OUR COMPASS by Marsha Burns
Spiritual Compass
I define our compass as the spiritual instrument of God, the Holy Spirit pointing to our destination and showing us the way to go.
Small Straws word from the Lord: I will shine a light on your heart so that you can see clearly your spiritual condition. I will show you where you need to make adjustments and how you must proceed. Do not bemoan your errors and short-comings. Rather, allow the corrections to be the platform to reset your spiritual compass.
In a vision I saw a spotlight shining from heaven into our hearts to reveal those things that need to be considered because God is drawing us close to Himself by causing us to be One with Him through His righteousness in us.
Romans 6:13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Small Straws: Just as you are the apple of My eye, I want to also be the center of your life and everything that exists in it. Your place of safety is in your ability to allow Me to be your all in all. Let everything in your sphere of existence be in accord with My word and My presence. Give Me preeminence. That is the place where you can be in health and prosper in all things.
Proverbs 7:2 Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.
Matthew 6:33a But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
We Are Living Epistles
Small Straws: You are My ambassadors on the earth. I want you to exhibit My character and nature in every situation. Where there is vitriol, let there be grace; where there is hatred, let there be love, where there is lack, let there by charity. Allow Me to work through you in unprecedented ways. The world needs righteous people more than ever.
2 Corinthians 3:2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men.
This people of this world are seemingly more entrenched in hatred than ever before. And, we know that this is a sign of the end of the age. We don’t know how long this end-of-the-age season will last, but we know that it is high time to get right with God.
Mark 13:8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
Romans 13:11-14 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Guard Your Temple
Small Straws: Guard your spiritual and mental space from the enemy's intrusion just as vehemently as you would guard your home from intruders and robbers. Do not forget that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and it is your job to keep that temple in such a way as to allow My Spirit to not only inhabit, but to take charge.
1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Wandering Mind
Small Straws: Many of you are afflicted with a wandering mind so that you entertain whatever thought that comes along even when it takes you away from Me, says the Lord. Staying in My presence is a discipline that is vital to your spiritual growth and stability. Keep Me always in your thoughts, internal conversation, and in your heart.
Psalms 119:10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
The will is the guardian of the mind. It is up to us to keep our thoughts focused on God. Discipline of the wandering mind is what we all must learn and practice. When we are distracted by things of the world, we must retrieve those thoughts and restore godly focus.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
Have Faith
By faith we have relationship with God in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Faith establishes us in unity with Him. Faith gains strength in tests and trials.
Romans 5:1 Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to deliberately nourish our faith and refuse to feed on doubt and unbelief!
1 Peter 1:6-9 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Recap: The message to us at this time is to allow the light of God to reveal our hearts. We are His living epistles and must guard our spiritual space, rein in our wandering minds, be righteous, feed our faith and put God first. Amen!