Outskirts Press, INC.

Let’s admit it. Our Bibles tell us to watch for the signs of the last days, but people are worried, confused, and fighting back fear. We wonder, “How do I respond today?”

Learn how to be a spiritual "first responder" when trouble comes.

Know the purpose of the coming woes and the warning for the church. Our Bibles tell us to watch for the signs of the last days, but as the birth pains increase rapidly, Christians are anxious, confused, and fighting back fear. 

Author Pam Stevenson challenges us to open the scriptures and answer some thought-provoking questions about being children of God in troubled times. Her story begins with an accident, her struggle with pain, and her dialogue with Jesus on an adventure of faith and renewal. She reminds us that we can follow Him into the kingdom of heaven, discuss every detail of life together, and learn as we go. It’s time to claim your God-given eternal perspective.

• Experience true peace when your world falls apart.

• Overcome fear, doubt and worry.

• Identify and outsmart your emotions.

• Learn to test and get rid of unclean spirits.

• Discover your heritage in the kingdom of righteousness.

• Know the purpose of the coming woes and the warning for the church.

• Distribute God’s truth and mercy to a broken and hurting world.

Chapter 1 - All Things Work Together

... The greatest reservoir of spiritual courage opens up during the most difficult trials of life. The scriptures confirm it. When we seek the kingdom with determination, we do not take another’s faith as our own, but cultivate the personalized gift we were given. ...

By weaving threads of my own story into the pages that follow, I give you a glimpse of God’s faithfulness in the months that followed a serious injury. During my recovery, my “quiet time” became an extreme adventure of faith. I have included my recollection of some of these personal moments, having set them apart carefully from the rest of the text. I want to point out clearly that these little conversations with Jesus are not divine revelations to supplant God’s word, but illustrate a living relationship with Christ.

Chapter 3 - Come in the House

... While I waited for my spine to heal, I put my daily routine on pause. I listened for His whisper and heard, “Be still. Give thanks. Give Him praise.” I followed Jesus when the facts looked dismal. The more I listened in silence or searched my Bible for hints, the more He revealed to me about the purpose of that confinement. ...

 ***
     One morning I awakened with a heavy presence in the room. I stretched and adjusted my eyes to the pale light of day. Silently a spirit of depression pushed in from the atmosphere and seemed to test every pore in my body for an entrance. I began to think, “It hurts to move.” I started to feel sorry for myself. A feeling of entitlement came over me, and I wanted to wallow in that misery. Knowing the evil one would try to test my weakness, I forced myself to call out to Jesus with my grouchy attitude and ask Him about it. 
     “Why do I keep falling into one predicament after another?” 
     Sitting quietly at the end of my bed, He leaned forward and peered out the window. The mist floated across the water like wisps of smoke rising into the cool morning air and settled around Elephant Rock, the granite outcropping in back of our house. My mind had already wandered onto another subject when He finally spoke. “You’re learning more each time you fall.”
     “Doesn’t it disappoint you when I fall?”
     “No, the Father wants you to profit from it.”
     “Profit?” His answer surprised me. I expected Him to address my grumpy disposition and ask me to cast it out. I looked around and it was already gone!       He asked, “What is your purpose?” 
     I thought for a while. Months before I would have given Him my lofty to-do list of do-good plans. Now I knew my real purpose and the answer rolled off my spiritual tongue: “To glorify the Father.”
     “Good. Now, there’s the answer to your questions about troubles.”

Chapter 7 - Coming Clean
 
God is totally perfect, wildly powerful, and extremely dangerous to approach with a flippant or prideful attitude. He’s the One to fear. Jesus mediates between us, cleansing our hearts and preparing us for close encounters with our Father. We know that God rejects the sacrifices of those who try to work or build their way to Him on their own terms, yet He always appreciates a sincere and humble desire to seek His presence.

Just like Abraham, we believe; and our faith is credited as righteousness. Just like the Israelites, we try to walk with God even though we are stubborn and rebellious, shrinking back when we get too close to the brilliance of His piercing gaze. Just like David, we struggle to live up to the Creator’s expectations. Just like the disciples, we follow Jesus and imitate Him. And just like Jesus, we humble ourselves, listening for God’s voice rather than following manmade rituals.

     I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
     John 8:28b

Jesus tells us of the great humility needed to function with such power. Revealing the simplicity of His job as a spokesman from the spiritual realm, He explained that He was not carrying out His own plan, but kept open and constant communication with the Commander-in-chief, who happened to be His Father. Clearly He loved the foundational truth in God’s word, which gave Him a platform on which to be tested and proven righteous. By the power of that living word He overcame Satan. If you want confidence to overcome Satan in your daily walk, learn to pay attention to the laws which govern the spiritual world.

Many Christians are beginning to understand why the whole law of God is important to them, for it contains vital information about spiritual warfare. ...

When Christians understand God’s laws are spiritual, rather than outdated Jewish rituals and traditions, their eyes open to the very heart of our Creator’s love for us as He draws us into the eternal realm. One of the most misunderstood precepts involves the cleanliness rituals. It is a spiritual concept that we desperately need to practice in our churches. According to the law, the Israelites went to the priests for ritual immersions prior to entering the tabernacle. It was an act of reverence to God, an intentional soul searching before worship, and an act of simple obedience to the specific laws about community participation. They continue to outline God’s directions for coming clean before we enter His presence. Peter gave us clarity about our part:

     As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
     1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV

Jesus, our High Priest, opened the way for us to enter the Holy of Holies and approach the Father as priests. Paying close attention to the smallest detail, we linger to check our attitudes toward others before we approach Him. We come clean in our hearts before we enter the seat of power to bask in His presence. Follow Jesus, our High Priest, who came to earth and walked among us clothed in flesh. He prepares the way for us to enter into true worship. By law it is mandatory that we come clean to go in. It’s for our own safety, for in God’s presence all impurities burn up. The Father loves us and hopes we check our pride at the door and approach Him in earnest. 

Chapter 9 - Immediate Gratification
 
What is Truth?
When the leaders turned Jesus over to Pilate for condemnation, He spoke candidly:

   “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
   John 18:36-37

Not surprisingly, Pilate asked, “What is truth?”
And now the whole world continues to deliberate that question. You find at least fifteen root words in the Hebrew language for the word “truth.” Jesus knew them all, for they point to the touchstones of our faith: trustworthy, faithful, steady, stable, firm, verifiable, right, sure, fixed, concrete, certain, established, integrity, equity, uprightness, fidelity, balanced, evenly weighed, reality, without blemish, complete, full, undefiled, whole. Truth cannot be divided or split into opposing groups. Like a diamond, every facet glorifies the Light of the world. Truth is uncompromising even though it is balanced. God’s truth, established firmly in the kingdom of heaven, is the stuff that originally formed our world by the breath of God. When we hear the truth, it aligns our heart and mind and gives us hope. In a world where confusion reigns, truth heals. 

Someday I will experience the vast expanse of eternal life as it consumes my mortal body. Today, however, God’s word says the flesh represents a short-term living arrangement, a versatile and fragile covering for a timeless soul. As spiritual beings, we sense our unfinished state while our skin, bones, joints, organs and vessels provide temporary shelter for living on earth. Soon we’ll go home where everything is prepared for our permanent life, but for now we live in these tents.

     For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
     2 Corinthians 5:4-5 NIV 

Jesus draws us into the kingdom with His Spirit, enabling us to approach God confidently as His emissaries on earth. There we witness the fringes of eternity in His presence. Our Creator’s heart pulses with mercy. He bids all seekers to join Him.  

     So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
     2 Corinthians 5:8 NIV

Embracing this personal connection with our eternal Father, our relationship grows and the tangible perks of living in His household materialize. Prayers go out. Decrees are spoken. Lives turn around. People are healed! God desires to clothe His faithful sons and daughters with power and authority. This is our spiritual destiny. Satan hopes to keep us spiritually naked and ashamed by distracting us from our eternal purpose and making us unclean with the pursuit of pleasure and worries of life. We live in the middle of this tension on earth, yet all the while Jesus calls us heavenward in pursuit of righteousness.

     But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
     Matthew 6:33