Tag Archives: faith

Letters

Waging War With Your Prophetic Words

It was a heartbreaking season in my life.

I’d been given some prophetic promises about an area of my life. God had declared some beautiful things: unity and power and intimacy and victory. Yeah, it was a lot of “the usual stuff,” but it came in a declaration from God. Actually, it came in two or three declarations; this wasn’t just a warm and fuzzy thought from one person.

We’ll pause here for a definition. When I talk about a “declaration from God,” that might be a prophetic word; those are the best, and I give them the most weight: when someone with a known gift of prophecy says, “This is what God says,” and the community judges it to be true (1 Corinthians 14:29), that’s the gold standard of prophetic revelation in my view.

But the idea of a declaration from God includes what I hear God whispering to me, and it includes those times that something from the pages of Scripture leap alive and demand my attention. They include when friends tell me what they hear God saying about me, and when the promises of scripture actually, contextually apply to me.

As I said, I had two or three of these, including both the prophetic words and the whisper of my Father. There was a good bit of unity among the declarations. I trusted them.

And then things began to go to hell. I wish I spoke metaphorically. Without putting too fine a point on it I’ll say that just when I expected the promises to begin to manifest, to show up, just when I expected to see things turn toward unity and power and intimacy and victory, they turned the opposite direction.

It was a heartbreaking season in my life. You see, this was an area that was really quite important to me. This was no cute little bonus.

I ran through the demonic logic tests: Can God be trusted? Is he really a good God? You know that list. They came at me hard and fast, and I threw them back in his face just as hard, declaring God’s goodness, his trustworthiness, and my confidence in Him. I went further and rebuked every demon I could think of from every aspect of this promise. I felt victorious!

I thought, There. That will do it. And the promises down-shifted for better acceleration into oblivion.

My heart was crushed, but still I held on. I began to ask better, more honest questions: Did I assume God had promised this, when in fact he had not? No, he’d been quite clear.

Were the promises for right now, or was I rushing him? That one was tougher, as he’d never actually given a date, but if this trend continued, then there was no chance of fulfilling them later.

Was I imposing my own definition of what these fulfilled promises needed to look like? Maybe the fulfillment was so different than my expectations that I didn’t recognize it. I searched my heart long and hard on this, and I examined the circumstances. No, the failure was real. This wasn’t just my misinterpreting it.

My life was pretty much over. I nearly gave up.

And then something whispered in the back of my mind. It was a quiet little whisper, easy to miss. “I want you to give thanks for my promises as if you were already walking in the fullness of their fulfillment, as if everything I said has already happened, even though you’ve seen nothing yet.”

It took rather a lot to take the voice seriously, and it took even more to do what he said. But I did.

In those days, I took my lunch hours in a remote meadow. I parked my truck, and since I pray best when I walk, I’d worn a trail into the grasses and shrubberies of the meadow.

I began to pace my trail, questioning my sanity, and mumbling thanks for these hallucinations, these promises. I recognized the failure of my prayer, so I began to pray out loud. That was better, but I could tell I wasn’t to the point of actually engaging my faith yet.

So I began to shout. It was hard, and it took me days to get there, but before long, I fairly flew into that meadow, locked up my parking brake, and before the truck had fully stopped, I was on that trail, roaring my thanks for these promises, for the glory of having been my experience, for the power that had been unleashed. I screamed my gratitude for a victory I had not yet seen, and I wept in thanksgiving for the intimacy that I still only imagined.

Over the next days and weeks, I watched several changes. The first were in my heart. Eventually, my empty declarations of faith began to actually fill with faith, and I began to understand that I was waging war with these promises (1 Timothy 1:18). Not long after, I realized that the things that I was declaring that had not yet happened, they were going to happen. I began to expect, not fearlessly, not solidly, but I began to expect to see things change.

My prayers expanded. I spent my spare time thinking of what that will look like when these promises are fulfilled, and I prayed every answer to that. By now, I was thankful that my meadow was remote, and occasionally, I checked the trees near the meadow, to make sure I hadn’t roared their bark off.

And still I prayed. I walked and prayed and shouted and demanded and wept and gave thanks like there was no tomorrow.

And then things did begin to change. It was like lighting a match to the tinder of a well-set fire: the change was so very small and fragile, and the slightest breath would extinguish it. I said nothing of this to anyone, so as to not blow out my precious flame, but I gave myself to serving that tiny, flickering flame, nurturing it the best I could.

But gradually, over months and years, it did turn, and today I can say I’ve been walking in the fullness of many of those promises for many years.

I’ve also noticed a change in me. I’m quicker to give thanks than I ever used to be. I think I like that.
Standard
Letters

Waging War With Your Prophetic Words

It was a heartbreaking season in my life.

I’d been given some prophetic promises about an area of my life. God had declared some beautiful things: unity and power and intimacy and victory. Yeah, it was a lot of “the usual stuff,” but it came in a declaration from God. Actually, it came in two or three declarations; this wasn’t just a warm and fuzzy thought from one person.

We’ll pause here for a definition. When I talk about a “declaration from God,” that might be a prophetic word; those are the best, and I give them the most weight: when someone with a known gift of prophecy says, “This is what God says,” and the community judges it to be true (1 Corinthians 14:29), that’s the gold standard of prophetic revelation in my view.

But the idea of a declaration from God includes what I hear God whispering to me, and it includes those times that something from the pages of Scripture leap alive and demand my attention. They include when friends tell me what they hear God saying about me, and when the promises of scripture actually, contextually apply to me.

As I said, I had two or three of these, including both the prophetic words and the whisper of my Father. There was a good bit of unity among the declarations. I trusted them.

And then things began to go to hell. I wish I spoke metaphorically. Without putting too fine a point on it I’ll say that just when I expected the promises to begin to manifest, to show up, just when I expected to see things turn toward unity and power and intimacy and victory, they turned the opposite direction.

It was a heartbreaking season in my life. You see, this was an area that was really quite important to me. This was no cute little bonus.

I ran through the demonic logic tests: Can God be trusted? Is he really a good God? You know that list. They came at me hard and fast, and I threw them back in his face just as hard, declaring God’s goodness, his trustworthiness, and my confidence in Him. I went further and rebuked every demon I could think of from every aspect of this promise. I felt victorious!

I thought, There. That will do it. And the promises down-shifted for better acceleration into oblivion.

My heart was crushed, but still I held on. I began to ask better, more honest questions: Did I assume God had promised this, when in fact he had not? No, he’d been quite clear.

Were the promises for right now, or was I rushing him? That one was tougher, as he’d never actually given a date, but if this trend continued, then there was no chance of fulfilling them later.

Was I imposing my own definition of what these fulfilled promises needed to look like? Maybe the fulfillment was so different than my expectations that I didn’t recognize it. I searched my heart long and hard on this, and I examined the circumstances. No, the failure was real. This wasn’t just my misinterpreting it.

My life was pretty much over. I nearly gave up.

And then something whispered in the back of my mind. It was a quiet little whisper, easy to miss. “I want you to give thanks for my promises as if you were already walking in the fullness of their fulfillment, as if everything I said has already happened, even though you’ve seen nothing yet.”

It took rather a lot to take the voice seriously, and it took even more to do what he said. But I did.

In those days, I took my lunch hours in a remote meadow. I parked my truck, and since I pray best when I walk, I’d worn a trail into the grasses and shrubberies of the meadow.

I began to pace my trail, questioning my sanity, and mumbling thanks for these hallucinations, these promises. I recognized the failure of my prayer, so I began to pray out loud. That was better, but I could tell I wasn’t to the point of actually engaging my faith yet.

So I began to shout. It was hard, and it took me days to get there, but before long, I fairly flew into that meadow, locked up my parking brake, and before the truck had fully stopped, I was on that trail, roaring my thanks for these promises, for the glory of having been my experience, for the power that had been unleashed. I screamed my gratitude for a victory I had not yet seen, and I wept in thanksgiving for the intimacy that I still only imagined.

Over the next days and weeks, I watched several changes. The first were in my heart. Eventually, my empty declarations of faith began to actually fill with faith, and I began to understand that I was waging war with these promises (1 Timothy 1:18). Not long after, I realized that the things that I was declaring that had not yet happened, they were going to happen. I began to expect, not fearlessly, not solidly, but I began to expect to see things change.

My prayers expanded. I spent my spare time thinking of what that will look like when these promises are fulfilled, and I prayed every answer to that. By now, I was thankful that my meadow was remote, and occasionally, I checked the trees near the meadow, to make sure I hadn’t roared their bark off.

And still I prayed. I walked and prayed and shouted and demanded and wept and gave thanks like there was no tomorrow.

And then things did begin to change. It was like lighting a match to the tinder of a well-set fire: the change was so very small and fragile, and the slightest breath would extinguish it. I said nothing of this to anyone, so as to not blow out my precious flame, but I gave myself to serving that tiny, flickering flame, nurturing it the best I could.

But gradually, over months and years, it did turn, and today I can say I’ve been walking in the fullness of many of those promises for many years.

I’ve also noticed a change in me. I’m quicker to give thanks than I ever used to be. I think I like that.
Standard
Home & Garden

The Apostolic Church

I believe that there is something wonderful happening in the Church right now; something that many of us have foreseen and prayed for. Many churches across our nation and world are already operating in this new wineskin, but many are still stuck in the old wineskin and having trouble understanding what’s happening.
Many have left the organized church, knowing that there is something wrong, and many have stayed in fear, afraid to come out from under this ‘covering. ‘
In a past blog, I shared a vision the Lord gave me about a year and a half ago. In this vision, we walked into a church that is in our community. I recognized the church. In my vision, the foyer was filled with joyful people, talking and fellowshipping. As we turned toward the sanctuary, we saw the door to the sanctuary was closed and there was a sign posted on the door that read, “Prayer and worship – Enter with reverence.”
As I walked into the sanctuary in this vision, I saw that all the people were sitting in a circle facing each other. There was a small group of musicians in the back corner, but everyone else sat in this layered circle. The room did not have a ‘front’ or a platform. There was a low murmur of prayer and worship going on. No one person was leading.
As I watched, someone got a Word from the Lord and gave a direction, and then everyone acted on it. There was prayer for a sick person and this person was healed. Then someone began to sing a song of worship and everyone followed. The musicians began to play and back up everyone singing. This continued the entire time as I watched.  The people flowed in and out of worship, in and out of prayer, each one sharing a Word and a revelation.
1 Corinthians 14:26  says, “…What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification…” 
I was very encouraged in the Lord after seeing this vision and felt the Lord was leading our family to attend this church. We had attended this church a couple of years earlier and when we returned, found out that the church was without a pastor. I was very interested, in view of what I had heard from the Lord, to see what was happening.
Almost a decade ago, I went through a very profound season with the Lord where He taught me that I was hearing Him. I always knew I heard the Lord, but in this season, He seemed to want to make sure that I really knew this, as He was preparing to tell me some things that would undo a lot of what I’d been taught in the church.
One of the things the Lord spoke to me in this season was that the Church had misunderstood the role of the gift of pastor.
Please hear my heart when I say this in no way makes small this wonderful and much needed gift in the Body, but as the Lord began to show me, we are not understanding the role this gift was intended to fill in the Church.
The word ‘pastor’ appears only one time in scripture in Ephesians 4:11 and is the fourth gift listed in the ‘five-fold ministry gifts.’  Some have taught that the gifts are listed in order of authority – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.
How then have we put so much weight on this one gift?
In 1 Corinthians 12:28 it says, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” It goes on to talk about how each gift and part of the body is necessary to fulfill God’s purposes in the church.
When we look at the New Testament church, it seems that it was completely different than the church we see today. People met in their homes and as I understand it, would occasionally make arrangements for large groups to meet. It would have been much as I saw in this vision – people sitting in a room, letting the Holy Spirit lead, no one person leading.
As the Lord continued to speak to me in this season about a decade ago, He led me to read the book, “Pagan Christianity.” This is an eye-opening book about how we got from the ‘church of Acts’ to the church today. The shocking thing is that many of the influences that led to these changes were pagan. Including the role of pastor. It follows the pagan role of the priest.
The term ‘laity’ and ‘leadership’ is nowhere in the Bible in the way that we use it today. This again, has come from a pagan influence. The order of service, the platform or altar, the praise and worship leaders, the priestly garments, all come from pagan influence.
The rulers at the time were trying to make Christianity more appealing to the pagans and mixed in these things to make them more comfortable. This is how the birth of Christ got added on to the pagan holiday ‘Winter Solstice’ and resulted in Christmas. The Christmas tree, door wreaths, etc. are all from pagan religion.
Another wonderful book that has encouraged me in this last season and given me greater understanding is, “The Apostolic Church Arising.” by Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler. I love this book because it has greatly confirmed what I felt the Lord putting in my heart.
Please hear what I’m saying. I’m saying the Lord gave me a vision and has been speaking to my heart and has confirmed the things He has told me through others. This follows the scriptural format of a prophet’s word being confirmed by two or three others. I’ve also shared what I felt with other prophets, who have also confirmed that they are hearing this from the Lord.
I understand that what I’m saying strongly contradicts a teaching in the current church.  This doctrinal teaching states that the Pastor is the ‘one’ to get the vision for the church and anyone who feels differently is in rebellion to authority. My heart is never to dishonor another. My heart is to pray for unity in the Body but to obey the Holy Spirit without fear of man.
The Body of Christ needs every member. The role of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher is to equip each member for ministry. Each gift is needed and has a function to accomplish what God is doing on the earth. In the pastor led church, this doesn’t happen.
In the apostolic church, the apostle has a strong administrative gift to coordinate the gift of others. The prophets, as well as others, receive direction from the Lord for the people. The prophet sees the ‘wilderness’ and speaks into it through prophecy and prayer, digging up the hard ground. The evangelist, as well as everyone, brings in new believers. Signs and wonders follow us as we operate in evangelism. The pastors (plural) shepherd the people and visit and pray for the sick and hurting. They counsel and disciple. The teachers, as well as others, share the truth of God’s Word.   Everyone is becoming equipped and moves in the gifts.
Everyone can also operate in these gifts -organizing, praying, prophesying, leading others to Christ, laying hands on the sick and healing them – everyone.
There is no platform. There are no worship leaders. As the Lord leads, we begin to get a hymn and a song. Everyone is free to hear from the Lord and learns how to. Everyone recognizes their importance to the Body and carries a responsibility to be obedient to the move of the Holy Spirit.
Under this old wineskin, the pastor has carried a heavy burden and we have seen the results of this time and time again. Pastors have become ‘burned out’ because they are carrying a load that they were never meant to carry. They neglect their families as they counsel others. They are spending an unreasonable amount of hours trying to meet the needs of the church. It leaves very little time for them to have a healthy relationship with the Lord. They become performance oriented. It's not easy being a one-man band.
Matthew 23:8 says, "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is Christ." How then have we come to call these leaders "Pastor" and have been made to feel we are disrespectful if we don't address them in this way?
Some have thought this role of pastor is a ‘Moses’ anointing but let’s look at scripture. In Jeremiah, 31:31, the Lord talks about the new covenant that is coming.
"Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the Lord.  "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their hearts I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
Acts 2:17 quotes the prophet Joel, saying,
"'And it shall be in the last days,' God says,
'That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
 Even on my bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy."
These scripture that talk about what God is doing says that multiple people, men and women, will see visions and dream dreams. The everyone will hear the voice of the Lord.  It makes it clear that God values each member of the Body and they have a part to fill.
The church was never intended to be a place where you wore your best clothes and sat quietly week after week, being told what to think.  I am not saying that pastors don’t hear from God – they absolutely do – just as everyone in the Body hears.  But we need everyone to hear. We need the balance and perspective and wisdom of the Body.
The Lord gave me another vision more than a decade ago. I saw a pile of rubble; a building made of stone that had fallen to the ground.  The Lord spoke to me and said He was tearing down man’s church and in its place, He would build His Church. I believe that God is doing that right now.
It’s a hard transition for many and the enemy is taking this teaching of always being submitted to a pastor and using it to create fear. The Lord has compassion on these sheep but He is also strongly convicting them to break this old wineskin to obey the Holy Spirit.  There has been a shaking, a sifting and a sorting.
When the sorting is over, I want to be found obeying the Lord and operating in this 'new' wineskin. (It's really an old wineskin.)  I want to be gently bold, sharing what I hear the Holy Spirit saying, as He desires to break religious mindsets and set us free to operate in all that God has for us.
I have had several wonderful pastors over the years. They are gifted men of God, committed to serving God and people. I am not expressing any disapproval of these wonderful people of God. They were obeying the Holy Spirit in the way they felt God was leading. They have blessed my life in more ways than I can count and I thank God for their loving service.
But I believe with all my heart that the Lord in this season is bringing new revelation of His Word and His purposes. He is setting us free from deceptions and restrictions that have stopped the flow of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, when the Church was operating in this order, thousands were coming to Christ daily. And that is His purpose – that the Holy Spirit would move through each one of us with love, and power, and the gifts of the Spirit, winning this world for Christ.

love and blessings~

PS- I haven't blogged in soooo long and have lots of catching up to do!

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Home & Garden

The Apostolic Church

I believe that there is something wonderful happening in the Church right now; something that many of us have foreseen and prayed for. Many churches across our nation and world are already operating in this new wineskin, but many are still stuck in the old wineskin and having trouble understanding what’s happening.
Many have left the organized church, knowing that there is something wrong, and many have stayed in fear, afraid to come out from under this ‘covering. ‘
In a past blog, I shared a vision the Lord gave me about a year and a half ago. In this vision, we walked into a church that is in our community. I recognized the church. In my vision, the foyer was filled with joyful people, talking and fellowshipping. As we turned toward the sanctuary, we saw the door to the sanctuary was closed and there was a sign posted on the door that read, “Prayer and worship – Enter with reverence.”
As I walked into the sanctuary in this vision, I saw that all the people were sitting in a circle facing each other. There was a small group of musicians in the back corner, but everyone else sat in this layered circle. The room did not have a ‘front’ or a platform. There was a low murmur of prayer and worship going on. No one person was leading.
As I watched, someone got a Word from the Lord and gave a direction, and then everyone acted on it. There was prayer for a sick person and this person was healed. Then someone began to sing a song of worship and everyone followed. The musicians began to play and back up everyone singing. This continued the entire time as I watched.  The people flowed in and out of worship, in and out of prayer, each one sharing a Word and a revelation.
1 Corinthians 14:26  says, “…What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification…” 
I was very encouraged in the Lord after seeing this vision and felt the Lord was leading our family to attend this church. We had attended this church a couple of years earlier and when we returned, found out that the church was without a pastor. I was very interested, in view of what I had heard from the Lord, to see what was happening.
Almost a decade ago, I went through a very profound season with the Lord where He taught me that I was hearing Him. I always knew I heard the Lord, but in this season, He seemed to want to make sure that I really knew this, as He was preparing to tell me some things that would undo a lot of what I’d been taught in the church.
One of the things the Lord spoke to me in this season was that the Church had misunderstood the role of the gift of pastor.
Please hear my heart when I say this in no way makes small this wonderful and much needed gift in the Body, but as the Lord began to show me, we are not understanding the role this gift was intended to fill in the Church.
The word ‘pastor’ appears only one time in scripture in Ephesians 4:11 and is the fourth gift listed in the ‘five-fold ministry gifts.’  Some have taught that the gifts are listed in order of authority – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.
How then have we put so much weight on this one gift?
In 1 Corinthians 12:28 it says, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” It goes on to talk about how each gift and part of the body is necessary to fulfill God’s purposes in the church.
When we look at the New Testament church, it seems that it was completely different than the church we see today. People met in their homes and as I understand it, would occasionally make arrangements for large groups to meet. It would have been much as I saw in this vision – people sitting in a room, letting the Holy Spirit lead, no one person leading.
As the Lord continued to speak to me in this season about a decade ago, He led me to read the book, “Pagan Christianity.” This is an eye-opening book about how we got from the ‘church of Acts’ to the church today. The shocking thing is that many of the influences that led to these changes were pagan. Including the role of pastor. It follows the pagan role of the priest.
The term ‘laity’ and ‘leadership’ is nowhere in the Bible in the way that we use it today. This again, has come from a pagan influence. The order of service, the platform or altar, the praise and worship leaders, the priestly garments, all come from pagan influence.
The rulers at the time were trying to make Christianity more appealing to the pagans and mixed in these things to make them more comfortable. This is how the birth of Christ got added on to the pagan holiday ‘Winter Solstice’ and resulted in Christmas. The Christmas tree, door wreaths, etc. are all from pagan religion.
Another wonderful book that has encouraged me in this last season and given me greater understanding is, “The Apostolic Church Arising.” by Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler. I love this book because it has greatly confirmed what I felt the Lord putting in my heart.
Please hear what I’m saying. I’m saying the Lord gave me a vision and has been speaking to my heart and has confirmed the things He has told me through others. This follows the scriptural format of a prophet’s word being confirmed by two or three others. I’ve also shared what I felt with other prophets, who have also confirmed that they are hearing this from the Lord.
I understand that what I’m saying strongly contradicts a teaching in the current church.  This doctrinal teaching states that the Pastor is the ‘one’ to get the vision for the church and anyone who feels differently is in rebellion to authority. My heart is never to dishonor another. My heart is to pray for unity in the Body but to obey the Holy Spirit without fear of man.
The Body of Christ needs every member. The role of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher is to equip each member for ministry. Each gift is needed and has a function to accomplish what God is doing on the earth. In the pastor led church, this doesn’t happen.
In the apostolic church, the apostle has a strong administrative gift to coordinate the gift of others. The prophets, as well as others, receive direction from the Lord for the people. The prophet sees the ‘wilderness’ and speaks into it through prophecy and prayer, digging up the hard ground. The evangelist, as well as everyone, brings in new believers. Signs and wonders follow us as we operate in evangelism. The pastors (plural) shepherd the people and visit and pray for the sick and hurting. They counsel and disciple. The teachers, as well as others, share the truth of God’s Word.   Everyone is becoming equipped and moves in the gifts.
Everyone can also operate in these gifts -organizing, praying, prophesying, leading others to Christ, laying hands on the sick and healing them – everyone.
There is no platform. There are no worship leaders. As the Lord leads, we begin to get a hymn and a song. Everyone is free to hear from the Lord and learns how to. Everyone recognizes their importance to the Body and carries a responsibility to be obedient to the move of the Holy Spirit.
Under this old wineskin, the pastor has carried a heavy burden and we have seen the results of this time and time again. Pastors have become ‘burned out’ because they are carrying a load that they were never meant to carry. They neglect their families as they counsel others. They are spending an unreasonable amount of hours trying to meet the needs of the church. It leaves very little time for them to have a healthy relationship with the Lord. They become performance oriented. It's not easy being a one-man band.
Matthew 23:8 says, "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is Christ." How then have we come to call these leaders "Pastor" and have been made to feel we are disrespectful if we don't address them in this way?
Some have thought this role of pastor is a ‘Moses’ anointing but let’s look at scripture. In Jeremiah, 31:31, the Lord talks about the new covenant that is coming.
"Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the Lord.  "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their hearts I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
Acts 2:17 quotes the prophet Joel, saying,
"'And it shall be in the last days,' God says,
'That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
 Even on my bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy."
These scripture that talk about what God is doing says that multiple people, men and women, will see visions and dream dreams. The everyone will hear the voice of the Lord.  It makes it clear that God values each member of the Body and they have a part to fill.
The church was never intended to be a place where you wore your best clothes and sat quietly week after week, being told what to think.  I am not saying that pastors don’t hear from God – they absolutely do – just as everyone in the Body hears.  But we need everyone to hear. We need the balance and perspective and wisdom of the Body.
The Lord gave me another vision more than a decade ago. I saw a pile of rubble; a building made of stone that had fallen to the ground.  The Lord spoke to me and said He was tearing down man’s church and in its place, He would build His Church. I believe that God is doing that right now.
It’s a hard transition for many and the enemy is taking this teaching of always being submitted to a pastor and using it to create fear. The Lord has compassion on these sheep but He is also strongly convicting them to break this old wineskin to obey the Holy Spirit.  There has been a shaking, a sifting and a sorting.
When the sorting is over, I want to be found obeying the Lord and operating in this 'new' wineskin. (It's really an old wineskin.)  I want to be gently bold, sharing what I hear the Holy Spirit saying, as He desires to break religious mindsets and set us free to operate in all that God has for us.
I have had several wonderful pastors over the years. They are gifted men of God, committed to serving God and people. I am not expressing any disapproval of these wonderful people of God. They were obeying the Holy Spirit in the way they felt God was leading. They have blessed my life in more ways than I can count and I thank God for their loving service.
But I believe with all my heart that the Lord in this season is bringing new revelation of His Word and His purposes. He is setting us free from deceptions and restrictions that have stopped the flow of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, when the Church was operating in this order, thousands were coming to Christ daily. And that is His purpose – that the Holy Spirit would move through each one of us with love, and power, and the gifts of the Spirit, winning this world for Christ.

love and blessings~

PS- I haven't blogged in soooo long and have lots of catching up to do!

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Home & Garden

The Apostolic Church

I believe that there is something wonderful happening in the Church right now; something that many of us have foreseen and prayed for. Many churches across our nation and world are already operating in this new wineskin, but many are still stuck in the old wineskin and having trouble understanding what’s happening.
Many have left the organized church, knowing that there is something wrong, and many have stayed in fear, afraid to come out from under this ‘covering. ‘
In a past blog, I shared a vision the Lord gave me about a year and a half ago. In this vision, we walked into a church that is in our community. I recognized the church. In my vision, the foyer was filled with joyful people, talking and fellowshipping. As we turned toward the sanctuary, we saw the door to the sanctuary was closed and there was a sign posted on the door that read, “Prayer and worship – Enter with reverence.”
As I walked into the sanctuary in this vision, I saw that all the people were sitting in a circle facing each other. There was a small group of musicians in the back corner, but everyone else sat in this layered circle. The room did not have a ‘front’ or a platform. There was a low murmur of prayer and worship going on. No one person was leading.
As I watched, someone got a Word from the Lord and gave a direction, and then everyone acted on it. There was prayer for a sick person and this person was healed. Then someone began to sing a song of worship and everyone followed. The musicians began to play and back up everyone singing. This continued the entire time as I watched.  The people flowed in and out of worship, in and out of prayer, each one sharing a Word and a revelation.
1 Corinthians 14:26  says, “…What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification…” 
I was very encouraged in the Lord after seeing this vision and felt the Lord was leading our family to attend this church. We had attended this church a couple of years earlier and when we returned, found out that the church was without a pastor. I was very interested, in view of what I had heard from the Lord, to see what was happening.
Almost a decade ago, I went through a very profound season with the Lord where He taught me that I was hearing Him. I always knew I heard the Lord, but in this season, He seemed to want to make sure that I really knew this, as He was preparing to tell me some things that would undo a lot of what I’d been taught in the church.
One of the things the Lord spoke to me in this season was that the Church had misunderstood the role of the gift of pastor.
Please hear my heart when I say this in no way makes small this wonderful and much needed gift in the Body, but as the Lord began to show me, we are not understanding the role this gift was intended to fill in the Church.
The word ‘pastor’ appears only one time in scripture in Ephesians 4:11 and is the fourth gift listed in the ‘five-fold ministry gifts.’  Some have taught that the gifts are listed in order of authority – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.
How then have we put so much weight on this one gift?
In 1 Corinthians 12:28 it says, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues.” It goes on to talk about how each gift and part of the body is necessary to fulfill God’s purposes in the church.
When we look at the New Testament church, it seems that it was completely different than the church we see today. People met in their homes and as I understand it, would occasionally make arrangements for large groups to meet. It would have been much as I saw in this vision – people sitting in a room, letting the Holy Spirit lead, no one person leading.
As the Lord continued to speak to me in this season about a decade ago, He led me to read the book, “Pagan Christianity.” This is an eye-opening book about how we got from the ‘church of Acts’ to the church today. The shocking thing is that many of the influences that led to these changes were pagan. Including the role of pastor. It follows the pagan role of the priest.
The term ‘laity’ and ‘leadership’ is nowhere in the Bible in the way that we use it today. This again, has come from a pagan influence. The order of service, the platform or altar, the praise and worship leaders, the priestly garments, all come from pagan influence.
The rulers at the time were trying to make Christianity more appealing to the pagans and mixed in these things to make them more comfortable. This is how the birth of Christ got added on to the pagan holiday ‘Winter Solstice’ and resulted in Christmas. The Christmas tree, door wreaths, etc. are all from pagan religion.
Another wonderful book that has encouraged me in this last season and given me greater understanding is, “The Apostolic Church Arising.” by Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler. I love this book because it has greatly confirmed what I felt the Lord putting in my heart.
Please hear what I’m saying. I’m saying the Lord gave me a vision and has been speaking to my heart and has confirmed the things He has told me through others. This follows the scriptural format of a prophet’s word being confirmed by two or three others. I’ve also shared what I felt with other prophets, who have also confirmed that they are hearing this from the Lord.
I understand that what I’m saying strongly contradicts a teaching in the current church.  This doctrinal teaching states that the Pastor is the ‘one’ to get the vision for the church and anyone who feels differently is in rebellion to authority. My heart is never to dishonor another. My heart is to pray for unity in the Body but to obey the Holy Spirit without fear of man.
The Body of Christ needs every member. The role of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher is to equip each member for ministry. Each gift is needed and has a function to accomplish what God is doing on the earth. In the pastor led church, this doesn’t happen.
In the apostolic church, the apostle has a strong administrative gift to coordinate the gift of others. The prophets, as well as others, receive direction from the Lord for the people. The prophet sees the ‘wilderness’ and speaks into it through prophecy and prayer, digging up the hard ground. The evangelist, as well as everyone, brings in new believers. Signs and wonders follow us as we operate in evangelism. The pastors (plural) shepherd the people and visit and pray for the sick and hurting. They counsel and disciple. The teachers, as well as others, share the truth of God’s Word.   Everyone is becoming equipped and moves in the gifts.
Everyone can also operate in these gifts -organizing, praying, prophesying, leading others to Christ, laying hands on the sick and healing them – everyone.
There is no platform. There are no worship leaders. As the Lord leads, we begin to get a hymn and a song. Everyone is free to hear from the Lord and learns how to. Everyone recognizes their importance to the Body and carries a responsibility to be obedient to the move of the Holy Spirit.
Under this old wineskin, the pastor has carried a heavy burden and we have seen the results of this time and time again. Pastors have become ‘burned out’ because they are carrying a load that they were never meant to carry. They neglect their families as they counsel others. They are spending an unreasonable amount of hours trying to meet the needs of the church. It leaves very little time for them to have a healthy relationship with the Lord. They become performance oriented. It's not easy being a one-man band.
Matthew 23:8 says, "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is Christ." How then have we come to call these leaders "Pastor" and have been made to feel we are disrespectful if we don't address them in this way?
Some have thought this role of pastor is a ‘Moses’ anointing but let’s look at scripture. In Jeremiah, 31:31, the Lord talks about the new covenant that is coming.
"Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the Lord.  "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord, "I will put My law within them and on their hearts I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
Acts 2:17 quotes the prophet Joel, saying,
"'And it shall be in the last days,' God says,
'That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
 Even on my bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy."
These scripture that talk about what God is doing says that multiple people, men and women, will see visions and dream dreams. The everyone will hear the voice of the Lord.  It makes it clear that God values each member of the Body and they have a part to fill.
The church was never intended to be a place where you wore your best clothes and sat quietly week after week, being told what to think.  I am not saying that pastors don’t hear from God – they absolutely do – just as everyone in the Body hears.  But we need everyone to hear. We need the balance and perspective and wisdom of the Body.
The Lord gave me another vision more than a decade ago. I saw a pile of rubble; a building made of stone that had fallen to the ground.  The Lord spoke to me and said He was tearing down man’s church and in its place, He would build His Church. I believe that God is doing that right now.
It’s a hard transition for many and the enemy is taking this teaching of always being submitted to a pastor and using it to create fear. The Lord has compassion on these sheep but He is also strongly convicting them to break this old wineskin to obey the Holy Spirit.  There has been a shaking, a sifting and a sorting.
When the sorting is over, I want to be found obeying the Lord and operating in this 'new' wineskin. (It's really an old wineskin.)  I want to be gently bold, sharing what I hear the Holy Spirit saying, as He desires to break religious mindsets and set us free to operate in all that God has for us.
I have had several wonderful pastors over the years. They are gifted men of God, committed to serving God and people. I am not expressing any disapproval of these wonderful people of God. They were obeying the Holy Spirit in the way they felt God was leading. They have blessed my life in more ways than I can count and I thank God for their loving service.
But I believe with all my heart that the Lord in this season is bringing new revelation of His Word and His purposes. He is setting us free from deceptions and restrictions that have stopped the flow of the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, when the Church was operating in this order, thousands were coming to Christ daily. And that is His purpose – that the Holy Spirit would move through each one of us with love, and power, and the gifts of the Spirit, winning this world for Christ.

love and blessings~

PS- I haven't blogged in soooo long and have lots of catching up to do!

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Letters

The Test: Do I Really Believe What I Post?

So I posted something on Facebook the other day.

·         If God is really our provider, and that’s not just a religious saying, then why must we always worry about getting the very best price?

This is something Father and I have been talking about. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when he tests me on it.

I’ve been looking for a piece of equipment; my “to do list” has a hot link to a Craigslist search for the piece. And over the weekend some gave me some money, enough to buy the piece. And what do you know: there’s one for sale, exactly the sort that I’m looking for. 　

On the way there, Father & I discussed this. I decided that “the best deal” was not the goal, but “the best honor” was a better choice. I had a price in my mind – not sure why it was there – that was well below his asking price.

So looking at the equipment, he offered to sell it for less; in fact, it was the exact amount I had in my mind (and in my pocket). Imagine that. 　

But we tested it first. Oops. Not pretty. Needs new blades. He agreed and lowered his price again (I haven’t pushed him on price even once), this time to an odd number. I said no, and insisted on the next higher even number: all I had were $20 bills. He was happy with that.

I got home, tried to sharpen the blades on it: No go. Needs new blades.

Ordered blades from a little shop online. With shipping, that brings the total back up to the number that I had in my mind originally. And in my pocket.

What a funny process. But I think I learned some things here:

* I really CAN trust Father’s provision.
* Honor is more important than “the best” price.
* The path he takes me on may at times be circuitous. But it WILL be interesting.




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Letters

The Test: Do I Really Believe What I Post?

So I posted something on Facebook the other day.

·         If God is really our provider, and that’s not just a religious saying, then why must we always worry about getting the very best price?

This is something Father and I have been talking about. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when he tests me on it.

I’ve been looking for a piece of equipment; my “to do list” has a hot link to a Craigslist search for the piece. And over the weekend some gave me some money, enough to buy the piece. And what do you know: there’s one for sale, exactly the sort that I’m looking for. 　

On the way there, Father & I discussed this. I decided that “the best deal” was not the goal, but “the best honor” was a better choice. I had a price in my mind – not sure why it was there – that was well below his asking price.

So looking at the equipment, he offered to sell it for less; in fact, it was the exact amount I had in my mind (and in my pocket). Imagine that. 　

But we tested it first. Oops. Not pretty. Needs new blades. He agreed and lowered his price again (I haven’t pushed him on price even once), this time to an odd number. I said no, and insisted on the next higher even number: all I had were $20 bills. He was happy with that.

I got home, tried to sharpen the blades on it: No go. Needs new blades.

Ordered blades from a little shop online. With shipping, that brings the total back up to the number that I had in my mind originally. And in my pocket.

What a funny process. But I think I learned some things here:

* I really CAN trust Father’s provision.
* Honor is more important than “the best” price.
* The path he takes me on may at times be circuitous. But it WILL be interesting.




Standard
Letters

The Test: Do I Really Believe What I Post?

So I posted something on Facebook the other day.

·    If God is really our provider, and that’s not just a religious saying, then why must we always worry about getting the very best price?

This is something Father and I have been talking about. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when he tests me on it.

I’ve been looking for a piece of equipment; my “to do list” has a hot link to a Craigslist search for the piece. And over the weekend some gave me some money, enough to buy the piece. And what do you know: there’s one for sale, exactly the sort that I’m looking for. 　

On the way there, Father & I discussed this. I decided that “the best deal” was not the goal, but “the best honor” was a better choice. I had a price in my mind – not sure why it was there – that was well below his asking price.

So looking at the equipment, he offered to sell it for less; in fact, it was the exact amount I had in my mind (and in my pocket). Imagine that. 　

But we tested it first. Oops. Not pretty. Needs new blades. He agreed and lowered his price again (I haven’t pushed him on price even once), this time to an odd number. I said no, and insisted on the next higher even number: all I had were $20 bills. He was happy with that.

I got home, tried to sharpen the blades on it: No go. Needs new blades.

Ordered blades from a little shop online. With shipping, that brings the total back up to the number that I had in my mind originally. And in my pocket.

What a funny process. But I think I learned some things here:

·   I really CAN trust Father’s provision.
·   Honor is more important than “the best” price.
·   The path he takes me on may at times be circuitous. But it WILL be interesting.

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Letters

The Ministry of Broken People

Here's an interesting observation. I've been with a number of broken people recently. Some of them are regular folks, and some broken people are leaders, occasionally famous leaders.

I'm noticing a trend about some of the broken, messed-up and damaged Believers: God doesn't appear to give a rat's hindquarters about their brokenness. He doesn't seem to be offended by the outcasts, the rejects, the jerks.

If they’re hungry (and that seems to be a clue for all of us!), he is really happy to fill them and use them and empower them. He makes a freakin' mess changing the world through them. He's downright extravagant in showing out through them.

I've been with a number of clean and tidy and well-educated people recently. I'm noticing a trend about some of them, too. They look good, they sound good, they are comfortable to be around.

And there's a whole lot of us in between there.

But really, I see more of God's signs and wonders, more people healed and delivered, more completely unexplainable "coincidences" in the aftermath of the first group. They go places I don't like to go. They take on circumstances that make me uncomfortable. And the glory of God drools out from their brokenness, their foolishness, their awkwardness in ways that most of us aspire to.

It's interesting how our culture labels the beautiful people as the big successes. There's more of us in-betweeners, so we win the popularity polls.

But it's the broken, socially inept, rude, crude and socially unacceptable ones, the ones who actually believe God and His Book, the busted ones trying to do the stuff: these are the ones I think are actually getting it right.
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Letters

The Ministry of Broken People

Here's an interesting observation. I've been with a number of broken people recently. Some of them are regular folks, and some broken people are leaders, occasionally famous leaders.

I'm noticing a trend about some of the broken, messed-up and damaged Believers: God doesn't appear to give a rat's hindquarters about their brokenness. He doesn't seem to be offended by the outcasts, the rejects, the jerks.

If they’re hungry (and that seems to be a clue for all of us!), he is really happy to fill them and use them and empower them. He makes a freakin' mess changing the world through them. He's downright extravagant in showing out through them.

I've been with a number of clean and tidy and well-educated people recently. I'm noticing a trend about some of them, too. They look good, they sound good, they are comfortable to be around.

And there's a whole lot of us in between there.

But really, I see more of God's signs and wonders, more people healed and delivered, more completely unexplainable "coincidences" in the aftermath of the first group. They go places I don't like to go. They take on circumstances that make me uncomfortable. And the glory of God drools out from their brokenness, their foolishness, their awkwardness in ways that most of us aspire to.

It's interesting how our culture labels the beautiful people as the big successes. There's more of us in-betweeners, so we win the popularity polls.

But it's the broken, socially inept, rude, crude and socially unacceptable ones, the ones who actually believe God and His Book, the busted ones trying to do the stuff: these are the ones I think are actually getting it right.
Standard
Letters

The Ministry of Broken People

Here's an interesting observation. I've been with a number of broken people recently. Some of them are regular folks, and some broken people are leaders, occasionally famous leaders.

I'm noticing a trend about some of the broken, messed-up and damaged Believers: God doesn't appear to give a rat's hindquarters about their brokenness. He doesn't seem to be offended by the outcasts, the rejects, the jerks.

If they’re hungry (and that seems to be a clue for all of us!), he is really happy to fill them and use them and empower them. He makes a freakin' mess changing the world through them. He's downright extravagant in showing out through them.

I've been with a number of clean and tidy and well-educated people recently. I'm noticing a trend about some of them, too. They look good, they sound good, they are comfortable to be around.

And there's a whole lot of us in between there.

But really, I see more of God's signs and wonders, more people healed and delivered, more completely unexplainable "coincidences" in the aftermath of the first group. They go places I don't like to go. They take on circumstances that make me uncomfortable. And the glory of God drools out from their brokenness, their foolishness, their awkwardness in ways that most of us aspire to.

It's interesting how our culture labels the beautiful people as the big successes. There's more of us in-betweeners, so we win the popularity polls.

But it's the broken, socially inept, rude, crude and socially unacceptable ones, the ones who actually believe God and His Book, the busted ones trying to do the stuff: these are the ones I think are actually getting it right.
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Home & Garden

Be-YOU-tiful in 2017

As the new year approaches, I find that God is giving me a new goal.

It's a simple goal really, and something I've worked on my whole life, but I feel like in this season God is telling me, and you, that it's very important that we get this one right this time.

The goal is to be myself.

I think for every one of us living in this media-saturated world, it's very hard not to compare ourselves to others. And so much of advertising and media is exactly that. The magazines and television ads want you to compare yourself with the person in the ad and feel like you don't measure up. So we set out to be that false person. A person that truly does not exist.

Or we see someone who has had success in an area and decide to do it their way. We become a poor imitation of them and lose our individuality. Or even worse, we look around and see a version of the same person everywhere we go. Sheep leading sheep.

Or we listen to an amazing woman or man of God and start to become fascinated with them instead of God. We start to get all our knowledge of God 'second-hand' instead of going right to the source. We regurgitate food that was already chewed before we ever ate it. We need fresh manna which only comes from God.

God has made each one of us so uniquely different. We are the very expression of God. He is so infinitely vast in all His personality, character and attributes and we are - each and every one of us - an expression of some part of Him. Without 'you' being 'you', the Body is incomplete. You and your uniqueness is very needed and such a wonderful asset to the Body. When we each become 'ourselves,' we fit so well with everyone else!

I know that if I spent as much time with God discovering who I am as I do admiring others or trying to copy them, I would be much further along in this thing. I know that if I finally valued God's opinion more than anyone else's, I would step into a zone that I have never encountered before.

The other morning I sat down to spend some time with God. I have wonderful friends that read a lot of books and listen to a lot of video teaching and I do, too. So, I started to look up something that a friend had suggested we listen to, and I felt God pull on me so hard and insist that I just listen to Him. Spend time with Him. Quit counting on anyone but Him to teach me. Find out what His heart was for me and what He wanted to tell me.

And I realized all over again that God wants to form me in His Image. That 'me' in His Image is needed by 'you.' And vice versa. I need you to be 'you!'

Moses was not called to gather grain for a famine and Joseph was not created to part the Red Sea. Mary was called to give birth to the Messiah and she wasn't very good at building a boat. If each one of these people had modeled themselves after someone else and not sought God and become 'who they were in Him', things would be very different right now.

We're entering a new season right now and I sometimes I feel like my skin can't contain my spirit. I feel like I'm going to burst with expectation. I sense 'change' coming both in me and all around me. I am filled with fresh hope and so encouraged by God. I feel like some pieces have fallen into place and the shift is happening. I hope you're feeling it too!

My prayer group and I are going to be doing some fasting and praying - both individually and corporately. My expectations are high. I am praying for transformation - that God purify my heart and change me into His Image. That He corrects my wrong-thinking. That He gives me fresh revelation of Who He is and who I am in Him. I am praying for salvation for loved ones and that they have a life-changing encounter with the living God. That they step into who they are in Christ.

Because that's the key to everything - knowing who we are in Christ. Because He is everything and everywhere in our lives that we have valued anything outside of Him is anti-Christ.

So this year I want to encourage you. Turn off the TV. Put down the book. Find a quiet place and get alone with God. Saturate yourself with His Word. Ask Him who you are. Ask Him what He wants you to do. Learn to lose yourself in worship.

Find out who you are.

Love and blessings for God-filled 2017

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, 'With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:26




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Home & Garden

Be-YOU-tiful in 2017

As the new year approaches, I find that God is giving me a new goal.

It's a simple goal really, and something I've worked on my whole life, but I feel like in this season God is telling me, and you, that it's very important that we get this one right this time.

The goal is to be myself.

I think for every one of us living in this media-saturated world, it's very hard not to compare ourselves to others. And so much of advertising and media is exactly that. The magazines and television ads want you to compare yourself with the person in the ad and feel like you don't measure up. So we set out to be that false person. A person that truly does not exist.

Or we see someone who has had success in an area and decide to do it their way. We become a poor imitation of them and lose our individuality. Or even worse, we look around and see a version of the same person everywhere we go. Sheep leading sheep.

Or we listen to an amazing woman or man of God and start to become fascinated with them instead of God. We start to get all our knowledge of God 'second-hand' instead of going right to the source. We regurgitate food that was already chewed before we ever ate it. We need fresh manna which only comes from God.

God has made each one of us so uniquely different. We are the very expression of God. He is so infinitely vast in all His personality, character and attributes and we are - each and every one of us - an expression of some part of Him. Without 'you' being 'you', the Body is incomplete. You and your uniqueness is very needed and such a wonderful asset to the Body. When we each become 'ourselves,' we fit so well with everyone else!

I know that if I spent as much time with God discovering who I am as I do admiring others or trying to copy them, I would be much further along in this thing. I know that if I finally valued God's opinion more than anyone else's, I would step into a zone that I have never encountered before.

The other morning I sat down to spend some time with God. I have wonderful friends that read a lot of books and listen to a lot of video teaching and I do, too. So, I started to look up something that a friend had suggested we listen to, and I felt God pull on me so hard and insist that I just listen to Him. Spend time with Him. Quit counting on anyone but Him to teach me. Find out what His heart was for me and what He wanted to tell me.

And I realized all over again that God wants to form me in His Image. That 'me' in His Image is needed by 'you.' And vice versa. I need you to be 'you!'

Moses was not called to gather grain for a famine and Joseph was not created to part the Red Sea. Mary was called to give birth to the Messiah and she wasn't very good at building a boat. If each one of these people had modeled themselves after someone else and not sought God and become 'who they were in Him', things would be very different right now.

We're entering a new season right now and I sometimes I feel like my skin can't contain my spirit. I feel like I'm going to burst with expectation. I sense 'change' coming both in me and all around me. I am filled with fresh hope and so encouraged by God. I feel like some pieces have fallen into place and the shift is happening. I hope you're feeling it too!

My prayer group and I are going to be doing some fasting and praying - both individually and corporately. My expectations are high. I am praying for transformation - that God purify my heart and change me into His Image. That He corrects my wrong-thinking. That He gives me fresh revelation of Who He is and who I am in Him. I am praying for salvation for loved ones and that they have a life-changing encounter with the living God. That they step into who they are in Christ.

Because that's the key to everything - knowing who we are in Christ. Because He is everything and everywhere in our lives that we have valued anything outside of Him is anti-Christ.

So this year I want to encourage you. Turn off the TV. Put down the book. Find a quiet place and get alone with God. Saturate yourself with His Word. Ask Him who you are. Ask Him what He wants you to do. Learn to lose yourself in worship.

Find out who you are.

Love and blessings for God-filled 2017

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, 'With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:26




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Home & Garden

Be-YOU-tiful in 2017

As the new year approaches, I find that God is giving me a new goal.

It's a simple goal really, and something I've worked on my whole life, but I feel like in this season God is telling me, and you, that it's very important that we get this one right this time.

The goal is to be myself.

I think for every one of us living in this media-saturated world, it's very hard not to compare ourselves to others. And so much of advertising and media is exactly that. The magazines and television ads want you to compare yourself with the person in the ad and feel like you don't measure up. So we set out to be that false person. A person that truly does not exist.

Or we see someone who has had success in an area and decide to do it their way. We become a poor imitation of them and lose our individuality. Or even worse, we look around and see a version of the same person everywhere we go. Sheep leading sheep.

Or we listen to an amazing woman or man of God and start to become fascinated with them instead of God. We start to get all our knowledge of God 'second-hand' instead of going right to the source. We regurgitate food that was already chewed before we ever ate it. We need fresh manna which only comes from God.

God has made each one of us so uniquely different. We are the very expression of God. He is so infinitely vast in all His personality, character and attributes and we are - each and every one of us - an expression of some part of Him. Without 'you' being 'you', the Body is incomplete. You and your uniqueness is very needed and such a wonderful asset to the Body. When we each become 'ourselves,' we fit so well with everyone else!

I know that if I spent as much time with God discovering who I am as I do admiring others or trying to copy them, I would be much further along in this thing. I know that if I finally valued God's opinion more than anyone else's, I would step into a zone that I have never encountered before.

The other morning I sat down to spend some time with God. I have wonderful friends that read a lot of books and listen to a lot of video teaching and I do, too. So, I started to look up something that a friend had suggested we listen to, and I felt God pull on me so hard and insist that I just listen to Him. Spend time with Him. Quit counting on anyone but Him to teach me. Find out what His heart was for me and what He wanted to tell me.

And I realized all over again that God wants to form me in His Image. That 'me' in His Image is needed by 'you.' And vice versa. I need you to be 'you!'

Moses was not called to gather grain for a famine and Joseph was not created to part the Red Sea. Mary was called to give birth to the Messiah and she wasn't very good at building a boat. If each one of these people had modeled themselves after someone else and not sought God and become 'who they were in Him', things would be very different right now.

We're entering a new season right now and I sometimes I feel like my skin can't contain my spirit. I feel like I'm going to burst with expectation. I sense 'change' coming both in me and all around me. I am filled with fresh hope and so encouraged by God. I feel like some pieces have fallen into place and the shift is happening. I hope you're feeling it too!

My prayer group and I are going to be doing some fasting and praying - both individually and corporately. My expectations are high. I am praying for transformation - that God purify my heart and change me into His Image. That He corrects my wrong-thinking. That He gives me fresh revelation of Who He is and who I am in Him. I am praying for salvation for loved ones and that they have a life-changing encounter with the living God. That they step into who they are in Christ.

Because that's the key to everything - knowing who we are in Christ. Because He is everything and everywhere in our lives that we have valued anything outside of Him is anti-Christ.

So this year I want to encourage you. Turn off the TV. Put down the book. Find a quiet place and get alone with God. Saturate yourself with His Word. Ask Him who you are. Ask Him what He wants you to do. Learn to lose yourself in worship.

Find out who you are.

Love and blessings for God-filled 2017

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, 'With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.'" Matthew 19:26




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