We're off to a BC Lions game today..will make another post tomorrow night when I get back..In the meantime, for those BCites, enjoy the wonderful weather!
Later!
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Divine Purpose - Daniel
I would like to take a moment to address this issue of "ordering your life" according to the Purpose. As Christians we have been preached to for so long that we often make the mistake of thinking that just because we know something to be true that we are then automatically ordering our lives according to that truth. But knowing something does not mean you are living by what you know. We must be on guard against smoothly assimilating messages and "words" with our brains. Receiving the Word into your brain will do nothing for you; the Word must be received into your heart. I do not want to hear congratulations and applause for an "enjoyable" message or a "thought provoking" article. I want to see us order our lives according to what we claim to agree with. As it is now, we are educated well beyond our level of obedience. We do not live a tenth of what we say we believe. Before we have put one message into practice we are anxiously anticipating the next. May God deliver us from partial obedience, which is only disguised disobedience.
Seeing something and living it are two different things. There is a difference between knowing the Path and walking the Path. Daniel is doing both, but he does not stop there. There is a third characteristic we need to see in him, and that is, Daniel rises up to pray for the fulfillment of God's Purpose. True prayer affords us the greatest opportunity for self-denial. When was the last time we offered up prayer, not for our agenda or plan, but for God's Kingdom to come and for God's Will to be done? When was the last time we came before the Lord, not to get our needs met, but to meet His Need? When was the last time we subjugated our own desires and wishes and gave ourselves wholly to praying for God's Purpose to be accomplished? When was the last time we separated ourselves from family, friends, and business and sought the Lord; not to receive a blessing FROM Him, but to be a blessing TO Him?
We learn that Daniel was not only a man of heavy administrative responsibility and governmental authority, but he was preeminently a man of prayer: a man who withdrew from his earthly responsibilities in order to seek the face of the Lord - not once a day, not twice a day - but three times a day, offering up prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings before God. In addition to this, Daniel frequently ministered to the Lord with fasting.
Now, everyone wants power with God, but few want to deny themselves. They would rather just have someone pray for them or lay hands on them while they live any way they please. You know, there is no law that says a Christian must pray three times a day and serve God with fasting, like Daniel did. We are not led by rules and regulations, but by the Spirit. You can pray once a day, once a week, or not at all. You can eat three or four meals a day if you like. But I hope one day we will become more hungry for the Lord and more thirsty for His Purpose than we are for our earthly food and drink. I hope one day we will become so consumed with heavenly things that earthly things begin to lose their grip on us. I pray we will at least have enough wisdom to understand that if we really want to know God we will have to pay a price for knowing. It will cost us something to obtain experiential truth, and it will cost us something to hold on to it after we obtain it.
Something should be driving us to pray. There should be some unction, some inner compulsion, to seek God, to seek Him early, and to seek Him often. If that is not our daily experience then something is wrong. Perhaps we have grown complacent, or comfortable, or cold. Whatever the reason, vision is the cure. If we have truly seen God's Purpose we cannot just go along as before. It will consume us. A person with a small vision will pray small prayers. Daniel is a man of huge vision, and so he prays large prayers.
I have said many times that everyone wants apostolic revelation, but no one wants apostolic persecution. We would like to have a gift like Daniel so we can interpret dreams, hear the voice of God, and receive prophetic insight into world events. Oh yes, we want the gift, but we do not want to pay the price. Is there any wonder that what is touted as "prophetic" today is simply "pathetic"? There is no depth of root in these people, no secret history of being dealt with by God, just an insane rush to bring forth yet another "word" that will satiate a greedy population's lust for something new and exciting (II Timothy 4:3,4; I Timothy 1:5-7). New and exciting, maybe: but something the prophet has never actually walked in, and something which the people have no intention of walking in. They are ever learning, but never walking in the truth of what they have learned (cf. II Timothy 3:7).
Daniel has seen the Purpose; Daniel has ordered his life according to that Purpose; and Daniel is in the daily habit of praying for that Purpose to be fulfilled. Something bigger than himself is fueling his prayers. He is daily paying the price, living according to the Truth he claims to agree with, demonstrating the preeminence of Christ, showing that "the heavens do rule". So in him we see the Remnant Principle. Anyone who sees, lives, and prays according to that Purpose is marked out and set apart - marked out by the enemy, and set apart as the Lord's own possession. ~C. Brogden
Seeing something and living it are two different things. There is a difference between knowing the Path and walking the Path. Daniel is doing both, but he does not stop there. There is a third characteristic we need to see in him, and that is, Daniel rises up to pray for the fulfillment of God's Purpose. True prayer affords us the greatest opportunity for self-denial. When was the last time we offered up prayer, not for our agenda or plan, but for God's Kingdom to come and for God's Will to be done? When was the last time we came before the Lord, not to get our needs met, but to meet His Need? When was the last time we subjugated our own desires and wishes and gave ourselves wholly to praying for God's Purpose to be accomplished? When was the last time we separated ourselves from family, friends, and business and sought the Lord; not to receive a blessing FROM Him, but to be a blessing TO Him?
We learn that Daniel was not only a man of heavy administrative responsibility and governmental authority, but he was preeminently a man of prayer: a man who withdrew from his earthly responsibilities in order to seek the face of the Lord - not once a day, not twice a day - but three times a day, offering up prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings before God. In addition to this, Daniel frequently ministered to the Lord with fasting.
Now, everyone wants power with God, but few want to deny themselves. They would rather just have someone pray for them or lay hands on them while they live any way they please. You know, there is no law that says a Christian must pray three times a day and serve God with fasting, like Daniel did. We are not led by rules and regulations, but by the Spirit. You can pray once a day, once a week, or not at all. You can eat three or four meals a day if you like. But I hope one day we will become more hungry for the Lord and more thirsty for His Purpose than we are for our earthly food and drink. I hope one day we will become so consumed with heavenly things that earthly things begin to lose their grip on us. I pray we will at least have enough wisdom to understand that if we really want to know God we will have to pay a price for knowing. It will cost us something to obtain experiential truth, and it will cost us something to hold on to it after we obtain it.
Something should be driving us to pray. There should be some unction, some inner compulsion, to seek God, to seek Him early, and to seek Him often. If that is not our daily experience then something is wrong. Perhaps we have grown complacent, or comfortable, or cold. Whatever the reason, vision is the cure. If we have truly seen God's Purpose we cannot just go along as before. It will consume us. A person with a small vision will pray small prayers. Daniel is a man of huge vision, and so he prays large prayers.
I have said many times that everyone wants apostolic revelation, but no one wants apostolic persecution. We would like to have a gift like Daniel so we can interpret dreams, hear the voice of God, and receive prophetic insight into world events. Oh yes, we want the gift, but we do not want to pay the price. Is there any wonder that what is touted as "prophetic" today is simply "pathetic"? There is no depth of root in these people, no secret history of being dealt with by God, just an insane rush to bring forth yet another "word" that will satiate a greedy population's lust for something new and exciting (II Timothy 4:3,4; I Timothy 1:5-7). New and exciting, maybe: but something the prophet has never actually walked in, and something which the people have no intention of walking in. They are ever learning, but never walking in the truth of what they have learned (cf. II Timothy 3:7).
Daniel has seen the Purpose; Daniel has ordered his life according to that Purpose; and Daniel is in the daily habit of praying for that Purpose to be fulfilled. Something bigger than himself is fueling his prayers. He is daily paying the price, living according to the Truth he claims to agree with, demonstrating the preeminence of Christ, showing that "the heavens do rule". So in him we see the Remnant Principle. Anyone who sees, lives, and prays according to that Purpose is marked out and set apart - marked out by the enemy, and set apart as the Lord's own possession. ~C. Brogden
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Whats the Problem? Who me, apostate?
Are people your problem? No. Is God your problem? No! YOU are your problem, and specifically, your expectation is your downfall. Sure, expect great things of God - but qualify what you mean by great. Don't think great things means likeable things, pleasant things, easy things. I tell you plainly that you can expect the opposite. Since you and I were born with an Adamic nature which makes us inherently selfish, stubborn, and greedy, it behooves God to lead us along a path that of self-denial, foregoing what we "like" in favor of conformity to the image of His Son, who is anything but self-ish.
So when we look at Job we see that he was righteous, but he was ignorant. All he knew was blessing, prosperity, and living in the "hedge." Yes, it's lovely to live there in the hedge. Everything he touched was blessed; he was protected from failure. Did Job worship God as a result? You bet! And like most, thought that the blessing was a result of his own righteousness and servitude. But Satan pointed out that that the hedge of blessing and protection was the very thing that kept Job so faithful.
Therefore the testing of Job was a valid test, a crucial one, and a crucible through which each Christian will be purged, sifted, and tried. To what end? It is summed up in the words of Job himself as he neared the end of his ordeal: "I have heard Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye seeth Thee." BUT NOW! BUT NOW! BUT NOW! Before he heard about Him, but now he sees Him, and falls to the ground. Before he worshipped Him having heard, now he worships having seen, and known. I submit that God set him up for such experiential knowledge by allowing him to be subjected to the assaults of the devil, the harshness of his environment, the misunderstanding of his friends, the loss of his family and material possessions, and his physical infirmity. I submit that if anyone desires to take up the cross and follow Christ such testing is the only realistic expectation His disciple can entertain.
Many quickly point out that Job was blessed more in the end than in the beginning; but if getting doubly blessed is our purpose for enduring such affliction then we have failed the very purpose of such a test, and such an attitude only proves man's capacity for being self-serving, even in the worst of circumstances.
I am writing to you, O Christian, who is so full of expectation of what the spiritual life should be like, you who are so sure that you know God, so acquainted you are with His Word! Have you seen God? Or are you worshipping what you have heard, bowing to an invisible force in the clouds, expecting some blessing or feeling or voice or gift? Where will you be, when there is no "Blessed Assurance", when all the evidence points to your failure as a Christian, when "peace like a river" is no longer "attending" your way?
I am writing to that individual who is on the slippery slope of apostasy, ready to renounce their faith (not openly of course, but inwardly) because of some unrealized dream or hope or wish or expectation that after ALL you've been through, surely God will bless you or compensate you or reward you or answer you! Beware! It is more likely that God wishes to know if you worship Him for His gifts, or for Himself; and of course you know that HE knows, it is YOU that must know. The Lord knew, and Peter thought he knew, but by cock's crow Peter knew he didn't know, and we know he didn't know either. Some of you think you know, but you don't know, not yet. Perhaps you need a lion's den to be brought face to face with God. Perhaps a flaming furnace to encounter the Fourth Man. Perhaps you need a cross of splintery wood instead of shiny gold electroplate.
How easy and grandiose it is to speak of martyrdom and dying for Christ. But anyone can DIE for Him: how many will LIVE for Him? The test is not in the dying, but in the living; not in one ultimate act of sacrifice, but in a million little obediences every day! Yes! If you cannot, if you will not, take up the cross and die in the mundane and hum-drum of Today, in the HERE and NOW, you are not fit to die the martyr's death in the unknown darkness of some future persecution.
People do not turn away from their faith and become apostate when threatened with death. They fall away when they become bitter against people, angry with God, and offended with His manner of dealing with them. It isn't a sudden decision you are confronted with, but an invisible thing which starts from the core of your being and works its way into your soul. It is certainly a clear and present danger, and it is within you now, maybe in an inert, embryonic form, maybe in a full-blown disillusionment and anger against God, but it is THERE, waiting for you to succumb to it, feeding itself on your expectation.
Let us draw near to God, and ask to be reduced to Christ. Let us accept whatever He deems beneficial to us, whether it is according to our expectation or not. Know that by the time the rooster crows you may curse and swear that you don't know the Man. Blessed is the one who finds no occasion for stumbling in Him. Love people, but expect nothing from them. Enjoy God, love Him, obey Him: be content with that. ~C. Brogden
So when we look at Job we see that he was righteous, but he was ignorant. All he knew was blessing, prosperity, and living in the "hedge." Yes, it's lovely to live there in the hedge. Everything he touched was blessed; he was protected from failure. Did Job worship God as a result? You bet! And like most, thought that the blessing was a result of his own righteousness and servitude. But Satan pointed out that that the hedge of blessing and protection was the very thing that kept Job so faithful.
Therefore the testing of Job was a valid test, a crucial one, and a crucible through which each Christian will be purged, sifted, and tried. To what end? It is summed up in the words of Job himself as he neared the end of his ordeal: "I have heard Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye seeth Thee." BUT NOW! BUT NOW! BUT NOW! Before he heard about Him, but now he sees Him, and falls to the ground. Before he worshipped Him having heard, now he worships having seen, and known. I submit that God set him up for such experiential knowledge by allowing him to be subjected to the assaults of the devil, the harshness of his environment, the misunderstanding of his friends, the loss of his family and material possessions, and his physical infirmity. I submit that if anyone desires to take up the cross and follow Christ such testing is the only realistic expectation His disciple can entertain.
Many quickly point out that Job was blessed more in the end than in the beginning; but if getting doubly blessed is our purpose for enduring such affliction then we have failed the very purpose of such a test, and such an attitude only proves man's capacity for being self-serving, even in the worst of circumstances.
I am writing to you, O Christian, who is so full of expectation of what the spiritual life should be like, you who are so sure that you know God, so acquainted you are with His Word! Have you seen God? Or are you worshipping what you have heard, bowing to an invisible force in the clouds, expecting some blessing or feeling or voice or gift? Where will you be, when there is no "Blessed Assurance", when all the evidence points to your failure as a Christian, when "peace like a river" is no longer "attending" your way?
I am writing to that individual who is on the slippery slope of apostasy, ready to renounce their faith (not openly of course, but inwardly) because of some unrealized dream or hope or wish or expectation that after ALL you've been through, surely God will bless you or compensate you or reward you or answer you! Beware! It is more likely that God wishes to know if you worship Him for His gifts, or for Himself; and of course you know that HE knows, it is YOU that must know. The Lord knew, and Peter thought he knew, but by cock's crow Peter knew he didn't know, and we know he didn't know either. Some of you think you know, but you don't know, not yet. Perhaps you need a lion's den to be brought face to face with God. Perhaps a flaming furnace to encounter the Fourth Man. Perhaps you need a cross of splintery wood instead of shiny gold electroplate.
How easy and grandiose it is to speak of martyrdom and dying for Christ. But anyone can DIE for Him: how many will LIVE for Him? The test is not in the dying, but in the living; not in one ultimate act of sacrifice, but in a million little obediences every day! Yes! If you cannot, if you will not, take up the cross and die in the mundane and hum-drum of Today, in the HERE and NOW, you are not fit to die the martyr's death in the unknown darkness of some future persecution.
People do not turn away from their faith and become apostate when threatened with death. They fall away when they become bitter against people, angry with God, and offended with His manner of dealing with them. It isn't a sudden decision you are confronted with, but an invisible thing which starts from the core of your being and works its way into your soul. It is certainly a clear and present danger, and it is within you now, maybe in an inert, embryonic form, maybe in a full-blown disillusionment and anger against God, but it is THERE, waiting for you to succumb to it, feeding itself on your expectation.
Let us draw near to God, and ask to be reduced to Christ. Let us accept whatever He deems beneficial to us, whether it is according to our expectation or not. Know that by the time the rooster crows you may curse and swear that you don't know the Man. Blessed is the one who finds no occasion for stumbling in Him. Love people, but expect nothing from them. Enjoy God, love Him, obey Him: be content with that. ~C. Brogden
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Impartation
Value impartation more than information! Focus more upon being the message than preaching the message. We impart what we are long before people put to practice what we preach. The Apostle Paul's ministry was not focused upon persuasive speech but the power of impartation that was expressed through a ministry that modeled love, purity, gentleness, nurture, tenderness, affection, self-denial, exhortation, encouragement, and a fathering and mothering heart. (See 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 4:14-21; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-12.)
Road Less Traveled
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost (1874–1963). Mountain Interval. 1920
Transition Time
This is an exerpt from the Cooke Book..The Divine Confrontation:
A prophet looks for the treasure in earthen vessels and brings it to the surface. We are on a treasure hunt, seeing people with the eyes of the Lord Jesus, the kindest person I have known. God always speaks to our potential. Gideon was alone, frightened, angry and disillusioned. ..he was hiding away. The Lord spoke warmly to him. God spoke to what was noble in Gideon and it rose up within him. Whatever we speak to in people rises up! If we speak to their flesh and find fault, the flesh will rise up and there will be angry frustration. If, however, we speak to their spirit to their potential, then the treasure of Christ that is within them will surface. We will find that as the treasure rises, people automatically deal with any issues in their life that prevent it from being revealed. In this way, prophecy is an inspiration to enable people to change and an encouragement to see themselves as God sees them. It releases the wonderful presence of the Comforter to enable them to deal with any rubbish in their lives. We simply have to love God and all his ways. The kindness, the grace, and the thoughtfulness of the Lord are outstanding!
However, when people do not know how the Lord thinks or works, they tend to think the worst. So people have blanked me out in various ways in order to not be exposed. They do not understand that God is more interested in exposing their potential than He is in the stuff it is buried in!
Our frustration has to be cracked open. Signs of pain are usually signs of resistance as well. It shows us where we need to be healed. In the natural, a cut or a bump denotes the area needing medical care. So in the spirit, our pain is a pointer to our healing. Frustration also shows us where the point of breakthrough is going to come in our shell. Frustration is the key to our ongoing resistance. It tells us where the hammer of the Lord will apply itself to the hard shell around us. Your frustrations and pain are clues to your transition. The process will involve God breaking into those areas to bring healing, release, and empowerment. He loves you too much to let you stay in that place!
MORE LATER!!!
A prophet looks for the treasure in earthen vessels and brings it to the surface. We are on a treasure hunt, seeing people with the eyes of the Lord Jesus, the kindest person I have known. God always speaks to our potential. Gideon was alone, frightened, angry and disillusioned. ..he was hiding away. The Lord spoke warmly to him. God spoke to what was noble in Gideon and it rose up within him. Whatever we speak to in people rises up! If we speak to their flesh and find fault, the flesh will rise up and there will be angry frustration. If, however, we speak to their spirit to their potential, then the treasure of Christ that is within them will surface. We will find that as the treasure rises, people automatically deal with any issues in their life that prevent it from being revealed. In this way, prophecy is an inspiration to enable people to change and an encouragement to see themselves as God sees them. It releases the wonderful presence of the Comforter to enable them to deal with any rubbish in their lives. We simply have to love God and all his ways. The kindness, the grace, and the thoughtfulness of the Lord are outstanding!
However, when people do not know how the Lord thinks or works, they tend to think the worst. So people have blanked me out in various ways in order to not be exposed. They do not understand that God is more interested in exposing their potential than He is in the stuff it is buried in!
Our frustration has to be cracked open. Signs of pain are usually signs of resistance as well. It shows us where we need to be healed. In the natural, a cut or a bump denotes the area needing medical care. So in the spirit, our pain is a pointer to our healing. Frustration also shows us where the point of breakthrough is going to come in our shell. Frustration is the key to our ongoing resistance. It tells us where the hammer of the Lord will apply itself to the hard shell around us. Your frustrations and pain are clues to your transition. The process will involve God breaking into those areas to bring healing, release, and empowerment. He loves you too much to let you stay in that place!
MORE LATER!!!
Monday, June 26, 2006
Haiti Pics
The following pics are some that Daniel sent me a couple of years back, that I thought I would post for you. If you want to know who Daniel is go to my postings on Haiti a few days back.
Mom here, transition and money
Well, I just came back from Vancouver to pick my mom up from the airport. She's from Calgary and is just coming for a quick visit till Friday. We had a nice dinner tonight. My brother John was here too. I pray for my family often.
I was thinking today while in the car driving. Its interesting how God has intertwined to many lives together. I wonder what lies ahead this year. So many random thoughts today. I have a deep sense of peace but am finding it hard to focus. So much happening on so many levels. Transition is the key word here I think, and in transition there is what I would call, organized chaos. Everything is changing...and thats a good thing....but its not easy on those of us who like routines, formulas, and predictability. Not that anything is truly predictable, but I guess we fool ourselves into thinking it is..especially in this society where we can "control" so much. Hey, I found a really good quote on an email from a good friend so I'll end my posting with it:
"It is a very serious thing to grow rich! Of all the temptations to which God's children are exposed, it is the worst, because it is the one that they do not dread. Believe me, there is no trial as great as no trial." (Charles Spurgeon)
I was thinking today while in the car driving. Its interesting how God has intertwined to many lives together. I wonder what lies ahead this year. So many random thoughts today. I have a deep sense of peace but am finding it hard to focus. So much happening on so many levels. Transition is the key word here I think, and in transition there is what I would call, organized chaos. Everything is changing...and thats a good thing....but its not easy on those of us who like routines, formulas, and predictability. Not that anything is truly predictable, but I guess we fool ourselves into thinking it is..especially in this society where we can "control" so much. Hey, I found a really good quote on an email from a good friend so I'll end my posting with it:
"It is a very serious thing to grow rich! Of all the temptations to which God's children are exposed, it is the worst, because it is the one that they do not dread. Believe me, there is no trial as great as no trial." (Charles Spurgeon)
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Another Update
Ed was released last night. He is now at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. Thanks for praying. He'll be resting for a few days, and probably fly back to Canada shortly to reunite with family. Praise the Lord, but please don't forget about Haiti. God wants to move in this country.
I Corinthians 1:26-30 (New International Version)
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
I Corinthians 1:26-30 (New International Version)
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Double Trouble?
(Before I go to my new post, just to let you know I have no update yet on the situation in Haiti. I'll try to find out more and post it by tomorrow - if you want more info you can go to my previous postings)
Do you ever feel like you're not getting anywhere? I mean spiritually. Sometimes change seems so slow, that I get discouraged. Well, this last week was really encouraging. The reason is that a good friend and confidant with whom I have been working through alot of "stuff" this past year had a meeting with me. It was time to set a marker or milestone she said. She told me how much growth and change she has seen in my life in the past year and encouraged me to keep going. Then one by one she listed all the different battles I had faced, different tests I had gone through, and new freedom that she has seen me walking in. Well, you know what I blurted out of my mouth before I could think?? Well, this coming year I want a double portion, double the growth!! She said, "double the annointing too?" "I don't know what that means", I said, "but sure." I just know that its risky to say that, because God will take you up on your word. But I really can't live any other way. Growth and pain go together. Growth and testing go together. No pain, no gain. Not that I relish pain or testing. But it seems that its God's way of refining and bringing us closer to him. More of Him and less of me. My life needs to be hidden in Christ, then Christ will be revealed in me. His love, his compassion, his gentleness, his patience, his kindness, his Spirit control. I can't do it. But He does it through me as I yield my spirit, mind and body to Him. Then I can be truly led of the Spirit, becoming mature and complete, not lacking in anything!
John 15:4-6 (The Message)
Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
Do you ever feel like you're not getting anywhere? I mean spiritually. Sometimes change seems so slow, that I get discouraged. Well, this last week was really encouraging. The reason is that a good friend and confidant with whom I have been working through alot of "stuff" this past year had a meeting with me. It was time to set a marker or milestone she said. She told me how much growth and change she has seen in my life in the past year and encouraged me to keep going. Then one by one she listed all the different battles I had faced, different tests I had gone through, and new freedom that she has seen me walking in. Well, you know what I blurted out of my mouth before I could think?? Well, this coming year I want a double portion, double the growth!! She said, "double the annointing too?" "I don't know what that means", I said, "but sure." I just know that its risky to say that, because God will take you up on your word. But I really can't live any other way. Growth and pain go together. Growth and testing go together. No pain, no gain. Not that I relish pain or testing. But it seems that its God's way of refining and bringing us closer to him. More of Him and less of me. My life needs to be hidden in Christ, then Christ will be revealed in me. His love, his compassion, his gentleness, his patience, his kindness, his Spirit control. I can't do it. But He does it through me as I yield my spirit, mind and body to Him. Then I can be truly led of the Spirit, becoming mature and complete, not lacking in anything!
John 15:4-6 (The Message)
Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Haiti - A Country in Crisis
We heard from my missionary friend, Daniel Thelusmar this morning..(they've put his name on the news so I figure its ok now) ..he said that the kidnappers had just hung up on him while he was in the middle of negotiations with them. I have been following the story online and in the newspapers. Go to my previous posting (called Tytoo Gardens - Haiti) if you want more info about this story. This is just an update. Please keep praying, as Ed's life is hanging in the balance right now, and the UN and Canadian Foreign Affairs have told them NOT to pay any ransom for his return..all we can do is wait, and pray...I'll update when I have more information.
OK I get the point!
People are telling me my postings are too long so they don't bother reading them..well, all I have to say is I'll try to shorten them. When I first started this, I said to my friend, "Friend, I can't write. I don't know how to put my thoughts on paper. I'll have nothing to say". So, I guess I have to eat my words. Considering how long my postings are, I shouldn't have to eat anything else again in a very long while. I think I'd rather eat the scroll that tasted like honey. But didn't it turn sour in his stomach? Ok so what does this mean? Can anyone tell me:
Ezekiel 3:3Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Revelation 10:9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
Revelation 10:10I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
My pastor sent me the following email in response....hmm...interesting...
(OK, now this posting is getting even longer....)
Rev 10:8-112. To eat the book; this part of the charge was given by the angel himself, hinting to the apostle that before he should publish what he had discovered he must more thoroughly digest the predictions, and be in himself suitably affected with them.
II. An account of the taste and relish which this little book would have, when the apostle had taken it in; at first, while in his mouth, sweet. All persons feel a pleasure in looking into future events, and in having them foretold; and all good men love to receive a word from God, of what import soever it be. But, when this book of prophecy was more thoroughly digested by the apostle, the contents would be bitter; these were things so awful and terrible, such grievous persecutions of the people of God, and such desolation made in the earth, that the foresight and foreknowledge of them would not be pleasant, but painful to the mind of the apostle: thus was Ezekiel's prophecy to him, Rev 3:3.(from Matthew Henry's Commentary)
Ezekiel 3:3Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Revelation 10:9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
Revelation 10:10I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
My pastor sent me the following email in response....hmm...interesting...
(OK, now this posting is getting even longer....)
Rev 10:8-112. To eat the book; this part of the charge was given by the angel himself, hinting to the apostle that before he should publish what he had discovered he must more thoroughly digest the predictions, and be in himself suitably affected with them.
II. An account of the taste and relish which this little book would have, when the apostle had taken it in; at first, while in his mouth, sweet. All persons feel a pleasure in looking into future events, and in having them foretold; and all good men love to receive a word from God, of what import soever it be. But, when this book of prophecy was more thoroughly digested by the apostle, the contents would be bitter; these were things so awful and terrible, such grievous persecutions of the people of God, and such desolation made in the earth, that the foresight and foreknowledge of them would not be pleasant, but painful to the mind of the apostle: thus was Ezekiel's prophecy to him, Rev 3:3.(from Matthew Henry's Commentary)
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Tytoo Gardens - Haiti
Ok you might be wondering what these pics are about. It actually goes back a long time. I met a young missionary from Haiti(now 26 years old) a few years ago and we have kept in touch. To make a long story short, he was abducted and held for ransom in Haiti last December during a trip he made to an orphanage there called Tytoo Gardens. The man with him in the vehicle, Ed (in the pictures) was shot and lost his arm. The friend of mine was abducted, but released three days later. In the meantime, he preached to his captors and was able to intervene to save some of the other hostages. He was released and has since then been trying to raise the level of awareness of the conditions in Haiti. He is a man of prayer; an evangelist and apostle. He was a port chaplain in
Port-au-Prince for a few years before going to Florida to bible school. He presently lives in Florida with his Haitian wife and young child. He travels to Haiti & Dominican Republic regularly even though his life is still in danger. (for that reason I won't give out his name).
Anyway, the story continues - There are recent developments with the orphanage in Haiti. The man who runs the orphanage called Tytoo Gardens, Ed Hughes (who lost his arm last time), was captured this past Sunday by bandits and is being held for ransom. My missionary friend called me on Tuesday as soon as he heard about it from another man, who had just returned from the orphanage. My friend asked me what to do, as Ed is a Canadian citizen. I didn't know but I told him I would get to work on it right away. I uttered a brief prayer and then I surfed the internet trying to find a contact number. Finally on a Foreign Affairs site, I managed to get a phone number. I got a phone message but at the end of it, it said "if this is an emergency, press 1".. so I pressed 1 and immediately a Francophone male answered the phone. (My friend from Haiti speaks french of course!) Praise God! I explained the situation, and once he heard that Ed was a Canadian, he requested my friends number. He called my friend and got all the info, then sent it off to the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. It is now all over the newpapers, and was in the National News last night. I have been in touch with my missionary friend and he has been trying to negotiate Ed's release. The captors told him he had until Thursday at noon to come up with a very large sum of money. No money will be paid. Pray that my friend who is presently
working on this and speaking to the captors will have wisdom to know what to say to them. Please pray for this man, Ed, and the children at the orphanage and pray especially for the nation of Haiti, the poorest and most forgotten land in the Western Hemisphere...God has not forgotten Haiti!
For more information please visit this site: there are some interviews and videos
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060620
/haiti_kidnap_folo_060621/20060621?hub=Canada
Or just put Ed Hughes Haiti kidnapping in your search engine
OVERCOMERS!!
This is a posting taken from someone else and reprinted here..it basically ties into my blog title:
"And they overcame [the dragon] by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their Testimony, having loved not their own lives unto the death (Revelation 12:11)."
How many Christians would like to be described as overcomers? Here we see that there are three main characteristics of the one who overcomes. To overcome is the normal Christian life, and not for a select few to enjoy. It is a fact that few Christians live as overcomers; nevertheless, the Christian life is characterized by victory, not by defeat. If this is not our experience then we have much yet to learn. We should not accept things the way they are, but we should press into God and ask Him to show us the Truth.
It is helpful to identify the three enemies that present themselves to us, then the above verse will make even more sense. The overcomer must learn how to defeat each one. So what are they? First, there is the enemy of Sin. Second, the enemy of Self. Third, the enemy of Satan. All contrary things, whether they be of spiritual, natural, or human origin, find their root in one of these three sources.
The glorious thing of course is that God's provision meets all three enemies and defeats them in order to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ. This, in essence, is what it means to overcome. It is to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ over all things. Of course, if He does not have the preeminence in us individually as disciples it will be impossible for us to demonstrate His preeminence elsewhere. We need not travel too far outside of ourselves. We can begin right in our own backyard, right in our own home, right in our own lives.
So what is God's provision against these three enemies? For the enemy of Sin, there is the Blood. For the enemy of Self, there is the Cross. And for the enemy of Satan, there is the Throne. These three are sufficient to answer to everything which we may encounter. They are contained in the verse cited above: "the Blood of the Lamb" of course is the Blood of Jesus; "the word of their Testimony" speaks of the Throne; and "loved not their own lives unto the death" speaks of the Cross. We will look at these more particularly. I pray God will encourage us to overcome through these truths.
MORE LATER..
"And they overcame [the dragon] by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their Testimony, having loved not their own lives unto the death (Revelation 12:11)."
How many Christians would like to be described as overcomers? Here we see that there are three main characteristics of the one who overcomes. To overcome is the normal Christian life, and not for a select few to enjoy. It is a fact that few Christians live as overcomers; nevertheless, the Christian life is characterized by victory, not by defeat. If this is not our experience then we have much yet to learn. We should not accept things the way they are, but we should press into God and ask Him to show us the Truth.
It is helpful to identify the three enemies that present themselves to us, then the above verse will make even more sense. The overcomer must learn how to defeat each one. So what are they? First, there is the enemy of Sin. Second, the enemy of Self. Third, the enemy of Satan. All contrary things, whether they be of spiritual, natural, or human origin, find their root in one of these three sources.
The glorious thing of course is that God's provision meets all three enemies and defeats them in order to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ. This, in essence, is what it means to overcome. It is to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ over all things. Of course, if He does not have the preeminence in us individually as disciples it will be impossible for us to demonstrate His preeminence elsewhere. We need not travel too far outside of ourselves. We can begin right in our own backyard, right in our own home, right in our own lives.
So what is God's provision against these three enemies? For the enemy of Sin, there is the Blood. For the enemy of Self, there is the Cross. And for the enemy of Satan, there is the Throne. These three are sufficient to answer to everything which we may encounter. They are contained in the verse cited above: "the Blood of the Lamb" of course is the Blood of Jesus; "the word of their Testimony" speaks of the Throne; and "loved not their own lives unto the death" speaks of the Cross. We will look at these more particularly. I pray God will encourage us to overcome through these truths.
MORE LATER..
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
COOL PICS
Ok, on a little lighter note than most of my posts. I've got some pictures to share of family, and the area we live. Hope you enjoy them!
The next key: Prayer and Fasting..
Jesus said that some strongholds wouldn't budge without prayer and fasting...I think this is our third key...especially on the Sunshine Coast..these strongholds/giants have been around a long time..in our mindsets, in our relationships, both personal and community...years of history of sinful patterns, high and lofty thoughts that exalt themselves against God, principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness, and these are present even in the churches, or should I say, especially in the churches...MORE LATER>>>
Ok, I'm back. Well, I guess we're supposed to look at the Isrealites as our example. Not a very good one is it? What was their biggest sin? I think it was unbelief. They didn't trust the goodness of God, but complained against Him and against those whom God had called. They could not enter the promise land because of their unbelief. Even though God did miracles among them, they stubbornly refused to believe. Jesus could do no miracles in his own town, because of their unbelief.
Prayer: Jesus, I admit we are just like those Isrealites, stubborn and hard-hearted. We continually resisit your Spirit. We depend on our own understanding. Lord bring us to the end of ourselves where we lift our hands and hearts up to heaven and say "Lord we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you". And Lord, we do believe; help us and forgive us for our unbelief! Truly, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Lord, I pray you find it here, even if its just a little seed of faith - grow this seed into a beautiful tree, planted by the river, that brings forth fruit in season. I sometimes like how the Message puts it:
Psalm 1:1-10 (The Message)
How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College. Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.
Jeremiah 17:7-10 (The Message)
"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God.They're like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf,Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season. "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind.I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things.I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."
Ok, I'm back. Well, I guess we're supposed to look at the Isrealites as our example. Not a very good one is it? What was their biggest sin? I think it was unbelief. They didn't trust the goodness of God, but complained against Him and against those whom God had called. They could not enter the promise land because of their unbelief. Even though God did miracles among them, they stubbornly refused to believe. Jesus could do no miracles in his own town, because of their unbelief.
Prayer: Jesus, I admit we are just like those Isrealites, stubborn and hard-hearted. We continually resisit your Spirit. We depend on our own understanding. Lord bring us to the end of ourselves where we lift our hands and hearts up to heaven and say "Lord we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon you". And Lord, we do believe; help us and forgive us for our unbelief! Truly, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Lord, I pray you find it here, even if its just a little seed of faith - grow this seed into a beautiful tree, planted by the river, that brings forth fruit in season. I sometimes like how the Message puts it:
Psalm 1:1-10 (The Message)
How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College. Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.
Jeremiah 17:7-10 (The Message)
"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God.They're like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—Never a worry through the hottest of summers, never dropping a leaf,Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season. "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind.I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things.I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Ok so let's go through this again..
Key 1 - The door to our heart is opened
Key 2 - Repentance and godly sorrow
Key 3 - any thoughts??
You know, each key is different, I mean different in size, shape, etc, AND it only opens one door. For example, if you try to use my set of keys for your home, it wont work. Precisely! So, if I try to make a formula and say this is the set of keys for everyone, it would be presumtuous and silly woundn't it? But thats precisely what alot of Christian books do; they give us keys that worked for someone else in their situation. We need to seek Christ alone, and when we do, he will give us the keys for our situation, our breakthrough for our own communities and families. Jesus did not give us his Spirit to live by formulas, but so that we would walk daily in communion with Him, knowing His will as we die to our own. This is the narrow path, and this is the way of the Cross. We must seek Christ for the sake of only knowing Him, not for what he may give or provide. Otherwise our love is superficial at best and when the hard times and testing come, we will fall away as we will have no root. But if we do seek him only for the sake of Himself, he will give us all we need and give us the "keys to the kingdom".
I love this picture so I'm showing it again!
Friday, June 16, 2006
Hmm..
Sometimes there is nothing left to do but trust God and let our words be few. I choose to trust Him, though I understand nothing of what He is doing or why. I trust Him because I know He is good and faithful, no matter what I see with my eyes or hear with my ears. I will not put my trust in man. I will not put my hope in man. My hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He is a God of justice, therefore I repent in dust and ashes. If I have walked in presumption, I ask His forgivess. If I have operated in self-will, I ask His forgiveness. I ask only that in spite of me, in spite of the church, in spite of living in a crooked and perverse generation, that God's will would be done here in Gibsons, as it is in heaven; that all things here both in and out of the church would come into alignment with the perfect, pleasing will of God. I therefore offer myself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him, which is my spritual act of worship. I not only place my self there, but also the Town of Gibsons and our church.
Romans 12:1-3 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God 1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
Oh and by the way, to follow up from the "keys of the kingdom post" the second key is repentance..true repentance from not just sin, but our own dead works.. oh God, deliver us from our selfishness and our own agendas...
Romans 12:1-3 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God 1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
Oh and by the way, to follow up from the "keys of the kingdom post" the second key is repentance..true repentance from not just sin, but our own dead works.. oh God, deliver us from our selfishness and our own agendas...
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Previous Blog and First Key
For some of you, I had posted a blog earlier which you may have noticed I have removed for a time. I have a reason for that which I'll explain at a later date. I do plan to repost it...so keep checking in.
Matthew 16:19a I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...
If we ask Him, Jesus will give us this set of keys....
By the way, I decided to tell you the name of the first key. Its the key to unlock the door to your heart. This can only come from God first. As Jesus said:
John 6:44 No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me,
The first key God give us he actually uses himself as he is the only one that can unlock our hearts and release what has been locked up inside. Since God made us He knows us and He knows what makes eash of us tick. Ask God to unlock the door to your heart -those things in you which perhaps have been locked up so long, you don't even know what they are. You will need to be willing to be known for who you are, and willing to have everything laid bare without pretense. There must be a vulnerability and a willingness to be open and honest, especially with ourselves and God. WHEW..and thats just the first key...then we get to see what's really there. Are you ready? It may not be pretty!! Will you want the next key? Maybe next time. For now, pray this through...
In His Service,
Cathy
Matthew 16:19a I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...
If we ask Him, Jesus will give us this set of keys....
By the way, I decided to tell you the name of the first key. Its the key to unlock the door to your heart. This can only come from God first. As Jesus said:
John 6:44 No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me,
The first key God give us he actually uses himself as he is the only one that can unlock our hearts and release what has been locked up inside. Since God made us He knows us and He knows what makes eash of us tick. Ask God to unlock the door to your heart -those things in you which perhaps have been locked up so long, you don't even know what they are. You will need to be willing to be known for who you are, and willing to have everything laid bare without pretense. There must be a vulnerability and a willingness to be open and honest, especially with ourselves and God. WHEW..and thats just the first key...then we get to see what's really there. Are you ready? It may not be pretty!! Will you want the next key? Maybe next time. For now, pray this through...
In His Service,
Cathy
WALKING INTO THE PROMISED LAND
I know its a long blog, but its for me and a few more out there -
The Promised Land is our inheritance, our destiny. It’s what God has promised us in His word and what He has spoken to us through the mouths of the prophets. I believe that we are crossing the waters of the Jordan River (Josh. 3) and we are saying in our hearts, “God, I want to take the land! I want the Promised Land.” I know that many of you have visions, dreams, revelations and prophetic words that were given to you by the Holy Spirit. However many of the words have not yet come to pass. I believe that many believers have been waiting and asking, “Father, when am I going to have that promise? When are You going to do what You promised our church, Father? I believe that there is a demonic strategy to keep us from entering the Promised Land and God wants to show us how to overcome. There are schemes and tactics of the devil to oppose and hinder us from entering into everything that God has for us. We need to take back the land that the enemy has taken from us. So what does the Promised Land look like? When the Lord wanted Moses and the nation of Israel to enter the Promised Land (Canaan) He told Moses to make plans to send a leader from each of the 12 tribes to spy out the land of Canaan (Num. 13:2). Listen. Many of us have been spying out the land! You know what the land looks like? HARVEST! I believe that we’re crossing the waters of the Jordan River and in our hearts there is a militancy that the Holy Spirit is releasing upon us. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force (Matt. 11:12). So when the spies entered this area, instead of breaking through spiritually and remembering that God promised them the land (of Canaan—Num. 13:2), they came under the existing demonic strongholds. All but two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, became completely intimidated by the giants’ huge stature. So when they returned home, ten of the spies gave a very convincing bad report (Num. 13:25-33). So all the people rebelled and wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb (Num. 14:1-10). Woe! Unfortunately ten of the spies forgot how big God is and so they became deceived and believed that they could not overcome the enemy. WRONG! The enemy won that particular battle without laying one finger on the emerging nation of Israel. Talk about a battle for their minds!
WITH THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE WE CAN OVERCOME
We’re ready now to take a look at the enemies of God’s promise THE GIANTS, Anak and his descendants (Numbers 13:22). Anak means to choke and to strangle as if strangling someone with a necklace. The devil wants to choke out, strangle and suffocate the promise of God; often by a slow process. King Solomon said, “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish…” (Prov. 29:18 AV). The enemy wants to choke and strangle the vision. The devil just doesn’t do it overnight. He’s been working slowly on our mindsets every day since we were young children. Some believers carry mindsets into the kingdom that are opposing and blocking them from God’s promise and God wants to set them free!
Now I want to share with you some tactics/schemes that Anak’s descendants, (Ahiman, Sheshai and Telmai) planned to use against the children of Israel to choke and strangle God’s promise to them. The enemy of our souls continues to use these same tactics in our lives.
1. Ahiman means to block or hinder. This stronghold wants to block and hinder the Holy One’s plan and the Holy One’s purpose.
2. Sheshai means to whiten or white wash. This stronghold wants to make something look like more than what it really is. Here’s an example. A dirty, rusty, run down automobile has some paint thrown on it to make it look new when it isn’t new at all.
3. Telmai means to accumulate. The devil wants us to be so busy accumulating material goods and getting so involved in the cares of this work and into entertainment that we don’t have time for God’s purposes and promise.
The enemy wants something on the outside to look good but in reality, on the inside, it’s full of dead man’s bones, white washed tombs (Matt. 23:27). It’s hypocrisy. These strongholds try to get us to settle for something that’s not authentic. It’s that “settle for this” attitude; no real life or motivation. Also there’s an apathetic spirit operating that tries to color our thinking: “I guess this is what my lot in life is so let’s not ‘push the envelope.’” “If the Lord delights in us then He’ll take us into the land.” “If God wants to heal me, then He’ll heal me.” “God is sovereign and He does whatever He pleases so I’m not going to do anything.”
If these strongholds succeed in deceiving us into settling for something that’s not God’s will, then ultimately we’re abandoning God’s real plan. And the strongholds are trying to get us to accumulate and they are working with other giants to oppose and rob us from God’s promise and to keep us from entering our destiny.
We can see historically that when the Israelites confronted their enemies in one generation (when they went in to take the Promised Land), they had to deal with them in another generation. And we’re going to have to deal with these strongholds too, when we take the land. We’re going to have to go to “Hebron” ourselves and overcome not only the demonic strategies but also the mindsets that bring deception.
Also, God didn’t say we have to fight these battles alone. When Moses told the children of Israel about the Promised Land he said that God would “cast out” their enemies:
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you” (Deut. 7:1).
So let’s examine 5 more enemies that the Israelites had to confront in order to enter into God’s promises: the Jebusites, the Girgashites, the Canaanites and Hittites and Hivites.)
1. Jebusite means trodden down. This tribe represents those who are discouraged, overwhelmed and defeated. There is guilt, condemnation, shame, the spirit of heaviness and depression. “I can’t get over my past. I am beaten down. I am tired, I am weak. I am trodden down. It’s like a heavy cloud on me.” We need to overcome the power of condemnation, guilt, shame and the feeling of guilt over what we’ve done in the past. The devil wants to overwhelm us, discourage us and continually accuse us so that no matter how many times we ask God for forgiveness we still feel condemnation.
2. 2. Girgashite means the dwellers of the clay, the dwellers of the marsh, compromise or living in the grey areas. Revelation 3:15 speaks about compromise: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.” Compromise in Webster’s Dictionary means something midway. God said that if we are neither hot nor cold then He would vomit us out of His mouth (v. 16). We can’t be in between; we must be either hot or cold. Compromise, discouragement and condemnation work together. If the devil can’t draw you into condemnation, discouragement, guilt or shame, then he’ll try to trap you with compromise.Here are some lies that involve compromise: “You don’t need to be as radical and fanatical and extreme as they are. Just kind of keep it steady between you and the Lord. You don’t want to offend anybody. Let’s just kind of keep it quiet.” If we compromise just a little here and there, suddenly we’ll find ourselves far removed from what God intended for us. We need to be hot. It’s either hot or nothing! If we’re not hot Christians then what are we? You know when a person is on fire!
3. Canaanite means materialism. This is one of the greatest enemies today, especially in the western church. The spirit of covetousness will rob from us the promise of God. It says in Mathew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” We can’t serve God and money. If we compromise and give up in our heart, defeated, feeling unworthy, then the Canaanite stronghold of materialism will come along and try to tempt us to accumulate as much paraphernalia and stuff as we can! And to pay for everything, the devil just gets us working seven days a week for 12 hours a day. Then there’s no time for Jesus or our family! Materialism is about bigger toys and how much money is in the bank account.Did you know that it doesn’t take long before success in accumulating cash and possessions makes it harder for us to be generous? We falsely think that with more cash and possessions we’d be such big givers but what do we do with the money that we accumulate? What would you do with a million dollars? Would you walk into the church and say, “Here’s your hundred grand?” When the wealth and prestige increases, (not that God doesn’t use that) it’s so easy to be deceived and keep telling ourselves that it’s all for the kingdom. But in reality, most of the time, it isn’t for the kingdom of God at all. That spirit of materialism gets us focused on accumulating cash and possessions, trying to work more to get ahead, but it’s a trap.
4. Hittites means fear. They were a fierce nation that brought terror and fear into the hearts of their enemies. One of the ways that the spirit of fear works against our destiny is insecurity. When Saul was chosen as the King of Israel and it was time for him to be presented to the people he was afraid and so he hid by the baggage (1 Sam. 10:22). Many of us can’t step into the destiny that God has for us because of our baggage, insecurities, rejection issues, unworthiness and because of our fears. “How am I ever going to get up in front of all those people and speak?” Maybe you have a fear of flying and you can’t even get on a plane to go to the nations. Or maybe you’re hiding in your past, you’re hiding in your baggage or you’re hiding in your trauma. In my life there was a time when I was fearful to be in the public eye in ministry because I feared that someone would dig into my past and pull out all of my “skeletons.” So I didn’t want to get too well known in the Your fear might be a stuttering problem and you think that it’s impossible to ever speak publicly into a microphone. Or fear could be holding you back from going into the ministry because of anxiety over finances and quitting your secure job and living by faith. “I don’t know where the money is going to come from. It’s so much easier having a secure wage.” Or, “God, I know that You’ve called me to the nations but the real reason I’m not going is that I’m afraid of flying in an airplane and I’m afraid of trusting You.” That’s what fear will do. It will always challenge our trust in God. But we don’t want to allow fear to be a barrier. God wants us to take steps of faith. If we’re stuck in a fear mode then the exploits that God wants to do through us to advance His Kingdom, won’t be accomplished. That’s why God said several times: “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you.” (Jos. 1:6,9, 11:6). He wanted to encourage Joshua and the people not to slip into fear. So often we are afraid. “Look at the people! Look at the fortified cities!” We tend to look at the bills and worry about how we’re going to pay them. Or we get stuck in our insecurities.
God is commanding us to be strong and courageous! He wants us to be risk takers and get out of the boat and walk on the water! When God told me to quit my job because He was calling me into the nations, my first thought was this: Who the heck knows who I am? I don’t have any invitations. I don’t even know how to get started. I don’t have a ministry. I don’t know how to go anywhere and where is my next pay cheque going to come from? But I had to purpose within my heart and count the cost. Do I want God’s will more than my fear? So I said, “God, I’m going to be a risk taker. I only live once. If this is really Your will for me then I will risk falling flat on my face.” Don’t let fear keep you back from obedience. Before closing I just sense that we need to honor the Lord by believing what He has spoken to us. Choosing to believe what God has promised is an act of faith. It means that we’re taking steps forward into the center of God’s will and closer to the Promised Land. It would be so unfortunate for anyone reading this teaching to shrink back into unbelief and fear. You know, the apostle Paul spoke wisely when he said:
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb. 10:35-39).
5, Hivites means lie openly. This tribe represents a type of the spirit of humanism. This spirit is represented as a serpent. Humanism is one of the strongest, if not the strongest of all evil spirits at work in the world today. It is the exaltation of man (self-exaltation) to the place of God. This spirit manifests an attitude that says: “Let’s forget about God and do it ourselves.” Or “I’m getting tired of waiting for God to do what He said He was going to do. So if God doesn’t get it done by this deadline, I’m going to go out here and I’m going to do it myself. I don’t need God. I don’t need anybody. I can just get it done myself.” This spirit, this attitude, is getting into the church. It’s almost the spirit of Jezebel trying to exert itself into a place of authority through the feminist spirit and calling it “independence.” The spirit of humanism says, “I don’t need God. Oh that’s good that you found a crutch but I don’t need something to lean on. I’m glad that you found something that helped you get off drugs and alcohol and gave you a purpose, that’s good for you, but I don’t need that. I’m doing fine myself. You’re doing it that way and I’m doing it this way. We’re both getting to the same place in the end.” That’s a bunch of baloney!Remember, this spirit is shown in the form of a serpent and it’s trying to keep us from God’s promise and from our destiny. So let’s look at Genesis 3:1. Here’s how the spirit works. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" Listen. For every prophetic promise, every prophetic destiny and every promise from God’s presence, the spirit of humanism is right there undermining God, saying, “Has God said?” This spirit casts doubt and suspicion, challenging the faithfulness of God and tries to brew mistrust. “Has God said? Was that really the word from God that you’ve been looking forward to for ten years?” It takes the place of God, exalting itself before God and coming alongside what God has promised saying “Has God said? Well if God said, then…? Is that really what He meant?”Soon we’re tired, we’re discouraged and the kingdoms of this world just look so good. In this vulnerable condition, it’s so much easier to compromise and live in the grey areas than to be an extreme, on fire, radical Christian, every day. It’s so much easier just to slip on by and hope that one day we’ll fly up into heaven. And we don’t want to rock the boat as we go or push any envelopes along the way! Let’s just make it as best as we can; just me and Jesus. Of course we know that this mindset is wrong! Jesus told His disciples to be wise as a serpent and harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16). The serpent may be cunning, but the Lord will freely give us wisdom and discernment so that we can possess His promises and enter the Promised Land.
POSSESSING THE PROMISED LAND
To possess means to seize, to get, to lay hold of, to grasp, to dispossess our enemies. It means to occupy by driving out the tenants with force. It means casting out and destroying. God told the Israelites to go and spy out the land that He was giving them. Afterwards when most of the people chose not to believe the good report of Joshua and Caleb, their unbelief cost them big time. Unbelief sucks the life out of faith and without faith they didn’t have what it takes to be possessors, to be those who would dispossess the enemy. God couldn’t bless their unbelief! Remember Moses said that God was going to give them the land of Canaan and the Lord was going to cast out their enemies before them (Deut. 7:1). If they would have believed God they would have seen miracles happen. They were probably hoping that if God delighted in them that He would take care of all the problems and they wouldn’t have to work with Him and go into battle mode (Num. 14:8) in order to possess the Promised Land.
God said to possess the land (Deut. 7:1). In fact, it’s quite a job to try and count the number of times, just in the book of Deuteronomy alone, that God told them to possess the land. Listen. If we want the promises of God to be fulfilled in our lives we have to start possessing. It’s aggressive. It means to lay hold of the promise. It means grasp the promise and occupy by driving out the tenants. It means cast out, destroy and fight. It means if God isn’t moving then we’ll move God because our actions are speaking louder than our words. God will often ask, “How badly do you want this? Show me!” We need to be so hungry for what God has for us that we stir ourselves up to take hold of God’s promises and then take action. We need to make sure that we’re saying to God, “Here I am. Send me. I’m not letting go of the promise until you bless me. I am going to remind You of every word that I’ve received through the mouth of every prophet. I’m going to believe what You said, oh God. I’m going to wait here, fast, pray and press in as much as I have to until I receive what you said because I am not going to let it go!”
I want to invite you to examine your heart before the Lord with me this week. Take at look at where the enemy has been blocking and hindering God’s promises from being fulfilled in your life. Are there areas of deception and white-washing? Are you gaining the victory over materialism, compromise and fear? Do you know that the sins of your past are forgiven and forgotten by the Lord when they are confessed? Can you forgive yourself, too? And remember God's promise:
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (The Message)
23-24May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!
AMEN AND AMEN
The Promised Land is our inheritance, our destiny. It’s what God has promised us in His word and what He has spoken to us through the mouths of the prophets. I believe that we are crossing the waters of the Jordan River (Josh. 3) and we are saying in our hearts, “God, I want to take the land! I want the Promised Land.” I know that many of you have visions, dreams, revelations and prophetic words that were given to you by the Holy Spirit. However many of the words have not yet come to pass. I believe that many believers have been waiting and asking, “Father, when am I going to have that promise? When are You going to do what You promised our church, Father? I believe that there is a demonic strategy to keep us from entering the Promised Land and God wants to show us how to overcome. There are schemes and tactics of the devil to oppose and hinder us from entering into everything that God has for us. We need to take back the land that the enemy has taken from us. So what does the Promised Land look like? When the Lord wanted Moses and the nation of Israel to enter the Promised Land (Canaan) He told Moses to make plans to send a leader from each of the 12 tribes to spy out the land of Canaan (Num. 13:2). Listen. Many of us have been spying out the land! You know what the land looks like? HARVEST! I believe that we’re crossing the waters of the Jordan River and in our hearts there is a militancy that the Holy Spirit is releasing upon us. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force (Matt. 11:12). So when the spies entered this area, instead of breaking through spiritually and remembering that God promised them the land (of Canaan—Num. 13:2), they came under the existing demonic strongholds. All but two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, became completely intimidated by the giants’ huge stature. So when they returned home, ten of the spies gave a very convincing bad report (Num. 13:25-33). So all the people rebelled and wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb (Num. 14:1-10). Woe! Unfortunately ten of the spies forgot how big God is and so they became deceived and believed that they could not overcome the enemy. WRONG! The enemy won that particular battle without laying one finger on the emerging nation of Israel. Talk about a battle for their minds!
WITH THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE WE CAN OVERCOME
We’re ready now to take a look at the enemies of God’s promise THE GIANTS, Anak and his descendants (Numbers 13:22). Anak means to choke and to strangle as if strangling someone with a necklace. The devil wants to choke out, strangle and suffocate the promise of God; often by a slow process. King Solomon said, “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish…” (Prov. 29:18 AV). The enemy wants to choke and strangle the vision. The devil just doesn’t do it overnight. He’s been working slowly on our mindsets every day since we were young children. Some believers carry mindsets into the kingdom that are opposing and blocking them from God’s promise and God wants to set them free!
Now I want to share with you some tactics/schemes that Anak’s descendants, (Ahiman, Sheshai and Telmai) planned to use against the children of Israel to choke and strangle God’s promise to them. The enemy of our souls continues to use these same tactics in our lives.
1. Ahiman means to block or hinder. This stronghold wants to block and hinder the Holy One’s plan and the Holy One’s purpose.
2. Sheshai means to whiten or white wash. This stronghold wants to make something look like more than what it really is. Here’s an example. A dirty, rusty, run down automobile has some paint thrown on it to make it look new when it isn’t new at all.
3. Telmai means to accumulate. The devil wants us to be so busy accumulating material goods and getting so involved in the cares of this work and into entertainment that we don’t have time for God’s purposes and promise.
The enemy wants something on the outside to look good but in reality, on the inside, it’s full of dead man’s bones, white washed tombs (Matt. 23:27). It’s hypocrisy. These strongholds try to get us to settle for something that’s not authentic. It’s that “settle for this” attitude; no real life or motivation. Also there’s an apathetic spirit operating that tries to color our thinking: “I guess this is what my lot in life is so let’s not ‘push the envelope.’” “If the Lord delights in us then He’ll take us into the land.” “If God wants to heal me, then He’ll heal me.” “God is sovereign and He does whatever He pleases so I’m not going to do anything.”
If these strongholds succeed in deceiving us into settling for something that’s not God’s will, then ultimately we’re abandoning God’s real plan. And the strongholds are trying to get us to accumulate and they are working with other giants to oppose and rob us from God’s promise and to keep us from entering our destiny.
We can see historically that when the Israelites confronted their enemies in one generation (when they went in to take the Promised Land), they had to deal with them in another generation. And we’re going to have to deal with these strongholds too, when we take the land. We’re going to have to go to “Hebron” ourselves and overcome not only the demonic strategies but also the mindsets that bring deception.
Also, God didn’t say we have to fight these battles alone. When Moses told the children of Israel about the Promised Land he said that God would “cast out” their enemies:
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you” (Deut. 7:1).
So let’s examine 5 more enemies that the Israelites had to confront in order to enter into God’s promises: the Jebusites, the Girgashites, the Canaanites and Hittites and Hivites.)
1. Jebusite means trodden down. This tribe represents those who are discouraged, overwhelmed and defeated. There is guilt, condemnation, shame, the spirit of heaviness and depression. “I can’t get over my past. I am beaten down. I am tired, I am weak. I am trodden down. It’s like a heavy cloud on me.” We need to overcome the power of condemnation, guilt, shame and the feeling of guilt over what we’ve done in the past. The devil wants to overwhelm us, discourage us and continually accuse us so that no matter how many times we ask God for forgiveness we still feel condemnation.
2. 2. Girgashite means the dwellers of the clay, the dwellers of the marsh, compromise or living in the grey areas. Revelation 3:15 speaks about compromise: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.” Compromise in Webster’s Dictionary means something midway. God said that if we are neither hot nor cold then He would vomit us out of His mouth (v. 16). We can’t be in between; we must be either hot or cold. Compromise, discouragement and condemnation work together. If the devil can’t draw you into condemnation, discouragement, guilt or shame, then he’ll try to trap you with compromise.Here are some lies that involve compromise: “You don’t need to be as radical and fanatical and extreme as they are. Just kind of keep it steady between you and the Lord. You don’t want to offend anybody. Let’s just kind of keep it quiet.” If we compromise just a little here and there, suddenly we’ll find ourselves far removed from what God intended for us. We need to be hot. It’s either hot or nothing! If we’re not hot Christians then what are we? You know when a person is on fire!
3. Canaanite means materialism. This is one of the greatest enemies today, especially in the western church. The spirit of covetousness will rob from us the promise of God. It says in Mathew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” We can’t serve God and money. If we compromise and give up in our heart, defeated, feeling unworthy, then the Canaanite stronghold of materialism will come along and try to tempt us to accumulate as much paraphernalia and stuff as we can! And to pay for everything, the devil just gets us working seven days a week for 12 hours a day. Then there’s no time for Jesus or our family! Materialism is about bigger toys and how much money is in the bank account.Did you know that it doesn’t take long before success in accumulating cash and possessions makes it harder for us to be generous? We falsely think that with more cash and possessions we’d be such big givers but what do we do with the money that we accumulate? What would you do with a million dollars? Would you walk into the church and say, “Here’s your hundred grand?” When the wealth and prestige increases, (not that God doesn’t use that) it’s so easy to be deceived and keep telling ourselves that it’s all for the kingdom. But in reality, most of the time, it isn’t for the kingdom of God at all. That spirit of materialism gets us focused on accumulating cash and possessions, trying to work more to get ahead, but it’s a trap.
4. Hittites means fear. They were a fierce nation that brought terror and fear into the hearts of their enemies. One of the ways that the spirit of fear works against our destiny is insecurity. When Saul was chosen as the King of Israel and it was time for him to be presented to the people he was afraid and so he hid by the baggage (1 Sam. 10:22). Many of us can’t step into the destiny that God has for us because of our baggage, insecurities, rejection issues, unworthiness and because of our fears. “How am I ever going to get up in front of all those people and speak?” Maybe you have a fear of flying and you can’t even get on a plane to go to the nations. Or maybe you’re hiding in your past, you’re hiding in your baggage or you’re hiding in your trauma. In my life there was a time when I was fearful to be in the public eye in ministry because I feared that someone would dig into my past and pull out all of my “skeletons.” So I didn’t want to get too well known in the Your fear might be a stuttering problem and you think that it’s impossible to ever speak publicly into a microphone. Or fear could be holding you back from going into the ministry because of anxiety over finances and quitting your secure job and living by faith. “I don’t know where the money is going to come from. It’s so much easier having a secure wage.” Or, “God, I know that You’ve called me to the nations but the real reason I’m not going is that I’m afraid of flying in an airplane and I’m afraid of trusting You.” That’s what fear will do. It will always challenge our trust in God. But we don’t want to allow fear to be a barrier. God wants us to take steps of faith. If we’re stuck in a fear mode then the exploits that God wants to do through us to advance His Kingdom, won’t be accomplished. That’s why God said several times: “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you.” (Jos. 1:6,9, 11:6). He wanted to encourage Joshua and the people not to slip into fear. So often we are afraid. “Look at the people! Look at the fortified cities!” We tend to look at the bills and worry about how we’re going to pay them. Or we get stuck in our insecurities.
God is commanding us to be strong and courageous! He wants us to be risk takers and get out of the boat and walk on the water! When God told me to quit my job because He was calling me into the nations, my first thought was this: Who the heck knows who I am? I don’t have any invitations. I don’t even know how to get started. I don’t have a ministry. I don’t know how to go anywhere and where is my next pay cheque going to come from? But I had to purpose within my heart and count the cost. Do I want God’s will more than my fear? So I said, “God, I’m going to be a risk taker. I only live once. If this is really Your will for me then I will risk falling flat on my face.” Don’t let fear keep you back from obedience. Before closing I just sense that we need to honor the Lord by believing what He has spoken to us. Choosing to believe what God has promised is an act of faith. It means that we’re taking steps forward into the center of God’s will and closer to the Promised Land. It would be so unfortunate for anyone reading this teaching to shrink back into unbelief and fear. You know, the apostle Paul spoke wisely when he said:
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb. 10:35-39).
5, Hivites means lie openly. This tribe represents a type of the spirit of humanism. This spirit is represented as a serpent. Humanism is one of the strongest, if not the strongest of all evil spirits at work in the world today. It is the exaltation of man (self-exaltation) to the place of God. This spirit manifests an attitude that says: “Let’s forget about God and do it ourselves.” Or “I’m getting tired of waiting for God to do what He said He was going to do. So if God doesn’t get it done by this deadline, I’m going to go out here and I’m going to do it myself. I don’t need God. I don’t need anybody. I can just get it done myself.” This spirit, this attitude, is getting into the church. It’s almost the spirit of Jezebel trying to exert itself into a place of authority through the feminist spirit and calling it “independence.” The spirit of humanism says, “I don’t need God. Oh that’s good that you found a crutch but I don’t need something to lean on. I’m glad that you found something that helped you get off drugs and alcohol and gave you a purpose, that’s good for you, but I don’t need that. I’m doing fine myself. You’re doing it that way and I’m doing it this way. We’re both getting to the same place in the end.” That’s a bunch of baloney!Remember, this spirit is shown in the form of a serpent and it’s trying to keep us from God’s promise and from our destiny. So let’s look at Genesis 3:1. Here’s how the spirit works. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" Listen. For every prophetic promise, every prophetic destiny and every promise from God’s presence, the spirit of humanism is right there undermining God, saying, “Has God said?” This spirit casts doubt and suspicion, challenging the faithfulness of God and tries to brew mistrust. “Has God said? Was that really the word from God that you’ve been looking forward to for ten years?” It takes the place of God, exalting itself before God and coming alongside what God has promised saying “Has God said? Well if God said, then…? Is that really what He meant?”Soon we’re tired, we’re discouraged and the kingdoms of this world just look so good. In this vulnerable condition, it’s so much easier to compromise and live in the grey areas than to be an extreme, on fire, radical Christian, every day. It’s so much easier just to slip on by and hope that one day we’ll fly up into heaven. And we don’t want to rock the boat as we go or push any envelopes along the way! Let’s just make it as best as we can; just me and Jesus. Of course we know that this mindset is wrong! Jesus told His disciples to be wise as a serpent and harmless as doves (Matt. 10:16). The serpent may be cunning, but the Lord will freely give us wisdom and discernment so that we can possess His promises and enter the Promised Land.
POSSESSING THE PROMISED LAND
To possess means to seize, to get, to lay hold of, to grasp, to dispossess our enemies. It means to occupy by driving out the tenants with force. It means casting out and destroying. God told the Israelites to go and spy out the land that He was giving them. Afterwards when most of the people chose not to believe the good report of Joshua and Caleb, their unbelief cost them big time. Unbelief sucks the life out of faith and without faith they didn’t have what it takes to be possessors, to be those who would dispossess the enemy. God couldn’t bless their unbelief! Remember Moses said that God was going to give them the land of Canaan and the Lord was going to cast out their enemies before them (Deut. 7:1). If they would have believed God they would have seen miracles happen. They were probably hoping that if God delighted in them that He would take care of all the problems and they wouldn’t have to work with Him and go into battle mode (Num. 14:8) in order to possess the Promised Land.
God said to possess the land (Deut. 7:1). In fact, it’s quite a job to try and count the number of times, just in the book of Deuteronomy alone, that God told them to possess the land. Listen. If we want the promises of God to be fulfilled in our lives we have to start possessing. It’s aggressive. It means to lay hold of the promise. It means grasp the promise and occupy by driving out the tenants. It means cast out, destroy and fight. It means if God isn’t moving then we’ll move God because our actions are speaking louder than our words. God will often ask, “How badly do you want this? Show me!” We need to be so hungry for what God has for us that we stir ourselves up to take hold of God’s promises and then take action. We need to make sure that we’re saying to God, “Here I am. Send me. I’m not letting go of the promise until you bless me. I am going to remind You of every word that I’ve received through the mouth of every prophet. I’m going to believe what You said, oh God. I’m going to wait here, fast, pray and press in as much as I have to until I receive what you said because I am not going to let it go!”
I want to invite you to examine your heart before the Lord with me this week. Take at look at where the enemy has been blocking and hindering God’s promises from being fulfilled in your life. Are there areas of deception and white-washing? Are you gaining the victory over materialism, compromise and fear? Do you know that the sins of your past are forgiven and forgotten by the Lord when they are confessed? Can you forgive yourself, too? And remember God's promise:
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (The Message)
23-24May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!
AMEN AND AMEN
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
All we need is LIFE
Wow, I really like the color green. Green is the colour of LIFE and LIFE abundant. I like almost all shades of green. Even kacke..(bad spelling I think). This one isnt as nice simply because its harder to read the words. Well, enough of that.
Speaking of life abundant, what did Jesus mean by that? I mean, look at the life of Paul: in prison, beaten for his faith, chased and hunted down, times of hunger, etc, etc. Does that sound like life abundant? Or what about the men and women in the faith chapter of Hebrews? Their lives certainly didn't match what I would call life abundant...I wonder what Jesus meant by that. Maybe he wasnt referring to this natural life. Maybe he was referring to a spritual life, one lived more on the inside than the outside. Perhaps he was talking about this in Galations. Its a bit long but it's great!!!
Galatians 5:15-35 (The Message)
13-15It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? 16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? 19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom. 22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. 23-24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified. 25-26Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
So, there you have it...now if it was just as easy to do, as it is to read! How we need God's grace...AMEN?
Love you all out there in blogger-land..
Cathy
Speaking of life abundant, what did Jesus mean by that? I mean, look at the life of Paul: in prison, beaten for his faith, chased and hunted down, times of hunger, etc, etc. Does that sound like life abundant? Or what about the men and women in the faith chapter of Hebrews? Their lives certainly didn't match what I would call life abundant...I wonder what Jesus meant by that. Maybe he wasnt referring to this natural life. Maybe he was referring to a spritual life, one lived more on the inside than the outside. Perhaps he was talking about this in Galations. Its a bit long but it's great!!!
Galatians 5:15-35 (The Message)
13-15It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? 16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? 19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom. 22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. 23-24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified. 25-26Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
So, there you have it...now if it was just as easy to do, as it is to read! How we need God's grace...AMEN?
Love you all out there in blogger-land..
Cathy
Monday, June 12, 2006
Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of your life..
Well, let's see..hmm..its been a couple of days now since I last wrote. Since that time, I've been kind of in a "dormant" state. Not that I'm not moving ahead or anything, its just feels like a time of testing. My reactions, attitudes, motivations are all being sifted ....oh and its easy to justify myself, but God has been impressing upon me that if I want to move on with Him, then I must look at some things "not so pretty" in my life and in my heart. Of course, I've done this in times past, but this time its different. Its like a searchlight, going into the darkest corners and making sure that all the "rooms" are swept clean. No cobwebs, no dirt and grime, no unexpecting things lurking behind doors, etc. I guess you could call it "spring cleaning". Jesus often referred to our bodies as a house and inside there are many "rooms". I love this scripture:
2 Timothy 2:20-22 (New International Version) 20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Although Im not a 'youth' anymore, I can still relate! I can certainly act immature..but the bottom line for me is this:
I WANT A PURE HEART! Don't you?? This next part I'm inserting from someone else's blog that I thought was really cool:
Preparation of the heart - the heart must be totally undivided and be set steadfast and firm in His heart. The heart must be pure. The heart must be protected for it's the wellspring of life and must be guarded at all cost. The spring must run clear and clean. The wellspring must pour out life for others. This preparation and battle is not for me, it's for the purposes of the Kingdom, for the hearts of the lost and broken, it's for the King.
Bye for now..keep pressing in for more..cuz there is sooooo much more than we can ask, think or even imagine...
Love, Cathy
Oh by the way, here's a pic just to poke at your curiousity!
2 Timothy 2:20-22 (New International Version) 20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 22Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Although Im not a 'youth' anymore, I can still relate! I can certainly act immature..but the bottom line for me is this:
I WANT A PURE HEART! Don't you?? This next part I'm inserting from someone else's blog that I thought was really cool:
Preparation of the heart - the heart must be totally undivided and be set steadfast and firm in His heart. The heart must be pure. The heart must be protected for it's the wellspring of life and must be guarded at all cost. The spring must run clear and clean. The wellspring must pour out life for others. This preparation and battle is not for me, it's for the purposes of the Kingdom, for the hearts of the lost and broken, it's for the King.
Bye for now..keep pressing in for more..cuz there is sooooo much more than we can ask, think or even imagine...
Love, Cathy
Oh by the way, here's a pic just to poke at your curiousity!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
OK..here goes my first posting..
Well, this is a first for me. I don't usually enjoy writing. Mostly, I find it difficult to express myself in writing..much easier to talk..(and laugh!!). Laughing is very theraputic actually, and for those that don't laugh much, you should try it! After all, the Bible says it's "like medicine".
Anyway, this is not what I was planning to write. What was I planning to write? Well, how excited I am about learning to express myself more in writing..sort of a stretching experience for me. You can expect to hear alot about Jesus and His kingdom, and what I am going through and learning. I'm intrigued by the inner life more than the outer. Perhaps we can encourage each other along the way.
Well this past year, I made a decision to trek up the mountain of the Lord. In the Bible, the mountain is the place where God's glory was revealed to Moses and its the place of the Heavenly City called Mount Zion. In a spiritual sense, its the place where God's presence dwells with his people. Its about having holy discontentment. Not being satisfied with the crumbs from the Master's table. Wanting more and willing to risk all, for the sake of Someone I don't yet see, much less know. Its about learning to walk through danger, snares, overcoming obstacles from outside and inside, battling demonic forces, but mostly learning to receive and accept the love that the Father has bestowed on me, by calling me his daughter and finding that destiny of relationship with Him that I was created for. I finding out that its less and less about what I do, and more and more about who HE is and who I am in Him. This requires following a narrow road, a Path that not even many Christians have chosen to walk. Its really a path that leads to life, but at first it looks like death. (Matthew 16:24-26 Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?) The Way is not pretty, lovely, and especially not easy. Its not for the faint of heart..there are many obstacles, many dangers on this path both from within and without. Fear is a big obstacle. What if God isnt happy with me? What if people dont accept me? What if I come to the end and it was all for nothing? What if..what if...I fail. Well, perfect love casts out fear. And gradually as I open myself up to His love, fear is being driven out!
THIS IS MY GOAL: I want to stand before the Lord, and hear him say "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
More later, alligators!!
Love, Cathy
Anyway, this is not what I was planning to write. What was I planning to write? Well, how excited I am about learning to express myself more in writing..sort of a stretching experience for me. You can expect to hear alot about Jesus and His kingdom, and what I am going through and learning. I'm intrigued by the inner life more than the outer. Perhaps we can encourage each other along the way.
Well this past year, I made a decision to trek up the mountain of the Lord. In the Bible, the mountain is the place where God's glory was revealed to Moses and its the place of the Heavenly City called Mount Zion. In a spiritual sense, its the place where God's presence dwells with his people. Its about having holy discontentment. Not being satisfied with the crumbs from the Master's table. Wanting more and willing to risk all, for the sake of Someone I don't yet see, much less know. Its about learning to walk through danger, snares, overcoming obstacles from outside and inside, battling demonic forces, but mostly learning to receive and accept the love that the Father has bestowed on me, by calling me his daughter and finding that destiny of relationship with Him that I was created for. I finding out that its less and less about what I do, and more and more about who HE is and who I am in Him. This requires following a narrow road, a Path that not even many Christians have chosen to walk. Its really a path that leads to life, but at first it looks like death. (Matthew 16:24-26 Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?) The Way is not pretty, lovely, and especially not easy. Its not for the faint of heart..there are many obstacles, many dangers on this path both from within and without. Fear is a big obstacle. What if God isnt happy with me? What if people dont accept me? What if I come to the end and it was all for nothing? What if..what if...I fail. Well, perfect love casts out fear. And gradually as I open myself up to His love, fear is being driven out!
THIS IS MY GOAL: I want to stand before the Lord, and hear him say "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
More later, alligators!!
Love, Cathy
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