turn two ways. The woman can become needy or manipulative and play on the affections or the emotions of a tender, kind hearted man, and then turn around and accuse them of some kind of inappropriate actions.
Men in buildings alone with women who are married and it’s late at night with a woman who is beautiful and lovely, or even sweet and precious, can create a sense of desire in a man whois tired of the grind of life, maybe hard work, might be having some strain at home, and in a few moments of weakness, begins to pursue an emotional affair, talking too openly, sharing too openly, and it can quickly lead to other kinds of affection, emotional bonding and inappropriate touching.
 
I know some of this sounds pretty heavy, and we as believers just don’t want to have to hear about the horrible, dark things that could possibly take place! We so want to believe the best in everyone and we want to be merciful and forgiving!
But, with the recent rash and exposure of well-known names, seemingly appearing holy and virtuous, many well protected individuals are now being exposed in multiple areas and in multiple environments, for hiding harm done to children, harm done to staff, and then using spiritual gifts or “spiritual pedigrees” to justify that they were just “tired or weak in the moment” and that they thought they’d handle it in house privately!
 
Well, to speak bluntly and boldly,
this fakery and denial is just all hogwash
when the gaslighting and lying starts!
 
 
We have to call it what it is!
It’s called spiritual abuse (SA) or clergy sexual abuse. (CSA) .
 
Returning to my original introduction regarding the need for discernment versus suspicion, we have to be very wise and make sure that our hearts are right as we begin to walk out these very difficult times of exposure as well as needing to be vocal.
 
There are victims among us who have not said anything for years about the things that took place in back rooms or offices or church buildings, camps or cars. For some reason, people run to suspicion and say, “Why are you now just beginning to talk about this? Why did you wait so long? What do you want out of this?”  
 
In legal terms when someone speaks out immediately about sexual abuse or harm done,the term is called “Outcry”.
They “cry out”, they “tell”.
 
When someone takes awhile to be able to process abuse, especially children (male, and female!) or young vulnerable teenagers or women who have been abused in the past, and have been threatened to remain silent or paid off to be quiet, and are easily preyed upon by those who are able to spot vulnerability, it takes them longer, and healthy unpacking and dialog frees them to tell. This must be tenderly and wisely handled with a skilled CHRISTIAN trauma counselor who works in these areas of sexual, church or cult abuse, or child abuse.
 
The term for this, when someone takes so long or doesn’t remember everything that happened (because they’ve been threatened and they have shut it out), this is called “Delayed Outcry.”
 
With the proper counseling and the proper police reporting involved, then there becomes an investigation or a forensic investigation that listens to and  reviews documents, the stories or events, does the investigating, looks at any kind of proof which could be documents, notes, texts, emails, pictures, clothing, the location or rooms these things happened in. Then, they begin to question and cross examine those who are being accused.
 
Yes! There have been people who have lied and set others up for something they never did. Or, they lured people into getting them to be involved in nefarious behaviors, use of drugs, alcohol, inappropriate touching, looking at unsafe objects, videos or pictures, and then turn around and use it to project onto that individual in order to hide their own very Addictive sicknesses.
 
Here’s the Honest Deal.
When there are wolves operating the pulpits, we don’t say, “well they were once a really nice sheep so we have to be nice to them!” A wolf is a wolf! A wolf puts on a mask like a sheep and can appear saintly and beautiful and tell sad, well oiled stories about themselves to make themselves look like they’re repentant over something “small” that they may struggle over and then everyone feels like, “what a lovely, humble soul!”
They can con, they can cry, they can preach, they can look compassionate. They can talk a good line, they can be very convincing.
But, if they have been predators, touching children, often touching women, touching men, plagiarizing, mishandling funds for their own purposes and lavish living...
…These are wolves.
 
We have to call them for what they are. They thrive on building their egos and are very convincing in order build their own empires, claiming that it was the Lord giving them all the blessings.  
 
2 Corinthians 11:13-14 addresses this so strongly!
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light!”
 
Friends, Discernment is at an all-time low
and the Lord is bringing it to the forefront.
 
The Spirit of God is saying to you and saying to me, “cultivate develop and train yourself to be discerning and to test everything!”
This means school boards, politicians, those in the pulpit, those in other ministries and any other position of authority.
Some of the slickest and most well promoted people are often those of who have charming, manipulative narcissistic traits and harm many in their wake.
 
The posture of power, inflated titles, fake tears, swiftly changing of trends and movements that claim it’s “THE thing” God is doing, are lures to draw crowds, train people to trust the speakers to hear from God for them ( but not fully train the audience to discern and judge.)
 
Oh the wretched and unbelievably twisted things I have heard behind the doors of Pastoral counseling!
Oh the ugly and extremely uncomfortable things I’ve witnessed in Green rooms before live “Christian” broadcasts.
Oh the unbelievably huge complex and disgusting competition that goes on among ministries and Christian organizations, when monetary policies are used as a way to enrich those at the top.
 
If There’s Anything I’d Scream From the Rooftops Today
It Would Be,
“Cultivate and Learn Discernment!”  
Be sober! Be wise!
Be accountable!”  
Oh Lord Jesus! Mature your people. Teach them to hear your voice. 
 
I would like to share a statement from a wonderful man of God who is a seasoned Husband, Father, Pastor, Speaker, and Author.
His name is Tim Challies.
He shares these very potent and deep words.
 
“With discernment comes division.  
A person who seeks to be discerning must be willing to suffer the effects of this division.
It will divide not only the believer from the unbeliever, but it may even divide a discerning believer from one who is undiscerning.
It will separate the mature from the immature and the naïve from the prudent.”
 
SO well said!
 
In my closing out of this podcast today, I would like to share a few potent words from Dr. Diane Langberg who has worked in multicultural and many international settings were abuse and tragedy of every kind, (those imagined and those that you cannot imagine that have taken place).
She works as a specialist among those who have been traumatized by Church abuse in its many forms. She is a wise Senior woman who I greatly admire and have learned much from.
As I share her statements in closing, allow them to speak to the deeper part of you where the Lord is developing discernment and greater awareness.
 
Diane says,
“Many of us have confused the church system with Jesus Christ; they are not the same.
There are wolves among the sheep, tares among the wheat.
Jesus called humans that looked good on the outside, white-washed tombs full of stink. My work has taught me that many poor sheep have followed a blind guide, a gifted wolf, and landed in a pit.
No so-called Christian system is truly God’s work unless it “fleshes out” his character. Toleration of sin, pretense, and crookedness do not reveal the character of God, even if they bear his name.
Arrogance is never godly.
Covering up sin is never godly.
Abuse of power is never godly.
Shepherds who feed on sheep are abusive.
Leadership that preserves and protects the system, rather than the people, turns the house of God into a safe place for predators.
Those who come to feed on God himself then find themselves being the main course instead.
 
We have failed to protect leaders from their own bondage to self-deception and sin. Exposure brings hope, for it brings the cancer to the light.
To hide sin by cover-up or silent complicity is spiritual abuse.
It is a failure to love the perpetrator. Demise of a system—even a spiritual system—is not the worst that can happen!
We must acknowledge and tell the truth about these things.
Great damage is being done to God’s sheep, in his name.
He weeps over such leaders and the sheep they harm.
Be watchful.
Recognize coercive and manipulative behavior.
Call it by its right name when someone in power uses spiritual words and ideas to silence, control, and intimidate.
Be discerning about those who hold power—including yourself.
Do not be deceived. 
May we, with Daniel, call out to God: “O Lord, hear! O Lord forgive. O Lord listen and act. For your own sake do not delay, because your church and your people are called by your name.”(Dan. 9:19).
Source:  https://erlc.com/resource/when-the-sheep-are-preyed-upon/
 
Finally, I would like to say these words.
Trauma can leave people feeling shattered and alone.
But through our faith, we discover that God’s love is unwavering and His healing touch can mend even the deepest wounds.
 
Let’s remember that we are not defined by our pain,
But by the Grace that lifts us up,
and leads us toward restoration.
 
If you find yourself carrying the weight of trauma, know that you are not alone on this journey.
For those of you who may be trembling with fear or who have experienced any kind of abuse.
For those of you, how are trembling and fear, because you know you have done something and have hidden it from others or have protected others who you know have done harmful, evil things, the word of God says to confess your faults to one another to confess your sins so that you may be clean, freed, and that you may be forgiven.
To those of you who have been abused, don’t be afraid to find a safe, godly, skilled trauma counselor who will be able to help you be freed from the prisons of shame, control, and intimidation within, so that you can walk in the light of grace and freedom and know that your Father in heaven has rescued you from those that harm.
To help you in your journey, I have included a link where you can quickly locate or begin to research a Christian counselor who is skilled and able to help you with whatever specific area that you may need to have help with.
https://tinyurl.com/5h4zfc9u
 
Let's pray together before we end this time together.
Heavenly Father,
May everyone who knows your mercy keep putting their trust in you, for they can count on you for help no matter what.
O Lord, you will never, no, never, neglect those who come to you."
-Psalms 9:10
Heavenly Father, in the face of fear and uncertainty, I call upon your strength to fill those who are listening to, or who are reading this message, fill them with courage.
When the wounds of traumatic experiences seem too deep to overcome, remind them that you are the ever-present help in times of trouble.
Grant them the bravery to face their fears head-on, knowing that you go in front of them, leading them into a future, free from the shackles of the past.
Thank you for being our fortress and our deliverer. With you by their side, They will not be afraid. Amen.
 
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed,
as long as the complete message, Website, podcast link
and information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You!
"2025"
"THE MESSENGER"  -  Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.marylindow.podbean.com
 
If you would be so kind to assist Mary by helping her to meet other administrative needs such as website, video messages and podcast costs, or desire to bless her service in ministry with Spirit-led offerings or regular support:
 
Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 
► Personal Checks ► Business Checks
► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks
To: 
His Beloved Ministries Inc. 
PO Box 1253
Denver, Colorado 80614USA 
 
Or feel free to use or send a tax-deductible gift with
 
Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow 
Under the name of - Mary Lindow - His Beloved Ministries 
ALL gifts are tax-deductible under
His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.
We are financially accountable and have been in
full compliance since 1985
THANK YOU!
 
To Learn More About Steve and Mary 
Click this Picture!
👇🏽
👆🏽
Do You Need Prayer?
Click the picture to send a request!
 

"TIMES THAT TRY THE SOULS OF HUMANITY" - COURSE CORRECTIONS

By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit
My heart aches and yes, even trembles a bit at the broad measure of deception that has had a huge increase in these difficult days.
Spirits that imitate the voice of our Savior are cloaking themselves as Angels of light and also come masquerading as the Voice of the Holy Spirit in order to distract and lure believers away, slowly from sound convictions, godly warnings, and above all, THE still small Voice.
The Bible tells us that deception; doctrines of demons, and false prophets will increase.  The Spirit  of God has spoken expressly that in the latter times some would depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
It feels as if those days are upon us and though we might try to withdraw or hide, we cannot escape them; we must overcome in the midst of them, for this is the will of God concerning us.
Strange as it may seem, the danger today is greater for the passionate Christian than for the lukewarm and the self-satisfied. 
 
“THE SEEKER AFTER GOD'S BEST THINGS IS EAGER TO HEAR ANYONE
WHO OFFERS A WAY BY WHICH HE CAN OBTAIN THEM.”
~A.W. Tozer
The type of person Mr. Tozer is speaking about, longs for some new experience, some superior view of truth, some operation of the Spirit that will raise him or her above the dead level of religious bumpiness they see all around them, and for this reason these people are ready to lean a concerned ear towards the “new and the amazing” in faith, first and foremost if it is presented by someone with an attractive personality and a reputation for “enhanced” saintliness.
HOWEVER, our Lord Jesus the great Shepherd of His sheep has not left His flock to the ruthlessness of the wolves. He has given us the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and yes, the natural ability of common sense watching, and He expects us to apply ourselves to their help all the time.
 
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good," said Paul. -I Thess. 5:21
"Beloved, believe not every spirit," wrote John, "but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" -I John 4:1
"Beware of false prophets," our Lord warned, "which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." -Matt. 7:15
 
A TIME FOR DIRECTIONAL ADJUSTMENT
We are in much need of a directional adjustment as believers in the Body of Christ right now as the world turns itself upside down with malice, dictatorships, and political posturing. Weneed to be certain that nothing of the world and its behaviors are hidden in our own hearts. 
We must hear that magnetic pulling voice of the Holy Spirit, and obey itwithout turning left or right.
”So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. “ -Deuteronomy 5:32
 
NOTHING THAT COMES FROM GOD WILL MINISTER TO OUR PRIDE OR SELF-CENTEREDNESS.
N O T H I N G!
If we are tempted to be conceited and to feel superior because we have had an incredible vision or a radical spiritual experience, or if we feel extraordinarily more well informed or gifted with educational pursuits and feel the need to inflict our “superior-ness” upon others, we should fall immediately to our knees and repent of the ugly and fleshly, self-serving thing! We have fallen and have been duped by the arrogant and self-deceived enemy of our souls, Lucifer.
“For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.” - 1 John 2:16
 
LOOKING FOR CONTINUAL SAFETY AND HELP?
When we walk in the way of surrender and tenderness with our ears tuned in towards the frequency of the ”still small voice of God”, we actually walk in a safe haven or overshadowing safety of the Presence of God. Training our spiritual ears to hear the voice of the Father creates and provides a lifetime “guarantee” of knowing when the storms or troubles will arise as well as intense persecution.
There is a promise for direction from a place of Divine Protection and direction whenever it’sneeded.
”Therefore my heart is glad  and my tongue rejoices;
My body also will rest secure.” - Psalm 16:9
 
REST AND WAITING IS CRUCIAL
The man or woman with an honest heart will find no difficulty here. It is the hardest thing the mind and body to do!
Learning to rest and wait when the world is screaming at a fevered pitch,
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?
 
It is a hard learned yet reachable discipline if we will lean into it and ask for God’s help. 
Yes, only HE can train us in this discipline of rest and waiting. Our flesh will never give into it willingly. 
Hear and then HEED the Voice of God calling you to enter into His rest. It is a place of pleasant minimalism and uncluttered guidelines. His Presence silences all of the noise of the day and noise of the Head.
ANY REAL WORK OF GOD IN OUR HEART WILL TEND
TO MAKE US UNABLE TO ENJOY WORLD'S FELLOWSHIP.
 
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
-I John 2:15
 
It can be declared clearly, that any spirit that allows “give and take” with the world…
...Is a deceiving spirit.
 
GOD’S PRESENCE IS A PLACE OF SAFETY FOR THE WEARY
Dear child of God!There is no judgment or shame there.It is a restful place of learning to take up an easy yoke and a light burden. 
Perhaps right now…. as you read this…you might need to get away from music in headphones or speakers, away from the ring tones on your new awesome phone with all of those cool new apps, and enter intothe safe haven of God.
Lay down the weight of worry and frustration. The anger at life all bottled up in rage and gloom! All you need to take with you into the place of refuge is a willing and listening heart. Ready to trust the Divine Protector and Provider.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, Even as we put our hope in you. -Psalm 33:22
 
PLEASE SIT BACK AND LISTEN
TO THE FOLLOWING SPONTANEOUS SONG FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD!
IT WILL SING LIFE INTO YOUR WEARY SOUL! 
 
CAPTAIN OF YOUR SOUL ©
Spontaneous Prophetic Song of The Lord
 
There is a river of life; there is a river that flows
From the city of God, There is a river of life
There is an ocean, Deep and wide and strong
And there is a pathway, in the water wide and long
 
There is a Master, Captain, at the helm of life
And there is Someone standing,
Steering the course in the fog at night
Even though the times that you can't see Me
Even though the times that you can't hear Me
I am the echo in the night
 
There is an ocean deep and wide
And there is a river flowing by your side
And even though the darkness might come
Remember the promise I've given you
I will guide you in the storms of life
 
Come with Me a while and see, that I am He
The Captain at the helm
Come and see that I have a course now set
In the heavenly realms
 
There is a river, a place for you to flow
There is a river, there is something more, For you to know
 
Let me take control, let Me drift your life away
For in the darkness of night
You can hear Me better say
 
I am the Captain of your soul
And I am the Master of the storm
Remember when you can't feel
Remember when you can't set your sail
Remember when there's no breezes
Remember there is a voice that pleases
 
There is a river, there is an ocean
There is a Captain at the helm
 
And though you might not see Me
And though you might not feel Me
I am still in the heavenly realm
I am still in the heavenly helm
 
Captain of the sea
Captain of the storm
Come and rest with Me
 
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed, as long as the complete message, Website, podcast link and information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You! 2024
"THE MESSENGER"  - Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.marylindow.podbean.com
 
If you would be so kind and assist Mary helping her to meet other administrative needs such as website and podcast costs, or desire to bless her service in ministry with Spirit-led Love gifts or regular support:
Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 
► Personal Checks ► Business Checks
► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks
To: 
His Beloved Ministries Inc. 
PO Box 1253
Denver, Colorado 80614
 USA 
 
Or feel free to use our send a tax-deductible gift with
 
Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow 
Under the name of - His Beloved Ministries Inc. 
 
ALL gifts are tax-deductible under
His Beloved Ministries 5013c non-profit status.
We are financially accountable
and have been in full compliance since 1985.
Thank You!
 

”UNDERSTANDING THE KINDNESS OF GOD DURING CHANGING TIMES”

 
By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit
 
This podcast message has been sitting strongly in my spirit and of course, not all of it will be easy to hear because our flesh doesn’t like to hear about change or where God must correct us. There is also a Prophetic Word from the Lord at the end of this message, which I feel holds so much insight and promise for those He loves.
 
THE TIMES ARE RAPIDLY CHANGING AND I KNOW THAT FOR ME, IT WILL REQUIRE A DIFFERENT STRATEGY TO HANDLE THEM 
AND
THAT I MUST BE WILLING AND ABLE TO WALK OUT THE DAYS AHEAD.
 
It seems as if I identify with the prophet Jeremiah more often now than ever before.  And so, I am CHOOSING to adjust the way of delivering my portion of what the Spirit of God would give me, as He leads me. Daily.
 
I AM IN WORDLESS, TEAR-STREAMING GRIEF over the rapid forms of meditation, eastern mysticism, competitive daily trendy “prophetic” articles/ words (advertisements!) — and outright fear mongering one moment and then “hysterical” any moment breakthrough messages, (both which, recycle over and over), that are sweeping into the Body of Christ. And. the devouring and public slandering has become unbearable.
 
YOU SEE, WHEN PEOPLE REFUSE TO LET GOD BE THE JUDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, When they inject their own standards to oppose His, these people who are “usurping” assume a sovereignty or power that belongs only to God.
They choose to undermine God’s order, in order to demand their own, and in doing this, they hope to avoid the pinpricks of their conscience.  
After all, “if it’s legal” then it must be right! Right?”
No.
God’s law is not so easily escaped or fanned away as an old dusty list of metaphors.
 
CONCEIT AND PRIDE ARE THE GREATEST ENEMIES TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH!  Newly “acquired knowledge” or notoriety often leads to pride rather than wisdom.
There is no more certain way to fall into sin and self-deception than to allow pride to lead us into putting confidence in ourselves rather than God. This kind of pride always leads to destruction, because it robs us of God’s power to stand against temptation!
 
WHAT WE ACCOMPLISH AS MEMBERS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS DONE BY THE POWER OF GOD. 
 
Knowledge can be mistaken for maturity.  
True knowledge is designed to bring us TO maturity.
When we parade our so called freedom before others in an effort to reveal how much we know, we actually reveal our immaturity and are treading on dangerous ground!
 
KNOWLEDGE PUT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY
LEADS TO HEARTBREAK AND DIVISIVE SCATTERING.
 
THE WESTERN STYLE “FIRST WORLD CHURCH” IS CAUGHT UP IN SO MANY IDENTITY CRISES andwith pushing movements and meetings, that the voices crying out and weeping in the places of preparation (the wilderness) saying, “You! Yes YOU! Prepare the Way of the Lord! Straighten out those crooked, twisted paths!” – Well, they are suddenly being told to step back into a place of silence and travailing prayer, determined to lean in closer to THE Voice that is small, still, and sure.
 
FRIEND! ONLY TIME SPENT WITH THE LORD LIKE A DEAR FRIEND, will fill the gaping ache you have. He will speak, He will comfort, and He will show you what is true and what is false in the days ahead, if you will return to that “place of companionship with Him”, away from the opinions of men and the noise of this life.  
As you turn your heart and hopes towards him you will see compassion poured out upon you and you will then have his power of pure godly compassion and “wisdom driven grace” to pour out on others.
 
"SPEAK TO HIM WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART, YOUR LONGINGS,YOUR HEARTACHES, AND YOUR DREAMS.HE WILL BE THERE WITH ARMS OF STRENGTHTO RESCUE YOU FROM DESPAIR.”
 
“A Prophetic Word”
 
“Can you not hear my voice speaking to you clearly?
Has it become clouded with the cares of this life and the voices of men articulating what they “think” is my voice?
My time for you to hear the truth is never when man decides it.  
The world screams that all the chaos and change is turning and twisting men’s hearts away from me. But when I speak and when I move and I AM lifted up, men’s hearts ache for me!
 
There is a greater power in my silence then there is in the shouting of mankind saying that I do not exist!  It is folly and foolishness to think that man can try to silence or attempt to erase me!
 
I AM preparing for myself a Bride.  
Not a foolish, emotionally lovesick self-seeking Bride!
No I AM seeking and preparing for myself a mature godly gathering of those who will become one and unified with and in me.
I AM the one that is shaping and fashioning this Bride in the refining fires that are currently burning across the earth.
 
Men may try to redefine me, saying that I do not exist.
They may attempt to twist words that I have spoken in order to fit the base agenda in their own souls, but all the while I AM shaping and fashioning and preparing for myself an army and a Bride that will not be defeated in the days to come.
 
Adjust your thinking child!
I AM not a God to be dictated to or to be demanded of!  
I AM one to be approached with brokenness and humility!  
Those who have a contrite heart and a right spirit are the ones that I will answer.
 
There is a time coming when I will sweep away and clean up the false examples of prophetic ministry claiming and declaring things that have nothing to do but glorify the flesh.
If a person’s heart is not right with me, no matter what they declare, decree, or shout, it will fall upon ears of deafness in heaven.  
I desire truth in your inward parts.
 
Let me reduce you to love.
Stripping away title, presumption, and secret desires for notoriety.  
In order to be like me you have to live like I did in the earth.  
I served mankind and was spat upon.
I spoke truth and I was mocked.  
I challenged the proud and religious thinkers of the day and they desired to silence me and kill me.
 
I AM calling you my people, to become honest in heart, broken and humble before me, with a willing heart to serve me and those that I send to you. It is not their external condition that you are to judge nor categorize.  
Your job is to share my life, my light and my love with them.  
In your example of how you treat them is how I see you treating Me.
Show no favoritism but humble yourselves in my sight and do the work of my servant.
 
Yes, the days are changing and the mandates for your life are becoming more defined.
 Bow before me and reconnect your heart to truth and simplicity and the grace of knowing that you were purchased with a life poured out so that you might live life to the fullest.”
“It is necessary for him to increase and for me to decrease.”
-John 3:30
 
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed, as long as the complete message, website, podcast link and information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You!  "2023"
"THE MESSENGER"  - Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.marylindow.podbean.com
 
If you would be so kind and assist Mary, helping her to meet other administrative needs such as website and podcast costs, or desire to bless her  ministry service with Spirit-led love gifts or regular support:
Please JOYFULLY send your gift in the form of: 
► Personal Checks ► Business Checks
► Money Orders ► Cashiers Checks
To: 
His Beloved Ministries Inc. PO Box 1253Denver, Colorado 80614USA 
Or feel free to use or send a tax-deductible gift with
Pay Pal   paypal.me/mlindow 
Under the name of - His Beloved Ministries Inc. 
 
ALL gifts are tax-deductible underHis Beloved Ministries  501(3)c non-profit status.
We are financially accountable and have been in full compliance since 
1985 with Clergy Financial Advantage.
THANK YOU!
 
 

“2022” - SQUEEZED, STRAIGHTENED AND A NARROWING PATHWAY - Insights and Words From The Holy Spirit

WE THINK THAT WE ARE SO KNOWLEDGEABLE about our own needs and ourselves! But, more often than not, we are just opinionated and headstrong people! 
 
By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit
 
WE THINK THAT WE ARE SO KNOWLEDGEABLE about our own needs and ourselves! But, more often than not, we are just opinionated and headstrong people! We refuse instructions from anyone who could tell us about the deeper things of the spirit, because “We know”, or… “Don’t want to know!” 
(How DARE you address this Mrs. Lindow)!!!
Hmmmm!  I think I will continue!! **smile**
 
We stumble along without anyone's help, and all the while we are overlooking that gnawing, “unsettled sense” inside of us, though if we paid attention to this we would see our true inner condition. It is in this way that we acclimate our souls to straggle along in a dark spiritual wilderness, and how we do ourselves so much harm.
 
MANY, MANY OTHER CHRISTIAN SOULS ARE JUST LIKE THIS.
They don't know how to do anything other than let their human senses guide them, and then one day, God intervenes. He arranges things so that one day when you are all alone, there will heave from within your heart a sudden surprising awareness of absolute emptiness. He may also cause you to have a feeling of complete emptiness, but an overwhelming sense of isolation from others, and a lot of loss.
“All of a person's ways seem right in his own opinion, 
But the LORD evaluates the motives.” -Proverbs 21:2
 
You see, there is nothing but a bottomless crater to look down into the deadness of our own souls if we are not fully committed to God. If you ever come to this place you will know how quickly your soul wants to run away and to rush to find something, anything at all, to "fill" itself up again with noise and activity.
Art! Food! Beautiful Clothing! The doing of generous deeds! Perfectionistic exercising and self-improvement to show your “Self” discipline! 
After all... PEOPLE are watching!
The reality of this is, So Is God.
 
VERY FEW SEE THIS BLEAK MOMENT FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS.     
It's a chance to see their need for something that is beyond themselves.
But my friend, this can be a moment where the soul can cross over from its own empty silence into an expected quiet that is alive with His presence.
It silences the anguish, the anxious restlessness into a calm and still place of peace. It's as if the soul finds that in this dark place, there is secret well of sweet water, and it springs up and overflows with light and life. 
Learning to pass into this place of the Spirit and allowing God to keep your soul in refreshing silent tranquility is a true act of the maturing believer.
 
ALL OF YOUR FLESHY SOUL WILL WANT TO RADICALLY FIGHT THIS, 
and it will do so by trying to analyze what's happening!
All of this kind of behavior will just weigh you down, and it'll pull you back from walking in the spirit, to walking simply in your own understanding. 
The choice we all must make is encapsulated in this statement made by John the Baptist.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”  -John 3:30
 
Another translation of this verse says it even more plainly.
“He must become more important
while I become less important."
WHEW!
 
HEAVEN CAN BE ENTERED ONLY THROUGH THE NARROW GATE! 
The pathway to hell is broad,
and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes that choose its easy way.  
But the Gateway to Life is small,
and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it. –Matthew 7:13-14
 
THE WORD “WAY” TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK WORD HODÓS LITERALLY MEANS “A NATURAL ROAD OR TRAVELED WAY”.  
It refers to a way of life or a way of thinking.
The word is used six times in the book of Acts as a substitute for Christianity itself.   We can quickly understand that the Christian faith is more than a one-time decision to accept Christ. It is a faith, which alters the very course of a life.
 
THE WORD “NARROW” COMES FROM THE GREEK VERB THLÍBO, WHICH MEANS TO PRESS OR CRUSH
AS A WORKER IN A VINEYARD MIGHT CRUSH GRAPES OR A CROWD OF PEOPLE MIGHT PRESS AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. 
This word also means to experience trouble, difficulty, or affliction.
 
COMBINED WITH THE GREEK WORD HODÓS, IT INSINUATES A SQUEEZED, STRAITENED, OR NARROWING PATHWAY.
The cramped condition of the path seems to imply two valuable truths about the nature of the Christian life.
It is a way marked out by the will of God, and it is a way marked by difficulty and struggle.
Remember, when your soul discovers how to let the Holy Spirit bring it into this place of inner peace of learning to rest in this stillness, it’s only because God is carrying you in his arms and that you sense no toil or drive on your part.
Friends, this accomplishes much more than all of your own actions or works of performance, since God Himself, is at work inside of you.
 
“I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work in you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world.” -Philippians 1:6 (The Voice)
 
IF WE FACE “THE NARROWING”, THE CHALLENGE OF ALLOWING OUR SOUL,  OUR FLESH, TO BE FULLY HANDED OVER TO GOD’S PATHWAY,
HE WILL TEACH OUR SOUL HOW TO OVERCOME   
THREE OF THE MOST TOXIC OF SINS.
 
These sins are -  
Anger, Envy, and, an unwillingness to obey the Lord. 
 
These run wild through our stony and hardened hearts
and they eventually can crumble and ruin us.
 
YOU SEE, OUR SOULS DESIRE TO FIND COMPLETE HAPPINESS, BLISS, CONSOLATION AND SECURITY IN THIS WORLD, AND THIS CAN NEVER REALLY HAPPEN!
So, God has to show us our great darkness when our soul tries to find spiritual strength there, because there is no sweet and vibrant life when our soul is attached to the things of this world!  It’s a wide and gregarious path in the world, and the crowds on the pathway adore gratification and pleasure of every sort.
Our souls have a natural demand for wanting our own pleasure and achievement, and frustration causes these sins to grow, and they bring the very ugly fruit that is produced from them right into the light! OUCH!
 
THE LORD ALLOWS HIS TOOL OF DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES TO CRUSH AND TO CRACK OUR HARD SOULS.
He plants His word of light deep into our darkness. And He pours the living water of His spirit on our dryness and then we soften, as he uproots our old sluggish ways and our complaining about obeying God. Meaning, having to pass up our soothing comforts and pleasures.
 
NOW, I URGE YOU TO QUIET THE COMPLAINING OF YOUR SOUL, WITH ITS REBELLIONS.
We will naturally want to turn back to its pleasure and demands!  
But as the world goes further and further into broad deviations of every kind, you as a believer will face a fork in the road.
One of the most cunning temptations of the times that we live in right now for believers is the mindset that says,
“I’m not going to get into any trouble! I can handle things as a Christian just fine!
I wont actually “touch the fire” I’ll just play around it!” 
 
WHAT IS THAT FIRE? 
It’s justifying and adapting God’s often narrow and absolute instructions about relationships, marriage, sex, self-indulgence, arrogance, “harmless" Occult involvement and lording over those whom you feel are less astute or affluent as you.
 
GOD WILL AND HE MUST BRING THIS DRYNESS OUT OF OUR SOULS AND KILL THESE DEADLY ROOTS!
Quiet the pathetic demands of your soul for soothing comforts and a right to be angry and judgmental!
When your path seems empty and silent and desert dry, put your soul’s concentration on God alone. You can hardly imagine the harvest of a lasting joy that comes to you, when you learn to be free of your soul’s whining. It's there that God can speak quiet words! 
They will be so sweet and tender, and he will speak of his great love to us.
 
KNOW THIS. DRYNESS WILL TRY TO COME AGAIN AND AGAIN.      
It wants to lead you to self-justification and an easy escape from the hammer and chisel of God shaping your being, turning it into a reservoir for His purposes. 
It will try to come back with greater strength each time you resist. So stand your ground and stand firm in the quietness of your brokenness.  
 
Focus upon His presence guiding you down the narrowing path. 
He will come to you and His fresh guidance will be more amazing than anything your natural mind can imagine.
 
A PROPHETIC WORD FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD
FOR THOSE FACING “THE NARROWING PATH”
 
“Darker and broader and louder come the shouts of world to draw you into its intricate webs.
These webs of deceit are spun with silken tongues and with the softness of the promise of an easier life.
 
There is a reckoning coming to those that sell lies and imprison those who buy their wares.  
But for those who are determined to not walk on a fence, trying to balance between their own thinking and me, there will be a “Divine Might” that will empower them to continue down the narrowing way.
Where does this narrowing journey lead? 
What is the payoff at the end?
 
As you become more determined and lay aside the things that have hindered you over and over again from fully entering into the deeper places with me, a lightness and freedom will propel you toward a place of Living Light. 
That Light is Me, and you will soon know Me in a different way than you have in past years and seasons.
 
My one warning to many is that they cannot argue that the path is “too narrow”. 
What mankind might call “rigid” I call “Straight and Direct”. 
If you choose to alter the plans that I have set down for your protection and safety, you will grieve my Spirit and allow a searing of your conscience to override the truths that you know deep in your heart.
 
“The path of those who do right is straight and smooth. 
I, who am upright, make the way of the righteous level.” -Isaiah 26:7
 
“The Narrowing” has begun to increase, and the love for it has decreased among those who choose to remain passive to conviction and pure living. 
Allow my Holy Spirit to move freely again.
I know what I must do, to break the constraints of man.
 Let me move!
Are you afraid that I might be ridiculed?
Or, are you more concerned for your image and patterns before men? 
 
“Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies,
But test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.”
-I Thessalonians 5:19-21
 
Choose the “Narrowing Way”.  For I, Am there. 
Choose the pathway of “rightness” with me, even when others scoff at your “narrow mindedness”.
When the days become darker and the world tilts and twists in further unrestrained darkness,
You will be the carrier of My Light, which can lead the lukewarm and lost down the narrow, but safe, and integral way, to Me.
 
Duplication and sharing of this message is welcomed,
Provided that complete message, podcast site link
and website information
forMary Lindow is included.
Thank you!
"The Messenger" ~ Mary Lindow
2022 © 
www.marylindow.com
www.marylindow.podbean.com
 
 
 
 

THE DAYS OF TRANSFORMATION - "FROM FRAGILE TO FERVENT"

 
 
By Mary Lindow through the Holy Spirit
If you would ask the true "heart determined" believer in Christ today just what it is that they need now more than ever, it would be totally answered by the very raw words;
“I am need to have full clarity of mind and a fearless trust in the knowledge of how much God loves me.”
 
WE ARE IN ONE HOT REFINERS FIRE!
People are winding up in anger, disbelief and frustration over this "Unfair" season the Bride of Christ is in! It just isn't fair! We have been so good! We have laid down everything!
Why oh why are WE being singled out?
“I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.”
~ Psalm. 69:3
 
“ I am weary with my sighing; every night I make my bed swim,
I dissolve my couch with my tears.
~ Psalm. 6:6
Does this sound like you right now?
 
EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE TESTED SOMETIME!
The strongest impression I have received from the Father about the condition of His Bride is this. When things are going "fabulously" for her, when all of heaven is blessing, she wants to keep it that way! If she is not in a place of great humility and thankfulness for what the Lord is doing, she tends to assume that, “It’s about time folks knew just how long I've been waiting for them to see just how great this church, or ministry or intellectual skill I've been soooo blessed with is!”
 
Then comes the attitude that we have to keep it allotted to only a few “real winners” like ourselves, and we become exclusive and look for only high rollers to run with.
And then. AGAIN comes the TEST.
Persecution comes, mug slinging, attacks on personal integrity, character assassination, and again the fiery trial.........of our soul.
 
TO REMOVE IMPURITIES - GOD USES A HOT OVEN!
These trials as if by fire are only to test our faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-- and our faith is far more precious to God than mere gold.
“So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” ~ I Peter chapter 1: 7
 
HOW ARE YOU DOING?
The Lord is working the Bride overtime right now to deal with selfish ambition, personal comfort, and any other areas of personal agenda or presumption.
YES! Presumption.
We as Christians have often presumed that because we are Christians…
…we should never experience severe sorrow, grief, loss, or devastation.
This “fairy tale” stems from a huge level of denial and total self focus. It is also a very Western culture mindset.
 
A dear friend of mine who went to China and who was visiting a Chinese underground church group, had a reality check that shook her to the core of her faith.
She thought that she was coming to this group to “help and bless them.”
When they asked her what could they pray for the church in American about in order to bless them she was flummoxed! Her reply was, “We came to see how we might help you! ” How can we pray for you?”
The response back was, “Pray that we would not be fearful or silent about the gospel of Jesus we share when the authorities beat us or imprison us. Pray that we remain strong enough physically to endure the persecution we receive and not fear what man may do to us.”
SOBERING ISN’T IT!
When others around us are going through loss, trauma, or heart breaking circumstances, sadly, many believers turn away in disgust or even more disturbing, display an arrogant attitude of thinking they are more blessed by God because their lives are not so complex or “shattered” as those around them who must have done SOMETHING wrong to bring these things upon themselves.
Regrettably, some of the pain some saints are experiencing is due to the disobedience of those in the Body of Christ around them! They resist the hand of God and react against others in retaliation toward God bringing correction or exposure to their secret lifestyle of personal gain or need for power!
 
WE ARE NOT ALONE!
“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners
against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.”
Heb. 12:3
 
Admit it! It is hard to not lose heart right now!
The world is in a tailspin and lukewarm Christians are showing their true colors! It's time to deal with this! It is NOT going to go away!
AGONY IS MORE SEVERE WHEN IT IS "ENHANCED" BY BETRAYAL!
Jesus went through it. Stephen went through it and so did hundreds of others! AND it hurts, and disillusions, and causes us to be so very very weary!
 
“You will be delivered up and betrayed even by parents and
brothers and relatives and friends, and [some] of you they will
put to death.
Luke 21:16
 
THE TRANSFORMATION FROM FRAGILE …
…TO FERVENT IS COMING!
“When?” You may ask…..
For my determined purpose is that I may know Him. That I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into His likeness even to His death, in the hope…
… That if possible I may attain to the spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead even while in the body.
Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do, it is my one aspiration, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
_Philippians 3:10-14 (Amplified Bible)
 
HERE ARE A FEW THINGS THE LORD WOULD REQUIRE:
1.) To gain HIS strength, we must relinquish our power or control
over what we think of others. We will be judged by the way we
judge others when they struggle. Pious and lofty lectures are not
the Kingdom language of healing and restoration. Loving-
kindness and Mercy reveal the heart of godly maturity in a
believer when dealing with the sorrows and anguish of others.
“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
Or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs
To a heavy heart.”
Proverbs 25:20
 
2.) Reach out in kindness to those under fire.
Encourage them to stand. Encourage them to seek the Lord.
Bless them and don't talk about them when they struggle!
"The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens me morning by morning,
He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple."
Isaiah 50:4 3
 
3.) Get still. Stop organizing, planning, and pushing ahead into
oblivion! God really does have a plan!
“Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the Lord, Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become cynical. “
Is. 40:30 -31
 
4.) TRUST FOR A MOMENT!
It's all about trusting God in the end. Oh yes it is!
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 5
 
THE LORD IS PRODUCING ENDURANCE 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.
He is there! Even in the fog of struggle, loss, anxiety, and also in seeming success.
He wants us to be desperate for Him and rely wholly on His voice.
To make all of our decisions based on His plan for the whole earth!
 
Seek Him.
Lean into His Voice.
Elevate Grace and Mercy…
…And lower your own opinion of yourself and your abilities to
“lecture” others into healing or restoration.
 
WALK SOBERLY IF YOU ARE LIVING IN ABUNDANCE AT THIS TIME, ON ANY LEVEL.
Keep the vigil of prayer you are keeping for others well lit by the reflecting memories of past times when you yourself needed the Merciful Hand of God to lift you from agony and redeem your life from the pit.
 
Let us be so devoted to the “One” who lavished and spilled out all He had, that we might repeat His actions, and in so doing, bring His Glory to it’s fullest measure and depth.
His Mercy….
…Endures.
Forever.
 
“Then will the lame leap like a deer,  And the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness,  And streams in the desert.”
Isaiah 35:6
*****************************************
Duplication and sharing of this writing is welcomed provided that complete source, podcast and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You
Copyright © 2019 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.globalprayerrooms.com
http://marylindow.podbean.com/mobile/

SOWING SEEDS AND DEEDS OF GREATNESS - MERCY

 
Then he  (Jesus) added,
"Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture:
'I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.'
For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous,
But those who know they are sinners."
Matthew 9:13
 
It has been said that after the French Revolution, a certain convict that was released on parole traveled the countryside in search of a new beginning. Being an ex-con, as you would expect, led to complications in this search, and he wound up at the gates of a clergyman who agreed to host him for the night.
The convict, as is well known, takes advantage of the bishop’s generosity: getting up early before dawn, he takes off with the bishop’s silver; his escape however is hindered by the local Police Inspector, who after seemingly catching him presents the presumed thief to the bishop for identification. The bishop, without missing a beat, covers for his sneaky guest and speaks such words of kindness over the convict’s past present and future, through releasing him even though caught red handed and deserving of further punishment.
His words? They were profound and dripped of Mercy.
 
"My friend, you forgot to take the candlesticks as well."
 
For those of you who are perhaps not familiar with the story about the convict/man and the priest I just spoke of, I am referring to Victor Hugo’s book “ Les Miserables.”
I think Victor Hugo shows something of the challenge of today’s Message of the Gospel that Jesus would want us each to hear and to act upon.
"Be merciful, as your Father is merciful." -Luke 6:36
 
NOBODY LIKES A BULLY OR TO BE TALKED DOWN TO.
Maybe it is easy for us to be merciful when we have the upper hand.  If someone comes begging for forgiveness, it becomes a show–of generosity of spirit, but a show nonetheless–that we are in some way better than that person. Picture elegant royals, who, moments before the execution of a criminal would decree their royal pardon, leaving a lasting impression of compassion upon those pleading for another chance.
 
THIS IS NOT THE WAY GODLY MERCY WORKS.
Oh how merciful is our Father! It’s not that our faults are not important to an immeasurable God. We have without a doubt deeply wounded the ties that bind us to him.
Yet he still holds out his hand, bloodied and deformed holes in them, created by the nails put in, even to his enemies.
 
TODAY JESUS INVITES US TO RE-EVALUATE OUR MERCY:
How deeply do I forgive those who offend me?
Do I pray for them, or allow my forgiveness to become a show of winning the upper hand?  (Another way of showing false humility.)
The forgiving priest not only forgave Jean Valjean’s theft, he created an excuse for him, and even gave away the last of his own treasure, in the hopes that Valjean would be able to start a new life, knowing that he was shown the purest of love and authentic mercy.
 
MERCY MEANS…
Empathy, pity, sympathy, understanding; favor, grace; benevolence, care, compassion, gentleness, goodness, goodwill, humaneness, kindliness, meekness, mildness, niceness, softness, tenderness; generosity, affection, devotion, love, worship
 
IT ALSO MEANS…
…Letting go of harshness, accusation, presuming you know better what others need in order for them to better serve God. When we act out like this, we become much like Javert the Police Inspector hounding and lording it over Jean Valjean, bent on making sure all deeds that do not measure up to our way of justice are fully dealt with.
He felt sure that God wanted him to be the individual who would measure out justice and harsh terms of punishment in order to break John Valejan, thus having him pay the price of his wickedness and perchance if once finally shattered and broken, he may perhaps have God look his way .
 
"DON'T GET MAD -- GET EVEN?”
This seems to be the usual way people view the world nowadays. We should be thankful that God takes a different view of things. Although the Bible makes it clear that God is the Great Judge who hates all evil doing, he is also the Merciful One, who forgives and accepts people who turn to him.
Occasionally God chooses not to grant us mercy; for the purpose of judgment, rebuke, discipline, or testing. Fortunately, for most of us, this is the exception, not the rule.  For the time being, God has shown incredible patience and mercy by withholding most of the effects of our sins.
I will have mercy, on whom I will have mercy,
And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
Rom 9:15
 
 
GOD IS NOT ALWAYS SCOLDING US!
"He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever."
Psalm 103:9
Could God find reasons to scold His children all the time? Indeed, He could! None of us are perfect. We could all do better.
However, as justified as scolding us would be, God realizes that we would easily be discouraged if all we ever heard was scolding.
When He scolds us He is correcting us so that we confess our sins and do better.
"The Lord All-Powerful says, “They belong to me; on that day they will be my very own.
As a parent shows mercy to his child who serves him, I will show mercy to my people."
Malachi 3:17
 
ASK GOD FOR THE HELP YOU NEED TO OVERCOME SIN.
Face the reality that much of the suffering in our fallen world is caused by human sin.   But count on the fact that God is merciful toward all sinners. Whenever you recognize a situation in which some of your own sin has contributed to your suffering, pray for help, and God will give you the strength you need to overcome sin. Stop holding onto any sinful secrets that have been causing guilt, shame and bitterness in your soul. Confess your sins specifically, repent of them, accept the forgiveness that God offers you, and embrace the power that God gives you to move forward into a better life.
 
LISTEN FOR GOD SPEAKING IN THE SILENCE.
When your suffering becomes so painful that you can’t make any sense of it or figure out how to endure it, you may feel as if you’re trapped in silence, since nothing that other people say or do to try to help actually breaks through to you. But when you’re at the point where you don’t hear anything else, you can actually hear God best, since you’re less likely to get distracted by the world’s noise around you. In the silence, pour out your thoughts and feelings to God in prayer, and then listen to what He has to say to you. God won’t shout, but He will whisper, to encourage you to keep drawing closer to Him.
 
SUFFERING IS ALL AROUND YOU IN THIS FALLEN WORLD.
Sometimes it’s so tragic that it’s heartbreaking. Yet, God promises that He is loving and merciful. How can you reconcile these two realities that seem like they compete against each other?
The key is to look for God’s mercy, even when it seems like it can’t exist with the suffering you encounter. God’s mercy is a stronger force than even the worst suffering, and when you look for it, you’ll find it.
The spirit, which he sent to live in us, wants us for him alone.
James 4:5
 
WE ARE GOD’S OWN.
LET US NOT BE AFRAID TO BE LIKE OUR FATHER.
 
Let our hearts be conduits of God’s mercy, knowing that we ourselves have been forgiven so very much.
Let us communicate our thanks to Him by being overflowing vessels of kind and tender expression, showing God’s mercy to all.
 
The Lord is kind and shows mercy.
He does not become angry quickly
But is full of love.
Psalm 145:8
 
*****************************************
Duplication and re-transmission of this writing is welcomed provided
that complete source, and website information for Mary Lindow is included.
Thank You
Copyright © 2017 " THE MESSENGER " ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
www.globalprayerrooms.com

"THINK BIG - ACT LITTLE" - A prophetic insight

TO LISTEN TO THIS MESSAGE AS A FREE PODCAST PLEASE USE THE AUDIO BUTTON AND CLICKBy Mary Lindow
I was packing up a box for shipping in the mail and had
turned it over to be sure that I had used enough sealing tape to secure the
contents in the box. As I began to apply the sealing tape, my eyes were drawn
to the simple statement printed on the bottom of the box put there
intentionally by the company that manufactures the packing boxes.
It read;  " T H I
N K   B I G   -  A C T   L
I T T L E "
 
RIGHT THEN THE LORD
SPOKE TO ME IN GREAT INTENSITY.
He gently said, "Child,
the past mentality and insidious mind set of many in ministry has been the
direct opposite of the statement; "THINK BIG - ACT LITTLE." Man is
still obsessed with power, control, and is driven by the desire to be the biggest
and the best. This has crept into the church through a message of
self-gratification, and an implied sense of "you deserve it" spoken
through many who don't THINK BIG about the consequences of their words!
So many believers
think that they have a right to "Big things" but want it all to happen through
others doing for them honoring them, and therefore their concern and
"actions" in considering others service and faithfulness is minimal.
The current attitude
heaven is hearing from among not only many disobedient believers but also sadly
among many who think they are in the "forefront" of the wave of My
Spirit is in fact, a reversal of the statement, Think Big Act little.”
 
THINK LITTLE...ACT
BIG!This is the mindset of the selfish and those trapped in
patterns of deceit and personal denial!
 
AS LONG AS WE DON'T
TAKE THE TIME TO EXAMINE OUR OWN SOULS,
Which we well know, can be very wicked, we never think about
how our “ACTING BIG” and “all
anointed and all powerful” and how "on the cutting edge" we might
be!
 
THE LORD INSTRUCTED
ME WITH A FIRM BUT GENTLE WARNING,
about those who are trying to "re-package" the
same old way of doing things the way they want it done in a different box or presentation.
It's like the statement "THINK LITTLE - ACT BIG."
 
PUSHING AWAY THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS
DANGEROUS.
The Lord is in this present hour is granting us much
precious time to deal with the hidden sins and iniquities that are well fed and
functioning in each of our lives. Ministry leaders, apostles, prophets, pastors,
teachers, evangelists, sheep. Sadly, many seem to believe that if they just “THINK
LITTLE -  AND - “ACT BIG” well, others
will be really impressed with the BIG Show and BIG Presentation and we won't
have to think about or question our motives and manipulations as to why we need
to keep feeding the “BIG ACT!”
  
GODLESSNESS IN THE
LAST DAYS
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last
days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- having a form
of godliness but denying its power.
HAVE NOTHING TO DO
WITH THEM.
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain
control over weak-willed women, (men as well!) who are loaded down with sins
and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to
acknowledge the truth.
2 Timothy
  
MANY TIMES THE BODY
OF CHRIST IS FOUND TO BE CHASING AFTER MIRACLES AND SIGNS AND WONDERS…
…In order to get a new thing to happen in your church or
community. It is THINKING LITTLE. You have trained yourself and others to
pursue God, only if blessings and miracles occur. But when hardship and testing
and refining occur it's easier to “THINK LITTLE” about these.
Why?
 
THE FLESH HATES
DISCIPLINE AND TRUTH!
With every wave and Dimension of Glory the Lord releases,
there is always the crowd of the 5000 looking for a good free meal, a good
public speaker, and a few miracles. These days toss in a "new groovy
worship ministry" and you've arrived!
HOWEVER! When the real work of God is getting close, the
numbers drastically reduce and those who are not willing to extort others or
use others for fame and gain, become again, like a Gideon's army. Rugged,
broken, obedient, and they THINK about the BIG THINGS God can do, but “THEY ACT
LITTLE” or small and humble.
Philippians 2:3
Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others.Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.
 
 BEWARE OF THOSE WHO
SHOUT TOO LOUDLY;
"HEY! WE HAVE A BIG THING HAPPENING!"
“And you need to come and uh… well, if you really want in on
it, don't think much about the fee of $200 or more to attend what God is
doing!"
 
DID THAT POKE AT YOUR
SOUL A LITTLE BIT?  WELL GOOD!
WE ARE IN A SEASON
WHERE MONEY CHANGING IN THE NAME OF THE LORD'S ANOINTING IS GOING TO BE DEALT
WITH. Just after this paragraph is a small list of a few other
things the Lord has asked me to bring a gentle warning about. Things that He is
going to allow His exposure and His Holy fire to touch, if they are not
personally dealt with through our own choice in repent humbly to Him and to
others we are supposed to have some kind of accountability with.
(You are accountable to someone other than yourself aren't
you? ( hint ) That may be a mentor, a prayer group, a couple or two, maybe a
husband and wife together. But we all must have someone that we share an
account of our lives with.
HE IS GIVING ALL OF
HIS PEOPLE, SHEEP AND LEADERS ALIKE…
…TIME TO THINK - AND ACT.
 -  GENTLE WARNINGS FROM
THE LORD  - 
1.) Key Leaders need to become tender towards
those in their service.
Sharing with them as co-laborers and hard workers, fair and
even above and beyond, financial support, honor, and deep respect.
 1 Peter 5:3
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the
flock.
Romans 12:3
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think
of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God
has given you.
 
2.) Many in ministry
settings embrace too quickly, those who "appear" to have a large
ministry influence and grant them levels of authority without knowing what
their home life is like, what their accountability levels are, and how they
appropriate ministry funding they gain through travels, conferences or support.
THE LORD URGES THOSE WHO ARE PASTORAL TO
BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT THEY EMBRACE
AND BRING INTO THEIR
SHEEPFOLD. PASTORS ARE JUDGED MORE SERIOUSLY.
James 3:1
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you
know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
 Psalm 101:7
I will not allow deceivers to serve me, and liars will not be allowed
to enter my presence.
 
3.) The Lord warns about slandering others
in ministry or in the general Body of believers, publicly as well as in private
settings. Shaming others is usually a form of control and can often be used to
hide behind, rather than to lovingly confront, a situation.
  
MANY BOOKS AND MAGAZINE ARTICLES ARE GOING TO BE RELEASED IN THE NEXT
FEW MONTHS. 
THEY WILL SLANDER, LIE, AND
EXAGGERATE STORIES ABOUT HOW THE BODY OF CHRIST AND THOSE MEMBERS IN IT HAVE"DONE EACH OTHER WRONG."
 
This will be a total turn off to the generation that is
watching those who are to be modeling grace, patience, kindness, and
self-control. The Lord warns that once the doors of your mouth begin to slander and
shame others He will expose and do unto you what you have done unto others.
Hebrews 4:13  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is
uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
Leviticus 19:16
"Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.
Do not act as a merchant toward your own people.
Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor's life, for I am
the LORD.
 
2 Timothy 3:3 - "They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and
have no self-control; They will be cruel and have no interest in what is good."
 
YOU SEE, WE ARE TO THINK BIG ABOUT THE LOVE OF GOD
AND ACT LITTLE, ACT SMALL …
…ABOUT OURSELVES.
  
Humility brings honor and favor.
Deceit brings Judgment.
THINK BIG...
...ABOUT THAT.
 
Duplication and
re-transmission of this writing is permitted provided that complete source and website information for Mary Lindow is
included.Thank you.  “2014” ©www.marylindow.comwww.globalprayerrooms.com