My family and I are sitting on the balcony of our house enjoying the sunset over the Hartebeespoortdam, and I have to admit that it is quite nice being back home again. While we are all quietly watching the sun slowly disappear behind the mountains, I pray for the sanctification of the water of the dam in my heart. After all that we have learned about spiritual warfare this past year I truly believe that we need to pray for the sanctification of all water - it is our duty to pray.
Our first day at the office began with all of us surrendering ourselves to our Abba Father. Yes, I handed over everything – my busy schedule, each date in my daily planner, my expenses, where I minister for free, where I ask a fee, or just a love-offering.... every single date is in His hands. “Please Wisdom,” I prayed, “lead us in truth”. My schedule is already full for most of the year and we deliberately set out some weekends for me to spend with my family and to rest. I looked at my schedule again that is so full with ministry events, a lot of which are overseas, and I heard Wisdom whisper to my heart: “Retah, this time things are going to be different. Aldo is going to start going with you to those places where I lead him to go. You are not going to be alone anymore. Just be obedient to what I ask of you. I will be the one who gives you strength to go and who will lead you – go where I send you! I will provide the funds; you just go with a willing heart and do what I ask of you. Be still and know that I am God. I have never left you nor forsook you – and I will also provide for this next season of your life.”
I now understand so clearly that the road we are all walking on is a road of sanctification. God spoke to me very clearly about this: “If you expect any revelation of Me apart from holiness, you will have a mixture, My child. Pure words come with a pure heart. Holiness opens the door to all My treasures that you are seeking. My children need to get to that place where they love righteousness and hate sin and iniquity before they can experience the depth of My Word.”
God’s Word has seven (7) layers of revelation that reveal the secrets or mysteries of the Word. Sometimes you read the Bible with a veiled heart, and when you read that same piece of Scripture a week or two later you suddenly see deeper and understand more. This is because the Holy Spirit has worked with your heart by washing it clean through repentance and revelation of truth. It will be as if that entire piece of Scripture has become completely new because you now understand a deeper dimension thereof. And that is how we need to keep on digging in the Word of God – for revelation upon revelation.
Only through the Blood of the Lamb can we be washed clean and come into a place of Holiness. The Blood of the Lamb is also the only way our eyes can be washed clean from the defilement of the World. With our new perspective and deeper revelations because of being washed by the Blood, we can understand deeper dimensions of what God has planned for us, and the ways of His Kingdom here on earth.
We are made righteous and pure and holy through the precious blood of God’s Son, so that we can enter into this life of holiness and righteousness living through the Son. Our righteousness comes because our lives are now in Him – Jesus Christ – only through our faith in Him. If it was not for the blood of the Lamb, we would not be able to have the faith to go before the throne of God. The total victory for all of us is only because of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favour to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it] (Heb. 4:16, ampl).
God’s Word is from everlasting to everlasting. His Word cannot fail, and that is why it is so important for us to stay in the Word, to eat the Word, to get it in your hearts, to trust the Word of God, to stand on His word. His Word cannot fail, but we can fail to keep on trusting God. We just need to rest in the fact that His Word is true, and by faith and patience we will see the results of His faithfulness in our lives.
Why is it so strange for people to think that we still believe that God will heal Aldo completely?
As you become less, by humbling yourself before God and drawing closer to Him through the blood of Jesus the King, you will not be able to doubt God or the truth of His Word at all! You will come to know Him for who He is - His character, His love, how He guides our steps, how He fights for us and how He is always faithful to His Word. I just trust Him more and more every day – and it is such a wonderful place to be secure in Him!
But the price we have to pay to come to this vulnerable place of trusting God is sometimes too expensive for people to pay. Real faith is when you believe God right to the end, and this asks that you die to yourself and dare to believe God, His Word, and His promises even when you can’t see anything. God has called all of us into His glory and virtue, and only when we believe in Him shall we see this manifest in our lives.
Faith is the substance of the things hoped for (Heb.11:1)... right here in this life too! It is now (in this life) that God wants His children to become partakers of his divine nature. I truly believe, now more than ever, that the Lord wants this divine life of His to flow right into our natural bodies – thís is the law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ that makes us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
We can only establish this faith in God as we spend time with Him... loving Him, trusting Him and obeying Him; because you can only trust someone that you truly love.
It is the kind of love that doesn’t even need one word spoken - you just know the depth, the height and the truth of this love as you look into His eyes. It is something that you can’t purchase or work for, for it is a free gift already purchased for you through the blood of the Lamb. Only through this righteousness (given to us through faith in Jesus Christ), can we lay hold of His divine nature. This is the nature of the Son of God – so that our spirit soul and body will be sanctified wholly and preserved unto the coming of the King.
I want to say THANK YOU today to all the people from around the world, who send us e-mails, and letters, and even photos. While we were looking at some of these photos the other day Aldo said, “Mom, how do all these people know us?” and I told him it was because our books had touched their lives.
“Well,” he replied, “they only know my spirit because they have never seen me before. Do you think that they will still like me if they see that I still can’t walk or talk properly?”
“What kind of question is that, Aldo!” I said. “They will love you just the way you are.”
“No Mom, you know that is not true – people judge what they see.”
I tried to change the topic, but something inside of me knew that he was right. I immediately prayed, “Please Lord, help us not to judge according to what we see but according to the heart, like you teach us in Your Word.”
“But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
I have a meeting right now, and people are waiting for me.
Let’s stay in Him and judge not but love more this year – even when it is easier to judge than to love, because none of us are perfect. Let’s love the way Jesus loves us – unconditionally.
Thank you to everyone who supports our ministry – this makes it possible for us to take Aldo with me this year when I minister overseas as the Holy Spirit guides us.
In His wonderful love
Retah and family.