Communion: It's Important

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.…

Communion is so important, yet it is so overlooked in much of the church today.  We are ignorant of communion and all of it's glory to our own loss.

The receiving is in the believing.  Let's choose to trust Jesus when He said that His flesh was real food, and His blood real drink!

The Gift of Faith in Prayer, Part One

"And I will do whatever you ask for in my Name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my Name, I will do it."

John 14:13-14

We need to recognize the promise here.  We need our faith to be built up, or else we risk hindering the coming influxes of God's glory.  

God wants to give us increasing faith.  He wants to take us on from one level of trust to another.  We're free to step out in faith, and we're free to be released from the doubts of our own human logic.  

We don't need to be afraid to ask.  We need to be ready to ask, so that we can readily receive.  Whoever asks receives (Matthew 7:8).

As much as we decide to try, that's the extent we're going to see.  God takes pleasure out of bold prayers.  

Video Journal: Feet Healings in Springfield

The past two days have been awesome!  We've been hanging out with some great people...and having a great time!  God's been providing opportunities to display His love and His glory.

"And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose."                     Hebrews 2:4

Our friend Rob shares his side of the story here:

God is good!  It's a joy to see His power at work, and it's a joy to see His love change things.  

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.

Light in Their Eyes

"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." Matthew 6:22

Recently the Lord has brought this back to our attention. We've all probably noticed it at some point--you can often tell if someone is a Christian if they have light in their eyes.  And beyond that, the measure of light seen often correlates directly with the strength of that person's relationship to God.
If our eye is single--if all our attention is being used up on God-- then there won't be any darkness left in us.    And that's where God is taking us!  That's what the Father wants.  He wants a people who have been so tangibly transfigured by Him that their eye--their whole countenance--show it.

There is another side to this. Unfortunately, some people aren't saved.  And some of those people are harboring unclean spirits, or even demons.  How do I know?  Well, if nothing else, you can see it in their eyes.

Even among the saved, some people don't have as much of that visible light as they could.  Maybe they've become distracted.  Maybe they lost somebody.  I've heard that some people lose their light--they lose that positive countenance--after something terrible happened in their lives.  That's why we need to fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).  He'll perfect our inner light.  He'll perfect the work of the Spirit within us.  That's why we need to keep our attention 'single'--solely focused on Him.  He is greater than this the darkness of this present world.  He is greater than our own problems. If we look to Him, He will change us, and we will begin to take on His light.  That's what our Lord wants.

Intercessory Prayer: Glory Clouds and Clouds of Witnesses

Recently, the Lord has been revealing to me a part of His glory.  It all started when I was praying that God would show me what His glory looks like.  Since that time, He's directed me, led me, and quickened to me all things related to clouds.  Hey--He's talking about the Glory cloud!  It took me a little while to figure that out.  He was showing me that His glory is often, well, packaged in a cloud.  Isn't asking the main step on the road to receiving?  Our God is so good.

Then Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded you to do, so that the glory of the LORD may appear to you."                         Exodus 24:16

This is the Glory cloud.  This is what Moses saw, and what the Israelites saw, also.  We, too, have been gifted spiritual sight, as the veil has been torn by Jesus.  If Moses was shown great revelations, then we can, too. I always thought it was kind of unrealistic to think in these terms.  But hey--that's what the Word says.

"Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

Hebrews 10:19-22

And after several days of seeing clouds mentioned everywhere, the Lord led me on to pray for the town I was staying in at that time--Springfield, Missouri.  And I saw in a mental pictures cloud filled with glory coming in and resting over the city.  The cloud was beautiful, and was tinted by God and silver colors.  There were angels and beams of light all throughout it.  And I saw that the Lord had sent it in on behalf of those praying for Springfield.  I was kind of surprised by this--wow!  Praise God for revealing His character and His nature to us.

Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy.

Exodus 24:16

Confirmed:  A few days later, I met a man downtown--still in Springfield--that was praying for revival to come in.  He was a much older man, probably from the Assemblies of God, and was hoping in the Lord for a move of God's Spirit and a massive demonstration of His glory.

Confirmed:  There certainly was a show of God's glory in the area of Springfield!  People were healed and shown the power and Love of God.  Many people's hearts were hardened, yes, but to those who were open to it, the glory of God was shown and revealed.

Confirmed:   Today in Church, we read Hebrews 11, which talks about the cloud of witnesses.  So God added another element to this!  In the old testament, the Glory cloud was where God lived, and it was visible.  People usually didn't go into the cloud; they certainly didn't compose it.  And there was only one Glory cloud, assigned to one ministry--the ministry from God of Moses.

But now, Jesus has been endowed with all Glory.  And we are fellow sons with Him.  We are fellow partakers!  We, too, have access to the Glory cloud.  All of us, not just some spiritual leader!  Although it is not usually visible today, don't we walk by faith, and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)?  God's glory today is just as critical to ministry as it was in Moses' time.

I believe that there is actually more than one cloud today.  God is not limited to one area or one dwelling place now, given that He lives within those who believe!  I believe that it is part of the Holy Spirit's work to magnify Jesus--by sending in clouds of glory--to all areas of the world.  I believe that this is part of what our prayers do.  I believe that God sends in a dispensation of His Glory to those who want it most. 

And these clouds of witnesses are watching from Heaven thanks to Christ.  Don't you think they come in glory?  I believe that they are watching, and at times, moving with the Glory clouds that range to and fro throughout the earth (2 Chronicles 16:9).  I believe their eyes move with the Almighty's, looking for those who will be strengthened.  There will come a day when the whole earth will be filled with (the knowledge of) His glory (Psalms 72:19), and that can start with prayer.  That can start with the petition of those who want to believe.  Let's all pray for the coming harvest.  Let's all pray for a fresh release of His Glory.  Let's pray that people are awakened to this--that the eyes of their understanding can be enlightened by the King (Ephesians 1:18).

Hope For The Future, Part Three: Godly Idealism

God is an idealist: 



Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act 

unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,

 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, 

hopes all things, endures all things.


 

This is what love does, and since God is love (1 John 4:8), this is what God does.  God hopes all things.  God wins in the end, so why shouldn't He hope all things?  His victory is assured, and ours can be, too.  And if we will rise with Him, why shouldn't we also be filled with hope?




"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he

has given to those he called--his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance."     

Ephesians 1:18 MSG









God's Word says that His people are destined for a rich and glorious inheritance.  And we can walk in a measure of that glory now, and then move on to fullness.  There is nothing more hope-inspiring than that! 

God has so many promises for those who love Him.  He has so many blessings stored up for those who live by His Spirit.  He has so many good things to give.   He is waiting to bless you!  Not that you have not been blessed yet, but there is always more to God.  He is for us unsearchable riches.  (Ephesians 3:8)  He is to us incomprehensible love. (Romans 11:33)  It's time to get a fresh anointing.  It's time to walk in our blessings.  It's time to live life to the fullest.  It's time for Christ in us to shine through.  It's time to yield to the Father's unending hope.









   






"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the

Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory"                          

Colossians 1:27

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.

Uriel, God is My Light

"Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous."                Psalm 112:4

"Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday."               Psalm 37:5-6  

As followers of Jesus, we share in His light and His life.  We should have our lives modeled after Him.  We should in our lives display the light of the world.  People should look right through us and see Jesus in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)--the light that saves the world.

"Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation..."                Psalm 27:1

God is our light and our salvation.  And we are the light and the salvation of those who do not yet believe.  Until one comes to know God, the best thing they could have is you and I.  People should look at us and see love.  They should look in us and see something otherworldly.  They should recognize us by good fruit.  And what is this fruit?  That we love one another.

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:35

Do we have Love?  It's possible to not have it.  If we don't have God, we won't have Love.  If we know Him and belong to Him, then we will have His Love.  If we have His Love, then others will know it.  This is how we are supposed to be recognized!

God's Love is also His light.  Heaven is full of God; it is also full of light (Revelation 22:5).   And we can be full of His light too!  We can be built up from the inside out and shine brighter and brighter and brighter.  We need to realize that the light within us is greater than the darkness in the world      (1 John 4:4). We need to go from Glory to Glory--to let Him be our light and clothe us with His glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).   We need to let His light shine on our faces and even change our countenance. This is how we should minister.   This is how we should shine out into the world.

Confirmed:  Last Friday we were doing street ministry, and we stopped in at a Christian bookstore.  There was a biblical name book on sale, and we 'happened' to open it up to the name Uriel:  Hebrew-  "God is my light".  We all thought that was a fitting message for our street ministry.  We felt God was looking down and approving us--approving that we were ministering His light.

Later the next day, I oversaw a story on the news about a boy named Uriel.  I do not know the last time that I heard this name...God is so good with His confirmations.

Confirmed:  I was reading an excerpt on the Elijah List about Bob Jones.  It was all about God's light, His glory, and the importance of shining for Him in ministry.  It expanded on being the light of the world.  Bob also had a unique revelation on the presence of God's glory on this earth, which is worth a read if you have the time.  Below is a segment of this article; I bolded parts for emphasis.

Back in the early 70's wherever you walked, people would see you shining. I'm talking about those that were unsaved. They would see you shining. Sometimes they would just want to draw up close to you because they would say, "I've been so depressed. Can I sort of stand by you because when I stand by you I'm not depressed anymore? I don't know what it is but whatever you got I need."

Evangelism was that easy. It's God's glory! I don't see how you could do really good power evangelism without God's glory. And every one of these things is first and foremost in the name of the Son as He came to glorify the Father. So in the name of Jesus as we begin to move in these latter times we will see some of the greatest signs and wonders you ever seen. It's to glorify the Father.

So be excited in these times and get aboard the glory train. For that's the invitation of this. Get aboard that glory train and let's ride with Him in His glory as we glorify the Father. So in Jesus name these things I spoke, let it enter into your conscience, your spirit man to where you shine; an inner shining and inner glory that will shine in the darkest night that will never let darkness come in.

For you see; when light shines, darkness hides and you're the shining light. And this is what He's saying, "Shine! That's your glory! Don't put a bushel over your glory, but let your glory so shine so that man may see the glory and come to the knowledge and to salvation." In Jesus name. Amen.

Snapshot: Seeing God

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"    Matthew 5:8

When I began reading and meditating on the Word, I used to think that verses like the one above were more figurative than literal.  Then, I began thinking that such descriptions only described what we'll experience in Heaven.  But now, I believe that God wants us to know that these promised can be applicable to our every day.  They can be lived out and enjoyed in this life, and even more so in the life to come.  If we meet the conditions, we realize God's pleasure in us based on how He treats us.  If we are pure in His sight, we'll discover that He's worth it.  We will become unable to forget all His benefits:

We really can taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalms 34:8).

We can see God's Glory (John 11:40).

We can ascend to the mountaintop with the Lord.  We can live in a Holy place, and God's holiness can go before us and after us.  We can be hemmed in by Him and His grace.   (Psalms 24:4 and context).

We can enter into God's presence in a new way.  There is always more of God that we have not yet seen, heard, or even imagined (1 Corinthians 2:9 and context).

There is always a new revelation, a new promise, a new understanding of His Love.  God is so far beyond searching out--we only experience tastes of Him because He let's us (Romans 11:33).

There is always so much knowledge stored up in God's Word.  Enough to keep us learning, both day and night (Psalm 119:96).

These are His benefits (Psalms 103:2).  These are our earthly foretastes of Heaven. These are results of our inheritance in the Lord--residence in His Kingdom.  And these things are worth counting the cost.  They are worth any cost!  God makes life fun, but more than that, He makes it count.  Let's commit our ways to Him.  Let's allow Him to make us pure, from the inside out.  Let's seek Him so we can see Him, and let's see Him and become more like Him.

Snapshot: He Crowns Us

A few days I saw in a vision a purple crown.  It made me think...sometimes Vanessa wears a crown like this around the house for fun.    I realized God was telling me something.  In the past, crowns have represented the way that God makes us heirs.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory"  Romans 8:16-17

There is a stunning difference between where we're at and were God wants to take us.  God wants to crown us from within the depth of his riches(Romans 11:33).  Once we have died with Christ by the Holy Spirit, we can then share in His Glory.  God wants to crown us with good things--peace, favor and success.  It's a new season, so let's renew our minds and accept the goodness of God given to us.

This is hard to imagine for some!  I know that for me, it sure has been in the past.  So let's turn to the Word for encouragement.  After all, Faith comes from hearing, and hearing comes from the Word of God (Romans 10:17).

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:8-10

If we are one with God, we will not want anything else.  Either God will satisfy our pure desires, or He will eliminate our impure ones.  We will not see a single thing that we think highly of that God will not eventually allow us to attain.  We will be able to partake of His Glory at that point, because His Glory will be the only thing we desire!  That's when He crowns us.  That's when we receive more and more and more, because He knows that we will respond by giving it right back to Him.

Confirmed: A few days ago,  a word called, "The Lord is crowning the Year--Do Not Take Off Your Crown!" was released on the Elijah list.  In it, I found a confirmation that really sealed the meaning of the crown visions.  Below is an excerpt, in italics...



To be crowned means to be set apart and consecrated for a high position. This is a year for higher positioning. Promotion and exaltation comes from the Lord, and He is exalting the humble ones. I see many being promoted to higher assignments in the Body of Christ. I see other Believers being promoted into "decision-making" seats in society.

God is rewarding openly those who have sown in secret. There will be sudden shifts and sudden promotions. People will be adorned with stunning influence. Get ready. Your season can change in a day. Be mentally limber. Be able to let go of the old quickly and embrace change readily.

"Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won't be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once – and everywhere you look, blessings!" Amos 9:13 MSG

Your promotion will produce personal chaos. This is a blessing and not a curse. Know that if God is with you, you won't fail. He will give you the grace to re-calibrate and rebalance. Cling to God tightly and press forward anyway. Don't return to the familiar or the comfortable. The cloud has moved. His grace is now found in the new place and not the old.


The Spirit of wisdom is being released to all those stepping into this year's crowning. Those who are wise will shine like stars! It's time to shine and be seen. All glory to Jesus Christ as this generation shines bright and makes His name famous. He has crowned the year – do not take off your crown.

Snapshot: How's the Fruit?

"Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance."  Matthew 3:8

A few days ago I started seeing fruit in my visions.  Oranges have been quickened recently--from featuring on the Quickened Word site, to randomly seeing Florida license plates (oranges).  God is funny sometimes.

And I knew that this related to the verse above.  Repentance to me means sorrow leading to heart change.  If we are just sad about our mistakes and our sins, something is missing.  We need to be changed from the inside out.  God's grace extended to us in forgiveness needs to compel us!  It needs to compel us to change our actions.  It needs to motivate us to bear better fruit.  Don't abuse His grace!

God has since started speaking to me about fruitfulness in my tasks.  If we work for Him, He'll make us fruitful.  That's the truth!  He is faithful to come in and give us the hundred-fold if we are working for Him (Matthew 13:8).  Why?  Because He wants us to bless us for His name's sake.

Then this morning, Vanessa had a vision of bunches of oranges.  Bearing fruit comes from God's goodness.  It comes when He places this goodness within us.  No good tree bears bad fruit.  So Let's dedicate everything to Him.  He will change your everyday life first, probably, and steer your attention to Him.  Then He will make your important work fruitful.  That's the second step; that's the hundred-fold.  Will you rededicate the things you care most about to Him?  He will be faithful to reward you!  God can change you from the inside out.  Let Him do the work, and let Him redeem the things that were selfishly motivated in the past.  Bobby Connor says that God has called us to "redeem the time".  How true!  Allow Him to take over your actions for His glory.

New Year, New You: Focus on God

As believers, we need to focus our efforts on God.  We need to live for His Glory.   We need to live for what He stands for.  We need to be fixated on the Kingdom.

I was seeking the Lord on themes for 2015, and I this is one of the themes He gave me.  I also believe it's the most important.

"But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6:33

Seeking God before our own interests is a command.  And it's been given for our own good! The reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is more fantastic, more important, than anything else we could run after.  The reality of salvation is more important than anything else.  And the possibility of friendship with Jesus is more important than anything else.    So we need to seek the things that matter.  We need to seek His Kingdom before He allows us to find it.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  Philippians 4:8

When we are seeking Him, our thoughts will reveal it.  We will think about God, Heaven, and how we can accommodate His desires on the earth.  We will naturally follow the advice of James seen above.  We will become pure and go from strength to strength (Psalms 84:7).  We will feel the power of His Victory.  When we focus on Him, we will share in His passions.  We will devote our talents to God, and He will give us the desires of our heart.

Focusing on our Lord will always keep us safe.  Those who put their hope in Him will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23).  If we focus on Him, He will deliver us.  Let's look to Him and be saved.  Let's look entirely at Him, and do so in faith.  Let's know that our redeemer lives (Job 19:25).

When we focus on God, we our minds will be renewed.  We will know the Father's heart for our lives, and we will experience the surety of our calling.  We won't be limited by mere religion, putting God in a box, nor will we subscribe to the wisdom of the world.   Instead we will become more and more separated from the world!  And this is a requirement if we are to hear clearly from God.

So let's seek Him first.  Then let's fulfill His commission--the Kingdom and the righteousness will follow.  Let's advance His causes.  Remember that the desire to share  His salvation with the lost  is already in you.  If it's not, then to some extent you have stifled the Holy Spirit.  Don't live in old desires and selfishness any more!  Instead look to Him and obey as He takes you to the fullness of salvation.  Keep seeking as He saves every single aspect of your life!  Thank Him for His goodness, and believe that He is worth focusing on.

Confirmed:  Right after writing this post, a commercial for power tools came on.  It was quickened to me to have 'True value behind every project'.  This takes focusing on Him and a pure heart.

Light in Their Eyes

This morning the Lord gave me a vision of a myself holding a laser.  I pointed it out into the distance and it was very bright and powerful.  Then I turned the laser's light into my own eyes.  In the vision, I knew that this was actually a good thing, and symbolized the Light of God being placed into my eyesight.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light."  Matthew 6:22

"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness."  Luke 11:34

Luke 11:34 implies that if our eyes are healthy, then they will be full of light.  And it clearly states that our whole bodies will be full of light as a result of healthy eyes.  We need to have God touch our eyesight and give us His some of His Light.  We need to have God touch us and give us eyes to see.

"But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear."  Matthew 13:16

We need to have received this kind of impartation from God.  We desperately need to be blessed by Him.  This is what the Body of Believers needs right now.  We need in our eyes a reflection of His Light and His Love.  We need our eyes to be glorifying to the Father.

Our eyes should show that we came from the Father of Lights Himself.  The Light in our eyes should be a part of our testimony.  Our eyes should testify to joy and the unconditional goodness of God.  The Lord wants our eyes to be full, and then He wants our light to spill over into the rest of our face and the rest of our body.   Let's chase God and not give up.  Let's seek His face until He gives us enough Light to transform our very face and countenance, as well.  Let's seek Him until we find those things that He wants us to find.   Let's encounter Him in a way that makes all situations pure joy.

"All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel."  Acts 6:15

But there is a major obstacle to receiving the Light and Love of the Father--We cannot be judgemental towards others.  We cannot have any logs in our eyes, and even a speck of impurity means that a measure of God's Light will be blocked out (Matthew 7:5).   We have to look on others like Jesus told us to, without judgement, but with plenty of Love.  And we need to have His help with this.

If Jesus Christ is your Lord, then you have the Holy Spirit within you already.  Hallelujah!  And with the Holy Spirit comes all the Light of the world.  It's already there, right inside of you!  I'd encourage you, don't stifle it.  Don't block out with your judgement of others any amount of the Light that He wants to shine through.  Let His Love pour out of your eyes and transform your perspective.  Let His Light make your countenance angelic, and let it make you perfect.  Let this light transform your mission place and then your entire world.

I believe that vision this morning was for any Christian.  What God showed me in that vision this morning was that God's already given us His Light.  He's placed it in our hands and graciously put it into our hearts.  He wants this gift to shine through our eyes, too.  So let's use it to look inwards, as I saw myself doing in the vision.  Let's allow His Light to inspect us and cleanse us from all impurities.

Let's let this Light and this Love remove the logs, planks, and specks from our eyes.  When you are filled with His Light, it will become so very clear that you don't have any right whatsoever to judge.  The blockages will be removed and your eyes will become full of Light, for all to see.  We need to have His Light, and we need to Love one another with it.

Between the ages of ten and nineteen I attended the same Church.  I was saved at eighteen, and after a few months of absence I saw the Church Pastor again.  He knew I was different. He saw it in my eyes.  He saw how God's Love had fully changed me, how it had changed my countenance, how it had transformed my eyes.  I was a new creation, and I had been born again as a son of the Father of Lights.   We all need to keep this Light within us flowing out to the extent that it's obvious to others.

Confiirmed:  Two mornings ago I received from God a vision where Vanessa and I had light bulbs on top of our heads.  I felt it represented His Love manifesting in new ways with new ideas.

Confirmed:  I was on the Quickened Word website earlier today and saw a new post that confirmed the Lord's message of Light and Love.  The post's author had a dream about lighbulbs just last night, shortly after I saw them in a vision the day before!   I love how God gives value to all the members of the Body and allows anyone desiring to "see in part".  Here is the post....I'd encourage you to take a look.  It's so important for us to be the Light of the World.

The message here remains the same--as said in the book of John, we know that we are His because of our Love. And we will make known that we belong to the Father by our Love for one another.  This is how we should represent the Church--by Love for those who hate us and Light that shines through our eyes and actions for all to see.

Spiritual Ecstasy

There is something supernatural that happens when we worship God.  We feel more of the Holy Spirit! Often this results in deep conviction, repentance, or Love.  There is a more excellent way.  There is another level to attain.  Once God get's our sinfulness out of the way, once we get ourselves out of the way, that's when there is a breakthrough to happen.

Now our faith in God shouldn't be built on our feelings alone.  His facts are greater than how we feel when in worship.  But if we are seen as perfect by the Lord, that's when He can really touch us.  That's when we can worship in Spirit and in truth (see John 4:24 and context).  When we praise Him in this way, that's what pleases Him.  And pleasing God usually feels really, really good.  Worship like this can be spiritual ecstasy.

There are times in worship when I God so fills me that I am about ready to burst.  And that's what He wants.  He wants us to know the depth of His Love.  The awesomeness of His Presence. The weight of His Glory!  He wants me to become so aware, that the treasure He's given is so from Him, so enormous that I alone cannot contain.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."  2 Corinthians 4:7


Praises to God.  This is how every worship experience should feel.  If I worship Him and do not feel like this, I take it as a problem.  I may have become distracted; my heart may have hardened a little bit; I probably sinned.  All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).  But that doesn't mean I am justified.  No, it means I need to get right and repent and allow the Spirit to unstop the release of His Love and His Glory.

Once this happens we have accepted His Love.  We have accepted such a gift of Love.  We should feel like we're in Heaven whenever we worship Him.  We should be Singing With All The Saints in Glory.  And if we are pleasing God, this is how worship will always feel.  No good gift will He withhold from us.

We will feel rivers of living water coming out from within us (John 7:38).  We will feel at one with the Father (John 17:22).  We will become flames as fire for Him (Psalms 104:4) and testify to His Joy and His Glory.  And so much more!!  Once again, it's spiritual ecstasy.  And we will do all this through the Holy Spirit, who works with us to fan into flames the gifts that we've already received from God.

Sidenote:  I was reading a new Bible commentary (it was a Birthday present) and there was a long sidenote about the callings of the OT prophets.  Many received their calling, the book said, in a state of ecstasy.  There were some cool facts about Isaiah the prophet.  I thought it interesting that Isaiah often used Spiritual music to induce an 'ecstatic' state, from which He could then prophecy accurately.  The closer we get to God, the more we will become Spirit and Truth, as opposed to flesh and lies.  Therefore, the more truthfully we can access details for prophecy.

Confirmed:  I thought the above book's use of the word, 'ecstatic' was interesting.  In the next few days I was reading a different book, and it was talking about the spiritual level that some of the New Testament Apostles attained.  Just look at His book of Revelation for some clues to this.

And I realized that spiritual ecstasy is totally biblical.  It's a good thing!  Let's hope that God takes us to new levels in the Spirit so that we can take all our delight in Him.  And let's allow Him to make us as undignified as He wants, (2 Samuel 6:22) so that He can pour His greatness into our human bodies.  Let's yield to Him today, and expect that He will show us His pleasure.  Let's ask Him to show us His Love in 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.  

Grace to the Humble

God gives help to those who acknowledge Him.  He doesn't want us to turn away and be independent. Instead, He wants to help the humble.  If you ask for help, He will be quick to answer.

Today I was listening to Christian radio and heard James 4:6:  ..."God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble".  Those who have no desperation for God in their hearts, because of their own pride, will not have easy access to God.  Pride causes God to set Himself against us.  Now that can seem harsh, but it's the truth.  And the redemptive factor is that He is quick to relent once we realize our foolishness and commit to change!  

Confirmed:  Here is a recent article from the Elijah List by Phillis Ford.  There is a trend of humility, submissiveness and repentance in this word. Below is an italicized excerpt.  Later on, there is great insight into how God's great Grace allows us to come into His Glory.


As we cry out before the Lord with hearts of repentance, we will make great strides. As we embrace the truth of Jesus Christ, having passion for the things of God, we find the strength to dismantle feelings of complacency and battle weariness. The reality is that we shall be a people that the Lord is establishing now.

Those with the greatest passion will be on the front lines, but know that your position doesn't exempt you from going through more of the perfecting process of grace. Those will be led by the Spirit of God if they submit to the process to grow. These are major decisions that must be determined in the hearts of God's people. Those that say I am not a part of this because I am above this, or who say I don't need the Lord's help will find themselves in painful experiences until they submit willingly to God. We are approaching serious times, and the Lord is purifying His people.

Submit to God.  Agree with Him that He is Lord of all, and willing to be fully devoted to.  Humble yourself before Him, and He will lift you up.  When David cried out to God, it is written that the Lord "reached down from on high" and took hold of him (Psalms 18:16).  Doesn't that sound wonderful?  It sure does to me.

There is an ongoing cycle here.  This pattern is meant to draw us closer and closer to God--two steps forward, one step back, if necessary--until we are living like the true sons and daughters that we are.  The Lord has been speaking to me about this process recently.

1)We fall into sin and confusion  (Lamentations 1:20)
2) We acknowledge our sin  (1 Chronicles 21:8)
3) We call out to God in the spirit of humility  (Psalms 119:145)
4) God rescues us and draws us near  (Psalms 18:16, like above)
5) Nearness to Him burns out our uncleanness (Hebrews 12:29)
6) But He gives us more Grace (James 4:6)

Look at steps 5 and 6 here.  When we become near Him, we get burnt in the flames of purification.  We offer up our sinful habits as a burnt offering.  "Fire" has been such a thematic word recently.  We do this, because it must be done if we are to draw near to Him.  Look at James 4:8.  If we want to approach Him, we must purify ourselves first.  And as He draws closer, He purifies us more and more. He cleanses us and upholds us for His name's sake!

God makes us pure because He is a jealous God.  The Holy Spirit within us is jealous, and He cannot take pleasure in anything we do that doesn't give honor to Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is God's tabernacle fire.  When He "reaches down" for us--and He always does--He will prompt us to say, "whatever it takes".  He shows us how to give every single bit of the Glory to God.  If we are led by the Spirit, we will stay away from the world.

How do we do this?  This is where step 6 comes into play.  How do we be purified to the extent that we have lost all earthly distractions?  That sounds hard!  And it is, or else James 4:6 would not acknowledge it as so.  "But He gives us more Grace".  Glory to God!  He gives us more grace, and He gives us the Spirit.  By His grace he gives us more of His Holy Spirit, and by His grace He gifts us new wineskins to hold His riches in (Matthew 9:17).

Praise Him for amazing Grace.  It's a gift that keeps on giving.  But we need to use it to draw near to Him!  We need to accept it as an opportunity to be made new!  His Grace leads us to become slaves of righteousness.  God cannot be mocked.  Grace given to water down sin is no grace at all.  Repent and now that He has forgotten your sins.  Repent and receive that new wineskin.  And give glory to God and His grace!

Confirmed:  When I was close to finished with this post, Vanessa came in and told me good news from a family member.  They've been returning to God, and it's fantastic to see.  This person has just submitted to God in a new way.  Among other things, they've professed to our Lord:  "I want to lose myself to you.  Consume me in your fire".  Just like that, even the small things in their life have been saved (Romans 10:10).  Hallelujah!

Snapshot: Power in His Cross

In Church last Sunday I saw a vision of the cross.  It was surging with electricity.  There was so much power in the sacrifice God's Son made for us.  And there still is!  I saw the cross being filled with power.  We can join in this.  We can partake of this heavenly power.  We can receive tangible life in our dying.  We can be glorified with Him if we share in His sufferings.

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."  Romans 8:17

"I want to know Christ--yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."  Philippians 3:10-11

If we are willing to carry our cross, if we are willing for our flesh to be crucified, that's when we receive His Glory.  That's when we receive power.  That's when we can "Sing with all the Saints in Glory".  That's the time when The Holy Spirit comes in and makes us truly alive.

Jesus, through His Spirit, is asking us.  He is knocking on the door and asking us if we will drink from His cup... if we are willing to take and use all that He gives us.  Are you willing to be crucified with Him?  There have been many times when I haven't.  But willingness starts with Him.  It starts by knowing His goodness and beginning to die to self.  Every time we die to our sinful desires, we become more like Him.  When we become more like Him, He always comes to comfort us.

There is a point when we become wired with the Life of God.  There is a point when He gives us a type of Life that overcomes any problems on this earth.  "Life to the fullest" can and does overcome our sins, our selfishness, and our sicknesses.  If we are crucified with Him, then He can give us a taste of Glory on this earth.  Then we can experience His power and might and glory, and then we can give it all back to Him.  Are we willing to carry that cross?

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.

Snapshot: God's Grace Reflected

Recently I heard part of a quickened conversation where people were talking about window installation.  I heard the phrase, "a window of grace", and that was a recurring theme for a while after that.

Several days later, God opened my mind in this area.  I saw in a vision a room full of mirrors.  Sets of mirrors were facing each other, in pairs, and there were too many sets in this room to count.  Everything looked very pure and spotless, very clean.  The Lord allowed me to understand that this was a room of God's grace reflected.

When we are not as close to God as we should be, when we have become separated from Him due to sin, when we are doubting if we can again return, we look from far off at God's grace.  We look at it as something that cannot be achieved, as something we cannot earn back.  We are right...it can't be earned back, because it was never earned in the first place.  Jesus paid for it for us.  We can return to Him and His graciousness.  We can play out in our life the parable of the prodigal son.  Whenever we have stumbled, God gives us a window of grace.  By God's grace, we can look through that window and see Him again.

There is a more excellent way here.  We don't need to constantly be entering and losing the presence of His Grace.  We can do more than just be beckoned to it by a window of returning Grace.  Look at the early Church.

"From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished."  Acts 14:26

This is the better way.  We can continually commit to His Grace.  When we keep it in our awareness, we have entered in through that window.  We can know Him, and this knowledge of His grace will always lead us to not tempt or misuse it.  At that point, we discover the worth of knowing His love.  We discover that this precious grace is too good to draw from afar.

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."  2 Corinthians 3:18

Our faces are unveiled within His Presence.  Only from the inside, and not the outside, of the window of Grace is where we become unveiled.  Our only response to God's window of Grace is to awaken and enter in.  From there, God reveals to us more and more of His Grace.  And it is His Grace that allows us to inherit His Glory.

God showed me through that vision that He desires us to live in a place where we personify His grace reflected.  His Grace should be evident in our lives.  We should be continually playing it out.  We should be committed to it, like the early believers were in the Book of Acts.  We should be aware when looking at our lives, that God's Grace has enabled us to be transformed into His Son, going from glory to glory.  He beckons us with grace and He transforms us with grace.  It is only though obedience to His graciousness that we can be continually with Him.  It's a shame to have to always be returning to God.  Why not stay with Him?