Reflections

 As I read this passage of scripture, a bright light shone on each verse. And I heard the Spirit say to me, look deeper into these verses for there is more here than you know. Perhaps when you read this, you won't see what I saw in my mind's eye, you won't hear what the Spirit said to me. But I pray that you will be blessed. Under each verse, is the words that the Spirit spoke to me and the way in which I responded in the spirit.

 Ezekiel 47: 1-12 (A River Flowing from the House of God)

1. "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold (doorway) of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar."

Afterward (after my backsliding), He brougt me back to the door of the house (He tugged at the door of my heart and said, knock and it shall be opened to you again, our fellowship will be renewed.

2. "Then brought he, me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the outer gate by the way that looks (faces) east; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side."

Then He refreshed my mind, made Heaven (northward) real to me again. I tasted and hungered for more of Him. My tears splashed into the river. My soul was so thirsty for His presence. I was coming out of the dry desert existence I had been living. I could see Him sitting at His Father's right side.

3. "And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles."

 He brought me through the streams of life for they were ankle deep. This was so I could learn of the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit, one step at a time. First came the gentle stirrings of conviction to redirect my wayward steps. I had to tread water so when the oceans of life fell upon me, I would not be overtaken and lay by the wayside again.

4. "Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to my loins."

Then He repeatedly brought me to my knees in tears, the living waters cleansed and rid me of past sins, and the things I had harbored too long in my mind. I knew my sins were already under the blood, but this cleansing was not for His forgiveness, but for mine. Gradually, step by faithful step, He remolded me, smoothed out the rough edges of a vessel marred too long by sin and rebellion.

5. "Afterwards he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over (forded)."

Now, finally I was ready. He immersed me in the healing waters of life, the living waters of the Holy Spirit. They flooded my entire being with peace, joy and love. The yoke of bondage was broken. This was a vision I had prayed for...my purpose in His kingdom. The floodtides of tears cascaded over my soul, like the depths of water in that river.

6. "And he said unto me, Son of man, has thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river."

He brought me in my mind, back to the beginning. The place where I had left Him standing so long ago. Suddenly, I was embraced by His overwhelming love and grace, the grace that allotted me this second chance. I heard Him whisper, "Child, now do you see my will for your life? Now can you say, that you will never look back from whence you came, that you will never step back into a life of sin?" I shouted, "No! No! No never again! I will never look back, turn back or go back! All I need I have found in you!"

7. "Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other." 8. "Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert (or plain), and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed."

In my mind, I stood on the pinnacle between life and death. I saw millions of faces on each side of the brink in time. The progression from birth to adulthood flashed before me. I saw children playing. Then just as suddenly, they were adults walking through the plains of life--becoming part of the seas of mankind. Only those who had been brought through the waters of Life with Jesus by their side, were healed from the plague of sin. The others stood there as tall as trees, but they no longer had faces. Where their faces should have been, there was flames of fire licking outward and about their heads.

9. "And it shall come to pass, that every thing that lives, which moves, whithersoever the rivers will come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters will come thither; for they shall be healed; and every thing will live wherever the river comes."

Anyone and everyone touched by the Holy Spirit of God, and brought to Jesus, lives in the overflowing rivers of salvation. Millions, as countless as the fish in the seas, stand on the brink. The waters batter them about, as their eyes search longingly for the Anchor. Jesus beckons to each one, and says, "Come and be healed, both in spirit and in body. Come to ME and live!" And just as He has promised, all that come will live again.

10. "And it will come to pass, that the fishers will stand upon it from En-ge-di even unot En-eg-la-im; they will be a place to spread forth nets; their fish will be according to their kinds, as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many."

The time has come, the time is now! The fishers are the fishers of men who must put forth their nets into the Great Sea (the World). According to their kind represents both the Jews and the Gentiles; color, age, financial status, and education, will not be a factor in this last day harvesting of souls for the Kingdom. We will look past the flesh and see in our spirits, the person who lives inside; the soul that will live forever! Various methods will be employed to rescue the millions of souls who are lost and dying in the sea of life. This will be the final harvest of souls before Jesus comes!

11. "But the miry (swampy) places thereof, and the marishes thereof, will not be healed; they will be given to salt."

Those who refuse to climb out of the swampy marshes, who reject his extended hand of mercy will die in vain. Those who are entangled in the slime of Satan's lies will not reach the healing waters. They will live eternity with the putrid stench of sin filling their nostrils, the flames of fire forever burning them. They are as was Lot's wife, people without substance or hope; a hardened mass of worthless salt, good for nothing but to be cast into the fire.

12. "And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, will grow all trees for meat (food), whose leaf will not fade, neither will the fruit thereof be consumed: it will bring forth new fruit according to His months, because their waters, they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof will be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine (ointment)."

The Word of God produces the meat (or spiritual food) that we need to feast on. We are spiritually strengthened through the Living Word, and we bring forth fruits (good works to please God, so we can glory in His presence, not our own). Neither the world, the flesh, nor Satan, can consume these fruits of righteousness. These are fruits with everlasting endurance. We will reap rewards for eternity, because we walked in the Spirit and not in the flesh! The river of living waters that flows from the sanctuary of God, strengthens us, gives us our joy, and restores our souls. He is meat in due season. Jesus is the medicine to cure all our ills, both spiritual and physical. We all backslid at some point in our walk with Jesus. Some of us recover, some do not. I am so thankful to my God, for being patient with me, and for allowing me a second chance to walk in His will and His love. May God bless each of you, and give you understanding from the words given to me by His Spirit.
Tara Hart © 1998 all rights reserved

An angel passes by and a call goes out. "Awake! Awake from your sleep!" Alas, the servants sleep on. They appear to be dead. But wait, a muscle slightly twitched. The Holy Spirit strives with them, but He is grieved and finally quenched. So the call goes out to the sleeping dead. But still no response comes forth.

The angel asks the Spirit, "Who are these sleeping dead?"

The Holy Spirit responds, "These are the Master's servants who have been overcome!"

"Overcome by what?" the angel inquires.

"Overcome by sin and worldliness, by idleness and a blatant lack of concern; by love grown cold, and ultimately a hardened heart! Satan pushed and pulled until he had them in a corner - behold the sleeping dead! They walk so far off His path that no one would know that they live in Christ. They sleep as the call goes out to sow the seeds, for they feel no need to witness to the sinners. The only time they open His Word is when they go to church. Many of those Christians have taken their hands off the plow and looked back. And most have no idea, how steeped in deception and religion they have become. Complacency and compromise has shipwrecked many. They listen but do not hear they look and cannot see. It is clear that far too many serve their pastors instead of the Almighty God. They scoff at those who teach about the End Times. They call themselves Christians but neglect  to walk in God´s ways. One day in the near future, the sleeping dead will reap what they have sown. What a sad day that will be, when they stand before their Master, empty handed and full of shame. What little they have will be taken away and given to another who is worthy. Will they hear Him say, ‘Well done thou good and faithful servant´, or will His response to them be, ‘Depart from Me, for I never knew you.´

The angel stood quietly by, knowing that the Spirit´s words were Truth and Life.

The Spirit continued, "Nothing seems to stir the sleeping dead. They have forsaken my pleas, and no longer can hear My still small voice. Stony cold hearts no longer are touched by His Love, for they have left their first Love. They drank of the milk of the Word, then lost interest and went to sleep. They never grew enough spiritually to partake of, or even handle the meat of the Word. Nor do they heed the Master's call. They live the way they choose, forgetting to whom they really belong!” The Holy Spirit concluded.

"You sleeping dead arise and come back to ME, pleads the Master. You sleep when there is work to be done for the Kingdom. You keep silent when you ought to speak to others about ME. And you even refuse to defend the True Christians and their Rights. Your idle words and your dead works smell of putrid decay!!"

The angel cries out again, "Awake you sleeping dead, you once vibrant Christians! The day draws near, the night is far spent. The dawning of the day is at hand! Awake, I say, lest the Master come and find you sleeping!"

And the cry goes out one final time: "Awake, awake you sleeping dead!"

Tara Hart © 2003

1 Corinthians 5:11-15

As I look back through the pages of my life, I feel so ashamed and unworthy. I meant to make more time for Jesus, but time just slipped away without my notice. Now, I carefully turn each page in Life's book hoping to see some great feat I may have accomplished. Tears course down my face, as I look at each page filled with honors that glorified only me. I am now reminded that only what is done for Christ is lasting, all else is just temporal things washed away into the seas of selfishness.

I turn to the next chapter, and one empty page after another assaults me.  At the top of each empty page, there is an excuse as to why I neglected Jesus that day.  "I was just too busy today, Lord, the boys had baseball games this morning."   "I spent all afternoon organizing next week's menus."  "Maybe I will get a chance tomorrow to spend some time with You, Lord."  "Sorry Lord, I just couldn't find the right words to say, when a sinner confronted me."  "I am always so tired and stressed out, and I just cannot seem to concentrate when I read your Word."  One lame excuse after another filled these pages.  How could I have been so blind?  If Christ were to come today, how ashamed I would be!

I turned to the last chapter in Life's book, and I wondered what it would reveal.  This chapter was much different then the others.  Each page was filled on the front and the back. I knew without looking that it was not things that I had done for Jesus. When I glanced at the title of this page, I was in awe of God. It was God's book of things that He had done for me down through the years. So many of those entries were things He had done for me, things I had taken for granted. There was not one empty page, nor were there an excuses  listed. The contrast of His deeds compared to my feeble deeds, were astounding.  There was not even one complaint on His pages, but my complaints were multiple.   His pages were filled with each blessing that He had given to me.  He never once mentioned the pain and agony that He had suffered for me, and the hours He spent watching over me each day. I bowed my head in shame for  my pages were full of grumbling about the slightest pain I experienced. I seldom took the time to talk with Him, yet He watched over me with constant care. How sad  He must have been each time I neglected Him, and the tears He shed for me must have spilled over onto His Throne.

Oh Lord, from this moment on, may each of my pages be full of things I have done for You.  May there be no more empty pages or excuses.  I cannot go back to rectify all my failures and mistakes, but I can live each new day with purpose as I lean on You to guide me in the right way. One day soon, I like all the others, will have to look back over each page we have filled in Life's Book, as we stand before You. I do not want to come before You empty handed and ashamed, Lord. I shudder to think of the many who will hear Him say, "Depart from Me, for I never knew  you." My Prayer is that even though  there is nothing I can do now about all those wasted pages of years, I can repent and you will erase all my failures and sins. Then I can each day make sure each page in my Book is full on both sides.  The most I can do is very little, compared to all You have done for me, but very little is much better, than empty pages and empty excuses.  So help me Lord, to fill each page with good deeds and prayers filled with Your kindness and love. And  yes Lord,  with the names of souls I have brought to You through the seeds I have sown.

The tear stained pages of Life's book will remain throughout the years.  So we must remember that what is done for Christ is all that  will last!  Will your pages be empty, or will they be full on each side?

Tara Hart © 2003

If I can't fly, I'll run.
If I can't run, I'll walk.
If I can't walk, I'll crawl, but I WILL NOT QUIT!