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One of my favorite things that our senior leader Dustin Smith says is we do not create a theology out of what has not happened. We do not create a theology that healing is not for today, just because we have not seen as many healings as we want. We do not create a theology around poverty as we wait for our financial breakthrough. The list goes on and on. Our theology is Jesus the Christ and the revelation of Him, we do not dumb down what we believe just because have heard more than we have seen.

I was in prayer the other day and out of my mouth came the words, “I have experienced the trickle, now I want the tsunami, release the reservoir!” I kept saying it in prayer over and over again, RELEASE THE RESERVOIR! RELEASE THE RESERVOIR! Even as I said it I was not sure what I was saying, but I have been to Shasta Dam in Redding, CA and on that trip we walked across the dam and there was a reservoir of water on our right and the wall of the dam that went straight down on our left. We went into a building that took us down into the dam, which allowed us to see the inner workings of the dam, the hydroplant and other fascinating aspects of the dam. We saw the smallest hairline cracks in which water was seeping through the dam walls. This is what I saw in the spirit as I was praying RELEASE THE RESERVOIR!

The Holy Spirit is the best point guard (basketball term) and He always passes me the ball (word of God) right in front of me as I am walking along. Reading Colossians 1 in the Passion Translation it says, “Receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding.” Immediately I declared RELEASE THE RESERVOIR! There is a reservoir of wisdom and understanding; of wealth and health; of restoration and reconciliation; and I am declaring RELEASE THE RESERVOIR! He said this is a December to Remember, we have expereinced the trickle now we want to know the tsunami, RELEASE THE RESERVOIR!!!!

Comparison and competition are the enemies of oneness with God and with each other. The kingdom of God is not a place to compete or compare, for we are all children of the same King and we are all living in the same kingdom. Jesus never competed with the Pharisees; He never compared Himself to the disciples; He manifested who He was and it called people up, it was never to put them down. Our need to be the first, the best, the one is a sign of insecurity in us that can only be met in knowing who Jesus is and what He says about us. Other people cannot make you feel secure, only God can establish firmly your identity which is your security.

I was thinking about Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit this morning and Isaiah 40:25 dropped into my spirit, “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.” The reason God has no equal is not because of heirarchy but because of manifestation. He sets the bar for what it means to be God because of who He is. When you know the living God no idol can compare, no person comes close, there is nothing that holds water to our living God. There really is no other name you want to follow because the name of Jesus is Savior; the name of the Father is Light; and the name of the Holy Spirit is Breath; once you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, nothing else tastes as good as Him; nothing else satisfies like He does.

Friends manifestion is trumping competition and comparison. Once you manifest who God has created you to be there is no need to compete with anyone else for anything else. People will see your value, will want your gift, and will desire your time. When you know who you are in Christ you manifest Him and others want to be around you. Others may compete with you and compare themselves with you but you just manifest by loving God and loving people. This is what real contentment looks like and feels like. It is time to manifest.

Living in a world that displays the illusion of image it can be challenging to feel like you are loved, you are prosperous, you are enough. The illusion of image makes people look so pretty and you can feel so ugly. In the illusion of image others can look so prosperous as they drive their car that is not paid for, live in their house that is mortgaged to the max, or wear those clothes they bought on credit. The image of illusion can make us feel like we do not measure up which then triggers impulse buying, keeping up with the Jones’ attitude and I am less than because look what they have or do. It is all an illusion.

The Holy Spirit whispered to me the words, “I still look at the heart!” I immediately was taken out of the illusion of what everyone else has or gets to do into the reality that anyone can look good on the outside, but what is on the inside is what God is looking at. He is still the God who looks past the illusion to the see the reality of the heart. Many illusion images are covering up broken marriages, high piles of debt, insecurity, loneliness and so many other issues. The packaging looks great but the truth is there are so many broken people on the inside even though they look good on the outside.

The Lord still looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:6-7 says, “When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” My friends in this season of illusion of image remember God still looks at the heart and He is looking for hearts that are completely His. He does not care if you have a Christmas tree in your house or gifts under the tree, He is not concerned about the car you drive or the neighborhood you live in. He is looking at hearts right now. He is looking to see who has integrity, authenticity, authority, He is looking for faithful ones, devoted ones, loving ones. Anyone can buy on credit an illusion of image, but only those who love God and love people have hearts that seek Him. He is still looking at hearts my friends.

I met with a friend yesterday morning for coffee and she used a phrase I cannot shake, she spoke to me about elevated identity. These words pierced me so deeply and have been working on me for the past 24 hours. Elevated identity, it sounds so similar to Paul’s words about us in Ephesians 3 where he says, you are seated in heavenly places with Christ. We are co-heirs with Him. We have been given an elevated identity, not to rule over people, to dominate or dictate, but to do as Jesus did in John 13, knowing who He was and knowing the Father had given Him all things, He got down and washed the disciples feet. The realization of an elevated identity does not puff you up it actually makes you servant of all. It is the people who do not know who they are who want to be served and get puffed up, not those who know who they are. We don’t need a title when we know our elevated identity.

1 Peter 2 calls us a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, a people belonging to God. Kings and priests, that is who we are invited to be. However, to know who you are you is seen in what you pursue. Commoners seek gold and silver, mammon and positions, but kings and priests seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness knowing all these things have been given to us (Matthew 6:33). What are you seeking? What are you pursuing? What has your attention, causes you anxiety, makes you feel like a big man or an insignificant man? When we have an elevated identity, we are content no matter what amount we may have for we have met the Man, Jesus the Christ, who is abundance and we know we have access to everything.

Church, if we are going to shift culture, change atmospheres, we must be people who know who we are in our elevated identity. Kings don’t look for money, they are looking for those with wisdom. 1 Kings 10 says, the Queen of Sheba came to Solomon for she heard about his wisdom. Kings and queens have money but they are searching for wisdom. Proverbs 8 says when we pursue wisdom wealth follows. If you want to shift culture you need wisdom for that is what kings are looking for. If you want to change atmospheres as priests of God, you need authority. Authority comes from obedience to the voice of God. When we speak atmospheres shift. Our elevated identity is kings and priests, wisdom and authority, it is time we operate in who we are for we have been sent to shift culture and change atmospheres as our way of serving others. You have been given an elevated identity, come up higher!

I was getting ready for church yesterday morning in the bathroom and the moment I put on my watch the Lord spoke to me and said, “Do my people know what time it is?” I paused and said, what time is it Lord? He said, “It is time to favor my people!” I smiled a huge smile and the Lord said, “It is the time of favor and my people are watching the news thinking it is a time of war; a time of poverty; a time of death; it is not that time, it is the time of my favor, that is what time it is.” The Lord went on to say, “It is time to change what you are watching because you are on the wrong time schedule.” I was shouting, I was leaping, I was dancing, I was praising God.

Whenever the Lord speaks to me there is always a verse to back it up and when I looked up the words God spoke to me, I found Psalm 102:13 which says, “I know you are about to arise and show your tender love to Zion. Now is the time, Lord, for your compassion and mercy to be poured out— the appointed time has come for your prophetic promises to be fulfilled!” Friends it is time for the Lord to show His love for Israel and the fulfillment of His prophetic promises to us. It is the time of God’s favor not His anger. This is what time it is!

I know what people on television are saying, but if God says it is time to favor His people I am going to believe God and I immediately changed my watch and said, yes, yes, yes, I am watching for favor not war; for prosperity not poverty; for healing not sickness and disease; friends we must change watches so we are on God’s time not man’s. It is time for God to favor His people Israel and His people who are us that believe in His name. It is time for favor!!!! The Lord said, this is what time it is, so I am shouting, I am singing, I am rejoicing, for it is time for God to favor us!!!!

The longer I am in this kingdom life the more I see how dipped in religion I was. Cultural religion, church religion, atmospheric religion, it is like a skin that we are born into and it is challenging to break out of. Born again, baptized in water and the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, preacher of righteousness, experienced and was transformed by revival, have seen the dead raised, the sick healed, relationships restored and yet there is still residue of religion that is stuck to us like barnacles going along for the ride.

As Gentile believers who have been grafted into the vine that is Christ (John 15), we should not struggle with the “law” or struggle with “sacrifices” for we know very clearly it is by grace not works we are saved. We know this for our eternal salvation, but religion does not allow this to be our everyday reality. There is such a misunderstanding of what grace is, we have been taught to sacrifice, to serve, to give offerings and it has been taught as a transactional relationship not a covenant one. Pastor Dustin, our senior leader at Hope UC spoke of transactional relationships last Sunday and a friend of mine and I have been discussing this all week.

Transactional relationships are based on works, you scratch my back I will scratch yours; you do something for me I feel obligated to do something for you; there is a sense what is the catch in a transactional relationship. This is the “law” this is “religion”. Psalm 40 says, “It’s not sacrifices that really move your heart. Burnt offerings, sin offerings—those aren’t what bring you joy. But when you open my ears and speak to me, I become your willing servant, your prisoner of love for life.” Covenant relationships are coming from love not the law. We do for love what we would never do for money. We do to others out of love because we know we are loved.

Sacrifices are part of a very small living mindset; but we have been given access to abundance and it causes us to breath deeper. We find the rhythm of the roar and walk the pace of grace when we are living the abundant life. We love God and others deeply, we respond to God’s voice and other people’s voice because we can feel, hear and know their love. Love is the master key to breaking free from religion and transactional relationships. Love wins my friends, all day long!!!!!

I am learning to share more personal stories because I have a friends who are story tellers and they are teaching me the power of stories. Well today I have waited to write this blog, because I have a story to tell you and it has taken me all day to process it. I grab my dog Hunter for our morning routine, a walk through the neighborhood across the street. No phone, I like the silence of the morning and it is a great time to hear the Lord and enjoy the crisp morning air. This morning, same route different story.

I come around the corner and I see walking up the road toward me a toddler. She is wearing pink footie pajamas and is carrying a pink blanket, in the middle of the road as calm as can be. I am shocked by the sight but I take my dog and we approach the little girl. My dog greets her with sniffs and lite kisses, she smiles and I am looking around like where are her parents? No one, I mean no one is in sight. I ask the little girl who is all of two years old, can I pick you up, so I lift her into my arms and we start walking the neighborhood looking for her parents. There is literally not a soul in sight, not a door open, not a garage propped, not a car running. Nothing.

Who is this girl? Where is her family? Where does she live? How did she get out in the street? So many questions as I am walking carrying her along. Other thoughts were this is someone’s child? What if they think I stole her? What if someone shoots at me? So many questions. What do I do with her? Where do I take her? I walk the neighborhood and then decide I will bring her home and call the police. I get to my house, tell my housemate I found a child and she is like you what? I was like I know, I have found dogs, cats, but never a child that needed rescue. I was in shock but moving, so my housemate called the police and within 10 minutes they were at our house.

After I handed her over to the police, who had the mom’s friend in the backseat of the car. The tears fell down my face, I sat in my room for hours speechless, staring at the wall, not sure what just happened and what it meant. As a mom, so many thoughts, wondering what the little girls mom was felling, thinking, and then the absolute peace the little girl displayed the whole time was stunning. It has been quite a morning, one I will never forget, but this I know for sure, my life has been marked by this moment forever. I watched the lost be found and I not only watched it, I was apart of it and it has marked me in a way I cannot yet communicate.

The season of holidays is in full swing. We celebrated Thanksgiving in America with our friends and families. Now we are starting the celebration of Hanukkah with our Jewish friends all over the world; Boxing Day with our Canadian friends; and even Christmas with believers worldwide. The holidays are a time of celebration and declarations of joy. I find it fascinating that some people want to say because these holidays are “pagan” in origin they are not relevant. What I always smile at is how the enemy, who cannot create, but can only copy has tried to hijack all things enjoyable and make us miserable. I am not giving up celebrations for they all point to Jesus for me.

Thanksgiving is very biblical, Psalm 136, line after line says, “Give thanks to the Lord…” for me thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God first and then it is about the Mayflower landing, the Pilgrims progressing. Hanukkah is all about Jesus as well for in John 8 He said of Himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Hanukkah is called the Festival of Lights and means to dedicate. Today is the first day of Hanukkah, no I am not Jewish by blood, but my Savior is Jewish by earthly lineage and He is the light of the world, so I am dedicating myself to Him again after a long season of enemy occupation for that is what this holiday is about. Christmas and Boxing Day (second day of Christmas) is earmarked as the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I know He was probably born in September/October during Feast of Tabernacles, but He is the reason for the season, so I celebrate.

My friends, we will always find what we are looking for. I just pray we find what we are for and celebrate that not what we are against. It is Hanukkah, why do we celebrate it, not because we are Jewish, but because it is about dedication after a long season of enemy occupation. I don’t know about you, but I have been set free from the enemy and I am going to dedicate my life again every day during Hanukkah and give thanks to the Lord for He has set me free. Then I am going to give and receive gifts because I have received the greatest gift of all, Jesus the Christ. I do not have time to be anything but joyful, for we are in a season of celebration and the party is just getting started. Tis the season and we have so many reasons to rejoice. Happy Hanukkah!

We are victims of identity theft! I know some of you have a hard time with the idea that we are victims, but Church, we have had our identity stolen not by the devil, but by deception in the church. We have been told our identity is sinner saved by grace. If you ask most believers who they are they will tell you they are a sinner. The idea of being a sinner is engrained in us as the church it is no wonder we are not living the life of an overcomer. We are victims of identity theft, but the thief has been caught and we are taking back the truth of who we are.

I love how The Passion Translation says it in Romans 6, “Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power.” We are not sinners we are a new creation, the old identity of sinner is gone the new identity of new creation is upon us. This is not a future identity, this is a present reality. If we understood who we were, we would not want to live in any sin, tolerate any sin, or submit to sin in any way. You are not a sinner you are a new creation!!!!

Paul doesn’t stop he keeps exhorting us knowing we need to hear it again and again. Listen to this as he continues in Romans 6 “Sin is a dethroned monarch; so you must no longer give it an opportunity to rule over your life, controlling how you live and compelling you to obey its desires and cravings. So then, refuse to answer its call to surrender your body as a tool for wickedness. Instead, passionately answer God’s call to keep yielding your body to him as one who has now experienced resurrection life! You live now for his pleasure, ready to be used for his noble purpose.”

I am shouting I am rejoicing for we have been victims of identity theft, but the truth is here and you are not a sinner, you are a new creation. Preachers of righteousness; speakers of the kingdom of God must remind us we are a new creation, the old identity sinner is gone the new identity new creation is upon on us. Wear your new identity, show off your new creation status, live as though you know who you are, for you are a new creation I can see it in you, can you see it in you?