Restoration and Reconciliation 

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

 

Since the beginning of the year, I sense the Lord calling His people to a time of restoration and reconciliation. This is a call to that requires action on our part. The Lord is not going to drop this in our laps. This is a time for us to collectively, willfully and thoughtfully embrace Isaiah 58. This is a fast that results in powerful and authoritative servanthood and victory in our lives. This type of fast is not temporary.  It is a lifestyle of fasting from the wickedness and attitudes of the world. 
 

"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?  Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?  Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 58:6-14 NKJV) 

When we enter into this fast, we will be able to reestablish the foundations of our personal lives, of our families, our churches, our communities and our nation.  God has called His people to be repairers and restorers.  We can fulfill that call only as we delight ourselves in the Lord.

 Mercy Mercy Mercy

In order to be truly merciful, we must be able to discern the fine line that exists between compassion and negative enabling. God is merciful, but He does not enable our sin, our doubt, our unbelief. God, through the Holy Spirit who lives within each believer, enables us to be overcomers.

 Personal Psalm 23

Reverend Lonnie C. Crowe

Because I have accepted the Lord as my Shepherd, I know down in the depth of my being that He will, without fail, supply all of my needs out of His riches in glory.  He guides my feet in the path of wisdom so that I can rest in the freshness of His provision. He leads me to the refreshingly calm waters of His Holy Spirit.  There I can be still in the knowledge that He is God.There I can become still water for others in this troubled world.

In spite of the turmoil happening around me, He restores my mind by causing me to meditate on His loveliness. He strengthens my will to walk in His righteousness as a testimony that His way is the best way, that His pathway leads to La Dolce Vita on earth as well as in heaven.

When I am surrounded and nearly overwhelmed with adversity, His rod (His guidance)and His staff (His strength) comfort me.  

In the midst of sin, chaos and anguish, He demonstrates His covenant with me.  He takes me to His banqueting table where His banner over me is agape love. He lavishly anoints my head with the oil of the Holy Spirit and declares that in His kingdom I am a king and a priest. 

I have no doubt that nothing can separate me from the love of God which is established in the sacrifice of Jesus. I live now and will live forever more surrounded and protected by all that He is. 

 

 John 1:1-4.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” 

My thoughts returned to “In the beginning was God.” God stood in the midst of eternity past. He spoke in a voice like many waters, “Light be.” and instantly light is. That light emanated from God Himself. God is eternal. Therefore, light is eternal. God is always in the present tense because He does not change. He has always been, always is and always well be Yaweh, I AM. God is good. Therefore, goodness is eternal and will never change.  

 A Word for the New Year:

The Lord would say to us at the beginning of this new year, “Don’t borrow from the sunshine of today by longing for the past and fearing the future. The past is gone and cannot be retrieved. You have no need to fear in the future. In Me, your future is filled with hope and goodness

Each day, you must look beyond your current situation and experience the transcending power and glory of walking with Me. Look beyond the frustration of the things you cannot understand and into the assurance that I hold tomorrow, and, if you will allow Me, I will hold your hand.

The path that I have chosen for you goes above and beyond anything that you can think of or imagine and into the realm of perfect peace purchased for you on the Cross. Remember Proverbs 4:18 (NKJV): “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”

Allow the One who holds tomorrow to be the One who holds your hand.

 This season and every season is the season to more fully realize, accept and walk in the heart knowledge that Yahweh, Yeshua, Ruach Kodesh is eternally King of Kings and Lord or Lords.

 Hanukkah: Go Light Your World 

Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Hanukkah commemorates the miracle that occurred after the Greeks had desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by sacrificing a pig on the altar in the outer court and erecting a statue of Zeus in the Holy of Holies. A small, but powerful, army of Israelites led by Judas Macabee chased the Greek army out of Jerusalem and began the process of cleansing the Temple so that once again it could be dedicated to God. After the cleansing was complete, in faith, the priests, well knowing they had only enough sacred oil to fuel the lamp stand for one day, lighted the golden menorah. Miraculously, the menorah burned for eight days until more sacred oil could be prepared. 

Paul reminded the church in Corinth, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) Believing that we are the temple of God, we must examine ourselves to see what we are sacrificing on the altars of our hearts and what gods we might have erected in our holy of holies.  

The god that many of us have accepted is the god of the world system. We must rid our hearts of the philosophies and mindsets of the world system which discreate our temples. The world system fosters fear and pessimism. Someone once summed it up as “life is simply one damn thing after another and then you die”.  

In chapter 5 of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Benjamin the donkey grumbles, “Windmill or no windmill, life would go on as it had always gone on—that is, badly”. 

A comedic group on the old T.V. show Hee Haw sang, “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” 

However, Paul wrote to the Romans, “The Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:7) 

In Nehemiah 8:10, we learn, “The joy if the Lord is your strength.” 

Galatians 5:22, Paul asserts that the first three fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy and peace. 

Hold fast to the truth of 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 

We must cleanse our temples of a fearful, pessimistic mindset and allow God to fill us with the oil of the Holy Spirit. We must carry our candles and go light our world. 

Chris Rice – Carry Your Candle Lyrics 

There is a candle in every soul 
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold 
There is a Spirit who brings fire 
Ignites a candle and makes His home 

Carry your candle, run to the darkness 
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn 
Hold out your candle for all to see it 
Take your candle, and go light your world 
Take your candle, and go light your world 

Frustrated brother, see how he’s tried to 
Light his own candle some other way 
See now your sister, she’s been robbed and lied to 
Still holds a candle without a flame 

Carry your candle, run to the darkness 
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn 
Hold out your candle for all to see it 
Take your candle, and go light your world 
Take your candle, and go light your world 

We are a family whose hearts are blazing 
So let’s raise our candles and light up the sky 
Praying to our Father, in the name of Jesus 
Make us a beacon in darkest times 

Carry your candle, run to the darkness 
Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor 
Hold out your candle for all to see it 
Take your candle, and go light your world 

Carry your candle, run to the darkness 
Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn 
Hold out your candle for all to see it 
Take your candle, and go light your world 
Take your candle, and go light your world