Lisa Great

June 14, 2025, what a day this will be. The plans of man for today are riots in cities all over America; a military parade in Washington, DC; the birthday of the President of the USA, DJT; and Israel and Iran are exchanging missle launches at each other. Many have been called to pray at various locations around the nation, others will sit home and watch the news unfold as the day unfolds. Many things happening on this simple Saturday in June 2025.

Being aware of what is happening around us is important, but not entering into the narrative, the emotion, or the pace of it is of utmost importance for those who are kingdom citizens. As watchmen on the wall of the nation, we must have eyes open, heart listening and mouth declaring what the Lord is saying, not what the news is speaking.

I was praying about today this morning and I heard two verses joined together by the Holy Spirit. I first heard Amos 5:24 “Let justice roll down like the waters, and righteousness like one ever-flowing stream.” I then heard, Proverbs 10:25 “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.” Putting these two verses together becomes the decree coming out of me.

I declare justice will roll down like the waters on our nation to wash away all the wickedness in our land. I declare the rain of justice fall from heaven to eradicate wickedness and establish righteousness in our land. I pray for an ever-flowing stream of healing, like Ezekiel’s river to run through our land, so the leaves of the trees on either side of this river of righteousness brings healing to the nations. I declare when this day planned by man is over, the nation will say, look what the Lord has done! What the enemy is planning for evil, I see God working for good as righteousness and justice reign over our nation today and forevermore. In Jesus name, amen!

Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

I went to Friendship Park in Atchinson, KS years ago and while there the Lord spoke to me and said, America’s transportation building started with the rivers, then they followed the trails, then they built the rails, next they laid the roads, and now they are going to the realms. This understanding changed my life. Once there is seemingly nothing else to build physically, you want to build something successfully. Henceforth the love for platforms, positions and people seeing you, hearing you, loving you.

We were created to build things, create things, have a purpose for our existence on earth. This is a God given reality we all carry. This past month I have had life altering experiences with people who built cities. It started with Milton and Catherine Hershey, who built Hershey, PA and now it is happening with Daniel Pratt who built Prattville, AL. Men with vision, purpose, ideas and execution. They didn’t pursue riches, they pursued building communities and riches followed.

These men built cities for people not to get rich. They got rich from doing it, but they always invested it back in creating something for people to thrive in, to express their gifts in, and to build their families in. Hebrews 11 says, Abraham was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God. Cities are clusters of people who are building something together.

When we build together, we have a sense of purpose, community and authority, for we are doing it together. God is building the kingdom of God on earth and it is not about pursuing riches, they will follow; nor is it about being famous, He is the only name that this city will be known by. The days of not knowing our purpose are ending, the days of building is here. We are being invited to build lives together with the gifts we have been given in order to manifest the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. It’s time to build.

Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel we have our first introduction to the nation of Israel asking for a human king. This was very displeasing to the prophet Samuel and the Lord God Himself. Yahweh was the Lord of the nation, they were to not be a nation governed by a king, but by the Lord Himself. This was one of their distinguishing marks as the covenant people of God. But they wanted a king and so God gave them Saul.

The story goes on through the Old Testament of all the generations and all the kings this nation called Israel had. Some kings were wicked and some were righteous. Some kings destroyed the nation through idolatry, while other kings reformed the nation by returning them to their first love. But the truth remained, God never intended His covenant people to governed by an earthly king.

King David was and is possibly the most honored of all Israel’s kings. He was declared a man after God’s own heart, but the truth did not change, that God did not want them to be governed by an earthly king. Fast forward to Jesus walking the earth for 33 years and when they wanted to make Him king, He disappeared out of their midst. Jesus knew they were not to be governed by an earthly king, so He was not going to let them make Him one.

Now it comes time for Jesus to be crucified in John 19 and Pilate the governor of Judea is talking with the religious leaders and listen to what they say, “Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Not only did the religious leaders of the Jews declare they had a king, they declared Caesar was their king. Caesar was not even a Jewish king, he was a Roman king. Israel loved being like all the other nations so much, they even went so far as to have a Roman be their king, but God never changed His mind, He wanted to be their God and for them to be His covenant people.

What started as a simple request for a king turned into a complete absorbing into Roman culture, so much so they even had a Roman king. Friends, a little leaven still leaven’s the whole lump, so we must go back to God’s original design for His covenant people, no matter how far away from the foundation we find ourselves, for Yahweh has not changed His mind, He still wants us to be a nation governed by God, not an earthy king.

Expecting people to commit to something they do not see the value of is a hard sell. If people did not see the value of the IPhone, the IPad, the MacBook, they would not have paid the price they paid to have it. If people do not see the value of the presence of God, the power of God, the name of God, they will not pay the price to protect it. When we don’t reveal the value of the precious, people will settle for the vile.

If people don’t value healing it may not be because they do not believe in healing, but because they have not seen healing happen. If people don’t value the presence of God, it may be because they have not ever experienced His presence. If people don’t value the sanctity of marriage, it is possible they have never seen what a healthy covenant keeping marriage looks like.

When value is not just spoken but visible, tangible, experienceable, it changes what people are willing to pay to pursue it. When a man sees the value in a woman, he will pursue her, it is in his nature to do so. When a woman sees the value of the child she gives birth to, it is natural for her to do whatever it takes to protect that which she deems valuable. We are people who know how to value what we see as valuable.

I see the presence, power and glory of God being made valuable again. I see the name of Jesus Christ being restored to a place of value in people’s lives. I see the word of God being heard as valuable truth again. I see a sight and sound experience emerging around us in various places, revealing the value of Yahweh as God.

As His value is seen, heard and felt, we will find Matthew 13:45-46 happening, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” He is the pearl of great price and when people see His value they will hotly pursue Him again.

Www.apostolicresourcecenter.org

Post modernism has taught us to be a culture that wants our own truth. We love the idea of our truth, but the truth is, we are not lovers of truth. If we loved the truth we would hear truth when it was spoken to us. We love our opinions, we love our ideas, we love our way of doing things, but we don’t really love truth.

Yesterday I spoke about the phrase, love is love, and we dissected what that really means. We determined that love is personal responsibility and personal accountability, love is not legalistic and love is not liberal. Now today, I would like to add, truth is not truth. If everyone of us has our own truth, of if we truly loved truth, when we heard truth we would welcome it, adjust our lives to it. Opinions are not truth.

Reading John 18 today, verse 37 jumped off the page at me, “Jesus answered, You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Jesus was having a talk with Pilate, the governor of Judea at the time. This conversation was all about truth, to the point where Pilate asked the question, “What is truth?”

What struck me in this dialogue was that Jesus said, I have been born and for this I have come into the world, TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. He continues by saying, everyone who is of the truth, hears my voice. This would have been shocking to them for the religous leaders were experts in what they thought was truth, but they could not hear the truth about Jesus or the kingdom of God.

When we love truth, when we speak truth to ourselves, we can hear the truth coming through other people who are speaking the truth to us. It all starts with us loving truth, but not just any truth, the truth about Jesus Christ, the truth as it is stated in the Bible and then truth allows us to hear the voice of God as it comes through others and comes to us personally. Truth is powerful, may we all be loves of God, who is the way, the truth and the life.

Have you seen the sign or heard the phrase “Love is love”? Ever since I saw this sign in someone’s yard years ago, I have struggled with this phrase because I knew it was not true, but I did not know how to explain what I knew in my spirit. I have asked the Lord for years, why does this not resonate with me?

I walk in a neighborhood by my house and there is a sign in the yard with this exact phrase on it and every morning I read it and struggle to explain why this is not true, so I have kept quiet on the subject. The Lord has finallly revealed to me what this sign is saying and why it is not true, but He has also shown me the truth about love and I would like to share with you what the Lord has shown me.

Love is love means, we have been shown legalistic love, which came with a bunch of does and dont’s; it came across mean, hurtful, condemning even at times, so people flipped to the other ditch and decided love is liberal. The idea is love is without boundaries, we can love whoever we want, however we want. Love is love is a statement made in the alphabet community and describes how we are to love everyone and not question the behaviors they are displaying.

Love is not love. Love is not legalistic and love is not liberal. These two ditches are not love. Biblical love is personal accounability and personal responsibility. Love holds myself accountable and responsible to not harm you in any way. If I say I love you, I am saying I am not going to do anything to harm you. Love is me doing no harm to you.

John 15 says “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Biblical love is obeying the commands of God to love God, and love people. Love is not liberal, you, nor I, do not get to do whatever we want, love has boundaries, but love is also not legalistic, it is not confining, restricting, condemning.

Love is light, love is truth, love is hope, love is joy, love is peace, love is a person named Jesus Christ and when we love Him and do what He says, we love each other the way He loves us and His love is neither legalistic nor liberal, it is obedience to His Father who so loved the world He gave Jesus His son, so whoever believes in Jesus will never perish. Love is personal accountability and personal responsibility to not do anything that would harm another person. This is what love is.

The kingdom of God can feel elusive, hard to understand and even so massive we cannot grasp the practical realities of what it brings to earth. But the kingdom of God is for children, for Jesus said, “Unless you become like a little child you cannot enter the kingdom.” This is a statement that speaks of kingdom characteristics we need to be looking for as the kingdom is manifesting on earth.

Children are trusting. They trust people, they trust each other. Children are soft, they are easily hurt, they get over things quickly. Children don’t know or care what day or time it is, they live in the moment. Children are simple. Children are learners. In the first year of a child’s life they learn more than we even recognize or realize. The kingdom of God is for children, that is why we must become like children.

One of the features of the kingdom of God is going to be safety. People are going to feel safe. Fear has paralyzed us as humanity more than we even comprehend. Religion promotes fear, the news promotes fear, marketing uses fear, fear is a powerful weapon, for it is used to control us not liberate us.

I had a first yesterday, when I was helping a friend move. We were given an address to bring the U-Haul to, so I arrived first and then a car of teenagers followed. Our goal was to unload the truck into the new house, so I go up to the door, knock, knock, knock and knock some more. I was told they knew we were coming. But no answer, then all of sudden I hear from inside the house a woman say, “Go away!” I called the name of the person we were meeting, but the woman said again, “Go away!”

I was clueless what the problem was, because I was coming to bring something, but was being refused entry. I knocked some more and then the woman pulls back the curtain on the door and waves a gun at me. Not just any gun, a 9mm handgun. She was making it clear you better back away. I tell the boys who are here to help me unload the truck to get back in the car and I back away (quickly).

There is so much more to say about this story, but in this context, I want to say, I was there to bring something to the house and she thought I was coming to take something from her, so in fear she showed a sign of force to get me to back off. I was at the wrong address, honest mistake, but fear caused her to think I was coming to do something to harm her, not that I was just at the wrong address.

The kingdom of God is coming with safety. Safety is going to break off the spirit of fear people are living with. Psalm 125 says, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” We are surrounded by the Lord, and His kingdom on earth is going to cast out all fear in humanity.

The Lord has called us as humanity into a time of relearning. The church wants revival, the government wants reform, but the Lord is calling for a relearning. Pride is the inability to be teachable and pride is the end of our learning. Humility keeps us teachable, flexible and relatable, for we are always learning something new about God and His kingdom.

When a narrative is echoed over and over again it gets established. The narrative can become so entrenched in us that it actually becomes culture. Once a narrative is culture it is baked into our foundation and we believe it is truth that cannot be uprooted. The Pharisees were so baked in the Law of Moses, that Judaism became cultural, so when Jesus showed up, they rejected Him and His narrative of the kingdom of God.

A narrative that has become cultural for much of the church in the West and probably worldwide is the idea of a dark future, a gloom and doom end, a rapture theology. The challenge is, it is baked into so many people if you say anything different, they won’t, can’t or don’t want to hear it. But this narrative is one, not biblical and two, not beneficial to anyone.

Proverbs 2:20-22 says, “You will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.”

We must relearn many things we have been taught in church, for the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God has entered a building stage in our generation and it will be built according to the biblical pattern, not the seminary one, not the left behind series one, not the cultural/denominational church one. The kingdom of God is a city whose builder and maker is God. God has the blueprints and He is starting to build again.

When I came into the kingdom of God, it was an experience of the likes that is hard to describe, but vivid in my hearts treasure chest. I got saved in 1989, surrendered my life to the Lord with all my heart, but in 2000 something happened to me and I entered the kingdom of God. They are not the same, salvation is the runway to the kingdom, so keep moving, you haven’t seen anything yet.

I liken the kingdom of God to the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. When the children were operating in an innocent curiosity, they found a wardrobe, but only one of the children would go into it and when she did, she found a door at the back of it that opened up to a world she could have never known existed. It was called Narnia.

I had a similar experience, where I was led to the door of the kingdom and the choice was mine to go into it or remain where I was in Christianity. I was saved, but there was more and I was curious, so went through the narrow door, just like in that wardrobe that leads to life. Once inside this kingdom I saw and heard things I had never seen or heard before. It was truly a whole new world where a narrow door led to wide open spaces.

Psalm 119:130 says, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”

The kingdom of God is unfolding every day revealing things I did not know. It is a perpetual journey of discovering new things about the heart of God in the word of God. Salvation is needed but it is a settlers location, the kingdom of God is eternal and it is a movement that knows no end. I love the kingdom of God and what is unfolding, opening, revealing, makes me want more and more and more of this King and His kingdom.

Come through the narrow door that leads to life, you will encounter a kingdom that knows no end and you will love all the sights, sounds, and stories the kingdom shares. There is so so so so much we do not know, but we are invited by the King to come in to know and be known.

Salvation is a journey, not a prayer you say one time at an altar call. Salvation is a journey of discovering who God is, who you are, what the church is, who the Jews are, what the Bible says, and what community really looks and sounds like. Salvation is hard times and joyous moments, it is humility and prosperity, it is healing and loss. Salvation is not a straight line, it is a windy road, it is tear and laughter, salvation is a journey and we are invited to enjoy the mysteries on the journey.

On this Memorial Day, in the USA, we remember our history as a nation. We remember those who fought wars so we could live free, we remember places where much blood was shed so we could salute the red, white and blue. We sing a national anthem, we watch parades, we tip our hats to our veterans and we thank God for our currently serving members of the military. Just like salvation, this nation has been and continues to be on a journey and today we remember moments from that journey.

Memories are there to teach us, to remind us, to encourage us that salvation is a journey. The salvation of a nation is a journey, the salvation of a soul is a journey, it is not a location or some far off destination. It is the everyday moments, where we listen to the song of creation being sung over a nation, while we sit on a porch or stand in a stadium to cheer on our favorite team.

Psalm 116 says, “I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.”

The journey is both low and bountiful. Ironically, both are needed for our maturity individually and nationally. But in it all we can say with the Psalmist, “I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.” (Psalm 116:1-2) Enjoy the journey, call on the Lord and remember He is the God of salvation for the nation!