Be Bold and Courageous: Crossing The Jordan, Revisited

In March of 2014, the Lord gave me a dream where I was crossing a modern-day Jordan river and going into the promised land.  To paraphrase, I was on a boat with many people, who, although nice, seemed really unmotivated, and the boat was stuck.  I decided to leave the boat, join an evacuation team that had come to rescue us, and then send off into the wilderness at the other side of the river.

God showed me that my experience in this dream strongly paralleled Joshua chapters 1-3. We need to be bold, motivated, and decisive.  That's where the rewards are!  That's where we put all our trust into Him.  What it means to be bold for Jesus, and what can be lost, if we aren't bold!  All in all, the Lord was showing me through this dream that I had already chosen to step out, and that it was now time to walk in that .You can read more about this whole message here:  Entering The Promised Land.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."                                          Ephesians 2:10

Since my initial experience, the Lord has revisited this "crossing the Jordan" theme several times. And this present season is one of them!  In the last few days, I've been blessed with many, many things that have confirmed the message.  Many of these confirmations are from scripture that the Lord has specifically led me to; others are through signs or the writings of others.  Below are just a few of the scriptural ones:

BOLDNESS: Joshua 1:9

"Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be

dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."                              

CROSSING THE JORDAN ON DRY LAND:  Joshua 3:6-11

"Joshua said to the priests, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. And they took it up and went on before the people.

The Lord said to Joshua, This day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, so they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 

You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan. Joshua said to the Israelites, Come near, hear the words of the Lord your God...

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan!"

REMEMBRANCE: Joshua 4:21-24

"And he said to the Israelites, When your children ask their fathers in time to come, What do these stones mean?

You shall let your children know, Israel came over this Jordan on dry ground.

For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up for us until we passed over,

That all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty and that you may reverence and fear the Lord your God forever."

There is so much in these scriptures--the Holy Spirit has so much to say to us through them.  This is what my dream relates to, and this is what we can all relate to everyday.  We can take from the details of Joshua 1 through 4 many things:

God has commanded us to be bold and courageous.  He has commanded us to step out in faith.  He has commanded us to step out in faith, reaching the Promised Land by it.  He has commanded us to arrive at and attain to every promise found in His Word.  And the last step of attainment may just seem impossible.  It probably will be, without the Lord and His wonder-working power.  God alone can take us to the total fulfillment of our promises.  

So let's be bold and step out.  Let's be bold and lay hold of abundant life.  Let's act into His Kingdom come--let's not wait for another person to stir us up or motivate us to get moving.  Let's make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16).  Let's be strong in the Lord and the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10),  

When we step out, let's reach for the Promised Land.  If God has told you something, He is still telling you that something.  The promises have not changed.  Reach for them!  Not by might, not by power, but by the Holy Spirit, step out in faith. (Zechariah 4:6) Step out, and watch as the Lord makes the waters part. 

We can't be stagnant.  We can't be easily satisfied.  We can't be like the people in my dream--well meaning Christians, but more than content to watch as others play the forerunner.  We all need to attain to the blessings of Christ!  We all need to see Him as He really is, for ourselves (1 John 3:2). The veil has been torn for all of us.  And all of us can, with boldness, in faith receive a blessing from God.

"So let no one boast about human beings, since everything belongs to you"

1 Corinthians 3:21

Snapshot: Entering the Promised Land

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Snapshot: 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.