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Showing posts from February, 2006

Tough Love Is Still Love

Greetings in the Lord! Yesterday's and today's word comes from Jeremiah 44 and Hosea 11. It is a reminder to us that it is best to return to God instead of running away to avoid discipline or correction; even if the Lord just wants to "fine tune" your theology or how you relate to Him---be open to the move of the Lord in your life! Jeremiah 44:12 "I will take away the remnant of Judah who were determined to go to Egypt to settle there...14) None of the remnant of Judah who have gone to live in Egypt will escape or survive to return to the land of Judah, to which they long to return and live..." Hosea 11:3-5 "It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them. Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they will not repent?" V. 8) "Ho

Verdict In: Daniel Is Found Blameless

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Daniel 6:1-28, the story of Daniel in the lion's den. Of course we know the story, but let's hear what the Lord speaks to us today through it. After King Darius issued the decree forbidding worship to anything other than himself for 30 days, Daniel "went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened to Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God, just as he had done before." Daniel didn't even hesitate to break the decree! Of course, his adversaries knew he would do this and turned him in to the king when they saw Daniel praying to God for help. The king had no choice but to put him in the den of lions....then, Lord saved him. So, Daniel, who deliberately broke the king's decree in order to remain faithful to God, was proved blameless after surviving the ordeal with the lions. In the midst of his enemies and the whole pagan Babylonian culture, Daniel's ordeal

Note for Friday Meeting

Greetings in the Lord! Today's blog is from Nehemiah 9, and actually will pertain more to those in my area who will be attending tomorrow's Jubilee service. "On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God." Nehemiah 9:1-3. So it should be with us: set some time aside to pray for this meeting! Fast if you feel lead, but certainly find some alone time to confess your sins before the Lord and worship and praise Him for His glorious presence with us tomorrow. Read through all of Nehemiah 9 too, and see what the Levites prayed for, an

We Should Be Brothers

Greetings in Christ! Today's word comes from Ezekiel 35, which was the prophecy Ezekiel gave against Edom. For us today, I discern it is a prophecy for the modern-day nation of Jordan. V 5) "Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to and it will pursue you. I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go..." V 10) "Because you have said, 'These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them,' even though I the Lord was there, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will treat you in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you." I received this word after I had awaken from a vivid dream

Grace to Overcome

Greetings in the Lord! Today's verse comes from Psalm 124 and actually builds off of the blog from Job, chapter 2. V. 6-8) "Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." In the previous blog on Job, I commented that "the Lord gives us both good things and gives us bad things." Why did I say it like that? The Lord does not do evil, but He allows it to happen for a designated time to accomplish His purposes. I said it like that to emphasize the completeness of the Lord's Sovereignty over all circumstances, so we can begin to understand the fullness of His grace. I discern from the Lord that the American church does not fully understand the depth and "cost" of His grace. We tend to teach a weak and meaningless form of grace--one that is quickly referenced b

Earnestly I Seek You

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Psalm 63: "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced." Tonigh

Jump for My Purifying Love

Greetings in the Lord! Today's scripture will be a combination of Job 2 and Malachi 3:16-4:3---sometimes the Lord has to use two (or more!) scripture references for me to discern the word that He is trying to tell me! :) In Job 2 we read about the second test of Job: being faithful to God during a bodily affliction. In fact, it seems that much of the book of Job revolves around this question: How will a good man act, and what should he think, when he is tested by suffering? Job tells us, "Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?" Job2:10b. Job reveals some deep insights for us. First, we can receive good things from God and we can receive bad things. I realize that this is a very troubling concept for our American church, one so addicted to comfort and blessings. But do not allow yourself to think like Job's erroneous friends: our testings and trials are not the result of an angry God punishing us...in fact, quite the opposite. God was revealing to everyone Job&

Put 'Belief' Back in the Believers

Greetings in Christ! Today's word comes from Galatians 3:2-5: "I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" We are entering a very special season of a powerful move of God; many will see things that they've not seen before--all in the name of Jesus Christ! This is bound to make the "religious" folk among us a bit uncomfortable, if not down right alarmed. Imagine going to church and Bible study for years, reading about miraculous healings, glorious visions, and people operating in the gifts of the Spirit, then, watching one day as these wonderful things begin to happen in great n

To Russia, With Love

Greetings in Christ! In the Fall of 2002 I played basketball and lived in Kazan, Russia. While I was there, the Lord gave me many words and revelations about what He was doing in Russia, all of it was based on the premise of Ezekiel 37, the Valley of Dry Bones. The Lord was telling me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life...then you will know that I am the Lord.'" (verses 4-6). The Lord went on to say that He was going to "change their hearts of stone to hearts of flesh," beginning with the leaders of their country. All those who would not surrender their corrupt lifestyles to the Lord would be removed from power and so on. One very special revelation to have come to pass was based on the book of Habakkuk, in which the Lord revealed to me that He was going to bring judgment on those in Russia who eagerly sought lifest

The Willingness to Hear the Horn of Deborah!

Greetings in Christ! Today's scripture is from Judges 5, the song of Deborah. V.8) "When they chose new gods, war came to the city gates, and not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel." And so it is in America: we are a completely idolatrous culture without a care; lying on our soft beds at night and leather chairs in the day. We have no idea how to fight against the enemy and his tricks: materialism, arrogance, promiscuity, humanistic ideas, and 'political correctness.' We promote theologies of divison and judging others, while we preach unbalanced theologies on prosperity and grace which nullifies the power of Christ with unbelief, apathy, and idleness. But the Lord says some of us are blessed because of one thing: willingness! V. 9) " My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the Lord!" It is our willingness to be guided into action by the Holy Spirit. To lay down our lives and ta

Fill the Cup of Mercy

Greetings in the Lord! Today when the Lord led me to read Lamentations chapter 1, my heart sank. Oh, how hard it is to give a mournful message to a nation that knows neither humility or shame. Selah. I pause here to let the Holy Spirit bring tears to your eyes to weep over the Word of the Lord today, for surely "the Lord loves a contrite and broken heart." V. 6-9 "All the splendor has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursurer. In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction. Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honor her despise her, for they have seen her ness; she herself groans and turns away. Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her f

Harmless Cartoons?

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Psalm 1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, NOR sinners in the assembly of the righteous . For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." I discern this word to be responding to the flurry surrounding the Prophet Mohammad caricatures. Understand this: many of the events in our world today, both good and bad, are the means to reveal our true heart attitudes to ourselves and the world. How do you honestly feel about the news reports of the riots? The Wor

Can't See the Forest Thru All the Trees

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Micah chapters 1-2. Those chapters speak of God's intense disapproval of the prevalent idolatry, corruption, and immorality in Samaria and Jerusalem. While in verses 2:12-13 God promises deliverance for the remnant of faithful believers in those nations, overall the chapters foretell of certain judgment to Israel and Judah for their sinful ways (eathquakes and enemy attacks)...yet, false prophets spoke against the words of Micah. 2:6-7) "Do not prophesy," their prophets say. "Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us." Should it be said, O house of Jacob: "Is the Spirit of the Lord angry? Does he do such things?" The answer is a most resounding 'Yes!' The Lord loves us too much to let His people run rampant in sin all their lives--thinking that right is wrong and wrong is right. Righteousness is not democratic. The Lord is holy and His Word is the same yesterday, today a

Small Beginnings, Big Endings

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word is from Matthew 13:31-33; two parables about the kingdom of God. "Jesus told them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.' He told them still another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.' The word from the Lord today is that 1) the big projects, His projects, that you've begun to understand and presently are undertaking may seem to you as insignificant, not at all the vision the Lord has put in your heart. Don't get frustrated, stay on your course, for in due time the project will bear much fruit and many will come to taste of it; 2) the 2nd part of the word is that while

Favor of the Lord

Greetings in the Lord! Yesterday I received an encouraging word from a friend about the favor of God, but I'm not sure I really received it. Today, however, the Lord said it, so I not only received it, but am passing along the blessing to all of you. Enjoy! "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor."~Isaiah 61:1-3 In the midst of your storm hold onto the vision the Lord put in you because indeed, t

Build Your House Upon the Rock

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Isaiah 22:1-14. Those verses talk about how the people of Jerusalem simply went on with business as usual, while only attending to the obvious weaknesses in their city structure, after the Lord spared them from a major attack by their enemy in the past. They "saw that the City of David had many breaches in its defenses; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall...but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and reverly...eating of meat and drinking of wine! 'Let us eat and drink,' you say, 'for tomorrow we die!'" The word of the Lord is saying that this attitude has gripped our nation as well. As a nation, we have not repented and returned

Prophetic Word for Iceland

Greetings in the Lord! Yesterday the Lord put on my heart that within a matter of weeks I was to go to Iceland and prophesy there. Here is the prophetic word for the nation of Iceland I received today: "It's the dawn of a new age in Iceland! Look, over the mountains--a bright Light shines. Feel His warmth stirring and melting your hearts. Truth shall reign in the north! The Lord comes riding on His white horse to spear the red dragon, setting the captives free! In an instant, all is changed! Your hearts will burn for Me! Raging to the ends of the earth, proclaiming Truth, taming the earth once again. You are fearless, my Nordic children. You are greatly loved my tender ones. You are gifted and beautiful, polished for the day I unsheath you to the world. A tall, silver, shining sword will come from the north to touch the ends of the earth. Truth! Truth! I call forth Truth from your lips. Once again the lonely house will bring reconcilliation to the world. Peace is your name, O

Our Quiet Ministries

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word is from Matthew 12:15-28, which talks about the quiet and often misunderstood ministry of Jesus. Verse 15b-21: "Many followed him (Jesus) and he healed all their sick, warning them not to tell who he was. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not put out, till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.'" The passage tells us that He would not be listened to, but His actions would speak for themselves. As Elvis sang so enthusiastically, "A little less talk and a lot more action!" The thrust of this season is to be propelled from our pews to the broken hearted, oppressed, and spirit