The Revelator: The Lion of Judah

And one of the elders says to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals."

~Revelation 5:5

There's a reason that it was the Apostle John who was given the book of Revelation.  John already understood the revelation of Love.  He was able to be entrusted with bigger things, like this vision of Revelation, because the Law of Love had already been fulfilled in him.

"There was reclining on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Yahshua loved."

~John 13:23

John got it.  There's a reason why he always referred to himself as "the one Jesus loved".  Ever think about that?  I always thought it was kind of self-serving for John to title himself that.

Surely, all the disciples loved Yahshua.  Yet John was the one from among them that highlighted the Master's love, rather than his own.  He understood one of the greatest revelations -- that God's love is bigger, that His love is purer, that His love came first (1 John 4:19).  John was the one who Jesus loved because he recognized the truth in this.  Now, Yahshua didn't love him more than any of the other disciples. Yet John was acquainted with His Master's heavy, lovely presence more than the rest. His namesake was only an accurate byproduct of that.

Anyways...John had the book of Revelation unlocked to him.  He had it unlocked, for him.  All he had to do was participate in the life of the Spirit (Rev. 1:10).  Yahshua took over from there.

There's a big concept to grasp here.  In your own life, understand that being loved by God is greater than loving God.  He's the all consuming fire; you're the one who has to be consumed (Heb. 12:29). You're job is more passive than you might think.

Let the Lion of Judah do the heavy lifting.  He's the One worthy to open the scroll.  He did it for John, He'll do it for you!  Don't try to go randomly digging for understanding on your own.  Just trust for it, and rely on your Father to bring it forth.   The only thing for you to understand is that it's not your efforts that ultimately count.  It's what He's done -- it's His Life, it's His battle (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Our only work required is to trust.  There's a humility and reverence here (Proverbs 9:10); that's the whole point!  He's your representative; He's the One who opens the whole mystery of Heaven up.

Dream: The Importance of Feast Days

"And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever."         Genesis 12:17

"And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever."    Exodus 12:14

I've been thinking about Old Testament regulations a lot recently.  Vanessa and I feel that it's been the Lord who's brought such things to our attention.

See, when God is speaking to Moses about feast days, celebration days, etc...He tends to use the words, 'for ever'.... quite frequently.  And I think there's significance to that.  God didn't say to keep such rules until His Son came.  He could have specified that, but He didn't.  There are many such Old Testament commemorations that God instructed His children to keep, for ever.

"For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

Matthew 5:18

Even a few things Jesus said have made us think.  Heaven and earth have not yet passed away!  Though I don't have even close to a full revelation on all this, yet, I feel that some of aspects of the Word here just can't be discounted.  To summarize, I'd say that the Law is good (1 Timothy 1:8).

And I had a dream last week that really convicted me.  You know when you have a dream that you just know is from God?  This was one of those.  So, in the dream, I was being shown a pamphlet full of Heavenly revelation.  And I was reading a page that was titled something along the lines of, "The Importance of Feast Days".

On this page, there were several bullet points, and under each bullet there was an awesome description of why God ordained dates and calendars to be the way they were.  As I read more and more, the amount of wisdom and revelation coming through was astonishing.  I realized what God intended when He made things the way He did.  And I read all about the specific reasons for the feast days He established.  Reading through that page was pretty amazing, and I had God's heart for the ancient Israelites conveyed to me in a way that's hard to describe.  I realized in a new way just how meticulous, thoughtful, and wise God is in the things that He does--the things that He does for our own good.

I woke up the next morning remembering the dream, but having completely forgotten the specifics of what I'd read.  And I think that's what God intended.  Some of the stuff I read probably wasn't meant to be made known!  But this dream convicted me of the tremendous physical and spiritual benefits that will come by following God's calendar of religious feasts and fasts.

Like I said, I don't have all this figured out yet.  But I feel like there is something to it.  For now, I'll liken keeping the Old Testament Law--whether by observing feast days, religious fasts, the Sabbath, or dietary rules--to icing on the cake, so to speak.  The Law cannot save you!  Nonetheless, I think it pleases God if His children show a conviction for the Law.  I think it pleases Him if we show our interest and appreciate His workings of the past.   I think that the ancient Hebrew calendar, which God first made for His chosen people and continues to work by, is worth researching.

Fasting: Lifting the Veil and Removing the Blockages

Recently God's revealed to Vanessa and I something that we feel have been overlooked within the Church today.  It's not a 'fun' topic, and it's not something that gets talked about often, but it should be talked about nonetheless.  This topic is fasting.

Remember that Jesus said "when" you fast.  Jesus said "when" you pray.  When, and not if! Christians today have come to realize the importance of prayer, and that's awesome...but what about the importance of fasting?

“And now about fasting. When you fast, declining your food for a spiritual purpose, don’t do it publicly, as the hypocrites do, who try to look wan and disheveled so people will feel sorry for them. Truly, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, put on festive clothing, so that no one will suspect you are hungry, except your Father who knows every secret. And he will reward you."                                                                 Matthew 6:16-18   TLB

Fasting eliminates the distractions caused by over-indulging in food.  Fasting causes hunger, and that leads to desperation.  Fasting causes desperation, and desperation leads us to seek God.  And a hunger for God leads us to rewards from the Father!

Fasting is something we do for our own good!  Fasting feeds the spirit, not the flesh.  It feeds the Spirit of God within us, not our own flesh.  Fasting gives the Holy Spirit free reign.

When we fast and pray, revelation starts to flow.  We can see and hear God more clearly.  We can feel His heart without normal distractions!  It becomes our food to do the will of the Father.  And when we do the will of the Father, He gives us our daily bread and we become satisfied by Him.

FASTING BRINGS BREAKTHROUGH

Right now, there are barriers between us and God's will.  There are blockages, delays, and obstacles opposing what God wants to do.  There are things hindering us from being blessed, and there are things hindering us from overcoming.  There are problems in our life that don't seem likely to ever go away.

Remember, there are some problems that only go away with prayer and fasting.  When desperation is mixed with faith--when fasting is mixed with prayer--breakthrough happens!  When we draw near to God, we can ask for anything in His name.  And when we ask, He allows us to receive for our problems the right solution.  Fasting removes the blockages.

FASTING BRINGS UNDERSTANDING

Right now, there are things we don't understand.  There are situations that we just can't figure out. But we need to remember that Jesus lifted off the veil.  Jesus paid for our spiritual discernment, and He paid in full for our wisdom and understanding.

Now, God does not promise us all knowledge.  But if something impacts us, it's within our area of influence, and it's within our inheritance to understand.  It's within His power to cause us to know.

Fasting allows us to live in a place where we experience wisdom.  We can validate by the Holy Spirit that Jesus really did tear the veil!  We can validate by our walk in the Spirit that Jesus really does give the spirit of prophecy.  We can receive God's perspective on things if we are spiritually hungry enough to attain to it.

There's a time for everything, and for you, it may not be time to fast.  But I believe this is a word in season, and I believe that fasting, combined with prayer, is something that the Church is missing right now.  Imagine what would happen if we all fasted and prayed and became closer to God!  Fasting may be hard, but it's worth the rewards.  And I believe we're missing out.  

Snapshot: Ascending Up To Breakthrough

A few days ago, the Lord showed me a vision of an open door in Heaven.  There was a ladder that led up to this door--a ladder built to ascend upwards on.  And He was saying that we need to ascend up to Him to walk through that door and come to that breakthrough.  I needed to draw nearer to God in order to experience a full blessing, a full revelation, and a full future.

After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this."                 Revelation 4:1

Confirmed:  That same day, I saw a new article on the Elijah list by Doug Addison called "Contend For Your Breakthrough".  What a confirmation!  It really is the same Holy Spirit that gives each personal the ability to see in part.

Confirmed:  Also that same day, I stepped out the front door and noticed a shadow that looked just like the ladder and ascension that God had shown me earlier.  Hey, He's in the the little things, too!  God's Spirit quickened that shadow to me...He's funny sometimes.

Confirmed:  Today, a friend of mine was showing me her flower garden.  And she was saying that there was a lot of 'Jacob's Ladder' flowers springing up.  I knew what God was saying...

"He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it."             Genesis 28:12

When we spend time in the presence of the Lord, we should be expectant.  We should be hungering and thirsting for Him.  We should boldly approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16)!  God wants us to come up near Him and receive from Him more than enough wisdom for the day.

Word: Seek and You Shall Find

Yesterday the Lord spoke to me and told me,

"There are many choices behind you, and many choices before you, but there is only one choice that's best.  So seek Me diligently.  Seek Me early, and seek Me late in the evening.  Seek, seek, seek...seek, and you shall find."

This has been such a recurring thing for me recently.  If I seek Him, I will find Him.  If I diligently seek Him, I will find His Will.  These are promises, and they are waiting to be fulfilled.  And the Lord continues to feed me this verse again, and again, and again... (and again, four times!). Remember Jesus' question to Peter? (John 21)  He speaks to us repetitively so that we can get His Word deeply ingrained.  He stresses a message so that we can know He is God, even in our stillness (Psalms 46:10).

I remember that when Vanessa and I were in Springfield, Missouri, last month, a close friend of ours imparted to me some godly wisdom.  Now this friend is very prophetic--glory to God for the gifting--and he told me specifically, "Seek and you will find".  I was so blessed by that.  The Lord has quickened this verse to me in my own quiet time so often and in so many ways.

There is so much to be found--so many things to find out.  There is so much to hunger after--the unspeakable riches we have inherited in Christ, and more than that, the unspeakable love we have been given by Christ.  We need to know that the Lord is good, so that we can praise Him accordingly.

And there is so much to seek.  Those who seek Him find Him (Proverbs 8:17).  Those who seek Him become filled as He draws near (James 4:8).  Those who seek Him do so when they are hungry, and He fills the hungry with good things (Psalms 107:9).

The Lord is coming in glory. (Isaiah 60:1) He is coming in splendor. And He will come, as soon as we really, really search for Him.  As we seek Him, pieces and portions of His character will surface. The many facets of His Will can come to the surface, and He brings them to our attention.  (Jeremiah 6:16)  Glory to God!  

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Snapshot: Wisdom, a Characterization of the Holy Spirit

Before Jesus came and the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell believers, wisdom was the best thing one could have.  Wisdom was the way that many in old testament times described God's Spirit--because they did not yet have a full revelation of Him.  David and the prophets excluded, many did the best that they could by describing wisdom as being a part of God.

"I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me"

Wisdom even has a voice!  Now to me, the above verse sounds like something that the Holy Spirit would say.  And it is!  Wisdom is an attribute of God--an attribute of His Spirit, God has all the characteristics of wisdom, and wisdom has many of the characteristics of God. Wisdom is part of his mouthpiece.  Wisdom brings us deeper into the mind of God, and wisdom, like the Holy Spirit, is given to those who are obedient and ask.

"If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding"

Wisdom is portrayed as feminine.  Why?  Because both wisdom and the Spirit are relatively gender neutral--our own English language is what has assigned genders to each.  We can search for this wisdom, and it will not hide from us, although it had been hidden initially.  The one who seeks will find!

So let's discern by the knowledge of God.  Let's fear Him because we truly realizing that He has all understanding at His disposal.  Our God is an awesome God.  Let's fear Him, and let's also earnestly seek Him so that we can receive wisdom.  Let's lay hold of the treasures that have been made by Him to give.  Let's find wisdom and use it to align ourselves with the viewpoint of God.  Let's make the very best decisions that we can--not by our own effort, but by the gift of God in understanding what He wants us to do.

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.

STREET MINISTRY UPDATE #4: SPRINGFIELD

We've been in Springfield for a few days now, and it's been pretty quiet, for the most part.  We've enjoyed some downtime, gotten settled in, and Vanessa's been finishing up the distribution process for her new album, OPUS. In the past couple days we've had more of an opportunity to do street ministry.  God's really blessed us with nice weather, nice people, and creative ideas that allow us to be more effective in our ministry for the Lord.

Yesterday, Vanessa, Lane (Vanessa's younger brother) and I headed to the library for a social club's potluck.  We were invited the day before by a few friends, and figured, why not?  God might have something in store for us.  So, we met those friends at noon, right on schedule...and as it turns out, we went to the wrong library.  Oh well.  We decided to have a picnic in downtown Springfield, in the square, instead!  It was the perfect day to eat outside, anyways, so we drove the short distance from the library to downtown and settled in on the square.

PICNIC LUNCH

We had a nice lunch of guacamole and chips, wasabi peas, and brownies--each of us had only brought a few select items, which we'd been planning to be brought to the potluck.  But everything was great!  While in the square I met a few of Vanessa's friends, and we all had a great time.   I 'happened' to meet an older man down there, who was praying for revival in the square.  He was so secure in the Lord.  He said he was confident that a move of the Holy Spirit would indeed happen.  I told him that I was hoping and praying for the same things!  I think we both walked away encouraged.

STREET PERFORMING AND FIRST 'SPIRITUAL READING'

After that V did some street performing with two girls she'd met downtown.  They sang a mix of their own songs, worship music, and praise.  I made a sign, on cardboard from the library, that said, "Instant Healings and Spiritual Readings".  I was hoping that this would attract a new subset of people who would otherwise be turned off by words like prayer, prophecy, etc.  "To the Jews I became a Jew" (1 Corinthians 9:20)...

So, Vanessa and co. sang and even played around with a tambourine, and I enjoyed listening and holding up the "Healings" sign.  After some time, a younger guy, maybe early twenties, came up and asked what the 'Spiritual Readings' were about.  I explained that they were the obtaining of knowledge through Jesus, the Spirit of God.  Sort of like physic readings except with a pure filter, I said.  In Christian terms, I'd call it a personal prophecy.  It turns out this guy was himself a strong believer, and we enjoyed some good conversation together afterwards.

To ensure privacy, I won't go into the details of this first personal prophecy (oops, "spiritual reading"). But I want to report that the Lord is blessing the prophetic aspect of our ministry very much.  I have almost never gotten insight into family situations, job opportunities, past injuries, etc, but now they have become pretty commonplace.  In the past two days, the Holy Spirit has been revealing deep things and accurate words in these personal prophecies.  We've been asking for this.  Also, I think the Lord wants to provide a pure alternative for the physic readings that are so common, which do not point to Jesus or obtain knowledge by Him. (To us, the Lord was the one who created the ability to be know things about others by His Spirit, but the enemy has once again taken something pure and corrupted it. Satan is not a creator, only a distorter and destroyer.)  But now, the Lord is showing us how to really target the specifics in prophecy and directed prayer.  Glory to God!

HIP AND BACK PAIN HEALED

Two guys in their sixties walked up.  They were pretty entertaining...they both had long hair, unique clothing, and bamboo walking sticks.  It turns out they'd been to woodstock.  Anyways, one of them had back pain which also affected his hips.  Vanessa prayed for this, and he was healed after two prayers.  The man was actually a strong Christian, and I think he was surprised.  He said, "It feels a lot better!  Praise God!"  After this we talked with the two of them for a little while longer, before they walked off down the street.

PERSONAL PROPHECY

A younger guy sat down on the sidewalk to listen to the street music.  People do this sometimes--and that's good, as it makes for a nice ministry opportunity!  So, this guy sat down next to Vanessa, who was taking a break from singing at that point (another girl was playing Vanessa's guitar at that point). After a while, she called me over to prophecy over (sorry, 'spiritually read') this guy.  Once again, the Lord really was so gracious.  He did so much more than I could have hoped for, and the man was really blessed from what God revealed.  This guy received spiritual encouragement, insight into a potential new job, and encouragement regarding His unsaved sister, among other things. God revealed all these things in the spirit of prophecy.

After this, the Lord showed me one more thing.  I saw a cool towel being wrapped around the guy's neck and upper shoulders.  It was made known that God was healing this area, slowly, and doing so by 'cooling' and reducing the inflammation.  I shared this knowledge with the guy, and he expounded on the story.  He said that he'd been severely injured in the past, to the extent that doctors told him that he'd never walk again.  So God had already worked quite the miracle.  And this upper back area was the only afflicted area left.  I encouraged the guy, that I felt God would heal the rest, too.

Vanessa and I prayed for the back pain, which was also causing left hand numbness, to leave.  It didn't, even with a few prayers.  The guy wasn't that surprised, and I didn't push it because of what God had shown through the vision.  I felt compelled to leave it in His hands, and accept His timing.  I trust that God will be faithful and complete the last segment of the healing.

KNEE PAIN AND DISCOMFORT HEALED

A laid-back guy walked by twice, and asked about the sign.  I told him that the healings were done through prayer, and asked him if he needed any.  He said his knee was off, and bent it a few times to make sure it was still bothering him.  And he wanted prayer!  I felt I had a lot of faith at that moment, so I just put my hand on the knee and said, "in the name of Jesus".  Nothing happened.  So, we tried again.  I put my hand on the knee one more time, and as we prayed I felt it pop.  I asked him, "Did you just feel that pop".  He did not, but it was proof for me.  I said, "move it around a little!".   He said it felt good, and that it was not hurting him anymore.  Glory to God!  This just about marked the end of our time downtown on Saturday.  We headed home after a long day out!



On to today, Sunday.  We visited North Point Church in the morning.  The message was very timely--it always is there.  Then, we headed downtown again in the early afternoon.  The Lord ensured that we had a blast!

NECK AND HEAD PAIN HEALED; PERSONAL PROPHECY

Vanessa's perspective:

While I was street performing, a young man stopped and listened. After I finished a song, he asked if he could play my guitar. While he was playing, I asked him some questions about himself, and God began to give me some insight about his past as he was talking about surface things. Once I shared some things with him that God showed me, he seemed more open to talking about deeper things. I shared some encouragement with him and asked him if he had physical pain. He said he had gotten hit in the head the night before, and also had neck pain. After commanding the pain to leave, he said his head felt much better, and his neck felt only a little better. I felt like these issues weren't the major issues in his life right now, but that it would be better to encourage him in deeper things rather than continue to focus on the surface pains. I called Thomas over and asked him if he saw anything for this young man. Thomas sees (in the Spirit) clearer than I do, so I usually divert to him at this point.

Thomas's perspective:

So, Vanessa called me over and introduced me to this young man, and I asked God to show me something for him.  Things came kind of slowly at first. but eventually God revealed that there were many disappointments in the man's past. I explained that God shows these things so we can instead look to His promises and pray into the positive.  Step by step things were revealed--job struggles, relationships, etc.  I felt compelled to give the man a bible.  He confirmed that He didn't have one, so I ran to the car and got one for Him.  Then we got back into prayer, and prophesied and prayed into a few more things.  The guy was really, really touched by some of the stuff the Lord showed near the end.  I am so, so thankful that God has increased our insight into these things for His Glory.  Praise Him!

COCKATOO GUY HEALED (written by Vanessa)

While street performing, I saw an older guy walking towards me with a cockatoo on his arm. I was so excited, I let out a girly scream. I asked him some questions about it and made regular conversation, and when I would laugh, it laughed at me! The entire experience made my day; it was so awesome. Before he left, I asked him if he had pain in his body. He said he had arthritis pain in his feet, and was open to prayer for it. After prayer, he said it felt a little better. I asked if I could pray again, and he said yes. After a second prayer, he said it felt significantly better, but not totally gone. Sometimes I am not bold enough to persist, and this was one of those times. He said thank you very much for the prayer and I let him leave without asking again. I am glad God took most of it away.


BACK PAIN HEALED (written by Vanessa)

While I was street performing, I saw two men go into a restaurant across the street. I felt God impress upon me that one of them had back pain and wanted to be healed. About 45 minutes later, they both came out, and I went across to catch them. I asked one of them had back pain, and he said no, but the other one said, "that's me." I asked if I could pray for it to leave, and he answered with an enthusiastic, "Yes!" I told it to leave in the name of Jesus, and then asked the man how it felt. He was overjoyed as he told me that as I was praying he felt it leaving. He said it felt 75% better. I asked if I could pray one more time, and he was very open and wanted it. After that prayer, he said if felt "so much better." I didn't ask him if it felt perfect, but he was overjoyed at what had happened and we thanked God. It was encouraging to see someone really happy about it, because some people are just kind of "eh" when they are healed. I'm not sure if they don't really believe it just happened, or they can't process what just happened, but I always get really encouraged when other people rejoice about being healed!!

SUMMARY

So, that wraps up the last two days of street ministry.  Honestly, things have been kind of slow--not many people have wanted prayer.  And not many have even wanted a 'spiritual reading'.  But we can see now that God used the sign to tell us something--namely, to reveal to us that prophecy can and should be taken to the forefront in our ministry.  This is something that there is a lot of potential in.

We are thankful for new friends.  We are thankful for every opportunity to speak God's truth, His Light and His Love into the lives of others.  We are thankful that everyone we've prayed for has experienced some amount of healing.  We are thankful that many have been fully healed.  And we are thankful that God is backing us and showering us with so many blessings!

Snapshot: Fruit for Discerning

In a previous post, I described how God was showing me that I need to gather and store up the gifts He gives me.  And He showed me a basket, symbolizing the vessels He gives us to store His treasures in.

Later on (earlier this week), He showed me a tree that grew a lot of fruit on it.  This tree was bearing good fruit, and I imagined myself picking this fruit off of the branches as I went.

Step by step God gave me the interpretation for this.  He impressed to me that the fruit on the tree was dates.  This takes some explaining...one of the hardest messages to receive from God involves calendar dates.  I've often struggled in accurately understanding God's timing--whether or not He wants me to do something on a particular date.  Often, but not always, receiving a clear mandate as far as when to do something is difficult.  I would consider this kind of direction spiritual meat.

"For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."     Hebrews 5:13-14

"This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words."     1 Corinthians 2:13

And I realized that this fruit on the date tree symbolized more discerning spiritual concepts--receiving from God advanced messages, themes, and ideas.  One example of this fruit would be the acquiring of calender dates from the Lord.  Get it?  Obtaining calendar "dates" from a spiritual "date" tree full of spiritual gifts?  God can be funny with words sometimes.

Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."    Luke 8:8

God wants to give us deep, discernible messages that bear more and more fruit.  He wants to make us more and more spiritually productive.  He is giving us more advanced messages.  He wants to speak to us with dates and numbers, with profound images and deep things.  He's ready to tell us "great and unsearchable things, which we do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).  He's going to give us good fruit, and He's going to allow us to sort through it and throw away the bad.  God wants to give us a clear filter. He wants to give us enough discernment to quickly receive a new thing.  Let's receive discernment that allows us to dig deeper and deeper into the mind of God.

Snapshot: A Dim Mirror For Now

A few days ago, God started doing a new thing in the visions He gives me.  I think sometimes He likes to throw us off a little.  Our ways are not His ways, after all (Isaiah 55:8) I started seeing words written in reverse, as if I was looking at them in a mirror.  This happened a few times, and seemed to happen when I was praying for others.  The fact that these words and phrases were written backwards baffled me for a little while.  Then, I was praying for a friend and I saw another phrase drawn out in reverse:

"God conquers all"

So, I saw this being written out backwards, and finally I got it.  The Father gave me enough wisdom to understand what He was saying... I realized that these words were going out to my friend as a message from God.  I realized that The Lord was showing me the spiritual significance of my intercession for them.  Through my prayers, a spiritual message was sent to this person from the Light.  What was the message?  That God conquers all!

And I realized that they would see this from their perspective as a message coming from the Lord.  I realized that God was granting me a taste of the spiritual world in showing me that a message from Him was going out from my prayers.

In a way, my prayers--all of our prayers--are marked by the Lord as being sent from His Spirit.  They come labeled with a message from God.  What I've learned from these visions is a new conceptualization of prayer.  I've realized that the receivers of our prayers are getting a message sent from us, to God, to them.  God does this regardless of whether we perceive it or not (Isaiah 43:19).

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit..."
Ephesians 1:13

God gave me a glimpse of what prayer really looks like.  I understood a small measure of what intercession actually did.  The sender of God's goodness can indeed perceive power going out from Him.  Jesus was finely in touch with this (Luke 8:46).  I, on the other hand, still see dimly.  I needed manufactured phrases to perceive that God was flowing prayerful power through me.  Still, God is so faithful to help us understand a hidden concept.  He is even willing to put the concept into English!  His Spirit is teaching us new things.

The recipient of prayer receives a touch from God.  They receive a message, from God, that often was distributed through the mind of someone else.  They receive from God a message, in this case, that He conquers all. They receive His presence and His love as a reward.  They may not understand this completely or be totally in touch with the spiritual world, but God works regardless!

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."  1 Corinthians 13:12

Glory to God that if we believe, we will have whatever we ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22).  The answer may not be immediate.  For now, we only see dimly.  We have a conceptualization of the truth that has not yet reached fullness.  We may not understand exactly what we're up against in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).  But that's OK!  Seeing in part is better than not seeing at all!  I feel so blessed by the Lord for Him to have taught me so well already.  I'm thankful to see in part.

But God can reveal more!  God wants to reveal more!  He wants to give us the Spirit of revelation.  He wants to give us eyes to see.  He wants to cut through any fog or confusion on our behalf.  He wants us to be in tune with the spiritual, but more than that, in step with HIS Spirit.  That's what keeps us safe.  That's what marks us as His own.  That's what seals us.  The Lord is ready to show us more.  Have we received from Him wisdom and the Love required to lead us into all truth?

Heart Matters or Mind Matters?

A few days ago, I was being going through a time of teaching and I felt like my mind was getting in the way of what God wanted to show me.  It was like my thoughts and emotions were not agreeing with the truths He was revealing in my heart.  Thankfully, after some moments of mental tug-of-war, the Lord delivered me out of this.

And I saw a vision that my heart had already been purified.  It had already been cleansed and washed pure by the blood.  I was in line with His Spirit, and my heart was crying out, "Father!"  (Romans 8:15)

My mind, on the other hand, was still conforming to the world.  It was getting in the way of Kingdom reality.  It was not willing to go deeper into the word.  I had become, to quote Bill Johnson again (his new book is great!), "intellectually offended".  My mind was thrown into doubt because I could not logically conceptualize what the Holy Spirit wanted to show me.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.  But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.  But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

So we know that God knows all things.  That's an awesome concept.  The more God teaches us, the more we need to yield to His Spirit.  The deepest revelations that God can give usually make the least sense along natural lines.  Just look at the Book of Revelation itself, for example!  We need to acquire a heavenly wisdom and heavenly truth.  And praise God we already have this, but in order to access it we need to yield to Him.  We need to yield our preconceived ideas and our own opinions.  We need to give up the worldly wisdom that we thought we had.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS"; and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS." So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you.  

1 Corinthians 3:19-20

So let's give up the hindrances within our minds.  Friendship with the world is contrary to God, and so is adapting the mindsets of the world (James 4:4)  We also need to give up our fear.  God won't despise us for coming to Him with a broken spirit (Psalms 51:17).  We need to give up our worries and live in the moment.  Change can and often does cause fear and worry, but we need to respond to the Lord's teachings in faith.  As Jesus would say, "Why are you so afraid?" (Matthew 8:26).  The one who can accept a new message should accept it.  (Matthew 19:12)  Lord, let me be that one!

Sometimes revelation can be scary.  Sometimes a new thing can be perceived as impure, only because of it's novelty.  Sometimes we doubt that God is faithful, if we ask for a gift of revelation, to give us that rather than a snake (Luke 11:11).  Sometimes we need to receive faith to accompany our gifts.  

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  Romans 10:17

The more faith we have, the more we can hear Him.  And the more He can teach us.  And the more He can share wisdom.  We need to receive new wineskins to accommodate these gifts (Matthew 9:17)

When He gives revelation, we make sure it testifies to Jesus, then we accept it in our hearts.  Don't let your mind overshadow the Divine Mind of God!!  Don't let your idea of spirituality limit His Spirit.  Don't let where you're at currently detract from where He wants to take you.  

It's time to get ourselves out of God's way.  It's time to discern with a softened heart and guidance from His Spirit.  It's time to stop judging based on the inhibitions of our human minds.  It's time to take God for His Word and be conformed to the world no longer (Romans 12:2).  Let's be taken together into a place where fresh revelation and the spirit of wisdom are plentiful (Ephesians 1:17)

Confirmed:  Later on in the day when God gave me this vision, I was reading a Joyce Meyer book called, "Battlefield of the Mind".  In it she emphasized being led by your HEART, not by your mind or doubts.  If we have received from the Father a softened heart, then our heart's feelings are what we need.  We don't need to go by our minds, which are so vulnerable to the lies of the our accuser.  

Confirmed:  Several messages recently have come to me that stress the importance of our hearts.  From Facebook memes--yes, God can work through Facebook--to the forums over at the Quickened Word, God has been faithful to keep confirming to me His original message.

Confirmed:  A good friend sent me an email that included a prayer for forgiveness, again, on the very same day that I received the vision.  I don't actually get emails like this very much.  Below are a few short excerpts, in italics.  I bolded the most confirming parts.

Meditate on the truth of who God is and who you are in Him:

Take into your heart and spirit scriptures about God's forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love. Psalm 103 is a good place to start.

Take an objective view of your past to learn from your failure. What did you learn about yourself and God through this experience?

Allow God to expose the wound for His healing touch, and refuse the attempts of the accuser and destroyer to harass you anymore, because the King of glory stands as your Defender and Advocate.

...Thank You that You control me, not my emotions or what others say or do. I receive all Your blessings for my life and give You all praise, honor, and glory.  

God makes the best stories, He paints the best pictures, and He teaches the best teachings.  He is teaching us new things.  Will we receive them.  Let's pray ourselves into alignment with the Word:

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."    Ephesians 1:17

Snapshot: Heavenly Downloads

"Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning."  James 1:17

When I became saved in the Spring of 2013 the Lord gave me many dreams that helped me understand who He is.  He was my main teacher during those amazing first few months.  Spring was a time of rebirth and growing in trust and childlike faith.  And as I've said in a recent post, now I am thankful to receive beautiful songs in my dreams from the Lord.

"That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."  But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets"  
1 Corinthians 2:9-10

God has so many things in His storehouse.  He has so many things awaiting us way up in Heaven.  And we are instructed to test Him, and see if He doesn't give to us!

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."  Malachi 3:10

Bill Johnson said that the Kingdom of Heaven is bigger  on the inside than it is on the outside.  How true!  To outsiders Jesus says, "narrow is the path" (Matthew 7:14).  But David, a friend of God, praised the Lord for broadening the path for his sake (Psalms 18:36).  Once inside the Kingdom, once you have sought God, that's when He gives you the desires of your heart.  That's when He can redeem your creativity!  That's when you can embrace a download from Heaven.

This download may be a dream.  It may be a vision.  It may mean making artwork, or a song, or a writing.  It will come surrounded by a gift of wisdom--more on this in a future post.  God wants to give each of us a portion of His imagination to apply to our respective fields.  Seek first His Kingdom, and see if He doesn't transform your life.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Today is a day to remember the unlikely and meek birth of our savior.  Today represents the time when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Glory to Jesus!  God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.

Over the past few months, the Lord has allowed me to faithfully keep up on this blog.  He's taught me more with each passing day, and I'm so thankful for His leading and teaching even as I make each post.  I'm blessed to have a God who is so interesting, dynamic, and creative in showing and expressing His Love!

I hope that this blog has benefited your walk with God and built your faith.  I hope it has renewed your mind to some possible ways that God speaks.  I hope it has changed your focus off of distractions and onto the Glory of God.  And I hope that it has given you a hunger to have more and more Love for the Savior.

Today I just want to share a song.  I've been listening to it for a few days now...praise my Jesus, I found this song on the same day that "Living in Intercession" was written.  Very anointed and powerful music.  If you are led listen to this, then have His power keep you in a state of worship all day!  Below is William McDowell:

"I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle..."  Psalm 49:4

Fools for Christ--Who's watching?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Snapshot: The Rocket

A few days ago I was organizing copper pipes, and I decided to array them into the shape of a rocket ship.  This may not seem significant...but God is willing to use symbolism in our lives if we will stay sensitive to His leadings.  And if we keep Him in our awareness, He often portrays our missions to us in symbolic ways.

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!"  Romans 11:33

God allows us to learn and partake of His wisdom, if we are faithful and desire Him most of all. Though His judgement is unsearchable through human effort, the Spirit of God reveals to us a portion of His ways.  God wants us to learn from Him.  He wants to show us the deep things of Himself and give us supernatural riches--His wisdom and knowledge!  It is only by His Spirit that this can happen.  Neither human might nor power can pull us any closer to God or His ways (Zechariah 4:6).  But praise the Lord that we have received the Spirit of truth, who works for us to reveal His heavenly riches.


"However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -- the things God has prepared for those who love him--these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."  1 Corinthians 2:9-10

The Holy Spirit searches ALL things.  And He teaches us ALL truth.  Yet this same passage says that the human mind cannot conceive God's ways.  His paths are beyond tracing out!  What can we do with this ?  God has the solution--He uses symbolism to translate His thoughts into our hearts and minds.  From Ezekiel's strange demonstrations to Jesus' parables, God has always tried to capture our hearts with symbolism that allows us a conceptualize a portion of what He feels.

Symbolic actions, no matter how insignificant or impractical they may seem, are a perfect way to translate God's ways into human forms.  Now, back to the story of the copper rocket.  I felt led--by His Spirit--to arrange these copper pipes into the shape a rocket think.  I though, hmm, maybe this is a God thing.  It usually is, and why not?  We who are near God need to acknowledge His power (Isaiah 33:13).

Confirmed: I thought no more of this until today.  I went onto the Elijahlist website, and saw the latest article.  It was all about spiritual acceleration, as symbolized by a rocket ship.  God is so creative.  I felt this Elijahlist article--here it is--really testify to a number of things in my life, including my mission for this blog and a future missions trip Vanessa and I are getting guidance for.  Glory to God for allowing anyone who desires to see in part.

Confirmed:  Today Vanessa and I were talking, and all of a sudden she starts singing me "Space Odyssey" by David Bowie.  This song is about an astronaut aboard a rocket ship, who is preparing for takeoff.   She was unaware of the latest Elijahlist article.  So I pulled up the webpage and told her the copper rocket story...and the pieces all came together.

God is doing a major work of spiritual acceleration among many believers.  And why wouldn't He?  If God had His way, He will lead us higher and higher.  Let's prepare our hearts and set our houses in order (Isaiah 38:1) and welcome in the wonderful calling of God.  Let's be taken up by Him into the Kingdom, and let's leave worldly desires behind as we press on towards the goal.

Confirmed 12/12:  Yesterday I began seeing Kindle adds about acceleration.  They are advertising phone coverage, but the theme of acceleration has clear spiritual meanings for me.  The message continues...

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.

Overcoming Doubt: The Octopus

Over the past three weeks or so, I've got several visions of octopuses.  To me they represent the damaged ways of this world, widespread evil, and schemes of the enemy.  Not good.  (Keep in mind that symbolic visions may mean different things to different people.  God gives each person a vision, and an accompanying meaning, that they can understand.)

In this case, I felt that octopus represents widespread, pervasive doubt.  This unbelief is dangerous.  If the enemy has His way, doubt will be sent into our lives and constrict the Spirit's work in our lives.  Let's not doubt!  We have been truly set free by the Lord of freedom!

The sword of the Spirit is needed to cut off these areas of doubt.  The tentacles of Satan's schemes need to be eliminated by belief in God's Word.  We need to believe that He has overcome the world.  Doubt wants to uproot the Spirit's words implanted in our heart.  This implanted Word has the power to save  our souls (James 1:21), and the enemy wants to steal it away.

Praise God that He gives us warnings about such things.  The Spirit of truth will give us direction that keeps us safe and "not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11).  We can be wise about that which is good, and ready to war against things that would take us from God.

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: How to Read The Word

God gave us His Word for many reasons. The Word is our hope and our encouragement, our "ever-present hope in times of trouble." We cannot forget or underestimate the Word. It is alive and active, and by the Holy Spirit it is made real to us.

The Bible gives us commands to keep us pure in the eyes of God, and it also gives us moment by moment direction. There are a few names for the Word's present-time guidance. I like to call this kind of direction "rhema" or "navigational commands". These things come from the Word as we read it led by the Holy Spirit.

So, how to get specific commands from the bible? There are certainly times when it's good to read long passages of scripture at once, but the Lord has given us faster ways to discern His answers to specific questions. When we are led by the Spirit and operating out of a place of faith, random bible reading is often miraculously on topic. Try randomly opening a bible up and you'll see what I mean. As long as we precede this by trust and reliance on God, He gives specific direction through the Word, in ways that are sometimes totally unrelated to the context of that scripture section.

For example, last night I had a warning-type dream. It related to discipline that was painful. I felt it was from God, and this dream really helped me understand His might in disciplining those He loves. His discipline, and His commands to stay blameless, are designed for our protection, "lest some worse thing happen". After asking for His help, I open up the Word to Proverbs 19:18:

"Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction."

So this verse synchronously confirmed the topic and message of last night's dream. God is always faithful to His Word. The Bible is unlike any other book, and because of that, it is reliable to direct us when opened at random. So, often, I open my Bible at random and the first thing my eyes see totally relates to the day's events. Sometimes the first passage I read relates to things that happened just minutes ago. These synchronistic happenings are not just coincidences! No, those who are near God need to acknowledge His power (Isaiah 33:13).

 In the last month or so, the Holy Spirit has been teaching me how to get specific instruction from God on behalf of others. I don't mean prophecy here, but more so selecting timely bible verses, that often have a prophetic meaning. It all starts by hearing God's voice. The further you go along with God, the less and less you can do things, even spiritual things, according to your own will.

This new method is very efficient, but like I said, it must be strongly guided by God. So, most mornings I seek God on behalf of my wife. I acknowledge His ability, and His power, and then open my Bible at random. I may have my eyes closed, and point to a spot on the page, before opening my eyes and reading the selected verse. Or, I might just "know" that I'm meant to keep my eyes open, and immediately look on near the top left corner of the page. Direction such as this is a benefit of "keeping in step" with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

 Once again, distinct guidance is critical here! The Lord directs me when I do these random, finger-pointing readings...it is He that gives me protection and wisdom. Often He speaks with that "still, small voice" and tells me where to point my finger, which side of the page to gaze at, or where in the Word I should first open. When I do read as directed, God always gives me a passage whose message couldn't be a bit better. This is my one of my favorite ways to get specific direction from God.

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." Psalm 119:105

The Word is a light for the feet, not a spotlight into the distant future. So many people miss this! The Word guides us step by step. If we could do more than just "see in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9), we would not need to fully rely on God, nor have faith in the unseen! The synchronistic things God directs to us often fall around our feet, as He turns our "darkness into light" and guides us moment by moment. God's Spirit aligns us with converging events, through the Word, that guide our path. Glory to God! He really is so creative. Synchronicity through the word keep us "in step" better than almost anything. Reading the Bible at random is such a faith builder. Like I said, though, we must begin reading in faith that "the Lord is God, shining upon us". Or else, we are in serious danger of our faith being hurt even more:

"...Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." Matthew 13:12

So, let's read the word with faith to receive, and faith to believe the rhema word that God wants to speak. Let's desire clear and specific instruction, so that we can walk on His path for us, and not resort to lighting our own fires. Let's acknowledge God's power to move through synchronistic events, and give Him the Glory for it!

"For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:36