The Love Of God-The Last Great Awakening

The LORD is speaking to His people who have an ear to hear the message of  The Wisdom of His Love. There is such wisdom in The Love of God that all the powers of hell can not overcome it. The devil can not even comprehend it. The fact that God would so greatly love mankind, sinful, rebellious, fallen mankind is something that confounds and destroys the work of The Kingdom of Darkness.

John 1:1-5  (NLT)

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.

    The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He existed in the beginning with God.

3 God created everything through him,

    and nothing was created except through him.

4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,

    and his life brought light to everyone.

5 The light shines in the darkness,

    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

 The Bible says that Love Conquers ALL. John 3:16 says That God so LOVED THE World that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever would believe in Him would have everlasting life. We see in the Book of 1 Corinthians that although a man can be endowed with every gift and show mighty signs and wonders to the awe of those watching, without Gods Love working in and through them, they are nothing. In Gods eyes without Love all acts of power are only self-serving and are worthy of no rewards.

1 Corinthians 13  (NKJV)

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

We have only had a small taste of The Love of God. We have only allowed ourselves to be vulnerable enough to stay comfortable, open enough to feel the pain others with pity,but have fallen short of allowing The Compassion of Christ to flow freely. However, behind those walls we have set up in our hearts and minds there is a Divine Law that overcomes every other law. There is a Divine Wisdom that can not be challenged in any productive way by all the powers of darkness. There is an Eternal Power available to release a compassion that can reach into this fallen world and demonstrate The Glory Of Gods Kingdom. 

The Final Great Awakening is before us. There are mighty good works and miracles that The Lord has prepared for us to walk in and perform in His Name. Will we reach into the dark places with His Love through actions and plans that will bring blessing to the masses? Or will we walk away like The Rich Man after Jesus told him the cost of following Him?

Luke 4:16-19

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

Matthew 14:13-21 (NKJV)

13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Paul cried out daily that The Church would receive a super natural revelation of The Fullness of The Love of Christ and The Knowledge of The Will of God. These prayers of Paul are inseparable. We can not have a revelation of Gods Will and Knowledge without having a full revelation of The Fullness of His Love through Christ. Any revelation of the knowledge of Gods will is incomplete with out the understanding of the full breadth, width and height of The Love of Christ. In turn any time we attempt to interpret what Gods will is for our lives, our church, our ministry or our community without the revelation of The Love of Christ, our interpretation will be lacking and the impact of His Glory dimmed.

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NKJV)

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father  of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

1 John 4  (NKJV)

1. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Knowing God Through Love

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Seeing God Through Love

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

The Consummation of Love

17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Obedience by Faith

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Pastor A.R Bernard spoke recently at the church I attend, I have link ed the message below. It is worth taking the time to really listen to the message. He articulates the truth of how incredible it is to be made in the image of God in a way I have never heard before.

When we see others as being made in Gods Image we can understand the scripture that tells us to love one another even as Christ Loves us. There is so much more I want to say, but I think Pastor Bernard's message, along with my thoughts and scriptures I shared here will be sufficient to give those who have an ear to hear and eyes to see a revelation of what The Lord is speaking to His Entire Church Worldwide.

Luke 14:12-14

He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

Luke 10:25-37  (NRSV)

25  Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said,“what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 He said to him,“What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 

27  He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 

28  And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

29  But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30  Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 

 31  Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 

 32  So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33  But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 

 35  The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36  Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37  He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and

do likewise.”

Matthew 25:31-46  (NLT)

31  “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit

upon his glorious throne. 32  All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33  He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

34  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35  For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.

36  I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

37  “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 

39  When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

40  “And the King will say,‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my

brothers and sisters,you were doing it to me!’

41  “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42  For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43  I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44  “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45  “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my

brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46  “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Prayer That Brings Others Into Jesus Midst- A Ministry Of Prayer

 This post has been stirring in my heart for several days. My spirit is bursting with expectancy and faith concerning what The Lord is showing me. I wasn't sure what to title this, however I think I landed on a good one that explains the core of what is in my heart.

 As you read the verses below, take time to savor them. Allow me to guide you a bit. Allow the suggestions I make below set your thoughts as you engage these two very powerful stories.

1. Read these verses like it is the first time

2. Read them as demonstration of a Ministry Of Prayer & Reconciliation

3. Read them as The Friends, Jews & Centurion being the central Characters

4. See Jesus Ministry as it is now- Through His Church

I will continue my thoughts below the verses. We are called to be Ministers of Reconciliation. We can intercede and supplicate on behalf of others in order to bring them into the Presence Of Jesus, where there is Power Present to Heal them.

Luke 5:17-26 (NKJV)

17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

Luke 7:1-10  (NKJV)

1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 

 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”

6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick.

 I pray The Lord stirred your heart for the great ministry He has given us. He has called us to be Ministers of Reconciliation. He has called us to enter into the world and lead others out of darkness and into His presence. One way He does that is through The Ministry of Prayer and Intercession.  I would venture to say the primary way He has given us to bring others into His presence is through The Ministry of Prayer in one form or another. 

 Sometimes we miss the glorious responsibility and call it is to carry others into His Presence. We forget verses like these and others that show others using their faith, care and love for another to bring the crippled and hurting one into the midst of Christ where there is always power to heal and save.

 The friends that lowered the crippled man into Peters house would not be stopped, they fervently and boldly tore the roof off to lower their friend into the midst of Christ. And before all present Jesus showed Himself as Lord. He not only used this event to forgive and heal this man, but to silence his enemies and bring Glory to God.

 In the story of the Centurion we see two different Ministries of Prayer in action. We see the Jews that were sent by The Centurion going to Jesus and making a case to him about how The Centurion was kind and generous to them and the synagogue. They knew Jesus would honor them as Jews and The House of God. They knew The Centurion didn't have a relationship with Jehovah so they made a case for him as a friend to the Jews. 

 They interceded on behalf of The Centurion, because they knew he loved his servant. Don't miss that part of the story, although the sick man was a servant or slave, he was loved by The Centurion enough for The Centurion to send the Jews to Jesus on his behalf. 

  Once The Centurion was in the presence of Jesus the intersession assignment of the Jews was finished. They interceded on behalf of The Centurion, now that The Centurion is in the Presence of Jesus, he begins his ministry of Prayer for his servant.

 He is open and honest with Jesus. Unlike the Jews, he doesn't offer anything as a reason why Jesus should heal his servant. He is humble, he knows he doesn't have anything to offer Jesus, he honors The Lords authority. He bases his faith on what He knows of the authority of The Jewish Messiah, and he is rewarded for it.

 The Ministry of Prayer is threaded all through The Word, both Old and New Testaments. There is nothing The Lord does apart from some type of prayer that was either prayed in the past, prayed in the present or that will be prayed in the future on earth. Not only that, consider this. The Ministry of Jesus for the last 2000 years has been The Ministry of Prayer & Intercession for The Church to The FATHER.

 Let these truths settle in your heart. If The Ministry of Prayer and Intercession has been elevated to The Throne of Christ and continues until all His enemies are made His Footstool, how should we see Prayer and The Ministry of Prayer?  What glory will we see when we fully enter into prayer that brings the multitudes into the midst of Jesus where there is power to heal? I want to end with one last story from scripture.

Acts 4:29-31 (NLT)

 29 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

Mankind Is Looking For A Safe Place

I want to start this post by saying that this message is so deep within  my heart right now. It comes from a place where deep roots run. I know there is no way I can express the anointing and sense of importance that is pressing on my spirit. This is Part 1. A message to The Body of Christ. Part 2......stay tuned!

 In the heart of every angry person, every lonely person, every person in fear, in depression, in anxiety, in addiction is a longing for true love and a place of safety. Mankind will risk pain,disease and death to travel great and treacherous distances to another country to seek out that place of safety they so desire.

 Even the strongest man , has in his heart , a young boy looking for a safe place. In the soul of every woman, no matter how virtuous, or risque she may seem , is a little girl longing for a safe place in a loving fathers arms.

They may be blinded to it. They may have buried it and covered it with so many things, but the  light of Gods Creative Power still abides in all that we call life, including fallen mankind. Let me "say" that again in a different way.

 Mankind, and the enemy of mankind, has built fortresses of the soul that they grasp, and run to in order to make themselves feel safe. We have created great avenues of sin, entertainment, violence, false religion, lust, wantonness, desire, wealth, the list goes on. We have separated into cultures and sub cultures. We have banded together in tribes and nations.

 From the tribes of the jungles around the world, to the nations of the world, to the terrorist organizations, to inner city street gangs,to outlaw biker gangs, all are mankind's way of being drawn to a place they feel safety and love, no matter how perverted by sin it may be.

 There are so many things that mankind has built in order to create a sense of safety, but the  Light of Gods Creative Power still abides in all that we call life, including fallen mankind, and that cry will only be satisfied by The One that  The Light is calling out to. Jesus, The Lord of All Creation. All of creation is crying out for redemption, even the rocks have a silent cry to see The King Of Kings Return.

 The Lord is about to reach into all the cultures and sub cultures of mankind to call out His Elect. They will feel like a baby eagle being rustled out of their nest, pushed out of their place of safety. The Church must be ready to receive them, to comfort them, to teach them to fly.

We have not been that place of safety, in the way Jesus intended, for the last 2000 years. We haven't been the place where the broken can come. We haven't been the place where the lost can find their way to Their Lord. We to often have rejected at the odd, giggled at the weak, and whispered about the prodigals and broken.

 Not only will we need to learn to see again, we will need to learn to disciple again. The Lord will bless those who yield to His Will concerning what He is about to do, and resist those who will not.

 The Gospel, His Gospel, His Word, His Name, His Cross and His Blood. The message will be clear. Come out from among the lost. Come out from among the wandering. Come out all ye who are burden and heavy laden. Come to safety In Christ and in His Church.

 Prophets will rise up and declare things that will draw a line between those Shepherds who are His Shepherds and those who are Hirelings that care nothing for the lost sheep. Jesus is calling up Disciples and Apostles, Pastors and Teachers that will embrace those The Lords sends through the Powerful and Anointed preaching of The Evangelist.

 Every Church must have leaders that embrace all that are called out of the false religions, the false high places, sinful places, strange places and dark places. The protocol driven, business driven church model will not be able to yield to The Lords Will. They will not have leaders in place and on staff that can freely embrace and disciple those who are wild in The Lord. They will scoff at "The Sons Of Thunder" and push out the young open mouthed Peter that hasn't learned to hold his word yet.

 The Lord is calling His Church to be His Church. Not Pastor John Doe's Church, Not Bishop Subas Church. He calls His Disciples. He calls His Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist , Pastors and Teachers.
He says Himself in His Word that He doesn't call many men that are much, he calls the base, the humble, the unseen. Much different than what most Churches do today. This will change by The Lords hands.

 Open your heart to see what is behind all the anger and frustration we see in the world. Feel the fear of the child before he is seduced by the safety of a street gang. See the hurt of the woman that gives her body away, or stays trapped in abuse, because she is so afraid to be alone and dearly wants to be loved. Let your spirit enter into the hope of safety that drive the migrants to risk their lives to come to America. Look beyond the sin, the anger, the pain, the illness and the circumstances. The Lord is calling them in. Woe to the one, or The Church who rejects His Lost ones.



The Walls

From inside the walls and outside the walls
There is raising up a shout
The voice of The LORDS Redeemed
Shouting let the captives out!
From inside the walls and outside the walls
A song is being sung
Gods chosen, singing in The Spirit
Singing The Time of freedom has come!
From inside the walls and outside the walls
The Word is being declared
Gods kings and priest on the earth
Taking authority, over the prince of the air
From inside the walls and outside the walls
Victory is being revealed
The elect of The LORD
HAVE BEEN CHOSEN,SAVED AND SEALED!

FROM INSIDE THE WALLS AND OUTSIDE THE WALLS
A NEW NATION HAS BEEN BIRTHED
AND HER CITIZENS ARE SHOUTING
JESUS IS LORD OVER ALL THE EARTH!

When They Come

When they come hungry
We will give them food

When they come thirsty
We will give them drink

When they come naked
We will cover them,
With The Love Of Jesus

When they come broken,
We will fix their hearts

When they come imprisoned
We will set them free

When they come angry
We will give them peace
With The Love Of Jesus

When they come weak
We will tell them their strong

When them come poor
We will we will show them they are rich

When they come in darkness
We will show them the light
With the Love Of Jesus

COME OUT!!

From the North, South,East and West
The LORD is calling out to His Elect…
Come out,Come out, from among the lost,
Come out, Come out, and count the cost.
There is a great shout, coming from above….
The SPIRIT of The Lord…crying out to His beloved…
Come out, Come out, from the worlds of men,
Come out, Come out, and Be Born Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is a song coming straight from The throne…
The voice of a Father, calling His wandering ones home…
Come out, come out,from the darkness your in
Come out , come out, and be cleansed from your sin
Let our hearts be, one with The Lord
Let our voices cry out what our spirits have heard….
Come out, Come out from among the lost
Come out, Come out, and count the cost
Come out, Come out, from the worlds of men,
Come out, Come out, and be Born Again
Come out, Come out, from the darkness your in
Come out,Come out and be cleansed from your sin
COME ALL THAT WILL,
AND RECEIVE THE NEW BIRTH!!
COME ALL THAT WILL,
THE FATHER IS WAITING FOR THE PRECIOUS FRUIT OF THE EARTH!!!!!

The Great Battle For Your Own Soul

 If our faith is anchored to natural things, we will be bound to The Land and we will never cast out into The Deep. The Word says that in order to SEE The Kingdom of Heaven a person MUST be Born Again. Scripture makes it clear that the natural man can not perceive Spiritual things. 

 The Lord instructs us to walk by FAITH and NOT by Sight. We are to trust in Him alone. Not man, not power, not riches, not armies, not our feelings, not even our own eyes and senses. He alone is our strong tower. He alone is our place of safety and comfort.

What are some of the the labels The Lord gave to His Children who turned from Him to find comfort in other things. How did He see those that found comfort in the ways and in the arms of The World and His Enemy.

Adulterer

Whore-monger

Idol Worshiper

Harlot

Faithless

Rebellious

What are some of the actions that led to God labeling His Children, that He loved dearly, with such harsh names? What steps did they take that caused them to move from a place of His Blessing to His Judgment?

They Saw Another Way

They Heard Another Way

They Turned Another Way

They Ignored God

The Blamed God

They Dishonored God

They Complained About God

 Let me explain more in depth. All the elements of what I mentioned above are attributes and side effects of a soul that is bound to natural things. Souls that have turned from Faith in God to find another way to meet needs and desires. They have turned their attention to things of the earth and the ways of pleasure. Just like in The Garden they trusted in what they could see, hear and feel instead of Gods Word. 

 In the Old Testament their Idols were all represented as false gods they worshiped, nations they turned to and pagan ways they embraced. However even then God made it clear the issue was their Adulterous heart and Idolatrous Souls. Very little was revealed about the issues of their souls, God exposed the issues of their souls through His description of their actions and words.

They just could not hold true and faithful to a God they couldn't see and feel. Their souls longed after the things of the world and the pleasures of the nations. The longings of their own souls  were The Idols that they just could not tear down. Their own desires became a strong fortress that even God would not tear down for them.

God had a plan to Give man a new heart, a new spirit and a new set of eyes. He accomplished all this in Christ. He gave us all things new. Made us new creatures in Christ. Yet, the soul is one aspect of our being that He will not invade, and that He can not take control of. Our souls and our bodies are ours alone to yield or to not yield. 

After 2000+ years of The Church Age it is clear that the ancient strongholds of mans soul are as in tact as ever, as well guarded as ever, and as deceitful and open to deceit as ever. Knowledge of God does not automatically conquer the dark places. "Faith" in God doesn't mean that these strongholds are not taking a terrible toll in our lives and in The Church.

  The Word says that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways. That he can not receive from God because he is tossed to and fro. He believes with all his heart and mind, yet when circumstances and natural things arise that cause him to be frightened,angry, hurt or uncertain, he turns from God and His Word and finds safety in natural things, the pleasures of the flesh, or even "Spiritual" things that allows him to fall back out of the battle without a sense of guilt. 

 Some of these strongholds of the soul are unassuming. They can be quickly dealt with, yielded and surrendered willingly to The Lord. However even these seemingly benign guarded places of the soul can rob a believer of great blessing, and worse rob the Church of her Authority and Power.

Unchecked,  these "minor" strongholds and safe places we create in our souls will begin to settle as an ancient foundation in us. They will grow on their own and effect us in ways we are blind to and ignorant to. Unlike the next type of strongholds I will expose, these allow a believer or minister to flourish and thrive, while quietly and secretly , the enemy and our own survival instinct, build a powerful hindrance that can lead to a great stumble and fall.

They can morph into a very dark, very damaging fortress within us that steal our destiny and joy.

When hard tests of faith come, or certain test of the soul come, the soul that has a hidden tower of safety apart from God, will always choose that well traveled track, offer sacrifices of spiritual things in the moat around their soul, enter through the gates and walls that they have always found safety in and abide in their well fortified tower.

They are bound to ever learning, ever praying, but never attaining all The The Lord has for them. Never coming to the full knowledge of The Truth.

No matter how much knowledge is obtained, no matter how many victories are won, no matter how spiritual we may seem, if our souls have become an Idol before God, we will always be limited in what He is able to do for us and through us. The Church,and The World we are supposed to reach, suffer greatly for that.

I want to make a statement here that will cause some to pause and hear, and some to reject it and retreat back to their safe place.

 I believe by observation, by how The Word describes what The Church should be doing and demonstrating, and by The Spirit, that a vast majority of believers, including yours truly, have some part of their soul, or a large part of their soul, mostly unknown to them, that is actually acting as an Idol before The Lord. Their soul has become an offence to Faith and Truth.

 He wants us FREE!

HE WANTS YOU FREE!

I will end this blog with this. What is an idol? If The Lord is having you face some hard things in your soul and you seem to avoid the battle every time, only to face it again, isn't whatever you are turning to the same as when His People turned from Him to idols?

He cares for you. He cares for your soul. But, apart from Him, "soul care" can become a place where we avoid anything painful in order to find comfort, when The Lord may be bringing you to that hard place, over and over, until you face your own soul, and yield even those scary,dark, painful places to Him. 

 Are you ready? I am so ready. I am so tired of facing the same battle over and over, just to turn away, give up, camp out,  or pretend I didn't know better, only to face the battle all over again. It took a long time to be able to hear The Lord tell me:

                                         "Your own soul is an Idol Before me"

I cant possible explain to you all that is packed into the words The Lord spoke to me. The battle is very real now, but, not like before. I know I can win. With His help , I can see into my own soul now. This goes beyond dying to self. It is hard. It is tough to face your own weaknesses and distrust in God. It is painful to admit you are angry with God, disappointed in God, even in some ways blaming God for all that is wrong and all that has hurt. Oh maybe not in your mind or on the surface, but deeply hidden, where only He can see, those whispers lay in darkness. 

Let Him in. Yield fully. Where there has not been full victory , where we are promised victory, go deeper and face that thing until victory is secure. No matter what you feel, see, hear, battle on until the towers are torn down and you stand in TRIUMPH!

Get ready! The Battle Is The Lords!!!!

Fall Back To Rest

 Well this is one of those post that will be really revealing on my part. The title of this post says it all. There are times we have to stop, chill, wait and fall back to a place of rest. When I say fall back I mean fall back. Like a trust fall when a person falls back and trust the person behind them to catch them. Sometimes we have to STOP in our tracks and fall back into the restful hands of God. We need to stop pressing, stop fretting, stop trying to fix it, make it, force it and cause it to happen No matter what "it" may be.

Now I will tell you where this post came from. I was at work yesterday, having a really bad day. I had just came off a very stressful and disappointing week, for reasons I cant mention in this post. Last week was just a heavy, troubling and draining week, both spiritually and naturally. I took a day off Friday hoping to reset, get out in nature and rest. But, thanks to some circumstances out of my control, I returned to work yesterday with little energy or margins to deal with the mess.

 The day was busy and stressful from the start. An employee quit without notice and even after she asked to recant her resignation, she called and said she was quitting anyway. I was not feeling well, it was very busy, it was a perfect storm.

Oh, and the mail machine, that is the most important piece of equipment we have, was not connecting to the network. This is where I should have stepped back and reset. But, if I would have done that, I wouldn't be writing this post. I had a tech come in, and his diagnosis was it needed a new board, so it would be down a couple days and he couldn't even add postage because his laptop went down.

At this point, I was done. I was determined to try everything to get it connected. I knew I should just leave it alone, but I was so aggravated I didn't want to deal with not having a machine.

 I had made arrangements to get the mail processed, so it would have been a good time to just leave it alone, wait for the tech the next day and allow the process to run its coarse. But, I was ticked and was going to try everything to at least get a line through so I could add postage. As long as we have money on the machine, we can run without a connection. So I decided to try and move the machine on to a cart and take it where there was an analog phone line.

The meter part of the machine disconnected and crashed to the ground. It was loud, it bounced and it really broke.  I stood there looking at it like I was in a trance. An adjuster came in to be sure I was okay. It was not good. I wish I would have just left it alone. I wish I would have just let it be instead of being so driven to make it work, to fix it.

Now, I tried to make myself feel better by saying it needed a new board anyway. Which was true, or, was it? Noooo, because about 30 minutes later an IT representative called and said he found out why we couldn't connect. He could fix it remotely and get us connected. Yup, it didn't need a new board. I had to tell him the machine has already been ordered because the keypad was broken, and a couple other things. I didn't mention why..lol.

Oh the lesson would have been learned there, but, nooooooo. Today I came in,  and, wonder of wonders, the machine was all connected, working and good to go. Well it would have been, but, well you know what happened, crashing, breaking, etc.

 Now, here is what The Lord spoke to me today as I walked on break. So many times in life and our walk with Him, we get into that place. That place where life,circumstances, people and yes the devil have us upset, angry, frustrated and at the end of our patience.

 In these times it is so important to fall back into His rest. We have to stop pressing, stop forcing and stop trying to fix everything and just drop into His Faithful Arms. To keep forcing things with a white knuckle determination to make circumstances or people change, often times will cause us to mess up what God already has planned.

 I have done this on a huge scale concerning my walk with The Lord and my growth in The Church. I don't condemn myself,  because at the time, it seemed like my only option to move forward and become what I know in my heart I am called to do. But , like with my postage machine, I was pushing and pressing, fighting and fretting, there was no peace, no sense of real direction, just a driven idea that I will fix this on my own.  When all along God had a perfect plan that I was blinded to.

 The Lord spoke to my heart several times today the words of the title above. Fall back into my rest. My mind began to spin again about how can I escape this place, how can I get on a team that I have seen in my heart. Where is the promise I have seen in my heart.

 When? Where? How? Help! Why? Again I heard, fall back into my rest. Let the questions go and rest in faith that I have it under control. Then of coarse the mind says. Lord it has been decades, can we speed it up a bit. Fall back into my rest. Peace, all is well.

 The Lord will not compete with our self drive and fretting. He is not obligated to answer our questions asked out of frustration and anxiety. He wants us to rest in Him. To lay the questions and the need to know now, fix it now, deliver us now, aside and just say, Lord, I trust you. Let thy will be done.

 Now before you are to hard on yourself or me. Remember Jesus in The Garden. He came to that place, in a way we never have to, yet He to had to take all of that anguish and sweat, and fall back into The Fathers rest. Let Thy Will Be DONE.

PEACE

Emotional Responsibility And Living a Spirit Filled Life

 I want to talk about living the Spirit filled life. Specifically what emotional responsibility has to do with living a successful and powerful spirit filled life.  The Lord has drawn my  attention to this subject recently.

 Through some classes at work, a recent interview I watched on television, and prayer,  I believe The Lord has confirmed to me the importance of His people learning about the connection between being fully aware and responsible for our own feelings and emotions, and The Spirit Filled Life. He will be able to inhabit His body and demonstrate His manifold wisdom, through His Body, to all the seen and unseen world, when we are able to respond intelligently to His Presence.

 So,  what does it mean to be emotionally intelligent and emotionally responsible?  There are many many articles, studies  and books written on the subject.  If you do a Google search on emotional intelligence or emotional responsibility you will find a wide variety of slide shows, books, articles and many psychological and scientific studies on the matter.  All of them are very good, very informative and all of them offer a deeper understanding of what Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Responsibility is.

  But for the purposes of this article I want to simplify this subject. Because it all boils down to one simple but profound truth. Your feelings are not your emotions.  Your feelings do not automatically dictate what your response should be. Your emotional response, to any feelings that you may have, is a choice that you make, and that you alone are responsible for. Realizing and securing this as truth in your thought processes can set you free from so many things that cause you to get off course in life.

  I want to keep the focus of this article on what emotional responsibility and emotional intelligence has to do with the Spirit filled life. However, it is important to note, that the idea of raising emotionally responsible  and emotionally intelligent children is being recognized by secular psychologist as something that will be critical  in order to prepare this next generation for the world to come. The lack of teaching on emotional intelligence and emotional responsibility, and the fact that many parents are ignorant themselves about their emotions, is being recognized more and more as a major hindrance to raising children into successful well equipped adults.

 Emotional Responsibility starts with us being aware of our own feelings, our own hearts, our own passions, weaknesses and strengths. We must first be 100% honest and open with ourselves and God. We must realize that feelings, whether positive or negative , are not emotions.

So, whether you are filled, or temporarily overcome, with positive or negative feelings, you alone are responsible for how you translate or express those feelings through your God given emotions.

 I want to state that again, whether you are filled, or temporarily overcome, with positive or negative feelings, you alone are responsible for how you translate or express those feelings through your God given emotions. This would be good to put on your desk, on your refrigerator, at the door of your house, anywhere you can see it all the time.

 We are all familiar with with the scripture that states we are not moved by what we feel or see. We apply it to teachings on faith and living a faith filled life, and it is indeed a good scripture to stand on. Most of the time we apply it to standing against negative circumstances or feeling. However, it is just as important, and as deceit grows in The Church and world, it will be critical, that we understand, that we are not to be moved by positive feelings, or positive circumstances either.

 We are told in scripture that the enemy comes as an angel of light. The Spirit Of Anti-Christ is not only revealing himself in the wickedness of man’s heart and systems, he is masquerading as a Christ-less answer to peace, tolerance, cohabitation and world unity. The Oprah’s and the Depak Chopra's of the world offer light, without The Creator Of Light, That is the essence of Anti-Christ.

The Spirit will always align with scripture and exalt Jesus As LORD. Any light that denies either, is Darkness, no matter how good it makes you feel or how positive it may seem. Yet many Christians and even leaders embrace them and their teachings as good and even equal  to scriptural wisdom, their god is their belly(feelings) so they deny The Scripture.

 His children right now, much like the children of the world are not being raised with the knowledge they need to filter feelings and circumstances solely through scripture and The Holy Spirit. They are being tossed about by every wind of doctrine, whether doctrine with minor errors or doctrines of darkness disguised as light.

 Like some secular psychologist warn about natural children, God’s children are not being prepared for the spiritual realities to come. Worse yet, they are not prepared to handle His Glory and Power in a way that brings Him honor and demonstrates His Manifold Wisdom to All Creation! We have been taught for to long a self help, prosperity, best life now, Oprah type Christianity.

But! The Lord has a plan. He has had a plan all along. He has had a system all along. He has clearly laid it out with a specificity that only those attached to the wisdom of The World and The deceptions Of Anti-Christ would miss.

Ephesians 4:11-16 New Living Translation (NLT)

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.


The scripture is clear. It takes the entirety of Gods Ordained Ministers to bring about a mature people, well prepared for all the lies, tricks and disguises of the enemy and wicked man. We must rebuild a Church that the gates of Hell crumble before. You are The Church, I am The Church, We are The Church. It will be us, or no one, that demonstrates Gods Manifold Wisdom.

 It will take us being mature, emotionally responsible and intelligent to be able to handle His Glory and Wisdom without derailing it with wild emotional outburst and strange physical manifestations because we don’t realize we must choose what we do with what we feel, even what we feel while In The Spirit. 

In the past God had allowed us, to experience His Presence in limited ways, and one thing that has marked these “revivals” is an increasing amount of fleshy outburst and strange and even ungodly behavior, being attributed to The Holy Spirit. Two particular “ministers” would act like they were smoking joints or taking tokes off the Holy Spirit. All under the eyes and approval of the group of “leaders” that were supposed to be raising mature Christians. 

This was obviously an extreme example of a lack of Emotional Intelligence when it comes to  A Spirit Filled Life and The Lords Plan for His Anointing and it’s purpose for His People. But, it is an excellent example of how not understanding these things has hindered The Church, and stunted the growth of His Children. 

We can learn how to intelligently respond to The Lords Presence. We can learn how to behave, more than that, move ,work with and cooperate with The Lord to demonstrate His Love, Power and Manifold Wisdom to a hurting and confused world. The Holy Spirit doesn’t make anyone behave or react in a way contrary to Wisdom and Godly Intelligence. Man chooses to respond to feelings, God wants His Children Emotionally Intelligent and Responsible enough to wield His Gifts,Power and Wisdom to destroy the Gates of Hell

What say you? Are you ready to look back only to The Design Jesus set forth for His Church? The example He set forth for us to follow? Are we ready to learn from our past childish handling of The Lords Power and our infant like responses to His Presence?

We will miss it, and get corrected, but that is okay. Let me end with some examples of How Jesus handled wrong emotional responses by His Leaders and people. He taught, rebuked and corrected, to bring them to maturity.

Luke 10:17-20 New Living Translation (NLT)

17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

Luke 9:52-57 New King James Version (NKJV)

52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them,just as Elijah did?”

55 But He turned and rebuked them,and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.

Matthew 16:13-27 New Living Translation (NLT)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 

14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

21 From then on Jesus  began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.