Snapshot: Seeing God

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"    Matthew 5:8

When I began reading and meditating on the Word, I used to think that verses like the one above were more figurative than literal.  Then, I began thinking that such descriptions only described what we'll experience in Heaven.  But now, I believe that God wants us to know that these promised can be applicable to our every day.  They can be lived out and enjoyed in this life, and even more so in the life to come.  If we meet the conditions, we realize God's pleasure in us based on how He treats us.  If we are pure in His sight, we'll discover that He's worth it.  We will become unable to forget all His benefits:

We really can taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalms 34:8).

We can see God's Glory (John 11:40).

We can ascend to the mountaintop with the Lord.  We can live in a Holy place, and God's holiness can go before us and after us.  We can be hemmed in by Him and His grace.   (Psalms 24:4 and context).

We can enter into God's presence in a new way.  There is always more of God that we have not yet seen, heard, or even imagined (1 Corinthians 2:9 and context).

There is always a new revelation, a new promise, a new understanding of His Love.  God is so far beyond searching out--we only experience tastes of Him because He let's us (Romans 11:33).

There is always so much knowledge stored up in God's Word.  Enough to keep us learning, both day and night (Psalm 119:96).

These are His benefits (Psalms 103:2).  These are our earthly foretastes of Heaven. These are results of our inheritance in the Lord--residence in His Kingdom.  And these things are worth counting the cost.  They are worth any cost!  God makes life fun, but more than that, He makes it count.  Let's commit our ways to Him.  Let's allow Him to make us pure, from the inside out.  Let's seek Him so we can see Him, and let's see Him and become more like Him.

STREET MINISTRY UPDATE #2: PINEHURST

Vanessa and I are still enjoying Pinehurst.  We've been so blessed by God to stay here.  Ministry is just gearing up now, as we've had a busier first half of the week with family, and with projects.  From now on, we're hoping for more time available to get out on the streets (or Wal-mart).

We were essentially gifted two Go-Pro cameras for our trip, and the plan is to use them on this upcoming weekend to document some of the miracles we see during street ministry.  We'll be doing lots of ministry those days, so stay tuned for Update #3 early next week.  Vanessa and I have hope in the Lord!

Back to this current update--Tuesday was a good day.  Every day should be!  We went out to do ministry at the Fresh Market (grocery store) for a while again, and were blessed.  God is continuing to faithfully train us in receiving direction, words of knowledge, and prophetic insight.  Vanessa saw a older man about to leave the store, and she hurried after him. (She had felt impressed that he needed prayer earlier, but hesitated.) She caught up to him and they prayed right in the entrance of the building.  He didn't want prayer at first, but then opened up...this man had sciatica in his lower back, and after prayer, he said that his pain had lessened quite a bit. She asked if she could pray one more time, and he gladly said yes this time. After a second prayer, he said that the pain was completely gone! They both praised God!

Jesus is beautiful. Healings are beautiful!  Sometimes I wish that I could see the aftereffects of a healing and how that person is changed to go on through the rest of their life.  I wonder how many choose to share with family and friends what God's done for them.  And I wonder how many become itinerant street evangelists themselves because of what they've experienced.  When I get to Heaven, I really want to see this!

While at the store we also saw four people we knew, two of which I hadn't seen for years.  I thought this was a blessing in and of itself.  After that, God revealed that a certain man had lower back pain that resulted in walking difficulty.  The man was a little surprised that we knew this, and he was very open to prayer.  So we prayed for that spirit of back pain to leave, but it just wouldn't budge.  After some direction we realized it was caused by unforgiveness in that family towards the military.  I was thankful for the words of knowledge but very sad for the man.  But I'll choose to believe that we were aligned together for a reason, and that God will do the work of healing in the future.  Sometimes God does the miracle later, and we don't see it.  He is in control, and His timing isn't always the same as ours.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Vanessa and I headed out for a few hours of ministry after lunch.  We went to Wal-Mart first.  We were blessed to come into contact with many people with softened hearts and openness to prayer.  The first healing was that of a lady with chronic lower back pain. She was so thankful to God when she felt all of her back pain leave.  Then we prayed for a lady who had nerve damage, muscle weakness, and several other problems.  She had great faith--she wanted to pray that God would give her new nerves!  After some wonderful prayer, she felt good.  I trust that the Lord did what she'd asked Him for.

Next the Spirit directed us to a lady we met last week through my parents. When we met her last week, she and Vanessa found that they had so much in common, included that they both attended John MacArthur's church in Los Angeles in the past. She and Vanessa really connected and had a great time talking together.  While they talked, the Lord showed me to a man in an electric wheelchair.  He had bad arthritis in his knees.  He said that he'd love to be healed, but didn't seem to think that kind of thing would be possible.  I prayed quickly, and he said he'd know if he was better once he got up and walked around.  I saw him again in the checkout line, and he was moving his leg around and looking at it intently.  He said he felt better. We prayed again, and the Lord burdened me to tell him that he was free.  I trust that God healed him fully.

We continued walking around the store for a while, and Vanessa spoke encouragement to two different people. When she approached them, she didn't know what they needed, but as she prayed with them, God gave her insight into their life. They were encouraged and one of the ladies said, "I really needed that." Sometimes we have to step out in faith and God will give us insight after we begin to pray with a person!

Some people turned down prayer.  We approached one lady, who was pretty oppressed.  She said, "I see what you're doing in here, and I don't like it.  Do they know you're in here?  I'm going to report you."  We felt strongly she was demonized. She was petite and looked about 80 years old, but the fierceness she had was pretty shocking.

Then we saw a nice, Southern lady named Lyla whose left ear was painful and partially deaf.  She had sharp pain that went from her ear into her jaw. After one prayer her pain was gone, out of the jaw as well, and after two prayers, her ear was opened and she could hear much more clearly. She praised God and was so excited.  She wanted to tell her doctors what had happened. We didn't pray for her back, but she had herniated disks, and that pain was taken away too.  I like it when that happens--when the Lord really overshadows us.  It just goes to show you that God knows what we need!

A little while later we went to the Fresh Market again.  Vanessa had picked up something oppressive and wanted to be filled with the Spirit before she went in.  She stayed in the car, and I went in first.  She was sitting in the car when she saw an older man with a cane walking by her.  She went over to meet him at his car, and asked if she could pray for his leg.  He was so open to the prayer, and his wife, who was waiting in the car, was excited to see "a young person offer prayer!" (We do get that a lot!)  Vanessa put her hand on his knee, and he said, "Oh no!  Put it right down here!" as he took her hand and put it lower, on his ankle. (Note: we don't believe that there is power in our hand- it is the power of God.) After one prayer, the man said the pain had lessened. Vanessa asked if it was perfect, and he said it wasn't. She asked if she could pray one more time, and he eagerly said yes. After a second prayer, he said that all the pain was gone!  Praise God! We are learning that God honors persistence. (Like the parable of the woman persistently knocking late at night.)

We stayed there for a while longer, and met two sweet Christian ladies who were so encouraging to us.  They both needed prayer for healing, so we all held hands and prayed for God to heal them. Their diseases didn't have a way to be measured right there in the store (there was no physical pain,) but we believe that God did heal them.

That's all for now.  We praise Jesus for allowing us to do these things for Him and by His power.  He rewards whatever we give away.  And we're excited for more ministry in the future.  We have a few more solid days in Pinehurst left.  I know that the Lord will bless them!

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.

STREET MINISTRY TOUR UPDATE #1: PINEHURST

Today marks our fourth full day in Pinehurst, North Carolina.  On the 22nd, after a few delays, Vanessa and I drove from Southern Maine down to my parents' home.   God really blessed our trip with nice weather and light traffic, even when going through New York.  We got to Pinehurst late Thursday night, and since then we've been having a blast!

Friday, Vanessa and I visited family and took a brief trip to the Fresh Market.  This is a high-class grocery store in Pinehurst...and the scene of so many healings and miracles last Spring and Summer. This time around, a lady with foot problems was completely delivered.  She had been planning to have surgery for her foot pain in two weeks.  Now she has a wonderful testimony!

Sunday, we had a great time seeing old friends at church.  We met a very nice young man named Josh...he had foot problems, too, and difficulty walking.  He had a lot of faith, and after a few prayers his feet felt amazing.  He said he'd been hoping for healing for a while now, and looked forward to telling his doctors about the power of his God.  Glory to God!  

After Church on Sunday, we went to the Fresh Market again...they have such good coffee.  I asked an older gentleman if he wanted prayer for anything.  He couldn't quite hear me.  His wife patiently explained that he was hard of hearing, had partial blindness, and had diabetes and muscular degeneration.  But they really wanted prayer.  We prayed that God would touch his whole body and renew his strength.  We prayed that anything disrupting his healing would be driven out. We prayed that his ears would be completely opened up in the name of Jesus.  After prayer, Vanessa began talking softly to the man.  She then whispered to him more and more quietly, and he heard right down to a faint whisper!  He also remarked that he could see her very well.  Glory to God!  The couple were in their eighties and devout Catholics.  They were so gracious and thankful for prayer.  I feel like God wants to put into all of our hearts the humility to receive prayer from others.

Sunday night, we met with two ladies who have been great mentors to Vanessa and I in our time at Grace Church's prophetic group.  God has really brought us to some amazing people through that group.  So, we met with two of our "spiritual mothers"and enjoyed some great fellowship at Panera Bread. Vanessa and I had the chance to update them on how the start of our married life has been going, as well as other things.  We prayed and encouraged and spoke to each other in the faith!  You can have Church anywhere.  We prayed at the end of our get-together, and felt God's presence really come in.  I felt like I was in the middle of a rainstorm, complete with that smell or moisture you get when the clouds come in. Just then, both of our mentors looked up at each other and said, "Do you feel rain?" They had both felt drops of rain fall on them, inside of Panera! I'll admit, this kind of manifestation is new to me.  But wow--what an honor for God to give us something we never even imagined asking for.  He really was confirming His Spirit there with us.

"If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit."        Leviticus 26:3

"Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God."     Hebrews 6:7

"The earth quaked; The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God..."  Psalm 68:8

Today, Monday, I went out to do some ministry at Wal-Mart.  My younger brothers went with me.  We were blessed to see a healing right in the parking lot.   Before we parked, the Spirit had showed me that we were to go left once within the store and head straight to the produce area, and from there go clockwise around the food section.  We were to meet and pray for a black lady with unique  hair along the way.  So we did this, and met the woman right next to the vegetables!  She didn't have any particular prayer requests, but we just prayed that God would bless her.  Praise God!   After that, though, a lot of people didn't want prayer.  And a few that accepted prayer had no faith at all.  There were also a few 'partial' healings, which bothers me sometimes.  You just have to leave it in God's hands.

But the Spirit got me through these disappointments, and finally, we were directed to a lady with foot pain (again). She really wanted prayer!  I was so excited...God totally healed her. After that, God began revealing to me that the next healing would be from lower back pain. He then directed us to a lady with pain back, and He took the pain away. Glory to God!  On that note, we headed home.  In hindsight, sometimes God makes us beg.  He wants to ensure that we really, really want it.

Reprobate spirits

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient"     Romans 1:28

We need to retain God in our knowledge.  What does this mean?  It means we need to make Him our focus and our life, or else we are at risk for deception.  We need to do everything to the glory of God. And we have to want to do this, which means we need to die to ourselves.  Our own desires and distractions can make us forget God.

"The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity."        Luke 8:14

When things of God have been pushed aside in our lives, we are in danger of losing our spiritual inheritance.  We are in danger of never seeing God's goodness become real to us.  We have lost our passion for the only thing that really counts--the reality of God's Love for total salvation.  The enemy can then come in and make us believe a lie.  And God allows this.

"So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, that they might walk in their own counsels."    Psalm 81:12

 If we have shown God that we want to run after the world, then He will probably let us, at least for a time. He honors free will, and He gives us over to whatever we want most.   Often our own desires have been influenced by other things.  And more often then not, those influences come from the devil.  Sinful desires comes from the world, where darkness has set up it's rule--the world is in nature contrary to God (John 15:19).  Our own desires often lead towards idolatry, and God allows us to run after darkness.

Micaiah said, "Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. "The LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this while another said that. "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' The LORD said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then He said, 'You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.'       1 Kings 22:19-22

How does this work?  If people want to follow a lie, then God gives them one.  God allows deception to sneak in.  God is sovereign, and He actually allows for other spirits to come in and make us fall for our own desires.  He gives us over to a reprobate spirit--something that deceives us so we can continue on in following ourselves.  These spirits try to entice us into falsehoods and darkness.

If we accept anything that is not grounded in the Word and the Spirit, then we may allow these spirits to give us a reprobate mind.  If we fall for their deception, they will begin to affect our minds.  They will cause us to do things which are not convenient.  They will take away any fruitfulness that we have, because true fruit comes only from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  We will begin doing things that do not serve God or His purposes.  These things may not even serve ourselves.  They will, however, serve the enemy and cause some amount of inconvenience--some amount of confusion.

For a long time, I did not understand why God would ever allow this sort of thing to happen.  But it's His intent to make us stumble enough to know that we need to return.  When we hit rock bottom, that's when we can realize our mistake.  That's when we realize that we've become an enemy of God. That's when the Lord gives us eyes to see--eyes to comprehend that we've reaped what we've sown. Eyes to see that we deserve the deception handed to us.  That's when we can humble ourselves and repent.  That's when we can enjoy total forgiveness and be renewed to God! Once we realize our backsliding, we can experience godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) and turn away from any deception we've fallen into.  We can have God heal us!

"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them."    Hosea 14:4

It's so important to stay grounded in Him.  It's so important to accept only the truth.  We need to cling to that which is good (Romans 12:9) and resist any deception the devil tries to subject us to (James 4:7).  That's how we avoid a reprobate mind.  That's how we continue on in the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

If we seek His Kingdom--living in it and bringing other into it--before anything else, we will stay safe.  We can enjoy a sound mind and a fruitful life.  We can stay in perfect peace(Isaiah 26:3).  We can live within the Kingdom, and then have grace given to us to receive more and more freedom.  We can experience the joy of a mind stayed on our Lord and a lifestyle that pleases Him.

Good Gates, Bad Gates

God has been teaching Vanessa and I about spiritual territories recently.  He's been teaching us about their boundaries, their influences, and especially their gates.  There are good and bad territories, and there are good and bad gates.  These spiritual territories either belong to God as part of His Kingdom, or they belong to satan as an area of darkness.

These are not areas marked by physical boundaries or gates or fences. Instead, they are marked by rulers, authorities, and powers within this dark world and by spiritual forces in the next (Ephesians 6:12).  Territories are either for or against Jesus--there is no middle ground.  There is a constant battle at the gates--the Kingdom of Heaven versus the influences of hell.

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."  Matthew 12:30

As believers, we have been given spiritual authority to advance the Kingdom and push back darkness. We have been given power to pull down idols and spirits of idols.  We have been given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  And we have been given the sword of the Spirit, which makes the enemy scatter and brings together the good.  This is something Jesus referred to in Matthew 12:30 above. We have been given authority to prove God's cause and cast away anything that opposes it.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."  Romans 12:12

We need to learn "that which is perfect". We need to bring this weapon of truth out into the world.  God can work through us to pull down the gates.  We can dismantle the manifestations of wickedness which were birthed in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12 again), and prevent these things from continuing to have their way with the earth and it's people.  With His Spirit and His power, we can cast down anything contrary to God.  We can prepare the way for the Kingdom.  We can make way for the Lord, and usher in an environment where He can set up His Kingdom.

As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"  John 1:23

This is what John the baptist did, and this is what God wants us to do, each in their appointed way. Through our warfare we should be working through the territories of the enemy and bringing out from within us the Kingdom of God.  We too can pave the way for the Lord.  We too can push back the gates.

How do we do this?  By words of faith and prayers in faith.  It takes faith from God to see our words impact the spiritual world.  It takes faith to move mountains, faith to move spiritual areas, and faith to remove ruling spirits.  Faith is a gift that in itself gives us divine power.

"...for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God,.."       2 Corinthians 10:4-5

John by his words was speaking for the Holy Spirit.  By his words, John the baptist was dismantling religious spirits and changing the spiritual climate in his area.  He was fighting against the old way, against the established authorities, against anything that might set itself up against the true knowledge of God.  The Light that he pointed towards destroyed hypocritical speculation and hardened hearts.

John himself was blessed by God to be used like He was.  His life had such significance--it even served to forcefully advance the Kingdom.  Through the spiritual fighting he did, even the darkness resisting Jesus suffered violence.

"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force"     Matthew 11:12

God wants to give us faith, authority, and boldness.  He wants to give us divine power.  He wants to make us more like Jesus.  How?  By giving to our lives the fullness of God.  By giving to our words some of the power present within His.  He wants us to speak with His authority.  He wants His glory to back us.  He wants to gift to us attributes, character traits, thoughts, prayers and mindsets that make us more like His Son.

We should be full of the power and force of God.  We need to reach our potential in Christ Jesus. When were are full of spiritual gifts and spiritual tools from Him, then and only then can we be truly impacting in the spiritual realm.  Only when we are full of His Spirit can we speak with enough power to push back darkness and advance the Kingdom.

"How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate."    Psalm 127:5

An Arrow From God

Last fall, God began directing our thoughts to a first true mission trip together.  Since then, we have been slowly receiving direction regarding where we should go and when.  I remember that He was speaking to us through symbolic arrows a lot in the beginning.  God sends us places--whether literally or spiritually--with His momentum.  He is the one who calls us to certain things and sends us to certain places.

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"     Exodus 3:14

Recently, the arrow theme has been brought up again.  On the way down to Pinehurst, the Lord reminded us of our role as a tool, as an arrow in His hands.  What a timely reminder!

So, God's likened this mission trip that Vanessa and I are on as an arrow sent from His bow.  I believe this speaks of being sent with the "strong hand of  God" upon us as seen in Ezekiel 3:14 .  We both have felt impressed to wait on God to send us--that is, to wait until He gave us the push off to leave.  Before we were to leave, He had to open the door and provide a springboard.

My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.'     Job 29:20

God has a mandate for all of us.  He has bent back His bow, and He will bend it back again.  He has prepared and initiated a calling for all of us.  For each believer, He has prepared a place that He wants to launch us into.  He is ready to send us out with spiritual momentum.  By His bow, we can be the arrow of truth and life that He initiates out into a new land.  Are you ready for Him to release you? Are you ready for an open door?  God is always sending out new things through people who can soar with His message.

"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands,"     Psalm 149:6

We need to be like Jesus.  He was like a sword, like an arrow from God, and He delivered love and healing to the people.  He cut to the heart of those around Him.  He went out into the world with supernatural momentum, with a compassion that couldn't be suppressed or slowed down in any way. When God sends us out, we should be the move the same way.  We should leave our resting place ready to go and labor for God.  It's a labor of love.  We need to go out only when we know that He is the One who's sent us.  We need to be full of His Spirit and His power and not ever relent.

"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."       Luke 24:49

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 Basket for Gathering

Last week I was given a vision of a deep, woven wooden basket.   I knew it was a basket for gathering up the things of God.  Our Lord has so much to give.  He wants to keep things exciting, and keep our lives full of joy.  We need to be equipped to receive from Him.  We need a basket of recorded testimonies, memories, and Words from God--whatever it takes.

"And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever."   Isaiah 30:8

If God wants to do a new thing, we should be prepared for it.  Have you received from Him a wineskin that is open to His personality?  (Job 32:19)  That's what we need.  Wineskins that accommodates the passion of God, and then make that passion our own.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”              Isaiah 6:8

That's the enthusiasm we need.  And that's what God is ready to give.  He wants to feed us good things.  He wants to nourish us spiritually.  And, He gives a basket for gathering!

"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

Our bodies are a basket.  They are a vessel for God to pour into.  And there are other vessels!  Anything you have that gathers from God is a spiritual basket.  For me, this blog is one.  All these 'baskets' have one thing in common--they hold a testimony from Jesus.  They are all about Him.  Earthen vessels are what we have, and earthen vessels are what we use.  This can be a good thing!  It's a good thing, if our insignificance reminds us of God.  We can let Him do the work.  All we have to do is humbly stay in step.

"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."    Galatians 5:25

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."     Micah 6:8

Confirmed:  Today I was looking in the kitchen cupboards and noticed a wooden basket was missing.    I was reminded of that vision.  Some things you just have to take by faith!  For me, the missing basket fulfilled the vision from last week.  God is so amazing-- He orchestrates such a beautiful life.

Our baskets shouldn't be set on a shelf.  They should be in hand, ready for use.  We need to stay prepared.  We need to be well fed, but stay hungry for more.  He'll give what we want from Him.  God wants to take us to a new place, and He wants to equip us with all that we need for the journey.