Month: September 2024

What a unique place to be. Standing between the night and the day. Walking this morning, the full moon was to my right and the rising sun was to my left. I was literally standing between the ending of the night and the beginning of the day. This picture in the sky this morning sparked a word from the Lord that I had not thought of in this way before. We are in a pivotal point in history. We are literally standing between night and day.

In this place in history with the night and the day happening simultaneously, some Christians are looking at the night, prophesying judgment, doom, gloom, fear and warnings. Other are looking at the day and declaring fresh start, new beginning, everything is coming alive. The direction you are looking determines what you are saying. But there is only one mediator between the night and the day and that is Jesus Christ.

What has been most amazing during this time in history when we are standing between day and night is how people view Jesus. They say He is redeemer, savior, good all the time, but they prophesy judgment, wrath, and fear. How can Jesus be so good and God’s judgment coming be so harsh? I thought Jesus said if you seen Me, you have seen the Father? (John 14:9). Notwithstanding, the truth is, whether you are looking at the full moon and the night, or the sun and the breaking of a new day, this one truth remains…

Genesis 1:16-18 “God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.” God is governing both the night and the day. I am a light looker, so I see light in the night (the moon) and the day (the sun). Have another look, there is light everywhere.

There are three groups of people in the Old Testament that were “anointed”; the priests were anointed, the kings were anointed, and Israel was called God’s anointed. The word anointed means they had oil poured upon them and were set apart for an assignment. The assignment of Israel was to be the people of God as a display of Yahweh to the other nations. They were to be a people whose God was their king. Kings were anointed to set them apart for a specific service as king of a nation. And priests were anointed to be set apart for use in the tabernacle or temple for service to God.

All three groups of people that were anointed were set apart to be used by God alone. The anointing distinguished them as ones who belonged to God alone. We know Israel worshipped other gods, so they did not honor the anointing of being set apart for God alone. Many of the kings “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, therefore they did not remain set apart for God’s use only either. And the priests from the golden calf to worshipping idols in the temple, did not remain set apart for God’s use only. What a tragedy, more so than most people even understand.

When God anoints you, it is first for Himself, He is setting you apart for His use only. If you don’t want to be set apart for His use only, there is no need to be anointed. Number two, the anointing is for an assignment and that assignment is other people. If you want to be anointed to be all about you, you are not anointed, you are proud. Finally, the anointing empowers you to serve those to whom you have been assigned, not to sit in a specific chair in church.

We are not to worship the anointing or the anointed, we are to worship the Lord. When those who once were anointed are made known to have done some things that reveals they did not value the anointing or the assignment, don’t cast a stone, let it be a reminder to you to honor the anointing on you, for Christ, the anointed one lives in you, so you to are anointed and set apart for God’s use only. It is long past time we honor the anointing we have been given for it is for an assignment to be set apart for His use only.

One of the beauties of reading the Word of God is hearing the various authors use their language, their experiences, their culture to share who they have encountered God as. From the historical facts of the Torah to the poetic prowess of the Psalms; from the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs to the prophecies of the major and minor prophets; from the varying personalities of the gospel writers to the apostolic oration of the apostle Paul; from the short sweet correction in Jude to the call to love by the books of 1, 2, 3 John; it is a tapestry of truth that speaks to each and every hearer who chooses to read it.

This morning while praying with Psalm 17 verse 15 jumped off the page to me. “I will see your face until I see you for who you really are. I will be satisfied in an awakening of your likeness in me!” We speak so much about an awakening, revival, shakings, and all words that are catchy, comforting and hope inspiring. But today, the Holy Spirit said, “The awakening is already here, people are awakening to who I am in them!”

Friends, we are so used to looking for a revival in some church, in some city, all hoping it is ours but the reality is, God is awakening people to the reality of who He is and it is happening all over the world all day everyday. I stood in a kitchen the other day as my friend shared the awakening she is having. The beauty of watching someone awaken to a truth that sets them free because of what God is doing in them is like no other joy we can know. This is happening everywhere.

We are in the great awakening and it is not happening in a church building it is happening in the hearts of humanity. Even the awake are awakening to the truth of the gospel of the kingdom. The love of God is healing hearts, setting people free from old mindsets and doing a work only He can do, because Christ in us is the hope of glory! Welcome to the awakening, we are in it!!!!

Have you ever wondered practically how to apply James 4:6-8? “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

Submission is not a word that people like to hear because it comes with a fear of someone harming us, not coming to bless us, promote us or protect us. But this says submit yourself to God. if you know anything about God, you know He is not a punisher, He is a protector; He is not angry, vengeful, He is loving, He is kind; He is not cheap or stingy, He is abundantly generous. So, when it says submit yourself to God, you are submitting yourself to a Father who is perfect and has no darkness in Him at all. And Jesus said, If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. So we are very safe submitting ourselves to God.

Next it says, resist the devil. The devil is invisible, how to do you resist him? Well I had an experience the other day in the grocery store parking lot and the Lord said, that is how you resist the devil and what it looks like when he flees from you. I was backing out of my parking spot and I did not see this black Mercedes coming down the row I was backing into. He honks and I stop, no issue, but then he stays right behind me, won’t let me back out. I thought, I didn’t see you, I wasn’t maliciously trying to hit you, I made a mistake, what is the problem. But that is not what he was thinking, he would not move and was making a statement I was in the wrong. I already knew I was in the wrong, but he was going to rub my nose in it.

The black Mercedes finally moves after literally a one to two minute stand against me, and he parks in the spot across from me, where I was pulling out. So, I pull up behind him, waiting for him to get out. I have my window down, I am a girl, I am in a Hyundai Santa Fe, nothing intimidating about me, but he will not get out of his car. I am shocked, the same guy who minutes ago would not let me out of my spot now won’t get out of his. I stay there for a minute or so and am pointing at myself and mouthing to him, my mistake, I apologize. No movement he will not get out of his car.

I am driving away and the Lord says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Friends, the devil is a coward, he may act tough in his black Mercedes, and try to intimidate you for making a mistake, but when you submit yourself to God, humble yourself before others and let them know you were wrong, then he will reveal he is all smoke and mirrors and won’t even get out of the car to hear you say, I was wrong. I will never forget this experience as it showed me how, not the man in the black Mercedes, but the devil acts tough, but it truly a coward when confronted by anybody, even a girl with humility.

What words scare you? What words intimidate you? What words cause you to shrink back in despair? What words cause you to pause, ponder and penetrate your heart? Friends, we are in a words war and the enemy only launches words at us, for he knows words are weapons and they have the power to cause us great damage. You know what is amazing to me, there is no new playbook, no new tactic, it is the same old stuff that Israel dealt with and that we deal with, words from the enemy that seeks to paralyze us.

While walking the dog this morning, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Pick up five smooth stones.” I bent over near the place we were walking and found literally five smooth stones. I was rubbing them and thinking of David and the five smooth stones he picked up in order to fight Goliath. Once I got home, I opened my bible to 1 Samuel 17 and began reading the story of David and Goliath, for to me the invitation to pick up five smooth stones was pointing me to this story.

When we think we know a story really well we tend to read it with one eye open and one ear listening, but the Lord was speaking to me in surround sound today about many things, so I did not want to come to this familiar story as something to be treated casually. As I am reading I get to 1 Samuel 17:10-11 and it says, “And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”

Defy means to taunt, blaspheme, reproach. Here is a giant of a man who could literally physically harm Israel and all he does is speak one line and they are dismayed and greatly terrified. It is as though the enemy went “boo” and they jumped, ran and retreated from the battle. Friends, the enemy is only full of hot air, he is only launching words at you. Just like Goliath he has no intention, no ability to harm you, but you must not run when he taunts you. Stand your ground (Ephesians 6); resist him and he will flee from you. There is nothing to fear, they are only words, they are not going to be backed up with action. Grab a smooth stone and remember the enemy cannot harm you for he is only hot air.

One of the challenges of the wilderness is that we feel like we are walking alone, that no one else is going through what we are going through and that there is no end to this season. One of the joys of coming out of the wilderness is realizing others went through the same thing you did, others are rising simultaneously with you, and others were prepared just like you were but maybe for something different than you are doing. The enemy loves to make us believe we are alone, but God is doing as much in the wilderness as He is in the promised land. Each season has its benefits, even though in the wilderness they are concealed and in the promised land they are revealed.

On this side of the wilderness, what is fascinating to me is how many people are hungry for the truth of the gospel of the kingdom, who are longing to be discipled, who are tired of religious rhetoric, who truly want kingdom reality. Men who sat passive in church or who didn’t attend at all are hungry for the truth the kingdom message is proclaiming. Women who have been under a weight of care are finding freedom in the air. The word God has done in the secret place of all our lives is manifesting in the public place.

I remember somewhere someone said, when the student is ready to learn the teacher will be revealed. Teachers were prepared in the wilderness, learners were prepared in the wilderness, and now we are seeing God move in powerful ways as truth is setting us all free. Jesus is the head of His body, we as believers in Jesus are His body. There is no seperation between the head and the body, but the body is finally hearing clearly what the Head, Jesus, is saying to His body the church. When they hear the truth coming from the head, Jesus, through His messengers, the body is coming alive. If you haven’t experienced it yet, get ready this revelation revolution is about to go public in a massive way and the truth will set us free!!!!

I stepped out my front door at oh dark thirty this morning to take the dog for a walk. Immediately I was hit with a wind that was declaring atmospheric, even though it was natural. As I walked the wind continued to blow moderately strong. As I let the wind hit my face the Holy Spirit said, “You (all) have moved from S.O.S. (Distress call) to S.A.S. (Spiritual Atmosphere Shift).” Holy Spirit continued with the song Here As In Heaven by Elevation Worship which says, “The atmosphere is changing now. The Spriit of the Lord is here. The evidence is all around. That the Spirit of the Lord is here. Overflow in this place; fill our hearts with your love; your love surrounds us. You’re the reason we came to encounter your love, your love surrounds us.”

Wind blowing, walking and singing, the atmosphere is changing now! The Lord then says, “The hurricane from the gulf which is running up the Mississippi River is cleansing the waterways of the nation. He said, this rain is not to be feared, for it is coming to cleanse the land.” Whatever the enemy tried to do to our nation, to the nations, is over. I saw in the spirit the advancing angel armies of God and nothing is stopping their forward progress. The atmosphere is changing now!

The Lord knows I need an echo from scripture when He shares things with me and today was no different. I was praying Psalm 12 after I returned from my walk and the echo came forth on this 12th day of September 2024 “The Lord says, Now I will arise! I will defend the poor, those who were plundered, the oppressed, and the needy who groan for help. I will spring into action to rescue and protect them!”

We have moved from an S.O.S. (Distress call) to an S.A.S. (Spiritual Atmosphere Shift). Everything is changing now, for the spirit of the Lord is here. 9/11 is over, 9/12 is here and everything changed, for the Lord says, NOW, I will arise!!!!!

Today is the 23rd anniverary of 9/11, the day when America changed in a moment. I remember where I was that morning the planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City. I remember how fast the news spread across the world. I remember.

It’s amazing how events in our own life mark us and cause us to never forget. Most people have more “enemy” events they can’t forget than God events. I see this changing drastically. Israel had a history of markers where God did something undeniable and they will never forget. They saw the Red Sea part; they crossed the Jordan River on dry ground; they watched the walls of Jericho fall; they saw the fire on Mt. Sinai and saw the tablets of stone written with the finger of God; they were there when fire fell on the altar with Elijah on Mt. Carmel; they witnessed the pillar of fire at night and the cloud by day as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years; they saw the plagues God sent on Egypt; they saw Jesus and Peter walk on water; they witnessed the feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000 with very little food; they were there when the fire and wind came on Pentecost; they know of flood and the saving of Noah and his family; they heard what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah; story after story after story of God events in Israel’s history.

Events that mark us forever happen in a moment, but they last a lifetime. You and I both have God events in our life, but most people have more enemy events that God events so we struggle to believe God because we have been so wounded by the enemy events that have marked us. But, I see a God event coming to our generation that will mark us in a way that makes 9/11 seem small. A God event that changes everything forever. We will not forget this God event, it will happen in a moment, but it will mark us forever. We will never be able to forget what God is about to do, it will be shared for generations to come. Friends, God is not going to let the enemy mark you and I anymore, He is about to mark us in a way we will not be able to deny.

Three times in the June to July time frame I had three flash dream visions of playing cards. I have not spoken about this, because I did not know what it meant. I went out and bought six decks of cards to literally represent what I saw in these flash vision dreams. I asked close friends what it meant and though some ideas came forth, we never really said, yes that it is. So, I have been sitting on this for months.

Now this morning I am praying Psalm 10 and the Holy Spirit speaks to me and says, “Oh the lies believed; oh the deception conceived; only to find out the house of cards is falling all around.” Immediately, I remember the cards and the flash dreams. The Holy Spirit says, “The wind of truth is blowing over the house of cards. No matter how great a “hand” they think they have, their house of cards is falling down.” Talk about an aha moment. Finallly, I am seeing what these cards mean.

House of cards is an idiom that means, a flimsy structure, arrangement or situation that is in danger of collapsing or falling; it is a structure or argument built on a shaky foundation; complicated and weak organization or plan that can easily fail; structure or situation that is insubstantial shaky or in constant danger of collapse; fragile, unstable, or likely to collapse. Dictionary dot com)

The lies of the enemy is a house of cards and the wind of truth is blowing it over. Psalm 10 says, “They congratulate themselves as they despise you—
these arrogant ones, so smug and secure! In their delusion the wicked boast, saying, God doesn’t care about what we do.There’s nothing to worry about.”
The lies are falling, the truth is rising. The house of cards is being blown over by the winds of truth. Babylon is falling, the kingdom is manifesting. We are living in biblical days. Oh the power of God.

The word of God is not always culturally relevant, nor is it culturally tolerant. However, what I love about the word of God is that it does not alter its language for culture. The word of God is eternal, it stands the test of time, trouble, culture, trials and triumphs, because it is truth and truth does not change with culture or seasons. Truth trumps circumstances and opinions. This is why we can trust the word of God for it is the truth that sets us free, no matter what we may currently believe or see. Truth will never cease to march on.

I was reading 2 Thessalonians 1 this morning and the words of Paul are so appropriate in every season, but challenging for many who have been culturally dumbed down to be weak, passive or even tolerant of things Paul would not tolerate. His words may sound offensive to you, but that is because of the culture cooking you have underwent. Shake off the culture, put on Christ and listen to what Paul has to say, it is really good news for us who are in Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 “It is right and just for God to trouble your troublers and give rest to the troubled, both to you and to us, at the unveiling of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his messengers of power within a flame of fire.”

God is about to trouble your troublers and give you, who have been troubled rest!!!! Come on! This is such good news and worthy of rejoicing over. The days of troublers going free is over, it is time to reverse the curse, restore the fortunes, reconcile the relationships, rebuild the ruined cities and revive those who have died in disappointment. Everything is coming alive, so we can rest and recover from a long season of battle. It is a day of our troublers being trouble, our trouble is over.