driving your roots deeper

Bless the Wilderness

God is inviting those who will listen to begin blessing the wilderness of 2020. Here in the eleventh hour of this year, we can rise up in faith and declare that King Jesus has been drawing us into deeper intimacy with him through all of its challenges. In Song of Songs 8:5 there is a prophetic question, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?”

May God open our eyes to see the past year through his eyes. May he heal the eyes of our heart so that we will have wisdom and revelation. Our Bridegroom King has drawn us into the wilderness out of his deep desire for us. As we lean upon him with all of our hearts, we can trust that he is blessing us as his Bride and will provide more than we could think or imagine.

Hosea 2:14-23 contains God’s promise to his Bride (the people of God);“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.“In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground.Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.“In that day I will respond,” declares the Lord—“I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth;and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, and they will respond to Jezreel.I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”

There is a profound glory being poured out from heaven to those who will rise up in bold, courageous faith through Christ and bless the wilderness of 2020. Our Beloved, our bridegroom King Jesus has never let us down. May we have ears to hear and eyes to see how he has led us in 2020. He is good and his extravagant love is about to be displayed as never before upon his Bride. The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come, King Jesus.”

Craving Wisely

My cravings are set on fire by my hunger and thirst. The pressures of life push and pull me to an empty place. Once I get there, my soul demands to be filled. I cannot deny or escape it.

To be alive is to crave more life. I am always hungry and thirsty because I have been created for renewal. As long as I am breathing I will be craving.
For some reason, I find myself journaling this… “Coming to terms with the primal source of life…the kingdom of God… the Spirit of God. It is the presence of God that provides power, stability, breath, life, and more.”

I began to think about prayer. It is bringing my hunger and thirst to the bread of life and the living water… King Jesus. Wisdom tells me that my cravings drive what I do. The reason I pray is to not be a fool when it comes to my heart intentions… what I am REALLY trying to get.

Jesus said, “Blessings on people who hunger and thirst for God’s justice! You’re going to be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6 – The Bible for Everyone) or “How enriched you are when you crave righteousness! For you will be surrounded with fruitfulness.” (The Passion Translation)

We are right now under pressure from adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic. All of us are careening toward a confrontation with our heart motives… what we REALLY crave.

I hear the anchoring voice of the Spirit urging me to come to him every day to eat the bread of life and drink the living water that only comes from King Jesus. Only a fool would ignore Him.

God, lead me in heaven’s wisdom. – Amen

Speak, Lord, for Your Servant (church) is Listening (1 Samuel 3:10)

Inspired by 1 Samuel 3

This has been a historic era when we have been trying to have all of the benefits of the kingdom of heaven on earth without the King. The nations of the world have bought into the lie that says even if there is a God, He is distant from us and uninvolved on earth.

Most, even in the church can relate to 1 Samuel 3:1, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” Eli’s house was corrupt and he himself was allowing unethical and immoral things to happen. God was about to judge his household.

In the middle of the mess, the Spirit of God broke through and caused the boy Samuel, to hear from heaven. That encounter under the coaching of Eli (even though he was coming under God’s judgment) launched Samuel into an unprecedented prophetic ministry.

We have come to such a moment right now. I submit to you that the Coronavirus Pandemic has become a moment when what we hear has awesome potential to launch the restored prophetic voice of the Church for the glory of King Jesus.

This is a moment when I am choosing by the grace of God to be intentional about how I respond to what I hear. I am joining with young Samuel and praying, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”. The Church in all nations is going to shine powerfully in 2020 and beyond in an unprecedented way. Our service to God, today, is to listen only to Him.

In Christ, You are a blessing!

God’s Vindication Assumes God’s Government

I have learned that God’s agenda for me is freedom. Legit freedom that breaks every restricting chain of control away from me. There are weapons forged against me. But, in Christ, those weapons are not effective. My defense is the vindication that Jesus provides by his presence in me and with me. Vindication is the action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion. The prophet, Isaiah wrote, “no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17) In Christ, I am cleared of blame and suspicion.

Jesus is present in me according to his promise to come in, stay with me and to do life with me. (Revelation 3:20) His presence with me governs me. I have been captured by the goodness of his kingship over me.
He trains me day by day to freely surrender to his ways. There are days when I cooperate well with the training and others when I tend to resist. Jesus disciplines me and calls me higher on those days. A good day is not always a fun day with Jesus. But, he reminds me endlessly that in him I am vindicated (cleared of blame and suspicion).

I am learning to trust his vindication of me more every day. He is showing me the ways I foolishly take that vindication and use it to get what I want. Freedom doesn’t work that way. The more I let him govern me from the inside-out, the more I experience his release from fears of blame and suspicion. The more I trust his vindication of me and not my own, the more courage I find to live in true freedom.

I pray the same for you in Jesus’ name.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Don’t Lose Heart! Meditation on Matthew 10

King Jesus is revealed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He sent his followers intentionally as sheep among wolves in order to display the glory of the kingdom of God on earth. Somehow, the presence of sheep who are filled with the Spirit of the Lamb of God provokes and exposes the deadly wolf-like ways in the world.

As in the days when the New Testament was written, the good news about the arrival of God’s kingdom still causes upheaval. It is good but usually not predictable or pristine. God’s presence exposes everything that is against the New Creation and anti-renewal. In the end, the wolves are seen for who they are in the presence of the Lamb of God.

As I meditate on my life of identifying as a child of God in life-union with Jesus, I need to make a confession. My experience is that the Lamb of God has to expose the ways that I am a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That is the way to enter into eternal life. There is no other way.

The beautiful, overwhelming truth is that my sins have been forgiven and I live in Christ for God’s glory. But, the place of connection is agreeing with his assessment of my ways, even when he exposes what is out of line with His heart in me.

It is a profound thing to invest our lives in God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. We do that only by God’s grace. As we live in the Spirit, the wolf-like ways in the world will come to light. We can’t allow that to discourage us. Instead, we must focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God and trust His presence more than ever. Somehow, He uses our lives in those moments as evidence of His kingdom’s life and resilience. Don’t lose heart!

(Inspired by Matthew 10)

A thought for those who want to father and mother on earth as it is in heaven:

Fathers and Mothers in Christ are accessible to everyone in the house. Never inaccessible. This is their challenge and joy. The impossibility of this drives them into the realm of the miraculous as they must depend on the resources of heaven in Christ to avoid burning out. Kingdom of God fathering and mothering is accomplished not by might or power but by God’s Spirit in the name of Jesus. It is their responsibility to manage life in such a way that even when their necessary boundaries may make them physically unavailable, their influence is never absent from those who depend on them. It is a high calling but indispensable.

Unrefined ponderings on a tired midweek morning…

Holy Spirit, reside in me, in us.

In Jesus, I am in heaven. Because Jesus is in me, heaven is on earth.
It is a “right here, right now” thing. The living, breathing, moving union of heaven and earth is overflowing with the glory of God.

Somehow to live every moment in the faith that in Christ, heaven and earth have been joined.

Transformation happens at the pace of a plant growing. And it grows up out of the mess and chaos of our lives.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you, Jesus, for your faithful, undying, life infusing presence in us and with us especially when we think we are at our worst.

Teach us to see in every moment at least a hint of your kingdom flowing on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

Christ is walking where you walk

I was reaching out to friends of mine this morning with a “stirring up” word. After I sent the message to them, I realized that it is an important word for all of us. We have come into a time of unprecedented harvest around the world. We have been sent as his children to do the harvest work. We HAVE TO get it done with Christ.

Wherever you place your feet, Christ in you is also placing his feet. Because he is in you and you are in him every place you walk is a place that the kingdom intends to show up. The Spirit has me contending for greatly improved vision for the eyes of your heart.

You and I can’t let the stubborn resistance of the rebellious world we are living in outwit us as children of God. It will submit to us in Christ if we remain present and enforce the kingdom (in love of course) wherever we go. The very places that resist us or that we don’t feel we belong are places that will be transformed by the kingdom soon! Jesus intends to do this with us as his family if we will keep showing up.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Giving up our lives? – inspired by 1 John 3:16

King Jesus did SOMEthing that changed EVERYthing. What he accomplished re-launched creation. He gave up his life for us.

But, don’t let that overshadow the greater glory he achieved by rising again from the dead. By giving up his life, he actually opened a massive door for heaven to mesh with the earth that will never be closed. When he rose again, the life he had surrendered began to multiply. As a result, the increase of his government will never end.

What is our call… our response to this? God is awakening people and nations because King Jesus gave up his life. For all of us who say yes to becoming God’s daughters and sons, there is an expectation. It is more than an expectation… it is a fire that we fan with the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Because Jesus gave up his life, we must also give up our lives. It is time for us to blow up the myth that Jesus gave up his life so that we are free to live for ourselves. You and I actually get to give up our lives to increase the legacy of King Jesus… now and for generations to come!

Whatever it costs you today to give your life to what matters, it won’t go unnoticed in heaven. We praise God for you and for the life you are living for the glory of Jesus.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

SEEING IN 2020

I’ve been crafting and honing a prophetic word for 2020 over my own life. The phrase that has been coming to me is, “This year you will SEE in 20/20”. I’m working on a prayer that will express what I want God to do in me over the coming year. It involves restoring the eyes of my heart and renewing my ability to see clearly in the Spirit

According to the American Optometric Association, “20/20 vision is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that distance. If you have 20/100 vision, it means that you must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at 100 feet… Having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision. 20/20 vision only indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance.”

I want an inner vision that has been refined to “normal visual acuity” for a child of God living to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. I want to see at 20 (spiritual) feet what I am supposed to see. And, I love the prophetic idea of having clear “vision at a distance”.

I feel like God is blowing on the fire in our hearts with a desire to see in 20/20 in the New Year. I am definitely intrigued. Has the Spirit been stirring up anything similar to this in your life? I am wondering if others have been getting revelation for the year to come.

I would love to hear your reply!