Unrecognizable

We have electric. Sort-of. Service was installed in the shop, and then a heavy cord run to the house. In the house is a tangle of extension cords, and we can only run a few things at once. Certainly not a computer. But that is not why I have not posted. My life is so far removed from what it was when I came here nearly 5 years ago. Back then, I was always in long skirts and a full headcovering, at home with my family. But life changes, and sometimes you have to change with it. Today you will find me at work, in pants and often a small doily headcovering (if any at all), then at class, clinicals, ride time, and almost never at home. It has been heartbreaking. And I will delve into what happened later, but suffice it to say that often we have laid out plans in front of us (even something vague, like thinking I would never work outside the home), and the Father says differently. It would be easy to say that these changes have not altered who I am inside, but that would not be honest. I still cling to my faith, but being forced out of my bubble has caused me to see things in a different way than I ever could as a....hermit. Some things have not changed...the kids are still homeschooled. Gary takes care of that. And we are still pretty much homesteaders, despite the availability of that extension cord for low-power appliances. But it isn't the same...and I don't know how to feel about it. I truly believe the Father guides our every step and uses EVERYTHING that happens to us. I just wish I knew what He was trying to teach me with some of the things He has led me to. Our oldest child turned 18 and went to live with her 'real' mother. Making the choices we tried so hard to protect her from. Our oldest son was placed in a treatment facility, from which he went AWOL, and is now also with his 'real' mother. But while he was in the treatment program, I was required to pay child support. Gary cannot work anymore, but does not qualify for disability because he was always self-employed. So it was on me to find a job. Being gone from home all the time and not being with my kids in order to pay for a program that obviously was a waste of time made me very bitter. I have just been released from obligation to pay since he left the state and is now of age, but I can't get back the 2 years I lost. And now I must continue to work in order to pay our insane tax bill, thanks to a re-assessment. It's easy to question: if the best thing is for families to be home together, why would the Father put us in this position? Why would we be led to do a farm exchange that meant selling in the future would cost us everything? Where should we be? Can we truly walk away from everything, or are we meant to work it out because He is growing our faith? One day at a time.

2013!?!?

I am NOT going to put up another post predicting our electric service date. I will simply say it has been one weird trip. We had an electrician lined up, had the utility company out to set the pole, and then everything fell apart. We got another electrician, made our deposits, and then winter hit and we cannot lay underground lines in frozen ground. So whenever it thaws...we will see what the next hurdle is! I was surprised to see so many comment and views...I hadn't checked in since the post almost a year ago. And so much has happened since then, good and bad. I have a great deal to write when I do get time, but the library while paying bills is not the best frame of mind to post from. Our Father has been so good to us, bringing to us a family just like ours. Not only are we in agreement spiritually, they also live on a generator! I will be back soon, even if it is from a non-public computer. Blessings!

When I said it would be just a little while before I had internet again, I had no idea what I was talking about. Apparently when you buy an Amish farm in a completely Amish town, the electric, phone, and satellite companies are not interested in running lines just for you. We have had to fight and yell and call in the public utilities commission just to get the phone. We MAY have electric by April, but it will likely be May. That means nearly 2 years off-grid.

It has been awesome. I didn't realize what a nuisance it all was until I got rid of it. I have missed the computer. I am a writer. Even if nobody reads any of it, it is cathartic for me to write. And I have so much to share. When I do get internet, I will have so many posts my fingers will likely freeze to the keyboard.

In the meantime, my kids have really grown up! As of May I will have a 16 year old! It doesn't seem possible.



Here we are in my Amish kitchen with my mom (though an Amish kitchen would NOT have a phone in it. notice the cord hanging down- it comes in under the door until the wiring goes through the house!) We have the absolute BEST neighbors in the world...but that will take a whole post in itself!

We are back in Ohio for the weekend so I have computer access. The library is so small in our town that we cannot even get on the internet and print out school papers, so until I actually defeat the electric company....

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua!

PS- was He the Passover Lamb or the Easter Ham? Just saying.

Dear Jeannie

I am still here, albeit without electric or frequent computer access. We are trying very hard to get both so as soon as we do I will be back posting. Thinking of you (and everyone I used to connect with here) and looking forward to that (hopefully) soon day when I can again share my heart.

Amy (motherofmany)

Believe it or Not....

I'm still here! Not in Ohio here, but on the planet here. It has been quite a trying year, but we are blessedly settled in our new home. I have many stories and pictures to share as soon as we can get our phone installed so as to have internet access. As it turns out, I will not get the long-hoped-for sattelite connection due to availability, but after everything else we have endured it seems trivial.

I don't want to give too much away because there are too many details that need to be provided with each story, but sufice it to say we have been carried by the Father to a land of milk and honey. We did spend the first night in our new home October 1st, so for those of you holding your breath about my dream of being in a tent for the first snow, you can relax! As excited as I was, there was still an adjustment period. I am closer to the road than I've been before and it was quite loud at first, even with minimal traffic. We are also the proud owners of the highest point in the area, though for a while it seemed we were perched on the edge of a cliff! But more about all that later. Thanks so much for your prayers and I look forward to sharing all that the L-rd has done for us!

Shalom B'Shem Yeshua,
Amy

Heed the Warning

On this day of remembrance, I think it timely that I share a letter with you about coming judgments. We have turned our backs on Israel and we will pay for it. We cannot fix the country, but we can cover our own families. If you would like a copy of his 2012 video (or any of his videos) but cannot afford it, leave me a comment with your address and I will get it to you. I feel it is that important.

Next Major Shaking Is At Hand
A Prophetic Warning From Norm Franz

Received: August 7, 2010
Published: September 7, 2010

Greetings in the Name of Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah. I hope this message finds you all well and blessed in the Lord (Yahweh).

Those of you who know me and have heard the prophetic words and teachings the Lord has given me over the past 20 years, know that I’m a straightforward end time voice, who generally interprets current events and spiritual phenomenon in the light of God’s prophetic word. This approach has kept our ministry from conjuring up soulish prophecies and high-minded declarations that sound good (tickle the ears), but have a poor track record of fulfillment.

The accuracy at which our ministry’s prophetic words and teachings have come to pass is not because I am anything special, but because of the biblical model God has shown me for prophesying truth in the last days. Many years ago, the Lord told me that I was to always bring HIS WRITTEN WORD (the Torah, the Prophets and the New Covenant) to the table, because His Word could speak for itself. All I had to do was prophetically connect the dots in a way that allowed His whole Word to flow in unity with itself, and He would do the rest.

He made it clear that I was not to embellish on His Word or make up stuff from my own guesswork like so many prophetic ministries are doing today. He told me that, if I would yield to His written Word and let it establish my doctrine rather that twisting His Word to fit my own doctrine, His Holy Spirit would show me a clear picture of the last days. As I have been faithful to follow this model to the best of my ability (not perfectly I’m sure), God has been faithful to give me what most consider a clear vision of where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going in the future.

I point this out only for the purpose of giving those who do not know me or the work of Ascension Ministries a basic understanding of our approach to end time prophetic ministry and to our highly accurate track record of prophetic words and teachings. Both, of which, I am truly grateful to God for and give Him all the glory.

My Last Major Prophecy

In April 2006, I did a prophetic teaching entitled “Mercy and Judgment: God’s Love and Discipline of America”. In that teaching, I explained the specific details of why 9/11 and hurricane Katrina were judgments on America for its transgression of God’s laws. I used Scripture verse after Scripture verse to explain the type of judgment it was and why it would continue until America repented. I also gave specific details about how the next judgment coming on America would be a financial judgment of Wall Street, and how that judgment would spread throughout our economy, as well as many other economies around the world.

Consequently, 16 months later (August 2007) the subprime mortgage crisis hit Wall Street and all but collapsed America’s financial system. Since then, this financial crisis has crushed America’s economy and dominoed throughout numerous other economies worldwide just as the Lord revealed it would.

Another Major Shaking Is At Hand

About a month ago (August 7, 2010) during Shabbat service, the Lord gave me a prophetic word that I will share in a minute. For me, this word just reiterated some prophetic teachings that I had given in the past. The reason I waited to share this with the church at large is because I wanted to make sure I was hearing a fresh word (or a real time reiteration of a previous word) from the Lord. In other words, I did not want to give a prophetic word that was simply a soulish regurgitation of past prophetic teachings with a “Thus says the Lord” in front of it. This is the path that often leads to giving prophecies from our own spirit and/or soul realm like the false prophets of ancient Israel did (Jer. 14:14; 23:26; Ez. 13:2-6, 17). The Apostle Peter pointed out that this same phenomenon would repeat itself within the New Covenant Church, and I just want to make sure that I do not go there (2 Pet. 2:1-3). In fact, I think we should let this serve as a serious warning to the many prophetic ministries that have fallen into this trap today.

With this preface, I feel compelled to share the prophetic word and subsequent understanding that I believe God implanted within me on Saturday, August 7, 2010:

“All order is about to be lost. Financial order, civil/political order, family order, and religious order. Society is about to be thrown into financial chaos and war. So Prepare! Prepare! Prepare! Prepare in spirit, prepare in soul and prepare in body. Prepare mentally, prepare emotional and prepare physically, for the next great shaking is about to come upon this world’s order of things. Repent and prepare your hearts for yet another shaking is about to remove more of what can be shaken, so that more of what can not be shaken may remain. So Return! Return! Return! Return to Me” says the Lord, “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might, and walk in My ways and not your own. Return to me and I will return to you, and I will save you and deliver you, and you will not be shaken in the troubling days ahead.”

First I want to say that, as I received this word and have meditated on it over the past month, I sensed that it was the same type of word that God gave Israel just before Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon rose up and took them captive. It’s important to note that Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon was the New World Order (world government) of its day, and God used it to bring judgment upon Israel for turning away from His Commandments. In the same manner, I believe that God is allowing the end time New World Order of Globalism (Mystery Babylon) to rise up as a tool of judgment on the West (including Judeo-Christian America), because it has turned away from God’s laws just like Israel did.

Ultimately, Globalism (Mystery Babylon) will subdue the whole world, but right now it is leveling out the West and redistributing power, wealth, military strength, etc. to the East. This is the geopolitical shift from West to East that a number of geopolitical analysts have spoken of over the past couple of years. Prophetically, it is just like the time Israel’s power, wealth and military strength transferred to the East when it came under Babylon’s rule for transgressing God’s Law and refusing to repent.

It is also important to note that, like ancient Israel, nothing is going to stop this judgment from coming, because we are past the point of no return with regards to the world system. Yes, there are times when God postpones or even reverses a judgment when the people repent and pray like with Nineveh and the principles of Jeremiah 18:7-9. However, there are also times when, no matter what the people do, God still returns the consequences of their sin back upon them in the form of a judgment (Jer. 2:17; 4:18; 7:16; 11:14; 15:1).

Therefore, let me be clear about what God is saying in this regard. “Judgment is coming on the current financial, political and religious world order and everything else that has rejected God’s laws, and nothing is going to stop it. True repentance (returning to God’s ways) and prayer can postpone it, so that we can continue to sound the alarm and prepare ourselves for when it does come, but nothing is going to stop it.”

“For those who turn back to God’s ways and pray in line with His Word, He will raise them up above the nations and bless them even during His judgment of the nations (Deut. 28:1-14). For those who pray, yet fail to keep God’s laws, their prayers will produce very little, and they run the risk of being judged along with the nations (Pr. 28:9; Is. 1:15; 1 Cor. 11:32). In other words, if we pray and return to walk in loving obedience to God’s Commandments, He will protect and shield us from the full impact of this judgment and keep us until the day of Jesus Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). If not, our house will collapse under the weight of the shaking along with the nations”.

Timeline of this Judgment

It is important to note that the Lord gave me this word three days before the biblical month of Elul which began on August 10, 2010. The month of Elul is the month of teshuvah (repentance) before the biblical New Year of Rosh Hashanah starts on Tishri 1 or September 9th of this year. Tishri 1 also begins the Fall Feasts starting with the Feats of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), followed by Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).

Just as the Spring Feasts celebrate Messiah first coming as Savior, the Fall Feasts celebrate His second coming as Judge and reigning King. Consequently, as we prepare for our annual observance of the Fall Feasts, Elul represents a special season of reflection and repentance, where we allow God to search our hearts and see if there is any wicked way within us. Traditionally, the way in which we respond during Elul determines what the year ahead will bring regarding blessings and cursings.

With regard to the global scale of this particular prophetic word, since there has been little or no repentance in the world, I believe God has impressed upon me that this year’s Feast of Trumpets marks a new season of judgment. That is not to say that something catastrophic is going to happen on Tishri 1 (September 9, 2010), but that it is a time when God is going to release a new season of consequences/judgments on an unrepentant world.

I also believe the Lord has show me that this shaking/judgment will be poured out over the course of the next two to three years much along the timeline I gave in the “2012 And Beyond” teaching. In that teaching, I clearly explained why 2012 is not the end of the world like so many are predicting it is. However, I also point out that the later part of 2012 could easily be a critical period when various financial, social, political and military crises crescendo at the same time, causing events that might look like the end of the world. I also point out how a series of global crises hitting in quick succession could provide the perfect atmosphere for establishing a New World Order that gives rise to the antichrist . No one knows the exact timing of this, but I believe the timeline in “2012 And Beyond” is pretty sound.

I am humbly seeking the Lord for more details regarding specific events within this coming judgment as well as the timing of those events. If, and when, the Lord gives that to me, I will share it with the body of Messiah as He leads. In the mean time, please pray that I hear the Lord clearly and keep a right spirit within me.

Return to the Lord

In all of the confusion about what is happening in the world, and whose prophetic word said what, and whose word is right, and what we should do about it, there is one mandate which is clear throughout all of it, and that is to “Return to the Lord.” I believe the best example of what this is supposed to look like is when King Josiah returned to serve Yahweh with all his heart, soul and might. He did this by restoring God’s commandments in his personal life and reestablishing the Torah throughout the nation of Israel. As a result, God declared that Josiah became the greatest King to have ever lived (2 Kgs. 23:1-25).

In the same manner, Yeshua (Jesus) reestablishes this principle of keeping God’s commandments in the New Covenant Church as a sign of greatness in His kingdom:

18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law [Torah] until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:18-19)

In this regard, Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah is calling His people (the church) to be great in the kingdom of heaven by returning to Him and His ways, so that He might return to us... Amen!

In God’s Love,
Norm Franz
A Messenger of the Covenant

The Little Things

Now that I have a little time, I want to go back and post about a topic that was on my heart 2 weeks ago. I seem to be having the same conversation with many different people and decided I had to state my case as it were, so even if you've heard it before bear with me. The topic is broadly about Torah observance, but very specifically about eating clean and unclean foods. To address this, I'll have to post the verses from Matthew 5 that I have posted so many times before...

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

I don't remember reading that verse when I was 'churched'. I certainly never heard a sermon about it. When I ran across it in my attempts to prove that the law was done away with, I was stunned silent. There it is as clear as day: it is not done away. Everything has not been fulfilled, heaven and earth have not passed away, not a jot or a tittle are gone. Yet I still hear so many arguments about how unimportant these words really are so long as our "hearts are right". But I want to know how blatant disregard of the words of the Messiah can coincide with a right heart. We are told he did so many things that the world couldn't hold the books, yet he made sure these words were canonized. Apparently they are important.

I do agree that one will not lose their salvation based on eating the wrong foods. But he doesn't say it is a salvation issue at all- it is a matter of how great a servant you are. Don't believe me? read this:

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

What we eat does matter because it is one of the 'small' things. If we cannot be trusted to obey in the little things, how can we be trusted to obey in the bigger things? If someone worked for you and could not wash the dishes properly, would you then give him the job of washing your fine china? You wouldn't because he has not proved that he can be trusted.

I also quite often hear the following verse as an answer to why someone continues to eat that which is unclean:

"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." Romans 14:4

First, I want to know why this verse only works one way. If it does imply that someone can be convicted in his own heart that pork is OK, why then does it not cover me from attack by believers who call me legalistic, a judaizer, self-righteous, and deluded? It is OK to judge the servant who obeys but not the servant who does not? Secondly, this verse is taken out of context. The discussion is about those who chose not to eat meat at all because of the issue of foods that may have been offered to idols in the marketplace. These verses in no way cleanse that which the Father called an abomination.

As to the argument that "I do not feel convicted about that issue" my question is whether they feel convicted about anything Yah says. Does the Holy Spirit really have to come down and personally invite you to obedience? If you feel in your heart that abortion is OK, does that negate the Word? Feelings and convictions can be a dangerous thing- test every spirit. Of course Satan would love to 'convict' us of our freedom from the law. Personal convictions have to line up with the Word or they are FALSE SPIRITS!!!!!!

One of the students in my homeschool co-op class came to me months after we had a debate over unclean foods with this verse and said to me that since each of us should decide what is right, he decided pork was OK. I asked him if he had the same liberty to determine if adultery and murder were OK. I pointed out that he was using a verse out of context and he had no answer for me.

Another lady pointed out 1 Timothy 4 where it states that in the latter times people will come and teach that we cannot eat some foods (meaning me) and that Paul says here that all foods are consecrated by prayer. But if we look closer at what this passage actually says, her argument falls apart.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer."

Firstly, the idea of some animals being clean and others not is NOT a doctrine of the devil- Yah himself determined this. Secondly it says they command others to abstain from meats- I don't command anybody to do anything, the Word does. I am just reminding. This is not some rule I made up myself. Third, the passage says that what God created to be food should be received with thanksgiving. He created things for different purposes and marks that which was clean from the beginning- Adam and Eve had to be covered by a blood sacrifice and He did NOT use a pig. Lastly, we see that the food we eat is sanctified by the Word and prayer. In other words, it is sanctified if it is in line with the Word and we pray protection against anything that might have been in contact with it that is unclean (I am speaking more of evil spirits, like the meats sacrificed to idols or animals used in witchcraft, etc.) If your food is listed as food in the Word and you pray when you eat it, thanking the Father for providing it and cleansing it from whatever you don't know, you're covered.

I want to list one more verse that I think leaves the matter without further wiggle room. In Isaiah 65-66 the L-rd tells us of things to come when he creates the New Heavens and New Earth. He speaks directly of those who pretend to be holy but who are not following his commandments...

"A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day."

"They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD. For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory."

These verses are not speaking of the Muslims- even they know better than to eat the unclean thing. These are people who call themselves holy, who claim to walk after the L-rd, and who are a smoke in his nostrils because of their thoughts and actions. They believe they are working the bigger things, but the truth is that they cannot follow even in the little things. They are strong-willed and try to tell the Master what they will and will not do. It is rebellion.

So I ask you that if you do eat pork and shellfish to examine the reason why. Is it because you truly believe in spite of these verses that the L-rd has changed his mind about what is clean and unclean? Is it because of your own lack of studying on the subject? I certainly don't argue those who's husband had made a declaration that they will continue to eat those foods, but I would ask them if they are secretly relieved, or are they praying that the Father will show their husbands the truth? If your husband were convicted that pornography was OK, would you be pleading with Yah to change his mind?

Going back to the passage in Matthew 5 for a minute I want to tell you of an example of how big this little issue can be. We decided to order Chinese one night and I was looking over the menu when the lady taking orders told me that it would be cheaper to order the family pack than so many individual entrees. I said no thank you because we do not eat pork. She asked why, and I told her that the Bible gives us a list of the foods our G-d approves and pork and shrimp are not included. She had never heard such a thing. I don't know how many believers she had taken orders from, but she had never heard of a Bible-believer abstaining from foods. I'll take my life in my hands here and say that those who professed to be followers and ordered pork were teaching this woman to break the law, and Yeshua warns that anyone who leads others astray will be called least in the kingdom. You cannot be called great when you cannot be trusted with the little things.

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."