Dear Ones,
Back in 2014 we published several topical series on the Follow Me Ministries website – Renewing Our Minds, Restoring Our Hearts and Rebuilding Our Relationships. And, as is our custom whenever our faithful God brings forth another life lesson opportunity for a new article, we add it to our website. And recently, we experienced a deeply meaningful, personal and timely relational application as it applies in our everyday lives as disciples of the Living God. It had to do with the Eternal Blood Covenant relationship that God has with His people and that same covenant-level relationship He requires His own to have with one another.
We found ourselves facing a very real and painful challenge that required us to diligently seek the Holy Spirit’s counsel – another level of boot camp. Here’s what happened: One of our beloved FMM family members fell victim to an email hack attack and the outcome wasn’t pretty… the content of that hacked email appeared out there in cyberspace, supposedly from this individual, and its content was clearly not the Biblical, loving, truth telling that they personally, and we corporately, are committed to and known for.
And because our amazing FMM family is so wide spread across the globe, it was not possible for us here at home base to check it out or follow up in person. And that circumstance was the foundational ‘spark’ that birthed this new article in the Rebuilding Our Relationships series.
I can tell you right up front that this is no testimony of ‘super disciples’ or anything like that. This is a testimony of how some ordinary, everyday members of our FMM family found Yeshua, the Living Word, to be all that we needed in a very difficult and painful situation, and the way in which we saw once again how totally perfect the love and faithfulness of our God truly is. [Side note to any readers who are not yet connected to the FMM family – you’ll find many other teachings and articles on our website which will enable you to see that our main focus always is to help our fellow humans to discover that in every trial or trouble, or life in general challenges, God can always be trusted and that airtight confidence in Him is normal life in the Biblical life of faith. He is our only Source, and He is more than enough.]
In the midst of this hack and the bad light it cast on our fellow FMM family member, we had no way, and no one else, who could guide, direct and provide what we needed to get to the truth of exactly what happened and how. We couldn’t do anything but pray and wait on the Lord to reveal it to us. And so that’s exactly what we did. This was another opportunity to apply our belief that Yeshua Himself is our only Source – to show by what we did (and did not do) that our belief in His all sufficiency would provide the revelation regarding this incident to be made manifest here on earth just as it is in heaven – and to take Him at His Word.
Our waiting and praying times were filled with remembrances of what God has taught us about Blood Covenant love and faithfulness… and what He says in His written Word about what love actually looks like (1 Corinthians 13)… and about how He always deals with things redemptively (Isaiah 58:12). All of us knew that this was clearly a Boot Camp time – could we trust Him enough to meet us? Could we trust our family member’s integrity? Could we believe that all we knew about this person’s life and testimony had been really true, and not some carefully crafted scam? Could we learn from this, and parlay the challenge into a beautiful testimony that would bring our Beloved Yeshua the glory He deserves? The answer to every one of those questions is a resounding “YES!” It was amazing. We saw all of these Biblical principles and promises right here – right now – in our time of need.
- Genesis 50:20 “You (enemy influenced hacker) intended to harm me (the FMM family), but God intended it for good.”
- Psalm 131:1 “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.” Our FMM family members were truly in one accord as we sought the Lord to bring forth the Truth of what happened.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” We refused to entertain vain imaginations regarding the unverified accusations against our own family member. Instead, we took each of those thoughts straight to the Throne of our King.
- Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. We gave no room for the accuser of the brethren to get any of his fiery darts under the full armor of God in his efforts to divide us.
- Habakkuk 2:3 “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” We were convinced that we must hear directly from the Holy Spirit regarding what really had happened, what our response should be, and where we would go from here. So we continued to wait and pray.
- Job 23:10 “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” We also believed that all of the FMM family who were impacted would indeed come through this stronger than we had been before – both in our relationships and in our faith in our Living and ever faithful God.
And there were so many other reminders we received regarding our relationship with one another. It stood the test – we stood the test – and we truly are stronger for it. Our family member’s good name and reputation was clearly vindicated, and our relationships with one another were confirmed and strengthened. Love won out and more seeds were planted in the ever growing garden of the Lord in the midst of this beautiful FMM family that He has knit together. In fact, I believe that in the days to come, we are going to experience some of what is promised in Isaiah 58:11-12:
“The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of the Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
As we all know, we can’t give what we haven’t received. So I would urge each of us join our brother Paul the Apostle to remain faithful in the journey. “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)
We must take this admonition from Proverbs 3:5-7 very seriously, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” As I share this story with you, my prayer is that the rock solid Reality of the Lord’s Presence in EVERY situation and circumstance will become ever clearer in all of our eyes and hearts.
This all becomes of utmost importance as the days get darker and as our fellow humans become more and more stirred up against one another, all to their peril and the delight of the enemy of our souls. We must never forget that the only power he has is the lie, and so we must never waver in our quest to remain rooted in the absolute Truth that prevails over all his wicked schemes.
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…” (Philippians 2:14-16a)
For further study regarding the Eternal Blood Covenant and its overarching importance in all aspects of life, see these posts:
- In the Genesis Biblical Meditations section of the FMM website: A Deeper Look into God’s Eternal Covenant.
- In the About Us Section: The No. 1 Core Issue and The Statement of Faith
May we each stay the course in whatever walk or season of life we find ourselves. As it’s often been said, the journey of faith is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. And it continues to be my prayer that we all finish, and finish well – not for our glory but for His. When all is said and done, may we have multitudes of crowns to cast at His feet as we join the ever growing throngs before His Throne, crying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelation 4:11
Stay the course, my friends, and stand your ground. Let your lives be a beacon of hope to the hopeless, and a light to those still stuck in darkness. Share His love and faithfulness at every opportunity, and do so boldly so that our Beloved Bridegroom may receive His long awaited Bride without spot or wrinkle, but pure and beautiful. And continue to guard your hearts and minds, keeping yourself rooted in the everlasting, never failing Word of the Living God.
I am so blessed and honored to be on this journey with you all!
Your sister, Nancy