Month: August 2024

Our personal history is the filter through which we perceive realities in now time. Our filter is not conscious, but it is there and it does cause us to view things in a way that may or may not be accurate. When the enemy attacks us he does it through the filter of our personal history. Then the person in our current reality has no clue what happened, but usually neither do we, so we push back in order to emote, evaluate and identify the issue. If we are honest, the issue is our personal history filter, not the current reality person.

I say this because, personally, nationally and internationally, we have had people use their strength against us not for us. Therefore, when strength shows up, our filter screams danger, but the current reality is coming to rescue not harm. Then add being a woman into this and it is challenging, for strong women are not identified as safe in the eyes of many. How do I know, they get labeled a Jezebel, which is not an apt title for a Christian woman, because Jezebel was a Canaanite queen, who married the king of Israel (Ahab) as a political alliance. But, this name gets thrown around if a woman is strong.

Then you flip the strong woman coin and you find this in Proverbs 31:17 “She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.” And verse 25 says, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.” So we want a strong Proverbs 31 woman but we call her a Jezebel, church this should not be. We must deal with our personal history filter, for strong men and strong women are arising and they will not go back into their cave. They are coming out in strength, not to harm you, but to help you, for the Lord is a mighty warrior and they have learned how to love deep, hang on long, and pray, praise and prophesy strong for the sake of your rescue not hurt. Change your filter, so you don’t miss the strength God is sending you in both male and female packaging.

When you have coffee with the man who has a message on identity, it sparks conversations that lead to messages we all need to hear. This morning I was talking to my friend Daron and he was talking about identity. As we talked the Holy dropped in my heart that we as believers are working for the validation at the end of our life that says, “Well done good and faithful servant.” However, Jesus operated from the identity inauguration which says, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

We work for a validation from the Father, Jesus worked from a validation from the Father. We view ourselves as servants, the Father views us as sons and daughters. When we are inaugurated in our identity as a son or daughter, we are then sent forth to work as sons and daughters. We are not trying to earn any validation, for we have already been validated. But how many people are working to be validated, to hear the words, well done good and faithful servant and in doing so they miss the reality that they are already a son or daughter of God.

Daron was telling me a story about a book that rocked his world and a vision he had while reading it. In the vision he saw his own reflection in a bar of gold and the Lord spoke to him and said, “You are gold to me, that is why you can see yourself in this gold bar.” Daron was weeping right there. I then said to him, “There is no reflection that can be seen in a brick, yet we build brick and mortar all the time declaring this is the house of God.” We continued our talk and realized, we are gold that is why we are reflectors of Christ who is in us, the hope of glory.

Friend, you are gold, you are the reflection of Christ on the earth. He has declared over you, “You are my son, you are my daughter, with you I am well pleased.” Now go do the works of the kingdom of God on earth from your identity, not for it, for you are already stamped on the gold bar, daughter, son of God!!!!!

Religion loves the way someone looks, the kingdom knows who someone is. While reading 1 Samuel 16 this morning, the Lord revealed to me the hearts of the characters in this chapter. I knew the story, but today the Lord was showing me the hearts of the people. Saul is the anointed king of Israel; Samuel is the prophet to the king; David is the youngest of eight children.

The first persons heart God showed me was Samuel’s when verse one says, “The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul.” If you know the story of Saul, he is an angry king, who likes to kill people and even Samuel says later on in the chapter, if Saul finds out I am going to Bethlehem, he will kill me. But Samuel loved Saul. Samuel was grieved when Saul was removed from being king, so much so God said, when will you stop grieving as we have a new king to anoint. The Lord showed me Daniel loved a wicked king too. Real prophets who are called to speak to kings, will be lovers of the person, who is king.

David, the youngest of eight sons, does not look the part for king like Saul did, but God says to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” David didn’t look like a king, but he had the heart of a king.

Three men, three hearts. We have lived under the voices of kings who want to kill us, but there have been real prophets who love kings and speak truth in love to kings. Now the kings who have wanted to kill us are being removed by God and though many do not look the part, the kings God is raising up have been vetted not by their outward appearance, but by their heart. God has approved the new leaders for the new season and they have the heart of a king, even though they may not look the part of a king. It is the day of God revealing hearts and anointing new kings.

We have been trained to believe that judgment day is something in the future and something to be feared. However, The Bible is timeless and yet is in time. There are times when judgment has happened in history, like when God judged Egypt or Sodom and Gomorrah. There are judgments coming in the future, when everyone will stand before the white throne judgment. And there are judgments in the present which we are about to experience. The challenge is our narrative is so negative when we think of judgement, but we do not know the heart of God and what judgement is truly all about.

We have entered into a time of Isaiah 2 judgment. It is a much needed judgment, and this judgment is going to gift us in ways we are not even aware of, but so desperately need and desire. The Isaiah 2 judgment is this, “He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” The judge on the throne is the Prince of Peace and the judgments He is rending is ones of reconciliation and restoration, so we no longer fight with each other.

Love is breaking the spirit of war in the hearts of people. We are receiving an exchange of our weapon for a harvesting tool if we will receive it. The throne room of God, the judgement seat of Christ has rendered a verdict that the wars, arguments, battles, must end and we are being gifted with love for one another. The war is in our hearts and manifests in our relationships, but the war has been declared over by the Lord. Doctrinal wars will end, ideological wars will end, political wars will end, financial wars will end. We have lived so guarded for so long, it will take some time to know what love is, but love is winning the war, for God is Love and the Prince of Peace is ending the wars, so we can live together in peace not suspicion, love not war.

Welcome to the Isaiah 2 judgment, which is changing the narrative, the landscape of our hearts and nations.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus was willing to let Judas be one of his disciples, eat at His table, and work in His ministry, but when He went into the temple He turned over the tables of the money changers? Me neither, until today when I am reading Zechariah 14 and it says in verse 21 “There shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.”
As I read this verse this morning the Lord said, “People have valued silver and gold over people as their most valuable assets.” Immediately I heard in my spirit, “But, I value people more than silver and gold.”

I have been driving around this past couple days taking notice of the need in the city around me. As I have been surveying the land, the Lord has been speaking to me about the need for a solution to the spirit of neglect in this city. Businesses are closing, houses are being abandoned, attitudes are flaring, and it did not used to be to this degree before. I was speaking with a friend about it and she was sharing how the city has gone down hill and people are being affected greatly by the inflation, lack of police presence and all around sense of anger rising.

As we started talking about what it would take to help heal this city, we discussed all the resources needed and we began dreaming of neighbors coming together to help repair fences, cut grass, trim bushes and beautify their neighbors yards. We then talked about how often people want silver and gold resources, but how we also need human resources to help people. It was in this context, the Lord spoke and said, “Everyone wants silver and gold for it is considered valuable, but I value people as the most valuable asset on earth.”

Friends, Jesus sat with Judas at His table, but Judas was pursuing silver and gold not Jesus. Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers because He valued people and was fulfilling Zechariah’s prophesy, “There shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.” If you are sensing your table being turned over, it is probably not a table where people are sitting at but it may be a table where trading has become more valuable than people. Jesus is still turning over tables.

This morning at breakfast a friend of mine showed me her phone and it was a news report that Israel was being attacked by 300 drones. We both looked at each other and said not on our watch. As we got in the car to finish our drive to our destination, we prayed for Israel, for people we love, and for each other. The car became an incubator of intercession as we are done with the attacks of the enemy on nations, families, friendships and finances. Oh it was game on in the spirit this morning and we were not going to let the enemy gain any ground.

Now I am sitting in another friends house, no one is home, the silence is enjoyable, and I am reading Zechariah 12 which says, “On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” Immediately I remember the video of those drones attacking Israel, those words attacking people we love and our prayers to deal with these enemies.

The Lord is not fighting against us, the Lord is not seeking to divide us, the Lord is not speaking negatively about us, the Lord is releasing an army of intercessors who are fighting for the redemption of nations, the redemption of families, the redemption of finances and the redemption of relationships. There are certain battles that counseling, confronting and correcting will not help, there are moments like this that a drone attack has been launched and God is about to destroy our enemies, for when God says enough is enough, you better believe everything is about to change and He will recover us all!!!!

The Hebrew people had a mindset of prosperity which was so strong, that if something did not work out the way they thought it should, they turned to the Lord and began to ask what or where the issue was. I am realizing I have tolerated things in my life as just the way it is, rather than saying, why is this not working the way it should? Instead of going to the Lord and asking where the breach in the wall is and then mending the breaching, standing in the gap, it has felt easier to just tolerate it. However, I sense a national, international shift that is saying, no more!

There is a sense in the spirit that people are tired of being robbed of their time, their money, their joy, their relationships, their whatever is valuable to them. It is as though people are seeing the thief for what it is and they are seeing it is not the valuable person in their life, it is the enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy and they are saying no more, not on my watch. It is a corporate sense of a recover all season.

I see an army of Intercessors being deployed in the spirit to take out the thief’s who have been robbing the people of God. They are going to war in the spirit for their marriages, their finances, their families, their friends, their companies, their prophetic promises, their valuable assets that the enemy has marched in and took. No more! This is not individual, this is national, it is international. It is a swell that is building and it will not stop until all is recovered.

Yahweh Sabbaoath, the Lord of angel armies, is at the head of this Intercessors battle and they will recover all, they will come back with an abundance of bounty. Human and financial resources are being restored, humility is going to be the air we breathe and we will not harm one another. The thief has been caught and the Lord is decreeing recompense!!!!!

Having a daily routine in the word of God sets you up for divine appointments in His word. Those moments in scripture that catch your eye, vibrate your spirit and heal your soul are priceless moments no one can take from you. It can be challenging at times to communicate a revelation received from intimacy because others have not received what you received. But you can be an echo for someone else that establishes a truth in them that will strengthen them for their journey.

This past week I have been hit like a freight train with the flu. It has had me on literal bed rest since Monday and I am finally feeling stronger today. I learned a lot this week being laid out in bed. One there is nothing physically enjoyable about being sick. However, I also learned when your flesh is weak you can truly know what is in your spirit and soul. I don’t think I have ever realized how much our strength is in our flesh until the flesh says I am done, so all you have is your spirit and soul. It was such a blessing this week to be without my flesh to protect me, to defend me, to guard me, for the Lord sent messangers of hope, grace and truth from so many directions and they did not even know what I was dealing with, but God did and they came rushing in with words of life from some very unexpected places.

Then this morning, I am reading Zechariah 9 and it says, “As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.” Immediately the Holy Spirit says, “Communion is the meal that heals!” I had my communion on my desk, so I declared with Zechariah restore double of all that has been stolen from me for I am returning to the stronghold of hope.

Friends, we are not alone ever. God is for us and not against us. More people are for us than those who are against us. Forgive quickly, love deeply, sing loudly and give extravagantly. I promise nothing you sow will not go unnoticed by the Lord. And take communion, for it is the meal the heals.

The narrative shift that has begun is so massive, many people will think it too good to be true. We have been so abused, used and taken advantage of by people, that when generosity shows up we are going to view it with suspicion. We are so accustomed to Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” Because this is all we have known, we have a guard up to protect ourselves from getting hurt by those who we think are ruling over us and are out to harm us. It is no fault of your own you believe this to be true, for this has been our reality for so long.

The narrative shift is about leaders who are not in your life to take from you but to give to you, without an agenda attached. Jesus came to the earth to give us forgiveness of sins and the Pharisees and many other religious Jews could not make the narrative shift, for they were so accustomed to being ruled by oppressive laws and people, when generosity showed up, they could not handle it, so they resisted it. Jesus never forced anyone to believe who He was, for He knew who He was, so He just manifested generous love, grace, truth, patience and power. He was perfect, we are not, so we must pivot when we are told this is not helpful to me. Humility is the willingness to hear the heart of another and make the needed adjustments.

The narrative shift is going from oppression to generosity; we are moving from being rejected to being loved; from being oppressed to being liberated; from being abused to be celebrated; the narrative shift is palpable and many are seeing it, hearing it, but still not sure if it is genuine. Friends, we have known lack of all we need, love, grace, mercy, patience, kindness, but we are about to experience and abundance of the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). It is going to take time to shift the narrative in our minds, for our history says it’s too good to be true, but reality is, this is the new!

How many times have we heard quoted or read Psalm 139? It is the favorite psalm of so many people. I remember when I first got saved, this psalm made me feel so loved, so seen, so special. Maybe the same is true for you. I say this because, this morning as I was praying psalm 139 the Holy Spirit dropped the idea in my spirt that this psalm is not just about people it is about the earth. What? I went back and read it again and it made sense for the earth as well as for us. Before I show you what the Holy Spirit showed me remember, Romans 8 says, all of creation is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God, so creation and us the created ones are in partnership in a way I am not sure we fully understand, but we are learning.

Psalm 139:10-11 says, “If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” Now listen to Genesis 1:2-3 “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” Then add Isaiah 60:2 “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.”

The Hebrew people never separated themselves from the land, they understood the partnership between the land and them as people. One affected the other. Friends, we are the light of the world, the salt of the earth. The earth is crying out for our manifestation, for in it is the earth’s liberation. If we preach darkness, we are not in agreement with what the earth is crying out for. If we keep speaking death the earth will not produce life. The curse has been broken, the earth is no longer (Genesis 3) working against us, it wants to work with us and for us, but we must recognize it is crying out for light and it wants us to cry out for the same thing. Light, life, justice, peace, let us join our voice with all of creation and decree light come!