Taken into 2019

The living word of the Lord changes everything. Everything about God speaks. His word is like a fire. It is also like a hammer. (Jeremiah 23:29) He speaks and a new creation comes into being… YOU come into being.

The most elemental truth concerning you is identifying as God’s creation… craftsmanship… artistry… design. Through life-union with Jesus, the dead imposter you used to be is buried and your true self is breaking out as you are pulled into the future by grace. With every new day in Christ, you are becoming more of who really are. God has promised never to abandon you.

Surrender to the Holy Spirit’s current that longs to take you through that open door in front of you into the New Year. His desire is to change things through you this year. His creative power belongs to you in Christ. You have the authority in the name of Jesus to declare new things with your life and your voice. Because you are in life-union with Jesus and He is in you, your life speaks. (John 15:1-8 TPT)

In 2019, may you embrace your calling to declare the amazing news of God’s new creation. No one can share it like you. You have been designed with a unique voice to declare his glory. You matter because of Christ in you. His choice to be in life-union with you and me constantly lifts us to reign with him in this world to see His glory on earth as it is in heaven. Here’s to the best year ever in 2019!

You are a blessing!

Burn the old, musty disguise…

When a child of God sins, their identity does not change. Becoming an orphan again is not an option… only role-playing. True change has come to us once we have opened the door to Jesus. We become daughters and sons at that moment. Untold damage is done when we keep the old familiar orphan self-perception around like a musty costume in the back closet. When you are a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ, you are never an orphan again. It’s just an old, dead, musty, role-playing disguise… Burn it! 

You are a blessing!

Grace is better than details

Grace is a more valuable treasure from God to me than details. In my time of need, what matters most is remembering where to go. All of the resources of heaven are available to us on earth because of what Jesus has accomplished. Those resources are accessed at the throne of grace.

Last night I was with some prayer warriors from my church family. It was our weekly prophetic prayer night. Over the past few years, we have nurtured a prophetic prayer culture of surrender. When we get together, we lay down our individual agendas to move with what God wants and where He wants to lead us in prayer.

Receiving and declaring the living word of the Lord over the life of our church family is the lifeblood of our intercession. Last night it seemed that I was struggling to connect with what the Lord was speaking over us. Then one of our men prophesied, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

The word of the Lord began to stir me up and my soul came alive with hope again. I don’t need details from God’s throne. I need grace. Grace from God is an unlimited resource for us in Christ.

The prophetic is all about living with confidence. But, it’s not about always having the right details. Through our faith in Jesus, we have access to the throne room of heaven. He has brought us back to life from the inside out. We are perfectly designed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. He dwells with us and in us.

That means his throne of grace is an inward journey. The hope of glory is within you. It is the living presence of Jesus in you that gives you confidence in your time of need. Colossians 1:27 refers to “the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Don’t believe the lie that you need to make an impossibly long journey somewhere outside of yourself in your time of need. The throne of grace in Christ is accessed from within you. In fact, you are hidden with Christ in God. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see it and understand what that means for you.

You are a blessing!

Weakness… Portal to God’s Power

Thank you so much for asking the Lord for words to prophesy over me on my birthday (Nov 13). I have captured and saved the messages you sent. Our Father poured out the generosity of his household to me through your prophetic words. The family of King Jesus is glorious and has the power and authority to bless like no other network anywhere in the world.

What an incredible honor it is for me to craft words into works that you would read and be affected by eternal things from God! There are unlimited provisions available to us because of Jesus. You are designed to live, move, and exist by receiving and sharing those provisions. God blesses me by allowing me to write out of what he has poured into me.

I was reading 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 in “The Passion Translation” this morning. In his letter, the Apostle Paul wrote about his weaknesses and especially how he chose to handle them. In Brian Simmons’ paraphrase it reads, “…my weakness is a portal to God’s power.”

Being able to perceive yourself with both God-given strengths AND weaknesses is crucial to prophesying. Every one of us fights a personal battle with insecurity over our weaknesses being exposed. You are not alone and we all get that it’s hard for you to be vulnerable. We have that in common.

The church is designed to be prophetic… along with apostolic, evangelistic, shepherding, and teaching. (Ephesians 4) Those of us who have heard God’s call to help others grow in the prophetic must properly steward our weaknesses.

Here is the scripture from 2 Corinthians I was reading today, “But he answered me, “My grace is always more than enough for you, and my power finds its full expression through your weakness.” So I will celebrate my weaknesses, for when I’m weak I sense more deeply the mighty power of Christ living in me. So I’m not defeated by my weakness, but delighted! For when I feel my weakness and endure mistreatment—when I’m surrounded with troubles on every side and face persecution because of my love for Christ—I am made yet stronger. For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

The word of the Lord to us today is actually an invitation to trust him with our weaknesses. How powerful would it be if people could see the glory of God on us because we are not defeated but actually delighted by the ways we are weak? This will take courage and faith. But, he provides the unlimited grace that is needed. I pray that there will be a resurgence of the glory of God’s household in the generations beginning with us.

You are a blessing!

If you don’t know what you are doing…

These words from James 1 from “The Message” grabbed me and shook me this morning; “If you don’t know what you are doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it…” And there is more. I encourage you to read the whole chapter and listen for the Holy Spirit speaking to you.  I know it seems completely counterintuitive, but God actually loves to hear us admit that we don’t know what to do. When we are willing to throw ourselves on him and cry out that the only thing we really know to do is to trust him and depend on his agenda, we are actually getting somewhere.

A Jesus follower is someone who operates from a place of wisdom, honesty and gritty surrender to our real situation… We are completely lost unless we depend on the Father every moment of every day. Check your heart and ask yourself whether or not you actually believe God loves to help you. He does! And there is no moment like this one right now to cry out to Him for wisdom!

Ne Cede Malis

I would love it if at the end of my earthly life my children would be able to say that I didn’t yield or give up in the face of trouble or adversity…

I dug around a bit today looking for the “Lamos family motto.”

It is found on our family crest. I discovered that it is the Latin phrase “Ne Cede Malis“. The translation is “yield not to adversity“.

It’s funny how a motto like that has a way of challenging me at a deep level of my identity. I would love it if at the end of my earthly life my children would be able to say that I didn’t yield or give up in the face of trouble or adversity.