Category: Revival

Heaven’s expanse and limits

One of the keys to the unprecedented renewal movement of God on earth is surrender to the ruling presence of God. I have done a lot of wrestling with religious rules and standards over the past 50+ years… both breaking them and keeping them.

In great frustration, as an eighteen-year-old boy, I came to a crisis moment of surrender. I prayed a simple but gut-level honest prayer; “Lord Jesus, I don’t know if this pleases you or not, but you are stuck with me because I can’t live without you.” I didn’t realize it at the time but from that moment, the Holy Spirit was able to establish God’s authority in my inner world. My allegiance shifted from a set of earthly, religious rules to a living, moving “alignment” with God’s presence.

Do you trust God’s presence to govern and renew all things including your being and doing?

Following Jesus means allowing the living, dynamic presence of God to rule in your heart. It means that your whole being and doing is governed by the peace and message of Christ. You will be forever blessed by both the expanse and the limits of God’s judgments. (inspired by Colossians 3:15-16)

Live worthy of the Lord

I’ve been doing some intense personal work lately. Over the past few years, I have been introduced to the Enneagram. It has been a great discovery. I am a Type 9 with a Self-preservation instinct. Basically, an Adaptive Peacemaker whose instinct is survival, physical safety, material security, wellbeing, and comfort.

God knew what he was doing when he created me. He was intentional and I first existed in God’s mind before I was even conceived. (Psalm 139)
I’ve been working on paying attention to my feelings of anger, dissatisfaction, and frustration. My go-to behavior in life has been to numb out to those feelings as quickly as possible. But, with the Holy Spirit’s help, I am learning more about what I actually believe in my heart and allowing the word of Christ to reform me.

There is a calling in the Bible that has for a long time pursued me. It is to “…live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:10)
This morning I was pressing in on the challenge of stoking my desire to live a life worthy of Jesus’ name. The jarring and fearsome truth is that because I have entrusted my life by faith in him, the Spirit of God now lives in me as spiritual fire. I don’t actually provide the fire.

My job is to fan it into flame. So, for me, my daily work has to include going to the desire that dwells in me because of Jesus. Honestly, if I hadn’t started this habit a few decades ago, I would still be numb and asleep to the furnace room of God’s desire deep in me. I realize now more than ever my need to shoulder my responsibility to do whatever it takes to craft a life worthy of the Lord.

Don’t hear me wrong, it is totally in submission and profound partnership with Christ who lives in me. But, there is no other human that is going to do my personal work for me. You and I are here, alive in this era, to go today to our plot of land in our Father’s vineyard and work it on earth for the glory of heaven. And, it begins in our hearts.

God sees you as worth every effort because of the One in you.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Big Prayers for France

It has been strange, epic, and haunting to watch the video footage of Notre Dame in flames and then to follow the endless commentary and see the photos of the wreckage. Tonight, I have been reminded that you and I have been appointed to be prophets to the nations as we are his people in Christ living on the earth today.

We are here to pray prophetically for God’s kingdom to come in every nation. Our intercession in Jesus’ name matters. There is something rising in me challenging me to “live a life worthy of the calling I have received” in this moment. In my conversations about what has happened in France and with the Notre Dame Cathedral, I want to let my conversation be seasoned with the salt of God’s grace and presence. I want to prophesy and pray things that are soaked with the expectation of an unprecedented move of God in France.

Most of all I am asking God not to let my mouth be filled with my words or opinions. It is time for us to expand our faith to pray big, generous prayers of grace and decree in Jesus’ name, the greatest move of God in France and every nation that the world has ever seen. He has appointed that we would be here at this time to pray his prayers and release his living word.

You are a blessing!

The Veil is Lifted

What happens in your inner territory when all you have left to go on is your agreement with God? The Spirit loves to lead you to that place because God’s joy over that territory is all that truly matters. You in Christ and Christ in you… life-union with Jesus… receive his joy over you.

I believe we are in a season right now when unprecedented demonstrations of God’s kingdom are breaking out into the open on earth. If we will continue to humble ourselves, He will lift us up in his way and his time.

The following message rose up in me today and I want to encourage you with it… The Veil is Removed: The compassionate works of the Holy Spirit are overflowing with glory. There is nothing as amazing as God’s glory. The veil is removed because of Jesus. He removes whatever hinders our seeing and hearing as well as our speaking and revealing his glory in us, around us, and through us. (A word from the Lord this morning as I was meditating on 2 Cor 3:12-18)

You are a blessing!

God’s power all over us

I was leading a prophetic prayer session a few nights ago. A good friend in our prayer family shared a vision. She was seeing us standing in a narrow space between two walls. All of us had a hand on each wall and ready to push the walls apart.

She sensed that the Lord was inviting us to push the walls back in order to create space for his presence to rush in. The walls represented sin and/or evil mindsets with which we had grown way too familiar. It was time to name them, call them out and expel them in the power and authority of Jesus’ name.

One of the prominent evil strongholds that I saw was powerlessness. As our prayers began to heat up, we knew that we were moving with the Spirit of the Lord. The phrase, “having the appearance of godliness but denying its power” came to mind. 2 Timothy 3:5 speaks about us when we are powerless… “They may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality they want nothing to do with God’s power. Stay away from people like these!” (TPT)

This morning as I was waking up, the Holy Spirit was stirring me to think about operating in the power of God. After I grabbed my coffee, I looked at 2 Corinthians 13:4. It talks about Jesus being “robed in God’s power”. You and I were put into Christ by God when we through faith received our adoption into his family. That means we are also covered in the awesome mantl/robe of his power.

I am praying today for the oil that cycles through the engine of the Church on earth. May God transform it into the fresh, golden oil from heaven instead of the sludge of recycled powerlessness. Most of us need a reawakening to the disrespect we show toward Jesus when we neglect his power. If we see it, our hearts will begin to break for change.

This is a new year and a new day. In Christ, you are robed in the power of God. That is a great honor and privilege. Don’t let selfish or lazy thinking cause you to take it for granted. You are better than that as a member of his household.

You are a blessing!

Calling us to adjust…

The prophetic is a constant reminder of the transforming power of the living word of the Lord. It is similar to but not the same as learned behavior based on the written word. The written word is indispensable and we must consume it. But, the transforming power is in what God is saying. Asking for his living word and positioning ourselves to receive it is wise.

The Lord is calling us to adjust our expectations as it relates to receiving his word. His word will challenge you to adjust your behaviors and lifestyle. But, those adjustments are mostly about preparing the way for the Lord to increase the flow of his living word in you and empower you to declare it into all of your earthly situations and relationships.

You are a blessing!

Hungry for the word of the Lord and the signs of heaven?

Samuel was a prophet to Israel in the Old Testament. He had an amazing track record with the people of God. It was written of him, “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 3:19-20)

I love the story of how Samuel was introduced to the prophetic while he was a boy. You can read it in 1 Samuel 3. There is so much to learn from the interaction between Eli, Samuel, and the Lord. It speaks loudly to us about the need for spiritual mothers and fathers to step up and own what has been entrusted to us.

However, I want to focus on the first verse in the chapter. “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” (1 Samuel 3:1) Take a moment and think about that. What would it be like to live in a time when you almost never perceived the word of the Lord and almost no one saw visions? Maybe we know about that far too well.

I don’t believe that the living word of the Lord was scarce or unavailable. It is usually the case that engaging with it is rare and unusual. God is not honored or pleased to make his amazing Presence known anywhere his living word is not welcomed and embraced. Oh, He is there, but the manifestation of the Holy Spirit won’t be experienced.

The voice of the Lord is speaking today. We will hear it if we long for it. If the church will set our hearts on being with him by faith in King Jesus, and surrender to whatever he needs to do in us, we will hear his voice. (see Isaiah 6:1-8)

There is an unprecedented move of God rising up in the world. It is marked by a hunger and thirst for the living words of the Lord. Will we be a generation who won’t stop until it is said, “the word of the Lord was overflowing and the signs of heaven were everywhere”? THAT would be amazing. By the grace of God, that is what we are going after.

You are a blessing!

God’s voice… through His Bride

Good morning from Saint John, NB, Canada. Last night, as I was worshipping with a room full of brothers and sisters in Jesus, I became aware of the presence of God. As we were singing with passion, there was another force coming upon us. I began to see, in the spirit, that the Lord was not waiting for us to pursue Him. He was actually coming toward us in waves. His love and glory, which were coming to us, were overwhelming our love and desire for him.

I began to understand that IT IS TIME to lay down any confidence we have placed in our ability to journey or climb up to God. Any awakening of HIS glory in the nations is happening because of his amazing grace and initiative. We have the honour and privilege in Christ of responding in extravagant worship.

Once again, I was so blessed and encouraged as I sensed the overwhelming intensity of His love for all of creation. I submit to you that

His voice declaring His word through His Bride is causing a shaking in every nation. http://bit.ly/2mLRwRs @papabearlamos

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The fruit of Jesus’s prayer in John 17:20-26 will be seen and experienced around the world! How amazing is it to be alive at this time on the earth?!?

What about your vineyard?

When it comes to being a solid, life-giving Christian or Jesus Follower, we are really talking about being a faithful son or daughter. One of my favourite Father/Child stories in the Bible is the one found in Matthew 21:28-31. Jesus posed this question to some religious experts; “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? ‘The first,’ they answered.”

For Jesus, the faithful son was the one who understood the importance of getting his father’s work done. 

I see myself in this story. I have prayed hundreds of times that our Father in heaven would keep me awake to the “vineyard” he sends me to every day. I have learned to perceive my ordinary life and responsibilities as His vineyard for me to work. 

God did not create you to simply behave yourself and measure up to a moral code. He designed you to work in His vineyard. The place where you live and the circumstances you are in stand ready for you to be a creative force for the kingdom of God, on earth as in heaven. 

Will you say yes to your father’s call to go and work in His vineyard? It is what you were created for. Your vineyard will look different than mine. But, you are designed perfectly for it. 

So, don’t lose heart! Every new sunrise brings a new call from the Father. He’s not listening for the right answer. He’s looking for you and me to step into the mundane and/or daunting day that lies before us and look for Him there. 

“The Real”: Becoming more of who you really are

When I hear, “It’s easy, just be yourself” I have to laugh. It’s costly to be yourself. To be real in this world demands a grace that is beyond us. You were created to reflect the character of God into your world every day. But like the rest of us you need help. Before we go on, you need to be reminded that you have been “fearfully and wonderfully made”.   

To be real in this world demands a grace that is beyond us. via @papabearlamos

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Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I had always been part of a church family. That also meant that I had to endure the pressures of religion and especially misguided religious people who put my dad and our family on a pedestal.  As a result I learned very young to pretend and present the right image at the right time to keep the crowd happy. Hiding became a lifestyle for me.

By the time I was eighteen I was torn and imprisoned by the lie that I could manage my life by myself. I couldn’t. In the Fall of 1980 I finally surrendered to Jesus with this prayer; “Jesus, Whether you are happy about this or not, you are stuck with me. Because I am not going to let go of you.”  What I didn’t see was that He had never let go of me. Thus a journey began. It has been a tough journey of surrender. But, I have always been sure of His presence with me.

Maybe you get my struggle. You know what it is like to feel that you can’t be yourself and follow Jesus. There is hope!

How can you discover “The Real”?

When you embrace faith in Jesus Christ, you receive something the Bible calls “eternal life”. Another way to think of it is life the way God designed it. You become part of the culture of heaven. You still live your ordinary life but your eyes open to a brand new dynamic in the world that Jesus called the “kingdom of heaven”.

As you trust God’s agenda in your life you will grow into who you really are. via @papabearlamos

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Tucked into the package of eternal life is a promise. As you trust God’s agenda in your life you will grow into who you really are. The real you will actually break through the surface and shine for God’s glory.

I want to share a couple of scriptures and personal habits that have helped me break through to more authenticity.

A few life hacks on Realness:

1. Focus on the One you can trust

In Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Jesus Christ entered into our world as God in the flesh. If you study his life you will find that he won the war against all that is fake, toxic and dark in this world. He even faced death and came back to life in order to free you and me from the prison of counterfeit, dead existence.

In this letter to the Colossians Paul reminds his friends that their true identity is secure and hidden with Christ. He is with us and we are with Him as we face every day. If you will trust in Him you will know it for yourself.

But don’t miss what Paul said next. You can be confident that when Christ appears for everyone to see, you won’t be revealed as an imposter. Instead, because you have learned to surrender by God’s grace, the “real” you will be known and appreciated because you will shine with His glory.

You can be confident that when Christ appears… you won’t be revealed as an imposter. via @papabearlamos

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Remind yourself every day that no matter how things seem, if you put your trust, faith and dependence in Jesus, He is bringing the real amazing you out into the open for all of us to appreciate. In the end the real you will be a testimony to God’s glory.

In the end the real you will be a testimony to God’s glory. via @papabearlamos

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2. Encourage yourself that the best is always yet to come

In 1 John 3, while in exile, John wrote: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

The second tip is… don’t dig around in the past to try and find the real you. Following Jesus today means always believing that the best is yet to come.

don’t dig around in the past to try and find the real you. via @papabearlamos

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John wrote to his friends and followers that who we really are is not fully known yet. But something miraculous and powerful will happen when Jesus appears to all of creation.

Following Jesus today means always believing that the best is yet to come. via @papabearlamos

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We will discover that we will actually be like him. The real you will be just like Jesus. You will even have a new heavenly body. You won’t be someone else. You will be yourself but even better.

The most authentic you isn’t in the past as someone to be unearthed and retrieved somewhere back there. The person you are looking for is growing right in this moment as you trust Jesus.

All of the ups and downs of this life are bringing the real you out into the open. via @papabearlamos

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Make it a regular habit to remind yourself that as a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is guiding you through a process of becoming who you really are. All of the ups and downs of this life are bringing the real you out into the open. The best is always yet to come!

So glad you took the time to read this today. If you have found it helpful, I’d love it if you would leave a comment. Also, please share it with a friend who could use some encouragement in living today with Jesus.

Live THIS Day!