Doors

I am not sure if I was awake or asleep or somewhere in between, but early in the morning the Lord showed me something.   I saw people  safe and secure in a house with a guard at the door... and all of a sudden, the enemy had come into the house... I understood that our safety is in the Lord... our covenant promise. But, our covenant promises are like legal agreements... with terms. No one knows the terms of agreement better than our adversary. He knows it all by heart, and watches for a violation so he can use it to get in to our house. The enemy can't come into where the Lord abides... unless he has legal ground to be there, unless we violate the agreement.  

His promises are conditional, we must do our part... or His part is not required. If we violate the terms are then the agreement is made null and void, until we come into compliance. Now having said that... let me say this... He loved us so much, He gave us Jesus...His love is unconditional, His Mercy endures forever, His Grace is sufficient for me...His blood covers our sins... but we were bought with a price, we are not our own... and if we want His BEST for us... which is what He wants for us... then we need to do our part...

Romans 12:1 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a livingsacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

God will never violate the covenant.. He cannot, He is bound by His Word. But we can violate it.  Unrepented sin gives the devil legal ground to bother us. So do the words of our mouth.  The Word says life and death are in the power of the tongue.  If we speak in agreement with God, with the Word, with Faith, with Love, we are speaking life... if we speak in agreement with the enemy, with words of doubt, words of gossip, words that are discouraging or hateful... we have given a password to the enemy... he can walk right up to the guard at the door and give him the words that will allow him to pass... his search warrant, so to speak... then he can walk right in and begin to sift through our lives...  and there we stand wondering why God let us down. Why His Word isn't working in our lives... guess what... who violated the terms?  I can say without reservation... it wasn't God. He stands waiting to fulfill His part of the promise, He desires to bless us... and when we allow Him to... He lavishes us with His blessings and fulfills all His promises.  The Word says He came to give us life and that more abundantly! 

He honors our efforts and stands waiting and watching for us to fulfill our part... so He can bless us with His best... Let us remember to guard the words of our lips, keep our doors closed to the enemy. 

On Earth as it is in Heaven

 On EARTH  AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

On Earth as it is in Heaven… Do we know what that looks like?  Do we know what it smells like?  Do we know what it sounds like? Do we know what it feels like?

There have been moments in my life that I caught a glimpse, smelled a waft of it, heard a whisper … and felt the glory.  In each of those moments… All else became as nothing to me. In those moments …It was if that was all that existed… and I wanted to linger there… but inevitably the fleshly senses kicked in and stole those precious moments. 

I long for those moments…. I long for a time when I can walk in that realm… on earth… as in heaven.  I believe the disciples did it… I believe they walked long enough with Jesus that they learned how… and I am convinced that even though I haven’t seemed to learn it yet.. I believe I can.  I believe we all can. If we want it badly enough.

OH… To be able to live in this flesh… and yet be so close to the heart of Jesus… and so full of the Holy Spirit… that nothing we face… no circumstance… no obstacle… can even cause us concern.

John learned… John began as one of the sons of Thunder, his zeal to call down fire and destroy the city in Samaria that did not want to receive the Lord… He was ambitious and wanted to know what his status would be in the Kingdom… He was a force. Always… but his love for the Lord caused his gospel to reflect the love of Jesus for us… his teachings were about love and relationship. Divine relationship.  He was given the favor of God throughout his entire life…  the Lord spared his life to a ripe old age… John was the beloved… because John loved Jesus deeply… He worshipped Him in spirit and in truth and was called a man after God’s own heart.  John always put the relationship first.

Peter learned… even though he was impetuous and sometimes boisterous… and his faith wavered… he was the first one out of the boat to walk on the water… then he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink.. but Jesus lifted him up.  Peter allowed fear to cause him to deny Jesus. .. 3X.. he was the first to jump up to defend Jesus when they came to get him and cut off the soldiers ear. Jesus had to correct him and heal the soldier. But Jesus knew his heart… and knew that he had created him for the purpose that he would fulfill… On This rock will I build my church. .. and once he learned how to walk on earth as in heaven… even his very shadow healed the sick… and guess what .. His writings tell of the Lord’s grace… and mercy and wisdom and love and transformation… and responsibilities to the Lord… and teaches us about humility and to be vigilant to resist the enemy… and that you are chosen…about who you were ..and now are …in the Lord… and …who you can be…

Paul learned. Yet he never walked physically with Jesus while he was on earth.  No matter what people said or did to him… he felt so blessed to be counted worthy to suffer for the cause of Christ… so ready to give such as he had… speaking the word to heal miraculously… sitting in prison praising God for counting him worthy to be jailed… and  in the midst of what would be despair for most… He Praised so deeply and so genuinely and trusted so fully… that it moved the heart of God to break the chains and wreck the prison with a mighty earthquake …just to let Paul know… that his trust and love and praise was exactly as it should be for God to show up… and show out for Paul. Oh and the works that Paul was able to do… the trials and tribulations he was able to overcome…

The Lord trusted his commitment to Him enough to give him the  writings that would become most of our new testament… I want the Lord to be able to trust my commitment to Him to be able to use me for what He created me for… but I know I am certainly not at full capacity in that regard… not just yet.

Those powerful, devoted, loving, disciples… had several things in common. They were a complete mess to start with… Jesus called them by name… and they answered the call. They lived for Him… He was the most important thing in their lives… they devoted their lives to Him. And.. Jesus taught them to walk on earth as in heaven…

They walked in Freedom. Without restrictions… without fear of what people might think or say. They did not walk in the traditions of men… they walked in the newness of life.   They walked by faith not by sight… The walked after the Spirit and not after the flesh… they were fully confident in what they learned from the Lord… they did what they saw Him do. They walked in relationship with the Holy Spirit… They  walked in the Kingdom realm … on earth as in Heaven.

Relationship requires time… communication… intimacy… commitment, and sacrifice. It is no different with God as it is with our marriage… if you only had an hour a week for your spouse.. what kind of relationship would it be.  Not much of one.

You know how you repeat the same things over and over to your children until they learn it.. and then you know that they know it and they just don’t do it.. and it makes you so crazy…

Well so much of my life the Lord has had to repeat the same thing to me. It has been a constant theme it seems.   “The cares of this world take your eyes off me.”  I am ashamed that He has had to tell me so many times… there is absolutely nothing I want more in this life… than to walk as those disciples walked… to allow nothing I face to take my eyes off him. But I am like Peter… I am the first to jump out of the boat… only to see the size of the waves and begin to sink… I am like John… wanting to call fire down on anyone who doesn’t respect the things of the Lord… and yet … I fall asleep in the garden while I should be praying…  I am like Paul… ¹⁹ For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 

The Spirit is willing ... but the flesh is weak. 

I have been blessed in my lifetime to have had the opportunity to be in full time ministry… that is and has always been my heart.  During those times… several different times.. I have been in the position to be able to study… to have alone time with Him and to have times of prayer that were so glorious… During those times.. I experienced the presence of the Lord in a mighty way.  I have dreamed dreams… I have had visions,.. the Lord has given me words of knowledge and prophecy.  He has allowed me to taste and see that He is indeed very good.  He has caused me to hunger for Him and to long for His presence and His works on earth as it is in Heaven.

What I have learned is that “the cares of this world DO take my eyes off Him” And I have to learn the balance… and how to have the realm of heaven influence what I do on earth instead of allowing the things I do on earth to take my eyes off the things of heaven.

We all have duties, responsibilities, jobs, relationships … all those things need our attention and ofcourse the Lord intends for us to be good stewards of all of those things and give ourselves fully to those commitments… but most importantly …and probably the most difficult to maintain consistently and long term … is to represent Him in all of those things.

Not that we don’t try to do exactly that … but as we fleshly humans do… we organize, we strategize, we compartmentalize and then we try to legitimize… We have the best intentions… we begin well … but in trying to do our best to manage our duties, responsibilities, jobs and relationships… we tend to begin to focus more on the task at hand …on earth …than we do on heaven… and in doing so … we take our eyes off Him.

We have our routines… our schedules… our habits… and before we know it … the spontaneity of the Spirit and the freedom of the Spirit is bound by our timeframes… by the expectations of others … by the distractions and by the influence around us… and Lord help us… our apathy.

That word jumped out at me… apathy.  The dictionaries define Apathy as the absence or suppression of passion, emotion or excitement … lack of interest or the attitude of not caring resulting from it. A state of indifference a lack of sense of purpose or worth.

Does that sound like us sometimes.. we are just so tired today… we just don’t have the energy to be excited because we are too tired from the day… or our minds are so busy with what we need to do… that we can’t even keep our mind focused on the things of God… The cares of this world keep your eyes off Him.

I am guilty… so often. I have to take the bull by the horns, I have to steer this ship, I have to land this plane, If you want the job done right you have to do it yourself.. I have to git er done! And all the other clichés you can think of about being in control of the things you are responsible for!

Have you heard the expression… It’s called adulting? Well .. I know that is a good thing in moderation.  But if you feel like you have to be responsible or carry the weight of the world and do everything yourself.. then NOT so much.  Jesus says cast all your cares on me.. for I care for you … His yoke is easy… His burden is light.. so if it is heavy… You are the one carrying it.

I am so guilty… so often of the cares of this world take my eyes off Him.

Matthew 18 1-6 18 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?² And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,³ And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.⁴ Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

 Ever notice the freedom and exuberance a child has…. There is no guile in them … their innocence allows them the freedom to not even realize there are rules and boundaries… or even that anything might harm them…. they just go full out without fear or intimidation of any kind…  and yes of course there are rules and boundaries…. There have to be…  For their protection… for their correction to show them the right way… and we all have to abide by guidelines… but… when does it happen??? the quenching of the wide eyed wonder and sense of anticipation of what is about to happen, The sense of adventure and anticipation… as we succumb to the rules.

As we grow… we learn… we understand more… we get in the routine, the schedule of life on the planet with all the rules and entrapments and all of it becomes nothing out of the ordinary… nothing that we don’t anticipate coming… nothing new … just the daily grind…. And that attitude.. that mindset carries over into our spiritual life.. things become so busy that our time with the Lord ends up not really fitting into the daily routine… everything else just seems to cause us to think… “well I will do it later” or there was just no time… and before you know it … the Spirit is on your schedule… worked into your routine.. in to your allotted time frame ..into a compartment that quenches the Spirit and that freedom and that ferver and excitement and anticipation and adventure and sense of what could happen … and what is He going to do… It turns into okay times up gotta go.

And we do it without realizing we are doing it… because it is routine.. we could do it without thinking about it… without even noticing what we are missing… without realizing we have no expectations of anything new… or.. we think we know what it will look like and we just don’t see it.. and when He moves… we miss it… because we didn’t recognize it…. we have God in a box and in a category as all the other things in our lives…  so nothing happens… nothing can…  

What we need to remember… The only rule in the Spirit… is surrender and yield to Him..

The devil is a thief… and he comes in subtly and sneaks in little by little to steal our relationship with God … appealing to your flesh to focus on something else… work…. Tv… phone… facebook… whatever… until the time you could have spent on your relationship… begins to starve your spirit and feed your flesh.

I know I have told this story before… but it keeps coming back to me as the best example the Lord has shown me… about coming to Him as a little child. 

When I set up my prayer room and my prayer closet… I was not working at an outside job… so I spent quite a bit of time in my prayer room …. With the soaking music in worship and in prayer and just sitting in His presence listening.  There was an atmosphere in that room. There was His presence in that room.  There was a sense of anticipation and excitement when I entered that room… knowing that my Lord would meet me there … when I quieted myself… when I gave him my full attention… when I waited for Him… without a clock.

One day Joy brought the children over for me to watch them while she tended to something.   They wanted a tour of the house… and so we walked through.. When we got to the prayer room, Alera felt it… you could see it on her face.  She asked about the room and I told her… we went back in the living room…. She asked  … am I allowed to go to the prayer room.  I told her sure… she instantly bolted up and ran full speed to the room.. and just as I stood up to “slow her down” she came to an abrupt stop at the threshold and gently and reverently walked slowly in. It was as if she couldn’t get there fast enough and then reverently entered into His presence.  We should all run to Him as a child with breathless anticipation of what He is going to do… Every time we approach Him.

I believe all eyes were on the Lord the day of Pentecost… I believe every heart waited in breathless expectation … they were waiting for the Promise… they could think of nothing else.. no one knew what to expect… I bet not one of them expected to see fire on everyones head… I am sure that no one expected to hear themselves speaking in a language they didn’t even know. But … when the Spirit fell … and those things happened… they recognized it as Him… even though it was something no one have ever experienced before.

He is going to do a new thing. Something no one has ever experienced before…and He could do it here. He will give us a new sound .. He will pour out His Spirit on ALL flesh..  And a little child will lead them… it may not be a youth… that child may be 70… but it will be the one that comes to Him as a little child… with wide eyed wonder and anticipation … so excited to see what is going to happen.. what He is going to do…waiting for the promise… with their focus on Him…and not having any preconceived notion of what it looks like!

When we can discipline ourselves… when we can prioritize … when we can burn up the wood, hay and stubble in our lives… and devote ourselves first to Him… When we can seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness… then all these things will be added to us.…

When we can run to Him with the heart of a little child … Worship like we are the only one in the room with Him … total submission…  just let go of everything else… when we don’t care what anyone thinks… and our mind is wholly on HIM alone…  with breathless anticipation..

His will …will be done on earth as it is in heaven…

Can you see it? Can you smell it?  Can you hear it?  Can you feel it? How badly do you want it?

Purity

The Lord gave me a dream several times, it seemed far off and obscure the first couple of times when I woke up, and I dismissed it. One night the dream was crisp and clear and I did remember it when I awoke as well as the fact that he had given me the same message subtly before.  In my dream... I was going to speak at a ministry function of some sort.  When I arrived, I was pulled aside and told I could not be there because I had an STD.  They were very specific about what it was.  I told them that was absolutely impossible, I knew that specific STD was caused from multiple partners, and that myself or my husband had certainly not been unfaithful.  But no matter, they sent me away... Then I woke up.  I was mortified.  I could not imagine why the Lord would give me such a dream.  I shared it with my husband, John, who was equally puzzled.  He told me to just seek the Lord about it, which I did.  

The Lord began to show me that "unordained alignments" ... any person or ministry or affiliation that we align ourselves with that He did not ordain, is an "impure alignment."   Since we are the Bride of Christ, our intimate relationship with Him depends upon our purity.  He wants a Bride without spot or blemish, obedient and in alignment with HIS Word... in one accord, correctly positioned, each member jointly fit together, working in His perfect design. When we align ourselves with another entity that is not going in the same direction as He is leading us, or at the same speed or for the same purpose... or all of the above... we are not walking in His perfect will or His perfect time. Like Joshua, sometimes we are fooled by the moldy bread, and a sad story and see no reason to consult God on the acceptance of someone into our lives. The enemy is an expert on how to divert our attention from our purpose that God created us for. Subtlety is one of his best diversions, and playing on our desire to help our fellowman or even other ministries, we sometimes derail our progress in our purpose and relationship with the Father...even with the best of intentions.  Sometimes it is not as innocent as all that.  Sometimes it is an unholy alignment with sin that is in our lives.  Sometimes it is something that stands between us and Him.  It is all the same to God, and because it effects our intimacy with him... it is like an STD. He was clear... come ye out from among them and be ye separate.  Be ye holy as I Am Holy... 

I knew because He was so specific in the dream, I needed to research the specific STD... what I found is this: 1) it is the most common STD. ( spiritually speaking...it is very common these days for the church, His Bride to be aligned with a lot of things that He did not ordain... we know this) 2) it will cause one to be sterile ( spiritually, we can not conceive, or become impregnated with His purpose for our lives, therefore we cannot bear fruit)  3) if untreated it can cause an unnatural pregnancy, tubal pregnancy which can result in death if not terminated. (spiritually, without being able to conceive our Godly purpose, or bear Godly fruit... we can become impregnated with an unnatural, or unholy purpose, a counterfit... that can kill us... separate us from Gods purpose)

Needless to say, we reevaluated our alignments and found that some were actually alignments that we made without really consulting the Lord about it. Therefore, we severed those alignments, in love... and in obedience to the Lord's instruction. 

 I have been rather sequestered, for lack of a better term, for a time... as the Lord works on purifying me... I have asked that he would burn out the wood, hay and stubble.. and burn out all the dross to make me a vessel of honor fit for His use... I want no impurity in me to keep me from that intimacy with my Lord, my Savior, my Father, with His precious Holy Spirit.  

Teach me Your ways Lord.  Create in me a clean heart, purify my soul...wash me in the precious Blood of Jesus, Stir up the gifts that are within me, and let nothing keep me from Your purpose in my life.

His Light of Understanding

The "lake" is one of my favorite places to be.  It is a place for me to spend time with the Lord, uninterrupted... and generally... He speaks to me in some fashion with a message.  Today was no exception.  On the way home, I was thinking about how He teaches us. The messages of late are about being pure, being holy, as He is Holy... about separating oneself from the things of the world and being committed to Him on a whole new level. That is the desire of my heart ... I want to be more aware of His presence than those things which are around me.  

I have noticed that the closer I get to the Lord, the more I realize how much impurity is in me...How much more growth I need, how little I really understand about anything. The light of the Father illuminates all that is not holy, all that is not pleasing to Him. It creates an awareness of my need for Him,  the more I see the more I realize how much grace and mercy He has poured out to me... How much sin, disobedience, ignorance, selfishness, judgement and unholy alignments have been covered by the precious blood of Jesus.  How lost I would be without it's covering.  How thankful I am that He loves me so much to have sacrificed so much for me, so that even after all I have done... the blood that He shed  allows me access to Heaven itself. Wow!

I, being so insignifigant in the scheme of things, so important to the Creator of the Universe... I am in awe of His love for me. Thank you Father... Thank you, Jesus. Please continue to teach me what I need to know to be used of you for the purpose you created me for.  I don't want to miss a thing!

Forever faithful

I have known the Lord my entire life.  He has been faithful everyday of my life in every aspect whether I was walking with Him, or whether I was walking my own path.  Still, it never ceases to amaze me at the detail with which the Lord intervenes in my life and in the issues I have to deal with.  He goes before me and makes the crooked places straight, he makes a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.  No matter what the challenge, His timing, preparation and provision are absolutely PERFECT.  I could begin with examples and write hundreds of 300 page books and still not cover all the instances that He has been faithful to care for my every need.  Needless to say, all the times I don't know about would fill even more books. 

He can change a circumstance, an outcome and even the heart of a man.  He has and does that for us on a second by second basis...when we allow Him to. We just have to trust Him.  I will never forget the day so many years ago when I had asked Him what to do about a specific thing.  His answer to me was "fall back into my arms."  I saw in my minds eye,  myself standing on the edge of a cliff, falling backwards into arms that I could not see.  It was a request to have blind faith... with no question, no fear, and no idea what might come.  Just to trust Him to catch me, trust Him to provide for me and not question His ability to be all I would ever need.  To throw down any crutches, expectations of any person, job or entity of the world, and to follow Him without reservation.

I, of course, questioned all the how's, why's and wherefore's and doubted within myself that it could be so simple... and that I had actually heard Him correctly.  In His faithfulness, mercy and grace... He continued to confirm His  Word to me until I could believe it... until I could 'fall back into His arms" without fear.  When I did, it opened up a whole new world to me.  Since then... the more I learn, the more time I spend, the closer I get to Him... the more incredible it becomes... and the more I can see all that He does on my behalf.  I have lacked nothing, I have enjoyed His favor, and above all, I am learning each day how to be who He created me to be... and who He wants to be to me each day... and without fail ... it is always exactly who I need Him to be, exactly what I need and when I need it. It is always more than I deserve, better than I could hope... and from a Daddy who loves me in spite of myself, and who is Forever Faithful even when I was not.

A new year a new view

For the past several months I have been attending a webinar hosted by Roy Roden from Destiny Prophetic Ministries.  I have learned so much more about hearing the voice of the Lord, giftings and the Heart of the Father. The scriptures seem to have more meaning, deeper meaning and the things that He shows me, tells me and reveals to me are much clearer in general and more specific in nature, and it comes to me quickly.  My Pastor, Ed Lantz is a fabulous teacher as well... he has been laying this foundation for the past four years... the foundation the Lord needed me to have to build upon with the proper spirit and knowledge base. It seems both of my teachers compare notes on what to teach every week.  One will speak on something and I will get a part of the message, some understanding... then when I am with the other one in the next setting, I get more of the message/teaching and an even deeper  understanding of what the Lord wants to teach me.  They have never met, but they teach from the same Spirit... the Holy Spirit.  So that Spirit that teaches us all things... uses those vessels that are open to Him no matter where they are geographically to build up and equip the body to grow and mature into a vessel fit for His use. Then the wise master builder carefully places those pieces of the building together so that that portion of the structure has the appropriate strength to support the weight it is intended to carry.  

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled... Matthew 5:6 

... Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7

 Let me just say that no truer words were spoken, if you hunger for knowledge of God and thirst for His wisdom, He will fill you with it.  If you ask, seek and knock... you will have it, find it and it shall be opened unto you ... 
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2  
So... why would we think that it is such a hard thing to hear from God... to know His heart or to get a revelation or wisdom or understanding?  Why do we believe that it takes so much time to get a word of direction from the Father?  We as parents, when a child asks a question, do we say nothing while they wait for a response... do they ask the question and then go on about their day while they wait to be summoned at some future date to get an answer? Sometimes that is so... when we have to weigh the matter to see if it is something they are mature enough for or if it is something that will be good for them or bad for them.  However, our heavenly Father does not have to ponder or weigh a matter that we bring to Him.  He knows before we even ask, and is waiting for us to come to Him... even the father of the prodigal son was watching for him and when he saw him afar off... made ready,  so by the time he ran out to meet him ... the fatted calf was being prepared for the hungry son to feast upon.  No more corn in the pigpen for that son... that son who had come back to his father to be a servant in his house, knowing that he would be well fed.  The Father knows our hearts, our needs and our desires... and ...

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11. We just have to ask and have the faith to believe that He stands waiting to kiss us on the neck and give us the fatted calf.  If we are asking for knowledge, wisdom and understanding ... for the good gifts and our god is NOT our belly.... think how quickly He will respond.  We pray and  then   carry on with our life... we don't wait for an answer so many times... or we ask and then our mind wanders through the possibilities of what He might say or what we might do or ...or... or any number of things... instead of ... be still and know that I am God.... we have to expect to hear Him... and be ready to receive it.  Seems like a simple thing... well it is. Can you do it?  Not without practice.  Not without exercising those communication skills... not without getting to know who you are talking to and recognizing His voice.  You certainly don't want to think you are talking to God, the Father, the Creator of the Universe who knows all things... and find out you are talking with yourself.. or even worse... one of the "other" voices in your head.  You know what I mean... the teachings you have had all your life, that may be doctrine of man or the memories of what someone else told you .... Aha!  There is the problem... have you figured it out yet? That is exactly why people don't hear from the Father.  They don't trust the fact that they are worthy of hearing from the Creator of the universe... or that they aren't spiritual enough... or that they are entirely too insignificant .... or any number of lies that satan will spin through your head... why?... to keep you from the intimacy you seek... from the wisdom you seek... from the answers and direction you seek.  The enemy can only stop the communication with God... if... he can convince you that you can't have communication with God unless you are someone special.  Someone of biblical significance! Then you will not get what you seek, then you will be of no threat to him... the enemy wants you to come to the battle unarmed and with no weapons!    Well ... let me share something with you... you are someone of biblical significance!  You are covered with the Blood of Jesus Christ!  That makes you pretty significant doesn't it???? You think the God of all creation would waste the Blood of His precious Son on someone who was not significant or of worth??  YOU are mentioned all throughout the Bible ... whosoever believeth... John 3:16...that would be YOU... according to your faith be it unto you... Matthew 9:29  That would be YOU.... the word YOU is all throughout the Bible... that is how you know what to do... that is how you know that you are hearing from God... It is HIS Words... get to know them... you get to know HIM. Just like any relationship, it requires communication... talk to Him and listen for Him... the more you do it... the more you will understand and before you know it... you will begin to know Him ... intimately, as He knows you ... and your life as you know it now... will cease to exist... and the new view... the view from the kingdom realm will begin to be more real to you  than this present existence... more real than the things you can touch.  Just like any real relationship, your faith will grow and your relationship will become more intimate in direct proportion to the amount of time and effort you put into it.  You will begin to see from His perspective ... from His heart... all things are possible to him who believes... that would be YOU ... from the new view.

Three pigeons and a dove

Sitting at the lake each morning spending time with the Lord,  I have come to understand that if I look up and there is something there that wasn’t there before, I need to pay attention, because the Lord is about to show me something. One particular morning as I looked up from prayer I saw three pigeons.  As I began to observe the them, each pecking the ground, each looking like a typical pigeon, all basically the same grayscale, one of them stepped out of the shade into the light.  Suddenly the emerald green color around its neck became visible and captured my full attention.  I realized it wasn’t until the sun shone upon him that the color became evident.  It was as if the color represented a spiritual gift.

The second pigeon stepped out into the light and glimpses of the emerald green around its neck began to shine.  The gift had become apparent, as if the Lord had come upon it.  The first one came closer and closer and as it did, a glorious royal purple color became visible on its breast beneath the deep emerald throat, and then the crest of its head also turned to the same royal purple…what beauty, what gifts … from the same bird that was a dull gray in the shadows.  The second pigeon stepped back into the shadows after its brief encounter with the sun, and then disappeared completely behind the tree.  I began to gather my pen and paper to capture my lesson for the day and as I looked up again, I saw the pigeon emerging from the other side of the tree closely following a turtle dove that seemed to have come out of nowhere. The second pigeon, exactly the same as the first, still had the same beautiful emerald green throat, and although it was in the sunlight, did not have the royal purple breast or crown… however… it was diligently following closely behind the beautiful white dove. It looked as if it were ushering in the Holy Spirit… our comfort and our guide and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

 I continued to watch the third  pigeon in the shadows, but it never came out into the light.  It seemed content to peck away at the ground, feeding itself and being oblivious to anything around it.   As the thoughts raced in my head, I began to write brief notes to remind me of what the Lord was showing me.  After what seemed to be only a couple minutes, I looked up to see what was next.  There was nothing in sight. Not one pigeon or dove.  Those times make you wonder if those birds were ever really there.

I thought of the first pigeon being bold and confident, operating without hesitation in the gifts.  The second a little more reserved but still walking in his gift and the third, either very confident in what it was doing where it was doing it behind the scenes,  too timid to come out into the light to allow the gifts to shine, or maybe even too self absorbed or too content in its own little world to even realize there was anything more.
A few days later, back in my same spot, two pigeons just like the other landed in the same area, one in the sunlight, one in the shade. But as the first pigeon with all its glorious colors or gifts began to walk in a different direction, its colors seem to fade, although still standing in the light, still walking in the same fashion, he suddenly seemed dull and colorless, plain and ordinary.  Everything seemed to be the same, but the colors were no longer showing.  Now even more things to consider … could it be lack of faith from those present, was he going in the wrong direction, was he no longer in the will of God… or was it just Gods perfect timing… maybe the work was complete.

The other pigeon is still standing in the shadows, with no apparent color. Suddenly a breeze begins to blow, the tree limbs begin to sway back and forth allowing the light to shine on the pigeon exactly where he was standing. Glimpses of emerald green, royal purple and flashes of gold  become visible. Over and over, as the previously colorless pigeon stands in his place, the glory of his magnificent colors are made manifest.  Who would have thought?  Who could have known?  Will we stand in judgement asking how or why or be in disbelief because we have seen something supernatural from a very unlikely source?  Different personalities are used for different purposes and  to reach different people in different ways. How do our judgments, our opinions  and our prejudices effect us and keep us from enjoying the fruit of the gifts in front of us based on what we see or think.

 So many times we see people in one light.  If we see them routinely in any particular setting, that is how we think of them.  We tend to limit our view of who they are and what they do and what seems to be their station in life.  We might miss the fact that they are a multifaceted being or that they may be gifted in something entirely different from what we can see or what we know about them.  Then, once we see something different, we may tend to judge or question the authenticity of what they are doing. (A pastor’s gift of knowledge might be questioned because the person receiving the word may think that he just knows the situation.) Just because we have known someone for some time or in one particular capacity, doesn’t mean that a gift that they have had all along might emerge because they have matured in the Lord,  or because they are a willing vessel at the moment the Lord needs someone to use.  It may be a one time thing.  But is it any less authentic or real if it is done through someone you don’t expect it to come through. 

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 1 Cor 12:15-20