Video Journal: Visions and Fruit

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls"

Jeremiah 6:16

God has given us as Christians lots of ways to receive direction from Him. He allows us to know the unknowable so that we can confidently walk along that ancient path.

The Holy Spirit's been giving increased guidance through visions recently.  There's a measure of foresight He reveals so that we can walk how He wants us to.  It's called the spirit of prophecy! (Revelations 19:10)  God's foresight--what He shows us--is always given to bring us closer to Jesus.

So, here's some recent stuff the LORD's been doing....enjoy the high quality video! (well, I thought it was uploaded in HD...oh well)

“In the last days” God said, “I will pour out my Holy Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams.”

Joel 2:28

Revival: It's Costly

Revival Requires Purity

"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

Psalm 24:3-5

Revival is a place where we have received the blessing.  We meet the qualifications God has set before us, receive the blessing, and then walk it out.  And to do this, we need clean hands and a pure heart.

Revival Requires Work

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,…"

Luke 14:27-29

We need to realize that revival requires building a tower.  It requires work and effort, but more than that, it requires yielding to the Holy Spirit and His measure of faith.  It's empowerment by the Holy Spirit that gets the work done.  To be empowered by the Spirit and enjoy life in the Spirit, we need to experience death to ourselves.  That's the cost.  Every time we 'die', we are filled with His word, which is Spirit and Life (John 6:63).  Every time we die to ourselves, we receive a fresh anointing and a fresh empowerment.  And that's what gets the tower built.

Instructions for Revival:

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies...."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-20



Revival Requires Prayer

Here we can receive insight into what gets revival started.  If we are always joyful, if we never stop praying, then we can expect the move of the Spirit to come.  We need to pray it through.  Then, we can expect the beginning of revival. And that's when it's important that we do not stifle Him.  We have to let Him do the work!



Revival Requires Humility

If the Holy Spirit is beginning something, we need to let Him carry it out.  We need to let Him speak and move through any vessel He chooses.  We can't despise the wisdom of another.  We can't despise a prophecy.  Pride and presumption will put an end to revival!  We need to be humble and let the Holy Spirit flow.  We need to speak up when God prompts us, and remain quiet when He doesn't. We need to acknowledge that others are seeing in part (1 Corinthians 13:9), just as we are.  We need to remember that others, too, have paid the price.  We need to remember that all of us are hungry for a move of God, hungry for revival!

There are conditions to revival.  Some may disagree with this, but I believe that there are conditions to meet before God's promises are fulfilled.  God's love is unconditional, but His blessings are not. We need to go up higher and receive the blessing from the Lord.  We need to contend for revival.  It will come if we really, really want it.

Snapshot: The God of Peace

Yesterday morning, the Lord specifically lead me to pray for Vanessa's peace.  And that got me thinking about the connection between peace, patience, and prayer.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."                    John 14:27

Since we belong to God, we can have His peace always with us.  It can be unconditional! That's what Jesus is referring to when He describes His gift--it's not given with conditions, as the world would give.  Even then, however, we have a choice.  We are given the option to let ourselves be troubled, and we are given the option to give way to fear.

"Now may the God who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus..."                                   Romans 15:5 AMP

Peace begins with a prayer, and so does patience.  If we have peace, it will probably lead us to do many things more slowly than we have done them in the past.  Peace will lead us to humility and trust.  Peace will lead us to patience.  If we have patience, then we will be content to let God's will--His plan, His purposes, His surprises--just flow into our future.

If we have been given His peace leading onto patience, we won't be presumptuous.  We won't rush into things too fast.  We won't become anxious when the next surprise comes.  Instead, we will be pushed at the Spirit's pace into the future with peace like a river (Isaiah 48:18).  We will take time to be still and wait on the Lord  (Psalms 37:7).  We will listen to others with humility, love, and godly discernment.  And we will bear such good fruit!

"This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.…"      James 1:19-1:20

Mark Four: Sowing a Better Word

Earlier today, the Lord said "Mark 4", and told me to read it.  And so I turned there, and it was the parable of the sower!  And I realized that it was such a word in season. The Lord has led me to start gardening this Spring, in hopes of one day restoring our farm, and so the concept of sowing seeds really resonated.

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn't have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Mark 4:3-9

SOWING WITH OTHERS

All of us are spiritual farmers.  All of us can sow a seed.  And all of us should--we should all speak the truth in love so that others can hear and believe. All we need to do is lay out God's word in front of others.  The more God draws me near, the more I have a desire to sow the truth among those who have not yet heard it.   And once we share, our work is done--we can rest in the knowing that God will work!  

We need to sow goodness into those who don't yet possess the light.  We need to encourage and exhort.  And we will probably need to rebuke.  But we need to do all of this in love and in the spirit of prophecy.  We need to plant into the minds of the lost and confused good thoughts.  And all of us will feel lost and confused at some point! So we can sow truth into both believers and unbelievers.

Sometimes we may give the truth to others, only to see satan come in and steal that word away from them.  And that's sad--but we need to know that we did what we could, that we pleased God.  We are not accountable for the effects of someone else's shallow or thorny soil--we are just accountable for our own efforts to sow.  Once the Word is sown, it's up to the receiver to humbly accept it (James 1:21).

SOWING WITH OUR WORDS

So we sow seeds among those with less knowledge; among unbelievers and less mature Christians. And that's great!  But we also need to sow good seeds in our own life.  We do this in 3 ways:

1)  We speak life over ourselves 
2)  We speak life over our surroundings and families
3)  We make sure that our soil is good

Remember that the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21).  Let's make positive confessions accordingly!  We can speak life in many ways--by thanking God, by declaring His goodness, by claiming His promises, etc.  Praying in tongues--praying in the Holy Spirit--is also a way of speaking life.  It's a way we can speak life and build ourselves up in our most holy faith (Jude 1:20).

If the seeds sown are good, then we should ensure that our soil is,too.  We are not of the world, so our thoughts, emotions, and words should be sanctified.  We can then walk in humility and accept any seed of truth that might come along.  Anything opposing our belief of the truth needs to be cast down by the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Then we can say something over ourselves or our families--something pure and true--and also be conditioned to believe it.  If we confess and believe, not only are we saved (Romans 10:9), but we will also become more and more fruitful!

SOWING WITH GOD'S WORD

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  And we sow into others because He first sowed into us!  We need to let Him sow. by the Word.  We need to accept His truth and accept His reality, because that is when more can be given.  We need to accept all that He has to give us.  This, too, happens in 3 ways.

1)  We receive God's written Word
2)  We receive God's personal (prophetic or specific--rhema) word
3)  We prepare our soil to accept God's power.

Step one is obvious, but it's most important.  There are so many promises in God's Word.  These are the seeds Jesus was referring to!  And many are conditional.  Just like seeds, they will not grow nor become fully manifested unless properly nourished.  So we need to read and believe the Bible, God's written Word.

Step two is also important.  God stills speaks today, so we need to continue to listen.  He gives personal promises.  He speaks mysteries and talks of the future.  He reveals to us great and mighty things, which we otherwise would not know (Jeremiah 33:3).  We need to position ourselves and spend time in the presence of the Most High.  We need to hear His loving, comforting voice for ourselves.

Step three--we need to get ourselves out of the way!  God dreams big, and I think it's very biblical to say that He also likes to show off.  Don't be surprised if He says something daunting.  Don't be surprised if a personal promise from God seems unlikely--or even impossible.  On your own effort, it is!  The solution starts with a transformation of our own thoughts into His, as we take on God's mind.  We need to have enough faith and enough trust to believe God for something great.  We need to do away with old ways of thinking and old strongholds, in order for our soil to be a nourishing climate for God's rhema words.  In short, we need to acquire from the Lord new wine skins (Matthew 9:17)!

If we receive and accept every word that God speaks, we will also receive every one of His blessings. We will become more and more fruitful in bearing good fruit!

"You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways."
~Job 22:28

What is Devotion?

This morning when I woke up, the Lord was speaking to me about devotion.  And I wondered about devotion for a while.  What exactly is it?  It's the willingness to give up oneself to please the Lord. It's a desire to cleave to Him, to love Him with all of your effort.

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."                                    Deuteronomy 6:5

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."           Romans 12:1

We must desire to please Him.  We must desire for Him to see our devotion.  Devotion is more than just reading devotionals--I didn't do that at all this morning--although there are a lot of good devotionals out there.  Devotion is more than reading the Word in the morning--I didn't do that today, either--although the Word is our main source of hearing from God.  In fact, devotion is more than just having morning quiet time.

Devotion is having your eye remain single (Matthew 6:22) and understanding that the little I've given to God is enough for Him.  Devotion is laying it all out as an offering--humbly submitting ourselves with joy.  And devotion is an all-day process. It's a process of laying out a continual thanks offering.

We should know He's delighted in us!  We should know that He has accepted our sacrifice.  Once we know, that's when we can walk in it.  That's when we can remain devoted--when we can show by our works where our heart lies.  If we walk in humility and devotion, we can approach any future sacrifice choosing God over the world.  We can leave all that behind.  Why should I be a slave to the things that once had a hold on me? We've been set free from those things, now let's walk with devotion! (Romans 6:1 and context)


"Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."                                        James 1:21


"But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."

Matthew 6:33

New Year, New You: Returning and Rest

For 2015, God gave me three thematic topics.  This is the third of three posts on the New Year.  The other two themes are "Focus" and "Being a servant".  I'll admit, these may appear like pretty basic topics.  But they're exactly what we need.  These things will bring us closer to God.  They will lead us to "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33).  And that's what leads to more!  That's what leads to signs and wonders; healings, and operating in the supernatural. The three topics God gave me for this New Year are designed to get us out of the way so He can work, so He can work through us.

Now onto the third topic, which is "returning and rest".  This will be a short post--let's look at a few verses about God's rest.  I'm not going to comment on them--let's just meditate and soak in the Word.  Make these verses your standard for this year.  Everything is accelerating these days, both good things and bad.  Even the Kingdom is accelerating, and it is still suffering violence (Matthew 11:12), like it did in Jesus' day.  To abide in Him means to become undistracted by these things, and that calls for entering into His Rest.  This is what He desires, and He has told us how to do it:

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.   Jeremiah 6:16

"This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it."   Isaiah 30:15

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."   Matthew 11:29

"So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.  Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience."   Hebrews 4:9-11

New Year, New You: Become a Servant

What is the second thing God directed me to for the New year?  Let's consider how important it is to be a servant.  Are you willing?  Jesus was.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45

Even our master became a servant.   Even He became a friend of the unpopular and lowly.  Do you want to be like Him?  Jesus, build our Love.  To be a servant and do so joyfully, we need to have His Love.  We need to have it lit up within us.  We need to have it light us up.

Once we focus on Him, we have fulfilled the first five commandments.  We have loved Him with everything!  So let's allow Him to take us further.  Let's love our neighbor as ourselves.  Let's become servants.

When Jesus saw people in need and oppressed, He was moved with compassion.  We need to be the same way.  Our desires need to be spent on God, and then on giving Him to others.  Jesus said, "feed my sheep".  Do you love Him?  Then bear fruit and obey Him.  Let's all feed His sheep (John 21:17).

God wants to save His people from any evils, and He wants to bless them forever (Psalms 28:9).  Will you join Him in the work that He's given Himself since before time?  He will accomplish His purposes regardless.  Don't you want to partner with Him? It takes loving and being loved to truly serve.  But these love exchanges testify to our true identities--as the sons and daughters of God.  Let's serve accordingly.

God wants to give you His passions.  Jesus is the most passionate One in the universe.  He has more than enough passion for you, and He has more than enough passion to give you.  Allow it to compel you.  Allow it to give you humility.  Allow His love to give you unconditional thankfulness.  Allow serving others for His purposes to become pure joy.  

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: Repentance brings an Atmosphere Shift

A few days ago, I was really having a rough time with thankfulness.  All I could do was get angry at things, and honestly, I surprised myself.  I knew what God was pleased by, but I just refused to do it.  I was definitely not walking in the Love of God.

The next morning I was in the Word and kept coming to rebuking messages.  I read about Saul's downfall and His being tormented by an evil spirit.  I read about the harsh actions of wicked men in the psalms.  And I kept coming to more 'negative'  verses, some of which were obviously condemning, some of which were not.

After a little while, I realized that there was a hole in my spiritual armor.  Thankfully, there is no condemnation for us, as we belong to Jesus (Romans 8:1).  But if we are not abiding like He'd want, we are vulnerable to condemning thoughts or signs.  It is satan, the accuser of the brethren, who places these mindsets in.  And the only reliable way to overcome him is to be cleansed by God (see Zechariah Chapter 3).

So, by Grace I realized something had went wrong.  I realized--the Lord laid it on my heart-- that I needed to repent for my sins, namely anger and disobedience, the day before.  I thought I'd already done this, but He revealed to me it wasn't quite heartfelt.  I didn't fully tell Him, "sorry".  Nor did I commit to future change.

At that point, I repented.  I humbled myself and apologized.  And just like that, I knew I was forgiven!  Our Lord is so quick to do that.  I felt Him tangibly take that burden of my shoulders.  My vision opened up, and I felt remade as new.  With great faith--it comes from a great God--I opened up my Bible to another place and began reading what I saw first (for more on reading the Word, click here).

"...that He may lift you up in due time"  1 Peter 5:6

And that's exactly what He does.  If you humble yourself, He will lift you up.  If you repent, He will forgive.  These are His promises!  And when you repent, you enter freely into the Kingdom.  Just like that, the power of our Lord and His angels is at hand.  Just like that, we know what it means to have a yoke that is easy, and a burden that is light.  We can be sure that He has forgiven us.  We can be sure He has claimed us as His own and silenced the accuser.  We can see and take great joy in the reality that He has turned our darkness into light (Psalms 18:28).  His life becomes our light.  Glory to God!

Snapshot: Humbled

Humility was a theme last week.  God was putting me through some hardship spiritually and I was wondering why.    So He led me to Psalm 44. This passage reminds me of Job in some senses, where God appeared to let down His people.

When we are set back, we cannot give up.  When we go through that valley, we shouldn't fear any evil.  When we are humbled, we need to accept it.  Despite our situation, God wants us to know that our redeemer lives (Job 19:25) .  We need to know that God is who He says He is...faithful, patient and totally in control.  And so loving!  We need to come out of trials more humble than we were before them.  We need to understand that He is good enough to work all things together for our good.

Confirmed:  On the same day as I read Psalm 44, there were confirming comments on a new post on the Quickened Word.  Here they are.  It amazes me how God speaks similar things to His children.  So synchronized, so timely.  And our Lord wants all of us to "see in part"!

Confirmed:  Here is another faith builder from the Quickened Word, this one from today.  It is God's arm that fights for us, and must fight for us, or else we cannot live in His Victory.  See psalm 44 above for more on that.  The better way to live is in humility!  If we are humble before Him, He will always lift us up.  He lifts us up and gives us His might to live victorious.  God doesn't want His children falling short because they don't have knowledge of who He is and what He's done (Hosea 4:6).  He wants us to use the power and name that called us and justified us in the first place.  God's righteous right hand has lifted us up, and His Word has given us power and authority.

Let's know that God disciplines those He loves.  Let's respond with a Spirit of humility and trust.  Only then can we walk by the power of His arm.  Only then can we help the body.  Only then can we be a "strong and mighty" warrior for Him (Judges 6:12).

Snapshot: The Promised Land

Yesterday I began reading about the Israelites and their journey to the promised land. Today, I was listening to Christian radio and there was a segment on the topic.

I was directed to think on the topic.  What has God promised to me?  So many things...He will be with us always, and He is not slow to fulfill what He's spoken.  He gives us promises, and our response is to be carried into them.  Our response needs to be love.  God's demand is simple.  He gave us a new commandment, that we love one another.  This love, for others but especially for Him, is required if we want to see the Word dwell in us.  If we want to be sure of the validity of His promises, then we need to be filled with His love.

We can enter the promised land every moment.  Let's remember God, and His mighty power.  Let's abide in His Love.  Let's act like children of the light and acknowledge that His light is all we need.

God had me realize today that what He requires is enough.  Knowing that I can please Him is enough. If I please Him, I have accomplished everything important.  If I know He is pleased with me, I can ask Him and believe, I can return to His promises.  I can enter into the Promised Land.  His requirements become simple as we get to know Him.  He doesn't give us only commands; that wouldn't be right.  He gives us a desire to walk with Him.  Let's do what He's shown us is good, and walk humbly with our God.  He can always be trusted to cause us to break through.

Comfort: The Seesaw among Believers

God wants to comfort us.  He does it through many things, the main one being the peace He gives us.  He gives us peace and blessed assurance.   He gives us a presence from Himself that reassures us.

Often God does try to comfort us, but our fear and sin block Him out.  Fear is sin, and sin separates us from God.  If we get to a point where we are not feeling God's comfort, praise Him for the extra measures He takes on our behalf.

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself"  2 Timothy 2:13

How does God demonstrate faithfulness when we are too fearful to receive it?   He extends His Hand through others, usually other believers.    When one is down, another will rise up.  We can comfort eachother and show the fallen one the longing of God.  When a group is together and with God, His Spirit is there with Him, and it is the Spirit of Jesus that looks after the sheep and ensures their  well-being as a whole. God will always apportion enough belief to protect all.

Two are better than one, and a cord of three is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12).  When working for the Lord, two have a better return for their labors than one alone.  When He is there with them, the enemy has a harder time getting a stronghold.  This is how believers can comfort eachother.  When together, the stronger members can support the weaker ones.  God will always raise one up on behalf of another, and the faith of the body can be ensured.  He will not disown Jesus's bride; He cannot disown Himself.

Note that each part of the body requires support.  We need to humbly accept help, and in doing so, allow God to work through another believer.  There are times that the parts that appear more important may be going through a trial or losing faith, and the "lesser" members of His body need to rise up and comfort.  Those more prominent within the body of Christ cannot discount those who are not in the limelight.  One day these stronger members will no longer have "no need" for supporting members (1 Corinthians 12:23).  Everybody has a trial or persecution from which they cannot escape alone, and everyone, at some point, will have to take on the humbling aspects of really, truly needing help.  On the contrary, God gives honorable tasks to the humble, and raises up those who were once considered lesser and foolish.

Vanessa and I were taught about our own falls, and God's faithfulness to rise up, from our beginning together.  He is the third part of the cord mentioned in Ecclesiastes--actually, He is the entire cord, the entire lifeline, and He has brought us into Himself.  So, we learned that between the two of us, God keeps a minimum level of cumulative faith.  Whenever one of us is down, the other is always very uplifted and in the Spirit, and vice versa.  God allows a downswing in my faith, but keeps me going by raising up my counterpart's.  With Him as our lifeline, we can stay equally yoked, as He decides when to shift the burdens to the one who can carry them.  It's kind of like a seesaw--if Vanessa is falling, you can be sure that God will equip me with an upswing.  He will faithfully give the comforter the right Spirit and the right words to sustain the weary (Isaiah 50:4).

This same pattern can be seen in larger groups, too.  There is a cumulative effect of upliftment among believers.  When one is down, more than one other becomes raised up by God for the task at hand, which is then the comfort of the one who is oppressed.  Even through Satan's oppression, God gets the victory.  God allows one of many to wander or stumble, and He then sends in a larger portion of love to  the other members present.  The enemy's plans backfire on him!  The "seesaw effect" where God gives power of encouragement to the comforter is magnified in larger groups.  The bigger a group of believers, the more obvious it becomes that God really triumphs over evil.

Let's comfort each other through trials.  Let's become filled up, so we can be moved with compassion and bring life to those on the downswing.  And when we stumble, we can be sure we won't fall (Psalms 37:24).  Instead, we can humble ourselves, confess our doubts, and be healed as God provides upliftment to others, who then demonstrate His love to us.  We can bear the burdens of others until we do everything of one accord.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God's Wisdom

Wisdom has been a strong theme recently.  We need wisdom to know how to align with God.  What would He have us do?  What would He have us say?  What would He have us think?  Wisdom is personified by the Holy Spirit.  Wisdom is godly, truthful knowledge.

James 3:13:  "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show his works out of good conduct and with the meekness of wisdom."

So once we have wisdom, we can show it by demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit.  We can do good, and also be humble enough that we can be generous with our right hand, while not letting the left hand know what we're doing (Matthew 6:3).

I've also been reading Proverbs.  This morning, I received a vision of a highway, long and narrow.  I knew it symbolized the focused path the Lord God wants we on.  A few moments after this, I read Proverbs 15:19.

"The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway."

The Lord confounds the wicked, but those who have wisdom are set above.  Narrow is the path we need to stay on to keep following wisdom.  If we walk humbly with God and His wisdom, He will guide us along this Highway.  He will guide us with such accuracy; He will even number our steps for us!  This can all happen because God has pre-ordained things before time began.  When we get away from God, He often frustrates our efforts and takes our rest.  Return to Him!

"Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning and even among fools she lets herself be known."  Proverbs 14:33

Wisdom is kept in the hearts of those who follow God.  That's because the Holy Spirit, our seal, gives us this wisdom.  If we yield to the Spirit, we are those called "discerning", and wisdom will not be taken from us.  We need to keep the Spirit, and it's wisdom, at all costs.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  Proverbs 9:10

Fear of the Lord, reverence and awe of Him, is where wisdom starts.  There is so much knowledge out there, and not all of it magnifies God.  We need to fear God, and stay under Him, to stay safe from lies and false ideas.  If we fear Him in the right way, He can then reveal to us hidden knowledge.  Knowledge is only useful from His perspective.  His knowledge is called wisdom!  And we cannot expect to have true wisdom without first relying on our Creator.  We need to hold onto His love as we are taught more and more.  God's perspective is the only one that counts.

Synchronicity: God's Voice Confirmed

Often God speaks through synchronistic events. What is synchronicity? I'll define it as two or more "random" events that happen in close sequence and produce a tangible meaning. The Lord is outside of time, and often brings events together in the same moment in order to tell us something. These "coincidences" happen for a reason, in order to direct our thoughts or actions towards our God. In this post, I'll discuss two areas where synchronistic events can help us.

Synchronicity as a Personal Sign

"The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength." Isaiah 58:11

As we walk in God's will, He places events onto our path so that we can know and stay in the truth. Sometimes He provides so many confirmations that it gets overwhelming. Being wrapped up in God's faithful care is a good problem to have! God often moves these things into place just after they've been on our mind. How often have you been thinking and praying about something, only for God to answer with a series of uncanny events just after? These events are not random, nor just coincidence. They are the act of an all-powerful God who is Lord of both big things and small. They are navigational commands designed for us personally, by the One who created us. God cares about all aspects of us, no matter how insignificant they may seem to others.

In the Word we are instructed to not worry about "...what you will eat or drink". Instead of worrying, we ought to seek God! The command to "not worry" implies that God has a better way. The antidote for worry is trust and insight. Personally, God has instructed me through big things and small. I say this not to brag, but to show the intimacy and Love of God. He gives us clear instructions to erase our worldly burdens, not add to them. He's given me clear direction in so many areas, including the following:

-How to pray
-When to talk, and when not to
-How long I should sleep
-What to eat
-When to say, "yes" to an opportunity, and when not to. For example, what Church to attend


...And many more. And these navigational commands are usually synchronistic. For example, if I've been asking God about prayer, He'll direct me to the Lord's prayer in scripture, I'll talk to a member of Church group about the connection between faith and prayer, and I'll get a devotional email about the importance of prayer in a believer's life. If God's been speaking to me about the importance of worshiping through music, I'll hear my favorite Godly song, then get on Facebook and see an athletic add called, "Singing all the way to Victory". Prophetic Words are very often confirmed by future synchronistic events. I've taken to calling these events confirmations or signs, because they confirm God's Word or His promptings.

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you the sign..." Isaiah 7:14

Synchronicity Through Others

When in community with other believers, God aligns hearts and minds to bring up similar topics. He uses synchronicity to uplift the body of believers. He brings the thoughts of many together to highlight a particular message. The early Christians worshiped God with "...one mind together..." They shared all these things, even their simple gratitude for food, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is just the same today if we can stay in step with what God's doing.

I'll give an example of this, too. This kind of synchronicity usually involves bringing the same thoughts to remembrance, amid different individuals, at the same time. These thoughts can be spiritual or mundane, but their repetition is often by God's design. Today I was thinking about the humbling experiences the Lord has brought me through. He's taught me meekness and humility in ways that haven't always been pleasant. For one, I realized that for my whole life, I've had a strong dislike for people reading things I write. I've enjoyed writing, but the thought of others reading it used to leave me embarrassed and uneasy. I have not had much interest in getting attention for the things I write.

So I realized God has allowed this, so that my motives now, with this blog, can stay pure. After all, I can't afford to write this blog for myself. I want to please God with this, and I don't want my rewards to be burnt up. So I can see that God intended for me to have this attitude towards public writing, so that I wouldn't become prideful through it in the future. Anyways, I was thinking about this while doing some yardwork today..and pondered the pride that some Christians develop through their use by God. Afterwards, I was talking with my wife and she said that she was thinking about my humility yesterday morning. She knew that God had done the internal work for this, and recognized the harm that pride would do to our relationships with God and with each other.

I've seen more impressive synchronistic events happen via aligned thoughts, but this instance is one of the more recent ones I could think of. More on synchronicity to come in future posts.

"...then make my joy complete by being like minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and one of mind." Phillippians 2:2

"Be Bold"

Yesterday's morning the Lord spoke to me.  This is what He said:

"Thomas, receive My Words.  I will be here for for eternity, and so will you, so learn to treasure My Words.  Thomas, I adore you.  Thomas, you are a pleasing sound to Me.  Thomas, let yourself be bold for Me, to accomplish My missions for you.  Go now and magnify My rest!"

As you can see, there was a lot about receiving God in this word.  God is a giver of good gifts, and by faith in His goodness we can open open ourselves up to receive them.  We need to treasure and delight in the things He tells us...we need to "humbly accept the implanted word".  (See James 1:21).  We need to accept the grace of God that is still being given to us, and we need to move accordingly into His power.  All it takes is repentance and humility, and then by faith we can be justified by God--then we can please Him!

It only took a few hours for God to confirm these words.  You will find that He enjoys showing Himself true--His Word will not return to Him void.

Confirmed:  Quickened phrase from Richard Sigmund's book on Heaven:   'The Lord loves mission-minded people'.

Confirmed:  After I had been reading in the car for a while, the Lord prompted me to look up.  Just as I did my eyes saw a sign that read, "Die Bold'.  I have no idea what it was for, but I know what God spoke to me through it.  When we are bold for His purposes, we are called to crucify the flesh and die daily.  It is in this suffering that we can receive and partake in His Glory.  Glory to God!

Keep in mind that it is the Holy Spirit who brings things to remembrance.  And because He within is greater than he who's in the world, we can be confident that the Holy Spirit can use many means to glorify Jesus and the Word that glorifies Him.  God uses the Bible and random street signs to confirm the things He's told me.  All things are His servants.