I Will Pour Out MY Spirit

The Holy Spirit calls me on this day to be thankful, and then reminds me of the Father's great promise recorded in Joel 2:28 and again in Acts 2:17:

In the last days, God says, 

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy

your young men will see visions

your old men will dream dreams

even on my servants both men and women

I will pour out my Spirit.

I doubt that any who know God's Word and sees what is going on around the world would argue that these are not the last days spoken of by the Prophets of old. The collapse of societies everywhere speaks to the reality that our times are coming to an end.

This means that time is short for the salvation of the lost. The stakes are high: lost souls yet to find their way into the Kingdom of God. It is God's unfailing mercy that He is willing to pour out His Spirit and give evidence of Himself though supernatural signs and wonders to the unbelieving world.

So, I listen with eager ears to what the Spirit is saying to me. I am compelled to desperately seek the spiritual gifts promised and now confident that these are the days and times when a "spirit filled", supernatural walk with the Lord is not only possible but necessary to fulfill God's purpose for those of us with the privilege of being alive at this great, grand finale of man's days upon the earth. This is a time of the final harvest and we have been chosen to participate in it.

I speak to a lot of God's people and we all seem to be full of the same desire: to know and operate in our Spiritual gifts, under the anointing by the Holy Spirit that can only come from our Heavenly Father.

God is speaking to all of us who believe and His Spirit is calling for us to walk in the fullness of our potential. Our gifts strengths and talents are given for such a time as this. But to have the power and authority and anointing necessary for us to glorify our Father and our Lord, and to share His Gospel unto the salvation of the lost, we must be under the control of His Holy Spirit.

Today, I praise God and thank Him for His Holy Spirit who speaks to all with an ear to hear. I praise God for what is about to take place in the Body of Christ and through the witness by His people of the miraculous signs and wonders that the Spirit of Holiness is working.

Jesus said to the unbelieving world, "even if you do not believe in my words at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves." (John 10:38) May we, the Church of the Living God, be able to speak the same word, having miracles we can point to as the evidence.

Get ready Church, for a mighty move of His Spirit. Pray that each one of us will co-operate with His Divine Will, and do our part as the Spirit desires to use each one of us and the gifts He will impart.

The Holy Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?

Angels in our World

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  When YHWH created all things, humanity was not the only "beings" He created and breathed life into.  At what point in eternity these celestial beings were created is not know through scripture.  We know they exist and that they, like us, have a Divine role and position associated with God's purposes.

Lately I have been moved to share testimonies of the lessons I have been taught through Divine intervention.  This morning the Lord reminded me of the time He sent 2 angels when I was stuck on the side of the road.        

While usually "invisible" to our human eye, once in a while angels might take on the form of a human to assist us when we need help here on earth.  Hebrews 1:14 gives a bit of an understanding as to the role the angels play in the everyday lives of believers.  "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth (on a mission) to minister for (by, through, or for the sake of) those who will inherit salvation?"  Such was Paul's understanding of these celestial beings we call angels.  

There are many instances of Adonai's Divine intervention through His angels written about in Scripture but I wanted to share a personal story of my own.

It was a fall evening in California and as the sun was setting, a storm began to sprinkle down rain. I was on the freeway making a last minute rush delivery to a customer and running late.  Speeding down the 91 in Riverside heading into Anaheim, I heard a sound like a helicopter over head.   Fearing it was the speed police I slowed down and moved from the 4th lane into the 3rd lane.  I still heard the sound and moved into the 2nd lane but then realized the noise was coming from my car. 

I pulled all the way onto the shoulder shut off the engine and realized I'd had a blowout in my right front tire. Praising the Lord for His protection from loss of control and a worse catastrophe, I got out to see the damage. Sure enough, totally flat right front tire. I know how to change a flat so I got out the jack and tools.  

As  I was getting those things out of my car, I was praying that the Lord would help me change the tire, but in my fear of someone stopping on the freeway and the potential harm, I also prayed that no one would stop even to help.  

I found the spare, and set about to change the tire.  Unfortunately, the lug nuts had been put on with a machine and I didn't have the strength to loosen them in order to remove the flat tire.  The tension in my heart was welling up as I was late on the rush delivery and no way to finish the tire change.  I put my head in my hands and pleaded that the Lord give me the help I needed to get the lug nuts off.  I was waiting for a surge of supernatural strength.

Just then, a man appeared out of now where and approached me saying, "You look like you could use some help".  I looked around for a car and saw none.  I responded that I could use some help getting the lug nuts off the tire.  He said he could do that and told me to go into the driver's seat and put on the breaks.  I noticed he stood up so I went around the car to where he was standing and looked at the tire.  He said "Can you take it from here?"  I said "sure, I can change a tire" and with that he walked away and when I turned back around, he was gone and the lug nuts were in the hubcap. Total answer to my prayer.

Scratching my head on that one, I was talking to the Lord and laughing at myself.  Next time I will ask for all that I need.  Why didn't I ask for the tire to be changed? Many reason I suppose, but next time I will present the complete need to my Heavenly Father.

Just as I am pondering the lesson about asking for more not less, another man walks up to me from the other side of the car and says, "you look like you could use some help".  The exact words the first "man" spoke.   I looked around and again no car.  I responded better this time.  "Well, actually I could use some help changing this flat tire."

We were both looking at the lug nuts in the hubcap and I explained someone ese had stopped earlier and removed the lug nuts for me. 

He asked if I thought it strange that this man would remove the lug nuts and not change the tire?  I laughed at myself and I told him "not when you know how I prayed". He proceeded to change the tire and get me on my way. I  noticed he had no car and asked if I could give him money for his help and a ride somewhere?  He said "no, I'll just go over there and sit under that tree",  which was part of the landscape off the freeway. I drove away marveling as to how the Lord brought not one but two "strangers" to assist me.  

That experience taught me a lot about prayer; make it complete to the need you are praying about. About angels; they come in a "variety" of looks and these two looked quite scruffy. About our Heavenly Father; never underestimate the sudden appearance of His Heavenly hosts and their role in helping us in big and small ways.

I know for a fact there are angels in our world and I'm thankful to have them keeping us in all our ways.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

 

        

The Power of God's Love

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Infirmity has been an unwelcome presence in our home and stayed longer than we liked.  The forest does not respect the rest that is needed and weed sprout up when no one can pluck them out of places where they do not belong. 

The Holy One uses all things in my life to teach me ad instruct me in the knowledge of Himself and to help me understand our relationship.  Being down in the weed fest of the forest brings up visions of the National Geographic show about earth, post humanity  and how vegetation will take over all our habitations.

Being overwhelmed at the view from my back door would be the understatement of the year as I see all the living areas overtaken by undesirable vegetation.  Weeds can quickly overgrow a garden and choke out good fruit, much like wrong thinking can despoil righteous works.  

The Holy Spirit begins today's lesson as I turn my attention to His gentle Presence and away from the problem of the weeds.  I hear Him say, "Many people want a relationship with Me only for the love of My power, not for the power of My love."

I have to admit, I was expecting to hear more about weeds and tares than about a "power" problem.  His wisdom begins to impact my thoughts and I realize the Truth behind the statement. At the advent of His first coming, many were looking for a powerful King Messiah, who would rescue them from the power of Rome and establish a kingdom for them here on earth.

God's chosen needed only a powerful King for them to rule and reign on earth. Imagine the disappointment when Jesus was mocked and crucified and did nothing to defend Himself or punish those who impaled him on their death stake.

Luke 23:35, "The people stood watching and the rulers even sneered at Him.  He saved others, let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the chosen One".  Even the thief on the cross voiced his exceeding disappointment that this "Messiah" wielded no power that he could tap into.  Luke 23:39, "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him "Aren't you the Christ?  Save yourself and us".

Until Jesus came to show men the Father, God was distant and unapproachable except by a few and not very friendly or relational except to a few.  His power was not in question, but His love was.

The power side of humanity wants to have and control the power.  There is nothing new under the sun, so as we manage our relationship with our Lord we need to be aware of our flesh lust for power.  

We can know God as Father, and we understand Jesus came to save, but with the miraculous model of supernatural power that laced the ministry of the Messiah, we can fall victim to the possibility that a relationship with the Creator might become a power-grab of sorts.

I am sure there were some heady moments when the Lord sent out his disciples to heal the sick, raise the dead, and evict demons from their human habitations.  Left unchecked, pride can rule our flesh life and make us altogether unfit for any assignment to serve the Holy One.

By His words to me this morning, I know the Holy One wants me to assess myself.  I know that He sees things in me that I may not detect and they are often times things about our relationship or my understanding of His being that need correction.

If I love my Lord I will pay attention when he tells me things that may be bothersome or a grief to Him.  Rather than defend myself, I must ask Him to show me what He sees.

Back in the day before His first coming, the people were looking for a King Messiah.  Instead Jesus came as a suffering one.  The cross cut through all their pride in relationship and the thoughts of being on the "winning team".  Loyalty to their friend, Jesus, cost them their very lives and so it is for us today.

For those who may be thinking that Christianity is like a "power grab" and that the power of Heaven delegated to the saved means an easy road and constant victory with temporal blessings for the asking, they might need to take another look at the Cross.

One of the clear distinctions our Lord made by His voluntary crucifixion unto death, is that He died to restore a relationship lost;  not through human power but through Divine love.

What does the Lord want me to glean out of today's counsel?  I see it boils down to a motive check.  Do I seek the Lord for what I want or need Him to do?   Or do I seek Him for who He is in relationship?  The sacred romance can be tainted by a love of power and desire to be on the winning team of this life.

Trials and temptations come hard and fast.  Some days I meet the brick wall of silence from Heaven and realize it is shaped like a cross.  These are the days when our true motives in following Christ get tested and checked.

Are we captivated by the love of His power or by the power of His love?

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?  

Father Rejection and A Fresh Start

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Each day represents a fresh start.  As a temporal widow, that truth is so important to my emotional well being.  The past is gone, the regrets of yesterday must be left behind, and the lessons learned must be carried forward.

If we choose to live in the past we will be useless in today.

Having said that, deep healing sometimes requires a fresh look at an old wound.  The Holy Spirit pulls back the bandage for some fresh air on an old heart injury.

Mine is a big family.  Marriage became a melting pot of his, hers, ours and theirs.  God's purposes arranged for that beautiful tapestry of lives interwoven.  The trial of life and the hand of God always make for an interesting collision especially in the dynamics of relationships.

God's ultimate purpose is to bring us into the image of His Son.  The image He is after is not the physical but rather the relational image of a father to His child.  We are taught and have seen graphic examples of the physical torture Jesus suffered and the sacrifice He made for us.

The suffering Son was marred beyond human recognition:

"Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God. smitten by Him and afflicted.  But He was pierced for OUR transgressions.  He was crushed for OUR iniquities.  The punishment that brought us peace (with God) was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)

I often wondered why Jesus had to go through all the maiming of His physical body.  I ponder the questions:

"Why did He submit to the torture inflicted by Roman soldiers and the Cross of crucifixion?  Was there not a less brutal way to save our souls?"

But then, the Lord delivers a mental picture of one of our wounded warriors lying on a hospital bed.  Their physical pain and emotional trauma are off the charts of any other human experience.  Jesus, the Savior of mankind,  looked down through the ages to this day and that wounded warrior.  He chose to go through all that physical torture to be able to whisper in that ear, "I know how you feel!".

The love of humanity's Savior caused Him to surrender to all the forms of suffering that His Beloved might go through, and there is nothing we can take to Him that He does not understand from His human experience in a flesh and blood body.

Today He is addressing an emotional injury that has been inflicted on all generations through weak human vessels.

The love of a father is the earliest and most important relationship we need in order to truly grasp the picture and face of God, the Father.  That sacred relationship between the father and child is the target of such evil in these end times.

Outside influences, personal rejection, and spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms have targeted fathers and wreaked havoc against  the role ordained to represent the Father Heart of God to their children.  I see how relational alienation and estrangement in our society makes it very difficult to find our way back to our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ the Son.

The Holy One welcomes me into His presence to share a truth for healing that is like the balm of Gilead to my heart.

Strained relationships seem more extreme in an Italian family.  Passions seem to ratchet up and perceived betrayal is often handled through the ultimate severing of relationship and disownment of the offender.  My temporal husband passed over into eternity with the stigma of being disowned by his parents and most of his family of origin.  

That emotional pain was always just under the surface of his ideas about family.  The sword of Christ is a God-ordained reality (Jesus said it would divide closest family members) but that does not lessen the sorrow associated with its purpose.

The Holy Spirit directs my intercession today to that deep family wound with a stunning truth:

"Jesus death on the cross nullified every curse.  He made all things new and gives everyone the hope of a fresh start.  Everything is washed and purified by His shed Blood".  

I believe that to be true, but He continues, "even the curse of the father disowning the son".

I am utterly speechless with that revelation and its profound implication.  Jesus suffered the emotional disownment that all of us fear and many have suffered in the human arena: Father rejection.

On the Cross and for the first time in eternity, the Son was emotionally and relationally estranged from the Father.

For the first time in eternity, the Father was emotionally and relationally estranged from the Son.

The picture of the Trinity broken is shocking to my mind and yet I realize the day when Jesus said, "My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  (Matt 27:46) was ordained before mankind ever sinned and the effects of betrayal were ever suffered.

I never really thought too far past the physical torture and human betrayal inflicted on my Lord to process the ultimate sense of abandonment and Father rejection He went through that day.  Human betrayal is one thing but Father God estrangement is complete devastation.

I feel the sorrow and I feel the joy.  My heart is broken and healed all at the same time.  "How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called Children of God" (1 John 3:1).

Jesus suffered the wrath of His Father, taking on our sin to remedy the separation and heal the Holy disownment all humanity would otherwise be forced to endure.  The curse has been broken as has the generational chain through which it was passed. Now I can and must take claim to the healing provided so that my Savior did not suffer His emotional (and physical) brokenness in vain.

Peace floods my heart.  Just as the Holy Trinity was restored in love, we can trust that our families can be restored too. I know that my Prayers and petitions have a strong basis in the principles and precedents established by my Heavenly Father.

Today is a new day and a fresh start.  Even as we have felt the pain of human rejection, we can know the unconditional love of the Father.  The Blood of Jesus atoned for everything in me that would cause my Father in Holiness to have to reject me.  Perfect Justice has been satisfied and the penalty for sin has been paid in full. 

I understand even better today, that by His wounds we are healed, even and especially those emotional ones.  

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?        

   

 

The Dark Corridor

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  Earlier than my usual 4 am conference, I am reminded that Yeshua prayed all through some nights in His earthly visit and time spent among His created.

Since 3 am is the time I have come to call the "witching hour", when evil tries to torment me, The Lord speaks to that fear: 

"The enemy comes at this hour to torment you but I will use this time to teach you, so don't be afraid". 

I have recently developed the habit of listening to worship music as my mind comes to attention and prepares to receive all the Lord might want to speak as we get to the sunrise and light of this new day.  

The Jewish day as revealed in the Torah and back at the beginning of time as conveyed in His Word, begins at sundown.  Just as the Spirit of Adonai hovered over the darkness of a world in chaos and brought order, so He brings us out of the darkness into the light of His ordered creation and life. 

Worship is therefore a brilliant way to welcome the Heavenly Light and purpose of the new day.

As I'm going through my playlist of favorite worship, I am drawn back in time to the worship time during the National Day of Prayer when Believers in Yeshua from all over the nation and even Believers from other countries assembled in Washington DC before the 2020 election to cry out to the God of our nation in repentance and beseech Him for Divine intervention as we see our personal and collective sin and make our plea for His forgiveness. 

As I am thinking back to that time and all that has happened since, I hear Him say, 

"That was when you entered into a dark corridor, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.  You are in a birthing canal, about to come forth with and in new life." 

Truly, I and so many others are moving through that dark corridor being squeezed and stripped of what represents our flesh comforts and familiarity with the things of this world.  What we hoped and even assumed would be a Divine manifestation of immediate answers and protection from a supernatural enemy and his human agents of a wicked agenda being proposed as our "choice, reality hit us hard in ways that made no sense to our common collective minds.

"Do you trust ME?"   

Humanly speaking, we hate what we cannot control yet we are being asked to put our full dependency upon our Savior here and now not only in a future there and then.  

I understand His great mercy in what He speaks to my heart and the picture He paints in my mind.  Hope comes forth like the sunrise of this new day.  I repent for the impatience and the doubt that follows when being asked to persevere through all the contractions that are now seen as a "birthing process". 

Yeshua's  ancient words come to life from Matthew 24:4-8 (CJB):

"Yeshua replied, "Watch out! Don't let anyone fool you!  For many will come saying,  'I am the messiah!' and they will lead many astray.  You will hear the noise of wars nearby and news of wars far off;  see to it that you don't become frightened.  Such things must happen but the end is yet to come.  For people will fight with each other, nations will fight with each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world.  All this is but the beginning of the birth-pains". 

There is a command we must follow nestled in His expose of the conditions we find and experience in the corridor, "See to it that you don't become frightened".

The renewing of our mind takes place when we re-place the threats of the evil one we hear in our ear with the powerful Holy Word of Adonai as in Psalm 91 NKJV  Here's some excerpts of this wonderful Psalm:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High 
shall bide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will SAY of the Lord "He is my refuge and my fortress
My God. in HIM I will trust. 
Under His wings you shall take refuge 
His truth shall be your shield and buckler
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night
Nor of the arrow that flies by day
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness 
A thousand may fall at your right side,
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
and see the reward of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord Who is my refuge,
even the Most High your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you.
Because he has set his love upon ME, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he has known MY name.
He shall call upon ME, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will extricate (deliver) him and bring him honor.
I will satisfy him with long life
and show him MY salvation".

The dark corridor is a passage way to new life when seen in the light of Adonai's Word and promises.  But as every birthing experience is personal and unique, we must draw close to the Holy One with calm perseverance to find that wonderful light at the end of the dark corridor we find ourselves in at this moment in time.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

***Note:  for those who might be word sensitive in our interpretation of these verses, plague is a Biblical word usually in reference to a Divine chastisement like that which we read about in the days of Moses and the Pharaoh of Egypt as opposed to a sickness that IMO may have been unleashed by human agents under the influence of evil celestial beings who hate us.  

  

Draw Me a Picture

 When a person gets saved, it's been envisioned like taking off an old worn coat and putting on a new garment like unto a clean white "robe of righteousness".

I am a visual person and have always asked the Lord to draw me a picture so that I can grasp the important lessons He has for me to understand.

Our gracious Lord accommodates my need for visuals and has always granted me mental pictures that are symbolic of the principles that words sometimes cannot convey or that I fail to understand from His perspective. 

Yeshua spoke in parables for similar effect to an audience of people in the culture of His day so that simple minds could grasp deep eternal principles.  

For me, one such mental picture came about when I was struggling with a sin stumble and feeling so dirty in my spirit.  

I got this moving picture of being on my Father's estate.  It was grand land with lots of room to roam around and so many exciting things to discover and enjoy.  On this estate was a place and a pig pen I was warned not to go near.  Of course the "child-me" was fascinated by that forbidden place.  

On this day, I was playing on the edge of that pig pen and low and behold, I fell in.  My robe got dirty and just then I heard my Father call to me from the big house. I couldn't go in and have him see me in my dirty robe, so I found a hose and started rinsing off all the yuck.

After I assured myself that my robe was clean enough, I went into the house and found Him waiting.  He looked me over and I thought I was "good enough", but then his face contorted and he began sniffing the air.

He looked at me and said, "were you playing by the pig pen?"  I knew I was busted.  I realized at that moment, nothing I could do would eliminate the stench of my sin in his nostrils.  But what could I do?

I confessed my sin, told him the whole story about having fallen in and how sorry I was for my disobedience.   I was ready to face the punishment.

To my surprise he told me to go to the closet and get a fresh clean robe with the parting words, "And don't go near that pig pen again."

In that visual experience much was learned that I carry in my heart and mind today:

There is a reason the pig pen is forbidden:

IT STINKS

Our Heavenly Father sees and knows all things:

STOP TRYING TO HIDE SIN

No matter how much we try to cleanse ourselves:

THE STENCH OF UNCONFESSED SIN REMAINS

Our Heavenly Father is gracious and forgiving:

HE IS THE ONE WHO CAN MAKE ALL THINGS NEW

I continue to ask for mental pictures to understand spiritual principles and my Lord continues to provide them.

If you struggle as I do sometimes, to understand God's ways, maybe its time to ask Him to "draw you a picture".  Just sayin'

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him? 

When God says No

Our Journey with Jesus is life long once we begin it.  Lessons in Holiness as well as sweet blessings in getting to know the One I will spend eternity with, come all along the way.

The mystery of God's Sovereignty keeps me fascinated and excited in our Sacred Romance.  There is so much to learn and experience in the fellowship being offered this side of Heaven until I see Him face-to-face.  

None of us will ever reach that place of all-knowing and that's in part what makes for the thrill in the journey, as there is always one more delightful thing to learn about our Lord and His ways.

Learning to discern the voice of our Shepherd is the basic lesson for all us little lambs. Once you know His voice more and more of the relationship opens up and delightful fellowship begins.

Prayer is a wonderful dialog when you know the One with whom you are communicating. 

There are times when our prayers meet with Heaven's "No".  I find that a "No" response to some of my petitions opens the way for a greater intimacy if I don't run away to lick my wounds but stay for some time in His Presence to understand the why of it should He choose to share His wisdom with me. 

There was a time when my sweet momma was sliding into dementia. It was a hard situation to watch as her full time caregiver.  She was the last remaining member of my family of origin and losing her mind before her body was such a struggle.   Caring for her meant praying for all her needs, spiritual, physical, emotional and even mental. 

In prayer, I asked my Lord, her Healer, to restore her memories.  I confessed my trust knowing He can do anything including what my petition represented. 

I heard Him say, "Please don't ask Me for that... and here's why". 

That answer confirmed much about Adonai and our relationship as He went on to explain the deep knowlege of her life and her vulnerbility at her age and condition to the dark pain those recalled memories would cause.  

For me this incident taught me much about the Lord's care of my mom, and His honoring of His Word and promises to me.  

Jesus said, "Whatever you ask for in My name that I will do and the Father will give."  

In keeping with that promise, He requested I withdraw my petition, which I did.  In the explanation He gave as to why the petition should be withdrawn, an even greater intimacy with Him was found.  Prayer is a two way conversation but it takes a while to realize and recognize the sound of His voice speaking back. 

Once we are saved, the relationship with our Creator becomes one of  a growing friendship that eventually turns into a sacred love story of epic proportions.  We understand His love as we learn about Him.  We rest in His love as He provides and protects us.  We act in His love as we realize it pleases Him.  All our life after the moment of salvation is to be spent in that personal intimate fellowship with our amazing God getting to know the Very One we will spend eternity with.

Interaction with us, is part of the dynamic of Who He is, not just as an overseer but an active Lover of our soul.

When Adonai passed through the camp of Abraham on the way to see and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, it is written that He said, "Should I hide from Abraham what I AM about to do?"  

Genesis 18:17 CJB 

With humble thanksgiving for what that one verse tells me about our potential relationship with the Holy One of Israel, I seek to be open to what He is willing to tell me in the circumstances of my life.  Whether I hear yes or no to my petitions, I am thankful to know that He is speaking to my heart.  

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?