"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "Beauty for Ashes"

"While he yet spake, there cometh one from the

ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy

daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when

Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not:

believe only, and she shall be made whole."

(Luke 8:49-50)

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,

to give unto them beauty for ashes,

the oil of joy for mourning, the garment

of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they

might be called trees of righteousness,

the planting of the LORD, that

he might be glorified."

(Isaiah 61:3)

It was hard to stay dead around Jesus Christ! He likes people, places, and things to be ALIVE! He still insists on Life, rather than death, today. That's why He wants all of creation to be "born again," living in the "life" of His Spirit, rather than the dead and dying of this world. If you ask Him, the Lord Jesus Christ will always prefer the best for you and me; the prospering soul, rather than the floundering soul; the power instead of stalemate; increase in wisdom instead of decrease in knowledge. The glory of Almighty God's soul is always to see His creation arise from destruction and be renewed by Him in His formula of Joy: "Beauty for Ashes."

Do you feel your life is in a state of perpetual "wait?" Have your promises grown strands of dusty cobwebs? Has your long desert existence replaced your hope with fears? Have you "waited" so long that the light at the end of the tunnel is blurry, fading and darkening? Rise Up! It's not over until the Lord Jesus Christ says it over; your wait has built, in you, character, patience, diligence, and maturity of purpose within your soul. The arrow in the quiver is, even now, being drawn by the eternal hand of God, and being readied for the bow, heading for the target. How long did Abraham wait for his promised son? How long did Joseph wait in the confines of prison walls? How long did Hannah wait for the Prophet God wanted? Hannah wanted a son, but God wanted a Prophet ... Have you dedicated what you're waiting for, to God? Waiting is sometimes an ethereal reckoning in "our" minds that what is ours is actually His. "What?" you ask. He gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him ... Think about it ...

The "beauty" that comes from ashes is a pure beauty. All the dross has been burned away; the vessel rising from the deathly ash heap is a vessel of honor, prepared to arise at the appointed time. And, when the vessel rises, the glory of God is revealed in the mirrored glow reflected from the face of Christ. The potter's wheel, the desert place, the lonely pasture, the time in the quiver, the residence by the brook, the sojourn in the dark prison, the place of undeserved disease and illness, are all learning places of seeing the face of God.

You say, "How can I possibly see the face of God through disease and suffering?" The fire burns away the veil covering the holy place of God's mercy; even as the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom when our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, allowing us to enter the place of His power in the Holy Ghost; so is the veil of suffering an entrance to Him in the secret place He experienced Himself. He is never closer to us than when we are suffering ... if we yield to Him "there" ...

It's TIME to arise with joy and healing in your wings! "How do you know it's time?" you ask. It's time, if you "believe" it's time! That's what Jesus said, regarding Jairus' daughter. What in the world is FAITH good for, if we don't use it? The old saying "Use it, or lose it" applies here. The more we use it, the more we realize it and see it operating, the less we use it, the less we see it manifested. Don't give up! It's time to stop wallowing in the ashes; rise up, stand up, look up. and be cleansed of all unworthy thoughts, negative pronouncements, and "BELIEVE" that your "Beauty" has a target headed for You!

There's ONE that rules and reigns, ONE that sits on the throne, ONE who heals and delivers, ONE who fills and subdues, ONE that has all power over all situations and dominions, ONE who can calm your seas and whisper sweet peace, and "that" ONE is the Lord Jesus Christ! There is NOTHING in your life that He can't fix, that He can't heal, that He can't cast out, that He can't touch ... if you open the door and let Him in ...

Repentance is rising from the ashes; being filled with the Holy Ghost and speaking in tongues is emerging from death to life; being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins is casting off the old self, the destruction of sin and sorrow, and arising a new creature, clean and worthy ...

"Beauty for Ashes" is all about LIFE and that more abundantly; we can all be raised from the dead ... dead in sin, dead dreams and promises, dead ministries and service to the Lord, dead hopes and vision, or dead in health issues and suffering. The LORD Jesus Christ gives LIFE, and all He asks is that we "BELIEVE" and Push to rise from the ashes of death to the beauty of LIFE. You have to want it; you must hunger for the Lord with the whole heart, soul, mind, body and strength. He is as close as the mention of His name!