As promised, herein is the Part 2 segment from my soon to be published book (hopefully) entitled “Conversations With God Using Scripture”. You will recall in Part One, I catalogued my experience while attending a church retreat for women up in the hills of Massanetta Springs, Virginia, approximately 37 years ago. There I met the Lord early Saturday morning as the women gathered around an old rugged cross for prayer. It was there in a supernatural moment, I received a divine directive from My Master. (You are cordially invited to revisit Part One (from last week’s blog) to receive a full account of this encounter.)

Although I had attended this retreat by happenstance, much later I realized it was the Holy Spirit’s way of getting me alone with Him so that I could hear His voice only. The revelations I received that weekend so penetrated my heart that when I returned home, I began to search the Holy Bible for confirmation and clarity. I found the answer in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 6. Following is an adaptation of how the Holy Spirit spoke to me as I read the prophet Isaiah’s account of his divine calling from the Lord:

An Adaptation of Isaiah 6

1. In the year that the Mount Calvary Baptist Church Women held their 4th annual retreat, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a hill, high atop Massanetta Springs, and an ole rugged cross depicted his glory.   2. Around the cross stood the female saints of Mount Calvary, each one holding two hands of two others; and each one having a multitude of prayers on her lips.   3. And one cried out unto each of us and said, Pray, pray, pray to the Lord of Hosts.  He has a job out there for you to do in the world; and he is waiting on you to fulfill his will.   4. And a hazy light began to appear above the cross as God opened the door called morning and the atmosphere became full with his glorious dew.   5. Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone; because I am a women who has been playing church.  I have not completely aligned myself with the Saints of God; for this morning my ears have heard and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.   6. Then went I unto one of the Saints whose total being was on fire for the Lord, and as I took hold of her hands in mine, they felt like live coals:   7. And the Holy Spirit laid it upon my heart and said, Lo, ask your sister to pray for thee; and thy iniquity will be taken away and thy sin purged.   8. Also, I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Eat the word least I chew you up and spit you out.  Then fell I upon my knees and said, Lord, I will eat the word.   9. And he said, Get up, go, return to Mount Calvary and remember your promise to me; for if you do, I will surely reveal the scriptures to you and you shall have wisdom and understanding and you shall see me at work in your life.   10. You shall have power in teaching my children and they, too, will yearn for the word; and I will open up their ears so they can understand.  I will close their eyes to the distractions around them and they shall look beyond the trash and tinfoil of this world and see only me.  And their parents will see the changes in them and bring them forth to be baptized.   11. Then said I, Lord, how long must I eat the word and how long must I teach the gospel?  And he answered, until the cities become more humanized and god-fearing, and the inhabitants learn the power of prayer and the households are without strife and the land is filled with love.   12. So that no matter where the children relocate to, if they should stray, there will always be someone there to show them the way.  Thus, many shall return, even a tenth, and shall be stronger and more faithful in their service than before.   13. And that tenth shall be like the mighty terebinth and oak trees with their leaves shaped like the hearts of men, bearing wing-like fruit in all seasons.  And when the inevitable comes and the leaves shall fall and the physical seed shall be planted for the last time; thanks be to God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  With the glorious forgiveness of every sin, our spiritual seed shall live on and continue to bear fruit for the Lord until he comes again.  Amen.

Scripture Lesson: He has shown you, O mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. Micah 6:8 NIV

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As the title denotes, this blog is just the beginning of a two part segment from my soon to be published book (hopefully) entitled “Conversations With God Using Scripture.” Next Friday in this blog space, I will publish Part 2 of “God Singles Out The Sinner And Offers Grace“. It will be written as an adaptation of Isaiah 6, reflecting my personal experiences as a younger woman, while on a church retreat seeking a closer walk with the Lord. Like Isaiah’s divine godly encounter, I, too, after God’s penetrating and convicting examination of my life, also declared later; ‘Here am I, My Lord, send me!’

A True Story – Part 1...

In the Old Testament, Isaiah begins his autobiography in Chapter 6 by recording the death of his king.

“In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne; high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.”          Isaiah 6:1

If you are a student of the biblical “Begots”, without reading any further into the Scriptures, you know of one possible reason for King Uzziah’s demise.  The Begots reflect a procreation list of family generations sired by the forefathers in the Bible.  Usually, when a name (or its derivative) is first mentioned in Scripture, its definition is also given.  King Uzziah’s name denotes that he egregiously breached one of God’s sacred laws. (*)  In another place, the Bible gives this definition of the name:

“Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the ark; and he died there before God.”    1 Chronicles 13:10

Another biblical concept gleaned from the Isaiah 6:1 verse is that something had to die before a rebirth could take place.  Other events in the Holy Bible that embraces this dual concept is: famine and plenteousness; darkness and light; death and resurrection; good and evil, etc.

I experienced this phenomenon, of something having to die, in 1983 while participating at a church sponsored Women’s Retreat at Massanetta Springs, Virginia.  At the time, I was seeking a closer relationship with the Lord, but realized I was only doing so at my own convenience.  To be honest, I was preoccupied with self.  I was obsessed with starting my own business (a laundromat).  I was still climbing the corporate ladder at my official job as a building manager for a large automotive corporation, trying to crack that glass ceiling.  And I was also enrolled in college taking several business courses.  No wonder I felt like a guinea pig on a treadmill.  So when the retreat opportunity presented itself, I reluctantly decided to attend.

My encounter with God came about 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning at our sunrise service which was held high upon a dew-drenched hill.  I remember standing around the wooden cross at the top of the hill encircled with about 30 other female saints.  It was still very dark and a chilly breeze was blowing.  You could smell bacon and fresh baked bread aromas floating up from the kitchen dorm below as camp custodians prepared our breakfast.

Seemingly, the worship leader who was standing at the base of the cross, was reading my mind as she shouted for all of us to get our minds off breakfast and on prayer.  Next, I remember silently thinking why are we praying one at a time.  God can hear a multitude of prayers all at once.  Just then, the worship leader shouted out those very same words to the women.  I opened my eyes to see if there was a spy in the camp and the Lord spoke to me and said, “It is I, my child!”

When I returned home, after that astonishing weekend, one evening I sat down and attempted to recapture on paper what had happened to me at the cross.  I knew with assurance that all the trash and tinfoil of this world that had weighted me down was now lifted.  In other words, my “King Uzziah” had died.  In my study time, I was led to Isaiah 6, and the composition entitled “God Singles Out The Sinner And Offers Grace” was born.

(*) NOTE: King Uzziah’s sin was that he disobeyed God and was struck with leprosy. (2 Kings 15:5 and 2 Chron. 26:19-21)

Scripture Lesson: So I, (put your name here), pastured [God’s] flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. In one month (a short time) I got rid of the three shepherds (the evil enemies of God). Zechariah 11:7-8 [Paraphrased)]

(Tune in next Friday for Part 2 of “God Singles Out The Sinner And Offers Grace”)

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I can only imagine that during this Covid-19 life-threatening and deadly pandemic; the California wild fires causing loss of life and property; and the nations’ political unrest which is arousing citizens to feel disenfranchised, betrayed and demoralized; that these situations are empowering skeptics, god-fearing people and agnostics to call out, ‘God, where are you?’!

No doubt, in times past, God has been your anchor-father, and you were able to communicate with him with ‘no problem’. But lately, you are experiencing a deafening sound of silence. Just when you thought you were dancing with the star-angels, you became a wallflower. (Did I forget to gargle this morning?)

Did God not say we should come as we are? Did he not invite us to enter his gates (presence) with thanksgiving and his courts with praise? (Psalms 100:5) Ask yourself…have I not demonstrated a faith that is steadfast, unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord? (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Did not the Lord promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) And did He not profess that with man, certain things were impossible, but not so with God. For all things are possible with God. (Mark 10:27)

All I can say to you morally depleted people, is welcome to the wilderness of life’s journey!

Did you not know that God often places his people smack dab in the middle of the wilderness to allow them to grow and be refreshed? That’s right! God wants us to become equipped and fortified to do his bidding here on earth. He also wants to give us experiences so that we are able to recognize the enemy (Satan) and to navigate his territory successfully with the aide of the Holy Spirit.

So, as you can see, getting through these dry seasons is not just a matter of waiting on God, ringing your hands and shouting out loud, but you should use this time to search the Scriptures, pray fervently, and encourage and lead others to join you in becoming a partner with God; to hold fast to his unchanging hand and to know that he is up to something good and beneficial for all of his children.

My personal testimony…

Hopefully, we will all learn how to pray with conviction, fortitude, trust and confidence that our Lord and Savior has the whole world and all of its situations in His hands. In October 2013 while on a Buckner International Mission Trip, I attempted to pay for some souvenir books I had purchased. But when I put my hand on my waist to retrieve my money belt it wasn’t there. At that moment, all my strength left my legs and I slumped to the ground. My colleagues were at a loss as to what had caused me to almost faint. As I sat there on the floor trying to compose myself, my first thoughts were that I had somehow been robbed of my money belt. But a holy peace came over me and I experienced reassurance that my lucre could be replaced by simply making a phone call to my son back in the United States. So I picked myself up and brushed myself off and continued on my mission assignment for the Lord.

Needless to say, when I returned to my hotel room that evening after visiting the children’s orphan homes, there on the floor and partially hidden under my bed was my fanny purse. Evidently, that morning, I did not tightly secure the fasteners on the purse to my waist. Yes, because I had turned that whole situation over to the Lord, plus I did not harbor ill feelings against the citizenry of Russia, nor did I fret over lost spending money, I was able to operate in peace all that day and performed as a positive witness for the Lord, bringing joy, peace and hope to the little children.

Let us observe today’s dilemmas with the same frame of mind.

Scripture Lesson: Proverbs 3:5-6

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Have you ever pondered the expression, ‘Babes in Christ’?  Are you now or have you ever been a ‘Babe in Christ’?  Well, for me, the answer is a resounding YES!  Another expression in the Christian faith that is highly associated with the first question are the words ‘Born again’.  When we think on these 2 expressions, how should we analyze them?

Allow me to let you in on a little secret conversation I had with Jesus on how I should pray to Him about the 2 questions above…He imparted to me the first verse of a song recorded by the Statler Brothers entitled, Just A Little Talk With Jesus:

                           “I {you} once was lost in sin but Jesus took me {you} in
                           And then a little light from Heaven filled my soul
                          He bathed my heart in love and wrote my name above
                          And just a little talk with Jesus made me whole.”

Thank you, Lord, for You gave me a preponderance of the evidence that I could understand and apply in my prayer life.

Evidence Unvailed

 I once read that in nature, all living things reproduce themselves.  So, if we apply this to the Christian populace, we emphatically know that none of us can consider ourselves a natural-born Christian.  We were all converted to Christianity.  Thus, we consider ourselves ‘born again’ and as an infant…a ‘babe in Christ’.  Yes, I too, was once a babe in Christ, but now that I have been born again, this time by the Blood of Jesus Christ, I am being made whole each and every day! And my prayer life is becoming more meaningful and authentic in every expression of my faith. The Holy Scriptures bear this out in 1 Peter 2:2 which reads: “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

Below is a list of words that you may consider incorporating in your prayers to express just how grateful you are for God’s divine intervention in your life. Yes, I am suggesting that you become an astute and conscientious Wordsmith when communicating with God.

A	Acceptance	I	Intimate	Q	Question	Y	Yearn, Yield
B	Bold	J	Joyous	R	Release, Repent	Z	Zealous
C	Confession	K	Kindness	S	Seek, Share
D	Deliverance	L	Listen, Loving	T	Trust
E	Energized	M	Meditate	U	Understanding
F	Frankness	N	Negotiate	V	Victorious
G	Gratitude	O	Obedience	W	Worship
H	Honesty	P	Passionate	X	Exemplary

My personal experience/example of praying God’s Word back to Him

Scripture Lesson:

God’s Blessing on Zambia
(An Adaptation of Isaiah 44:1-5)

“Yet hear me now, O Missionaries to Zambia, My servants, and American Baptist Churches of the South whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you and formed
you from the womb, who will help you while
on your journey: “Fear not, O Missionaries My servants; and you, Eleazar, whom I have chosen as their guide. For I will pour water on the House of Lusaka who
is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground of
compounds in Zambia;
I will pour My Spirit on all those who journeyed
to Africa and My blessing on Eleazar’s dream
for the Zambian people;
New churches will spring up among the grass huts like willows by the watercourses.” Hope International Church of Lusaka will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; Bethel Church of Kafue will call himself by the Name of Jacob; Soweto Baptist Church will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s” and Riverside Baptist Church of Chingola will name himself by the name of Israel. (This 2002 prophecy is certain to come to pass saith the Lord.)

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