Instructions from God

by Cherry Stoltz

Seek me with all your heart and mind and soul and heart and strength and I shall reveal myself to you in a great and mighty way. Draw near for it is only in me that you will be satisfied. I do not desire your sacrifice of works, but a broken heart – one that recognizes its failure to meet my commands and is in complete submission to my will. You will only be able to determine my will through the renewing of your mind and this is the transforming work that my Spirit would accomplish in you. Desire more of me. Thirst for righteousness as the deer pants for water in the desert and you shall be filled. You are living in a dry and weary land – a place of self-sufficiency and unproductive striving to serve me. Your heart takes no true delight in this service, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise. Come to me, my child, and you will find blessed rest from your labour, for my yoke is easy and my burden light. Everything I have is yours. I am the God of the living, so come to me alone to receive Life in abundance. Mourn for your lack and I will comfort you. Seek MY righteousness. Build your house of faith on ME and it can never be shaken or destroyed. Ask and you will receive. Ask me to create a new heart in you and place a steadfast spirit within you, so that you will be able to keep to my Way and turn neither to the right nor to the left. Then you will stand firm in the faith. You will fear no longer and joy will flood your soul.

Here is your problem – You are still looking to yourself for your goodness - your righteousness. You are still shocked and humiliated by your ability to sin. Your pride is pricked every time you fail. If you walk in the flesh, trusting in yourself, you will continue to sin. Only in me will you be sinless. Believe me – you are capable of FAR WORSE. Self dies by LOSING itself in me. Practice it until it is a constant reality in your heart and no more an intermittent victory.

The leaves on the trees do nothing to receive nourishment. They neither wrestle nor strive but merely rest in the knowledge that they will be fed. See the sap rise up from the roots – flowing through cell after cell, feeding the leaf bud until it bursts forth, enlarging and becoming greener every day. When the time comes for it to wither and die, it falls lifelessly to the ground and dissolves back into the soil and into my roots – in other words – it is lost in me. Does the leaf do this work? Then no more can you do the work. Does the leaf look back at its past and regret its lack of early maturity? Does it try to speed up the process out of season? Then no more are you to look back and see failure. Do not strive in vain for rapid growth any longer. This is to be accomplished in MY time and in MY way. My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are high above yours.

 I have promised never to leave you or forsake you. My child, it is you who let me go. This is what remaining in me is about. EVERYTHING you need is found in me. Place your hand constantly in mine and I will take you to the highest heights to make you holy and equip you for service in my name. Soon you will see me face to face, but continue to seek me, and my righteousness, with all your heart until then. This is my holy and pleasing will for you.

I have brought you thus far by my power alone. Trust me to take you the rest of the way. Your name is written in my Book of Life. Without me, you can do nothing. Without me, you cannot love with my love. Self has to die daily, in small ways as well as large. Your desire to please man is still stronger than your desire to please me in this. Lift up your face to me. Take your eyes off the guilt and sorrow that tie you to self, and look upon me. I am your salvation and your steady foundation.

Your faith in me is my delight. I tell you the truth, you have heard my word and believed me, therefore you will not be condemned. You have crossed over from death to life. My unfailing love surrounds you because you trust in me. Neither trouble nor hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger or sword can separate you from my love. Beloved, rest in my love. My left arm is under your head and my right arm embraces you. Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm, for love is a strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave, it burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. I am yours and you are mine. Would I leave you to suffer without the comfort of my Presence? Would I abandon you in your hour of need? Would I leave you for even one moment? I formed you in your mother’s womb and breathed life into you. I know the pattern from which you were formed. Raise your hands in praise to the One who made you.

Do not rely on man but upon me. I shall fill you with My Presence. Accept this in the Name of my Son, Jesus Christ. Present your body as an offering to me.

Your sins are truly forgiven – now forgive yourself. See yourself through my eyes and not your own. See a Mary who wipes my feet with her tears. See my hand reach down to lift you from the mire of your guilt and take you gently to be with me – and KNOW that I have done this for you. Your guilt has made you ill. Forgiving yourself will set you free. See yourself through my eyes. You see one who is dark with sin. I see one who is golden with my love. Do not lock the door of your guilt. Leave it open so I can sweep it out, clean and spotless.

Do not lean on your own understanding. Do not walk without me. Sin is one thing only – pride – walking in your way and not mine. Your sense of deep guilt sees a coffin filled with the pebbles you think you placed there – but in reality it is a jewellery box filled with the diamonds I put in. You have one task in all this – to trust me and keep your eyes on me. Do you understand now that your guilt is actually pride and unbelief? I died for your sin – past, present and future. Did I ever say that you had to keep carrying guilt around inside yourself and pulling it out to dwell on every now and then? No! Never! I said that it has been cast away as far as the east is from the west. When you need your feet washed, do I have to wash the rest of your body as well? Then believe, child. You are already clean. The work of cleansing has been done!”