I was outside gardening and doing general yardwork when that old song 'Jesus on the mainline' started going through my head. It was a song that had always irritated me because people had always sung it like Jesus is a vending machine just waiting to dispense your every desire. Needless to say I was so irritated as it kept playing over and over in my head. I tried putting my earbud in and listening to other music to drown out the annoyance, and then chatted with my husband for a bit hoping that would give me something else to ponder on but no such luck. The song played on a loop for literally over 6 hrs. I came inside the house to rest and get a drink of water and my husband sat down with me so I told him what was happening and how annoyed I was today but couldn't get it to stop. He looked right at me and said "Well, Marla, Jesus is on the mainline why don't you tell Him what you want." I realized at that moment that the Holy Spirit had tried to get my attention all day by being funny about a song I really don't like. I started crying and His presence just filled the room as I told Him what my desires were for myself and my family. I rarely ask for things for myself and the Holy Spirit wanted to bless me at that moment  in the strangest way possible. You cannot tell me that the Lord does not have a sense of humor! So apparently Jesus is on the Main Line so tell Him what you want! And I will now review my stance on that song....

I was listening to a well known minister on TV today and he started out by talking about the need for a reintroduction to the Holy Spirit. I was so excited and loved listening to him talk about not letting the weirdness of people scare you away from who the Holy Spirit really is. He is not the shouting and jerking around that is some people’s reaction to him. It's not who He is, just a reaction to being around Him sometimes. Anyway I was so excited someone was talking about the importance of who He is in our lives and why Jesus had to leave to send us Him and then he slowly started sneaking words in there, like saying the Holy Spirit is not there to convict you of your sin but to convince you how wonderful life is with him. And how He just needs you to know that your sin doesn’t matter since it’s already taken care of. Then he said he wore a shirt the week before with camels having sex just so he could see if you listened to his message and not got hung up on the shirt he was wearing. He said It’s not about being sin conscious but about just allowing the Holy Spirit in so you can fulfill your calling in life. I was so happy at the beginning that finally ministers were talking about what Christianity really is and then he had to slip into this new teaching that sin doesn’t matter as long as you are aware your forgiven. What we say and do shouldn’t be criticized or convicted is one of the biggest lies of the enemy. The Holy Spirit is not waiting around to jump on you when you do something wrong but if you let him in your life you should listen to His nudging that says don’t do it. You should allow Him to lead you away from sin. We are not to be of the world but we are called to separate ourselves from the filthiness and uncleanness of the world and be holy. A minister wearing a shirt with animals having sex and rebuking his congregation for not overlooking it to hear his message clearly doesn’t have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit or he would feel the conviction that He brings when we veer away from God’s words and ways. And yes, the Holy Spirit convicts. The Lord chastens those He loves, for their benefit. A life with the Holy Spirit is a life of joy, peace, comfort, help, and so much more, but it is also one of discipline and change and overcoming and being led where you don’t want to go because of your love for the Lord. You will never be alone again or without help but you do have to be a habitation in which He wants to dwell. You cannot have intimacy with the Lord and intimacy with the world also, there is a choice that has to be made.

Last week, May 10th of 2021, I felt a change happening in my spirit. It was as if a release of the Holy Spirit had begun. He is always with us and working in us, but it was more of an outward manifestation. As a result of this change, the enemy was stirred up. I was cooking at my stove when I caught someone out of the corneer of my eye. I was home alone. My heart jumped a few beats as I turned towards whoever it was and they dissipated before my eyes. I immediately began to pray that any evil spirit in my house must leave in Jesus name and that any devices of the enemy be stopped and nullified in our lives. After I calmed down it was about an hour later and my husband called. He was struggling with something even though there was no reason to be struggling, I told him what had happened and he said the weird feeling had started an hour before as well. We prayed against all of it and declared peace over ourselves and our home once more. the warfare happening in our minds and the traps laid by the enemy let us know that we are on the right track and the enemy is scared. Its a good place to be right now if you find yourself in warfare lately. We are advancing the Kingdom and we take it by force! Keep fighting my friend!