A Legacy For The Kingdom

     For some reason, today my spirit is wishing to share some personal thoughts and revelations... I don't receive a lot of comments or feedback from my blog posts, but that's OK.  I don't need accolades for me; I'd rather read and hear God being praised, but when I do, they are often times humbling and give me more credit that I deserve.  Readers are too quick to praise me for knowledge and inspiration that, quite frankly, I don't feel worthy of.  The truth is, there have been people who have been instrumental in shepherding my foray into spiritual warfare, and who have validated the direction that the Holy Spirit is leading me.
     I am no different than any of you ... My experiences and knowledge can be obtained by anyone wishing to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit and to earnestly serve the Kingdom of God. Perhaps I am just a tad more bold or daring; in fact, I have had other Christians tell me that I should be more cautious and less passionate.   But I have confidence in my discernment, and I am not one to waste time if I hear the Holy Spirit counseling me to step out in faith.  So, today, I'd like to inspire you by introducing you to a woman who has inspired a growing army of spiritual warriors for this Time and Place.

     First, let me say that I have been tremendously blessed to have a husband who has been an aggressive warrior in his own right.  If you've been reading this blog for quite some time, then you know that his first and middle names literally mean "Peace-Loving Warrior", and he exemplifies that strong and commanding image.  Together, the Lord showed us a couple of years ago where He wants us to stand, and the important work He needs done in His Kingdom here on earth.  By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we were led to study the spiritual realm and its influence on Christians.  Through encounters with entities from this realm, we have both been exposed to satan's attempts to discourage the followers of Jesus from claiming their power and authority in the Name of our Savior.  And then, by Divine Appointment we came into contact with the woman who would become our mentor, our advisor, and our trainer in our Deliverance Ministry.
     Her name is Barbara Bucklin, and she is a tireless champion and advocate of Jesus as our Healer, our Deliverer, and our Savior.  She has more energy and passion than people decades younger than herself.  We first met Barb when we attended a conference she arranged, and which was taught by Dr. Charles Kraft, entitled Defeating Dark Angels.  At the time we knew, and were seeing, that Christians were being attacked and oppressed by demonic forces, but knew nothing other than praying for protection as a means of defeating them.  Dr. Kraft changed all that ... He revealed that through his many years of missionary work and the thousands of Christians he had counseled, that most problems are spiritual, resulting in emotional difficulties that keep us from the freedom and intimacy with Christ that we (and He) desire.  And we learned that deep-level healing is the answer.  What exactly is this deep-level healing?  It is a Deliverance ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit that is aimed at bringing healing to the whole person:  spirit, body, mind, emotions, and will.  It is about hearts being set free.  And we, as the servants of Christ, are fully capable (through partnering with Him and the Holy Spirit) of continuing His work to "set the captives free".
     The valuable information I received from a subsequent training season with Dr. Kraft was orchestrated by Barb, and in the months that have followed, she has been there to advise and instruct my husband and me as we enter into this new frontier of Christian spiritual warfare.  In fact, we just returned from a Healing and Deliverance training session with Barb this past weekend.  Thirty-five people signed up to hear Barb share her experiences in seeing hurting, scared, damaged Christians -- people who have been subjected to the wiles and schemes of our Adversary -- but who were transformed by a very real experience with Jesus as their Healer and Deliverer.  She conducted this seminar to encourage and instruct us in Deliverance Ministry; to give us a roadmap in which to work with Jesus to help those being oppressed by the Enemy.
    Now, 35 people may seem like a small number, but it is momentous when you consider that, very likely, each of these individuals represent 35 churches or communities who are in desperate need of receiving evidence that Jesus still heals and delivers His people.  If each of these people are fulfilling their commission to continue the work of Jesus, just think of the numbers they can impact.

     And impact is what Barbara Bucklin is all about.  She is an active supporter and vibrant part of what some call the "Texas Prayer Movement".  She is a fervent believer that through Prayer and Intercession which is led by the Holy Spirit, Christians can chip away at the darkness that envelops the world, and let the Light of God shine through.  She is believing and trusting God for a revival in the Texas capitol city of Austin; that prayerful Christians can provide firm support for what God is working on to accomplish in that city, in its businesses, ministries, families, personal lives, and government. She is believing God that He will transform the City of Austin ... and believe me, you don't want to doubt her.
     She is also the President of Luke 4:18 Minstries.  That verse is the foundation of her belief in Jesus’ mission statement as He picked up that scroll in Isaiah 61 – out of all those other scrolls -- and read it when He went into the temple. He said that the scripture was fulfilled that day. And what exactly was fulfilled?

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; too set at liberty those who are oppressed [downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy]..."

     Her testimony, I believe, is similar to what God is doing throughout His remnant.  He is showing us that, if we are ready to listen, and use the tools He has given us to see people transformed and restored, He has a mission for us.  Barb listened, and beginning in 1999, she set about fulfilling her mission... and just like what has begun happening to my husband and myself, people began showing up at her doorstep.  They were people that could not be reached inside the four walls of a church building, because they were never going to approach the Church for the healing they needed.  They are people, as in the case of Barb's ministry, who were homeless and living under the bridges in Austin; or people the Church had failed to help, because the church was blind to the message of Luke 4:18.  And they were simply people on the margins of society, who were not even in view of the Church, because Church members were focused inward instead of outward towards the lost and hurting ... the very people Jesus came to Save, Heal and Deliver.

     Listen to Barb, and see why she is such an inspiration and motivator for God's spiritual army ... "I believe that as we pray for people and see Jesus set them free, they are able to move into their gifts more fully and our city is being transformed one person at a time.  We see His Body move forward and unite in a different way, because it’s easy to unite when hearts are healed.  It’s difficult to work together when you're suffering from pain, unhealed abuse and other hurts. Wounded people find it difficult to work together. But, once you have healing and joy restored, you have a new resiliency and vision and then you move into a Kingdom perspective and a desire to see His 'Kingdom come and will be done' … [Through our ministry], we want people prepared and equipped in ministry, that is why the gifts have been given to us — to equip the Body for ministry and to advance the Kingdom. We need to be walking in freedom and maturity so we can do the good works prepared for us ... We also need to be alert, having our minds transformed to align with His words, increase our faith, and understand the prophetic nature of these days."
     Perhaps most importantly, this faithful woman of Christ believes that God's restructuring the Church. A while back, she says she got a word that He was rewiring, realigning, restructuring, and then re-anointing His Body.  She admits that this transition of the Church currently involves only a small number of the Body.  Most Christians are satisfied where they are; being comfortable and not liking any sort of challenge.  But she believes that the stirring within the Body towards ministries like hers [and that of my husband and myself] is actually God causing this discomfort; drawing us back to the basics, talking about the Cross and the Blood of Christ.  And she has done all that for me.
     She came into my life at a time when God was continuously trying to show me that He had work for me to do outside the walls of any Church.  Make no mistake, He didn't tell me that the work of those inside the Church was necessarily unproductive -- just that He was anointing me and my husband to do His work in a new "old way", if that makes sense.  And then He pointed me to models that were according to His will ... and that were working!  And that's how I ended up being a part of the Healing and Deliverance Training Session this past weekend. I sat among 35 brave people who have been willing to go where the Lord is leading them, and to be mentored by a willing servant and her team;  all of us followers of Jesus who desire to see our fellow Christians walking in physical and spiritual freedom and restoration.  I am truly blessed to be a part of this faithful group.
     I want to leave you with one final thought ... we all stand on the shoulders of others God puts in our lives.  I have heard from many of you that you are hearing from God, and know that the struggles in your life are spiritual; that you recognize that Jesus is the answer.  I urge you to seek a credible deliverance ministry, and then once you are healed and restored, then please help another person attain the freedom that Jesus has given you!  This is the structure of God's Kingdom that has been shown to me by the Holy Spirit, and modeled so well by men and women like Dr. Charles Kraft and Barbara Bucklin.  There is no need to fear the unknown.
     As we ended our conference this weekend, Barbara circled the classroom, anointing each of the participants with Valor.  Our modern English definition of this word is "bravery, courage, boldness".  But knowing Barb, I'm pretty sure that she anointed us with Valor, under the Hebrew interpretation, which indicates "the physical strength, power, and ability to perform in the battle that is in view".  She knows, and has seen, [as we have] that we are engaged in a spiritual battle for the souls of men, both lost and saved.  She knows that we do not fight alone, but under the Authority of Jesus and through the Power of the Holy Spirit.
     In this one classroom, in one city of the United States, there were 35 people joined in fulfilling the mission we have been given ... the mission that All are invited to partake in.  Just think what we can accomplish for the Kingdom of God, one person at a time; one community at a time; one nation at a time.  Let it begin with you!

Mark 13:34    "For the Son of Man is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper [guardian] to watch."