Let It Flow, Let It Flow, Let it Flow

     The two emphasis' the Holy Spirit is having me focus on presently are:
1) The importance of love and 2) Staying connected to Him (abiding) and how the two are interrelated, and create the hallmark features of His Kingdom.
     When we are abiding with Him, we are not insisting on our own way in life, and His peace flows. This includes everything that presents itself in one's day. If we feel stirred inside, it usually indicates that we are resisting Him in some way or another, and consequently, the peace leaves. He doesn't let go of our hand, so to speak, but we let go of His, when we object to what He is wanting to do in and through us.  Instead of trying to  submit to Him, we need to just let His will flow, and not interfere with it.
      I had the cart before the horse before, and He is straightening that up for me. I was trying to submit my will to His, so that His will could flow. Now, He is showing me to trust that He is in me and we are abiding, and out of that reality, my will is laid down and His will has dominion, and "will be done."
    His will is His love flowing through us to others, which happens "automatically" as we let it flow. Instead of trying to love, we just need to let His happen in and through us; that is what is called "yielding." When it does, we can begin to see who He truly is by how He is demonstrating His love to others through us. Even though, He is using our own being, we will stand amazed at the beauty of His holiness being expressed in this way.




I John 3:1,2-"Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know, that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him: because we shall see him as he is."


Perhaps "Him appearing" is not only when He returns, but when we see Him appearing through us too?

Can You Perceive It?

     The following words were given by revelation from the Spirit of God. Some of them, I found to be staggering; others spirit expanding. I post this with fear and trembling:


"Just as Christ was made "manifest" when He was born into this earth, although He already existed before that in the spiritual realm, His sons too, will be made manifest, and are being manifested little by little. Since in time eternal, they already are perfected (conformed to His image and One with the Son and the Father in unity) they are being perfected in earth time present and will continue to be. It involves a separation of who are His Sons, and who just say that they are. The sword of God first separates between the joint and marrow in His Sons and then between them and other people, (can include severing relationships) which may happen simultaneously, with one action affecting the other. Christ already identifies His family by "those who do the will of my Father." The manifestation will be seen by His Sons and most of  creation, along with the church of the First born (Heb. 12:22-24), but deception will cover the eyes of those who are not His, and they will not see this happening until God opens their eyes at the judgment, unless they repent and submit to Him and His will before that time. Those who are deceived will judge others "after the flesh" seeing in others what they determine is "good and evil" instead of by the spirit of God. However, the Holy Spirit continues to press His weight of conviction on the blind ones hoping they will turn and be saved, but this too, has an expiration date. The longer they reject Him, by living their own lives and satisfying their own fleshly wills and lusts, the harder it becomes to return, due to lack of spiritual sight.  The prodigal son was only a son because He returned to the Father's house. He was able to come to the end of himself, and his sight returned. We can refuse the grace of God and be rejected by our own doing. God allows us to determine our own standing with Him. This manifestation is simply Christ in us taking the pre-eminence as  result of us complying with our own flesh being destroyed by His work, and of His Presence coming forth in and through us as a result. As time goes on, His light in us and in other crucified Sons will shine brighter and brighter, so that His plans and purposes will be done."

"Willing" to Change-An Exercise in Futility

     With the advent of the New Year, the cultural tradition is to make "resolutions," about what one will/will not do. The general theme is to "improve oneself" and by doing so, "one's life."
     Can we, as Christ followers, by our own will do that? Is that the way improvement, change, or transformation happens for us? Well, we might do it for awhile, but only by way of external actions. Our trying and exerting our wills, only serves the outward man, and this too, usually fails overtime. One's will can only go so far before giving out in the long run. (Think of endless diets people have tried.) Also, if our will is that strong to maintain a certain course of action, it needs to be broken.
     In brokeness and subsequent confession of our weakness to God and repentance, can true change happen. When we "give up" our own wills, realizing the futility of them to enact true change for us, and turn to God in broken submission, asking for His help, He begins that process in us. He is so attentive to our cries which confess who we are, and in contrast, begin to realize who He is. But, usually we have to come to the end of ourselves to do that.
     It all goes back to the garden. Adam and Eve choose to live life apart from God, because they knew "good and evil" by eating that tree. Before that, they relied on the wisdom of God and trusted it and Him for their lives. We still try and live in that fallen condition; one in which we think is freedom, but is truly bondage. Freedom is letting go of our lives and our wills, and trusting Him. When we do that, true inward change can happen, and this changed impacts every other change.
     He desires that all of us be governed by Him in trust. Don't waste your time on resolving to do something this year. Instead seek Him and His will for your life, and respond to it. That is the change that will change you and the world. Amen.

You Must Die!

     Are you letting God mature you? This means that you are being conformed into His image, as you are dying.
      I am currently reading a book called, From Glory to Glory by David W. Dyer, and I really like how he describes this process. He says,

"Here is an aspect of the gospel which all too few Christians understand. Many people receive Jesus with the hope of some great improvement in their lives. Perhaps they are led to believe that they will feel better, they will find the solution to all their problems or even that they will be come rich and prosperous. But the truth of God looms over them. Jesus stated clearly, "If any man will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16:24). To receive God's gift of Life and follow Him means that you must die. You must be eliminated from the universe. This is the only solution for you. It is an integral part of God's plan. Although we perhaps prefer to focus upon the love of God, our death is also part of the gospel and to really understand the gospel, we must understand the aspect of death very clearly.
Have you really been convicted of sin? Do you really understand in the light of God how evil you are in your inward parts? Are you really repentant, not only for what you have done but also for what you are? When you received Jesus, did you do so with the understanding that it was the end of your own life? If you cannot honestly answer "yes" to these questions, then you are not right in your relationship with Jesus Christ. You have not really understood the gospel and you are in danger of missing most, if not all of what God has in mind for you.
Let us take a little time here to speak of baptism. Clearly baptism is an integral part of the message which Jesus preached. We read: "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mr 16:16). Paul and the other apostles also practiced baptism. But what does baptism mean? It means that we are ready to die. To be immersed under water is not a bath. It symbolizes drowning, dying. We are baptized into Jesus' death (Rm 6:3). Our baptism signifies that we are confessing that we are worthy to die and that we are in fact ready and willing to experience the death which Christ has for us. It means that we have understood our sin and God's judgment upon it. Our baptism testifies to the end of all that we were, are or ever would want to be. We are agreeing with God's sentence of death and are ready for Him to apply it to us. If you have been baptized without this clear understanding and conviction, then you have truly missed the message of Jesus Christ."

Cherished by Our Father

      "And He appeared and the soul felt it's worth." You are perfectly loved, accepted and forgiven. Only through Jesus Christ can you know this. What value He's place on us to redeem our lives from destruction, and to bring us back into our Father's safe arms of grace.
     The next time you, or someone else brings criticism your way, remember whose you are. Tearing yourself down or letting someone else tear you down by receiving their comments as truth about you hurts Your Father's heart, for His investment in you by His Son's death is immeasurable and everlasting. You were valuable enough to Him for Him to sacrifice all He had to give: a Life for a life. Our minds and hearts cannot fathom the extent of this kind of Love.
     Fatherly love beyond comprehension is what He offers us. Perfect love, balanced with perfect discipline to keep us close to Him; under the shadow of His wing. He protects and defends us against all enemies who would try and harm us, or lead us astray. He is always attentively there, listening to everything and anything we want to talk to Him about. He advises us with perfect counsel, and gives us the faith and strength to carry it out. When we fall down, He picks us up. When we are dry, He fills our cup. He is our all in all. Are you feeling your worth yet? Relish it.



    

Throw Money at It!

     In such a money-driven society, such as ours, it's easy to get into the mindset (and this must be guarded against and cast out) of thinking that everything can and will improve by money. When we, as Christ followers, are tempted to think like this, it diminishes the belief that what really brings true help is to call on the Lord in praying according to His Will, and looking to Him to resolve the problem. He gives us access to the realm of Spirit to beseech Him and ask. This shows our trust in His ability and in His power to change things permanently.
      If we throw money to a problem, atleast 2 things result: a) It will only be a temporary change at best and b) it takes our eyes off of Him, and gets us closer to seeing the things of this world (trusting in horses and chariots)  instead of the things of His Kingdom for solutions. Ultimately, it can be used to blind us completely, so that we become a resident of this earth, instead of one of another city, whose Kingdom and Maker is God, without us even realizing it. Perhaps that is one reason God Himself says we must choose between Him and Money (Mammon) and that we can't have 2 masters. The Master of money is none other than satan himself, and if we straddle the fence between him and God, he will take the lust of the flesh in us, and lure it into his kingdom.
     So, our fight is not against flesh and blood, but it's against powers and principalities of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. To fight this battle, that has already been won, we need to stand on that given fact, and resist the lures of believing in the power of money to save, and instead hold tight to Him and His power which truly saves and brings true resolution to any and all problems, looking forward to the Day when, not just by faith, but by sight, "the kingdoms of men will become the Kingdom of our God and King."

Death That Brings New Life

     When one speaks of "dying to self" as God tells us to do in His Word, I believe it is to be a very practical thing. Offering ourselves as a living sacrifice results in us "choosing" in each and every situation that comes up in our day to glorify Him. Of course, this "choosing" can only be done in the power of the Spirit; certainly not in our self-willed flesh.
     Can I give an example from my life yesterday? Because God had kept my awareness alive of "dying to self" throughout the day, I was able to identify when this was being challenged, or should I say, when I was being tempted to have my own way. My husband and I had some confusion over what he was going to do, and what he told me he would do, which would affect our plans to do something for others. When he divulged to me that he had to go to a pre-planned meeting, although he had said he would be available for our plans too, my emotions skyrocketed and exclaimed great displeasure about this. He responded too from his fleshly emotions, raised his voice at me, and left the room to go take a shower. During this grace period, I knew the Lord had brought us both, I prayed that He would have His way regardless of our former plans, and that I would be accepting of them, knowing that the main thing was to bring Him glory, and so I opened my will up to the plans being changed.
     When my husband came out of the shower, he sat in his recliner, and we talked about what had transpired in our conversation earlier that day concerning our plans. It seems that he had thought his appointment was earlier in the day, and that it wouldn't interfere with our plans. Then he laid out a plan where our son would fill his place for a short time, and he would come later and complete our plan together. I explained how I had relied on him to carry out a part of the plan, because I didn't feel comfortable doing it. I said that he was much more able to do it. After having my say, I accepted his plan for a temporary substitute, and I believe in this, God was glorified. I had died to the perfect plan I had created, and opened myself up to a new way to have it accomplished.
     That is an anatomy of an example of "dying to self." Did it hurt? Yes, it hurt and hopefully killed, and brought to new life, a piece of my soul. This process of "soul redemption" happens daily if we are opened to it, and if we rely on His power in us to do it. As the process continues, His life comes forth in us and is seen through us to the praise of His glory, which is one of His great purposes for our lives on this earth!!!!

Spirit Arise and Let His Enemies in Us Be Scattered!!!

     Our souls war against our spirits. What a statement! Until our spirit takes dominion in us there is a part of us that wants it destroyed. These parts in our souls, which does this warring, are the parts that have not yet been brought to the cross. They are alive and are against the Spirit of God through our spirit from coming forth; much like the anti-Christ wants to destroy Christ in us, himself.
     What is our answer to this dilemma? Of course, Paul gives the answer when he realized his own problem of the internal war. Thank God for Jesus Christ he says! Christ resides in the being of those who believe and have submitted to Him, and so we can be assured that He has won this war and will win, if we will but enter into it by offering our "souls" for their destruction; living sacrifices.
     The satanic input through our unredeemed souls has access to us to try and bring about our coming forth as God's sons and daughters. Influences through the technology we expose ourselves to, relationships that are soul-based, and through us "living for self" instead of "unto God" gain access and strength. That is why it is of utmost importance for us to seek Him to show us what and how we must make changes, by His strength to close the doors to these satanic influences. They affect us more than we know. In fact, our "un-knowing" could be due to him already impacting us and has caused our lack of discernment.
    Please, brothers and sisters, take this to God and ask for His revelation about all of this. It could be the difference between you living your life as an "earthling" or of coming forth as His sons and daughters, for all to see His glory.

Touch My Heart, Lord

     I am getting ready to have heart surgery. Not the physical kind, but the spiritual. After reading part of the book, "Ask Your Heart" by Dixie Lea Hunnings, I am hearing God beckoning me to STOP any and all inner activity and to let Him do this for me. I stand amazed that the parts of my heart that I have hidden due to past hurts and misunderstandings, has more to do with my overall struggling and relationships than I have known or thought. I had always just believed it was the renewing of my mind that needed done. While that is entirely true, could it be that we have defined our minds incorrectly, and that we have a mind of the heart? "As a man thinketh in His heart, so is he," says God's word. This indicates that our hearts do "think." If our minds were just renewed, it would be a sterile, and flat life, much like a robot. But  when the minds of our hearts are renewed, Life full of love, warmth and joy result! I am always stunned when God brings me new light which supplants the old; when He replaces our false beliefs with His Truth.


     I don't know how this surgery will take place. All I can do is "abide in Him" and let Him take the lead into this strange, but wonderful place He has for me to go, knowing that He will be right there with me. I know it has something to do with Loving myself and loving others though. I sense that it will help me come out of isolation and not be afraid to "be myself," nor fear others. Right now, I can't see clearly, but I am willing because I know that He will lead my besides green pastures, and that He will restore my soul, and that I will lack no good thing. Who would resist that? Someone with broken heart pieces would, like me before. But not now. I take His hand, as a little girl, and let Him "walk with me and talk with me," for He loves me so. He even calls me by my name.

No "Settling In" for Me

     I can't even believe what it is that I believe, but I do. I even seem like an odd ball to myself, if that's possible, but then I remember that I am indeed an alien and a stranger here. It's terribly discomforting to be in this world, and yet not of it, or not from it.
     Sometimes this transitional housing gets lengthy, and I long for home and want to go there, and be there; in a place where I truly belong and am embraced.
      My security is in Him, but I sense that there will be nothing on this earth like looking into His eyes and being filled with His love for ever and ever and ever. It's not til death do we part; it will be never-ending. That day can not get here soon enough, cause I'm just passing through.

I Cast Out the Spirit of Christmas In Jesus Name!

     I was led of the Lord the other day to stand in the gap on behalf of so many who are blind, and cast out the Spirit of Christmas from the mind, wills and emotions of everyone in Shreveport, La. This may be a surprising statement to most of you, because most of the time, one thinks of Christmas as being a "good" thing.
     Well, the Spirit of Christmas is an unclean spirit that has been successful in supplanting the Spirit of God in believers and nonbelievers alike. Anything that is full of ritualistic activity (many call "tradition") which someone is consumed with, which produces a euphoric high, coupled with spiritual justification (Jesus is the reason for the season, or we're just celebrating the birth of Jesus) and with money driving the whole thing, is a full-blown unclean spirit that the souls of men need deliverance from. And so, I did it.
     After that I started to notice if anything had changed in the natural. I sensed a small subduing of this "spirit" but nothing of any great significance. That didn't mean it was still present, but that only in God's timing would the complete manifestation happen.
     What I did notice though was that I was completely free of it. It's been about 10 plus years now since my husband and I have not celebrated christmas, due to the revelation God has shown us concerning it. Each year, though, during this time of the year, I am tempted to once again take of this drug. In the past, I always have done a very little something. Last year, I had a centerpiece that was more "winter" than "christmas," I told myself, and I did a little "winter" decorating in the garden too. But this year, I am totally free. I am not even wanting to do anything, and don't feel bad about it. It feels good.
     Let judgment begin in the house (the people) of God, and let it begin with me.