Greetings and peace to you, all!
I am sure you recall how I've often shared as to our dear Lord clarification that Father's sovereignty has NEVER been in question (in exact opposition to the false teaching of the WTBTS' position), but that it is us, mankind, who have been accused, whose integrity, loyalty, and even courage is at issue. And, if so, you will recall that he gave me the account of the man Job, the accusations made against him by the Adversary... and how those same accusations apply to the rest of us and particularly those who belong to our dear Lord, as revealed in the cheers of those from among the sons of Israel AND the great crowd in Revelation 12:10.
Today, my dear Lord gave me yet another witness to this truth, that it was NOT just Job who was involved. He pointed me to Luke 22:31, which we have all read before, I'm sure, but today was given to me with NEW meaning. There, the Master is recorded to say to Simon Peter:
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat."
You might think "sifting" is the same as separating wheat from chaff. It is not. That process, separating wheat (the usable, edible grain) from the chaff (the unusable, inedible husk/grass/stalk). is called "winnowing." You might recall hearing about when the wheat is thrown into the air and the light, grassy pieces blow away, or something along that line. That is winnowing. "Sifting"... or "threshing" wheat... is removing the wheat grain from the stalk/chaff... BEFORE the chaff is removed.
In ancient times, sifting/threshing wheat was not a gentle process. It was done either by beating bundles of wheat stalks against a hard surface, like a wall or floor... OR... ;laying the wheat out on a hard surface and then having animals (donkeys, oxen, etc.) trample on it. Ever had a donkey or cow step on your foot? I haven't but given how much weight such beasts can carry, I don't doubt that the psi would have one seeing stars if not falling straight out... if not having bones broken. My point? It was not a GENTLE process, either way.
And the Adversary has asked... or demanded, depending on which Bible version you read... to "sift" ALL of US as wheat.
Well, if we look at his sifting/threshing of the man Job, we can KNOW with a certainty that he isn't a gentle sifter/thresher. Isn't one to go easy on a bundle of wheat. Oh no, he's one who will beat that bundle of wheat until EVERY tiny grain has been loosed... or the remains are in complete tatters. And TREAD... over and over and over... on that bundle... until EVERY grain has been separated from the stalk. Why? NOT to ensure that all of the WHEAT is loosed, NO. He does it in his attempt to RUIN the wheat.
If you beat a bundle of wheat SO hard, won't the grains fly all over the place? Be scattered about, lost in the dirt, stepped on, crushed? And if you overtread it, won't it also be cracked, crushed, even smashed? THAT IS HIS GOAL - to show that we ARE fragile, breakable, RUIN-able!
BUT... we're not. Not really. Both Job and our dear Lord proved that. One almost to complete ruination but allowed to live... and the other all the way to death.
We can, too, I think. But, praise JaH, if we CAN'T... we have a helper: our dear, dear Lord, JaH'eShua, the Holy One of Israel and Holy Spirit. He who gave his life for US... and who asked the Father to protect us (John 17:15). MY life has been PROOF of that protection. Maybe yours has, too.
May the undeserved kindness and mercy of our dear, dear Father, JaH Who Breathes (VeH)... and the love and peace of His dear, dear Son, our dear Lord, JaH'eShua... be upon you ALL and upon your DEAR households to time indefinite!
Let EVERY BREATHING THING PRAISE JAH and KISS HIS SON!
Your servant, sister, and a slave of Christ, the Son -
Shel
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