Stay, stand, fight and take a seat

In the early morning I hungrily seek out God’s encouragement, including through His prophets, to persevere in prayer, believing...wearing my combat boots over my ‘feet shod with the gospel of Shalom.’ During the night, when I am more vulnerable, the fear and unbelief try to supersede that firm stand. I know it is crucial to stay in the fight believing, praying, affirming, and decreeing God’s will be manifested in this land.  When we believe and declare what is  naturally impossible, yet already shown accomplished in God’s Reality, He is delighted with is. He applauds us, and the crinkles of His eyes spread wide on His face. 

The believing Church is finally coming together and being the true Ecclesia.  It wouldn’t have come forth without the spiritual battle, I realize. Now, when every conceivable human option is totally exhausted, God says, “Ok, now is when I love baring my arm and putting on a show for You!  Ha ha! Make your popcorn with lots of butter and salt [Himalayan, of course] and take a seat, while continuing to stand. The curtains are opening. Enjoy the show

Isaiah 52:10

Isaiah 40:26-31

Ha ha...God had me add this today (1/11): https://youtu.be/F-t8PngHgWY

Cleaning your windshield

This is an image and word God gave me early Sunday morning:

   I woke up this morning with an image in my mind from the Lord. I know it was from Him. I was in a convertible and there was a very dirty windshield in front of me. It was cloudy and covered with grime. You couldn't see through it, but I could see that they were presents piled up on the right-hand side on the frame of the car, to the right of the windshield, and the Lord was laughing.

   “Clean your windshield,” He said. “Your windshield is cloudy.  How can you see where you are going when your windshield is cloudy? Clean it with vinegar and with water.  Make it sparkle. I am piling my gifts up high. Make sure they are up high.  You need to proclaim and help distribute them from a higher place. We are picking up speed.  Rejoice! I am laughing with joy flinging those gifts.  I am flinging those gifts through you [the believing Church] out to the people of your nation, to the people the world.

   See the astounding grace of my gifts! Use your muscle to clean that windshield. Use the muscle of My Spirit to clean that windshield. Make it shiny squeaky clean so you can see where I am taking you and where you need to go as you help me distribute my gifts, gifts that will astound. Proclaim them, speak them forth. Do not be afraid to proclaim them; proclaim them from up high above the circumstances. They must be proclaimed from up high above the circumstances that people see and hear and feel and touch because my gifts are coming from the heavens. Believe and do not doubt; do not resign yourself to circumstances which seem to be beyond your control. Speak forth what I say, trust in what I say, see what I see, hear what I am telling you, hear my voice and proclaim my truth, my Reality. Receive what I have for you in faith and believing the truth without doubting that I am doing a new and amazing thing. Watch in wonder as it breaks forth! Be a part of it, be a part of it, Ecclesia. Be a part of it.  Don't speak against it; don't deny it; don't carry doubt in your heart but believe that I am able to do this, that nothing is impossible for Me. I am doing an amazing thing for you, a great gift. The big gift contains many smaller gifts. Rejoice and Merry Christmas! Your windshield is cloudy and grimy with dirt and deception, with the lies of many which you have believed. Clean the windshield to see what I see and believe what I am telling you… to not be deluded. Do not be deceived. Do not believe a lie but my Truth. You must clean the windshield. I cannot clean it for you. You must make a choice to clean the windshield. Partner with me to distribute my gifts. I have chosen to partner with those who believe and who trust in me. I have shared my authority with you. Those who believe partner with me to distribute the gifts.”

    He wanted me to fling them out as we travelled but told me we couldn’t go until I could see clearly:

“You must clean your windshield. Without cleaning your windshield you'll crash and burn.” That's what our nation (and the world) will do without Him, but he has a much better plan. He doesn't want us to crash and burn; he wants us to reflect his glory to the world, to speak forth His truth and demonstrate, manifest to the nations. We must clean our windshields to see what He sees, to hear what He says, to do what He wants us to do.  We must believe what He is telling us and act on that.

   “If you don't clean your windshields you will just sit in your car and be taken where you don't want to go. Your nation will be taken to very bad places, instead of to where I want you to go. The paths are diametrically different from one another.  You don't have to stay in the car with the dirty windshield and be driven by others where I don't want you to go. I want you to be free. The Truth, as I have told you, will set you free.

My gifts are Victory and Triumph, gifts of Mercy, gifts of Resetting to the original Covenant of your nation with Me. Gifts of Deliverance, gifts of Revival, gifts of Justice and and Vindication. Fling them from on high,” says the Lord.  Rejoice, rejoice, believers and let your light appear! Proclaim from the rooftops, from the highest places, that I am delivering you.  I am freeing you in the name of my Son, Jesus Christ! Proclaim my truth, proclaim my gifts and see me flinging them from high places, flinging them out, seeing them burst open to the people.  Receive them, believe them, and rejoice!” 

 

Another kind of seeing

So this morning, the joke was on me. I was thanking the Lord for so many blessings, especially having children and their spouses who love Him and one another. I do not take that for granted in any way, especially when I listen to the heartbreaking stories of other mothers and fathers, for whom I pray. 

After I write my prayers, I usually take another color pen 🖊 and listen, trying to accurately record what He wants to say to me. I know that I don’t always get it right. I sometimes write what I think He’s going to say. When I realize that (pretty quickly), I cross it out and get quiet,waiting. He often then says something that makes me laugh, and I know, then, it’s from Him. I don’t make myself laugh.

Today, after I erased what I had first written, He said He wasn’t offended but was glad I was Seeing what I was doing and He was happy that I was  Seeing the blessings He had sent. He always wants me to See His Reality over and above the ‘masked’ world I am going in and out of each day....like walking through a cloudy curtain from a clear, sparkling world and back again.

You have to read my previous blog post to get the Seeing joke. I hope you will, if you haven’t already. A good laugh ‘does good like medicine,’ especially when it’s from your ABBA.

Seeing what God sees

A dear friend needs prayer for the healing of her lungs. The Lord told me to picture her breathing in His Holy Spirit and being healed while doing so. I heard about her need for prayer as I was praying for our nation. After guiding me to picture her healed by breathing Him in, the Lord showed me an analogous prayer for our wounded and suffering land:

“In the same way you are now picturing Mary breathing in My Holy Spirit and being healed, picture your nation breathing in My Spirit and being restored and redeemed; healed of fractures, treachery, lies, and immorality, of evil fruit of all kinds...delivered, pure, and at peace.”

I have learned from Andrew Wommack’s teachings, including his series on Imagination, that He calls us to picture in our minds what He sees, to picture His will accomplished. Biblical meditation can also be translated imagination. Not the fantasy, wishful-thinking of current parlor, but a means of decreeing and asserting His Word and His Will. 

In order to accomplish this, we cannot spend time watching, seeing and listening to what man says, or we will be like two horses pulling in opposite directions, getting nowhere. Let’s turn off our televisions, close our mouths to rehearsing what is wrong, and close our apps, except those prophetic visions, testimonies, and intercessions which foster His Reality. As difficult as it is to hold not only faith in our hearts but belief in our minds, we are called to persevere, to persistently speak forth, both in the Spirit and in Our native language. To  see and say what Adonai Elohim...the Great I Am says, sees, and wills.

Amen and amen, to the ages of ages...Amen

The Candle and the flame

 I spent a long, hot, sweaty weekend sharing a booth at an outdoor market, trying to sell my books*, cards, and paintings. I sold no art and only two books over two very long days, with the second being a mercy purchase by one of the event planners.  There was a carnival incorporated at the Octoberfest, and it unexpectedly sucked the people to the rides and away from the vendors, much to the vendors’ (and organizers’) dismay.

I WAS able to hand out cards and flyers for my two books(online), which I pray will bear fruit.  It’s not just the loss of the money invested, but the desire to share God’s heart with people through these books (and art). I feel strongly that He inspired me to create them, so it was discouraging to spend all that time and effort and appear to get nowhere.  

Thankfully, God had warned me before the event not to be become discouraged but to simply be faithful and persistent, and that His economy was not the same as the world's.  I have to confess to still waking up discouraged.  He knew I needed a ‘nugget’ from Him, and as usual He was faithful to encourage me... with this: 

Hmmm...a candle, ok.  Significance? It's not lit.

Somehow the light in the room is making the candle appear to be alight.  As I write this, it still 'burns'. "Ok, God.  Tell me what this means."

"The candle is a reminder of what I can do supernaturally, far above what you can do in the natural. You didn't light that candle but yet it appears to be lit, and is, indeed, shining forth. Don't rely on what you see and experience with your senses. Visualize...SEE in your mind's eye, your imagination, what I Am doing--what I SEE in the spiritual realm.  Believe it. Have faith to see it come to pass."

"Cool. Thank you. You are so kind and gracious. Help me SEE what You SEE.

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*Who You Are and Let All Creation Rejoice! [Bearfoot Books for the Shepherd @JEddyWales]

The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit

    As I prepared to share some thoughts at church about hearing directly from God, rather than depending on our own insights and understanding, a phrase from Scripture popped into my head. Our church often quotes this as part of the blessing and dismissal at the end of the service:

 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.   [2 Corinthians 13-14]

   I’ve heard this verse from Paul quoted my whole life, but it was only then that it struck me what a privilege that is...to fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Truly this is what prayer—including listening,  conversing and simply being in His Presence—is all about. Fellowship can also involve having fun with others and joking around, enjoying making them laugh....sharing a meal, listening to their deepest thoughts, being quiet together, getting to know their personality...their likes and dislikes, their tender hearts, their ‘take’ on issues, what hurts them the most, what makes them happy. 

   Deep fellowship develops over a long period of time by being with someone on a regular basis. You can have fun with others with whom you don’t talk often or know very well. However, that relationship, while enjoyable, will remain superficial if you never learn their true hearts. 

   When Paul prayed we’d have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, I’m sure he knew that every other blessing would flow out of that relationship.  For the Jews, fellowship with the Holy Spirit being possible for every believer was a recent and radical change, a gift given by Jesus when He ascended to heaven. Prior to this time, it was for a few chosen individuals. We should never take this incredible gift for granted...and most definitely never leave it lying abandoned in a drawer.  Let’s blow the dust off and open it with reverence and delight for the treasure it is. If we hold it up to our ear, like a conch shell at seaside, we’ll hear the Shepherd calling.me thoughts at church about hearing directly from God, rather than depending on our own insights and understanding, a phrase from Scripture popped into my head. Our church often quotes this as part of the blessing and dismissal at the end of the service:

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.   [2 Corinthians 13-14]

   I’ve heard this verse from Paul quoted my whole life, but it was only then that it struck me what a privilege that is...to fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Truly this is what prayer—including listening,  conversing and simply being in His Presence—is all about. Fellowship can also involve having fun with others and joking around, enjoying making them laugh....sharing a meal, listening to their deepest thoughts, being quiet together, getting to know their personality...their likes and dislikes, their tender hearts, their ‘take’ on issues, what hurts them the most, what makes them happy. 

   Deep fellowship develops over a long period of time by being with someone on a regular basis. You can have fun with others with whom you don’t talk often or know very well. However, that relationship, while enjoyable, will remain superficial if you never learn their true hearts. 

   When Paul prayed we’d have the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, I’m sure he knew that every other blessing would flow out of that relationship.  For the Jews, fellowship with the Holy Spirit being possible for every believer was a recent and radical change, a gift given by Jesus when He ascended to heaven. Prior to this time, it was for a few chosen individuals. We should never take this incredible gift for granted...and most definitely never leave it lying abandoned in a drawer. Let’s blow the dust off  the box and open it with reverence and delight for the treasure it is. If we hold it up to our ear, like a conch shell at seaside, we’ll hear the Shepherd calling.

Listening to God directly

In today's blog, (Surprise by Sweetness), I referred to sharing in church about the importance of listening to God and keeping that intimate relationship with him.  For those interested, here is the first 10 minutes of the talk..  (You'll have to turn your volume way up and/or use earbuds.  We didn't plan in advance on recording it, so it's a phone recording.)  I will be posting an outline of the rest at:  https://thechapeldowntown.org/watch%2C-listen%2C-read, if you would like to see more later.  

Julie

https://youtu.be/g_ljJ3Jl_GM

Surprised by Sweetness

    I was feeling all yucky inside, with all the ‘stuff’ happening and the sickening words and actions of the times. Just yesterday I had spoken in church about the crucial need for listening to God directly, rather than relying on our own or other people’s understanding. For decades I have used those little speckled journals to listen and try to write down (by 'taking dictation’) what He says, as best I can. 

   Writing down has helped me stay focused, with my thoughts zinging around my mind and external distractions calling out to me.  If there’s ever been a time to commit to significant times of listening to the Holy Spirit, it’s now. Yet sometimes it’s difficult to quiet our souls to just be with Him and listen. To persist until His voice breaks through and begins to flow in our minds. 

   This morning was a challenge to LIVE what I advised just yesterday. I was tempted to just give up and start the rest of my day. Thankfully, I didn’t. His deep peace descended, and He told me to ‘soak my dry bones in His Spirit...His ‘abiding place,’ to absorb His life-giving nutrients’. “Let me refresh your mind," He said..."wash, wash, wash (image of a washing machine), cleansing it from the ‘stuff’ that has attached itself. “

   I can only describe what I then experienced as a sweetness which came to me. It was like hearing a tender Christmas carol and smelling the scent of evergreen,  while tucked up on the sofa in front of a lighted tree. "Oh yeah, that's what that feels like...purity, innocence, and peace all rolled into one.  I'd forgotten."  The Holy Spirit is the source of all that is pure and beautiful and life-giving.

   At the same time that I was trying to listen to Him, sweet and creative ideas were flowing faster than I could record them. “Are these distractions, Lord?” I asked. “I’m trying to pay attention to what you’re saying!”

“I know creative ideas are flowing all around you,” He answered...“faster than you can pull them out of the water.. When you place yourself inside My Stream, they will flow continually along with and around you. They always exist there by My creative Nature. You will be like Lucy and Ethel at the chocolate factory!”

“You are SO funny, Lord.  And a pun on 'sweetness', too? Really?"

Is God a 'deadheader'?

  One of the pots I have hanging on my deck is a combination of plants I’ve been nourishing from wee things. It contains three types of plants, one of which has large blooms that take days before they wilt and require pruning. Two others have tiny blossoms which bloom all along the stems.  I had been pruning the bigger pansies in another pot on a regular basis so they would flourish with new blooms. But the tiny flowers I left on their own. It seemed too much work to deadhead every wee flower.

   However, I began to notice that my Alpine Calamint plant was looking a little pathetic, with brown stretches and pretty flowers only evident here and there or at the end of the stalk. I realized then that I should be deadheading those, also, no matter the time it took. I had to be extremely careful to remove the dead flowers without disturbing the tiny ones in bloom. The results of my efforts showed within just a few days, as the plant began to flourish with abundant flowers all over its branches.

   Much has been written about the pruning process and its analogous connection to our spiritual growth, most importantly by Jesus, Himself.*  What struck me this time, however, as I was removing these tiny dead flowers, was how much tender patience was required. Scripture says that even “a bruised reed He will not break...and a barely flickering wick He will not put out.”**  I hadn’t thought about this aspect of His character in relation to pruning. How carefully and tenderly He tends and prunes us, without damaging our vulnerable blooms. He nurtures us when we look sickly, by removing the dead stuff in such a way that, although we may feel the twinges, nothing beautiful is destroyed in the process. 

   A less patient gardener might find it more efficient to just lob off portions of the live with the dead, knowing that he wouldn’t kill the whole plant. Many a time I have found myself saying, “Whoops, sorry about that, little plant!” An expedient loss or two for most gardeners would be no big deal. But our Gardener will not even break off a bruised reed, where there is struggling life still in it. He takes consummate, painstaking care of the tiniest details of our growth. With Him, nothing and no one is expendable.

   The One who created intricate details in the countless variety of flowers, which bloom today and wither soon after, still hovers tenderly over them. Rejoice that you are of much greater value than these and that He wants you to flourish, not just in this temporary life, but forever. You are His prized creation, Tell Him you're grateful for His careful pruning even when you sometimes feel as if you'd rather He left you alone, with the dead stuff still hanging on. You'll give Him a chuckle.

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*He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. --John 15:2

**He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. --Isaiah 42:3

Fear and two lions

   Did you watch the newer Jumanji movie? That’s not usually my genre of choice, but I enjoyed not only its humor, but some Biblical analogies I found there.  1Peter 5:8 warns us that our Enemy prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone he may devour. That image seems even more vivid in current times, doesn’t it?

   The thing is, we can’t be devoured unless we agree to to it. We can never be his tasty meal unless we don’t know who we are as believers in Yeshua. In Jumanji, the ‘weakling’ character in real life becomes the super strong hero within the app. When he is about to be attacked, he freezes in fear and at first fails to fight back. He doesn’t remember  who he is. Suddenly he remembers that the man whose identity he has assumed has all kinds of strength and skill to defeat his attacker. It is only then he is successful in defeating his enemy. 

 

   I believe that happens with us. We allow fear to paralyze us. Fear of present times. Fear of future times.. Fear of speaking out. Fear of man’s opinion. Fear of illness. Fear of what will happen if certain groups take control of our country. Fear for our children and grandchildren. Fear of what kind of death we might die. Fear of that roaring lion. 

   However, it is the great Lion of Judah in whom our trust is securely placed. The other lion’s image is but an illusion, a hologram projected to frighten us into the kind of fear that causes us to leave our weapons lying useless at our sides. The kind of fear that can make us forget who we are. Like the character in Jumanji, we need to wake up to our true identity in Christ and stand up with confidence,  putting on the armor of Christ which He has given us. They are not just defensive weapons but offensive ones. Attired in our identifying  uniform, we find the hologram has as its source only a sickly cat, artificially magnifying its voice like the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain. 

   Another point of note in the movie as well as in Scripture, is that humility comes before success. Knowing who we are, in and of ourselves, places us in a position to stand up tall in the power coming only

from the Great Lion, the King of Kings.

   Yank that curtain back and unmask the imposter.  He does everything he can to keep us from knowing who he really is, because then we will know that we hold all the power.  Believe it, use it, and speak it forth, mighty ones!

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Matthew 8:26-27

FYI...I recently re-read The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis, the final book in The Chronicles of Narnia series. I highly recommend a current reading, in light of current revelatory events. For example, note that there is not only an imitation Aslan, but also another creature, thinking he has the real power, manipulating behind the scenes. Ultimately, that creature himself is swallowed whole by an evil greater than he. However, as you well know, that is not the end of the story. Further up and further in, everyone!

This lane open

I thought I’d share a short laugh from our Father this morning. He shared an image with me of a grocery store with long lines of socially distanced people. He called out This lane wide open! No need for distancing! No need for less than 10 items of concern! Step right up! There are three Persons all working that lane together, by the way, all with smiles and no masks.

Tabernacling

 As I continue this year’s journey through Exodus, I have to force myself to slow down and picture what I’m reading...to visualize and imagine. In past readings, I confess to having buzzed through the detailed instructions for the Tabernacle.  Since I’m In 2020 (what, really?) I can search online for pictures, where others have done the work of drawing, painting, modeling the Ark of the Covenant, the acacia wood altar, and each aspect of the Tabernacle in the wilderness.  Some have even added their interpretations of the meaning behind the minute instructions and squeezed them into their pictures. Amazing! Thanks, guys!

Meanwhile, I need to stop, picture, imagine, question, and listen for myself. “What new insights do You want to share with me about these Old Testament events, Lord? What do you want me to learn or do in response to this concept of Tabernacling in the wilderness? Sometimes I try to draw an element like the lampstand for myself, even though skilled artists have already done so. It’s been interesting that the slow, manual process of drawing has created a settling of my mind and spirit to better listen for what He has to say.

 

Come Tabernacle with Me....come Tabernacle with Me in this dry wilderness of 2020. Amidst the chaos and lawlessness and lies and dearth of Truth, you will find my oasis, My Tent of Meeting. There is flowing, bubbling, peaceful, life-giving water here. “Draw near with faith”and without fear. You no longer have to be afraid...fearful to perform everything perfectly.. Be reverent, but not afraid. Honor Me with holy awe but love Me as your ABBA. Never forget the gift you have been given by My Son...that you may come to Me in this way.  Stop awhile in the Old Testament to fully appreciate the New. Understand how fear and trepidation have been replaced by My Shalom....that which I have desired for you since I created my son 

Adam and daughter Eve and placed them in the Garden with that very Shalom of provision, wholeness, intimacy, and blessing. Redemption, Reconciliation,  Restoration are now available to all who are willing to receive them.

Never take My gifts for granted. Never receive them flippantly or lightly, but reverently, with deep appreciation and awareness.  Hold them, as you would a fragile bird or delicate flower in your hand. Note every vivid detail, every facet...and be filled with awe. Fall on your knees in gratefulness. Better yet, fall into My arms. This was My desire all along.