In this year, 2014, God's Kingdom Citizens will take quantum leaps in their spiritual growth!  What is a quantum leap, you may ask?  It is a huge sudden increase, advancement, an abrupt change.  This year is not a year of "baby steps".  It is a year of "leaps and bounds".  Where, in the past you may have felt as if you were making little or no progress; this year you will be amazed at your Kingdom advancements.  Advancements fueled by your obedience and sincere desire in pursuing your purpose.  This is the year even spiritual babies have huge growth spurts.  This year, we grow up!  As with babies, growth spurts can have painful, awkward times.  But it shall pass quickly and the changes will be undeniable!

This is a year of character building--unwavering, indestructible standards.  This is your 'light bulb' year.  The year you "get it" and you will wonder why it took you so long!  2014, described in one word is CHARACTER.  That is the focus. To prepare the Bride of Christ for His return, we must turn our hearts and minds to our character and our obedience.  The Bride of Christ is to be "without spot or wrinkle".  That takes character and obedience.  

These 'giant leaps' will not be smooth, but it will be fast.  There may be some bumps, bruises and pain but it will not linger.  This is the year we see our progress.  In time, even the world will take notice.  We must come to the place that they want what we have.

The time is growing short.  The world needs to see Kingdom Citizens of character and high moral standards.  They need to see rock-steady people who live what they believe.  

Let's stand in agreement for a quantum leap of growth in God's people this year!  No one wants to see a 30 year old sucking milk out of a baby bottle.  It's time to savor the meat of God's Word

~~Be blessed, Arlene

Jesus often taught in parables.  When I really need a Word from God, He often gives me a parable.  With parables, those with 'spiritual ears' will understand what the Spirit is saying to them.  

There was a man, who traveled far from his homeland to find work.  The work he found required far less skill than he possessed, but he worked diligently at it and thanked God for the work. The people in this foreign land were very different from him and didn't like him. They mistreated him, taunted him, hit him and physically threatened him.  The days were lonely and hard. 

Every night he would pray for God to open a new door to a new job, new surroundings and a new life; but God would only say "They need you".  After months of this, in his frustration, the man said "They don't need me!  They don't want me!  They don't even like me!"  God's only response was " and you need them.  You are not done yet"  Then He led the man to Acts 16 and the story of Paul and Silas in the prison; reminding him to praise God in every circumstance.  He accepted God's chastening and sought to always thank God no matter the circumstance!

One day, after several years, the man met a rich landowner passing through town.  He needed a foreman for his ranch and offered the man the job.  "Thank you Lord!  Thank you for releasing me into this wonderful opportunity!"

His last night on his old job flew by.  Soon night had fallen and he was taking the long walk home for the last time.  But his co-workers who for years had hated him, were plotting to kill him.  They took their last opportunity and began to chase him across the field.  Running wildly in the darkness, the man didn't see the huge hole until it was too late.  Laying at the bottom of the hole, covered in mud, hurting, knowing his enemies were not far behind him; he cried out to God "  You answered my prayers, gave me a new job, a new life, you dangled hope and happiness in my face and yanked it away!  Now my enemies come to destroy me and end my life!  I don't understand!"  God answered "Praise Me for the dirt."  His enemies were now looking down the hole, laughing.  "This is perfect!" they said "We won't even get blood on our hands!  He's already in the hole.  We only need to bury him!"  When his enemies began to throw dirt down the hole, hitting him, he shook it off and said "Lord I praise you for the dirt!"  His enemies laughed "Listen to him.  He is crazy!  He must have hit his head!"  Soon there was a small hill forming as the man shook off the dirt, praised God for the dirt and climbed higher.  As he got higher, he became quiet, pressing against the wall in the shadows.  He continued to praise God for the dirt of his enemies, in his spirit.  In the silent darkness, his enemies were convinced he was dead and left.

The man stepped out of his former prison, shook off the dirt from his enemies and walked on to the blessings of God for his obedience.

The very dirt your enemies are throwing, seeking to destroy you, will be your way out of your current prison.  Listen to His voice, obey and praise Him in every circumstance! ~~ be blessed, Arlene

As we left 2013 behind and moved into 2014, I have seen references to "Clean Slate" several times.  My first thought is, of course, a fresh start.  As I meditated on this phrase, turning it over in my mind, I believe God began to show me some things.  I would like to share them with you and allow God to confirm them in your spirit or dismiss them.

The "Clean Slate" is about creating a level playing field.  The past few years God has been leveling the field.  Have you ever heard of a business "cleaning house" and asking all their employees to re-apply for their jobs?  This is what God is doing in the Kingdom of God in preparation for the next great move of God.  We have all seen the "shaking" that has been taking place.  With the shaking, pride, sin and corruption were revealed.  Ministries lost credibility or failed. Many believers have seen their lives shaken to the core...their finances, their marriages, their relationships. We have longed for the shaking to stop and the dust to settle so we can "rebuild".

I believe in 2014 God is bringing revival to those who will be leaders in the next "Great Awakening".  Before there can be revival in the masses, leadership must first be positioned.  God is a god of order.  Order the natural, then comes the supernatural.  Many of these leaders are obscure to man; but to God, no man is obscure.  Just look at the men and women God used in Biblical times:  Noah, David, Joseph, Daniel, Moses, and Mary the mother of Jesus; just to name a few!  Why did he choose a young unknown girl to give birth to Jesus, the Son of God?  He could have been born into royalty...to a queen or at least a princess!  

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9) For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.  I Samuel 16:7b

Who is God seeking to carry the weight of this move of God?

He is seeking the obedient.  ...Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.  I Samuel 15:22b

He is seeking those with a passion for the Truth in His Word.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

He is seeking those with a passion to worship Him.  "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."  John 4:23

He is seeking those who will humble themselves.  if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  II Chronicles 7:14

(I suggest that you do a word study in the Bible on humble and obey and their variations.)  

This first season of 2014 is a time of introspection, self-examination and seeking God's Will for your life.  Have you reached the point of truly being able to say--from your heart--I'll go where You want me to go and do what You want me to do? It is a time of putting down all our idols and everything that we esteem more highly than the things of God.  Get your spiritual house in order and prepare to be a leader in the coming move of God!

Paul describes it so well in 2 Corinthians 10:  ...3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

I will close with a few of my thoughts concerning this soon-coming move of God.  I believe that first the leadership must be positioned and then we will see it coming in 2015-2016 time frame.  I believe it will be an explosion of the Kingdom of God upon all people!  Unlike past revivals, I believe it will cross denominational lines.  It is not just coming to one town or one church or even one denomination.  I believe right now, God is stirring a hunger and passion for God and His Word in the hearts of people sitting in the pews of mainline denominations as well as Charismatic denominations.  They want "more".  The key words I keep hearing to describe this move are obedience, humility, purity and knowledge.  Therein lies the power!

God keeps it so simple for us.  We don't need to seek after signs and wonders. We don't need to seek healing or prosperity.

              The key to everything we need is found in this scripture:

Be abundantly blessed~~ Arlene

By the time I met my dear husband, William, I had a lifetime of experience loving and living with a male authority figure who was a serial adulterer.  Bless him, he had a job when we married!  That job was to show me it is possible for a man to be faithful.

You see, if they gave degrees for life experiences, I would have a PhD in adulterers and the people who love them. In childhood, our first male authority figures are often the father and the pastor.  I once heard Dr James Dobson say that how we relate to God is formed by those early male authority figures.  My father was also my pastor and he was also an adulterer..a serial adulterer, I now realize.  Even my father's spiritual mentor (also a pastor) was an adulterer with children from those relationships!  

I'm not telling my family's secrets.  This was exposed for all the world to see and for us to deal with right along side of him.  I know what it is to be the child of an exposed adulterer.  We shared the embarrassment, public humiliation, and harassment.  We also were caught in the middle of so much family turmoil and anger between our parents.

My "first truth" formed by these situations was "all men--even men of God--cheat".  To me, that was just a fact and nothing in my life contradicted it.

I married young to get out of that turmoil--we were in the middle of a huge adulterous scandal when I got engaged.  In time I was devastated to realize I had married a serial adulterer!  I lived in that situation--forgave--started over--raised our sons, for over thirty years before I finally said "enough!".

Does the word adulterer or adulteress make you squirm?  We try to say things "nicer" so as not to make people uncomfortable.  We say "cheated", "unfaithful" or "strayed".  But we, as God's people, need to face it with stark honesty to change what we are doing. In the church, we have no problem saying homosexual and pointing out that sin, but adultery, and fornication, we dance around and too often give it a pass as though it were less "sinful".   Divorce and adultery rates are no different in the church than in the world...we must face this reality and change it!

Now, what are some characteristics of a serial adulterer (male or female)?

A serial adulterer is usually a good family man or woman. Don't demonize an adulterer.  They are good people in many ways.  They may be good parents, good workers, good servants in their church. God has given them gifts and talents, which they may or may not be using. They may love their parents and their spouse--in their own way.  But they have raised their lustful desires above everything else in their life, including God.

A serial adulterer has one affair at a time, usually with long breaks in between. They are not "players" or promiscuous.  They do not usually have one-night stands.

A serial adulterer loves the excitement of falling in "love" and having those feeling reciprocated.  They enjoy the newness of the relationship and all the "good things" without any of the mundane unpleasant things of their marriage.

For a serial adulterer, it is often not just about sex.  It is everything that goes along with new "love".  It is sometimes about getting the things they feel are lacking at home.

A serial adulterer has a strong need for attention and affirmation.  It is often about ego-building. 

A serial adulterer will become distant from their spouse.  Their thoughts are consumed with their lover.  The desire to feel "faithful" to their lover causes them to avoid sex and intimate contact with their spouse.  They may even try to provoke arguments to feel "justified" in their affair.

A serial adulterer will disappear and have "unaccounted" times.  Not just the small time periods it would take for a sexual encounter.  They want to spend extended time with their new-found love.  They try to do this without raising suspicions, but they will become less cautious.  Though they don't believe it, in time their carelessness will get them caught.  All Satan wants is to get you to believe a lie.  They believe the lie that they won't ever get caught.

As with all adulterers, their behavior will change.  I heard of one woman hearing her husband sing in the shower--unusual behavior.  He was singing a love song that was not their song!  Red flag! 

When a serial adulterer is caught, they will say and do ANYTHING to preserve their marriage.  They do not want to be married to their lover.  They want the marriage, family, happy, respectable home AND the excitement of a lover on the side.  When push comes to shove, they will end the affair...or at least try to end it..to save their home and family life.  

In my experience, with the exception of a "Saul-on-the-road-to-Damascus" miracle, a serial adulterer does not stop.  They try and they may go a few years, but they will cheat again.  You will repair your marriage, rebuild your trust only to have it torn apart again.

The sad part is that when the first affair is exposed, you won't know if this is a one-time affair or if they are a serial adulterer.  That takes years and many heartbreaks before you know for certain.

Am I recommending divorce?  No, you must pray and listen to the Holy Spirit. God hates divorce...it rips apart families and breaks covenants, but affairs do also.  The only thing I will say about divorce is that until you have no strong emotion---love OR hate--you are not ready for divorce.  

I am writing these things because I believe knowledge is power.  Ignorance is darkness and it is where Satan rules.  He cannot wreak havoc over an area of your life where you have knowledge!  Don't believe the lie "if it feels good, do it" or that it is "chemistry".  No!  It is a demon of lust sent to destroy your family and thwart God's purpose for your life! See the big picture beyond your pain. But if you have knowledge, it will not succeed!

What if you are married to someone who has been hurt by a serial adulterer? Well, this is what William has done for me:  he is an open book--with his cell phone, his social media accounts, everything he does.  He has been honest, open and trustworthy. He is a healing balm for my wounds. He doesn't put himself in compromising, questionable situations.  He is a man of God who says what he means and does what he says.  He treats me with love and respect and lets me know in so many ways how much he loves me.  He treats me like a queen.  A wife can't ask for more than that!  (UPDATE:  It has been six years since I wrote this blog.  We have now been married 9 years and everything I've said about him is still true.  He has been consistent and trustworthy all these years!)

There is life after an affair and even life after a divorce.  God heals and restores and uses once-cracked, willing vessels. ~~Be blessed, Arlene