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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!

What name do you take refuge in? You know when life’s circumstances seem to press in; when situations don’t work out the way you planned; when people do one thing and say another; when what you were expecting does not transpire the way you thought it would or in the time you anticipated it happening in. Where do you run, what name do you run to?

You may be thinking, I am not sure what you are talking about, what name do I run to? Let me give you some examples. Some people when stressed run to the name called isolation; others when lonely run to the name Jack Daniels; one may be disappointed and they run to Häagen-Dazs; someone else may have lost their job unexpectedly and they run to their computer and to a certain website. When things don’t work out as planned, when life happens and it is not a pleasant feeling, what name do you run to?

Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Let me ask you it this way, what name of the Lord do you run to when you are sick, do you run to Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals you? When you are lonely, do you run to El Roi, the God who sees you? When you are financially struggling, do you run to Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides for you? When your enemies are all around, their voices are taunting you, do you run to Jehovah Nissi, the God who is a banner over you? He has a name for everything you are going through and He wants you to run into His name to find safety for your soul in the struggle.

Psalm 138:2 says, “I give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” His name is above everything we go through, and He is inviting us to run into His name for it is a strong tower in the midst of your struggle. Find the name of God you need today and run into it, He is a safe place for your soul.

I was with a good friend of mine the other day (KJ) and she said, “Have you noticed the early fall we are experiencing right now, the season has changed early.” I gave her a high five and said, girl, yes it has. We are in a change of season and it has come early. The season has changed and we must change with the season. We both shouted, and thanked God for the early season change. But what has changed, what season were we in and what one are we entering into?

I was reading Psalm 137 this morning and it says, “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

In America we have a tree called a weeping willow. As I read this verse I immediately saw this huge weeping willow tree that was on the corner in the neighborhood of my parent’s house in Minnesota. This tree was huge, and all the leaves and branches hung so low they almost touched the ground. We call it in America a weeping willow, so when I read this verse, I realized where we got that name from. Israel was weeping under the willows in Babylon, where they hung their harps.

As this image of this tree is in my head, the Holy Spirit speaks to me and says, “The season change is an invitation for people to come out from under the weeping willow and to sit under the palm tree of Deborah.” Deborah is a judge in Israel according to Judges 4:4-5, who used to sit under a palm tree and make her judgments for Israel. Then the Holy Spirit said, “From the weeping willows of Babylonian captivity to the palm tree of Deborah, the fruits of justice, it is time to come out from under one and sit under another. For I am turning your mourning into dancing and giving you the oil of joy for the spirit of heaviness” (Psalm 30:11).

Where you sit matters! Access out of the weeping willows of Babylonian captivity is available, and entrance into the palm tree of Deborah and the fruits of justice is open. It is time to switch the tree under which you sit.

If you were an Israelite you would understand what it means to take a Sabbath day once a week. But if you are a Gentile, the idea of a Sabbath day or rest does not make much sense. This morning I woke up and the Lord say, “Today is a spa day for you!” I knew He was inviting me into a day of rest, but the fact that He chose the words, “Spa Day!” It made the Sabbath a desirable not a dutiful thing.

Esther, who was named Hadassah, did six months of beauty treatments, all day, everyday, before she was presented before the king and we are invited a once a week spa day from the Lord and how many of us say we do not have time for it? The rhythm of the roar of God includes a spa day once a week. Or to use biblical language, a Sabbath day of rest.

What does a spa day do for you? One it gives your body much needed rest. Two it gives your mind a day where it can unwind from all the other things that it did not have time to process while you were busying going here and there. Three it allows you to not work for one day. A spa day can be done with a friend or friends, a spouse, alone, it can be a pedicure or manicure; it can mean going hunting or fishing; it can be a time to go wash the car, go out to eat, read a book, listen to a band at your favorite location. It is about taking a day to do something you enjoy, for the Lord delights in you.

I work hard, so I am taking a spa day today. What will I do, I am not sure yet, but some of the options include letting this day make me beautiful in body, soul and spirit. This is what God calls a spa day and I promise you, others will notice if you take a spa day, a Sabbath day, for it refreshes you in so many ways, so you can get back to work. Today is a spa day and I pray you find a day to take a spa day, even if it means sitting on your porch listening to it rain. Rest my friends, nothing is so important it can’t wait one more day.

Respect is the ability to see who someone really is and honor them as such. I was reading Zechariah 4 this morning and it says, “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.” Zechariah 2 speaks for seven eyes as well, “Behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts.” Two chapters, one prophet and seven eyes. You may ask what does this have to do with respect?

When I read these verses, the Holy Spirit spoke to me that we do not respect the truth that God sees everything, He hears everything, He is aware of everything happening on the earth. It came with the impression, that we do not respect God’s power, understanding, ability and desire to heal and help us here on earth. It was not a rebuke, but a correction of perspective. If you listen to how we talk, how we preach, how we prophesy, it does not reflect the respect God deserves as the one who is seven eyes and sees everything.

I was praying Psalm 135 prior to reading Zechariah and it says, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.” I think we need to be reminded, the God of heaven and earth is not an idol, He is not something man has made up, He is Creator of everything including you and me.

I think we need to reevaluate our respect for God. I think we may be too close to the line of treating Him with a lower level of honor than He is worthy of. I think we should remind ourselves today, He is God, He is all powerful, He is all knowing, He is Savior of the world, and He is fully alive and active in all the affairs of men everywhere. He knows us and He knows what is going on, I sense He’s got this in more ways that we can see and He is wanting us to show honor for who He is because what He is doing will blow our minds. Just a thought.

ROBBERY IS THE ROOT OF THE SPIRIT OF POVERTY! Yes that is what the Lord said to me this morning. We have been robbed for so long we do not believe we are loved, we are wanted, we are desired, we are needed, we are accepted, we are prosperous, we are generous, we are… We hang on tightly to what we think will run out. This is the spirit of poverty, which is rooted in robbery.

I know that is a lot to think about so early on a Wednesday morning, but when a root is revealed fruit is no longer concealed. The root of poverty is robbery. We have been robbed by those who have a spirit of poverty and that robbery has created in us a spirit of poverty. A spirit of poverty is the belief there is not enough, so I have to fight to get a piece of the pie.

Think about what you have been robbed of in finances, relationships, time, energy, you name it. Robbery is not poor stewardship, robbery is a thief has come in and took something that is rightfully yours. John 10 says, “Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” A voice has robbed you of what belongs to you.

Proverbs 6 says, “When the thief is caught, he must repay sevenfold of what was stolen, even if it costs him his whole house.” Friends, you have been stolen from by a thief. The thief is a spirit of poverty that is continually robbing you of what you have been given freely. God is a God of abundance, there is more than enough of everything, catch the thief in your life, so you no longer operate in a spirit of poverty when you have been given access to abundance. It is time to stop listening to the voice that robs from you and agree with the voice that is speaking abundance to you.

What if I told you unity is what gives you community? How many people are lacking community in the body of Christ, not realizing they have no community because they do not have unity. Oh my friends, the Lord is so good in correcting us up, we as the church are divided in so many ways. We are demoninationally divided and it plays out in conversations on social media that amplifies the divide, because so many voices are revealing the divide by the comments they make when someone says something they oppose or vehemently disagree with. This should not be.

The body of Christ is to be unified, not uniformed, but unified. Our unity is what makes us a community. To be in unity we must lay down our lives for our friends, for Jesus said, not greater love than this, than you lay down your lives for your friends. Now I am not asking for corporate, national or international unity, not yet, but what if we could be unified with one person in our life?

Psalm 133 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Good means pleasing, joyful, delightful, beautiful and pleasant means sweet, pleasure, agreeable, lovely, singing, sounding, musical. This means unity is a song we sing and sound others hear. The psalmist goes on to say, “For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” This means the blessing of unity is life forevermore. Life means fresh, strong, springing up, community. Unity is what blesses us with community; it keeps us strong and fresh; alive and flowing.

I exhort you to find one person you can be unified with, then find another two, three or four you can be unified with, eventually we may have a whole church that is unified, then the body of Christ might one day be unified. Jesus’ prayer in John 16 is that we would be one as He and His Father are one. Unity is being one with God and one with each other and there is a blessing in it we have not actualized, at least not yet. Unity is community and it is a blessing.

THE PRIESTS ARE GETTING AN OUTFIT CHANGE!!!!!! Do you know who you are? Did you know 1 Peter 2 calls you a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God? Do you realize you are a priest not a problem? Did you know you are a saint, not a sinner? What you call yourself is what you will manifest. We must know who we are, because God is giving the priests an outfit change.

I was at the mall the other day and I was noticing how people dress. I was observing various styles, choices, combinations, I was seeing what I like, what I don’t like and I was celebrating the diversity with which we express ourselves as humanity by the clothes we chose to wear. Every culture has a dress code, and many people can be identified by what they wear. The Bible says, so goes the natural so goes the spirit. Well, there is a dress code in the spirit and the priests are getting an outfit change.

The media has amplified the failings of many leaders in the body of Christ who have been wearing what Zechariah 3 describes as filthy garments, “Now Joshua the high priest, was clothed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel of the Lord.” The filthy garments of pride, immorality, greed, selfishness, but God is doing an outfit change on His priests.

God is removing the filthy garments which has discouraged, dissappointed and caused the people to despise leaders and He is giving them new garments. Psalm 132 says, “Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.” “Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy.”

The outfit change for the priests is going to bring joy to the saints. God is making all of us new, no one is being left out, no matter what has happened in the past, God is redeeming the time and restoring the years. Friends, we are priests and kings to our God and He is doing an outfit change on us and then the world which has been labeled as sinners are going to become saints that shout for joy. But it all starts with us, His body, His priesthood getting an outfit change. It is time to put on that robe of righteousness and that cloak of salvation, and when you do the world will shout for joy!!!!

One of the things I love about the LORD is that He reveals truth to you in the most obvious places, but always at the perfect time. I walk my dog every morning, we walk by the same houses in our neighborhood and in the neighboring neighborhoods every day. Today, I was in my cul de sac and I walk by a house I walk by daily, usually more than once a day. This house is unique to our neighborhood because it is the only one that has turf instead of grass. The obvious difference is palpable with just one look.

Today, I am walking by the turf yard and they have automatic sprinklers watering the turf. I pondered why would you water turf, it does not grow like grass does. I realized they water it to keep it green, not to make it grow. Immediately the Holy Spirit speaks to me and says, “Many people are in churches that are watering people to keep them green, so they look good, but are not watering people so they can grow.” I pondered this thought the rest of my walk.

How many people in your life are watering you to keep you green so you look good, but are not encouraging you with their words to grow? We have more churches in America and honestly around the world than we can even count. Whether in homes, buildings, stadiums, parks, or on street corners, there is no lack of churches, but the challenge is if we are being watered we must ask ourselves is it for our growth or to just keep us green? Only you know the answer to this question. I don’t go to church so I can stay green, I go to church so I can be challenged to grow. I do not want to be a turf Christian that looks green but never grows. I want to be a grass Christian that goes brown when I lack water and that needs to be mowed to remain beautiful because I grow so fast when watered. Turf or grass, which are you?