Month: September 2022

Reading the Bible is so enlightening. The word of God is THE TRUTH, so when you read it the lies of men are revealed. It can be challenging, because you want to believe people did not maliciously lie to you, so they must have read what they said somewhere, but when it is plain as day, it is hard to deny what is being said. It is no wonder James 3:1 said, “Not all of us should presume to be teachers, for we will be judged more strictly.” This verse alone will put the fear of the Lord in you and make you want to make sure you are not leading people astray by what you say.

We are on day 89 of our Host 90 bible reading together as a church. Today we are invited to read Revelation 21. I read verses 9-11 and realize, the church is not the bride of Christ, Jerusalem, Israel is. “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.” This truth triggers many scriptures that support this. Where did we get the idea that the church is the bride of Christ?

I realize we as Gentiles have been grafted in to Israel, so that is a loose connection, but honestly, the Bible is about Israel and the Jews first, we as Gentiles are grafted in and I am honored, but I can’t make this Bible about me, about us Gentiles and think I am going to win the “Jews to Jesus.” Israel will see Yeshua as their Messiah when we as the church make this book about them again. On that same note, I was thinking about the temple they are building and the red heifer that has now been born. God has a history of tearing down, what He never wanted built, so we should not freak out, but rather learn from them and not build our own “temples” of which God never asked for. The only temple God is building is people, who are the temple of God.

Reception or rejection of Jesus the Christ is not a one time event, rather it is a continual choice. Salvation has become a one time prayer you pray, not a daily relationship you have with the Savior. We are continually recieving or rejecting Jesus, whether we know we are doing it or not. One of the themes of scripture is that of obedience to the voice of God, yet the number one question Pastors receive from Chrisitians is, how do I hear the voice of God or how do I know it is God speaking? You can’t obey what you can’t hear and you can’t hear who you don’t really know.

Revival is not more church services, longer meetings, special speakers, or certain weeks of a year. Revival is about coming to life again. When you revive someone, it means to bring them back to life. Revival is you were once alive, but not you are dead, but I want you to live again. We need revival, but not so we can go to church more or longer, but because we have people who have said a prayer but are not living for God. It is not hard to persuade someone to say a prayer, but it takes time to teach someone how to live for God, hear God, obey God.

Jesus called 12 men saying, “Come follow Me!” Their first decision was to receive the invitation to come follow, but they daily had to choose to keep following. Did they get it right all the time, absolutely not, but they never stopped following. They had fear when a storm arose while in a boat; they questioned when told to cast their net on the other side; they didn’t understand when a woman poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet; and they did not comprehend the idea of forgiving 70 times 7. But they kept following, they kept listening, they kept learning and they were the ones Jesus said to, “And upon this rock I am going to build My ekklesia and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18).

The question you have to ask yourself is, am I following Jesus? Not did I say a prayer, am I going to heaven? Are you, are you following Jesus? The answer to this question will be seen in what you do and what you say. It’s not about saying a prayer, it is about following the Man who rose from the dead!

We have entered a time of justice! For the wicked this is bad news for their days of terrorizing nations is over and the days of righteousness is upon us. The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in love, so there has been many opportunities to repent over the years, but when repentance is refused, justice is revealed. Daniel 4 says, the king of Babylon was given a dream of a tree and if no repentance happened it would be cut down. Verse 29-31 says, “Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you.” We are at this point for Babylon.

Jesus shared a similar story in parable form to the story in Daniel 4 when in Luke 13 He says, “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.” Jesus was speaking to the Jewish leaders, while Daniel was speaking to a Babylonian leader. The stories are parallel, so it confirms there is a time when it must be cut down.

How do we know this is the time we are in? Isaiah 28 helps us with that answer, for it says, “In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.” In what day? The beginning of Isaiah tells us in the day of a major storm. We are in that day right now, both in the natural with Ian and with the storm of truth that is about to be released on the earth that will set people free. My friends, the storm is upon us! This is really good news for the nations, because Fallen, Fallen, Babylon has fallen!

The Holy Spirit gave me an unexpected and yet delightful treat this morning when He said, “I want you to pray Isaiah 14 today.” I had no idea what to expect, it was not a chapter I am familiar with, but I grabbed my bible, went out on the patio and began to pray the words of Isaiah. All I can say is that my heart is rejoicing in what God is doing. It is not my opinion, my desire, it is not about me at all, this is what God is doing, this is what God is saying. Oh my friends, He is on our side and He is doing a work we do not even have the capacity to understand in its fullness, but glimpses of it will cause you to weep tears of relief and release shouts of joy.

Here is one of the many things He showed me this morning while praying Isaiah 14. “The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.” (V.5-6)

As I was praying this over the nations this morning, the Lord said to me, “The beatings have ended!” Selah. Tears fell down my face, memories flashed through my mind, and the Lord said again, “The beatings have ended!” Verbal beatings by the voices of the enemy taunting and abusing. Performance beatings, where people have demanded more from you than you could give. Financial beatings where you were made to feel guilty for not giving enough, saving enough, storing enough or having enough. “The beatings have ended!”

God has broken the staff and the scepter of the wicked rulers, the unceasing strokes are ending. The harsh labor, the verbal attacks, the you are not good enough, you will never measure up, this is all ending. Yes there is still residue, but it is ending. The Lord has broke their staff and their scepter. Stand in awe and wonder, I did. I thought about places I used to be in that did this to me and the Lord said, “The beatings have ended.” My friends, the Lord said He broke the staff and the scepter of wicked rulers, now watch for the manifestation of their end. So much good news happening and coming, we are going to smile so much our face will hurt in a good way.

Tishri 1, the first day of the Hebrew New Year 5783. Today begins the first of ten days of awe. For the religious Jews it is a time of repentance in preparation for Yom Kippur the day of atonement, but for Christians and Messianic Jews it is a time to be in awe and wonder of who God is and what Jesus the Christ did on the Cross at Calvary when He shed His blood once and for all for the forgiveness of our sins. I am not sure what these next 10 days will hold for the world, but we may look back on them in true awe that makes us wonder.

Yesterday Italy elected their first female Prime Minister and she is a strong conservative. This will be 10 days of eyes wide open on the world to see how God is moving in the nations. Keep your ears open to the Lord by reading your Bible, keep your eyes open to the news now and then for the big headlines and watch how God is about to shift nations.

It has already begun with the past two weeks experiencing 12 major earthquakes around the globe. The seismic activity is evidence, of a seismic shift taking place. Then this morning before I woke up I saw the number 61 and then it inverted to 16, so it was 6116. I first looked up Psalm 61:16, no such verse, then I went to Isaiah 61:16 again, no such verse, so I look up Strongs number 6116, bingo. 6116 in Strongs Concordance means assembly or solemn assembly and it is connected to the 8th day of the Feast of Tabernacles. This number 6116 is tied to Nehemiah 8:18 “Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God on each of the seven days of the festival. Then on the eighth day they held a solemn assembly, as was required by law.”

The Feast of Tabernacles starts on Tishri 15, which is October 9-16, then the Eighth Day Assembly is Tishri 22, October 17. Again, I am not sure what will happen during these high holy days for Israel, but what I do know is we are a Judeo Christian nation as the United States, so I watch and listen to both the Hebrew and Gregorian calendar and listen carefully to the voice of the Holy Spirit, for He leads us into all truth. My friends, it is a great time to be alive. Happy New Year!

It can be challenging to know what to believe when so many people are talking. The main stream media is saying one thing, the prophets are saying one thing, the politicians are saying one thing, the pulpits are saying one thing, the many voices are saying many things. In an Information Age, with social media, the World Wide Web, the news is abundant. So many words, makes one wonder what is God saying in the midst of all the noise.

While reading my Bible this morning I heard the Lord say clear as day, “Let God be true and every man a liar!” I knew it had to be a scripture for that is how God speaks to me through and with His word. Sure enough, Romans 3:4 says, “Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, “You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in court.”

In the midst of all the voices, all the choices of who to believe, one voice will prevail, one sound will be heard around the world, one Name will be exalted not only in heaven but here on earth; not only in the future, but in the now. YAHWEH and His son YESHUA along with the RUACH HACHODESH (the Holy Spirit) this voice will be heard loud and clear. We will not wonder who to believe, for this voice is going to pierce the darkness, cut through the clutter, triumph over all the other voices and what He says will be what happens.

Isaiah 18:3 says, “All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth,

As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it, And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.” When God speaks, we are all going to hear it. The trumpet (shofar) will sound and we will hear the voice of God declare what He has said and we all with know it was God. It won’t be long now!

A couple weeks ago the Lord spoke to me and said, “Eat the scroll of Isaiah.” I knew that meant to read, listen, meditate on the words of this prophet for they are for such a time as this. Everyday I slowly read through, pray about and journal thoughts based on what the Lord is saying to me in this prophets scroll. It is the very scroll Jesus quoted from in Luke 4 after coming out of the wilderness, and is quoted more in the New Testament than I realized until I started eating this scroll.

Everyday I could find something to share with you all about how Isaiah is speaking into now time. He speaks of the fall of Babylon, the redemption of a remnant, the restoration of a nation, the destruction of the spirit of the enemy. It is a powerful scroll filled with prophecies for many nations and just like other prophecies there is a word for then, for now and for the future as the word of God is eternal.

Today, I read Isaiah 29 and verse 5 was highlighted to me as a now word for us. “Moreover the multitude of your foes Shall be like fine dust, And the multitude of the terrible ones Like chaff that passes away; Yes, it shall be in an instant, suddenly.” We have heard prophetic words that it is harvest season, the end of an age, and all of these words align with what Isaiah is saying, for Jesus said the harvest is the end of age when the wheat and the chaff are separated. He didn’t say the end of time, but the end of the age, or a specific time. There are many ages and we are at the end of one.

The other reason I sensed this is for now time is because we hear a lot about corruption, but see very little justice. This is about to change. The Lord is saying, our foes, the foes of our nation, and the multitude of terrible ones will pass away like chaff in an instant. God does not wink at injustice, He does not tolerate wickedness and in this time of harvest he is dealing swiftly and suddenly with the chaff. Fear not, justice is here, and a new era has begun!

I was with three incredible women yesterday and hearing their history, seeing their redemption, and celebrating their victories was delightful on a level that is hard to put into words. With this fresh on my mind this morning I was reading Isaiah 19:19-20 and praise shot out of my mouth, because the same God who rescued Israel, rescued me, rescued you. Listen to how Isaiah says it…”In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD near its border. It will become a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them.”

One of the ways we remain lovers of God and lovers of people is by never forgetting that altar the Lord opened our eyes to while we were living far from God in Egypt. If we never forget where we came from, who rescued us and who put that altar in our land of unbelief, we will always be grateful to God and for people. Where you lived in Egypt may be different than me or it may have been in the same neighborhood. But nonetheless, we made it to the altar in that land and we cried out to the Lord and He came as a Savior, as a Champion and He delivered us. It is so important we don’t forget where we came from as we move further into where we are going.

One final thought this morning, that altar in Egypt is still there as a sign and a witness. People we love may not have found it yet, but just like we did, they will. It is an altar where lives have to be laid down, that is why many see it but don’t lay their lives down on it. But take heart, the same God that woo’d us to lay our lives down and let Him rescue us will do the same for them. We must remember where we came from because now we are the sign and the witness that will draw them to that altar.

There has been much talk about shaking. Financial systems are going to shake; the earth is shaking, another large earthquake rocked Mexico, that is two in a week; the political system is shaking; the religious system is shaking; there is a whole lot of shaking going on. But what is the shaking for? If you only hear about a shaking, see a shaking, but don’t know the why behind the what, then it will creates fear. However, if you know what the shaking is for, you can rejoice, be at peace and watch the salvation of the Lord. People do us a disservice if they prophecy a shaking but don’t give us the redemptive purpose of it.

This morning the Lord prompted me to read the book of Haggai. It is only two chapters, so it is an easy read and very encouraging. Haggai is the prophet who works with the governor, high priest and the king of Judah to get the people moving on the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Now we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so it is not about a building but a body, yet the same truths apply. God has been and continues to rebuild His body, so the harvest of souls can be added to a healthy body of Christ. It’s been tough, but we are being built and it is exciting.

Back to the shaking, listen to what Haggai the prophet says about the reason behind the shaking that we are experiencing and will see intensify. “For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the LORD of hosts. ‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give peace,’ declares the LORD of hosts.” Did you hear that the shaking is bringing the resources and the glory. Now that is why we rejoice that things are shaking.

In prayer this morning I was thinking about the month we are in the Hebrew Calendar calls it the month of Elul, it is the month that they say, The KIng Is In The Field. Each of their months have a meaning or promise connected to them, similar to our month of September being the 9th month many calling it a birthing month. As I was thinking about this month drawing to a close and the new Hebrew Year beginning on Saturday at sundown and then Feast of Trumpets beginning on Sunday at sundown, the veil was thin as I began to press into the Lord. As I was lingering in the thin place with the King of kings, who is in the field, the Holy Spirit spoke to me the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16.

Acts 16:23-26 says, “When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.”

We as nations have gone through some really hard times, from the virus of 2020 to the challenges in Ukraine, then add inflation, supply shoratages and personal challenges it can be a lot. No we are not physically going through what Paul and Silas went through, but it has been a very challenging season. Yet many still lift their voice in worship, they still sing, they still pray, they are still standing, waiting for the God of the breakthrough to come into the nations.

Friends, I think we are about to experience a suddenly this weekend. As we worship, as we lift our voice, I know it is a midnight time, but as we pray this weekend corporately, as we worship together, as we release the sound of the shofar, I sense a suddenly is going to happen. What? I am not sure, but God is a deliverer and He knows the nations need His deliverance. My hands will be lifted high, my voice will be raised to the sky, and my eyes will be on Him the lover of my soul.