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Heaven Declares
"You are a Chosen, Cherished, Child of God."
by Catherine Brown
Web:
www.gatekeepers.org.uk
Email:
catherine@gatekeepers.org.uk
"My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weaknesses." Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why,
for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor 12:9,10
The 'cherish vision' was received during an extremely intense time of enemy
opposition in my life, when I was simultaneously seeking hard after God. I was
physically tired and feeling a bit "beat up" if truth to be told! The Lord met
me in my weariness, brought peace to my soul, restored my joy and my vision and
lifted me tenderly into a place of breakthrough in his strength. I pray that
these words will encourage, comfort and edify you. In this vision, when the Lord
speaks to me, he is not speaking to me alone but is also addressing every
believer.
"CHOSEN"
I was sitting on a rock beside Jesus. There was a little cleft in the rock that
fit me just perfectly. I was comfortable here. Neither Jesus nor I were saying
anything. We were simply enjoying being together. Then the Lord broke the
silence by lifting his hand and as he did so, he pulled a back a curtain on
time. I saw the hand of God reach out through dense darkness and watched in
wonder as lightning bolts began to strike my mother's womb. I saw a tiny heart
begin to beat and the word 'CHOSEN' was inscribed on it. This was my heart! It
was the moment that I was conceived. I had known previously that God had knitted
me together in my mother's womb (Ps 139:13), but how incredible to actually
witness the sovereign action of God in my creation.
To choose something is to pick it out as being the best of perhaps two or more
alternatives. Jesus chooses us and lifts us out of darkness into his Love and
Light and resurrection Life.
"CHERISHED"
Whilst I was still sitting on the rock, Jesus turned to me and put a string of
beautiful pearls around my neck. They were exquisite. He reminded me that the
Kingdom of God is a pearl of great price (Mt. 13:45, 46) and then said, "Child,
you are chosen to be part of my Kingdom, and you are cherished by your heavenly
Father."
Angels came and surrounded us, each one of them smiling warmly. Jesus took a
garland of blossoms and wrapped them around me. A beautiful fragrance enveloped
me, and I was immediately comforted, experiencing a warm rush of the Lord's joy
in my heart. He said that the blossoms were his grace. "Remember, my child, how
much I cherish the heart that I choose. My grace is sufficient for all your
needs."
Cherish means protect and care for lovingly. It also means nurture. God's grace
is gentle and embraces all our needs, nurturing us in discipleship. God's grace
enables us to live and breathe for him and to rise above any circumstance in his
strength. The apostle Paul understood this divine principle of truth. (2 Cor
12:9, 10)
"CHILD OF GOD"
Jesus then proclaimed, "Child of God!" His words of proclamation carried
authority and impact. Next, I was dressed in a pure white garment with many
ribbons attached to it. The ribbons had words inscribed on them, which included
'innocence', 'virtue', 'faith' and 'worship'. I felt most precious to the Lord.
Precious means to be greatly loved or treasured by someone. Whilst wrapped in
God's grace, faith stirred afresh in my heart to worship Jesus with my entire
life and to fulfill all that he has purposed and planned for my life to bring
him glory. God calls every one of his children 'precious.'
My name, Catherine, means 'pure one'. The Lord is purifying his Bride, each one
of us is being prepared and made ready for our glorious King. As the Lord looked
at me with love, I felt his resolve strengthen my feeble human frame. In the
depths of my being, my heart swelled with security at being declared his child.
"CHOOSE"
After being adorned by the white robe, two paths appeared before me. One was
bright and full of light and marked with the word 'sonship'. Angels were
positioned along this pathway and carried huge banners bearing the words
'acceptance', 'affirmation', and 'forgiveness'. The other path was dark and bore
different markings. These were 'condemnation', 'criticism' and 'bitterness.' The
dark path way was strewn with jagged stones that would have torn delicate flesh
that walked along it.
Somewhat perplexed, I said, "But Lord, who would walk that path?"
Jesus looked at me with a depth of love in his eyes and responded, "The one who
forgets they are a chosen, cherished, child of God."
"Remember my righteousness. Take hold of my grace and walk before me and be
blameless. Remember the pearl of great price. I have counted the cost and paid
the price, now consider the call. Remember the cleft in the rock and the
covering of my glory. For I am with you even unto the end of the age."
WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE - SLAVERY OR SONSHIP?
The question before us all is an important one. What will we choose - slavery or
sonship? As believers we are adopted into God's family through Holy Spirit. As
such, we are no longer slaves but sons and daughters of the most high God! (Gal
3:26,
4:6-7). Why is it then that we struggle to walk in the full liberty Jesus has
purchased for us by his blood? Why do we sometimes remain in the outer courts of
God's presence as though we had no place at the King's table? Our Dad delights
in us all the time and calls us into the inner courts to his wonderful banquet
table, where his banner over us is love!
Perhaps there are a number of reasons why we sometimes dally in the outer
courts, but for now I think Holy Spirit is highlighting one in particular, which
is simply this:
We sometimes forget we are chosen by God, cherished by God, and that we are his
children and heirs!
We sometimes allow our circumstances to overwhelm us to such an extent that we
respond to them in a soulish way rather that in our spirit. Instead of seeking a
hiding place in Jesus' presence (the cleft in the rock) sometimes we stumble
about as though we are in a dark place, momentarily forgetting the incredible
truth of our Father's love and our inheritance in Christ. We sometimes become
ensnared in thoughts of condemnation, we bow to criticism, and we sometimes
become bitter. These are not God's best for his beloved! They cause darkness in
our souls, and we need to lay such things at the feet of Jesus and ask his
forgiveness. The truth is that we are accepted, affirmed and forgiven in Christ.
We are justified (put right) with God. We are redeemed (bought back) from sin
and slavery to sin, and we are sanctified (made holy and set apart) by Jesus (Ro
6:11). We have every reason to be joyful. We each have a destiny in God, which
Holy Spirit will out work in his grace in our surrendered hearts.
God wants to remind all his children today about his wonderful grace. God's
grace calls us to the altar of faith (Eph 2:8). God's grace is for always! It
isn't just for the precious moment of salvation but for our entire lifetime. It
keeps us safe in God's ways and embraces us in his love. Father wants to pour
out tenderness on his Bride TODAY, that we might know the hope of our calling in
Christ and the wonderful enveloping presence of Jesus by his Holy Spirit.
May you know a fresh outpouring of God's love on your life today.
Heaven declares, "You are a chosen, cherished, child of God..." not just
sometimes but always!
Hallelujah!
by
Catherine Brown
Web:
www.gatekeepers.org.uk
Email:
catherine@gatekeepers.org.uk
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