Word: The Severity of Mercy

A few days I was getting a headache and praying it away wasn't quite working like it usually does. So I asked the Lord about this, and He simply said,

"Not My goodness but My severity"

This took me by surprise a little.  And I felt like the Lord was telling me I was in the wrong somehow.  He highlighted to me that I was not at peace!   So I repented--turned--from this mistake as well as I could.  And the headaches gradually went away.  Thank you, Lord, for the comfort in your discipline. His rod is supposed to comfort us! (Psalms 23:4)  It may not be easy to undergo, but God always works our discipline for the good.

Just a few minutes after the Lord said this, and as my headache was going away, I saw a new book on the table, and flipped it face up to look at the title.  It was called "A Severe Mercy", by one of CS Lewis's friends.  Wow!  What a confirmation.  I did not know we had that book, nor had I ever heard of it. But I realize that God's mercy leads to discipline--that His mercy calls for severity.  It was the Lord who prompted me to flip over that book as a way to confirm His message!  God is so masterful in His workings.  He always confirms His word.

So if you're going through a trial of some sort, it may not be from the enemy!  It may be discipline from the Lord--an effort by Him to get you back into line.  Now, your trial might just be a spiritual attack.  But it could be disciplining from God!  And we need to inquire of God to see if we're in the wrong. We need to inquire of Him, to see if we opened up a door someplace or are walking without His light.  We shouldn't try to war against God's will only because we mistook His teaching for something else.

So let's war against the enemy, yes, with his condemnation and lying and problems.  But let's make sure that our trials are not actually God trying to get our attention.  He may be wanting us to repent. He may want us to be healed, delivered, brought out--He does--but only if we will first identify our problems.  So we need to diligently seek Him whenever we encounter a trial.  It could be that He just wants us to cast the enemy out.  But maybe He wants to tell us something first.

"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word."        Psalm 119:67

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes"         Psalm 119:71

 

Dream: Repentance with Jesus; Winds of Change

Last night I had an interesting experience.  I was dreaming and the Lord Jesus came in.  I did not quite see Him in this dream, that I can remember. However, He seemed very close by and I did really feel His presence.  Once this presence came into my awareness--wow,  what love!  I was pretty taken aback with admiration and bliss.  I felt His love surround me and was left in adoration.

And I also felt the need to repent.  I realized how far from perfection, how far from Him, I'd been living.  I repented and repented and repented--I had to in order to withstand His nearness.  I became acutely aware of the degrees of pride, impurity, and unbelief I had let into my daily life.  For every 'good' work I had done, I understood that He had the ability to just burn it up.  At the same time, I did not really feel a worldly guilt.  My sense of unworthiness was refreshing, not condemning.

So I did repent.  With each confession, and every time I turned back from something, I felt Jesus come nearer.  I felt Him begin to penetrate my heart.  I felt His Love in a new way.  His presence got so, so thick.  I was crying, and then sobbing.  I had repented, and I finally felt clean!  And I could let Him in.  Praise the Lord!  This experience did not take very long, but resulted in so much heart change.

After this, I woke up.  I think it was about midnight.  And I heard this roaring wind in my ears.  I felt like it was from God--but it still frightened me.  It was a loud, intimidating sound, and I was hearing it almost internally,  not sensing that I had over it any amount of control.  It would pick up and then withdraw a little.  I asked the Lord if He would make it more bearable, and He did.  It became quieter, and then I went back to sleep.

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”                                  John 3:8

I've had the above verse in my head for a couple days now.  It's clearer now that it'd been preparation for what happened last night.  This morning I did some research.    This year, according to the Hebrew calendar year 5775, is a year for the Winds of Change to manifest on the earth.  This is a time when God will blow away our impurities and usher in a new thing.   The Holy Spirit will usher in a time of greater purity and longing for Jesus.

Here is an article on the Elijahlist about the winds of change and their multitudes of purpose.  There are many winds, because there are many changes that can take place for the better.  We are cleansed by these changes--our own shortcomings are blown away and a spiritual shift takes place.

"When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses."              Jeremiah 10:13

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: 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

Snapshot: When He Sends His Spirit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Snapshot: Fear Brings an Atmosphere Shift

In a previous post, Repentance Brings an Atmosphere Shift, I described at the end of the post how our mental state can influence the spiritual atmosphere around us.  Those things that please God, whether repentance, or humility, or whatever else, allow God to work for us and shift our spiritual atmosphere into a good place.  This place is the Kingdom of Heaven, and if are doing His, then the atmosphere of the Kingdom will surround us wherever we go.

So, "good" mindsets bring in the "good and perfect" things from Heaven.  The reverse is also true--"bad" mindsets bring in darkness and lies from the enemy.  These bad mindsets can be brought about by our physical circumstances, our spiritual circumstances, or both.  When we encounter bad circumstances and lose faith, we risk entering into a vicious cycle where our foundation in God falls away.

I've found that the main reason we fall out of the Kingdom, out of that atmosphere where everything points to Jesus, is because of our own sin.  Unrepentant sin blocks out our living in God's presence.  One of the things that most quickly shifts our spiritual atmosphere downwards is the sin of FEAR.

"For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."  Romans 14:23

Fear is definitely not of faith.  Fear represents a lack of trust in God.  Fear cannot receive the perfect Love of God (1 John 4:18).  Fear is sin, and left unchecked it will very quickly draw us out of His rest into a place where we are an easy target for Satan.

In a previous posts I've mentioned that the enemy can give messages in a similar way that God can.  He too has a voice, an agenda, and a message to spread.  When we fall into fear, we fall into his territory.  And we may become convinced of his lies.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..."  John 10:10

This is satan's agenda.  He is also a liar and the father of lies.  He is deceitful and never gives the truth, and when we become fearful it is so easy for us him to plant seeds of doubt and unbelief into our minds.  When you fall deeply into fear, the promises that God's given you can become quickly forgotten.  Worse yet, they can become transformed into a web of lies where every confirmation God has shown becomes a sign of condemnation from the enemy.  The Truth is that God has turned our darkness into light (Psalms 18:28)...but the enemy can get take you to a mentality where you fear God's Light is actually a place of evil and darkness.  Satan is the first one to call evil good, and to call good evil (Isaiah 5:20)!

This may be hard to imagine without a practical example.  A few days ago, I began hearing about the Freemason society.  For the purposes of this blog, let's just say they are not of the Light.   Since then I've been seeing the word "mason" more frequently.  I've been hearing things in the news about satanic cults.  I've even been getting mason's jars as gifts!

In addition, I see the number 33 all the time, especially on digital clocks.  This number is something that God uses to remind me of good things (Jeremiah 33, for example), but that same number is very important to free masons.  Oh no!  It seems like the enemy would have me believe I'm destined to work for forces of darkness in the future.  That shouldn't be a surprise; all satan does is pervert the truth.  And as ridiculous as that lie may seem to me right now, if I happen to fall into fear I will very quickly become enslaved to it.  I may even begin to forget God's promises and actually wonder if I'm supposed to be a freemason.

And that is exactly what the enemy wants.  The more fearful we are, the more the true things of God become shrouded in the appearance of darkness by satan.  And the true things of evil begin to masquerade as if they were from the Light (2 Corinthians 11:4).  Not only does satan want us to think that God's Truth is in fact a lie, he wants us to accept lies as the truth.  Lies that may seem ridiculous now can become paralyzingly real if we stay in fear for long.

Things get worse if we acknowledge these false realities as if they were true.  Just as faith can allow God and His army to move, I believe fear and unbelief allow satan and his darkness to activate in our lives.  Slowly but surely, living life in a fearful state can gradually bring us into a dark version of our previous reality, where there is no Love from God nor any hope.  It is in this state that satan can actually actively influence us.  This is when we may be tempted to lose hope, or to betray our faith in God for good.

Look at how often Jesus talked about fear.  Both He and the many angels who appeared in the OT always warned the people not to be afraid.  Why?  Perhaps the presence of fear could actually manifest an increase in the powers of darkness.  I believe that fear shifts the atmosphere into a place where we fall out of God's army and satan gains the upper hand.  Fear can even hinder God's will from playing out as soon as it otherwise would.  So let's counteract this by hanging on to the promises of God.  Let's be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9).  And let's not be afraid, or dismayed (Deuteronomy 31:8).  Take heart because Jesus is still on the throne.  He is still in control, and He is for us.

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."  Matthew 14:27

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: Respond to God

Yesterday morning in my quiet time the Lord showed gave me a visual that showed me how we as
Christians should respond to Him. This whole teaching helped me understand how God wants us to react to His presence.

Picture yourself in Church. You and your churchmembers are in a time of worship and God is present and bringing comfort and conviction. Those hungry for Him are being satisfied and He is showing Himself Love on behalf of His many promises:

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

So, the people are seeking God, and He is showing up. The Kingdom of Heaven is being taken by God's mercy. God's arm and His Spirit have been brought into the room on behalf of those who seek Him. The Church responds in worship and repentance, and whatever other things the Spirit prompts the people to do. Everybody praises God and has been maneuvered to a state of thankfulness.

But what happens after the music stops? What happens when the people go home and go about with their lives? This is exactly what I've been thinking about recently. And this is what God was speaking to me about beginning yesterday.

How do we respond to His Love? By changing our ways. By "bearing fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). In other words, by showing our change of heart by putting out greater effort to emulate Him. Those who change their ways can and WILL live in the Kingdom long after being affected by the Lord in the Church service. Those who are willing to follow Him wherever He takes us, wherever He goes, are the ones who are able to stay in the Kingdom.

And so many things distract us from Him. So many things block out our Heavenly Home. We need to think about Him. We need to purify our hearts. We even may need to give up our things if we are wanting to truly follow Him. Let's not be like the rich young ruler. Nothing among our own possessions is worth keeping if that means being unwilling to enter the Kingdom of God.

So, we need to be passionate for Him. And we need to be flexible enough to stay with Him long after the worship ends. We need to be flexible enough that He causes us to bend our wills, and even our perceptions of His. The passionate and flexible--the hungry and thirsty--are those who will see God.

He desires to have us remain in His presence all day. Will you yield? It's only after yielding that we can abide in Him. This is the way to part from the world and become best friends with God. It's not by power or by might, but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6). And it's by a humble and desperate heart.

Confirmed: Today Vanessa was reading Hosea and came across a great passage. Let's LIVE in His presence:

"After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence." Hosea 6:2

Let's be revived through worship, live our life in His presence, and the press on to know Him. If we press in, He will allow it. If we search for Him, He will reveal Himself. Glory to God!

"So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth." Hosea 6:3

Revelation on Communion

Today we took communion at Church.  Unlike last week, I had my heart prepared.  God wants us to take heart in Him.  So, Vanessa and I went up and took communion together.  While we were walking up to the front, I felt God's Love upon us and was given a vision of the nature of communion.

In this vision, I felt the weight of God's watchful eye over us.  I felt Him examining our hearts.  I felt His jealousy on behalf of His sacrificed son, and at once I understood the wrath of God that results from taking communion in vain.    I was given wisdom on the seriousness of partaking.

But praise God that He gives us forgiveness.  What I was most aware of was His Love.  I sensed His watching us, and I sensed His searching our hearts, and I sensed the punishment possible if I wasn't justified before Him...but most of all, I felt a covering of His Love.

Once in the vision I saw the covering as a type of space enveloping us.  Inside this cloud of His Love, we were clean and blameless, while outside of His presence there was only emptiness, condemnation and jealous anger.  We had been covered by the blood.  We had been atoned for already.  There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1); instead, we can overcome by the blood of the lamb (Revelation 12:11).  Hallelujah!

God really showed me the importance of communion.  He wants us to take it in remembrance, but our hands must be clean, and our hearts need to be pure.  Otherwise we are just inviting judgement.  But if we confess our sin, He is so faithful to pardon!

Then we need awareness of forgiveness.  He calls us first; we love, only because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).   He calls us and offers us forgiveness for all our sins, and healing for all our problems.  The only acceptable thing to do is accept it...but to accept forgiveness, we need to repent first.  He is waiting for us to repent!  We don't need to wait to be forgiven.  Once again, it is awareness of His forgiveness that motivates our repentance.  It is communion that motivates our heart change and allows us to remember Him.

Victory through Repentance

This morning, I surrendered some things to God.  Honestly I was long overdue in doing this.  So, I surrendered to God and repented for the things I had been clinging to.   "Pet sins" are very dangerous.  Fleeing from sin is the best response to it.  We need God's help to do this.

"Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the LORD's house."  Isaiah 52:11

God spoke to my heart that I was forgiven and restored to Him.  I had come out of my sin, and then He made me pure.  It is His grace that does this.

I was instructed to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance"  (Matthew 3:8).  Repentance to me means turning away from one thing and changing mindsets.  It means looking down on sins that separate from God, and looking forward to His new opportunities.

God gives us grace so that we can return to Him.  As long as we want to and repent of our past sin, we can return.  After returning, obedience is especially important.  It is a yielding to His Spirit that allows us to bear fruit "in keeping with", or worthy of, repentance.  If we are not bearing good fruit, we probably aren't fully repentant.

Once forgiven, I felt an influx of God's love.  It feels so good to be accepted and redeemed!  It feels to good to partake of the heavenly gift.   It feels so good to be judged righteous.

The Lord God gave me a vision of a person standing victorious.  This person had a large diamond planted behind them, but only the top quarter was showing.  So the only part of the diamond exposed to the outer world was a small triangle. They were victorious through their belonging to God, which demonstrated itself in true change.  Victory was found in bearing fruit!

Diamond Representation:  Represents our portion in Christ, our spiritual origin.  God polishes us as diamonds in the rough, glorifying and reflecting Himself through His good works in us.  There are so may unseen treasures stored up for a child of God.  "All creation" has been groaning "for the revealing of the sons of God" (Romans 8:19-22).  The Holy Spirit wants to reveal Jesus in all of us.

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn".  Isaiah 51:1

Small Triangle Representation:  This was the top of the diamond, the "tip of the iceberg".  Seen things are only a small portion of the glory of God's Spirit living in us all!  And there's a price to pay for more of God to unveil itself through in us.  So, this small triangle is the fruit of the Spirit, that "fruit worthy of repentance", that other people see.  Remember that a triangle represents change.  Change follows repentance, if we belong to God.

Put together the pieces of this vision, and you'll see a clear message unveiled.  True Victory comes from true change, which comes from true repentance, which is made possible by our inheritance and belonging to God.  Glory to God!