THE WORK OF GOD

John 6:28-29 (KJV)
“28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
We just celebrated the fact the Father sent us the Christ and that He is now with us (Emmanuel). Believing this is the work of God. In other words, nothing concerning God can work for us, through us, or with us without this. We must believe the Father sent Him to us. We are taking about the work of God or God at work in us. All that we do must be because we believe the Father sent Him to be “with us.” Working independently cannot be if we are doing the work of God. If He is not working with us and through us then it cannot be the work of God. “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen” (Mark 16:20). Works without Him is not His work in us. Living like we believe He is with us; living, doing, being, with Him. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). This is the work of God. Christ being with us becomes more important than the miracles, or the things we do; to simply know He is with us is the greatest peace and comfort we could ever know. When this is working in us as it should miracles happen, love happens, things that need to happen, happens. When our thoughts are interacting with Him in every choice we make is when we can say He is with us. This is the work of God. Unless we believe this, it cannot and will not work.

ALREADY/NOT YET

Luke 13:18-19 (KJV)
“18 Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?
19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.”
Years of growth, absorption, and nurture brings this about. Actually, it was all in the seed from the beginning; all the growth, absorption, and nurturing brought out what was in there from the beginning. Once the Kingdom is in us the rest is His-story. The Kingdom takes shape in the narratives of our lives. Every episode brings us closer to its fullness. Thy Kingdom come they will be done.

GOOFY

Matthew 2:7-8 (KJV)
“7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”
Goofy people were seeking Him too. Of course, being goofy and all, their reason was goofy too. Losing control influence people to do goofy things.

THE REAL WORLD

Matthew 1:23-25 (KJV)
"23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS (ישׁוּעַת)."
There was more going on in this story than Mary giving birth to Jesus. Joseph took her to be his wife, and his wife she became. They deeply loved each other and fostered that love in proper respect and order. Our Savior was not born into a fairytale world; He was born into a real world with two people who were real with each other. Even though He may have come into this world differently, the world was not any different than yours and mine. He came to be with us in this realness. He coming into this world did not stop Mary and Joseph from being real with each other. After He was born, life happened for them just like life happens for any humans who love each other. They had other children and raised them too. He came to be with us in a real sense. Because Mary and Joseph continued to be real; James and Judas (Jude) eventually, moved from being brothers to Him to being servants to Him. Yep, He was born into a real world.

GLORY

Romans 11:36 (KJV)
“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
Of Him, through Him, to Him, simply Him; nothing attached, added, or subtracted: this is glory.

CHRIST-MAS GARMENT / ADEVENT ATTIRE

John 1:14 (KJV)
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Romans 13:14 (KJV)
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
God clothed Himself with us that we may clothe ourselves with Him.

THE THRONE AND THE ONE IN THE MIDST OF IT

Revelation 7:15-17 (KJV)
“15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
No matter how independently Satan chose to be from the beginning, it never made the Throne disappear, or the one in the midst of it. It is no different with us; the Throne is there and the one who sitteth upon it.

Stand in His presence and just watch Him. Trust that whatever happens; it will not destroy you.

BECOMING

John 1:12
Becoming puts us in a place of transformation, revelation, and flexibility. No matter where we find ourselves we have not arrived when it comes to “becoming;” mystery keeps us moving, finding, and searching. This is what it means to be flexible in the sight of uncertainty. The answers, directions, or moves we need to take appear as we become relational with God, people, and life itself. Therefore, being relational is this process of becoming and is the same as being in partnership with God. It is tapping into God as He taps into us, it becomes discovering, acknowledging and living in the awareness of God, ourselves, and each other in the process. Significantly, the process comes about layer by layer as we lend ourselves to the Holy Spirit.

Formational Leadership

John 17:22-26
Formational leadership is relational and transformational and is unique in what is formed as a result of that relational transformation. The inner workings of the Trinity manifested as Jesus took shape and dwelt among us. The Father chose to send us Jesus, Jesus chose to come and the Holy Spirit chose to assist and insist that He come. He came. No one is in charge when the movement is in the same direction and the directive is the same. It is not about control, it is about moving as one, about being one. Therefore, the holy deference between them is not about submitting to control it is interpenetration of love in action becoming what each one needs to act in agreement. God took the lead to love us.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

Psalm 107:43 (KJV)
“Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.”
What a way to end this song. This last scripture capitulates and defines the whole song (emotion, desire, longing, musing, etc. in the heart of God over us); yes, God’s lovingkindness sings over us songs of deliverance. Not only after the deliverance; His lovingkindness is singing over us while we are in our mess. How are we going to wrap our minds around the lovingkindness of the LORD. To recognize we have gone as far as we can go, become as lost as we can be; in our deepest ignorance and “gross” darkness His lovingkindness is present. It is a move of wisdom on our part to recognize this and a move of mercy on His part to help us recognize this. “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Psalm 107:1).

LOST AND UNDONE

The first two years of ministry I hitched hiked from church to church conducting revivals. During my second revival I was sleeping on the streets among the homeless in Venture California. As I was walking the streets in what seem to be a foreign country for a Georgia boy like me, I passed many people during the day. I saw not only homeless people; I saw every class of people one could think of from children to adults. One morning as I was taking all this in, a deep burden hit me concerning what I was seeing and I began to sing a new song out of my spirit over and over all that day. This song still rings in my heart 40 years later.
"Tell me tell me tell me why people everywhere they cry, seeking for some hope, seeking for some peace, and never finding their reality" (repeat).
What is this reality? Ontologically, without Jesus we are not complete, we are lost and undone.

FIG TREE AND FAITH

Mark 11:20-26 (KJV)
"20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. ...
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Jesus did not curse the fig tree because He was hungry and the tree was not delivering breakfast or a snack. He cursed it because it was not being what it was designed to be. In other words, His action towards the tree was not an iniquity driven act (it was not about His selfish dissatisfaction); His action was driven by the spirit of judgement as to bring balance to an unbalanced situation. And, what in the world does this fig tree narrative have to do with the narrative of forgiveness in relationship to faith. Forgiveness brings balance and accountability to our faith. It is not having faith in people that forgiveness works; it is having faith in God that forgiveness works. We can issue forgiveness without expecting accountability or we can issue forgiveness expecting accountability. Forgiveness that is managed by faith in God brings about righteous judgment; not judgment (condemnation), a judgment that brings things into alignment with balance. Consistent faith is believing things can change when nothing makes sense; that is, if our faith is in God and not humans.
Jesus said to a person caught in the act of adultery - Go and sin no more - this was forgiveness expecting accountability. Things can change when the power of forgiveness is released.

JESUS DELIVERS US

2 Timothy 3:10-12 (KJV)
“10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
This is packed with content; could even be another book in itself. Our lives are a narrative; it is in our story that Jesus is present and active. It is as He delivers us we encounter His love, instruction, and, covenant commitment to be with us through it all even to the ends of the world.
Being hooked up to Jesus does not end our suffering. His loving and caring presence secures us in it, through it, and out the other side of it, and becomes a tenacity that cannot let go; He is Emanuel (God with us). “…but out of them all the Lord delivers us.”

THE CUTTING EDGE

Matthew 10:32-35 (KJV)
“32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. 34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.”
Heaven always gives a new slice on things. We cannot have that slice unless we own it. To confess Him is to own that slice. Our confession reveals what we are willing to own; He is our LORD. He owns us and this is what we own. This is a sword. This sword gives us a slice otherwise we would not have. It is cutting, it slices things, and it brings division and definition. Once we own it, once it owns us, it divides us from this world and all that is connected to this world. The cutting edge.

RELINQUISHING ALL CONTROL

Power is the ability to act and authority is the right to act. We may know what to do; yet, if we do not have the invitation it becomes intrusion. It is not up to us to change people; It is up to us to love them whether they change or not. Love covers the multitude of sins. What does this mean? This word cover in scriptural language does not mean we cover it up as to hide it, it means to overcome it and to overcome it does not mean we overpower it. “...He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Revelation 21:7). “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things”. No matter the odds bear through it, not matter the statistics believe it can change, no matter the evidence hope it can be; enduring all things is to simply resist control.
Think about it. Why did God give us “free will?” He is willing to bear, believe, and hope we would choose His heart. Love is not about power; however, love is all powerful. “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). In other words, our God is full of power because He is “understanding,” He understands, His understanding is infinite. "Jesus fell beneath the load of the cross walking the Delarosa; even to the point, He could no longer bear it. Do we think He understands when we cannot any longer bear it?" (RR) I say He does. He bore the cross, He bore the shame, He overcame; He relinquished all control to love us.

WALKY TALKY

3 John 1:3-4 (KJV)
“3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
It is not as much the truth we talk as it is the truth we walk. This is not a proclamation intended to condemn; rather, a proclamation to commend. Exalt all that exalts Christ; people all around us are full of snake venom dying in a pool of condemnation, lift the cross of Christ as Moses lifted the pole in the midst of death. Walking our talk becomes transformational truth.

TEACHERS

Romans 2:21 (KJV)
“Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?”
Being our own student qualifies us to teach others. In “The Kings Army” Sunday school class as a child we were taught, “A student has not learned until the student is doing what they have been taught.” I have to remind myself of this often. In the real world, real teachers teach themselves before they teach others.

GET UP!

1 Corinthians 1:24 (KJV)
"...Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
1998 Sheridan Wyoming
Setting in the basement starring at the wall; how can you trust me when I do not even trust myself? The four and twenty elders rise from their seats taking their crowns from their heads and casting them before Him passing through me like ocean waves. Back in their seats, rising from their seats taking their crowns from their heads and casting them before Him passing through me over and over again.
Seats are assignments, positions we serve from. Crowns are ranks of authority given to serve in these positions. He is the power and the wisdom of God; He is power and wisdom, the ability and the right to execute. Being present in us is the only ability and right we have to execute. He is worthy to receive all praise, glory, and honor.
Get up! Get up! Take our crowns and cast them – take our crowns and cast them. In this space over and over again never ending movement, never ending statement made in the heavens. No matter what we find ourselves doing here, this is what they are doing there. Get Up!

FREE COURSE

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (KJV)
“1  Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
2  And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
3  But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.
4  And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
5  And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ.”
Being accountable in our communities of faith is centered on the Word of the LORD; His Word is transformative. We must surround ourselves with those that is eager for the Word to have “free course;” it is in this intimacy with each other that we are delivered from the unreasonable and wicked folk who are not interested in giving “free course” to the Word. It is amazing that in waiting on Christ to return; and that being the urgency in us, directs us to encounter the love of God as it directs our hearts when we are with both our communities of faith and those who are unreasonable and wicked. “Free Course” works when love is at work in us.    

VISUALS FROM GOD

Faith is the only thing that can bring the mountain down – so you grab a pick and I will grab a shovel – before you know this mountain will be level. To build a boat when there has never been rain is to ignore the statics against the visual God has put in our hearts; once we’ve seen it and it is in our spirit to stay, we cannot act any different. Let us take hold of our mission; let our mission take hold of us. When God gives vision faith can move mountains.

NO PLACE WILL BE HIS PLACE

John 3:16 (KJV)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
God did not go outside Himself to love us; He loves us from inside Himself. How can we resist? He says He will never leave us nor forsake us. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them”(Revelation 20:11). The place we are in will flee away at that moment – the only place we can be at that moment is right there in front of Him. Get familiar with this place now and it will not be so unfamiliar then. From inside Himself He has loved us.

RELATIONAL HOLINESS

Psalm 93:5 (KJV)
“Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thine house, O LORD, for ever.”
What God is saying over us, about us, and to us is sure; reliable. Where does He hang His hat? Where does He settle? Where is His house? It is where His essence, His relational divine triune deference moves freely; this is His house, this is where He receives mail and sends out mail. It has always been this and it will always be this.

THE FRAY

This world has never fully satisfied me, not that I ever wanted it to in the first place. When I say this world, I am not speaking of the people in it; I am talking about the structure and culture by which it functions and the inclinations it inspires. Always been more privy to the world I cannot see, its mysteries take hold of me in ways words cannot capture it. God’s kingdom is dynamic and is full of light this world cannot come into agreement with. “There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding” (Job 32:8). Being critical of this world has never helped me; being unsatisfied with it has. There are spiritual reasons as to why Jesus’ brother Jude (Judas) said Michael did not bring any railing accusation against the prince of this world. A creature from God’s world (kingdom) understands accusatory dispositions can put us in a wrong position with those things against us. It is as we take hold of God that God takes hold of us and covers us in the fray.

CONTEMPLETIVE

Paul said, "For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me" (Romans 1:11-12). It is so easy for us to recognize verse 11 without completing the thought with verse 12. He was comforted with them by the "mutual" faith (receiving as much from them as he gave to them) of their reciprocal interaction with him. Acting in community is not complete without reaction. It is as much what others do to and with us as it is what we do to and with them. Yes, being conscious of ourselves gives us a greater consciousness of others. Conscious of ourselves in the sense of what effect are we having; what responsibility to we own in their reactions to us. This takes great consciousness, and great contemplation. From one stage of life to the other the curtains draw together and they open. In the times they are closed the chance to rearrange the set is available to us; once the curtain is re-opened, we can only work with the way things are. Contemplation sets the stage.

Christianity

Christianity is not us asking God into our hearts it is God asking us into His (Zumwalt). God is not the tag along; we are, where is God and what is He doing? Connect, hook up, and buckle up, we are going for the ride of our life.

Grow

Are we ready for His coming? Is it possible for us to live like He is already here? He is in us and we are in Him; no matter where He is we are with Him and He is with us (Emanuel). Transition in His coming will not change the fact we are with Him and He is with us; of course, only if this is true. Jesus consistently in the narrative of the Gospels is saying concerning His coming, “Be Ready,” “Watch and Pray,” and “We do not know the Hour.” Why are we focusing on something we are not supposed to know rather than what we do know? Being in a dynamic relationship with Jesus now is no more dynamic than then. We are still we and He still Jesus, and we will be known “as we are known.” It is much like a child in the womb; the child is with the mother and carried by the mother inside her. In this “inside her” limits the child from seeing its mother or to be held differently, fed differently, or to encounter the mother in her world. Once the child is birthed it can see her and her world. We are still with the mother and now that we are birthed, we are no more “belonging” to the mother than before, just different in relationship to her world. The responsibility of the child in the womb is to simply grow that it may be ready when the time comes to be birthed. Likewise, we are to simply grow until He comes.

HAPPY STOMPING

Matthew 16:18 (KJV)
“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Stomp down the gates of hell – step into impossibility and declare possibility. Dismantle and debunk all the junked up lies. Say what cannot be said, think what cannot be thought; take hold of the darkness by the throat and declare the gospel of Kingdom light. Gentle as doves and wise as serpents we refuse to run from the darkness; we run towards it not with the curse it presents, we run towards it with the blessing of light, hope, encouragement and faith. This is not a mad, angry, distained look; this is a look of joy, a look of peace, a look of encouragement and hope. We are soldiers of the light and we are in this dark world to “shine.”

BREATHE

Breath of life has come to us. We are here; the journey is in motion. Angels surround us, just cannot see them, nonetheless, they are here. As we stand among men heaven stands with us. Extended in this motion is this harmony unseen, unheard, and distantly connected to us; the breath of life has come and remains. Authentic and as real as can be is this presence beyond here and somehow the journey is taking us there. As we move along here there is a sense we are already there, yet, not fully. Breathe

KING OF GLORY

John 6:15 (KJV)
“When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.”
They desired to take Him by force and to make Him King. First of all, to take Him by force and to make Him King would mean He was not King in the first place; it also means He becomes King as they forced it to be. In other words, He would have to become a King elected for their agenda, purposes, and intents. He is already the King of Glory! Psalm 24 exhorts us not to elect Him as King, not to force Him into our reasons to become King; we are exhorted to receive Him as King.

CONVERT

James 5:20 (KJV)
“Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
God has not called us to correct the sinner; He has called us to live, act, and react correctly that we may convert them. Father God correct us when we need correcting.

HUMAN DECENCY

Jesus was born into our world and spent 30 years being a human among us. He built chairs, tables, and various wood works. Lot of empty space drenched in sweat and silence before He filled it with three and a half years of anointed ministry. And by the way, the last three and half years, He taught us how to be "fully human." Get inside the Gospel stories and watch Him breathe.

BAPTISM OF FIRE

Hebrews 7:28 (KJV)
“For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.”
Hebrews 7:28 (NLT)
28 The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.
The fiery baptism of death bringing Him into this place is the fire He came to bring to us (Luke 12:49). While some seek to burn the flesh of men; God seeks to burn the hearts (willful choice) of men. It is through and by His shed blood we are made to be kings and priests (Revelation 1:5-6); a priesthood after the order of Melchisedec, a kingly priesthood of peace. The consternation and tension ricking havoc among humanity gives reason as to why this priesthood has come to be. He has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; He has been made the perfect High Priest forever. There is nothing in the heavens or in the earth that can ever reverse or change this. This is why we either work with it or we work against it; willful submission is the only sustaining quality in this fire.

FREE ENTERPRISE

Colossians 2:14-15 (KJV)
“14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
Jesus jumped up in here and “Blotted out” what was keeping us out, took it out of the way. Spoiled the principalities and powers using them to condemn us; took the shame off us an...d made us accepted in the beloved. Basically, His death to these things and their abusers gives us the ability to die to them as well. The purpose in this victory is that in this death we can live out our original purpose in the Father’s heart. It frees us to work on it till it is all worked out. “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). God at work in us is a “free enterprise;” (free of sin and death; free of condemnation) Jesus death on the cross made a way for this enterprise to take hold of us.

THE PRINCE OF PEACE

Colossians 2:10 (KJV)
“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”
It is in this completeness we have peace and are at peace.

YEP

Luke 4:43-44 (KJV)
“And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.”
Yep, Jesus jumped up in there and pulled a proclamation on them folks in Galilee. Being sent makes all the difference in the world.

FORGIVENESS/TOOL

Forgiveness is not the end to grace; forgiveness empowers grace. We cannot extend grace until we first extend forgiveness. God teaches us this by His actions towards us. Gracefulness knows how to work forgiveness, especially in holding one accountable for their actions; God is just to forgive.

A FEW SHORT DAYS

A FEW SHORT DAYS

Just a few short days in this life we live

Just a few short days then we’re gone

Life is just a vapor drowning in the wind - Just a few short days to spend

How can I know I have done all I’m supposed to do

How can I know I have given all to you - Just a few short days to spend

OKAY

Okay, let me put it this way - Although it takes faith for both, I am finding faith puts us on the water and relationship brings us back to the boat. Faith puts us in the midst and relationship makes us one with the midst.

THE MIDST

Burning is a yearning in search of opportunity. These bowls of fire, these eyes of the LORD are in search of hearts friendly and made ready to connect. The burning is churning and moving towards those who will embrace the movement in the fire. As He moves we move, as He burns we burn; it becomes a melting into one. His image is not about numbers or difference; His image is about deference and agreement. When our hearts becomes His heart our midst and His midst become one in the same.

AFTER

1 Corinthians 1:24
Signs and wonders is what the Jews were after; great wisdom and intellect is what the Greeks were after. These two things are what most people are after today. Nonetheless, the scripture tells us that Jesus is both the power and the wisdom of God: “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
It is not a revival of signs and wonders we need, nor is it a revival that will tickle the intellect. We need a revival that will elevate Jesus in all that He is, who He is, why He is, and where He is. The simple truth that we are lost and undone without His love and what He did for us on the cross of Calvary is the kind of revival we need. Consequently, we need to ask ourselves; what are we after? We must be after Jesus, and this “after” must get a hold of us so deeply everything else we are interested in takes second place to Jesus. The leadership of Israel and the people themselves had drifted so far under siege they resorted to buying and selling dove dung (2Kings 6:25). Why settle for dove dung when we can have the dove Himself?

INFUSED

When facing culture and embedded religious belief, it is not convincing the faulty paradigms towards shifting, it is manifesting the presence and essence of Jesus Christ with action and confident tender touch. Infusing this world with Jesus is simply being infused with Him ourselves.

EVER PRESENT

Psalm 139:17-18 (KJV)
“17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”
We may not be David; nonetheless, we are His kids and we are on His mind also. He is thinking of us even when we are not thinking of Him. The heavens are His throne and the earth is His footstool; yeppers, no matter where we stand on this planet, He is there.

MOVING FORWARD

Joshua 13:1-2; 7-8
This narrative is an encouragement that with age our vision must continue to take hold of God-sized vision. As we grow older our role is to let go and allow God to accelerate His greater purpose. God’s Kingdom economy is poised for a major expansion, and we must catch the joy that we get to facilitate the last day’s global vision that Father God has burning in His heart. It may be the training of leaders in a one on one relational encounter, the writing of a prayer journal or books to leave for the grandchildren, the deployment of funding or the mentoring in deep conversations with the next generation.
We do not need to let our “winding down” let down the vision of God. We are all uniquely positioned for this stage of life, to prepare the expansion of God’s vision. Our influence with age is growing not waning. Now is the time for us to be more focused than ever by pouring into a few leaders with our time and resources that can set the stage for more than we have ever thought or have accomplished in our young life.
In order to do this we must surround ourselves with selected faithful friends who are aligned with our heart to please and fulfill the heart of Father God. We need to attach what gifts and resources we have to the task, find our purpose, and place on the younger generation the mantel of our mentorship, and free them to move forward in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hello

Mark 10:26-27 (KJV)
“26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
When we are able to move beyond our assets or our ability to contribute, the impossible is possible.

COME TO JESUS

John 5:39-40 (KJV)
“39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
Scripture points to the one who gives life, who is life; “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12). God sets the standard for believing. We do not get to form our faith and expect God to fit into it; believing God forms our faith – “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). It is not us reading Scripture we understand it; it is Scripture reading us and us excepting what it reveals we get to understand. Coming to Jesus opens things to us otherwise will never open.

COME TO JESUS

John 5:39-40 (KJV)
“39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”
Scripture points to the one who gives life, who is life; “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12). God sets the standard for believing. We do not get to form our faith and expect God to fit into it; believing God forms our faith – “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God” (Mark 11:22). It is not us reading Scripture we understand it; it is Scripture reading us and us excepting what it reveals we get to understand. Coming to Jesus opens things to us otherwise will never open.

BEING FREE

Job 24:13 (KJV)
“They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.”
Jesus describes this activity as condemnation – “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21).
Being truthful in how we see ourselves (not others, ourselves) is simply walking in the light; being truthful is doing truth. Recognizing our nasty and owning our nasty is the first step of light we take towards becoming the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. This is not being negative; this is being positive and constructive to relational truthfulness with God. Getting free, being free is when we know the truth by accepting the truth. This is not about light shining on others; it is how it shines on us and how we respond when it does.

UNTIL

Matthew 17:9 (KJV)
“And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”
Some encounters are not to be discussed or told until the timing is right.

HOUND-DOGGING

2 Corinthians 5:15 (KJV)
“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
Yes! This is a lifestyle. Leave all that lippa-wawing, get up in here and see what it is like. Mess around with it until it messes with us. Tag along with Jesus all day long, see what He is doing; get up in there with Him until we lose sight of ourselves.

UNTIL THE LORD COME

1 Corinthians 4:5 (KJV)
“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”
There are those who study to show themselves and there are those who study to show themselves approved. Consequently, the only valid commendation in this would be God. Learning Jesus is mandatory to learning Scripture; in fact, without His presence in the knowing the hidden things in the darkness remain hidden.
It is not “…until the Lord come(s)…” judgment finds its perfect timing; if Jesus is not present in our knowing – we know nothing of divine value.

IRREVOCABLE

Psalm 110:4 (KJV)
‘The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
The principle here is God given abilities and ordained purposes are irrevocable. If we work against it, it will work against us. If we work with it, it simply works. Just because things goes sideways does not mean God has changed His mind concerning us. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). Repentance here is not our repentance, it is God’s. God has a perfect plan for our lives and He “…will not repent…” of it (He will not change His mind). His will for all of us is that we repent so we may not perish. Regardless of what our gifts and callings are; if we do not repent, everything we touch is contaminated and will eventually perish.

VAIL

Romans 10:1-4 (KJV)
“1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
A fixed heart leads to a fixed mind. Deliver and heal everything broken and dysfunctional. This will take getting inside the mind and seeing things differently. Is God able? Yes, well able, and He will do it when He lifts the vail hanging over the heart (2Corinthians 3:12-16). The mind cannot be fixed until the heart is fixed.

WITHOUT HIM HOW LOST WE WOULD BE

Mark 1:33-35 (KJV)
“33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”


It is not that prayer is essential; prayer is laying all our feelings at the Father’s feet, He is the only one who can make sense of the interactions we have, His perspectives gives us affirmation and keeps us focused on this fact, He is always with us and is showing us the way we should go. Not essential; meaning, prayer is not a have to thing; it can only become beneficial as it becomes a want to.
Our Master Friend Jesus, sets a great example of where prayer fits in our lives. It becomes fitting as we develop the desire to pray. Getting away from everybody and everything that we can share our most private feelings and thoughts with Father God is the bases for spiritual life, spiritual growth, and spiritual direction.

Acts 1:12-14 (KJV)
“12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.
13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”
With much life yet to live, this is what they did as they hung out with each other; they prayed together.

SING

Psalm 146:2 (KJV)
“While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.”
Connecting to why we are here, why we are at all exalts Him. Mind and spirit attend His presence to clarify our gratefulness of existence. Singing is a way of extending gratefulness and thanksgiving; it is not He needs it, He simply loves it. He revels in our singing to Him.

FEEL THE SWELL

Acts 1:7-8 (KJV)
“7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Speaking Jesus out of our character and out of our actions say more than words could ever say. Have I failed in this? Yes. Nonetheless, I will continue to work on being available to it; it would do us all good to make ourselves available.
How can we know the time and the season His power moves? When we do notice it, we must catch the wave and ride it as far as it will take us.

Proverbs 3:7 (KJV)
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.”
God is not a convenience He is a staple

PROTECT

Matthew 1:24-25 (KJV)
“24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”
Are we willing to sacrifice our pleasure and desires to protect the instructions God has given? JESUS

SAVE

Matthew 1:21 (KJV)
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
Save? “Sozo” is the word for save in the original language of scripture. This word is applied three different ways to mean: To be delivered, to be healed, and to be made whole. Deliverance and healing are vehicles taken us to wholeness; ultimately salvation is to bring us to wholeness and soundness of spirit and mind concerning sin. For saving to be complete healing cannot take place until deliverance happens and deliverance is never complete until healing is complete; when these two work their full course is when wholeness becomes reality.
Finding JESUS, knowing JESUS, and learning JESUS is what saves us. He is the process in salvation; He is health to all nations, all people, and all humankind. He became human to deliver us, to heal us, and to bring us to wholeness. He shall be called JESUS – one who saves.

BLESSING

Matthew 16:16-17 (KJV)
“16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
We put weight in cognition and our ability to connect with facts; some are cognitively more competent than others. Does this give the more competent a greater advantage? What are we going to do w...ith the peace of God that passes all understanding? What are we going to do with a God that is past finding out? How do we believe what we cannot see?
Goodness is a virtue in the heart of those willing to think beyond themselves, willing to think beyond this world. Goodness is a virtue in the heart of God gifting us with the ability to receive revelation from heaven. In this scripture people were saying one thing and heaven was saying another.
Cognition would say something like this “Is Jesus using the term Father as a metaphor or is God really His Father?” “Is God a Father at all?” “Why did He not use Mother as a metaphor?” Flesh and blood cannot give us what God gives; and when God gives it, Jesus describes it as a blessing.

REPENT/TOTALLY TURNED AROUND

2 Peter 3:8-9 (KJV)
“8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Besides being born with sin nature inherited from Adam, cannot imagine also, being born with predisposed desires and feelings inherited from generational curses visiting children ten and fifteen generations later; people born with desires inordinate and unnatural to their physical design. Yes people are infected, affected, and influenced even beyond this; it is a living emotional hell.
Biased to explain with the intent to justify these inherited predispositions, philosophy, psychology, and even theological perceptions tend to work against the broken, the inheritors of sin nature and generational curses embedded in their DNA. We wonder why Jesus blood was spilt for us. His blood with a heavenly DNA was shed to untwist twisted philosophy, twisted psychology, and twisted theology.
When Jesus’ DNA is spiritually injected into ours it brings about a reaction to all these predispositions. Regardless of our predispositions, God’s predetermined will calls us to repentance. Through the power of His shed blood and broken body we can change what we were born with. It is when our mind and heart lines up with the bread and the wine that His sacrifice genuinely works into us the culture of heaven against the culture of this world predisposed in our birth.
Can things change? Yes, no matter how twisted they are. We must prepare our heart and our mind; this world will not and cannot agree with us when we decide to accept God’s predetermined will above our inherited predispositions. Jesus said, except you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. Are we really ready for this DNA shake? My heart is broken for all the broken; the word repentance is not judgment it is a gift from God to change.

TRUE

1 John 5:20-21 (KJV)
“20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
Jesus is the life of God in us, outside of Him there is no eternal life; He is eternal life working in us. This eternal life understands Him that is true; anything and everything else is a fabrication of empty lies. Nothing more real than Jesus putting us in who is true; this true, this “Him” here, is faithful, trustworthy, responsible, legitimate, and simply present.

YAHSHUA REASON

 Matthew 24:12-13 (KJV)
“12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Iniquity is simply self-will unharnessed; people doing what they want to, when they want to, and in any way they want to without regards of the consequences it creates. This turns us from love to being waxed cold; no mercy, no remorse, brutal in conscience and reason.
If we allow iniquity to abound without calling it into check, coldness will continue to grow. Those who refuse to succumb to selfishness and prideful lust; those who endure the temptation of lawlessness can be delivered, healed, and made whole (saved). Otherwise, we will continue to be lost without clear direction.

Romans 11:20-21 (KJV)
“20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”
We must be careful we do not exalt our faith above whom our faith is in.

SAVVY

Ephesians 1:5-6 (KJV)
“5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”
Savvy folk can make us feel good about ourselves for only so long – ultimately – we must decide to feel good about ourselves for ourselves.(br)
Predestination is nothing more than something predetermined. God made a deliberate predetermined move in adopting us as His children. Dejection, rejection, or even objection is nowhere to be found concerning His will for our lives. It is our choice to work towards it or against it; His approval is not something we win, His acceptance is not something we earn.
If we make the choice to work with it all the support we need is there; if we work against it, He becomes broken and so do we.

TAKE HOLD

James 4:8-10 (KJV)
“8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”...
Reach up and take hold of God – Reach up and take hold of God – Reach up and take hold of God - Reach up and take hold of God

GLORY

Colossians 3:1-4 (KJV)
“1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
This is not vain glory; this lends to being changed from glory to glory until we are in glory. We are in an already not yet tension with Jesus. As large as the heavens are (the universe) makes me wonder why we are on this tiny dust ball in comparison to the massive space it sets in. Since I was a child I have had the tendency to stare up into space when talking to God; it is as though He is somewhere way out there and I way down here.
Somewhere in the midst of all this space is where my affections are supposed to be; affection upon things I cannot see, touch, or handle from where I stand. Such glory is beyond us. We all have sinned and have fallen short of His glory. Catching glimpses of Jesus, understanding Him in ways it transforms us is where this glory rest; transformation in the ways we do life.
We go to church to try and figure out how to be the church; well, it is setting our affections on things above, it in this transformational glory we become the church. These transformations will continue to be until we appear with Him in glory. -Be transformed-

ANTICHRIST

1John 2:22
“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”
Antichrist is faulty understanding of Jesus Christ and refuses to have relationship with Christ. Furthermore, understanding the basic principle of “Father and the Son” is to understand the most fundamental foundational truth to Christianity. This is found in the prayer Jesus prayed in John 17:20-26 “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
John keeps bringing this thing back to the beginning. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus prays the Father would put and cultivate this same relationship within us as He is in us.
In other words, His prayer is the relationship the Father has had with the Son from the beginning would be reproduced and multiplied in relationship with mankind and in mankind.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary relationship is the condition or fact of being related, connection, or association. God’s desire is to connect with us. What is a lie and what is truth is measured in and by relationship. Anything outside of or counterfeit to relationship becomes the bases to antichrist.

LEARNED

John 6:44-45 (KJV)
"44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."
Jesus here is making reference to Isaiah 54:13 – “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” Our well-being is centered in the Father teaching us. To hear and to accept the Father’s presence in our thoughts is the most valuable discovery we can ever come into; He cannot teach us until we do.
His gentle yet firm presence must not be perceived as our conscience; His voice, His presence is much more distinct and “other.” He is not us and we are not Him. The prophets spoke of this “learning,” this discovery as the means by which God draws us. Carson describes it in these words, “When he compels belief, it is not by the savage constraint of a rapist, but by the wonderful wooing of a lover.”
An infant exiting the womb is surer of His voice than we who have accumulated nonsense all our lives. This is why Jesus said “…we must become as little children…” How do we know we have come to Jesus? It is when we have “learned of the Father” and we know the Father is telling us to.

HARDNESS

2 Timothy 2:3-5 (KJV)
“3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
5 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”
To become and do what God has called us to, it takes the discipline of a solider and a course of achievement to master the work He has put in our hearts to do. Sher talent is not enough. There is a difference between power and authority. Power is the ability to act; authority is the right to act. The masteries God calls us to must be obtained “lawfully.” For us to wear the crown in our masteries we must have been submissive to authority to graciously carry the authority.
A good soldier will endure the hardness of being told what to do and how to do it. Soldiers do not have the privilege to size up those leading them. Our talent may possess great ability; nonetheless, it is of no value if it is not tempered with loyalty and submission. Elisha’s double portion came as Elijah exited. Elisha left his life to have a life with Elijah and Jesus calls us to the same course of action – we must lose our life to have a life with Jesus.

THE CROSS

1Corinthians 1:18
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
The power in deliverance, healing, and wholeness to sin sickness in the human life is the message in the cross. It is not the cross itself, rather, it is the act of love given to us on the cross. The cross in biblical times was just two pieces of wood put together as a tool to bring justice to an offender of Roman laws. The love of God on the cross for lost humanity took the pain and grief concerning our offence and bore the penalty of the cross to heal everything in us surrounding sin. Unto those who are perishing willfully with sinful lives the message of the cross is foolish and unnecessary; unto those who have embraced the cross and its message have received a power beyond themselves to face their sins and to conquer the power and influence sin has over their lives.
This is why the cross becomes to humanity it’s confrontations to sin; the cross becomes confrontation to our lifestyles refusing to walk in relationship with God. Sin is the distance between us and God, and the cross is the bridge closing that gap between us and God (we are made nigh by His blood, Ephesians 2:13).
Jesus death on the cross saves us; the cross we die on breaks the power of sin over our lives and settles the issues in our will surrounding our sins. For us who are saved the cross is the power of God in us; the cross is the ability to side against ourselves till sin is dealt with and willed out of our lives. Sin is willed into our living; the cross is the ability (power of God) to will sin out of our living.
Matthew 16:24-25 (KJV)
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

THE VOW

Micah 7:18-20 (KJV)
“18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.”
Jujitsu has nothing on God; He will subdue our iniquities. Subdue here means wrestle; in other words, God will wrestle us till we tap out. Our sins cannot be cast into the depths of the sea until our iniquities are first subdued. Iniquity is simply self-will unharnessed; iniquity is where sin is fostered in the will. This is where things become so twisted it takes a wrestling match to untwist.
Living lies is more twisted than telling a lie; wanting something so bad we cannot break its power over us puts our will in a prison of denial sealed with certainty. The only counteraction to these twisted lies is truth. This is why Jesus tells us, if we know the truth it can make us free. Only God’s mercy can bring this about; only God can perform the truth in us.
Once truth is performed in us mercy is released to the generations before us. Even when they are dead and gone, their struggles unsettled and unconquered finds mercy in us when truth settles the struggle and the lies we inherited from them is conquered. God is vowed to this by choice; scripture calls this “loving kindness.”

BEST TIME

Revelation 1:3 (KJV)
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
“The time is at hand.” The most important moment in our lives is the moment we hold in our hands. We cannot pull up the past and re-write it or change what has been done. We cannot reach into the future as though the present does not exist and live there. The only moment we can take hold of is the “time at hand,” the time we hold in our hands at this very moment. “This is the day the LORD hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” The time at hand is the greatest and only opportunity we have – we were born for such a time as this – this is our opportunity.
I was selected by my battalion commander and brigade chaplain to serve as surrogate chaplain during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The ground war was to begin and the 101st airborne core (Administrative staff of all airborne units in the U.S. Army) were flying to our position that morning to have a short service and time for prayer before commencing. Our battalion was 360 or more troops and the core staff had approximately the same number, this made it over 600 troops attending that day.
My battalion commander (Lieutenant Colonel Donley) gave me order to present a sermon and prayer and that the 101st airborne core staff would be attending and I’d better have something significant to say. I had only one hour to prepare; pressure is not even the word for it, so, I spent that hour in prayer (what am I going to say to this staff of generals worthy of saying) and in the last moments of prayer this scripture came to me.
Standing in the desert sand looking at these generals looking at me I announced the title of my sermon “The Time is at Hand.” That moment has come and gone; this moment and every moment we hold in our hand become as significant as any other. In the context of this scripture “Jesus is present.” In fact, it is not that Jesus happens in time; He happens to time. Therefore, regardless of the time we hold in our hands, holding on to Jesus is mostly important; if He is not there, I do not want to be there. Jesus makes anytime the best time we could ever have.

PURPOSE

John 17:20-23 (KJV)
“20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Fueled by Individualism psychology of adjustment would tell us the only abnormality is what the individual believes is abnormal. This defies the image we were created by and in. The Father defers to the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit to the both the Father and the Son. The unexplainable three-ness in their oneness is not as much that they are three in one as there is deference and there is relationship granting and sustaining oneness.
Creation declares Individualism as pure ignorance, or should I say, Individualism seeks to declare creation as pure ignorance. To except the image of God is to accept deference as a means to relationship and commonality. Interpenetration would mean our individualism can only possess significance outside itself; selfishness without deference is evil and seeks to separate itself from significant others. When we value our opinion above others we at that point have become segregated.
Satan segregated himself when he refused to be himself; he refused to receive his purpose in creation. This is the beginning of Individualism and is the spawn to all evil. Living outside our purpose in creation is excepting the lie of believing we are more important outside our purpose.

THE BABY IS PERFECT

Proverbs 24:30-34 (KJV)
“30 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.”
Inside these walls, this city, this corner of the world we will unfold our hands to find understanding. “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:28-29).
“Perfect,” this is the breath of a baby struggling to crawl. This baby is perfect; this baby has everything it needs inside its struggle to become one who can stand and walk on its own. This baby is perfect in the eyes of the Father. All God expects out of us is the struggle. Rip those vines down, remove the thorns and the nettles, rebuild the wall that is broken down and let us provide a habitation; then He will see, and consider it well.

KNOWING HIM

1John 2:3-6
“3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”
As a child setting in the “Kings Army” Sunday school class our teacher taught us this about learning. He said, “We have not learned until we are able to do what we have been taught.”
There is an extreme difference in knowing much about something and truly knowing it because we have experienced it firsthand. This is the kind of knowing the Psalmist speaks of with Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God…” This word “know” in the Hebrew language is “yada.” Yada did not mean the knowing we get from information fed to us by the way of reading, or oral expression. Yada meant to know by an encounter or to know from experience. Therefore, God is telling us to stop being so busy with our own efforts so we may encounter Him or experience Him firsthand.
Be still and encounter me says the Lord. The highest frequency in the spirit is silence and the quickest achievement in the spirit is stillness. If we can stop adding our own ideas and opinions and stop being so busy with our own efforts, we may find God is more willing to manifest Himself with encounters teaching us from His perspective who He really is. This is not to say inquiry is wrong; we must search for God with our whole heart and understand knowledge is not what we are truly searching for; it is what knowledge becomes as a result of the search. It is what our knowledge becomes as we encounter Him in all of life’s episodes.
Consequently, keeping His commandments becomes a manifestation of knowing Him. It is not keeping His commandments that we know Him; it is because we know Him we are motivated to keep His commandments.

WORK?

Exodus 35:31-35
“And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work”.
"There is a distinction between church work and the work of the church. Church work is what we do for the organized institution of the church. The work of the church is what is done between Sundays when the church is scattered all over the metropolitan area where it is located - in homes, schools, offices, on construction jobs, in market places" (Dick Halverson).
Too often believers have not seen their work outside the church as being the work of the church. As a result, our work outside the church is of a carnal nature and cannot function as the gift God has intended it to be. A trade or talented work in the Old Testament was referred to by God as wisdom from God. Therefore, our abilities to practice our gift in the work place should be seen as the work of the church; the gift or ability in us to work becomes the wisdom of God in the believer.
Consequently, our gift can become a job or it can become a ministry. If what we do outside of the church is just a job, it is merely man's wisdom at work in us; if it can manage to become a ministry; it is the wisdom of God at work in the life of the believer. If some of us have prayed and asked God to supply us with a job, then why can we not see our job as a gift from God, and being a gift from God; why can we not see it as a ministry or a work God has placed in our hands to do?
The ability to work a skill can be seen as wisdom from God if we allow ourselves to see it that way. Also, this scripture refer to these trades, skills, or abilities as being “filled with wisdom of heart,” and is the same as being “filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge”. Has it ever dawned on us the reason why we succeed at our jobs and have done so well at what we do; it is the wisdom of the almighty at work in us? If we do not live in the awareness of what we do as being the work of God in us, then those working with us never will; they too will only see us as any other person in the world punching in and punching out work. Furthermore, this also may be why we never see those who see us at work, in church. If we cannot see our work as the work of the church, how will those that work with us see it any different?

3:11 a.m.

In wee hours of the night again
I am talking with you my friend
In heartfelt tones
In soul-stirred moans
In words only you understand

I sense the awe and I am overwhelmed
The awe is we are truly friends
All I know is you are near
When all my heartaches and all my fears
Just disappear
As my world sleeps nothing can keep me from you
I know you’ve waited all the day
For us to sit and be together in this way
Where I am yours and you are mine
In spirit communion I finally breathe
In love and peace I’m resting free
No sweeter place could ever be
Than here right now with you

TREASURE

Matthew 6:19-24 (KJV)
“19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23  But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24  No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”


Every move we make, every ounce of energy we spend is in His embrace. He is our treasure. Our job, business, and position in life are ministry unto the LORD.  “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

LEARNING JESUS

Matthew 11:29 (KJV)
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
He became one of us, this was meek and lowly; and, He gave this to us from His heart. No temptation known to us He has not been tempted; He journeyed from His place to ours to be with us in one brief human life as a message of hope and discovery. His journey became the first step into participation (fellowship). His journey became an invitation to learn Him as we reciprocate in participation.
He brings His world into our world in His actions and reactions among us (The Word made flesh as He dwelt among us). Just how important are the Gospel’s in this? Important enough to get inside every narrative left to us; inside the story with deepest cognitive observations, close enough to watch Him breathe. We must get over ourselves that we were not one of the twelve in real life and make the best of what life He has shared and learn Him.
He has come to us once in this way; He will not pass in this way again. No matter what it takes to yoke ourselves up to this exiting journey, we must first decide we want to learn Him. The message He brought to us was “Himself,” find Him, listen to Him, and let us learn of Him.

SAVING HEALTH

Psalm 67:1-3 (KJV)
1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
Saving health? Health is the soundness of body or mind. This is His way, mission, desire, function, intention, destination, etc… His will is that we are sound in body and mind. This is the way His heart is set towards us. It begins with us and moves beyond us to all nations. He will not move from this position; His will is set.
Call upon His mercy, desire His blessing, and long to be enlightened by Him

THE TEMPLE

Ephesians 2:13-22 (KJV)
“13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
To accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior (The Messiah) we accept our togetherness. Without Him as Lord and Savior our enmity will continue to divide us. Enmity started on a tree in the Garden and it ended on a tree at Calvary; by His blood we are brought together. We are fitly framed together that we may grow into becoming a holy temple in the Lord, and we are builded together (structured) to be a habitation of God through the Spirit (Holy Ghost).
Building our temples as we segregate ourselves will never end our enmities; it is becoming the temple of God together that our enmities will end. No human structure can take the place of this structure. Only – yes – only the blood of Jesus can bring this about; we are “made nigh” by His blood. Therefore, we can shed as much blood as we choose to build our temples; it is only by His blood that we can together become a holy temple in the Lord.

ANY WHO

Psalm 6:1 (KJV)
“O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.”
I was awakened this morning with Psalm 6:1 in my thoughts. Had no idea what the Psalm was about or what it said. I read it briefly thinking the LORD would have me do my devotion on it this morning. Honestly, I shrugged it off; however, as the day moves on, it keeps coming back to me.
The last scripture of this chapter catches my attention. “All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror; they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.” Spoke Sunday morning on how “God moves suddenly” and that we serve a “suddenly God.” David is speaking of real living people as his enemies and that is all good concerning him in this context.
On the other hand, we are living under the New Covenant and it tells us we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but rather, against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). It also teaches us that “…if God be for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31).
When God is for us it becomes impossible that any “who” can be against us. It is the spirit they are operating in; these “who” folks are no different than we are in the struggle, and when wickedness is conquered, we and the “who” both can be thankful and become at odds with the ugly spirit rather than each other; simply because, the ugly spirit is the enemy to us both.
When we recognize the ugly spirit as the enemy opposed to the “who,” we are operating in New Testament terms and bringing shame to the “who” is transferred to the spirit involved. God can and will in “a moment” put “our” enemies to shame. Just when the devil thinks he has the upper hand – God moves in “a moment.”
Actually, David did get this when he withdrew from thrusting his spear into Saul. How we live out our lives become the songs we sing. This was David’s song; when I have ill will against anyone, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure, I need as much mercy as they do.

NECESSITIES

Genesis 26:1-14
Our text begins with a famine similar to the famine with Abraham in Genesis 12:10-20. The difference between Abraham’s famine and his son Isaac’s is Abraham fled to Egypt; whereas, Isaac remained in Canaan and made the best of it. History of the text reveals that Abraham had passed away and this event took place while Esau and Jacob were very young.
All this is very important to note. First of all, it reveals to us in that our connections with God are the same regardless of what humanity may serve us. Life on earth is real and authentic and the necessities of life do not change from one generation to the next. We all face the need to eat and drink, to survive, and having to contend with other humans to do so is inevitable in the process. Whether we face this in Egypt outside the promise or Canaan inside the promise these necessities remain the same.
Actually, famine is a great example of all this. It is usually a famine of sort that drives us to acknowledge God. This is why our country is on a verge of a spiritual awakening. It is when we exhaust our means with our necessities that we have no alternative than to resort to God for our answers or solutions. Necessities have a way of demanding the true source of which they are met.
Beyond our human necessities our need to connect with God is as important and called for on all levels of life. Whether it is food or drink, relational, emotional, rejection, or acceptance, love is the common denominator that gives quality of life in all these necessities.
The source of love is God. Nonetheless, all these necessities can be met without love; however, without love they are empty and leave’s us humans craving for more until love comes and makes it all worthwhile. Greed, jealousy, control and other factors of such becomes enemies to the quality of life every human deserves and every human long’s for. Therefore, until love serves our necessities our necessities will continue to serve us every evil intent, for there are only two suppliers to necessities; love and evil, these two are the only two driving forces in humanity.
This is why our text becomes a story of how from one generation to the next, love and evil is present and the choices we make will determine which will take charge and become the master of our necessities.

TASK

Psalm 65:1-4 (KJV)
"1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. 
4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."

God challenges us many ways in this life – He will encourage us to launch out in faith with the tasks He calls us to do. In this, there is something that brings an even greater degree of satisfaction while doing what we do and that is time spent in quiet devotion to Him as we do what we do. In fact, it is as we walk in the awareness of Him the task before us becomes God handling the event with us.
Though our life may seem “too full” or “too involved” to be alone with Him in our thoughts; consider this, He is never too busy to be with us. His one consuming desire is for us to know Him in this way as we involve ourselves with any task. When we begin to do this, even the smallest of activities will take on new meaning. So, let us spend time with Him and enjoy the awesome privilege of being carriers of His presence in this unique way. As His presence is with us in the task it will be the best time we have had all day! Far too long, we have dismissed His efforts to touch our hearts so He may be included in every task. We must open our life up to Him so we may experience all He has for us.

SEEK KNOCK ASK

Matthew 7:7-11 (KJV)
“7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
As Jesus concludes His sermon on the mount He exhorts them to pray. This exhortation to pray is right on the heel of warning them against rash judgements. This marks the importance of what and why we should pray in the specifics of rash judgments; in other words, this prayer is not seeking, knocking, or asking in general, it becomes a prayer of finding the reason of our struggles caused by our own rash judgements. Then, His sermon redirects us to examine more closely our rash judgments by examining our ownership in the struggle.
Some things will never occur to us or open to us about ourselves unless we knock on that door. Some things will stay hidden to us until we humble ourselves and pray with a seeking that seeks where we have missed it. Some things we will never know about the events we have judged rashly unless we stop asking the wrong questions and start asking the right questions.
As to why Jesus brings the serpent into the equation; we must trust God in our prayer that He will reveal us to us not to harm us but to heal us. His heart is not to condemn us as the serpent does; His heart is to save us from us.

FIT

We must understand it is not us trying to fit God into our lives; it is God fitting us into His life. It is not like God has a need to fit into the way we think or into how we have imagined Him. Jesus said a mouth full when He said, “…he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21). Therefore, capturing revelations of Jesus become moments in our lives when God is inviting us into His life.
“Sozo” is the Greek word for salvation, it is the word used in James 5:15, “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:15). What a concept! Sick folk needing “sozo” or needing to be saved. This scripture validates what it means to be saved in its threefold meaning. To be saved in the original language of the Bible means to be 1. delivered, 2. healed, 3. and to be made whole.
The scripture associates the forgiveness of sin with healing. Sin has a way of creating sickness; sickness in the way we see things, sickness in the way we live life. Now why would God want to fit in such things as the sickness of spirit, soul, and mind? It is us needing to fit into the life of God.
When we are sick we need a prayer of faith, a faith that will call on God for “sozo” a salvation that will bring us to a place of health. The very next scripture in James says this, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).
Once again, the writer associates our faults with the need of healing. Faltering and sinful acts is a manifestation of something that is dysfunctional in our thinking or in the way we are living our lives. It takes the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person who have had moments of revelation; moments in their lives when they caught a greater vision or glimpse of Jesus in the fellowship of walking with Jesus.

WORLD WITHOUT END

Galatians 3:26-29 (KJV)
“26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Although we are in different countries, nations, provinces, or regions in this world, we are not of this world. Our color, race, culture, and even our social, economic, or political status becomes subservient to who we are in Christ. Our baptism in Christ strips us of any dominance this world provides. Slave person, free person, male or female; nothing we have become in this world holds us to this world in relationship to each other. We are all one in Christ, the same in Christ. The relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost becomes the same relationship cultured among us. Although we are in this world with its limitations we are not of this world; we are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
The things we wear on the surface related to this surface cannot be compared to whom we wear (Christ) beneath the surface. The invisible connects us and calls us to a different level, a different cosmos (kosmos). We have angels, creatures, or a host of invisible beings accompanying us. We have of yet to explore the depths of what is available to us as children of God. Our relationship with and to each other must be recognized and cultured as relatives to the household of God.
Ephesians 3:14-21 (KJV)
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

SPIRIT/FLESH

2 Peter 3:17-18 (KJV)
“17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.”
Are we being led by the spirit or by the flesh? Both are filled and driven with passion; and at times, in the heat of passion there is such a thin line between the two and one would not know the difference without some learning. Scripture is the dividing instrument between the two called “The Sword of the Spirit” which is the Word of God- “dividing asunder both spirit and soul.” Then we must choose which we will follow. Many have failed at the height of passion when not harnessed by the grace teaching us to deny ungodliness. Deny? Yes, deny, resist, insist, and just right out allow ourselves to be educated by grace. It is sometimes a long journey to learn; spirit is not something we attain it is something we must learn by yielding ourselves to it as it is graciously given to us by God. This process is what we must acknowledge in scripture as “Learning Jesus.”
Just how is this learning connected to grace? Grace is somehow the teacher teaching us Jesus. We must yoke ourselves up to it (grace). Passion can be deceiving and it takes the “…knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…” we receive from grace to keep deception at bay.

VEX

Acts 12:1-3 (KJV)
“1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)”
What possesses kings to kill us Christians? The nature of our liberty in Christ is a threat to any and all forms of oppression and control. Our freedom in Christ is relational, internal, and becomes a challenge to evil dressed in self-righteousness and garbed in human pride. The intolerance in us is against anything tolerant of these in the church or out of the church (Reformation).
The deeper we enjoy our freedom greater is the anger against us. Therefore, it is not about us, it is about them and the oppression and pride they serve. The fear of losing control becomes the strength of the oppressor. Consequently, the king kills James with the sword and imprisoned Peter.
2015 is no different than then.
(reflection of Son-day School lesson)