Do NOT go by what you see.
If I could sum up God’s directive for this next season we are coming into, it would be that.
As believers, we are, of course, never supposed to go by what we see. But, even though it is a Scripture that we like to quote (“For we walk by faith, not by sight” - 2 Cor. 5:7), it is not how the majority of believers actually live their lives. And, that’s because the world has trained us otherwise.
Read MoreWe’ve all heard the references before to “God’s Army,” fighting spiritual battles and being a “soldier for Christ.” But, have you ever stopped to think about what that actually means? Because, as with everything with the Lord, there is a lot of meaning, importance and symbolism hidden inside these terms and it’s up to us to seek it out so we can better understand our journey with Him.
As believers, it is extremely important for us to understand how God’s “training” works, so we don’t get confused or unnecessarily upset along our own journey and so we can continually be seeking to go further with Him.
Read MoreOne of the things the Lord is doing right now in His people is a DEEP healing of wounds. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are a new creation in Him. But often, even after that, we don't live out the fullness of the freedom and blessing that's in Him because of wounds that are still in our hearts and minds.
Read MoreA couple weeks ago, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "fear is a juggernaut." I knew I had heard that word before, but wasn't exactly sure what it meant, so I looked it up.
A "juggernaut" is a massive, relentless force that attempts to crush everything in its path. It also refers historically to a tradition where people who worshipped the god Krishna would construct massive, tower-like chariots with many wheels and pull them through a crowd of worshippers where many often got crushed beneath them. Which is why the term is also used to describe something that demands blind devotion or merciless sacrifice, and socially, the behavior of everyone jumping on a "bandwagon." It can also refer to a large "machine" or group of people working together or a growing political movement with an association of being crushingly destructive.
There's so much in that phrase and definitions alone, I barely need to elaborate!
Read MoreDo you know the good news of the Gospel?
The real good news?
Surprisingly, many people who consider themselves to be believers or Christians don’t actually know the real good news. At least, not to the extent that Jesus wants them to.
Because the real good news… the real Gospel… is scandalous. It’s outrageous. And in today’s world, it is even offensive to some.
But, that’s what makes it the Gospel - which in and of itself means “nearly too good to be true news.” Except it is… true.
And Jesus wants to make sure you know it.
Read MoreEarlier this year, the Holy Spirit whispered this phrase to me early one morning: "A box is My Church's favorite place to be."
He explained right away - that the religious Church keeps Him in a box with their doctrine. But, it wasn't until now that He brought it back up and elaborated on it.
If you’ve read the last couple posts/words He’s had me release, you’ll know there’s been a build-up to this and can see where they all sort of build upon one another (you can read the “What it Really Looks Like to Follow Jesus” post, “Strong Delusion” word and “What Do You Believe?” posts here.)
But, it wasn’t until now that He really began to put it all together.
As I shared in the post about following Jesus, He showed me how there is a big difference between knowing about Him and knowing Him. And how His Church has gotten caught up in systems, procedures and programs because they don’t know Him. Not really. Not like He wants them to.
Read MoreIf there is one main “theme” I feel the Holy Spirit stressing so strongly right now, not only in my own ministry, but overall… it’s that of God wanting to share His heart with the world. His true heart.
Not just with unbelievers who don’t know Him. But, also with believers who think they know Him.
Over the hundreds of years and throughout the hundreds of generations that have passed, the pure message of the Gospel and the true character of God have gotten lost. The spirit of religion and the lies of man-based doctrine have left believers powerless, confused and with an incorrect picture of their Father in Heaven.
But, now is the time when God is opening closed eyes and freeing closed minds. He is reminding His people who He really is and introducing His true character to those that don’t know Him.
Because the truth is - He is not who we’ve thought He is.
Read MoreRecently, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper the words, "kerosene lamp."
Of course, my mind obviously went right away to the parable of the ten virgins (although, He had more to say about it too... I'll get into that first). If you're not familiar with the story, it appears in Matthew 25. And as always, Jesus tells the story to teach us an important lesson through an analogy.
Read MoreThe other day, Jesus broke my heart.
And it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.
But, let me back up a minute.
It started a couple weeks ago, when He started speaking about me receiving His love. His unconditional love. We’ve been on a long journey, bringing me out of religion, perfectionism and a works-based mentality. He’s taught me about His grace, His sovereignty and His faithfulness.
Read MoreIf you’ve been a Christian even for a short time, you’ve probably heard the term “Good Shepherd,” at least in passing. But, it’s also entirely possible that you’ve never really given much thought to what it actually means.
That was definitely the case with me.
In fact, I can’t even really remember when I had heard it before this year… I’m sure I did at some point. But, it hadn’t ever really “registered” until earlier this year when I was in the middle of a very active time period of the Lord giving me “downloads.”
Read MoreI couldn’t decide what to name this post.
There was so much wisdom and revelation I felt led to share, that it seemed almost impossible to narrow it down to one title. But, when I stopped for a moment and asked the Holy Spirit, “What should I call this, Lord?”, I felt Him sum it all up in one phrase - it’s time to let go.
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