William Murphy - Like Never Before
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
People, God and Boxes: Skittles and the Milky Way
People aren't box-shaped, and neither is God!
Have you ever heard the old saying, "you can't put a square peg in a round hole?"
What about "thinking outside of the box?" Too many people tend to hide inside the box like a cat than think outside of it, I think. Though there are many who break down the barriers of being boxed in by allowing, even praying for, paradigm shifts.
Well, here is the thing with all of this...
People aren't box-shaped, and neither is God. Especially not God!!
Some say that we put God in a box of our own making; this would mean that we create our own VERSION of God instead of allowing ALL of God into our world. But WE are the ones inside boxes in need of breaking out of them, for we are NOT meant to be boxed in, either.
God didn't create us to be box-shaped. He didn't create our minds to become stunted, to remain staid, to disallow neuroplastic changes and paradigm shifts and time with the Holy Spirit to alter and shift us into who we were created to be, from the beginning.
When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit in the garden that God supplied for them and followed His singular command to remain distant from the tree in the garden's center, we re told that they walked with Him in the cool of the day. They feared NOTHING. They assumed NOTHING. They worried over, stressed over NOTHING.
And then, they spoke to a snake.
And ate of the central tree, that of the knowledge of good and evil.
And here we are!
God originally designed us to live stress, fear, and worry free. ALL negative emotion stems back to FEAR, and FEAR is what Adam and Eve inherited by disobedience in the Garden of Eden when they allowed the lusts of the eyes and flesh, and the pride of life to take hold of them, when they CHOSE to listen to and BELIEVE the wrong voice.
They didn't know the snake, though they were familiar with snakes in general. And it didn't seem off to them that it spoke, or that it spoke to THEM.
Did the serpent speak with oral words? We don't know. But whatever the case, they were influenced - they allowed themselves to be influenced - by someone other than the Creator, Whom they had known... forever.
How often do we do that?
How often will we listen to the voices of the people around us, and the media; to politicians and spin artists we run into around the world, online, in person, whatever? How often do we CHOOSE to listen to their voices when we KNOW that they aren't all speaking GOD's language? God's WORDS.
And so, we allow the words of fellow fallen people to BOX us up like a package, and we call it part of our BRAND. Instead of allowing what GOD says to and about us to reign supreme, how man of us allow everything else to PRECEDE His input?
What else do we do?
We try to put GOD is a box, thinking that we aren't IN one! Isn't that ironic?
We, the enclosed who have chosen our own enclosure, have been given FREEDOM in Christ, should we choose to accept it, and yet we still try to say GOD is the one in the box. We try to label Him, as we label ourselves and others.
LABELS DON'T WORK on people, or on God! they're good for preserving food, but NOT good for trying to hold a living entity like God, or those created in His image, in a set holding pattern for life and existence.
Instead, we should see the TREASURE God placed within us and others. Dig for the gold, look for the JEWELS, seek the hidden BLESSINGS and WONDER within humanity, person by person.
IF we have to be boxes, can't we be God's TREASURE BOXES instead of junk drawers for everyone else's stuff, and the things we think that toxify who we are because they aren't in AGREEMENT with what God says about us?
As for God... there's NO WAY He will ever fit into any mold, any box, any mindset... There's no way any label can contain Him. He is beyond fathom. He is to a Skittle the Milky Way solar system, and beyond...
 |
| Images from WeHeartIt.com |
Have you ever heard the old saying, "you can't put a square peg in a round hole?"
What about "thinking outside of the box?" Too many people tend to hide inside the box like a cat than think outside of it, I think. Though there are many who break down the barriers of being boxed in by allowing, even praying for, paradigm shifts.
Well, here is the thing with all of this...
People aren't box-shaped, and neither is God. Especially not God!!
Some say that we put God in a box of our own making; this would mean that we create our own VERSION of God instead of allowing ALL of God into our world. But WE are the ones inside boxes in need of breaking out of them, for we are NOT meant to be boxed in, either.
 |
| The proverbial cat in a box... |
When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit in the garden that God supplied for them and followed His singular command to remain distant from the tree in the garden's center, we re told that they walked with Him in the cool of the day. They feared NOTHING. They assumed NOTHING. They worried over, stressed over NOTHING.
And then, they spoke to a snake.
And ate of the central tree, that of the knowledge of good and evil.
And here we are!
God originally designed us to live stress, fear, and worry free. ALL negative emotion stems back to FEAR, and FEAR is what Adam and Eve inherited by disobedience in the Garden of Eden when they allowed the lusts of the eyes and flesh, and the pride of life to take hold of them, when they CHOSE to listen to and BELIEVE the wrong voice.
They didn't know the snake, though they were familiar with snakes in general. And it didn't seem off to them that it spoke, or that it spoke to THEM.
Did the serpent speak with oral words? We don't know. But whatever the case, they were influenced - they allowed themselves to be influenced - by someone other than the Creator, Whom they had known... forever.
How often do we do that?
How often will we listen to the voices of the people around us, and the media; to politicians and spin artists we run into around the world, online, in person, whatever? How often do we CHOOSE to listen to their voices when we KNOW that they aren't all speaking GOD's language? God's WORDS.
And so, we allow the words of fellow fallen people to BOX us up like a package, and we call it part of our BRAND. Instead of allowing what GOD says to and about us to reign supreme, how man of us allow everything else to PRECEDE His input?
What else do we do?
We try to put GOD is a box, thinking that we aren't IN one! Isn't that ironic?
We, the enclosed who have chosen our own enclosure, have been given FREEDOM in Christ, should we choose to accept it, and yet we still try to say GOD is the one in the box. We try to label Him, as we label ourselves and others.
LABELS DON'T WORK on people, or on God! they're good for preserving food, but NOT good for trying to hold a living entity like God, or those created in His image, in a set holding pattern for life and existence.
Instead, we should see the TREASURE God placed within us and others. Dig for the gold, look for the JEWELS, seek the hidden BLESSINGS and WONDER within humanity, person by person.
IF we have to be boxes, can't we be God's TREASURE BOXES instead of junk drawers for everyone else's stuff, and the things we think that toxify who we are because they aren't in AGREEMENT with what God says about us?
As for God... there's NO WAY He will ever fit into any mold, any box, any mindset... There's no way any label can contain Him. He is beyond fathom. He is to a Skittle the Milky Way solar system, and beyond...
 |
| Skittles are great, but... |
 |
| I'd have to go with the Milky Way |
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Transformative Prayers
So, over at Kura Kimanna, I was just writing about how people grow and change, and how the mind helps in that process. How, as we control the thoughts within ourselves, we, like a caterpillar, change by the Holy Spirit into a butterfly.
This process of shifting from Old man to NEW man... this shift from caterpillar to butterfly, is tremendous and can only occur when we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work within us and we work WITH Him by not allowing the toxic thoughts, emotions, attitudes, behaviors, dreams, and so forth, from taking root within us.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, a neuroplastic researcher, discusses what one of her colleagues dubbed the "trees of the mind" in both of her books on how people think and how they are able to CONTROL their thinking.
So here's the thing I want to talk about today...
Prayer as a means for transforming the mind.
When we pray the Scriptures from our heart, or pray with biblical insight... when we agree with the words of HEAVEN instead of with the circumstances around us... when we allow the Holy Spirit to SHIFT our paradigms as we pray, we are transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Whether this prayer is meditative in nature; if it is intercessory, or contemplative, or by any other means that raises and worships God and respects Him while showing us who we really are and what He can and will do in our lives if we are willing to allow Him to... that is TRANSFORMATIVE prayer...
And when we allow ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit in... when we come into agreement with Him... we become more and more the butterfly. Less and less the caterpillar.
With the Spirit of God, we can FLY into other realms in the Spirit. When we praise and worship god, it takes our minds off of ourselves and the world, and set our sights in the heavenly realms where true transformation can take place... MUST take place because we have then been in the presence of God Almighty, even though His Presence, the Spirit, has called us up higher to that realm in God. We see more clearly, hear more deeply, and revelations are gifted to us as we sit at the feet of Jesus, as He sits at the right hand of God the Father...
As we pray with an attitude of praise and worship, wanting to pray nothing but to be closer to God, and to become more like Him, we are transformed because we are transported.
Sometimes, in dreams and visions, this happens, but when we pray... when we come in humble obedience before our King into His domain (Kingdom= the King's domain), we are forever changed; our hearts and minds are forever altered, and therefore our bodies have the potential to be altered. Humble obedience combined with the humble boldness of FAITH is the key to the Kingdom so many forget.
So... here is the challenge: will you set time aside this weekend to pray in a transformative way? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to continue to transform you more into the image of Christ, the Living Love Divine, who lived the ultimate life of caterpillar (humanity in the flesh), cocoon (grave), butterfly (resurrection)?!
I believe that he is not only the Lion and the lamb, but in a sense, His Butterfly is with us now... His Spirit that rests on us. So many see Him as a dove, and that's great. Dove certainly fits the bill. It's what God showed us in His imagery of the Spirit, along with fire and wind. Like a dove, a butterfly RESTS upon someone. Yet a dove hasn't transformed in the way the butterfly has... a butterfly, like Jesus, has transformed from one form to another.
Allow Him to come and rest upon you... for even while as the dove He rests within us, He comes as fire, water, and transformation (butterfly) to rest UPON us and work through us to help thers. And allowing Him to have His way in us is the beginning of true transformation.
Then, and only then, can we fly!
 |
| Photos from WeHeartIt.com |
This process of shifting from Old man to NEW man... this shift from caterpillar to butterfly, is tremendous and can only occur when we allow the Holy Spirit to do His work within us and we work WITH Him by not allowing the toxic thoughts, emotions, attitudes, behaviors, dreams, and so forth, from taking root within us.
Dr. Caroline Leaf, a neuroplastic researcher, discusses what one of her colleagues dubbed the "trees of the mind" in both of her books on how people think and how they are able to CONTROL their thinking.
 |
| Representation of the thought of the mind tree... |
So here's the thing I want to talk about today...
Prayer as a means for transforming the mind.
When we pray the Scriptures from our heart, or pray with biblical insight... when we agree with the words of HEAVEN instead of with the circumstances around us... when we allow the Holy Spirit to SHIFT our paradigms as we pray, we are transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Whether this prayer is meditative in nature; if it is intercessory, or contemplative, or by any other means that raises and worships God and respects Him while showing us who we really are and what He can and will do in our lives if we are willing to allow Him to... that is TRANSFORMATIVE prayer...
And when we allow ourselves to allow the Holy Spirit in... when we come into agreement with Him... we become more and more the butterfly. Less and less the caterpillar.
With the Spirit of God, we can FLY into other realms in the Spirit. When we praise and worship god, it takes our minds off of ourselves and the world, and set our sights in the heavenly realms where true transformation can take place... MUST take place because we have then been in the presence of God Almighty, even though His Presence, the Spirit, has called us up higher to that realm in God. We see more clearly, hear more deeply, and revelations are gifted to us as we sit at the feet of Jesus, as He sits at the right hand of God the Father...
As we pray with an attitude of praise and worship, wanting to pray nothing but to be closer to God, and to become more like Him, we are transformed because we are transported.
Sometimes, in dreams and visions, this happens, but when we pray... when we come in humble obedience before our King into His domain (Kingdom= the King's domain), we are forever changed; our hearts and minds are forever altered, and therefore our bodies have the potential to be altered. Humble obedience combined with the humble boldness of FAITH is the key to the Kingdom so many forget.
So... here is the challenge: will you set time aside this weekend to pray in a transformative way? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to continue to transform you more into the image of Christ, the Living Love Divine, who lived the ultimate life of caterpillar (humanity in the flesh), cocoon (grave), butterfly (resurrection)?!
I believe that he is not only the Lion and the lamb, but in a sense, His Butterfly is with us now... His Spirit that rests on us. So many see Him as a dove, and that's great. Dove certainly fits the bill. It's what God showed us in His imagery of the Spirit, along with fire and wind. Like a dove, a butterfly RESTS upon someone. Yet a dove hasn't transformed in the way the butterfly has... a butterfly, like Jesus, has transformed from one form to another.
Allow Him to come and rest upon you... for even while as the dove He rests within us, He comes as fire, water, and transformation (butterfly) to rest UPON us and work through us to help thers. And allowing Him to have His way in us is the beginning of true transformation.
Then, and only then, can we fly!
Not So Random Videos: Skin
Chosen for the powerful lyrics inspired by Nikki's own life lessons, Skin can speak to each of us in a different way. Where are you looking at the outside alone, and where do you need to seek what there is at your core?
Skin - Sixx AM
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Not So Random Videos: All or Nothing
Athena Cage - All or Nothing
What does this song say to you?
Where are you giving less than your all?
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Back to 1000 Thanks
I realized recently that it's been a while since I blogged more of my 1000 Thanks, and so, it's about time to catch up a bit! The last post in this section was in May of 2012 and included some Interactive Song Therapy, as well. I hope to get a more of those songs up in the next few months, as well!
Over the last year, as some of you know, there have been a TON of changes in my life, and I am very thankful for much of what has occurred. Though some of it has been difficult, there have been {181} lessons learned that I never otherwise would have.
So, this past year, some of the many thing I've been thankful for include:
Housing {183} where it was unexpected, and with people who have been a delight {184-189} much of the time.
Time to get to know my Mom better {190}, in a more spiritual and vocational sense {191, 192}, as well as helping her get to know me on these same levels {193, 194}. This has been enlightening for us both, I believe! we've had some deep conversations deep into the night {195-198} these past months that have brought much clarity {199} and more mutual respect {200}. This has been such a godsend to me, and I am quite thankful!!
I've learned more about true friendship {201}, life in the Spirit {202}, trust {203}, faith {204}, grace {205}, the ways of the enemy of our souls {206), how best I learn and process things {207, 208}, about who I am in Christ {209}, about intercession, prophecy, dream interpretation, and varying other gifts of the Spirit {210-217}, about creativity and my own special brand of it {218, 219}, and distress tolerance {220}. I've learned about my own sense of self and sense of humor, and how God helps people change over time in these areas {221-223}. I've learned about a variety of countries {224-229}and gained a better sense of my own destiny {230}, as well as how to help others walk into their destinies with the leading of the Holy Spirit {231, 232}. I've learned about people groups I never thought I'd encounter on a daily basis {233-236} and how to best interact with most of those people groups. I've learned about more coaching techniques that I can utilize to help clients come into their own and become closer to God at the same time {237-245}.
I've learned about such cool things as 48HOP {246}, which is a 48 hour artistic intercessory endeavor where people can go to varying stations and worship God with journaling, painting, music, prophetic intercession, and more, as well as traditional means of intercession. I hope to put one together in these coming months, and am excited for the possibility!
I've learned more about digging for gold {247} within people, and seeing the treasure God placed there, rather than either dirt or treasure that is counterfeit. I've learned to discern the true from the counterfeit within people much more effectively {248}, for which I am extremely thankful and grateful!
I've had a discussion with someone I never thought I'd be sitting with; one that brought so much revelation to my life, eyes, and heart, it is impossible not to have a shifting of atmospheres over my life. {249, 250}
I've gotten to know people with gifts much different than my own, while similar, and to converse with them about how their gifts affect them, as well as found dozens of books that have been useful for helping me to grow and change and become more of who God has called me to be {251-253, 254-282}. I am so grateful and thankful for each of these encounter, more than I can express in words!
I've had a shift in the guard, as it were, over some areas of my life; so I'm thankful for those I have worked with in the past in areas of my life that are in process {283-285} while also being thankful for those who are newer {286-287}, as well as for the new ways I am learning and growing as a result {288-292}.
Many loved ones whose health has been iffy or challenged have improved {288-302}, at least five of which wrought miraculous results {303-307} and of whom three I have been utterly privileged to witness on some level {308-310}. Two of these loved ones whom I have had very much on my heart, I have been able to spend some unexpected, special times with {311, 312} and all of them have been absolute testaments to the goodness of God and His faithfulness {313-326}! One in particular has just blown me away with his attitude, his humility before Christ, his willingness to place ALL in God's hands and trust Him completely, beyond imagining {327-330} and I am so very thankful for his presence, and that of his wife, who has been so strong through all of their trials, in my life {331, 332}!!!
I have seen answered prayers in my own life in ways I never would have imagined, as well {333-345} and been so blessed to gain insights that could only be revealed through the Presence and leading of the Holy Spirit that have been just awesome, inspiring a deeper walk with Christ and deeper hunger for His will in my life, and the lives of those around me. {346-355}.
I am thankful for those who God has laced in my life who really seem to "get" me... N and LM, in particular {356, 357}. I am thankful for their insights into my life, and the insights of other godly people who love and care about me, who have been there for me through thick and thin, and their willingness to walk with me through the shadows toward the Light, which is ever-present and reveals the truth behind the shadow {358-375}.
I've joined a writing group where I've been so very blessed to not only get to know some amazing people, but also find tips and support as necessary along the way as I work toward the goals set before me. {376, 377}
I've recovered and healed from some things that were longstanding wounds of the soul variety, and of the spirit, for which I am more thankful than I could ever, ever express!!! This has been such a growth year that I am still attempting to comprehend all that has occurred! {378-390}
I've let go of things that have been weighing me down tolerations that I just put up with that were really actually easy to fix and change in the long run, but that I had procrastinated over. {391-396}
I've gotten in some great photography {397} and discovered a few new places to shoot wildlife photos that are satisfactory and fun {398-402}. I've watched sunsets that have left me breathless {403}, experienced cloud formations God used to speak to me in ways I only thought happened to others {404} and met people that have altered my reality for the better {405-430}!!! And the things I mention here are but a FEW of the MANY things for which I am so very thankful!!!
I wish I could recall everything, but alas, this will have to suffice for the time being. :) One last thing, though... is that I'm thankful I remembered to come and do another 1000 Thanks post today! {431}
Over the last year, as some of you know, there have been a TON of changes in my life, and I am very thankful for much of what has occurred. Though some of it has been difficult, there have been {181} lessons learned that I never otherwise would have.
So, this past year, some of the many thing I've been thankful for include:
Housing {183} where it was unexpected, and with people who have been a delight {184-189} much of the time.
Time to get to know my Mom better {190}, in a more spiritual and vocational sense {191, 192}, as well as helping her get to know me on these same levels {193, 194}. This has been enlightening for us both, I believe! we've had some deep conversations deep into the night {195-198} these past months that have brought much clarity {199} and more mutual respect {200}. This has been such a godsend to me, and I am quite thankful!!
I've learned more about true friendship {201}, life in the Spirit {202}, trust {203}, faith {204}, grace {205}, the ways of the enemy of our souls {206), how best I learn and process things {207, 208}, about who I am in Christ {209}, about intercession, prophecy, dream interpretation, and varying other gifts of the Spirit {210-217}, about creativity and my own special brand of it {218, 219}, and distress tolerance {220}. I've learned about my own sense of self and sense of humor, and how God helps people change over time in these areas {221-223}. I've learned about a variety of countries {224-229}and gained a better sense of my own destiny {230}, as well as how to help others walk into their destinies with the leading of the Holy Spirit {231, 232}. I've learned about people groups I never thought I'd encounter on a daily basis {233-236} and how to best interact with most of those people groups. I've learned about more coaching techniques that I can utilize to help clients come into their own and become closer to God at the same time {237-245}.
I've learned about such cool things as 48HOP {246}, which is a 48 hour artistic intercessory endeavor where people can go to varying stations and worship God with journaling, painting, music, prophetic intercession, and more, as well as traditional means of intercession. I hope to put one together in these coming months, and am excited for the possibility!
I've learned more about digging for gold {247} within people, and seeing the treasure God placed there, rather than either dirt or treasure that is counterfeit. I've learned to discern the true from the counterfeit within people much more effectively {248}, for which I am extremely thankful and grateful!
I've had a discussion with someone I never thought I'd be sitting with; one that brought so much revelation to my life, eyes, and heart, it is impossible not to have a shifting of atmospheres over my life. {249, 250}
I've gotten to know people with gifts much different than my own, while similar, and to converse with them about how their gifts affect them, as well as found dozens of books that have been useful for helping me to grow and change and become more of who God has called me to be {251-253, 254-282}. I am so grateful and thankful for each of these encounter, more than I can express in words!
I've had a shift in the guard, as it were, over some areas of my life; so I'm thankful for those I have worked with in the past in areas of my life that are in process {283-285} while also being thankful for those who are newer {286-287}, as well as for the new ways I am learning and growing as a result {288-292}.
Many loved ones whose health has been iffy or challenged have improved {288-302}, at least five of which wrought miraculous results {303-307} and of whom three I have been utterly privileged to witness on some level {308-310}. Two of these loved ones whom I have had very much on my heart, I have been able to spend some unexpected, special times with {311, 312} and all of them have been absolute testaments to the goodness of God and His faithfulness {313-326}! One in particular has just blown me away with his attitude, his humility before Christ, his willingness to place ALL in God's hands and trust Him completely, beyond imagining {327-330} and I am so very thankful for his presence, and that of his wife, who has been so strong through all of their trials, in my life {331, 332}!!!
I have seen answered prayers in my own life in ways I never would have imagined, as well {333-345} and been so blessed to gain insights that could only be revealed through the Presence and leading of the Holy Spirit that have been just awesome, inspiring a deeper walk with Christ and deeper hunger for His will in my life, and the lives of those around me. {346-355}.
I am thankful for those who God has laced in my life who really seem to "get" me... N and LM, in particular {356, 357}. I am thankful for their insights into my life, and the insights of other godly people who love and care about me, who have been there for me through thick and thin, and their willingness to walk with me through the shadows toward the Light, which is ever-present and reveals the truth behind the shadow {358-375}.
I've joined a writing group where I've been so very blessed to not only get to know some amazing people, but also find tips and support as necessary along the way as I work toward the goals set before me. {376, 377}
I've recovered and healed from some things that were longstanding wounds of the soul variety, and of the spirit, for which I am more thankful than I could ever, ever express!!! This has been such a growth year that I am still attempting to comprehend all that has occurred! {378-390}
I've let go of things that have been weighing me down tolerations that I just put up with that were really actually easy to fix and change in the long run, but that I had procrastinated over. {391-396}
I've gotten in some great photography {397} and discovered a few new places to shoot wildlife photos that are satisfactory and fun {398-402}. I've watched sunsets that have left me breathless {403}, experienced cloud formations God used to speak to me in ways I only thought happened to others {404} and met people that have altered my reality for the better {405-430}!!! And the things I mention here are but a FEW of the MANY things for which I am so very thankful!!!
I wish I could recall everything, but alas, this will have to suffice for the time being. :) One last thing, though... is that I'm thankful I remembered to come and do another 1000 Thanks post today! {431}
Hosting the Presence... Book Review and Fave Fifteens
From what began with a post about wrap dresses comes another Fave fifteens!
Last time we did a Fave fifteens/ Book review combination, it was looking at Beni Johnson's The Happy Intercessor. Such a GREAT book! Well, this one is by her husband, Bill, who is the lead pastor over at Bethel Church in Redding, California. I had been so looking forward to reading and gleaning what I could from this text, that you have no idea! And there was absolutely no disappointment at all! Such a GREAT book on the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and how He is the very Presence of God to us! There are few books I could recommend higher than this one!
So, as with Beni's book, there are a lot of wonderful thoughts, and it was difficult choosing which 15 to use for my Fave Fifteens this time... but in no particular order, here are some of the ones that I found most impactful...
*Throughout the Bible, God is creating a desire within the hearts of His people not only for Heaven as a location, but for Heaven as the realm of His present rule. (Kingdom is broken down into two words - king's domain.) It is right and good to long for Heaven as my home. But it is my responsibility to equally long for His rule here and now. God's job is to get me to Heaven. My job is not to go to Heaven; my job is to bring Heaven to earth through my prayers and obedience.
*The Church is the eternal dwelling place of God. And at this moment in time it is a building build on the edge of two worlds. We are dual citizens of goth Heaven and earth. As such, we are not only those who are to pray for God's Kingdom to come, we are the tools who are often used by God to release that reality into this one.
*Whenever someone despises extravagant worship, they are putting themselves in an extremely dangerous position. Barrenness is the natural result of despising worship. In doing so they are rejecting the reason why we're alive. Barrenness and the absence of worship go hand in hand....The devil actually doesn't mind worship that is tame. Extreme worship exposes religion in everyone.
*Anyone can get happy after the miracle has come. Show me someone who celebrate before the answer, and I'll show you someone who is about to experience the answer. This is the nature of faith - it looks ahead and lives accordingly.
*Many who speak in tongues think they are full of the Holy Spirit. Being full of the Holy spirit is not evidenced in tongues; it is evidenced by being full. How do you know when a glass is full? It runs over. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, is filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 4, peter join many others in a prayer meeting. Their overwhelming expression was to cry out for more. Peter prayed for more. He did not pray for relief in the midst of persecution, but instead prayed for more boldness, that expression that sometimes offends, so that he could go deeper into the realms of darkness and pull out more victims....In Acts 2, Peter is filled. In Acts 4, he needs to be refilled. Why? If you are doing this right, you must get filled often. There is one baptism. But we are to live in such a way that we give away all we get, while our capacity for Him increases. When we live full of the Holy spirit, experiencing overflow, only more of Him will do.
*Every believer has an open heaven. For the believer, most closed heavens are between the ears. Living as though the heavens were brass over us is actually playing into the devil's hands as it puts us in a defensive posture. This violates what Jesus accomplished. He put us on offense with His commission, "Go!" remember, believing a lie empowers the liar.
*We cannot let darkness shape our awareness of the heavenly atmosphere that dwells upon us. The size of the open heaven over us is affected in some measure by our maturity and yieldedness to the Holy Spirit. Think of an open Heaven as a big oak tree. The bigger and more stable the tree is, the more people can stand under its shade. Mature believers carry Heaven's atmosphere in such a way that others are able to stand under their shade and receive protection. To use another analogy, others can draft on our breakthroughs and become changed.
*We do well to pursue according to His commands. But romance is no longer romance when it is commanded. Some things must be pursued because they are there....Discovering His ways in the invitation to come to Him and know Him in the way revealed. Revelations of His nature are invitations to experience Him. As He reveals His nature to us through the moving of the Holy Spirit, He will often leave us without command. Instead, He longs to discover what is actually in our hearts, as it is in the nature of the heart in love to always respond to the open door of encounter.
*Emotions are wonderful, but not reliable indicators of God's Presence and moving. But there is a feeling that goes beyond emotions, and quite frankly can work regardless of our emotional state. It is the mood of the Holy Spirit Himself that we can become so in tune with that we move as He moves.
*We are the ones upon whom the promises of the ages have come to rest. And they are contingent upon our being a people who have discovered our eternal purpose. We have been chosen to be His eternal dwelling place. We have been chosen to host His Presence.
*Power and authority introduce us to the nature of the Holy Spirit with a primary focus on hosting His Presence. Ministry should flow out of the relationship with the person who lives in us for our sakes, but rests upon us for the sake of others.
*His Kingdom works entirely on the first things first principle. The provision of the Lord is not just food on the table. The supernatural provision of the Lord is divine protection and full impact in our assignment. This is the whole issue: Giving up the reigns of being in control of my life to become truly Holy Spirit empowered and directed. His commission was to go learn how the Holy Spirit moves. Go learn His ways.
*Total surrender draws us into encounters with God that keep us tender. Without that element, we become hardened to the very word that was given to transform us. It would be similar to the way a vaccination is made. We are exposed to small portions of a particular disease, which in turn cause our body to build a resistance. Jesus is not to be tried in small portions. He is to be surrendered to completely and wholeheartedly. Anything less will often have the opposite result what what He desires for us.
*Every believer is aware of God, but not always at a conscious level. Developing this awareness is one of the most important aspects of our life in Christ. He is called, "God with us." Knowing Him that way is essential to our development.
*His Presence accompanies His acts. Faith brings a substantial release of Presence, which is visible time after time in Jesus' ministry. An act of faith is any action on the outside that demonstrates the faith on the inside.
As you can see from even 15 snippets of text from this book that there is a lot of meat, a lot to grasp, a lot to absorb and to learn, but it is so very worth it! If you are seeking a deeper walk with God, I HIGHLY recommend this book!!! Hosting the Presence will change your life, if you are willing to be changed. :)
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Last time we did a Fave fifteens/ Book review combination, it was looking at Beni Johnson's The Happy Intercessor. Such a GREAT book! Well, this one is by her husband, Bill, who is the lead pastor over at Bethel Church in Redding, California. I had been so looking forward to reading and gleaning what I could from this text, that you have no idea! And there was absolutely no disappointment at all! Such a GREAT book on the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and how He is the very Presence of God to us! There are few books I could recommend higher than this one!
So, as with Beni's book, there are a lot of wonderful thoughts, and it was difficult choosing which 15 to use for my Fave Fifteens this time... but in no particular order, here are some of the ones that I found most impactful...
*Throughout the Bible, God is creating a desire within the hearts of His people not only for Heaven as a location, but for Heaven as the realm of His present rule. (Kingdom is broken down into two words - king's domain.) It is right and good to long for Heaven as my home. But it is my responsibility to equally long for His rule here and now. God's job is to get me to Heaven. My job is not to go to Heaven; my job is to bring Heaven to earth through my prayers and obedience.
*The Church is the eternal dwelling place of God. And at this moment in time it is a building build on the edge of two worlds. We are dual citizens of goth Heaven and earth. As such, we are not only those who are to pray for God's Kingdom to come, we are the tools who are often used by God to release that reality into this one.
*Whenever someone despises extravagant worship, they are putting themselves in an extremely dangerous position. Barrenness is the natural result of despising worship. In doing so they are rejecting the reason why we're alive. Barrenness and the absence of worship go hand in hand....The devil actually doesn't mind worship that is tame. Extreme worship exposes religion in everyone.
*Anyone can get happy after the miracle has come. Show me someone who celebrate before the answer, and I'll show you someone who is about to experience the answer. This is the nature of faith - it looks ahead and lives accordingly.
*Many who speak in tongues think they are full of the Holy Spirit. Being full of the Holy spirit is not evidenced in tongues; it is evidenced by being full. How do you know when a glass is full? It runs over. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, is filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 4, peter join many others in a prayer meeting. Their overwhelming expression was to cry out for more. Peter prayed for more. He did not pray for relief in the midst of persecution, but instead prayed for more boldness, that expression that sometimes offends, so that he could go deeper into the realms of darkness and pull out more victims....In Acts 2, Peter is filled. In Acts 4, he needs to be refilled. Why? If you are doing this right, you must get filled often. There is one baptism. But we are to live in such a way that we give away all we get, while our capacity for Him increases. When we live full of the Holy spirit, experiencing overflow, only more of Him will do.
*Every believer has an open heaven. For the believer, most closed heavens are between the ears. Living as though the heavens were brass over us is actually playing into the devil's hands as it puts us in a defensive posture. This violates what Jesus accomplished. He put us on offense with His commission, "Go!" remember, believing a lie empowers the liar.
*We cannot let darkness shape our awareness of the heavenly atmosphere that dwells upon us. The size of the open heaven over us is affected in some measure by our maturity and yieldedness to the Holy Spirit. Think of an open Heaven as a big oak tree. The bigger and more stable the tree is, the more people can stand under its shade. Mature believers carry Heaven's atmosphere in such a way that others are able to stand under their shade and receive protection. To use another analogy, others can draft on our breakthroughs and become changed.
*We do well to pursue according to His commands. But romance is no longer romance when it is commanded. Some things must be pursued because they are there....Discovering His ways in the invitation to come to Him and know Him in the way revealed. Revelations of His nature are invitations to experience Him. As He reveals His nature to us through the moving of the Holy Spirit, He will often leave us without command. Instead, He longs to discover what is actually in our hearts, as it is in the nature of the heart in love to always respond to the open door of encounter.
*Emotions are wonderful, but not reliable indicators of God's Presence and moving. But there is a feeling that goes beyond emotions, and quite frankly can work regardless of our emotional state. It is the mood of the Holy Spirit Himself that we can become so in tune with that we move as He moves.
*We are the ones upon whom the promises of the ages have come to rest. And they are contingent upon our being a people who have discovered our eternal purpose. We have been chosen to be His eternal dwelling place. We have been chosen to host His Presence.
*Power and authority introduce us to the nature of the Holy Spirit with a primary focus on hosting His Presence. Ministry should flow out of the relationship with the person who lives in us for our sakes, but rests upon us for the sake of others.
*His Kingdom works entirely on the first things first principle. The provision of the Lord is not just food on the table. The supernatural provision of the Lord is divine protection and full impact in our assignment. This is the whole issue: Giving up the reigns of being in control of my life to become truly Holy Spirit empowered and directed. His commission was to go learn how the Holy Spirit moves. Go learn His ways.
*Total surrender draws us into encounters with God that keep us tender. Without that element, we become hardened to the very word that was given to transform us. It would be similar to the way a vaccination is made. We are exposed to small portions of a particular disease, which in turn cause our body to build a resistance. Jesus is not to be tried in small portions. He is to be surrendered to completely and wholeheartedly. Anything less will often have the opposite result what what He desires for us.
*Every believer is aware of God, but not always at a conscious level. Developing this awareness is one of the most important aspects of our life in Christ. He is called, "God with us." Knowing Him that way is essential to our development.
*His Presence accompanies His acts. Faith brings a substantial release of Presence, which is visible time after time in Jesus' ministry. An act of faith is any action on the outside that demonstrates the faith on the inside.
As you can see from even 15 snippets of text from this book that there is a lot of meat, a lot to grasp, a lot to absorb and to learn, but it is so very worth it! If you are seeking a deeper walk with God, I HIGHLY recommend this book!!! Hosting the Presence will change your life, if you are willing to be changed. :)
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Monday, June 24, 2013
Not So Random Videos: Before Your Throne
This particular song is very special to me. It was written and sung by a wonderful woman of God that I wish I had had the opportunity to meet before she went home to be with the Lord. I look forward to meeting her in Heaven...
Before Your Throne - Maggie Quiroz
Friday, June 21, 2013
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Food For Thought
Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - St.
Augustine
Faith
isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It's
simply taking God at his word and taking the next step. - Joni Erickson
Tada
No matter how steep the mountain - the Lord is going to climb it
with you. - Helen Steiner Rice
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
When someone gets healed, the Kingdom of God is revealed, for His
Kingdom is a Kingdom or wholeness, of well being, and of life.” - Billy Joe Daugherty
The root of all difficulties is a lack of the sense of the Presence of God. - Emmett Fox
When God calls you to do something, he enables you
to do it. - Robert Schuller
Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see. - William Newton Clark
Everything in life is most fundamentally a gift. And you receive it best, and you live it best, by holding it with
very open hands. - Less O'Donavan
Miracles are not a contradiction of nature. they are only in contradiction of what we know of nature. - St. Augustine
Monday, June 17, 2013
Made Perfect in Christ Jesus our Lord
May God the Father,
and the eternal High Priest Jesus Christ,
build us up in faith and truth and love,
and grant us our portion among the saints
with all those who believe on our Lord Jesus Christ.
We pray for all saints,
for kings and rulers,
for the enemies of the cross of Christ,
and for ourselves we pray that our fruit may abound
and we may be made perfect in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
- Polycarp
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
and the eternal High Priest Jesus Christ,
build us up in faith and truth and love,
and grant us our portion among the saints
with all those who believe on our Lord Jesus Christ.
We pray for all saints,
for kings and rulers,
for the enemies of the cross of Christ,
and for ourselves we pray that our fruit may abound
and we may be made perfect in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
- Polycarp
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Another Fave Fifteens... The Happy Intercessor Book Review
Wow, so I've been noticing that my post about Wrap Dresses in the Fave Fifteens department of the blog has done extremely well, and so I will probably do more pictured fave Fifteens in the future. Today, however, I'll be looking at some pretty awesome QUOTES from Beni Johnson's wonderful book, The Happy Intercessor, and at the same time, review it a little... So this is really a book review with quotes. lol
I picked up a copy at the library because of my interest in and gift of intercession. I had never seen another book discuss the JOY FACTOR related to intercession, and so The Happy Intercessor was certainly a great find! It looks at varying types of prayer, and at how worship and joy are two different tools of warfare that confound and confuse the enemy.
I found myself having a very difficult time deciding which quotes to use for this post, because of how much great insight there is! Beni is a delightful and relatable author I hope to read more from in the future!
(For those who are unaware of who Beni is, she and her husband, Bill Johnson, are co-pastors at Bethel Church, Redding.)
So, on with the quotes... In no particular order, 15 of the best quotes of the book are as follows:
*Intercessors should be the happiest people on the planet because they know the plans of God. God is in a good mood, and He wants to give good gifts to His children. As intercessors, our job is to look ahead to the good gifts that God wants to give to us and to agree with those plans.
*We believe, as a people of God's power, that we are to bring Heaven to earth. Joy is a very big part of Heaven. Heaven is filled with joy. It is our responsibility to bring that here on earth.
*We, through our intercession and repentance, bring harmony back into the atmosphere. Jesus took ownership over the sins that other people had committed, even though he was sin-free. When we take ownership over the sins that have taken place in a region and repent on behalf of those people, as if we were the very people who had committed those sins, we take ownership over the land.
*God is looking for intercessors who are passionate for Him and for His Kingdom to come. Whether by one or two is no matter to Him; it took one man who walked this planet over two thousand years ago to change the world forever. One man! Jesus.
*If we dive into the Spirit of God, we can know what is in the heart of God.
*It takes great courage to stay the course....It will take great courage on our parts to stay the course when all around us things are falling apart.
*A lot of intercessors spend all their time worrying about what the enemy will do next, but their job is to focus on God and to partner with His plans. As an intercessor, your job is to find out what God wants to do, which is the opposite of what the enemy is saying. Then you pray what God wants. You don't allow the enemy to bring distraction. You have to make a choice not to partner with fear.
*Fear has a way of coming up and biting you. Everything seems to be going great in your life and you are walking in peace. All of a sudden, there fer is, trying to envelope you, trying to destroy your peace. We as believers have to make a choice to resist fear....The devil has legal rights only if we agree with him. The tool he uses to get us is fear.
*As intercessors, if we want to stay in a place of rest, we have to learn how to pray and do our pat and to then give our burdens back to the Lord.
*When you experience God's presence round you, even in a demonic setting, you can find it easy to pray....When you carry the joy of the Lord with you, all kinds of things happen. Joy brings excitement to the air, and it releases life. Really, it releases all of Heaven. I find myself, in the ark places, getting so excited over what God wants to release over a place or over a situation. We are releasers. We're meant to overcome the darkness with light
*When we adore God, we are kissing Him.... Warfare worship is coming in on God's terms, not the devil's. We are focused on God, which ushers His power and presence into our intercessions.
*I believe that we are to be a people that have Jesus' joy full in us. We are to be like that in every are of our life and ministry. One of the missing elements I see in many of those who are interceding is that they need their lives filled up with heavenly joy. I would love to go to Heaven for a visit and see just how joyful Heaven is. Their intercession in Heaven is not one of labor and work. There is none of that in Heaven. I think the intercession of Heaven is from a place of joy, a place of knowing.
*When you work and co-labor with God, the job gets done.... We are a people who have the incredible opportunity to change our environment. We have living within us the Holy Spirit. Not only is the Holy Spirit power, but He is lot of power. He is living in us so that we can be releasers of that power. He has put us here so that this world can have a power encounter with a heavenly Father.
*It is always easy to find dirt. But God wants us to look past the dirt and to look for the treasure....In finding the gold in someone, you have to dig deeper. It's never hard to find dirt, but we must go deeper to find the gold; that's seeing a person the way God sees him or her. When we see bad stuff around us, all we need to do is go deeper in God and find the gold. Find the things that God is saying. Then we can come into agreement with the gold.
*As an intercessor, you know the importance of finding the strategies of Heaven for anything that you are praying for, of making sure that the heartbeat of Heaven is in your praying.
Wow! Some very powerful and thought-provoking quotes from such an astute lady! I highly recommend that, for those wanting to delve deeper into the topic of intercession, they check out The Happy Intercessor! it is a life-changing, paradigm-altering, wonderful book! :)
I picked up a copy at the library because of my interest in and gift of intercession. I had never seen another book discuss the JOY FACTOR related to intercession, and so The Happy Intercessor was certainly a great find! It looks at varying types of prayer, and at how worship and joy are two different tools of warfare that confound and confuse the enemy.
I found myself having a very difficult time deciding which quotes to use for this post, because of how much great insight there is! Beni is a delightful and relatable author I hope to read more from in the future!
(For those who are unaware of who Beni is, she and her husband, Bill Johnson, are co-pastors at Bethel Church, Redding.)
So, on with the quotes... In no particular order, 15 of the best quotes of the book are as follows:
*Intercessors should be the happiest people on the planet because they know the plans of God. God is in a good mood, and He wants to give good gifts to His children. As intercessors, our job is to look ahead to the good gifts that God wants to give to us and to agree with those plans.
*We believe, as a people of God's power, that we are to bring Heaven to earth. Joy is a very big part of Heaven. Heaven is filled with joy. It is our responsibility to bring that here on earth.
*We, through our intercession and repentance, bring harmony back into the atmosphere. Jesus took ownership over the sins that other people had committed, even though he was sin-free. When we take ownership over the sins that have taken place in a region and repent on behalf of those people, as if we were the very people who had committed those sins, we take ownership over the land.
*God is looking for intercessors who are passionate for Him and for His Kingdom to come. Whether by one or two is no matter to Him; it took one man who walked this planet over two thousand years ago to change the world forever. One man! Jesus.
*If we dive into the Spirit of God, we can know what is in the heart of God.
*It takes great courage to stay the course....It will take great courage on our parts to stay the course when all around us things are falling apart.
*A lot of intercessors spend all their time worrying about what the enemy will do next, but their job is to focus on God and to partner with His plans. As an intercessor, your job is to find out what God wants to do, which is the opposite of what the enemy is saying. Then you pray what God wants. You don't allow the enemy to bring distraction. You have to make a choice not to partner with fear.
*Fear has a way of coming up and biting you. Everything seems to be going great in your life and you are walking in peace. All of a sudden, there fer is, trying to envelope you, trying to destroy your peace. We as believers have to make a choice to resist fear....The devil has legal rights only if we agree with him. The tool he uses to get us is fear.
*As intercessors, if we want to stay in a place of rest, we have to learn how to pray and do our pat and to then give our burdens back to the Lord.
*When you experience God's presence round you, even in a demonic setting, you can find it easy to pray....When you carry the joy of the Lord with you, all kinds of things happen. Joy brings excitement to the air, and it releases life. Really, it releases all of Heaven. I find myself, in the ark places, getting so excited over what God wants to release over a place or over a situation. We are releasers. We're meant to overcome the darkness with light
*When we adore God, we are kissing Him.... Warfare worship is coming in on God's terms, not the devil's. We are focused on God, which ushers His power and presence into our intercessions.
*I believe that we are to be a people that have Jesus' joy full in us. We are to be like that in every are of our life and ministry. One of the missing elements I see in many of those who are interceding is that they need their lives filled up with heavenly joy. I would love to go to Heaven for a visit and see just how joyful Heaven is. Their intercession in Heaven is not one of labor and work. There is none of that in Heaven. I think the intercession of Heaven is from a place of joy, a place of knowing.
*When you work and co-labor with God, the job gets done.... We are a people who have the incredible opportunity to change our environment. We have living within us the Holy Spirit. Not only is the Holy Spirit power, but He is lot of power. He is living in us so that we can be releasers of that power. He has put us here so that this world can have a power encounter with a heavenly Father.
*It is always easy to find dirt. But God wants us to look past the dirt and to look for the treasure....In finding the gold in someone, you have to dig deeper. It's never hard to find dirt, but we must go deeper to find the gold; that's seeing a person the way God sees him or her. When we see bad stuff around us, all we need to do is go deeper in God and find the gold. Find the things that God is saying. Then we can come into agreement with the gold.
*As an intercessor, you know the importance of finding the strategies of Heaven for anything that you are praying for, of making sure that the heartbeat of Heaven is in your praying.
Wow! Some very powerful and thought-provoking quotes from such an astute lady! I highly recommend that, for those wanting to delve deeper into the topic of intercession, they check out The Happy Intercessor! it is a life-changing, paradigm-altering, wonderful book! :)
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Thoughts, Lesson, and Prayer: Bbenjjjiy, D Wartss Stankki Mmuch!!...
You may be thinking, before even reading this, wow, she really doesn't know how to spell! But rest assured, this is only an acronym created for the purpose of this blog post!
You see, the acronym stands for the people that this prayer is going up to the heavens for... there is a group of men that God has put on my heart for which these words are meant, and to respect their privacy, I have decided to withhold all of their names, their professions, their areas of need being at least somewhat exposed in the prayer that follows.
The important thing isn't the acronym. It isn't whether or not any of you an figure out" all or part of it, either... for that is between God and I. I haven't even told my very best friend here in the earth, because I believe that, since she knows a few of the people represented here, I would like to keep the guessing games at bay and allow the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do here...
That said, to continue...on to the thoughts, lesson, and prayer about BBENJJJIY, D WARTSS STANKKI MMUCH!
*****Please forgive the uncouth word picture of the acronym, though in some ways, it is fitting...*****
In the book of Judges, chapter six, we find the story of Gideon. Now, Gideon was a man who threshed wheat in a winepress as a means of survival, because all of his people were being oppressed by the Midianites and Amalakites, and others in the land. These others had been coming in and devouring the food of the Israelites, and oppressing them in other various ways. The Israelites had begun to disobey God, and were worshipping the foreign gods brought in by their oppressors and neighbors.
It is in this story we find a man using the wrong tool - a winepress -to attempt to save his own life with the grain of the land. it is a fearful act that some would call downright foolish. And yet, in this very setting, in verses 11-13, we read:
You might be thinking , What does that have to do with the prayer you're preparing to share, Harmony?
Gideon was the right person in the wrong place using the wrong tool in the wrong way... and God saw him there, and called him into who he was! Even when everything seemed to be going wrong, God still walked into the situation, called things what they are in Heaven, and helped that reality come down into the earth!
We see the same thing in varying places in the text of the Bible; God calling into being that which is not. With Abraham, it was a son, and with that son, much of the world. With Simon Peter and the disciples who turned apostles, it was fishers of men. With Mary, the mother of Jesus... it was God Incarnate in her womb. This is God calling what we see as something else... this is what God does to shift our paradigms and change our lives, if we will let Him in to d so... and He is about to do this one more time!
BBENJJJIY, D WARTSS STANKKI MUCH!!!
To those of you God knows this is for...and perhaps to the men aside from this group whom the Holy Spirit brings to read this for one reason or another:
You are mighty warriors of the Most High God, in the heavenly realms, and it is time for you to stop thinking of yourselves as stinking warts on the face of this earth, or acting like it, and to walk into the calling upon your lives!
Wow. Harsh language, Harmony! I thought you were such a loving person!
Yet reader, I am. God calls us to speak the truth in love, and HERE I GO!
Father God, in the name of Jesus, the Almighty, Holy One of Israel,
First of all, praise and thank You for the privilege of coming before Your very throne through my prayers, O God, be they written or aloud. You are awesome, awe-inspiring, holy, true, and wonderful, and worthy to be praised alone... above all others, forever!
You know the people this prayer is representative of, and to whom Your command has gone into the earth. You promise us that when You send a word, it never returns void but fulfills all that it is meant to accomplish, and for this, I praise and thank You!
Like Gideon, Father, you have called these men Mighty Warriors. They have been in the wrong frame of mind, walking in fear, working things out in the flesh as Gideon old did, but, Lord, it is time for Your angel to come and tell them, "The Lord is with you, o mighty warrior of God!" And it will be so as You send the word into the earth as You send it even now through these words.
O God, You call these men mighty in You, and not in themselves. You call them to be men of valor, honor, and the Word. may it be so in the name of Jesus in accord with Your word, which never lies but always accomplished what it means to by the Spirit's power.
I thank You that You have given me the opportunity, and not merely the privilege, to pray for these men who have been on Your heart and whose names are tattooed in the palm of Your hand from eternity on; these men You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for at Calvary, and whose names are meant for the Lamb's Book of Life. O God, soften their hearts toward You, and shut their eyes, minds, and ears to the enemy. Shift every paradigm within them that utters other gods before You, O Father, and make Your name great in their hearts and on their lips! Remove the barriers, those walls meant to keep all pain and surprise out, which also blocks You out of their lives. Heal the tender and broken places within in ways only YOU know how, when, and where to do so. Bring godly men who are totally on ire for You, filed with Your Spirit, whom they will respect, into their lives; remove the influences that are not of You and replace them with Your people, of whom they are a part, unknowingly.
Father God, raise them up to be WHO and WHAT You have truly called them to be, each and every one! May Your Spirit move upon them as long as this post is up, and as long as it is in the people's hearts who read it. My praise is raised to You, O God, as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, because I know that I know You are ready, willing, and able to accomplish all of this and more! I know that You come before us, bending down in delight, even as we come to Your throne, that Your answer occurs on a level we may understand, or at least be able to recognize.
Whatever means necessary, Father God, change, transform, shift, heal, and draw to You by Your DUNAMIS power and grace, for it is for Your glory, in the name of Jesus, the Messiah, the holy One of Israel.
Amen
You see, the acronym stands for the people that this prayer is going up to the heavens for... there is a group of men that God has put on my heart for which these words are meant, and to respect their privacy, I have decided to withhold all of their names, their professions, their areas of need being at least somewhat exposed in the prayer that follows.
The important thing isn't the acronym. It isn't whether or not any of you an figure out" all or part of it, either... for that is between God and I. I haven't even told my very best friend here in the earth, because I believe that, since she knows a few of the people represented here, I would like to keep the guessing games at bay and allow the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do here...
That said, to continue...on to the thoughts, lesson, and prayer about BBENJJJIY, D WARTSS STANKKI MMUCH!
*****Please forgive the uncouth word picture of the acronym, though in some ways, it is fitting...*****
In the book of Judges, chapter six, we find the story of Gideon. Now, Gideon was a man who threshed wheat in a winepress as a means of survival, because all of his people were being oppressed by the Midianites and Amalakites, and others in the land. These others had been coming in and devouring the food of the Israelites, and oppressing them in other various ways. The Israelites had begun to disobey God, and were worshipping the foreign gods brought in by their oppressors and neighbors.
It is in this story we find a man using the wrong tool - a winepress -to attempt to save his own life with the grain of the land. it is a fearful act that some would call downright foolish. And yet, in this very setting, in verses 11-13, we read:
The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites.
When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.'
'But sir,' Gideon replied, 'if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, "Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?" But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.'Did you catch that? God called Gideon UP to a higher place and reality.
You might be thinking , What does that have to do with the prayer you're preparing to share, Harmony?
Gideon was the right person in the wrong place using the wrong tool in the wrong way... and God saw him there, and called him into who he was! Even when everything seemed to be going wrong, God still walked into the situation, called things what they are in Heaven, and helped that reality come down into the earth!
We see the same thing in varying places in the text of the Bible; God calling into being that which is not. With Abraham, it was a son, and with that son, much of the world. With Simon Peter and the disciples who turned apostles, it was fishers of men. With Mary, the mother of Jesus... it was God Incarnate in her womb. This is God calling what we see as something else... this is what God does to shift our paradigms and change our lives, if we will let Him in to d so... and He is about to do this one more time!
BBENJJJIY, D WARTSS STANKKI MUCH!!!
To those of you God knows this is for...and perhaps to the men aside from this group whom the Holy Spirit brings to read this for one reason or another:
You are mighty warriors of the Most High God, in the heavenly realms, and it is time for you to stop thinking of yourselves as stinking warts on the face of this earth, or acting like it, and to walk into the calling upon your lives!
Wow. Harsh language, Harmony! I thought you were such a loving person!
Yet reader, I am. God calls us to speak the truth in love, and HERE I GO!
Father God, in the name of Jesus, the Almighty, Holy One of Israel,
First of all, praise and thank You for the privilege of coming before Your very throne through my prayers, O God, be they written or aloud. You are awesome, awe-inspiring, holy, true, and wonderful, and worthy to be praised alone... above all others, forever!
You know the people this prayer is representative of, and to whom Your command has gone into the earth. You promise us that when You send a word, it never returns void but fulfills all that it is meant to accomplish, and for this, I praise and thank You!
Like Gideon, Father, you have called these men Mighty Warriors. They have been in the wrong frame of mind, walking in fear, working things out in the flesh as Gideon old did, but, Lord, it is time for Your angel to come and tell them, "The Lord is with you, o mighty warrior of God!" And it will be so as You send the word into the earth as You send it even now through these words.
O God, You call these men mighty in You, and not in themselves. You call them to be men of valor, honor, and the Word. may it be so in the name of Jesus in accord with Your word, which never lies but always accomplished what it means to by the Spirit's power.
I thank You that You have given me the opportunity, and not merely the privilege, to pray for these men who have been on Your heart and whose names are tattooed in the palm of Your hand from eternity on; these men You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for at Calvary, and whose names are meant for the Lamb's Book of Life. O God, soften their hearts toward You, and shut their eyes, minds, and ears to the enemy. Shift every paradigm within them that utters other gods before You, O Father, and make Your name great in their hearts and on their lips! Remove the barriers, those walls meant to keep all pain and surprise out, which also blocks You out of their lives. Heal the tender and broken places within in ways only YOU know how, when, and where to do so. Bring godly men who are totally on ire for You, filed with Your Spirit, whom they will respect, into their lives; remove the influences that are not of You and replace them with Your people, of whom they are a part, unknowingly.
Father God, raise them up to be WHO and WHAT You have truly called them to be, each and every one! May Your Spirit move upon them as long as this post is up, and as long as it is in the people's hearts who read it. My praise is raised to You, O God, as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, because I know that I know You are ready, willing, and able to accomplish all of this and more! I know that You come before us, bending down in delight, even as we come to Your throne, that Your answer occurs on a level we may understand, or at least be able to recognize.
Whatever means necessary, Father God, change, transform, shift, heal, and draw to You by Your DUNAMIS power and grace, for it is for Your glory, in the name of Jesus, the Messiah, the holy One of Israel.
Amen
Not So Random Videos: Nothing is Impossible
Israel Houghton - Nothing is Impossible/ Healer/ You Hold My World/ Moving Forward
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
A Prayer for Israel
O Father,
That You would come and bless Your people, Israel... the spiritual Israel as well as that which is natural. To all who call You Father, I pray that You would truly bless Israel, for Israel is FOREVER! For all days, in all ways, for Your glory, O Lord, bless Israel, for they are Your people, truly.
Thank You for coming to kneel before us with the gifts of Your hands. We are so greatly blessed, beyond belief, by the gifts from Your hand... life, and provision; grace, forgiveness, love, and so much more than we can even fathom! You are worthy to be PRAISED, always and forever, and we do so now, in Jesus' mighty name, the name above all names!
Bless Israel as they walk into the next steps of Your will, individually and corporately. Continue to be their guide, and make Your glorious presence known more and more as time passes away into eternity. Bless Your spiritual Israel, the Church, and bring us into a loving unity, as according to Your word, for You are LOVE INCARNATE!
Thank and praise You now and always! You have spoken the word over Your people that it is time to move... help us have the COURAGE and the WILL POWER to follow this call upon our lives, that we may continue to walk in Your will and way for our lives. For the glory of Jesus Christ,
Amen and amen
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
That You would come and bless Your people, Israel... the spiritual Israel as well as that which is natural. To all who call You Father, I pray that You would truly bless Israel, for Israel is FOREVER! For all days, in all ways, for Your glory, O Lord, bless Israel, for they are Your people, truly.
Thank You for coming to kneel before us with the gifts of Your hands. We are so greatly blessed, beyond belief, by the gifts from Your hand... life, and provision; grace, forgiveness, love, and so much more than we can even fathom! You are worthy to be PRAISED, always and forever, and we do so now, in Jesus' mighty name, the name above all names!
Bless Israel as they walk into the next steps of Your will, individually and corporately. Continue to be their guide, and make Your glorious presence known more and more as time passes away into eternity. Bless Your spiritual Israel, the Church, and bring us into a loving unity, as according to Your word, for You are LOVE INCARNATE!
Thank and praise You now and always! You have spoken the word over Your people that it is time to move... help us have the COURAGE and the WILL POWER to follow this call upon our lives, that we may continue to walk in Your will and way for our lives. For the glory of Jesus Christ,
Amen and amen
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Food For Thought
Allow your dreams a place in your prayers
and plans. God-given dreams can help you move into the future He is preparing for you. - Barbara Johnson
God's fingers can touch nothing but to mold it into loveliness. - George MacDonald
Live for today, but hold your hands open to tomorrow. Anticipate the future and its changes with joy. - Barbara Johnson
Listen
to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. Touch,
taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the
last analysis all moments are sacred moments and life itself is a grace.
- Frederick Beuchner
Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. - Martin Luther King, Jr.
God always takes the simplest way. - Albert Einstein
Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things that we do not see.” - Martin Luther
Faith is different from proof; the latter is human, the former is a gift from God. - Blaise Pascal
The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. - George Mueller
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. - Helen Keller
Monday, June 10, 2013
Do Dandelion Wishes Actually Come True?
That's the question of the day in this wonderful novel by Miralee Ferrell.
Ladies, has your relationship with your mother ever gotten to the point where it was strained in a way where you saw no way out but a miracle? If so, then Blowing on Dandelions might be just the book for you.
Miralee Ferrell has brought the complications of the mother-daughter relationship, placed it into the 1880s, and done wonders with it! Blowing on Dandelions is relatable, authentic, inspiring, and compelling.
Relatable, realistic, and inspiring, Blowing on Dandelions - the first in a series of three set in the year 1880 in Baker City, Oregon - has a ring of authenticity to it that is refreshing, and a storyline that is compelling. Mrs. Ferrell takes the mother-daughter relationship and the complications of single parenthood and created a circle of people who, with a little faith, see that which they never thought possible!
Katherine cannot fathom her relationship with her mother ever changing for the better. Stubborn and fickle, Francis has not allowed anyone - especially her daughter, Katherine - to fully touch her heart, though deep down she knows that she isn't the easiest person to get along with.
Then there's Micah... when he meets Katherine, both of them having lost a spouse and left with children - he fights against everything that he wants by denying it. His anger with God over the loss of his wife has left him bereft of any real relationships, and might just keep him from allowing God to help him to heal and begin again.
Take a trip to your local bookstore and find out what unfolds and whether or not dandelion wishes really do come true...
Ladies, has your relationship with your mother ever gotten to the point where it was strained in a way where you saw no way out but a miracle? If so, then Blowing on Dandelions might be just the book for you.
Miralee Ferrell has brought the complications of the mother-daughter relationship, placed it into the 1880s, and done wonders with it! Blowing on Dandelions is relatable, authentic, inspiring, and compelling.
Relatable, realistic, and inspiring, Blowing on Dandelions - the first in a series of three set in the year 1880 in Baker City, Oregon - has a ring of authenticity to it that is refreshing, and a storyline that is compelling. Mrs. Ferrell takes the mother-daughter relationship and the complications of single parenthood and created a circle of people who, with a little faith, see that which they never thought possible!
Katherine cannot fathom her relationship with her mother ever changing for the better. Stubborn and fickle, Francis has not allowed anyone - especially her daughter, Katherine - to fully touch her heart, though deep down she knows that she isn't the easiest person to get along with.
Then there's Micah... when he meets Katherine, both of them having lost a spouse and left with children - he fights against everything that he wants by denying it. His anger with God over the loss of his wife has left him bereft of any real relationships, and might just keep him from allowing God to help him to heal and begin again.
Take a trip to your local bookstore and find out what unfolds and whether or not dandelion wishes really do come true...
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Not So Random Videos: Whom Shalll I Fear?
The first of a RANDOM series of NOT SO RANDOM videos...
Random timing... chosen product!
May these bless you as they have blessed me...
Chris Tomlin - Whom Shall I Fear (The God of Angel Armies)
Friday, June 7, 2013
Friday Photo
Beginning today, I thought it would be nice to share a photo on the Fridays when I am on here... so, beginning with today's...
PS-- ALL photos used in Friday Photo will be of my own taking. Please use only with permission. Thank you!
PS-- ALL photos used in Friday Photo will be of my own taking. Please use only with permission. Thank you!
Prayer...
Father, in the name of and for the glory of Your Son, Jesus the Christ, the Anointed One,
I ask You firstly to accept my praise. My heart knows full well how holy, awesome, numinous, wonderful, and great You are, and that You have blessed me beyond comprehension. Thank You!
And Lord, I ask that You help me to always seek Your face. Cause a deep, abiding hunger for You, and for Your promises to be fulfilled in my life. Bring glory to Your name every day of my life, through my life. Raise me, O Lord, to higher and higher levels of anointing even as You draw me closer, deeper and deeper into Your Kingdom plan, Your presence, and Your very heart.
O Father, help me be totally reliable in Your sight, shifting within me all that is necessary for Your call on my life to come to full fruition, for Your glory, in Jesus' name. May Your Spirit SWEEP me clean every single day, and bring me further and further into Your presence, into Your very throne room, that I may humbly yet boldly praise Your name and bring petitions before You with fervent and effective ministering, by Your grace, for I wish to worship and adore You there, at Your feet, daily, unhindered and indestractable, O God! O, that I would daily HEAR Your voice with clarity, and see Your face, and understand Your heart, and sense Your very HEARTBEAT, O God!!
O Father, glorify Yourself in me, NO MATTER what it takes!! May my very life testify daily to Your goodness, faithfulness, favor, and power, and to Your daily dose of LOVE, O God!! May my life testify consistently to Your intervention in the lives of Your people, and to Your ability and will to hear from Heaven in order to INVADE the earth with Your TOUCH and WORD daily, O God!!!! May I live the INTENDED, normal Christ-centered SUPERNATURAL life in accord with Your Word and command and promise, for Your awesome, life-changing, super-charged glory by the wonderful DUNAMIS power of Your Holy Spirit, for the glory of God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, before Whom each and every knee shall bow!
May the knees of ALL THINGS in my own life, O God, bow before You. May all that which is NOT of You begin to do as YOU bid them... body, spirit, soul, finances, relationships, and all other things, for each has a knee which is called to bow. I release ALL to You here and now, for Your awesome glory, even as I invite those around me to do the same, for Your glory. May we RISE to the challenge of COURAGE You have called us to, and may the knees of fears, doubts, worries, and negative thinking as well as the lies we have believed all bow before You THIS DAY. I take a stand for You fully... FULLY this day... and give You all the praise and glory, for this I do only by YOUR power!
Thank and praise You, Jesus!!!
Amen
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
I ask You firstly to accept my praise. My heart knows full well how holy, awesome, numinous, wonderful, and great You are, and that You have blessed me beyond comprehension. Thank You!
And Lord, I ask that You help me to always seek Your face. Cause a deep, abiding hunger for You, and for Your promises to be fulfilled in my life. Bring glory to Your name every day of my life, through my life. Raise me, O Lord, to higher and higher levels of anointing even as You draw me closer, deeper and deeper into Your Kingdom plan, Your presence, and Your very heart.
O Father, help me be totally reliable in Your sight, shifting within me all that is necessary for Your call on my life to come to full fruition, for Your glory, in Jesus' name. May Your Spirit SWEEP me clean every single day, and bring me further and further into Your presence, into Your very throne room, that I may humbly yet boldly praise Your name and bring petitions before You with fervent and effective ministering, by Your grace, for I wish to worship and adore You there, at Your feet, daily, unhindered and indestractable, O God! O, that I would daily HEAR Your voice with clarity, and see Your face, and understand Your heart, and sense Your very HEARTBEAT, O God!!
O Father, glorify Yourself in me, NO MATTER what it takes!! May my very life testify daily to Your goodness, faithfulness, favor, and power, and to Your daily dose of LOVE, O God!! May my life testify consistently to Your intervention in the lives of Your people, and to Your ability and will to hear from Heaven in order to INVADE the earth with Your TOUCH and WORD daily, O God!!!! May I live the INTENDED, normal Christ-centered SUPERNATURAL life in accord with Your Word and command and promise, for Your awesome, life-changing, super-charged glory by the wonderful DUNAMIS power of Your Holy Spirit, for the glory of God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, before Whom each and every knee shall bow!
May the knees of ALL THINGS in my own life, O God, bow before You. May all that which is NOT of You begin to do as YOU bid them... body, spirit, soul, finances, relationships, and all other things, for each has a knee which is called to bow. I release ALL to You here and now, for Your awesome glory, even as I invite those around me to do the same, for Your glory. May we RISE to the challenge of COURAGE You have called us to, and may the knees of fears, doubts, worries, and negative thinking as well as the lies we have believed all bow before You THIS DAY. I take a stand for You fully... FULLY this day... and give You all the praise and glory, for this I do only by YOUR power!
Thank and praise You, Jesus!!!
Amen
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Just a Minute: Commiting to the Lord our Plans
I decided to start a new thought series, for those days when just a thought will do. Something that we can chew on and think about a bit. Today, I will begin with the following:
There are times in our lives we are called to surrender. Times we are called to give something or someone up, or to give up the plans we have made in our secret hearts which are not part of the plan God has for us.
How difficult is that? For some, easier than others, but never all that easy. Yet we are commanded: "Commit to the Lord whatever you do. and your plans will succeed" (Prov. 16:3).
Sometimes God tells us to give Him something because He wants to make it better, not to take it away. When we place ALL that is in our lives before Him, willingly and with love, it shows we have no other gods before Him and that He can trust us with what He has for our lives.
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
There are times in our lives we are called to surrender. Times we are called to give something or someone up, or to give up the plans we have made in our secret hearts which are not part of the plan God has for us.
How difficult is that? For some, easier than others, but never all that easy. Yet we are commanded: "Commit to the Lord whatever you do. and your plans will succeed" (Prov. 16:3).
Sometimes God tells us to give Him something because He wants to make it better, not to take it away. When we place ALL that is in our lives before Him, willingly and with love, it shows we have no other gods before Him and that He can trust us with what He has for our lives.
UPDATE 7/16/13-- COME OVER and check out my FUNDRAISER! Journey to a Thousand Voices...
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Food For Thought
Today, I decided to begin a Food For Thought, which adds a ponderments element to this blog... so, here is the first.
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts?
Faith is not belief with out proof, but trust without reservation. - D. Elton Trueblood
Never doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light.- Edith
Edman
Faith is like throwing a ball up in the air without feeling the need to look up to see if it will come back down. - Rex Rouis
To fear is to expect
punishment. To love is to know we are immersed, not in darkness, but in light. - Mother Teresa
The
antidote to frustration is a calm faith, not in your own cleverness, or
in hard toil, but in God's guidance. - Norman Vincent Peale
Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right. - Max Lucado
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.- Corrie ten Boom
The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays. - Soren Kierkegaard
I can’t understand God by feelings. I can’t understand the Lord Jesus
Christ by feelings. I can only understand God the Father and Jesus
Christ by what the Word says about them. God is everything the Word says
He is. We need to get acquainted with Him through the Word. - Smith Wigglesworth
Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ. - St. Jerome
Monday, June 3, 2013
Beyond Belief?
Is ANYTHING impossible with God?
Nothing.
I don't mean nothing I can THINK of or believe Him for.
I mean NOTHING!
Impossible is NOTHING. It is the place that true followers of Christ are called to walk... the mountains will tremble, move, and fall before us by the power of the Holy Spirit if we just HOLD ON... keep running the race of faith!
ALL THINGS are possible to those who believe. EVERY single thing you can think of, dare to dream, and BEYOND, is possible. We are called to CALL the possible into creation. We are meant to live a life of impossibility, allowing the Spirit to SHOW it really IS possible!
What excuses do you make for your life?
I know I've been known to complain and excuse-make in the past because I didn't really BELIEVE that all things were possible, in my heart. My HEAD knew, but it hadn't traveled to my heart yet. I'm still working on it, and I'm still a work in progress, on the wheel of the Almighty Potter.
But isn't saying all of that instead of just DOING... just BELIEVING without excuse one more excuse? Isn't saying," hey, I'm imperfect" obvious enough and yet also a way to wheedle out of the command to ask, seek, and knock; to pray without ceasing; to live a life of worship, praise, and love; to love God with our whole being, love ourselves enough not to harm ourselves or allow others to, and love others as ourselves; to set our cap toward Christ Jesus; to BELIEVE that ALL THINGS are possible to those who believe?
What say ye?
The movie Facing the Giants pertains to more than football... it pertains to miracles and faith. They are inextricably linked: miracles and faith. Living FULL FORCE for God in an atmosphere of worship, with our hearts FULLY YIELDED to His plans and designs for our lives. Living to fulfill GOD'S DREAMS for our lives ends up fulfilling OUR OWN.
There's a scene in the movie where the Eagles (a type symbolizing the PROPHETS) have just won the game of their high school career through the working of miracles; they have beaten the Giants (symbolizing not only the GOLIATHS we face, but the MOUNTAINS we are to move by faith). The coach really drills it into the players that NOTHING is impossible. God used the elements, he used people giving it EVERYTHING THEY had, and He accepted and honored their faith. He points out they weren't SUPPOSED TO, by the world's standards, even be where they are... they weren't SUPPOSED to even be in that game, and here they were... champions. They would have been champions either way, but like the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lions' den, God delivered them in a bigger way than expected. They had won because GOD saw them as winners. They had the right ATTITUDE, allowed GOD to have ALL the glory, no matter the outcome, and put ALL their efforts in. This is a good word picture of the saying, "Believe as though it all depends on God, and do your part as though it all depends on you." The thing is, though... it is NEVER all dependent on you. Without HIM, you wouldn't even be here, nor would you have been so blessed.
We're told to seek first the Kingdom of God, and I believe wholeheartedly that means WALKING in the Spirit, living in the Kingdom while here on earth, pulling HEAVEN into our everyday lives and allowing God to supernaturally transform us, and our world, from the inside out, each and every day of our lives.
Is that impossible?
NOTHING is impossible to those who believe. And part of walking and living in a state of constant belief is communing with God on a daily basis so that we have a CONTINUAL FRESH WORD from the Father through Jesus Christ by the Spirit of the Lord. Without the fresh WIND of the Spirit, there is no fresh REVELATION, no fresh WORD from God, which we need in order to thrive in this world as the ambassadors and children of the King we truly are!
So I ask you... WHAT is impossible?
Aren't ALL things possible to those who believe?
Nothing.
I don't mean nothing I can THINK of or believe Him for.
I mean NOTHING!
 |
| Thanks to WeHeartIt.com for all of today's images. |
Impossible is NOTHING. It is the place that true followers of Christ are called to walk... the mountains will tremble, move, and fall before us by the power of the Holy Spirit if we just HOLD ON... keep running the race of faith!
ALL THINGS are possible to those who believe. EVERY single thing you can think of, dare to dream, and BEYOND, is possible. We are called to CALL the possible into creation. We are meant to live a life of impossibility, allowing the Spirit to SHOW it really IS possible!
What excuses do you make for your life?
I know I've been known to complain and excuse-make in the past because I didn't really BELIEVE that all things were possible, in my heart. My HEAD knew, but it hadn't traveled to my heart yet. I'm still working on it, and I'm still a work in progress, on the wheel of the Almighty Potter.
But isn't saying all of that instead of just DOING... just BELIEVING without excuse one more excuse? Isn't saying," hey, I'm imperfect" obvious enough and yet also a way to wheedle out of the command to ask, seek, and knock; to pray without ceasing; to live a life of worship, praise, and love; to love God with our whole being, love ourselves enough not to harm ourselves or allow others to, and love others as ourselves; to set our cap toward Christ Jesus; to BELIEVE that ALL THINGS are possible to those who believe?
What say ye?
The movie Facing the Giants pertains to more than football... it pertains to miracles and faith. They are inextricably linked: miracles and faith. Living FULL FORCE for God in an atmosphere of worship, with our hearts FULLY YIELDED to His plans and designs for our lives. Living to fulfill GOD'S DREAMS for our lives ends up fulfilling OUR OWN.
There's a scene in the movie where the Eagles (a type symbolizing the PROPHETS) have just won the game of their high school career through the working of miracles; they have beaten the Giants (symbolizing not only the GOLIATHS we face, but the MOUNTAINS we are to move by faith). The coach really drills it into the players that NOTHING is impossible. God used the elements, he used people giving it EVERYTHING THEY had, and He accepted and honored their faith. He points out they weren't SUPPOSED TO, by the world's standards, even be where they are... they weren't SUPPOSED to even be in that game, and here they were... champions. They would have been champions either way, but like the three Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lions' den, God delivered them in a bigger way than expected. They had won because GOD saw them as winners. They had the right ATTITUDE, allowed GOD to have ALL the glory, no matter the outcome, and put ALL their efforts in. This is a good word picture of the saying, "Believe as though it all depends on God, and do your part as though it all depends on you." The thing is, though... it is NEVER all dependent on you. Without HIM, you wouldn't even be here, nor would you have been so blessed.
We're told to seek first the Kingdom of God, and I believe wholeheartedly that means WALKING in the Spirit, living in the Kingdom while here on earth, pulling HEAVEN into our everyday lives and allowing God to supernaturally transform us, and our world, from the inside out, each and every day of our lives.
Is that impossible?
NOTHING is impossible to those who believe. And part of walking and living in a state of constant belief is communing with God on a daily basis so that we have a CONTINUAL FRESH WORD from the Father through Jesus Christ by the Spirit of the Lord. Without the fresh WIND of the Spirit, there is no fresh REVELATION, no fresh WORD from God, which we need in order to thrive in this world as the ambassadors and children of the King we truly are!
So I ask you... WHAT is impossible?
Aren't ALL things possible to those who believe?
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