the FireCarrier

Suppose a man has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the 99 sheep grazing in the pasture and look for the lost sheep until he finds it? When he finds it, he’s happy. He puts that sheep on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says to them, ‘Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ I can guarantee that there will be more happiness in heaven over one person who turns to God and changes the way he thinks and acts than over 99 people who already have turned to God and have his approval. ‭‭Luke‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭(GW) Draw nearer. Find your safety within my shadow. Don't allow fear to guide you. Rely upon me. I spoke your name, you are my creation.‬‬ Listen for my voice. Recognize the peace and protection it speaks over you. I will guide you in the way you should be going. Draw near to me. Allow my peace to become your covering.

They arrived at Jerusalem. Immediately on entering the Temple Jesus started throwing out everyone who had set up shop there, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of the bankers and the stalls of the pigeon merchants. He didn’t let anyone even carry a basket through the Temple. And then he taught them, quoting this text: My house was designated a house of prayer for the nations; You’ve turned it into a hangout for thieves. ‭‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭(MSG‬‬) Listen to the sounds about you. Nature sings her songs. They are all unique. They do not try to mimic the others. They grow as I called them by name. You to have been called. It is time for  you to speak what I have placed within  you to be speaking.

Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God’s kingdom. But if you read the books of the Prophets and God’s Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom. Looked at in this way, John is the ‘Elijah’ you’ve all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah. ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭(MSG) Share what I have shared with you. Reopen yourself to me and my ways. Allow me to take you places and show you what you need to see. Be ready. I am there, right in front of you. Re-open your heart and experience me.

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see. ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭(MSG)‬‬ Sit with me. Shut off the internal and external noises. I will be with you. I will show you the direction you should be going, but in my timing. For now, stay put. I will bring others to you. Show them my love. Speak to them the words I will give you.

My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth. Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter. Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.” Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies? Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enem...

Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear. ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭11‬-‭15‬ (‭NIV)‬‬ Come nearer and listen to what I will tell you. Do not be frightened nor allow anger to guide your actions. Allow me to be your guide. Listen for my voice speaking what you need. Set aside for our time together. Feed upon my written word. I will teach you to rightly walk with me.

  The Holy Spirit tells us the same thing: “This is the promise  that I will make to them after those days, says the Lord: ‘I will put my teachings in their hearts and write them in their minds.’ ” Then he adds, “I will no longer hold their sins and their disobedience against them.” When sins are forgiven, there is no longer any need to sacrifice for sins. Brothers and sisters, because of the blood of Jesus we can now confidently go into the holy place. Jesus has opened a new and living way for us to go through the curtain. (The curtain is his own body.) ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭15‬-‭20‬ (‭GW)‬‬ Learn to rest in me. Put aside your worrying and anxieties. Allow me to become your guide. Move in my pathway. I will lead you where you should be. Be listening for my voice and I will speak with you.