In Simplicity

New Location

2009-06-24T16:25:00.000-07:00

For all of you who have been following me at this blog site, I have moved to www.insimplicity.wordpress.com. I would love it if you would visit me there! Add it to your favorites! Love you all!

Leading Questions...

2009-06-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

OK, before I begin, let me just lay the foundation of what I am about to write with two passages…

Acts 1:8, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth”

Psalm 23:2, “…he leadeth me…”

I was studying Psalm 23 and was looking into the word “lead”, when I came upon this very interesting definition and it quickened me.

lead: to suggest to (a witness) the answer desired by asking leading questions

Now based on the two passages above, I would like to make this statement.

The Shepherd asks leading questions….

I began searching where, at different times in the word and under completely different circumstances, God has asked questions. God has never asked a shallow question. He is not a surface God! His interest in us, searches us and any question He would ask, would be one that would cause us to take inventory of our beliefs because our answer turns out to be our “outcome”. And He is interested, very much in our outcome!

Here are a few examples of questions God asked in the Word:

Genesis 3:9, “Where are you?”

Genesis 4:9 (of Abel), “Where is your brother?”

Genesis 4:10, “What have you done?”

1 Kings 19:13, “What are you doing here?”

Ezekiel 37:3, “Can these bones live?”

Matthew 9:28, “Do you believe that I can do this unto you?”

Matthew 16:15 & Mark 8:29, “But who do you say that I am?”

Luke 24:5, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?”

Now, just for a moment, let God ask you these questions. Every question is an invitation to come to Him…the answer, your reality.

For all of you who have been following me at this blog site, I have moved to www.insimplicity@wordpress.com. I would love it if you would visit me there! Add it to your favorites! Love you all!

A bramble...for king?

2009-06-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Judges 9:7-15
And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.

For His own purposes, God has been bringing me to this passage in scripture and He has instructed me to begin prophesying to the olive trees, “leave your fatness”, to the fig trees, “leave your sweetness” and to the vines, “leave your cheering influence” and govern!

Why..would a tree that carries the anointing, that is equal to no other… to both save, heal and deliver, ever refrain from using such an anointing? Why would a tree that yields such fruit, a taste that can give sight to who God really is, ever refuse those who hunger for it? And furthermore, why would a vine that carries a wine that can minister to both the mind and body of anyone who wants a drink, refuse to give it?

Instead, the lost are looking to the bramble. To the thorns, to the curse and saying, “Come and reign over us!” The bramble can also be translated as the world system and the bramble is more than willing to comply! We can so easily be deceived to think that we can trust in a shadow… when in truth, we should trust in the ONE who’s shadow is a result. What if we saw the bramble for what it really is? Would we still trust it?

There is one in whose shadow we can fully trust…”He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1

And that same shadow can be cast from us and is most certainly a place prepared for others…”Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.” Acts 5:15

Peter was a tree uprooted…walking about! He had kingdom roots that looked very much like feet!

Olive tree, Fig tree, Vine…there is a time to plant and a time to uproot what was planted! (Ecclesiastes 3:2) Uproot and go! Cast your shadow!

For A Time

2009-05-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hello to my friends...I am beginning a fast today and will not be blogging again until the Lord releases me to do so.

I will leave you with two thoughts. One from the book of Proverbs, chapter 27 verse 21. "A hot furnace tests silver and gold, and people are tested by the praise they recieve."

And the other is a quote I read just today..."The challenge -- never negligible -- regarding the Christian Scriptures is not getting them read, but read on their own terms, as God's revelation."
~ Eugene Peterson

I am entering into a time of reading the scriptures on their own terms, as God's revelation. His words alone are always enough...

Yet another Bible Bill Blog

2009-05-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

OK since the Bible Bill is according to Yahoo, the most blogged about bill...I guess I can get in on this as well. This is an exerpt from an article that I read on Yahoo just this morning on this subject.

Broun’s simple congressional resolution aimed at honoring the Good Book has produced a push-back of biblical proportion in the blogosphere, with critics dismissing it as either unconstitutional or a waste of time. Jews in Congress and atheist activists are dismissing the resolution, while none of the many Democrats in Congress who are Christian have bothered to sign on as co-sponsors.

According to GovTrak.us, the resolution is among the most-blogged-about pieces of legislation, with most posts less than complimentary in nature.

“Does that mean 2009 is not the year of the Bible?” mocked Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is Jewish. “What is 2012 the year of? The Quran?” ...

...“Right now, we’re seeing atheism on such a rise,” said David Silverman, vice president and national spokesman of American Atheists, a group dedicated to fighting for the civil rights of atheists.

“We are seeing Christianity on such a dramatic decline that we’re not particularly worried about it. We’re thinking that this kind of old-style George W. Bush Republicanism is about to go away,” Silverman said, referring to the latest Pew Forum survey of American religious life, which showed nonreligious Americans as the fastest-growing group.

OK, let me just insert here for just a moment. This is my opinion of that statement by Silverman. HA HA HA HA....hahahahahaha! Getting a good belly laugh out of that one! First of all to be an "atheist" is to believe nothing. And if you believe nothing you do nothing. You don't get up. You don't sit down. You don't go to the left or to the right. You quite frankly will never move forward and most certainly cannot be on "the rise". Atheism has made complacency a religion. Continuing now....

And it may be the best-selling book of all time, as Broun’s resolution points out, but the Bible isn’t such a popular legislative topic.

A search of Thomas, the online congressional database, for “Bible” yields just one other bill: a resolution to have the “Lincoln-Obama Bible” on permanent display in the Capitol Visitor Center.

Listen, I don't think that anyone's bible should be on display. It's more important for it to be opened and in their lap at this point! Until you have lived it, it has no place as a memorial. And I say this with the most respect possible. I pray that someday, President Obama's well used bible finds it's place alongside of Lincoln's. But don't lay your hands on a bible that another man lived and gave his life for an think that it qualifies you, without looking into it yourself.

I quote our President Obama from yesterday's Yahoo article concerning Guantanamo, "But if we continue to make decisions within a climate of fear, we will make more mistakes."

I have news...the only counterpart to fear is true faith and love for God and His Word and mistakes will be made in any other climate, irregardless. Galatians 5:6 says, "faith works by love." And faith and love can only be found in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:14)

1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:" The only perfect love is the love of Father God. God so loved us...and so did many of our founding fathers who laid the foundations of this great nation. Love was their motive and their faith yeilded results!

Time to burn some bushels

2009-05-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

Zephaniah 1:12
"And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, "The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.”

The Lord has been speaking this passage to me for quite some time now and once again, I feel a conviction in my heart. God says he is sending out his lamps or the King James says “candles”. In prayer last Sunday night, this was made very clear to me. Rather than seeing cute little wax candles or even enclosed lamps, I saw what would be "fires” going forth. I saw or have the idea that we are to be "consuming" bushels, as it might be. All of this, yet I did not have a clear understanding of what a bushel by definition is. I looked it up and this is what I found in John Gill’s exposition..

1. anything which may hide and cover it, and so hinder its light and usefulness.

2. The Greek word (modiov) , rendered a "bushel", answers to the Hebrew (hao) , "seah", which is the very word used in Munster's Hebrew Gospel; and this was a dry measure that held about a gallon and a half; and accordingly is rendered here by the Syriac (atao) .

3. The design of the expression is, that Christ has lighted the candle of the everlasting Gospel, and given gifts to men for the ministration of it, not to be concealed and neglected, or to be used as the servant did his lord's money, wrap it up in a napkin, and hide it in the earth. Ministers are not, through slothfulness, to neglect the gift that is in them; nor, through fear, to hide their talents, or keep back any part of the Gospel, or cover anything out of sight, which may be profitable to souls…

Which leaves me wondering if this “bushel” that was meant to contain a “measure” is the same thing that contains our “measure of faith” that God has given us or even like the basket and store that Deuteronomy 28:5 mentions. “Blessed be thy basket and thy store.”

And what’s more interesting…and I don’t’ recall having seen this before is that in Mark 4:21 Jesus suggests that some might even hide their light under their bed. It says this, “And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?”

How interesting…putting a flame or a fire under a bed or a place of “sleep” or settled ness. As the Greek defines it, a place of repose, which means lack of activity or to remain still.

And the original wording in Zephaniah, in the KJV, says “men, settled on their lees.” This is what John Gill’s has to say about that…

...like wine on the lees, quiet and undisturbed; in a good outward estate and condition, abounding in wealth and riches, and trusting therein; and which, as the Targum paraphrases it, they enjoy in great tranquility; Moab like, having never been emptied from vessel to vessel, (Jeremiah 48:11) and so concluded they should ever remain in the same state, and became hardened in sin, or "curdled", and thickened, as the word signifies…

Oh glory…we are meant to be emptied from vessel to vessel! I don’t want this vessel of new wine to become settled on it’s lees. I have a feeling that in order to be filled up again and again, we must pour out! That’s why sometimes I drink the new wine and feel it’s effect and can just drink and drink but other times, I feel like I’m too saturated…not thirsty enough. I haven’t emptied out at all.

And then, here comes the part that has gripped my heart. The Lord said, “Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, "The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.”

That in our complacency, in our proclaiming to be a Christian yet lacking the actions, not willing to execute the Word given us, we demonstrate to others, that this is what God himself must be like. When we don’t do the good…save, heal, supply the need, minister peace and edification…do we give the impression that neither does He? When we don’t stand in defiance of what is unjust and declare the result of that…do we then give the impression that God is disinterested as well and that there will be no consequence?

I will be the first to repent…Father, forgive me for believing in my heart and speaking with my mouth, the Lord Jesus Christ and then nothing of who and what you are. Forgive me for misleading men and women…my family, my friends and even perfect strangers to believe that you are at all like me. Transform me today Lord. Transform me in such a way that they realize that I am altogether like you! I love you Lord and I want everyone to know it! Don’t let me walk by that woman and young man with downs syndrome ever again, thinking that they won’t want me to pray because they are an obvious target and have been prayed for time and time again with no result. Forgive me for supposing that they don’t have the faith to see it healed, just because he is already a man and has been living with this a long time. That’s saying that you think downs syndrome is not something you are interested in healing and that you are OK letting them live with it. Oh God…forgive me! And I thank you Lord for another opportunity…

Charles Swindoll said it best! “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

And I like this one as well… “Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.”

Me...a tyrant?

2009-05-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

Psalm 51:12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

OK, you may think that I have gone off the deep end but I sure hope so. I bought this little daily devotion calendar from the book of Psalms at a yard sale the other day for a dollar and it had never been opened. First of all, it was 366 devotions and God has been prophetically speaking that number to a friend of mine for years now because that is her house number. He has been saying, “I am going to visit your house.” So, in turn, He has been speaking to me.

When I got home, I opened it to the current date and this is the passage that was on that page. Simply, “uphold me with your free spirit”. Well…I haven’t been able to just read over it and go on! Praise God!

I lay on my bed last night at what others might call an ungodly hour but Oh…it was Godly! God was there…I could almost feel the bed weigh down with His presence as He sat reading the word with me.

Holy Spirit. Free spirit. Uphold me with your free spirit. That word free is quite an interesting word. Not only does it mean what we would think it means…voluntary, willing, without price. It also means generous & liberal, MAGNANIMOUS!

That word magnanimous suggests a courageous spirit or nobility of feeling or generosity of mind. Uphold me with your courageous spirit Lord. Uphold me with the generosity of your mind.

And if that’s not enough…this is where I am astounded at Holy Spirit! The word free means… "sometimes a tyrant”. Now, I read that and thought…what? Now why would that be there? What does that have to do with Holy Spirit…free spirit?

So I began to search this word out. What does being a tyrant really entail? Look with me at the definition of tyranny. It means, “government in which absolute power is invested in a single ruler.” You see, there has been a perversion of what we understand to be “free” in America. We have called this country, “one nation under God”. According to my estimation, that should very well translate, “government in which absolute power is invested in a single ruler.” But freedom, taken out of context, has become the tool in the hand of the tyrant (counterfeit freedom)…the one who is unrestrained by law or constitution, a usurper of sovereignty. A tool used to eliminate the freedoms that have been given us and are rightfully ours.

Matthew 11:12 says, The kingdom of heaven, suffers violence (counterfeit freedom) and the violent (the tyrant, the truly free) taking it by force. Now there's a thought! Turn about...fair play!

All Four Chambers

2009-05-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

Deuteronomy 6:5
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.

Yesterday I wrote that to love is “to make one’s choice in”. And thou shalt make your choice in the Lord thy God with all…

And that’s where I have stopped and meditated. ALL…

What a word. It means:
the whole amount, quantity, or extent of…
When was the last time I used the whole amount…to it’s fullest extent, my heart, my soul and my strength on loving God? It would be better to ask…when do I begin?
as much as possible…
Again…have I even yet considered the capacity of possible?
the whole number or sum of...
How many components are there that I haven’t even yet tapped into?
every, all manner of...
Didn’t my mother teach me to use my manners?
nothing but, only, completely taken up with, given to, or absorbed by
Oh, let my heart be absorbed with loving Him! Let my heart be completely taken up with my Lord! Let my soul be completely taken up with my Lord! Let my strength be completely taken up with my Lord!
having or seeming to have (some physical feature) in conspicuous excess or prominence, for example: "She's all legs."
Oh Glory…all God…all Jesus…all Holy Ghost…all prominent in Stacey!
paying full attention with, for example: "I'm all ears"
Just imagine walking away from someone and having them say, "They were hearing things that I have never spoken to anyone but God." Thus...ALL His ears. or "How did she see that in me? I don't show that side of me to anyone." Thus...ALL His eyes.
used up : entirely consumed
Nothing left…meat on God’s altar!
being more than one person or thing, for example, "Who all is coming?"
Go ahead! Invite me…but I’m never alone! How many people invite us knowing that they are inviting God too?
every member or individual component of
I saved this for last because this is where I want to camp out. I was reading a commentary on this passage (John Gill’s exposition) and he made this statement referring to all:

“with thy heart not divided about God, a heart not divided between God and the creature”

Sure, I can read this explanation and understand that my heart should not be divided between God and man or between God and any other thing for that matter. But my heart “divided about God”? That’s entirely different and a concept that I hadn’t considered.

Now get the picture of the physical heart in your mind and what does it look like?

First of all, I find it amazing that God made our heart to be the size of our fist. The kingdom of God is at hand and is also within us. That paints an interesting illustration for us doesn’t it? What a strong witness that the heart and the hand are one and the same.

The heart lies in the chest cavity between the lungs and works in conjunction with the lungs, circulating throughout the body what is breathed. The heart should work in conjunction with the God breathed word as well. Now, if the Word, if prophesy, the very things we long to hear God whisper to us each and every day as we read, pray, spend time and listen are God breathed…what then does that say of our heart?

The heart has four cavities, divided by a wall that causes two of those chambers to pump blood throughout the entire body and the others to pump blood only to the lungs. I’m no expert but interestingly enough as much effort or pumps have to be made to supply blood to the entire body as to the lungs which are surrounding it. Is this how my heart has been wrongly divided about God? All this time, I have just kept pumping to only the lungs to feel that oxygen rich life blood swell up in my heart again and again thinking that’s what loving God was all about. But no…God created the heart to love Him by not only pumping to the lungs…longing for His every breath filled with the life we need but to love Him by pumping that breath filled life blood to the body.

You see, yesterday I said that I identified what I was dealing with as “apathy” and it’s because of something Dr. James Dobson said. He said that today, we are so concerned about bringing pleasure to ourselves…we cater to it. We want to make sure we are comfortable and enjoying life and have even created all sorts of things for our pleasure…massage chairs, virtual realities in games and movies, computers, cell phones, ipods, mp3’s, etc. and the list could go on for certain. But we have spent so much time on this, that when it comes time to enjoy the natural things…the God made things that should bring us pleasure…we are desensitized to it and take no pleasure in it at all. We don’t feel.

Well, can it go to another extreme spiritually, all together? When we use all our hearts effort in pumping only to God and back to us so that we gain all the pleasure…does the heart suffer apathy? Does it even know the pleasure that would come from pumping to the rest of the body?

Apathy no more...

2009-05-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

Deuteronomy 6:5
"And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

What does it mean to love?

That’s worth meditating on and that’s where I have been spending my time. How do I love when I…if you want me to be completely honest, don’t feel anything? I have been repenting and even grieved at how “hard hearted” I have been or have atleast thought myself to be. God has since enlightened me on this and you might think that the words “hard hearted” are a bit strong, especially when God hardened Pharoah’s heart but that’s exactly what it is. The only difference is…God didn’t do this! Muscles are meant to be used and are kept flexible by use but what happens when you don’t use your muscle? It becomes stiff and hard! I have not been using my heart! In fact…I would even go as far as to say, I have been stiff necked! My eyes have been so fixed on me and my circumstance that I have hardly turned my head to the right or to the left!

Well…I have spent time and come face to face with this demon that I have lived with for most of my life. I have so fixated myself on making sure I am comfortable…that I am happy…that I have what I need and what I want…yes…even taking the Word of God and time spent with Him and relishing in His love…and hording it, thinking that it belongs only to me. It’s apathy and it is pathetic and I AM DONE WITH IT! I want to be consumed with asking the question “How are you?” and I want to be so provoked by the answer that I am moved to do something about it because if I really listen…my heart will respond! My head…which by the way, contains these two things called eyes that the Holy Spirit uses to look through and see the need…will be turned!

On Sunday night, the Lord delivered me. I sat on the floor and my head and neck shook uncontrollably. I was planted in the altar and the Lord would not allow me to get up, no matter how hard I tried and any time I would try to stop the head turning…it would begin again and the pain in my neck would increase. I was even having pains in my heart and thought at one point, something was really wrong. I was completely aware that the preaching had begun and I did not want to be a distraction (and thankfully Ps. Sharon had said that we could stay in the altars) but the truth is…I was the one distracted and God so desired my attention. God has said to me that I have not even begun to cry and I know this…still the tears have barely come, despite the release I feel inside and I believe that a beginning is pending but I see it like this. We are to renew our minds by the washing of the water of the word. And just like when we are washing our clothes and the washer must be filled, it doesn’t drain out until the clothes are clean. Well, I believe the waters are washing over my mind still and soon they will drain. And then there’s a rinse cycle…and heaven help me…a spin cycle and the clothes can then come out for everyone to see…hung out on the line so to speak and thus, they become part of my wardrobe.

And then…just like in the natural…the washer is ready for another load. And believe me…God will show me what needs to be washed.

This bringing me back to the word and to Sunday night when I got home. This all seems rather personal and I guess another analogy would work here…no one wants to air out their dirty laundry but I get to today (as Pastor Sharon would say)! Praise God! Anyway, when I got home, I went to bed…my body still ringing literally…and the enemy was waiting. All night I warred because he told me I was going to die…that I had just shook my brain loose and that I wouldn’t wake up in the morning and it felt like it but IT WAS A LIE! I was up half the night and didn’t know how I was going to function the next day but my Savior was right there with me. Try as I may, I could find nothing in the Word that seemed to help or would even quiet this thing but it didn’t change what I know… that Jesus Christ is my life and the length of my days and no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper…that’s my inheritance! Morning came, I got up, got dressed, got the kids off to school and headed off to work and of course, my head hurt and my muscles ached…PRAISE GOD because when your muscles ache…especially those in your neck…you know your head has been turning! I had worked some "hard" muscles loose and they felt like flesh again!

I went through my day in a fog…and fear seemed to pursue me all day. I got home and the kids and I got dinner and rented a movie and as I was relaxing on the couch…my daughter came to me and said, “Mommy…my belly hurts and I don’t feel well.” Her face was flushed and I asked her, “Are you afraid?” And she said, “I don’t want to be sick on my birthday.” (...the next day was her birthday.) I pulled her up on my lap and began praying and again the threats started coming to me… that she would be sick and I was going to die. You see, the spirit of death knew me …there were spiritually dead places in my heart and in my life…and it did not want to leave. It knew it was done but fear was it’s helper and if I would just be afraid….

Well, I promptly stood up! I didn’t want to scare my girl but I said, “That’s it! Spirit of death! Get out! Spirit of fear! You too! Get out of my house! I opened the door…walked out on the porch, opened the second door and said, “GET OUT!”

And shut the door and went back inside and enjoyed the movie!

Later I went to bed and listening to night sounds on He’s Alive Radio, got more free (whoohoo!) and spent time in the Word and thus….Deuteronomy 6:5…

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

I have heard this and prayed this many times over and now it has set me free!

The word love here has nothing to do with emotions or feelings and is in no way subject to apathy! It means this…”to make ones choice in”.

I shall make my choice in the Lord my God, with all my heart, and with all my soul and with all my might! I will make my choice in the Lord my God whenever He asks me to talk to someone for Him, to give provision to someone for Him, to heal someone for Him, to have love toward…, to have compassion for…, to have mercy on…, to demonstrate grace to…, to…to…to..! I will make the choice in Him with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my might!

When I make my choice in Him, I am loving Him! When I make my choice in Him, I am loving them! I am a loving person! I am! I don’t have to feel anything to chose! I just chose! Chose…chose…chose! Bring on the choices Lord…I want to lavish love on you today! I want to lavish love on others today! Let me chose!

Holy Rebellion

2009-05-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Two words that do not seem as though they should in any way be spoken together, yet this is what I have been hearing in my spirit all day long.

Matthew 16:18 says, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Recently, during Sunday night prayer, the words, "Lord, give us the gates of hell." came out of my mouth before I truly even realized what was being asked. And later, as I meditated on this at home, I began to ask God questions that I'm not sure I even yet have the answer to but I do know this...there are gates wide open in this nation that were never meant to prevail!

There are gates that have been open, taking the lives of our unborn children. There are gates that have been open, working to destroy the sanctity of marriage. And there are gates open...seeking to take our liberties and silence the voice of truth.

And looking at this...someone can say that I am attacking the abortionists or the homosexual or even the Hate Crimes Bill...but no, I am making plain the real issue! Every man, woman and child that Jesus died for. Every one that God sent His word for!

Murder...is no more to be opposed than the lies. Homosexuality and fornication are no more severe in nature than stealing. Sin=Sin no matter how you spell it.

But to be Holy...that means to forsake it all!

To be holy is to be devoted entirely to...to be set apart...separate unto Someone far greater than us! To Someone who loves us far more than we even have yet to comprehend! To Someone who's heart is fixed on saving a lost people who were created for Him alone!

And to rebel....is simply to be in opposition. And it's time for the devoted, the set apart, the separate to position themselves in opposition. It's time for the voice of opposition to be heard.

Let the revolution begin! A revolution is that of successful rebellion and major change is the outcome!

We are meant to be a successful people! God has stated that in His word. In fact...His word in itself is the only success to be had! Joshua 1 says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

And our concern should not be that there is opposition to His word but that we are failing to oppose the opposition.

No table left unturned...

2009-04-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

Matthew 21:12-13
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

Could it be that when Jesus came into the temple, He was disturbed, not because what they were doing was wrong but more so...displaced?

Was it that the moneychangers and the sellers were not doing their business outside of those walls? You see, as long as they sat within the temple...they were gaining something for themselves but in truth, if they didn't get themselves up and take their trade outside those walls, they were stealing from God!

Isaiah 54:2 says,
"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;"

You see, by remaining inside the four walls of the church...warming the "seats", we are doing an injustice.

As we were praying this morning, I saw a very clear picture of something. There is a variation of this account of Jesus going into the temple and it's found in John 2:12-16. Take a look...

"After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise."

Now, Isaiah says that we are to lengthen our cords and I believe that it is not a coincidence that Jesus made a scourge from "small cords". You see, He put in his hand the proof that they had "spared" an rebuked them with it!

Would anyone want to believe that God would say such a thing as "Why are these tables in My house? Why are you sitting here? Get out of My house!"

Perhaps not but this was the message of Jesus!

I pray, "Lord, let there be no table overturned in this personal temple. Don't allow me to be sparing! And Lord, let your church be the House of Prayer that you intended! Reveal the small cords...and get us out!"

Breaking the net!

2009-04-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

Luke 5:4-6 “Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.” Reading this, we see that in order for Simon to bring in the harvest of fish…he had to launch out into the deep. Until that point, their boat had been tied to the seashore but what is God saying here? He is saying that in order for us to go out into the deep places where we begin to glean, we have to cut the ties to shore, to those things that make us feel secure. For you, that tie may be to your bank account, to your nest egg, your rainy day money. It can be anything that you rely upon rather than God, even a person but when we cut those ties of reliance and launch out into the deep and at His word, let down the nets, that "break" through comes.

And those nets…what are they? I believe they were a type and symbol of an old wineskin. They were meant to be broken so that the great multitude could come in. God is asking us, "Cut the ties. Go out deeper. At My Word cast forth your nets. Sow the old way you have done things. How it’s always been, make it a seed." You see, they had been casting their nets all night and had taken nothing. It was a works mentality and it was not yielding results.

What exactly was Jesus asking them to do? Something different than they had already done? He said, "go out into the deep". That word deep there actually means, a place of deep, extreme poverty. Isn’t that the place where nobody wants to be? Well, that’s where God wants us to be when it comes to the self-life and anything we do to preserve “me, myself and I”…any thing that is “cast” in our minds as a better way. Simon was casting his nets and gotten nothing but then the Word came. You see, there’s even a flip side to this. We can even say, “I’ve done that already Lord and it hasn’t worked. It’s yielded nothing. I've given before, I've prayed that before. I've been there, done that...and nothing!" But at His word…let your net down. Let your old wineskin down and there will be a draught!

Go back to the text with me one more time. He said, “let down your nets for a draught”. Oh Glory, I can hardly contain it! That word draught means, "the act of drawing in a net.” Seems contradictory doesn’t it? No! It was the moment they released it that the net was drawn in! The moment we release that thing, the moment we sow, is the moment the net is drawn in! I'm all in Lord! I mean "I" am all in! Break this net!!

Official statement

2009-04-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

This idea was not originally mine but because God gave it to another man (and author)by the name of David Timms who freely gave what he recieved, I get to claim it! Amen to that!

I am making an official statement today..."Faith does not give me control of God."

In his book, Living the Lords Prayer, David Timms asks the question, "Does Father really measure our level of love or trust (faith) and hand out rewards accordingly? What sort of love is that?"

He then goes on to strengthen the question with this (give or take a bit of my input)from Hebrews 11! WOW!

How does a man like Samson, fit into that lineup of great faith, alongside Joseph, etc? Samson was a picture of immorality...who kept company with prostitutes. He was disobedient to his parents and "played the game" basically until he lost everything. It was when he was blinded, humiliated, shamed, and degraded, AT THE END OF HIMSELF, that he called out to God. Samson deserves his place in the Hall of Faith, not because he was great in faith but because his surrender declared that God is. That prayer in particular was the only prayer of Samson's recorded.

I have always read that passage and thought,"My...what men of faith, I want to be like them." Now I read it and see, it's not so much about the men as it is about their God. (Even though, without their example, where would I be?) Rather than, "My...what men of faith!", now I say, "My...what a God that responded!"

I am done having faith in my faith to see me through. I want to have faith in the God of faith! Today, I lose faith in myself. I can't do it!

And God gave me a glorious picture of something as well. I was talking about this with my friend Claudia and she said, "By grace, through faith we are saved." Of course! In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul said that he laboured more abundantly than they all but not him! It was the grace of God which was with him. Grace was "by" him and the thing is, we can't fit through faith, that passage that leads to the fulfilled answer unless grace is "by" us...unless we are side by side, in agreement with grace! Seems like a strange analogy that we have to add something to us in order to be able to fit, where we alone can't but that's how I see it. Grace somehow makes us fit where we wouldn't have to begin with!

My heart is fixed, O God!

2009-03-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

In Psalm 57:7, we read from David, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." Now we know that David has such a fixation with God, such focus...that his outward expression of that was to lift up his voice an sing and to give praise.

Now, it's on record that David was not a "private" praiser. He literally danced until he had exposed himself and all he had to offer and even desired to offer...was himself...uncovered...unhindered...nothing added to or taken away from what God created him to be. Raw praise! So that would lead me to believe that when David decided he would sing...it wasn't alone in the shower or off somewhere in a corner. He was not an out of site, out of mind kind of guy..atleast that's not the impression I get.

So, when David gave sang his song, would God have been the only one recieving from the praise David was giving? No, if others heard him and were listening, their hearts were changed. They had to have been asking, "Who is he singing to? Who is the object such loud love?" With Davids focus on God and his song released for God...praise was given. A gift was distributed and other hearts no doubt became fixated as well. He drew their focus...their attention to Father.

This is my song today...for all to hear! (or read) My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise. Notice that David had to say it twice. Sometimes, with all the distraction, we have to go back to our heart and remind it that it is fixed on God and capture it's attention again...return to your first love!

Beloved!

2009-03-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

The other day, as I was driving home from a rather difficult appointment faced with choices that I had no clear answer to, God spoke a very familiar scripture to me. 3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers." And for the first time I heard something in this that I have never heard before. The emphasis was not on prosperity or health but on BELOVED. I realized that God was addressing me. He said, "BE LOVED" and in this is my identity! He had my full attention!

I've just begun looking at this word and there is much to take in but one thing I want to note is that when God addresses us as "beloved"...He is saying lovable one!

To prosper means to have success or to thrive. And to have success by definition is the following:

1 a: to come next after another in office or position or in possession of an estate ; especially : to inherit sovereignty, rank, or title b: to follow after another in order
2 a: to turn out well b: to attain a desired object or end
3 to pass to a person by inheritance

1: to follow in sequence and especially immediately
2: to come after as heir or successor

This just explodes on the inside of me! Here is the SBV of that passage, "Be loved! I wish above all things that you would come after my dear Son in office and take possession of His estate! Reap what He has sown for...the fields are white for the harvest! Inherit My sovereignty...see it, hear it, say it, do it, as I see it, hear it, say it, do it! See them, hear them, say to them, do for them as I have seen them, heard them, said for them and done for them! Take rank! Take your title as a executor of My will! Follow after my order! It's my desire that you will turn out well and obtain My desired end for you...everything I have expected for you because the moment you were formed, I became an expectant parent once again! Great Expectations! Greater than you have yet to know! You are heir to the Kingdom!"

"...as your soul prospers!" As my mind, my will, my emotions...all of the above!

It's All Confetti

2009-03-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 41:15-16
Look, I have made you like a new threshing board with many sharp teeth. So you will walk on mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like chaff.

You will throw them into the air and the wind will carry them away; a windstorm will carry them away. Then you will be happy in the Lord; you will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.

I was reading this last night and I want to make note of two things….the first being, can you see yourself taking this mountain that is in front of you, threshing it and crushing it under your feet? What ever it is, whether it’s an infirmity, relational difficulties, financial, etc. I couldn’t possibly name every possibility but to thresh it? What a way to look at that! Threshing is to separate the seeds from a plant harvested. Do you realize that this mountain you are facing is for your harvest? It is for you to “strike repeatedly” and take the seed from it? Wow! What a concept! I have always just wanted the mountain to get out of my way. I don’t want to have to strike it, especially not repeatedly as sometimes seems necessary in prayer but according to this…every time I hit that mountain with the word of God…seed is extracted from it for me! I harvest it! And you do too!!

And then, vs. 16 says that we will throw them into the air and the wind will carry them away! It’s a celebration! I got this picture going in my head right now of that mountain just turning to confetti and taking handfuls and throwing it in the air! God says, then will you be happy!

One more thing…off the beaten trail…no pun intended! Hee! Hee!
God had me to begin reading a different version of the bible recently because I am an avid KJV & Amplified reader and I love to study that way. I still study there but just to read, I am trying the New Century Version. Well, when I read in vs. 16 where God says, "Then…you will be proud of the Holy One of Israel.", do you know how that touched me? As children, we so desire for our parents to be proud of us? Well, for the very first time, I heard Him whisper to my heart… “Are you proud of Me?”

I am so proud of my Lord! My heart just swells every time I think of Him!

Disappointment or Divine Appointment?

2009-03-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

All of us experience what we call disappointments…these are the things that fail to meet our expectations but what if disappointments are Divine?

Not that God caused them but that he will use them to bring us to a place of what He has expected for us, rather than what we expect!

Ezekiel 13:2 says, that we are capable of prophesying our own minds…speaking to our future from a seat of emotions and being deceived into thinking that this is what God wants for us. Even to the place of saying, "The Lord has said..." Making appointments for something to take place that never was meant to be to begin with. And when the appointment never happens or when someone fails to meet us at the appointment that we have contrived in our mind, we enter into what is called “disappointment”. Disappointment is our appointment with God! A hidden appointment with love because He loves us too much to allow us to settle for anything that is less than His for us! A time for Him to reveal a greater plan for our life!

I abandon the quarrel

2009-02-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 20:3
"It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling."

Interpretation by definition of the Hebrew Lexicon of Proverbs 20:3 is as follows:
It is with a reputation of honor, glory, reverence for God and dignity that a man ceases or rests from strife or controversy with words; but every fool, one who despises wisdom or mocks when guilty will be meddling, breaking out in contention, carrying on a debate, though it is to his disgrace.

Proverbs 17:14
"The beginning of strife is like the letting out of water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out."

God has placed precious living waters on the inside of me, too precious to be let out by allowing strife to begin and empty me of those waters. I abandon the quarrel. By grace I write what is in my heart and I trust the All Consuming Fire...that He loves me and you enough to burn up what cannot remain in our lives.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 says "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."

My heart doesn't know, simply what it doesn't know but the Refiner will reveal it, lovingly.

It Takes An Army

2009-02-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Normally I would use italics to emphasize an entire scripture but in this case, the italics are important, in that these words were not in the original context but were added later. Keep that in mind. That in itself is not the main focus of this entry but is important to note for later reference.

Now, I know you have read and heard Malachi countless times, especially if you tithe and attend a church that tells the truth about it! Amen? But as I read this passage the other evening, I recognized someone in it that I never did before. God called himself, Lord of Hosts. I had to stop and ask why?

He could have said, "prove me now...saith your Source" or "prove me now...saith Jehovah Jireh, your provider." No, he said, "Prove me now with this...saith the Lord of armies...Lord of companies, mighty in battle!"

It is the Lord of Hosts, our heavenly Captain, the General that actually opens the window of heaven over our life and why is it Him? Because He knows the war that is ensued when someone is faithful with Kingdom finances and He is willing to go to war and send forth the heavenly hosts, the company that will battle to deliver the blessing to all those who will do what is right, just and holy, releasing to God what is His.

And what is this window? Interestingly enough, the word "window" is defined in the Hebrew as a place for lurking, to lurk, lie in ambush or lay wait. Can't you just see them now, the heavenly host, laying wait for your tithe and offering to give the order for the window to be opened? Just waiting to ambush your life with the blessing of God and remove any hindrance that gets in the way.

The "poured out blessing" is another thing altogether. "Pour" in the Hebrew means "to empty". This thing that God does is not a mamsy pamsy trickle! He takes the blessing, turns it upside down, inside out, all at once and empties it into our lives! He empties prosperity to give it to us! He empties every divine care and confers every happiness to us! To confer is to literally exchange views. He wants to pour out upon us in such a way that heaven is literally emptied into our life and we are looking then from heaven's perspective, right here on earth! A blessed perspective.

And now, take away every word from that passage in italics and read it now. That... not enough! I may have gone to the other side on this point but I believe God says to me, "Prove me! I'll do this but you'll see, with how I love you, that's not enough for Me! There's more!" Come to the other side! What a view!

What's in you?

2009-02-09T06:53:00.000-08:00

Last night at the World Lighthouse here in Grantsville, MD, we watched an instrumental teaching (video), by Lance Wallnau. The topic was the Kingdom of God and the Seven Mountains but at the very beginning, he mentioned something that has been ringing in my heart since I heard it. He said, "When Elijah called for the rain and there appeared a cloud the size of a man's hand, it was because the rain was in him." WOW! What a statement! How can we prophesy and see it come to pass? Because it's in us! The provision is in us! The only way that Elijah could call for the rain...was because it was in him!

If you are not familiar with this part of history, it's 1 Kings 18:41-46
And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

What's in you just waiting to be called for? What part of the KINGDOM should you be determining to be in the earth now? What has God said to bring up out of your belly now? The "rain" is in you!

The Power of His Might

2009-01-31T16:11:00.000-08:00

Recently the Lord has been speaking to me about the power of His might. It is, as men & women of God, part of our being.

The definition of might is simply and I should say, complexly this: The power, authority or resources of an individual.

And this is what has been given us. Below, I just want to share a few scriptures with this definition replacing the word might.

Deuteronomy 6:5
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy power, authority, and resources.

So then to love God will all of our might, would mean to love Him in the use of the power & authority he has entrusted us with and with all of our resources as well. All we have, all he has given us, we love him in return with it! We use it in a way that demonstrates our love for Him, amen?

2 Samuel 6:14
And David danced before the LORD with all his power, authority and resources.

When David danced, he did it before the Lord, demonstrating power, authority and with everything he had! He invested everything he had in every movement! What I think is beautiful, is that David would never had been able to do something that God himself did not do. How then does God dance?

2 Chronicles 29:12
Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and power, authority and resources; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

I love how this passage refers to what is in God’s hand….power and might, and in His hand is to make great and to give strength to all. Do you know what else is in God’s hand? You and I....John 10:28 says that no one will snatch them out of His hand. That’s talking about you and me. We are in the same hands, with all of God’s power, authority and resources today. We are in that place where He makes great and gives strength to all who are in His hands! How beautiful is that?

Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy power, authority and resources.

Isaiah 33:13
Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my power, authority and resources.

Jeremiah 10:6
Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in power, authority and resources.

Isaiah 62 says that God has given us a new name…one that is righteous and that’s the name of Jesus. And in giving us that name, He has given us what is in that name as well. That alone has caused a resolve on me to consider how I say the name of my Lord. That when I say His name…I say it differently. Knowing that when I say it, a treasury of power, authority and resources is opened up. Jesus is limitless.

Ephesians 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his power, authority and resources.You know to “be” by definition is "to have a specific relationship to" For example: the leaves are green or the fish is a trout. Did that leaf make itself green? No but God said, to be green and it was. Did the fish make itself a trout? No but God said, fish be a trout and it was. So if God says BE in his word…it’s not something we have to try to do, it’s something we are. He will never tell us to be something we are not but will reinforce what we already are in Him.

Colossians 1:11
Strengthened with all power, authority and resources, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.

A time to keep silence....

2009-01-16T05:54:00.000-08:00

Ecclesiastes 3:7 says that there is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.

Recently, I have found myself just wanting to be silent. I've been desiring the quiet of my home, the solitude that it offers me...even when my family is around making all the noise that two children and their Daddy can make. But what I have come to realize is that silence isn't subject to circumstance or atmosphere. It's an attitude, a position of the heart and especially the mind...in order to hear God.

I read a beautiful quote and I believe this is what has fed the hunger for silence in my life. "Silence is the place...just before the voice of God."

Beautiful, isn't it? And as I was reading the word & making a study of silence, I found that a synonym for silence is "secrecy" or "secret". My spirit man just leaps inside me every time I even think about that.

Immediately my mind made reference to Psalm 91:1, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." and then Psalm 25:14 that says, "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant."

Allow me to just convey to you what God has spoken to me in my times of silence.

-Silence is the address to where you live. (Psalm 91)

-Silence is a mark of understanding My presence and acknowledging it.

-Silence is the character trait of someone who dwells in the secret place and a witness to the desire to know more of My secrets.

-Silence is the prelude to prophecy, where words are concieved and things come forth. Silence is where I will equip you for what I am about to do, a place of preparation for what is to come.

-Silence is the true mark of reverence and is the atmosphere where I can deposit my secret.

-Silence is characteristic of those who hunger for my secret and recognize my presence.

-A secret is something in which a man has thought me to be silent but in truth, I have made you to know all things...but it's man's unwillingness to be silent that hinders that knowing.

I'm going to step out here for a moment but just bear with me. Revelations 8:1 has always intrigued me and now...even more. It says, "When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour."

I love what the Adam Clarke Commentary has to say about this:

This must be a mere metaphor, silence being put here for the deep and solemn expectation of the stupendous things about to take place, which the opening of this seal had produced. When any thing prodigious or surprising is expected, all is silence, and even the breath is scarcely heard to be drawn.

If silence speaks of that kind of expectation...what a wonderful attitude to hold.

Just recently, Ps. Margaret Vis, a powerful intercessor and very wise woman shared that this year is to be the year of birthing. That means that many of us are expecting. Selah.

He's Better Than Life!

2009-01-09T10:32:00.000-08:00

The other day in prayer, the Lord spoke to my heart from the passage in Revelations 12 verse 11…”they loved not their lives unto death.” And I began to wonder what that truly meant. What does it mean to love not my life unto death and am I doing that? Can that be said of me?

Well…I have to ask this question then…
Do I love what I think, how I feel, and my desires for me more than I love God’s thoughts. Do I put His feelings first and are His desires mine? Because that’s what the word life in that passage means and we can love what we think, our knowledge, our understanding to such an extent that is can spiritually kill us. I read a stop me in my tracks quote the other day from Bill Johnson. He said this, “I cannot afford to have a thought in my head about me that is not His.” That quote is now written in my journals that I write in every day and my bible, right next to this passage. Wrong thoughts can cost me everything and I am not willing to spend that much! How about you?

Let me just take it a step further…the word “their” in this passage, when I referenced it, refers to a lower and denser air as distinguished from the higher, rarer air. Think me silly but when I read this, I thought of what being dense means if someone were to call me that. It means stupid or lacking in sensibility or intellect. THICKHEADED...so many of my thoughts crowded together and none with the ability to move or take me anywhere. But the opposite end of the spectrum…to be rare is to be choice or to be the best part. And that’s what I want…to deliberately love God’s choices for me…what He considers to be the best part for me. And the truth of the matter is...it doesen't matter how many thoughts I have crowded in this head of mine, only God's thought holds the possibility.

Psalm 63:1 & 3 says ” O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is… Because thy lovingkindness is better than life” Do you know what He is saying here? My interpretation is this, “God…you are Lord over me, my mind, my will and my emotions. Early will I seek you because my soul is naturally thirsty for you and I want your thoughts to be my first thoughts. I want them to come before mine. My flesh longs for you but this world is dry and thirsty as well and only the waters of your word will do! Your lovingkindness, your goodness, the thoughts and the plans that you have for me that you will carry out are better than I could ever think of on my own!” What a wonderful God he is! HE'S BETTER THAN LIFE!!

Keeping sight!

2008-12-31T09:37:00.000-08:00

Zechariah 2:8 refers to us lovingly as the apple of God's eyes and is an expression of God's jealousy for us...

"For thus says Yahweh of Armies:' For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye."

You'll find this same reference made in other parts of the word as well. In Psalm 17:8 we find that David even asked to be remembered by the Lord as such...calling upon the protection that it promised by being referred to in that way. "Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings..."

As I was researching this, I found that the apple of the eye is the pupil of the eye. The most important part...the part that sees, that takes in the vision! And just think about it...the eyelid takes careful protection of the pupil by automatically closing when there is the least possibility of danger! Yes, the pupil is most precious and jealously protected and that is what God says we are.

How wonderful to be loved in such a way. To be so cherished and faithfully kept. But what I find more interesting is this...God has asked us to do the same for Him.

Proverbs 7:2 says this, "Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye." God wants us to hold His word in the same way and to constantly maintain the vision for our life, so that we will not perish! And most of all, God wants to see Himself when He looks in our eyes! The pupil is like a mirror. When you look into someones eyes closely, you can see a refection of yourself there. That's what God wants...to see Himself reflected in your vision. To know your eyes are set on Him.

So today...when you read the Bible...let those words be reflected in your eyes and others will read them too!

Sincere Hearts

2008-12-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

I was reading from Bob Jones website last night, THE SHEPERDS ROD 2009, a prophetic insight for this year we are about to enter into and one very profound statement that he made was this..."America has lost her innocence testing shall be this year to see who is sincere and who is not. And your faith will fail you this year if it’s not in Jesus Christ."

Daniel 11:34-35 Now when they fall, they shall receive a little help. Many shall join themselves to them with flatteries and hypocrisies. 35 And some of those who are wise, prudent, and understanding shall be weakened and fall, [thus, then, the insincere among the people will lose courage and become deserters. It will be a test] to refine, to purify, and to make those among [God's people] white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for the time [God] appointed.

This year, our hearts are going to be tested. I can say that the testing has already begun. If I could just be transparent for a moment...(it's good practice for eternity)...God has been dealing with me greatly in this area. God wants to know if I am sincere in every area, from being a wife, to a mother...to being a minister of helps and so on... The question God has been asking is who are you doing this for? If I am being a wife only for John...it's for the wrong reason. He's a wonderful husband and he deserves a good wife but utimately...he doesn't belong to me. He's God's, so my actions as a wife should reveal that to him! If I am a trying to be a good parent because I want to be and my kids need one...again, it's only half effective. My parenthood should reveal God as father to them...and His love! If I am helping because I want to...you guessed it...wrong reason! God wants to help and that should always be apparent! In all of these instances and whatever may apply to you, God is always willing and sincere in His motive. And that's what He is looking for in us! That same heart...carried out so beautifully in what He has made each of us to be and called us to do!

Here's the symptom that tells me, by the way, that my sincerity is being tested...it's found right in the word we have just read. It's the urge to desert...jump ship...bail....run...to not have to face it! Any time I recognize that tendency to want to do that...God is asking, "Are you sincere?"

Let me just encourage you...look to the ONE who is sincere in every way...and acknowledge every good and perfect gift that is in you in Christ Jesus. Sincerity will be communicated through your faith in Him!

2009 A Hallelujiah Year!!!

2008-12-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

I was doing some reading in the word today and just got supercharged as I read. I came across the name of the Lord, Yahweh found in Exodus 3:14 where God speaks to Moses and says “I am that I am”. And as I looked more closely at it, Yahweh means, “present to act, an immediacy or presence or even simply, to be!” I am that I am….present to act! I am that I am…all that you have need of, present! Every provision that is needed for you life…present,“to be”, to come into immediate existence! Love, salvation, deliverance, healing, prosperity, faith, peace, hope, mercy, compassion, truth, etc. etc. All of the attributes of God’s integrity and character, every resource of God, immediately present, in that NAME!! What
Stacey falls short of, what I myself cannot do...call on the I AM THAT I AM...and the presence of whatever is needed comes!

And something even more interesting is that Yah, a shortened form of Yahweh is directly tied to a word we commonly use in praise! Every time we say HALLELUJIAH, we say, “God is present! He’s immediately here! God is present to act! GOD IS... GOD BE with us!” Whoa! Hallelujiah!

The Bell

2008-12-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

Someone sent this to me in an email today and I thought it was nice and wanted to share! It's supposed to be a bell and if you copy and paste this (centered), it would make a lovely insert in a Christmas Card or a nice card for place settings at Christmas Dinner. Read and enjoy!

THE BELL
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )
I am assured all things work together for good (Romans 8:28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected.(Phil.1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
Who you are?

Together

2008-12-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about Christmas and what this week holds for us. Such a wonderful time, when we come together with loved ones and family…and there’s something very powerful about that word…together! Of course, in simplest of terms, broken down, it means two gathered. Two is a very powerful number in the word of God! Any time two were gathered, it was meant to be productive…to multiply and be fruitful! Just look at Genesis, when God created, he made two of every thing…and it was for this purpose. Think of that this week when you come together with your family and your friends. You are coming together with them for more than just a wonderful meal and gift opening! You are coming together so that something greater can be accomplished. God wants to add something to their lives through you!

Just look at Matthew 18:16,19 & 20
…”in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”

“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Every gathering, whether it’s simply in your living room with your spouse and children, with a friend, at church, or even these Holy day gatherings that we so look forward to, Christmas & Easter…just think of what can be established there! Where we gather, in His name, (….and as a child of God, the good news is, you can’t gather any other way! His name is always present with you. Unbelievers are not an issue here! Acknowledge Holy Spirit’s presence and person. He & I make two! He & you make two!) So why not come up with some questions…some asking…this Christmas. What do you want to see accomplished in your life and the life of others? Heaven becomes present when we are gathered!

I am so looking forward to what Sunday holds, with the Word & fellowship & Candlelight Communion on Tuesday! But I am also looking forward to the party at my sisters house and dinner at my grandparent’s home, and wherever else I may find myself between now and Christmas because every gathering…every coming together means....multiplication…fruitfulness…something produced....another life touched and changed for God’s glory!

A Christmas Memory

2008-12-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

Pastor Sharon asked us the other evening what our favorite Christmas memory was...and truly, it was hard to chose but I think one has just been created! I loved this night with my step daughter. I just had the most wonderful 'mommy' time with her, which is a very rare thing and a very valuable thing. Most of the time, we are all together and we just can't get enough of her!

But tonight, I took her Christmas shopping...and we talked and had a great time and when she got in the car, she said, squeeling with delight, "Thank you!" and it did something to my heart. I knew she meant it. And when she got out of the car, we said our "I love you's" but once again, I got the same "Thank you" out of her and it hadn't lost any meaning since the first time she said it. What a precious thing! So precious!

Then it occurred to me...when was the last time I said thank you that way to anyone, especially my very loving, very giving, very wonderful heavenly Father? I say thank you to Him all the time...but like that? I want to make His heart feel like that. I'm catching up tonight...believe me!

Selfless equality....

2008-12-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

Luke 15 speaks of the son who asked his father for his inheritance and the father gave it to him. It says that he packed up his things and went into a far country and wasted his substance with riotous living. That’s when he found himself “wanting”. When he wasted his substance, his “being”...his knowledge, understanding and wisdom on things that were in rebellion to his father's thoughts toward him, contrary to his father's plans for him and outside his father's provision for him. And you know what I find interesting? No where is it stated that the father asked him to leave. The father simply did what was asked of him...no argument was recorded and no questions were asked. Could it be that the father was waiting for his son to ask for what was available to him? The conclusion of the parable would suggest such a thing, when the father stated, "all that I have is thine". This poses the question...Had the son remained there after receiving his inheritance, what could have potentially happened?

I was looking at that word “far” country because that’s where he went to when he began to live wrong and began to want. Far speaks of going beyond God’s preeminent. “Far” oversteps the province of a created being..the boundaries God created for us, that He can work within. “Far” makes reference to proud (presumptuous) things, full of arrogance, derogatory to the majesty of God.

Just look at some words that are synonyms to presumptuousness: self-assertive, self-conceited, self-important, self-satisfied, , self-assured, self-confident, self-centered, selfish. SELF, SELF, SELF!!!!! and what’s worse is the word superior! Thinking we know what’s best for self! That’s when we really come to want. And to want is nothing more than to be without worth. To be useless, to come behind, be late or tardy, failing to reach the goal and falling short of the end.

2 Corinthians 8:9-15 says...
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

Jesus didn't become poor in the natural...he became poor in his mind. Deducting all "self" from his thinking. That through his self-less thoughts, we might be rich! And then he put it in our hands to do the performing and be demonstration of the same thing. That in our abundance of selflessness, there will be an endless supply...no lack among us! Selfless equality? Selfless = equality.

2008-12-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

Job 23:12 &14 says “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. For he performs the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.” The word perform there means to furnish. And as I read this, I think simply put, when I love His word more than any thing I believe to be necessary for me to live, whether it’s food, clothes, money, a car, a house….that’s when He is able to furnish those things that are appointed for my life. And the word says that many such things are with Him. Not that He is with the things! And I think that’s where lack sets in many times! When the things distract us from the true focus! You know, we should be aware of this each and every day but here we are in the Christmas season and there are so many “things” that we need and even want. Things, that if we don’t have them, could leave us in a place of devastation but you know what, as large a deficit as not have those things may leave, without Him, they are simply distractions. What I want for Christmas and for each and every day is first and foremost Him!

With Him...I have it all!

My Cup Runneth Over

2008-12-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 8:6 "Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things."

I was meditating on "words" and "things" again. And I found something very interesting. Years ago, I remember studying a passage and looking closely at the word "lips" in it and the meaning was "pouring place". And you know, then that made perfect sense to me because "out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water." I recognized that my lips were literally a pouring place for those rivers to come forth!

Today as I was reading and meditating on Proverbs 8:6...again I felt prompted to reference that word "lips" again and need I say, again, I learned something so profoundly beautiful! Of course, the meaning here is once again, the bank of a river but it also refers to the edge of a cup.

I couldn't help but think of Psalm 23:5....
"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."

Never thought of my lips as being edge of the cup that God created to run over! Just loving the thought of that and falling in love with God all over again today!

Remember out loud!

2008-12-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

Deuteronomy 4:9 says "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;"

I am so thankful for the foundational teaching that I have received for all of my Christian life, which would be about nine years now. I have been taught how to believe and speak the Word of God, which is equivalent to faith. Faith is believing and speaking the Word!

And just this past Tuesday, our bible study was based on this very subject and something that we learned is that in the Hebrew, the word that we use for "thing" in English, is actually "word". And we know that when God created the world, that He spoke in Hebrew because that was the language until the tower of Babel when the languages were confused. So when God spoke, in the beginning, He said "Light, be...." and it was! His "word" created a "thing".

Well, I have just been chewing on this word all week and I am so thankful for it! And it has me on a mission of sorts. It seems now that every time I read the word, and see the word "thing" or "word", they are completely interchangeable to me and it just keeps revelating to me! And this morning, I was reading in Deuteronomy, the passage above and this is how I see it now...

Deuteronomy 4:9 says "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;"

It is so important right now that we keep our soul, guarding our heard and our mind, and tend to the precious Word that God has deposited there. We must set boundaries, forbidding fear, contrary imaginations, and words of doubt and unbelief to come in because what I am reading here is that it will cause us to forget the WORDS of God that we have already seen come to pass!

"Take heed to thyself"...It's written very clearly here that I AM RESPONSIBLE for keeping my self within the bounds of faith, guarding myself from fear, observe myself because why should anyone else have to keep an eye on me?...And then realize that I am the treasurer and the Word should never be wasted! Unprofitably used? And that's what will happen right? "Lest they depart from thy heart all the days of your life." And then my children would never be taught or my children's children.

And that's one last interesting point that I want to make here. I think that I have told at least four other people about the message I heard on "words" being "things" already and I have a feeling that is key! God was telling them...here's how you do it, "teach"! Teach someone...sit down on the couch next to your husband and tell him the exciting news...or at the lunch table with some friends and tell them what's at work changing your life or maybe even fill someone in who didn't make it out to church..."Man, what a great service, you have to hear this!"

Remember out loud!

Today's Bonus

2008-12-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful morning in prayer we had together! There are no words to explain what it was like, so I won't try, I'm sorry but God showed me a clear picture. As we were praying for someone, one of the intercessors prayed about not entertaining thoughts and this is what I saw...

There was a huge buffet table laid out...every kind of wonderful food I could imagine, prepared just for entertaining! There must have been a party planned and that's when I saw what I believe was the spirit of poverty. He wasn't the one the layout was intended for but he was the one that was being entertained. And he was FAT! With one thought, he was offered something from the table and as more thoughts came, it wasn't very long and everything was gone....table linens, napkins, china, silverware, wine glasses...it was all gone. He even began to devour the table.

You see, that table is the one God has prepared for me in the presence of my
enemies but my enemy should never be entertained! Psalm 23:1 says "The LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack." and verse 5 continues, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

I intend to eat everything on that table...the enemy is only there to watch!

"Don't hold your breath!"- fat chance

2008-12-04T06:36:00.001-08:00

Last night...a long awaited answer to prayer came. It's been a year and a half really and of course, my friend and prayer partner and I have agreed many times concerning this issue...so I called her right away to tell her the good news and when the words came out of my mouth, this huge sigh was released from out of my belly. A few minutes passed and it happened again and again. And then, the Lord said, "You have been holding your breath!"

We all of course have heard the saying, "Don't hold your breath!" It's an idiom of sorts, something that you say in order to tell someone that an event is not likely to happen. Well, you know what I have to say to that...FAT CHANCE!!! With God, it's not likely to happen that it's not likely to happen!

I'm still holding my breath...anticipating, anticipating, anticipating for yesterday's prayers and tomorrow's as well!

Plan B Society?

2008-12-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

As I was getting ready to blog yesterday, I was signing in and saw the blog titles flashing up and two of them were, "Hey, you should..." and the other was "alternative ideas" something or other.com and it occurred to me that we live in an "alternative" driven world. In this world full of choices, we are constantly faced with the question of "what are my alternatives?"

Alternative, by definition are an expression of choice, different or functioning outside the cultural, social or economic system and since we are citizens of heaven, this in terms of that would be defined this way:

An alternative is choosing, differing or functioning outside of the Kingdom's system, outside of God's plans and purposes and His unchanging will for each of our lives and the "body of Christ" as a whole.

I find it interesting that God's will never changes but somehow, when presented with alternatives, ours does. Let me say it this way. God's will is something He chose and created it and now, it is established and unmovable. It is what He made it to be! And He has given us the very same ability....to use our will in the very same way. To look at God's word and say, "Yep, that's my will too...finished! Done! It won't change, no matter if someone says, "Hey, you should..." or send you the address to "alternativeideas-something or other.com"

There of course, are alternative lifestyles that define us relationally. A pretty word for what is better known as homosexuality maybe but really...if the truth be said, any relationship that can be determined to be outside God's will, deviating from His original plan for relationship can be defined as alternative.

Also, there are alternative tastes in music...something other than what is conventional or standard. Christian radio is often described as alternative by many by according to the Kingdom of God, it's anything but because in truth, every musical gift was created to give God glory and if it doesn't, clearly it's alternative. In the "rock" world...alternative can be "punk rock" or "hard rock"...anything adding to or taking away from it's original value. So, there's another form of alternative. We can have the will of God in our heart and in our mouth but if we add to it with our opinion or in error or rather take what we want and leave other parts of the word out...it's alternative.

And of course, should I mention that there are alternative medicines? Various systems of healing, which by definition would suggest that "faith" healing is alternative. But in reality, in the Kingdom...whatever method we use to treat a ailment outside of "by His stripes, you were healed"...it's alternative. Now don't hear what I am not saying! Medicine is helpful, effective and necessary but how often does prayer for healing end up being the alternative?

Last but not the least of the alternating alternatives...I'm sure....schooling! This of course refers to elementary or middle schools with a non-traditional curriculum. In most cases, these are homeschooling and Christian based education! Here we go again! These are just the opposite!

But the real point here is that there is too much alternative thinking going on! Searching for plan B. When it really gets down to it, any thing that has influenced our perception of God...an opinion, misfortune, misrepresentation, misinterpretation, malpractice, injustice, false witness, and anything off center...leaning more to self-centered, that would make us think that God is anything but good, right fair, just, healing, prospering, forgiving, faithful, truthful and loving at all times is ALTERNATIVE!

God spoke to my heart, even as I was writing this and said,

"If you fashion Me according to what you think and feel and serve what you have fashioned, you are serving nothing more than an idol. I AM THAT I AM but I'm not what you think. I AM MY WORD! Emotions are never foundational. Word is Spirit and Spirit is foundational. Know Me by My Word."

Bottom line...here's what will result from "alternative"...
Deuteronomy 22:9 "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled."

Shielded

2008-12-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

Genesis 15:1
"After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying , Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."

Jesus Christ is our shield! He has already provided the shield that resists the onslaught of sickness and disease, mental and emotional attacks! He covers every part of our lives…even our finances! He is our shield but we have to understand that the shield is held up over our lives by the hand of faith! Our hand has to hold it! We have to hold it up by agreeing with and believing every thing God has spoken over our lives and by speaking it! It’s not there unless you say it is! So today, if you find that you’ve been under attack….how high are you holding your shield? Have you covered your life with it?

What I love is that the word of the Lord, came to Abram in a vision. He let Abram see Him as his shield! "He said, don't be afraid! Look at me!" I believe He gave him a clear look at what he had been protected from. How often do we say, "We'll just never know what has been prevented today..." (Guilty as charged, by the way.) And maybe that is so but I think we can see and are meant to see what has been averted! He showed Abram exactly His position as Redeemer...who both forgives and then puts himself in a position to take every punishment and weapon that has been formed because of it! And if that wasn't enough, He showed Himself as his exceeding great reward! Not only will He cover us...no matter what we have done or ever will do but He will also recompense us, compensate us for any damage that has been incurred or even compensate us for any service we have done for Him in holding Him up! He will reward us for holding up the shield with our hand of faith...simply believing and speaking of what He has done and what is in already in position in our lives! Glory!

And here's a little bunny trail for ya...

The shield is actually a demonstration of Christ’s activeness on our behalf. As I was meditating on this, God reminded me of when I was a little girl and riding with my grandfather in his pick up truck and the car in front of us slammed on it’s breaks. Instinctively, my Pappy threw his arm across me! God spoke to my heart that it’s like this with He and I. I was in my Pap’s presence, riding in his truck, seatbelt on, heading toward our destination together…not a question in my mind that we wouldn’t make it to where we were going. But at the very possibility of danger, it was his reflex to shield me! And just think about his intentions here. Unconsciously he was most willing to take the impact and also to keep me in place! God’s shield works the same way and all I have to do is just be in His presence…enjoy Him, put on my belt of truth, which is His word and believe it….and then with my words, my vehicle fueled by agreement, I move with God toward His plans and purposes and whatever happens…I find myself shielded and I know I will get there! He took the impact and I am still in place!

You see, the thing is, the reason I remember this day was not really so much about what happened in the truck (even though that is so precious to me)! My Pappy was taking me to Hershey Park! He said he was going to and I believed him, end of story! That shield he threw over me was something that happened on the way. Possible trouble diverted by his ability as driver…child safely in tow and we arrived at Hershey Park and the rest is history! How awesome is that?

And speaking of history...what is HisStory for you? What has God said will be in your life. Buckle yourself in with that!

Imagination

2008-11-30T10:17:00.000-08:00

Here is a conversation that took place between a man named Mack and Jesus, as he was preparing to walk on water with Jesus. It it taken from a book that I have just completed reading..."The Shack". The reason I am posting this is because the concept of this has evaded me until now, it has changed my way of thinking and I believe it is worth sharing. Enjoy....

"Will my feet get wet?" queried Mack.

"Of course, water is still wet."

Again Mack looked down at the water and back at Jesus. "Then why is this so hard for me?"

"Tell me what you are afraid of, Mack."

"Well, let me see. What am I afraid of?" began Mack. "Well, I am afraid of looking like an idiot. I am afraid that you are making fun of me and that I will sink like a rock. I imagine that-"

"Exactly," Jesus interrupted. "You imagine. Such a powerful ability, the imagination! That power alone makes you so like us. But without wisdom, imagination is a cruel taskmaster. If I may prove my case, do you think humans were designed to live in the present, the past or the future?"

"Well," said Mack, hesitating, "I think the most obvious answer is that we were designed to live in the present. Is that wrong?"

Jesus chuckled. "Relax, Mack; this is not a test, it's a conversation. You are exactly correct, by the way. But now tell me, where do you spend most of your time in your mind, in your imagination, in the present, the past or in the future?"

Mack thought for a moment before answering. "I suppose I would have to say that I spend very little time in the present. For me, I spend a big piece in the past, but most of the rest of the time, I am trying to figure out the future."

"Not unlike most people. When I dwell with you, I do so in the present-I live in the present. Not the past, although much can be remembered and learned by looking back, but only for a visit, not an extended stay. And for sure, I do not dwell in the future you visualize or imagine. Mack, do you realize that your imagination of the future, which is almost always dictated by fear of some kind, rarely, if ever, pictures me there with you?"

Again, Mack stopped and though. It was true. He spent alot of time fretting and worrying about the future, and in his imaginations it was usually pretty gloomy and depressing, if not outright horrible. And Jesus was also correct in saying that in Mack's imaginations of the future, God was always absent.

"Why do I do that?" asked Mack.

"It is your desperate attempt to get some control over something you can't. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn't even real, nor will it ever be real. You try and play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try and make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear."

As I read this, I realized that in no time that I have ever "pictured" tomorrow, whether good or bad, have I ever pictured it accurately. And I think the best advice I can take it to always remember when I am imagining...am I doing it together with Holy Spirit and do I see God there with me? Because if He is, regardless of whether what I picture becomes reality or not or even plays out exactly the way I think it should, that is one thing that will never change, His presence, in the present! And if He isn't in my imaginations...they are purely just fiction...fairy tales and horror stories.

If you would like to learn more about the book, "The Shack", go to www.theshackbook.com.

A Larger Place

2008-11-27T15:36:00.001-08:00

Psalm 118:5 “I called upon the Lord in distress, the Lord answered me, [and set me] in a large place. ”

I love what I read here! David had called on the Lord when he was distressed, hard pressed, in a place where there was no where else to turn and the Lord answered him and set him in a large place. When I began to look at this “large place” that this passage is speaking off…according to several commentaries, it is the same place that Jesus was received to after he was raised from the dead and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father. Into the heavens! And that is a large place indeed! God actually set his mind, his thinking and his understanding in a realm of all the possibilities of heaven, revealing everything that was available to him, causing those things he was facing to pale in comparrison. And if that was available to David, it is certainly available to us.

A place has been made accessible to us, where we can walk at liberty, where our goings are established. A place where we can get a large view of the love of God. The place where we are answered with more than we have asked for…a sufficiency and an abundance that exceeds what we ourselves could even begin to think of. A place where all the possibilities of heaven are waiting for us and there is no larger place than that.

There's so much...exceedingly...abundantly...to be thankful for!

Taking Joy

2008-11-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

Reading from the amplified bible, Psalm 97:11 says. “Light is sown for the uncompromisingly righteous and strewn along their pathway, and joy for the upright in heart, the irrepressible joy which comes from consciousness of His favor and protection.” Doesn’t that just bring you encouragement today? God has given us irrepressible joy! No amount of pressure can take it from us! And it comes simply from being aware and mindful of God’s favor over our lives and His protection! So take joy today! Take it by putting your mind on all the graces of God! Know that today, He is guarding you, covering you and defending you. The pressures of life can't even compare!

I am so thankful!

The Lord, Most Vehement

2008-11-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

Psalm 94:12 & 13
"Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked."
What I love is what the amplified bible actually says-that the Lord gives us the power to keep ourselves calm in the days of adversity. Isn't it good to know that God has actually give us the power we need, a supernatural calm, through His word and His instruction, that will keep us through the hardest, most difficult of times?

As I was reading further in this passage, I was introduced to and spent time with the Lord, in a way I never have before. Verse 17 of Psalm 94 says, "Unless the Lord, had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence." I asked Father, "What part of your personality is this talking about?" and as I began to search it out, I found that "Lord" in this passage is the Lord Most Vehement. I am so thankful to have been in His presence. You see, the Lord Most Vehement, is the characteristic of the Lord that is marked by strong feeling or expression, and this is the part of Him that is passionate, so much so that this name describes the duration of time in which Jesus lived from the last supper to the Cross. This is the part of His character that saw Him through and now determines our outcome! This is the part that can also be translated "soundness of mind".

And when I began to explore this word, I wondered what it meant for my soul, my mind, will and emotions to dwell in silence. To be silent is equal to living in a place of death. When our emotions are shut down,ruling us to the place where we can't seem to even be able to set our minds on God's word, this is where we will find ourselves. But what I love is that regardless of how "vehement" or strong our emotions may seem to be, whether it be sadness, grief, depression, anger, etc., the Lord Himself, is the MOST vehement and is able to help us! His "strong feelings" & passion for us have superceded every influencing emotion and His soundness of mind is available to us! And if Christ is in us, we too have the "Most Vehement" stronger emotion living and working through us...if we will acknowledge Him.

I know how important my words are...that they influence every aspect of my life...EVERYTHING! I can't emphasize that enough and I don't know how many times recently, despite knowing that, that I have caught myself saying, "I just can't do this anymore. I can't continue like this...and woe is me...pity me, it's my party, pity me!" And don't you know, God wouldn't have it any other way than to sit me down in church and make sure I didn't get away with it! Even the guy taking up the offering didn't realize it but all of his meditation and the time he spent studying was so that I would get the picture. But condemnation had found opportunity and I was again thinking I had failed.

But then there was Psalm 94:18, written just for me. "When I said my foot slippeth; thy mercy O Lord, held me up." First, let me point out "when I said", that's important to note here. The foot represents our ability to endure and to slip means to "waver, fluctuate in opinion, allegiance or direction" and to give an "unsteady sound". This passage can be read like this, "When I said, my ability to endure is wavering! My opinion is not steady...where is my allegiance, what is my direction? I have made an unsteady sound and I have betrayed myself but thy mercy O Lord, held me up!" In His mercy, He will even bend down and stoop to me and grant me grace and hold me up! He loves me enough to say, "Oh no...I'm not going to let you slip" and He doesn't mind at all telling me when it's time to take up the offering!

Current Situation vs. Eternal Location

2008-11-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

Romans 8:18 says "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

When I read this, I realized that this very passage was meant to help me put my "problems" in perspective because let's face it, we are always going to have problems. When we chose to become a die hard, no matter what, follower of Jesus Christ, (which is the best decision you could ever make, by the way! ) you will find yourself going against the grain...rubbing the cat the wrong way... swimming upstream.

Let me just be plain here. It doesn't matter if I think my problem is the end of the world! It doesn't matter if anyone else agrees that what I am going through is the end of the world! The truth is, if I don't want it to be the end of the "world" for me, that's when I have what should be defined as a real problem! Romans 8:18 says, and I don't believe I am taking this out of context, "the sufferings of this present time ARE NOT WORTHY!" And it's not worthy compared to the glory which shall be revealed in me! And the thing is, the glory isn't about me, it's for...

Read verse 19! It says "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." The world is waiting for me to stop worrying about my problems, talking about my problems, crying about my problems and comparing my current situation with my eternal location! When will the world ever get to see just how big my God is unless I let Him handle it? The question is, where do I really live? That's what the world wants to know!

I love the teachings of Andrew Wommack (www.awmi.net) and here's a few quotes of his, some of which really made me laugh today, after crying long enough that I knew I needed to get some put you in your place (in Christ) & get a hold of yourself (in Christ) Word of God in me!

"Today people think happiness is a result, instead of a choice."

"Happiness is not a state of being, it's a state of mind."

"If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you make a very small package."

"If you never bump into the devil, it's because you are going the same direction!"

God's Channel

2008-11-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

3 John 1: 2, a passage many of us know well, says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that you will prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers." And as I was praying the other day, the Lord spoke this word to me and I saw this passage in a whole new way. What is the soul really? I know that it is our mind, will and emotions but as I was referencing it, here’s what I found out. The soul, by the right use of aids offered it by God, can attain it’s highest end. I began to see this passage with the word "as" being like a mirror. The state of my health and prosperity being a reflection of what’s in my soul. If I am looking in the mirror and I am sick in my body or am lacking some way in any area of my life, I have to ask...what does my soul look like? Am I using it the way God intended to attain my highest end...which would be to prosper and be in health? That’s a good question today...worth exploring.

Something interesting I discovered also about this passage was that the word health of course is dealing with our physical well being but it also speaks of Christians whose opinions are free from any mixture of error, of one who has not deviated from truth. And to prosper is to have success based on what we think, feel or decide. So read this passage in light of that, in the Stacey Blubaugh Translation, of course. Beloved, I wish above all things that you will have success and be free from any mixture of error or deviation from the truth, even as your soul finds success in it’s way of thinking, feeling and deciding. You see, when we, with our mind and our will take on God’s way of thinking, feeling or deciding, every part of our life can be free. To be in lack, to be sick, to be depressed, is a mixture of error...a deviation from the truth and God wants us to be free from that! Amen?

Many of us are facing hard times today...walking through something, whether it’s physically, emotionally, relationally or even financially. But God’s word holds the answer, no matter what and God was so gracious to illustrate His word for me and show me why some things look the way they do in my life. You see, if true prosperity, as defined in this passage is a way a thinking, feeling or deciding. It’s a choice and is a direct result of what I chose to think on, how I chose to feel and what I decide to believe. Our soul is intended by God to be a channel for health and prosperity to pass through but every thought contrary to His, every feeling that yields to anything other than His word and any decision we make that would go against what He has decided to be "right" for us, through Jesus Christ, begins to build up in that channel and the flow begins to slow until it is like a clogged pipe. Sure, we may get a drop here and there but until we renew our mind, the flow is stopped up. And in order to do that, we must intentionally direct our thoughts toward God and all of His goodness & renew our mind in His word!

I know the Father of Invention! He's my Daddy!

2008-11-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 21:5 says this and I love what it says, by the way, “The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone that is hasty, only to want.”

First of all, let me say this! Thoughts are wonderful...the way God intended them because thoughts by definition are “inventions”. And an invention is nothing less than the product of an imagination or thought. Lately I have been warring with thoughts but I am so thankful that I know the "Father of Invention"! He's my Daddy! God is a God of thoughts! Psalm 40:5 says that God’s thoughts toward us are more than can be numbered. Do you know what that means? If He is that way, we are that way, because we have been made in His image! There are just multitudes of inventions, more than can be numbered, just waiting to be produced on the inside of you and on the inside of me! So, rather than think of the things that can’t happen or won’t happen and produce a whole lot of nothing...think about what’s possible for us because we believe and get creating, making, and bringing into being! What haven’t you thought of yet? It’s waiting!

I feel like I could just explode with how awesome God’s word is! As I studied that word "diligent", I learned that to be diligent is to be deliberate or intentional in the way we think! When God created us, He was very deliberate in making us His companion and He never intended for us to ever be apart from Him! And I love how diligent God is! When sin entered in, God deliberately thought... “ I know what they have done but I chose them and I still choose them! They are mine! I love them! I want to save them! I want to heal them! I want to deliver them and give them peace! I want to prosper them and give them an abundant life!” And just look what His thoughts invented! He, through Jesus, produced this beautiful fellowship with the loving Father we have today. How great is our God? Let me count the ways!

And to think that “God’s thoughts toward us are more than can be numbered.” When the gravity of Psalm 40:5 hit me, that God’s thoughts toward me, what just the thought of me causes Him to want to invent or produce and that those thoughts can’t even be numbered! How exciting is that? That God is continually producing His intentions and His purposes for my life! He is constantly inventing good things for me! And you know what’s even more exciting...what can I invent every time of think of Him. What can my meditation on God and His word produce? It’s my privilege and yours...to find out! I encourage you! Open your mind today and just think and allow God to think of you...invention in the making!

The Year of His Preservation

2008-11-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight as I was praying, God reminded me again of something He spoke to me at the beginning of the year. He had told me that this was the year of His preservation. And the scriptures that He had given me were these Psalm 121:8
"The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore."
coupled with Hosea 2:6
"Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths."

Preservation & thorns....hmmmm. Hardly sounds like they should be used in the same sentence but they are. You know, sometimes true love requires the hedge of thorns. You see, in Hosea, the husband loved his wife, so much so that he was willing to hedge her in, so that she would once again find her first love, the one she had lost sight of.

As I was meditating on preservation tonight, the Lord took me to this passage in Proverbs 2:11."Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:" When I began to study out those words, here is what I found. Discretion is equal to a purpose, plan or plot. And not just any purpose...it's the very purpose God created me for. The plans that He knows for me...that sometimes I miss. That's why this passage says that discretion preserves me. When I stay within the boundaries of His purpose for me, His plans, that's when I am preserved, protected, defended and guarded. But what is it that keeps us within those boundaries? Proverbs 2:11 says that it's understanding that will keep us. We must understand what His purposes are and I think I am beginning to know what that means. In order to understand things...we must feel the hedge...the prick... of anything outside of those carefully laid plans for us.

And I love what Hosea 2:15 says, "And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt."

If your looking at this saying "Uh...OK, Stace...so what about it?" Well, Achor means trouble or disturbance! God said that is our door of hope! These things that are troubling us and disturbing us are none other than an entrance to the things hoped for...the outcome! Glory to God! Thank the Lord for His direction and for making these troubles and disturbances a door! And didn't He say, "I will preserve thee in thy going out and thy coming in"? Isn't a door just the place for that?

Some things just aren't an option!

2008-11-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

You know, I have been in the midst of making hard decisions lately. The things I have been dealing with may be seemingly insignificant in comparrison to what others are facing but in my waking up and laying down, getting down to the world I live in, within the parameters of my existence...where no one else can or ever will live, except me and God, I have included too many things. When I say this, I mean the things like "but..what if"...not wanting to give up the things, that though they are no doubt, "God things", aren't God's thing for me.

I heard Charles Stanley say this...
That if we find ourselves "burned out", we are in disobedience because we know what we are and are not capable of. And the sad thing is, I have toyed with disobedience because I have entertained burn out. I'm not yet but believe me, it knows where I live and as far as I'm concerned, it's not a welcome guest. There's only room for me and God!

Psalm 38:10 describes "burn out". "My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me."

But God is faithful and I will address my "soul" accordingly as many times as is necessary. Psalm 43:5 "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."

A RECIPE FOR "HAPPY"!

2008-11-14T10:24:00.001-08:00

We all want to be “happy” right? Well, if happiness seems to evade you and if you are feeling particularly unhappy and you've bought the lie that Christians can't always be happy and it’s left you craving something more…I have just the recipe for you! Some say that you can have joy without being happy but I say not so. Why settle for that? If we are going to have the full course life that God has prepared for us…we need to have happiness on our plate. Joy without happiness is like mashed potatoes without the gravy or French fries without ketchup!

Our problem is that we've misunderstood what happiness really is! The world and our flesh can give us all sorts of recipes for happiness but here are the ingredients for it according to God’s word. Enjoy!

A RECIPE FOR HAPPY:

Get saved!

Deuteronomy 33:29
Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

A generous portion of correction and chastening-

Job 5:17
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

Children-( If you don’t have any, borrow the neighbors or help in the Children’s Church!)-

Psalm 127:4 &5
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them…

A healthy dose of fear…a whole walk…and work, work, work-

Psalm 128:1 &2
Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Do some finding & getting...this one's a specialty item!-

Proverbs 3:13
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

Invest in the tree...it'll keep-

Proverbs 3:18
She (wisdom) is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

Enough mercy to go around-

Proverbs 14:21
…he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

Tap into your “trust” fund, this one’s on Him!-

Proverbs 16:20
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.

Do what’s right because it’s right…that’s what my pastor always says & don’t forget to season it well with grace!-

Proverbs 29:18
…he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Be ready to serve…this recipe is for everyone! Jesus even cooked it up at the last supper!

John 13:12-17
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Good meals come to those who wait…or is it endure?-

James 5:11
Behold, we count them happy which endure.

Suffer…suffer…suffer! This thing requires more than an oven mitt and a pat of flower to the cheek…if you know what I mean...-

1 Peter 3:13 & 14
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

Allow it to stand through times of reproach!-

1 Peter 4:14
If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.

Seconds anyone?

It seems as though...what I thought I was ingesting as a good healthy helping of happy...and what I've really been eating are two very different things! Nothing more than a "sugar high" really! I think I'm going to go get some ingredients for a real "happy" meal!

What's your position?

2008-11-12T15:11:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.

What two immutable things can God not lie about? In what do we have a strong consolation? Take a look at Hebrews 16:14...
"Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee."

...and then at the original context in which this was said to Abraham in Genesis 22...

"And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

I lay in bed early yesterday morning after having a dream and God spoke to my heart that I needed to understand my position and His position. And these words were like a broken record playing in my heart. "Surely, in blessing I will bless thee and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed!" And literally He was emphasizing the word IN and I realized that there were two elements to this passage. And when I looked at Genesis, I saw that Abraham knew his position. He was standing on that mountain and was "in" position! What position? He was literally "in" blessing! You see, he was ready and willing...he had entered into that place of blessing God and what I have always pictured to be "sacrifice" was really "obedience" and that was what had put him in that location of blessing! You see, we all want the blessing of God but we have to be in the right location. And the thing is, location is in the heart. You see, Abraham's heart was in the mountain, long before he was!

In prayer a couple of weeks ago, when we were praying over the ministry...God gave me what I think is a vision of this. I saw Abraham on the mountain in whole new light. God said to me, "That ram was a seed. I give seed to the sower." Abraham had taken Isaac to the mountain, knowing that that young man was the "vision" God had set before him, following God's instruction. He took him to the mountain, to sow a seed because the vision didn't belong to him anyway and if God wanted him, God would have him. And just when he raised his hand in obedience, the angel of the Lord stayed his hand and spoke the word. Isaac was in a sense a seed but the ram in the thicket wasn't the harvest...it was a far greater seed that God sowed into this earth, to produce the greatest harvest the world has yet to even know. And every time we obey, we are sowing a seed that allows God to issue seed back into our lives, just like that and it will produce far greater than we have yet to know. Just look what was in Isaacs loins! And keep looking...there's still more! Salvation is in the loins of every vision of the God kind!

"In" blessing, I will bless you! "In" multiplying, I will multiply thy seed." There's a ram in the thicket!

Don’t overlook the “AND”!

2008-11-10T16:07:00.000-08:00

Last night during the church service, after a particularly wonderful hour of prayer, our teacher began to share that there had been a song in her heart all week, “Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus.”, referring to the gift of prophesy…that God will put a word in our heart to encourage us. Then a few moments later, there was a word of prophesy that came forth and part of that prophecy was “I am God and I sit in the heavens and laugh......there is a time to laugh.” There was much said in between and even afterward but the moment I heard those words, God spoke to my heart, “Don’t overlook the “AND”. Immediately, I was turning the pages of my bible to Ecclesiastes 3 and what I read, took on a whole new meaning.

First let me begin with...
From the beginning of this year, God has been speaking from Isaiah 9:6 & 7. This was the very scripture that came to me when Melissa shared that she had been hearing that song. And God said, “Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms of Jesus. The government shall be upon His shoulders and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace and of this government, there shall be no end. Yes, lean upon the everlasting arms, lean upon His shoulders now. Lean upon this government... it is everlasting.”

And then He spoke to me concerning Ecclesiastes 3. He said, “There shall be simultaneous happenings. There will be occurrences in the world and simultaneously, in My church another occurrence. You see, to everything there is a season and this world has entered into a new season but there are times to every purpose under heaven and My church shall begin to bring those forth. You see, there is a time to be born AND a time to die. A time to plant AND a time to pluck up that which has been planted. A time to kill AND a time to heal. A time to break down AND a time to build up. A time to weep AND a time to laugh. A time to mourn AND a time to dance. A time to cast away stones AND a time to gather stones together. A time to embrace AND a time to refrain from embracing. A time to get AND a time to lose. A time to keep AND a time to cast away. A time to rend AND a time to sew. A time to keep silence AND a time to speak. A time to love AND a time to hate. A time of war AND a time of peace.

I hope that I can convey what this means to me because it has brought an overwhelming comfort to me. We are in this world but not of it and you see, there was a prophesy that Kim Clement brought forth the night before the elections (you can read this if you like...go to http://www.kimclement.com/) and he said that we are to have an "occupational view point." That we should have a vision to occupy this earth from a kingdom standpoint. God's kingdom come & His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. And God spoke to my heart that He is raising up "occupational therapists". Those who will "enable or encourage participation in such (KINGDOM) activities despite impairments or limitations (OF THIS WORLD)"

And this is how I see Ecclesiastes 3....from an occupational standpoint. In the midst of the dying....there will be birthing into the Kingdom! In the midst of the killing....there will be healing! In the midst of the breaking down....there will be building up! In the midst of the weeping...there will be laughter. In the midst of the mourning...there will be dancing! In the midst of the casting away stones....there will be a gathering of stones together! And while the world is embracing who knows what....there will be a refraining from embracing! And while there may be a time to keep silent...according to man's judgement, there will be a people who will speak! In the midst of the hatred....a people who ARE love! In the midst of the war....a people of peace!

I know I missed a few simply because I am seeing only in part...even in what I have just mentioned above, I am certain but HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD? I am thankful for His word!

Net worth....exposed!

2008-11-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

In a conversation with a friend recently, the night before the elections, she asked, “Doesn’t the Word say that gross darkness shall cover the earth?” As soon as the words came out of her mouth…I saw a pay check with a gross amount & a net amount. Anyone who gets a paycheck knows that the gross amount is what you receive before any deductions.

Now, I know that the word “gross”, as referred to in Isaiah 60:2 has nothing to do with a paycheck…or does it? Take a look…

Isaiah 60:1 & 21
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

As I was reading here, of course I see that there are two darkness that are spoken of…
a darkness that covers the earth and a gross darkness the people. It disturbs me that the “gross” darkness is upon the people. The full amount…to the greatest extent…upon the people!

The darkness that is first referred to here is what is referred to in Matthew 15:14 "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." It is a blinding, deceiving darkness…a seemingly massive darkness that looms over our government and even covers eyes of the people BUT just as the government taxes us in this world, it’s time for the Kingdom of God to tax the government of darkness! The world needs to see the net worth of the darkness and it ain't worth much, believe me! And it's definitely not going to pay out the way the people expect it to!

Acts 26:18
But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.

It’s time for the church, to get up and stand upon our feet! He has appeared to us and has appointed us to be a minister and a witness of light to the darkness. To make massive deductions from the darkness and to tax it, opening eyes so that they may see and turn from the darkness to the light and from the dominion of Satan to God and into their inheritance…to shine!

God has issued a statement!

2008-11-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

Last night after watching after listening to President Elect, Barrak Hussein Obama address the nation, the words that were ringing in my ears were “Yes we can!”

Joe the plumber may not have been his best friend but Bob the Builder must have done OK.

No, please, I am just kidding! He was speaking with what I presume to be sincerity to the American people.

But as I was driving home, talking with God…both of my children sleeping securely in their seat belts, I couldn't help but ask questions and all of the sudden, it was like God issued a press release statement directly to my heart and He simply said this, “Tonight, you heard the world make a statement, ‘Yes, we can!’ but I have also issued a statement and my church must decree it, ‘Yes, we will!’

You see, saying “Yes, we can!” and “Yes, we will!”, though they sound the same, are very different things! A great door of opportunity has just swung wide open to the church and suddenly now I understand why God has said, Be instant in season & out of season (please look at 10/24/08 blog entry.)

For many, it seems we have now exited the “in” season but not so. It’s open season! Revelation 3:8 “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.” You see, the Christian vote, for those of us who voted God’s principles, morality and integrity had little strength at this time but we have kept His word and have not denied His name! Be assured…it is open season! This door God has set before us is open and no man can shut it!

Now, take a look with me for a moment at can vs. will since God so clearly spoke to me concerning this!

Here’s what Merriam Webster has to say about “can”.

Can and may are most frequently interchangeable in senses denoting possibility; because the possibility of one’s doing something may depend on another’s acquiescence (to accept, comply with tacitly or passively), they have also become interchangeable in the sense denoting permission. The use of can to ask or grant permission has been common since the 19th century and is well established, although some commentators feel may is more appropriate in formal contexts.

The word tacitly means to be expressed or carried on without words or speech.

And passive means to lack in energy or will. To be inactive or submissive.

It doesn’t matter how many times one issues the statement of “Yes, we can!”, the possibility of one’s doing something depends on another’s acceptance and we still have a choice! Will we comply tacitly…allowing it to be carried out without words or speech? Will we be passive…lacking the energy…the zeal of the Lord of Hosts…that will perform God’s will? Or will God’s people, we the people, stand up and say, “Yes, we will!”or won’t will…it to be granted?

Isaiah 9:7 says,
Of the increase of this government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this!

God is calling now for the change to come by an act of will! God’s will is not a cute little noun! It is a verb! An action word! The term “will” is used to express futurity! It is used to express what is inevitable!

God’s kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven! “Yes, we will!”
Where there is God’s will, there is THE WAY! The door is open...walk through it!

Wishing well giver...I think not!

2008-10-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. 2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. 3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. 4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

I find it interesting that the word waters in the passage refers to something that is moving…not standing still. How many times as a child did you enjoy throwing your coin into the “wishing” well. And look down and be able to see your coin laying there, glistening in the sun and it wasn’t going anywhere…ever! But let someone ask you to throw it into the river…and forget it! You’ll lose sight of it the moment you let go of it and who knows where it will turn up. But that’s exactly what God wants us to do! He wants us to sow into a ministry that’s moving, not to the stagnant safe waters. The sad truth is, if we sow into those still waters…all we will ever do is “wish” for a harvest. But who knows where you’ll be when you have need of that seed you had sown into that river…and find you’re in a place where it had been and look what washed up, just when you needed it most! In fact, one of the translations of the word find is to be secure. So to sow a seed now…even into moving waters…is to be secure later!

He that observeth the wind shall not sow;

One translation of that word “wind” is the seat of emotion and refers to desire, sorrow or trouble. So another words, he that observes his mind, will and emotions shall not sow. It all depends upon the sower’s mood and what the sower thinks and what the sower determines to be safe…right? Well, then, the sower thinks he is the source and not God! We need to be careful of attitudes like, “I’m having a bad day…why bother? God only loves a cheerful giver, right?” or “I’m on cloud nine. Things are real comfy here! Why change anything by giving up money that can cater to me later?” The bible clearly says that God gives seed to the sower. (2 Corinthians 9:10) There is no way the sower can ever produce the seed himself, let alone reap a harvest. The Word also says “So neither is he who plants is anything, nor he who waters but God who gives the increase! (1 Corinthians 3:7) So today, sow with your heart…not your head.

...and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

The word “regard” speaks of vision…to see, look at, inspect, perceive or to consider. And cloud here, actually is “becloud”…a word that refers to anything that will prevent clear perception or realization of something. So, read the latter part of verse 4 like this. He that looks at or allows the cloud of the current circumstance that prevents a clear perception or realization of the true picture God has for his life shall not reap. The truth of it is, a circumstance is nothing more than an incident…an occurrence that lasts only briefly and is of secondary importance. So I guess the real question is, why should we regard the clouds…these things that occur only briefly and can claim no real eternal stake in regard to the vision? Why should we settle for second best…what is secondary in importance compared to what really matters when it comes to God’s plan and desired outcome for us? Good question.

If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

There it shall be! What? The tree? No, your seed! In other words, you never know what the circumstance may be but if the clouds cover the earth and pour out the rain…your seed is in the ground to be watered. And if something you have been depending on falls short of what you expected, then thank God, your seed is in the ground…ready to produce yet another tree of provision.

Give! Give smiling! Give frowning! Give when you have much! Give when you nothing! Give because circumstances come and go but the only thing that remains is seed, time and harvest!

It's Bound to Happen!

2008-10-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

I was sitting on my bed, the night before last and said to God, "I need a word from you." Earlier that day, I was sitting at my desk and I heard God say, "In the end it will speak and not lie." but at the time, I was in the midst of working and couldn't take the time to search it out. Thankfully, Father reminded me of those words, so off I went to the book of Habakkuk, chapter 2.

All last year, God spoke to me and prompted me to pray Deuteronomy 15:1-5...that at the end of the seventh year, God would make a release in the land...a debt release. Well, the end of the seventh year came and went and I hadn't seen the evidence of what I had been declaring and I began to ask God questions and began to feel particularly bad because "good Christians don't ask questions" right? Well, not so! God so mercifully took me to Habakkuk...the prophet who declared God's word and yet talked very plainly with God. He said this in verse 1-3...

[OH, I know, I have been rash to talk out plainly this way to God!] I will [in my thinking] stand upon my post of observation and station myself on the tower or fortress, and will watch to see what He will say within me and what answer I will make [as His mouthpiece] to the perplexities of my complaint against Him. (AMPLIFIED) 2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (KJV)

I occurred to me when I read this that the words tarry & tarry couldn't possibly mean the same thing because God does not contradict himself. So I began to search them out.

-The first tarry means: 4102 Greek-to question or to interrogate, what?, how?, why?, when?

-The second tarry means: 309 Greek-to procrastinate, to put off doing something that should be done, to be idle.

And the word surely there means- bound to happen. And of course...inquiring minds want to know...what does happen really mean? By chance, opportunity, season!

So here's how Habakkuk 2:3 could read according to, once again, the Stacey Blubaugh translation. The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie: though you interrogate it, and question it with all your how? and why? and when?, wait for it: because it will surely come...it's bound to happen because time and chance happen to all men, it will not procrastinate because I do not put off doing anything that should be done!

Instantly God reminded me of something I had just seen on Study Light, (I think). The headline was "This election marks the end of the seventh year since 9-11." And then after I read what it means for something to happen..."by chance" reminded me of a scripture in Ecclesiastes that speaks of time and chance but I couldn't remember where. So I got my dinosaur of a concordance out and looked it up. Guess where it was found? Ecclesiastes 9:11. O.K! Can you spell REVIVAL? Right there...alone in my bedroom with God...what I had prayed for a year....what He has said would be...REVIVED!

And did I mention...we were just given a puppy...a gift, who was born on 9-11! Coincidence? No, that's the wrong spelling! Spell check won't detect it but I know it's spelled CONFIRMATION!

Oh of course...after SALLY envy and my short lived pity party...now I see it! But oh am I thankful to see it! We are at the end of the seventh year! We've already seen a debt release take place in the world...the big "bail out" but the world ain't got nothing on our God and can't hold a candle to what's about to be released to the church! Church...get ready...thou art loosed!

And here's a bonus for all those who like long winded! It's bound to happen! Matthew 18:18 says that what we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and what we loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And the amplified says it this way...that we cannot bind anything that hasn't already been bound in heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:15 says "That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past." Did you hear that? You have every right to bind your circumstances to God’s provision! You have every right to bind healing, salvation, deliverance & prosperity to “happen” in your life! It has to occur, to take place in your life! So let that be your confession today! It’s bound to happen! Whooohooo!

Results May Vary

2008-10-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Oh! The famous fine print words! I have never taken a weight loss product but have taken note many times the words next to "Sally" in the latest Woman's Day, who successfully lost 120 lbs. and 8 inches and went from a size 22 to a size 4, "Results may vary". I think those words could be translated, "Sally is exceptional and the probability is that this won't work for you and if it does, you won't look like this!"

You may be wondering, why the analogy? Well, to be quite honest, I have felt like the person on the "varied" end more often than not recently. You know the formula...spend time with God, read the Word, pray, speak to the mountain, think on those things that are good, pay your tithe, etc. What happens when you do all those things...take the "pill", do the exercise, keep your diet right and still nothing?

I hate the super-Christian mindset...when we know sister or brother so and so does the formula and they look great. They lost the weight and keep it off (got healed and don't even get a headache, pay their tithe and don't have to struggle financially, etc.) and their life is perfect! But look at me...I'm taking the formula too. Why won't the weight come off? Why do I still get this headache? Why am I struggling when I am doing everything I know to do? Is this thing for real are are there only a select few who can work "the formula"?

Well, it sure seems that way and I have cried so many tears lately because if I have to look at one more picture of "Sally' and hear the devil say to me, "Results may vary"...I may as well give up!

The good news is...I wrote what you have just read yesterday afternoon and didn't post it because it is officially garbage! Not to mention, God sat me down last night and we had a long talk. First, He spelled my name for me and told me the correct pronunciation. To my surprise, my name isn't spelled SALLY. He also put the Word, the mirror, up to my face and reminded me that the RESULTS DO NOT VARY! HE is the God of SALLY as much as He is the God of STACEY! All this and so much more...believe me! I was wrong and He made sure I knew it!

Then He took me on a journey through the promises that He has made to me and I believe Him! You know, we are to be Spirit led but the soul...when I studied it out means "leader" as well. And if we will allow it, our soul...our mind, will and emotions will govern us. I love this passage of scripture. David actually spoke to his soul in Psalm 62:5 "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." In the amplified, it says, silently submit to Him.

So in another words, in the Stacey translation...Soul, shut up already! You are SO on time out! If you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all!

Instant People

2008-10-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, when I was getting ready for work, God spoke to me and said “Be instant." Immediately I began referencing that word in my mind and I knew it referred to both prayer and preaching. Take a look at what I found!

If we read Romans 12, it tells us a whole list of things that are our “reasonable service” unto God and continuing “instant in prayer” is one of them. I referenced the Greek translation of the word and here’s what I found!

to adhere to one, be his adherent, to be devoted or constant to one
to be steadfastly attentive unto, to give unremitting care to a thing
to continue all the time in a place
to persevere and not to faint
to show one's self courageous for
to be in constant readiness for one, wait on constantly

According to this we must be adhered to or in the Stacey Blubaugh translation, "glued" to prayer, devoted to it. We must give our attention to prayer, ready always to speak God’s will into every situation, a person’s life and the earth. We cannot remit it, delay in it, postpone it…it’s always necessary, all the time, in every place! We must persevere…undertake prayer regardless of counter-influences, opposition, or discouragement. And the one I like best is to be constantly ready…looking for every opportunity to pray…waiting for the next victim of prayer…soon to become victorious over whatever they are facing through Christ Jesus! Amen to that!

And then, 2 Timothy 4:2 instructs this way….Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Now “in season” here doesn’t mean winter, spring, summer, fall…or even season as referring to seed, time and harvest. In the Greek, it means seasonably, opportunely and when the opportunity occurs. And “out of season”, of course would refer to lack of opportunity.

And preaching is simply this, to proclaim, in an authority that must be listened to and obeyed and to proclaim openly something that has been done! To state the truth and matters pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ to the public. And the public simply refers to people…so wherever there are people, that’s where you make a statement for Christ. A sermon can consist of only a few words and be just as effective…John 14:5 & 6 says … "how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

So do it! Be instant…ready, having already spent time with the Lord, in prayer & in the Word, so that if there is opportunity…you know God’s heart and if there is a lack of opportunity, you are still ready!

Here are some quotes for you:
~"Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity." Henry Hartman
~“Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.” Orison Swett Marden quotes
~“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas Alva Edison
~“I will prepare and some day my chance will come." Abraham Lincoln
~"Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” Alexander Graham Bell
~“It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” Whitney M. Young, Jr.

This is not about the branch!

2008-10-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

After having a particularly hard couple of weeks...I have been feeling like I don't have anything to offer and then today in prayer, God asked me a question. He said, "When you eat fruit, are you supposed to eat the branch too?" A particularly strange thought but I knew it was God. I started to look at the fruit of the spirit & Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

Did I read that right? Against such, there is no law? If there isn't a law against the fruit of the Spirit, that means it can come only through grace. What rules have I created for myself, thinking that I can only be "fruitful" when perfect circumstances apply. It isn't grace if I ever think I had anything to offer anyone apart from Him. If I ever think the fruit is a direct result of some "good work" I have accomplished or everything being perfect all the time, I am mistaken. Here I've been, separating myself from the vine with thoughts of failure and legalism and not even knowing it. And if I am trying to feed someone my "good works", suffering from the "Look, my life's just fine!" syndrome, then I am just trying to shove the branch down their throat along with the fruit...and who wants that?

But God encouraged me in this because it takes the pressure off me! His word says that if "I abide in Him and He abides in me, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me, you can do nothing." (That's John 15:5) I can just put all my weight on Him, every burden and He'll take care of it and if I cry...a little watering never hurt growing fruit.

Something else...God showed me a picture.

I saw the vine...it was the heavenly realm, the kingdom of God. And then I saw the branches, God's way of reaching into the earth and then I saw the fruit, all of the promises of heaven passing through the yielded branches, being sown into the earth and the vine breaking through the earth and covering it. And just think about what kind of seed is carried in the fruit of the Spirit.

What change can seeds from those fruits bring forth?
*Love sown into someone who thinks they are unlovable by someone who knows Love Himself.
*Long suffering sown into the life of someone who feels like they can't go a step further, through someone who knows the One who took every step to the cross!
*Temperance sown into the life of someone who is so tempted to sin, through someone who knows the One who didn't!

....just to name a few.

Greater vs. minute

2008-10-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last night in church, part of the sermon included the scripture from 1 John 4:4, which is a familiar verse but I had an epiphany, none the less. "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."

Man, how good is this?

-Greater is Love that's within me than the hate that is in the world!
-Greater is the Unifier in me, than the division that's in the world!
-Greater is the Creator in me, the very God of invention, than the duplicator and meer imitations of the world!
-Greater is the Savior that's in me, than the temptation of sin that's in the world!
-Greater is the Healer that's in me than the spirit of infirmity that's in the world!

I could go on an on like this....you get the jest of it!
Provision & Prosperity vs. poverty
Deliverance vs. addiction of any sort
Peace vs. fear
Soundness of mind vs. imaginations
Judge vs. decisions of others

You name it, Jesus counteracts it in and through our lives! Just begin to think of who is in you and what He represents vs. whatever it is your walking through today! You can't help but overcome it!

God's afraid of me?

2008-10-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

Recently I was talking to my little boy and told him that he is fearfully and wonderfully made and he asked what any kid would ask, I think. He said, "God's afraid of me?" I said, "No, God's not afraid of you." So then, I had to explain to the best of my ability what it means to fear the Lord.

And then, I stood in the parking lot of Walmart in amazement...having a heavenly moment on an acre of asphalt. The very way that we are to "fear" God is the same manner in which He created us.

Review with me what it truly means to "fear" God. We know it's not about begin afraid. It's about acknowledging all that He is with the highest attitude of regard, with everything that's in us, blessing His holy name! We honor Him and respect His presence and most of all love Him, knowing with everything that is in us that He "is".

Now, explore with me just for a moment that this is what God was doing when He created each of us. We can read Psalm 139:14 this way. "I am fearfully and wonderfully made. When God created me, He did it with the highest regard, with everything that was in Him, He blessed what He created. He honored me by making me and respects my presence from the very beginning to the very end of every day. And most of all, He loves me and when He looks at me, He knows with everything that's in Him, that I was made for Him."

And He didn't stop there. Don't forget that He made us wonderfully too! The word wonderful means "to be exciting, unusually good or to be of the highest kind or quality". To God, we are exciting and anyone can be good, but God made us to be the kind of good that stands out in a crowd! Cherry on top, cream of the crop goodness! And don't you know we are of the "Highest" kind and quality, created in His image!

It doesn't get any better than this!

A High Maintenance People

2008-10-18T03:52:00.000-07:00

If you have ever wondered if you are too "high maintenance", well, wonder no more! You are and you were created to be! God loves that about you!

I was reading yesterday a very popular verse and God once again overwhelmed me with just how much He loves me! 1 Peter 5:7 instructs us to "Cast all your care upon the Lord, for He cares for you." That word "cast", amongst other things, literally means to discard or throw away. And the word "care" refers to any thing or thought, a mental burden, worry or anxiety that we must continually maintain.

God knew just what he was doing when He made this part of His word, knowing that we are a "thoughtful" creation and that every thought has the potential to become a "high maintenance" thing for us.

In order for us to "maintain" something, we must tend to it, assert it, defend it, vindicate and justify it! So, if there's a thought that we must continually maintain in our minds, a worry that we roll over and over again...each and every time we do that, we are 1. asserting to it, making it our own 2. defending it, as if it needs protection 3.vindicating it, building our faith in that thought or worry & 4. justifying it, showing it to be more true, just or valid than God's very Word!

But God says, "No, you are not the maintainer here! I am! Cast all your cares upon Me, because I care for you!" Isn't it beautiful how much He loves us? He "cares" for us! He continually maintains me (and you) in His thoughts! 1. He tends to us continually! He asserts to us, making us and then proving over and over again we are His own. Psalm 139 says that if we were to try to count His thoughts for us, they would be more in number than the sand! 2. He vindicates us...He puts His faith in us...because we are righteous and holy in Him and He believes we will endure to the end with Him! He has sown the greatest seed into our lives, Jesus! No one invests in something they don't believe in! 4. He justifies us! He shows His word for our lives to be more true, more just, more valid than any other word, if we will uphold it!

So today, if you think you are "too high maintenance"! Think again! We serve the Most High God and you were created to be maintained! So get casting!

Eternities Apart

2008-10-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking about life in general. How we all get out of bed every morning and follow the same basic routine every day…coming and going to work, to school, so on and so forth and in doing so, we walk or drive by our neighbors homes, with or without seeing them. We go in and out of neighboring businesses and sometimes without even so much as knowing anything about the people who serve us. We go to the market and talk to the guy behind the register, to the bank and talk to the teller or even to the restaurant and interact with the waiter or waitress. Every situation is different but regardless, there is a constant point of contact in one way or another.

But for one moment, God gave me a glimpse of something and I want you to see the same thing. Picture your neighbor working in her garden or on his car, doing whatever it might be that you so often see them doing or that person standing behind the register, at the restaurant taking your order, at the bank cashing your paycheck and then remove all the scenery around that person, so that you don't see them any longer standing in an earthly place but in eternity. Where are they?

What will you do? What does your heart of His, say to do?

Next time you're out, do this excercise. Two people in one place, should never be unaware that they are standing eternities apart! Make heaven known where you are!

Matthew 22:39 says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”