~~~WARNING~~~

~~~WARNING~~~

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

Ezekiel 3:17~19

Assurance Meant for Ezekiel Alone Eze 33:30-33

Beginning with Notes: Words of assurance for Ezekiel alone. Ezekiel 33:30-33

As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord. My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. When all this comes true ~~and it surely will~~then they will know that a prophet has been among them.

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Pretty serious stuff aye? I'd say so. Sometimes stepping out with God has you literally shakin' in your boots. When all is said and done tho you feel such relief that you said or did what God asked you to. Words cannot describe the feelings I have had during those moments. Shaking ... most definately. Did I want to do it, but God didn't ask me if it's what I wanted to do. Stepping out in faith is "never easy" you just know, that you know, that you know, it's got to be done.

The last time I did was a couple nights ago, I thought about it for awhile, I prayed; Oh, yes, you have got to pray for God's guidance and I threw in a request for strength too...lol

To be continued ya'll ~ "JJ"

Ezekiel A Watchman : Ezekiel 33

First Ezekiel 33:1-6 NIV

The word of the Lord came to me "Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: When I bring a sword against a land, and the people of their land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.

Ezekiel 33:7-9

Son of man, I have made you watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

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Heavy responsibility to be a Watchman; especially called by God to do so. However, it's not just the watchmen who have that responsibility, you do too, as a child of God. There are those people called specifically to be a Watchman; but then there are the responsibility of fellow christians to be mindful of each other. More about that later.

Give these verses some careful thought, I have a NIV Study Bible, concordance, etc.... Of course the all resourceful Internet, lol

Please let me know your thoughts on this subject, and or your questions. We can learn together.

More on the Watchman Ezekiel ... either later tonight or tomorrow.

Blessings All, "JJ"

Blow the Trumpet ...

Joel 2:1

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand ~~

**NOTES: Trumpet. See v. 15 Made of a ram's or bull's horn, it was used to signal approaching danger (Jer. 4:5; 6:1; Eze 33:3). It's sound brought trembling (from fear) to the people (See Am 3:6). Zion See v. 15; 3:17. Here, parallel to God's "holy hill" (See note on Ps 2:6), it refers to Jerusalum as the capital of the nation.

Joel 2 verse 15: Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.

Jer 4:5 Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: "Sound the trumpet" throughout the land! Cry aloud and say: Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!

Jer 6:1 Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction.

next...

Jeremiah 6:17 Do You Hear Trumpets ?

Jeremiah 6:17

I appointed watchmen over you and said, Listen to the sound of the trumpet! But you said, We will not listen.

**NOTES: Wathmen. True prophets (see Eze 3:17; 33:7; Hab 2:1) sound of the trumpet: To warn of approaching danger (see v 1; see also note on Joel 2:1).

Are you a Watchman ?

These are scriptures that came to me during my time with the Lord this morning:

Ezekiel 3:17-19

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.When I say to the wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin: but you will have saved yourself.

~~NOTES: I have made you a Watchman. In ancient Israel, watchmen were stationed on the highest parts of the city wall to inform its inhabitants of the progress of a battle. (1 Sam 14:16) or of approaching messengers (2Sam 18-24-27; 2Ki 9:17-20). The prophets were spiritual watchmen, relaying God's word to the people (see Jer 6:17; Hos 9:8; Hab 2:1) Ezekiel's function as a watchman was not so much to warn the exiles of the impending doom of Jerusalem as to teach that God holds each one responsible for his own behaviour. This commission, repeated in 33:7-9, is spelled out in Ch. 18

In the Potter's Hand ~ JJ

Mark Twain had some great sayings such as ...

Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can become great.

Still have this nasty cold, I think it may be nap time again...lol

Blessings on You, "JJ"

Just Think About It ...

" You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change you direction overnight" ~ Jim Rohn

"Do not fear the path that God may lead you on. Embrace it. For God may bring you down a path in your life to ensure the reward of your inheritance. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs tem all.

2 Corin. 4:17

In Difficult Moments ~ Seek God

In Quiet Moments ~ Seek God

In Painful Moments ~ Seek God

In Every Moment ~ Seek God

You'll be glad you did, and so will He

Assumption Vs. Faith

You can only grow in your understanding by being accountable to others.

By having committed Christians walking close to you. They become a safety net to keep you from presumption and deceit of the heart.

You have to hold back your natural gifting to ensure God is the one guiding you.

This is the most challenging aspect of a walk with God.



It's the countdown to the Superbowl, are you ready? My husband is a huge football fan.

Blessings, "JJ"

The Prayer of Faith

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain on the land, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

My brothers, If one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins.

James 5:13-21 NIV

All I know about what is to follow is it came to me one morning during my time with the Lord; I am to pray this everyday and have been doing so since 11/10/06.

Lord;

Bring restoration of YOUR people to YOU in YOUR will and doing things YOUR WAY! Bring an OVERWHELMING DEEP DESIRE to YOUR people, for YOU, Lord.

REVIVE US, OH LORD, REVIVE US!!!

Bring a SENSE OF URGENCY to YOUR people to DESIRE MORE of YOU!

REVIVE US, OH LORD, REVIVE US!!!

Bring REVIVAL to YOUR people, Lord, near and far! That they may DESIRE a DEEPER RELATIONSHIP with YOU! Go beyond or past the superficial to the SUPERNATURAL COMMUNION with their LORD and SAVIOR ~ JESUS CHRIST !!!

REVIVE US, OH LORD, REVIVE US!!!

Yes, this has been one of the first prayers I pray every morning since 11/10/06.
God's people are in desperate need of him in this day and age. Unfortunately, we are not very well equipped; and we need to be. Will you join me in this cry to our Lord and Saviour?

In Christ's Love ~ "JJ"

I have been running this through my mind for quite some time ... and have recently prayed about it... I believe I'm going to start a newsletter with topics of interest to those who are beginning, in the middle of, or advanced in their walk with Christ.

This newsletter will be specifically designed for those desiring a more intimate walk with God. It will be EASY to understand, down to earth ...

It will begin in approximately 45-60 days. So, at least by February 20th or earlier. I have an idea for a name, but would be interested in hearing from others.

Here is what I would like to include: Topical Bible Study; Articles; Testamony's ~ stories of what Christ has done in lives; Jokes/Stories

If you have any suggestions please email me, I'd love to hear from you!

I recently received an email that made my spirit jump for joy and my heart sing! Needless to say our steps, my steps, are ordered by the Lord and I'm not going to be sharing what I had previously written about. Not that I won't, just not right now.

This email I received came from my mother-in-law; Sally. It expressed so perfectly my desire to be close to God, my desire to know Him intimately that I just had to share it with you:

Dancing with God

When I meditated on the word Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gently cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrencer, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance. When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God, "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies be upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God, as God abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life.

May his blessing be upon you, "JJ"

I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first, for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

Romans 1: 16, 17

Since in January, I am beginning a study on "Persevering Faith" I began by looking up the definition of each word ... very interesting ...

I shall return , "JJ"

~ Persevering Faith ~

May the God of Peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen

Hebrews 13:20, 21 NIV

"Do You Know God ?"

January, I'll be starting a Bible Study on Persevering Faith, and you're more than welcome to join me. Right here ...

Study will be based on Hebrews 11, 12, 13 ~ give the chapters a read, and if you'd like to join me; come on back ...

I'll be posting updates between now and then, exact date is unclear at this point~

'Tis the season to be jolly! Merry, Merry Christmas!

My Cleansing Stream

Well, like my husband, I want to thank God for everything He has done in our lives, and continues to do in our lives. However, this weekend stands out most right now...

The past couple of days at Cleansing Stream have been painful & exhausting, but oh, it hurt sooo good! Like my husband has said, I've gotten closer to God than I would ever allow myself to get.

Being a former Marine...Pain is Good, Extreme Pain is Extremely Good! Believe me this was extremely good for me and my relationship with God! You find out that even things you hate about yourself...releasing them to God is such a relief!

As Vince has said (my Husband), things come out that I thought I had hidden pretty good, but God knew. There's not that much that can be hidden from Him! He can take care of it, you just have to tell Him about it.

I have been released from shame, self-condemnation, guilt, self-rejection, self-hatred; notice there's a lot of self in there! Thank God, I have been delivered from myself! lolol

A lot of it had to do with events that happened in my past before I began my walk with Christ, and even some that began after I started my walk with Christ, even so, it's taken care of now! Thank God!

Vince and I have a stronger relationship with each other and with God. We have begun new habits...puting God first in our lives! Unique concept, huh??? lolol

May God Bless You, will return to discuss Cleansing Stream...

JJ Pickels