THE HARBINGER DECODED - REVIEW

I discovered Jonathan Cahn and his bestselling book, The Harbinger, in early 2012.  It was a fascinating read and one I found hard to put down.  Since that time I have shared the book with my husband, friends, family and church friends. I was brought to tears listening to Rabbi Cahn’s address at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast and again at the 9/11 Day of Remembrance Prayer Service.  I believe that as a Jewish believer in Jesus Christ, Rabbi Cahn has a special insight into Old Testament scripture and has been especially anointed by God to bring a message of warning to other believers in this very hour.

The Harbinger Decoded video is a compilation of the highlights of his book, The Harbinger.  It gives the viewer a condensed version of each of the  harbingers contained in the book, their meaning and the parallels between the Old Testament warning of judgment on Israel and the modern warning of judgment on the United States that began with the terrorist attack of 9/11.  I believe as Rabbi Cahn states that God gives warnings to His people to draw them to repentance and back into right relationship with Him.  As he states, it is up to God’s people to humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways; only then can America experience the revival that God desires to pour out on His people. 

I recommend buying both The Harbinger Decoded and The Harbinger; read them and pass them on.

WORRY? I'M GOING TO SLEEP!

So many times as I read the Word of God, my inadequacies become glaring obvious.  As I read of the perseverance of the “Heroes of Faith,” I find my own steadfastness sorely lacking.  Then as I begin to dig a little deeper and study a little more, I begin to understand they were all imperfect people just like me and together we serve a PERFECT GOD, who is ready to reach down, wrap His everlasting arms around us, set us on a solid rock and is always faithful.   David is such a wonderful example of an imperfect servant of our perfect God and wasn’t afraid to reveal all of his wart, bumps, bruises and scars.  He understood life wasn’t really about his failures but about God’s faithfulness.

In Psalms 3:1-2, David writes, “O Lord, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me.  ² Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.” Have you ever felt like David?  I have.  Sometimes it seems that you don’t have a friend in the world that really believes in you.  David’s adversaries didn’t even believe that God would come through for him.  Makes you just want to shrivel up and die, doesn’t it?  But David doesn’t stop there, because he had a faith in God and a history with God that could lift him above what anyone thought or was saying about him.  In verse 3, David refutes everything his enemies are bringing against him; “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.”  David wasn’t king because of his strength, military prowess or even by birth, it was God who had positioned him to be king, God who “lifted his head” and all the glory belonged to God.  Rise up against him; say whatever you think, David was confident in the relationship that existed between him and God.

 You see, to David it wasn’t just KNOWLEDGE that God was faithful; it was a deeply rooted truth, he had experienced from his youth.  What did David do with this knowledge?  Verse 5 tells us, “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.”  Don’t you just love it?  As Alfred E. Neuman puts it, “What, me Worry?”  With his knowledge and confidence in God’s faithfulness, David took his worries and fears, put them in the Lord’s capable hands and went to sleep. 

Oh to have that kind of faith and assurance that “If God is for me, who can be against me.”  Most times we pull  out all the darts Satan is throwing at us, ask God for help, try to figure out how to soothe the wounds and then wait for the perfect opportunity to throw the darts right back.  If it feels like everything is against you and there is a widespread belief that even God can’t come through for you on this one, reach way back and pull out your history.  God hasn’t changed!!! Just as He has many times before, He will come through for you.  He is your Shield, your Glory, and the Lifter of Your Head.  Step 2…Lay down; go to sleep and wake up refreshed for the Lord will sustain you.  Be confident in God’s great love and the relationship you have built with Him.  Along with David you can say, “Worry?  I’m going to sleep!”

STUDYING THE GAME FILM

Ahhh, September; football season; Saturdays with the Michigan Wolverines and Sundays with the Chicago Bears have arrived at the Niswonger house.  We gather, watch the game; I listen to commentary both from the television and the sofa.  Learn what plays should have been called; find out the plays that we can’t believe they called and which team has the toughest defenses or strongest Offense and always, always root for our team and against the team (no matter which) that can hurt our team's chances for a championship.   Once the game is over, our weekly routine continues but it doesn’t end for the team.  There are practices, plays to design and learn and game films to review.  The coaches and players review their own team’s films, correcting mistakes and searching for weaknesses that can be strengthened by practice or personnel changes.  Game films from next week’s rival team are also viewed and studied.  The strengths are noted, but the most important search is for the opponent’s weaknesses.  No matter how strong a team, if a weakness can be identified and a game plan constructed to attack at the point of weakness, a rival team has a great chance of victory.

Judges 16 records the well known story of Samson and Delilah.  In an earlier chapter, we learn that Samson was to follow a Nazarite vow from his birth and throughout his life.  Even during her pregnancy, Samson’s mother was commanded by God to eat nothing unclean, to not drink wine and once he was born, Samson was to never cut his hair because God was going to use him to deliver the people of Israel from the Philistines.  As we read the story of Samson, we find out that Samson was disobedient to the counsel of his parents and to the command of God throughout his life.  In Judges 16, we find Samson has fallen in love with a Philistine woman and she is determined to learn the source of his strength so she can sell the information to her countrymen and gain an advantage.  To learn this valuable information, Delilah attacks Samson at his weakest, most vulnerable point, his lack of discipline and lust for women.  Eventually, Delilah’s tears and feminine wiles weaken Samson’s defenses, he tells her the source of his strength, she cuts his hair and he is taken into slavery by the Philistines.

Satan will search for the source of your weakness to steal your strength.  He has a whole arsenal of “fiery darts” which he is constantly launching at us from every angle.  If they hit the “Shield of Faith” in one area, he will fire into another area of life.  Satan is constantly on the lookout, loaded and ready to fire at any sign of weakness. The enemy of our soul is not so concerned with attacking us in the areas we have overcome through the Blood of Jesus Christ, but he is very focused on attacking us with the things our flesh is still battling.  If he can successfully strike us at our weakest point, he can gain an advantage over our strengths and eventually take us captive. 

God has provided us with a strong defense that will protect us even at our weakest moments.  Prayer is our “game film,” through which the Holy Spirit can reveal our weaknesses and give us the necessary exercises to strengthen our commitment and desire for the things of God.  He forgives our past mistakes and teaches us how to overcome and avoid pitfalls.  Then because He is such a merciful and gracious God, He gives us another opportunity to get in the game.  The Word of God is our “game plan;” study it.  Studying, knowing and practicing the “game plan” is the best defense against the attack of Satan.  Through Prayer, the Word and the Blood of Jesus, Satan cannot steal our strength by searching out our weaknesses.

NIGHT VISION

The two most terrifying experiences for a child are being separated from a parent and darkness.  We understand the horror of finding yourself in a crowd of people and not seeing a familiar face, unaware that Mom is merely 2 steps to the right.  A terrified wail sounds an alarm and suddenly Mom is at your side, holding you close and drying your tears.  What about the darkness?  What makes shadows turn into monsters as the light fades?   It is all about clear vision.  As the night descends our ability to see things as they are, lessens.  The silhouette of a stuffed animal becomes a giant tiger, suddenly a breeze stirs a piece of clothing and it moves closer, every creak and bump is magnified until you are sure something is lurking directly under your bed.  Morning dawns, our vision is restored; the tiger becomes a “Beany Baby,” the monster, a shirt and you find there is nothing more menacing than a couple of “dust bunnies” under your bed.   If only we had Night Vision.

The terror by night doesn’t disappear with age, as adults we go through dark nights that sometime stretch into dark days.  It may be a sickness that has attacked your body.  Physicians have found that during an illness, symptoms are worse and seem to magnify during the nighttime.  Perhaps there is a situation in your life you are dealing with and it seems there is no solution.  It is so dark and you just wish someone would shine a small light your way.  You may find yourself struggling under a dark cloud of depression.  Not only do you fight the darkness but now a heavy load threatens to descend, crushing the life giving breath from your body.  You need Night Vision.

Our youngest son, Phil, was fascinated with gadgets.  We purchased our home in Saginaw, when he was 6 and the most exciting news he had to share with his teacher was “it had a garage door opener.”  So it was no surprise that when he got a little older he was sure his life would be awesome if he only had a pair of Night Vision Goggles.  I am sure his amazing imagination was going wild with all the adventures he could enjoy with goggles.  No, he never obtained a pair and his life has turned out pretty awesome without such an acquisition.  But stop and think…what if….What if during your darkest moment, God handed you a pair of Night Vision Goggles and you realized the tiger was just paper or the menacing noise was just wind blowing through the trees.  What if the night became as clear as the day?  What if we had Night Vision?

Very early, one morning, I was awake praying for a precious lady and her family, who are facing some dark nights and days.  God placed this series of scriptures on my heart to share and I realized that through Him we can have Night Vision.

Psalms 139:7-12 Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
¹² Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.

My spirit thrilled at verses 11 and 12, especially the last line, “The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”  What hope, what a Mighty God we serve; He even provides us with Night Vision Goggles!!!  Whatever situation you are facing, even if the wind is howling and the storm clouds are pressing down; when the darkness threatens to distort your vision, meditate on these words, “The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Psalms 42:8 says, “In the night, His song shall be with me.”  So grab your Night Vision Goggles and start singing the “Song of the Lord.” It may begin as a far off twinkle but keep singing.  Soon you will find that the night has become “Light about you,” because “The darkness and the light are both alike to Him. God has given you Night Vision.

DIGGING A HOLE IN ADOBE

When you move into a pre-owned home, you also acquire most of the fixtures installed and left behind by the sellers; not so in a newly built house.  One of the fixtures we had come to depend on was a mailbox.  Although, we could live forever without “junk” mail and preferred to ignore the bills that usually arrive daily; we understood that Creditors would not accept our mailbox deficiency as an appropriate excuse for late payment.  After a trip to Home Depot, acquiring a beautiful poly mailbox, to match our siding and a hardwood post for an anchor, Steve grabbed the shovel, confident that we would be ready to receive mail within an hour.  There were a few facts, however, that we had forgotten to include in our planning.  The soil was clay, the month was July, the temperature was 90 and there had been no rain for several days….Exactly!!!  He was trying to dig a hole in a giant, baked, adobe brick.  After a couple days of digging, filling the “hole” with water, digging, water, digging, water, digging we were finally ready for the next mail run.

Sunday morning, I heard an awesome sermon entitled, “The Cost of Forgiveness” by Anthony Garcia. God’s timing is perfect and it was of course, exactly what I needed to hear.  I heard that still, small voice whisper instructions to my heart and I couldn’t wait to get home and obey.  Someone had said something on Saturday that cut and on Sunday, I was still hurting.  I knew I needed to address the situation, clean out the wound and stop the bleeding.  After corresponding with the person and making it “right,” I tried to go to the next step outlined in the sermon; I needed to “Grieve and Leave.” 

In his sermon, Anthony talked about acknowledging the hurt, taking time to grieve over it, then bury it and leave; MOVE ON!!!  The first 2 steps were easy!!!  I had no problem acknowledging the hurt; the wound was fresh and raw.  The grief seem to come naturally, I shed a few tears, allowed the anger to spill over, reasoned it all out, over and over and finally got the shovel out to dig a hole.  I hadn’t counted on the hardness of the soil.   After digging a couple of minutes, I laid the hurt to rest and smoothed the soil back into place.  Monday morning, the hurt had somehow pushed back to the surface and I realized the hole had to be deeper and it was going to take a lot more digging, some watering, more digging, watering and digging.  So here I am, on my knees, softening the soil of my heart with tears; handing the shovel back to God, I submit to His digging.

Sometimes we go through life enduring the heat of the day and experiencing a drought in our spirit.  We don’t realize how hard the soil of our heart has become until God hands us a shovel and says, “It’s time to dig.”  You may encounter some stubborn weeds, a few stones and tangled roots deep in the ground, left from previous wounds but keep digging.  Allow God to soften the soil with your tears, dig a little more and soon you will have soft, broken ground ready for seeds of love and forgiveness.

Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

WHY HUG WHEN YOU CAN TWEET!!!

This morning is my daughter-in-law’s birthday, so I posted a birthday wish on her Facebook page and posted how much we love her on my status update, for the entire world to see.  Hey don’t judge me, I also sent her a birthday card and a check!!!  Later, I sent an email to check on a sick friend, posted an encouraging Bible verse and texted a man to see if we could go up to the hospital and pray with him and his wife.  Surprised???  We are actually considering getting in our car, driving down the highway to a hospital and physically touching a person as we pray.  Sad, really how rare personal contact has become.

Most of us are becoming increasingly accustomed to a “Sterile Relationship” world.  Just log on to Facebook, you can know more about a person that you have never met, than you know about someone you have spent a lifetime with; that is unless you check out their Facebook page updates regularly.  I email a joke instead of sharing a cup of coffee and a good laugh.  I text a “good morning” rather than take the time to actually hear the voice of my loved one over the phone.  If I’m really pressed for time and still feel the need to express my thoughts, I can “Tweet” in 140 characters or less.  The real beauty of a “Cyber-hug,” it is totally germ-free, I don’t have to be personally involved and I only need to be interrupted at my convenience.

 Has my relationship with God morphed into a “Sterile, Cyber” relationship along with all the rest?  There are days when I am “encouraged” by an emailed devotional or a status update scripture posting when my soul is starving for a meal full of the “Meat of the Word.”  God is waiting with an overflowing basket of blessings for me to take time for a little chat but I tweet a 140- character prayer with my most “pressing” desires prioritized instead.  How ready I am to comment, “praying  for you” but never consider that maybe my best “prayer” could involve a little action; perhaps being the one through which God fills the need.  Now that’s a novel idea!  It’s much easier to email ((hugs)) than actually put my arms around a hurting person or post an emoticon with a tear rather than actually weep with those who weep.

The Bible tells us that Jesus WEPT, He was MOVED with compassion, He TOUCHED the sick and wounded; He WENT out of His way to SPEAK to a woman at the well or GIVE LIFE to the person in the funeral procession.  How different our Sunday School lessons would be if Jesus had “tweeted” life-giving water to the woman at the well or posted a word of encouragement to Blind Bartimaeus.   Sometimes loving people can get messy; ask the man who received spit-filled mud in his eyes or the disciples who had their nasty, stinky feet washed by the Master.  I want to break out of the “Sterile” world I have created for myself.  I want to touch more, hug often, give a genuine smile instead of an LOL and say “I LOVE YOU” face to face.  Most of all, I desire to feel the personal touch of my Savior as I take the time, sit at His feet, lay my head in His lap and linger in His presence.

DON'T WORRY, IT' SLOW RELEASE

We moved into our brand new home on December 1.  Having never lived in a newly built house, I was not prepared for the missing elements such as towel racks, toilet paper hangers, some light fixtures and a fire place mantel, that were constantly used but never given much thought. Another huge undertaking was a lawn, but that would have to wait until spring.  Between our procrastination and the landscaper’s scheduling, the lawn was not seeded until July….bad, bad planning, just in time for the summer drought.  We spent a fortune in diligently watering the sprouting seed and finally by October, we had a sparse lawn to enjoy.

 This year, with the spring rains and a couple of "Weed n Feed” applications, the lawn began to show signs of becoming what I had envisioned.  My husband believes in the idea that “More is better” and decided to fertilize on the first day of every month.  It was great until we came to the hot summer days of July.  So fearful of burning up all the progress we had made, I begged him not to spread the July application.  All I could imagine were crispy brown blades of grass that would soon be trampled into the dry parched soil.  Steve assured me my fears were unwarranted because this was “Slow-Release” fertilizer and would lie dormant on the soil beneath the grass until activated by a water source.  A week passed and the grass became a little less green.  The heavy dew of the night quickly dried in the morning sun before the cracked soil below could benefit.  Another week passed, my fears mounted until one morning I woke to the sound of an abundance of rain.  The rain continued all day, slowing to a gentle shower until finally ending the next evening.  Within 2 or 3 days the brilliant green returned, new sprouts appeared and bare spots were filled; the fertilizer had been activated as promised replenishing the soil’s dissipated nutrients.

There are days I revel in the new growth my spirit experiences.  God is so near, the blessings are overflowing and I’m sure I will never go through leanness again. But “summer” comes, the reserves dwindle and the ground becomes dry and cracked.  The little bit of dew I experience along the way just doesn’t last long enough in the hot winds of life to give any relief.   Sometimes I have questions; I wonder if God really knows what He is doing with this application; will I lose what little progress I have made since the last drought?  His gentle voice reassures my thirsty soul, “Do not fear, it is a slow-release treatment.  The rains will come and activate it in due season.”  So, I wait; my thirst becomes unbearable as I pray, search His Word for answers and listen patiently to the silence, until one day I wake to the sound of an abundance of rain. 

It may come as a gentle shower or a raging storm; begin as a few sprinkles and grow to a deluge, but the rain will come.  God is faithful and as surely as He gives us everything we need to accomplish His will, He will activate it with the necessary rain, at just the right time. You will begin to grow, the bare spots will fill in and the slow-release nutrients will be just what you needed for your next adventure in God.