able to do all things He has asked of you.
"I am the lover of your soul,
and
do not weary or change.
My will for you is always good.
I arouse you from your deep sleep,
that
old sorrows might not overtake you.
"I teach you to
lay down excess burdens
that have made your soul weary.
I ask you to lay them at My feet
that
I may sift them.
"I discard some that are not yours
to carry,
and lighten the ones that you must bear.
"The
enemy has stolen into your camps
and has planted heavy
burdens in your sacks.
"I would remove them.
Therefore
take care
to lay your burdens at My feet day and night.
Let
Me inspect them in the morning
and lighten them again in
the evening,
that I might remove all of the enemy’s
weights.
"Offer up to Me all the things at hand that
you must carry
and let Me oversee all things to lighten
you on your way.
"As you commit your way to Me,
I
will direct you into that clear and sure path you should take.
"I
am the Lord your God who heals you of all weariness."
*
The
Sacredness Of A Broken Heart
I have thought of the pain we suffer collectively, and Your word,
Lord, that when one suffers, all suffer. Are You saying, that the strong bond
of suffering holds us together, and we are not swept away with overwhelming grief
as we behold not only our own suffering but that of our brothers and sisters as
well?
I saw in the spirit a long, thick cord. Many
are holding onto it as strong winds blow against them. As long as they hold on,
they are safe and not swept away by the winds of adversity, for the cord is as
strong as steel.
Later I see another cord made of a simple
thread-like material. Many more are holding on to this cord, but with the pulling
and tugging between them the cord quickly begins to fray and break here and there
and many fall. I am taught that this weak bond is… the bond of pleasure.
I
am keenly aware that my own spirit has been slow to respect suffering as the scriptures
teach us to do. Lord, one of your last prayers on earth was about us becoming
one as You are one with Your Father. I know suffering has a lot to do with this
prayer and my carnal understanding must move aside and say yea and amen. Is not
suffering a mystery? And when You let my eyes behold a glimpse of this mystery,
I am awed and stopped in the tracks of all my murmuring, complaining, and questioning
of my own suffering.
I see You beckoning me to follow. We
pass through a dark tunnel and it is a while before I see a light at the other
end. Then, I recognize the valley of suffering where the tender love of God lights
everything. I wonder if everyone knows that His tender love is there. But I notice
many do not recognize it even though they are being served by a multitude of angels
and by God’s servants. I realize I have come into the valley where men’s
hearts are being softened by suffering. The angel of the Lord takes me to see
a group whose hearts are hard as rocks. They are like immovable stones and I begin
to wonder if their hearts will ever break. I see the angels work on some hearts
with hammers and chisels, in order to make a way for them to experience the love
of God.
There is a sudden stirring. The angels stop and
listen. As they do, they hear a loud voice proclaim that another large company
of sufferers is coming into the valley. The angels nod their heads in approval
of each newcomer as they begin counting and registering them. There is a strong
sense that the new arrivals are very precious to God and are known of Him in a
special way.
I noticed a man whose heart had been chiseled
and hammered on for a while, and saw the angels make a sign between themselves
that the moment of breakthrough had come. Respectfully they stepped back, giving
him space and waiting for the moment when the light of true pain met the love
of God. It was a sacred moment, and it seemed to me that the angels were holding
their breath. Overcome with emotion, the man at last threw himself on the ground
before the angels sobbing in pain and relief with a fresh knowledge of the Love
of God, a love he had not known before. The angels sat down and formed a private
space around him. They waited in reverence till he quieted down. Taking turns,
each one touched him with a fresh revelation of the love of God and his relationship
to that love in the middle of his suffering. Each new revelation caused him to
break down and weep again. Sometimes the angels gave him space to rest between
the times they touched him. They seemed to know exactly how much time he needed
and when he must have a fresh touch from God. I was overwhelmed with the realization
of the sacredness of a broken heart. And the scripture, "A broken
heart He will not despise," took on fresh meaning for me.
Two
things the Lord has shown me concerning suffering: It binds us together in unity
of His understanding love; and it softens men’s hearts that they might know
the love of God and His immeasurable patience with their hardness of heart.
Lord,
to know Your ways is to find the greatest treasure in this life. We can draw from
the knowledge of Your great love as from a bank account that will never run dry.
I bow before You, saying yes and amen to the wisdom of all Your ways, even
the way of suffering.
*
Then
Your Soul Will Smile In The Morning
The day is flying away and I seek to visit with You in Your presence
to learn of You. I give You this day to do with me as You desire and to use me
according to Your will and good purpose. Heal me of all inner weariness and lighten
my burdens that have been made heavier with anxieties and worries. So often I
believe I need to accomplish more than I can. I must scale back my expectation
of my abilities to accomplish too many tasks at the same time.
Lord, I am examining myself as Your word teaches
us to do, that I might also quiet myself in Your presence. I tell my soul to cease
its fretful ways, to quiet itself and listen to the Lord who has all things in
His hands.
"It is I who call you to task with your
own soul, to walk in thankfulness and not in want. You want this and that, you
must accomplish this or that, when very little is needful indeed. To look up is
needful. To recognize your Lord when He comes to the door, this is needful. To
believe in all that He is teaching you, this also is needful for a healthy, holy
life. The healthy soul is glad, for it knows the Lord is at hand. It keeps watch
day and night and hears His feet approach. It delights in His footsteps, in anticipation
of His word. In His word is life and healing for all things. The more you listen
to His word, the less anxieties you will carry, because you will learn to not
believe their lies. Martha was anxious over many things and I chided her to exercise
her soul to listen to Me. She must first accomplish, and then use the time left
to listen. You know it must be the other way around. The anxious soul
is a soul turned around in purpose. If I have not asked you to accomplish
all those things on your mental list that you pile on for each day, why are you
anxious if you cannot accomplish them? Who are you serving? You do not understand
what your soul needs. A weary soul does not need many challenges and few accomplishments.
The weary soul needs to learn to look first to Me for health and to rest in all
that I give. Daily.
When your soul puts listening
to Me, coming to Me, learning of Me first, it has found its rest in Me. Begin
beating back the demands of your flesh, and hold it in check as you listen to
Me, and the day will come when you will no longer have to hold back the flesh.
Your soul automatically will run to Me first. Then your soul will smile at Me
in the morning in anticipation of My word, and I will rejoice in you.
*
Awake
You That Sleep
Lord,
I saw something in Your word this morning that stirred my heart. It has to do
with the inability to remember what we have been taught. The consequence if we
cannot remember is that we cannot obey. In James, You say that the ones who remember
are the ones who continually look into the law of liberty ... they remember and
obey. How simple it is to realize that if we do not continually look into Your
word, we eventually will fall asleep spiritually. There is no reason to wonder
why we are spiritually dead, when once we were alive. All we have to do is look
back to when we stopped looking into the word of God with enthusiasm and diligence
... and remember.
I asked You, "Where
must I meet You today?" Revelation, chapter 3 came to mind. But I fear that
my undisciplined spirit, running to accomplish so many different things at the
same time, might distract me further, and I’ll forget Your rebuke. Oh, that
I might remember I have no time but the time You graciously give me.
Once
again, I see the Lord with the stars and sun surrounding Him. A large crowd of
people are before Him. They are excited, anticipating, and watching His slightest
move as they wait expectantly for something to happen. They don’t want to
miss anything He is about to do. I find myself lingering in the background, for
I am not focused like they are. I seem to be easily distracted. Not these people,
they are constantly watching Him. They never take their eyes off Him. When He
speaks, their eyes are opened and they are privileged to see what His word will
accomplish as it goes forth. A roar of praise and alleluias rises each time His
angels are sent to deliver His spoken word. But the praises quickly die down to
a holy hush as everyone waits for His word once again.
The
scene reminded me a little of the stock exchange with people’s eyes riveted
on a big screen. Oh, that we might be as diligent about the pertinent word of
the Lord as some men are about the ups and downs of the stock exchange.
...
A sadness enters my soul and I begin to wonder why I am here. I must admit that
I feel separated from this group. Compared to these focused worshippers, I feel
as though
I am a child with no discipline. Suddenly, a
tall angel appears beside me. I recognize him. He has taught, encouraged, and
instructed me before.
"Don’t let your heart be
troubled because of what you have seen," he said. "The things you have
seen have not yet come to pass, and, when they do, you will be part of this company.
The time is at the door and you must not waste time on frivolous pursuits. The
Lord is coming soon to challenge you. Stretch forth your hands and give Him those
things that must be cast away, that I might separate what is for the Lord and
what is not."
I suddenly remembered the scriptures
that speak of His angels separating the souls of men as well as their works. Matthew
25:31F
"I believe you have the power to do just what
you have said," I answer. "But I am worried about myself. I seem to
have too much enthusiasm for many pursuits. My hands are like magnets with things
attached to them. If some are loosed from me, will not other things attach themselves
to me?"
The angel slowly and carefully focused his
eyes on me, as if asking me to slow down and listen to his council. "Put
first things first and leave the impossible with the Lord. You are living in an
era with time rushing past you from every side. The knowledge of the past, the
problems of the present, the fears of the future, and the uncertainties of eternity
are flooding the whole earth, causing great unrest upon the souls of mankind.
Great upheavals are everywhere and the unrest of the whole earth is as a fever
spreading like a fire out of control, from nation to nation. These are the pressures
you must endure and have felt for a long time, but you have neglected the peace
of God within. His peace will instruct you where to find your hiding place. Only
remember this, you must find it. I promise you it will not be hard to find
as long as you will remember that you must find it."
Thank
you for such a kind word of encouragement. My heart is lifted up within, and I
will wait in anticipation of this most needed purging and separation you have
spoken of. Here are all the things that concern me. Take them and do what is pleasing
to the Lord. Only cause me to hear clearly when I am being instructed to let go
of things that must go.
"Remember
to put first things first and you will hear, for the Lord in His holy sanctuary
has sworn that He will reward those who diligently seek Him."
Hebrews 11:6.
*
Press
Towards the Mind of Christ
I do not have a lot of time today, but this is the beginning of
autumn, school is starting, and I am anxious to get my seeking schedule together.
The world with its loud voice and endless demands tires me so completely. I can
wholeheartedly say along with the psalmist, "Oh that I had wings and could
fly away to a place of quietness, where I can seek You and walk with You in perfect
fellowship."
"You have come now, and I am here, ready
to meet your needs. Better yet, to look deeply into your heart and divide asunder
the thoughts and intent of your heart."
What is there
in me that is any good, that it matters what my intent of heart is? Did You not
say, "They have all gone astray unto their own ways, there is none that seeks
after God, there is none that does good?" Why then are my thoughts of any
consequence, that You should desire to know them?
"I
want to show you your thoughts and intents and then show you Mine, that you might
press forward toward the mark of your high calling. Have you ever thought about
the meaning of the high calling Paul was talking about? My thoughts are higher
than your thoughts, and My intent of heart is for you to receive, to hear,
and to hold fast the salvation with all of its provisions that I have freely given
to you. This is your high calling: That you should press forward to let
My mind be in you, and forsake the carcass of the earthly mind, which, if you
abide in it, will eat your flesh alive and abandon you afterwards."
The
carcass of the earthly mind: what a challenging, poetic picture. I remember the
scriptures saying, "where the carcass is, there will also the vultures be."
If I abide in the carnal mind, the vultures of this world’s intent for me
will eat me up.
To press forward, to receive Your thoughts
and intents of heart in all matters -- that is a precious thought to me. But,
Lord, I am easily intimidated and persuaded to doubt my abilities to perceive
You. I am like a match-stick blown out and away from Your calling by the slightest
care of this world. Why this terrible weakness? I hate being this weak.
"I
have some questions to ask you today. You have learned that when I ask questions
it is to cause you to think, so you will meditate on the questions and seek the
answers with all your might. Have you not read that I am your strength? And again
the joy of the Lord is your strength? I ask you to love Me with all of your strength
... with
what strength My child? To Peter I commanded that
he strengthen his brethren after he had been established. Established in what?
My strength. You can not impart to another what you do not yet own.
"
‘Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength,’ the scriptures say. How do
you ascribe strength to the Lord? And how can you have My joy if you do not know
the intent of My heart and the many thoughts of love I have toward you and your
brethren? Can you uphold the heavens and set the earth’s boundaries? Why
do you think you have any strength to accomplish the rude demands of your carnal
mind? And if you do not have strength to please your own carnal mind, how can
you muster strength to be perfect before Me? Can you believe I am able to strengthen
your weakness? If you can believe that, then you are ascribing strength to Me.
"Think about the drooping flowers in your garden when
you have forgotten to water them and how soon they respond to care if they are
watered before all sustaining life is gone. But if you wait till all life is gone,
no amount of water will bring them back. It was therefore I said to the church
of Sardis: ‘Be watchful, and strengthen the things that are ready to die,
for I have not found your works perfect before God.’ What was ready to die?
The revelation of My intent of heart and their remembrance of it. Remember, My
intent of heart is for you to receive, to hear, and to hold fast the salvation
with all of its provisions that I have freely given to you. The church of Sardis
forgot how they had received from Me, and what they had of Me was soon spent and
forgotten, and they could no longer hold fast.
"Surely,
I say unto you that your carnal mind will drive you far from Me. It will demand
all kinds of unreasonable works from you without supplying the means to do them.
It is not unusual for your carnal mind to expect three months’ work to be
done in one single day, without providing the means, and after a day’s work
never saying ...’well done’... rather, ‘look how much you still
have not accomplished.’ Pharaoh is a perfect picture of how your carnal mind
and fleshly body work, and, if you study My dealings with him, you will learn
My ways against the carnal mind and fleshly body. It was Pharaoh who would
not let My people go. And neither will your carnal mind let you go to worship
and serve Me. I have no mercy for carnality and flesh as I had no mercy on
Pharaoh and all his horsemen. The carnal mind with all of its show of strength
… it must die and give room for your spirit to follow My Spirit. I have given
you much to think about today ... and I must ask you even one more question; ‘How
will the carnal mind die?’ Think on these things."
*
If
I Am Lifted Up
I
saw the Lord above me. I came before Him beaten down by many tasks. How easily
our spirit begins to die if we are not careful to be renewed daily. Not just by
the reading of the word, but a true renewing which is felt as The Spirit of Power
comes upon you from above.
Acknowledging
the truth as I have been taught by the Spirit is a must, otherwise I have no power
to look into the face of Jesus. It is as if my inner shame casts my eyes to the
ground, and I cannot look up to Him, despite my great desire to do so. No wonder
He has not been able to draw me near to Him. He said: "If I am lifted up,
I will draw all men unto Me." But if I am cast down and cannot behold Him
lifted up above me, how shall He draw me to Him? Acknowledging my own responsibility
for being cast down is a primary requirement of the Holy Spirit before I once
again will become aware of His presence. I must agree with Him. For, if two disagree
about a subject at hand, how can they walk together? Agree with Him quickly while
He is in the way, lest He withdraw and you end up walking in your own wisdom.
You must not grieve Him by harboring half-truths or compromises.
If you cannot find strength to choose the path He is showing you, then quickly
acknowledge that, just as it is, and He will continue to abide and patiently work
with you just where you are. Only in all things acknowledge that He is true, for
He will not be called a liar. Therefore, it is written: "Let God be true
and every man a liar." In everything, allow His searchlight to penetrate
and show you what He is presently seeking to teach you. He will not show you what
you are not ready to bear. "I have things to show you, but you cannot bear
them now," the Lord still says to His disciples. The Holy Spirit is no less
caring or understanding of human nature than the Lord who spoke those words. He
stands in the place of the presence of the Lord who, in the body, once taught
and discipled His friends. The Holy Spirit now teaches and disciples us from day
to day; abiding with us. He is as close to us and as involved with us as the Lord
once was with His own disciples. We are so privileged to have the Holy Spirit
committed to do what the Lord promised: "He shall teach you all things ..."
How
often have we said in our hearts: "If I had lived in the times when Jesus
walked on the earth and had the privilege to see and listen to Him, how different
my Christian life would now be. I would be more on fire and less sloppy in my
walk with Him." Not so, for we do have the very same privilege. He walks
with us daily, in the presence of His Holy Spirit, and waits for us to come to
Him that He might empower us for our daily walk. He wants to fill us with His
resurrection life as we come before Him and acknowledge His rights over us as
well as His daily presence.
How is it that we so often neglect
this great salvation? I can only acknowledge what His Spirit teaches me. Man is
born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Man’s spirit is heading toward
destruction. Discouragement, depression, negativity, being easily cast down and
offended -- all lead us toward death and not life. Being bent toward these things
has been an ingrained habit in my life. But, as I have been taught by His Spirit
to quickly agree with Him, I can also learn to quickly recoil from these destructive
habits that waste my energy every day.
Suddenly, a prayer
was born in me: "Holy Spirit give me the love of life, that my spirit might
not bend toward death, but rather recoil from it and seek life. Teach me to love
life, and impart it to me as I seek after it."
I will
tell my spirit to be encouraged and to wait for His instructions in righteousness.
He will help me and not forsake me. First, He caused my spirit to come alive again,
and surely now He will teach me to love life and turn away from the things of
death and to turn quickly toward life.
When I lifted my
eyes and looked again toward His face, I saw a mist coming down over me, settling
on me as a comforting blanket of dew moistening every dry bone in my spirit. I
quietly wept before Him, knowing that a man can utterly trust the Lord to provide
a solution for every secret ailment he has tried to handle in his own strength.
There is nothing too hard for The Lord.
The
king’s wrath is as a the roaring of a lion; but His favor is as dew upon
the grass. Prov 19:12. I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely:
for mine anger is turned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel. Hosea
14:4,5.
*
Shake
the Dust From Your Wings
I wait upon You to come and teach me for You are meek and lowly
and Your words are easy to bear. Not like my own that can be full of condemnation
and weariness, or like the world’s that press in on every side. "I have
set the Lord before me," said the Psalmist; "before and above me,"
I would add. Above me because You are never dragged into the petty mud we wallow
in so often.
"Come now," said the Lord, "out
of the cocoon of sorrow, spread your wings and shake off the layers of dust that
have settled on your wings after the long night. You have spread your wings, but
you are tired again because the dust of a foregone time is not shaken off. Another
layer needs to come off. And with each layer you shall fly longer and not get
weary. Come back to Me and rest and shake your wings in My presence.
"Shake
away the pettiness of social concerns that lay heavy on your wings, that you might
again fly with Me. I, too, walked among the unchurched, the unlearned in Scripture,
and the untaught in proper etiquette. I walked with thieves and prostitutes, and
the sick and hungry, who received Me and made My Word and My presence welcome.
You, too, are welcomed and honored among the unchurched and working class, people
who must work hard to make ends meet, those who cannot take time to go to meetings
day after day.
"You have found peace in quietly working
with your own hands, which is My commandment to you. I have called you to quietness
long ago and My call has not changed. You are not confirmed by man. You are confirmed
by God, before whom you stand and fall. I have not called you into a social group,
for that would again destroy the quietness I have developed in you. This is the
hour of quietness, the hour before the day of the Lord, when I shall shout with
a loud voice and he who knows My voice shall shout along with Me, and the whole
earth shall awake out of its slumber.
"Do you believe
what I have told you?"
Yes, Lord, I do. But I am still
troubled with a strong sense of not belonging with Your children.
"Do
you know why?"
No.
"It is
because you cannot speak of the things that I have shown you, nor the things that
are in your heart.
"I, too, was invited to a great
feast by Simon and his great and honorable guests. Do you remember who greeted
Me with humility and a great show of public love? She alone received Me, and none
other. A prostitute.
"You were invited to a great
public feast of worship. But I have called you into the inner courts of private
worship, where you are received and known by My angels, the elders and My Father,
and where there is no fear. Come now, child, if you have no fear within My courts,
where you stand and are known and do not fall, why are you afraid to stand in
the outer courts with the public worshippers?"
I will
tell you. In public worship, I feel alone, crowded by ignorance, coldness, pettiness,
false teachings, a show of love, and in such an atmosphere even what I have ...
access to private worship ... is threatened. Should I not be concerned? It causes
me to want to draw further into You, away from this cold, calculating crowd of
... perfect worshippers. Lord, I am not perfect, so far from perfect. I just can’t
fit in with these perfect people. How can I ever become one with Your children?
I just don’t get it. Tell me, Lord.
"When you
are invited to public worship, leave the outer courts and come into the inner
courts with Me. Here I will hear you and receive you and tell you that you are
Mine. The loud clamoring crowd of worshippers that bang on the inner gate, that
scream to be heard over the multitude and threaten your peace, would come along
into the inner courts if they could. But they cannot. Let them bang and scream,
shout and shove, they still cannot take away what I have given to you. Did I not
say: ‘Let him who is unholy be unholy still.’ They come not to give
or to add anything to you, but to grab for themselves all that they can in their
clamoring "proper etiquette". In the outer courts it has become proper
to grab, to fall upon, to shove to get, to shout in order to receive, and those
who have grabbed the most are honored, while still others stand around envying
and worshipping the objects they grabbed. For the outer courts belong to the people.
But the inner courts belong to Me, and to all who will enter into a holy covenant
with Me, and let Me teach them -- in truth and in spirit -- My living word.
"Go
now and think on these things, and it will lighten your wings. Then come fly with
Me."
*
Wait
for The Holy Spirit, Your Teacher
Holy
Spirit your friendship means everything to me. You cause me to feel safe in the
arms of the Lord, and You have taught me that I am truly never alone. Your commission
as our comforter, our teacher, overwhelms me. I love to be taught by You.
"I have called you into the life of sanctification by
My word, therefore hear, listen and learn. There is much I have to teach you,
and now it is the lesson of the abiding
Christ. Sorrow lasts
through the night but joy comes in the morning. This is the morning of your night
of sorrow, and it pleases Him to show you the abundance of His care for you. In
the night you could not see Him for the darkness around you. In the night you
could not hear Him for the temptation of slumber. In the night you could not feel
or touch Him for the hindrance of your drained emotions. But morning has come,
and you shall see, and hear and touch again -- only now without the ever-present
tormentor of doubt and unbelief. And now you shall be with Him, not only abide
with His Word. You heard Him often, but did not receive Him, only His word. You
believed His word pressing against fear, forgetting He is the Word. Now you have
seen and understood that when His Word is with you, He is with you. There is joy
in the kingdom of heaven when the least of His children receives Him.
"Shall
we continue to learn of His abundant life in you? His immeasurable love? His gracious
forgiveness and healing hand?"
Yes, Lord, and also
how to be generous with others. You have made me rich in You. I would not be selfish,
but give to others out of that richness, at least tenfold. I cannot share all
things with my sisters and brothers lest I become a stumbling block. Teach me
how to share. I believe and agree with You, that I am spiritually rich and need
to give out of those riches. Oh, I can truly say with Paul, He has made us rich
in all spiritual blessings. You have, Lord. You truly have. And me a most slothful
servant at best. Lord, make me faithful with all that You have given to me.
"I
will teach you and grant you wisdom and make you a straight arrow in My bow. Be
patient and watch with Me all the things that I show you, for I have made you
a watchman on the wall who must call out in due season and shoot down the enemy
when he appears. Don’t be afraid of the things I must show you when you have
not yet understood all that I am saying to you, like a child afraid of learning
to read because he does not yet know all the words in his lesson book. That is
why I have said to be patient when you are being taught things you did not know.
Tell the Holy Spirit often that you will wait for Him to paint the full picture,
that you trust Him, that you have confidence that He will come to you again and
teach you not a moment too late or a minute too early. Learn to trust His impeccable
timing."
Yes, Lord, I will try. And thank you for this
personal lesson.
*
Serve
in Your Own Place
Now is the time to learn of You, and I would set aside the things
that press at me and be separated and taught the ministry of service You want
to show me. Thank You for new opportunities of service.
"Let not your heart be troubled, for in
Me are stored up eternal pleasures that will keep you strong and focused. My work
is not far from you, even in your right hand, and by My works your faith is established.
It is My work that you provide for your own, for without this faithful service,
My name is shamed in all the nations. I, too, must provide for My own children,
and would have you be part of that work, not to take you away from your own, but
to grant you a larger extended family for which you also have become a supplier.
Don’t be afraid, for I will not ask you to do what you are not able to do
or what will subvert you from your own family. Remember the lesson of the good
Samaritan who on his way pursuing his own business stopped to care for his neighbor?
After saving his neighbor’s life, he went on to do his own bidding and returned
later to check on him. This man was called the Good Samaritan by His Maker. Was
he consumed or overwhelmed by his neighbor’s needs?
"If
you become overwhelmed in service, you most likely are overstepping your bounds
and have entered into a place where only I can stand. Have you not then stepped
into the false place of provision and promise, saying in your heart, in effect:
I, your neighbor, your god, shall provide all your needs according to my riches
in wisdom, knowledge and talents? Have you not then become one who perverts God’s
Word which says: ‘MY God shall provide all your needs according to His riches
in glory?’
"Mark this word in your forehead: The
child of God seeking to be another one’s provider, where I have not called
or sent him to serve, is a robber and thief of My position and glory. Where I
ask you to go is never a place of obligation, but a place where the warmth of
My love will lead your own heart. If you abide in My love, you will know what
I am asking you to do, and love will not fail you.
"A
little child will do what he is able when he sees his neighbor hurt. He will not
go beyond that place where he is able, into places he does not comprehend ...
and of such is the kingdom of God. But My children go into areas where I have
not called them. They seek to serve in wisdom they do not have, with talents they
have never mastered, with time I have not provided. Remember this admonition and
you will be well provided for by the restraint of the Holy Spirit; who will teach
you to work in the spirit and not in the flesh. You are not a stranger to this
lesson in service, but I have repeated this to you that others also may receive
this admonition."
Coming
In and Out Of His Pastures
The time has come when I must again turn my face in another direction.
Let my eyes still be upon You wherever I go and whatever the task. You have given
me a taste of moving forward through the impossible into the liberty which we
have in Christ. It is a delicacy in my mouth. And once acquiring a taste for this
bread, I look forward to the day when You shall again send me out with a certain
task. Thank You for giving me the power and strength to accomplish what You ask
me to do.
"The rest which I give you, in which to
stretch your tired body and mind, is a place of support, where you do not have
to be on guard; a place where My love is secured for you and you can sit back
with Me and watch what I am showing you. Follow after the things I have placed
in your heart, the things that remain and return to you. It is I who called you
to do them. Remember the things which My Spirit has already asked you to do and
be faithful to do them. Nothing is impossible when I am leading and guiding you.
I will anchor the words you must bring to others and it shall be well with your
soul.
"When you meet an obstacle, meet it head on.
Don’t walk around it, or it will surely come back to haunt you. Be open and
true and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
"I see
your hunger to learn the liberties I have for you, but as you have seen, unrest
can cause pain when you press against doors not yet opened. Learn this lesson.
There is a time and season for your coming in and out of My pastures. If you should
continue beyond your call when you are out of the pastures, you are in danger
of losing the things I have taught you within My pastures. Solid growth takes
place when you are in a steady environment meeting your tasks from day to day
... the every day things... the mundane things. You may not notice this kind of
growth at all. Violent growth, like the sudden growth of a teenager, takes place
when you are meeting new challenges which I have sent you. The one must be in
harmony with the other. One kind of growth is as important as the other. Do you
believe this My child? Then take My hand and let us return to the green pastures.
In contentment, keep your eyes on Me."
*
Stand
Where I Stand
Today, I saw a spirit of death near me, and I began to wonder why
it is there. The Holy Spirit showed me that spirits of criticism, condemnation,
depression, and discouragement -- one or all of them -- are instruments in bringing
the spirit of death near. After seeing that, a person would want to bite his tongue
before being negative day after day.
Teach me, Lord, that I might not be a fool
and give room to the evil one. How wonderful it would be to say with You: "The
enemy has no place in Me."
I began to wonder how to
keep myself in the love of God if others around me do not share my point of view,
but choose to be critical and condemning.
"You can
begin by making everyone aware of this visitor," the Lord said. "And
you can use the spiritual weapons available to you by My Spirit. Remember, the
resurrection power that brought Me out of the ground is available to you in the
Holy Spirit. You have only begun to tap into His amazing power, which He is committed
to show you. As you continue to learn to honor Him, He also will honor you and
remember your state quickly."
Lord, negative condemning
thoughts just come to me and I don’t seem to have any power over them. They
invade my space, with the familiar pain of shame. How do I begin to stop such
thoughts? I cannot stand the shame they bring. I hate it. Paul also seemed to
have been concerned about shame, but for him it was wanting to be without shame
before You, Lord. For me it is strangely mixed up with shame before man and God
alike. I can’t seem to differentiate. It must be a spirit of shame tormenting
me, somehow given room by the principality of death You showed me.
I
looked again and saw fire coming out of the mouth of this ruling principality.
I wondered if the fire was causing me the pain. It was the kind of pain unable
to produce any repentance or fruits of righteousness. The pain of man’s condemnations
and his fickle mind-set came from this evil principality and his fire. Then my
eyes were opened again, and I saw that the fire which came out of him was like
a shower that was strangely stationary. It could not move freely from place to
place. It was fixed over a specific space.
The Spirit of
God drew near to me and with a firm voice commanded: "Do not come near the
fire, step out of its reach and it will not harm you."
He
began to instruct me. "You must decide to disagree with the words spewed
out of the mouth of this evil, death spirit. To agree with Me is ultimately to
disagree with the words of the enemy. If God is for you, who can be against you?
How can you agree with this truth if you accept man’s judgments? What is
it that you really are believing when you agree with and fear man’s judgment?
Is that which is against you and yours somehow greater than the God who is for
you? If therefore a thousand thoughts condemn you, you must remember with your
mind that I do not condemn you, and decide with your spirit to step out of the
way, and over to My side. Then I will open up the earth and swallow up the multitude
of evil words against you, even as I swallowed up the Israelites in the wilderness
who refused to be separated and stand on My side. Remember I showed you that the
fire -- the words of shame and condemnation -- are fixed, they cannot change direction
and reach you when you stand with My word. But you must decide where
to stand ... and what you are going to believe.
I
suddenly remembered the woman caught in the very act of adultery. I saw the multitude
of words coming against her. I saw her as she lay before the Lord frightened,
even afraid to look into His face. I saw Him rebuke all her enemies and turn to
her saying: "Woman where are your accusers? Neither do I condemn you. Go
and sin no more." In a way, the Lord was helping her to clearly see the distinction
between man’s judgments and His, and asking her to take a stand with Him.
The question, "Woman where are your accusers?" carries a greater message
to her, than "See, I have sent them away." He was also saying to her:
"These evil words of condemnation bent to kill you are not a part of Me.
They can’t stand where I stand. They can’t follow along where I go.
Find refuge and take your stand where I stand, and then you will be free from
condemnation and able to follow Me into freedom from sin."
In
other words: Make a decision to only accept as truth God’s judgment of
you, whatever He is clearly showing you. Then you can stand where He stands and
be able to go where He goes. And He will separate away from you ... yes, swallow
up ... all the lies of the enemy.
Practice with Paul
these truths daily. "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be
judged of you (meaning the brethren), or of man’s judgment (meaning those
of the world outside the house of God), yea, I judge not mine own self (even my
own judgment of myself), for I know nothing by myself, yet I am not hereby justified
(my ignorance of my motives or fleshly carnal ways do not justify me), but He
that judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the
Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will
make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then shall every man have praise
of God." 1 Cor. 4:3-5.
Paraphrased: Believe it is a
very small thing when your brethren or those who as yet do not know the Lord,
and even you yourself, either condemn, criticize or seek to cast you down, or
elevate you with flattery and worldly praise. Don’t judge or allow yourself
to be judged before the time until the Lord comes to make things clear to you
and brings to light the things He is seeking to cleanse and deliver you from --
or to encourage you to continue in well-doing. He will do one or the other clearly.
You won’t have to wonder. If you are still wondering, then, He has not yet
come. Believe all your own wondering or self-condemnation is a very small thing,
not worthy of your time. And if others criticize and condemn choose not to receive
it, and wait patiently for the Lord to redeem you. Then you will learn to stand
with the Lord where He stands.
*
The
Grapevine
I
have been waiting for this day, when all is quiet and I can sit and seek You.
One thing I must guard my heart against is seeking You in a spirit of routine,
and not remember that I am coming to the living God who made the heavens and the
earth. Hearing You is what matters. I may receive a beautiful word, but if I am
not hearing You, I might as well have saved myself the time invested. If
You spoke two words to me which had a life-changing effect on me, it would be
far better than all the words of worldly wisdom men have filled libraries with.
Lord, my soul is quiet … but
I have yet to find my way to the quiet place where You wait for me with my daily
portion. Lord, I give You thanks this day for the joy of learning. I love to learn
of You and to see Your secret work with Your children. You work through our disappointments
and discouragements to bring us into a new place of revelation. The knowledge
of Your righteousness is like milk and honey flowing into our needy bones, for
we inhabit a world poor in righteousness. Strengthen our bones that we might stand
upright and not bend with every assault we encounter.
"The
day is at hand when all men who love My righteousness shall come forth at the
revelation of My name. The secrets of the Lord belong to the prophets, and to
those who fear My name. Come up hither and gather the fruit of the vine in My
garden. Do not linger so long in your world, but agree with Me, that I might give
you wings of flight to enter My world. Many are the tactics of the wicked one,
who seeks to keep you from coming into My presence. Come now quickly, for My angels
go before you to prepare the way for you."
I am in
the spirit and I see myself walking behind a group of angels who are talking among
themselves. They appear to be a group of workers going to their daily task. Up
ahead, I notice a lovely grapevine, full of large clusters of grapes that are
ready to be picked to make room for more fruit to ripen. The angels inspect the
clusters, knowing which must come off this day and which must wait a little longer.
I wonder what the grapes are. What does it all mean? "Don’t stand back
and wonder," one of the angels says to me. "Come and pick your part."
I
think to myself: " How can I pick my part? I do not know what I am doing."
At the same moment I gather courage to trust and obey ... to abandon all emotional
doubts, for doubts, if given any room, will never give the Lord or me rest for
a moment.
I find myself under the arch of the vine looking
up at the large clusters. One is close to my hands and very ripe. It seems to
say, "pick me." I do. The grapes feel velvety, plump and full of juice.
The angel who spoke to me brings a silver chalice and holds it under my hands.
I begin to squeeze the juice out of the grapes with my hands, and the red juice
flows easily into the glass, filling it. The angel smiles and says: "Drink
it for the healing of your bruised soul." I drink it and hand the chalice
back to him. "Again," he says, smiling. I squeeze the grapes again.
The glass is full.
"Did He not tell you that He would
not drink of the fruit of the vine with you until you drink it with Him in His
kingdom? Now hear this, do not let a day go by without partaking of the Blood
which was shed for you. Continue to remember the power of It’s cleansing
flow, lest you go about to cleanse yourself in various fleshly fashions, and drink
a substitute that cannot cleanse your soul. This wine angels do not drink. But
you have been called to partake of It freely, and to be glad in your soul of the
great things He has done for you. Nothing can remain polluted under It’s
cleansing power and nothing can hide from It’s flow. As the clusters ripen
on the vine, so does the revelation of your own wickedness. Be assured that the
Blood shall enter in and cleanse and cover all the inward parts of iniquity --
as you drink your daily portion.
"You have asked without
ceasing for a new day. Now I say to you, make room for the new day. You are not
aware of the meaning of the new day, though your spirit has asked for it again
and again. It is not you, but the Spirit of God who has helped you ask and seek
for the new day, which now is upon you. For a long time you believed you were
forsaken ... simply forgotten by the Spirit of God … now He has come to reveal
the new day of mercy which is yours at His command. For it is written: ‘His
mercies are new every morning.’ Lamentations 3:23. This is the morning of
a new day, therefore seize the day, for it is good. It is the revelation of the
Lord’s mercies that gives a man sure hope, which also leads to true repentance
and the patient pursuit of righteousness. Yes, my dear, you must patiently pursue
His righteousness. What you do not experience at present, pursue with hope and
patience, daily washing yourself in the Blood of Christ. If you fall once, you
get up and pursue again, knowing that in the heavens the Blood speaks of victory
and a sure hope. On earth, It labors to bring all who will respond into perfect
harmony with the Lord of Hosts. If you fall again and again, humble yourself before
your maker then rise and seek His mercies. He labors to teach His children their
utter need to depend on Him and not on themselves. Again and again they must fall
to recognize their humanity and their need for His grace. As He teaches in patience,
so learn in patience to pursue the light He gives to you.
"This
one charge I lay on you ... to pursue with patience all He is teaching you, and
to have patience with the progress of your own soul."
*
The
Putrefying Fears
Again I come before You to ask You to be with me and teach me and
heal me of all my fears. I give You every unclean fear that has power to keep
me from experiencing Your love and peace for my life.
I was in the spirit and saw a terrible thing.
In my stomach was something green and putrid. When I walked carefully I was not
aware of it for the substance did not move around within me, but if I did not
walk with the utmost care it would cause me to feel terrible. I knew instantly
that what I saw was the unclean fears in my life. "Lord, I have taken into
my life all these putrefying fears, I must stink before You. Will You cleanse
me of all of them and teach me to trust and love where once there was fear? Take
all of my emotional life and care for it, that all of my soul might be wholly
Yours."
Then I saw what appeared to be another terrible
thing. The Lord siphoned out of me this horrible green substance and took it into
Himself. But as soon as it came inside of Him it turned into a white, milky substance,
pleasing in every way. The Lord then took the milky substance and returned it
to me and I was nourished by it.
I remembered once seeing
the Lord in a dream when He showed me His healing power. I saw Him pass through
a person with a terrible illness and because He is perfect in every cell of His
being, when He passed through the sick body, every molecule came under submission
to His perfection and went into its proper place and function. What I was seeing
now was all my fears in contact with the Lord’s perfection and whatever concerns
I had returning to their proper place.
"Let Me teach
you to live without the ever present fears this world has fed you. Let Me teach
you to spit out everything with the least flavor of fear. I want to build you
up in the ministry of faith. I want you to become aware whenever fear is assaulting
you. You do not have to submit to eat this terrible food. Give Me everything that
remotely reminds you of the putrid flavor of fear and let Me sample everything
for you. There is no mystery about giving Me your fears. Tell Me about them and
ask Me to take them -- to build you up in faith in place of fears. Ask yourself
daily what you can trust Me for today, that you did not trust Me for yesterday.
Set a faith-goal for yourself each day. This will give you much pleasure, and
the day will surely come when the remembrance of fear will cause your soul to
run to Me to set another faith-goal. Do we have a deal?" Absolutely.
*
I
Want to Touch and Heal Your Soul
Many petty trials have come my way. I hear You say to me to let
them go, to let them alone. Some spiritually idle souls have picked up offenses
they would have no time to handle if they were actively engaged in following the
Lord. One way to serve these idle souls is to march straight ahead and do the
work of the Lord without stopping to defend my stand. Obviously, the enemy is
stirring up all these offenses. If he cannot make me fearful with worry for my
children, then he is trying to get me to worry over offenses ... another area
of weakness in my life. Please take my emotional life and my future and the future
of my family and keep us in Your care.
"Come and let us reason together for though
your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow."
Take
me in to Your confidences, Lord.
*
The
Sound Of Horses’ Hooves
Again I am sorry for coming late to seek You. It is my desire to
sweep away all my own pursuits and visit with You. It is true that I often seek
to draw You into my limited world instead of letting You reveal and teach me the
things You have desired to show me from Your unlimited world of love and truth.
"It is good to listen to the word of God
in another, but it is better to draw near to the Lord in your own life. To seek
the best thing first is to listen to Me first, and I will confirm through others
the things I am teaching and declaring to you. I have yet things to show you that
you have not been ready to hear. I know the thoughts that I have towards you to
give you an expected end. Do not be restless in the spirit of your mind or I will
not be able to share with you the things on My heart.
"Great
tumults are arising from the bottom of the earth like the sound of horses’
hooves against cement, and fiery breath of running horses carries urgent messages
for destruction. Unrest has settled over all the earth, and the plagues are ready
to stampede the earth from every corner. But you, My children, shall not be under
the power of unrest, rather ready yourselves to be without homes and lands and
possessions. Ready yourselves for flight and for want. In the day when the sound
of the horses’ hooves shall be heard I will do a new thing, and you who have
readied yourselves will be lifted up and carried by the Wind of My Spirit to diverse
places to prepare for the last race of mankind. I say race, because time will
be sped up so much that many things shall be fulfilled in a brief amount of time,
and you who are awake in this latter day shall be amazed at the fulfillment of
My word.
"Do not be afraid because I tell you that
you will lose many things, for I will free you of the many idols that have crowded
your life and taken you away from My purpose for you. Keep in mind that you came
naked into the world and that the Son of man had no place to rest His head. In
that day you will thank Me for freeing you from the cares of the world. Even a
third of all mankind shall be without homes and lands, and then shall My people
learn that they are sojourners in a strange land.
"Awake
unto every good deed, unto fellowship of suffering, unto sharing alike of the
things at hand."
*
The
Strong, The Weak And The Lame.
I was in the Spirit
and the Lord took me to a field where the strong sons of God were gathered together.
They were standing with faces lifted toward heaven, anticipating good things from
the Lord … anxious to have His fresh direction. Then I saw an angel come
out of heaven and pick out one of the strong ones, lift him up, and set him on
a Holy Mountain. A trumpet was given him that he might gather both the strong
and the weak around the Holy Mountain. "Speak," said the angel to the
strong one, "for the word of God is in you. Scatter the seed of the word
to the four winds of the earth. Be quick, for heavy clouds are gathering and the
seed must be in the earth before the latter rain comes down."
The
strong one blew the trumpet and it was evident that he enjoyed doing the will
of God, and the angel of the Lord caused the trumpet’s sound to reverberate
far and wide. When he came down from the mountain, he walked among the strong
ones and gave them the right hand of his fellowship. Then it pleased the Lord
to lift another of the strong ones up onto the Holy Mountain to blow the trumpet
of God and to scatter the seed of the word. And more people, both the weak and
the strong, gathered around the Holy Mountain.
Again the
angel of the Lord came out of heaven, but this time he reached out his hand and
picked out one of the weak ones. And the Spirit of the Lord showed me how to recognize
that the one He had chosen was indeed one of the weak ones: his face was not lifted
up nor was he looking up toward the Lord, it was as though he did not count himself
worthy to receive any good thing from the Lord. Yet he was one who heard the sound
of the trumpet and the strength of its message. The angel of the Lord lifted him
up and set him also on the Holy Mountain. Here he touched his mouth and commanded
him to speak the word of God, for it was also in him. The crowd was amazed at
the words that came out of the mouth of the weak one, and more people were gathered
around the Holy Mountain.
Some of those gathered around
the mountain had not had the strength to come there themselves. They had to be
brought by others, for they were lame. The angel of the Lord took one of the lame
ones, one who could not even stand because the bones in his feet were so weak,
and lifted him up on the Holy Mountain. The angel touched his legs and new strength
came into him, and behold he stood. A trumpet was given to him, and he blew loudly
because of the fresh strength that was in him, and he was very glad. And more
were gathered around the Holy Mountain. And the people were glad because the Lord
did not favor the strong, but showed the same favor unto the weak and the lame.
"The
day is at hand when you will no longer see the man, but you will hear the trumpets
call from My Holy Mountain. It is the day when I shall use the ones that you least
expect to be used by My Spirit. I will raise up out of your midst the weak and
the lame. I will cause the feet of those who have had no significant walk with
Me to find new strength that they might rise up and come leap with Me on My Holy
Mountain. I will put My word in their mouth that the pure seed of My word might
go forth out of your midst. It will not be the work of man but of God. In the
day when the latter rain shall fall, the first shall be last and the last shall
be first, that all men might know that redemption is all of the Lord, and no flesh
shall glory before Me. You who are strong in Me shall be glad, for you shall see
the fruit of your labors and exploits done in My name. Be exceedingly glad that
I have told you that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, for
that which stands in the way of knowing Me in a greater way in truth and in spirit
will be taken out of the way. All self-exaltation will be taken out of the way,
which the strong ones know blocks them from seeing Me at all times. As your ability
to see Me is so shall your strength be."
*
A
Second Psalm
With God all things are possible.
Hope
is always before His eyes.
He looks and sees the great
the
marvelous works of God at hand
and those to come
as
though they are here.
He knows the day is at hand
when
He will usher the sons of God
into His kingdom
as
He was commissioned
to do by His Father.
The
day of the Lord is at hand,
when He shall usher in the
great salvation
He purchased for mankind,
the
salvation they have tasted only a little of.
War is in one
of His hands,
Peace is in the other.
War
to come and war at present
towards all that oppose themselves
against
His obedience.
Peace to give to His weary children
who
have learned to kiss
the appearing of His feet.
Peace
to all who pass through difficult places.
He whispers, "I
have been there, too.
I will see you through this also."
With His kiss He tells them
they can press
through to the victory.
He tells them again and again:
Nothing
is impossible with God.
He does not despise them
when
they are too weary to press
into the victory that is slow to
appear.
He lets them rest a little.
Then
He looks into their eyes again.
His love will not let them
go.
"Today, let us press forward.
Let
us go and look
for the good things of the Lord,
in
whom there is no shadow of turning.
Today we may come upon
the desired end,"
He whispers.
He
smiles and remembers their frame.
He knows that without His
daily encouragement
they will not have strength to go on
to
discover their victories.
He knows the enemy has purposed
to
destroy His inheritance.
But He has purposed
to
lead them to their rest in Him.
Therefore War is in one of
His hands
and Peace in the other.
*
Dear
Father in heaven
I thank You for everything that
You have shared with us. Sanctify these messages to tear down and to build up,
to encourage, to instruct, to increase faith and obedience, to make crooked paths
straight and things too high or too low level. Strengthen us where Christ dwells
in us by faith. Help us to recognize His voice in our lives, and daily increase
our dependence on Him. Your kingdom come into our lives now and forever. Deliver
us from all evil through the blood of Jesus, the cross of Jesus, and the name
of Jesus, for Yours is the power and the glory forever and ever. In Jesus name.
Amen.
*
