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In the natural it may appear as if the churches are dwindling down in membership, Christian friends are falling away, great men and women of God are passing away, and believers are declining in number. But the truth is, that God has a remnant that He has chosen for His end time army to usher in the greatest harvest in history. The fields are white unto harvest and it is about time that we take our place in what we have been called to do. Many of you feel inadequate, unqualified, or uneducated to be used by God. There was a man in the bible named Gideon who was fearful and weak in his own sight, but mighty in the eyes of God.
Even amidst the turmoil and chaos, there's a heavenly awe filling the spiritual atmosphere. Can you feel it? Avert your attention from the distractions that wish nothing more than to rob the people and this nation from the victory and blessings that have just been released unto us. This is a time for intentional praise because of, and "into," our breakthrough at hand. Be careful and intentional not to fuel the fire that is trying to be ignited by the adversary of our blessings. The fire is fueled by giving the nonsense distractions undue attention. I hear the Lord speaking to my heart, "This is the time for creativity to flow over and above the temptation to look upon negativity."
We've had a great spiritual victory in America. It's a reversal of the enemy's design on our nation and the door is open to honor God again. At the same time, we just lost Kim Clement. There is a weariness and disappointment among the saints. Many are experiencing delays and little fruit after much planting. We have longed to find our voice, experience our release and possess our land. Our hearts wonder if we can survive. We wonder, where is the favor of God? Where is the protection and provision of God? We can't help but question the significance of our own life and purpose… and dial it back a bit. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12 NIV
We are approaching a new day and time that is leading us to make some important choices and some important directions. Some of these choices will require us to obey God in what would look like to many as, "foolish faith." This entire last decade or more has been full of training and preparation, as I'm sure you all would agree. The Holy Spirit himself has been molding, shaking, bending, and breaking us into a pliable place; willing to depend on Him no matter what the request. In this new-found dependence on faith, you find the Lord asking you to trust Him with your life in directions you would never have thought of or chosen. By this true act of obedience and trust, you will now be propelled into the next place of growth and destiny in your relationship with Him.
"My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) WITHIN you..." (Galatians 4:19 Amplified Bible) So, what does this spiritual "birth" of Christ within us look like? "...only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through LOVE... For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall LOVE your neighbor as [you do] yourself." (Galatians 5:6, 14 Amplified Bible) Jesus answers this question for us by painting a word picture. "Jesus, taking him up, replied, A certain man was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothes and belongings and beat him and went their way, [unconcernedly] leaving him half dead, as it happened." (Luke 10:30 Amplified Bible)
As we step into the New Year, it's often good to ask ourselves questions, thereby taking inventory of where we have been and looking forward to where we are heading. A question I like to ask at the head of the year is this: "What is the prophetic indicator in my life for this leg of the race, as I run with endurance?" For me, I received an answer to this question during Rosh Hashanah when I had a vision from the Lord while standing in my kitchen. This experience of "seeing" more clearly into the spiritual realm has led me into a whole new level of the prophetic. As we honor supernatural experiences like this, the great cloud of witnesses cheer us on, encouraging us to continue to fight the good fight, finish the course, and keep the faith.
Many feel more discouraged than ever! How bad is the situation you're facing today? I can't even remember anymore how many times I've complained, "That's it. I can't take anymore. Life is too hard." Surely, there have been more times than I care to admit – especially being a so called, "preacher of Faith!" Life has certainly turned out to be far more difficult than I ever imagined. We've all experienced some sort of loss and suffering during our lives, some more than others. But, when everything is said and done, each of us should ask ourselves, "Will we barely survive this life and drag into God's presence being a victim? I mean, How about NO more victimization at all?" Not! What I've finally learned over the years is to get rid of self-help tapes and forget about motivational seminars. Never mind what worked for other people.
The Bible tells us that as sons of God we are to attribute glory and strength to the Lord Ps 29:1. When we credit the Lord with all the glory; He gives us His supernatural strength and blesses us with joy, peace and prosperity Ps 29:11. "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him. The Lord is their strength, and He is a saving defense to His anointed. Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their shepherd also, and carry them forever" Ps 28:7–9. The word 'strength' in these passages is the Hebrew word 'oz.' It means to give praise to the Lord's majesty with a loud, bold force, with all your might, power and strong strength in order to apprehend the security of His protective shelter, refuge or sturdy fortress.
It's a fabulous fall morning, and if you've seen any of my video blogs, you know that it is my habit to take my little Min Pin dog, Ginger with me as we take our prayer walk each morning. Today we saw many of the same things we see every day. The water flowing in the creek, the ducks on the pond, the squirrels in the trees, and the birds welcoming the day with their singing. It is so enjoyable to see the creations of our heavenly Father. However, today I became aware of something different. All though it was the same path taken almost every day, today I saw things not noticed before.
There are people who get upset with me for things I say, but TOO MANY PEOPLE contend for the Lord and His Spirit on an emotional level. "You really should be for the Lord because..." and they go off onto all these EMOTIONAL reasons!!! They have fervor. And they have IDOLS because they lift up things that OTHER people have done! If they were really in the fight, they would lift up what the Lord has done because they would KNOW that it was THE LORD who did it! Spiritual revelation and Spiritual advance can ONLY come by THE LORD!!! Many see what the Lord has done THROUGH other people, but have not really entered into the Spiritual battle because they think that giving their approval or their vote is all they need to do, and maybe cough up a few coins for them.
