Making Sense of The Struggle — Part 2

The Son of Man came to the earth, not only as our sacrifice for all sin, but to show us how life is done.

See also, Making Sense of The Struggle — Part 1

The Son of Man came to the earth, not only as our sacrifice for all sin, but to show us how life is done.

For example, He taught us how to Pray, and He lived His life and obeyed.  He always did what His Father said, even when it had a huge price tag attached and the ultimate struggle He had to face.

Nothing in this life worth living comes from mediocrity.  None of the lessons one learns from growing in Christ, and in following his life, and ministry is futility.

Definition for Struggle: Make forceful or violent efforts to get free of restraint or constriction. “Before she could struggle, he lifted her up” Similar: fight, grapple, wrestle, scuffle, brawl, spar. (©Oxford dictionary)

From the beginning of time, there has always been a struggle.  Just like a mother struggles to bring forth a child into this world.  Anything good in life must come through a struggle.

Struggles are not easy, but once broken through brings strength to us and life.  Are you in a struggle today?

You have the goods, and you must understand that God allows the things of life to happen for His reasons, and our maturity.

From my own experience in the delivery room, I came to a place during transition labor that I seriously got up and said I do not want to do this anymore, as I tore the gown off my husband!

I literally wanted to get off the table and run!  I did not want to push through the struggle anymore!

If I had left that room, it would have been bad for the child and me.  Anything in your life that is good, you must realize somebody went through the struggle to bring that into existence.

For anything good to come in this life, whether it is spiritual, physical, relational, financial etc. is a struggle!

“Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says The LORD. Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.”   Isaiah 66:9 NKJV.

My answer in having that child was not to run but to push through the pain and press through the struggle!  There are blessings from The LORD awaiting us as we press and endure the struggle.

From the moment of birth till the moment of death, we will struggle.  However, there is a choice we must make; to go through and ride the struggle and pain until there is a breakthrough.

Many people have been left behind, because they chose to resist the struggle and they remained in it.

The Struggle of our time must be won by taking the proverbial bull by the horns boldly, engaging it and saying, “I am going to do this!”

The Bible says woe be unto those were at ease in Zion. (Amos 6:1)

We are stewards over our bodies, and I don’t believe we retire from serving God.

Life is a struggle all the way to the end.  It is a struggle to wake up in the morning sometimes, just like it takes effort to strive for excellence in our lives.

The LORD has called us to live a life of excellence and represent Him and His Kingdom in this life.  We are ambassadors of Heaven and represent His Kingdom.

Thy Kingdom come they will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

You have heard the adage, if you don’t use it, you lose it. In my experience that is the truth.

God has not called us to just exist.  Even if we are disabled or in a chair, we can still be the best that we can be within those limitations.  The struggles in this life can make us or break us.

We must make up our mind, and properly determine our limitations, and do our best and press through to the promises!

If you cannot walk, get a cart to wheel you where you want to go.  If you remain fixed in your mind and remain in a chair watching television and going nowhere, you will be miserable.

We must resist resigning just to exist.  We never retire from Prayer or The Word.  No matter how old or what circumstances we find ourselves in, God has called us to be the best we can be in whatever condition we find ourselves in!

The LORD Jesus has called us into an exciting life of service with him, no matter how old we get.

In my personal experience, as long as I draw breath, I will not grow old gracefully!  I will fight every step of the way, through prayer with the help of The LORD.

Regardless of our limits, God will work with us where we are, and He knows where we are and our condition.

We can give in to depression or we can move with His Glory Cloud!  God’s Will for us is to thrive in whatever condition we find ourselves in.

We are stewards over our bodies, and I don’t believe we retire from serving God.  Because life is a struggle all the way to the end.

It is a struggle to wake up in the morning sometimes, just like it takes effort to strive for excellence in our lives.

Is your struggle more than you want to admit? If we do not adhere to the natural laws of God, we will suffer prematurely.

You are never too old for a New Beginning, and sure it will be painful to start, but you will gain strength and stamina if you press through the pain.

Suffering for the sake of Christ is painful.  However, if you choose to exist, he will leave you to your choices and the results of those choices.

God knows our heart and he will not make us do anything.  It must come from within our own heart to change.  We can sit in our easy chair watching television, eat, or sleep and go nowhere.

If you exercise, or go to the gym, and you use weights, your motive is to get healthy.  If there is no pain, there is no gain.

In other words, if you don’t face the struggle in your flesh, you will not get the gains you need to strengthen your body and soul.  Bringing your body under subjection to the Spirit is an act of discipline and an act of struggle.

God has made the way for us to be the best we can be at any age.

We were created to live life fully and to thrive.  Anything in this life worth living is a struggle to obtain.

We look at people at face value and wonder how they are so blessed, and we measure ourselves against each other when the Scriptures tell us not to do that. (1 Corinthians 10:12)  But honestly, we have no clue what those people went through to get to where they are.

God holds us accountable for what we have, not what we don’t have!  God holds us accountable for what we attain in His Word!

We are living in exciting times, and God has preserved us for such a time.

The true Church of The Living God will experience great struggles, pressure, and persecution.

Regardless of what we are faced with, we must remember that Jesus said, “If they persecute Me, they will persecute you.”

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.”    John 15:18-24 NKJV.

See also, Making Sense of The Struggle — Part 1

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey


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The Vision of the Goat Head

America is headed for darker waters and ominous dark and sinister clouds are brewing, that will have national and international effects.

America is headed for darker waters and ominous dark and sinister clouds are brewing, that will have national and international effects.

In a Vision and Encounter, I saw and felt the barometric pressure drop very low, even to the ground, and everything was so still and silent.  It was eerie, that no twig or leaf moved.

Then as I looked above to the sky, I saw such dark billowing clouds gathering into this low pressure.

It was so thick and so unstable, and behold, as I focused on a very dark cloud, the only way I can describe it was like how a curtain is pulled back, except the canopy and curtain were the clouds.

Then suddenly the clouds were slowly pulled back, and what emerged was a Goat’s Head and it was perfectly formed with horns in the clouds.

Then I began to see a massive circular movement begin, and suddenly there was lightning, thunder, and great shaking in the heavens and on the earth.

I knew immediately that this dark goat represents Satan himself.

I heard the scripture, “Woe to the earth and the sea and all inhabitants, because the devil has come down having great fury, knowing that his time is short.” (Revelation 12:12)

Not only did I know that the goat represented Satan, but it also represented all those who love and serve Satan, and worship him and all idolatry.

The Satanic goat symbol dates to the ever-mysterious Knights of Templar, who were accused of worshipping an idol known as Baphomet.

Roman Catholic society decried it as a demon that demanded human sacrifice.  The”sabbatic goat” called Baphomet as the sigil was where Anton Lavey adopted Baphomet as the sigil of the Church of Satan in 1966.  The templar idol, plus “the infernal goat” is found in depictions of the occult, witches,sabbats, the ancient Egyptian “phallic goat” and the Devil tarot card. (See ©Wikipedia Baphomet or satanic goat)

And I also heard, “Time shall increase, and the pace shall become quicker.”

Even unbelievers, and those who have not Christ, can sense something is building up, something is about to happen in America.

With great swelling pride, Satan mocks and demonstrates and speaks of all his accomplishments in America and their allies.

He is openly performing a parade of his debauchery, and he speaks great swelling words against the Most High God!  For the enemy is mounting up an insurrection.

Satan and his cohorts have completely come out of hiding.  Everything is plain and naked before the eye!

For he has come to take possession of all those who have been given to him in idolatry and worship of idols.  For Satan’s plan of the ages has been unfolding quickly and has been calculated to the very detail.

One of his main goals is that the Antichrist and the false prophet must be wed, and become one.  Satan is in a fury of preparation for this marriage.

Every detail of his takeover has been a gradual line upon line, here a little and there a little.

Through the ages, Satan has sown death, error, deception, and destruction even upon those who call themselves The Church and Christian.  These are they who do not obey the full counsel of The Word of the Living God!

Now, Satan is gathering and commanding all those who serve him knowingly and unknowingly to worship him and to unite!

By accepting lawlessness and diversity, so that the central religious world Church must come together and lay down their differences, and be at peace with the world.

When resistance or questioning comes, Satan shall reveal his mark on those who have made a covenant with death, and when the overflowing scourge passes through, they say, “this cannot come to us?”

But you have made lies your refuge, and under falsehood you have hid.

However, in knowing God’s beloved remnant, Satan is releasing a hail of trouble, and he shall strive to wear out the saints of the most high. (Daniel 7:25)

The remnant must endure the fire and be faithful, even until the very end.  Only God knows the day and hour.

Satan, the arch enemy of The Kingdom of God, will try to change the times and seasons.  He is moving viciously and quickly to change laws in America, and the world.

“But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”   Isaiah 28:13.

“Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”   Revelation 2:10 KJV

“Verily I say unto you, this generation will by no means pass away until all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:34 (Read Matthew 24)

God is merciful, loving and kind, but we must understand that God’s Spirit will not always strive with man.

Evil has reached its apex and the stench has risen before Almighty God’s face!  In His Mercy, He must remove His Hand again and allow Judgment to come.

It is for His great Love and great Mercy that He removes portions of His covering Hand, because He is filled with Compassion, not willing that any perish, but that all would choose Him.

But we all know that all men do not want God, and they even shake their fist at Him, refusing His loving Kindness that would lead them to true Repentance and Eternal Life with Him.  Those who love God, hear the fullness of the Word and do it.

“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”   Hebrews 12:25-29 NKJV (Study Hebrews chapter12)

Having godly maturity, we must prepare and realize that resistance is truly futile!

Learning to be who we are in Christ and accepting the good, bad, trial, test, and the lessons we learn about our human nature makes up so much of our nature and character in Christ.

We must remember in our flesh dwells no good thing, and it is in our death to self is when we truly live!

Regardless of how we die to the flesh or die as martyrs to the cause of Jesus Christ, none of us know how we will glorify God in this life or death.

We must remain aware of the time and that God has given us everything we need in The Word of God, The Holy Bible.  Base everything in life, ONLY by that Word!

Living in escapism hoping that if we hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil we are okay.

However, I am afraid that many in The Church have taken a hold of escapism, in many forms, to dull their senses to what’s coming on the earth.

Regardless of what happens, we must understand that God is still in control, and we were born for such a time.

I do not believe you are reading this for no reason.  Many of you are going through the harshest and most tremendous trouble of your entire lives.

So many are trying to escape what they see and hear through the many avenues of distractions.  Self-medicating activities and elements only put off the inevitable.

We must face the facts, and when God puts it in our face, we must choose what we will do with those facts!

I would be in big trouble with God if I did not warn you of the impending storms.

To truly Repent, is to turn away from everything that grieves the heart of God, then find your fit within The Body of Remnant Believers, in Christ Jesus.
 

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey


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Making Sense of the Struggle

In Prayer, I saw a graph, and the lines were moving quickly downward like what you see for a forecast in the stock market. Then I heard, “Stock Market Crash.”

U-turn

In Prayer, I suddenly saw a U-Turn sign, and immediately after that I saw a graph, and the lines were moving quickly downward like what you see for a forecast in the stock market.

Then I heard, “Stock Market Crash.”

We are living in an unprecedented time, like no other time in history.

I have been sensing that many of The LORD’s beloved are confused, grieved, and panic stricken concerning what they see and hear in their communities, nations, and what’s happening in their personal lives.

The LORD, by His Grace, Mercy, and His Timing is revealing so many Prophetic Words of Jesus. (Matthew 25)

It seems that every time we turn on the news, we see more unfolding before our eyes that screams to me, that we are that very generation that will see the coming of The LORD.

The momentum and swing of the pendulum is building up. and the upswing is being felt even by those who do not know Christ, yet they can sense something is happening and sense that time is speeding up.

Much of what has been kept hidden for millennia suddenly is happening in the world, yet instead of seeking out the truth they hold to error, especially The Church.

When Judgments come, they flock to The Churches, and suddenly The Bible is popular for a time, but because they do not retain Christ in their hearts, they turn apathetic and complacent, it was simply a slap on the hand, and they adapt and fall back to sleep.

Sounds like the foolish virgins, doesn’t it?

I heard about a frog, which, if put into hot water will jump out of the pot, but if the frog is put in lukewarm water, with the temperature rising very slowly, the frog adapts to the rising temperature danger until it is too late, and the frog is cooked to death.

The “boiling frog syndrome” is a metaphor used to describe the failure to act against a problematic situation which will increase in severity until reaching catastrophic proportions. (Boiling frog – Wikipedia)

“If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not The LORD caused it? Surely The LORD GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets. The lion has roared — who will not fear?  The LORD GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?”   Amos 3:6-8 BSB.

So many have been stuck to structure in an order of man and failed to move on with the order of The LORD.

There are so many people hungry, but so disillusioned in the so-called Church, and there are also many making a mass Exodus leaving the four-wall institution structure of the religious Church, because they cannot find a fit anywhere!

For those of you who are frustrated at not fitting anywhere or feeling restless in a dead dry powerless environment, you are in good company! Many have left choosing to seek The LORD in the privacy of their own homes and other Home Fellowships!

Whether we want to believe it or not, the true Remnant Church has been going “underground” having no connection whatsoever with the government, tax benefits, titles or being politicized for quite some time now.

This Underground Church is where the foundation of Christ our chief cornerstone is being set up by the apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher and evangelist much like the early Church due to persecution.

God is setting us up!  The Remnant has been in hiding (designed by God) and will remain in hiding from all the authorities, but God is the highest authority, and he sees exactly where His Church is!

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”   Hebrew 13:8 NKJV

In a Vision, I have seen upon the hills and the mountains countless numbers of sheep without a shepherd.

However, the Chief Shepherd is watching over his sheep, and He has The Plan!  His Word for you is to Get with The Plan!

Yes, change is painful but if we continue to avoid, deny and resist the struggle and take our ease, we will be living a meaningless, mediocre and unproductive life, just like being a tomb set in stone to settle and wait for death to come.  The most self-centered way of life is to settle into mediocrity.

Scripture confirms that times will get worse and worse, but Christ still calls us to a life of excellence in all ways and to a life of service, suffering, trial, and struggles.

But we must remember what peace, love and joy the early Church experienced, and how the early Church functioned and thrived during persecution!

Jesus did nothing until he heard His Father speak.

The Church must learn to function as Christ did when he walked the earth.  And the “Remnant” that is still within the organized religious institutions some will be led out by the hand like the angels did with Lot, others will experience “a Revelation” to see the system already in place and many will Exodus from the corruption of the world and the false religious system that has been set up and established by Satan himself.

Part Two Coming…..

In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey


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