As I was walking recently, the Holy Spirit spoke some words to me. ” There is nothing more important than the condition of your heart.” It lingered with me for weeks as I pondered those few words. All of my Christian life I have periods where I retreat into myself and kinda shut down, withdraw from the maddening crowd and simply go along on auto pilot.
In Kansas we can go months without rain. The ground gets baked hard in the sweltering heat of summer. If a rain comes it typically does not penetrate the hard ground, instead there is a flash flood. The ground is wet for a very short period of time and then it is as hard as it ever was.
There are periods when it rains every day in the spring. The ground soaks up the rain and then it rains again and again until it is saturated. When the ground is saturated it takes only a slight rain to cause flooding. The creeks and the rivers are swollen and the landscape is in danger of being changed by raging waters.
If my heart is good, if the waters that flow from heaven flow through me, if my heart remains supple and soaked with the dew that falls from heaven, then it takes very little for the glories of heaven to flood forth from me, living waters that refreshes my soul and others. If my heart is hard, it takes a lot of water just to soften me up. Oh that I would learn to remain close to the source of life itself that I might be useful in season and out of season, that I would be a source of life to others.
This piece is about coming through a trial and at the end of it being able to make a declaration. No matter what you are going through right now, in Christ, you will make this declaration to the enemy of your soul.
Praise Him today brothers and sisters, no matter what your circumstance, praise Him today. And the light will break through into the darkness of your situation as you lift Him up above your circumstances. He is high and lifted up and the train of His robe fills the temple. He is glorious in holiness. He inhabits the praises of His people. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies , and His banner over us is love. Read the rest of this entry »
Yes, even in the very depths of our trials, we can call upon that name, the name of Jesus, the name that is above every name. The name by which everything must bow. Darkness must flee at that name, mourning must flee in the presence of Jesus. Hopelessness becomes hope in the presence of the Lord. Bitterness becomes forgiveness, strife becomes peace, captivity becomes freedom Read the rest of this entry »
In a dark hole I have found pleasure; in a place of bitterness and death, rest and hope of salvation; in the abyss or depths of hell, joy; where others weep, I have laughed; where others fear, I have found strength; who will believe this? In a state of misery I have had very great delight; in a lonely corner I have had most glorious company, and in the severest bond, great rest. All these things, my fellow brethren in Jesus Christ, the gracious hand of God has given me. Behold, He that at first was far from me, is now with me, and Him whom I knew but a little, I now see clearly; to whom I once looked from afar, Him I now behold as present; He for whom I longed, now offers me His hand; He comforts me; He fills me with joy; He drives from me bitterness, and renews within me strength and sweetness; He makes me well; He sustains me; He helps me up; He strengthens me. Oh, how good is the Lord, who does not suffer His servants to be tempted above that they are able I Oh, how easy, pleasant and sweet is His yoke I Is there any like God the Most High, who sustains and refreshes those that are tempted? He heals them that are bruised and wounded, and restores them altogether. Isa. 41; 43:20. None is like Him. Learn, most beloved brethren, how sweet the Lord is, how faithful and merciful; who visits His servants in trial (Isa. 43:2); who humbles Himself and condescends to be with us in our huts and humble abodes. He gives us a cheerful mind and peacef ul heart.
This intimacy, this presence is the key to all aspects of our Christianity. There is no difficulty in Christendom today that could not be resolved by the presence of God. That is why it all comes back to Calvary. Calvary is the expression of absolute Love, absolute surrender, absolute victory. It is the totality of the expression of God’s love for the world. Read the rest of this entry »
A single tear falls from the Fathers face as He sees His Son return victorious. As the Father stands, Jesus, riding His majestic white stallion with a two-edged sword at His side, sees His Father. He lifts His head up towards the light and the glory. His horse majestically walks the path avoiding the golden crowns that lie beneath its feet, undisturbed by the cheers of the thousands, no the millions. And they sing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.” Read the rest of this entry »
You have gathered here today in defiance of darkness and tyranny. You have come here to fight as free men and free men you are, for it is I that gave you that very freedom. So you see with your eyes that you are few and they are many, you see that you are vastly outnumbered. Will you fight today?Read the rest of this entry »
There is a time for shouting and praising God, but if we are ignoring the knocking, then we must stop shouting. If our lives are not reflecting the Glory of God, if we are not becoming like His Son, daily, then all of our shouting and praising God will just be so much noise. How tragic for the church of the living God if, when He looks down, He does not see praise but just a group of people making a noise.”Read the rest of this entry »
“Jesus has many who love His kingdom in heaven, but few who bear His cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting.All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of the bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of His passion. Many admire the miracles, but few follow Him to the humiliation of the cross. Many love Jesus as long as no hardship touches them.”
This is a vision that I had as I stood on a terrace in Croatia. My wife and I went there last year on our 25th anniversary. Before I went the Lord had shown me that I would meet someone there and that it would be significant, just did not know that He was talking about Himself. The whole piece was my vision, He gave me a new way of writing my testimony and of writing about coming into His presence, then the Word that He gave me for the church, I wrote in red at the end. I pray that this will challenge and convict you………….
They will gather together and throw in their gold and rise up and play, or in this case, fall down and play. You see the people are without leadership, and the Lord has with-held His rain. So the people have demanded gods to go before them, listen to what they said to Aaron…”make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. “
Madam Guyon writes…………….I am deeply grieved that so many in this day(she lived 300 years ago, people never change)even some good people, allow themselves to be led astray by the enemy. Has not God warned us against false prophets and lying wonders of the last days? All true prophets have spoken in the name of the Lord-”Thus says the Lord.” The enemy gains great advantage because people love extraordinary manifestations, signs and wonders. I believe the inordinate love of external signs is used of the enemy to draw people away from the Word of God and from the inward way of faith.The signs that come from God encourage you to die to yourself. (Intimacy with Christ..p21)
string> If you are known personally by God, If He knows every hair of your head, then how is it that you could ever imagine yourself insignificant? Is that not a lie from the pits of hell? How much evil and mischief has the enemy of your soul been able to achieve by simply convincing you that you have no worth and are insignificant?Read the rest of this entry »
The only true path is the path that begins with and ends with “Yet not my will be done but thine.” This is the glorious path of victory, the path of faith, the path of death but this path leads to life and that more abundantly. It will be the life that He chose for us, with all of its trials and tribulations, but to be in the radical center of His will is to be on the narrow path that leads to life.Read the rest of this entry »
Its about being transparent in our walk with Him. Its about taking back ground and being more effective for Him. Its about the fact that darkness must flee when it is exposed to light. This is the battle and it mostly takes place in the mind, the flesh demanding that it be protected at all costs, not wanting to be “humiliated,” or “humbled,” in the sight of man.
If it was not for this fire, that rages in the night
This blood that runs like molten to my soul
I would fall into the darkness, never more to fight
My light would be consumed and the dark would take its toll
So what is there a desperate need of today? The power that the Apostles exercised before Pentecost? Or the power that they exercised after Pentecost? May the Spirit of the Lord fall upon His church and may we be endued with “Katanusso,” power, the power to penetrate the hard hearts of the lost and the dying . Read the rest of this entry »
In August 17th, 1999, an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude hit Kocaeli Turkey. It lasted for 45 seconds and when the dust finally cleared, 17,000 people were dead. In the later investigation, it was found that many of the deaths occurred because building codes were not adhered to and therefore the buildings collapsed needlessly. The Contractors responsible were charged with murder.
