Daniel and I continue to learn more and more about our Lord every day.  I want to share with you briefly our most recent lesson.  The Lord spoke to Daniel some time ago telling him that Satan is drastically increasing his attacks on God’s people. Since we are now living in the season of the final purification of the church, God is allowing it.  The Lord said that Satan is now attacking us in the area of judging us on every word that comes out of our mouth.

 

Frankly, I am having some difficulty with this because I am not sure exactly what constitutes a negative statement versus a simple statement of fact.  I’m certainly not going to get run over by a truck and immediately afterwards proclaim, “That didn’t hurt!”  Just an example.

 

The beginning of April, one day here in the office Daniel and I were discussing some problems with the making of the movie about my first book.  I made the comment that I wasn’t eager to get the movie finished because I know that the members of the PFO will be on every TV and talk radio show possible, spreading lies about me just the same as they are doing on the internet.  Immediately Daniel became quite irritated with me and said, “Rebecca, I have told you again and again not to make negative statements.  Now Satan has petitioned against us because of your statement and we are going to have three months of severe financial famine!”

 

Needless to say, I became rather irritated because of the quick jump to judgment and punishment.  However, I did seek the Lord and ask forgiveness.  The Lord showed me that my statement was negative in that it demonstrated a lack of faith in Him, and opened the door for Satan to bring about the precise persecution I had assumed was coming.  So, I repented and asked forgiveness and asked the Lord to give me wisdom in the future concerning what is a negative statement.  BUT, within 2 days our finances crashed!  Then everything went from bad to worse.  My speaking engagement in April brought in nothing, and my two speaking engagements in May were cancelled.

 

Finally I went to Daniel and told him that I felt that we should be dealing in mercy with each other, and that as spiritual head of our home I thought he had the authority to go before the Lord and ask for His mercy on the situation and reverse our financial crash.  I had, of course, been asking the Lord for this, but without any results.

 

The next morning I got up to find that Daniel had not slept at all that night.  He was very upset and told me that we were ruined!  I asked what in the world happened.  Daniel did as I requested that night and went before the Lord.  As soon as he began to ask the Lord for mercy on our situation, Satan appeared before God’s throne and interrupted.  Satan opened a book and said, “God I demand that you do not give any mercy at all to Daniel and Rebecca.  I have the legal right to do this because on such and such a date Daniel promised flyers to this person and to that.  They never got sent.  On such and such a date Rebecca and Daniel said they were going to do so and so, and they have never done it.”  Satan went on with several other similar things.  Well, we hadn’t gotten those things done yet because of equipment break downs (thanks to the demons I’m sure), my lack of a secretary and the impossibility for me to get everything done at once.  Satan went on to say, “Lord, I am standing firmly on Your Word.  You CANNOT go back on Your Word.  These two are liars and are double minded.  Your Word says that a double-minded man will not receive anything from you.”

 

The Lord answered, “You are right, Satan, My Word does say that.”

 

Daniel was so horrified that he simply fled the scene!  He felt the whole issue was impossible and was very upset that I had asked him to go before the Lord at all.

 

I had no idea that if we say we are going to do something and then don’t get it done that very day that Satan could claim we were lying!  Neither did I have any concept that he could also claim that we were double minded if we decided to do something and then didn’t get it done because of equipment break downs, or being swamped with other more important things.  Of course, Satan’s kingdom is actively working to hinder us in every way possible, but that doesn’t change the facts of our not getting something done.  I was very discouraged, but I knew there had to be an answer to Satan’s accusations somewhere in God’s Word.  I also knew that ONLY God’s Word would be an acceptable argument against Satan.  So, I began to search.  I am most certainly not perfect, and if Satan is going to be able to successfully bring destruction into our lives for every little thing I say wrong, even after I repent for it, then there is simply no hope!

 

The more I searched, the more discouraged I became.  Of course, I found every scripture there is on being judged for our words, such as Matthew 12:35-37, and the numerous scriptures in the book of James.  Finally one morning as I finished reading through the book of James yet again, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You missed it!  Read through it again tomorrow.”  So, I obeyed.  The next morning, as I started to read through James yet again, James 2:8 jumped out at me:

 

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well . . .”

 

I had never really noticed the term “royal law,” before.  Loving your neighbor as yourself would certainly involve mercy which was the key word I had been looking for.  I went on and stopped  again as James 2:13 literally hit me in the face:

 

“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.  Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

 

There is was!  Mercy triumphs over judgment!   That was the key I was looking for.  Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “In these last days as life gets harder and harder, your frustrations and tiredness are going to increase.  As this happens people will irritate you more and more, BUT if you will live a life characterized by mercy, then when you slip up and make a mistake and miss-speak, you can petition me to extend mercy to you which triumphs over Satan’s judgment, and I will do so.  Remember, My Word says, 'Love covers a multitude of sins.'"

 

I think I really do live a life characterized by mercy to others, so immediately I went before God’s throne and asked Him to extend mercy to me which would triumph over Satan’s judgment and punishment.  God did, and things are beginning to improve for us financially.  We have learned a very important lesson.  I share with you our own mistakes so that you may benefit from them and not make the same mistakes.  We are all of us entering into a difficult time when we will be tried in every way possible.

 

I have nearly finished writing a small book on this principle and other similar ones that the Lord has been teaching us in the past couple of years.  I am hoping, Lord willing, to get it finished this month if at all possible.  We will print and bind it on the new machine we rented which I told you about in a previous letter. 

 

 

                                                            A bondservant of Jesus Christ,

 

                                                            Rebecca Brown