Month: July 2016

Summer of Shaking

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Turn on your television, go to the mall, meet a friend for coffee, go to church, everywhere, everyone is aware this summer has been and continues to be a summer of shaking. Someone will let you know about the latest attack, whether in Kabul, Afghanistan, Baton Rogue, LA, Dallas, TX or Munich Germany. The attacks are seemingly more often, more publicized and more unexpected. Shopping malls, peaceful protest rallies, random traffic stops, you name it, something unexpected is happening in the least expected places. If the shootings were not enough, we have weather patterns bringing intense heat which is producing wildfires, droughts and evacuations. Let us not forget the mosquito’s and the many exposures of people who have been involved in corruption being brought to justice and not being brought to justice. This is a summer of shaking, can we agree on that?

Most would say, yes this summer has been shaking, and many are trying to explain what the shaking is for, what brought on the shaking and what is God doing with the shaking. Depending on your biblical worldview, the shaking could be the judgment of God on the nations; it could be the consequences for our sin; it could be the days of Noah, which usher in the second coming of Christ; or it could be something else. I would like to present to you a potential something else thought as to what has brought about this summer’s shaking. I, in no way am saying this is the final word on the subject, but I do believe it is a word on the subject of this summer’s shaking.

Last week I was reading through the book of Nehemiah and I stopped at a friend’s house for our children to play, while there I shared with her this revelation and she added insight to it, which confirmed to me, what I was sensing was more accurate than I first thought. So, here is what I think the summer of shaking is possibly about.

In the book of Nehemiah, we see that Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king and he got word about the condition of Jerusalem, so he asked the king for permission to leave his post as cupbearer and go to Jerusalem. Nehemiah’s request was granted and resources were sent from the king and his kingdom to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and repair its broken down gates. My first thought is that Jesus, the cupbearer to the King, our Father, has gone to His Father, by making intercession for us and the kingdom of God has released resources for the rebuilding of the walls and gates around nations. I believe the shaking we are experiencing this summer is because heaven has heard earth’s cry for help.

Once the kingdom Nehemiah worked for, agreed to resource the project to rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah and the people began to rebuild the walls and repair the gates. Not long after they started this project, Sanballat and Tobiah, began to mock, ridicule and sought to dissuade them from rebuilding, but Nehemiah and the team could not be persuaded otherwise. My second thought is, Dutch Sheets and the Appeal to Heaven team, along with Lou Engle and the Azusa Now team and the many Pastors and leaders who met in Washington, DC for the Call prayer rally, have been the ones, along with intercessors worldwide and prophetic voices like Lana Vawser, Cindy Jacobs, Doug Addison, Kris Vallaton, and many others who are not known to the public have kept building with their words, despite the enemies mocking and ridiculing.

Finally, Nehemiah 4:7-8 it says, “Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.” I believe this is why we are having a summer of shaking, because we have been rebuilding the walls of protection around our nation and nations of the world. This rebuilding we have been doing in prayer and prophesying, has made the enemy very angry, because heaven has sent resources to help us build. I believe what we are seeing around us is evidence of the walls we are rebuilding and the gates we are repairing.

The final scene before the wall is built and the gates are repaired according to the book of Nehemiah is a company of people who can pray, prophesy (build) and can wield the sword (word warriors). I believe the word warriors are being released for the finishing of the rebuilding of the walls of protection around our nation and other nations of the world. The enemy is increasing his attacks, because he sees how much progress we have made on the walls and the gates. Jesus is our cupbearer, He drank the wine of the wrath of God, so we could be redeemed, revived and renewed. Keep praying, keep prophesying, keep speaking life, the evidence of an enemy in the summer of shaking is proof we are near completing the rebuilding of the walls and gates around our nation.

Stronghold or Strong Tower

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Stronghold or Strong Tower? 7.19.16
As I have been in prayer for America, Europe, Turkey and the world, I have been praying that the Lord of the harvest, would sending workers out into His harvest field (Matthew 9:38) and the Lord spoke to me saying, “Word Warriors are arising”. He said “they have Matthew 28:18 authority; they have put on the Ephesians 6:10-18 armor; and they have been given the assignment to move people from strongholds to the strong tower”. As I meditated on these people that God was raising up, their preparation clear and their assignment was succinct. One of the things about God is He never goes outside His word, but His word is very deep and wide, filled with mysteries many have not seen yet. So, when he speaks something that I think I know about all ready, I don’t assume what He means, but I study what He said. This is what I learned about the assignment of these people. 
The war we are in is a war of ideologies as our President says, but what the President has not said, is that we are in a spiritual war, that is why all our human reasoning, political rhetoric and natural means are not working against this enemy. This war, that the nations are engaged in, is a spiritual war, it will take spiritual weapons and the leader of this war is not the President, but the church. That is why God is raising up Word Warriors, for truly our battle is not against flesh and blood, even though it is manifesting in a physical battle, our battle is for people’s mindsets, belief systems, and thought patterns.  
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”
So, when the Lord told me the assignment for the word warriors is move people from strongholds to the strong tower, I knew we were in a battle for people’s beliefs. The challenge is, a stronghold and the strong tower can feel the same, but the results are very different. In both places you can feel safe, hidden, comfortable, but the results of a stronghold are death, destruction, loss, pain, and soul sickness. While the results of the strong tower is safety, love, joy, peace, prosperity of soul, body and bank account. So, what is a stronghold…
Stronghold: an area where most people have the same beliefs, values, etc. : an area dominated by a particular group (Merriam Webster)
Strongholds are belief systems we hold to that don’t bring about our desired results and actually manifest in a form of destructive behavior. Like attracts like, so when we find others with the same stronghold as us, we are attracted to them and then it strengthens our stronghold or belief system about and issue, idea or experience. When others are living in the same stronghold as us, it can be very difficult to see that we are in a stronghold and not the strong tower. Remember, I am talking about Christians, not those who do not profess this faith. Christians are living in strongholds and they don’t realize it, but the bible says, we will know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:16) and out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). 
So, God in His mercy is sending word warriors into every street and corner, so that He can rescue us from the stronghold and bring us into the strong tower. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe” and Psalm 61:3 says, “Indeed, you are my shelter, a strong tower that protects me from the enemy”. God is releasing word warriors to change the way you think so He can move you from the stronghold to the strong tower. When you make this move, you will see the results change. If we do nothing different, nothing will change, but if you change the culture, you can change the results. God wants to move you from your stronghold to the strong tower, but you must be open to the new wine that He is pouring out in this hour and the new wine skins He is sending to you, for you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free (John 8:32).

Training or Entertaining 

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Being a parent is the most rewarding and challenging thing a person can ever do. With no manual on this child, one is left to navigate through principles how to discipline, love, bless, encourage and correct this child in a way that is most effective for them. For parents that have more than one child, this becomes even more challenging, because this child is now multiplied by two, three, four and sometimes even more. In a culture of counseling, it can be even more difficult to raise a child, because we are being given all these psychological thoughts about what we are doing or not doing to our child’s self-esteem. The struggle of parenting is real.Being a youth pastor for 25 years, I watched a lot of different parenting styles, growing up in a single parent home, I saw a unique parenting style and now being a mom, I am doing a parenting style. Like many of you, I fail daily, I seek counsel from other friends and family members and as a Christian, I am scouring the Proverbs, Psalms and all of scripture for parenting tips, principles and practical advice. With a myriad of books to buy, it can be challenging to know what is the right way, the most effective way to raise our children. So, what I am about to say, is not a criticism on someone’s parenting style, but rather a simplification and hopefully liberation for parents.

I have had multiple talks with my son about his time watching movies, playing video games or being on his iPad. One of the challenges of parenting today is all the technology that is available to them and at such a young age. My 8-year-old can work an iPhone better than me. But with that said, what I sensed the Lord say this morning to me was, “You are called to train, not entertain your son.” I said, excuse me Lord, can you say that again, He said, “you are called to train, not entertain your son.” Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” I was relieved to the point of embarrassment, as I felt like, part of training was entertaining. If he did not know what to do, it was my responsibility to find him something to do. But, God said, “you are called to train, not entertain your son.” Hallelujah!

Now I know I could be the only one that needed to hear this from the Lord, but I felt the desire to share it anyway, as it is so liberating for me. My job is to train up my child, not entertain my child. Yes, part of training will include entertaining, but I have sensed in our culture that we are supposed to be entertaining our children. This may be just me, since I only have one child, but if it is not just me, I wanted to encourage you with this word from the Lord, you are called to train your child, not entertain your child. So, with that being said, I believe it is time we ask ourselves our we training or entertaining our children? The answer to this question will either confirm or course correct you, because God said, “you are called to train, not entertain your child.”

Tongues of Fire

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Everything that has come down, was put within us, now what we are waiting for, is it to come out of us.

Jesus instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem, until they were endued with fire, Acts 1:8 says it this way, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, AND you shall be my witnesses…” What came down was the Holy Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire, those tongues of fire are in our mouth, they are not coming down again. Jesus said in John 16:7, “”But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” Just as the dove came down and rested on Jesus at His baptism in Matthew 3:16, the same Holy Spirit came and rested upon people in the upper room in Acts 2, but in the form of tongues of fire.

Many people are looking up, waiting for something to come down. We pray out of Matthew 6, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as though it is something outside of us. We are looking up for God to send something down, but the Lord is looking down, waiting for something to come out…of us. I wonder if the reason we are not seeing a breakthrough, is not because something has not come down, but rather because something has not come out. In the past season we would sing, Holy Spirit Rain Down, but I believe the song of this season is Spirit Break Out, break our walls down. Christ in you, Christ in me, is the hope of glory! He must come out of us.

While I was in worship on Sunday night at Bethel Church in Redding, CA, the spirit of God spoke to me and said, “You have been given tongues of fire, your words light up the nations!” The Lord has given us tongues of fire and in the midst of darkness our words of life bring light and truth to build up the nations not tear them down. The very next thing I saw was choirs of nations, singing, Great Are You Lord, it was a picture of whole nations lifting up their voices in one song to the Lord. I was calling to the various nations, to join in the song of the Lord.

Isaiah 60:1-3 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has broken through!

The Eternal One’s brilliance has dawned upon you.

2 See truly; look carefully—darkness blankets the earth;

people all over are cloaked in darkness.

But God will rise and shine on you;

the Eternal’s bright glory will shine on you, a light for all to see.

3 Nations north and south, peoples east and west, will be drawn to your light,

will find purpose and direction by your light.

In the radiance of your rising, you will enlighten the leaders of nations. (the Voice translation)

I believe now more than ever before, we have a mandate from heaven to let our tongues of fire out, so the nations can sing Great Are You Lord. As we speak life, we light up people’s lives, we light up nations with hope, peace and joy, we bring healing through the fire of our words of life. We have been given tongues of fire, in the past many have used their tongues to burn up what they deemed wrong, but today, we are being commissioned to use our tongues of fire to light up the nations with the light of the life that comes out of our mouths. You have tongues of fire, light up the nations!

Baton Rogue, Minneapolis, Dallas, Orlando, San Bernadino, Paris, Brussels, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the World

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July 8, 2016
Everyone is going to have a different response to what is happening in our world, and as I prayed for the nation I love and the world I love, this is what came out of my heart for our nation and the nations of the world. Oh that we would “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and love our neighbor as ourself.” For my prayer is that “you may prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers.” Because “it’s His kindness that leads us to repentance”, and we need “His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.” For with “the increase of lawlessness the love of many has grown cold,” so “the devil is seeking to steal, kill and destroy, but You are giving us life and life abundantly.” 
My prayer is that, “the eyes of our hearts would be opened, so we could grasp how wide, how, long and deep the love of God is for us.” He said, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard what God has planned for us,” but we know, “the plans you have for us are for good and not for evil, to give us a future and a hope.” 
Therefore, we will remember, “our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, powers, and spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.” We will also remind ourselves that “our weapons are not carnal, but they are mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds.” 
Our response to the earth’s pain will not be blame or shame but a cry for the Lord of heaven and earth, “to forgive us, for we know not what we do” and “to send laborers out into the harvest field for the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” 
“Now may the God of peace, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” and “may the peace of God that passes all understanding” be your portion. “For if God is for us, who can be against us.” “To God be the glory in the church, forever and ever, AMEN.”

The House of God 3.0

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Matthew 21:13/Mark 11:17/Luke 19:46
“And Jesus said to them, It is written, My house shall be called
a house of prayer; but you are making it a robbers den.”
 
In the Old Testament we read of two houses that were built for the Lord, both temples for God. Places of worship, prayer, offerings and fellowship. Both were destroyed and the desire to build a third temple is on the radar of some even at this time in history. But what if the house of God in the New Testament was not a building, but a person? What is the house of prayer Jesus referred to in the gospels was not about some physical location, but rather some person or persons? What if you were created to be a house of prayer, what if I was created to be a house of prayer?
 
Colossians 1:27 says, “God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
 
What if you were the house of God 3.0? The bible says, you are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6:19). But what if you were the house of God that Jesus called a house of prayer? What if you were truly a living a sacrifice holy and acceptable to God as spoken about in Romans 12:1? What if what we have been taught about the house of God being somewhere we go is actually someone we are?
 
One of the new things that God is doing is opening up the windows of revelation and pouring out fresh understanding about His word. Mysteries that many of old longed to peer into we are being invited to seek and find. As the new leaders who are not just anointed but carry authority, begin to appear, many new ways of seeing the scripture will come forth. The truth they are going to bring has always been there, but it was veiled to us in past seasons, but is being revealed to us in this season.
 
Some will reject the fresh revelations that God is presenting, because religion, even charismatic, tongue talking religion does not like to look like they don’t know something. But with great humility, which is godly confidence, and precise wording, which is rightly dividing the word of truth, they will display anointing plus authority with messages and miracles that the world and the church are hungry for. One of those revelations is that you are the house of God, you are a house of prayer, which means you need to ask yourself, have you made God’s house, which is you, a den of robbers? You are the house of God 3.0.