Above All, Love Each Other Deeply

                                             

 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

 On March 1, 1999 Kerry Reid, a prophet from Canada, visited Rochester at the invitation of our beloved pastor, Jurgen Hoomans.  Kerry decreed, “In your life, says the Lord, I’m going to harness and hook you up, says God, with Me and we’re going to walk through this Garden of Blessing. . .  I’m going to give you a web page, and I’m going to begin to do e-mailing.  I’m going to cause interaction to go across even the internet, a big page, a good page where people are going to be able to click and call back and say “I heard this in the Spirit”.

 He went on to say, prophetically, “I’m going to remove the apathy and drudgery from this area because “I AM is going to do the work in the hearts of the people.  The Lord says, “This is the second time I’ve done this  – I’m going to turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the fathers”.  (Malachi 4:5,6).  One commentary on this verse opines that, as a metaphorical Elijah, John the Baptist called people to repentance and a life of obedience in order to prepare them for the coming of Jesus Christ, the One who had come to “seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10) and to “establish the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).

 In an archived post on this site titled “This Is Prophetic” (Jan. 18, 2023) we first explained why and how this page was created.  It was God’s idea and God’s timing – put on the heart of a dear sister to create over 20 years later.  Timing, they say, is everything!  So, what’s He up to?

     Well, as facts would remind us –

1.  Rochester was the epicenter of what most say was Charles Finney’s greatest revival from 1830-1831.
2. A total solar eclipse is about to occur on April 8, 2024 and its shadow is passing directly over Rochester.  (Please refer to our November 11, 2023 post for what that might mean, and its past significance.)
3. Rochester was the second seat (after Chicago) of the work of Saul Alinsky, whose “Rules for Radicals” could seem redemptive to the socially and financially oppressed.  Unfortunately, ethics, he believed, were not to get in the way of goal for, sadly, Alinsky acknowledged Lucifer as the first and best radical ever.  Those tactics, beginning in 1964, helped bring Rochester to its lowest spiritual, social and financial position since Finney was here.  Satan always tries to derail God’s blessings, which are meant for all of us – not just the rich.  But manipulation is not God’s route; only an honest, loving and free heart leads to true prosperity for all, and that would be the heart of Jesus Christ – Who truly was the first and best radical, who, without manipulation, but only self-sacrifice offered hope to everyone equally!  He radically loved and radically obeyed His Father.

So, this is it.  Not our idea, but His.  God wants something better for us, for Rochester, the place on the Erie Canal from which many forms of enrichment flowed to other parts of our state.  Our prayer is that we would yield ourselves to “scribe” for Him accurately.  And if 35 years of praying for our families and our city has taught us anything, it’s that it’s always about the heart and to whom does that heart really belong.  It’s about focus and priorities.  And we have found that ours are improving by looking first, most, and finally to the Godhead, and Their Heart. 

I asked the Lord once after a “dry season”, “Lord, why haven’t I heard from You lately”?  He quickly replied, “Why should I speak if you don’t listen”?  The Hebrew word “shema” means to “listen” or “to hear” found in Deuteronomy 6, and in Proverbs 20:12, where God equates listening to Him to obeying and keeping His Covenants.  So, all this to say, it would seem the Holy Spirit is again saying “Listen up. I have Good News!”      

Here is His latest piece of Good News to me.  I had just finished praying and said, “Is there anything you want to say to me, Lord”?  The answer was instantaneous!  “Yes, I want you to know how much I love you.  Love others as I love you and don’t be afraid”.  (I might note, He is saying that to all believers).  That was on October 6, this year, a day before Hamas attacked our beloved Israel, and every day seems to bring us rapidly closer to the Ezekiel 38 war.  But it is not that alone.  Every day is bringing us closer to the return of Jesus Christ for His Bride.

Now I get that there are all kinds of eschatological approaches, as there are all kinds of denominational differences.  Who cares!?  If we believe and receive the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Whom God made man, crucified, and risen, then we are one Body.  So, we better treat each other with respect and make Daddy happy.  And Father will straighten out all our beliefs in Heaven where only truth and love rule. 

One day, I was voicing what I felt was a justified criticism of someone in the Body who had “hurt” me.  Yep!  Offenses can be real so we can get offended!  I clearly and sternly heard, “Hey, that’s MY BODY you’re talking about”!  Then I saw what appeared to be a decapitated Jesus with His Head to the left and His headless body on the right.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  He finished with, “when you talk about them, you’re talking about Me”!  I repented, needless to say, quickly and will never forget that in order to honor Him, we must honor His Body, the true church.  To divide ourselves with the sword of judgmental tongues which Satan so loves to use through us is to hurt the Lord.  Talk about manipulation!  It’s the hallmark of a Jezebel spirit-which hurts the Father by dividing His children.  It’s crushing to realize that Satan used a precious Jew, whom the Father loves, Saul Alinsky, to cause seemingly unending hatred and division in America – God’s America. 

This was the land established in part to be a safe haven for Jews who were being expelled from Spain at the height of the Spanish Inquisition.  And Columbus, with all his imperfections common to man, shepherded the movement of God’s heart to protect His Jewish people.  Now, along with that, comes the often typical derision by many in America through lies and twisting of history to promote an agenda against Columbus and our history also. 

Satan most often comes as a deceiving “angel of light” and in the case of Rochester, New York, during and after the race riots of 1964, it is said that when leaders had the opportunity to have Martin Luther King, Jr. help us, they picked Alinsky instead.  In his book “Rules for Radicals,” Alinsky explains “you pick a target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize it”.  According to Paul Kenger, executive director of Institute of Faith and Freedom, Alinsky advised “cutting off the support network of the targeted person and isolating the person from sympathy.  He urged going after people rather than institutions because people hurt faster than institutions.

Why am I so assured these tactics are evil?  Because, on a personal note, in 1964 my “overly scrupulous” self was influenced to help a very needy friend through the suggestion of a highly esteemed religious authority in my life at that time.  But I broke ethical rules to do it and that was unfair to others involved.  Decades later I still regret not helping my friend in a more Christ-led way.  And my well-intentioned mentor, I learned later, went on to become one of Alinsky’s most influential organizers, as shown in the documentary “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.”

So, I did what was wrong based on trusting the word of someone whom I admired.  Still my fault – but a valuable lesson for the rest of my life.  Don’t compromise even for what seems to be a “good cause”!.  And so many well meaning people, not realizing Alinsky’s admiration for Lucifer and Alinsky’s belief that “the third rule of ethics of means and ends is that in war the end justifies almost any means” got unwittingly trapped in Godless ideology.  But that is not the way our God operates.  Our Lord’s spiritual laws espouse love, humility, truth and forgiveness to correct evils.  Mutual repentance repairs relationships.

We must all acknowledge that unimaginable evils have been committed against most every precious people group, especially the Blacks and, now again, the Jews.  And we should be beyond heartbroken over this, and truly repentant.  However, we’ve witnessed also that lies, hatred and violence on anyone’s part don’t remedy the situation.  Never have, never will.  Look at our country!

So, to conclude, in mid-November 2020, right after the election, I heard the Lord say, “What if Biden has to be inaugurated for people to see that what they thought they wanted, they DON’T want?”  (I noticed He said “inaugurated” and not “elected.”  The Father continued . . .  “When they return, who will you be?  The Prodigal Father or the Elder Brother?”  I answered, “Clearly, the elder brother – or we wouldn’t be having this talk”!  Wrong choice!!

I realize that I probably have offended some.  I’m truly sorry if that is the case.  Please let’s pray and investigate sources other than our typical “go to” pundits who most often now have a political and, make no mistake, “spiritual” agenda, but also most often disregard scripture.  We might suggest from the Christian point of view, the TV news show “Flashpoint” or studies by Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn.  But, as my brother used to say, “When the truth is ugly, only a lie can be beautiful”.

Almost done here (if you’re still with me)!  God said to me one day as I was beginning my walk with Him, “You know, you’ve believed lies about Me”.  As an overly scrupulous” Catholic (a priest called me that and threw me out of the confessional at 7 years old!)  I was shocked and offended in my religiosity by the Holy Spirit as He was trying to help me.  Study of scripture, some good teachings and a modicum of humility proved Him right of course.  I had thought He was a mean God.  What a lie!  Could you believe a lie because of your traditions – whether people group, political or spiritual?  Sure.  But I hope not with all my heart.  It could cost you, your family, the church, and America to miss the blessings the Lord wants to pour out on us all.  It all starts with repentance, a change of mind.  I know it’s so, because my family has been so blessed since my husband and I forgave and were reconciled after 4 years of separation.  We have to choose love.

Finney didn’t even want to come to Rochester because he said people were so hard-hearted.  In 2022, Mario Murillo had to cancel a much-anticipated crusade in upstate New York where multitudes could have been saved and healed.  I think, however, it became the opportunity to reveal some underlying problems to us all. 

Mario Murillo explained that some spiritual leadership here had been offended by his vocal support of President Trump and they subsequently discouraged volunteers from giving him the help he would have needed to assist with new converts, etc.  That is heartbreaking!  To be part of blocking God’s spiritual blessing for political reasons is something all of us should repent for on behalf of our beloved leaders and everyone involved.  Please prayerfully consider joining us in repenting and asking the Holy Spirit what would bless the Father’s Heart in this and other situations.  Let’s agree that we will not bow our knee to division, Jezebel, manipulation, governmental, religious, deaf and dumb or any other spirits in our areas, in Jesus’s Name.

However, we know that most hurtful actions come from our own spiritual wounds.  So, we pray our Lord would heal the hearts of everyone who needs healing, and we would let Him join us together, in His love, to see Him pour out His Spirit here again by any means or man.  He did it with Finney and the eventually humble Rochesterians, and He wants to do it again!  He loves His shepherds and His sheep – and we do too!  And we welcome “all the Finneys” who might bless us and hope to be a blessing to them.

Blessings and thanks …

P.S.  If you have an opinion, hopefully based on scripture, feel free to share.  We welcome your insights!