Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5 v 1 - 8: "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
The Apostle Paul writes about the earthly house of this tabernacle, which is our fleshly body that is a temple for the Holy Spirit. Those who are believers are changed by the presence of God in our innermost being. This change is to transform us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. An uphill climb in most cases.
This blog today was prompted by the death of Queen Elizabeth 2 yesterday, who had dedicated herself to serve the people entrusted to her care, with her whole heart as long as she lived. She carried out her promise as a Christian monarch till her very last day, and the moment she stopped breathing she was already in Heaven.
If our dedication and commitment to our King Jesus could come close to mirroring the late Queen's love and service to the Commonwealth of Nations she ruled, we would transform the world around us.
1 Corinthians 1 v 25 - 29: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence."
Our God knows how power and wealth corrupt the world and we see in v 26 that not many mighty nor noble are called to serve Him. However, the exception would have to be the late Queen of England, who never swerved in her devotion to Him or the people in her kingdom.
She went through very tough times mostly because of family betrayals of one kind or another, while keeping a stiff upper lip in one Annus Horribilis or another. She was and will always be an inspiration to us. Every misdeed affecting her was trumpeted around the globe incessantly. Thankfully, most of us can bear our Cross in private.
Our Lord must have heard the anthem "God Save the Queen" a billion times and He would have answered it. At least it now has a change to God Save the King. I remember when Prince Charles was at Gordonstoun School that he was born again. He even later said that he would cause great shock if people knew that his heart's desire was to give up his place in line to the throne and go forth to preach the gospel.
Things have changed a lot since those days but let us pray for him to fully reconnect with Jesus. I heard one commentator this morning saying that Britain used to be a Christian country but it now is also Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh, so King Charles will have to combine all religions to be a true Defender of the Faith.
This will help nobody reach Heaven. Let us pray for him to bring back the beautiful Christian passion of Charles and John Wesley, and many others like them, who brought such glory to the Lord. They would turn in their graves if they could see the withered fruits of tepid Christianity that their lost legacy has produced.
I have learned some deep lessons over the many years of this ministry. We need to take the fight to the enemy of our souls. Jesus is our true inspiration. He confronted demons head on. The demons knew who He was, but He forbade them to tell anyone. They were aware that He was dealing with them "before the time" and could not send them back to Hell.
On that occasion He sent the Legion of 6000 demons into 2000 pigs which suicided over a cliff into the sea. They could bargain with Him because they did not want to leave the territory they had ruled for aeons. However, He has now been crucified, resurrected and ascended to Heaven, and all His power over demons has been given to us, His Body, to continue His work.
It's a war zone and being passive and letting the professionals handle it is not in God's plan for us at all. Each one of us is equipped with spiritual weapons, armour, gifts, a Bible and fellow-labourers. If there is a lot of dust on our equipment we need to change asap.
The Lord's will is for us to follow Him into the spiritual arena and be gladiators against the corrupt, the cartels, the mafia, the militants who rule the dark areas of our nations. We must pray alone or in groups targeting one type of crime or another, until we see the breakthrough. The authorities who should be dealing with it are usually riddled with enemy agents who tip off the criminals when a raid is on its way.
Our part is to bind up those dirty cops, by binding the demons in them, that they are silenced so that the law can take its course. Then keep praying that the full truth will be known in court without loopholes being found that frees the miscreants to go back to business as usual.
The late Queen, and now King Charles, do not have this kind of inside information about demons and warfare. They should but they don't move in the power of the Holy Spirit and spiritual battles. If you have been told about these matters you are way ahead of them spiritually, and God expects us to honour His Word.
He overcame the world so we could know Him and work with Him. We must overcome the world in the ways He will lead us. I was thrown head first into the deep end, and somehow survived that, learning many things along the way. I was not taught by any person but by the Holy Spirit.
He set up situations which I only figured out later were for my instruction. Sometimes it was quick, sometimes it wasn't, but He is a great Teacher. When you know Him and start being a bit creative, He loves it and builds upon it. You have to be bold and adventurous to conquer the world!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we long to be with You but that means death, until the Rapture happens. We are not afraid to die, but do not want to leave the work unfinished because it results in lost souls. Help us, Father, to boldly go in the power of the Holy Spirit, to fight against evil. In Jesus' name. Amen.