PREPARE FOR EARTHQUAKE I


In the fall of 2010 I began hearing the Lord saying this to me--

"Prepare for earthquake" and "The earthquake is coming".

Well, that got my attention!

My husband Bruce, is from L.A. and we both vividly recall the disruptively violent "Northridge" quake of January 17, 1994.

He has family who lived in close proximity to the mega-quake, which though centered about twenty miles away in Reseda, was named after Northridge due to the extensive damage and loss of life in the that community of the San Fernando valley.

We were there months later to visit Bruce's family and introduce their two toddler grandsons whom they'd never seen. Sadly, we saw many personal effects in his uncle's home that were destroyed due to the quake.

Uncle Jeff had gathered his damaged personal objects, art sculptures, momentos, china, lamps, into the dining room, carefully cataloging them in rows of the floor. Not surprisingly, there were cracks in the tile and walls of his home. I was surprised by the cross-section of damage from the least little item to the largest rift in a major wall of his home.

Having grown up in the Great Lakes and Ohio regions of the midwest, it's easy to understand why seismic savvy has never been a part of my lexicon.

But I know tornadoes. I watched from my front porch, one of the historic Alabama Spring 2011 funnels developing as it traveled over my home, only minutes later to leave devastating scars one county east of us.  I have seen a small F1 twister go through my backyard in 1980. I arrived hours after the great Cincinnati tornado in August of 1969, my father desperately driving us after a visit with my mom's family in Somerset, Kentucky to get to Cincinnati in record time. He needed to see that his mother and sister were alright.

Packing perfectly, an obsession with my dad, didn't matter that day. We crammed our belongings in the car, with no concern for anything other than thoughts of our family members and if they were alright. THE STUFF DIDN'T MATTER ANYMORE.  

By the time we arrived, people were cleaning up, firemen and utility crews trying to deal with downed power lines and countless old trees uprooted by the ferocity of that storm. We were there within hours of the tornado and as an 11 yr old, I vividly recall seeing a two-story home with its wall peeled off like a doll house with a bed and dresser still intact in the master bedroom. Link here to view 8mm video posted on youtube  That exact house is in the video at approximately 1:12-1:14 !

Even as a young child, I always asked God about His thoughts about the events of life around me and as I viewed that home, its contents revealed for all to see, I wondered about the kind of power that could strip outside walls leaving personal small items intact, as I noticed a lamp still sitting with a pretty shade on it in a second bedroom (not visible in video). 

So, I've often told Bruce, I'd rather face the odds of almost surgical precision in damage by a tornado any day than the widespread damage of an earthquake.

But, let's face it, when something cataclysmic hits you, your stuff just doesn't matter anymore.

________________________________________________________________

I've prayed about this 'earthquake' that my Father told me to prepare for-- almost two years to the day, I've prayed and waited asking Him what He wants me to see, to understand.

Here is what I sense today-- 

The Spirit is saying this to the church, the Body of Christ in Alabama (and likely beyond!).

"Rend your hearts not your garments. The time of sloppy grace and tolerance for soul-power has already ended. 

MY GRACE HAS NOT ENDED BUT THE COST OF COURTING MY PRESENCE CANNOT BE PURCHASED WITH THE POWER AND PERFORMANCE STRUCTURES YOU HAVE RELIED ON.

My plans for your life are so much greater than you can imagine, yet so much less visible than the world's view of power and position that you have adopted as your own. 

These structures of mind and will and desire will not work in the coming season. They will fail and fall. In my grace I am giving you the opportunity now to CHOOSE ME, CHOOSE MY WAYS, CHOOSE MY PRESENCE. 

Look at my prophets of old-- did they have audiences, did they speak for hours on platforms and hold positions of honor? Did they take up offerings and receive applause while building their tiers of 'ministry' structures and servants? Yes, some were appointed by kings, with lavish provision. Look at my prophets of old-- those who did not dwell in evil dependencies and spoke the truth I gave to them. 

Even though it cost them dearly, they spoke the truth of my OWN heart. 

I will teach you now to follow me, I desire that you are nurtured and prepared by my own hand. Will you leave everything to follow me? 

The winds and storms have already come. Some were stripped bare like the trees after the whirlwinds in Alabama. The only way to survive was to get lower-- to shelter in smallness, invisibly crouching down to cover your heads. 

Now the earthquake approaches. YOU WILL BE CRUSHED IF YOU REMAIN IN YOUR CURRENT STRUCTURES! You don't have time to gather precious items, just RUN! Run away from your comforts, your plans, your fool's gold.

RUN TO THE DOOR -- THE DOOR POST AND LINTELS WHERE THE BLOOD OF THE PASSOVER LAMB WILL SHIELD YOU-- GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN AND SEEK YOUR SHEPHERD WHO IS CALLING YOU TO SAFETY. 

As you stand in that DOOR, you will look up and see Me. Lift your eyes up to Me and I will send my power to save you." 

3 comments:

  1. Warnings are always given by God. "As it was in the days of Noah" -- the Bible is clear that it will be this way again, when Messiah returns. But not just wind, not just earthquake -- as Elijah experienced at Mt. Horeb, there will also be fire. The holy fire of God will come down from heaven and consume your sacrifices. Have you been bowing at the altar of The Money God, the god of mammon, the god of this world? Let Elohim shake you now to get free of all unholy entanglements! The earth is groaning . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Remember-- the Lord was actually in the whisper after all the commotion. I believe that we are in the season of the fire right now-- purifying us, purging the agenda and the brokenness and the control in our lives.

    He will have His way with us-- can we ask for anything less? Rom. 12:1-2... we are a living sacrifice and after we have gone through the preparation in our lives, His loving and severe mercy, we are left with just the whisper of His presence.

    As we experience the willingness to stand (or better yet,kneel) in awe of His goodness and mercy, we can hear the voice of God. His sheep know His voice.

    How we desire your presence, Lord.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The earth will shake when The Lion ROARS !

    ReplyDelete