Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Jesus gives us warning about the last days ...
Matthew 24:12-13 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
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Jesus says: In the world ye shall have tribulation: John 16:33
Our choices show our hearts and our longings.
We can know a certain thing is full of tribulation and step back into it anyway and suffer as a result.
Jesus says: These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. John 16:33
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The flesh is the way of tribulation. The desires of our flesh, of our mind, of our eyes are tribulation. Also the traditions of man cause us to lust back in the ways of the flesh.
And it is all that work for nothing.
Football is a good example of tribulation: If our team loses it is grief. If our team wins we are set on fire even more. We worry about injuries and how that will affect our team. We worry about other teams luring away our star players. We fret over many things and we can control nothing. Yet we do it when we have a team.
I had something happen just before the Thanksgiving football game where my team played: I was looking on my TV recorder to see the list of movies I had recorded and I came upon the old Jimmy Steward movie, "Harvey." It was a few minutes before the game was to start. I thought, "Which would I enjoy more ... Harvey ... or the football game?" I decided on Harvey, having seen it many times and remembering how happy it made me when I saw it. (But my team is losing this season. Had they been winning, I would not have chosen Harvey.)
I recorded the football game. About 3/4 way through "Harvey", I stopped the recording and went to the football game. Rather quickly I saw how badly my team was playing. I went fast forward through most of the game and saw it only got worse for my team. So I returned to the movie "Harvey." I spared myself some tribulation although I still wondered how my team could be this bad and what they could do to right the ship. Those thoughts are futile for even if I knew, I have no power where football is concerned. (And it doesn't matter anyway, but it seems to matter.)
I had something happen just before the Thanksgiving football game where my team played: I was looking on my TV recorder to see the list of movies I had recorded and I came upon the old Jimmy Steward movie, "Harvey." It was a few minutes before the game was to start. I thought, "Which would I enjoy more ... Harvey ... or the football game?" I decided on Harvey, having seen it many times and remembering how happy it made me when I saw it. (But my team is losing this season. Had they been winning, I would not have chosen Harvey.)
I recorded the football game. About 3/4 way through "Harvey", I stopped the recording and went to the football game. Rather quickly I saw how badly my team was playing. I went fast forward through most of the game and saw it only got worse for my team. So I returned to the movie "Harvey." I spared myself some tribulation although I still wondered how my team could be this bad and what they could do to right the ship. Those thoughts are futile for even if I knew, I have no power where football is concerned. (And it doesn't matter anyway, but it seems to matter.)
Another example of stepping into tribulation is in choosing to watch the news or to view the headlines. Does it bring peace when we look? or grief and concern over what they are doing? I'm totally persuaded that if we never saw another newscast we would be in no way affected. It is just a curiosity of our own flesh to look to see what is going on in the world.
And the more iniquity we see, the more grief we take on.
When our hearts turn back to this world, we bring tribulation upon ourselves.
But our flesh is weak, and we "peek", and then often we wish we hadn't seen.
In Jesus, in things of God, there is life.
Family gatherings where a believer goes among the others: peace? joy? or tribulation? Yet these can seem so desirable to our flesh.
It can often seem so delightful when you are talking to them, especially when you see one little grain of light in them, but then you find you are a little troubled that you might say something to offend them and you begin withdrawing from offensive truths from God, just a little.
And you hold a hope which has tribulation even in that. It is so difficult to talk with them for they are blocked by their own wisdom and by their traditions. Because of that you can hardly speak any truth at all to them. You are simply troubled.
(Even Jesus told us there was little he could do at His home town because of their unbelief. They reasoned among themselves, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?" And they basically thought HE couldn't do anything. Matthew 13 & Mark 6)
And why do we do all this fretting? Can we think about it and make ourselves an inch taller? If we can't even do this small thing, how can we do the other by thinking? Matthew 6
(Even Jesus told us there was little he could do at His home town because of their unbelief. They reasoned among themselves, "Isn't this the son of Joseph?" And they basically thought HE couldn't do anything. Matthew 13 & Mark 6)
And why do we do all this fretting? Can we think about it and make ourselves an inch taller? If we can't even do this small thing, how can we do the other by thinking? Matthew 6
I re-associated with a Catholic woman only to have to pray to God for HIM to keep her busy so she wouldn't want to be around me! (God answered my prayer.)
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In November, 2017, I had a very troubling dream:
An intruder had gotten into my house. I tried to turn on the light to see who was in my house. I could hear someone was there but I couldn't see the person. But though I tried to turn on the light, the light kept going off immediately after I turned it on.
I got out of my house and then found I was locked out of my own house. I called for help. A woman heard me and pushed down part of my fence which had deteriorated. She was happy for then she said she could bring a yard chair into my yard and make herself comfortable.
My gate was unlocked also and a young child was playing in one corner of my yard.
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II Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
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You think they will not affect you, but you will grow weaker around them because of their unbelief, and you will develop fears and even turn from the right way of God.
(I think of the way the strange wives affected Solomon, causing him to go after their gods.)
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Galations 5:19-26 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness (defrauding another), lasciviousness (lusts/excessively strong desires), Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (to vary, strive, debate), emulations (to try to out do another), wrath (desire for revenge), strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
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When our heart turns back into the world, what is the fruit?
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