Lisa Great

Discernment is a mark of maturity, for discernment is developed over years of being corrected and directed. If we do not like correction, we will never have discernment. Wisdom comes not from doing everything right, but learning from what we did wrong, what didn’t work and mistakes others made.

Immaturity is rampant and celebrated in our culture. This is not a world issue, it is an American issue. When we cease to discipline our children, when we do not address issues in our churches, when we don’t fire people from our companies, we allow immaturity to rule.

Children decide what parents get to do or not do; waitresses get to wear whatever they want to work. In our desire to accommodate, we have allowed immaturity to dominate. Immaturity does not have discernment; immaturity cannot lead with courage, speak with authority or govern with integrity.

Jesus gave gifts to the church, of which we call it the 5-fold ministry, in order to mature the body of Christ. Not for titles, professional postitions, paychecks or parsonages. He gave these gifts to the church to train, equip, deploy and mature the body of Christ. The goal of these gifts is to bring us to maturity, at least that is what Paul said in Ephesians 4.

With the restoration of the apostolic to the church, we are going to see a restoration of maturity to the body of Christ. Apostles see what is out of order and bring order. Not control, order. Order for the sake of maturity and safety for the people of God.

Proverbs 13 says, “It is pleasant to see plans develop. That is why fools refuse to give them up even when they are wrong.” The demarcation between the wise and foolish will be evident as apostolic houses arise. Places where people can mature in their walk with God, so they can be sent into the marketplace and their Sunday services to be a blessing not a burden.

God is raising up the apostolic not for title, but for function, so we can mature together and learn to discern what is actually being, said, done or propagated in any arena we find ourselves. Church is people and we as people need the apostolic to mature. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Did you know time is a test? To be tested in scripture is not to shame you, but to prove you. When we take a test in school we are either deemed smart or stupid. But tests in the word of God are to show you where you are in light of where you were. Tests were never meant to grade you, but to prove to you God is at work in you.

The time test is to prove truth and expose lies. Proverbs 12 says “Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed. Deceit fills hearts that are plotting for evil; joy fills hearts that are planning for good!” The time test is a hard one to take, because lies rise so quickly, are spoken so bodly and people tend to believe them immediately.

Truth is solid, stable, sturdy, so it can stand in storms, wait to be proven true and is not shaken when confronted. Truth is authentic, it does not need to remember what it said for it says the same things over and over again. Truth is where we stand in order to trust, be trusted and be found trustworthy. Truth and trust are wonder twin powers.

Lies bend, twist, misrepresent, deceive, distort the truth. If there was no truth there would not be a lie for a lie is counterfeit truth. That is why a lie has a sliver of truth in it, just enough to hook you into believing it.

Proverbs 12 continues by saying, “Deceit fills hearts that are plotting for evil; joy fills hearts that are planning for good!” Liars are plotting, truth is planning. Lies are evil, truth is joy. We are called to be people who know the truth, hear the truth, listen to the truth, for Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).

I pray you would be a pursuer of truth for truth is where joy is found. Truth is where freedom is found. Truth is where Jesus is found. May we seek and keep on seeking until we find the truth. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

This mornings walk with the dog began with a step into a gentle mist falling from the sky. Enough water to sprinkle my jacket, which was not needed as the temperature was more than pleasant. The sun was rising but clouds kept it dim enough to add ambience to this gentle mist.

The lighter the mornings become the more neighbors I am seeing and meeting as they walk their dogs. The silence is so sacred none of us want to say a word, so we wave, nod or gently say good morning. There is a sense of safety, peace and security I cannot describe.

Hunter and I turned the corner and I heard a sound of what I thought was hooing. I look up in the trees to see where the owl may be, but what I saw was a dove and immediately I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “Do not mistake the sound of hooing for cooing.” What I thought was the hooing of an owl, was actually the cooing of a dove.

Song of Solomon 2, “Now is the time, my beautiful one. The season has changed, the bondage of your barren winter has ended, and the season of hiding is over and gone. The rains have soaked the earth and left it bright with blossoming flowers. The season for singing and pruning the vines has arrived. I HEAR THE COOING OF DOVES IN OUR LAND, filling the air with songs to awaken you and guide you forth. Can you not discern this new day of destiny breaking forth around you? The early signs of my purposes and plans are bursting forth.”

I sense this word is for us as people who know the season has changed, but we are still waiting for it to manifest. We must discern what we hear. The old season was full of the hooing of owls, warnings, but this season is one of the cooing of doves. We must discern the new sound for the new day.

We cannot bring the old into the new. Mark 2:22 says, “Who would pour new wine into an old wine-skin? Eventually the wine will ferment and make the wineskin burst, losing everything—the wine will be spilled and the wineskin ruined. Instead, new wine is always poured into new wineskins.” We must discern what season we are in, for I hear the sound of the cooing of dove, not the hooing of owls. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

I was in prayer this morning and the Lord spoke these words “They can go low (humility) and go in or they can remain high (pride) and miss out.” It was not an inditement, it was an invitation I heard as I was praying.

We have a choice to make, will we humble ourselves in order to go into what God has prepared for this season that is upon us; will we obey what He is telling us to do, even though the call is to go low? The invitation is to go low, humble yourself, it is the only way in to what God has prepared for you.

Or will we remain standing, high in our opinions, thoughts, ways of doing things. Pride says I did nothing wrong, pride wants them to come to us, pride wants to it my way, but pride is keeping you out of what God has for you. The season we are in demands we go low to go in, not remain high.

Matthew 23:12 says, “Those who think themselves great shall be disappointed and humbled; and those who humble themselves shall be exalted.”

We can feel right, justified, confident in our pride, but we are also blinded by that very pride because we do not see that we are standing outside of what God is inviting us into. Pride is deceptive, it makes us feel like we are getting our way, while we are missing God’s way.

God is inviting us to go low, so we can come in to what He is doing. If we want to remain standing, we will stand on the sidelines of what He is doing, because we were not willing to humble ourselves before God in obedience with others who have entered in.

Don’t miss this opportunity to come into what God is doing, because of pride which is a temporary feeling of being right, but in the end was the wrong decision. The invitation is to come in. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

The Bible is filled with threads, some of which are more obvious than others. Bible scholars can trace the thread of the Messiah from Genesis to Revelation. We can trace the thread of wisdom throughout the book of Proverbs. We can see the thread of love in the gospel of John. Threads are themes we can find in the scriptures, which highlights to us subjects the Lord wants us to be aware of.

Reading Daniel 6 today highlighted a thread I have read from Genesis to Revelation, but does not get addressed much in church. Daniel 6 says, “Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other presidents and governors, for he had great ability, and the king began to think of placing him over the entire empire as his administrative officer. This made the other presidents and governors very jealous, and they began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs so that they could complain to the king about him. But they couldn’t find anything to criticize! He was faithful and honest and made no mistakes.”

Jealousy is a thread in scripture from Genesis with Cain and Abel; to 1 Samuel with Saul and David; into the gospels with the disciples asking who is the greatest, and who gets to sit on the right and left hand of Christ in HIs kingdom. To see jealousy in Daniel 6 was new to me, for I am so focused on the lion’s den story, but today, it was a study in jealousy.

Rabinnically jealousy is said to work in three stages: 1. Comparison; 2. Accusation; 3. Control. The jealousy noted in Daniel was triggered by his elevation, because he had a spirit of excellence. The rabbi’s say, jealousy does not attack weakness, it attacks excellence. One final word from the rabbi’s is that jealousy is a soul destroyer to the one who is jealous.

Jealousy needs to be addressed in the church for it is hidden in the hearts of more people than many realize. It manifests in a religious spirit, it divides people, and it launches false accusations. I can see this spirit of jealousy in operation and the Lord is wanting us to address it in our own hearts, for it is destroying our souls. Jealousy is an enemy not a friend and we must evict this enemy from our lives. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

I am noticing something on social media that is concerning to me among Christians. Every time social media puts something out there people jump on the bandwagon.

From Ukrainian strong frames around their profile pictures to commenting on memes, tweets or comments made by people they have never met. Then there is fun things Iike ice bucket challenges or charicatures.

None of it is wrong, but my concern is, people follow so quickly without even given much thought to it. Hear me out for just one minute. If we thought back through all the trends we followed in just the past six weeks of this new year we would be shocked.

Media, whether mainstream or social is leading us and we are following without much thought. Some of it is for fun, but most of it is inciting a reaction, a very quick reaction; an opinion, a very strong opinion about so many things.

What it is revealing to me, is what people are following. Jesus said, “Follow Me!” He also said, “If you want to be my disciple leave it behind and follow Me.” The name Christian means Christ follower, not social media or mainstream media or political party or denominational follower.

I am hearing in the spirit, where are the Joshua 5 people. “As Joshua was sizing up the city of Jericho, a man appeared nearby with a drawn sword. Joshua strode over to him and demanded, Are you friend or foe? I am the Commander-in-Chief of the Lord’s army,” he replied. Joshua fell to the ground before him and worshiped him and said, Give me your commands. Take off your shoes, the Commander told him, for this is holy ground.” And Joshua did.” Where are those who are taking off their shoes instead of always needing to share their two cents about the latest trend? We are at the door, and no shoes are required. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Today I do not have a word for you from the Word, but I do want to stop and say thank you. Thank you for reading what the Lord reveals to me on a daily basis. Thank you for commenting on what I write. Thank you for encouraging me to continue with your comments. Thank you for challenging what I am sharing, for it sharpens me, grows me and matures me in how I communicate. Thank you.

I am not trying to be the only voice, nor am I trying to be right. I am seeking to share what I am hearing, one piece of a very large puzzle. I pray that as you read what God writes through me, it becomes and echo, another piece of the puzzle, a thought to consider, not an opinion to align with.

I am so thankful for the ability to have a place like this to pour out what is being poured into me. I have people on here I have never met, but love their heart. Janet Hilton in Florida is so funny and yet understands the things of God. Melissa DiPetrio knows me from Kansas City and comments almost daily on what I write. I am so grateful for these women of the word and wisdom.

Friends from Malaysia, South Africa, Nigeria, and Canada, all add value to what God is saying through this platform and I am so very thankful for your friendship. And to all my fellow Americans, the Lord is not done with our nation and I am so thankful for each of you that are adding value to this nation through your prayers, decrees, prophetic acts and words written not his platform. Thank you, for I am blessed by what I read from you.

I just wanted to say thank you today, for you reading, your responding, and you writing make this daily blog a joy for me to write. And to those who read but no one knows, I hear you and I am thankful for you. I love you friends, have a great weekend. Until tomorrow, thank you!!! Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Words are seeds and you are the soil. The words you read, the words you hear are seeding you and they will be a harvest one day. Some seeds are weeds and some seeds are wheat, but all words are seeds.

We read seed headlines everyday and then we speak what we read and seed others with our words. Now I understand we have four soils in us and not all words (seeds) fall on the soft soil that produce a harvest some fall on the path, some on the rocky ground, some on shallow places. (Matthew 13)

What if the headlines we read seeded us with truth that not just set us free, but once we were free we never went back into slavery again? What if Psalm 65 was your headline for today?

“He quiets the raging oceans and all the world’s clamor. In the farthest corners of the earth the glorious acts of God shall startle everyone. The dawn and sunset shout for joy! He waters the earth to make it fertile. The rivers of God will not run dry! He prepares the earth for his people and sends them rich harvests of grain. He waters the furrows with abundant rain. Showers soften the earth, melting the clods and causing seeds to sprout across the land. Then he crowns it all with green, lush pastures in the wilderness; hillsides blossom with joy. The pastures are filled with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. All the world shouts with joy and sings.”

If this is the headline you were seeded with, how can you not have hope? How can you not jump for joy? How can you not rejoice? This is the headline the kingdom of God has on the front page of the kingdom news. Creation is rejoicing, but we are not sure it is true. Why? Because we have been seeded by other headlines. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Does darkness get darker and light actually get brighter? Or is it possible that exposure reveals darkness and so in our minds it is getting darker? Light then in our words gets brighter as the great awakening crests or revival breaks out. But what if nothing is getting darker or lighter, what if they are being revealed not increasing?

In Mark 5, Jesus encounters a demon possessed man and it says, “Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”

This man cried out and cut himself, but when Jesus came to Him, he cried out with a loud voice. Volume does not mean an increase in darkness, it actually reveals the exposure of it for the sake of its eviction.

When it seems like the darkness is getting darker, it is not, it is actually only being exposed in order to be disposed. The increase in volume, the increase in attention, the increase in information about what the darkness has been doing is not the darkness getting darker. Darkness has been and always will be dark, it is not increasing it is just being exposed.

With some dark secrets being exposed in our reality right now, it is revealing the exposure in order for the eviction. This is nothing to fear, the enemy has not gained authority. Never forget, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not comprehend it.” (1 John 1:5).

Just like the demon possessed man in Mark 5, when Jesus, the Light, shows up, the darkness is exposed and they know they are caught, they are afraid, that is why the demon possessed man fell down at the feet of Jesus. Darkness is bowing, light is rising. Be encouraged, we have nothing to fear. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Have you ever had a song come on the radio, been at a concert, or stood in church singing along to a song with gusto, passion, volume and then there comes a moment when you forget one line of the song? I have done this so many times. Do we go silent; do we make up words; what do we do?

I have two friends who are words/lyrics geniuses. They know every word to so many songs. These two women I cannot sing any song next to, because if I get one line wrong, one word off, they will know it. So, when I am singing with all my heart in the car on a road trip or in church to a worship song, these two are my accountability partners. (Thank you Misty and Brenda)

I was reading Revelation 5 this morning and it says, “They were singing him a new song with these words: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it; for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God. And you have gathered them into a kingdom and made them priests of our God; they shall reign upon the earth.’”

We as believers know this song. We know Jesus is the One True God who was slain for the sins of the world; we believe we have been bought with a price; we realize we have been gathered into a kingdom; we understand we are priests unto our God; all these things we are told week after week in church, we know the lyrics to this song.

Yet there is one line we do not sing, we tend to leave off in the song, “They shall reign upon the earth.” Have you ever wondered why this line in the song is not sung in churches, taught in pulpits, or equipped to be in conferences? It is because we have changed the lyrics to the song.

We sing we will be raptured out of here, the earth is getting more wicked, hibernate, hide, hang on until Jesus comes again. But those are not the lyrics to the song. John is our accountability partner to get the lyrics right. “They shall reign upon the earth.” Those are the right lyrics to the song we are all singing and God is saying, it is time to get the lyrics right, for the new song of the Lamb is not escape from earth but reign on earth. Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org