"They Overcome...by not loving their lives unto death."

http://www.biblestudents.com/endtimes_win06.cfm

Fire burns on the altar/This torch will be passed to the younger ones/Will they know how to use the heat…As carriers of a force that can set nations free?/ Will their heart break for the least of these?/ A battle in the natural/ Fought with weapons and human courage/Does not give equal reflection/ To the war raging underneath…/What will it take to stand…Against a culture that murders innocence and belief. / The answer to freedom resides in the fiery one...and those who dare to look into His eyes/ They don't know how to hold a gun/ But they’ve learned how to live without fear. / Will their beauty remain hidden forever—Or will passion override fear…revealing the majesty/ Of the mystery hidden inside?

That's part of a poem I wrote a few weeks ago after spending some time in prayer one Saturday morning before my sociology class. The words started burning in my heart, and I began to see pictures of fire on an altar, and people carrying the torch of the Gospel from previous generations that gave their lives to see the Kingdom of God preached. God kept speaking to me, "Caitlin...I want to teach you how to live free from fear...with the peace that only comes from knowing Me intimately."

There are soldiers who are fighting in the natural to defend "life and liberty for all", who are functioning on human courage and depending on the weapons and strategies they have been trained to use...yet so many of them are desperately afraid deep down inside. Adrenaline and forced bravery can often serve as a mask for fear...but in the quiet place where they can really feel, there is nothing that feels peaceful about the battle they are fighting. Still, these heroic warriors are not even fighting in the most solemn of battles. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 cor. 10, KJV)

There is a battle that rages underneath the surface, and the natural man will never be able to overcome in the intensity of warfare that ensues. Only the Spirit man...the one that has died to the flesh and the fickle emotions of the soul. The fire on the altar...the liquid hot presence of God...is the answer to victory. This fire comes through a habitation in the Secret Place, where hunger and thirst after righteousness are the currency that matters. This is the place where I learn not to be afraid.

As I look at the world, I recognize that God must see so differently than humans. We think that certain religions or certain groups are the enemy. In reality, there is the tendency in every human to perform injustice and evil. The unrighteousness is not in our labels...it is in our hearts. And only God can bring freedom. The islamic jihad may be considered a terrorist group, but even in our own schools there are terrorists who have been so wrecked with hurt on the inside that they express it in violence, showing that bitterness breeds hatred. No one is safe from this disease. History books share that "Christians" have killed in an attempt to "purify" and "expand" what they believe to be the Kingdom of God. Jesus doesn't see "Muslim" or "Christian" or "Zealot". He sees the heart. And that's what He examines. "You cannot say you love God and hate your brother."

That's why Jesus said, "Forgive them." 70 times 7. Unconditionally released.

I learn through Scripture that it's my Faith that overcomes the world. Faith is only perfect in love...God's agape love. When God's love encounters me, it begins to strip me of selfishness, offending my fleshly tendencies and self-centered desires. Without me really understanding how the process is happening, God begins to shape me into an overcomer...into a fiery one who has looked into His brilliant eyes and no longer loves her life...even unto death.

Times and seasons are changing. We need our ears to be open to hear, and our eyes open to see. We have not come this way before....and we have to hear the voice of the Spirit as He leads us. Be a fiery one. Learn how to wait in the secret place and how to be still in the presence of a loving and holy God. This is no time to shrink back in fear. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, until only those things that are of the Kingdom remain. Walk as an overcomer.


"Jesus, thank You that You are an awesome and holy God! Thank You for the sacrifice that You made--that you bled and died for me, so that I could spend eternity with You, saving me from hell. I ask that You would make me more like You. Place fire in my heart and steadiness in my gaze. Thank You for the promise that You will never leave me alone. God, awaken my generation to Your voice in this hour, and let us be wrecked by Your aggressive love that has the power to set nations that have been held captive free. I love you, Jesus! Thank You for loving me."