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When we want to enjoy the pleasures of sin, yet reap the rewards of righteousness…

When we want to walk in the dark and then wonder why we stumble…

When we want to celebrate holidays that promote fear, death and the demonic, then wonder why we don’t feel the presence of God in worship…

When we want to sit on the fence, thinking we are enjoying the best of both worlds, but are honestly enjoying neither…

When we ask God for help and then when He sends it we reject it for it will mean cutting off something or someone we have come to love…

Saul’s army was all talk and no action, but one man, David, a man after God’s own heart, called out to an uncircumcised Philistine and questioned who he thought he was to defy the armies of the living God. David said to Goliath, off with your head, you will become our bread.

“David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26)

I see a city rising up with the heart of David, who will see the army that is God’s despite being all talk and no action. This city will arise and confront the taunting giant in our nation. This city will arise with a humility and authority that will release a sound that will take the giant in our land down. This city will be called the city of David, a city after God’s own heart, for this city knew the true state of God’s army, so went to the front of the battle line and declared to the giant, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” Off with your head, you will become out bread! I see the giants falling and the passive army activating.

Wars, battles, arguments, the enemy leaves a footprint of sorrow, hurt, pain everywhere he goes. But Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and that is exactly what He did on the cross. He made a public spectacle of the enemy and if Satan knew what crucifying Jesus would do, the Bible says, he would have never crucified the King of Glory. This means the devil knows what was paid for on the cross, what was accomplished in the words “It is Finished”, but we don’t. The enemy wants to keep us unaware of all that Jesus did on the cross so all we do is claim we are forgiven, but the enemy knows better than us, it is much more than forgiveness we received by His death, burial and resurrection.

Psalm 142 says, “Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me.” The cross opened the prison doors of sin, and brought us out so we can restore the honor of God in the earth by giving thanks to the Lord. But it also took us from confinement and brought us into bounty. Oh yes, we have been given access to abundance, but the enemy wants us to believe we were made for forgiveness not prosperity. Jesus became poor so we could become rich. The cross paid the debt, every debt, so we could be free from the slavery of financial poverty.

The Bible says, by His stripes we are healed. The enemy says, God doesn’t heal today, but the cross says, Jesus dealt with the spirit of infirmity on the cross. The “It is finished” applies to sickness, disease and infirmity of every kind, nothing was left out, it was all nailed to the cross. The enemy wants you to think you are cursed, but the Bible says, we are blessed and highly favored. I don’t know who needs to hear this today, but Psalma 103 says we are to forget not all His benefits. The cross awarded us so much more than we are accessing, but today, we are opening up the storehouse of God for there are more rooms to access, more glory to apprehend and more power to experience. He died to forgive you, yes, but He died for so much more than that.

Chuck Pierce at the Head of the Year Conference in September said, “Pay attention to the signs on your path, this year.” I listen to so many messages, meet with so many people, hear so many things, but this phrase has stuck to my spirit like a message from the Lord for this year. I am paying close attention everywhere to the “signs” on my path. Now not everything is a sign on our path, but there are things that happen, things we see, things we hear, that if we lean into them we can tell if they are a sign we are to pay attention to, or just something we walk right past.

In the game Mario Brothers, Mario would run in this place that had coins to grab, obstacles to overcome, turtles to hurdle and what looked like chimneys that you stand on, but if you pushed down, while standing on the chimney, you could find an underground world of an abundance of coins to capture. Many of us see signs on our path, but we don’t lean into them, we don’t push down on them a little bit to see if there is something there that is not visible at first glance, the first brush with it. Lean in my friends, there are treasures hidden in places most don’t see because they don’t lean in.

This morning I was praying Psalm 141 and it says, “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” The Lord spoke to me and said “In this year 5784, the year of the door, remember your lips are a door. It is the year of the open door, so open your lips and speak, sing, shout, declare what I say. This is not a year to be silent, but to speak!” That was a new way to hear that verse, I told the Lord. Door of our lips was a sign He wanted me to lean into and I am glad I did.

Friends, in this year of the open door, we need to open our lips and let our voice of righteousness be heard; let the sound of salvation come out of our mouth; let the prevailing roar be released from us; this is not a time to be silent, but to open the door of our lips and let the voice of God inside of us be heard all around us. Open wide the door of your lips, it is the year of the open door, 5784! And lean in to the signs on your path.

I was praying the other day and speaking to the Lord about timing and what is taking so long with what He has promised me, personally. I am not one to talk about myself often with others, let alone with God. Not because I don’t have needs, desires or wants, but because I have nothing new to say, due to waiting on what we have talked about so many times before. In this discussion with the Lord about timing, He told me something that made a lot of sense and gave me a much needed timing adjustment. I know it was for me, but I think it is for many of us.

The Lord said, “There is no delay in what I have promised you, personally, it’s just that what I am doing is not only about you, it is bigger than you, so takes more time than just what I promised you.” As I pondered these words from the Lord, I understood I am apart of something so big, it is taking time for all of it to come together for the manifestation. If it was just about me, it would have been answered already, but what He has promised us individually is directly tied to what He is doing in us as a generation and that takes time. He sees us individually, but He is also looking at us as generationally with what is happening in this day and age.

I know it feels like the ache will never be met, but it is not about a what as much as it is about a who. Who this is about is God and His kingdom; what this is about is going to change the landscape of nations. It is as though God is on a macro assignment alignment right now and our micro is part of it, but is not the present priority individually, so we have to adjust our thinking to generationally. In the long run this is going to benefit so many at one time, just like a multitude came out of Egypt together, or a generation crossed the Jordan together, so we are living in a corporate time of God’s design, not an individual one. I hope this helps with what seems to be taking so long.

One thing that every human being steers clear of, avoids at any cost, is being controlled. It is though we have an aversion to someone controlling us. This is not a trauma response; this is not a rebellious action; this is how we were designed. We were not created to be controlled but to be complimented and to compliment others. Control is rooted in fear and perfect love casts out all fear, so we were not made to be controlled. When people resist control, throw off control, divorce control, run away from control, it is because they were created for freedom, not for control.

I was reading/praying Psalm 139 this morning and the Lord whispered to me, “I designed you, but i did not pre-program you. Your programming came from your culture not the kingdom.” I sat there and let those words sink in, deep inside of me, and what I saw was how God formed our infrastructure, but He did not program us to only know what He wants us to know and to only do what He wants us to do. God is omniscient, He is all knowing, He sees the end from the beginning, He knows everything, but He did not program us, Yahweh, is not controlling, because He is not fearful.

Psalm 139:1-2 says, “O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.” He understands us, He loves us, He created us, but He does not control us. Jesus said, “It is for freedom you have been set free!” We were born to be free, created to be free, but culture has programmed us, people have controlled us, not God.

When people throw off control, we call them rebellious, a Jezebel spirit, insubordinate, disrespectful, but what if that is not what they are, some are definetly that, but what if they are breaking free from your control, your fear, your need to dominate and dictate them, what if they were designed to be free and they have realized Christ has set them free and so now they gladly serve Him, because He is not controlling?

I believe, what Psalm 110 says, “Your people will volunteer freely in the day or Your power!” A day is coming, fast approaching when power is going to set people free and what they will do is volunteer to serve, share, surrender to the God of all Creation who created them, for He will set them free and keep them free. No one wants to be controlled for we were all created to be free!

Processing with the Lord about personal issues can feel so small and insignificant in light of world issues going on. Yet it is in the removing of the personal speed bumps that the Lord can speak clearly about the really big picture happening and when He does it brings such peace and such joy, it makes life’s challenges manageable. Jesus said, for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. The cross was a temporary moment that He had to go through in order to live in the eternal joy set before Him. Now we are not Jesus nor are any of our issues anything close to what Jesus endured on the cross, but the same spirits of mockery, intimidation, betrayal, they are in our situations as well. The enemy is a spirit and he is no respecter of persons.
What the Lord showed me today has brought so much joy, hope and peace, I can’t stop smiling and I hope it encourages you like it did me.

In the timeframe of 586BC a generation of people both righteous and wicked, were on the earth and they witnessed the destruction of the Temple in Israel. The Temple was and still is very valuable to Hebrew people because it was the place where God’s presence dwelt with them. One generation saw the destruction of the Temple, while another generation saw the restoration of the Temple when Solomon began the building project of it per his father David’s instructions and resources. Two generations, one saw destruction of a nation, the others saw restoration of a nation. Knowing where we are in God’s timeline for our nation is extremely important. Nehemiah was in the generation of restoration of a nation, henceforth, the rebuilding of the wall. Jeremiah was in the beginning of the captivity of a nation taken to Babylon and destruction of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar, henceforth the call to settle down in Babylon.

The question is where is your nation, right now. Are you in the destruction phase or the restoration phase? Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time for everything. What time is it for your nation? For the United States, we are at the beginning stage of the restoration of a nation. If you can see this is where we are, it will bring you great hope, joy and peace. What feels like a personal delay, is only a feeling, God showed me that this is so much bigger than me, it is about a nation and His timing is for a nation not an individual. This changed my whole attitude about how come things seem to be taking so long. God is restoring nations right now as we speak. Some are going to go through destruction and others are going through restoration. America is in the process of restoration not destruction, that is why we see so much rubble all around, but the builders are arising and God is restorating the nation. What is the Lord doing in your nation?

Does your heart ache for something it cannot access? Do you try to numb the pain of something that just keeps eating away at you? Are you one who wants to just ignore whatever it is you can’t do anything about? Life is hard, relationships are challenging, finances fluctuate, and promises don’t come true immediately. We do what we can to encourage one another in our struggles, we stand with each other in pain, we exhort one another not to sin, we speak to truth to one another in order to infuse life, and we pray for one another when we hear of a struggle. Yet, the ache still aches, the battle still rages, the relationship does not change, and the enemy says screams things about God and us that are just not true.

I listen to people all day long, I hear their struggles, their aches, their pains and I hear the struggle. It is hard to hear how people are hurting, how people are battling, how people are sick. There are so many promises in the word of God that we are more than conquerors, we overcome by the blood of the lamb, we are blessed and highly favored, but then our reality does not match biblical truth, it is like a sword in the very place that already hurts. I may never understand the why behind the what of this reality, but one thing I do know, is that Yahweh never ceases to be a lover, a listener, a leader and a Father in our life. He does not rejoice in our suffering, He is not glad we are in a battle, but rather He is bottling up the tears, listening to every word we speak, every cry of our heart and He is not deaf to our situation, no matter what it may be.

What I have learned in the waiting, in the wondering and in the wanting is the nature of God. Now that I know His nature, the circumstances don’t move me like they used to. But what I have also learned is the authority He has given me. I used to let circumstances toss me to and fro, but God has revealed to me who I am and in that I no longer let the enemy push me around like I used to. My friends, the enemy doesn’t want you to know who God is and He doesn’t want you to know who you are, for that is a double edged sword that defeats him with one swing, one word, one look in his direction. You and Yahweh make a great team. Be encouraged!

Yesterday morning in worship and now this morning in prayer I am hearing the Lord say, “The battle is being turned at the gate!” Over and over again i am hearing this phrase and it is coming with hope not fear. It is about the war in Israel, this I know, “The battle is being turned at the gate!” I open my phone and there is a news article on the home screen that says, “Due to weather, Israel has postponed its advance into Gaza.” Immediately the Lord says, “The battle is being turned at the gate.”

I open my Bible for I know this has to be a Bible verse, and sure enough, it is located in Isaiah 28 and here is what it says, “In that day the LORD Almighty

will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.” In what day is the first question I asked, because context matters and we must know what the context is to confirm what we are reading and hearing.

Isaiah 28:1-2 says, “Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley — to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!” Ephraim is one of Joseph’s sons, who he had with Pharoh’s daughter when he was brought out of prison. His other son is Mannasseh. Ephraim means double fruitfulness. Remember pride puffs us, don’t forget fermented wine also puffs up, just like leavened bread. The proud are being laid low, by God Himself, for the Lord is still exalting the humble and humbling the proud.

The battle is being turned at the gate because the Lord is strengthening the remnant who is praying for the peace of Jerusalem, for they know in there peace we have peace. We are gatekeepers, watchmmen on the wall, ones who turn the battle at the gate. God can use any resource at His disposal to turn the battle at the gate, but yesterday He used weather, for we know our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of wickedness in high places and God Himself is turning the battle at the gate for He so loved the world He gave His one and only Son!

The Lord of heaven and earth, the God of all creation, the Master of our lives, Yeshua is His name, Yahweh is who He is and He alone is God, outside of time, far above the heavens and yet draws near to us on earth. There are many gods on the earth, but there is none like our God. Our God has eyes and can see, ears and can hear, a mouth and can speak. We serve a relational God, a faithful Father, Jesus is our brother, the Holy Spirit is our comforter, counselor and promise keeper. Oh who blessed we are who know Yahweh is God.

Yesterday we were driving through downtown Franklin, TN and coming out of a Catholic Church were a procession of people and they began to parade down with street with a statue of Mary. But what stuck me is they were carrying her on poles on their shoulders, just like Yahweh commanded the priests to do with the ark of the covenant. As we watched from our car, listening to their chants, I was reminded the devil is dumb, but he is a master deceiver. He cannot create anything, but he counterfeits everything. He watches what God does more than most of us do and he twists it for his own purposes. The scene was obvious as I watched it, the counterfeit was a marching down the streets of my city with people who were just as blind as the statue they were carrying and chanting to.

Psalm 135 is my prayer partner today on this 15th day of October and it says, “The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; They have eyes, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear, Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, Yes, everyone who trusts in them.”

As we go to church today to worship, all over the world, we are singing to a living God, we are praying to a God that hears and speaks. Our God is in heaven, Psaslm 135 says, He can do whatever He wants! Once I was blind, but now I see, it truly is amazing grace that has set me free. Pray for your cities my friends for it is not buildings, it is people who can’t see and therefore are not set free. Only the truth can set us free, so we can see.

One of the things I enjoy doing, is watching game shows. I spend most of my day reading, studying, praying, processing what God is saying and ministering to many people, so when I get down time my go to is a television show that doesn’t need me to think, I can just relax, laugh and enjoy the show. This is why I love watching sports as well. One of the shows I used to watch when I lived in Malaysia was Wipeout. If you have never watched this game show, it is really funny and very entertaining. It is basically an obstacle course for adults, who have chosen to dress up in some very creative way to run the course. They have water being shot at them, big balls to jump on, spinning things to get over, all in an attempt to knock them off the course. Many fall down on the course and others fall off the course into the water below. It is a see it to fully understand it kind of show.

The Lord brought this game show to mind this morning as I thought about the reality that today is the last day of Tishri (Hebrew month); there is a new moon tonight: there is a solar eclipse today; there is a war happening in Israel; there are protests all over the world; there are attacks happening in France; and their are rockets in the air and boots on the ground in Israel. Signs in the heavens above and signs on the earth below. It can feel, look and sound like the perfect storm in the natural. Yet the Lord reminds me of a game show called Wipeout.

Life has a lot of things thrown at us to get us off course; the news sprays us with bad news all day long; people fight; money rises and falls; moons are new every month, suns go dark, but they are not to be ignored, nor are they to be feared. The enemy is trying to throw you off the course, but the Lord is trying to get you to the finish line to declare victory over the enemy. Now the choice is yours, will you let the many obstacles being thrown at you take you out, or will you lift up you eyes to where your help comes from (Psalm 121)? It’s a lot I know, I feel it too, but there is a God who has seen the end from the beginning and if He is not scared, neither should we be. The enemy is trying to wipe us out, but God is raising us up for such a time as this. We were born for this day, arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is rising upon us. Rejoice!!!!!!