Month: January 2025

Righteousness is exalting our nation and will exalt the nations, but not everyone has eyes to see what God is doing in now time. History is beautiful, because we can look back and see what God has done. We can read about the story of Israel leaving Egypt and see the hand of God, but imagine being there and having to obey the command of Moses to put blood on your door post, so an angel of death would Passover your house that night. Thank God Israel was obedient or they would have been dead.

American culture does not like to be told what to do. Our culture of independence gets in the way of the kingdom of God on earth more than we even realize or recognize. And it also blinds us to realities in front of us, because we think we know so much.

Proverbs 21:1-3 is for today, January 21st, “It’s as easy for God to steer a king’s heart for his purposes as it is for him to direct the course of a stream. You may think we’re right all the time, but God thoroughly examines our motives. It pleases God more when we demonstrate godliness and justice than when we merely offer him a sacrifice.”

Not everyone understands what is happening in now time in our nation, but righteousness is exalting the nation and will exalt the nations. Righteousness and justice are going to be the foundation of the nations, for God is healing lands, hearts and renewing minds.

The Pharisees (religious leaders of Jesus day) missed their day of visitation, because they thought they knew more than God. Humility is the ability to remain teachable and to recognize we don’t know as much as we think we do. God raises up kings and God puts down kings.

The changing of the leadership guard in the nations is God’s doing, in God’s timing, because He is going to have a bride without spot or wrinkle. Church we will do well to get in alignment with God for this next assignment. God is doing foundation repair on the nations, may we not miss our day of visitation.

Today is the day of the innaguration (formal beginning) of the restoration of the nations. The days, the seasons, the eras, the epochs of the destruction, desolation and even neglect of the nations is over. Today is innaguration day of restoration.

Ezra 3:11-13 says, “And they sang responsively with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: “For He is good; for His loving devotion to Israel endures forever.” Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD had been laid. But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple. Still, many others shouted joyfully. The people could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people were making so much noise. And the sound was heard from afar.”

Some will be weeping for they loved the old, others are rejoicing because they love the new, but the innaguration day (formal beginning) cannot be denied, it is here, it is today. Restoration will be the order from this day forward.

We will see people with a hammer in one hand (“Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?” – Jeremiah 23:29); and a sword in the other (For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12). We are restoring the temple that is you (“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? – 1 Corinthians 6:19).

Today is innaguration day for the nations. God is restoring the temple of God that is the people of God. He will use a hammer to build you up and a sword to separate from you everything that hinders your health and healing. Today is the beginning of restoration of the nations and the body building has begun.

Can you hear the sound? Some are weeping for it will not be like it has been, others are rejoicing for something new has begun, but from afar the sound is heard, what sound, the sound of restoration of the nations.

Did you know being able to praise the Lord is an honor given to us by God Himself? It is a privilege bestowed on us as His children. Honor is something we do from the heart, not an obligation. If you don’t want to praise Him, He won’t make you; if you don’t want to worship Him, He will not punish you for it. Praise is our honor, it is our privilege, it is our delight, for it is from our heart.

I was praying Psalm 149 this morning and this privilege of praise carries so much more power than most of us realize. “God’s high and holy praises fill their mouths, for their shouted praises are their weapons of war! These warring weapons will bring vengeance on the nations and every resistant power— to bind kings with chains and rulers with iron shackles. Praise-filled warriors will enforce the judgment decreed against their enemies. This is the honor he gives to all his godly lovers. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”

When we are told the truth about the power of praise, how can we not want to use this unconventional weapon in a private and corporate setting to bind powers, principalities, rulers and kings in the air who are seeding a narrative of death and destruction in the earth? This verse makes me want to get to church, to turn on my music device and praise, praise and praise the Lord some more.

Churches all over the nation will sing songs, but praise is our honor, it is our privilege and it is a weapon of war. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth sings praises to our God. What you have or haven’t done in the past is not important right now. Today, if you hear His voice….today we can praise and our praise is a weapon of war. Come on church, let’s get our praise on, victory is upon us!!!!

Hunger is not something you can manufacture, it is a gift from God. There is a spiritual hunger that is become more and more evident on a macro level, even though it has been seen in pockets on a micro level. Hungry people will come looking for food, the challenge are leaders in the church ready to give them nutrient dense, protein rich food?

The Bible says in John 6, “I am the bread of life”, Jesus speaking, bread was nutrient rich in Israel when this was written. Jesus declaring Himself the bread of life was not a salvation message, but a satisfying statement. People who come to Jesus will be satisfied in their soul. But Jesus is not just salvation, He is also revelation.

A spiritually hungry crowd has been with the church for years, but they are hungry not to be saved, but for a revelation of Jesus Christ. They are seeking truth that will set them free, wisdom that will guide them and love that will consume them.

Proverbs 18 says, “The spiritually hungry are always ready to learn more,
for their hearts are eager to discover new truths.” The spiritual hunger is growing, now the distributors of the fish and the bread are being released with what they have discovered by being with Jesus.

Everything is going to change in the church because we are moving from a salvation message to a revelation message of this man Jesus Christ. Saved people don’t need to hear how to get saved, they need a fresh revelation of Jesus Christ and they will go where there is bread and fish.

Have you ever been told something about someone and then when you get to know them you realize what you were told was just not true? Our experiences with people cause us to say things about people and God that may or may not be true about them. Was your experience legit, of course, but was your experience their character on display or a moment they were having or your observation of a moment?

I find more often than not people that do not trust God, do not draw near to God, do not want to have anything to do with or little to do with God is because they have misunderstood who He is. People read a story in the Old Testament and decide God is this angry, vengeful God who kills women and children. Our biblical illiteracy has become the enemies opportunity to tell us something about God that is just not true.

I was praying Psalm 147 this morning and verse 5 says, “How great is our God! There’s absolutely nothing his power cannot accomplish, and he has infinite understanding of everything.” If we don’t experience His power, we may not believe this verse is true about Him, but oh how much we forfeit when we trust experieces over the truth of God’s word.

Friends, God is the “X” factor in every situation. When we assume God can’t; God won’t; God doesn’t anymore; we are missing out on an intergral part of our help, healing and hope for whatever we are facing. Now I realize it does not always happen instantly or the way we pray, but I am telling you the truth is, “There’s absolutely nothing his power cannot accomplish, and he has infinite understanding of everything.”

Noah’s life was in phases (Genesis 6-8). Phase one was preaching righteousness to a wicked people, while building a boat. No one understood what he was doing, for they were all doing their own thing and he was doing a new thing. Noah was building his trust in God by building a boat and preaching righteousness.

Many have said we are in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37), we are, but phase one for those who are like Noah just ended and now it is about to rain. The Lord is flooding the earth with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea (Habbukuk 2:14).

This phase two of Noah is the glory phase, where God is going to cleanse the atmosphere of enemy narratives and flood our hearts and minds with the knowledge of God’s glory. It will no longer be about men’s story, but God’s glory.

The washing of the water with the word (Ephesians 5:26) is where we are in this phase two. The word of God is going to be preeminent in this phase of glory. Minds will be renewed, bodies will be restored, souls will be healed. The word is going to do the work.

We will see a cleansing of the land, the air and the people in this phase two of glory in the Noah story. Hunger for the word of God is already happening, this is how we know it is raining. People want the truth and will no longer settle for lies. Freedom is going to be the result of this phase two.

We are in the days of Noah, but we are not getting raptured, nor left behind, we are being washed in the revelation of Jesus Christ. Freedom will no longer be a desire, it will be a reality. Enjoy the days of Noah.

What you explore you will roar!

Everyone of us is an explorer. We were designed this way. A friend came over yesterday with her two little girls, one is almost three and the other is 7 months. Both of them were on an exploration mission. The three year old was exploring multiple areas of the house, while the 7 month old was exploring the doll in front of her as she tried to crawl. Exploration is what we were designed for.

The older we get the more we explore things that establish our roar. One cursory view through social media both written and video will give you an understanding of what people explore, for they now have a place to roar what they explore. Some people explore politics and the roar is real; others explore prayer and the roar is heard; still others explore relationships and their roar is there. What you explore will be heard in your roar.

When we explore the Bible looking for death, destruction and disaster that will be our roar, but if we explore it to find the character and nature of God we will find it and that will be our roar. I was praying with Psalm 145 this morning in the Passion Translation and the roar of the psalmist cannot be denied. “Lord, you are great and worthy of the highest praise! For there is no end to the discovery of the greatness that surrounds you. Generation after generation will declare more of your greatness and declare more of your glory.” Greatness of God is the roar of the psalmist for that is what he discovered in his exploration.

I pray you pay attention to what you are exploring, for it is coming out in what you are roaring. We all have a roar and it reveals what we explore. May we roar with the power, presence and practical application of the word of God, for His greatness is discoverable. What is your roar?

Our history is locked into our memory and colors our current reality. This history can be a negative story or a great memory of “glory days”. As I pray about what is upon us, I find my spirit saying something different than what all the amplified voices in the church are saying. The call for revival, reformation, and awakening gets louder and louder every day. The desire for another Azusa Street, another Brownsville, another Toronto Outpouring, is being called for over and over again. We want the days of Brahnam, Seymour, Semple-McPherson, Woodworth-Etter, and Allen, but God is saying something different.

We have been dipped in platform revivals, pulpit anointings, firework moves of God, but biblically our model is not any of these things, our model of what God wants to do on earth is Jesus. Jesus was supernaturally natural. He walked with people, talked with people, ate with people and when He saw a need He met it. Whether that was feeding the 5000, walking on water, or healing the man born blind. He cast out demons, touched lepers, stopped funeral processions and raised the dead. He called Lazarus out of the tomb, He let women anoint him and He taught in synagogues, on mountains and in towns all over Israel.

Jesus was supernaturally natural and we are called to be the same thing. Just like Jesus I believe God is pouring out a Luke 4 anointing on people who want to be supernaturally natural. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” This is a move of God that will know no end as we all become naturally supernatural.

I see the Lord giving us: access to abundance so we can be generous on all occasions; access to healing so we can lay hands on the sick and they recover; access to authority so we can cast out demons, rebuke suicide, and lift off depression and oppression. I don’t see this being a one ministry move where people travel to that ministry, but a circuit riders move where people are activated to be supernaturally natural. Jesus was supernaturally natural and we can and will be too.

I walked into my prayer room this morning and I use a whiteboard to write down thoughts the Lord speaks while in prayer. Immediately upon arrival, the Holy Spirit says, “Prayer is an invitation to the table to talk.” I had never thought of it like that before, and what an invitation it is. I sat down at the table called prayer this morning and the Lord and I talked about people we both love; concerns I have here on earth; thoughts He has from his vantage point in heaven; and then the Holy Spirit revealed truth to me I did not know and it established strength in my soul.

There is an old hymn that says, oh what peace we often forfeit because we do not bring it to the Lord in prayer. I think of that song often as I receive prayer requests from people as they or those they know are struggling with suicide, depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, or some other issue that is plaguing them. I love going to the table called prayer and talking to the Lord about these people, for He has the answer for them. But what I sense He wants is more people to come and sit at the table with Him, with us.

We love the table where we are writing songs, we love the table where we are preaching sermons, we love the table where we are serving people, we love so many tables in church, but when it comes to the table called prayer, there are many vacancies. There is a table in the kingdom of God called prayer and the Lord is sending out the invitation to all who can hear His voice, come to my table of prayer, I want to talk with you.

The table of prayer is a feast of revelation and truth that will set us free, if only we will sit at the table to speak and to listen. Psalm 143 is heard at the table called prayer…”Let the dawning day bring me revelation of your tender, unfailing love. Give me light for my path and teach me, for I trust in you. Save me from all my enemies, for I hide myself in you. I just want to obey all you ask of me. So teach me, Lord, for you are my God. Your gracious Spirit is all I need, so lead me on good paths that are pleasing to you, my one and only God!” Have a seat, here is your chair.

The new is not coming, the new is here and continually incoming. The new is so massive it will not have a full roll out in a day, a week, a month or even a year. The new is going to be rolling out for years to come. Welcome to the new that God has planned for you. In this new era, this new epoch, this new day in which we are living, there are waves of people who will see it, hear and receive it. Again, this will not be a one shot wonder, this is our God who is going to cause us to stand in awe and wonder. Remember what Isaiah said, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Wind, water and fire will be markers that guide us through the new God is doing.

Whenever something is new, the initial excitement is palpable, the honey is sweet, the joy is exuberant, the celebrations are many, but nothing remains new. The new gives way to building blueprints and infrastructures that will host the new thing God is doing. But what is building in this new era is not another church building, He is building us into the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the living stones, being built together. We will need each other in this new era, we will work together, we will be for each other and not against each other. Oh the beauty of what is being built is magnificent.

Practically, this is going to include character development as the body of Christ will mature in a way that is needed more than we know. Psalm 141:5 will be a key component attitude to have as part of the new, “When one of your godly ones corrects me or one of your faithful ones rebukes me, I will accept it like an honor I cannot refuse. It will be as healing medicine that I swallow without an offended heart. Even if they are mistaken, I will continue to pray.” Without correction people go in their own direction, but in the new correction will keep us safe, keep us growing and keep us going in the direction of becoming a beautiful bride for Christ.

Welcome to the new, it is exiting, it is beautiful, it is initiated by God and we will be marked with maturity that will bring security we so desperately desire. Everything is becoming new!!!!