To obey is better than sacrifice

This weekend is the sixth anniversary of my leaving the treacherous one (bagad) I was once wedded to.  The above picture is a maple changing color in the fall in McKittrick canyon in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  I always wonder at the LORD's timing in the things that occur in my life...this is the end of the Hebrew year and my new beginnings came at a new year - 5767.  God is GOOD!

It is also the Days of Repentance.  The time of reflection before the end of the year. Today, September 1, is the 27th day and they end on Yom Kippur. When we repent, turning from a way that is not in GOD's will, we are always welcomed back into our Father's arms.  HE is so loving, forgiving and merciful...unlike most earthly fathers.  Yet when we persist in demanding our own stubborn will, the LORD will not take kindly to that.  This is demonstrated in the story of King Saul losing what GOD had given him.  1 Samuel 15

Saul was anointed to be king of Israel.  The gifts he'd been given, such as prophecy. were not removed from him, but due to his disobedience, his anointing of being king was.  Even then, he remained king for many years.  This tells us that we can persist in living outside of GOD's will for a great length of time, thinking we are still "okay" and have our anointing stripped from us.  Yeshua taught us that an unfruitful tree may have a delayed execution.  If it persists in it's unfruitfulness, it will be uprooted.  

When I left the bagad, the LORD showed me he has a spirit of saul upon him.   I needed to respect that he was anointed, and, as David, I needed to flee from him.  This is the verse I have as my blog title.  The bagad will, as saul, eventually fall on his own sword, he will be uprooted.  He believes he's earned all sorts of Brownie points in heaven by having music festivals, playing worship music, and getting "sinners" to come to church.  But he doesn't realize these are works, and works will not get us into heaven.  Only GOD's grace gives us access into heaven.  Hard to abandon that catholic way of thinking....(no offense, but it is definitely a phenomenon I've often witnessed of those raised catholic).  We do good works BECAUSE we are the Beloved, it is our joy to show the love of the LORD to others!  

When you read 1 Samuel 15, it is interesting to see saul at work.  When Samuel calls him out on his disobedience (that he did not totally destroy all the Amalekites and their goods), saul does not repent.  This was the tremendous difference between David and saul....David also sinned (as we all do), yet the moment he was confronted with his sin, he REPENTED!  Saul first tries to twist and manipulate the LORD's words by saying to Samuel "I did obey the voice of the LORD..." In other words, he thinks he can fool Sam by ONLY SPEAKING HALF-TRUTHS.  Ah, the bagad was an expert at that...as is the devil when he quotes Scripture.  Verse 20  In verse 21, saul than uses another tactic - BLAME-SHIFTING.  "but the people took some of the spoils..."  Umhmm....again the bagad at his best.  "I had no control over this, __________ controlled the situation" (fill in the name or names of who you want to blame)

As you read on, you may actually think that saul repents in verse 24, but you can see it is simply another manipulation.  Samuel has made it very clear that his disobedience has now reaped the consequence of his kingship being removed.  BUSTED!  So he tries to align himself with the prophet and worship the LORD with him, but Sam wants none of that hypocrisy. Again, the bagad tries this tactic.  Most of the time he doesn't though, because he honestly considers himself righteous and he doesn't need to repent. Sam had to actually do the work the king should have done, he killed Agag, the Amalekite king. 

It is evident that even though saul was filled with an evil spirit, he could still prophesy and experience the Spirit of the LORD. 1 Samuel 19:23, 24  The more saul demanded his own will, his own way, using his own thought process, the more he became removed from GOD's will.  UPROOTED!  

The more responsibility we are given by the LORD, the more we have the capacity to abuse that which is given to us.  In looking back through history and at those who have been given tremendous spiritual assignments, many of them fell shamefully.  GOD has given us free will and HE does desire to entrust us.  He will also bring us back into grace with HIS grace when we repent and turn from our stubborn self-will.

As the year ends, I thank and praise my Beloved ABBA.  HE is magnificent, HE is worthy of all praise, HE is EVERYTHING to me!  HE will avenge all wrongs done against me in HIS time. AMEN!

....and if you don't escape the spear?

Looking at the scripture that is the title of my blog, it is so sad when the abuser hurls the spear and it makes its mark, killing who it is flung at.

Watching the state of Arizona's trial against accused murderer Jodi Arias has brought that situation into focus.  She was (and is) filled with the wicked spirit of jezebel, which is a spirit of manipulation, intimidation and control.  Not being able to control her former boyfriend Travis Alexander, being rejected by him, made her fly into a rage that led to his murder.  Because if you don't agree with jezebel, her goal is to destroy you.

It angers me tremendously, as I'm sure it does other survivors of abuse, that Arias is using "abuse" as her defense.  She mocks any person (man or woman) who has truly been abused and she will pay for what she is doing.

In the trial, the prosecutor Juan Martinez is an amazing man I have tremendous respect for. She has tried playing the psychopath's games of manipulation, diversion, and frustration - yet he has remained steadfast.  He has even called her on her circuitous retorts, going into detail with her ridiculous evasive answers and pinning her down.  One example was her smug use of the description of Travis attacking her "like a linebacker"...."what exactly is 'attacking like a linebacker, ma'am?'"  She says she just shot him in the head (which the medical examiner says would have incapacitated him) and he's in a rage and gets physical with her.  Mr. Martinez makes her get up and demonstrate.  She's no sports expert; she has had years of experience using some manipulative words to fool people, so she wants you to assume if she says "like a linebacker", you aren't going to really know but just agree with her.  Now there are all kinds of sports experts on TV truly defining linebacker moves, making a mockery of her description and exposing her ignorance.

Most people not filled with the Holy Spirit have a difficult time comprehending the spiritual battle that is the TRUE battle occurring in our lives.  What we do in the physical world is a manifestation of the greater battle going on around us, the one that influences us to do what we do.  That's why we say that people "have the devil in them", or they "light up a room when they enter it".  These are the spirit parts of us connecting to our physical parts, we generally call it intuition or gut feeling.  Arias has been described by many as having an evil aura, or something just didn't feel right when people were in her presence.  People are sensing the spiritual evil she is allowing to control her and they shuddered at the magnitude of its influence.  Rather than saving her sexuality for a GOD-sanctioned union, she used her sexuality as a tool to fulfill her selfish desires.  Woe to those who succumbed to that manipulation!  In his heart, Travis knew what he was doing was shameful, and he tried to do whatever he could to keep her out of his life, yet it was not a test he could pass.  He would still be alive had he simply told her not to visit and changed his security codes so she could not enter his apartment.  I doubt any stories she has told that appear he wanted her to visit him in Mesa; he was relieved she had moved away and had even expressed concern to his friends that she may be dangerous....

We are all in love with justice.  Many of us were angry that OJ Simpson was acquitted and that Casey Anthony was allowed to go free.  We are praying this case will not again disappoint us in the way our justice system works in the United States of America.  I pray that the jurors are given the gift of discernment and are able to see through her manipulations and lies.  I pray we, as a society, judge this woman as the LORD would have us do - not in an eternal way, but in this life.  In ALL cases, the LORD is the final judge over all and I would not want to be any of the people mentioned in this paragraph on the day they stand before GOD ALMIGHTY.  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living GOD.....

I say this prayer in the Name of Yeshua HaMashiach, Amen (So be it!)

Understanding the Scripture used against you.

I am posting an examination of some of the Scripture an abuser and even an un-informed church will use to insist you remain in an abusive relationship.  Do not forget that the devil uses Scripture for his purposes, read and understand the Truth very carefully!  Do not trust someone reading you Scripture out of context, go and read it yourself, the Holy Spirit will show you the truth.....

If you feel like you are walking on eggshells...

... you may be suffering from domestic abuse, which is persistent or recurrent behaviour by an intimate partner that causes physical, sexual or psychological damage, or causes the victim to live in fear. It is not just marital conflict over particular issues (which can be conflict between equals). Abuse is about power over – one party tries to control the other.

For example: threatening you, making you think you're crazy, ignoring your ‘no’, swearing, devaluing or disrespecting you, treating you like a servant, restricting your contact with family and the outside world, blaming you for problems that you did not create, denying that abuse has happened, distorting scripture to justify abuse, threatening suicide, controlling the money, physical violence such as pushing, shoving, hitting, punching, smashing things; sexual abuse including marital rape, and being very possessive. Psalm 55 gives a good description of abuse.

Domestic abuse can be very frightening, confusing and damaging to the victim and to children.
Many victims of domestic abuse are women. Most women victims report higher levels of fear than male victims. Over their lifetime, one in every four women experience unlawful violence (physical or sexual) at the hands of an intimate partner 1 . The rates are similar across the US, Canada, Britain and Australia[1]. This rate is for violence that would constitute a crime; it does not include other kinds of abuse.

The Bible says the husband is the head of the wife, but this means he is responsible for protectively leading his wife and family in a God-glorifying direction. Abusive and controlling behaviour are the opposite of biblical headship.

The Bible says the gracious attitude of a wife may turn a husband to Christ. Wives are told to ‘do good’ to their husbands (1 Pet. 3:6), but enduring persistent abuse does not do any ‘good’; it is damaging to everyone. The abuser only becomes further ingrained in sin and is neither rebuked nor made accountable. The victim’s life is sorely corroded. Children’s development is damaged by the bad modelling they receive and by the fear, secrecy and denial.

Scripture commends unavoidable suffering for the sake of the gospel, but most domestic abuse occurs irrespective of whether the victim witnesses to the gospel, or to any other spiritual beliefs for that matter. No amount of our suffering can redeem the wicked — only Jesus’ death does that.

The Bible says what to do when a brother sins (Mat. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:11; 2 Thess. 3:6, 14-15; 1 Tim. 5:20; 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 3:1-5). The first ‘good’ we are told to do for a sinning brother is to rebuke him. We should cultivate a readiness to grant forgiveness to our offender, but we do not have to actually extend that forgiveness until he repents. Even God requires repentance before He forgives!

Repentance for abuse is not just being sorry or apologising. It means complete confession as to what the sin was, and being deeply offended by the sinful action — seeing it as vile and repudiating it. And although the injured one should be ready to forgive, this does not have to mean trusting the person again. The other person must earn our trust, by demonstrating in his behaviour that he is truly reforming. John the Baptist told the Pharisees and Sadducees (who were outwardly moral people, but inwardly deceitful): "Bear fruits worthy of repentance".

If there is no genuine repentance on the abuser′s part, then reconciliation will be a sham.

Repentance checklist

Got this from the Barbara Roberts - Not Under Bondage page.  Thanks so much!

When being sorry is genuine

If they are genuinely repentant, abusers will:

• Stop all blame-shifting. Stop blaming their spouse. Stop making excuses.
• Commit to going to a professionally run Behaviour Change Group for spouse-abusers.
• Admit, confess and accept responsibility for all their abuse, in full detail.
• Identify the attitudes that drive their abusiveness.
• Relinquish their attitudes of entitlement and superiority over their partner, even the last bastion and stronghold of their selfish sense of entitlement.
• Be accountable to group leaders, probation officers, courts, and any others who are overseeing their actions and attitudes.
• Accept the consequences of their actions.
• Resist feeling sorry for themselves if they have to pay consequences.
• Be honest and non-manipulative in their communication.
• Be empathetic to the multiple and long-lasting effects of their abuse on the partner and children.
• Attempt to right the wrongs by restoring losses which they've caused to their victims.
• Allow the hurt partner and children to take as much time as they need to heal.
• Not attempt to use behavioural improvements as bargaining chips.
• Not demand credit for behavioural improvements.
• Carry their own weight in all matters, including parenting.
• Develop respectful, kind, supportive behaviours.
• Change how they respond to the grievances of their partners.
• Accept that overcoming abusiveness will be a decades-long process.

Adapted from Lundy Bancroft's article Checklist for Assessing Change in Men who Abuse Women, 2007.
http://www.lundybancroft.com/pages/articles_sub/assessing_change.htm