Creative Ideas

A few days ago now, Vanessa and I were praying and I felt driven to say to God, "Thank you for creative ideas".  I felt inspired to say this but didn't really know why.  Afterwards, Vanessa asked what that was all about, and I said I don't know!

I remember, that late last year the Holy Spirit was teaching me to speak things with His authority. Basically, God has to speak something first!  The best we can do is repeat after Him.  If we speak after Him, that's when our words have power.  That's when they have heavenly significance.

"You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways."

Job 22:28

This is what Job's friends told him, and it was true--for the most part.  There comes a time when God gives the righteous--that was Job!--freedom.  There is a time when we can enjoy such freedom in the ways that we serve God.  God wants to bring us into freedom where we can serve alongside Him, dream with Him, and create with Him.

There comes a time when "all these things will be given" to us, as well (Matthew 6:33).  There comes a time when we will decree a thing, God will back it, and it will be birthed into reality.  There comes a breakthrough when God takes over our minds, hearts, and imaginations, and makes them pure.

We need to understand that the Holy Spirit makes the word flesh.  He makes the word of God, and the inspirations of God, manifest into something that can dwell among us.  (John 1:14)  In our lives, we should see the Word come alive and make a tangible impact on whatever is around us.  God had a wonderful idea named Jesus, and He has made us in His own image.  Thanks to His idea, we can enjoy the the many ideas that were originally only His.

And His purity can make us pure.  God has purified our desires, and He has created us with the intention that we break free from our sinful nature.  He made us with imaginations; He made us with creativity; He made us with ideas!  He wants to purify us and give us His righteousness, because He wants to see our dreams become reality.

God wants us to declare and decree His promises.  Start with the Word.  Speak the truth into existence--there is the power of life in our speech (Proverbs 18:21)!

The spiritual comes before the physical, so stay grounded in the Word.  But aren't there also personal promises God give us?  Don't you think He wants to bless the work of your hands?  Don't you think that He wants to give you success in whatever you do (Genesis 39:23)?  This is the truth, but not many people seem to make it to that point.

Anyways, if there is a promise God has given you--an acting career, a certain type of ministry, a successful published book, etc.--pray into it.  Pray into it, speak into it, act into it.  Speak His Kingdom come.  There is power when our words agree with God in Heaven.  There is power when God gives us an idea from Him.  Don't you know that God cannot fail?  There is such security in doing the things that He tells you.  These things won't fail!  If He tells you something, decree it?  Decree it, and the Holy Spirit will breath it into existence.

God is the most creative One out there.  And we can be included into Him!  We can have His righteousness, and after we have it, we can have His creative ides.  Let's be bold in our declarations and in the things we say--let's be bold and forcefully advance the Kingdom (Matthew 11:12).  Let's access God's version of reality by speaking supernatural life and not death.

Since praying that prayer a few days ago, so many 'creative ideas' have been coming at Vanessa and I.  It wasn't that my words had much power, but I spoke into what God was saying, and in doing so, aligned with the power that is only His.  Glory to God!  He gives us freedom, even to have what we say come to pass.  Be heavily led, be in tune and in step with the Spirit, and watch as you receive whatever you ask for in prayer (John 14:13)

Snapshot: Heavenly Downloads

"Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning."  James 1:17

When I became saved in the Spring of 2013 the Lord gave me many dreams that helped me understand who He is.  He was my main teacher during those amazing first few months.  Spring was a time of rebirth and growing in trust and childlike faith.  And as I've said in a recent post, now I am thankful to receive beautiful songs in my dreams from the Lord.

"That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."  But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets"  
1 Corinthians 2:9-10

God has so many things in His storehouse.  He has so many things awaiting us way up in Heaven.  And we are instructed to test Him, and see if He doesn't give to us!

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."  Malachi 3:10

Bill Johnson said that the Kingdom of Heaven is bigger  on the inside than it is on the outside.  How true!  To outsiders Jesus says, "narrow is the path" (Matthew 7:14).  But David, a friend of God, praised the Lord for broadening the path for his sake (Psalms 18:36).  Once inside the Kingdom, once you have sought God, that's when He gives you the desires of your heart.  That's when He can redeem your creativity!  That's when you can embrace a download from Heaven.

This download may be a dream.  It may be a vision.  It may mean making artwork, or a song, or a writing.  It will come surrounded by a gift of wisdom--more on this in a future post.  God wants to give each of us a portion of His imagination to apply to our respective fields.  Seek first His Kingdom, and see if He doesn't transform your life.

Electricity: God's Love

God is all powerful, and He shows Himself in symbolism.  If humans were to cease to praise Him, then even "the stones will cry out"  (Luke 19:40).  Wow!  Glory and Power and Honor belong to God!

"The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge." Psalm 19:1-2

Creation is testifying to God's personality, His might and His power. Thunder is, for me, a symbol of God's power.

"After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back."  Job 37:4

The voice of God is thunderous; it is a continual thundering like the "roar of rushing waters".  The presence of God accompanies and surrounds His voice.  This is the Spirit of the Lord manifesting Himself.  God has all power and all creation at His disposal.  And He uses His power to glorify Himself!  He wants us to "taste and see" that He is good.

To follow this analogy, if thunder, alongside electricity, symbolise God's Spirit, then we need to "plug in" to God to stay "charged".  We need to enter into God's glory, with mediation with His son, and refresh our spiritual batteries.  We need to be purified and draw near to the electric love of God so that "times of refreshing" can come to us.

Today God gave me a vision where I was taken into a giant lightbulb.  I instinctively knew that the inner coils represented the Holy Spirit in me.  The inspiration of these coils gave insight, truth, and creative witness.  In other words, the Holy Spirit makes "the light bulbs turn on" and brings together the truth within us.  I saw through the vision that the same Spirit gives many ideas and expresses Jesus in many different ways.  His power works as electricity, and He gives vibrant life to our inner beings.

The empty space within the lightbulb represented close surroundings.  The space around us is within the scope of this part of the lightbulb.  This space was filled with the presence of God.  My body was represented as nearest the inner coil (symbolizing the Holy Spirit within), though other things can come into contact with me, too.

Finally, the glass casing, or outside edge, of the glass bulb represented the fullest extent of our influence.  It represented the people and things we come into contact with.  More than that, this shell represented our spiritual territory.  Akin to a tent, this casing symbolized our outer circle of influence on those things around us.  God wants us to expand our tents (Isaiah 54:2) as a new measure of the Spirit is given.  He wants to give us more spiritual power for His namesake!

From the vision, I understood that the Lord wants His inner light to shine brightly in us.  He wants His presence to emanate through us, for our tents to be expanded and our casing to be pushed out.  He wants to include others in our blessings as He works through us.  As we allow Him to become an all consuming fire, His Spirit will give us new ways to glorify Jesus--new, creative ways to demonstrate God.  He wants us to bring others into the fold and use the power He's given us to feed His lambs.

Finally, nonbelievers outside of our area of influence should see the love of God reflected by our lives.  We need to have His passions and bear good fruit from Him, so that  they can see from the outside the Glory of God revealed, and long to come near it.  It is God's work to draw them in, but it is our work to shine brightly.  And we can obtain more of this electricity, more of this light from God, if we spend time "recharging" our spiritual batteries and getting filled with the Spirit.

Synchronicity: How to Read The Word

God gave us His Word for many reasons. The Word is our hope and our encouragement, our "ever-present hope in times of trouble." We cannot forget or underestimate the Word. It is alive and active, and by the Holy Spirit it is made real to us.

The Bible gives us commands to keep us pure in the eyes of God, and it also gives us moment by moment direction. There are a few names for the Word's present-time guidance. I like to call this kind of direction "rhema" or "navigational commands". These things come from the Word as we read it led by the Holy Spirit.

So, how to get specific commands from the bible? There are certainly times when it's good to read long passages of scripture at once, but the Lord has given us faster ways to discern His answers to specific questions. When we are led by the Spirit and operating out of a place of faith, random bible reading is often miraculously on topic. Try randomly opening a bible up and you'll see what I mean. As long as we precede this by trust and reliance on God, He gives specific direction through the Word, in ways that are sometimes totally unrelated to the context of that scripture section.

For example, last night I had a warning-type dream. It related to discipline that was painful. I felt it was from God, and this dream really helped me understand His might in disciplining those He loves. His discipline, and His commands to stay blameless, are designed for our protection, "lest some worse thing happen". After asking for His help, I open up the Word to Proverbs 19:18:

"Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction."

So this verse synchronously confirmed the topic and message of last night's dream. God is always faithful to His Word. The Bible is unlike any other book, and because of that, it is reliable to direct us when opened at random. So, often, I open my Bible at random and the first thing my eyes see totally relates to the day's events. Sometimes the first passage I read relates to things that happened just minutes ago. These synchronistic happenings are not just coincidences! No, those who are near God need to acknowledge His power (Isaiah 33:13).

 In the last month or so, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me how to get specific instruction from God on behalf of others. I don't mean prophecy here, but more so selecting timely bible verses, that often have a prophetic meaning. It all starts by hearing God's voice. The further you go along with God, the less and less you can do things, even spiritual things, according to your own will.

This new method is very efficient, but like I said, it must be strongly guided by God. So, most mornings I seek God on behalf of my wife. I acknowledge His ability, and His power, and then open my Bible at random. I may have my eyes closed, and point to a spot on the page, before opening my eyes and reading the selected verse. Or, I might just "know" that I'm meant to keep my eyes open, and immediately look on near the top left corner of the page. Direction such as this is a benefit of "keeping in step" with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

 Once again, distinct guidance is critical here! The Lord directs me when I do these random, finger-pointing readings...it is He that gives me protection and wisdom. Often He speaks with that "still, small voice" and tells me where to point my finger, which side of the page to gaze at, or where in the Word I should first open. When I do read as directed, God always gives me a passage whose message couldn't be a bit better. This is my one of my favorite ways to get specific direction from God.

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." Psalm 119:105

The Word is a light for the feet, not a spotlight into the distant future. So many people miss this! The Word guides us step by step. If we could do more than just "see in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9), we would not need to fully rely on God, nor have faith in the unseen! The synchronistic things God directs to us often fall around our feet, as He turns our "darkness into light" and guides us moment by moment. God's Spirit aligns us with converging events, through the Word, that guide our path. Glory to God! He really is so creative. Synchronicity through the word keep us "in step" better than almost anything. Reading the Bible at random is such a faith builder. Like I said, though, we must begin reading in faith that "the Lord is God, shining upon us". Or else, we are in serious danger of our faith being hurt even more:

"...Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." Matthew 13:12

So, let's read the word with faith to receive, and faith to believe the rhema word that God wants to speak. Let's desire clear and specific instruction, so that we can walk on His path for us, and not resort to lighting our own fires. Let's acknowledge God's power to move through synchronistic events, and give Him the Glory for it!

"For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:36

Snapshot: Jesus is Willing

What a wonderful mediator we have! You will find that He is always ready to redeem you. He redeems us, and recommends us to the Father. Through His sacrifice we can be set in high places with Him!

When we are uplifted like this, we open ourselves up to God's heart. Revelation comes and "the hope of Glory" opens our hearts to a new thing. Jesus is always willing to show us a new thing, in hopes that we take after Him. He can and often does use whatever means possible to communicate to us.

"For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:36

The Spirit allows us to see pure things in a pure light. All things are for Him, so that we may hear from God and draw close to Him. Jesus is willing to connect the dots and demonstrate His love for us by using all things! The Lord speaks through His WORD, and confirms it in good and perfect ways. (For more on hearing from God, see this post). Let's pray for God's creativity to unlock ourselves to the fullness of His WORD and His voice.

Confirmed: 'Jesus is Willing' devotional title Confirmed: '...to connect the dots' from next page in devo Confirmed: From another Christian book: 'The Lord suddenly connected all the dots'

Our Lord is so willing to confirm Himself to us. All these confirmations were gotten in under an hour!