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BEAUTY FOR ASHES
9/20/01
It is with great sadness that I saw
the terrorism of 9/11/01 unfold on the news. I grieve
with the rest of the world. In the midst of such a
horrendous upheaval, it has left us stunned and sober,
touching the souls of mankind to examine our
foundations. For most, that foundation is their level of
faith in their religion. But the Lord Jesus Christ will
be Lord over all lords, shaking the foundations of every
nation and every religion in order to harvest a
multitude of souls unto Himself. It has begun.
PROPHETIC ANNOUNCEMENT PRIOR TO
9/11
Two days before terror struck our
nation and reverberated throughout the world, I wrote a
significant prophetic post and released it to my list on
9/9/01. I feel that it was the Word of the Lord for His
bride in preparation for what occurred on 9/11/01 and
for the future. Perhaps you will see what I mean as I
share with you some direct quotes from President Bush
response to this sudden terror. I felt they were direct
confirmations to that prophetic post of 9/9:
QUOTE FROM PRESIDENT BUSH:
"Our country is strong. Terrorist
acts can shake the foundation of our biggest buildings,
but they cannot touch the foundation of America."
QUOTE FROM 9/9/01 QUICKENED WORD
POST:
"UPENDED TO EXAMINE OUR
FOUNDATIONS" (header)
"I personally believe this year has
been the grand finale and climaxing year of examination.
In these 12 years, our lives have gradually become just
like that bed: stripped, upended, undone, and turned
upside down. The purpose was to get to our foundations
in order to discard the old and replace it with the
new."
QUOTE FROM PRESIDENT BUSH:
The president's day began in an
elementary SCHOOL. After being told of the news, he
said, "The resolve of our great nation is being tested.
But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will
pass this test."
QUOTE FROM 9/9/01 QUICKENED WORD
POST:
"In my praying over this post and
where we are in the time line, I saw a large magnifying
glass and remembered seeing the same magnifying glass in
years past. A magnifying glass represents close
scrutiny, or examination. To my understanding it has
been like a school exam or "test." (Ouch)"
QUOTE FROM PRESIDENT BUSH:
Bush quoted from the 23rd Psalm,
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I fear no evil, for You are with me."
QUOTES FROM 9/9/01 QUICKENED WORD
POST:
"DELIVERANCE FROM FEAR IS VITAL"
(header)
It is vital that as this fiery
transition from the church to the world occurs, that we
return to our resting place. If we have our eyes on
worldly circumstances and not on the Lord, we will fear.
The Lord wants to deliver His church from all fear."
"The scripture says that He makes
me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still
waters. (Ps 23:2) Sheep will not lie down if they are
afraid. They must be free from sudden, startling dangers
and free from tormenting pests. They are free when they
see the Shepherd with them and know His personal care."
"…I am reminded of being in the eye
of the storm, where everything may be spinning around
and quite chaotic. But inside that eye is a place so
secure in the Lord, there is perfect peace and nothing
can steal our joy - our assurance. It’s a place where we
know we are safe, and we do not fear. It is also a place
where we do not give an inch to the enemy and allow him
any access to plunder our lives."
[end of quotes]
ASHES
As I watched the symbols of
world-wide commerce fall into a plumb of ashes… as I saw
people running from the ash ‘bomb’ and suddenly overcome
as it swept past them… as I watched fire trucks plow
through ashes… as I watched survivors board buses,
literally caked white in ashes, I knew the Word of the
Lord. I realized that He had given me His preparatory
Word in that posting of 9/9/01. Here are two verses I
quoted:
"I had heard about you before, but
now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back
everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show
my repentance." (Job 42:6 NLT)
"Job’s final statement was not
unlike Psalm 102 where it says, "I eat ashes instead of
my food. My tears run down into my drink because of your
anger and wrath.
For you have picked me up and
thrown me out. My life passes as swiftly as the evening
shadows. I am withering like grass. BUT YOU, O LORD,
WILL RULE FOREVER. Your fame will endure to every
generation." (Ps 102:9-12 NLT)"
PSALMS 102 AND YEAR 2002
If you notice, that the above
scripture written before the tragedy, was from Psalm
102. The Lord told Bob Jones many years ago that the
number of the Psalms represented God’s Word for that
particular year. At the time I heard Bob say this, I
went backwards in my personal life and tested it with
major personal milestones and I was totally amazed how
those years lined up with the Psalm. Because of this I
have had my eyes, ears and prayers toward Psalms 102 for
many years, praying over every detail.
At first I was concerned that it
meant great calamity, being cut down in mid life. (vs
23-24) There are many applications to this Psalm
including the possibility of pointing towards Israel
(who is now in midlife since statehood in 1948). There
are also spiritual applications to God’s Words intended
for His church. There are many with midlife death
sentences (whether physical or spiritual) that are
living on the edge and brink of spiritual and physical
health.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR PITY AND MERCY
After painting such a gloomy
environment in the first 11 verses, the Word of the Lord
kicks in and he says "But you, O LORD, will rule
forever. Your fame will endure to every generation. You
will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem-- NOW is the time
to pity her, NOW is the time you promised to help." (Ps
102:12,13)
BEAUTY FOR ASHES
A few months ago I was standing in
the kitchen of a friend and doing her dishes. As I was
praying over her life, I distinctly heard the Lord say,
"Beauty for ashes." She is a overcoming Christian who
has seen the ravages of her life live on the brink for
many, many years, and yet she has great unwavering
faith. At this point in time she was totally and
completely convinced she would immediately be "fired"
from her job. She repented of everything she could think
of, and we continued to pray that the Lord would turn
her events and bring her favor and she witnessed an
obvious turn around and she was never fired.
I see her life as a divine example
of so many past painful war stories, where the Lord
redeems it into something good. I feel that she is an
example of the church right now. We have come through
that fiery 12 year season, feeling and believing that we
are going to be disqualified and "fired" from our
callings. And yet nothing could be further from the
truth. (Mal 3:3)
Isa 61:1-4 KJV
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon
me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good
tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year
of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to
comfort all that mourn;
3 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.
4 And they shall build the old
wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and
they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of
many generations.
As we come out of our own personal
fires, and the fires are passed onto the world, we will
be used as ambassadors of healing and deliverance to the
nations and to the unbelievers. Our prayers, our past
sufferings will bear fruit for those who are not
innocent. (Job 22:30) And this is all the more reason to
pray for the fires now being released upon the world,
that the Lord will have mercy in doing so — and that if
they must come, they come slowly and mixed with His love
and mercy. How the world can go through the coming
storms and fires without a relationship with the Lord is
inconceivable. And yet that is exactly the point, to
DRIVE THEM TO THE LORD. He is the water of life. (John
4:14) And the church will be pouring out that water so
that the enemy does not get the upper hand.
QUOTE BOB JONES
{From article called "The Lord’s
Heart For Intercession" from Bob Jones and Keith Davis -
April 15, 1999. http://www.bobjones.org/}
"…They will be able to extinguish
portions of these fires as their prayers become heavenly
"precipitation". The Lord told Bob that the fires cannot
be stopped, however, we can prevent them from occurring
all at one time and their effects can be curtailed.
These are spiritual fires that will be verified by
natural fires.
The Lord instructed Bob to announce
to the church, "DO NOT FAINT AT THIS TIME FOR THE FIRES
WILL LEAVE THE ASHES OF RENEWAL." These events are part
of the preparation in righteousness necessary for the
coming harvest. Beware when they say peace and
prosperity for that is when sudden destruction will
come…"
{end quote}
PSALM 91 AND 911 EMERGENCY
The revelation came to several of
us prophetic that the sudden date of this national
terror (9/11) referred to a scripture. For me it was
strongly quickened that as far as the church is
concerned, it meant Psalms 91, especially Psalms 91:1:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." I feel
that Psalm 91 is the Word of the Lord for our times, and
again my post of 9/9/01, "Return to Your Resting Place"
is what I believe is God’s answer to the sudden worldly
events.
THE PARABLE OF THE STORM
A few days after 9/11 events we had
a storm sweep over our state and during the storm the
Lord told me that it was a sign of His Word of the storm
coming upon the world, and to take note of how the
events played out at our home. I noticed that I heard
the first thundering boom around 9 PM as I was shutting
down my computer and going to bed. The last boom I heard
at our house was promptly at 1 PM as I looked at the
clock. It was no coincidence that the numbers were 9 and
1. (91)
A very unusual thing occurred while
we watched and listened to the storm play its hand.
Perhaps other regions have different kinds of storms,
but our thunder and lightning storms usually have a lot
of rain and wind accompanying. This storm was very
unusual as there was no rain and no wind at our house.
It was very still and that was the reason it stayed for
four hours. As my husband and I united in prayer I could
see a faint misty like dew fall below the street light
right outside our window. It would leave when we stopped
praying. We prayed for America and also that the Lord
would put out any fires started from this storm. The
storm was loud and flashy, but we felt safely under His
covering. I heard the Lord say that we were protected.
There were other things I noted
about this storm. One, my son was camping under the
stars at a watchtower / observatory and watching the
entire sky light up for hours. They were too far away to
hear the blasting thunder, and so he said it was like
truly watching a display of the glory of God. He had
never seen lightning come so fast and vivid for so long.
My Dad saw the storm from his town, and he said there
were between 20-30 strikes per minute. He was very
concerned about forest fires.
At one moment (ten minutes to
midnight) there was a HUGE boom and our lights flashed
off for a brief second. Just as I was deciding whether
to get the candles out, they came back on and the touch
lamp beside my bed came on past its most brilliant
setting. (It had been off prior to this, the power surge
turned it on.) At that boom, I came rising out of my bed
literally shouting "In Jesus Name!" several times. It
was thunderous and intimidating. I do not know if the
transformer above our street light got a surge or not,
but it was violent. Later I found out that the
transformer next to our pastor’s house had been struck
at this time, and their lights were out for several
hours. They were without electricity but they were safe.
There were homes and trees in the area that were struck
by lightning and also shattered windows.
I saw the above quickened to mean:
1. 9 to 1 = Psalms 91 for those who
abide in Him. Those who pray and watch, abiding in Him
have the promise of Psalm 91 and His protection,
although flashing and powerful circumstances around them
may become very loud and intimidating.
2. The water of united intercession
will be vital in keeping demonic fires under control.
3. The storm will not be over
quickly. It will last at least 4 years.
4. Some of the children will be so
safely kept from the fear and intimidation of sudden
events that they will only see the glory of the Lord as
He displays His awesome power.
5. Some will go without
electricity, some will not. Just as lightning strikes,
the storm will seem to hit and miss from one place to
another.
THE ARK
In the post of 9/9/01 I began it
with a personal joke. In hindsight it is certainly NO
laughing matter as relating to the tragedy of 9/11.
However in hindsight I can see the joke was a prophetic
parable. The joke was about Moses being a "basket case."
And that really was the state I felt myself and the
church had been in for some time (especially this
climaxing year). In hindsight, the joke was quickened to
me that those who had a death sentence upon their head
as Moses did, were protected in an ark and sent down the
rough rivers… with a future of being "drawn out" from
that death sentence. (Moses name means drawn out.)
I wrote this post a couple days
after 9/11 and have been waiting upon the Lord to
release it. Just one day after I wrote the above
paragraph, I went to a store and saw a ceramic piece
that drew my attention. I am not usually attracted to
things like this in shopping. I am much more practical
in taste and don’t stop to look at much of anything
unless it has a purpose. But I stopped in front of this
scene. My eyes gazed upon it and I thought how pretty it
was. Immediately I recognized the anointing of the Lord
and was trying to figure out WHY I was suddenly feeling
His drawing to gaze upon this piece.
It was like hide and seek in slow
motion as my blind eyes were opened one step at a time
to see His Word. As I was trying to figure out what
there was about this piece that was anointed, my eye
first glanced at a baby in a women’s arms. Then my eye
went to the top of a basket lid that another lady was
holding. I said very surprised, "Why THAT looks like a
basket lid, and that baby reminds me of Moses!" I knew
it couldn’t be Moses. Then I saw a river and another
lady hiding behind a tree. And then I saw an empty
basket in the river! This HAD to be baby Moses, just
freshly drawn out of the river!!! I looked on the box
and sure enough it was Moses. I rejoiced with such a
beautiful, clear Word and confirmation.
For those who abide in Him in the
days to come, remember that you are saved and preserved
for a purpose. The Lord has preserved a remnant for
Himself. He has been working a long time on you to
prepare you to be poured out like His finest wine to a
hurting and wounded world. To those who have gone
through the fiery kiln, He will do amazing works through
each one of you. You will begin to see in the days to
come, as your personal fires cool, just exactly why He
brought you to this day. He has never left you, He has
not abandoned you, and He never will.
PROPHETIC WORD TO PONDER
I want to close with a Word to
Ponder. Words to Ponder are given to me based upon rhema
of His still small voice, dreams, visions, parables,
etc. I came across this one today as I was searching
"911" in my rhema data base. It blew me away when I
realized the relevance.
This particular one was written on
8/27/98 for a person whose name means, "Consecrated to
God." The following is the original version except that
I have inserted the words "those consecrated to God"
instead of the person’s name. It is also important to
understand that at the time of writing, this person had
been dealt quite a death blow and went through a literal
911 life saving experience. Since that time this person
has fallen into sin and rebellion. I believe that this
Word is an invitation. I feel that those believers who
are in rebellion and sin will miss this opportunity, and
instead they will be caught below the coming storms
where they are purified with fire.
FOR THOSE CONSECRATED TO GOD
Last call for the flight called
"those consecrated to God." That’s flight 912 — the
flight after nine-one-one (911) Take your seat - those
consecrated to God, there’s been a place won for you.
Buckle up, for in keeping your conscience void of
offense, there is divine restraint against demonic
turbulence. "Up and away," says your Captain. I’m flying
this plane. Rest easy, for I carry you.
One thing am I desiring of you, and
that is that you release your control. Let go of your
inner wrestling and give Me the Pilot’s seat. For I
alone can carry you safely to your rainbow. Lean back in
your chair and rest in Me. My flight will carry you
without your strength, for My strength is made perfect
in your weakness.
Together we fly through the storms
of fury. Look below! Those black clouds are under your
feet as we soar up and through, onto the other side.
Those consecrated to God, open your eyes and see. See
the distance stretch before you! For I give you a future
and a hope. A new beginning promised for those
consecrated to God. A rainbow coming closer.
Lighten your heart those
consecrated to God. Even now my angelic stewards are
bringing you nourishment. What is this? It’s a bowl full
of cherries, minus the pits. Eat hardy and enjoy your
flight.
But they that wait upon the LORD
shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and
they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40;31)
{end of Word to Ponder}
In the days to come, remember
"those consecrated to the Lord" that you are saved and
preserved for a purpose. The Lord has preserved a
remnant for Himself. He has been working a long time on
you to prepare you to be poured out like His finest wine
to a hurting and wounded world. To you who have gone
through the fiery kiln, He will do amazing works through
each one of you. You will begin to see in the days to
come, as your personal fires cool from the kiln, just
exactly why He brought you to this day. (Col 1:27)
Lovingly,
Sandy
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