Have mercy on me NOW!

I have read the story of blind Bartimaeus before but it has never had this particular effect on me. I noticed that he said "Jesus, you son of David" I wondered why he insisted on calling him son of David until I found out that Son of David is the name that identifies Christ as the Messiah. Bartimaeus had heard the word of God concerning the Messiah in Is 42:6-7

"I the Lord have called You [the Messiah] for a righteous purpose and in righteousness; I will take You by the hand and will keep You; I will give You for a covenant to the people [Israel], for a light to the nations [Gentiles],

To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness from the prison."

He was yelling at Jesus saying fulfill the prophecy in my life. And then I saw something else in the amplified that I had never seen before either.

Mark 10:47-52

"And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!

And many severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still, but he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!

And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you.

And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.

And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for you? And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my sight.

And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road".

Now! He told the Lord have mercy on me and implied a Now type of urgency. Have you ever cried out to the Lord and told him to come now! Like he cannot delay anymore and he cannot ignore you? That was Bartimaeus. He was telling the Lord 'you are my Messiah, you are my hope and the hope of all Israel. If you pass me, who shall help me?' He also did not know when Jesus would be passing that way again so he was crying out for a Now miracle. I have been there many times before and I am there now.

Jesus, you son of David, take pity and have mercy on me NOW!

Thitu - My Best Friend

Thought I would share my best friends story with my readers. She has come from far, but if God did it for her,he can do it for you too. Take heart. Just copy and past this URL:

http://www.harusient.co.ke/thitu.htm

Distinction by the Blood

On the last day of the great struggle from bondage the Lord told Israel that they had a part to play in their protection. He told them to kill a lamb and to put the blood of the said lamb on the two posts of the door and on the lintel. When the angel of death came in the night, he saw the blood and passed over them. That was on the 14th day of the month. Before that (I would assume on the 13th day of the month which was the day before) all the Israelite women had gone to the Egyptian homes and insisted that they hand over all their gold, silver and fine clothing. They were good and loaded and by this act they had plundered the Egyptians of their wealth.

The distinction was made by the blood of the Lamb as it is this day. The blood of Jesus, our Passover lamb, is the mark of distinction on us his children. Those who have the mark of the Lamb, washed in his blood and saved from sin, are in Goshen and shall enjoy the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Additionally, the Bible says that the wealth of the wicked is piled up for the righteous. It is handover time. What the Egyptians did not know as they stored up articles of silver, gold and fine clothes was that they were purchasing them for an Israelite sister and her family. Even now, it is so.

We are coming out of poverty and struggle and the Lord says “Don’t come out empty!” Ask for the hidden treasures in secret places. They exist. Call them out. Insist on a handover and let the wealth of the Nations come to you. It is interesting that the Lord says come out of the Land of poverty and do not come out empty. He used the country of Zimbabwe in my dream on purpose because even though the people are suffering such extreme poverty, the land itself is rich in metallurgical-grade chromite, coal, asbestos, copper, nickel, gold, platinum and iron ore. There are hidden treasures in secret places, so when you come out, don’t come out empty. Ask for your wealth.

The blood of Jesus is our mark of distinction. In this season, those of the house of the Lord, who have made the Lord their treasure shall rejoice in him and see what they have been waiting for. It is not time to compromise but to hold on in faith. Our season has changed child of God. Place a demand on the season and do what the season demands of you. Note that if the Israelites had chosen to ignore marking their entryways with the blood of the lamb they would have suffered the same fate as the Egyptians. What does this season demand of you? Do it and watch the blood of Jesus mark you for distinction.

Distinction Between Israel and Egypt

In God there is no favoritism. He does not love one more than the other. However, he is a just and righteous God and has laws that must be followed failure to which there are consequences. Sometimes it has seemed as if those who do not love him or serve him have made more progress and are more blessed. What befalls a sinner also befalls the righteous causing one to sometimes ask “what then is the difference? Why should I stay holy and righteous yet I seem to be faring poorly while sinners are doing so well in the world?” Our God works with times and seasons. There is a time to punish and a time to show mercy. We have been in a time of mercy and grace, but the season has changed. It is now time for God to show out for his Children and let the world know that it pays to serve him.

We are in the year 2010. According to Biblical numerology, twenty is the number for “divide” or “judge” one can then either be accepted or rejected. 10 means to “weigh” or “measure” with the specific purpose of accepting or rejecting. In this year God has been weighing, measuring, dividing and judging so that he can know those who are his and those who are not. Those who are truly his are accepted in the beloved, that is Jesus Christ. And we shall indeed begin to see the distinction in this season between those who are his, and those who are not.

The Lord has done this before. In the book of Exodus when God wanted to change the seasons he walked into Egypt and used a man called Moses to take the wealth of the wicked and hand it over to the righteous. In the beginning when the plagues came they affected both greater Egypt and Goshen but from the 4th plague onwards, the Lord made a distinction. In Biblical numerology, the number 4 speaks of Ruling, Reigning, Kingdom and Dominion. With that fourth plague the Lord began to cause the Israelites to Rule, Reign and have Dominion. He began to establish his Kingdom. It did not look like it, but that is exactly what was happening.

Exodus 8:22-23
22 " 'But on that day I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. 23 I will make a distinction [a] between my people and your people. This miraculous sign will occur tomorrow.' "

Exodus 9:4
4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.' "

Exodus 9:25-26
25 Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree. 26 The only place it did not hail was the land of Goshen, where the Israelites were.

Exodus 10:22-23
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

Exodus 11:6-7
6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

The demarcation has been made. The Lord is about to begin showing out for his children. Are you for the Lord or against him? If you are for him, then you are accepted in the beloved.

Distinction

This year my Pastors have set our verse and theme for the year as Distinction. Our Verse comes from Malachi 3:18

“Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God, and one who does not serve him.”

There shall be a clear demarcation between those who are his and those who are not.
I had dream that I was sitting in a huge passenger plane. We were on the runway awaiting clearance for takeoff from the country of Zimbabwe. If you know anything about the country of Zimbabwe you know that it has become the most impoverished of countries. The currency has become worthless and people queue for miles just to buy some bread. Poverty is what Zim has become known for. Here are some facts on Zimbabwe taken from Wikipedia:

• 94% unemployment and hyperinflation.
• Inflation has surpassed that of all other nations at over 80 sextillion (1021)% (although it is impossible to calculate an accurate value).

• It currently has the lowest GDP real growth rate in an independent country and 3rd in total (behind Palestinian territories.)

• The country has reserves of metallurgical-grade chromite. Other commercial mineral deposits include coal, asbestos, copper, nickel, gold, platinum and iron ore.

• Poverty and unemployment are both endemic in Zimbabwe, driven by the shrinking economy and hyper-inflation.

• As of January 2006, the official poverty line was ZWD 17,200 per month (US$202). However, as of July 2008 this had risen to ZWD 13 Trillion per month (US $41.00)

• Most general labourers are paid under ZWD 200 Billion (US 60c) per month. A nurse's salary in September 2006 was Z$12,542 (12 US cents), less than the cost of a soft drink.

The plane in my dream represented the Church and the passengers were the church members. Those who truly serve the Lord. Not with their mouths only, but wholeheartedly. God was letting me know that the distinction has been made and we were coming out of poverty and struggle (Zimbabwe). We were just waiting for clearance and we would be off. I believe that when we transition from our current Church building to the new one at the end of this month, it will be a prophetic act that will take us out of a land of poverty to a land of prosperity and ownership.

DUMB AS A ROCK

I am the first girl of three in my family. I have two sisters both of whom are married with children. I love my sisters and we have a great time hanging together. I was saved at an early age. I give thanks for that because salvation has caused me to escape many traps of the enemy. I have been blessed in the past and continue to be blessed even now. God has given me all things that I have asked of him, but in one area he has caused a delay. The area of marriage. In that area the stillness and quietness speaks. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING has happened in that area for a long time.

My youngest sister, 6 years my junior, is legally married but her husband has never completed his traditional marriage requirements. They sent word that they would be coming home to finalize that and we were all happy to hear it, but suddenly I was engulfed by a new emotion where marriage is concerned. Embarrassment. I felt like the girl at the dance who nobody picks because she is either not good looking or is a bit too chubby. Standing at the sidelines hoping against hope that someone would ask her to dance to no avail. Horribly embarrassing!

As usual I took my complaint to God. I don’t understand the delay. I told him that he should not keep me waiting in vain. If there was no man coming then he should let me know so I can stop hoping year after year. I prayed a sincere prayer in this regard and literally gave up the dream of marriage. However, God was very quick to correct me and to let me know that there is a man for me. There is a husband for me as surely as there was an Isaac for Abraham.

Abraham’s wait for a son and the God ordained delay that he experienced encourages me greatly. Abe looked just as dumb as a rock too as he waited on God. Here was a man who when lot was captured, went after him with 318 men of his own household. He owned these men with their women and children. He probably owned about 1000 people, bought and paid for. He had so much wealth that on returning with his plunder he wouldn’t touch any of it but gave it all away lest it be said that it made him rich. He could have taken more wives and concubines, but instead he kept waiting on God for the promise. You see, it’s not just any husband I want. I want the husband of the promise. Just like he did not just want any son, he wanted the son of the promise.

Abraham looked so dumb that his wife decided to assist the poor man. She offered him another woman to impregnate and get a son with. We all know how that do-it-yourself project backfired in her face, yet a son was born. If all God had wanted was a son for Abraham then Ishmael would have been okay. However, when Abe tried to give up the dream of a son with Sarah and begged God to let Ishmael live before him, God said No. Ishmael was Abe’s son, but he was not THE son that God was going to work with on his holy project. He was not the son of the promise.

Many times older, married and more experienced women have pointed out that I am getting older every day. My doctor has brought up the issue of fibroids several times urging me to hurry up and get pregnant if I want to have children at all. My mother has looked at me with that sad look of resignation that only mothers can give. Many others have advised me to say yes to any man that asks me. “There are no perfect men,” they say. They assume that my standards are too high and ask me to bring them down a notch or two. But none of them understand. I have a promise. Just like no son could take Isaac’s place, so no man can take the place of the husband of the promise.

I may be embarrassed by my state right now and look dumb as a rock as I wait for the Lord, but I know that they that wait on the Lord shall not be cut off. In the end, they shall not be ashamed. So the Lord says to me and to all who are experiencing delay like I am:

Isaiah 40:27-31 (Amplified Bible)

27”Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, My way and my lot are hidden from the Lord, and my right is passed over without regard from my God?

28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding.

29He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound].

30Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted;

31But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.”

Therefore wait and keep on waiting for the Lord. Expect him to do it, look for him in the midst of the stillness and continue to hope in him. In that stillness, when nothing seems to be happening you will hear the still, small voice. Just like Elijah did. Whatever he tells you to do, do it and be eternally blessed.