A Cup of Coffee and a Slice of Heaven: What is God Saying for 2015?

A Cup of Coffee and a Slice of Heaven: What is God Saying for 2015?: What is God Saying for 2015 "Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your co...

What is God Saying for 2015?

What is God Saying for 2015

"Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords And strengthen your pegs.” Isaiah 54:2

Overall:  This will be a season of great growth and expanded opportunity. There will be an increased hunger for the things of God and worship will shift to go higher in many houses of faith.  It will also be a season of acceleration in every area of our lives.  It is a Jubilee year in which God will eradicate debt (if we yield to his gentle leading and set order in our finances), deliver us from drudgery, and set us in our proper place in Him. God will show us that He is not slack concerning his promises! This is all in preparation for a revival in the Body of Christ that will be unprecedented and will bring many out of darkness into the marvelous Light. (2 Peter 3:9; 1 Peter 2:9)

What it looks like:

-This a year where we must enter into a Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4: 1-12). This does not mean that we get to take a yearlong vacation!  This means we must cease striving to “work” our way into a full and healthy relationship with the Lord. This not a heretical doctrine of demons that everyone is essentially saved, despite their decisions.  This is to remind us that as Believers we must accept our salvation, and our relationship with Christ at face value, and stop striving to be “right”.  Our righteousness is as filthy rags to Him (Romans 3:21-22).  We can never be “good” enough to earn His love, and we cannot not be “bad” enough to disqualify ourselves from His love.  His is pleased by our faith in Christ.  Therefore, we must cease working to be loved and/or qualified, and we must begin to seek God for our purpose in Him, and ambition only to complete our given assignment as He permits us. As a wise elder once told me:  “Stop trying to be good, and let God change you.”  This takes the wind out of a religious spirit that causes us to waste precious time flopping around and salivating at the altar like the prophets of Baal who were hoping to catch the attention of their God. We have His grace!  We have His love!  We have His acceptance! If we are human enough to accept that we have need of Jesus as Savior, He is God enough to change us through His process.   We must not fight that process by hiding the dross that has risen to the top in our lives and covering it up with vain works and religious exercises. We must yield by admitting our need for change; giving up our “right” to be right, and commit to doing all things HIS way. The work that He has begun in us will continue unto the day of Jesus Christ! (Phil. 1:6)

-God is going to settle some things. There are areas of our lives that have been hidden which will be brought to light. There are relationships, dreams, plans, and burdens that we have held onto hoping that God will do what we want in them.  This is a season where God is going to say “yes” to some things and an emphatic “no” to others. These matters will be made clear to us.  However God chooses to answer the question will be the final answer, so we must set our face to however that looks.  In some areas in our lives, that answer will bring great joy. In others, it may bring great sorrow. God is not a task master.  He will give us time to celebrate the yes’s and grieve the no’s. But He will not permit those of us who only want His best to build altars to our celebrations, nor will we be able to live in the grave clothes of the areas that die.  Whom the Son sets free is free indeed; but we must choose freedom. (John 8:36)

-The call to entrepreneurship will continue. Don’t be “scairt”. The hand of the Lord is on your business idea.  Start the process, and commit to working it out step-by-step.  The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just (Proverbs 13:22)…but the just has to get it crackin’!

-Spiritual Leaders, World Leaders, Celebrities, and Mothers and Fathers in the Faith will continue to pass away or step down from their current positions.  There is a new generation of leaders being raised up.  Wise leaders are already grooming successors and distributing birthrights to those who have been faithful to serve. In this manner, the Body of Christ will take some hits as the Lord exposes the some of the darkness, inappropriateness, and misappropriations that some leaders (spiritual and community) have committed (Jeremiah 23:1). Make no mistake that God’s flock is not only the Body of Christ.  It is the entire world.  While judgment begins in the Church, the Lord has set his eyes to those in business, and in government.  (Daniel 2:21; Psalm 75: 6-8). Take heart!  All of this will bring a great healing in the Body of Christ, as the Lord reveals the sources of division in the Body, and a real quest for the move of the Holy Spirit will over take denominational-ism.

-The prophets will speak; and the Apostles will set order:   The Lord has set the mantles upon the Apostles and the Prophets for they are the foundation of the Church (Eph. 2: 20-21).  Many who have been overlooked, set aside, or have been found patiently attending to the things of God in obscurity are about to be brought to the forefront. There are no “superstars” in Christ!  This is not to celebrate any man, but those who have been earmarked for ministry will be set upon a firm foundation in this season as God begins to send out the prophets and the apostles to dig up fallow ground in preparations for revival. Apostles will begin new ministries, and set the five-fold ministers in place.  We will see the anointing of Moses among community leaders as God begins to set apostles in the Body, business, government, and community.  The prophets will issue a clarion call to the Body of Christ to “make straight the way of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3).  Young (young meaning in ministry not in chronological age) prophets  and the prophetically tempered will accept their call and begin the arduous process of being “made” for ministry.  A word of caution for the zealous:  95% of what even a seasoned prophet does is in the secret place of prayer. Do NOT despise the days of small beginnings (Zech. 4: 10)!  Your intercession is like one who sits on the fence so another may cross over. Intercession will shift the atmosphere and change the climate. Seek the Lord in prayer and He will meet you there.  

-There is to be more civil unrest.  I began to prophesy in 2008 that the Lord was exposing the spirit of systemic racism, gender disparity and class-ism in the United States. We will continue to see the Lord exposing injustice and disparity in the United States. Please do not chalk this up to a race war.  This is not an issue of race, gender, class, or sexuality.  It is an issue of justice verses injustice.  I know that I am preaching into oncoming traffic, but the Body of Christ must stand on the side of righteousness.  Hate crimes against race, gender or the LBGT community is NOT the judgment of God.  It is an act of evil.  We must stand for the HUMAN rights of everyone—even those with whom we do not agree. We cannot be swayed by the manipulation of the media, social media, or the opinion of man.  The mercy that we measure out to the world will be the standard of mercy by which we will be judged (Matthew 7:2). In Obadiah, Edom was judged for sitting idly by and worse yet, raging against an already broken Israel.  In Amos Israel was judged for celebrating the troubles of others while haughtily thinking that because they were “chosen” that they were exempt for judgment. If we as the Body of Christ sit idly by and permit the abuse of civil and human rights, or worse yet, we work to protect those who violate the human rights of others, we are setting ourselves up to be judged.  What will happen when this spirit of hatred turns it eyes towards Christians?  How will the Body answer when it our human rights that is violated; not because of race or gender, but because we uphold the word of the Lord?  How will we respond when the government takes away federal funding and tax exemptions for our outreach ministries because we refuse to marry gays in the Church?  Who will be our Edom that sits idly by or worse yet will kick us while the Church is openly persecuted and abused?  That day will come!  It must come so that prophecy must be fulfilled.  If we search our hearts now, repent and extend our hands in love, prayer and mercy to those whose HUMAN rights are being trampled; we will see such mercy extended to us in the day of destruction.  This is also not just about judgment.  This is the Lord setting order so that real revival and a hunger for the heart of the Lord can come forward. Real revival will begin when the Body begins to walk in perfected (mature) love for HUMANITY.

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Charles Dickens wrote this in the opening paragraph of Great Expectations.  That is what we will see in the upcoming year.  Many of us personally will see some great highs in God as He sets us in our proper place, eradicates debt, and heals us and sends us forth in destiny.  But the same hand that comes to set order for us personally, must also set order for us as a Body, and we will see some lows. But we must take the mindset of Job: “The Lord giveth, and the Lord takes away; but blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Rd 12/27/2014

A Cup of Coffee and a Slice of Heaven: I Need a Drink

A Cup of Coffee and a Slice of Heaven: I Need a Drink: God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.&quo...

I Need a Drink

God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing." (Ephesians 2:10 (NCV)


My sister has decided to have a party for her students. As she was telling me how about it, you could her just a slight anxiety in her voice because like many of us in this holiday season, she is rushed, stressed, tired, and “peopled out”.  I asked why she did not ask me to come and help (I am a caterer), she said, “I did, and you said that you were not Florence on the Jeffersons.”  I frowned, and laughed. Yep, I did say that.
My sister and I are both ministers.  She is a gifted teacher, and preacher. She is married to one of the most anointed teaching pastors that I have ever met.  My sister teaches at a large Methodist university in Texas.  In between teaching classes and preaching, I cater.  We both care for aging parents, and we both mentor young, emerging leaders. As a wife, my sister still has to clean, cook, and take care of her generally self-sufficient husband. The hard part about this that all of us are also introverts—we genuinely love people, but there are times that the work becomes overwhelming, and tiresome.  We begin to look at the lives that we generally love to live and reduce to them to “everybody needing something from me”. We live the life of service to others.
As I prayed, a scripture that has been ringing in my spirit for the last several days came again to the forefront.  I picked up my bible and read it in its entirety: “15For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV).  Sometimes when scriptures sit in my spirit, it’s because a sermon is “brewing”, so to speak.  However, as I prayed, I realized it was the Lord speaking encouragement to me in this season.  “Ok, Lord,” I thought.  “It took a moment, but I got it.”
Anyone who is in a growing relationship to Christ is also called to service, because our lives are not our own.  The moment that we say yes to Christ, we are saying yes to living the life that has been planned for us before the beginning of time.  We are called out of self-centered living and loving, to a life of vulnerability, openness, care for others and agape love.  We do this for people who sometimes are selfish, dependent, thoughtless, entitled and demanding. If we are not careful, in our desire to “do our jobs” so to speak—we lose focus and become frustrated, tired, short-tempered and cynical. The call has not changed; but the place where we pull our strength has.  We move from living ministry to doing ministry.  We live ministry out of our call and our relationship with Christ.  We do ministry out of our own strength and obligation—and sometimes the fine line between the two becomes blurred.
I said as much to the Lord.  He said to me: “Ahh, so you see the difference.”  Then He asked, “Child, how did Christ manage to live a life of service when there were constantly people pulling on Him and needing his anointing?” At that moment, I heard Mark 1:35: “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (NIV)”. He continued. “Child it is not that you will not become tired, but you must take time away from everyone, to rest and pray.  Come and sit with Me, not as one who is doing something for Me; but come to Me when you are heavy laden and find rest.  You don’t even have to speak.  I listen to your heart. Picture yourself reaching into your pockets and purse and giving me all your cares.  Then sit with Me quietly and allow me to restore your soul.  When you do this, you are drinking from My never-ending flow of Living Water, and not out of your drying well of human strength.  Renita (I knew that He was serious), taking a Sabbath is not a suggestion—it’s a command.  It’s okay to rest; and it is okay to say no.” Come confidently to Me and get your mercy, and I will give you the help you need.
I sighed.  It’s easier said than done; but it must be done.  The greatest joy that one can experience is to find purpose in life. However, it is easy to move from purpose to work; and it’s easier to take on obligation as a penance, rather than a reward. It is in those times, that I pray for the discernment to recognize the subtle shift and run to sit by the still waters of the Lord and find rest.

It is What it Is

This morning I woke up with a song playing in my head.  It is a song by Matt Redmond called “Blessed be the Name.” Sometimes walking with the Lord is like a radio station that plays in your spirit man all the time.  I call the station WGOD.  I hear songs, scripture, and revelation all the time.  I have learned to live with it (it’s actually not all that uncommon; I have heard many people talk about the same thing). It’s a background noise to which I am not always paying attention.  This morning I was tuned in bright and early.  I stopped to listen because I felt the nudge in my spirit that God had something to say. I knew it was important; the Lord does not make small talk, nor does he chit chat.

                Redmond’s song is a scripture reference to Job 1:21 which states “and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." It is Job’s response to God permitting his children, and property to be taken away.  I admit, I became a little nervous.  “Lord, is something about to go down? Do I need to be ready?  My sister and I had just had a conversation about our parents’ health, and we are both very concerned about what the near future may hold. I have been through the deaths of three people that I loved and cherished literally one month apart from each other over the last three months.  I am still grieving the losses. One death I expected; the others were a complete surprise, so I am just a little gun shy concerning trouble right now.

  The Lord said, “If I did decide to take your mother or father today, what could you do about it?”  I shook my head.  Nothing.  I could do not one single thing about the decisions of the Lord. God is sovereign.  That means He does what He wants to do, when He wants to do it, and He is under no obligation to report to or consult with any of us.  He sometimes involves us in the process; however, in the end He retains absolute power.  It’s hard to accept that you can pray and fast, do everything right, but still lose the house, the car, the job or the family member.  Some storms we create ourselves when we try to control the direction of our own lives.  Other times we are like Job—unaware that in another realm there is a pre-meditated storm that is being prepared for us. To know that the storm comes not because of our disobedience or rebellion, but because of our faithfulness and integrity makes it that much harder to accept or understand.  It doesn’t seem very fair does it? I can think of a LOT of people who “deserve” hardship, but even the person with the most intimate relationship with the Lord struggles when God permits bad things to happen to good people.

                I was thinking about that when I said to God:  “Lord, it kinda sucks that good people get really bad stuff happen to them, and it seems that those who are wicked seem to get promotion, opportunity, and favor.  I am no hater, but how do I minister to people about your sovereignty when you permit something to happen in their lives that is devastating? How do I minister to myself?"

                The Lord’s voice was gentle, but firm.  “Renita, I do not need you to defend my decisions, nor will I defend my decisions to you.  My thoughts are not your thoughts, Child. My ways are not your ways,” He said, referencing Isaiah 55:7.  Even when you don’t understand, I do understand.  That has to be enough for you and for anyone that you encounter.  Even when you can’t understand why I do what I do, you have to trust Me. I see your entire life even before you take your first breath in the world. I know when you make bad choices; I know when you make good choices.  I also know how some things will affect your life, and how you will respond to it.  When I permit difficult circumstances in your life, I have already weighed the trouble versus the results, and I make a decision based on what good can come from your life despite the hurt that the circumstances will bring.  I don’t make these decisions lightly, Child.  When you are broken, I am broken; when you are disappointed, I am disappointed. I dislike seeing you grief-stricken, but I am willing to permit it, if I can see a benefit in the outcome. That is what you must trust.  I can and will take the most devastating situation and turn it around for your good. Oh, and Child, I am God enough to handle your fear, your disappointment, and even your anger.  I will love you through all of it. It’s not easy; it is what it is.”

  I sighed. When I was younger,  I thought Job was being super deep when he made a declaration to bless the Lord through his brokenness.  I could not imagine anyone being okay with God taking everything away.  However, as I have grown in the Lord, and especially since I have experience now a countless number of Job moments, I can see why Job said what he said.  It’s not that Job was just so holy that everything that happened to him didn't hurt.  He practiced what some of us take a while to learn; acceptance.  Acceptance isn't nonchalantly shrugging our shoulders and walking away.  Acceptance says, “Lord I am struggling with this, but I am willing to walk this out with You, and let go of all my pre-conceived notions of what should, would, or ought to be.  It’s enough for me to take this situation at face value, and to give You the opportunity to show me Your grace in it.”

  There is no pat answer to trouble. It’s insensitive and almost arrogant to assume that there is.  But we do have God’s grace to see us through to the other side—and we do have faith to know that there is the “other” side to look forward to.  David said it eloquently when he said in Psalm 27: “I would have fainted if I did not believe that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.” He did live to see God’s goodness, and we will too. 

A Cup of Coffee and a Slice of Heaven: A Spiritual Law of Motion

A Cup of Coffee and a Slice of Heaven: A Spiritual Law of Motion: Ephesians 3:20:  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or imagine, according to the power that wo...

The Balm of Gilead

              As I exercise in the morning, I often listen to gospel to help motivate me not to sit down.  Exercise is not my favorite thing to do; in fact, I consider it a necessary evil.  As I stretched, Karen Clark Sheard’s Balm in Gilead played on my Rhapsody.  Even though I listened to almost an entire playlist of various artists, it was her song that kept reverberating through my mind.  Whenever I have a song, a scripture, or phrase that continuously plays in my head, I know to pursue the Lord about it.  It is often His way of introducing a new conversation to me.  When I pay attention to the background noise in my heart, I am often gifted a nugget of revelation from the Lord.  So when I sat down to have coffee with the Lord this morning, I asked Him about the song.  He replied that He wanted to talk to me about some things that were on His heart this morning.

                I felt my heart sank.  As an intercessor, I often feel the Lord’s emotions when He is grieved about something.  I think that people think that the Lord is vengeful and wrathful and full of anger.  His wrath is real; make no mistake.  However, more often the Lord is sorrowful and grieved over the condition of the world—and the condition of Believers everywhere.  “Ok,” I said with resolve.  “What do you want to say?”

                The Lord did not hesitate.  “Renita there is a season of great acceleration that is coming for My people.  They will see great growth in their lives.  It is a year of Jubilee, and many will see Me hand move on their behalf for their needs. I will move many in this one season further than they could have ever gotten on their own in ten years.”

                “Well, that doesn’t sound bad at all.  You seem grieved.  Why is this grievous for you?”

                In response, the Lord led me to Jeremiah 8.  I read through the entire chapter, with my heart sinking as I poured over each word.  The Lord began to speak to me about the brokenness of His people, and how they have sought everything to manage their brokenness.  They have tried everything—that is, except Him.  He said many would not receive His best, because they were not willing to let go of their way of doing things.  In fact, this time of acceleration would be a blessing to many, but it would be a curse to others. He asked, “Renita, what is the entire Kingdom based in?”

                “Seed, time and harvest,” I replied immediately.  The Lord then said that there were those who had planted seeds of brokenness [sin, unrighteousness, control, bitterness, vindictiveness, unforgiveness, rebellion, etc.] that has taken root in them, and those seeds would harvest in this time of acceleration.   They would eat the fruit of their ways (Prov. 1:31). Literally, instead of seeing a time of Jubilee as they rested in the Lord, living off the harvests of seeds sowed in righteousness, they would experience a time of great brokenness.  “My people are sick, Renita”, He said. “They go to workshops, and retreats, they read self-help books, and seek relief from shamans, false prophets, and religious gimmicks” but they won’t come to Me.  They will not yield their ways, and their hearts to me to find healing redemption in Me.  Child, Is there no balm in Gilead?  Where is their physician?”  He led me to Isaiah 1: 6.  “⁶ From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness or health in [the nation’s body]—but wounds and bruises and fresh and bleeding stripes; they have not been pressed out and closed up or bound up or softened with oil. [No one has troubled to seek a remedy.] (AMP)”.  The Balm of Gilead was a salve that was known for its healing properties.  After the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, the Tribe of Gad who had settled in Gilead became well known traders in this healing oil because the trees that contained the base properties grow in abundance there.

“I am the Balm, Renita.  I am there Great Physician. Only I can bring them the healing that they need.” I would that My people would yield their hearts to Me, not only for salvation, but I want them to let Me be Lord.” 

“What must we do Lord, “I asked, including myself in the number.  I am need of that Balm too! “Lord, most of us, don’t really realize that we have made something an idol, or that we have not really submitted our lives to You. How do we know what we must yield to you?”

The Lord brought to mind a common refrain.  “Pay attention,” He said.  What is a recurring issue in your life?  Is it money? Is it relationships? Is it sexual sin, or compulsive behavior? Is it purpose or career? I call you out of darkness by irritating that which is holding you in bondage. When you identify those places Renita, first understand that they are only symptoms of a larger issue. In order for you to kill a weed, you can’t cut off the heads of the weeds, you must dig up the root.  You and My people must let Me get to the root of your issues so that I can heal you and then you can experience my best in your lives. It is a painful process, but when I heal you, you will be healed.  When I save I save you, you will be saved (Jeremiah 17:4).

I repent for those areas where I have not given the Lord access.  I call those places sin, and I yield those things to the Lord.  And for those places that I cannot muster the strength to yield I pray that He show me the truth, and that I allow that truth to make me free.  I pray that for my brothers and sisters in Christ—that we submit to the ministration of our Great Physician, and allow His healing oil to soothe our hearts.

A Spiritual Law of Motion

Ephesians 3:20:  Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us (KJV)

As I had coffee with the Lord this morning, I worshipped quietly, waiting on Him to speak.  I have noticed that when I come to the table with a lot on my mind, it sometimes takes a few minutes for me to submit to the quiet leading of the Lord.  I sang to Him as I sipped my coffee, and as I did my muddled thoughts began to clear, and the impending cares of the day began to recede.  I felt led to research Newton’s Laws of Motion.  I am not a physicist, or even a science buff for that matter, so the fact that the three Laws of Motions kept nudging me was in itself a message from the Lord.  Of all that things that I think about, I can easily declare that Isaac Newton and his laws are not one of them. As I read, the Lord began to deal with me about His “Spiritual Laws of Motion.” I was especially intrigued by a quote from a science teacher:  It’s not that people cannot understand the Laws of Motion; it’s that they do not believe the laws of motion.”  Whoa. That stopped me in my tracks. “Ok,” I reasoned with the Lord, are you saying that the reason that many of Your people are not progressing because they don’t believe?  That’s when one of my favorite scriptures began to reverberate in my mind:  Ephesians 3:20.  As usual, because I can be little slow on the uptake, the Lord broke it down for me.

“Child, it’s not the people don’t believe in Me.  It’s that they do not believe in the Me that is in them.  My people pray diligently waiting for Me to act on their behalf, and many times I am waiting for them to tap into the power that I have deposited in them to really see change in their lives.  Renita, I have given my people a treasure hidden in darkness (Is 45:3). That treasure is the Holy Spirit.  In My Spirit there is My wisdom, My way, My understanding, My authority and My heart.  My people use Me as a weapon to be wielded offensively or defensively, but they do not understand that they are not using me effectively.  They have reduced me to a feeling, or an indescribable spooky entity.” He sighed. “I am not just what gives them goose bumps in worship, nor am I a familiar spirit that helps them find their keys.  I am their treasure, a key to the hidden places that unlocks the mysteries of this world. If the enemy had known that this power would be released through Jesus’ crucifixion, he would have abandoned his plan. This is why Paul wrote in 1 Cor 2:6-8: Yet among ethe mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not fa wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, gwho are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, hwhich God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of ithe rulers of this age understood this, for jif they had, they would not have crucified kthe Lord of glory. (ESV).”

Then He prodded me.  “What’s Newton’s First Law of Motion?”  I remembered that from Dr. Flower’s class in 7^th grade: “A body in motion tends to stay in motion.  A body at rest tends to stay at rest.”  He continued.  “If a body is a rest, what must happen for it to become mobile?”  Ok, this was easier than I thought. “A force must encounter the body that is at rest, so that change can occur,” I said confidently.  “Yes, that’s right. Child, I am the force that brings about change to the Body of Christ.  You have taught on power many times.  What is the power that I speak of in Ephesians 3:20?”. “Dunamis,” I replied.  “It’s the kind of force that is behind the legions of angels,  and the kind that causes dynamite to explode.  It’s what created the world; it’s what raised Jesus from the dead.”  “Right again,” He said.  “If I can exceed and do more than can be asked or imagined, why aren’t my people progressing?  The light finally came on.  “Because we don’t understand the power that works in us.”

He went further.  “Renita, do the Laws of Motion change just because you don’t understand them?”  No, they don’t.  “Neither does my power change just because My people don’t understand how I operate in them. Jesus came that My people would have life, and life more abundantly (John 10:10) However, if they want an abundant life, they must stop looking at My Spirit as a resource, and begin to seek me as the Source. “My people don’t understand that Jesus was sent to this earth as Word made Flesh (John 1:1-4), but He died so that my people could become flesh made Word.   I never intended for life to be a force that happens to My people.  I intended for My people to be a force happens to life!"

“Clutch the pearls”, I thought.  “Have I been limiting my life by not tapping into this power that I thought I understood?”  I immediately began to think of all the things that I needed to do in order to bring this power forward.  The Lord interrupted me.  “Child, this is not a revelation that should cause you to begin to strive. Accomplishment is not indicative of My power at work.   In fact, this revelation should cause you to rest in Me rather than work harder.  It is; in fact, the key to working smarter. “How do I do that,” I countered.  The Lord never missed a beat. “Pay attention,” He said simply.  “Before you run off and try to do something in your own power, began to pay attention to your natural and spiritual environment.  What season is this? What’s happening around you?  What thoughts keep coming into your mind?  What drives you, and why?  You can only answer those questions through Me. The key to tapping into My power, is to tap into Me.  I cannot be separated from My word; but knowing the word is not enough.  Let me be the Word at work in you.  I will reveal to you that which is  my priority through My word, your circumstances, your dreams, your frustrations, your relationships and your motives.  All you really need to do is cooperate with what you see me doing in your life.  Seek me for the strategy; and I will give you good success.”

Pay attention, then do what I am doing.  It seems so simple, but the simplest things to grasp are often the hardest things to practice! It takes real discipline to submit to God’s strategy, but it is well worth it to receive all that He has for us.  I am so grateful that He is longsuffering and patient, because it has been more than a notion to grab a hold of just a nugget of His wisdom.  However, I am willing to keep seeking Him because I want HIS PLAN. I just don’t want the basic no frills plan, I want the exceedingly, abundantly plan! My prayer for me and my brothers and sisters in Christ is that we be loosed from our own understanding, and that we can acknowledge Him in all our ways so that He may direct our steps (Proverbs 3:5-6). When we have managed that, then the Body (of Christ) will be in motion and stay that way!

Where Are You?

Where Are You?

God’s Original Intent for Us

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees in the garden.  Genesis 3:8

His Spiritual Likeness 

When God formed Adam (the first man) his intent was to create one who was like Him, and who would take care of the garden that God had created for himself.  It is interesting to notehow man was formed even from the beginning.  When God created Adam, he said,

“…Let Us make a man in our image, according to Our likeness, let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. 27 So created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:26-27KJV

The word image in the Hebrew is tslem.  It means mere, empty image or like tumors, mice or heathen images.  The word “make” means to “ordain and produce”.  This meant that man’s frame was empty—a “cut out” (like a paper doll) that simply looked like God.  However, then God says, “…according to Our likeness….”  The word likeness in Hebrew is from the word dahmah, or to compare, resemble; to imagine or think.  In other words, when God made man, he made him first to look like Him, but then He gave him the ability to act like Him.  We were God’s first representatives in the earth, not only designed to be mere caretakers---but we were like Him. We could imagine and think, so we were designed to be creators  too. We had something in common with Him. We were not just clones; we had His spiritual likeness. 

We are the Sons and Daughters of God

The Word goes on to say that God then God “formed” man from the dust.  That word, form(Heb. Yatsar) means to “frame” or to “squeeze or to shape”, and breathed  or panted like a woman in childbirth.  I like that, because I had always envisioned that God simply blew out, like he was blowing out smoke from a cigar.  Instead, it seems that God panted (or labored over man), forcefully blowing his Spirit into man’s frame until man caught on   and became aliving thing (Genesis 2: 7).   Now man not only looked like God, and acted like God; he now had God’s Spiritual DNA.  In that life-giving moment in the garden, we became sons of God. That excites me! How often since that moment in the garden has God labored with us and blew life into us until we caught on?  Yet, he has never taken our sonship from us! No matter how many times we have failed, God holds our spiritual place for us!

We are All One by Our Spirits, Not by Our Flesh

In Genesis Chapter 2, verses 21-25, we find that God formed woman out of man and presented her to him.  Man and woman were naked and unashamed in front of each other, and we can safely assume that they had the same relationship with God.  That kind of relationship was only possible, because God is a Spirit and when he blew breath into man, “breath” was actually His Spirit.  So when God saw man and consequently man saw woman (and vice versa), they only recognized each other’s spirit.  

So when the Spirit of God was strolling through the garden in Genesis 3, He wasn’t looking for man’s flesh, He was looking for what was for all practical purposes Him.  God was strolling through His creation but He was in search of His children—His likeness or those with His DNA.    Because they had consumed what was never intended for them to eat, Adam and Eve no longer lived through their spirits; they now only recognized flesh—in which there dwells no good thing ( Romans 7:18).  Because of their sin, the couple hid themselves. Instead of being able to present their spirits to God and continue to be in complete fellowship with Him, they hid themselves and covered their flesh; which was always only intended to be a “cut out” of God’s image (Genesis 3: 8).That's why you can't count on the one man or woman who is made for you being a perfect flesh.  They may have not have a big butt and a smile, or they may not have a six pack, and weapons for arms.  It's natural to notice each other's flesh, but if we don't recognize the spirit that resides in the flesh; we've missed it.

What Does God Want from Us?

Notice that the Spirit of God was strolling through the garden in the “cool of the day”.  This indicates that His walk was intended to be relaxing, casual, and reflective.  If you and I were to take a walk in our favorite garden or beach in the cool of the day with our spouse or special friend, we would be looking for a relaxing, loving, reflective and transparent encounter with them.  God was in search of the same thing when He came looking for Adam and Eve. The truth is this:  We were never intended to be strangers to God; uncomfortable, tentative and cautious in our presentation.  We are His, created in Him, by Him and through Him. We have always been and will always be his family—joint heirs with Christ, who is the first-born of all creation (Colossians 1:15).  We were always meant to come boldly before the presence of God, in order to enjoy a continuous and fruitful relationship with Him.   While our sin can separate us from His presence, we can never be separated from His love (Romans 8:35-39).

If you are reading this, it means that the Spirit of the Lord has come searching for you.  In Him, there is no such thing as coincidence. .  As you know, all things work together for the good of them who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).  My question to you is this:  Where are you? 

The Good Shepherd

¹⁴ I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me—

¹⁵ Even as [truly as] the Father knows Me and I also know the Father—and I am giving My [very own] life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep.

¹⁶ And I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring and ^[c]impel those also; and they will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be [they will become] one flock under one Shepherd.

¹⁷ For this [reason] the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life—to take it back again.

¹⁸ No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily. [I put it from Myself.] I am authorized and have power to lay it down (to resign it) and I am authorized and have power to take it back again. These are the instructions (orders) which I have received [as My charge] from My Father.:11-

-John 10:11-18 (AMP)

                As I had tea with the Lord this morning, we discussed the plight of a good friend of mine who is going through a very difficult season.  Because I have been through what she is going through, I understand the pitfalls that await us as God sets order in our lives.   I remembered my own wrestling season with the Lord, and asked why these seasons of change have to be so difficult for us to get through.  Even as I talked, began to see a picture in my mind, and a John 10 scripture passage came to my remembrance.  I saw a picture of a sheep that was entangled in briers and sticker bushes.  The sheep was bleating and struggling in the patch trying to untangle himself. Instead of the sheep finding freedom, his struggling was making the situation worse.  Then I saw a man come to the sheep and kneel down beside it. He began to comfort the sheep and pet him in order to calm him.  Then he gently held the sheep, and calmly began to pick the thorns and sharp twigs out of the sheep one by one.  The sheep continued to struggle because the shepherd’s ministrations were painful, but the shepherd held him firmly and continued the process.  After some time, the shepherd gently lifted the sheep out of the patch and tended to the sheep’s wounds.

                The Lord said to me:  “Child, I am the Good Shepherd. I see the predicaments that my sheep get into, and I know how come and untangle them from the places that they fall into.  If my Sheep will let me, I will untangle them from their broken places and move them into a safe place.  It is then; and only then that I can truly attend to their wounds and heal them.  Being untangled is more difficult for my sheep than the healing, because they fight against their “brier patches” so long, that they are tired, and when I come to help them, they fight Me because the untangling process is long,  painful, and tedious.  However, My sheep know Me, and they recognize My gentle voice, and My touch and they need to know that I will never become impatient and be unnecessarily harsh, nor will I abandon them regardless of their situation.  I am faithful (can be trusted) to take them through the process, then I will heal them from their wounds.  

                That really blessed me, and brought me some healing for some of the areas that I am wrestling through.  I am a little slow, but I finally get it when  Paul wrote in Philippians 1:6:  

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus".  The idea that I "arrive" and my process ends is not really the truth.  I do heal, and I do grow, but if I am truly HIS sheep, I  will keep healing and keep growing until the day that I am finally reunited with Christ.  That neutralizes the enemy's attack on my mind that keeps me locked in my expectations that I should be in a certain place at a certain time.  It also neutralizes any tendency on my part to compare my journey with anyone else's.  Wherever I am, is where God expects me to be, whether I am in the brier, in the healing place, or if I am walking by the still waters and chewing sweet grass.  He is with Me, and that is enough.

Access Granted

As I sat with the Lord this morning, He and I discussed a situation for which I need His constant forgiveness.  It is a mindset that took root in childhood, and I cannot seem to really get a hold of it.  I am vigilant over it; I monitor my thoughts and try to take them captive before they manifest sin, but that way of thinking is so rooted in me; I truly struggle with it.  As a result, when I come to the Lord repentant, and in need of forgiveness, I feel like I am taking advantage of His grace, because I have to ask for forgiveness sometimes daily!  Surely, if I were truly repentant, I could overcome this sinful mindset, right? 

The Lord patiently listened to me as I presented my argument. Then He quietly led me to 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  First, He addressed the sin.  "Child (that's what He calls me)", that mindset entered in from trauma that occurred in childhood, and one of the reasons that it remains is that it brought with it shame and guilt.  You have need of understanding concerning my system of forgiveness.  If you can release the guilt and the shame regarding the mindset, you can find freedom." I became still. "Whoa", I thought.  "This is deep."  I said, "Lord, break it down." 

He said, "Renita, think of my forgiveness like a bank account with unlimited funds to which I have given you legal access.   When you go to the bank to make a withdrawal, your completion of a withdrawal slip only acknowledges that you need access to the fund.  It doesn't say a thing about your ability to access the fund; it is simply a request, right?  "That's true," I said.  He continued, "When you come to me and ask for forgiveness, it is simply an acknowledgment that you need to make a withdrawal on your 'Forgiveness Account'.  Because of Jesus' work on cross, you were given access to a completely funded account that belongs to you.  You don't need to ever worry that you won't have access or that somehow you may not qualify to receive what's in the account.  I have given you an identity through the Blood of Jesus that allows you to access what already belongs to you, whether you ever need it or not.  It never runs low, and it never rejects you.  The enemy wants to make you think that you have to qualify for access; that's the truly sinful mindset!  I am faithful (trustworthy) and just (I render what is due) to forgive (abandon all mutual claims) and to cleanse (consecrate for My use) from all unrighteousness (every violation). When you ask for forgiveness, it is simply a withdrawal slip (an acknowledgement that a need exists) that will never be rejected."  If you can first accept that you are ALREADY forgiven before you request it, you can truly deal with what is at the root of your mindset and receive the freedom that you desire.   

"Ok," I said, "what about when I need to extend forgiveness to others?" I countered.  He said, "Renita, do you know how wealthy people remain wealthy?  They remain wealthy because even if they have the cash, they borrow other people's money to fund their projects. They use their cash only as collateral to qualify for a loan, so that they don't have to use their own money on risky projects. That way they don't have to have great credit, because the bank knows if they default on the loan, cash will be available to cover the debt. You can extend forgiveness to others, because your name on the 'Forgiveness Account' guarantees that it can cover any outstanding debt that is owed.  When you extend forgiveness to others, I guarantee you that any debt that is incurred by the one that you forgive has been covered by what is available in your account.  In other words, when you forgive, it costs you nothing, because I am backing the forgiveness funds that you extend to them.  It's my loan, not yours (Proverbs 19:17)." 

Can I tell you that God's simple explanation has brought me great freedom?  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is LIBERTY (2 Cor 2:17)!  I am grateful to have access to an account that not only guarantees my debts, but it will cover the debts of all that is owed to me! What a mighty God we serve!  Hebrews 4:16 says that we can come BOLDLY before the throne of grace and obtain mercy, because the Blood of Jesus guarantees our access!  Amen. 

We are on His Mind 

            One of the hardest truths for us to accept is that God really does love us and that he does think about us.  David captured this ever-present question in Psalm 8: 4 when he asked, “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him?”  David looked at God’s creation, and all God had done, and wondered how He even had the time to bother with man. The real question should have been, how could God not be bothered with man?  1 John 4:8 says that God is love.  Understand that this does not mean that He chooses to love us.  He is not the image of love, He is not the idea of love, and He does not embody love.  He is love.  His being is love.  If we were able to look at God’s DNA, and interpret it, we would find nothing but love.  Isn’t that amazing?  He loves us simply because He is love.  That means we can’t be good enough to earn His love, and we cannot be bad enough to lose His love.  Hard to believe, isn’t it?   His love exists because He exists. Doesn’t it leave you awestruck to know that we are on God’s mind?  He is filled with us.  He thinks about us continuously, and He is always orchestrating the events in our lives so that we can become closer to Him.

See I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are

continuously before me.  Is 49:16

            There are times that I can be really forgetful. My schedule keeps me constantly going and I must continuously write things down to keep up with what comes next.  When I don’t have a piece of paper,  I have been known to write information--phone numbers, names, even recipes on my hand, so that it will be virtually impossible for me to forget the information that I need, and where I put it.  God says that we are so important to Him, that He has us engraved on the palms of His hand. Think about that!  Those who still engrave items by hand use a real diamond to cut words or designs into precious metals. A master engraver is highly skilled at his craft. He is intimately acquainted with the tools being used, and the precious metals or woods with which he works.  He carefully, painstakingly takes a nondescript item that has little or no real sustaining value, and turns it into a work of art.   In fact, an image engraved on a surface by a master engraver is unique and cannot be duplicated or counterfeited.  Imagine this:  God thinks that we are so precious to Him that he uses what we consider to be a valuable resource as a tool, to literally cut our names into his hand. In and of ourselves, we have little value in eternity, but He has taken us-- what is some would consider nondescript and of little value, and  He turned it to a work of art.  What is even more than that, he says that He has engraved us on the palm of His hand.  He did not engrave our name or our image. He engraved our being into His being. That means each of us that are hand crafted and uniquely made, so that we are easily distinguished from one another.  We cannot be duplicated or counterfeited, because the Master Engraver has fearfully and wonderfully etched us into his very life form. 

  He goes on to say in Isaiah 49 that our walls are continuously before Him.  This means that He watches carefully the works of our hands, He watches our comings and our goings; He watches our established boundaries, and He watches what we keep as treasures behind our “walls”.  Every detail of our lives is sacred to God, so much so that His eyes are trained to everything that we do, say, think or feel.  For all of us, that could be a scary prospect.  Do we really want God to be privy to our thoughts, and desires?  It really doesn’t matter, because we are engraved on the palm of His hand, nothing –absolutely nothing we can do, say, or imagine can remove us from such a treasured place in Him.  He has made it impossible for Him to forget us.  He reiterates this through Jesus’ prayer before the last supper in John 17.  Jesus prayed that those that were given to Him—those who would believe the message of the cross, would be in Him, as He was in His Father.  We are as one in Him!

What is God Saying to the Body of Christ for 2014?

Overall Theme:  It’s All New

I am making all things new, says God.  I am making new paths, new directions, and I am opening new doors.  I am positioning my people for their next move in destiny.  It is imperative that they follow my lead, and trust the way that I take them, for they have not been this way before. Corinthians 5:17; Is 43:18-19.   

·         God is giving many of us a “do-over,” so to speak. It is a season of favor. Opportunities that have you may have missed in the past may re-present themselves, and failed tests may be given again.  The old ways of approaching things will not work!  In order to get what we never had, we must do what we have never done. Old responses, behaviors, and mindsets will not work in this place.  God wants our minds to be renewed as in Romans 12:1-2:  1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

·         It’s harvest time; and a time of the double portion.  Close your eyes and get a good picture of your harvest in mind.  See the fat, healthy fruit, the greener pastures, and abundance that awaits you.  Now ask yourself this question:  Who is going to pick all of this fruit?  Any farmer will tell you the hardest part of the season is harvesting the fruit of the land.  The hours are long, the work is back-breaking, and there is only a certain amount of time to get the fruit harvested and prepared for market in order to get premium pricing.  God is placing a demand upon us to work SMARTER and HARDER. We must get into place spiritually, work our OWN fields, and stay focused on the tasks at hand.  Write the book, start the business, start the ministry, or go back to school.  It is particularly a season for entrepreneurship.  God’s favor is with you to do more, be more and have more. It is not a season of perfection; but it is a season of excellence.  We must remain fit for the Kingdom as Jesus admonishes us in Luke 9:52:  Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

 

·         We will see a changing of the guard in the Body of Christ as many of the generals of faith (and world leaders for that matter) go home to be with God or step down from their positions and new leaders in the Body emerge.  As we see this change in leadership, we will see new pattern emerge as the Church Age dies and the Kingdom Age becomes more prevalent.  We will begin to see the restoration of the Apostle and the Prophet as foundations of the church and Jesus as the chief cornerstone as stated in Ephesians 2:19-20:  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.  When you see this, true revival will have begun.  

 

·         It’s a time of acceleration.  God is accelerating the time in which it would normally take to do things.  It is important that we are aware of time, and to make the most of it.  There is no time for procrastination, lollygagging, or ignoring the unction of God.  We must work while it is day (John 9:4) 

 

·         Evangelism and outreach will become the focus and the forefront. God’s hands are on ministries that supply the needs of the less fortunate, and many are being placed in business and jobs to be ambassadors in the business arena.  God is raising up bold evangelists in the tradition of John the Baptist to call the lost into right relationship with God, through ministry, technology, and social media, as exemplified in Matthew 3:1-3 Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!”   In this same vein, we will begin to see more celebrities begin to express their commitment to Christ, whereas in the past they may have been less vocal about their faith. 

 

·         God is placing a demand on us to have healthy relationships.  We must walk away from strife, old arguments, unforgiveness, and bitterness.  Our relationships-from business to friendship, to marriage must mirror the Kingdom, and we should be working on one accord with one another.  We must be willing to let go of relationship where there is no agreement as stated in Amos 3:3: How can two walk together unless they agree?  At the same time, we must be willing to permit new people into our spheres of influence as God begins to make destiny relationships in this season.  God is also calling us into a deeper place with Him; He must be first in our lives.  Worship is the key to this deeper place. This is a season where he desires to show us “great and mighty things that we did not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). He desires to mature us as saints. The supernatural is upon us and many of us will experience Heavenly visitation at a level we have not known before.

 

·         It is a season of God’s grace.  God is with us and fighting for us as we move into this season.  Now weapon formed against us will prosper, and there are more with us than against us.  In   (1 Chr 14:13-15) when David was asking for a sign to know when to engage the Philistines in battle, God replied:  "When thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees..." In order for David to hear this spiritual sound, He had to be in tune with the voice of the Lord.  As you pursue God for a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him, you will be sensitive to His voice and therefore know when and how to engage the enemy…and this time you will WIN!  The Lord will go before you in battle and defeat the enemy on behalf. 

 

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