Tag Archives: change

Devotionals, Letters

A Personal History with Unchurched Believers

I grew up in the church. Later, I met Jesus in another church during the Jesus People revolution. That was far more interesting than regular church!

For decades, after I’d graduated from Bible college, I got a real Bible education in a Bible-believing church. And I learned the importance of being part of a church, a local congregation. A campfire of only one log will quickly burn out; a campfire with many logs will burn long and hot: believers, I was carefully taught, belonged in the campfire with other believers, and that meant in a Sunday congregation.

Over the next few decades, as I worked as an associate pastor with several churches, and Father began giving me a heart for His children, and as I watched God’s children in churches grow up, I became more concerned for those children that didn’t have the advantage of a church family.  

I met a small number of disenfranchised believers in this season: men and women who were angry and bitter at the church, and sometimes at God, too. And I prayed more for believers who didn’t have a church to call home. I pitied them.

I remember one particular evening while I was praying for the unchurched believers. Father showed me two things about this group of people that I felt a burden for: First, there were more of them than I ever expected, and second, that he was going to do something – something that I call revival – among them. So I prayed for that revival! And I pitied them: lost sheep without a flock to call home.

I prayed for and pitied unchurched believers for years, and as I did, Father’s love for those poor people grew in my heart, fueling more prayer, and probably more pity as well.

One spring Saturday, a friend I respected held an event that I saw as a church service for people who didn’t fit in church real well. It was encouraging for several reasons, not least of which was that I wasn’t fitting real well in my own church at that time.

Unfortunately, when I returned home, I discovered I had left my jacket, with my wallet, behind, and I didn’t recognize it until I returned home, an hour’s drive away.

The next day, I brought a friend and a cell phone with me and drove back to the site of the event. It took more phone calls than I expected by finally someone was able to tell me that my jacket was probably with “Ken and Barbie,” well outside of town.  

Great. I really don’t need a Ken or a Barbie in my life right now: I don’t need pretend, doll-type people my life. It was only a Goodwill-type jacket; I considered giving it up for lost, but my wallet was in the jacket. I couldn’t give up my wallet; I guess I needed to go visit Ken and Barbie.

When I arrived at their well-worn farmhouse, I scratched my head: this wasn’t the type of house I expected for “Ken and Barbie” type people. We knocked cautiously and were greeted by one of the more un-doll-like men I’ve ever met. And I recognized as soon as we stepped inside the house that we were well and truly welcome. I described it later as a family reunion with family I didn’t know I had.

We spent four hours together with these wonderful and genuine people, hours spent sharing their hearts, our hearts, stories of our Father. I learned that Ken had been a pastor for a number of years, but made his living as a carpenter now. I realized that even though I was currently a Pastor, I wanted to be more like these people. So I asked what I always ask: “So what church are you guys part of?”

The silence was deafening as Ken and Barbie glanced at each other, and I could see the question in their eyes: “How much should we tell them?” Eventually they admitted that they hadn’t been in church for more than a decade, and they told me their story of how God led them from “churched” believers to “unchurched” believers.

Then they told me about several of the folks I’d met and appreciated the day before, including my friend the event coordinator, and how they had also made the transition from “the churched” to “the unchurched.”

I was in a conundrum: I had believed that believers ought to be part of a church, but here were a whole lot of believers that I wanted to be like, whose life I aspired to, believers who – contrary to my training and my expectations – were solid and mature, and who were pillars of strength in their families and their communities. Here were believers who did not have the “advantage” of a local congregation, who were better believers than those that I knew who had that advantage. My head was spinning.

I needed to re-examine a belief that I’d held as unquestionable, and it started me asking a lot of questions about things I’d never questioned. Let me just summarize by saying that this was an exciting season in my walk of faith, and skip to the part where God confronted me about the church I was part of, where I was the associate pastor, where I was on the worship team, and where I was one of the primary preachers on Sunday mornings.

“When are you going to stop working in another man’s field, and start working in your own?” I knew it was time to leave the church, to leave that church, and to leave the church community in my city. I questioned whether I was supposed to “plant” my own church, but realized that that was just a distraction: we were to become part of the “unchurched” community.

I had a couple of dreams in this season: one before we left, clearly describing our preparation for leaving, and the sequel, after we left, where he warned me of three things:

1)      I would be disoriented, not knowing where I was, or where to go. And
2)      I would be powerless to steer my life, anyway, even if I did have an idea about where to go. But
3)      I would be able to hear Father’s voice substantially better, now that I was outside of the busyness of church, better, perhaps, than ever before.

He was, of course, correct: these were accurate descriptions of our life. He brought some excellent fellowship into our lives, often into our living room, and nearly always centered around a meal. And I found excellent fellowship online, of all places! That one really surprised me!

Curiously, our fellowship is better now that we were “out of fellowship” with Sunday morning congregations. That one surprised me, too. We are still people with imperfections, and we are still in relationship with people with imperfections; there’s no perfection here. We still deal with misunderstandings and stuff. That’s part of life.

But our place in the Body of Christ is more of what it should always have been, now that we’re no longer part of a congregation: better friendships, less judged, more received for who we are, more free to exercise our God-given gifts. In other words: church outside of “Sunday morning church” has been a substantial improvement.

Now, let me explain: I’m not writing this in order to give you a model to follow, or a standard to measure your life by. I’m writing this only as a testimony: this is the confused and real-life experience that I had; perhaps it might encourage you wherever you are in your own walk.

And let me encourage you in this: God is very much able to take you through whatever you’re going through, and to bring you out the other side in extreme and overwhelming victory.


Standard
Prophecy

When Darkness Comes Into the Light

For a long time, I’ve been praying that the things that have been hidden in darkness would be revealed in the light. Many of you have been praying similar things.
I’m not stopping those prayers (please, don’t you stop either). But I’m adding to it: I’m praying that those that see the things drawn out into the light would recognize them, would understand them, and would take wise action based on what they recognize and understand.
There’s a lot of dark stuff going on in hidden places in our world. It has to: there’s so very much light increasing all around, that the darkness is not just where dark things are most comfortable, but now, that’s the only place where the dark things can survive.
As I pray these prayers, I expect hidden things in governments to be brought into the light and recognized. I expect people to recognize and condemn atrocities in the Middle East and in Asia. I expect that dark things in the medical community and the business world will be revealed, perhaps most especially where those two worlds overlap. As I pray, I expect that hidden things in the education systems will come to light and surprise many.
Demonic strongholds will be uncovered, and – if we’re attentive – torn down. Demonic plans will evaporate to dust. Sins and influences that have been hidden in darkness will be uncovered; some will scurry away to find more darkness, and others, unable to hide, will find their end when a Saint notices them and wields their sword of the Spirit on them.
But it won’t only happen “over there.” This trend toward disclosure will also happen “over here.” And it’s probably good that it does. There’s darkness in the Christian religious system as well, and if we’re violently honest, there’s probably a measure of darkness in most of our lives that we’ve completely lost track of.
I suppose these will come into the light as well.
But I also expect that we’ll see our hopes and desires come to light, and surprise many, even surprising ourselves. And it won’t just be us, it will be many people, shaking their heads, as if awakening from a dream, and marveling at the dreams and visions that are in their own hearts.
I expect that as we pray, we’ll see the “sons of God” emerge from their hidden place, and take their places in the Kingdom of God, and no, I don’t really know what that will look like.
And best of all, our Magnificent Bridegroom, who has been hidden by the weeds and distractions of the world will no longer be hidden. He will be seen as he really is, and as we see him, we’ll be transformed.
I look forward to walking in the fulfillment of these prayers. Would you care to join me? 
Standard
Devotionals, Letters

When Darkness Comes Into the Light

For a long time, I’ve been praying that the things that have been hidden in darkness would be revealed in the light. Many of you have been praying similar things.

I’m not stopping those prayers (please, don’t you stop either). But I’m adding to it: I’m praying that those that see the things drawn out into the light would recognize them, would understand them, and would take wise action based on what they recognize and understand.

There’s a lot of dark stuff going on in hidden places in our world. It has to: there’s so very much light increasing all around, that the darkness is not just where dark things are most comfortable, but now, that’s the only place where the dark things can survive.

As I pray these prayers, I expect hidden things in governments to be brought into the light and recognized. I expect people to recognize and condemn atrocities in the Middle East and in Asia. I expect that dark things in the medical community and the business world will be revealed, perhaps most especially where those two worlds overlap. As I pray, I expect that hidden things in the education systems will come to light and surprise many.

Demonic strongholds will be uncovered, and – if we’re attentive – torn down. Demonic plans will evaporate to dust. Sins and influences that have been hidden in darkness will be uncovered; some will scurry away to find more darkness, and others, unable to hide, will find their end when a Saint notices them and wields their sword of the Spirit on them.

But it won’t only happen “over there.” This trend toward disclosure will also happen “over here.” And it’s probably good that it does. There’s darkness in the Christian religious system as well, and if we’re violently honest, there’s probably a measure of darkness in most of our lives that we’ve completely lost track of.

I suppose these will come into the light as well.

But I also expect that we’ll see our hopes and desires come to light, and surprise many, even surprising ourselves. And it won’t just be us, it will be many people, shaking their heads, as if awakening from a dream, and marveling at the dreams and visions that are in their own hearts.

I expect that as we pray, we’ll see the “sons of God” emerge from their hidden place, and take their places in the Kingdom of God, and no, I don’t really know what that will look like.

And best of all, our Magnificent Bridegroom, who has been hidden by the weeds and distractions of the world will no longer be hidden. He will be seen as he really is, and as we see him, we’ll be transformed.

I look forward to walking in the fulfillment of these prayers. Would you care to join me? 
Standard
Prophecy

Mid-Course Correction Going On

If you’re an observer of the church, you’ll notice something interesting: God is leading the emerging generation of believers differently than the path the generation that’s finishing their race ran on.
Even now, if you ask about priorities for the people of God, believers in the “over 40” age group will talk about theology, and the need to have all the theology right. This group talks about the Bible as the authority, though they often live as though the Sunday sermon is the real authority. (Note: “over 40” is just an approximation: some 30-year-olds belong in this group, and some 60-year-olds belong in the other.)
But if you ask believers in the “under 40” age group the same question, they won’t mention theology. This group is more focused on “How can I change the world?” and they expect to refine their theology along the way. This group also regards the Bible highly; the Bible, interpreted by the Holy Spirit, not by the pastor’s sermon, is the real authority.
The curious thing is that the second group, rather than the first is actually more Biblical: this is the model used over and over in the Book of Acts: “He said preach the good news to the whole world! Let’s go preach somewhere that nobody else has preached yet.” In fact, it has been said that Apostle Paul’s method of being led by God was something of “bumbling around in the Spirit until something happened!”
Regardless of which group you find yourself in (I think of them as the “Get The Theology Right” group and the “Change the World” group), this is not suggesting to you that theology is not important. It is of critical importance. But theology is not more important – or more urgent – than obeying the Word.
As I’ve been reflecting on this, I realize that, being in the older age bracket, I’ve been assuming that the theological questions have been the right questions to ask. I’m changing that opinion.
Curiously, when given instructions by God to go do something (such as “Go into all the world and preach the good news of the gospel”), it is the servants who insist on getting the instructions exactly right. The response of sons of the Kingdom is more along the lines of “Hey, good idea. Grab the debit card and let’s go!”
Since many of us in the older group, who have valued theology so much, are finally understanding so much more about our status as sons, not as servants, and since we’re teaching the younger believers that they’re sons, not servants, I suppose we should not be surprised that they’re making the choices that sons make, rather than making the choices that servants make, as my generation has done (much to our embarrassment).
As I’m learning more about my identity as a son, not a servant (why did nobody tell me this decades ago???), I’m coming to value the perspective of the second group more. I admire their willingness to take risks, I admire their eagerness to follow God’s leadership, and I admire how much they’re getting done!
  
I’m going to think more carefully about how to continue my ministry before the Lord.

Standard
Prophecy

Too Much Talking. Not Enough Listening.

I need to speak (again) about things that I lack expertise on, and therefore about things wherein I am NOT an expert. This isn‘t so much about the issue, as it is about the process of addressing the issue. 
Recently, I posted about a revival I’m beginning to see in the homosexual community. One of the things that makes this subject hard to sort through (and yes, it happens on many other subjects as well) is that both sides are talking at the other, and neither side is trying to listen: it’s polarizing an issue that doesn’t need to be polarized, or not so much as it is getting. 
In that article (http://nwp.link/1A6zNVd), I attempted to avoid taking sides, because I’m trying to propose a better response: we need to love one another.
It’s really interesting when I chose to step outside of the polarization, and declined to take one side or the other in this controversial topic. First, it’s really hard to see the actual issues clearly through all the rhetoric. And second, when I declare myself (as I attempted to do with that article) as not on either side, then I get passionate emails from both sides, saying, “This is what I believe, and it’s true!”
I received a pretty large number of messages of this sort from “both sides” of the issue, and they all pretty much assumed the same conclusion: “I’m right, so you must agree with me!” inferring, of course that “Anybody who sees this differently is deceived!” I was honored to be approached by both sides. I was disappointed that most of those approaches were attempts to convert me.
I deduce that since the two groups – both declaring that their viewpoint is true! – are declaring what are sometimes mutually exclusive opinions, it is conclusive that there is a measure of deception involved. And the odds are – as we are dealing with humans, here – that there is deception in both camps. (And the guys like me that are trying to stay out of either group – by virtue of our humanity – are NO less prone to imperfection than anyone else.) 
I’ve been walking with God and with his people for more than half a century, and one thing I’ve learned is that when everybody’s insisting that they’re right and the other guy is wrong, that’s not an environment where we can find a common ground. It’s only when we quit telling others what they must believe, and start listening to what they DO believe, that we have any chance at all at finding a small place where we agree that we can start building some relationship. Besides, me telling you what you must believe is clearly not loving you. 
So here’s a challenge: if you have an opinion about the subject of Gay Christians, I challenge you to shut your mouth and listen to the other guys. I don’t care if you’ve got eleventeen Bible verses that conclusively prove that you’re right and they’re wrong, I maintain that shouting at someone about their wrongness will never encourage them to hear you, and that’s what we want: people actually hearing each other.
So I encourage us to stop talking on this topic, and listen to someone else’s point of view. And after you’ve listened, make sure you’ve heard them right (“I think I heard you say this… did I hear right?”) because we’re not used to hearing real people: we’re used to hearing out-of-context sound bites that our own side uses to prove the point you already believe. Both sides do this, and it’s normal. It’s also messed up.
After you’ve tested what you’ve heard, and you know you’ve heard them right, then still keep your mouth closed, and think about what they’ve said. Consider their heart. Consider the wounds they’ve endured from you and your friends (this has happened on both sides!). Consider that God loves them every bit as much as he loves you! And maybe, if you dare, consider asking God what HE thinks and how HE feels about those people who don’t agree with you. (If you can do this in less than a week, you haven’t done a good job.)
And one final challenge: Consider not telling others what you believe, until and unless someone has asked for your opinion. Then go out of your way to not alienate others. 
This is a place where Saint Francis’s sage advice is priceless: “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” In other words, once you’ve demonstrated the good news of the gospel, once you’ve loved until it cost you more than you wanted to pay, once it’s become necessary (ie, they’ve asked), then consider the gentlest, most loving way to share how God has led you. And then listen some more.
I guarantee that Westboro Baptist won’t find you acceptable in this. And I guarantee you won’t get a smidgeon of support from the mainstream media: they both thrive on controversy, but controversy isn’t actually our goal. 

But you’ll hear Father’s heart better. And maybe you’ll make your Father (who loves both of you) smile.

And his smile is ALWAYS worth the price! Always.

Standard
Prophecy

The God Who Never Changes!

Every so often, usually when somebody is thinking outside the box, someone will quote the Bible that God doesn’t change, and then assert that we can’t change either. I got hit with that again this week.
We can’t think new things, because God doesn’t change, doncha know!
And there’s some truth in that: God does declare, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)
And the New Testament declares, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
Yep. It’s true that God doesn’t change. He’s the same forever.
But that doesn’t mean that change is ungodly. Think about it:
►    That God who never changes is an unchangingly creative God!
►    He is the One who declared, “Light, be!” when there was no light.
►    He is the One who decided to create man in his own image, when there had never been anything created in God’s image before.
►    He is the One who proposed a covenant of intimate personal relationship (Ex 19:6) into a nation of slaves who knew no covenant, and who rejected his proposal outright (Ex 20:19).
►    He is the One who put on human skin, who became a living, breathing, squalling, pooping part of his creation so that he could re-offer a covenant of intimate personal relationship.
►    He is the One who is always creating something new, whether it’s manna in that generation or wine in this generation, or a new heaven and a new earth in this other generation. Or stars. Stars and planets before there were any generations.
►    He is the One who has adopted us, changing us, removing our slavery to sin and hell and making us his own children, his own heirs, and his own friends.
So yeah: God never changes. He’s always the same, always changing everything around him, always up to something new and different that we’ve never seen before, always creating new ways to bring people into his family.
This is the same God that declares, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  (Isa 43:19)

Yeah: THAT is the God who never changes. He never stops being good, he never stops loving you and me, he never changes who he is. That’s really good.
But please stop trying to tell us that new things are evil because God doesn’t change. God is the greatest source of new things this universe has ever seen!

Standard
Prophecy

The OTHER Benefit of the New Covenant

Our history with God is a history of covenants. Covenants between God and mankind. This is how the mighty Creator King and the human species relate: through a covenant.
We do it too. We’re up-front about it with marriage covenants, and more subtle about other covenants. There is a powerful – unwritten – parenting covenant: violate that one and society takes your children away from you.
Now hold still, I’m going to talk directly about covenant for a minute. Necessarily, I will engage in willful oversimplification of some details in order to illustrate my point: the actual situation is much more complicated than this simple explanation.
A covenant is a “promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action.” Covenants are how people agree to relate to each other. Covenant is how God relates to humanity.
Noah had a covenant. Abraham had a covenant. David had a covenant. But the Big One was the Mosaic Covenant, often called The Old Covenant.
The Old Covenant was kind of a failure in before it ever got going, of course. God proposed a covenant to the people of Israel that had a lot of the elements of our New Covenant in it. Before there even were the Ten Commandments, God offered Israela covenant where every single person is a priest, every single person can come to God for himself or herself:
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:6-7)
“Kingdom of priests and a holy nation”? Twice in the book of Revelation, we’re described as “kings and priests unto our God” (1:6 & 5:10). God was offering that relationship to the Israelites four thousand years ago? (Can you imagine what the world would be like if we hadn’t had the last four thousand years of legalistic bondage? But I digress.)
But the people who were offered this intimate “everybody is a priest” relationship with God reject that offer in the very next chapter.
“Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” (Exodus 20:19)
The people had rejected a “kingdom of priests” covenant, and propose a covenant that requires a priesthood, and is based on obedience. Neither the Levitical priesthood, nor an obey-the-rules covenant, was God’s idea!
And so the “everybody is a priest” covenant was put aside, and was replaced with a covenant based on the people’s obedience. Any covenant that’s based on obeying will necessarily have consequences for disobedience. Thus this is a covenant about blessings for obedience, and punishment (sometimes called “curses”) for disobeying.
Deuteronomy 28 functions as kind of a summary: You’ll be blessed when you obey, and you’ll be cursed (or punished) if you disobey. Verses 1 through 14 outline the blessings. The rest of the chapter talks about the punishment for disobeying, and it’s God that is charged with that punishment.
Frankly, that was a lousy covenant, it’s a poor substitute for God’s first proposal, but it’s a covenant! Even that poor replacement was better than no relationship at all between God and man!
We remember that the terms and conditions of the Old Covenant (which we call “The Law”) were intended to constrain the behavior of the humans in this covenant relationship. But we tend to forget that the Old Covenant constrained the behavior of BOTH parties of the Covenant: God had chosen to bind himself to the Old Covenant as well.’
So when we read in Deuteronomy 28 about “If you disobey, you’ll be punished.” Guess who the punisher has to be. Yeah, that’s God. He has bound himself to this busted-up covenant, because it’s better than no covenant – no relationship – whatsoever. Moreover, this was the only covenant that the people would agree to, so this was the covenant that he bound himself to.
And this covenant, proposed by fearful men, required that God punish (or “curse”) the people that he loves so very much, every time they disobey. (Seriously, go read Deuteronomy 29!)
Now let’s remember that there was a third party loose on the Earth, who was not a party to the covenant between God and man. Lucifer had already demonstrated his eagerness to accuse God at every opportunity (see Genesis 3:4-5). And he’s up to his old tricks here as well.
So every time the people disobeyed (and that happened so very often!) and God was required by the people’s busted-up covenant to punish them, Lucifer steps up to the microphone and declares, “Look how mean God is! Look how bloodthirsty he is! Look how angry God is!” completely ignoring the fact that God is merely complying with the conditions of the covenant that mankind offered him.
That’s a hot mess. I’ve oversimplified the story in this short article, but it’s easy to see the mess that the Old Covenant is: seriously, the only one who benefited from that debacle was Lucifer, and that’s not actually what we’re aiming for.
Now skip forward until Jesus is sitting in the Upper Room, where Jesus is offering – for the second time – a covenant of an “everybody is a priest” relationship between man and God: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 2 Corinthians 11:25.) But this time, the representatives (the twelve) accept the offer.
I still marvel at that cup, that biscuit. With that token meal, God removes us from the Old Covenant and makes us participants instead in the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:13 makes it clear: “In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete.”). And this is a covenant whose sole commandment (John 13:34) is to love each other.
What an amazing relief that is: in a single moment, these guys are plucked from a covenant of “If you obey, I’ll bless you; if you disobey, I’ll punish you!” and dropped into a Covenant of Love.
The seminal New Covenant verse, John 3:16, says it beautifully: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” And if that wasn’t clear enough, verse 17 clarifies that the New Covenant is not about punishment: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” What a relief that is!
All that is amazing, spectacular, and otherwise completely awesome.
But it is also only half of the story. The Old Covenant is made obsolete, and we are released from its bondage, but we were not the only ones held in bondage by it.
With the passing of the Old Covenant, God Himself is no longer constrained by the Law to provide blessings when people obey, like treats for a dog that sits when you tell him. More importantly, God is no longer constrained by the Law to bring punishment, curses, judgment on the people that he so desperately loves.
When the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant, humanity could give a great, corporate sigh of relief. We’re no longer under the law, but now we’re under grace, under love.

But the greater relief may not be ours. In the New Covenant, God is now free to love us with all that is in his heart, as he has longed to do since the day he said, “Let us make man in our own image.” (Genesis 1:26). God is now free from the Old Covenant, and he’s more excited about it than we are. 
We are free. But more important, God Himself is free! 
Standard
Prophecy

Help! Get Me Outta Here!

Have you ever been stuck in a situation that was really hard to put up with? Maybe it’s a job with long hours, no respect, lousy pay, no growth opportunities. Maybe it’s a relationship you can’t escape: parents, spouse, neighbors, co-workers. Whatever it is, you know things are not like they ought to be, and you seem powerless to change them.

It’s hard in that place. It’s easy to get disgruntled, angry, bitter in that place: why isn’t God changing this? It’s like he doesn’t even hear your prayers on this.
 
Here’s my experience, my testimony: I spent a bunch of years disgruntled in a lousy job, and I surely didn’t thrive. I complained to God and man about legitimate issues, blatantly illegal issues. I ended up doing the job poorly, and the boss noticed. Yikes.
 
I realized that I was letting my job be the thing that determined the state of my soul: my circumstances were the thing that determined whether I had joy or depression, whether I was thankful or ungrateful. Yikes again: I decided I wasn’t OK with somebody else controlling me.

I took positive steps to change my attitude. The job didn’t change; if anything, it got worse. But I looked for places to rejoice (often the people) and ways to excel (one big one came through an on-site accident: weird how that worked). I went out of my way to perform that lousy job to the best of my ability, while submitting to their stupid and unreasonable limitations. More, I went out of my way to be positive and encouraging to the people I worked with, and with myself.
 
Time went by. A couple of years later, my job was pretty much the same, but I was happy and thriving and doing my job well. The boss noticed, and talked about promotion, but even more, Father noticed, and he released me to the next opportunity: I was not released from the prison until I overcame my own soul in the midst of it.
 
It seems that he wasn’t willing to bail me out when I’d given up: he doesn’t reward disgruntled
ingratitude. God’s ways do not include giving in to our petulant temper tantrums and continuous whining. He rewards faithfulness, especially in tough circumstances. He always has.
 
That appears to be his way throughout scripture: he rewards those who are faithful, whether with great gifts or with small ones. This is also his way: he always saves us through the difficulties, never from them.

It’s when we’re faithful in the midst those difficult circumstances that he is free to reward us, not before.

—

Come join the conversation at https://www.facebook.com/northwestprophetic. 
Standard
Prophecy

I Send An Alarm Across Washington State and Oregon… Find Your Footing

Chuck D. Pierce, Corinth, TX

"The Ground Will Make a Shift"

"Pray for Washington Stateand Oregon. I send an alarm from Zion across Washington State and Oregon and I say, 'Wake up and watch, for there is a change coming to your ground and a new, new opening is coming from Heaven, but now the ground will make a shift.

"I say to Tennessee, 'Watch, for this is a time that there will come a movement from the NE portion. You need to watch the movement.'

"I say to, 'New England, you need to awaken now because if you will awaken now I will cause a new generation to rise up in here.'

"I say to Japan, 'This will be a month that you must stand firm because of the shaking... so I say to you.'

"And I say to Africa, 'Get ready'. Algiers, you will be heard from: Let My people go," saith the Lord.

Find Your Way Through the Movement... Find Your Footing

I decree there's a shaking loose of promises that have fallen in the ground. And you're going to be walking this month and all of a sudden you're going to say, "I just stepped into a place of glory that I saw several times back," and then all of a sudden you'll decree a thing and it will happen.

Now I want you to decree. You decree: "I'm coming into my promise." You decree that though the enemy has blocked you, though you have done things you shouldn't have done, this month you are shifting to go up, and you will see a manifestation.

There is going to be a meeting of Heaven and earth. You need to know. You need to find your steps this month.

Hear what I'm your saying to you: Find your steps this month. There is going to be Heaven and earth colliding and shaking around us. Find your footing.

It's not going to be like where it's been, starting now. A new season has blossomed. Find your way through the movement.

God says, "Right now, I have begun a movement. You find your way through it. This is what it looks like. It's not going to be like other seasons."

You will not be controlling how the movement affects you. You'll just have to get in it.

...You get ready. Things will start moving all around you. Some of you are going to move in your jobs. Some of you are going to move where you live. Some of you are going to move in your life. Some of you are going to move in your house. Some of you are going to move in your nation. Things will be sliding and shifting this month, and God says, "Find your footing. Find your footing. Find your footing."

Something has stirred up. What Firstfruits is about is shifting into alignment with God's will in Heaven. Once we do that, let me tell you this month, something is going to shift around you and you are not to get frustrated in all the changes around you, but you will find your footing and you'll be stronger in the latter than you were at the beginning. Let's thank God for that. 

--


Comment: This word was released on the day of Firstfruits, February 22, 2015.

Note: To watch the video link to this prophetic word click here. This video starts with worship and after 39 minutes, the prophetic words start from Chuck Pierce and others and continues through worship.

Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries
Email: chuckp@glory-of-zion.org

Website: www.glory-of-zion.org
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact. Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com. To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!
Standard
Prophecy

I Send An Alarm Across Washington State and Oregon… Find Your Footing

Chuck D. Pierce, Corinth, TX

"The Ground Will Make a Shift"

"Pray for Washington Stateand Oregon. I send an alarm from Zion across Washington State and Oregon and I say, 'Wake up and watch, for there is a change coming to your ground and a new, new opening is coming from Heaven, but now the ground will make a shift.

"I say to Tennessee, 'Watch, for this is a time that there will come a movement from the NE portion. You need to watch the movement.'

"I say to, 'New England, you need to awaken now because if you will awaken now I will cause a new generation to rise up in here.'

"I say to Japan, 'This will be a month that you must stand firm because of the shaking... so I say to you.'

"And I say to Africa, 'Get ready'. Algiers, you will be heard from: Let My people go," saith the Lord.

Find Your Way Through the Movement... Find Your Footing

I decree there's a shaking loose of promises that have fallen in the ground. And you're going to be walking this month and all of a sudden you're going to say, "I just stepped into a place of glory that I saw several times back," and then all of a sudden you'll decree a thing and it will happen.

Now I want you to decree. You decree: "I'm coming into my promise." You decree that though the enemy has blocked you, though you have done things you shouldn't have done, this month you are shifting to go up, and you will see a manifestation.

There is going to be a meeting of Heaven and earth. You need to know. You need to find your steps this month.

Hear what I'm your saying to you: Find your steps this month. There is going to be Heaven and earth colliding and shaking around us. Find your footing.

It's not going to be like where it's been, starting now. A new season has blossomed. Find your way through the movement.

God says, "Right now, I have begun a movement. You find your way through it. This is what it looks like. It's not going to be like other seasons."

You will not be controlling how the movement affects you. You'll just have to get in it.

...You get ready. Things will start moving all around you. Some of you are going to move in your jobs. Some of you are going to move where you live. Some of you are going to move in your life. Some of you are going to move in your house. Some of you are going to move in your nation. Things will be sliding and shifting this month, and God says, "Find your footing. Find your footing. Find your footing."

Something has stirred up. What Firstfruits is about is shifting into alignment with God's will in Heaven. Once we do that, let me tell you this month, something is going to shift around you and you are not to get frustrated in all the changes around you, but you will find your footing and you'll be stronger in the latter than you were at the beginning. Let's thank God for that. 

--


Comment: This word was released on the day of Firstfruits, February 22, 2015.

Note: To watch the video link to this prophetic word click here. This video starts with worship and after 39 minutes, the prophetic words start from Chuck Pierce and others and continues through worship.

Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries
Email: chuckp@glory-of-zion.org

Website: www.glory-of-zion.org
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact. Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com. To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!
Standard
Prophecy

I Send An Alarm Across Washington State and Oregon… Find Your Footing

Chuck D. Pierce, Corinth, TX
“The Ground Will Make a Shift”
“Pray for Washington Stateand Oregon. I send an alarm from Zion across Washington State and Oregon and I say, ‘Wake up and watch, for there is a change coming to your ground and a new, new opening is coming from Heaven, but now the ground will make a shift.
“I say to Tennessee, ‘Watch, for this is a time that there will come a movement from the NE portion. You need to watch the movement.’
“I say to, ‘New England, you need to awaken now because if you will awaken now I will cause a new generation to rise up in here.’
“I say to Japan, ‘This will be a month that you must stand firm because of the shaking… so I say to you.’
“And I say to Africa, ‘Get ready’. Algiers, you will be heard from: Let My people go,” saith the Lord.
Find Your Way Through the Movement… Find Your Footing
I decree there’s a shaking loose of promises that have fallen in the ground. And you’re going to be walking this month and all of a sudden you’re going to say, “I just stepped into a place of glory that I saw several times back,” and then all of a sudden you’ll decree a thing and it will happen.
Now I want you to decree. You decree: “I’m coming into my promise.” You decree that though the enemy has blocked you, though you have done things you shouldn’t have done, this month you are shifting to go up, and you will see a manifestation.
There is going to be a meeting of Heaven and earth. You need to know. You need to find your steps this month.
Hear what I’m your saying to you: Find your steps this month. There is going to be Heaven and earth colliding and shaking around us. Find your footing.
It’s not going to be like where it’s been, starting now. A new season has blossomed. Find your way through the movement.
God says, “Right now, I have begun a movement. You find your way through it. This is what it looks like. It’s not going to be like other seasons.”
You will not be controlling how the movement affects you. You’ll just have to get in it.
…You get ready. Things will start moving all around you. Some of you are going to move in your jobs. Some of you are going to move where you live. Some of you are going to move in your life. Some of you are going to move in your house. Some of you are going to move in your nation. Things will be sliding and shifting this month, and God says, “Find your footing. Find your footing. Find your footing.”
Something has stirred up. What Firstfruits is about is shifting into alignment with God’s will in Heaven. Once we do that, let me tell you this month, something is going to shift around you and you are not to get frustrated in all the changes around you, but you will find your footing and you’ll be stronger in the latter than you were at the beginning. Let’s thank God for that. 

—

Comment: This word was released on the day of Firstfruits, February 22, 2015.

Note: To watch the video link to this prophetic word click here. This video starts with worship and after 39 minutes, the prophetic words start from Chuck Pierce and others and continues through worship.
Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries
Email: chuckp@glory-of-zion.org

Website: www.glory-of-zion.org
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter

Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact.
Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com.

To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!

Standard
Prophecy

Rack Up

Recently I had a series of dreams that I feel have significant spiritual perspectives. This is a bit long but please bear with me.

In the first scene I was observing a group of men in various locations around a coastal community. It was if I had infiltrated their group and was able to see and hear what they were discussing.

In this scene there were several meetings were these meeting were discussing jihad and were clearly residents/citizens of this community (i.e. not somewhere in the Middle East). They were discussing ways on how to spread their message of Islamic jihad and their responsibilities to wage jihad. There were several very strong willed individuals who were able to persuade the majority of the men, even those who were not sold fully on the concepts of waging war on their neighbors, friends, and in some cases family.

In the second scene I was a recently discharged military member from appeared to be Special Forces. I was at an outside coffee café, sitting at a table with a couple of friend, just chatting and enjoying the nice weather. We watched as a couple of UAVs (drones) flew overhead towards the beach area when all of a sudden two gray, unmarked, fighter jets flew in and attacked and destroyed the drones from a rear attack and then flew off.

In the next scene we jumped up realizing that we were under attack by forces with significant power (i.e. jet fighters) and that they were able to launch attacks unexpectedly and with precision.

I yelled at the men with me “We need to RACK UP – go get your gear (weapons) and meet back at this corner in 20 minutes”. As we ran to get our gear we encountered other groups of similar soldiers – some in 2s and 3s, others in 10 – 20, and I yelled the same thing at them “We need to RACK UP – go get your gear (weapons) and meet back at this corner in 20 minutes”.

I then saw the men in their BDUs (battle dress uniforms) with their automatic weapons, extra ammo magazines, etc – in other words – we were ready for the war that was being brought upon us.

While many of you will see things in this from your conversations with Holy Spirit, this is what I got when I spoke to Him. Some of this I have had in previous dreams and shared with certain individuals – but Holy Spirit has released me to share in a wider venue because of the impending circumstances.

This is representative of the battle that is being brought upon the land by the spirit behind Islam. It is a battle that has been developing for centuries and only since the recent decades have this circumstances and opportunities been provided to this spirit to bring this war to America and the rest of the world. This is a primary element in satan’s strategy to destroy Israeland God’s plan.

Holy Spirit shared that the reason America is in the cross hairs is because of its historic support of Israel…but the spirit of Islam (jihad) has only been able to obtain a beachhead in America because the “church” has lost its focus and has allowed spirits that support the spirit of Islam (i.e. progressive liberalism – yes there is a spirit behind this) to significantly reduce the churches ability to be an effective force for good.

If you have not already seen or felt it, in the days ahead you will see a shift in the way the church operates. The first battles have already been lost, but we are in a war so the Lord has been realigning many individuals out of the institutional church environment into the organic church environment – and now He is establishing the foundations of the underground church here in America.

This war is a reality, it is going to be messy, it is not going to be fun as we have known it – but we will win and overcome. HOWEVER, we ALL need to RACK UP all of our weapons (peace, joy, praise, giving, loving, healing, setting captives free, etc) and we need EVERYONE to rack up.

The days of just pastors doing ministry stuff are over.

from Martin Best
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact. Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com. To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!
Standard
Prophecy

Rack Up

Recently I had a series of dreams that I feel have significant spiritual perspectives. This is a bit long but please bear with me.

In the first scene I was observing a group of men in various locations around a coastal community. It was if I had infiltrated their group and was able to see and hear what they were discussing.

In this scene there were several meetings were these meeting were discussing jihad and were clearly residents/citizens of this community (i.e. not somewhere in the Middle East). They were discussing ways on how to spread their message of Islamic jihad and their responsibilities to wage jihad. There were several very strong willed individuals who were able to persuade the majority of the men, even those who were not sold fully on the concepts of waging war on their neighbors, friends, and in some cases family.

In the second scene I was a recently discharged military member from appeared to be Special Forces. I was at an outside coffee café, sitting at a table with a couple of friend, just chatting and enjoying the nice weather. We watched as a couple of UAVs (drones) flew overhead towards the beach area when all of a sudden two gray, unmarked, fighter jets flew in and attacked and destroyed the drones from a rear attack and then flew off.

In the next scene we jumped up realizing that we were under attack by forces with significant power (i.e. jet fighters) and that they were able to launch attacks unexpectedly and with precision.

I yelled at the men with me “We need to RACK UP – go get your gear (weapons) and meet back at this corner in 20 minutes”. As we ran to get our gear we encountered other groups of similar soldiers – some in 2s and 3s, others in 10 – 20, and I yelled the same thing at them “We need to RACK UP – go get your gear (weapons) and meet back at this corner in 20 minutes”.

I then saw the men in their BDUs (battle dress uniforms) with their automatic weapons, extra ammo magazines, etc – in other words – we were ready for the war that was being brought upon us.

While many of you will see things in this from your conversations with Holy Spirit, this is what I got when I spoke to Him. Some of this I have had in previous dreams and shared with certain individuals – but Holy Spirit has released me to share in a wider venue because of the impending circumstances.

This is representative of the battle that is being brought upon the land by the spirit behind Islam. It is a battle that has been developing for centuries and only since the recent decades have this circumstances and opportunities been provided to this spirit to bring this war to America and the rest of the world. This is a primary element in satan’s strategy to destroy Israeland God’s plan.

Holy Spirit shared that the reason America is in the cross hairs is because of its historic support of Israel…but the spirit of Islam (jihad) has only been able to obtain a beachhead in America because the “church” has lost its focus and has allowed spirits that support the spirit of Islam (i.e. progressive liberalism – yes there is a spirit behind this) to significantly reduce the churches ability to be an effective force for good.

If you have not already seen or felt it, in the days ahead you will see a shift in the way the church operates. The first battles have already been lost, but we are in a war so the Lord has been realigning many individuals out of the institutional church environment into the organic church environment – and now He is establishing the foundations of the underground church here in America.

This war is a reality, it is going to be messy, it is not going to be fun as we have known it – but we will win and overcome. HOWEVER, we ALL need to RACK UP all of our weapons (peace, joy, praise, giving, loving, healing, setting captives free, etc) and we need EVERYONE to rack up.

The days of just pastors doing ministry stuff are over.

from Martin Best
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact. Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com. To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!
Standard
Prophecy

Rack Up

Recently I had a series of dreams that I feel have significant spiritual perspectives. This is a bit long but please bear with me.
In the first scene I was observing a group of men in various locations around a coastal community. It was if I had infiltrated their group and was able to see and hear what they were discussing.
In this scene there were several meetings were these meeting were discussing jihad and were clearly residents/citizens of this community (i.e. not somewhere in the Middle East). They were discussing ways on how to spread their message of Islamic jihad and their responsibilities to wage jihad. There were several very strong willed individuals who were able to persuade the majority of the men, even those who were not sold fully on the concepts of waging war on their neighbors, friends, and in some cases family.
In the second scene I was a recently discharged military member from appeared to be Special Forces. I was at an outside coffee café, sitting at a table with a couple of friend, just chatting and enjoying the nice weather. We watched as a couple of UAVs (drones) flew overhead towards the beach area when all of a sudden two gray, unmarked, fighter jets flew in and attacked and destroyed the drones from a rear attack and then flew off.
In the next scene we jumped up realizing that we were under attack by forces with significant power (i.e. jet fighters) and that they were able to launch attacks unexpectedly and with precision.
I yelled at the men with me “We need to RACK UP – go get your gear (weapons) and meet back at this corner in 20 minutes”. As we ran to get our gear we encountered other groups of similar soldiers – some in 2s and 3s, others in 10 – 20, and I yelled the same thing at them “We need to RACK UP – go get your gear (weapons) and meet back at this corner in 20 minutes”.
I then saw the men in their BDUs (battle dress uniforms) with their automatic weapons, extra ammo magazines, etc – in other words – we were ready for the war that was being brought upon us.
While many of you will see things in this from your conversations with Holy Spirit, this is what I got when I spoke to Him. Some of this I have had in previous dreams and shared with certain individuals – but Holy Spirit has released me to share in a wider venue because of the impending circumstances.
This is representative of the battle that is being brought upon the land by the spirit behind Islam. It is a battle that has been developing for centuries and only since the recent decades have this circumstances and opportunities been provided to this spirit to bring this war to America and the rest of the world. This is a primary element in satan’s strategy to destroy Israeland God’s plan.
Holy Spirit shared that the reason America is in the cross hairs is because of its historic support of Israel…but the spirit of Islam (jihad) has only been able to obtain a beachhead in America because the “church” has lost its focus and has allowed spirits that support the spirit of Islam (i.e. progressive liberalism – yes there is a spirit behind this) to significantly reduce the churches ability to be an effective force for good.
If you have not already seen or felt it, in the days ahead you will see a shift in the way the church operates. The first battles have already been lost, but we are in a war so the Lord has been realigning many individuals out of the institutional church environment into the organic church environment – and now He is establishing the foundations of the underground church here in America.
This war is a reality, it is going to be messy, it is not going to be fun as we have known it – but we will win and overcome. HOWEVER, we ALL need to RACK UP all of our weapons (peace, joy, praise, giving, loving, healing, setting captives free, etc) and we need EVERYONE to rack up.
The days of just pastors doing ministry stuff are over.
from Martin Best
Join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter

Feel free to share with others, but please leave the contact info intact.
Click here to subscribe, or visit www.northwestprophetic.com.

To submit a word for the Northwest, visit our Submit A Word page, or email to NWP@northwestprophetic.com. Thanks!

Standard