Author: siribergquist

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”.

I wouldn’t normally write on this, but for an experience I had a week ago, today. Last thursday I had a dream; and while this in itself is not unusual, the content of my dream was. In it, I was in a massive building, and I was there to see a king, to give a warning. As I waited at a reception desk, I was told that there were appointments available at 4 or 4:30. I wanted the earlier appointment, but the 4:30 stuck out in my mind. I looked around for somewhere to sit and wait, and even asked if there was a waiting area. The reply I received was no, there is no place to sit and wait. I walked around the building, experiencing other things, and came back to the reception area late. I did not make the 4 appointment, I made the 4:30.

Today is 4/30. And today is the National Day of Repentance. Across America, people are joining together in prayer, calling the US to repent. In the New Testament, under the New Covenant, the greek word repentance actually means “to change the way you think.” Interestingly, in the Old Testament, under the law, the word means “remorse or great sorrow”. Today is a day when we who are in relationship with Jesus get to stand in the gap for those who are not and to ask our King of Kings that our nation would begin to change its mind.

I consider intercession a joyful action, a wonderful activity, because it means that I, who am covered in the blood of Jesus, I am seen through the veil of Christ’s actions for me by the Father, get to stand before my Heavenly Father’s throne and come to the defense of those I don’t know, those who are still stuck in sin, those who have given sin authority in their life. I and all the others praying today have the privilege and honor of standing before God, in the same gap that Jesus stands in for us, and asking for mercy, correction, change, restoration and redemption for those who are outside of relationship with Him or have been deceived by lies of the enemy.

Please join me and many, many others across the nation as we pray together that the US would begin to repent. I have included below a passage from Nehemiah. I have found it to be an effective intercessory prayer, because it was made by the remnant over the many who were to be known as God’s people.

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”  Nehemiah 1:5-11

I believe God loves people. But He hates sin. Sin keeps people out of His presence and He loves to be among His people, His creation. My hope and prayer is that we as a Nation would come to repentance and experience revival; that we would steward all that we have been given so that a harvest is reaped ten thousand fold of what’s been planted and His Kingdom would be fully evident upon the earth.

My desire is for you Beloved. I eagerly await our time together, when I will fall afresh upon you. Come to Me, I’m waiting and watching in eager anticipation for you. I long to be intertwined with you, as the vine and the branches are intertwined and inseparable, because you are My Chosen, the one I died for, the one I took all authority back for. You delight Me, bringing a smile to My lips; when you stumble, I eagerly reach for you to pull you right back up. You’ve been missing My voice little one; you’ve been hearing Me through the filters of disappointment and despair. I remove those filters from you now.

I have made you great and glorious. Let me say that again. I have made you great and glorious, like a lion among wolves. It is the work I have already done, the price I have already paid, that gives you this access, that gives you My greatness, and My glory. You are different Beloved, and that is good because you ate just what is needed. You are My delight, My hungry little child whom I am eager to give food to. I long to teach you as a loving father teaches his beloved child. And that is what you are. Tune into My love for you little one and never let go of this fact: I love you you, forever and for always.                                                                                                                                                                 -Jesus

Psalms 139:17-18 (Passion, David singing about God)

Every single moment you are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider, that you cherish me constantly in Your every thought! O God, Your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore! When I awake each morning You’re still thinking of me.

Song of Songs 7:10

I belong to my Lover and His desire is for me.

John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.

Sometimes God likes to change things up (actually, I find its more than sometimes, its often). I came across, by divine accident a passage of scripture that didn’t make any sense to me. Ordinarily I have the opposite problem, I’ll find scripture that leaps out at me and deep in my spirit I receive what’s being given to me, while my brain has to run to catch up.

“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 23:23-24

The context of this scripture is that the prophet Jeremiah in distress has been speaking to the Lord about all the false prophets who have been lying to the people, encouraging the people to sin and to walk in ways that were displeasing to God. The Lord points out in verses 16 through 22 of chapter twenty-three, that those false didn’t know HIm; they were lying to the people.

I asked Holy Spirit to help me understand what He was trying to say to me. I saw a pipe running through the earth, the pipe is metal and corroded, and the ground is dry, very light in color. About 6 to 8 inches above the pipe are little, dry shriveled seeds. As I watch I can see pieces of the metal pipe dissolve away, and the water begins to filter out into the earth, reaching the seeds, causing them to sprout.

I feel like, in this passage I am being exhorted that lies can not hold God back. Not just the lies of the enemy, but also the lies of well-intentioned self-righteous religion, that, in the context of Jeremiah’s day said, “God doesn’t see what you’re doing, so its ok.”Unfortunately, culturally speaking, our today is not so different.

Matthew Henry put it this way, “The power of God is the same on earth among its inhabitants that it is in heaven among its armies. With us nearness and distance make a great difference both in our observations and in our operations, but it is not so with God; to him darkness and light, at hand and afar off, are both alike.”

Let me be very clear here. It would be very easy to read this passage in the darkness of judgment and condemnation. But I have challenged myself to read it in the light of His grace. Father God sees me and loves me, (and you). There is nothing that is hidden from Him. It is His kindness that leads to repentance (which means to change the way you think). He is a good Daddy, who loves you so much and wants freedom for you in relationship with Him.

I feel like what I saw was what the Holy Spirit is doing. He’s causing the pipe of lies that have held HIm back from His people to burst open and He’s flooding the ground. With this flood comes wonderful encounter and great breakthrough. Also with this flood is the opportunity to let His love, grace and mercy flow out over the secret areas of our lives, those things we’ve kept hidden even from our own hearts. I am so thankful that He is a Daddy who loves us too much to let us stay in a place that keeps us from His plan for us.

I also feel like this is a reminder to keep our heavenly perspective. We are citizens of heaven, just visiting the earth as ambassadors of our home. We get the joy of bringing our home with us wherever we go, because we carry the Holy Spirit with us. And there is nothing He can’t and won’t do for us, His beloved children. I feel impressed to write that even if there is some secret that is keeping you hostage, that doesn’t change who you are to Him. He loves you, wants to transform you and is always for you. Because its never been about what you or I can do for Him. Its always been about what He has already done for us.

My words are not void and they do not fall to the ground. My words are songs over you. I AM in you, among you and I want to know you and be know by you. I have poured out My heart for you in Scripture, My holy love letter to you, it is there page after page, confirming My absolute love for you. It is the standard and the rubric for you to know Me by. So when I ask you to do something totally wild, completely outside your comfort zone, something full of risk, you can read My love letter and know and affirm My voice is speaking.

I breathed the Scriptures, this love letter to you because I do not only want you to know what, I want you to know how and who I am. I want you to come into My heart, not so you can serve others, which is a high and lofty goal. I want you in My heart because I want you, to know you, and to be known by you. I want to take you into Me, moment by moment. I lead you in the way you should go because I love you. I am within you, because I love you. I sing over you, because I love you. I heal the sick, cast out demons, cleanse lepers and raise the dead through you because I love you. And when you fail, when you don’t measure up, when it doesn’t go the way you planned, I love you. – Jesus

Isaiah 55:8-11; Matthew 10:8

I have you written on the palm of My hands, ever before My eyes. When the nails pierced My flesh, those metal spikes pierced your sin, releasing My blood all over you. Your sin has withered and died. It is thrown as far as east is from west from you. That is how powerful, how strong, how full, how wide, how vast My love is. I don’t care how deep you think sin goes, My love always runs deeper. I always cover you; we are never separated.

Like it never happened, that is how I see your sin. I keep no record of wrongs done, so you shouldn’t either, especially against yourself. The lie is: if you don’t keep your sin ever before you, you are doomed to repeat it. That is complete nonsense! You are My co-heir, seated in the heavenly places with me.  All the love our Father has for Me covers you as well, because My blood, freely offered, paid for everything you have ever done and everything you ever will do.

Step out My beloved, be bold. Let My blood make you bold. I paid the highest price to enable you to do what could not be done before. You get to live from heaven down to earth, you get to be a doorway to the seen for the unseen. Don’t worry about how to make that happen, just listen to My voice and be obedient. And if you mess up or make a mistake, just turn to Me and keep asking Me what to do. I promised to always be with you and I never break My promises.

Little one, even if you turn from Me, even if you run across the face of the earth, I will still pursue you and I will still love you. Even if you are disobedient, I will still love you. I want the best for you. I ask for your obedience even when it seems foolish, pointless, stupid or crazy in the worlds eyes, because I want the best for you. Love always chooses the best. Come into My love, come to Me. Experience Me. -Jesus

(Isaiah 49:16; Psalm 103:12; Ephesians 3:18; Romans 8:38-39; 1Corinthians 13:4-7; Romans8:17; Ephesians 2:6; John 10:27; Matthew 28:18-20; Psalm 139:7-12)

I have so much blessing stored up for you, you wouldn’t believe your eyes if you saw it. And I want nothing more than to shower those blessings on you. However, I love you so much, I’m not going to give you what you’re not ready or prepared for yet. I will not give any blessing with sorrow attached to it. That’s how you know I’m a good Father and I won’t ruin that.

The humility of the world is degrading, it puts you low and keeps you low. The humility of religion is false, often leading you down a path that compares who is more lowly than someone else, who is more “less” than another.

You are a citizen of My Kingdom, and humility is not hard, because humility is you allowing My Spirit to retain control of your strength. I didn’t create fragile people, who are delicate and easily broken. I purposefully designed sons and daughters who have and are dependent on My Strength. Humility is the practice of acknowledging My power in you and in others and restraining yourself, having self-control over your strength, allowing others to shine.

Telling people how bad you think you are, how lowly you are, how you just are not enough is a lie from the enemy; so stop repeating it as gospel. When you are in Me, I AM in you. And in Me, you are more than enough, even more than a conqueror.

Talk to Me, about everything; from the pickle jar that won’t open to that deep dark secret you think I don’t know because you’ve never told anyone about it. I know you better than you know yourself. I made you and I made you to be glorious in Me. I know your secrets, your inmost thoughts. Yet I still want you to bring those to Me, to share those with Me. Our relationship is not about control or manipulation; its about trust and love.

I love you so much and nothing can take that love from you or take you out of this love. The enemy can lie, the world can blind, but My love for you never, ever changes.

So here’s a thought, direct from Me to you: bring that thing that is so ugly, so horrible, so wrong and lay it at the foot of the cross. Watch My blood soak that thing red. You are Mine and I will never let anything separate you from Me. But sometimes your separate you from ME, because you think you’ve somehow done something so bad it keeps you from My Presence.

Let Me settle this for you today, for the rest of your life. My blood covers ALL of it; ALL  sin. And when I said “It is finished”, I meant it.   -Jesus

Welcome to Keep Your Wonder. Perhaps you have come to this page on purpose, or perhaps by accident, or maybe even by divine appointment. This blog is meant to be an encouragement to all who read it. The posts on here are referred to as “words” and really all that means is I have a conversation with God and I record what He is saying. It’s filtered through me and so is colored by my voice a little bit, but I’ve discovered that this is actually the fun part for God. He likes partnering with His children and He enjoys working through the gifts He has given us.

If you don’t know God, or you’ve only had negative experiences associated with God, let me take a moment to introduce you to Him. His name is Jesus, He loves you, He died for you and all He wants is to have a deep, abiding relationship with you. He wants to give you a brand-new life, a life free from bondage and torment. He has an amazing plan for you. So how do you get started with an amazing life with Jesus? Its actually really simple. Give the leadership role of your life to Jesus by admitting that you’ve sinned in your life (little not-so-secret secret, so have I, so has everybody) and you need Jesus’s help to change (again, so do I and so does everybody else). Ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins, and ask Him to help you forgive anybody who has hurt you.

Here is a prayer for you to pray: “Jesus, I have sinned and done wrong in my life and I am sorry for that. I need your forgiveness. I want you to be in charge of my life and my heart. I forgive those who have hurt me and release any and all offense done to me. Jesus, please send your Holy Spirit into my life, baptizing me with your love and power. Thank you. Amen.”

If you’ve come to this page and have prayed the above prayer, first of all, welcome to the family! Your next steps will be to find a church where you can grow, find a person who is mature in their relationship with God and ask them to mentor you. If you don’t have a Bible, get one and read it every day. Ask the Holy Spirit to talk to you and teach you as you read. Pray (have a conversation with Jesus) every day, and listen to what He’s saying to you as you seek Him. And last but not least, get in and stay in community with your church family. You aren’t meant to do this alone.