|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

John 15:13“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. The leadership structure Jesus has chosen for His body is occupied by friends. This leadership concept is actively resisted in much of the church where leaders separate from "people" in order to protect their hearts or influence. The false structures of leaders and people requires identifying your role to others, so that you can be known. Since the relational knowing of friendship isn't accessible, instead the false five fold has to assert it's position by credentials, networks, and endorsements. The true structure of the kingdom rejects this idea: John 1:19Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from J...

All prophecy is an invitation to submit to God in faith. All prophecy is an invitation to grow in meekness and humility ... To become more like Jesus. Many people are told of great things to come so they will respond to them. Because God chose love, he also chose free will. Prophecy is an invitation to use your freedom to choose restraint. Where there is vision that is believed and submitted to, restraint follows: Proverbs 29:18Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law. 19A servant will not be corrected by mere words; For though he understands, he will not respond. Many have been shown prophetic realities. Unfortunately, many also reject the restraint that the prophetic vision is inviting them into. Often, the prophetic reality still happens, but it happens in a way that does not benefit, or sometimes even include, the one who had the vision because they wouldn't say yes to what the word was inviting them into. Jesus gives prophe...

if tribulation is hard to see, great tribulation is HARDER to see. The Bible promises strong delusion. 2 Thessalonians 2:7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. That means as it unfolds keeping a grip on the reality of what is happening will be harder. The fourth terror attack in 20 days just hit the UK. Simultaneously other t...

Sometimes things look bad, but the Lord loves truth. He brings each one of us as far as we want to go. To get near to Him only comes with cost. God's plan for Jeremiah's greatness was so costly in Jeremiah 20, he wished he were never born...for a minute. Jeremiah 20:14Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me! 15Let the man be cursed Who brought news to my father, saying, “A male child has been born to you!” Making him very glad. 16And let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew, and did not relent; Let him hear the cry in the morning And the shouting at noon, 17Because he did not kill me from the womb, That my mother might have been my grave, And her womb always enlarged with me. 18Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, That my days should be consumed with shame? The pain of rejection for following Jesus is real and universal. If you haven't felt it, you simply haven't gone very far in...

Got a concern about teaching end-time safety from a good friend today. I thought it might help more people, so I am sharing it here: Concern: We see godly people killed in the Bible and through history because they did the will of God. Like Stephen was stoned to death. God showed mercy and made him go to sleep so he didn't suffer, but harm was still done. And most of the Apostles were killed for doing the will of God. And Jesus himself said "if they persecuted me they will persecute you also." I am just concerned because if we aren't protected for harm in the end times, but only provided for like I suspect right now then teaching protection is a dangerous thing because it could lead to offense and falling away of people when harm comes. ____________________________ My Answer: Everyone loyal to Jesus getting harmed/martyrd is simply not the case. Out of the thousands in the Bible that were saved in the book of Acts, only a couple are mentioned as martyrs. The Book of A...