Change

We are coming down to the last few days of 2009. I am anticipating a truly explosive move of the spirit in this coming year. I have always heard of a revival that is coming. I have even seen sparks here and there. But the revival I feel is coming will surpass all we have seen. Time is winding down to the final days before the rapture. I don't believe we will go out of this world in a whisper. I see the church rising out of obscurity, and shining like never before. I see the wind of the Spirit moving across the nations on the souls that will surrender. The Word of God has been, in the last few month, pressing God's people to change. There has to be a real change in our hearts to bring that kind of move. The change will be sincere. It will be heartfelt. It will be evident to the world around us. It will not be a passing wave. It will be intensional. It will be last. And above all, it will be God motivated. When we give in to the will of God completely that is when revival will be stirred in our lives. I believe the Lord is moving on the hearts of the people, even now, to draw us into a relationship with him that will supersede all our expectations of how we should live our lives. It is for the pure in heart. It is for the truly sincere. Jesus lived a life of holiness, and genuineness. This move is not for the faint-hearted. It is for the souls that are searching for it. God is preparing a place for us that where he is, there we may be also. Therefore we should act the part of a heavenly kingdom citizen. Jesus said it is enough to be as our Lord. He was holy, so should we be. He was honest, so should we be. He was compassionate, so should we be. He was not swayed by the opinions of man, neither should we. He loved the sinner, so should we. He was humble, we should be. He was perfect, we should press for it. The only way we can do half of these things is to be lead by the Spirit walk in the Word and of course change. We will never have a better opportunity than now. We have let down on our principles and our society is paying the price for it. The time is now. I pray this new year finds you healthy, prosperous, and of course determined for change.

Apple of thine eye

Proverbs 7:2 "Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye" This scripture just stuck out to me this morning in fellowship with my Lord. The word "law" is translated Torah, Pentateuch (five volumes), Law of Moses, or the Books of Moses. But it is in reference to the Word of God itself, the whole Word in it's entirety. John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us..." So the Word or the Law is pointing to Jesus. By him were all things made in heaven and in the earth. Now the phrase "apple of thine eye" has to be broken down. The original Hebrew idiom used for the word apple was "ee-shone" meaning "little man of the eye". A reference to the reflection you see of yourself in the iris or center of the eye, while looking at someone. And the eye is symbolic of the center of our focus or reflecting who we are. Matt. 6:22 "The light of the body is the eye:" Light meaning the spirit or that which is illuminated from you. It is the essence of who you are. So what the scripture in Proverbs is saying is that the Lord would have us so full of the Word that when God looks on us he see's his very own reflection because the Word is God personified. Hallelujah! So Let's get into the Word of God like never before. Let's throw away the failures of yesterday. We can't succeed if we are always looking back. Jesus said that if we take our hand's to the plow and look back, we are unfit for the Kingdom of heaven. Looking back will keep our thoughts on our defeats and failures, but God is a great King and a mighty God, and if we truly believe that he is so, then let's believe for the impossible. When I look at myself through the eye's of flesh I see a loser but when I put on the Lord Jesus and apply his Word to my heart, I see more the a conquerer. I see a winner. Let us get into the Word and become so in tune with the Spirit of God when the Lord looks at us he doesn't see sinful man, but rather he see himself. Can the world see Jesus in you? Be blessed!

The Gift

When I was a young child, my mother raised six of us on her own. She has gone to be with the Lord. But there are memories that mark my soul even to this day. One in particular was a Christmas party at school. My mother couldn't afford much so she always got a small book of lifesavers for us to give to whoever's name we drew. That year I had gotten old enough to be aware that my gift was not much, compared to some of the other children. That years party I remember looking at the girl, whose name I drew, with embarrassment and maybe a little shame. We already wore clothes that were second hand and ate free lunch. It made you feel as if you weren't as good as the other children. Then, to make matters worse, the gift I received was a really cool model airplane with the glue to put it together and all. I was devastated to say the least. When I came to the crossroads of my life and surrendered my soul to Jesus, with all my failures, flaws, and misgivings, I was given so much more than what I gave. All my sins were washed away. My heart was made brand new. My darkened ignorance to the Word of God was turned to light. And now I have the promise of eternal life. Wow! All that giving, and all I have to give is me. Doesn't that make you feel humble? That God loves us so much that he sent his son to die on the cross that we could be with him. If all I have to give to this awesome , holy, omnipotent, omniscient, gracious Lord of all the earth, and God of my salvation is me, then I want to give every part. I don't want to give pieces of my soul, but all of my soul. I am born again, free from sin, on my way to heaven. What a precious and undeserved gift. When Jesus went to the cross and was nailed to the tree. It wasn't the nails or the soldiers or the kings authority that held him to the tree of sufferings, but it was his great love that held him there. They didn't take his life neither could they but he laid it down for you and I. What a precious gift. The gift of salvation. The gift of life. Consider the Lord in all your ways and be blessed!

Speak with power

Looking back over the centuries we can look at the men and women that stood for righteousness and lived for the Lord. I pondered on how they each faced their trials or storms. When facing the Red Sea Moses lifted up the rod. At the river Jordan, Joshua had the ark of the covenant to pass before them that they might go over on dry ground. When at the same place to show that Jehovah was still alive and moving after the taking away of Elijah, Elisha stood and smote the waters with his mantle and they were parted. But Jesus when he was standing there on the ship, the waves tossing the boat, simply spoke and commanded the storm to cease and it did. The sea even calmed quickly and the Bible records that there was a great calm. Wow, all of these that stood up and caused nature, and the elements to obey were moved by the Spirit, but Jesus spoke to the sea and the wind with all authority. What a story of divine power. Jesus told his disciple's to go to Jerusalem and tarry until they be endued with power from on high(Luke 24:49). This word "power" is "doo'-nam-is" in the Greek and it is where we get our word "dynamite". It means miraculous power. Jesus spoke to the wind and sea because that power was living inside of him. Jesus said greater works do you do because I go unto my Father. He said I will not leave you comfortless but I will send the comforter that will lead you and guide you into all truth. The same Spirit that was living and abiding in Jesus was now available to us. Whosoever will let them come and drink of the waters of life freely. Think about what is said here. When Jesus spoke to the sea and the wind, the storm was over and the raging sea had become calm, and that same Spirit that he had is living in you and I, if we are born again. So if we have the same Spirit, then we have that same "doo'-nam-is" power living in us. We need to pray like never before and fast to draw near to God that the Spirit that abides inside of us is seen by all and the miraculous power manifests in our lives. Again, Moses used the rod, Joshua the Ark of the Covenant, Elisha used the mantle, but Jesus spoke with authority. Let's realize the power of God in us, awake this sleeping giant, and shine into this dark and sinful world. Be blessed my friends.

Infinite

Light travels at an amazing speed of 180,000 miles per second. It has been calculated that light can circle the earth 7 times in a single second. Wow, isn't that just baffling? Furthermore, it has been said that in our single galaxy, called the Milky-way, light traveling from one end to the other would take 100,000 years, or, light years. Light years are the distance light travels in a year. The light when leaving our sun takes a calculated 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach earth. Even greater still is the farthest galaxy scientists have found, that can be seen with the naked eye, is an amazing 2,500,000 light years, or years, from earth. So in essence when we look up at the sky and gaze at the stars, that God placed there, we are looking into the past. Isn't that incredible?! That baffled me when I read it. Kind of makes you realize how small and insignificant we are on the scale of the universe. Yet the Bible says that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will have everlasting life. Incredible as it sounds, though this creator is so magnificent he doesn't need us in the slightest, yet he loves us with an unyielding, unbreakable, unfathomable, incomprehensible love. What an awesome Lord we serve. Jesus is the Lord of all Lords, and the King of all Kings. When I look at the stars in the night sky, or when I feel the sun on my face, it is all from the past. Whether 8 minutes and 19 seconds or thousands of years it is still from the past. Before we were formed we were in the mind of God. Before he created man, he already started the universe to sustain us. Now bring it down to where we are and look at our anatomy. We are so intricately made. What a designer! What an architect for our universe! God is so awesome, I feel like the word awesome is not even scratching the surface to describe our King, Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. Glory to his name forever. I thank you Jesus for wisdom, understanding, your precious Word, the Holy Ghost, and most of all thank you Jesus for the blood. For without grace we would not be at all. When we look into his Word we are looking into the past. We are looking at what was said long ago of what we would become, or are becoming. The Word of God is timeless. Our God is infinite and that which comes from him has that infinity in it. His Word and his Spirit are both from him and have the power of infinity. The Word spoken from a vessel filled with the living Spirit of God, that is spoken in faith, can move mountains. We can turn our circumstance around, dry up the flood that has torn through our lives, and break the yoke of the enemy. If we will speak and believe his Word. Remember, he is infinite, and everything that is about him, including his Word! Amen!

One Small Seed

One seed, though small and seemingly insignificant, has the potential, in the right conditions, to birth an abundance of fruit. Also in that same small seed there is the potential to birth multiple millions of other seed. A seed is strange in that though it is so small yet has so much value. How can you place a value on something that keeps giving? In the right set of conditions a seed can do extreme good to benefit our lives. But how many seeds get thrown to the side and discarded? So only a tiny fraction of potential seed is ever placed in the right conditions. The seed of the Word of God is the same way. We can receive the seed on good ground, soil ready to hear, ready to grow. We can water the seed and nurture it as it starts to germinate, sprout, grow to a plant, a small tree, bud, bloom, then manifest fruit. But that is only if we give the seed the right conditions. How often we hear the Word but do not receive the Word. How often we say "amen, brother" and yet we don't completely get the seed into our spirit or we receive it on ground not ready to grow. Ground that is hard, unbroken, unyielding, and not suitable for sowing. The Word of God is powerful, yet peaceful. It is right now, yet eternal. It is sharp, yet gentle. It is convicting, yet convincing. It is a vast ocean, and yet drink for the thirsty. The Word is our schoolmaster, our sword of the spirit, the bread of life. The Word of God is also seed to the hearers. Be careful how you hear. Let us take heed to the things we have heard. The Word of the Lord is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the joints and marrow. When the architect of the universe touches your soul to sit under a ministry and the Word that he has sent for that hour is being preached we need to take heed how we listen. Let the seed of the Word fall on prepared ground, on good ground, on growing ground. Remember the story Jesus told about the sower that sowed. The parable tells that not all the seed fell on good ground. But he describes how the hardness of hearts, the cares of this world, and shallowness of spirit were the common ground for what was sewn. The Word is precious, let's take heed how we hear and be fruitful in the mighty kingdom of God.

Amen

Greater is he that is in You!

Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. If we trust in the Lord and believe his Word we would realize that the powers that be are all in God's control. Everything that comes against us is not always the enemy but sometimes the spirit of the Lord sends or allows conflict that we may draw closer to him. He does not allow distress to come for our hurt but for our advantage. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. If we have faith in the Lord and his Word then we will be tried. We all are tried in the things we say we believe. If we know that God is a healer. We hear that he is and we except it. But to truly build the faith in what we believe we must be tried. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. So back to the scripture "Greater is he...". Who is "He"? The Bible is talking about the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. Greater is the mighty Spirit of God in you. " ...that is in you, than he that is in the world." Than the flesh or carnal part that is in this world. Or, put another way, Greater is God in you than your flesh. We are in the world, we are born of this world, and we are conceived in sin that is in this world. But our spirit is born again. We have a different character than what we received from our natural parents. We receive the attributes of our heavenly Father. We are in the world but we are not of this world, not anymore. We may have had our conversation in times past but we are new creatures. As those that are alive from the dead. So let's put on the armor of light and stand. If we know we are born again and we believe, prepare to be tested. Prepare to be tried. Because after we are tried we will come forth as pure gold. So remember my fellow followers of Christ Jesus, "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world".