BEWARE- Check the Posture of your Heart

In this time of national turbulence, I believe that the true Bride of Christ is being determined. The bride has been given a mandate to make herself ready. This is not just any time on earth but the time of the great harvest. This is the time of nations deciding their destinies. As Christians, we have a command to make disciples of nations. However, that assignment will not be reached by those who only accept Jesus as Savior but those that go on to live a submitted life to Him as Lord and King. In this EXTREMELY tense time in our nation, I am hearing some warnings, actually more than just to be aware but I am hearing BEWARE! 

 

There is a distinction

“Beware points towards something that has danger and capacity of harming the person/family/group/nation being discussed, on the other hand, be aware becomes just a warning to someone and it may relate to something dangerous or may just be calling attention. Beware, therefore, becomes a verb used to dictate action.” This is a season of action!

 

BEWARE of the small foxes

You must catch the troubling foxes,
those sly little foxes that hinder our relationship.
For they raid our budding vineyard of love
to ruin what I’ve planted within you.
Will you catch them and remove them for me?
We will do it together.

Song of Songs 2:15 TPT

The commentary is great on this verse! “These ‘foxes’ are the compromises that are hidden deep in our hearts. These are areas of our lives where we have not yet allowed the victory of Christ to shine into. The foxes keep the fruit of his Spirit from growing within us.”  

 

BEWARE of giving yourself the right to hate, the right to offend, and the right to be offended. BEWARE in this politically charged season not to comfort yourself in your “rights” and forget you picked up the cross and left your rights at the altar where you died to the flesh in exchange to carry the greatest name ever and represent the greatest Kingdom of all time.

 

BEWARE of your Idols

The badge of Christian comes before all other badges. It comes before the badge of Republican or Democrat. It comes before the badge of ethnicity or nationality. It comes before the badge of relationships and reason.  

Luke 14:25-28:

  25 As massive crowds followed Jesus, he turned to them and said, 26 “When you follow me as my disciple, you must put aside your father, your mother, your wife, your sisters, your brothers—yes, you will even seem as though you hate your own life. This is the price you’ll pay to be considered one of my followers. 27 And anyone who comes to me must be willing to share my cross and experience it as his own, or he cannot be considered to be my disciple. 28 So don’t follow me without considering what it will cost you. 

 

BEWARE of what you celebrate

I am constantly surprised at how Christians are so easily manipulated by the seven spheres of societal influence. Christians are mandated to rule: religion, family, media, arts and entertainment, education, business and government.  It reminds me of the tragedy found in Exodus 32 where a leader, Aaron, had been supportive and valuable to Moses but when he was given the responsibility to lead, the impatient crowd gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us”. Rather than remaining steadfast in his faith, Aaron gave in to the pressure of the crowd, the voices that surrounded him. He ordered the people (he was the one with authority to order) to collect all the gold in their possession and used it to create a golden calf for worship. Then, Aaron ordered a great feast, and all the Israelites, “rose up to party”(celebrate). This celebration cost 3000 men their lives. If we are going to emerge as the beautiful Bride of Christ, we need to be careful what we decide to celebrate.

 

BEWARE of talking against the prophets

God is jealous for His people. In Psalm 105:15, “Don’t you dare lay a hand on my anointed, don’t hurt a hair on the heads of my prophets.”  The saddest part of seeing inside of so many Christian circles is seeing how quickly brothers and sisters in Christ turn on each other.  If someone falls into sin, we should immediately fall on our face crying and praying for their restoration, to strengthen the family and anyone affected instead of spreading the news and making remarks.  With the rise of the prophetic voice, (which will only become stronger, more accurate and will reveal even more of the secrets of God) we must learn to honor and know if we do not have spiritual insight and responsibility over them, then our position is intercession. If we do have spiritual oversight, we teach prophets how to walk in the honor of their office.  I see men and women who have spent decades of their lives going after God, developing the ability to hear correctly, and submitting to seasons of caves and isolation. These prophetic voices have given word after word that has come to pass. However, now they are being corrected by a mob of voices on social media lacking love and honor.  There must be order. There must be the fear of the Lord. There must be accountability. There has to be a time for us to know our place in the body and stay there.

 

BEWARE the Bride is Coming!

This is a time of qualifying. The greatest season of the Kingdom is before us and we want to be those who have been found faithful. The ones who have been careful to wash our robes and have been beautifully adorned and entrusted with the greatest display of power and glory that has ever been on the earth.  Be counted as the Bride who has made herself ready!