Hello 👋 😁 & Welcome!
I felt compelled through the leadership of the Holy Spirit to share a message of Hope and Restoration that Jesus offers as he made the ultimate sacrifice for us by dying on the cross for our sins. Through his selfless act, you have been redeemed and have been made righteous. Now righteous doesn’t mean perfect but rather free from guilt and sin. Satan brings shame and condemnation and Jesus offers unconditional love, joy unspeakable and total restoration as he wants to heal your inner wounds. We all have unfair things that happen to us by people that forms our character and mindsets but you don’t have to remain that way. You may change certain things about yourself, move from the situation and perhaps far away from an individual but the issue remains as you took the pain with you. A tool that Satan uses is people in human form to hurt other people in order to destroy lives. Yet, God lead you here today, because he loves you and desires to heal the inner soul of all mankind, with nothing missing and nothing broken.
The Lord told me there are many who are tormented by suicidal thoughts, thinking it’s their only way out of a situation or condition. Be encouraged as God reads your inner thoughts. He has come today, to give you Hope and make away where there seems to be no way as only he can. He has the ability to restore all the time lost and make up for anything taken from you as he owns it all. A touch of God’s favor inside your life will make up for everything the enemy has stolen from you. People may have manipulated, deceived and mistreated you. But I want you to know God is against that and he is here to deliver you out of your pit, Satan has devised for you. God is extending his hand and is willing and eager to transform your life and bring joy back inside your spirit.
In my own situation as a few people tried to destroy my life the Lord gave me this scripture found in Psalms 21:11, “For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.” They plotted evil against me but no weapon formed against thee shall prosper. So, I am here today as a true witness of the wonderful working power of Almighty, God. People may get by for a time and season but rest assuredly, that nobody ever gets away. The judgement we use against others will comeback to us in the same measure because you always reap what you sow and perhaps, you reap more than what was dished out and planted. It‘s always best to show kindness as when you don’t, the only person you’re actually hurting is yourself.
Sometimes, as leaders, we are on the receiving end of someone’s untransformed pain. And other times people in general as hurting people hurt others through their own bad experiences and never heal from their wounds. Yet, I had to walk things out and God is just, as we don’t even the score but allow God to go before us as his Judgement is best and will do a much better job as he saw everything and heard conversations that we didn’t. The process doesn’t feel good but God is faithful to give you the strength you need until he places you into a new season. The purpose is to pay attention, grasp and take a hold of all that God is trying to teach us as it is preparation for what God has prepared for our lives. God is your safety net and he will give you endurance, peace and see you through as you rise above your enemies as God will make them your footstool. Don‘t forget we’re all human, it’s okay to have a meltdown, just don’t unpack and live there. Cry it out and then refocus on where you’re headed and continue on that path by the grace of God.
John 14:6
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Isaiah 53:5
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
In life we’ll experience loss, hurt, pain, rejection, betrayal, and the list goes on but through the darkness and hardest storms of our lives these challenging moments are designed to prove our character, strength and durability. God led us these years in the wilderness, to humble us, and to prove us, to know what was in our hearts.
Philippians 4:8-9
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
Let’s turn our attention to the life and story of Judas. Judas Iscariot was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane by kissing him and addressing him as "rabbi" to reveal his identity in the darkness to the crowd who had come to arrest him.
The age old question many people have been fascinated about is: “Can someone who takes their life be forgiven?” Where will they end up? Where is there final resting place and where is their eternal destination? 🤔
“The truth of the matter is Judas betrayed Jesus, repented, went out and hung himself and went head first straight into hell.” 🔥
The Book of Acts 1:18 quotes Peter as saying that Judas used the money to buy the field himself and, he "[fell] headlong... burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out." His place among the Twelve Apostles was later filled by Matthias.
Acts 1:18-19
“Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.”
Acts 1:12–26 records what happens when the Jesus-followers pray. Jesus has ascended, (Acts 1:9). The Holy Spirit is coming (Acts 1:5). The apostles don't really know what these things mean, but they know where to start. They join the other Jesus-followers in Jerusalem and start praying. The next order of business is to find a replacement for Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26:14–16, 47–50) and then hanged himself (Matthew 27:3–10). The remaining eleven apostles don't know this yet, but their third task will literally be to change the world.
The book of Acts chapter one sets the stage for the establishment of the church and the spread of the gospel. Jesus is alive but if the Holy Spirit is to come Jesus must ascend into heaven (John 16:7), “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
The disciples obey His last instructions and wait in Jerusalem. Peter uses Old Testament Scripture to show the group of about 120 they must choose a disciple to replace Judas. The man must have been with them from Jesus' baptism to His ascension. Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias are put forward and, in the last use of the lots found in the Bible, Matthias is chosen.
Luke is adding additional details to Peter's depiction of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, and Judas' subsequent death. Peter's audience doesn't need the extended version, as they most likely had heard all the details. Luke feels Theophilus, as one who was not there for those experiences, needs more context.
Matthew's account of Judas' death is somewhat circumspect. He describes how Judas realized Jesus would be executed and tried to return the blood money. When the Sanhedrin refused to take the money or exonerate him, he threw the silver into the temple and hanged himself. The chief priests determined that since the money was tainted, it couldn't remain in the temple coffers. So they bought a field as a burial ground for foreigners (Matthew 27:3–10).
Luke, a doctor, gives a more detailed account. Apparently, Judas' body fell from its hanging place. It's entirely possible that he'd been left there, either undiscovered or deliberately ignored, for some time. In such a case, gasses would have collected in Judas' abdomen. The impact of the corpse hitting the ground apparently caused his stomach to burst open. Luke also insinuates that when the chief priests bought the land, they did so in Judas' name.
"The reward of his wickedness" refers literally to the thirty pieces of silver Judas received for betraying Jesus (Matthew 26:14–16). Figuratively, it insinuates Judas' gruesome death outside a saving relationship with Jesus. Incidentally, thirty pieces of silver is the amount of money the owner of an ox had to give the owner of a slave the ox killed (Exodus 21:32). It is as if the Sanhedrin uses the Roman government as their murderous beast of burden and Judas uses Jesus as his slave, just another way to make money.
Enclosing,
When the storms of life come as they sometimes will, God promises to be there for us and to help us cope. We don’t understand how important it is to remain faithful, stable and steadfast. We don’t understand the importance of the words of our mouth because what’s in our heart, flows out of our mouths. One of the most single things as Christians is how we behave during hard times.
We should remember all the ways God has led us in our lives as it was to humble you and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to be peaceful, joyful, continue to do what’s right, continue to walk in love with other people and continue to be emotionally stable. When nothing is going right! And that just shows what kind of person we are and what we have on the inside according to our reaction.
What are the high places? Trouble, suffering and responsibility. Why are the hard places in life considered the high places in life? Because once you can be in that place and stay stable, rejoice in God, continue to walk in love, continue to reach out to other people, refuse to feel sorry for yourself, refuse to get discouraged, refuse to sit around in self pity. Once you get to that place there is nothing else the devil can do with you!
A Collective Prayer:
”Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You that everything that could cause our ruin has been forever destroyed at the Cross of Christ and I have been born into the family of God. But Father, many are blinded by the wicked one who seeks to destroy the souls of men. Use me I pray, and may I become a channel through whom Your saving grace may flow out to others, who are in bondage to sin and Satan. Lord, Help me to keep my old sin nature in the place of death, and walk in spirit and truth. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!”
In His Grip,
Pastor Wendy Schenkel
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