Lydia Barbara

Still Sent The Fire

“Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.”

-Nehemiah 9:18-19

While reading this verse, a shock wave seemed to go through me. There is nothing we can do to make God stop perusing us.

The Lord did amazing things for Israel when He delivered them from Egypt. He tried, over and over, to prove His undying love for them. He saved them from slavery, fed them, nurtured them, clothed them, led them through the desert. The pillar of fire at night and cloud by day was, consistently, a physical manifestation of His allegiance to them. He gave them everything He had and did all He could to prove to them He was all they would ever need in order to fulfill their destiny, dreams and desires.

Yet, they denied Him, turned their backs on Him, betrayed Him. They bowed to false idols, claiming other gods as their savior, gave in to every lustful and sinful thought that crossed their minds and permitted themselves to forget, so quickly, all God had done for them.

But, even when they worshipped something other than Him, even when they turned to sin and sickness to fulfill them, even when they allowed satan to take over their camp, God still sent the fire by day and the cloud by night to guide them.

It’s The Law

I’ve been looking for a solid church to go to for nearly a year which is why I was overwhelmed with joy when I learned a Pastor I respect out of Africa has a sister church not far from me. I called their office to ask a question I ask every church I visit since COVID-19 impacted our world.

“Do you all require masks?” I asked the person on the other line.

“Do we require masks? Of course, it’s the law.” Was the response I received.

My heart sank.

I could have said a million things, but the one statement I wish I had responded with was, “whose law are you following?”

Like The Lion

“An army of sheep led by a lion will always defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.” -Dr. Myles Monroe

The Lord refers to Himself as two animals within the Word, the Eagle, king of the air, and the Lion, king of the land. Since God is within us, we can view ourselves as both.

I once saw a video of a lion and a crocodile having a standoff. The crocodile was threatening to come out of the water and steal the lion’s food, the lion stood his ground and roared. This went back and forth for several minutes before the crocodile eventually slunk back into the water and disappeared.

What is most interesting about this interaction is that a lion’s bite is 600 pound-force per square inch (PSI), a crocodile’s bite is 5,000 PSI. In reality, the crocodile could have destroyed the lion, but that didn’t matter to the lion, the lion knew who he was and what he was capable of, the crocodile did not.

Several years ago, the Lord ended a Word to me with, “Like the lion, let your roar be heard throughout the land”. This started my captivation for these big cats. What I find fascinating is that I am not alone in my captivation. Over the past year, I have seen many preachers, speakers and bloggers, primarily female, use the lion as a symbol they discuss throughout their speeches, posts or testimonies.

I believe God is trying to tell us something.

Get Thee Up

It’s been several weeks since I’ve written anything, but this morning I felt inspired to finally pull out my laptop and write what God has placed on my heart.

While praying for the Remnant I saw a camp with soldiers resting throughout. Some were sitting up, others were laying down, but it was clear everyone within the camp was recovering from an exhausting battle.

I then saw a Captain begin to walk throughout the camp and tell the soldiers that the time of recuperation was about to end and they were going to be sent back into the fight, for the battle was still raging not far away.

I then thought of Joshua. Right in the beginning of the book God tells Joshua,

“My servant Moses is dead; now, therefore, arise.” -Joshua 1:2

God Is Good

Lately, hearing the Lord’s voice and seeing His plan has become every increasingly more difficult. There is a heavy blanket of weariness and sadness upon the Remnant, myself included. We have prayed, we have fasted, we have fought, we have stood, we are still standing, yet it seems our actions bore no fruit, as if the enemy won and the Lord’s children will disappear silently into the night.

While going to God with these feelings and concerns a single thought pierced through the chaos which has lately become my mind: God is good.

We, as Christians, all know these words and repeat them with little thought of the power within them. But, when we are in the middle of the fire, walking through the waters, bombarded by the wind and the waves, surrounded by darkness and can’t see the light, we have to ask ourselves if we truly believe in the sincerity of those three simple words, if we, individually, honestly believe God Is Good.

Remnant Rising

Yesterday was one of the craziest days of my life…actually, it was THE craziest day of my life.

While standing amongst several million conservative patriots downtown Washington, D.C., I realized that regardless of what happens on January 20, 2021, there is a Remnant who will continue to stand.

There is a Remnant that bows their knees to God alone and never to man.

There is a Remnant that believes babies deserve the right to life.

There is a Remnant that will not concede to the communist and socialist agenda.

There is a Remnant that refuses to accept the normalization of the LGBTQ ideology.

There is a Remnant that stands for the freedom God gave us when He blessed us with this beautiful country we are so fortunate to call home.

Lines Have Been Drawn

Though the world is confused in the midst of the chaos brought into it by the devil, I am not

Though the masses find themselves wrapped in fear and anger, I do not

Though the congregations may turn from the Truth, I will not

I know who I am for I know who my God is

My God is a healer, I do not need a vaccine

My God is a provider, I do not need assistance

My God is a divider, I do not need to decide which side He is on

I will stand with my Father until my days are done

I will worship my King even if I worship alone

I will bow down before my Maker all the days of my life

God Of Miracles

Two days ago, I witnessed a miracle.

A family member was taken to the hospital. The initial report was not good, in fact, it was dire. My typical reaction to any type of extreme news, good or bad, is to go to the Lord, but as I sat in my apartment, worship music playing in the background, I found I couldn’t find any words to speak to Him.

My heart was heavy, my mind a jumble. My phone rang with people checking in, but I couldn’t talk because to talk would lead to tears and I didn’t want to risk falling apart.

Dear Beth Moore

Beth Moore recently tweeted about the dangers of “Trumpism”, stating “I have never seen anything in these United States of America I found more astonishingly seductive & dangerous to the saints of God than Trumpism.”

There’s a lot to unpack here, primarily the fact that she finds “Trumpism” (whatever that is) more seductive and dangerous than false prophets, wayward pastors, the normalization of homosexuality within the church, Christians staying silent regarding abortion…I could go on and on, so, let’s just focus on this: as a fellow Christian and outspoken Trump supporter, I find her comments offensive, inappropriate and juvenile.

But God: Re-post

This morning, while praying for the impossible to become possible, the words, “but God” came to mind.

Not two minutes ago, a friend text a prayer group and ended her message with, “but God!”

I vaguely remembered writing a post not long ago, of course, named But God.

After reading it, I felt encouraged and hopeful that although the waters are rising, the waves crashing, the lightning striking and the thunder rolling, and although the impossible seems to only be becoming more impossible, I have one clear thought piercing through the darkness…BUT GOD.

This Is Why

This is why I fight, this is why I pray, this is why I will not let go until victory comes.

I work, I fight, to free the underprivileged, the hurt, the abused, the depressed, the victims.

As I sit here, looking at the pictures sent to me of Nigerian orphans, many newly orphaned due to terrorist attacks on their Christian parents, my heart breaks.

I pray for the boys and girls who have lost everything, the women whose husbands vanished while trying to keep them safe, the men whose wives were stolen from them.

Take Heed

This morning, while reading Mark 4, two verses stuck out as pertinent to the times and season the Remnant is in right now.

“Take heed what ye hear.” -Mark 4:24
“Why are ye so fearful? How is it ye have no faith?” -Mark 4:40

We are in a season unlike any other. The voice of God and the voice of man have never been so divided.

Media states a fact, the Remnant a different fact.

The masses believe one thing, the Remnant another.

Some pastors claim submission, others shout for persistence.

So, when I read “take heed what ye hear” my heart was struck.

Spiritually Aloof

Lately, I have become concerningly aware of how many spiritually aloof Christians there are.

If you call yourself a Christian and you voted for Joe Biden, you are spiritually aloof.

If you call yourself a Christian and you are not praying for this fraudulent election to be overturned, you are spiritually aloof.

If you call yourself a Christian and are not concerned about the violent, hateful, angry, deceitful direction America is going in, you are spiritually aloof.

Now, calm down, I’m not saying you aren’t saved, but I am saying you aren’t sensitive.

Patience

My mind scrambles to focus on one prayer. There are just so many things to be interceding for it has become difficult to focus on just one thing. But, this morning while praying and attempting to hear what it was the Lord wanted me to pray over, a word came to mind: PATIENCE

This morning, I am praying for patience to rest upon God’s children.

I see us, standing behind Moses as he stands in the water, his staff before him. The fire is behind us, the enemy so close we can feel them pressing in. Many have ran to the right and to the left because they fear the waters won’t part. They believe their best chance of survival is to run, to find someplace to hide and to allow the enemy to overtake the masses because they think there is no way to victory.

But, the Remnant waits, desperately looking out over the waters which aren’t yet moving. We know there is no turning back, there is no running away. Regardless of the fact we don’t see it, we don’t hear it, we don’t feel it, we have to believe the waters will separate.

The Upper Room

I believe we are in a collection process. What do I mean by this? I mean the Remnant is beginning to leave the building and is entering into the room.

I have never had so many people sending me verses, videos, prophetic words and prayer calls as I have in the past week. This election process has forced the Body to leave the church building and take “church” into their homes, offices, prayer closets, etc.

When I think of where the Remnant is now, I see the Upper Room written about in beginning of Acts. God needed the Remnant of old to separate themselves from the masses and wait in a secluded place for His presence to descend. We don’t know how long they waited but I would assume that within the waiting process they had to encourage one another, had to lift one another up and tell each other that it would be just a little while longer before they received what they were waiting for.

We are gathering into an “upper room” right now.