We are still being called to walk in love; to pray for those in authority over us; to bless and not curse; to remember that righteousness and unrighteousness don't walk together; that we answer to God first and that His love for us never changes, His mercies are new every morning and GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS.
24 “The LORD bless you and keep you;
25 The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’
I keep hearing God telling me to TRUST HIM. And He brings me to this Psalm to help me remember who He really is:
Psalm 93
The Eternal Reign of the LORD
1 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The LORD is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their waves.
4 The LORD on high is mightier
Than the noise of many waters,
Than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O LORD, forever.
The days are getting darker and no matter who wins the election a lot of the world is already in chaos. In Orissa, India Christians are being slaughtered and that is not the only place it is happening. He is our light and our salvation and we must remember, know, grasp who He is.
My growing up years, up until I was a grandmother, were spent in the west. Clouds were not plentiful, except when it rained. So looking for bunnies and bears and whatever in the sky wasn't something I got to do. Then we moved to the South. My husband often laughed at me as we drove along and I'd be having a great time looking in the sky.
Down at my daughter's in house in FL I've seen Mickey Mouse, Goofy, the bears from the Bear Country Jamboree and lots of cartoonish looking clouds.
Then one day we were driving toward the I95 to go to FL. We had the son of a friend with us. He was from England. We'd had rain so there were plenty of clouds. As we were talking I looked out the window and saw waring faces. One was coming from the north. It looked like it was blowing hard and with purpose. The other was coming up from the south and it looked malevolent and it too was blowing hard. The date that day was Sept. 10, 2001.
As we got close to the Florida border I looked out again and saw what looked like a charcoal brown leviathan on it's back. (Yes, I know that isn't a color but that is what I saw and still hear that color in my spirit when I revisit this.) It had a huge tail and four paws in the air. It was dead. All I thought was that the war in the heavenlies was heating up, but was busy talking to the young man with us so didn't pursue it.
Of course the next day I realized what it was all about.
I still look at the clouds and have fun but there is a sobering side to it also. Lately there have been lots dragons and pigs flying. When I realized how many times there have been flying pigs the saying “when pigs fly” popped into my mind. My husband said the same thing when I told him. My sense is that it's a two fold meaning. Many people don't think what is prophesied in the Bible will come to pass and have a “when pigs fly” attitude about it. But then we also have promises that God has made to us and many of us are wondering if it will even happen. Discouragement is trying to take over; my sense is the enemy is trying to tell us “yea, when pigs fly God will do that”. Well God will do that and the pigs are flying! He will do what He's promised. His heart is for redemption, restoration, rescue. Eventually His wrath will spill over but it's because of His holiness and evil must be judged. But for now it is imperative that we hear God more clearly, know Him better and get hidden in the Secret Place. We must be so secure in Jesus that no matter what the signs are we stay in His rest. Leviathan dies! The saints Rise in Christ!
Unfortunately youtube doesn't have a link any more, that I can find, to blogs. Graham Cooke is my favorite Christian teacher.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQqAcll4nog
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
wear = Strongs 1080
corresp. to 1086 (but used only in a mental sense); to afflict:--wear out
1086 a prim. root; to fail; by impl. To wear out, decay
According to Brown Driver Briggs' Hebrew Lexicon fig. for harass continually
So now I have a choice. I can either focus on this harassment or on God and what He says and believe it, or I can be miserable and worn out.
Some of what God says, and this is just a couple things.
Phil 4:4-8 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. NKJV
Or as The Message says:Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!
Of course The Message has more to those verses but I felt that was the essence!
God laughs at His enemies.
I know at times He's cracking up at me. He's teaching me to be easier on myself and to laugh more. This is how He began:
The first time I was at the Open Church Ministries office in Portal, GA was for a mini-conference. The worship was fabulous and we got to a point of free worship. All of us were quietly singing our own praises to our Lord. I realized my right arm was in the air making circles and I heard, “Make it bigger”. So I did. Then I heard, step under it. I looked around and at first felt foolish but there was room to move under it so I did. I began singing, “You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords” and then I heard, “I'm also merry”. Being a very spiritual person being I said, “Whaaat?????” And then I was told, “How do you think a merry heart does good like a medicine if I'm not merry? All good and perfect gifts come down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shifting of shadow”.
For months now I've had many things in my in-box regarding the Lakeland Outpouring. I finally tried to watch it a few weeks after it began and after 5 minutes I had to turn it off. Deep down I sensed there was something very wrong. I tried to talk to my husband about it without being the accuser of the brethren. What I finally was able to say, at first, is My Jesus is meek and humble of heart. He says so and I didn't find that when I watched but I only watched a few minutes. I had no idea what else was going on. Just had no peace to continue. Honestly, I was very upset and the fear of the Lord was very much with me as I did not want to say or do anything against what He would want.
Garry was able to watch and he couldn't watch any more either. We tried hard to discern how to pray. Our desire was not to judge any one but to KNOW Jesus and know what He was saying about it all. So we prayed that His Kingdom would come and His will be done. We prayed that people would truly be healed, set free and come to know Jesus.
Some of what has been in my in-box has appalled me as a judgmental spirit was very strong. There was much condemnation, arrogance, finger pointing. That probably bothered me even more than what I saw on TV. People in ministry have so much of the enemy looking to destroy them. It's very easy to “arm chair quarterback”, but being in the trenches is hard. It's tiring and if we are not Strong in HIM we are in trouble. To point fingers shows great pride and a lack of humility—I know, I've been a good finger pointer in my day. Thankfully God hasn't given up on me and His transforming work continues. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
I kept wondering where were the mature believers? Where are those who understood that you go to the Lord in prayer for people who you perceive are off base? Where was the accountability for Todd? Did he have any? Did people really seek God before publicly condemning him?
Evidentially he did not have a good accountability group. That is so dangerous. It has proved so for he and his family.
I have had people tell me how excited they were about what was going on in Lakeland. So many of them are so hungry to see the truth of God's word in the natural. Many are led by their emotions. Many, supposedly older believers, don't know the Word. In Hebrews 5 it says:
14But solid food is for the mature,
who because of practice
have their senses trained to
discern good and evil.
The word “senses” means our bodily senses. It's not just a spiritual discerning.
Unfortunately many people have stayed very young in the Lord, allowing their pastors to spoon feed them and never learning to feed themselves. Pastors have been, in some cases, very happy to do this for them. Yet the 5 Fold Ministry is to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
Through all this I have sensed Father shaking everything in us that can be shaken. I think He allowed all this to happen to show us what is in us, how much we don't know, how much more our hearts have to be changed. His heart is not to destroy, not to loose wrath, but to love us and turn us into what He really meant in Genesis for us to be—made in the image and likeness of God. So He causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose; for those whom He foreknew He also predestined TO BECOME CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, the first born among many brethren. Jesus can not have a Bride with spot and wrinkle. We are to beholy and mature.
Please remember to pray for those who minister to you, not just your pastors but those who have ministries on-line, on TV, or any place else. Pray for Todd and his family. Pray for those who were deceived, who were hurt, who are confused by all this. New believers can be truly devastated by all that has happened and they need people to lovingly come along side of them and show them God's love and truth. Pray for yourselves that deception and denial will be removed and kept far from you.
Your mercies Lord are remarkable. It truly is wonderful that you chose to love us and redeem us and not consume us with judgmental fire. Lord, we ask that you put your eye salve on our eyes so we can see clearly. We need to KNOW your Word, not just read it, but to have it deep within us. We need you, we need you to guide us in everything. Clear our ears so that we hear more clearly. We need a greater revelation of your love for us, your love for all. Show us our hearts Lord so that we may repent and allow your transforming work in us. We desperately need the the
Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
Especially Lord, the Reverential Fear of the Lord. In Jesus Name.
This week I have to take an on-line test for the ICIT course I'm taking. The multiple choice questions are very easy. So are the 2 essay questions, except you can only have 10 to 20 sentences and you have to reiterate only what was covered in the material. I'm use to having to do 10-18 page papers in which I do research, express myself and quote others. The test is open book so we have been told it's best to type it in a Word document and then copy and paste it into the test.
I've been working on these few short sentences for a week.......sheesh.
The other night I dreamed I was sitting at an old tymie table next to Sherlock Holmes who was correcting my essay questions. Much to my horror I got a C. I said something to the effect that I had tried so hard not to put myself into it that I went too far the other way. He nodded his head and left the table.
So I am laughing at myself. I do like getting good grades but the reason for taking this course is the impartation and looking to be transformed. So for it to bother me to the point of having Sherlock show up makes me really laugh--at me. You can too.
He loves to swim.
The fun of trying to get a group shot.
He's enjoying feeding the horse.
My 8 year old grandson, my friends 7 year old granddaughter swimming in my friends pool with one of her 10 dogs. Unfortunately the video wouldn't download. And it won't let me add more pictures...........the ways of the net are sometimes very challenging
I received this in an email today. It expresses what is in my heart better than I can.
Going Through The Cross
Charles Elliott Newbold, Jr.
Dec 7, 2005, Jul 13, 2008
Dec 7, 2005
I call a particular of God's people the "crucified ones" because I see them as having not only gone to the cross for the forgiveness of their sins, but as having gone through the cross in total denial of anything for self. Each is willing, as Jesus called, to "take up his cross daily..." (Luke 9:23, Matt. 16:24).
These crucified ones are dead so far as the interests and deeds of their flesh and of the world are concerned. They have come to the end of themselves--the place God wants to bring us all. They understand that the only true life is found in the loss of their own self-life, to be given over completely to the absolute will of God. "Whoever will save his life shall lose it" (Matt. 16:25). They are willing to die, or willing to be made willing to die, for the sake of the gospel.
Jesus is the only issue in their lives. Other great truths and doctrines are important as safeguards against heresy, but, to them, these truths never become dividing issues in the body of Christ. These "crucified ones" are not argumentative or divisive but are, nonetheless, bulwarks for the Truth who is Jesus Christ as Lord.
Under the Headship / Lordship of Christ
The crucified ones have a strong sense of and security in the headship of Jesus Christ. They resist the pressures of traditional Christianity to submit to the headship of other men but are given to the scriptural order of 1 Corinthians 11: 3: "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." Any other headship, to them, would be false and offensive to their sincere spirits.
Their insistence upon the headship of Jesus Christ is an offense to the traditionalists/
Nevertheless, the crucified ones are submitted one to another, especially to those others who are sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Having come through the cross as it were, they are humble, broken before the Lord, and eager to examine themselves to see if there is any evil within. They voluntarily and willfully present themselves accountable one to another.
They have no ambition for self but see themselves as servants. They are willing to do their service before God in secret, making no acclaim for themselves. They do not seek for themselves "a city, and a tower, ..and a name" (Gen. 11:4). They are without ambition to increase themselves in power, position, or riches. They are not interested in building churches and memberships for themselves, devising programs, or gaining reputation and titles. They have no agenda of their own. They only want and pursue what God wants.
While they are genuinely submitted one to the other in the Spirit, they are not motivated by the fear of man but by their reverence for God Almighty. Jesus is absolute Lord in their lives. They have renounced all forms of idolatry. Radical Obedience
The absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ infers radical obedience to Him. The crucified ones have abandoned all to follow Him and are faithful in the least as well as in the greater of things (Luke 16:10).
Such obedience comes out of extreme faith and confidence in God as being sovereign in their lives. Their faith supersedes faith for things, even the things of the Kingdom. Their faith is in God regardless of things and circumstances.
Yet, they are not without knowledge of the wiles of the devil nor without power over all the work of the enemy. In fact, they exert absolute power over the enemy because they are obedient to the Spirit.
They have such confidence in the greater power of God in them that whatever happens to them is regarded more as the sanctification work of the Holy Spirit than as the destructive work of the enemy. They are so given to God and His will that they have that confidence that "...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28).
Non-Religious
The crucified ones are non-religious, non-traditional, non-institutional and non-liturgical. They see the difference between religion and relationship. They do not need religion because they have a personal relationship with the Christ of Christianity.
Religion is interested in the doing of things to appease the gods while relationship is interested in being in fellowship with the God-person Himself.
Religion is sacrifice; relationship is obedience. Religion is intent on cleaning the outside of the cup; relationship is intent upon being cleansed on the inside (Matt. 23:25-26).
Religion partakes of the symbol only of the body and the blood (communion); relationship partakes of the Person of the body and the blood.
We can no longer offer people the symbol only. They need the Person of the symbol--Jesus Christ, Lord.
The crucified ones no longer base their own lives on the symbol but upon their relationship with the Person. They are so identified with Him that, when they present their own lives as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God (Rom. 12:1), it is as though they are presenting the Person Himself.
Being in relationship with God this way, they will come to know Him, not just know about Him--to understand Him and His ways, to trust Him, to have love and affection for Him, to fear Him, to respect Him, and to obey Him. An inseparable bond is formed between Him and them.
The interest of these crucified ones is to seek only more and more of Jesus. They are those for whom it could be said by their life and power "that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).
They are not centered upon themselves in any way but are centered and focused upon Jesus and His will. They identify with His plans and purposes in all eternity.
Non-materialistic
They are non-materialistic, having learned that "a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses" (Luke 12:15). They identify with the apostle Paul who said of himself, "...I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Phil. 4:11). It does not matter whether they have or have not. Their confidence is in their God who provides. They think Spirit, not flesh; eternal, not temporal; spiritual, not material.
Non-Sensational
They are non-sensational. They are Spirit-immersed, likely to speak in unknown tongues, believe in the present day operation of the gifts and ministries of the Spirit as set forth in the scriptures, and are anxiously awaiting the second coming of the Lord. But these things are no longer the issue with them. Their interest is to receive spiritual gifts as tools to go on in the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The Pentecostal experience is not the end, but the means toward the higher goal of attaining Him, of being found in Him (Phil. 3: 7-11). They are less inclined to seek the sensational, outward manifestations of miracles and healings and more inclined to seek that "holiness without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). They desire more that hidden work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. In the long run, however, the greater and truer signs will follow them.
Their main interest is to be separated unto God. "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification..." (1 Thess. 4:3). They are quick to admit to sin and to repent. Holiness, to them, is attained through the purging, purifying, cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit--transforming and conforming them into the image of Jesus.
They are patient to wait upon the Lord--to rest, wait, listen, and then and only then, to do.
They have a profound confidence in the Bible as the word of God and live as though God said what He meant and meant what He said.
They also have a profound confidence in the Holy Spirit of God and operate on the basis of Zechariah 4:6: "Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." They put no confidence in the flesh (Phil. 3:3).
The Church without Walls
The crucified ones are the church without walls. They have gone outside of the camp with Jesus, bearing His reproach (Heb. 13:12-13).
The churches are like walled cities within which to keep their own.
The ecumenical movement is an attempt to overlap these walls so as to give an appearance of unity. But all of these attempts will never remove the reality of the walls.
More often, even among the most sincere believers, these walled cities become social clubs for their kind. God is not calling for Christian country clubs. Rather He is calling for His people to come out of them. The only wall that God and His crucified ones are interested in is that wall of fire mentioned in Zechariah 2:5: "'For I,' says the Lord, 'will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.'" These crucified ones are a people who have been called out of a people: the ekklesia, "called out ones." 3 {1}
They view the gifts of the Spirit and the ministries of the Spirit as belonging to the whole body without regard to particular church membership.
The crucified ones have taken for themselves no other name but His name: the name of Jesus (Acts 15:14).
They gather in no other name but His (Matt. 18:20).
They submit to no other headship/Lordship except the headship/Lordship of Jesus Christ who is the true head of the church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23).
They follow no one but the Holy Spirit of God who is Himself bound only to do and say what Jesus, the Head, is doing and saying (John 16:13).
They know no other voice but that of the Good Shepherd (John 10:14-16).
They are joined to no one or no thing but to Him (1 Cor. 6:17).
They have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 7:23) and, therefore, dare not attempt to own anyone or to be owned by anyone except Him. Yet, they belong to each other in the deepest spiritual sense of the word (1 Cor. 3:22 NAS).
They have no other life to live but that His life should be lived in and through them (Gal. 2:20).
Prophets
The crucified ones are a people who say what God says, do what God does, and are what God has made them to be.
They are true prophets of God. By the use of the term prophet, I do not infer that they are all called to the equipping gift ministry of prophet. Nevertheless, their lives are styled after that of the prophets of God--the Elijah spirit--having this radical relationship with God in the Spirit, speaking for God by their very life-style, bringing conviction to the world, preparing the way of the Lord's second coming.
They appear as mavericks in the body of Christ but are in fact the very opposite. They are each given absolutely to the will of God at all cost to themselves. There is no rebellion to be found within them.
As each of them follow the Spirit, they find that He leads according to the Scriptures; that the gifts and ministries of the Spirit will emerge and begin to flow together without walls; that His body, the church, will begin to come together in good scriptural order and liberty as one man according to Ephesians 4:13; that His divine purposes and plans are revealed; that His presence and power is manifested; and that they themselves are emerging as a corporate son throughout the world.
These things have to be the work of the Holy Spirit who is building God's house. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it" (Ps. 127:1).
No man knows how to build God's house. Man cannot legislate or institutionalize God's divine order. He can only submit to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit who is doing the building and be radically obedient to that particular thing he is shown by the Spirit to do. Any attempt to build, legislate, or institutionalize ahead of the Spirit is carnal, resulting in legalism and death. "...the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3:6).
Rivers of Living Water from Within
These crucified ones are self-starters. The life and power of the Spirit is the driving force within them. They have themselves become that living water welling up from within their innermost being, flowing as rivers of life (John 7:38).
They do not need to be prompted to praise and worship, to pray, to fast, to give, to respond to all that is demanded by the Spirit.
They do not need to run to this seminar on healing or that workshop on deliverance. They will not have to buy all those books and tapes on "how to this" and "how to that."
They will not have to try to grasp the promises of God in their lives through endless incantations of faith confessions.
The Kingdom of God is within them (Luke 17:21). The Word of God is within them. They are in Him and He is in them. They are one, even as He is one with the Father (John 17:21). The Word of God is the promises of God; therefore, the promises of God are within them and cannot be attained by grasping outwardly for them.
Moreover, they not only have the Kingdom, the Word, the promises, and the Person of the Word within them, they are themselves becoming the manifestation of the word of God in and through their lives. They are living epistles (2 Cor. 3:2-3), oracles (1 Pet. 4:11). They are the Word made flesh in their own bodies as they are the body of Christ in the world.
Normal Christian Life
This is not to say that these crucified ones are an elite body of people in terms of how the world thinks of elite. On the contrary, they are the subject of much ridicule and disdain in the world.
The crucified life is that to which God has called all of His disciples. It is considered normal Christian living from God's point of view. Any attempt at life in Christ that is less than this is sub-normal, immature discipleship.
Yet, it is not something that one can attain in one's own strength.
Jesus alone is the fulfillment of all the feasts and courts. He is our redeemer and our redemption, our justifier and our justification, our deliverer and our deliverance, our sanctifier and our sanctification, our glorifier and our glorification. If we want any of these things we have to get Him. He is it!
It is not a matter of God being willing to redeem, justify, deliver, sanctify, and glorify. He's already done it. It's a matter of our believing in Him as the finisher of His own work--done on our behalf--and of our being willing for God to work in us all that he has done for us.
Some people are not willing to go on in sanctification and glorification. You cannot have glorification without first going through sanctification. You can not have sanctification without first going through justification. We were justified, we are being sanctified, we will be glorified--together, this is the salvation process. We are becoming who we are in Christ Jesus.
Thus, we not only have all three feasts and courts fulfilled in Jesus, but they are being worked out in our lives as we are willing and yielded. Oswald Chambers, in his devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, wrote, "It is not a question of whether God is willing to sanctify me; is it my will? Am I willing to let God do in me all that has been made possible by the Atonement?"
Born out of Fire
These crucified ones are born out of fire. Acts 8:1-4 records an example of this among those first century Christians. Here we read that Saul had consented to Stephen's death; thus great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem. Because of this persecution, the disciples were scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. These scattered Christians went forth preaching the word.
Jesus Christ had given those first disciples the commission to "go...and teach all nations, baptizing them..." (Matt. 28:19-20), but they were at ease in their Jerusalem cove and were not going out as they had been commissioned. Therefore, it took persecution to scatter them and the word abroad.
I sense that once again, it will take persecution to scatter the saints for the spread of the true gospel.
I say "true" gospel because any gospel that does not preach "Jesus Christ and Him crucified" is not the true but is "another gospel." Social justice, the rebirth experience, holiness, faith, prosperity, church order, and other such teachings may be truths but are not in and of themselves "the" gospel. They may be by-products of the gospel to one extent or the other. But the gospel, according to the apostle Paul, whose writings we hold inspired and sacred, is Christ and Him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2: "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."
Persecution is often God's shaking--His tool for the fulfillment of the great commission.
A Higher Realm in the Spirit
Having gone from Passover through Pentecost, the crucified ones have crossed over into a higher realm in the Spirit, reaching over into Tabernacles even before it's fulfillment. (I will stress again that this higher realm is expected of and available to every true, hungry, seeking disciple.)
We have a type of this in the Old Testament when David and his men ate the consecrated bread (1 Sam. 21:4-6). In regard to this, Matthew 12:1-8 tells of a time when Jesus and His disciples were walking through a grain field on a Sabbath and ate some of the grain. The Pharisees saw them and questioned Jesus about this unlawful thing they did. Jesus reminded them of how David had entered the house of God and ate the consecrated showbread which he was not permitted by law to do. Yet, he was blameless.
Jesus then declared that something greater than the temple was there. He was referring to Himself--that He was the Lord of the Sabbath. In other words, David, because of his intimate relationship with God, reached beyond the Law and laid hold of the Lord of the Law Himself. He moved in a higher realm in the Spirit.
There is a bread for the children of God of which we have not been privileged to partake until now because we have not yet crossed over into that crucified life for ourselves. We have been operating in the mercy and grace of Him who went in before us once and for all as the Great High Priest: Jesus Christ, Lord.
Once the crucified ones have truly crossed over into the Holy of Holies--the place where Jesus is the only thing there is, where Christ is not only preached as crucified but where the believer himself is a living example of that sacrificial life (Rom. 12:1)--they will have come to a place where they may never be sick, crippled, or diseased again; where demons cannot oppress, torment, or tempt; where material things are irrelevant because these things have nothing to do with a dead man. Moreover, the blessings of God will be in pursuit of them.
Jesus is their pattern. His sacrificial life becomes their lives, and their lives become His. The Holy Spirit gave gifts and ministries as tools to equip the saints for the work of "service" to the end of becoming like Him. We are fast approaching the end and the perfecting of the saints--those who are willing to go through the cross in Christ.
Footnotes
{1} Ekklesia is the Greek word that has been translated "church" but which literally means "called-out ones."
Years ago we painted one of our bedrooms lavender and blue. I loved it! My husband endured it, but I think he really HATED IT!!!!! When our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter moved it the colors were perfect. It was very feminine and Rachel went from being an 8 month old to a 3 year old before they moved out. When they moved my husband wanted to make it into his "office". He doesn't have to have an office for work but he loves playing with his computer, learning Lynux and other open source programs, plus he pays bills etc. So I wanted to bless him and paint it.
Please understand I never prayed about painting it. The process has been a nightmare and I remember saying a few years ago "I'll never paint again. I'll hire someone next time"...... so now I am saying, "I hope to be able to hire someone" as the hallway is peeling, scraping it isn't working right and neither is using a pad sander.
The pictures are the daybed cover. We had wallpaper trim that matched it. No matter how hard I tried to be careful it made a mess of the wall in spots when I removed it.
The other ones are the wall in process, I'm not adding the pic of the place where I had no idea I had green paint on my sleeve and bumped into a primed wall.....Our ladder isn't a painting ladder so I have to get down 3 times to reload with paint, instead of the 1 time if it was a different type......Oh I want the money to hire someone next time :-) Also, when we first painted the walls years ago the wallpaper made a horrible mess of them. We tried to fix them but we needed a professional. So now I see the one dark wall and cringe as it shows all the blemishes, flaws, etc...........It looks awful in person.BTW the lavender and blue pic is turned correctly in my file.......just not here. The top part of the wall was lavender and bottom blue. It's just that kind of day.
So, hopefully I am learning to check with God about what He wants. He did help me with the mess, but I had to calm down and ask, even then my attitude was anything but Christlike.
Years ago I had the privilege and blessing of seeing Fuschia Pickett at a women's conference. She prayed that Scripture would be Lifed to us. When reading or studying and the moment of "AH HA!" hits it has become revelation, lifed or as my husband says, "a BFO".
Many times I have heard the phrase from John the Baptist, "I must decrease; He must increase". However, it was more an intellectual statement with all the understand of, "yea, sure". There was no life to it. Then today I was rereading Chapter 1 from ICIT and I had the BFO. Francis Frangipane is talking about how we receive impartation from other people. He says, "Most importantly, of course, even when we submit to men, our quest is to possess the heart of Christ as it lives in them. it is Christ we seek to know, not merely those He sends us. Thus, even as we appreciate those whom God sends, our passion is to develop an abiding relationship with Christ Himself, that every area of our life might be filled up with Him".
Suddenly I saw that people must see Jesus not me. The more flesh I have the less of Jesus is there, and people cannot see Jesus in that case. People do not need me imparted but Jesus.
My hunger for Him is growing. I have know more of Jesus as religion rather than knowing HIM. If religion is the rule then I have dead works. I do not want man's ideas of correct doctrine, I want DEITY. I do not want a manual on being a good church member which puts a yolk of slavery to man on me. I want Emmanuel whose yolk is easy and whose burden is light.
I believe that if people in churches begin to run hard after Jesus many wonderful things will happen. Pursue Him, not man's approval, not to be head of the deacon board or whatever. Hunger for HIM.
There are some teachers in the Kingdom of God who I am blessed by. Two in particular are Graham Cooke and Francis Frangipane. For a few years now I have been writing on Frangipane's Message Boards. During that time I have learned more about his ICIT (In Christ's Image Training) and have wanted to take it. Thursday I asked Father if I was to, or if Garry and I were to, that He would make the way. Honestly, I was looking toward doing in next year. So I get an e-mail from a friend saying this person is paying for us to take it!
Francis Frangipane has a vision for the City Wide Church. Not a denomination but Jesus, Kingdom people, no matter where they go to church...I am wondrously dumbfounded that He moved so quickly and so generously! So I may either blog more because of all I'm learning or be so busy that blogging may wait. I just know I feel this is an important step in us fulfilling God's plans and purposes for our lives.
Unfortunately the kitty died yesterday. He tried very hard to live but just couldn't over come how sick he was nor now neglected he'd been. He had the sweetest temperament for a cat. We enjoyed him for the short time we had him and he enjoyed us.
There we were last Sunday minding our own business. We ran errands and on our way home we see this very emaciated kitten struggling across the street. We got to his spot about the time he made it up the curb and into grass. Now, a few days ago, I'd been being grateful that we didn't have any more cats or dogs. So I say to Garry, "We are going to stop, right"? Of course he was already stopping.
I got out of the car and the poor little thing ran, sort of, but I could tell it was scared. I also knew that if Garry got out the kitten would be fine and I was right. It just laid there and watched as he approached. So I drove home with the kitten laying on his feet.
The kitten's eyes were a mess as you can see in the first picture. We bathed them often with boric acid eye wash. Monday I could not get him to the vet but did Tuesday. He gets antibiotics 2x a day and a special amino acid to help build up his immune system.
He wants so badly to have the dogs and other cats like him and they don't.
The second two pics were taken 72 hours after we got him.
Yesterday I told Garry about having been so grateful not to have more animals and here I had another. Same thing happened last time I was grateful for not having more so my sweet husband said, "God's trying to get you to stop limiting Him"! Need I say more....... :-)
This is from the Bagdad Prayer Patrol. Sure wish our media would report this.
Letter from a Soldier
May 22, 2008
I have been praying with your Prayer Patrol for a long time and I got an email from a friend’s son who is in Iraq and I wanted to send you a copy of it to encourage you. Thanks for all your work. Suzanne
Soldier’s Letter:Thank you for sharing how so many people are praying…. to Him be all glory in this, as I am continually amazed at what He is doing! I tell you what Mom, things are happening over here!!! I have said this over the phone, but I will say it again here: I CANNOT believe the difference between when I first came here in 2005 and this deployment.
Things are far from perfect, and yet there has been such improvements, especially in security and safety, that I sometimes wonder if I am actually in the same country again.While many things have happened in terms of the efforts of our troops and on the Iraqi side too, I can only attribute these amazing changes to God’s work here, and I truly believe He has responded to the prayers of saints all around the globe who are praying for this country.
I think back to last deployment, when you had that month of prayer for Iraq, and how things have changed so dramatically even since then…. all I can say is, Praise the I Am Who I Am, for He truly holds the nations in His hands and the ways of men in His palms!
Please tell all you know, rather, plead with them, to keep praying. Now is the time, I believe, that we need prayer most desperately of all times. While things have improved so much and hope can actually be seen, there is still so many problems and, without His continual grace here, I can easily see all that has been done and all the sacrifices that have been made lost into chaos and complete anarchy. Much more important than the security and stability of Iraq or the safety of the troops over here, though, is what He has been doing in men’s hearts!
I am so very excited…here at the base I have been at even just for a month or two, already several men have given there lives to Christ Jesus. There are troops from many different commands, as well as many different nations, here and it has been amazing (and unexpected) to see all the different people who show up at the worship services and Bible studies.
On a personal note, I have been SO blessed to be meeting with our Chaplain and a couple of other dear Christian brothers almost every morning for prayer…. you don’t know how much this means, especially after not having much fellowship last deployment, and now being able to share so deeply and honestly and to pray for one another. It is so obvious that it has been His work in bringing us together and it is His grace that is pouring down on our lives now! All praise to the One Who was and is and is to come!
Before I close, here are my promised prayer requests. Please, please, do share them with any and all who will pray. Any you know, ask them to come before the Almighty, for it only He Who can truly change men’s hearts…. I have said it before and I am more convinced now than I was then, that the true battle, both here in Iraq and throughout this planet, the REAL fight, is with saints on their knees, humbly asking the Father to do what He and He alone is capable of doing. Human means will fail us, the things of this world will pass in time, and yet He is “my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91).
Prayer requests for my unit, 2D Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion:
-Diligence and discipline to do our jobs well, even over long months
-Humilty and wisdom both for the leaders in our Battalion, as their decisions affect the lives of many men
-Healing and comfort for the families of those deployed, as many are hurting and it is often made much worse by t he separation and anxiety of deployment
-Prayers for our enemies… Our Father loves the terrorists and the insurgents just as much as He loves the Marines and I have heard stoires, AMAZING stories, of terrorists coming to Christ Jesus… this reminds me of Paul and how God completely and radically changed his life
-On a personal note, please pray that I might be close knit to the Father, especially that I might have good devotions, short accounts for my sin, and that I might delight in trusting and fearing Him.
Bought at great price,Capt Rudd Olmstead, USMC
http://prayercentral.net/baghdad/?page_id=154
My son is over today and told this story about his 3 year old daughter.
He was lying on his bed, without his shirt. His arm was above his head and Rachel came in and took one look at the hair under his arm and said, "Daddy, you have fur! I need to find the scissors so I can cut your fur".
In the pic she is helping make her mom's birthday cake.
I showered and shaved.............
I adjusted my tie.
I got there and sat.............
In a pew just in time.
Bowing my head in prayer.........
As I closed my eyes.
I saw the shoe of the man next to me.....
Touching my own.
I sighed.
With plenty of room on either side......
I thought, 'Why must our soles touch?'
It bothered me, his shoe touching mine...
But it didn't bother him much.
A prayer began: 'Our Father'.............
I thought, 'This man with the shoes.. has no pride.
They're dusty, worn, and scratched.
Even worse, there are holes on the side!'
'Thank You for blessings,' the prayer went on.
The shoe man said a quiet 'Amen.'
I tried to focus on the prayer.......
But my thoughts were on his shoes again.
Aren't we supposed to look ou r best..
When walking through that door?
Well, this certainly isn't it, I thought,
Glancing toward the floor.
Then the prayer was ended............
And the songs of praise began.
The shoe man was certainly loud......
Sounding proud as he sang.
His voice lifted the rafters.........
His hands were raised high.
The Lord could surely hear..
The shoe man's voice from the sky.
It was time for the offering.......
And what I threw in was steep
I watched as the shoe man reached....
Into his pockets so deep.
I saw what was pulled out..........
What the shoe man put in.
Then I heard a soft 'clink'
as when silver hits tin.
The sermon really bored me..........
To tears, and that's no lie.
It was the same for the shoe man...
For tears fell from his eyes.
At the end of the service......
As is the custom here.
We m ust greet new visitors..
A nd show them all good cheer.
But I felt moved somehow.............
And wanted to meet the shoe man.
So after the closing prayer........
I reached over and shook his hand.
He was old and his skin was dark....
And his hair was truly a mess.
But I thanked him for coming........
For being our guest.
He said, 'My names' Charlie..........
I'm glad to meet you, my friend.'
There were tears in his eyes.......
But he had a large, wide grin.
'Let me explain,' he said.........
Wiping tears from his eyes.
I've been coming here for months....
And you're the first to say 'Hi.'
I know that my appearance.........
Is not like all the rest.
But I really do try.................
To always look my best.
I always clean and polish my shoes..
Before my very long walk.
But by the time I get here.........
They're dirty and dusty, like chal k.
My heart filled w ith pain............
and I swallowed to hide my tears.
As he continued to apologize.........
For daring to sit so near.
He said, When I get here...........
I know I must look a sight.
But I thought if I could touch you..
Then maybe our souls might unite.
I was silent for a moment............
Knowing whatever was said
Would pale in comparison...
I spoke from my heart, not my head.
'Oh, you've touched me,' I said......
And taught me, in part
That the best of any man............
Is what is found in his heart.
The rest, I thought,................
This shoe man will never know.
Like just how thankful I really am...
That his dirty old shoe touched my soul
This is slow to begin with. Please watch till the end. It is more than worth it! You will have to copy and paste it as I have no idea how to do .anything else. Please let me know if it doesn't work or what you think about it
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4
Tuesday night my daughter-in-law and I were cleaning out the fridge. I began putting stuff down the garbage disposal and she followed suit, until nothing would go down (yes, we had it running) and everything backed up into the sink. :-( Actually when the back up happened it happened to her. My husband with only a mild tone of irritation asked us not to do that again as it had obviously been over loaded.
So Wednesday he sent me to Lowes to get an auger and plunger. He came home on his lunch hour and plunged away for a while, even though he has a tumor in his left arm that has to be seen about next month. Anyway, he never stopped walking in joy, was patient and later in the day asked me to meet him at store to get me a new bed. Because I'm a wrestless sleeper I drive him nuts at night so we sleep in separate bed. The bed I sleep in is old and not real comfortale but better than the floor :-).My new bed arrives either Saturday or Monday! WOW!
Tonight when he got home from work he took apart the plumbing under the sink and ran the auger. That didn't work so he went under the house to the clean out and that worked! He still kept his joy. Now I want to be able to do that too. He focused on who God is, His nature and His love....He reminded me that no matter what the mountain for the Christian God is on the mountain; we just have to remember to look up to Him. He is the help that comes from the mountain.........
So I am a blessed woman. God loves me incredibly, nothing can take that away from me and my husband loves God and me!
In the 1960's I became aware of Governor George Wallace. I was in my late teens. I could not stand the man; I was horrified that he thought segregation was acceptable. My attitude toward him was not Christian as I wasn't at the time. When he got shot my attitude was, "serves him right". The black community sure didn't like him because of his racism. And today I see no difference between him and Jeremiah Wright. Well I don't think Wallace called down curses on American, but I think his actions brought curses.
Since becoming a Christian I have been amazed at how many people do not believe God's Word who say they are Christians. Picking and choosing what to believe and live by is NOT an option. Blessing instead of cursing (1 Peter 3:8,9), hate instead of love (John 13:33), treat people differently because of race, money, power (James 2:2-4)...
Men (human beings) were made in God's image. Christ died ONCE FOR ALL! How dare any of us judge someone else:
Matt 7:1"Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
2"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
I am so grieved that people who claim to stand for Christ are so devoid of knowing who He is, what He stands for, what He taught. They do not seem to grasp the heart of His message--love. The entire Bible is based on it.
I had a teacher who said once, "All behavior makes sense if you know the reason for it. It doesn't make the behavior right (serial killers for instance) but it gives you a point to start from".
Where racism is concerned I am not just talking about one race against another. I've known racists of all colors.
There is a book that is out of print called "Black and White Styles in Conflict". It does have horrible language because the author took the words from rap songs. But it shows how their culture differs from the white culture. Where it came from, etc. It made me realize that certain things about cultures are not understood by other cultures and if we would be able to be open and honest, instead of judgmental and critical, a lot of misunderstandings and judgments would go away.
The following is from The Elijah List. I'm copying and pasting a paragraph here and then posting the entire article. The part that I'm starting with expresses better than I did my thoughts on disciple making.
True discipleship seeks simply to be like the Master. Converting others is not our primary goal. However, we will positively influence others with the salvation message of the Kingdom when we surrender our lives in honor to God. It is not the vastness of our revelatory knowledge or the clarity of our theology that will capture those whom Jesus has ransomed by His Blood; it is the evidence of our being ravished by holy love and wasted on the wonder of being His which will cause the lost and the prodigals to discover their Redeemer King. What might that evidence look like? It is simply holy, forgiving love that has no earthly agenda.
~~~~~~
"We are called as apostolic ambassadors to carry His heart of love to the nations so that the nations may experience the love of His heart."
"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! For they are ripe for harvest." John 4:35b
In a recent vision I received, some people approached the Lord and reached out to touch the hem of Jesus, in much the same way as the sick woman who had bled for twelve years (Mark 5:25). It struck me how these dear ones were so heavily burdened and how much the Lord wanted to heal them with just one look of love from His eyes. Have you ever been in that place of being bent over and reaching out in desperation to the Lord for help? It is so important to know He is always willing and always able to lift up our heads and flood our beings with His healing power. As if in affirmation, the Lord spoke in the vision, "See My hands, see My face."
As more people approached the Lord, they held onto His hands, but nonetheless, they seemed unable to look into His loving face. So often, we read how Jesus took others by the hand and healed them. His look of love shattered chains of sickness, bondage and oppression from sin and compelled even the dead to respond with resurrection life. As I pondered how our hands are used for works, the Lord said, "All fruitfulness flows from holy intimacy with Me."
We are healed for harvest, and each one of God's children has a testimony to the Risen Christ that will bless others as it is shared. The Lord Jesus desires for us to have a worship mindset that embraces holy works. From this place of relational security, the Holy Spirit will produce His witness to Christ through us. If we try to approach the harvest from any other perspective than His love, we are in danger of running on empty. Intimacy with God is everything, and without this, we have nothing of any worth to offer to the world.
We cannot hope to be Jesus' hands if we have never seen His face, and yet we cannot see His face unless we receive His pierced hands. In this, we find the paradox of grace. Seeing the Cross is about first believing, and in believing, we perceive and see Him more clearly. In gazing upon the loveliness of Christ, we are blessed to receive the Father. Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen Me, has seen the Father" (John 14:9b).
FACE TO FACE
In the midst of this revelatory experience, I had another beautiful vision of a good friend of mine who has been used by the Lord to usher in revival in a number of nations, including Mozambique. Jesus held my friend face-to-face, and as He held her, rivers of live giving waters poured out from Jesus' belly through her. As He held her in His love-gaze, I watched the flow of His love cause nation after nation to be born again. This picture is not just for one, but for all of those who will answer the Master's call to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom and make disciples of all nations. It occurs to me that the most profound experiences we have, take place in the inner sanctum of our hearts, where the Lord creates moments of holy communion with us in which we are forever changed.
Jesus longs to hold each one of us in a personal face-to-face encounter. When we behold His face, we are enabled and motivated to become His hands reaching out to a hurting world. The birthing of multitudes is born out of the secret place. The secret place of Christ, the Bridegroom King, is where His inner gaze captivates our hearts and makes us lovesick, causing us to overflow from His love. Face-to-face is a place where we are enabled to trust God fully and to rely completely on His love.
Time alone with Christ enables us to surrender in adoration to God's will. Seeking the heart of God is a precursor to seeing His power manifest in our lives and through our lives, into the nations of the earth. God is asking us to restore the altar of devotion as an inward response to His glory. The outward manifestation of such devotion will be fruit that will last for all eternity.
The inner gaze of Christ is a multifaceted experience--a secret moment, a holy tryst and a private place of pilgrimage where Christ becomes our all-in-all and when all our defenses and distractions melt away in the silence of communion with our Savior. The inner gaze of Christ may be described as a place of divine encounter and surrender, when our hearts acknowledge the Lord in absolute obedience and adoration to His will. The inner gaze speaks of a time, a place or a season when our souls become saturated in God's presence, and from this, we often receive a fresh commissioning to walk and work with our Redeemer.
Each one of us is brought to a fresh realization of our need to be filled to overflowing with heavenly manna--the sustenance that can only be found in the rest of the Lord. The writer of Song of Songs tells us that the Bridegroom King has been captivated, "with one glance of your eyes." God longs to remove the veil from our eyes, so that we might know Him more. In such holy moments, the Lord reminds us that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, eternally present, and overflowing in unconditional love. The Lord is captivated by His beautiful Bride, but perhaps we do not always fully comprehend how deeply we are adored by our King of Kings.
FACE TO FACE IS ABOUT HAVING HIS HEARTBEAT
Recently as I waited with Jesus, He reminded me that I need to remember to rest in His love and not always be concerned about "the next assignment." As I pondered my deepest desire to be one with my Savior, I realized that I needed to stop and just breathe deeply of His presence and allow myself to receive His love. God began to speak to me about how those in the battlefields must find rest in the company of the Commander of the armies of Heaven. God spoke of His great longing for lonely leaders to come and find fellowship with Him and allow Him to fill up the empty places. He spoke to me of His grace to dismantle every place of defense in our hearts and allow His love to complete us.
When God meets us in such encounters, it is a uniquely individual experience. To the sinner or the saint who seeks the Savior, "they will look on the One they have pierced" and in return will receive the magnificent grace of Christ. One of my most favorite and lovely verses in the Bible is when Jesus looks at the rich, young man, "Jesus looked at him and loved him" (Mark 10:21). Jesus probably knew before He spoke that the young man couldn't do the one thing that was needed: to give his all for Christ--but not even this rejection could prevent Jesus from loving him.
Time spent in God's presence ploughs the furrows of our hearts, planting the seeds of His will and His word deep into our beings to bring forth fruit at the appointed time. When we are alone with God, He is able to both prune and nurture us and bring our minds, will, and emotions into alignment with His perfect plan for our lives. Jesus softens the hard places in us and refreshes the dry places when we make time to worship Him. He readjusts our spiritual eyesight in the places where we are blind to His compassion, so that we are enabled to view things from His perspective and not our own. His eyes of fire are irresistible and draw us to Himself, compelling our consciences to bow down in humility and reverent awe. Jesus wants us to know that lowly is lovely!
THE THREE ALTARS: DILIGENCE, DUTY AND DEVOTION
In a vision, I was shown three altars in Heaven. One was called the "altar of diligence," one was named the "altar of duty," and the third was the "altar of devotion." Each heavenly altar was truly exquisite, and each burned with a different size of flame, yet, devotion burned the brightest. These altars represent witness (diligence), works (duty), and worship (devotion). The altar of diligence is where the standard of His love is outworked in our actions. The altar of duty is an altar of grace where faith and action meet to do good works, and humility enables us to emulate the obedience of Christ.
On the altar of devotion, I saw beautiful jewels in the flames. This is an altar of love and worship, and the one on which our lives can be spent, bringing much joy to Jesus. On this altar, the fire of the Rock of Ages descends to refine the precious jewel of our faith, producing Christ-likeness in us. Devotion to Christ releases the atmosphere of Heaven into the heart of a worshipper.
Jesus taught, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" (Matthew 5). When the altar of devotion burns brightly, our hearts are purified because of the time spent in His holy presence. The eternal purity of Jesus' love reveals His heart in us, and we see Him as He truly is. This "seeing" is not so much about physical vision; rather, it is about being anchored in a covenant relationship of knowing Him and being known by Him. Loving Him creates a desperate longing in us for more of Him, and this earnest longing becomes a catalyst for Godly transformation in our lives. When we are in love, we will reflect His radiance.
True discipleship seeks simply to be like the Master. Converting others is not our primary goal. However, we will positively influence others with the salvation message of the Kingdom when we surrender our lives in honor to God. It is not the vastness of our revelatory knowledge or the clarity of our theology that will capture those whom Jesus has ransomed by His Blood; it is the evidence of our being ravished by holy love and wasted on the wonder of being His which will cause the lost and the prodigals to discover their Redeemer King. What might that evidence look like? It is simply holy, forgiving love that has no earthly agenda.
We run into God's heartbeat for a myriad of reasons, and the Lord longs for us to run out of this encounter with His passion for the multitudes and His Bride. We are called as apostolic ambassadors to carry His heart of love to the nations so that the nations may experience the love of His heart. The Holy Spirit sets our hearts in alignment with the Father's heart. We are anointed and appointed and commanded to love, to teach, to preach, to witness of the Risen Christ, and to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey the Lord. My prayer for each of us is that our onward journeys of faith flow from face-to-face encounters with the Lord.
God bless you as you discover (or rediscover) His love for you today.
Catherine Brown Gatekeepers Global Ministries Email: admin@gatekeepers.org.uk
Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.
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Matt. 28:18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
There I was somewhere between awake and asleep in that very comfortable twilight area meditating on something Graham Cooke said in one of The Heart of Prophecy CD's. He said we must be sensitive to the Spirit. Now I'm not too sure how I got from that to thinking about children but I got there and suddenly had a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious). I realized that to be sensitive to the Spirit we must be like little children. It's no wonder we have to come to Him that way.
Have you ever noticed how sensitive children are to their parent's moods? If there is tension they are uptight and act out. If there is peace they are normally more peaceful and easy to be around. If there is anticipation, sorrow, worry, fear kids will reflect that.
The Holy Spirit doesn't manifest tension, sorrow, worry, etc. But He does manifest Love, kindness, merriment, peace, patience, etc. He does direct and move, do as He sees Jesus who sees Daddy directing, moving, doing. We are His kids and we have to be constantly aware of Him! We must become as sensitive to Him.
God is not static. It is why sometimes I sit to study and sense it is time to worship or I want to worship and sense it is time to intercede. Sometimes I just do what I set out to do and end up feeling very unfulfilled.
