by Suellen | Awakening, The Church Awakening
The year was 1985 and our family was visiting my parents on the southeastern coast of Georgia. This is where I had spent my “growing-up” years, and I loved it. As my husband and I drove over the causeway to Sea Island, we were overwhelmed with the beauty – the huge Live Oaks, the windswept trees, the sand dunes, the meticulous landscaping, and the array of extraordinary vacation homes. Each home was unique, but each was manicured to perfection – and very expensive.
I had taken this drive many times over the years and had loved it. It was refreshing and intriguing to see the variety of homes and landscapes, and awesome to think of the money required to maintain such a lifestyle. Splendor and more splendor…
But this time it seemed different. (more…)
![Are You Ready For Awakening?]()
by Suellen | Awakening, Prayer
Many are talking about “awakening” these days. We are praying for it. We are believing God for it. Yet will we recognize it when it comes? (Glimpses of it are already here – can you tell)?
Do you know what an “awakening” would look like?
Some think that it means there would be large meetings where almost everyone present would turn their lives to the Lord. That may be the case sometimes, but not always. Some think that street preachers would suddenly begin seeing many salvations. Maybe so, but not necessarily. Some think that TV and radio ministries would be bombarded with requests. That could be, but again not necessarily.
You see, in the 70’s and 80’s (and maybe a little before), there was an awakening – and I was in on it. At the time, it was obvious that something unusual was happening. Looking back it is even more obvious. (more…)
by Suellen | Faith
There was a line drawn through the ages, and all of time hinged on that line. After centuries of laying the foundation for His mission, God’s plan of salvation finally came to fruition and all of mankind was absolved from their sin – if they chose to accept the gift.
Finally the time came for Jesus to go to the cross, pay the price for our freedom, descend into hell, on the third day arise from the dead, and ascend into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God. He then sent His Holy Spirit to live in the hearts of those who received Him.
What a miraculous time!
You and I can spend the rest of our lives studying and meditating on this series of miracles, but we will find that there is always more to learn. The more you know, the more you realize that it is better than you thought! (more…)
by Suellen | Prayer
As Jesus taught His disciples, He often used parables or comparisons so that people could “get the picture.” Remember the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words?”Well, last post we talked about Jesus comparing the Word of God to seed planted in the heart. Today, we want to present another picture. Throughout the Bible God’s Word is referred to as “water.”
When we get this picture, we will learn one of God’s most important concepts. There are lots of scriptures which we could use, but let’s focus on two. Isaiah 55: 10-11 speaks of God’s Word as rain and snow. It comes down from heaven causing the earth to bear and sprout. (Or causing your life to bear and sprout). But why does it say “rain and snow?” Why not just “rain?”
This part is important!
If we look at Psalm 147: 15-20, (NASB) we will get it. (more…)
by Suellen | Uncategorized
Malachi
We come to the last book in the Old Testament. Malachi was written about a hundred years after Haggai and Zechariah. The temple had been rebuilt and the descendants of the returning Jews were back to their old habits: the habits of the flesh.
Do you remember when we read Obadiah and talked about Esau and Jacob? Esau was the child of the flesh, and represented that person. Jacob, however, represented the child of the spirit. The natural man is the first-born man; the spiritual man is the one we get when we get born again. The second man.
God makes it very clear in Malachi, as He did earlier, that the spirit man, Jacob, is the one He loves. Natural men can never please God, even though He loves them. There is too much sin and selfishness.
In this final book the Lord reminds the priests once again that He is not pleased with disobedience and rebellion. They are bringing their second-rate lambs to be sacrificed, instead of their best. They are being unfaithful to their wives. They are not bringing their tithes into the temple.
All of these issues are tell-tale signs of apathy toward the Lord. They were going through the motions of their religious rituals, but their hearts are not there.
God hates that attitude. Apathy is the worst attitude we can have, because it signifies indifference. There is no way someone can be apathetic and full of faith. Those two mindsets don’t go together.
So the Lord chastises His people, but finally He brings hope, as He always does. “The day is coming…for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.” (4:3)
We always have a promise from our Father. If we will pursue Him, there are wonderful promises in store.
That’s all, folks, until Jesus appears on the scene. Nearly 400 years go by with no more prophetic Words from God. Now I’m quite sure that some men had words or dreams, but nothing that was to be included in the Bible.
This was a long wilderness time for His nation Israel, but think about what was coming. At the right time, God is going to bring His Son to the earth, and the fulfillment of His promises will be more than any could ever imagine. (We can never guess what great things our Father is going to do. His plans are much higher than we can think).
His ideas are always worth waiting for.
Revelation 22
Do you remember Ezekiel 47 and the river of God flowing from the temple? Well here we see the same river: the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And once again we see that trees line the banks of this river, bearing fruit in every season.
And there shall no longer be any curse. We shall see His face and His name shall be on our foreheads. The glory of the Lord shall be so bright that we will no longer need the sun. His light will be our sun. (V.3-4)
These events will take place for certain, because God’s Word is always true.
John goes on to tell us to “hold fast” the words of this prophecy. We are not to add to it nor take away from it. This Word is true. (V.18-19)
Our finite minds can’t imagine a day when the sun would no longer need to shine, or when we could just look at Jesus, or when there would be no more evil in the earth. Those things are hard to imagine.
This is why it’s important for us to pursue our God with all diligence. We want to have His best.
Right now His best involves us having joy in the world – with our family and friends. He loves for us to have a good time in this life. Yet always we should put Him first, keeping our minds on things above so that our faith grows along with our love.
I pray that you and I will be right in the middle of all that our God is doing in the earth. It’s forever upward for us as we journey on with Him.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this year of reading the Word along with you. The Bible is not a book which can be mastered by reading a passage a day. Each book could be studied in depth to derive all that the Lord wants us to know. However, by reading straight through, as we did, we get to see the common threads.
We get to see the nature of man, and we get to see the nature of God. We see God’s love as He has pursued man so diligently. We also see His faithfulness.
As we continue in our study, we will uncover more and more layers of understanding. So hope you will continue!
Many blessings.
Suellen Estes
