Passover and Resurrection Day: God's Holy Alignment in 2021!

I want to begin this post by saying that today, I unequivocally celebrate the resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, from Death into Life, and I praise Him for making that possible for me, too! And as you know, if you have followed this blog for any length of time, that I love researching the Word for historical and theological context. So, it is with awe and wonder that I find that our Christian celebration of Easter this year coincides with the last day of the Jewish faith's Passover celebration. Let me share with you how the two come together to show the glory and sovereignty of YHWH, the Creator of the Universe and the Most High God.

In our Christian faith, Easter has come to mean the celebration of the resurrection of Christ three days after His crucifixion. It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year because of what Christ did for us.  His willingness to pay the debt owed by all mankind throughout history, for the sins we have committed, culminates at the Cross.  He endured God's wrath so that we don't have to and could be forgiven our sins and reconciled with God, our Father in heaven.  Christ's crucifixion and resurrection constitutes the single most important event upon which Christianity is based.

I have written many posts about the corrupted history of Easter and how it came to be in the traditions of our faith and the Church. You can enter the word "Easter" in the search bar of this blog and peruse those, if you are interested. For the purpose of this post, here is a short summary of that history: In 325 AD, Emperor Constantine, at the Nicean Council, ordered all Churches to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.  The early Church had celebrated the Resurrection during the Passover, beginning on the 14th day of the Hebrew month called Nisan, which could fall on any day of the week [being governed by the Jewish lunar year].  But the Churches near Rome had abandoned the practice because they hated the Jews, blaming them for the death of Jesus, so they fixed the date to the first Sunday after the first full moon of Spring, which coincided with the ancient Roman celebration called ‘Easter’, after the pagan goddess of Spring, Eostre. It helps to know that Constantine, before his self-professed conversion, was a pagan who worshiped the Sun God, hence his desire to move the celebration of Christ's resurrection to "Sunday". 

His Satan-induced hatred of the Jews caused the Jewish influence (in the form of the Feasts) to be erased from the Church.  Here is a direct quote from Constantine himself:   “And truly, in the first place, it seems to everyone a most unworthy thing that we should follow the customs of the Jews in the celebration of this most holy solemnity, who, polluted wretches! having stained their hands with a nefarious crime, are justly blinded in their minds. It is fit, therefore, that rejecting the practice of this people, we should perpetuate to all future ages the celebration of this rite, in a more legitimate order, which we have kept from the first day of our "Lord's" passion even to the present times. Let us then have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews.” (Council of Nicea, pg. 52.)

Now that you have that background, I hope you can appreciate the importance of Christian acknowledgement of the Lord's Feasts (they are not "the Jewish feasts"), especially the celebration of the Feast of Passover, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits. There is actually so much significance that ties the Jewish Passover celebration and the Christian celebration of Easter, or Resurrection Day, as it is becoming more popularly known.  And there is an interesting correlation between the two this year.

First of all, there are eight days assigned to the Feast of Passover by YHWH. And in the Christian tradition, there are eight days from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Day/Easter. The last day of Passover is celebrated in commemoration of the crossing of the Red Sea [or the Sea of Reeds, as some versions of the Bible call it].  Eighty years prior to this event, the infant Moses was delivered from the waters of the Nile River, after the Pharaoh of Egypt decreed that all Hebrew sons born to the Israelite slaves should be drowned. Eighty years later, this same man called Moses, would be instrumental in delivering the nation of Israel from the waters of the Red Sea. This experience is known in the Bible as the Exodus; when Israel is delivered out of their bondage of slavery in Egypt into a new birth, or existence, if you will. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:2 tells us that in crossing through the Red Sea "all Israel were baptized into Moses [into his safekeeping as their leader]... That event is what is being celebrated around the world today, on Resurrection Day, by millions of Jews. 

In a similar manner, today we Christians celebrate that we are baptized into Christ, united with Him in His death and burial [as our sins are crucified and buried through His sacrifice on the Cross] and in His resurrection [as the Forerunner of our own birth into a future resurrected life]. He is the First Fruit of the Harvest of believers into an eternal resurrected life. This year, the Feast of First Fruits falls on the same day as Resurrection Day/Easter! I do not believe this is a coincidence in 2021! This year, I believe YHWH is calling the attention of His faithful to His Holy calendar. I believe we are coming close to His ordained time when we will be united in the worship of our Redeemer, the Jewish King of the Universe. This year, whether Jew or Christian, we will all be celebrating our deliverance from bondage into God's Grace and His strong will and desire to save us all and transfer us into His Kingdom on earth. So, join me, in praising God for bringing our faiths into alignment this year, as we pray that His promise of dwelling with us on earth will soon come to pass. Happy Pesach and Happy Resurrection Day!

Romans 8:11    Yes, God raised Jesus to life! And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, He will also raise your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you!

 

Hearing God's Voice In The Hours Before Dawn

We live such busy lives in this 21st Century. That's 2,000 years after Christ walked this earth, and 2,000 years further away from His human presence and influence. That's quite a span of time for the Enemy to develop ways to distract us, and to encourage us to separate ourselves unto our selfish desires. It has also been such a span of time that he has been successful in convincing us that we no longer need to consult with our Creator about how to deal with the crises in the world. He's done a pretty good job at separating us from the most important relationship in our lives. So, it shouldn't surprise us that our days are filled with so much activity that we rarely stop to have a conversation with the Lord, or to ask Him what He thinks and wants to do about a particular situation in our life or the world. 

It has become the nature of my relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that they often wake me sometime in the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 am) and continue to speak to me into the fourth watch (3 am to 6 am). So, it was the other night. 

When I wake up and cannot easily go back to sleep, I have become aware that it usually means I am to spend that wakefulness by talking to Father about the things on my heart, or asking Him if there's something He wants me to know. And I have a lot of questions for Him these days. It is difficult to see the decline in our moral values and standards in this nation, and to see the deterioration in the identity of Christians. It is frightening to see the collapse of law and order as the violence on our city streets increases; and heart-breaking to see the suffering that brings millions of refugees to our southern border. Believe me, if you knew the extent of what we in the border states are facing from the lawlessness of the Enemy, you would understand why there is very real fear and many sleepless nights. Wickedness and evil have penetrated the spiritual boundaries of our nation and only God and the Heavenly Host can [and will] protect us! 

You can imagine the questions I have for the Father in the midst of the Third Watch. But I remember what someone spoke over me one time .... "You have so many questions, that you never give Father time to answer one of them before you are asking the next". Guilty as charged! So, I am trying to be intentionally silent, and letting Him know that I am ready to hear what He wants me to know. Mind you, I have to keep my soul in check because it is always ready to usurp my spirit's desire to just sit in intimacy with my Lord. But this night, I am obedient to wait on the Lord.

And then these words began pouring out of my spirit and I knew I was supposed to write them down. So I got up in the midst of the dark night and began transcribing. Here is what my spirit heard .... In the darkness of the morning hours my spirit seeks Your Presence. The world sees the encroaching Evil and fears; crying out for escape. My flesh and soul wrap themselves in steely resolve, while my spirit ascends to its appointed seat in the Heavenlies. There, I rest in You, who fills me with Your strength and authority. You impart to me Your Wisdom and Your Might. "Tell them My Truth," You say. " I AM their refuge in times of trouble. I AM their shield and their stronghold. Tell them not to fear, for I AM is with them to the end of the age." I wait for more, but my spirit hears, "That is enough for now. I AM all you need. Tell them".

So, my spirit returned to me in the middle of that night, and I laid awake until the dark gave way to the morning light. I longed to remain in that place of comfort and strength with the Father, but I knew I had to rise to another day on this earth, joining all those who wait in confident anticipation and committed obedience to see His glorious return and reign. But what about those who aren't so confident? Those who struggle with how we are to fight against these physical and spiritual forces of wickedness? I will tell you that I have many Christian friends who are dismayed at the boldness of Evil being displayed in our midst -- the horror of which you are not, and will not, see reported on your nightly news. 

It would be easy to curl up in a corner and just cry out to God to take care of it, but that's not how we are to defeat it. God wants to work with us through mighty and powerful prayer, worship, and spiritual warfare, which means we must get on the battlefield to fight alongside the Heavenly Host as Lord Sabaoth, who is Mighty in battle, goes before us to victory! And how are we to pray? Well, Scripture is the way that Jesus fought against the wiles of the Enemy and here are just a few examples from the Word that you can use to begin to war in the spiritual realms ... Father, may our enemies come against us one way, and flee before us seven ways (Deuteronomy 28:7) ... Lord, You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of our enemies and let Your right hand deliver us (Psalm 138:7) ... Father, we trust that You will disarm the cosmic powers that rule the Evildoers and put them to shame and triumph over them! (Colossians 2:15) ... Lord, we ask You to command Your Heavenly Host to rescue the innocent children from the hands of foreigners whose mouths speak lies to them and whose right hands are right hands of falsehood (Psalm 144:11) ... You are Jehovah, who defends the afflicted and executes Your judgment against the wicked. You uphold justice for the needy (Psalm 140:12) for You are the Lord who will take up their case and plunder those who rob them (Proverbs 22:23). 

As you can see, there is no stronger way to battle in the spirit than to seek the Lord for what He wants to say to you and then follow His lead. And you will find that His Word backs up everything you hear and everything He shows you. And yes, the Enemy likes to work in the Third Watch of the night, too. But when you know who you are in Christ, and that you fight with the Power of Heaven at your side, you have nothing to fear from the darkness. The Cosmic War is beginning to spill over to this earthly realm and it is time that those of us who proclaim our loyalty to the King of the Universe cinch up our spiritual armor and stand up in our identity. It is time to be counted with the Heavenly Host as we refuse to surrender the earth to the kingdom of darkness. The dominion of the earth belongs to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! And it is our assignment to join in that victory! Hallelujah!

Psalm 27:8    "Seek My face." My heart says to You, "Your face, Lord, do I seek."

Passover 2021

The evening of Saturday, March 27th begins the Passover feast days, which ends at nightfall on Sunday, April 4th, which happens to be the Christian celebration of Easter this year. But, as a Christian, I find the celebration of Passover and the Spring Feasts extremely meaningful because it shows us just how Jesus fulfills the Biblical prophecies of the Bible at His first coming, and how the Fall Feasts are a dress rehearsal for His second coming. 

Within these eight Holy days, God ordained the Feast of Pesach, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Fruit Fruits -- all in commemoration of what He did in delivering the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt AND as a foreshadowing of the work He would do through His Son, Jesus Christ, in delivering us out of a life of bondage to sin. Within these eight days of Passover, Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected, and each Feast speaks of Him and His redemptive work on our behalf.

And yes, God ordained these Feast Days, and they are His Holy Days, not just Jewish holidays, as the Church has mistakenly believed. In Leviticus 23, God proclaimed them as My Feasts and that they would be a perpetual statute among all your generations in all your dwelling places.  And because we are the spiritual descendants of Abraham, these Feasts not only have meaning to us, but I believe that we are to celebrate them, too.  After all, Abraham is the "father" of our faith, and as Galatians 3:29 says, If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

The eight days that make up the Festival of Passover are actually recorded in Exodus, Chapter 12. Here we find three separate Feasts, all under the umbrella of "the Feast of Passover". The first day of the Festival, and the first of the Feasts, is called Pesach, which means "spare" or "exempt" in Hebrew, and which our English Bibles translate as "pass over".  Therefore, it has become known as the Feast of Passover in our time. 

It is the foundation of all three Feasts, and commemorates the Lord's direction to the Israelites to sacrifice an unblemished and spotless lamb, applying it's blood to the side doorposts and top lentil of each home. [It is important to note, that this application made the motion of the Cross]. The Lord promised that the Angel of Death would pass over homes where the blood of the lamb had been applied.  The lambs were the substitutes for the people, sparing them [and saving them] from death and judgment by the Lord. Each house marked by the blood of the lamb would be a haven of salvation, a place safe from the judgment that was about to come upon Egypt. Those Egyptian homes, where there was no application of the blood, would suffer the judgment of the Angel of Death at Midnight. NOTE: the Lord has recently shown me that those homes marked by the blood were more than just safe havens of salvation, but were under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Kingdom of God. The Egyptians' homes, which remained unmarked by the blood of a sacrificial lamb, belonged to the kingdom of darkness in the world, in which Satan was god.

We know the rest of this story... the Israelites were spared, while the first born in every Egyptian home died that night, causing Pharaoh to issue a decree that the Israelites be released and allowed to leave.  For the Jewish people, the focus of the Passover observance is remembering YHWH's deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. "Remember" -- that is the key word for this week of celebration.

For us Christians, who are Abraham's seed of the New Covenant, the Feast of Passover is a call to remember the Redemption we have received through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.  He is our Passover who takes away the sin of the world.  We are redeemed with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. Just as the first Passover proved to be the Power of God to release the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, Jesus is the Power of God to release us from our bondage to the pleasures of the flesh in this world, and the penalty of our sins. We can now step into His Repentance, His Love, Life, Freedom, Liberty, AND into the Kingdom of God as Kingdom citizens. Jesus IS the manifestation of the Passover Lamb, and He was crucified on the Feast of Passover.

The second feast of the Passover Festival is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasts seven days, from sundown on Sunday, March 28th until sundown on April 4th.  Historically, it is a call to remember the quick exodus from Egypt, when the Israelites were instructed to make bread without leaven (yeast) because they didn't have time to wait for it to rise. In addition, yeast, or leaven, in the Bible always referred to any corrupting influence in the nation of Israel.  In this instance, God was telling them to leave behind the unholy influences of Egypt -- the worship of false Egyptian gods, and the rituals and traditions that had corrupted Israel's relationship with their God during their 430 years of captivity. They were to spend that week in worship and reflection for what God had done for them, and for their relationship with Him that they were privileged to experience. They were to remove any leaven [or sin] that was corrupting their present relationship; it was to be a time of absolute separation from leaven in any form.

I can't help but see the correlation to our present situation. In the midst of all that seems to be spiraling out of control in our country -- debates over vaccinations, continued isolation and forms of lockdown, rising inflation, food shortages, division and discord among the populace, escalating violence, and the crisis on our Southern border -- we need to spend this week in intentional worship and reflection for what God has done for us, and what He wants to accomplish in the midst of this national quagmire. Our country is at a crossroads and I don't have a lot of faith that we can get ourselves out of it. We are no different from the adulterous nation of Israel in 1451 B.C. As a nation, we have abandoned our relationship with the One True God in favor of following false prophets who are leading us into the corrupted belief systems of Socialism, Communism, Social Justice, Racism, Social Media, Debt, Universalism, and Ecumenicalism.  And it isn't hard to see that the Dark Side is pushing us ever further towards "absolute separation" from being a Godly nation. This Passover week is a perfect time to reflect on how things need to change in our world and how we, as Kingdom ambassadors and citizens, are to meet the challenges that seem to be unavoidable in the near future.

That is why our celebration of the third feast of Passover week, the Feast of First Fruits, should stir our spirits into action. It begins at sundown on April 3rd and ends at sundown on April 4th. In the Old Covenant, it acknowledged the Lord as the giver of the harvest, and commemorated Adam's son, Abel, bringing the first of his flock as an offering to the Lord. This Feast speaks volumes of Christ as the first of God's Harvest of souls and is a shadow of what Christ has done for us and the promises [of a greater harvest, as well as judgment] that He has yet to do. It is important to know that Jesus is the offering presented to the Heavenly Father as the first fruit of the harvest.  But just as important, He is the guarantee that more resurrections will follow.  In His first fruits offering, we see the blessing and the setting apart [or sanctifying] of the entire harvest to the Father, and a preview of what the resurrection will be like for every Believer.  Because He overcame death and lives today, every born-again follower of Christ is connected to Him and His power. 

Furthermore, that connection is real and it is needed today more than ever! God sent His Son to establish a Kingdom [and a family of sons] to rule His Kingdom for Him! Jesus didn't die and return to Heaven so that we would wait to join Him there. He came to restore to us our leadership authority that God gave us in Genesis 1 [dominion over the earth]. There is a fullness and expectancy of the Kingdom of God coming to earth that accompanies the celebration of the Festival of Passover.  It is Biblical and it is Holy.  It is a remembrance of things God has already accomplished for us and a hope of what we can accomplish for the Kingdom.

Ultimately, this season of Passover is a celebration and a remembrance; an acknowledgment of God's desire to restore us to our original design and the earth to His original purpose. Yes, Jesus came as a sacrificial lamb, but He is our King, who came to establish His Father's rulership and authority over the earth He created. In the Passover celebration God shows us His plan for the redemption of mankind. But we can't stop there. We weren't redeemed to continue to let the kingdom of Satan influence the earth. Fifty days after the feasts of Passover, Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in us to help us walk out our authority as ambassadors of the Kingdom. Jesus's assignment is now our assignment!

So this Passover season, be thankful for your victory in Yeshua -- for the cancellation of your sins, and for your hope of resurrection. Then seek the Kingdom and a renewal of your mind as to your position as an Ambassador for the King of the Universe! Reconnect to that original relationship and authority and power you were made for. Yes, we have a rich heritage in the Feasts of the Lord, but our portion of the Lord goes back further than the Exodus story. It goes all the way back to Genesis 1 when God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over all the earth.  

Will we take advantage of this Holy season to emerge from the pandemic and our national trials with a new Kingdom mindset of how we want our families, our communities, our nation, and the world to look? Or will we continue to remain dormant, waiting for the world to go back to "business as usual" and return to our old ways. I pray that each of you will renew your mind and heart to receive God's desire for your life and His will for the earth. Let's show Evil that we will no longer remain idle in the face of its onslaught. We are sons and daughters of the King of the Universe, who have been delivered out of bondage by His Holy sacrifice. And in the spirit of praise and worship of my King and His Kingdom, I say "Pesach Same'ach (Happy Passover)! 

Exodus 12:13     The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

 

The Power of Jesus's Outstretched Arm

 

I'm inviting you along for the ride as the Lord schools me on a bigger picture of His redeeming power. I'm not sure what the Holy Spirit is going to reveal during my "thinking out loud in the spirit". But, as I write this post, it is my prayer that His revelation will be a blessing to us all.

I'm in the middle of reading a really interesting book, titled Redeeming Your Timeline, by Pastor Troy Brewer of OpenDoor Church in Burleson, Texas. He presents an interesting concept of Jesus as a Time Traveler, being able to move in and out of the timelines of our lives, healing us in the past, the present, and the future. This book intrigued me because it fits so nicely with what I have experienced with the Lord in the Inner Healing and Deliverance ministry He has brought Mark and I. It has been my privilege to witness Jesus appearing in the memories of a person's wounded past to liberate them from the spirits of shame, guilt, unworthiness, etc, and then speaking to them [in the present] of their new identity as a valuable [and much loved] child of God. It's always a beautiful picture of what "being supernaturally redeemed" looks like.  

Pastor Brewer takes this idea of supernatural redemption a little further, explaining that Jesus can not only heal our past wounds, but can relieve our fears about the future, and help us to remain calm in the present. In fact, when He delivers us from the captivity of our past, it actually changes our now and our future! Our entire timeline can be redeemed! 

Before I go any further, I think we need to come to a mutual understanding of what "redeemed" or "redemption" actually means. I know, for myself, that I have sometimes been confused about the significance of such Scriptural words because they were never fully explained to me. So, I want to make sure we are all on the same page. I would venture to say that most Christians think of redemption as a New Testament concept; that it exemplifies Jesus's sacrificial death on the Cross. And it certainly does point to the fact that Jesus brings us deliverance from the guilt and power of sin through His death. But when researching deeper and accurate meanings of the words "redeem" or "redemption" in Strong's Concordance, I found that those words actually appeared far more often in the Old Testament! And the meanings have so much relevance for us today!

These are the meanings assigned to the words redeem, redeemed, Redeemer: 1) deliverance from captivity; 2) preserving the integrity, life, property, and family name of a close relative; and 3) complete sovereign freedom to liberate human beings. And we see these understandings in passages like Exodus 6:6, which says, "Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage. I will redeem and rescue you with an outstretched (vigorous, powerful) arm and with great acts of judgment [against Egypt]". Then there is Psalm 77:15, which reads, "You have with Your [great] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph".  This concept of Jesus as redeeming with an outstretched arm will broaden our understanding of how He heals in the timelines of our lives.

But first, I want to point out Job, which is considered by many theologians to be the oldest book in the Bible. Job is quoted as saying, "For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, and at the last He will take His stand upon the earth" (Job 19:25). That is a picture of Jesus being in the past, thousands of years before He was actually born, as well as a prophesy about what He will do in a future we haven't experienced yet! In Isaiah 48:17, Jesus speaks to the prophet Isaiah, identifying Himself as "your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel". And in Isaiah 48:12 Jesus calls Himself "the First and the Last", which coincides with His identity as "the Alpha and Omega" in Revelation 1:8. So, here we once again see Jesus in the past and the future. The point I want to get across is this: Scripture tells us Jesus is the One who is, who was, and who is to come. But we must not see that truth through an impersonal lens, as if it is a nice theological concept, but somewhat distant in relevance to our own lives. On the contrary, Jesus can actually enter into the timelines of our lives -- past, present, and future -- and redeem them. And here is what is even more amazing ... when Jesus heals that wound in your past, it is actually re-written in your Book of life, which creates a new present and a new future!

Take for example, the man with leprosy that Jesus healed in Mark 1:40-45. Scripture says, Moved with compassion [for his suffering], Jesus reached out with His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Once again, there is that act of reaching out His hand in power.  In the Greek, that act is the word "ekkteino".  Ek means "coming out of place, time, or cause". Kteino means "to put to death". So, we can understand that, in the power that was in Him, Jesus entered into the timeline of the man with leprosy [to the place, time, and cause of his disease] and healed him [put to death what the Enemy had sent against him]. In effect, that changed the man's identity, which transformed his life in the present, and into his future. 

And guess what? He can do the same for me and you! He can actually redeem us through His outstretched arm [just as He did for the Israelites in the aforementioned passages in Exodus and Psalms]. He can travel through the times of our lives [past, present, and future] and free us from the effects of sin, transgression, and iniquity; and in the process, give us a new destiny, transforming our lives to reconcile with what He wrote in our Book of Life before He even created the world! The question becomes if we will allow Him to do that. Can we see how inviting Him into our past can profoundly change our present and lead us into a glorious future? We must understand that Jesus created Time, so it is an environment that He has sovereignty over, and He can change what happens there. He has the power to confront our past and redeem it; delivering us from the captivity and bondage of sin, preserving our integrity and who He designed us to be, and propelling us into a future that glorifies Him and His Kingdom! That portion of time that contained the sin has been cleansed and a new portion of time has been established. And we can operate in this new timeline knowing our Lord, our Redeemer, has sanctified us to walk out our purpose. No looking back -- let Him stretch out His powerful arm and receive your redemption!

Isaiah 46:10     Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, And from ancient times the things which have not [yet] been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose,’

Release the Artificial Dam and Let the Blessings Flow!

This post is going to fall into the category of personal, but I believe it is meant to bring freedom to so many other people. This is my story alone, but I have no doubt that many of you will identify with it. For some time now, I have been crying out and seeking for more intimacy with my Father in Heaven. And to be honest, I couldn't quite describe what I was lacking, I just discerned my relationship with Him wasn't all I wanted or needed it to be. Something was missing and it was coming from me, not Him.

I thought I was in a real relationship with Him -- I was able to talk to Abba Father about all He was doing in mine and Mark's ministry and praise Him for allowing us to work with Him to help others. And I had no problem praying for others, or asking for blessings in their lives, or for resources they needed to move into the greater purpose of who they were created to be. I was able to partner with Jesus to see them receive a level of intimacy with their Savior that they had never experienced before, and I often found myself in tears of joy and awe as I watched it transform their lives. 

I did know a level of intimacy that was way more than before I asked Jesus to be my Savior. Yet, why couldn't I experience the full measure of intimacy that I knew was just out of reach? God began to unravel my confusion in a series of "reveals" that began as I took part in a study on the portions of our spirit (see email link at the end of this post to embark on your own "Spirit Bootcamp"). My spirit recognized and was in harmony with the portions Prophet, Servant, Exhorter, and Teacher. But when we got to Giver, I struggled with understanding how it related to the others and to God. When I learned it is the portion of my spirit that grants access to God, I knew I was going to need to deal with this question of intimacy. After all, if there was something hindering access to Father, how could I expect to experience intimacy? Then I also discovered that it also is involved in releasing the Father's blessings on others while receiving the blessings and resources He has for us. Ouch! That hit a tender spot in my spirit. But why?

I then embarked on some deep conversations with my spirit, requiring it to be vulnerable and honest with how I relate to my Heavenly Father. Of course, that took me to a place where I had to open the spiritual vaults to my relationship with my earthly father, which was more complicated than I wanted to admit. As a little girl, I remember a warm and loving daddy, who was nurturing, supportive, affectionate, had no problem saying he loved me, and championed all my activities in school. He was strict but never abusive. As the oldest and a girl, I realized as I grew older, that my brothers garnered more of his time and enjoyed more freedom. He was protective of his daughters as was usual for that time growing up in the 60's and 70's. But our relationship changed as I went off to college and became my own person, with my own ideas and dreams, which didn't always meet with the support I had known as a little girl. He still easily told me he loved me, but my spirit began to acknowledge the times I expressed my dreams and goals and was met with a dismissal or disapproval ... girls couldn't possibly travel the world like Hemingway and be a writer; how would you pay your bills? You need to get "a real job". All I wanted was acknowledgment that he approved of my passion to write, and believed in me as a writer. Subsequently, it would be 36 years before I gave myself permission to write just for the joy of it. I don't want to list a litany of the wounds that my spirit shared with me because I don't want to dishonor the memory of my father. But this was my spirit sharing memories from its perspective, so that gave them some credibility. 

So, as I wept before the Lord that I had been unaware that my spirit had been hurting from the words and actions of my earthly father, I forgave my dad again because I knew he didn't deliberately cause me pain. And I asked my Heavenly Father to forgive me for transferring my image of my earthly father onto Him. After all, I was well aware that this is a common deception that the devil whispers to us humans (both men and women alike), and I intellectually rejected that possibility for myself -- I knew the love of the Father and didn't compare it to my dad's ... or did I? And then I remembered what I had learned about the Giver portion of my spirit ... it is responsible for granting access to Father God and receiving the blessings and resources that He has destined for me! Here I was fervently praying for intimacy and all the resources I knew were mine and asking God to reveal what was blocking them so I could partner with Him in the Spirit to see them released --- and it was looking like I was the one blocking access! 

When my dad could not [or would not; for whatever reason] give me his blessings that I longed for, I was subconsciously applying that denial to Father God. My hopes and desires for blessings and resources had been dammed up by my dad's refusal and I couldn't separate that from my Father's heart. I didn't need to do anything to win His approval or change what I was asking for (feeling as if maybe I wasn't somehow worthy); I just needed to open myself to receive what He has had predestined for me from the foundations of the world and that are written in my Book of Life! That dam holding back access and blessings had been erected over years in my childhood and young adulthood, and I had failed to recognize that it didn't exist in my Father's heavenly realm. It was an unnatural, artificial spiritual dam that I had allowed to exist, keeping me from accepting and receiving all that Father God wanted to give me! The problem was, I had been asking with the wrong heart and eventually hesitated to even ask, feeling somehow guilty for asking. After all, didn't the Bible tell me I was supposed to be content in whatever situation I found myself? It was now time to deal with this once and for all. So, I submitted everything to my Abba Father, and allowed Him to heal me.

I experienced such a profound emotional connection between my spirit and my Heavenly Father, casting off the rejection my spirit had been feeling [and I was unaware of]. I knew the blessings and resources were real and they could now be released in the spiritual realms and manifest in the natural! They are real and they are mine and they are on their way! I hadn't realized that my spirit was keeping me distanced from the love, affection and intimacy with Father God because it was afraid of being disappointed. But now I know that it is His heart to give His children all that is good... Do you know of any parent who would give his hungry child, who asked for food, a plate of rocks instead? Or when asked for a piece of fish, what parent would offer his child a snake instead?  If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask Him?” (Matthew 7:9-11).

I now am able to give myself what I have partnered with Jesus to give to others. I no longer dwell on past experiences or allow the Enemy to start building another spiritual dam to stop the flow of blessings and resources. I am no longer tentative about approaching Father with my joys, my sorrows, my desires or disappointments. I know He desires me to be all He made me to be; never holding back His blessings, or denying me the resources that He has stored up for me in Heaven. As I've told so many who have come to our table for ministry... this journey to wholeness is a process. And I'm not too proud to admit that I'm still in the midst of my own sanctifying process. I am thankful for the letting go, and I rejoice in the receiving.  I rush into my Abba's arms, sharing my dreams and goals and needs and He listens! If what I ask for does not align with His will, He makes my spirit aware that He has something better in mind; there's no judgment or condemnation... and nothing hurts. 

So, here's the good news ... because I am confident in my intimacy with Him, I have been able to share my healing with other women, who are reporting that they are dealing with this same issue and He is healing us all! As one good friend related, the Lord told her, "You know me as God, but I've been hindered as [your] Father". How many of us --  whether men or women -- have subconsciously colored our vision of Abba with our memories of our fathers [even though we know better]? How many of us have allowed Satan to hand us the bricks that we've then used to build our own dam to hold back intimacy and blessings? Join with me and let's tear those obstructions down! And then let's run into the arms of Father God who delights in us and our dreams and desires! He is removing all obstacles as He prepares to take us into a demanding, arduous [yet fruitful] season of defending the Kingdom. We thank you, Father, for your faithfulness to perfect us in Your image. And we bless You, the One from whom all blessings flow! Amen!

Contact Sharonvanhorn@gmail.com to receive information about the next opportunity to partake in a "Spirit Bootcamp". 

1 John 5:14-15   This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.

A Call To The Ekklesia: Stand Against False Gods & Fallen Angels!

There is a stark reality we must face in our nation. We are all aware that for 60 years or more, we have been pushing God out of our national identity -- culturally, socially, and legally. But if we create a vacancy, it is the law of nature, that something will fill that space. Do you remember in 2015, when the powers that be in New York gave permission to an art exhibition called "Projecting Change" to impose the image of Hindu demon goddess Kali on the side of the Empire State Building? Kali is the goddess of Destruction and Dissolution in Hinduism and is known for destroying ignorance. Her name means "The Black One". The meaning of Dissolution, by the way, is termination, demise, extinction. And just five years later, in 2020, we now witness the State of New York updating the number of nursing home deaths from Covid-19 to an astounding 15,000!

When a nation removes God from His central and foundational position, then other "little g" gods are only too willing to take His place. And there are dangerous consequences when we let that happen. I want to make you aware of a new and menacing threat to the Christian underpinning of our country. An article on The Gateway Pundit website on March 10, reported that the state of California has proposed an "ethnic studies" curriculum that calls for the "decolonization" of American society and a "counter-genocide" of white Christians. Now, if we want to, we can just chalk that up to another generation discovering their ethnic roots and wanting to throw off the shackles of "American imperialism". But a more in-depth look at this issue finds a curriculum that includes the worship of Aztec gods and chants that call for human sacrifice and cannibalism.

If you are spiritually attuned to Satan's agenda, his goal is to corrupt and destroy human relationship with the Most High God, and substitute the worship of his company of false gods and fallen angels. It's been his plan since he was expelled from El Elyon's heavenly throne room. And the human race has been so easily tempted to abandon righteousness for wickedness. Beginning with the Book of Genesis, the Bible clearly shows us this precept, and the world's history backs it up. 

The curriculum materials will tell you that the goal is "name, speak to, resist, and transform America's cultural identity of dominance through white European neo-colonial policies". The suggestion is to see a transformation towards "social justice" through ethnic resistance. How is that accomplished? Would you believe that the curriculum teaches that students can become "warriors" of social justice by appealing to the Aztec gods to release a spirit of "revolution"? The problem is, these gods are real!!!  We don't even have to approach the obvious conversation -- that this form of "education" doesn't seek to reconcile and unite the various ethnic groups in our rich American heritage, but rather, to alienate and estrange us from each other.

This is the kind of Anti-Christ agenda that, as the Ekklesia, we must determine to see defeated. This Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum [as it is known] instructs teachers to help students challenge "racist, bigoted, discriminatory, imperial/colonial beliefs" and recommends that they lead their students in a series of indigenous songs, chants, and affirmations, including what is known as the "In Lak Ech Affirmation" which appeals directly to the Aztec gods. Students first chant and clap to the god Tezcatlipoca, whom the Aztecs traditionally worshiped with human sacrifice and cannibalism. Often considered as the supreme god, he took on a bewildering array of names and manifestations depending on where and by whom he was worshiped. Invisible and omnipotent, he was known as a Creator god, the god of sustenance, a patron of warriors and as the bringer of both good and evil, he was the very embodiment of change through conflict. He was seen as a god of war, and in one of the special ceremonies honoring him, a prisoner of war was sacrificed and his heart removed to honor this god.

But Tezcatlipoca is not the only false god to be summoned during this Ethnic Studies curriculum. Students are also taught to chant to Tezcatlipoca's brothers, the gods Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtili, and Xipe Totek. These gods are all supreme deities in the pantheon of Mesoamerican creator gods. All are associated with death, war and human sacrifices, whose blood would feed and strengthen the gods. I ask you, do you see any redeeming value to teaching students to chant and summon these fallen angels-turned into false gods? The chanting comes to a climax when students declare "liberation, transformation, and decolonization" as they are convinced they need to pursue "critical consciousness" of their oppressed state in society. 

But here's what is even more concerning ... this curriculum is not only suggested for college-age students, but also for primary and secondary schools, serving a population of 6 million students! With the ever-increasing number of refugees from Central America [the very countries these gods had influence over], California could see racial tensions and gross social upheaval in its population -- which is exactly what Satan has in mind! It is imperative the Ekklesia stand guard against the gates of Hades who would impose this evil curriculum in our nation's schools! Lest you think these gods are just harmless mythological characters, I will tell you that, as Inner Healing Ministers, the Lord has shown Mark and I their very real presence in the iniquity we find in generational bloodlines of Hispanic Beloveds. 

We have seen tremendous freedom come when we expose the covenants made with these fallen heavenly powers by ancestors, and then stamp them with the blood of Jesus and command the altars be destroyed.  Most people don't know the origin of their bloodlines, so we cover the major ancient civilizations by cleansing their bloodlines with Living Water, and renouncing and returning every form of counterfeit inheritance from the Aztec god Queztalcoatl; the Mayan gods Ah Puch and Kul Kul Kan; and the Incan god Viracocha. As I said earlier, the influence of these gods is still in the world, and their wickedness can be summoned through chants, dance, sacrifice and other forms of worship -- even if you call it "education" or "social justice". Ekklesia, this is a call to fulfill our mandate: to stand in the gates of righteous government for the Kingdom, and to prevail [triumph, overcome, rule] against the forces of evil that would come against God's desire for this nation. This agenda will not succeed!

Isaiah 59:7-8    Their feet run to evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, desolation and destruction are in their highways. The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths. Their roads they have made crooked; no one who walks in them knows peace. 

Do You Identify As The Ekklesia Or The Church? It Makes A Difference!

Do you know the difference between the Ekklesia and the Church? Can you tell the difference? About two years ago I heard a teaching by Pastor Dutch Sheets that put into words what my spirit has been discerning for some time, but was struggling to put into perspective. He was able to clarify the two ways that the Body of Christ operates... as both a Family and a Kingdom government. 

For example, as the Family of God, the Church sees Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the Bridegroom, and the First-born Heir (as the Son of God). In God's Kingdom government, Jesus is King, Lord, and Master. In our Church Families, we are part of Jesus's flock. According to God's Kingdom government on earth, we are the Lord's army. In the Church Family, we are healers and have rights and privileges. In the Kingdom government, we have responsibilities to be destroyers by tearing down strongholds and principalities. As the Church, we are to grow the Family of God until Jesus comes again. As the Ekklesia, we are to grow and extend God's Kingdom and its culture until Jesus returns. As the Family, we worship. As the Ekklesia, we govern. Starting to get the picture?

For awhile now, I have discerned that we have been operating solely as the Family of God [in our capacity as the Church]. It is past time that we mature and grow into our responsibilities as the Ekklesia. All we have to do is look at the state of our nation and the world to understand that God doesn't want [or need] a Church that is willing to compromise with the world. Look at where that's gotten us! The Church has remained fairly silent about ungodly strongholds of abortion, gay marriage, child trafficking, racism, human slavery, corrupt politicians and governments, etc. Oh, we speak up within the four walls of our buildings, but we have little effect on the morality of our culture outside our four walls. Take a look at our nation's laws... do they show the fruit of the Church's representation of Heaven's laws?

I believe that in this age and season, God wants [and needs] an Ekklesia that is taking down strongholds in the spiritual realms and reclaiming territory from Satan's kingdom of darkness on the earth. Since the Book of Acts, the Church has been given great power and authority to act on behalf of God's Kingdom. But to be honest, they don't know they've been entrusted with doing the works Jesus did to destroy the works of the devil. Far too many pastors and teachers don't train or equip their flocks to battle in the spirit, which is where Satan does most of his work! In recent centuries, the knowledge of the Church's power and authority has been eliminated from their identity; they no longer know how to walk in it. Instead they minister to each other, and Satan keeps the Family of God satisfied in the building, and ineffective in the world. Meanwhile the souls outside the building are spiritually dying.

I want to be clear ... God isn't finished with His Family! But He wants His children to change the atmosphere in their homes, their towns, their schools, their nations, and the world. He wants them to be willing to speak prophecy of His promises in the Bible to the dying, the hurt and the wounded. He wants them to do prophetic acts as representatives of the Kingdom of God on earth. The Church should look like the Church did in the First Century -- healing the sick; raising the dead; declaring prophecy over government leaders; baptizing and making disciples; carrying the Gospels of Salvation and the Kingdom to the far corners of the earth. 

The Church [as Family] should know the powerful tool of prophecy and understand how it works in the spiritual realms, because it can have a profound effect upon the works of the devil. But I'm not even sure we know what a prophetic act is or how it works. A prophetic word is when the Holy Spirit enables one to hear directly from God and you receive a message that is to be spoken to an individual, or a congregation, or even a nation and the world. The key is to discern that what you are hearing is actually from the Holy Spirit. And that requires a maturity that comes from experience with the Holy Spirit and being filled with Him. When that rightly discerned word is spoken, it actually opens up a portal over a region so that God can see His word manifested -- in His timing and His sovereignty.

Thankfully, I believe the Ekklesia is beginning to grow and mature into its identity and function [to see God's justice done on the earth]. We are beginning to show the Family of God that He is more than Love, Mercy and Grace (as powerful as those attributes are in their own right). But, as His Word tells us, God's cup of wrath will one day soon be filled up and He will tell Jesus to mount up on His white horse and dispense His Righteous Judgment upon the earth's wicked and evil. At that time the Church will have finished its mandate to reproduce and grow the Family of God; the number of those who will receive Jesus as King has been reached. It will be time to bring the fullness of the restoration of God's Kingdom on earth that He began in Genesis. Mankind will step into its dominion role and the Kingdom will truly "come on earth, as it is in Heaven". We will see reformation come upon the earth, as we leave the Church age behind, and enter the age of the Millennial Kingdom. That transformation and reformation is beginning now. 

That's why it's important to know how you identify yourself. Because I will tell you that Satan and the citizens of his kingdom of darkness will not easily give up the reign they have enjoyed these thousands of years. And frankly, as the Family, the Church is not equipped to defeat him or his minions. How can they expect to, if they are not walking in their power and authority? But the Good News is that, as we are growing into our identity as the Ekklesia, we are beginning to come together as powerful cohesive groups. And it is amazing to see what a remnant can do when they are equipped with 1) God's Divine strategies; 2) the weapons of our warfare [the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the prophetic word of how to bring down strongholds, and the authority to call on the Heavenly Host to assist us, among others]; and 3) the keys to the Kingdom [forgiveness, prayer, fasting, binding/loosing, etc]. 

But perhaps the most powerful thing we, as the Ekklesia, have going for us is our righteous zeal -- our tireless devotion and determination to see the cause of Jesus and His Kingdom firmly and irrevocably established on the earth. That my brothers and sisters, should be the heart of both the Church and the Ekklesia. But the Church has not taken the necessary risks to see the Kingdom established. Instead, they have reconciled and compromised with the world. Their 501(C)3 status has kept them largely on the sidelines as our families, schools, and nation have abandoned Godly principles. Yes, Jesus is our Savior, the Lamb of God, and our Advocate. But it is time we see Him in His identity as the Lord, King, and Judge of the earth. I honor the Church and all it has accomplished throughout time. But I am excited to welcome the remnant within its walls that sees the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom and is willing to become the Ekklesia. The world will not welcome us, and our mission will be arduous and not without conflict. But may our faithfulness and fortitude (courage in the midst of pain and adversity) usher in the glorious return of the King of Heaven and Earth!

Isaiah 40:10      Look, the Sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior; His military power establishes His rule. Look, His reward is with Him; His prize goes before Him.

Gates and Paths; Narrow and Wide

 

Earlier in the week, I took part in a discussion on the portions of the Human Spirit, and at one point, the conversation centered on the narrow gate and wide gate mentioned in Matthew 7:13-14. The seventh Chapter of Matthew is full of nuggets to live by, according to God's moral and legal standards. And we, in the 21st Century Western Church often forget those characteristics of our Father in Heaven. We don't like to think of God as legalistic. We will say we are under His Grace and Mercy and no longer under the Law. But we forget that He is a legalist. He sets standards, guidelines, and codes of honor, morals, principles and ethics to live by. There are requirements to being considered righteous, and it's not a sliding scale! 

That brings me back to Matthew 7:13-14, Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it. 

I would also venture to say that, from our modern perspective, we tend to see those that enter the wide gate as non-Believers. It's just taken for granted that we, who are Saved, are those referred to as entering the narrow gate on the way to everlasting life. If you believe in Jesus, then you are perceived as automatically going through the narrow gate. Have you ever thought that? I know that's how I interpreted it for years. I think this avenue of thought comes from our lack of understanding about the significance of "gates". 

In the Old Testament a gate [like today] was an entry point into an enclosed area; a door or opening. But unlike today, gates were the place where local courts convened, and justice was executed. Similarly, the New Testament asserts that gates stood for those who held government and administered justice there. And metaphorically speaking, according to Matthew 7:13-14, God has placed gates at the entrances of the ways [paths] that lead to either life or destruction; heaven or hell. A gate can be as thin as a curtain, such as in Matthew 27:51 when the veil in the Temple is torn at Jesus's Resurrection. It opened the way for man to once again have access to God. Or a gate can be synonymous with great power, as in Matthew 16:18 when Jesus refers to the "gates of Hades"; the power of death. So, you can see that the narrow gate has great significance and whether you enter into it or not, has great consequences.

Soooo... what if it's not as simple as all those destined to go to Heaven will go through the narrow gate, and all those going to Hell will seek the path to the wide gate? I agree that this particular scenario is absolutely relevant. But note that Scripture says the path to the narrow gate is difficult to travel, while the path to destruction and death is broad and easy to travel. Could it be that a choice between both paths could be possible for Christians? Here's why I ask that question ...

We know it is the desire of God's heart that all men be Saved. But, in His Sovereignty, He gave us Free will; we have to make a choice -- accept Him or reject Him. There is no middle ground. On top of that, we must accept ALL of Him! Again, there is no middle ground -- there is no area of His righteousness in which He is willing to compromise. He will never relax the rules of His moral law. Yet, look at the state of the Church and Body of Christ today. We have compromised with the world and accepted no-contest divorce, and gay marriage (even in our church leaders)! We have stood by and watched abortion, transgenderism, lawlessness in the streets, and the righteousness of our God mocked across our land. It has been a difficult path to walk in this culture and nation for a Christian! Satan has made sure the path has been wide and easy to travel for us. "Just stay silent; don't rock the boat," he whispers. "Did you see the loss of business that Christian baker suffered when he held to God's principles and refused to cater a gay wedding? It's okay to go to Church on Sunday and pray for the baker. You don't have to really stand up and proclaim God's Truth! He understands how difficult that would be for you and the trouble it would cause you. That's right, just keep praying that He do something about it!"

You see, Satan has been witness to the power and the authority in the Believer, and if he can convince us to stay silent or inactive in the Word, then he knows that he's got the edge in this spiritual battle on earth and in the heavens. We can no longer afford to say we love the Lord, yet remain rebellious towards His Word. That makes us a liar according to John 14:23-24, If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep [obey] My word. That doesn't mean just the commandments that are easy to follow, or that we like and agree with. It means even those hard statutes and moral laws that make us unpopular with just about everyone in our compromised culture. James 4:4 makes it pretty clear that friendship with the world makes us an enemy of God. So how many Christians today will find themselves caught up in the surge of people being shoved down that broad path to the wide gate because they didn't anchor themselves on that difficult path to the narrow gate; they allowed themselves to make concessions to please the world and chose to take the easy route than to persevere on the road towards holiness? 

I'm not saying the path to the narrow gate will be a breeze. Your faith will be tested, and you will be persecuted. Just get that in your head now! But that narrow path is the only way to access the Father and His Kingdom! And it's going to cost us. We won't be able to arrive at that narrow gate by "pretending" to act like a Christian. Jesus makes that clear in Matthew 7:21-23. Although followers prophesied in His Name and cast out demons in His Name, Jesus told them He didn't know them! What if that narrow path is found within the boundaries of the wide path? Would it be possible to think you're on the right path to the narrow gate, while being seduced by the culture of to embrace the wide path that is all around you? I see it all the time .... professed Christians who embezzle money; self-proclaimed Believers who are still steeped in the iniquities of their family bloodlines; and people who I know love Jesus, but are lying to their spouses about secret addictions. 

It is hard to be holy! And speaking for myself, I have to rely on Jesus for every ounce of righteousness I possess! But Father is strict about entrance into that narrow gate! That gate is the doorway into His sanctified Kingdom in Heaven. Jesus tells us in John 3:1-5 that Salvation is the first necessary step to get into that narrow gate. We can't see or perceive the Kingdom without being Saved; and we certainly can't enter the narrow gate into the Kingdom unless we're Saved. But everyone and everything in the Kingdom of God in Heaven is up to His standards. I believe that Salvation alone does not guarantee that much-desired entrance. Jesus wants to see a changed life! He wants to see evidence that you are seeking the Kingdom first [having a heart that has been circumcised and cleansed] and also seeking righteousness! We can't play at being a Christian, while continuing in our sin. His blood was too costly to be sold at a reduced rate. So take some time and contemplate where you are on your path. Are you focused on staying on the narrow, more difficult path -- or are you prone to wander out into the masses who are on the more easily traveled wide path? The Body of Christ needs to become convicted of the importance of entering the right gate ... the narrow gate that leads to eternal life in the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Anything less could lead to an unwanted and unplanned detour. It might make your journey more comfortable in the short run, but will it be worth sacrificing your eternity with Jesus?

Isaiah 35:8     A highway will be there, and a roadway; And it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for those who walk on the way [the redeemed]; And fools will not wander on it. 

 

 

 

 

 

My Responsibility To Speak of the Fullness of God

In 2008, when it was prophesied over me that I was to "be the pen and not the blank piece of paper", I clearly understood that I was to use my gift of expression and writing to please God, the One who created me to write. I started small and privately; committing to write for two hours each day, while sharpening and improving my skills. At the end of two-and-a-half years, I had a novel of fiction. The sole purpose of that exercise was that I learned to hear the voice of God as He steered me through character development, plot, and direction of the book. There were days when I sat down to write and had no idea where my storyline was going, and two hours later I had written pages that just seemed to flow from somewhere inside me. To this day, that is the same process (and joy) I get from writing ... being able to share what God's Spirit speaks to my spirit.

Today, 13 years later, that's still how it works. But now, instead of a make-believe narrative, He speaks to me of more serious matters; subjects that align with His heart and that affect the lives of millions like me, who seek His counsel on how to navigate the perilous times in which we live. This blog is just one of the tools He has given me. This weekend my husband Mark and I will be leading a little mini-conference for a remnant of God's faithful who are willing to hear what so many cannot bear to look at. 

As I've written recently, Revival is on the tongue of nearly every modern-day prophet. And I wholeheartedly agree that God desires heartfelt revival among His people on earth; and it should be our desire, too! But we cannot ignore that historically, revival has often come, after a season of persecution and tribulation. And what Mark and I have been hearing from the Lord is, "Prepare the people". Prepare them for what? As I have struggled to make sure I am representing His commandment correctly and clearly, what I have discerned is this: God wants to prepare people for the "fullness" of Jesus's righteousness. Well, what does that look like?

The Church today likes to equate the righteousness of the Lord with His grace and mercy and sacrificial love -- all true and Scriptural characteristics. Jesus's righteousness is exemplified in His purity, His goodness, and His blameless nature. But there's another side to His righteousness that proclaims the Father's redemptive plan for mankind ... The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Just as we are to partner with the Father and the Son to speak of [and to walk out] their love, mercy and compassion in order to speak of the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ, we are also to speak out that God desires our partnership in expanding the Kingdom of God on earth and defeating Satan's kingdom of darkness!

Yes, it is true that God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16) and we put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). It is my responsibility to share and express those truths as a recipient of God's love. But it is equally true this same Jesus who came as the Suffering Servant and Friend of mankind, will return as a Conquering King, intent on making war. It is equally my responsibility to speak of this facet of His nature [to the world], as well.

Revelation 19:11-16 describes Him like this: And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who was riding it is called Faithful and True (trustworthy, loyal, incorruptible, steady), and in righteousness He judges and wages war [on the rebellious nations].  His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many royal crowns; and He has a name inscribed [on Him] which no one knows or understands except Himself.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, [dazzling] white and clean, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword (His word) with which He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He will tread the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty [in judgment of the rebellious world].  And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name inscribed, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

It is important for the Body of Christ to understand the totality of Jesus -- He is both Savior and Lord! As Savior, Jesus shed His own blood for the redemption of mankind; for me and you and all those who choose to receive Him as Master of our lives. As Lord, He will shed the blood of the wicked and evil for the judgment of mankind. Can you see both manifestations of His nature? Do you hear both sides of His nature expressed from the pulpit [or podcast]? If not, then I submit to you that we are not carrying out our full responsibilities to represent Him as children of God and ambassadors of His Kingdom.

At our mini-conference this weekend, Mark and I, along with other faithful representatives of the Kingdom of God, will attempt to bring the fullness of our God to this mighty and faithful remnant. We will share what we have heard as "watchmen on the wall", speaking what the Lord has revealed to us in our spirits, as well as what His Word clearly testifies of -- the good, the bad, the ugly, and yes, the scary. But the conference will conclude with how we as the Ekklesia here on earth can partake in the battle for righteousness on the earth; how we can use our giftings and the keys to the Kingdom that the Lord has given us. We will warn and we will encourage. We will speak of the manifestations of evil we can expect; and we will all speak of the power of Inner Healing, Forgiveness, Intercessory Prayer and Fasting; the power of meeting God face-to-face, and receiving a Word of Knowledge concerning our strategies and battle plans. 

World events seem to be careening out of control, and fear among men is increasing. But if we will hold fast to our covenant with the Lord and be prepared to speak His WHOLE truth, then we can be effective in our duty to proclaim Victory in Christ! The world needs us to walk upright in truth and spirit; rightly discerning the Word of God so that we might share it with all who will desperately need it. We should expect to be hated and must not shy away from proclaiming the full nature of our God and all that it will require of us. We need to speak of hope and love and joy in the Lord; but not remain silent regarding the efforts of the Enemy who will come to kill, steal and destroy those beautiful fruits of our faith. Let us be suited up in our spiritual armor and step on the battlefield.  As His Ekklesia we can war in the spirit, bind and loose on earth as it is in Heaven, and pray and fast for heavenly strategies to defeat the works of the devil. Let us be prepared! Our King and Commander is getting ready to mount for His ride!

 Revelation 1:7      Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath]. So it is to be. Amen.

 

A Time Of Great Discernment

I have had plenty of time this last week to think carefully over the future of my state of Texas, my country, and the world. When a huge weather system halts normal life, and the frantic pace of life comes to a standstill, one is given the opportunity to step back and witness the world from God's perspective -- if one chooses to. But in doing that, I believe it is vitally important to let Scripture be the foundation of our discernment. And in that vein, both the promises of God's judgment and His Glory must be considered according to what His Word reveals.

In these days where anyone can become a self-appointed prophet by creating an online personality and following, I believe it is important to discern the accuracy of Biblical precepts and Scripture when determining if prophecies are legitimately from God, or coming from the desires of our souls. Please, I am not saying that authentic or sanctified prophets do not exist today! And my spirit clearly identifies the validity of what they reveal. But I also recognize that the role of "prophet" has become a wildly popular position within the modern Church; and can become a lucrative business, especially when the prophet consistently "hears" what the people want to hear. 

Again, I am not discounting that God can and does speak through prophets today. He can speak through whomever He chooses. But I am also aware that Scripture says "when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously". Again, Scripture says, "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord' ". I am aware that both of those Scriptures come from the Old Testament, but it is the same God of today, who has not changed. And He instructs His prophets in the same righteous way as He has throughout time.

So, I am intensely interested to hear what the prophets are receiving from the "whole counsel of God". As I look upon the disaster that was the response of Texas leaders to this catastrophic winter storm that hit us this week, I'm reflecting on God's perspective. I have no doubt that God heard millions of righteous Christian prayers, and there will come testimonies of divine blessings in the coming days. [Mark and I have only praise for our God who heard our prayers]. And I am hearing the sharp and valid criticisms over the mis-handling of the crisis, and hearing the prophets warning that "as Texas goes, so goes the nation; and as the nation goes, so goes the world". They are calling for an accounting, both politically and spiritually, and a cleansing of all unrighteousness, even as they are declaring that a revival of God's glory on the earth will begin here in Texas.

I pray they are correct! No doubt that a righteous revival is needed! But I find myself wondering, have any of the prophets heard God speak of righteous judgment? After all, Texas is the birthplace of legal abortion [Roe v Wade]. Also, there are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas, including almost 79,000 minors and youth victims of sex trafficking and nearly 234,000 adult victims of labor trafficking. Minor and youth sex trafficking costs the state of Texas approximately $6.6 billion annually, and traffickers exploit approximately $600 million from victims of labor trafficking in Texas. And Texas politics has a rich history of corruption, from the lowest to the highest echelons of public office. And we cannot deny that Texas was founded as a Freemason Republic, and the iniquity and wickedness that lies in this secret society goes unnoticed. 

Again, I ask, are all the prophets only hearing God say that revival will sweep the land? I know you can find Scripture that backs up that principle. Isaiah, one of the most moral and outspoken prophets of the Bible records what God told him ... Say to the righteous that it will go well with them (Isaiah 3:10). But in the very next verse, he prophesies the fullness of what God said to him: Woe (judgment is coming) to the wicked! It shall go badly with him, For what his hand has done shall be done to him (Isaiah 3:11). 

While I have no doubt that God desires that revival flow forth from the heart of Texas, I wonder if there are any of the prophets that are hearing more than that? We can and should pray for revival! But we cannot ignore the sins and transgressions and iniquity that are in our midst; nor the consequences of the wickedness that have been allowed to continue. The Church cannot ignore their complicity, collusion, and cooperation in the ongoing existence of abortion, human trafficking, corruption, greed, secret societies and compromise with the world. 

In summary, I whole-heartedly believe in the victory of the Lord in these situations. And I yearn for revival and the Glory of the Lord to be seen across our great state and nation. But I am also wise enough to hear God's warnings in His Word. He will not be mocked! So, I pray for discernment in hearing correctly in my spirit; to acknowledge the prophets who are truly hearing His Majestic voice from those who speak visions of their own minds and fill us with vain hopes. May we all hear in Spirit and Truth, and let the Word be our guide! 

Jeremiah 28:8-9  "The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet."