Ezekiel 35:12-15
Then you will know that I the LORD have heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, 'They have been laid waste and have been give over to us to devour.' You boasted against Me and spoke against Me without restraint and I heard it. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of the House of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, O Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
I couldn't sleep last night. I tossed and turned, comprehending the tremendous significance of the recent U.N. Security Council resolution, just passed on December 23. Maybe it even slipped by some in the midst of the holidays. But for me, it was like the blaring sound of a shofar, jolting me out of all the distractions of the season, and focusing me squarely on the prophecies of Joel and Zechariah, which speak about the dividing of the land of Israel, and Ezekiel's prophecy above, written about the mountains of Israel (the West Bank of today).
Last night I found myself tossing because I knew I had not yet embraced or understood the whole meaning of this resolution and its inevitable impact, not only on Israel, but on the world. So I got up at 2:00 a.m. to search on the internet for some answers that would give me understanding of what just happened at the United Nations and where it puts us on the timeline of things yet to come.
I searched first for teachings by Eddie Chumney; I have known Eddie a long time, and in my opinion he is one of the greatest bible teachers of our day. He has a grasp of Middle East events that surpasses most others, and he is a faithful Watchman on the Wall, well able to sound the alarm and help the rest of us understand what is happening. So I was blessed to find a teaching of his on Youtube entitled "The Significance of Dividing the Land of Israel." Remarkably, Eddie gave this teaching in May of 2015 - and so that makes it even more stunning to me, that what he prophesies will occur before the end of Obama's administration, HAS JUST OCCURRED. And the worst is yet to come, when 70 nations meet in Paris, France on January 15th in order to establish a Palestianian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. That will put the crowning touch on Satan's plan to rob the House of God, steal His land, and utterly destroy His people.
The video is two and a half hours long - but my friends, don't miss this opportunity to listen in and get understanding about what is happening, from the pages of Genesis - where Esau betrays his brother Jacob with a "kiss," - to the betrayal of Obama and the Esau nations occurring in this very day. Watch it in segments if you need to, but watch it! You will be greatly edified. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_8qzsILN5g&t=5242s
And as 2016 comes to a close, I pray that you might remember DoorKeeper Ministries with a gift. We are so blessed to be sending support to many young and orphaned children in both Kenya and Israel, helping a friend in South Africa with church plants, and still working on books and music of my own! Your support would be deeply appreciated. The link for donations through Paypal is:
http://www.doorkeeperministries.com/donate.html
2017 is going to be quite a ride, my brothers and sisters! Fasten your seat belts and lift up your heads, for your Redemption draws NEAR!
With love in our Soon-Coming King,
Kelly
Friday, December 30, 2016
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Pain in the Offering
Leading worship during our service last weekend, I was singing a familiar praise song entitled "Blessed Be Your Name." You will probably be able to hum along as you read the verse printed below:
Blessed be Your Name when the sun's shining down on me and the world's all as it should be, blessed be Your Name.
And blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name
I've sung it hundreds of times - and I've often even paused before I sang that verse, to think more deeply about what I was singing. But last Shabbat the words struck a very deep chord. What is the road marked with suffering? What does it mean to have pain in your offering?
The year 2016 will be remembered by me as the "Year of Pain in The Offering." I've written about it before - how many times this past year John and I have put our lives on hold and poured out all we had, doing all we knew to do, to try to bring someone healing or deliverance or a desperately needed change - and sadly, in each of these situations, our efforts were rejected and the healing didn't happen.
"What are you teaching us, Lord?" I begged him to reveal. There was a very powerful teaching by our friend Cole Davis on Friday night. He taught about pain. He exhorted us to remember that not everyone Yeshua reached out to received Him either! So we begin to identify with Him more closely. My favorite scripture is one that usually gets quoted only in the first half. Philippians 3:10: "I want to know Messiah and the power of His resurrection....." (Often the "motivational speaker stops right there). But the verse continues...."and the fellowship of His SUFFERING, being conformed to His death."
The fellowship of His suffering. That's that "road marked with suffering." The narrow path. The one nobody really wants to take, because it will be so much harder and it will hurt.
I asked Him again, "What are you teaching me?" This time I heard the Voice of the Spirit say, "Look at Mary, when she poured the costly oil on the feet of Yeshua. There was pain in her offering."
"Pain, Lord? Do you mean because it cost her so much?"
"No," He replied. "Because she was anointing Him for burial. She was sharing in the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death. And then she was chastised for it."
I remembered the story in Matthew 26. She was chastised by some of the disciples - and yet Yeshua rebuked them and made an astonishing statement. "Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
I really began to get it. It's never about me. It's always about Him, no matter whom we are serving and no matter how they respond. I open my alabaster box and pour out pain in the offering, and my Master is pleased.
Blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering,
though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name
Blessed be Your Name when the sun's shining down on me and the world's all as it should be, blessed be Your Name.
And blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name
I've sung it hundreds of times - and I've often even paused before I sang that verse, to think more deeply about what I was singing. But last Shabbat the words struck a very deep chord. What is the road marked with suffering? What does it mean to have pain in your offering?
The year 2016 will be remembered by me as the "Year of Pain in The Offering." I've written about it before - how many times this past year John and I have put our lives on hold and poured out all we had, doing all we knew to do, to try to bring someone healing or deliverance or a desperately needed change - and sadly, in each of these situations, our efforts were rejected and the healing didn't happen.
"What are you teaching us, Lord?" I begged him to reveal. There was a very powerful teaching by our friend Cole Davis on Friday night. He taught about pain. He exhorted us to remember that not everyone Yeshua reached out to received Him either! So we begin to identify with Him more closely. My favorite scripture is one that usually gets quoted only in the first half. Philippians 3:10: "I want to know Messiah and the power of His resurrection....." (Often the "motivational speaker stops right there). But the verse continues...."and the fellowship of His SUFFERING, being conformed to His death."
The fellowship of His suffering. That's that "road marked with suffering." The narrow path. The one nobody really wants to take, because it will be so much harder and it will hurt.
"Pain, Lord? Do you mean because it cost her so much?"
"No," He replied. "Because she was anointing Him for burial. She was sharing in the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death. And then she was chastised for it."
I remembered the story in Matthew 26. She was chastised by some of the disciples - and yet Yeshua rebuked them and made an astonishing statement. "Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
I really began to get it. It's never about me. It's always about Him, no matter whom we are serving and no matter how they respond. I open my alabaster box and pour out pain in the offering, and my Master is pleased.
Blessed be Your Name on the road marked with suffering,
though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Endurance Test
We have just returned from a three-week Sabbatical across the American Southwest. Through Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico we were continually stunned by the majesty and the artwork of the Master Painter! Having time in our little camper to leisurely visit national and state parks, camping beneath towering rock formations and leafy boughs, we got the rest we needed - and more importantly, the time with God we needed.
On one particular day in Mesa Verde National Park, we endured an extreme test of endurance that we did not plan on, nor did we see it coming! We took off on what we thought would be a lovely trail through the vast canyon of the ancient cliff-dwellers, looking for the petroglyph pictures they had left behind, inscribed on stone walls. We neglected to see the small sign at the entrance to the trail, which read "EXTREMELY STRENUOUS AND INTENSE HIKE. DO NOT ENTER IF YOU HAVE HEALTH PROBLEMS."
As we hiked the extremely difficult, intense terrain of the Petroglyphs Trail, my John continually assisted me along the way. My legs were too short to navigate and maneuver many of the high-elevated steps and he was always there with a helping hand, lending his strength to pull me up. I was so grateful all day for his strong, loving care over me. He literally had to PULL me with all his strength across a wet, slipper boulder that I could never have gotten over alone.
It was a powerful illustration to me of how Father put us together. I help his mind to navigate and he helps my body to navigate! We do need each other. I am so grateful for this hike and all the parables God showed me. After almost three hours of this relentless test of endurance, we both felt we could go no longer. We became very concerned that it would get dark before we could get out of that remote canyon and we wouldn't be able to find our way out! We had not known there was a register to sign before coming on the hike - so no one knew we were in there.
We stopped to rest, perching on a large, jutted rock and took our last remaining sips of water from our water bottles. Lungs reached for air. Muscles screamed. Then I heard the Spirit say, "Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD! It was a clear call to prayer. I asked God for supernatural strength and energy to finish the course. We told Him we had no strength of our own to keep going and prayed that He would strengthen weak muscles and ligaments, giving us the encouragement to keep going.
John had reached a very real place of fear that we wouldn't get out. But when we finished praying, we got up and began walking again and strength returned to us! We didn't know how far we were from the end of the trail - but after about 15 minutes we clearly saw the museum where the trail began and our spirits rallied, pressing us forward.
Soon a cold 43-degree rain began to pelt us and the trail became very slippery. We felt the strong hand of angels preventing near-slips and falls. God was with us, every step; and in the end, we finished a trail that we later learned was labeled "difficult and intense." The 68-ear-old with two heart attacks had made it - and I could not have made it without him!
On one particular day in Mesa Verde National Park, we endured an extreme test of endurance that we did not plan on, nor did we see it coming! We took off on what we thought would be a lovely trail through the vast canyon of the ancient cliff-dwellers, looking for the petroglyph pictures they had left behind, inscribed on stone walls. We neglected to see the small sign at the entrance to the trail, which read "EXTREMELY STRENUOUS AND INTENSE HIKE. DO NOT ENTER IF YOU HAVE HEALTH PROBLEMS."As we hiked the extremely difficult, intense terrain of the Petroglyphs Trail, my John continually assisted me along the way. My legs were too short to navigate and maneuver many of the high-elevated steps and he was always there with a helping hand, lending his strength to pull me up. I was so grateful all day for his strong, loving care over me. He literally had to PULL me with all his strength across a wet, slipper boulder that I could never have gotten over alone.
It was a powerful illustration to me of how Father put us together. I help his mind to navigate and he helps my body to navigate! We do need each other. I am so grateful for this hike and all the parables God showed me. After almost three hours of this relentless test of endurance, we both felt we could go no longer. We became very concerned that it would get dark before we could get out of that remote canyon and we wouldn't be able to find our way out! We had not known there was a register to sign before coming on the hike - so no one knew we were in there.
We stopped to rest, perching on a large, jutted rock and took our last remaining sips of water from our water bottles. Lungs reached for air. Muscles screamed. Then I heard the Spirit say, "Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD! It was a clear call to prayer. I asked God for supernatural strength and energy to finish the course. We told Him we had no strength of our own to keep going and prayed that He would strengthen weak muscles and ligaments, giving us the encouragement to keep going.
John had reached a very real place of fear that we wouldn't get out. But when we finished praying, we got up and began walking again and strength returned to us! We didn't know how far we were from the end of the trail - but after about 15 minutes we clearly saw the museum where the trail began and our spirits rallied, pressing us forward.
Soon a cold 43-degree rain began to pelt us and the trail became very slippery. We felt the strong hand of angels preventing near-slips and falls. God was with us, every step; and in the end, we finished a trail that we later learned was labeled "difficult and intense." The 68-ear-old with two heart attacks had made it - and I could not have made it without him!
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Nothing Shall Be Hidden
Still on a three-week Sabbatical throughout the Southwest, we are experiencing some wonderful divine appointments, and some revelation from the Lord.
We were camping out last week in a lovely cottonwood and sycamore-lined campground near Cottonwood, Arizona, when we met our "neighbor," a newly-widowed woman in her little pop-up. I knew immediately that her heart was still tender with grief. She told me she'd bought the little camper to travel for a while and try to find some purpose or meaning in her life. I asked her if she was a believer and she nodded her head, as tears began to come. "I was once in the same place you are, " I told her. "I made a decision like you've made, to remain alone and draw nearer to the Lord, my true Husband. "How do I do that?" she asked through her tears. "By reading His Word," I told her. "You need to ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to read, and ask Him questions. His Word has all the answers you are seeking. She seemed rather amazed, lost in thought. "I do have a Bible; it's buried somewhere in the back of my camper. I never read it."
The next day we pulled out of the campground and the last thing I saw as I peered back over my shoulder was this sweet widow, sitting at her picnic table, her Bible open in front of her. What a delightful sight!
The next evening we had the awesome blessing of attending David Herzog's Night of Worship in Sedona, Arizona. Only about thirty people attended, but it has been years since I've been in the midst of that kind of passionate intercession into the heavenly realms. David led us in praying over this nation and its upcoming election. They cried out for righteous judges, and broke strongholds of corruption, rigging and manipulation. It was powerful revelation for me. These anointed intercessors were crying out to the Lord just as Abraham cried out to Him to spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. "Lord if there are ten righteous people...?"
I confess I have not been praying that way. I know America's cup of sin must be full in the eyes of the Lord, and I know that we surely deserve His swift judgment. But the intercessors cried out for mercy, for awakening of the sleeping Church, for repentance in the Land, and for restoration of all Israel. My heart was moved, as I cried out with them. It gave John and me courage and boldness as we traversed the El Morro National Monument today, moved to make decrees over this country. At the top of the monument we looked out and saw a mountain in the distance of the great desert plain of New Mexico. We began to declare, "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain! (Isa. 40:4) Father, we declare that every corruption, lie and evil plan against America shall now be exposed and brought into the Light! We declare that nothing shall be hidden that needs to be exposed, no plan of the enemy can lurk in darkness, but must be revealed for what it is. Let every lying tongue be silenced and Truth brought forth in this Land!"
As we were descending down through the majestic rock formations, we stopped to sit on a bench and listen for God's Voice. I stared into the sky, watching the passing clouds and very suddenly a cloud formed into the face of an exotic woman, who seemed to have a veil on. I could see her almond-shaped eyes and her lips, with a lacy veil around her head. Then just as suddenly, the face of a very small dog appeared below her. Both these images were extremely detailed and accurate; there was no mistaking what I was seeing. "What is the little dog?" I asked the Holy Spirit. He spoke to me only these words: "Wiener dog and Huma."
I waited on Him for a long time, wondering why He was showing me these two people, whom I knew were in the news right now. After some time, I finally heard these words, and knew it was in answer to the declarations we had made. He said, "I AM busting it wide open."
The clouds dissipated - busted wide open - and we continued our trek down, feeling blessed
that the Lord had heard and answered.
We were camping out last week in a lovely cottonwood and sycamore-lined campground near Cottonwood, Arizona, when we met our "neighbor," a newly-widowed woman in her little pop-up. I knew immediately that her heart was still tender with grief. She told me she'd bought the little camper to travel for a while and try to find some purpose or meaning in her life. I asked her if she was a believer and she nodded her head, as tears began to come. "I was once in the same place you are, " I told her. "I made a decision like you've made, to remain alone and draw nearer to the Lord, my true Husband. "How do I do that?" she asked through her tears. "By reading His Word," I told her. "You need to ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to read, and ask Him questions. His Word has all the answers you are seeking. She seemed rather amazed, lost in thought. "I do have a Bible; it's buried somewhere in the back of my camper. I never read it."
The next day we pulled out of the campground and the last thing I saw as I peered back over my shoulder was this sweet widow, sitting at her picnic table, her Bible open in front of her. What a delightful sight!
The next evening we had the awesome blessing of attending David Herzog's Night of Worship in Sedona, Arizona. Only about thirty people attended, but it has been years since I've been in the midst of that kind of passionate intercession into the heavenly realms. David led us in praying over this nation and its upcoming election. They cried out for righteous judges, and broke strongholds of corruption, rigging and manipulation. It was powerful revelation for me. These anointed intercessors were crying out to the Lord just as Abraham cried out to Him to spare the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. "Lord if there are ten righteous people...?"
I confess I have not been praying that way. I know America's cup of sin must be full in the eyes of the Lord, and I know that we surely deserve His swift judgment. But the intercessors cried out for mercy, for awakening of the sleeping Church, for repentance in the Land, and for restoration of all Israel. My heart was moved, as I cried out with them. It gave John and me courage and boldness as we traversed the El Morro National Monument today, moved to make decrees over this country. At the top of the monument we looked out and saw a mountain in the distance of the great desert plain of New Mexico. We began to declare, "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain! (Isa. 40:4) Father, we declare that every corruption, lie and evil plan against America shall now be exposed and brought into the Light! We declare that nothing shall be hidden that needs to be exposed, no plan of the enemy can lurk in darkness, but must be revealed for what it is. Let every lying tongue be silenced and Truth brought forth in this Land!"As we were descending down through the majestic rock formations, we stopped to sit on a bench and listen for God's Voice. I stared into the sky, watching the passing clouds and very suddenly a cloud formed into the face of an exotic woman, who seemed to have a veil on. I could see her almond-shaped eyes and her lips, with a lacy veil around her head. Then just as suddenly, the face of a very small dog appeared below her. Both these images were extremely detailed and accurate; there was no mistaking what I was seeing. "What is the little dog?" I asked the Holy Spirit. He spoke to me only these words: "Wiener dog and Huma."
I waited on Him for a long time, wondering why He was showing me these two people, whom I knew were in the news right now. After some time, I finally heard these words, and knew it was in answer to the declarations we had made. He said, "I AM busting it wide open."
The clouds dissipated - busted wide open - and we continued our trek down, feeling blessed
that the Lord had heard and answered.
Anticipation
It has been quite a while since I have posted on this blog. The Fall feasts have come and gone, and this year they were more meaningful to me than any other year since 2001 when I first became aware of them. For all these years I've attended many different feast celebrations - even some in Israel. Often I've been invited to teach and lead worship in these gatherings, ranging from 1300 people to 13! We always knew we were rehearsing. With so little written in Leviticus 23 about keeping the Feasts of Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), we tried to be creative, and prayed that our Father was smiling down on us, knowing that His Bride has been faithfully rehearsing for the Great Wedding yet to come, when Yeshua returns for us.
This year was simpler, quieter, deeper. We were 26 people gathered at the edge of the lake on Yom Teruah, shofars in hand, great anticipation in hearts. We would faithfully go down to the edge of the water and cast our stones (symbolic of our sins) into the "sea," as far as the east is from the west. But then something happened that drew us all into a holy hush. My husband John tossed his stone into the water, and then knelt at water's edge, his head bowed low before the Lord, in deep repentance. All chattering stopped. The fiery orange and gold of the sunset danced like flames across the water, and we knew we were on holy ground.
I looked around me and 26 pairs of eyes were riveted on the western sky, in great expectation. We were all looking for the new moon so that we could blow our shofars, as commanded in Scripture. However, the sky was almost black, completely shrouded in thick, storm-laden clouds. The thing that touched me was that no one stopped looking. Despite the dark cloud cover, all eyes remained watchful, and not a word was spoken. For at least fifteen minutes we stared into the night sky, and I began to be aware that what we were really looking for so intently, with such deep desire, was the appearing of our Glorious Messiah! What people would be so crazy as to gather by a lake on a week night, with shofars and ram's horns in hand, watching and waiting with such excitement unless they were consumed with the desire to see His coming on the clouds on the Day of Blowing?!
God did not disappoint us, even though Yeshua did not choose to come. Suddenly He pulled back the black clouds like the great velvet drapes of a theater, and there, framed right in the middle of the parted drapes, was the magnificent silvery new moon! He had framed it for us, given as a gift to those who are looking for Him, yearning for His appearing!
In the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, I had a dream that I feel is to be shared with the corporate Body of Messiah. In this dream I was in a lovely bridal gown. I kept going down long hallways and "aisles" with an escort on either side of me. I did not know any of the people in this dream, so I knew it was meant for all of us. At the end of each aisle I kept expecting to see my bridegroom, but he was never there. Once at the end of a long hallway I glanced in a mirror and saw that my backside was exposed! Then people ran over to me with white tights for me to put on and cover myself. Then at the end of another long aisle, someone brought me glasses and said they knew I'd need to read things to understand. Often in the long corridors I tripped and my two escorts would help me up. I got to the end of the last long aisle - and after going up a long staircase and then down a long staircase, I was so devastated to see that my bridegroom still wasn't there!
I awoke from the dream and almost immediately the Holy Spirit gave me the interpretation. He said, "It is a picture of the Bride's journey. First she realizes that her past has been shameful and uncovered. As she surrounds herself with righteous people (the two escorts or two witnesses), they help to "clean up" her life and bring her into a righteous way of living. But often she still trips and makes mistakes along the way, and others help to lift her back up and get her back on the path. A three-fold cord is not easily broken (Ecc. 4:10, 12). She does not yet have full understanding and so others help her by bringing "glasses," which means they are helping her to read and understand My Word. Throughout her journey her heart yearns for her Bridegroom - the One she loves (Song of Solomon 3:2) and she does not yet find Him. He does not yet reveal Himself because He wants her to keep seeking, keep knocking. She climbs up higher (the staircase up) as she gains wisdom and she goes down lower (the staircase down) as she learns humility and purity. Finally she comes to the end of the Bridal aisle and she feels desperate because her Bridegroom has not yet come for her."
"This is where you are," said the Spirit, "staring into the sky on Yom Teruah, your hearts overwhelmed with anticipation of His Coming - soon, but NOT YET."
Matthew 24:27: For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
This year was simpler, quieter, deeper. We were 26 people gathered at the edge of the lake on Yom Teruah, shofars in hand, great anticipation in hearts. We would faithfully go down to the edge of the water and cast our stones (symbolic of our sins) into the "sea," as far as the east is from the west. But then something happened that drew us all into a holy hush. My husband John tossed his stone into the water, and then knelt at water's edge, his head bowed low before the Lord, in deep repentance. All chattering stopped. The fiery orange and gold of the sunset danced like flames across the water, and we knew we were on holy ground.I looked around me and 26 pairs of eyes were riveted on the western sky, in great expectation. We were all looking for the new moon so that we could blow our shofars, as commanded in Scripture. However, the sky was almost black, completely shrouded in thick, storm-laden clouds. The thing that touched me was that no one stopped looking. Despite the dark cloud cover, all eyes remained watchful, and not a word was spoken. For at least fifteen minutes we stared into the night sky, and I began to be aware that what we were really looking for so intently, with such deep desire, was the appearing of our Glorious Messiah! What people would be so crazy as to gather by a lake on a week night, with shofars and ram's horns in hand, watching and waiting with such excitement unless they were consumed with the desire to see His coming on the clouds on the Day of Blowing?!
God did not disappoint us, even though Yeshua did not choose to come. Suddenly He pulled back the black clouds like the great velvet drapes of a theater, and there, framed right in the middle of the parted drapes, was the magnificent silvery new moon! He had framed it for us, given as a gift to those who are looking for Him, yearning for His appearing!
In the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, I had a dream that I feel is to be shared with the corporate Body of Messiah. In this dream I was in a lovely bridal gown. I kept going down long hallways and "aisles" with an escort on either side of me. I did not know any of the people in this dream, so I knew it was meant for all of us. At the end of each aisle I kept expecting to see my bridegroom, but he was never there. Once at the end of a long hallway I glanced in a mirror and saw that my backside was exposed! Then people ran over to me with white tights for me to put on and cover myself. Then at the end of another long aisle, someone brought me glasses and said they knew I'd need to read things to understand. Often in the long corridors I tripped and my two escorts would help me up. I got to the end of the last long aisle - and after going up a long staircase and then down a long staircase, I was so devastated to see that my bridegroom still wasn't there!
I awoke from the dream and almost immediately the Holy Spirit gave me the interpretation. He said, "It is a picture of the Bride's journey. First she realizes that her past has been shameful and uncovered. As she surrounds herself with righteous people (the two escorts or two witnesses), they help to "clean up" her life and bring her into a righteous way of living. But often she still trips and makes mistakes along the way, and others help to lift her back up and get her back on the path. A three-fold cord is not easily broken (Ecc. 4:10, 12). She does not yet have full understanding and so others help her by bringing "glasses," which means they are helping her to read and understand My Word. Throughout her journey her heart yearns for her Bridegroom - the One she loves (Song of Solomon 3:2) and she does not yet find Him. He does not yet reveal Himself because He wants her to keep seeking, keep knocking. She climbs up higher (the staircase up) as she gains wisdom and she goes down lower (the staircase down) as she learns humility and purity. Finally she comes to the end of the Bridal aisle and she feels desperate because her Bridegroom has not yet come for her."
"This is where you are," said the Spirit, "staring into the sky on Yom Teruah, your hearts overwhelmed with anticipation of His Coming - soon, but NOT YET."
Matthew 24:27: For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
OUT OF THIS WORLD
After this last debate I found myself sinking into feelings of despair. "Really, Lord? These two immoral, corrupt, ego-driven, power-hungry people are the only choices we have?"
I know I'm not alone. I know so very many of God's people feel at a loss because there is no one Godly to vote for. So I am compelled to share with you what He spoke to me when I cried out to Him.
He said, "I have told you these things so that in ME you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."
I went to John 16:33, where I knew those words to be - and then He said to me, "Read on and I will show you more." I have read John 17 so many times - but never before have some of those verses been so powerfully quickened to me - perhaps because never before have we been in a time where we so desperately needed to understand what He was saying to us. This time, reading John 17, His words were spoken DIRECTLY to me, so that I would come to the full knowledge that I AM NOT OF THIS WORLD. Neither are you, brothers and sisters in Messiah. So hear these words anew as Yeshua prayed them to His Father:
"I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me OUT OF THE WORLD. They were Yours, You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your Word. Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You. For I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I AM NOT PRAYING FOR THE WORLD, BUT FOR THOSE YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, FOR THEY ARE YOURS." (John 17:6-9)
"I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them, for THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD ANY MORE THAN I AM OF THE WORLD. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one. THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF IT." (John 17:14-16)
I sat in astonishment thinking about this: I am not of the world anymore than the Son of God is of it! I am one of those who has accepted His Word with all my heart. Now I am just asked to stand on it and believe His promises. I am still IN this dark world, but I can no longer have my focus there. Yeshua does not even have HIS focus there - as He said in these verses; He is praying for those the Father has given Him! He is praying for US! He is protecting us! He knows EXACTLY what is going to happen in this election, and He is not concerned about us, for we are not of the world. He is our King - and we are His.
As these truths began to be deeply inscribed on my heart, everything seemed to change - and then the words of an old hymn that I love came flooding back into my soul and bringing me total peace:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
In the Light of His glory and grace!
"I have told you these things so that in ME you may have peace."
I know I'm not alone. I know so very many of God's people feel at a loss because there is no one Godly to vote for. So I am compelled to share with you what He spoke to me when I cried out to Him.
He said, "I have told you these things so that in ME you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."
I went to John 16:33, where I knew those words to be - and then He said to me, "Read on and I will show you more." I have read John 17 so many times - but never before have some of those verses been so powerfully quickened to me - perhaps because never before have we been in a time where we so desperately needed to understand what He was saying to us. This time, reading John 17, His words were spoken DIRECTLY to me, so that I would come to the full knowledge that I AM NOT OF THIS WORLD. Neither are you, brothers and sisters in Messiah. So hear these words anew as Yeshua prayed them to His Father:
"I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me OUT OF THE WORLD. They were Yours, You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your Word. Now they know that everything You have given Me comes from You. For I gave them the words You gave Me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I AM NOT PRAYING FOR THE WORLD, BUT FOR THOSE YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, FOR THEY ARE YOURS." (John 17:6-9)
"I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them, for THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD ANY MORE THAN I AM OF THE WORLD. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world, but that You protect them from the evil one. THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF IT." (John 17:14-16)
I sat in astonishment thinking about this: I am not of the world anymore than the Son of God is of it! I am one of those who has accepted His Word with all my heart. Now I am just asked to stand on it and believe His promises. I am still IN this dark world, but I can no longer have my focus there. Yeshua does not even have HIS focus there - as He said in these verses; He is praying for those the Father has given Him! He is praying for US! He is protecting us! He knows EXACTLY what is going to happen in this election, and He is not concerned about us, for we are not of the world. He is our King - and we are His.
As these truths began to be deeply inscribed on my heart, everything seemed to change - and then the words of an old hymn that I love came flooding back into my soul and bringing me total peace:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim
In the Light of His glory and grace!
"I have told you these things so that in ME you may have peace."
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Generational Blessings!
I looked in the mirror this morning and suddenly I saw my Daddy's eyes smiling back at me. "Interesting," I thought, "I didn't know I had his very same eyes until I got older." It felt like a blessing, a little visit from my father, now two-years gone from me. His eyes were green, but what made them special was the little flecks of gold that always danced around like sparks in a fire. "Yes, there they are!" I exclaimed to myself. The fiery flecks, dancing in my own eyes.
In our recent congregational visit from Prophetess Phyllis Ford I got really touched by her admonition to us that we spend time and effort breaking generational curses, but neglect to celebrate generational blessings. This whole past week was a most profound illustration of generational blessings in my own life, and I moved through the week experiencing and celebrating these blessings as never before. My daughter is the high school choir teacher in our town, and she spends her week days at the big grand piano in the music room, teaching the kids their parts, accompanying their songs, and taking them from simply singing the songs to performing them with power and passion. On the weekends she is the worship leader at her church, using her great gifts of music and faith to lead a gathered people to the Throne Room of God.
She was out all last week to recover from a surgery so I substituted for all her high school classes, and had the unspeakable joy of singing and playing piano all week long, often surrounded on all sides by the voices of these young, enthusiastic music students. It was while I was enveloped in the music this past week that I began to realize what Phyllis was trying to show us. There really are blessings running down through our DNA that we need to be thankful for, and celebrate! My mother was a piano major in college and a school teacher. For most of my growing-up years there was classical piano music filling our home, Her mother was a music teacher, who spent many hours in her living room singing and rehearsing songs to teach her students. My mother-in-law was an organist and worship leader at her church all of her life, and so both she and my mom accompanied my singing engagements and church solos throughout my young years. So, BOTH of my daughter's grandmothers were talented musicians, and my daughter also majored in piano and music education,
Last week as I sat at the piano and worked with the high school kids, two of my daughter's children - my 17-year-old granddaughter and my 15-year-old grandson - were in the show choir, their voices rising powerfully in soprano and tenor parts. My heart felt like it was going to burst with a joy I had not felt for a very long time. The blessings continue on - from great-great grandmother to great-grandmother to grandmother to mother, the DNA sings and the music flows. The blood carries blessings that still bless and creative gifts that still create.
Thank You, Father, that I am not cutting generational curses, but basking in the gifts of generational blessings.
In our recent congregational visit from Prophetess Phyllis Ford I got really touched by her admonition to us that we spend time and effort breaking generational curses, but neglect to celebrate generational blessings. This whole past week was a most profound illustration of generational blessings in my own life, and I moved through the week experiencing and celebrating these blessings as never before. My daughter is the high school choir teacher in our town, and she spends her week days at the big grand piano in the music room, teaching the kids their parts, accompanying their songs, and taking them from simply singing the songs to performing them with power and passion. On the weekends she is the worship leader at her church, using her great gifts of music and faith to lead a gathered people to the Throne Room of God.
She was out all last week to recover from a surgery so I substituted for all her high school classes, and had the unspeakable joy of singing and playing piano all week long, often surrounded on all sides by the voices of these young, enthusiastic music students. It was while I was enveloped in the music this past week that I began to realize what Phyllis was trying to show us. There really are blessings running down through our DNA that we need to be thankful for, and celebrate! My mother was a piano major in college and a school teacher. For most of my growing-up years there was classical piano music filling our home, Her mother was a music teacher, who spent many hours in her living room singing and rehearsing songs to teach her students. My mother-in-law was an organist and worship leader at her church all of her life, and so both she and my mom accompanied my singing engagements and church solos throughout my young years. So, BOTH of my daughter's grandmothers were talented musicians, and my daughter also majored in piano and music education,
Last week as I sat at the piano and worked with the high school kids, two of my daughter's children - my 17-year-old granddaughter and my 15-year-old grandson - were in the show choir, their voices rising powerfully in soprano and tenor parts. My heart felt like it was going to burst with a joy I had not felt for a very long time. The blessings continue on - from great-great grandmother to great-grandmother to grandmother to mother, the DNA sings and the music flows. The blood carries blessings that still bless and creative gifts that still create.
Thank You, Father, that I am not cutting generational curses, but basking in the gifts of generational blessings.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Unconditional Love
Unconditional love is a term we throw around rather casually. Yet I am learning that if we are endeavoring to truly live this way - in unconditional love, the way Yeshua taught it to us - we had better be prepared for and willing to accept the consequences and the likelihood that we will receive nothing in return. At least not in this life!
Webster's Dictionary defines the word unconditional this way: not limited by conditions; absolute; complete.
No conditions, no strings attached. Nothing expected in return. Yeshua teaches it this way:
12 “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)
So we who follow His teachings are instructed to show love, concern, care and hospitality to those who cannot repay us, expecting nothing in return. This would be a "complete" love, a heart satisfied that our love was really given unto God, and whether or not it was appreciated by the person we blessed, does not matter. We blessed the Lord.
Author Jim Hale puts it this way: "I suppose the greatest lesson of love is that love is its own reward. Whether our thoughts, words, prayers, or actions are received by others or not, love brings us closer to God. In truth, when we are rejected while loving others, we are never nearer to God's great heart."
My husband and I have extended love, care, concern and a great deal of energy to quite a number of people the past few years, who not only rejected this love and care, but actually retaliated in one way or another. In every one of these situations, we opened our homes and our hearts to family members or believing brothers and sisters, pouring out the Love of Messiah as we were led by the Spirit, only to be betrayed, rejected, and in some cases verbally and physically attacked. It finally left us feeling wounded and somewhat jaded about whether we should continue in this walk of "unconditional love"! But in my process of seeking the Lord about what all this meant, I ran across a quote by Mother Teresa that answered my questions and soothed my aching heart. May it comfort you also, brothers and sisters, if you are feeling betrayed and rejected by others. It was never between you and them anyway!
And in the end, being betrayed, rejected and attacked by your own is the very picture of our Savior! "When we are rejected while loving others - we are never nearer to God's great heart."
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway!
Mother Teresa
A small postscript:
The season is changing and my heart is feeling greatly moved to once again travel to the churches, communities, Messianic gatherings, or wherever the Spirit leads, to teach the True Word of God and minister in prayer and worship.So I'm throwing out this little fleece. If you are interested, contact me!
His Servant,
Kelly
Webster's Dictionary defines the word unconditional this way: not limited by conditions; absolute; complete.
No conditions, no strings attached. Nothing expected in return. Yeshua teaches it this way:
12 “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)
So we who follow His teachings are instructed to show love, concern, care and hospitality to those who cannot repay us, expecting nothing in return. This would be a "complete" love, a heart satisfied that our love was really given unto God, and whether or not it was appreciated by the person we blessed, does not matter. We blessed the Lord.
Author Jim Hale puts it this way: "I suppose the greatest lesson of love is that love is its own reward. Whether our thoughts, words, prayers, or actions are received by others or not, love brings us closer to God. In truth, when we are rejected while loving others, we are never nearer to God's great heart."
My husband and I have extended love, care, concern and a great deal of energy to quite a number of people the past few years, who not only rejected this love and care, but actually retaliated in one way or another. In every one of these situations, we opened our homes and our hearts to family members or believing brothers and sisters, pouring out the Love of Messiah as we were led by the Spirit, only to be betrayed, rejected, and in some cases verbally and physically attacked. It finally left us feeling wounded and somewhat jaded about whether we should continue in this walk of "unconditional love"! But in my process of seeking the Lord about what all this meant, I ran across a quote by Mother Teresa that answered my questions and soothed my aching heart. May it comfort you also, brothers and sisters, if you are feeling betrayed and rejected by others. It was never between you and them anyway!
And in the end, being betrayed, rejected and attacked by your own is the very picture of our Savior! "When we are rejected while loving others - we are never nearer to God's great heart."
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway!
Mother Teresa
A small postscript:
The season is changing and my heart is feeling greatly moved to once again travel to the churches, communities, Messianic gatherings, or wherever the Spirit leads, to teach the True Word of God and minister in prayer and worship.So I'm throwing out this little fleece. If you are interested, contact me!
His Servant,
Kelly
Sunday, August 14, 2016
A Heart Probe
This may speak to some of you. I know not everyone is experiencing a very difficult, challenging season right now, but some are, and it has been perplexing. Often in the past few weeks I have cried out, "What is this season, Father, and when will it be over?" Congregations are getting smaller and people are apathetic, or fed up, or distracted. For me it feels like a pit of discouragement.
And so I sat with the Lord for a long time this morning, asking questions, and finally I received breakthrough, and knew that I knew I had heard from the Spirit of God. He said, "The answer to your question is found in Deuteronomy 8:2."Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way into the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart..." Verse 3 goes on: "He humbled you, causing you to hunger..."
The revelation hit me profoundly and deeply. "The testing of a heart cannot be done while the person is operating in great success and provision. In those times we are self-satisfied, self-assured. We are not feeling desperate or asking questions. We are not hungering or thirsting. We are comfortable. THAT IS NOT A DESERT, IS IT?
And so I sat with the Lord for a long time this morning, asking questions, and finally I received breakthrough, and knew that I knew I had heard from the Spirit of God. He said, "The answer to your question is found in Deuteronomy 8:2."Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way into the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart..." Verse 3 goes on: "He humbled you, causing you to hunger..."
The revelation hit me profoundly and deeply. "The testing of a heart cannot be done while the person is operating in great success and provision. In those times we are self-satisfied, self-assured. We are not feeling desperate or asking questions. We are not hungering or thirsting. We are comfortable. THAT IS NOT A DESERT, IS IT?
This season is a heart-probe. A probe so deep that at times it aches. How deep am I willing to let you probe, in order to find those dark, hidden places?
I went to Psalm 139:23-24 and prayed that prayer again. And Father told me to have it continually on my lips. When someone around me irritates me or offends me, I am to pray, "Search me O God and examine ME. See if there is any offensive way in ME......(in how I'm reacting).
Once again I believe He has given us a vital key about the time we are in - and how to prepare for the much more difficult days ahead. Search me, O God, and examine me - tell me what You find in my heart. And when you show me what You have found, I pray that you will do as the old worship song says,
Change my heart O God
Make it ever true
Change my heart O God
May I be like YOU
Friday, August 12, 2016
A Wake-Up Call
I was awakened at exactly 3:00 a.m. Unable to sleep, I understood I was being awakened for the fourth watch, and my spirit was deeply quickened about the imminence of Tisha b'Av, the Ninth of Av, which marks on the Hebrew calendar the memory of so many atrocities and calamities in Israel's history. It is the time of the year when the enemy prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour the people of God and to wipe out His inheritance.
I came down to my "prayer closet, " but knew not what to pray. Scripture tells me that Israel has much more devastation yet ahead, so I cried out to Father, "Show me in Your Word what I should pray, so that I do not pray against your will!" The Spirit of the LORD took me directly to Micah Chapter 7 and I began to read it aloud in a prayer:
Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them My wonders. Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens, they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of You.
Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgressor of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
It is a last-days picture of the nations who abandoned God. He will deal with them in whatever way will bring them to their knees in utter humility and wonder. They will become ashamed and their worldly power will be no more. And in the midst of them is this little "remnant of His inheritance," whom He preserves and forgives. Because of His unfathomable grace and mercy, He pardons our sins by putting them out of sight, out of mind, out of reach and out of existence!
Father, Your love astounds me. It is a wake-up call in the middle of the night. It is a shofar resounding through our spirits to remind us that we who have been utterly changed by the power of Your forgiveness through the shed blood of Yeshua on the Cross, MUST freely forgive all who have sinned against us.
I hear the LORD saying, "This is your work in this hour. Do not spend time fretting over the events in the world. Spend time preparing your hearts for all that is about to happen. Loose your regrets, your disappointments and your anger. Fly into the center of My heartbeat, which is Love. Take the sins of those who have wounded you and hurl them into the depths of the sea, even as I have done for you, little flock. I will be true to Jacob and show mercy to Abraham, as I pledged on oath to your fathers in days long ago."
I came down to my "prayer closet, " but knew not what to pray. Scripture tells me that Israel has much more devastation yet ahead, so I cried out to Father, "Show me in Your Word what I should pray, so that I do not pray against your will!" The Spirit of the LORD took me directly to Micah Chapter 7 and I began to read it aloud in a prayer:
Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them My wonders. Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens, they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of You.
Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgressor of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
It is a last-days picture of the nations who abandoned God. He will deal with them in whatever way will bring them to their knees in utter humility and wonder. They will become ashamed and their worldly power will be no more. And in the midst of them is this little "remnant of His inheritance," whom He preserves and forgives. Because of His unfathomable grace and mercy, He pardons our sins by putting them out of sight, out of mind, out of reach and out of existence!
Father, Your love astounds me. It is a wake-up call in the middle of the night. It is a shofar resounding through our spirits to remind us that we who have been utterly changed by the power of Your forgiveness through the shed blood of Yeshua on the Cross, MUST freely forgive all who have sinned against us.
I hear the LORD saying, "This is your work in this hour. Do not spend time fretting over the events in the world. Spend time preparing your hearts for all that is about to happen. Loose your regrets, your disappointments and your anger. Fly into the center of My heartbeat, which is Love. Take the sins of those who have wounded you and hurl them into the depths of the sea, even as I have done for you, little flock. I will be true to Jacob and show mercy to Abraham, as I pledged on oath to your fathers in days long ago."
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
The Fellowship of His Suffering
This morning I read in Ras Robinson's devotion for July 27: "Are you satisfied with how you are aging? It is inevitable that God's eternal plan for your life will demand your attention in various ways until He is satisfied that His intentions through you are complete."
I sat to ponder that a long while. What are His intentions through me? How about through you?
Aging is becoming real to me. I am only 65 - but already there are the signs of "this tent" breaking down; torn meniscus in my knee, pain in my back, so much less energy! Life has been hard the last five years since my glorious wedding - and I reflect on the three times that God brought John back to me miraculously, amid life-threatening crises. Then we watched my parents go through the dying process, their suffering still painful in my memory. But recently I watched a video of Pastor David Davis in Israel - after he came back from near-death to cancer. He said he believes - and in his near-death experience God showed him - that our aging process is difficult, rife with much affliction, because we are being transformed into Messiah's image.
Oh, how You suffered, Yeshua! Your submission and suffering was the process of sanctification - a pure and holy Sacrifice unto God. Your resurrection assured Your people of eternal life with You - but our journey to get there also includes suffering and submission. The Apostle Paul writes, "Yes, I gave it all up in order to know Him, that is, to know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death, so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead." (Phil. 3:10)
I have now watched some people in my life - including my parents - suffer in faith and joy, never losing their focus on Yeshua and the destiny they were moving toward; eternal life with Him, where all suffering ceases and all tears are wiped away! John and I are leaving this weekend to go visit and minister to a long-time friend, who is now in what appears to be his last days here. Because he is spending his days playing his guitar and praising God, despite his grave illness, I suspect he will minister to us!
Through these lens I begin to see why believers who love Yeshua/Jesus are suffering so much right now. It is not all an attack of the Adversary! Much of what we are going through is so that we will draw deeper and deeper into God, submitting the pain and the sorrow, the disappointments and the illness to Him, knowing and believing that it is all conforming us to the image of His Son, our Redeemer-King, who first suffered for us. In this way, His intentions through us will bear fruit for the Kingdom.
David Davis' legs quivered and fought to stay upright as he delivered his message. His voice strained to be heard in its weakness. His eyes beamed Christly Light through heavy lids. Looking at his cancer-ravaged body, I thought of the passage from Isaiah 53: "...he had no beauty or majesty that we should be attracted to him; nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."
So, there he was, on the stage at Kehilat haCarmel in Israel, where he has stood for untold years proclaiming the True Gospel to Jews, Gentiles and Arabs, bringing them together to worship Messiah-King Yeshua. And he showed that he will do this until his last breath.
God's saints do not have it easy. Perfection is not attained on the road of comfort. "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Messiah not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him." (Philippians 3:10).
To be inspired by Pastor David Davis' message, click on this link. The video is about 30 minutes long, and the message carries the Power of God:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81msGU0N8I8&sns=em
I sat to ponder that a long while. What are His intentions through me? How about through you?
Aging is becoming real to me. I am only 65 - but already there are the signs of "this tent" breaking down; torn meniscus in my knee, pain in my back, so much less energy! Life has been hard the last five years since my glorious wedding - and I reflect on the three times that God brought John back to me miraculously, amid life-threatening crises. Then we watched my parents go through the dying process, their suffering still painful in my memory. But recently I watched a video of Pastor David Davis in Israel - after he came back from near-death to cancer. He said he believes - and in his near-death experience God showed him - that our aging process is difficult, rife with much affliction, because we are being transformed into Messiah's image.
Oh, how You suffered, Yeshua! Your submission and suffering was the process of sanctification - a pure and holy Sacrifice unto God. Your resurrection assured Your people of eternal life with You - but our journey to get there also includes suffering and submission. The Apostle Paul writes, "Yes, I gave it all up in order to know Him, that is, to know the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings as I am being conformed to his death, so that somehow I might arrive at being resurrected from the dead." (Phil. 3:10)
I have now watched some people in my life - including my parents - suffer in faith and joy, never losing their focus on Yeshua and the destiny they were moving toward; eternal life with Him, where all suffering ceases and all tears are wiped away! John and I are leaving this weekend to go visit and minister to a long-time friend, who is now in what appears to be his last days here. Because he is spending his days playing his guitar and praising God, despite his grave illness, I suspect he will minister to us!
Through these lens I begin to see why believers who love Yeshua/Jesus are suffering so much right now. It is not all an attack of the Adversary! Much of what we are going through is so that we will draw deeper and deeper into God, submitting the pain and the sorrow, the disappointments and the illness to Him, knowing and believing that it is all conforming us to the image of His Son, our Redeemer-King, who first suffered for us. In this way, His intentions through us will bear fruit for the Kingdom.
David Davis' legs quivered and fought to stay upright as he delivered his message. His voice strained to be heard in its weakness. His eyes beamed Christly Light through heavy lids. Looking at his cancer-ravaged body, I thought of the passage from Isaiah 53: "...he had no beauty or majesty that we should be attracted to him; nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."
So, there he was, on the stage at Kehilat haCarmel in Israel, where he has stood for untold years proclaiming the True Gospel to Jews, Gentiles and Arabs, bringing them together to worship Messiah-King Yeshua. And he showed that he will do this until his last breath.
God's saints do not have it easy. Perfection is not attained on the road of comfort. "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Messiah not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him." (Philippians 3:10).
To be inspired by Pastor David Davis' message, click on this link. The video is about 30 minutes long, and the message carries the Power of God:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81msGU0N8I8&sns=em
Monday, July 25, 2016
Hillary or Trump?
We've seen mud-slinging before in U.S. elections; scandals are nothing new. But to watch election news THIS year feels like one is literally taking a bath in mud, like a pig wallowing in filth! The scandals and the profanity have reached new heights - but then isn't that a picture of our society as a whole?
John has a nephew who is a Captain in the Salvation Army. He's a guy I love and really admire. Last week he posted something that stirred my spirit. He said he was inquiring of the Lord:
Hillary or Trump?
Democrat or Republican?
E.U. or Brexit?
He paused to listen, and this is what he heard: "The answer to your questions is found in Joshua 5:13-15."
So I turned immediately to this passage and heard the heart of our Messiah, blowing a shofar through the mess, calling each and every one of us to look to HIM, YESHUA/JESUS, the CAPTAIN OF THE ANGEL ARMIES!
Joshua 5:13-15:
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a Man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
John has a nephew who is a Captain in the Salvation Army. He's a guy I love and really admire. Last week he posted something that stirred my spirit. He said he was inquiring of the Lord:
Hillary or Trump?
Democrat or Republican?
E.U. or Brexit?
He paused to listen, and this is what he heard: "The answer to your questions is found in Joshua 5:13-15."
So I turned immediately to this passage and heard the heart of our Messiah, blowing a shofar through the mess, calling each and every one of us to look to HIM, YESHUA/JESUS, the CAPTAIN OF THE ANGEL ARMIES!
Joshua 5:13-15:
13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a Man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as Commander of the Army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
What an answer to the questions! Ponder it. Meditate on it. What does it mean to you? What message does He have for you?
To me, it says that all the answers to all our questions about the confusion, the terror, the lies, the deceit and the fears of this world are found and fully answered in Yeshua, the Commander of the LORD's Army (Adonai Tzava'ot!!) If I take off my sandals in reverence of Him, and fall on my face in repentance, He will commission me to "fight" in His Army through prayer and through His Word. There is no answer for America's woes apart from the repentance of her people!
Hillary or Trump? The LORD says "Neither. But as Commander of the Army of the LORD I have now come."
Who was and who is and WHO IS TO COME.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
A Whole Lot of Shaking Goin On
Hebrews 12:26-27:
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Is there a shaking going on in your life? In my prayer time I have been impressed that the Lord is showing us that He is shaking our relationships and alliances with others. These relationships are being tested, in order to see if they are built on the solid Rock of Messiah, or on fleshly gain and desires. Some of us entered into alliances for the sake of convenience - without inquiring of the Lord as to whether it was HIS will or not. Some are clinging to relationships or friendships that continually drag them into the world or into false beliefs, and despite their best intentions, they start ignoring God and the time they used to spend with Him in favor of people who do not even know Him or care.
But He is even now beginning to shake those alliances so that what is NOT of Him will fade away from our lives, and what IS of Him - withstanding the test and holding fast - will remain.
The shaking may get painful, disappointing, difficult. The Father says, "TRUST THE PROCESS." It is for your good and will draw you closer to Me."
At that time His voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.' The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken - that is created things - so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Is there a shaking going on in your life? In my prayer time I have been impressed that the Lord is showing us that He is shaking our relationships and alliances with others. These relationships are being tested, in order to see if they are built on the solid Rock of Messiah, or on fleshly gain and desires. Some of us entered into alliances for the sake of convenience - without inquiring of the Lord as to whether it was HIS will or not. Some are clinging to relationships or friendships that continually drag them into the world or into false beliefs, and despite their best intentions, they start ignoring God and the time they used to spend with Him in favor of people who do not even know Him or care.
But He is even now beginning to shake those alliances so that what is NOT of Him will fade away from our lives, and what IS of Him - withstanding the test and holding fast - will remain.
The shaking may get painful, disappointing, difficult. The Father says, "TRUST THE PROCESS." It is for your good and will draw you closer to Me."
Monday, June 27, 2016
Your Royal Self
The Retirement Home where my Mom and Dad lived for seven wonderful years is a place where my heart lives. I began teaching a Bible class there in 2007 and even though Mom and Dad are now with the Lord, the class is still going, and John and I are still so very privileged to be teaching God's Word to a number of the residents, from ages 63 to 93. We have always had a wonderful working relationship with the managers there, who let us know when someone is in hospital or rehab - or when someone is ill in their room and needs prayer.
Last week that changed. Unexpectedly, shockingly changed. New managers moved in - and much like the changes in the world all around us, darkness moved in.
I didn't sense it at first, but in the second week they were there, I was making copies of the bible lesson in the office and overhead the new woman manager being yelled at over the phone, as well as getting some impatient prodding from another elderly resident in the office. When that was all over, I approached the new manager and told her, "You have a tough job. You really handled all that with a lot of patience and grace, and that touched me. I'd love to pray a blessing of encouragement over you." She didn't say anything, so I drew close, laid my hand gently on the edge of her shoulder and began to pray, "Father, I lift her up to you right now for blessing and for encouragement...." and suddenly, with a hateful venom I have never experienced before, she grabbed my arm and jerked it away from her, then thrust an index finger in my face and shouted, "No! No! No!"
I was startled beyond words. Her phone rang and she went to answer it, so I left the office and went in to our precious bible students and taught a class. Afterward I scrawled a note of genuine apology to this new manager, and asked her to forgive if I had offended, reassuring her that my heart was to uplift and bless her.
Later in the week I felt led to phone her and see if we could have a good, healing conversation. When I identified myself and asked if I could speak to her for a few moments, she flew into a fiery rage, and retorted, "I have NOTHING to say to you. If you want to talk to me, make it fast!"
Again I was shocked at such anger and rage, but I persevered, "I WOULD like to talk about how we can work towards a good working relationship as I have always had with the managers there, so that we can serve the residents and visit them in the hospital or help them in times of need."
Now I heard a voice that demonically snarled at me, "I do not want a relationship with you and I will NOT bow down to your royal self." The phone slammed down. In stunned silence I sat there and thought about the voice of the one that had spoken to me. Why did it call me "royal?" Suddenly I thought of the Scripture in Acts 19:15: "One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”
Recalling this account of the evil spirit who knew the Messiah and the Apostle Paul, I suddenly realized I was just talking to this same spirit. "Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who is your royal self?"
The pain of this encounter started to fade away as I smiled and spoke aloud, "I am a daughter of the King, a child of the Most High! No wonder you have called me royal - and no wonder you refuse to bow to the One who lives in me!"
Be encouraged brothers and sisters, as we enter into these evil days. The demons may not know your names, but they know WHOSE YOU ARE and they tremble.
Last week that changed. Unexpectedly, shockingly changed. New managers moved in - and much like the changes in the world all around us, darkness moved in.
I didn't sense it at first, but in the second week they were there, I was making copies of the bible lesson in the office and overhead the new woman manager being yelled at over the phone, as well as getting some impatient prodding from another elderly resident in the office. When that was all over, I approached the new manager and told her, "You have a tough job. You really handled all that with a lot of patience and grace, and that touched me. I'd love to pray a blessing of encouragement over you." She didn't say anything, so I drew close, laid my hand gently on the edge of her shoulder and began to pray, "Father, I lift her up to you right now for blessing and for encouragement...." and suddenly, with a hateful venom I have never experienced before, she grabbed my arm and jerked it away from her, then thrust an index finger in my face and shouted, "No! No! No!"
I was startled beyond words. Her phone rang and she went to answer it, so I left the office and went in to our precious bible students and taught a class. Afterward I scrawled a note of genuine apology to this new manager, and asked her to forgive if I had offended, reassuring her that my heart was to uplift and bless her.
Later in the week I felt led to phone her and see if we could have a good, healing conversation. When I identified myself and asked if I could speak to her for a few moments, she flew into a fiery rage, and retorted, "I have NOTHING to say to you. If you want to talk to me, make it fast!"
Again I was shocked at such anger and rage, but I persevered, "I WOULD like to talk about how we can work towards a good working relationship as I have always had with the managers there, so that we can serve the residents and visit them in the hospital or help them in times of need."
Now I heard a voice that demonically snarled at me, "I do not want a relationship with you and I will NOT bow down to your royal self." The phone slammed down. In stunned silence I sat there and thought about the voice of the one that had spoken to me. Why did it call me "royal?" Suddenly I thought of the Scripture in Acts 19:15: "One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”
Recalling this account of the evil spirit who knew the Messiah and the Apostle Paul, I suddenly realized I was just talking to this same spirit. "Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who is your royal self?"
The pain of this encounter started to fade away as I smiled and spoke aloud, "I am a daughter of the King, a child of the Most High! No wonder you have called me royal - and no wonder you refuse to bow to the One who lives in me!"
Be encouraged brothers and sisters, as we enter into these evil days. The demons may not know your names, but they know WHOSE YOU ARE and they tremble.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Have You Been Singing This Song?
The writings of Francis Frangipane still move me. Today he wrote about a unique song in Scripture that is sung by the Redeemed: "In Revelation 14:3 we read, 'And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song.' Although this verse refers to the elect of God, by application it tells us that there is a personal song that we each sing, a song that no one else can learn. It is a hymn that comes uniquely from our hearts, one that tells our personal story of redemption. Beloved, there is a song that you alone must learn and you alone can sing. Its stanzas are filled with the litany of God's miracles. This worship is our testimony of the Father's wonderful, rescuing, empowering grace, and it rises like fragrant incense from the core of our God-experience. Have you been singing this song? This is your reason for living and only you can sing it."
It's true. My daughter and I started a "summer bible study" yesterday for two other women who have not yet come to know the Lord. As she and I both shared our personal experiences of God's "rescuing, empowering grace" in our own lives, I saw how remarkably unique our songs were. I could not learn hers and she could not learn mine, but as we were "singing" (sharing) them with these other women, their eyes were being opened to His love. Our songs were the invitation of Yeshua, for them to open the door of their hearts.
It reminded me of the passages in Matthew 25 where the Master tells a parable of 10 virgins. Five wake from their slumber and still have a good quantity of oil; the other five beg them to give some oil, but they are told, "Go and buy some for yourself." How could saints of God be so stingy with something they've been given? I have come to know and believe that this oil - similar to the song - is our personal relationship and walk with Messiah. I can tell you about that; I can give you my testimony and sing you my song of the glorious way He has kept me safe under His wing, guided and protected me, disciplined me like a strong father and loved me like a faithful husband. But I cannot give that to you. You must experience it yourself! You must learn your own song of redemption and "buy" your own oil from the Lord, by drawing near to Him and trusting Him with all your heart.
Your oil will be your testimony of all that He has brought you through in this earthly passage. Your song will be one of pain and joy, tears and laughter, valleys and mountaintops. Have you been singing this song? This is your reason for living and only you can sing it!
It's true. My daughter and I started a "summer bible study" yesterday for two other women who have not yet come to know the Lord. As she and I both shared our personal experiences of God's "rescuing, empowering grace" in our own lives, I saw how remarkably unique our songs were. I could not learn hers and she could not learn mine, but as we were "singing" (sharing) them with these other women, their eyes were being opened to His love. Our songs were the invitation of Yeshua, for them to open the door of their hearts.
It reminded me of the passages in Matthew 25 where the Master tells a parable of 10 virgins. Five wake from their slumber and still have a good quantity of oil; the other five beg them to give some oil, but they are told, "Go and buy some for yourself." How could saints of God be so stingy with something they've been given? I have come to know and believe that this oil - similar to the song - is our personal relationship and walk with Messiah. I can tell you about that; I can give you my testimony and sing you my song of the glorious way He has kept me safe under His wing, guided and protected me, disciplined me like a strong father and loved me like a faithful husband. But I cannot give that to you. You must experience it yourself! You must learn your own song of redemption and "buy" your own oil from the Lord, by drawing near to Him and trusting Him with all your heart.
Your oil will be your testimony of all that He has brought you through in this earthly passage. Your song will be one of pain and joy, tears and laughter, valleys and mountaintops. Have you been singing this song? This is your reason for living and only you can sing it!
Monday, May 30, 2016
On the Road Back...
In fresh study of the book of Ruth this morning, I received some powerful, fresh revelation:
Ruth 1:7 "With her two daughters-in-law she (Naomi) left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah."
I sat long with this verse. Where had Naomi been living? In Moab - a foreign land, a place where they worshiped other gods. She had spent much time in this place away from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, away from the place, the people, and the God that held her heart. Now, after much grief and loss, she was ready to travel the "road that would take them back to the land of Judah."
What does this mean, spiritually? If we see this road only in the physical realm, we have missed the revelation. For those of us living in America or Brazil or Tahiti or Norway, this "road back to the land of Judah" would be entirely too long to walk. I have been to the land of Israel (the land of Judah) five times and yes, it has helped me to understand the Scriptures better, and it is a beautiful, powerful place to explore -- but I believe this verse means so much more!
Naomi left the godless place where she had been living, where foreigners and their false gods and materialistic society prevailed, and she set out on the road that would take her back to the Holy One of Israel, and to the Torah, His loving teaching and instructions. She left the "world," her heart set on the God of her ancestors and His set-apart ways.
Ruth 1:22: So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by Ruth, the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
The barley harvest! Ah yes, Passover! Her heart is set on returning to the one true God, and so she is on a spiritual walk with Him, and that always begins at Passover -- the place where we put the Blood of the Lamb over our doorposts (our lives) and then enter into the waters of Baptism (the mikveh of the Red Sea). She arrives in Bethlehem - the place where Yeshua the Redeemer entered into the world.
When we take this road, we begin anew. We return to Torah, where our God defines the journey into His own heart, and how to live for Him. This is the true road back to the land of Judah. It is the true "Back to the Future!" We go back, like Naomi, in order to go forward.
Ruth 1:7 "With her two daughters-in-law she (Naomi) left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah."
I sat long with this verse. Where had Naomi been living? In Moab - a foreign land, a place where they worshiped other gods. She had spent much time in this place away from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, away from the place, the people, and the God that held her heart. Now, after much grief and loss, she was ready to travel the "road that would take them back to the land of Judah."
What does this mean, spiritually? If we see this road only in the physical realm, we have missed the revelation. For those of us living in America or Brazil or Tahiti or Norway, this "road back to the land of Judah" would be entirely too long to walk. I have been to the land of Israel (the land of Judah) five times and yes, it has helped me to understand the Scriptures better, and it is a beautiful, powerful place to explore -- but I believe this verse means so much more!
Naomi left the godless place where she had been living, where foreigners and their false gods and materialistic society prevailed, and she set out on the road that would take her back to the Holy One of Israel, and to the Torah, His loving teaching and instructions. She left the "world," her heart set on the God of her ancestors and His set-apart ways.
Ruth 1:22: So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by Ruth, the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
The barley harvest! Ah yes, Passover! Her heart is set on returning to the one true God, and so she is on a spiritual walk with Him, and that always begins at Passover -- the place where we put the Blood of the Lamb over our doorposts (our lives) and then enter into the waters of Baptism (the mikveh of the Red Sea). She arrives in Bethlehem - the place where Yeshua the Redeemer entered into the world.
When we take this road, we begin anew. We return to Torah, where our God defines the journey into His own heart, and how to live for Him. This is the true road back to the land of Judah. It is the true "Back to the Future!" We go back, like Naomi, in order to go forward.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Precious and Holy
Our strength was restored to us on our God-given vacation and then we came home to the next assignment. The "crisis mode" continued. John's cousin Jerry went into Hospice and John wanted to see him again. And so we drove 800 miles straight through the night down to El Paso. We spent two full days in Jerry's room and I had a most holy, awesome time with him. He was unable to speak, on heavy morphine - and yet I was granted an entire morning where he was lucid and clung to my hand, receiving the words of God that assured him safe passage into an everlasting life. The Spirit showed me his fears and anxieties as he was reviewing his life and wondering if Yeshua could possibly accept him. As I sang over him and read John 6 and Romans 3 to him, he gripped my hand so tightly, so fervently, and his crystal blue eyes met mine in an effort to respond. We know he heard the message of the Pure Gospel of Messiah and then he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep and we turned on Pandora Radio on my phone.
God chose the song list and played them in this order: Amazing Grace - I'll Fly Away - Jesus, Take My Hand - I Can Only Imagine. Four songs all about the moment of passing from this life to the next, and what awe-inspiring joy, peace and immeasurable LOVE we will encounter!
That was two days ago and Jerry still lingers, though we came home. That is a mystery - it must be a time when the Spirit reveals deep things to the one leaving this earth. It caused me to recall the last moments with my parents just a year and a half ago. Through these experiences I have come to truly understand this: "Precious and holy in the eyes of the LORD is the death of His saints."
Abba wrote that in the sky just after my time of ministry with Jerry. I walked over to the hospital window and just over the horizon of the El Paso sky, a huge, glistening rainbow appeared and then ascended higher into the heavens. Precious and holy!
God chose the song list and played them in this order: Amazing Grace - I'll Fly Away - Jesus, Take My Hand - I Can Only Imagine. Four songs all about the moment of passing from this life to the next, and what awe-inspiring joy, peace and immeasurable LOVE we will encounter!
That was two days ago and Jerry still lingers, though we came home. That is a mystery - it must be a time when the Spirit reveals deep things to the one leaving this earth. It caused me to recall the last moments with my parents just a year and a half ago. Through these experiences I have come to truly understand this: "Precious and holy in the eyes of the LORD is the death of His saints."
Abba wrote that in the sky just after my time of ministry with Jerry. I walked over to the hospital window and just over the horizon of the El Paso sky, a huge, glistening rainbow appeared and then ascended higher into the heavens. Precious and holy!
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Once in a Lifetime Opportunity!
John and I are on a much-needed VACATION (I had forgotten what that word means!) given to us by our beloved Door of Hope congregation. I spent the first night sleepless, in a clashing battle between the sounds of the world (a "Carnival Party" full of raucous music and revelry, just below our balcony) and the WORSHIP I was lifting in our hotel room. The contrast between the sounds was the most intense warfare I have experienced since my time in the little room atop the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem when the Muslim calls to prayer would blare over the loudspeakers. I fought in the night with tears and songs of worship until it seemed the battle was won, and then rested peacefully to my FAVORITE sound - the waves upon the beach!
Yesterday morning we kept our appointment with the timeshare salesman. I would normally never have signed up for such a thing, but I had sensed that Father had a plan. The handsome young Mexican salesman's name was Armando - please pray for Armando because he did not realize he had made an appointment with the King of the Universe today! As he pressured us into spending $20,000 for this "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a vacation timeshare for 4000 resorts around the world" - we witnessed to him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to know and serve the God of all the earth, who made this vacation possible for us, and who could meet ALL his needs too! We kept telling him that the people of our congregation blessed us with this vacation and that we never worry about what we will need tomorrow. He was getting more and more agitated, not understanding WHO THIS GOD IS. He told us he was raised Catholic and went to church when he was a little kid, but NOW, he said, "I live for the next vacation with a margarita in my hands and two senoritas by my side."
Yesterday morning we kept our appointment with the timeshare salesman. I would normally never have signed up for such a thing, but I had sensed that Father had a plan. The handsome young Mexican salesman's name was Armando - please pray for Armando because he did not realize he had made an appointment with the King of the Universe today! As he pressured us into spending $20,000 for this "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a vacation timeshare for 4000 resorts around the world" - we witnessed to him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to know and serve the God of all the earth, who made this vacation possible for us, and who could meet ALL his needs too! We kept telling him that the people of our congregation blessed us with this vacation and that we never worry about what we will need tomorrow. He was getting more and more agitated, not understanding WHO THIS GOD IS. He told us he was raised Catholic and went to church when he was a little kid, but NOW, he said, "I live for the next vacation with a margarita in my hands and two senoritas by my side."
Finally, he took us upstairs to see the fancy rooms where MEMBERS ONLY get to stay, and when he was in a quiet corner where he knew no one could over-hear, he blurted out, "So I want to have all the fun I can in this life because I don't know what happens when I die. Do you know what happens????" In that quiet corner of the luxurious hotel where the members only get to fulfill their worldly dreams, we told Armando the whole Gospel story. We shared with him the Jesus he had never met, and did not realize he needed. He seemed utterly overwhelmed as he took us into the "closing room." He stepped away from us to tell his boss that we were missionaries who didn't have much money and who were not going to buy the timeshare no matter how enticing the offer. The boss man came literally running to our table, his face beaming with joy and light. "So you are missionaries?" he exclaimed. We nodded. And then he spent the rest of his time telling us about how he and his wife had met the Lord, had pulled their children out of Mexican public schools, and put them in a Calvary Chapel school where they were all learning the" 'WHOLE BIBLE"! "When Armando told me what you do, I just wanted to meet you," he said, "and thank you for serving Jesus! And I want to show you the school we have and how we are reaching people." He spent all of his allotted time with us eagerly showing us the Rohi school (online) and his joy was overflowing.
Then Armando returned to the table to sign us out. The bubbly, vivacious salesman seemed troubled, perplexed. He thanked us for listening and we parted company; but I looked back over my shoulder and watched him pace, shaking his head, like a man whose entire world had just been turned upside down. What he had thought was important might have just felt very insignificant. He had had a divine appointment and we left him, rejoicing in our hearts that God is not finished with Armando.
Monday, April 4, 2016
The Words God Spoke
All too often we come to the retirement home where we teach bible studies every Monday and learn that another old friend has been transferred to the next level of higher care, a nursing home. We never let that be the end of our contact with these dear ones who have studied God's Word with us for several years. And so today I went to visit one of the women in a nursing home. Although it was an exceptionally warm spring day here, I found her wrapped in three wool blankets, looking very frail, lost in sleep, with a slight smile on her face. She was one who was always joyful, always positive, no matter how difficult her situation. She knows the Lord intimately and it shows!
I gently stroked her arm and greeted her. Her eyelids fluttered open and a huge grin now spread across her face. "Kelly, how good to see you!" she exclaimed. I reached in to hug her and as she began to speak to me, I knew I was going to have to curl myself up right next to her in her bed so that I could hear her voice, almost a whisper. She told me, "It takes so much strength to talk." But then she began to tell me about her recent visits with Jesus. "He has been speaking to me and He told me, 'I can't tell you when, but you will be with Me soon.' Her face erupted in light, "Then the angels encircled me, they were all around me!" She paused, considering her words, and then said to me, "I don't understand why Christians have so much trouble talking about these things." I knew she was referring to death. I've visited so many people close to death, and know that they really do need to talk about it, but most people won't go there. So I agreed with her. "Why should believers not want to talk about their home-going? It is so glorious even to think about!" She nodded and smiled and then drew me in a little closer and whispered to me, "Do you remember that book of the Torah you got for me a couple of years ago?" Well, I've asked my son to give that back to you when I am gone. I loved it so much because it is written in English and in the words GOD SPOKE."
Truly, her words sent shivers up my spine! I knew she meant the Hebrew language, but it touched me so much the way she put it: "the words God spoke!" What revelation this dear friend had hiding in her 90-something-year-old heart. I told her that I never forget her and pray for her often. She squeezed my hand and said, "I will never forget you either and I will be praying for you from Heaven."
I returned to my car and wept. I had had a strong urging of the Spirit to visit her today and I'm so very glad I did not ignore it. I'm pretty sure I may not see her again in this earthly life. But her state of total shalom and quiet joy was a great inspiration to me. She is one who knows the words God spoke from a lifetime of listening!
I gently stroked her arm and greeted her. Her eyelids fluttered open and a huge grin now spread across her face. "Kelly, how good to see you!" she exclaimed. I reached in to hug her and as she began to speak to me, I knew I was going to have to curl myself up right next to her in her bed so that I could hear her voice, almost a whisper. She told me, "It takes so much strength to talk." But then she began to tell me about her recent visits with Jesus. "He has been speaking to me and He told me, 'I can't tell you when, but you will be with Me soon.' Her face erupted in light, "Then the angels encircled me, they were all around me!" She paused, considering her words, and then said to me, "I don't understand why Christians have so much trouble talking about these things." I knew she was referring to death. I've visited so many people close to death, and know that they really do need to talk about it, but most people won't go there. So I agreed with her. "Why should believers not want to talk about their home-going? It is so glorious even to think about!" She nodded and smiled and then drew me in a little closer and whispered to me, "Do you remember that book of the Torah you got for me a couple of years ago?" Well, I've asked my son to give that back to you when I am gone. I loved it so much because it is written in English and in the words GOD SPOKE."
Truly, her words sent shivers up my spine! I knew she meant the Hebrew language, but it touched me so much the way she put it: "the words God spoke!" What revelation this dear friend had hiding in her 90-something-year-old heart. I told her that I never forget her and pray for her often. She squeezed my hand and said, "I will never forget you either and I will be praying for you from Heaven."
I returned to my car and wept. I had had a strong urging of the Spirit to visit her today and I'm so very glad I did not ignore it. I'm pretty sure I may not see her again in this earthly life. But her state of total shalom and quiet joy was a great inspiration to me. She is one who knows the words God spoke from a lifetime of listening!
Monday, March 28, 2016
Stop Thinking and Open Up Your Hearts
Dear friends in Messiah Yeshua,
One week ago today I received a word through the Holy Spirit and He said it was for His people. I have sat on it for a week, because I so wanted to be sure it was of HIM (not me) and certain that He wanted it sent across this Blog. In my time of deep prayer with Him early this morning, I was strongly impressed that He wanted it sent, and He added some Scripture to it that blessed me very much! Now, I know I must send it out, so am writing it as follows:
March 22, 2016
TO MY PEOPLE:
Stop judging so harshly, O my people, stop! You are the deep thinkers, the seekers of Truth, the cerebral people. Stop thinking and open up your hearts.
You are wounded, fractured, bleeding. You are the children of Israel who told Moses to approach Me and speak to Me so you wouldn't have to. You say you want holiness, but you don't want to get close to the Holy One.
You need each other, dear children. One can fix your car, one can teach your children, one can grow and can your food, one can cut your hair. You have purposed to come out of the world - and the world hates you even as it hates ME - so you need each other.
Wash your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Humble yourselves before YHVH and He will lift you up. Perhaps as I lift you up from your knees you will extend your arms out to your brothers and sisters; yes, the ones who have wounded and rejected you - and the ones you have wounded and rejected. Stop thinking and open up your hearts! Love one another. Everyone who loves has been born of Me and knows Me. Whoever does not love, does not know Me.
A pause for several hours - and then He continued:
You have studied Torah till your eyes cross. You know My instructions. What are you doing with it? Now, I say study Acts. Study my early Church. Look at the zeal. Understand the suffering. Now put these things into practice.
Today, March 28, he added: "Now put these things into practice."
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
One week ago today I received a word through the Holy Spirit and He said it was for His people. I have sat on it for a week, because I so wanted to be sure it was of HIM (not me) and certain that He wanted it sent across this Blog. In my time of deep prayer with Him early this morning, I was strongly impressed that He wanted it sent, and He added some Scripture to it that blessed me very much! Now, I know I must send it out, so am writing it as follows:
March 22, 2016
TO MY PEOPLE:
Stop judging so harshly, O my people, stop! You are the deep thinkers, the seekers of Truth, the cerebral people. Stop thinking and open up your hearts.
You are wounded, fractured, bleeding. You are the children of Israel who told Moses to approach Me and speak to Me so you wouldn't have to. You say you want holiness, but you don't want to get close to the Holy One.
You need each other, dear children. One can fix your car, one can teach your children, one can grow and can your food, one can cut your hair. You have purposed to come out of the world - and the world hates you even as it hates ME - so you need each other.
Wash your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Humble yourselves before YHVH and He will lift you up. Perhaps as I lift you up from your knees you will extend your arms out to your brothers and sisters; yes, the ones who have wounded and rejected you - and the ones you have wounded and rejected. Stop thinking and open up your hearts! Love one another. Everyone who loves has been born of Me and knows Me. Whoever does not love, does not know Me.
A pause for several hours - and then He continued:
You have studied Torah till your eyes cross. You know My instructions. What are you doing with it? Now, I say study Acts. Study my early Church. Look at the zeal. Understand the suffering. Now put these things into practice.
Today, March 28, he added: "Now put these things into practice."
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
Saturday, March 19, 2016
A Burnt Offering
I read Leviticus 1 this morning. I have read it over and over, throughout the years. This time I determined to sit before YHVH until He showed me what He requires of me asan offering. "Yes, Father God," I told Him, "I understand that the burnt offering is me. I know You require that I offer myself as a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice to You (Romans 12:1)." But what does it really mean and what do you want me to DO for You? Shall we stay in this place of "Exile" until we get all the lessons of the wilderness and are released into the Land? Shall we lay it all down and wait for the "new thing" you are bringing in this next season?
I was full of questions. He was full of silence. So I waited. Finally I heard the still, small Voice say, "Go to Lev. 6:12." I read: "The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out, it must be Kept burning! What does a continually burning fire illustrate?
I was full of questions. He was full of silence. So I waited. Finally I heard the still, small Voice say, "Go to Lev. 6:12." I read: "The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out, it must be Kept burning! What does a continually burning fire illustrate?
- Passion that never subsides
- Heat that consumes
- Light that draws others near
- Energy that does not fade
This is not an answer of what I should do next; it is answer of what I should continually be. What I am matters more to my God than what I do. If I am continually filled with a fiery passion for Yeshua, my flesh consumed, my spirit radiant to all who see me, and my life lived out before Him, then I emit a fragrance pleasing to the LORD.
Leviticus 1:9: "It is an aroma pleasing to the LORD." How does my life smell to You, Father? Perhaps I finally understand that the aroma I produce is what matters. You love the smell of burnt offerings! Leviticus 1:17: "It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD."
Consumed flesh. An offering made by fire. Holy unto YHVH. Kadosh. This is what You require, not from my herd - but from my heart.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Thanks Feeds Our Trust
An entire congregation thrown out of its church building - it seems almost inconceivable. But as our eyes are being opened to the biblical pattern we have been thrust into, we marvel. We gathered again yesterday in the little white country church in the cornfields (our "wilderness tabernacle), and the Presence is so strong there, we can but worship and weep.
We have entered into the season of SOJOURN and EXILE - and in this sojourn we grow closer to Him and to one another, for we have nothing to distract us. We do not have the beautiful banners and the furniture and the trappings. And I think of my dear, blessed Anglican friends around the country who have been experiencing this same thing at the hands of the Episcopal Church, who filed lawsuits against the faithful. Those who took a stand for the Word of God, and chose to keep His Truth have been banished from their beautiful church properties also, and were not allowed to take anything out but their fierce passion for Messiah Yeshua. They too are getting the lessons of the Exile.
But the lessons are sweet. The lessons are Trust and Obedience, Manna, Provision. We watch the hand of God work and we find ourselves overcome with tearful gratitude. Quoting again from Ann Voskamp: "Remembering with thanks, this is the bread. We take the moments as bread and give thanks and the thanks itself becomes bread. The thanks itself nourishes. Thanks feeds our trust."
As we are finishing our gathered meal and fellowship time, my daughter and grandson and their pastor enter the building pushing a huge carton on a dolly. It is her new electronic piano! Family coming together in a common cause, to lift the highest praise unto our God! We help her unpack and assemble the beautiful new instrument, and then I sit in tears and listen to my little girl (now 37) play my favorite piece of music, Claire de Lune. My heart soars - I have not heard her play this soul-stirring song since she was a young girl at home, My eyes start to leak. This was a "remembering with thanks moment."
This morning I overflow with thanks, and my heart dances to the song I hear: "My heart and my flesh will fail me, but I know this one truth remains: God, You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Thanks feeds our trust; and so we trust the Yeshua-Cloud that leads us and we sojourn on toward our Passover Deliverance.
But the lessons are sweet. The lessons are Trust and Obedience, Manna, Provision. We watch the hand of God work and we find ourselves overcome with tearful gratitude. Quoting again from Ann Voskamp: "Remembering with thanks, this is the bread. We take the moments as bread and give thanks and the thanks itself becomes bread. The thanks itself nourishes. Thanks feeds our trust."
As we are finishing our gathered meal and fellowship time, my daughter and grandson and their pastor enter the building pushing a huge carton on a dolly. It is her new electronic piano! Family coming together in a common cause, to lift the highest praise unto our God! We help her unpack and assemble the beautiful new instrument, and then I sit in tears and listen to my little girl (now 37) play my favorite piece of music, Claire de Lune. My heart soars - I have not heard her play this soul-stirring song since she was a young girl at home, My eyes start to leak. This was a "remembering with thanks moment."
This morning I overflow with thanks, and my heart dances to the song I hear: "My heart and my flesh will fail me, but I know this one truth remains: God, You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Thanks feeds our trust; and so we trust the Yeshua-Cloud that leads us and we sojourn on toward our Passover Deliverance.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
No Lack of Hope
This morning I got this prophetic word through Marsha Burns: "It is not My will that you live in sadness and lack of hope. I have made a way of escape, says the Lord. Look up and get up."
How directly and lovingly Abba is speaking to us right now! The moment we got the notice from the landlord, notifying us that he has sold the building and that we were ordered to move out by February 28, there was a group of us at the Door of Hope who refused to go into sadness and LACK of hope, and we arose and got up and began moving everything we have in the church building into storage. For two days we labored from sun-up to sun-down to move load after load of tables, chairs, sound system, furniture, and kitchen supplies, rejoicing in our Great God who has not abandoned us, but simply said to us, "The cloud has moved. Be quickly obedient to move with it!" We are being obedient, and in the process He has provided a temporary shelter for us to gather and worship Him through my daughter's pastor at the Bethel Family Praise Center in Eaton. Even as I write this I am struck by the name of their church: BETH EL PRAISE CENTER - a place for us to gather in the House of God and give Him praise, even in the midst of our wilderness, and even in the pain of betrayal.
I look up and He is there. His cloud that leads us has just moved us to a temporary dwelling place where we can be fed with manna and await His next direction. I look up and He is there. He provided a strong, faithful group of Levites to put the loads on their shoulders and carry it. I look up and He is there. FORTY DAYS FROM OUR EVICTION DATE IS NISAN 1 ON THE HEBREW CALENDAR. So what happened on Nisan 1? The Tabernacle was built! The tabernacle was set up in the first month of the first year - Exodus 40:17. We are in our second year of the Community called Door of Hope! Forty days from this Sunday, our day of being sent out, is Nisan 1, the biblical first day of the first month! We are in God's timing and under His watchful eye.
The number 40 in Hebraic understanding means TESTING. It is all a test; a test of obedience, of trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of faith. This morning, for the first time in all this mess, I was being tempted to grieve our loss. The beautiful old building in Eaton had been a wonderful sanctuary in which to worship our God, and we had spent a lot of time and money to make it worthy of Him. How could anyone be so cruel and vindictive as to pull it out from under all of us? But He has already given me the answer to that question. "I hardened Pharaoh's heart and used him to bring glorious deliverance to My people." And John has just come to me with Bible in hand and told me the Lord spoke to him this morning with these verses from Psalm 35: "May those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. May they be like chaff before the wind, with Malach-Yehovah (the Angel of the Lord) driving them away. I will give You thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise You!"
And so we look up and get up! God will deal with Pharaoh. We will rejoice in the wilderness, and I praise Him that it will not be for forty years! Perhaps it will only be until Passover, the Day of our Deliverance. But for whatever time it takes, He calls us to "Remember the Rock from which you were cut - and remember the name I gave to you: the Door of Hope. It is not My will that you live in sadness and lack of hope. I am the Door."
The One who enters by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. The doorkeeper opens the door for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. - John 10:2
We are the doorkeepers, Abba. Many years ago you told me to call this "Doorkeeper Ministries" and I could not yet fully understand how I would walk it out! I only knew that in every circumstance I would need to listen to Your Voice and open the door for You to do Your will in my life, even when it was terribly hard, even when it meant great sacrifice. It has not escaped my notice that God brought some passionate, creative people into the Door of Hope just as this crisis was about to erupt. They were bubbling over with creativity in building us new websites, new ideas for spreading the word and reaching the people. Their zeal and faithfulness threw the enemy into full-scale warfare! But together we will joyfully move forward with praise as our weapon, knowing that He is assembling HIS Remnant who are called and being equipped to bring a multitude of people to healing and salvation. This is a time of training for the difficult days ahead. The faithful are being prepared.
There is a little sadness. I am familiar with betrayal and sadness. So was my Master, Yeshua. But there is no lack of hope! As He says to us today, He has made a way of escape.
Proverbs 11:21: Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.
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