INTRODUCTION

Before you begin to read this book I want to tell you something concerning the circumstances of how it came to be.  I am not a Bible scholar.  In fact my formal education beyond high school is nil.  Still, the things I want to share with you are so rich that I would be remiss to neglect to do so.

Let me recall Paul's words for you here:

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God."

(1 Corinthians 1:26-30)

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I am a woman past my middle years and until the recent past, a life-long member of a little denominational church in a small town.  One might say, "a Christian all of my life" - but I didn't know God.  About a dozen or more years ago I began to long for a Spiritual awakening - a desire foreign to my religious training.  Yet, I wanted to KNOW the God of whom I had heard.

I wanted to experience the God of the Golden Rule, to know the Christ who preached the Sermon on the Mount.  I wanted to have conversation with the One who had inspired praise from the lips of the shepherd boy.  I needed to know the reason for the cruel cross of Jesus Christ and the miracle of His resurrection.  But more than knowledge, I wanted to share in the love that I had been told was the very substance of the God whom I worshiped.

In my quest to satisfy this longing I joined an inter-denominational Bible study group.  There I was introduced to the word of God in a way that opened my understanding, as it had never been before - much to my delight!  I began to read and study the Bible with an intensity that kept increasing.  The more I read the more I hungered. 

Unbeknownst to me, several women in the group began to pray for my Spiritual baptism with the evidence of tongues.  Such a thing was never addressed in my church, and it was not something that I had expected to experience.  Then it happened!  In my kitchen - all alone - strange words began to pour from my lips, first in song, then in praise.  How astounding!  I had never before heard prayer language but this I could not refute.  I knew it was from God.

After this event and the continued use of the new language, the longing and need for fellowship with this fresh identity of the Lord became more intense.  Upon the invitation of a friend in whom I had confided my "awakening", I joined an intercessory prayer group.  There, one woman began to speak by way of the Spirit of a revelation that was coming if each one would allow the Spirit of Truth freedom to teach individually.  Therefore, I separated from the group and was set aside to await the promised teaching.  I began to rise very early each morning, as I knew Jesus had, to make myself available to the words spoken in the hours before dawn.

The teaching came and continues to come!  Now it is time to give the revelation that has been shown to me to all who have ears to hear.  What I am bringing to you is but a foretaste of the truth that has been rendered to my understanding in the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit into my being.  My intention is to mete out this word with the grace in which it has been given to me - not too much at a time and with gentleness.

As you read you will notice the different styles and approaches the Lord takes in clearing the understanding of His children.  At times it is with a wealth of words and at others, only one.  As my expertise in receiving from my Mighty Friend has increased His method has become one of simply causing me to know a thing.  Complete blocks of knowledge spring forth.  Occasionally I am unable to put this understanding into words, but always the recreated spirit within bears witness to what is being brought forward.

The format that I have chosen to present this gift of TRUTH to you is the same as was used to bring it to me: the LORD spoke, and I discovered.  Understanding came through searching the scriptures and by prayerful meditation.  You will find that often the same topic is discussed more than once.  This repetitive style helped me to be firmly grounded in the revelation presented; therefore I have used that method here.

For clarity to the reader I have chosen to use upper-case print for the Voice of the Lord, italics for Scripture, and lower-case print for my words.  In the instances when knowledge of an area has come to me without words I have taken the privilege of forming this understanding into words written in the upper case -- Voice of the Spirit.

All that is presented here for your discernment has been brought to me quietly and by a personal experience with the Spirit of the Lord.  No other person has been involved in the opening of this word to me.  [I do however know there are others who have received an identical word in much the same way.]

Now, let me call your attention to this excerpt of Scripture:

Hebrews 8:10-12:

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord.  "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts, I will be their God and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

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There is one thing more that I must say to you:  Give close attention to the words in this book, for the Christ of God selected them.  I am not speaking only of the over-all message but also of individual words.  In them are woven profound beauty and continuity to enhance your understanding and bring you joy.

               Barbara J. Strauser