Koinonia

"I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ."

~Philemon 1:6

A couple days ago I was praying in the spirit and kept hearing a distinct word: koinonia.  I thought it sounded familiar, and soon enough, the Holy Spirit began bringing me teachings and explanations of the term.  That was enough to make me realize that I'd already been living out the concept of koinonia recently in my own life.  Cool!

God wants us to live by this faith and with this word written on our hearts:  

"On earth as it is in Heaven".  

He wants us to experience Him and talk to Him, and then attract others into this blissful realm.  When Yahshua was transfigured on the Mount and talked with Moses and Elijah, He pulled others right into the Heavenly realms with Him.  Peter and John and James were included in this glory, even though it was almost too much for them.  

Heaven has to get out somehow - why not through you?  Once you're there, and only once you're there, can you freely give.  Only then can we talk to others within the confines of Yah's Heavenly Kingdom. Others can learn from us, and we can learn from others!  Contentment is key to pure communication.   If we rely on the contentment of God, than we can be content to flow out to others.  There's an attraction to God within somebody.  This is a fruit that can't help but be fruitful: the fruit of love.  Here's what Francois du Toit has to say about it:

"The Koinonia (communication) of our faith is ignited by the acknowledging of every good thing that is in us in Christ!"


Heavenly Father, let the cry of our hearts be for us to experience more of Your Love, and for us to love You back in turn.  Increase the hunger of our spirits within us and the calling out of our souls.  Let Your presence in us draw us to the right people in the right places at just the right time.  Let us always be a magnification of Your Love, and stretch us and mold us to conform to Your glory.  Draw us to friends who can stretch us and teach us new things, and let us live and talk and think in the light of Your Presence. Make us like you, Lord, and teach us something new today.  

The Call Of God

"This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes."

~Oswald Chambers

The call of God is an upward call (Phil. 3:14).  It's different, it's unusual, it's peculiar (1 Peter 2:9). It's rooted in the heart. The Spirit says, "Come away from that" (2 Cor. 6:17), and then breathes out --"Come to Me!" (Rev. 22:17).  God wants every bit of us.  He wants to be our best Friend.

The Holy Spirit is unpredictable (John 3:8)!  It can be difficult to put definite goals, plans, or desires into working in one's life, if they are led by the Ruach.  Difficult, but not impossible.  God wants your plans devoted to Him!

Last week, a certain simple song came to mind.  It's a beautiful song, and it carries in it the sacrificial essence of belonging to God.  I first heard it because Heidi Baker, miracle-working missionary, was inspired to pray along during certain parts of her life:

"take me and use me, bruise me if need be"

This morning, I have bruises all over my arms.  That's what construction work (hauling heavy trusses around) for the past few days will get you! Yahweh sure fulfilled that one, at least in a symbolic sense.  The call of God is still there, no matter what.

Making His best your best will always be worth it.

Snapshot: Remembering Your Mantle

A few days ago, the Lord showed me a mantle. And He reminded me that His calling on my life is not confusion or doubt, but to walk into His purposes and promises.

He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.                2 Kings 2:13-14

Mantles represent our spiritual authority--the measure of Christ in us that does the works.  It's time to remember His hope!  It's time to remember His calling.  It's time to remember what it's like to be called.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love...                             Ephesians 4:1-2

It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to walk into our calling.  It takes the fullness of the Spirit to accomplish God's will.  And it takes life in the Spirit to bear good fruit--humility, gentleness, love--to show ourselves worthy.  We need to remember that God saved us so that we could be firstfruits.

We need to know that God's will is not unrest or anxiety.  His will is assurance!  God wants us to feel empowered, to be empowered, and to live empowered.  He wants us to remember our spiritual identity and authority in Him.

Snapshot: An Anointed Pen

Just a short post here.  I want to describe something God showed me recently, as I think it relates to the missions and callings that God has placed on many people right now.

You see, for each mission, there is an equipping and anointing by God.   For each skill set or talent needed, God gives an anointing to carry us on through it.  Isn't that great?  He's the one who sets the stage.  He's the one who gives us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

And so a few days ago, the Lord showed me a pen that was being used for His Glory--for the glory of Jesus. And this pen became filled with ink--it became plump with ink, actually, and began expanding. With this came a message.  God spoke to me and said that He is who anoints us to write.  He spoke and showed me that He gives us more than enough to inspire our writing!  Awesome!

This has been an encouragement for both Vanessa and I.  God gives us promises and words we've yet to receive fulfilled. See, even if we put things off, even if we suffer some delays, God will make a way.  His power is still waiting for us, and when we release it, He will still allow that anointing to flow!  If He's given you a mandate to write--to write in your journal, to write on a website, or even to write a book--don't put it off!  His power is still waiting in the wings.  His anointing is still ready to be released.

We need to sanctify the Lord in our hearts (1 Peter 3:15), and then receive from Him that anointed pen.  We need to have our words, speech, and writing transformed by Him for His glory! We need to walk in whatever He's already called us to do, with no more delays.  We need to let His words flow.

Anticipating God's Spirit

The Lord began speaking to me about how to better anticipate Him--how to foresee His next move. And there can be several steps to this.  Now God can't just be formatted, but formats can help us understand how He works.


Step 1)  The first step in anticipating God's next move in your life is understanding hope.  We need to look forward to restored joy, restored love, restored peace...we need to look forward to restoration of fullness of life.  We need to know that He will uphold us and push us higher and higher.

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."
Psalm 51:11-12


Step 2)  Once we have hope, then we can call on Him in confidence. (1 John 5:14) Then we can be bold and know that He will reveal to us something according to His will.  We call on Him, and we have the awareness of our future 'saved'. (Romans 10:13)  Once we have hope for the future, we can attain to the promises found in Jeremiah 33:3.  And we can have boldness and confidence in this.

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."


Step 3)  So we call out to God, and God tells us something.  He tells us something about His future work that would otherwise be knowable.  He tells us something that testifies to Jesus, something that is in line with the spirit of prophecy (Revelations 19:10).  He gives us a word, or a vision, or a parable that points to and reveals His movement in the future.

For example, the Lord may reveal that tomorrow is going to be a day when a sibling of yours is really going to feel His love.  This kind of prophetic knowledge can also come as a warning to pray against---He may say that tomorrow is going to be a day where the enemy is going to try to attack you financially.  Whether God gives an encouraging word or a warning, the response needs to be in praying according to His will.    We can 'pray into' that coming sense of love and call it forth, or we can 'pray against' that financial warfare.  Remember that all God's promises are "yes" and "amen" in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).


Step 4)  Step 3 is repeated as the Lord trains our ears to hear (Mark 4:9).  We become accustomed to His voice, and build trust in the revealing of His plans.  Once God has sanctified our ears, then He can sanctify our minds.  He can make us attuned to Him.  This is when He gives us the mind of Christ.

"But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ."                      1 Corinthians 2:15-16

If we have the mind of Christ, the Lord speaks to us in a way that transcends a word, a vision, or a parable.  The spirit of prophecy manifests in a new way that brings fullness and truth to our awareness of the future. And our own logical or mechanistic thinking on tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, is replaced by a knowing that comes from oneness with the Lord.

For example, I may be thinking about Vanessa's (previous) back problems, and in thinking with the Lord, I feel Him reassure me that everything is going to be alright.  And then the next day, Vanessa tells me that her back was healed by the Lord that morning.  Or, I'll be thinking of a certain Christian friend who we don't see often, and then go on to hear that they're coming to our house next month. God inspires our thoughts to the extent that they become prophetic.  And if our thoughts are prophetic, then we don't necessarily need a clear word.  We develop a type of godly premonition. What would Jesus think?  As it relates to us, we begin to think along with Him, too.


Step 5)  If we have the mind of Christ, praise God!  That's when we can act on it.  We can pray into it, act into it, and walk in it.  God's reality can continuously be coming into union with our own. We can do only what we see, or envision, the father doing. (John 5:19) This is where God wants to take us, if we ourselves will respond by wanting to get there.   If we are controlled by the spirit of prophecy to this extent, then we will be made into a testimony to Jesus.  And that's what it's all about!

Snapshot: Your Testimony, A Testimony to Jesus

"Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."

1 Corinthians 1:26-29

God chose you.  God chose you to be His forever.  God chose us all, to show of His goodness and salvation to the world.  Isn't that awesome?  He chose at a point of personal weakness.  He probably chose you when you realized the things of the world were not enough.

I came upon this section of the Word right after sharing my testimony with a friend.  Wow, God really touched my heart with that.  He chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.  He took all of us captive and demonstrated His power by overshadowing our lives.  He gave us a story, and He gave us a testimony.

"They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death."                     Revelation 12:11

These two things are related.  Our testimony shows others what Jesus has done.  Our story points to the blood of the Lamb.  That's what we need to tell others of.  That's what we are supposed to talk about--how God came into our lives and made Himself real to us.  Our testimony should reveal His supernatural Love.

If we are Christians, this is how it should be.  Our testimony should not be about our career, the therapy that 'helped us become a better person', our athletic achievements, or how well we did in college.  Our testimony should not point to the importance of yoga, that great chiropractor we go to, or even that nutritional supplement we started taking that turned our health around.  Our testimony should be about Jesus, and from hearing it, others should see that He is all we need.  The Lord is God, and we can't have any other Gods before Him!

I'm not definitively saying that the Lord may not guide someone to yoga or to Vitamin C.  But I do think that something is wrong if we are giving the glory to Issagenix or to our doctor or to anything else.  Revelation 12:11 does not say,

"They triumphed over him by the power of a 12 step program and by the word of their testimony..."

Once again, I'm not totally excluding that.  But isn't God enough?  Isn't the Holy Spirit within us enough?  I don't need anything else if I let Him be enough.  It should be easy for everything we do to glorify God.  Let's show that God is truthful and powerful.  Let's make Him prominent in our lives.

Our testimony should be spiritual.  To some, it may make no sense.  Those with worldly knowledge may not accept it.  Those who do not believe God fully may not believe your testimony about Him, either.  But remember that God chose the foolish things of the world to act on.  He chose the lowly things, because these are the things that can humbly accept His power.  Let's all have a testimony, and let's make sure it points to Jesus.  Let's make sure that it proves the will of God (Romans 12:2).  Let's make sure it lives out the Word.

An Arrow From God

Last fall, God began directing our thoughts to a first true mission trip together.  Since then, we have been slowly receiving direction regarding where we should go and when.  I remember that He was speaking to us through symbolic arrows a lot in the beginning.  God sends us places--whether literally or spiritually--with His momentum.  He is the one who calls us to certain things and sends us to certain places.

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"     Exodus 3:14

Recently, the arrow theme has been brought up again.  On the way down to Pinehurst, the Lord reminded us of our role as a tool, as an arrow in His hands.  What a timely reminder!

So, God's likened this mission trip that Vanessa and I are on as an arrow sent from His bow.  I believe this speaks of being sent with the "strong hand of  God" upon us as seen in Ezekiel 3:14 .  We both have felt impressed to wait on God to send us--that is, to wait until He gave us the push off to leave.  Before we were to leave, He had to open the door and provide a springboard.

My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.'     Job 29:20

God has a mandate for all of us.  He has bent back His bow, and He will bend it back again.  He has prepared and initiated a calling for all of us.  For each believer, He has prepared a place that He wants to launch us into.  He is ready to send us out with spiritual momentum.  By His bow, we can be the arrow of truth and life that He initiates out into a new land.  Are you ready for Him to release you? Are you ready for an open door?  God is always sending out new things through people who can soar with His message.

"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,"     Psalm 149:6

We need to be like Jesus.  He was like a sword, like an arrow from God, and He delivered love and healing to the people.  He cut to the heart of those around Him.  He went out into the world with supernatural momentum, with a compassion that couldn't be suppressed or slowed down in any way. When God sends us out, we should be the move the same way.  We should leave our resting place ready to go and labor for God.  It's a labor of love.  We need to go out only when we know that He is the One who's sent us.  We need to be full of His Spirit and His power and not ever relent.

"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."       Luke 24:49

Snapshot: When He Sends His Spirit

Wonderful things happen when God sends us more of His Spirit.  Wonderful things happen when He gives us a double portion.  Wonderful things happen when we have received new wineskins that are ready to accommodate Him.

When God sends us more, it fills His people with joy.  It fills us with supernatural Love and bubbles over us with streams of living water.  When God sends us this gift, we partake of His Glory.  We see a portion of His beauty.  And we become changed into a new creation that is modeled after Him.  When God sends His Spirit, He heals all the earth.

"When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground."  Psalm 104:30

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Thank you Jesus.  He came and brought in the Spirit's outpouring, He came and started the commission.  What is the commission?  It is God's idea, it is God's master plan of Redemption and Salvation.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."  Matthew 16:15

This is what we've been called to.  We've been called to magnify His Presence and show His deliverance to all the earth.  Every creature needs God.  All creation needs salvation.  And we are the ones who have been anointed for this very purpose.  Jesus came and set the precedent, now He is with us to empower us to do the same.  Glory to God!

When He send His Spirit, we are changed.  He transforms us and places within us the every creature commission.  He puts in our heart the great commission.  This commission should be our major passion.  We need to identify the beauty in His Will.  We need to understand the nature of His Love.  We need to realize how wonderful His commands are.

"They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb."  Psalm 19:10

If you do not have this heart for His commands, then you are stifling the Spirit.  Allow Him to bring you to conviction and then to repentance!  Allow Him to send His Spirit!  Allow Him to give you a new wineskin.

This is where revival starts.  God is sending His Spirit, and He is renewing all the earth.  He is renewing the earth, one mind at a time!  Allow your mind to be next.  Let's awaken to Him, and let's awaken to the Kingdom that has been birthed within us.  Let's allow Him to take us from strength to strength as we fulfill His commission.  Let's allow Him to make a new way.

Snapshot: An Eternal Perspective

God has a different relationship to time than we do.  In fact, He operates outside of time and space altogether!

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."  2 Peter 3:8

And I was thinking about this a few days ago, and realizing that one day we will look back at our momentary troubles and realize how insignificant they were.  We will look back and see how God worked our suffering into His Redemption plan.  And someday we'll be in Heaven with Him, fully understanding the causes of things that caused confusion back while we were alive on the earth.  

I realized in that moment, that our trials only make sense if we view time from an eternal perspective.  

If we realize that God has already designed the end from the beginning, if we realize that He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, if we realize the eternal nature of His Love, then we can retain His Joy throughout any earthly difficulties.  We can welcome any of the "light and momentary troubles" that Jesus promised would come (John 16:33).

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."  2 Corinthians 4:17

Glory to God.   He has promised us eternal Glory.  Not only that, but this heavenly state has already been set in place for us!

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus..."  Ephesians 2:6

In order to live this life to the fullest we need to have an eternal perspective.  We need to really live in believing that we have a tremendous joy set before us.  There is so much joy set before us!  God has been storing it up for us since the beginning.  Lord, I believe!  Hallelujah.

Confirmed:  After thinking on this topic for a while, I got on my Kindle and saw a notification that struck me as odd.  The message said, "It looks like you have changed time zones".  This would normally only happen if I had actually traveled west to the next time zone.  

Right after seeing this uncanny notification, I got onto the Quickened Word website and saw a new post...Here it is.  I knew what God was saying.  He had directed my thoughts, and I had indeed changed 'time zones' to and aligned with His eternal, timeless perspective!

And that's exactly what God wants!  He wants us to know the truth that His calling had, even from before time began.  He wants us to know that our this life is not eternal, and even this short life is not our own.  We need to realize that this world in it's present form is passing away (1 John 2:17).  So let's live as if we believed this.  Let's live life from an eternal perspective.  Our calling is awesome, so let's accept whatever trials He desires to take us through.  Let's keep our eyes fixed on the Savior.  

Fools for Christ--Who's watching?

Today I was led to 1 Corinthians 4:9-10.

"For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have become a spectacle to the entire world--to people and angels alike. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!"

God has put us on display for the entire world. This is something I've been thinking about recently, albeit on a more personal level. Many people might think that what Vanessa and I are doing right now is unusual. And it is. Many people might not approve of our current living situation. On the outside, from an outsider's perspective, the two of us are not accomplishing much, not even for God.  Based on this passage in 1st Corinthians, the forerunners have it worst.  They are the ones who bear the brunt of the world's judgement.

Sometimes the things of God just offend people.  Often they make us look foolish.  You can often discern how someone feels about God based on how react to a testimony of Godly things.  Even those who love you may really, really hate it when you mention our Lord.  It's sad to think about, but what they actually dislike so much is God in you, the Holy Spirit.

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."  John 15:18

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD."  Matthew 10:34-35

Onto a slightly different theme, earlier this morning I woke up with a tangible sense that I was being overseen.  I felt like I was being watched--in a good way!  And I felt the presence of God approving me.  I knew I was justified in His sight.  I was reminded that those in Heaven are also watching over us, and hoping that we will continue on in the Way.  

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" Hebrews 12:1

Like I said earlier, Vanessa and I don't usually have the world's approval.  A lot of people would say of our life that we are not 'doing the right thing', or that we are being 'unacceptable'.  But praise Him that we have acceptance from our Lord and our God.  Praise Jesus that we also have the cloud of witnesses cheering us on.  Praise Him that we have God living within us, working for us to please the Father.

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

So God's pleasure comes first.  His best comes first...and His best may look more than a little unconventional.  Again, as indicated in 1 Corinthians 4:9-10, those who are paving the way for the faith, and for another move of the Spirit, seem to have it worst. The established Church has it easier.  Those with titles and official mission fields are looked upon as higher.  A new wave of effort for God is often taken badly.  It often cuts to the heart.  And it often goes against popular opinion.  But what counts is faith expressing itself through love.  Social standards should not hinder this (Galations 5:6, also see context).

There have been many confirmations for this message.  Below are a few:

Confirmed 12/17:  Vanessa and I were talking about what constitutes an apostle.  A person close to us just started going to a major Apostolic Church.  Also, both of us have seen the Lord Jesus in visions, most recently by her.  That verse that God led me to this morning (1 Cor. 4:9-10) took away a lot of my discomfort.  Often I feel weighed down by the potential disapproval of others, to the extent that I feel like my life is a sort of ongoing spectacle.  But hey, if I were still trying to please men...

Confirmed 12/17:  There were a few messages about salt yesterday.  I felt God remind me that we are the salt of the earth, it's enrichment and it's preservation.  We are supposed to be noticeable to outsiders.  After walking me through some personal teaching, the Lord led me to the Quickened Word website to validate His message.  I'm telling you, this site is like a modern-day, virtual school of the prophets.  Anyways, here is that post.  

I feel this all relates to standing out for the all the world to see.  When everybody sees you, though, there is bound to be those who disapprove.  There are those who will think you are too "out there", or too salty.  There are those who will be even more greatly affected --that's those who will become cut to the heart.  But praise Jesus that He said this:

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." Matthew 5:11

Confirmed 12/18:  As a confirmation to the message about Apostles and their set apart lifestyle that God's given recently, I was led to Psalm 68:24 this morning:

"Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary."

Today, those whom He's called are a part of His procession.  We are part of His army.  This is the end of the procession (1 Cor 4:9-10, as seen above), and as a way of discerning the hearts of the world, the Lord has given us a uniqueness and specificity of calling.  All of us are asked by the Lord to be different.  All of us are obligated to be Holy and set apart.  All of us are called to be salt!  And some will be turned off by this.  Some will be angered and dislike the Will of God.  Some will be unbelieving and ask, "Did God really say?"  

But take heart- - your reward is with Him!  Your justification is by Him!  And your favor is from Him.  Wigglesworth said, "persecution brings purity".  Glory to God!

Called Out

As Believers, we are all a part of His Body.  And we each have a certain calling that God has set in place for us.  But more than that, He has called us to be Holy and separate...to be sanctified.  He is the protective God who says, "Come out of her, my people!" (Revelation 18:4).  He wants us to be His and dedicated only to His purposes.  This has been a big recurring theme recently.  Below are some revealed messages and confirmations, though there are more in previous posts.  (Search the labels for 'Calling' to see those)

Confirmed 12/13:  I opened up Strong's Strongest Bible Concordance after seeing it on the bookshelf.  The words 'Numbers' and 'Interpretation' were quickened to me.  I knew it was from God....some things you just have to take by faith.  And then the wait began for God to build upon this passage.  With faith, it doesn't take long.  God is faithful to take us from strength to strength.

"Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them."  Matthew 13:12 (Hey, that's a reversal of the date.  I'll 'interpret' those 'numbers' that way...)

So God gives faith with His messages and then adds more and more layers of confirming signs to the original message.  He wants to make the righteous paths clear!  He has established our faith, and when we allow Him to activate it, He will always give us even more abundance.  He is the Holy One who says, "open your mouth and I will fill it"  (Psalms 81:10).  I didn't think much of this until later that day; see below for an explanation...

So,  Vanessa and I were talking later that day about a "Steps to Jesus" devo I had felt led to read that morning.  She had in fact read the same pages after me, as I left the pamphlet open.  The pages we read were under a subtitle called, "The Works and the Life'.  And it pertained to a specific calling.  It pertained to the Works of Jesus regarding His traveling ministry.  And it emphasized the fact that such a calling was 'set apart' from the ways of this world.  What a life!  Let me tell you, it's so exciting.  Hard, but exciting.

Vanessa then went directly into talking about the Levites.  She asked me, "Have I ever told you about the Levites in Numbers 18?"  Before I met Vanessa (and after that, as well!) the Lord often spoke to me regarding the Levites.  I've felt that He has given a similar calling to me.  Turns out, Vanessa has long felt that way, too.  God has both led us to "work for Him" so to speak, through different types of specific ministry.

Anyways, Vanessa mentioned numbers 18, and right away I remembered that 'Numbers' was the word I was guided to in Strong's Concordance earlier that day.  My thought patterns were quickened, and I understood what God was saying:

Our Work and Life (from the devo) has been dedicated to the Lord's specific "Interpretation" of a Levitical (from seeing the word "Numbers") calling.  God was reaffirming through all these synchronistic events that both Vanessa and I have been called out.  We have been called into a Life of dedicated ministry work, just as the Levites were.  Praise God!  He gives us the desires of our hearts, and His Way is the best way.

Confirmed 12/15:  Speaking of interpretations, The Lord gave an interpretation of tongues..."Come Holy Spirit".  Simple, but what a glorious thing to ask Him for.  When I first wrote it down, I accidentally wrote, "Come unto Spirit".    Come to Him; He's called us  His!  That's the message, anyways, that God made out of my guided mistake.

Confirmed 12/15:  Quickened eye-glance in the bible to, "you were entrusted" (Romans 6:17). We have been entrusted to a His calling.  We are to be slaves or righteousness!

Snapshot: Entering the Promised Land

A few days ago God spoke to me about my pathway through life.  This was the same day He was telling me to ask for details.  But in addition to this, we need to allow the Spirit to control our will and our dreams.  We need to imagine God's Will, and walk into it.  We need to see what He sees, feel what He feels, and follow His leadings step by step into the Promised Land.

I remember that a Christian figure from past times coined the term "Holy Imagination".  And that's what we need to have.  We need to have Holy thoughts and pure minds.  Only then can we dream big.
And only then can God implant Himself into our visions and our dreams .  Infact, this was the way that He called many old testament prophets.  So many were called and received their calling from a Spirit filled,  almost otherworldly dream.

This past Spring, I had a dream that I was crossing the Jordan river.  The dream wasn't set in ancient times, though; instead, I was on a steamboat that was slowly being evacuated.  Many passengers were on this boat, and many were scared about whatever might happen while they were stuck on this stalled boat.  Other passengers, however, didn't seem to see any problem in their situation.  I was left wondering what to do myself.

After some time, a militia-type group had also been sent onto the scene.  These military leaders searched for passengers willing to be recruited into their evacuation team.  Brave passengers became compelled to join this team, which was preparing to leave the ship and search for help on the mainland nearby.  I remember that the ship was fairly close to the riverbank, although the evacuation team was facing a jungle once across the river.  I listened as the military personnel spoke about the dangers of the mission ahead, and I felt more than slightly intimidated by my own prospects of joining this voluntary team.  But the situation on the boat was boring and lifeless, and people were left to waste away through their own devices.  So I decided I would go.  I was going to join this team and cross the Jordan!  I was told that the mission would be long and hard.  I was told it would be dangerous.  But I wanted to get off of that boat--it wasn't going anywhere and the people on board were not motivated to do much.  This is where the dream ended.

When I woke up I felt it was a dream from the Lord.  I felt His leading to be bold for Him and venture into uncharted territory.  I felt His desire to take me into new places, and report back to those 'stuck' what I tasted and saw.  Shortly after waking up that morning, God led me to the Joshua 1, 2 and 3, which strongly matched my dream.  God was beginning a new season in my life, and I was being exhorted to enter into the promised land.  Around the same time I had this dream, I started doing healing ministry on the street.  I was just starting to be used by our Lord to pray for the afflicted.  I was out of my comfort zone oftentimes.  But I had made the choice; I had crossed the Jordan!

God's recently began speaking about this to me again.  I believe that I'm in a new season now, and I've just crossed another river of roadblocks.  In the life of a strong believer, there may well be many "Jordans" to cross.  God wants His children to personally walk through the exploits in the Bible, and in that dream He gave me, I was shown that He wanted me to live out Jordan crossing of Joshua.

Confirmed 12/13:  God showed me that I've crossed the Jordan, because His commandments were more important.

Confirmed 12/14:  I was reading the book of Judges, and through 'quickened eye-glances' (see the Quickened Word for more on this), God revealed to me that I had been called out with Him.  This is exactly what the military leaders were doing in my dream all those months ago.  And He went on and showed me that I was to follow His lead.  How critical!  Just as the Israelites could not cross the Jordan without the Presence of God, in the Ark, guiding them, we cannot enter the Promised Land that He's called us to unless we follow Him into it.

Confirmed 12/15: Recent Themes have been:  Lush, green gardens.  Green trees. The Tree of Life. Milk and Honey.  The finest of foods.  Open Door to His Promises!

Confirmed 12/15:  I was reading the Bible Commentary book again, and God really spoke through it.  Random reading (search the 'labels' feature for this, if you're interested).  I was led to the subtitles "Canaan" and "Canaan as a type of Heaven".  God wants to lead us all into a land where the Promises He's given us become manifest.  He wants to lead all those who will listen into a land of heaven on earth.  The Promised Land symbolizes that our Lord has given us another chance to return to the Garden.  The Promised Land symbolizes that our God has great things planned for us, even before we enter Heaven itself.  Praise God!

Snapshot: His Glory...Revival Is Coming.

As I said in a previous post, God has been speaking to me about Revival.  This is very encouraging...  it's been my passion for a while now.  I remember this Spring when He first started showing me what Revival meant.

Praise God that He is faithful to carry out our dreams.  He is faithful to bring our callings to pass.  He is knocking on the door right now, waiting to show Himself Lord of all.  He is knocking because we need to answer.

In Church today, I saw in a vision several vivid fire trucks.  I saw them traveling towards me.  I knew these fire trucks were full of His Glory.  They pulsated by me, one at a time.  He is sending in ministers and annointings right now.  He is sending in Glory and Revival.  After this He said, "Thank Me for My Glory".  I knew it was a Word from the Lord (Jeremiah 32:8)

"Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"  Hebrews 1:14

"He makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire."  Psalm 104:4  (Mini-Confirmation:  Yesterday on the news there was a 104 year-old man who set an age-graded record for the 60 yard dash.  He was also polish...just like me!)

So I saw these brilliant fire trucks traveling across my peripheral.  And I remembered a Word God gave me about 7 months ago:

"I give you fire drills before the fire falls."

This was in reference to a painful purification God was sending me through at the time.  In other words, God was testing me...putting me through the fire, so to speak.  He does this so that He can then revive us.  He was purifying me so that I could be ready for the "fire" of revival to fall.  Fire has been another them recently.  And the Holy Spirit brought all of this to remembrance, showing me again God's truth.  I felt Him saying that it's coming...the Revival is coming.  It's a promise of God; it's definitely coming!  And I want to do what it takes.

Confirmed:  A few days ago I randomly opened an old hymnal at a friend's house.  I opened to the hymn entitle, "Singing with all the Saints in Glory".  I was reminded of this right after the 'Glory truck' vision in church today.  God's Glory is coming to us.  It is not far away.  But it's up to each of us to seek His face and give Him our hearts.

Confirmed:  I also saw in a vision the number "7" while in worship today.  I didn't know what to make of it. Since then, I cannot stop seeing that number. Vanessa tells me it represents seasonal completion.  As she began to answer me, she looked down onto a drawer and saw that a small seven was carved into the wood.

Revival is coming and God is bringing this promise of His to completion.  (As I just wrote that, the word, "seven" was quickened to me from a telephone number just then being spoken on Christian Radio.  Like I said, I have not been able to get away from that number.)

Confirmed:  Near the end of church, a few fire trucks drove right by the building.  I haven't noticed that happening in the past.

Rest Without Guilt

Today I woke up late and basically sat around for a few hours.  There wasn't much to accomplish, either inside our out, due to the rain and snow.  I was feeling pretty guilty about this, but to tell the truth I was enjoying the rest.  I had just found my kindle--it had been lost for a few days--so I decided to update myself on the Quickened Word website.

I found that the most recent Rhema Word really spoke to me.  Among the quickened phrases were things like, "Therapy couch.  Rest.  This is good for you."  What?  Yes, I felt God saying that this rest was good for me.  I kept reading the article:  "Grown men therapy.  Tinkering with their tools."  Here is that article.

That part really hit me...the author of this post is a lady who presumably doesn't use building tools much.  I was the one who had been having a little respite from work, away from tools (I'd been working with power tools recently).  So this spoke so strongly to me.  Glory to God, there is a fullness to His Words that is hard for humans, myself included, to conceptualize.

Confirmed:  Vanessa and I were also talking about this topic.  After of few days of little sleep, she slept nearly14 hours last night.  We were both pretty surprised by this.  A friend of hers had told her a few days before not to feel guilty for taking rest time.  Her sleeping seemed to validate that message.

Everything was coming together.  Resting is also a recurring guilt trigger for me, for a few reasons.  I still need at least 9 or 10 hours of sleep each night.  But I feel God saying, it's OK.  In fact, it's good.  God is so merciful, His staff gives discipline, but it also gives comfort.

Confirmed:  Even as I was writing the above paragraphs, I began feeling guilty.  I said, "God, what should I do right now?  Do you want me to be doing something else right now?  Should I be feeding the poor or something?  Should I volunteer someplace?" ...etc...I got pretty guilt motivated.  Doesn't God love us no matter what?  So the important thing is that we're willing to carry out His specific calling for us.  It is not by works, but by faith...God responded and spoke some things to my heart.  I believe this blog is, for me, a call to being faithful in little.  I wouldn't be doing this if not for His leading.

Anyways, immediately after I was saying this to God, my Father in law got a phone call in the other room.  He was talking to some company for a business call, and it went like this:

"Hello, Tom?  Is Tom available?"  I pictured that God was saying this to me.  In the phone call, Tom was indeed available.  And in the spiritual, I had just offered myself, again, as available to God.

The call conversation went on.  "You gave me your card, that's why I called you."  Once again, this talk was quickened to my ear as being from God to me.  I gave Him my "card"--after all, all the days of my life are written in His Book (Psalm 139:16).

So I remembered that when I gave Him my will, He had responded with a specific calling.  This calling has been quite an adventure so far.  HIS calling has in fact been "exceedingly abundantly" more than I could have hoped for (Ephesians 3:20).  Praise Jesus that He has called us to rest, as well.  He alone knows what we need.  If God is prompting us to rest, we need to take it!  We need to take it and use it for Him.

Here I am, Use me

I began a new God journal a few days ago, on December 1st.    I had just ran out of room in my previous one...God's timing is perfect.  So I started this new journal a few days ago, and was wondering if God would give me a theme to put on the first page of it.  He started doing this recently, as a way to assign a message and task to that particular journal and accompanying season.  For this new journal, He gave me a focused message.  I was guided to write a pledge to Him:

"I will answer and say,

'Whatever You want to tell me, whatever you feel you want to do,

it doesn't matter.'"

This commitment came from a quickened conversation that I was hearing in the car.  The Lord was fast to confirm this.  I began reading Heidi Baker's recent book, and came to a segment that was strikingly similar to what I'd just received.

Confirmed: Heidi Baker book:  "He will call you to go and do whatever He wants".

Confirmed:  Just after reading, Mom said to Vanessa, "You can call him, that's great".  She wasn't actually talking about God at the time, but to me the message was clear.

Confirmed:  Later that same day, Vanessa wrote a note for herself that instructed her too serve others.   It said, "I'm here, and willing to do whatever, whenever".  She'd meant this in context to service, but I knew it was a confirmation of the type of things I needed to give to God.

Here I am, use me (Isaiah 6:8).  I went through a phase where this was  a main prayer of mine.  Now it's resurfacing...God wants to test our willingness.  He wants us to offer our lives to Him.  He wants us to start giving up the pieces of our lives we've stored away for ourselves.  Are we willing to be used and spent for Him?  His heart goes far beyond you and I.  He wants us to have His heart, and then allow it to carry out fully His purposes in our lives.

Dream Snapshot: Godly Discipline

Last night I had a dream about being a missionary in Asia.  The Lord had guided Vanessa and I there, and we were just starting out in our ministry there.  The presence of God was really, tangibly there with us, and God was filling me up with the Spirit.

I was waiting for opportunities and looking for someone to witness to.  Several situations came up.  I saw a feeble old Asian lady who needed prayer for debilitating injuries.  When I approached, I saw her and several men praying to a false religious spirit.  They were also Asian, and I couldn't understand any of their words.  I knew in the dream that they were praying to their false god, and they just prayed in vain for this lady.  The power of our true God was not active.

I was filled with the Holy Spirit at this point, and knew I needed to interrupt this situation and show them the healing that Yeshua offers.  But my timidity kept holding me back.  I kept hesitating!  Soon I traveled to another place and had the opportunity to preach and minister God's healing touch.  But once again, I did not take the initiative.  Ooh...not good.  I had come to Asia to minister the Word, but instead I wasn't bold to accomplish anything.

When I woke up God gave me several confirmations for the dream.  Right away I know it was an exhortation...I need to work on my boldness.  I need to be reckless enough for God that I can push ahead, and get out of His way.  He has not given us a spirit of timidity!  Let's move in power and assurance instead.  Let's allow Him to make a way where there is no longer any hope.

So far today, I had two major opportunities to be bold.  But, similar to the dream, I hesitated twice.  Oh well...God has showed me what I need to work on.  He has showed me that my lack of boldness will prevent me from walking out what He's called me to.  Praise God that He wants what's best for us.

Our calling: Compassion

The past few days I've been reminded by the Lord about my purpose in life. The Holy Spirit brought 3 verses to remembrance:

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

"Jesus replied: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" Matthew 22:37

"And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"Matthew 22:39

And I realized how simple everything really should be. I realized again that no worldly achievements can impress God. This world in its present form is "passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). That makes our purpose much more simple, if we meditate and then act on this perspective.

How did Jesus act? He saw the people and He was moved with compassion. Not just human compassion, but the compassion of God. He responded with powerful demonstrations of His Father's love. He walked humbly with the Father, even though He was God Himself. He came "not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many". Let's commit to focusing on God, and focusing on His heart. Let's love what He loves and hate what He hates.

Confirmed: When talking about different callings in the car today, my eyes were directed to a license plate that said, "CMPSSHN". The timing as perfect. I didn't say it...my calling is to show people God's compassion!

Commissions

"So go and make disciples in all countries. Baptise them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  

Matthew 28:19

Jesus gave his people this command prior to leaving us here on earth.  Many people today call this the great commission.  I believe that all yielding believers today are directed by the Holy Spirit to spread the good news and call others to Christ.  The Holy Spirit will always magnify Jesus, and we need to be watchful and seek out the lost on Jesus' behalf.  Each of us has a crucial role to play in the command Jesus gave us here.  Some are involved in organized ministry, some are not.  But we are all called to be His body, His voice here on earth.

This morning the Lord gave me a vision of water being poured all over my head.  I felt nice and clean!  First, we need to let the Lord purify our own lives.

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!'  And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."  Revelation 22:17

So we ourselves are called by the Lord, then we need to have a certain response.  We need to beckon others onwards!  We need to direct others on to His cleansing waters.

While reading the Word today the Lord directed me to 1 Chronicle 23:28.  Often God has spoken to me about my calling as a Levite.  So this was just one of many confirmations.   The Lord often gets me with a scripture like the one below, when I begin to get anxious over my future or career choices.  It is my desire to be involved in full time ministry.

"For their office is to assist the sons of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts and in the chambers and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God..."

Those with a levitical calling are directed to purify all holy things.  God makes us His people holy, and in our ministry we need to spur on others to allow God to purify them.  Sometimes exhortation isn't always fun.  But the way I see it, our Lord is to good to allow any sin or disobedience to hold back His favor and His love.   Let's pray that the Lord directs us into our chosen calling, whether that be organized ministry or anything else.