Shalom dear friends and family,

 

REND YOUR HEARTS AND NOT YOUR GARMENTS

 

I have this urge to tell you, “Rend your hearts and not your garments.” (Joel 2:13). During this time of Elul, or better known, this time of Teshuvah (meaning ‘repentance’), ask Holy Spirit to show you your heart. I feel in my spirit a deep urgency that if you are to ignore this warning, you will miss what the Father has in store for you. I know you may know this, dear ones, but please do practise it, and you will reap the glorious, eternal fruit thereof.

 

I want you to take time during these 30 days of Elul before the Feast of Trumpets to press into His presence. It’s time to meet the KING in the field. “What field?” you may ask, and I would say, “First of all, the fields of your heart.”

 

He is much more interested in our hearts than in our works, you see, sometimes, your good works can make you feel good about your spiritual and blind the motives of your inward being, but the Scripture truly says that the Lord tests the heart. It is so important to do introspection and not point fingers. Focus these coming days on the change that Yeshua wants to bring in your life (it’s not to be sin-focused, it’s to be glory-focused).

 

While my wife and I were in prayer, I heard the following words: repent, rest, reprogram, and reunite. Your beloved Bridegroom wants you to Teshuvah, turn towards Him (the focus is not from where you turn but to whom you turn), then rest in Him, then He can renew and reprogram your thoughts in order to dwell with Him, to reunite with Him to have communion, spirit to Spirit. May you practise these two principles in this month of Elul, and taste and see how good your Bridegroom is.

 

With the understanding of Elul, I want to share the following Scripture and words that Yeshua shared with me that blessed me a lot.

 

1. GUARD THE DOORS OF YOUR MOUTH (MICAH 7:5).

 

Psalm 141:3 (AMP)

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips [to keep me from speaking thoughtlessly]

 

2. STOP LABELING PEOPLE, IT IS A FORM OF CRITICISM.

 

I want to give you a few examples:  They are so spiritual, or so holy, or so worldly, or fleshly. They eat so healthily, no, I think they are taking it too far, or they eat so unhealthily, have you seen the amount of sugar they are consuming? Ha-ha! Assuming you have found a balance the middle way. Yeah right, we so easily go into judgement on what people do or do not say. We forget to listen to the Father’s voice over them during this time of Elul and beyond.  We don’t know the journey that the Father is taking them on. We don’t always grasp the struggle that they went through, and even when we do, our opinion can just be another label.

 

Sometimes, you label to feel better about yourself, or the doctrine you believe in according to your knowledge of the truth. As if you are righteous out of your own. For all have sinned and fallen short of My GLORY. Remember that righteousness is not determined by works alone, which come from faith, but by who you are in Me.

 

This is a heart issue, and iniquity is so deeply rooted in you and me. We need a sound mind and pure heart from the Spirit of God to discern His voice over every situation and person. Do not expose one another, but rather cover one another in love, and pray for one another. We live in a time when each believer needs it more than ever.  

 

TRANSFORMATION OF THE HEART STARTS WITH REPENTANCE

 

Remember that to repent is to turn to God. What do you do when you fast? You turn to Him with your whole being. Eating His Word, drinking His living waters.  Remember, Yeshua warns us that at the end of the age, the love of many will grow cold. You need that extra oil to keep your lamps burning like the five wise ones.

 

This Scripture is a good affirmation of what is said, and I want to highlight what I just wrote about.

 

Isaiah 58:6-14 (NKJV)

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo theheavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who arecast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’  “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.  13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 

 

This is the fast that He requires, and it clearly shows us that it’s about the position of your heart.

 

“My child, your worship (position of the heart) must be a pleasing fragrance to Me. Just like the aroma of food hanging in the atmosphere while you are fasting. I am a jealous God because I love you and want to covenant with you, and I don’t want to see you defiled. Don’t defile yourself with what you do or say, and if you do, repent as quickly as possible. Guard your heart above anything else. Guard the doors of your mouth.

 

“Stay in worship with Me (position your heart towards Me) and the enemy will flee. If your heart is positioned towards Me, your ears will listen to My Spirit that is within you. And your mouth will speak for what is in your heart. My heart is that you will dwell with Me, all the days of your life.

 

“Don’t let your words, or people, or even your children be a stumbling block to you but let them be weapons in your arsenal to advance MY KINGDOM.”

 

Blessings and love

Rion van Vuuren