Month: May 2015

(If you have ever believed the lie that you are not enough, that you have somehow disappointed your Almighty Father, that if you’ve ever felt that if you could just ‘do’ better, you would carry the Presence of the Holy Spirit in greater measure, this is for you)

I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have given you My Spirit in full measure; you have All of HIm. Whether you are aware of this or not, does not change anything, I AM still with you. You are My sons and My daughters whom I delight in. whom I treasure above all other creation on and in the earth. You are My living gateways, and I speak through you without you doing anything, because you can not help but testify with your very life of Your Father. Stop striving Beloved, stop attempting to gain faith by your own grace. My grace is sufficient for you, My love covers ALL your sins.

I don’t care if you are stuck in the midst of sin right now, do you know why? Because My love goes deeper, My covenant with you goes deeper. Let My Spirit come upon your mind, changing the way you think, understanding that you are my child, in whom I am well pleased, no matter what happens. This morning, I just want to pull you closer to me, bring you in to experience Me and all that I AM. So just open your eyes and look at Me beloved, because I put My face right to yours, nose to nose, eyelash to eyelash and I am whispering, “flesh of My flesh and bone of My bone.”

I have loved you with an everlasting love, from before time began.

I love you with everlasting love, forever.

-Jesus

Jeremiah 31:3; Psalm 103:17

I don’t normally talk about the enemy, preferring to focus my attention on the One who is much, much bigger. However, today I have a sense that some clarification needs to be given. As I have studied scripture the past few weeks, several different times I’ve come across two verses that stick out to me, punctuated by some experiences at my work.

My job can be challenging, but for the last week and a half it has been very smooth, and spiritually quiet, which usually isn’t the case. I’ve come to appreciate my job because it has taught me the true meaning of what it means to ‘pray continually’. Then yesterday, something very nasty showed up; I had a vision of one of those frightening characters you’d see in a chainsaw murder movie (I don’t watch those kinds of things precisely because of what those give invitation to). Everywhere I turned at my job yesterday, this specter would flash before my spiritual eyes, menacing and threatening. The atmosphere was cold, spiritually and physically.

Now, I refuse to be cowed by fear. Fear is my enemy and I have been given the Holy Spirit who is bold, courageous and has a sound mind. Every time I saw this figure yesterday, these two verses immediately came bubbling to the surface of my mind.

Ephesians 3:10-11: His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (emphasis added)

Matthew 10:26-27: “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” (emphasis added)

Did you know the enemy is a created being? That there has never been a contest between God and the enemy? With a single breath, our Father in Heaven could wipe away the enemy from existence. Yet He doesn’t do that; why? Because His intent is that we, created beings in right relationship with Him, would crush the works of the one who has been in rebellion since the creation of man.

And the best way to do that? Simply tell our Beautiful Jesus how much you love him. It seems so simple, almost too easy. But for anyone who is in the midst of struggle, who is suffering, who sees only the dark everywhere they turn, ‘Jesus I love you’ can be the hardest four words to give voice to. Especially when that suffering is because of oppression at the hands of the enemy.

I want to encourage you today, that whether you are facing a huge impossible circumstance, or a tiny little lie that is attempting to plant itself in your life, you are facing a created being who hates you and has only the authority that he can trick out  of people. You face this created being with the power of the Almighty Creator residing within you. You have the Spirit of the Living God resting in you and upon you. So turn your face to King Jesus, tell him all about it and watch the works of the enemy be destroyed. Jesus is speaking to you, and you know His voice. Speak out over your life and the lives of others that the Creator is saying. His words never go out void; His breath always, always brings life.

Over the last two weeks, I have been finding lots of little pieces of paper. And on those pieces of paper are promises that I have found in Scripture over the years. All these promises that I have grabbed in my life seem to be coming back to me, as if they were mile markers, letting me know that a destination, a fulfillment is coming near. Its funny because it doesn’t feel as if that’s true, even though my heart and soul scream out that yes, fulfillment is coming. The door is opening, very, very soon.

I had an issue with my car last week and it was expensive and time-consuming. I borrowed my mother’s car and ran the errands I needed to while my car was being repaired. As I drove, an insect, that looked rather like a locust landed on the windshield and stayed there. For over 5 minutes, this bug, about an inch and a half long, flapped its wings on the center of the windshield, apparently not bothered by the movement of its landing place.

I felt, rather than heard, “I will repay what the locusts have eaten.” being spoken.

After I picked up my car from the mechanic, I went for a walk, trying not to panic about the cost of what I’d just had done to my car. As I walked, I saw a scene unfold in my mind, of the throne room of God. I was standing next to the throne, with Jesus beside me, His arm around my shoulders. In front of the throne, standing defiantly before Father God was the enemy and he was pointing a finger at me. He (the enemy) looked like a prince from babylonian times, handsome after a fashion, yet a a horribly poor imitation of the beauty of Christ.

The enemy kept speaking and when he spoke, little bursts of fire, like cannon balls came out of his mouth towards me. But those missiles never reached me, instead dispersing in the atmosphere, un-exploded. I didn’t say anything; I didn’t have to. I looked down at myself and I was dressed in a the most beautiful purple gown, trimmed in gold. A weight was on my head; I reached up to feel a crown of pearls there. My arms, my shoulders, my face, my hands, all of my skin that was exposed in the light of the throne room was stained with the blood of Jesus. That’s why the lies of the enemy fizzled out before they reached me.

Suddenly, I turned away from the enemy, because my spirit heard something. My Father had issued an invitation that was as quiet as a butterfly’s wings, yet it boomed out as loud as thunder, drowning out the enemy. My Father invited me to take my place. Eagerly I climbed the throne, perhaps a little ungainly, yet with the help of Jesus and the Holy Spirit I made it to the arm rest. Daddy opened His hand and I sat down, surrounded by the fingers that created the heavens and the earth; this hand that formed all things, that had purposefully designed my life. I cannot say that I was comfortable, for the power in His hand is incredible, awe-inspiring and absolutely breath-taking. Yet there is no other place that I want to be. It is there that I am whole.

I finished my walk and those wonderful images faded. I do not think it was just about me, I think it was about all of us, the body. We are walking into a season where what was stolen, is being repaid. What died is being resurrected. What has yet to be will become.

The passage of scripture I heard in my spirit is from Joel 2:25-27.

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm—
my great army that I sent among you.
 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
    and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
Then you will know that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.

I read that promise and I am filled with hope, but even more so when I read the next passage. For first comes the promise of restoration, which is an amazing blessing in and of itself; but then the even more extravagant gift, revealing the heart of our Father’s desire to hold us so close, to be among us, to be in us. From Joel 2:28-29

“And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
 Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”

I’ve got great news. We are in “those days”.