Snapshot: Psalm 20:6

While in Church a few weeks ago, the Lord gave me a vision where He scooped me up from where I was at, and lifted me to a higher place of worship.  His right arm, specifically, reached down and brought me up to Himself.  I realized that deliverance had come--God was providing a safe place where I would be free to worship in Spirit and in truth.

The rest of the worship session was fantastic!  I knew God had lifted my head up--I knew He had came down and rescued me.  And then I happened to turn to Psalm 20, verse 6.  But I know it was intended by God:

Now this I know: The LORD gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand.

Praise God!  For me, that was such a confirmation.  God was reaffirming what He'd first told me through the vision.  He confirmed that He is faithful, that He is powerful.  He confirmed that He gives saving victory to His anointed.

We can always rely on God's promises.  If He had His way, He'd fulfill every single one of them through our lives.  We just need to trust Him!  We just need to meet the conditions--and then focus on Him.

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me."

Psalm 138:7

Snapshot: Just Focusing on The Lord

During worship in Church last Sunday, the Lord gave a simple vision that helped me understand how to worship in full truth.  He showed me a funnel being placed directly above my head.  The wide end was down, leaving me to look up only through a narrow whole.  And I was supposed to look up to Him, but only through the end of this funnel.  Then I was fully able  to pinpoint and focus on the Lord.

And God revealed to me that this was a way to stay safe during worship.  We can only be spiritually caught up with Him if we have full fixation on Him.  And the Lord was demonstrating to me the importance of this focus--especially when in the Spirit during praise and worship.

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."    John 4:21

Confirmed:  On Monday, Vanessa randomly comes up to me and puts a funnel on top of my head, just like the Lord had done for me spiritually the day before.  What a funny confirmation!  She said I looked like a certain cartoon character.  But I knew what God was trying to say. Let's have such a focus in worship that the Lord can entrust to us the revealing of His love, His glory, and His Kingdom mysteries.  

"So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."       Isaiah 55:11

Song: Place of Worship

One of my favorite songs right now, maybe my top favorite, is "Place of Worship" by William McDowell.  It's so beautiful, so anointed, so passionate--it points to the savior.

I wanted to know what the Lord thought of this type of music, and so I asked Him.  And He led me to pause the song as the 7:03 mark.  I then entered that into the online lexicon.  Praise the Lord!

Hebrew #703:
A virtuous course of thought, feeling and action;
Any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity

Praise Him for songs that convey His virtue, His excellence, and His purity.  That's exactly what these William McDowell songs do.  They do what praise music should! They magnify the Lord, and brings His likeness near.   Such music pleased Him--it's acceptable worship in His eyes.  I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.  It really ushers you into the presence of the Lord.

"Worship the LORD with joy! Enter his presence with joyful singing!"                Psalm 100:2

What is Devotion?

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

Matthew 6:33

Snapshot: Morning Dew

This morning, I was driving to a new Church called The Bridge.  And right near the start of the drive, I saw a street sign called 'Morning Dew'.  It made me think about the way that the Lord pours His love onto us, even when we first wake up.  How He showers onto us such favor, such a rich anointing.  How the Lord awakens us spiritually and shows us new things.

"Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb."                                      Deuteronomy 32:2

And I felt God encouraging me to enjoy my quiet time in the car--I had an hour long drive ahead of me, after all.  He was giving me hope for the journey.  So I opened my heart--no, He did--to receiving that.  I felt Him making me aware of this awesome opportunity--this morning dew.  He was telling me to draw near in worship.

And there were some great songs on Christian radio, some of my favorites.  Praise God, He knew that I would like them!  And I felt God's presence in such a powerful way.  I felt such love.  I felt such living water, in me and around me.  I felt the Lord pouring out...the 'morning dew'!  Praise Him, I had such a wonderful time on the way to Church.  Now, all time of worship is amazing, but this drive to Church was truly unique.  I tasted His character in a new way.

And then I get to Church, and it was great, too.  My first time at the Bridge--it was very good. Worship was powerful, and then a missionary from India shared and spoke some prophetic exhortation.  Next was the sermon, and before I knew it, we had all turned to Hosea 14:

"I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon. His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon"                                                              Hosea 14:5-6

Wow!  What a confirmation!  And this is how God is to us.  He enriches us.  He showers us.  He pours out His Spirit on us!  He rewards us for seeking Him early--He rewards us with the morning dew.  We come in expectation, and we finish satisfied.  Jesus said we'd never thirst! (John 4:14).  He said that living waters would pulsate out of us (John 7:38).

And it starts in the morning!   Come in expectation--that's a biblical command!  Come and expect the Holy Spirit's infilling.  Come and expect God to show up.  Come and expect a revelation, visitation, or exhortation from the Lord.  He has all of Himself to give!

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him."                     Hebrews 11:6

Snapshot: Liberty in Giving

As I mentioned in our 1st Street Ministry Update, Vanessa and I went back to Grace Church last Sunday.  Grace has been a big part of our walk together, and it was so nice to see friends and mentors again.  When they took up the offering, the Lord showed me that there was liberty in giving.  He actually showed me the statue of liberty, with purses hung around it's upraised arm.  I understood that giving in tithes and offerings is a display of liberty.  It's a testament to it--to our freedom in the Lord. God can be creative sometimes.

"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

Now in general we shouldn't test God.  If there is an area where reckless faith is permissible, though, it's in the area of giving.  God wants us to show Him what He means to us.  He, in turn, wants to show us that our trust will be rewarded.  He wants us to trust that He is able--able to take care of us, protect us, bless us, even reward us.  He can be trusted even to give us liberty and freedom.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."     2 Corinthians 3:17

If we are in the Spirit, walking in it, living in it, full of it, then we will experience freedom.  Freedom, not to concede to the flesh or to sin (Galatians 5:16), but to give ourselves away.  We can boldly, maybe even recklessly, give ourselves to God.  We can give away our bodies, our careers, our finances, and our families as thanks offerings to God (Psalms 50:23).  We can lay everything up for God to have.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship"                Romans 12:1

We need to give everything we have to God.  We need to spiritually give it all to Him,  Any area that is not His is in danger of being used by the enemy.  Anything we withhold will get in God's way and to an extent limit how we are used for Him.  Anything we don't hand over will only be a snare for us (Exodus 23:33). There is freedom in sacrifice.  There is freedom in giving.  There is liberty in devoting our possessions to the Lord.

"Do This, Do That" Versus Freedom

He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not

listen. So the word of the LORD to them will be, "Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line 

on line, A little here, a little there," That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and 

taken captive.              --Isaiah 28:12-13--

The Lord led me here a few days ago....this is an interesting passage.  For me, it was a call to change. God doesn't desire to give us rule after rule; He doesn't want to make us stumble.  He doesn't want to take away all of our freedoms or surround us with impossible regulations (Lamentations 3:5).  As I said in a previous post, God doesn't desire to hand us over to a reprobate mind.  And He doesn't want to cause us to stumble.

But sometimes we need to change and return to God, and He causes us to stumble.  He does this so that we can hit rock bottom, and then turn and be healed!  He does this out of Love.  God Himself may become to us an oppressor if He knows that trials and testing will cause an eventual return.

"If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I have relented concerning the disaster I have inflicted on you."                 Jeremiah 42:10

God can and does change His mind.  God can and does change the way He interacts with people.  He does this based on our actions.  God wants to give freedom, but He will not give it if the receivers use it for their own glory.  For the worldly minded, God gives rules, regulations, and incessant demands.   This is what Isaiah 28:13 is talking about.  

I witness this in my own life.  When I have strayed from focusing on God, God strays from talking about Himself to me.  Instead, His direction takes a practical, even oppressive, turn.  The Lord may prompt me to do some chores or talk to someone.  He may instruct me in a way that takes away my freedom (Jeremiah 34:17).  What we are to Him, that He will become to us (Psalms 18:26).

If we are not thinking about Him, God will add to the yoke on our shoulders until it becomes to much for us to bear.  He wants us to ask for help!  He wants us to fix our minds on Him.  This is the better way.  If we are loving God, all else will be added to us.  If we are abiding by His Spirit, that's when there is freedom.  That's when there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).  

If we are in the Spirit, then we will be instructed in spiritual things and be pointed towards God.  That is God's desire.  If we are in the Spirit, then we will have freedom to think anything good about God. We will be free to do anything God for God.  We will not be subjected by God to "order upon order", because Jesus in us has already fulfilled all of the law.  Once we are operating in the Kingdom, then can we have other things, too (Matthew 6:33).

We can be free to sing, free to express joy, free to worship God in everything we do.  Why persist in subtle rebellion?  God wants to make us slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18); He wants to give us a light yoke (Matthew 11:30).  Let's allow God to approve of us, so that He can give us freedom.  Let's show Him that the gifts He's given us are able to shine through and glorify Him alone.

Snapshot: Music From Heaven

Over the past several months, I've been having some interesting dreams.  God's been giving me songs and harmonies in my sleep.  These songs are downloaded from Heaven. Sometimes they are gospel songs, sometimes they are blue's based--last night, I even heard a Christian rap song.  I don't like rap, but this one was very anointed.

I'm not always a fan of modern Christian radio--some of the songs just sound like pop to me.  And they all sound the same!  But the songs I hear in my dreams are always so creative.  Some incorporate awesome rock riffs; others beautiful harp music.  In addition, they carry such a spiritual weight to them.   It's hard to explain, but this dream-music carries the presence and splendor of Heaven.

"Sing for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, you earth beneath."  Isaiah 44:23

You can probably think of a few songs that personally bring you close to God.  You might have a few favorite Christian songs that are especially anointed.  The songs God's given in my dreams are kind of like this, but just spiritually intensified.  Like I said, they make such a testimony to God's nature.   They really, really usher in the presence of God.  In essence, they are perfect in every way.

I'm not wanting to brag here.  These songs have been given from God, and they are of His inspiration.  They haven't been my doing!  But I think they are representative of something important.  God wants to give us supernatural ideas and downloads.  I'm not even a musician, but God knows I have a passion for worshipful music, and He has seen it fit to give me such things.  He wants to give all of us something good from the storehouses of Heaven.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  James 1:17

Confirmed:  Yesterday on the Quickened Word there was a word about God releasing new sounds that would  reveal His knowledge.  These songs will be similar to the Psalms in that they prophecy into our spirits a powerful experience with the Lord.  These sounds are designed to stir us up, to allow us to reach new spiritual heights.  They are designed to take us to the mountaintop with God.

"They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD-- the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more."  Jeremiah 31:12

Snapshot: Prophetic Praise

If we draw near to God, we will be consumed in His Love.  We will Praise Him, we will worship Him, and maybe we'll even dance to Him.  This is what King David did, and this is what God wants from those who would express themselves this way.  Music is a powerful thing, and a force that can align us with either Jesus or evil.  God wants us to glorify Him through music.  He wants us to know that "for Him are all things" (Romans 11:36).

In the last month I've been reading about King David and his team of musicians in my new Bible commentary books.  I've been realizing in a new way that David was a very musically- oriented man.  Music was a means of life for David, because David lived for God.  He had such a heart for God's people coming together in worship.  God wants to give all of us a heart like that. 

"How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!"  Psalm 133:1

When the hungry come together, they come to worship and experience true Life.  They live in His presence, and they live for their relationship with Him.  When the hunger is there, the Holy Spirit is there.

So Worship elevates us to a place where we better understand Jesus.  And worship music helps with this.  Worship music is a holiness tool.  It elevates us to a place where our thoughts and our actions bring us to the King.  It gives a testimony to Jesus.

This is where prophecy comes in.  This is where we can give a revelation of Jesus through our speech and through song.  This is where music brings in a message from God that testifies to forgiveness and love.  This message testifies to Jesus.  It tells us that God is doing a new thing; that He is making a way where there was only hopelessness before.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  Isaiah 43:19

It tells us to change in accordance with His will.  And it speaks of a future hope and a future calling that far exceeds past doubts and failures.  This message comes as the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10) And music helps us get to that place.  When God's people come in unity and seek Him in song, God is pleased.  When the music and the worship please Him, the atmosphere becomes prophetically charged.

This is one thing King David loved about the body.  This is why David surrounded himself by a team of worshippers and musicians.  It allowed Him to come closer to God.

"Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation."

Let's praise Him vocally.  Let's sing and praise and shout as we become the hope of God.  Let's sing a new song, let's sing in the Spirit, let's sing as we are led.  Let's worship with all of our spirit, as His Spirit leads into all truth (John 4:24).

But don't sing out of obligation--God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Sing because there is no other way to express His character.  Sing, because when His Love comes, it's often hard to be quiet.  Make a joyful noise, as He fills you to overflowing with His Love.  Wigglesworth said that you're in a terrible place if you can't shout.  Now, to each their own.  But we need to be passionate about our God.  We need to be passionate about what He's done, and we need to be passionate about giving Him all the glory we can.

"He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed."   Psalm 40:3

God gave this.  God is still doing this.  By the Spirit, He will give you all the songs you want.  Let Him inspire you.  Let Him renew your mind and give you music that glorifies Him.  Sing to Him, and sing to Him a new song.    Sing by His leading to glorify what He's done, to share your testimony.  That's what King Hezekiah did after God healed Him (Hezekiah's Song).  So sing praises, and allow Him to uplift you and spread His glory.

Confirmed:  As I was writing the last paragraph, seen above, Vanessa came in with a testimony.  She was singing to God in the other room, singing praise as she felt led and thanking Him for His goodness.   All of a sudden, she was prompted to file down her fingernails, so she left the room and found a new nail file in the next room over .  As she filed,  she turned it over and read the back--sometimes God will lead you towards apparently random things--and it said, "ENCORE!".

Glory to God!  He likes our music.  God is pleased by our worship.  He wants us to continue in it!  He wants us to give Him an encore!  He wants us to stay in praise, abide in Him, and let Him take our fears away.  He wants to surround us with His Love and with a sense of His presence.

Spiritual Ecstasy

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Snapshot: His Finger

In Church last week the Lord showed me a vision of a pointer finger.  I saw that the tip of the finger had been covered but was now being unveiled.  I felt it was the hand of God, representing His arm working salvation.  I new it represented a manifestation of His presence entering the room.

I saw this vision, and it was filled up with light.  It was beaming and full of love.  I didn't think much more of this until we opened up the Word during the Church sermon.  As I glanced over at Vanessa's Bible, the first thing I saw was this:

"He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites."  Leviticus 16:19

That really struck me, and I realized what God was showing me.  By the Law, many high priests made many consecrations on behalf of the Israelite's sins.  These consecrations took blood, more than once.  They took a series of painful sacrifices that were created to atone for sins.  They helped people conceptualize the impact of sin and show that it needed to be paid for, one way or the other.  God Himself commanded these regulations for the priests, as a way to prove His Holiness.  Those who would come into His sanctuary needed to be pure.  They needed to believe they were pure, so that they would be able to worship a pure God.

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."  Romans 3:20

But thanks to Jesus we have a better way.  We have a savior who makes us conscious of His righteousness, and the fact that He is more than willing to share it.  What the Lord showed me in that vision was that HIS finger was revealed through Jesus to make us pure.  By His sacrifice, that of His Son, He brings the tabernacle to us.  No longer do we need ritual after ritual to enter near to Him.  Now all we need is a spiritual hunger that causes His Love to draw near to us.  Glory to God!!

I remember that Smith Wigglesworth said in His books, "you only need a touch from Jesus to have a good time".  How true.  What I saw in that vision was a divine touch.  It only took one!  One was enough to bring purity and light.  The Father of Lights does not need to make consecration again and again.  Praise Him that Jesus died to take our sins, once and for eternity!

"But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction..."  Romans 3:21-22

Apart from the Law.  Apart from the finger of a priest dipped in blood.  God has given us a better way. We have righteousness caused by just a touch of His presence.  We have purity given by just a taste of His power.  And we have faith in Jesus that He is able, and that He is willing, to come into our surroundings and set up a sanctuary wherever we are at.  There is wonderful freedom in knowing the purifying power of God.

Confirmed:  At the ending of the Church service, I was beginning to sit down when I happened to touch just my pointer finger on the back of the chair in front of me.  I touched this finger to the metal on the chair and was zapped!  This was quickened to me because of this "finger" vision, and well as the "electrified cross" vision described in the previous post.

God's given to us a cleansing power that can then be imparted to others (2 Timothy 1:6).  He is faithful to empower those He calls, and to show His hand through their own.

Snapshot: His Glory...Revival Is Coming.

As I said in a previous post, God has been speaking to me about Revival.  This is very encouraging...  it's been my passion for a while now.  I remember this Spring when He first started showing me what Revival meant.

Praise God that He is faithful to carry out our dreams.  He is faithful to bring our callings to pass.  He is knocking on the door right now, waiting to show Himself Lord of all.  He is knocking because we need to answer.

In Church today, I saw in a vision several vivid fire trucks.  I saw them traveling towards me.  I knew these fire trucks were full of His Glory.  They pulsated by me, one at a time.  He is sending in ministers and annointings right now.  He is sending in Glory and Revival.  After this He said, "Thank Me for My Glory".  I knew it was a Word from the Lord (Jeremiah 32:8)

"Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"  Hebrews 1:14

"He makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire."  Psalm 104:4  (Mini-Confirmation:  Yesterday on the news there was a 104 year-old man who set an age-graded record for the 60 yard dash.  He was also polish...just like me!)

So I saw these brilliant fire trucks traveling across my peripheral.  And I remembered a Word God gave me about 7 months ago:

"I give you fire drills before the fire falls."

This was in reference to a painful purification God was sending me through at the time.  In other words, God was testing me...putting me through the fire, so to speak.  He does this so that He can then revive us.  He was purifying me so that I could be ready for the "fire" of revival to fall.  Fire has been another them recently.  And the Holy Spirit brought all of this to remembrance, showing me again God's truth.  I felt Him saying that it's coming...the Revival is coming.  It's a promise of God; it's definitely coming!  And I want to do what it takes.

Confirmed:  A few days ago I randomly opened an old hymnal at a friend's house.  I opened to the hymn entitle, "Singing with all the Saints in Glory".  I was reminded of this right after the 'Glory truck' vision in church today.  God's Glory is coming to us.  It is not far away.  But it's up to each of us to seek His face and give Him our hearts.

Confirmed:  I also saw in a vision the number "7" while in worship today.  I didn't know what to make of it. Since then, I cannot stop seeing that number. Vanessa tells me it represents seasonal completion.  As she began to answer me, she looked down onto a drawer and saw that a small seven was carved into the wood.

Revival is coming and God is bringing this promise of His to completion.  (As I just wrote that, the word, "seven" was quickened to me from a telephone number just then being spoken on Christian Radio.  Like I said, I have not been able to get away from that number.)

Confirmed:  Near the end of church, a few fire trucks drove right by the building.  I haven't noticed that happening in the past.

Snapshot: Unstuck

In church last week I saw the word, "Unstuck" written in a vision.  I felt an increase in His presence being poured into the church after that.  But we had to want it first!  This happened partway through worship.

Through this small experience I became more aware of the spiritual warfare that attempts to get between us and God.  In this case, there was a stoppage in place that we were allowed to break through.  Keep in mind there is a lot of spirituality between God and ourselves.  There is violence that interferes with us receiving the Kingdom of Heaven, and the violent take His Kingdom by force (Matthew 11:12).

Our confidence is important here.  When we press in to God we need to know and take courage in His ability to allow a breakthrough.  We need to be hopeful that He will give the Victory and send His Kingdom down to earth.   Those who hope in Him will not be disappointed. (Isaiah 49:23).  So we hope in Him, and He meets us where we are.  Without faith, we cannot please God, nor can we be sure of His presence.

But when we have faith, we come into alignment with God.  We come into alignment with the light, and we join in battle with Him and His angels.  We can use the sword of His Spirit to cut through any interferences that Satan would try to give us.  This is exactly what happened in Church.  Glory broke through, and the oil of His Spirit was poured out.

Confirmed:  A few days later I was listening to Christian radio.  They were talking about a new Christian book called, "Unstuck".  It's about forgetting past failures and trusting God for a brighter future.  It's about stepping out of spiritual darkness and walking into a new season of trust in God.  There are references to Elijah's cave experience.

So God is continually breaking through and giving of Himself.  And we often misuse this.  We don't always live in the Kingdom.  But let's step out of our past.  Let's forget what's behind so that our guilt does not keep us from pressing on towards the prize (Philippians 3:13).  Let's allow His presence and His VOICE to come down to us and change us.  Let's then walk into that new season and cling to Him so that we do not return to past mistakes.

Let's be clothed with His might.  He is counseling us to buy from Him clean garments (Revelation 3:18)  He wants to live within His Presence, where the wells of the Spirit are not delayed or blocked up.  He wants us to become more than conquerors and enter a place of abiding where we do not get stuck.  Let's seek Him to get "unstuck" right now.  And if God has done deliverance already, then let's cling to that and continue intimately walking with Him.

A Deliberate Sacrifice

Will you give God your time?  Will you make life about Him?

If you seem Him you will find Him.  If you seek earnestly, and with a pure heart, you will see His WORD play out in your w.  The pure in heart will see God.

In the old testament they had obligations and particular offerings to atone with.  They were instructed by God in His law:  none were allowed to appear before Him empty handed (Exodus 23:15).  Today the Holy Spirit pleads with us to offer up all.  We don't need sin offering or guilt offerings.  We don't need to place material gifts between ourselves and the wrath of God as if they could act as a cushion.  What we need are intentional gifts to the Lord.

God loves a cheerful giver.  Sacrifice and offerings He does not desire, but He does desire to open our eyes (Psalm 40:6).  What a breakthrough.  What a revelation.  God is spirit and He wants full possession of our spirit.  When He has captured us, He gives us a pure heart--He gives us exactly what He wants us to have!  He has given us the qualities and free gifts to allow us to please Him.  We have the glory of bringing thanks into the house of the Lord (Jeremiah 33:11).

He gives us a pure heart so we can worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  He gives us an overpowering truth.  The truth is what sets us free and allows us to give joyfully. His inner trust is what offers to Him thank offerings.  That's what God requires.  The sacrifice of unconditional praise.  Will you thank Him?  Will you give Him credit for the life He gives?

Look at Job.  God made Him sacrifice all by allowing destruction.  But what God really required was the biggest sacrifice, that of never-ending praise.  How did Job stay righteous in God's eyes?  He didn't have any fatted calves to offer up when his life's worth was taken away.  God desired praise from Job, not just the giving of material possessions.  Praise God that our praise, our deliberate thankfulness, pleases Him.  Will you call Him blessed?  (Job 1:21) This is what God requires.

Snapshot: Praising God

This morning I received from God a vision of a trumpet. Then at church a few hours later, I saw another horn instrument.

As far as interpretation goes, here are a few verses on the subject:

"Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind the LORD your God of his covenant with you. I am the LORD your God." Numbers 10:10

"And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets." 2 Chronicles 29:26

"Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre..." Psalm 150:3

"They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lyres and trumpets." 2 Chronicles 20:28

We need to be bold and intentional in coming to worship and praise the Lord...we don't want to have "believed in vain". To me, the trumpet I saw symbolized the importance of bold worship. Let's praise the Lord with the instrument He's given us! Praise is a great way to enter in to God. He accepts the worship of those made pure. He loves it!

And because He wants to be worshipped purely, "in spirit and in truth", the act of praising Him often leads to sanctification, as well. Through worship, the Holy Spirit makes us yielded to Himself and softens our heart. Our heart is softened and shaped pure, until the point comes when we realize that the poor in heart will see God.

Confirmed: This morning, after receiving the vision, a friend kept texting us recommending a Christian radio station.

Confirmed: Psalm 150 was read in Church today. Followed by a great worship service!

Confirmed: After worship, the Lord prompted a church friend to read 2nd Samuel, where David worships the Lord and becomes "even more undignified than this". Glory to God for a shameless love for Him!

Snapshot: Worship as Warfare

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30

Here are some clear instructions for us. When we become distracted and take our focus off of God, it allows the enemy to choke out the Word that the Lord has spoken. We need to delight in His law with all our hearts. How do we stay in love with Him? Worship is a great way to keep our passion for God. Worship is a way to stay protected. Worship is very effective in Spiritual warfare.

When Jesus was tempted in the desert, He replied to the devil with the WORD.

"Jesus answered, 'It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'" Luke 4:8

This is how we resist the devil. This is how Jesus turned from temptation, and we should do the same. Worship is a way to stay delivered from evil. Worship equips us with the armor of God, and breathes new life into the things of God. We worship God because of His goodness. Nonetheless, He blesses us when we worship because He wants to encourage us to stay near to Him.

"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits..." Psalm 103:2

Worshipping God reminds us of His character. Staying uplifted in praise brings us understanding of God's name nature and the gifts He gives.

When we do forget the promises of God, we become exposed to attacks of the enemy. The solution is worship! I feel that drawing near to God is more important than trying to run from the enemy. I say this because our God is the more powerful one! He sets us in high places, and worshipping Him is a way that we can stay there. Confirmed 11/3: Facebook advertisement: "...Singing all the way to victory"

Snapshot: Sacrifices

This morning the Lord gave me four pretty random visions that didn't make much sense until He had me read Exodus. I read a bit about the regulations God gave Moses about the altar of burnt offering. There were to be four horns on the Altar. It struck me that this paralleled with the four mental images God gave me. You will find that there are not many coincidences when God is relaying a message.

I knew that these four images represented things I had to offer up to the Lord. In exchange, I had to turn to pure solutions to these problems. My faithless and doubtful ways had to be burnt up, freeing me to obtain heavenly treasures.

I am still working on this. Sacrificing things to God is often difficult. But it is a critical part of counting the cost. We need to be willing to dedicate our lives to God in exchange for the gift of His tangible presence. We need to give to Him everything we have.

"...No one is to appear before Me empty handed". Exodus 23:15

Moses was instructed to place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle. We need to offer up our impure things to the Lord before we are ready to live a pure life. We must allow God to take and destroy the things that distract us from Him in preparation for worship. We need to be exposed before Him so that He can clothe us in righteousness.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints". Psalms 116:15

Precious is the giving up of our sinful desires. This collection of burnt offerings is still being gathered up today. The giving of these things pleases God and allows us to draw near to Him. This burning, this sanctification, produces an aroma that pleases the Lord and gives us permission to enter into the tabernacle. And today, the tabernacle is within us via the Spirit, but we still need to die to ourselves to get there.

Law of Liberty

"But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."  James 1:25

A few mornings ago I received a vision where the Lord gave me a spoon, which I then used as a mirror to look into my face.  He brought to mind this verse pretty quickly after that.  Then today, I really did happen to look into a spoon, and immediately was reminded of that vision!

We need to look into the liberty the Lord gives us, and respond by doing God's will.  We need to be blessed in our doing!  We need to look into the perfect look at this law and behold Jesus, and then we need to persevere.  It all starts with focusing on Jesus and the resurrection life that He offers us.

To stay in a state of remembrance, of doing, means we need to intentionally live out our worship.  Worship is a place where we recharge our spiritual batteries and really open ourselves up to the Father's all-consuming love.  Just let Him love you!  Know that it is in yielding to His jealousy that we can persevere in using His freedom for His purposes.  This is important...the freedom that God gives was bought at a price, and it shouldn't be used for selfish desires.  The Holy Spirit wants to use this freedom to magnify Jesus in us and through us.

When in worship today I saw the Lord hand me a small tablet, made of stone.  I believe it had the number '1' on it and some writing.  Immediately I was reminded of Jesus saying, "a new command I give you, that you love one another".  This is the law of liberty, this is the love of the Father giving us freedom to express Himself through us in whatever way He wants.  Old rules and regulations are gone, and in their place is freedom to act out His will!