the fear of the Lord

Prayer to Banish the Fearful Spirit

King Jesus, love the world through me. Banish the fearful spirit and cast it far away from me. It is no match for your power, love, and stealth wisdom. And, because you live in me, the fearful spirit is an evil intruder.

Expose all of the disguises it has supplied for me to wear. Bring them all into the light so that I can throw them out with the garbage.

Provoke me to Life in all that I do. Teach me the art of complete love. You have broken the chains and set me free. Animate my day with your living presence and fill it with the agenda of your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. – Amen

“After all, the spirit given to us by God isn’t a fearful spirit; it’s a spirit of power, love, and prudence.” 2 Timothy 1:7 “The Bible for Everyone”

The Fear of the Lord Releases the Unprecedented

Over the past few years, I have been creating a prophetic word. It is in response to the journey I have taken with God. First I need to say that I am convinced we are living in an unprecedented move of God around the world. If you have eyes to see it and ears to hear it, you would be wise to make the most of it in your life.

The Lord is moving in unprecedented ways and bringing people into His family at an unprecedented rate. And he is doing it in and through the church, his family. It seems that the “new wine” of God’s renewal is being carried by his “new wineskins”… his children in Christ. The word that I have been crafting has to do with the ability or grace that God is pouring out to the church. It is the grace to release the Unprecedented move of God in all nations and generations.

I believe that mothers and fathers have been rising up that will not only carry this grace but will also effectively train their sons and daughters on how to carry it as well. The Lord of the harvest has been intentionally calling these leaders and preparing them for this moment.

So, by God’s grace, I see in the spirit, thousands if not millions of us around the world who right now are carrying the grace to release the Unprecedented move of God. It is time for us to own that gift in Jesus’ name and lay down our lives in releasing it. God will be with us and will help us take every step on the mission.

The past few days one more piece has been added to this prophetic word. It comes from Isaiah 33:6, “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” It is the fear of the Lord.

The Amplified Bible defines the fear of the Lord as “worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome”. My working definition is “placing God’s stance and word on everything higher than anyone else’s opinion including my own and surrendering to it”.

Today I can see and know in my heart that the missing piece is being added to my crafted word. The Lord has been showing me that the fear of the Lord is actually THE grace that the church is carrying at this moment… and it is increasing rapidly.

I feel like it has finally come together in me. God is giving it as a prayer call, mantle, and burden of love to carry. This is what I have been hearing in my spirit: The fear of the Lord is the grace we carry to release the Unprecedented move of God in all nations and generations.

If you hear that same call in your heart, don’t lose heart or give up in weariness. Let’s agree together and thank God for building us together in Christ as new wineskins who carry the new wine of the reverent fear of the Lord.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

“Safe Hiding Place” or a “Place of Empowerment”?

The Holy Spirit knows what He is doing and He will lead us if we will stay humble, courageous and gracious toward each other….

The times we are living in, according to Bob Johansen of “Institute for the Future” (author of “Leaders Make the Future“), have produced a VUCA world… full of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. He goes on to predict that the next ten years are going to be an incredibly difficult and challenging time for leaders.

How should we as Jesus followers respond to the world culture where we exist every day? Will our churches serve as a hiding place where people can escape from a VUCA world, or can we be a place of empowering for people to turn and lead movements of change and promise as they are drawn to embrace Jesus and His teachings?

These are times of wide-sweeping and fast paced change. I am concerned that many in the church are resisting the idea that the changes have begun and our world will never be the same. While we enjoy the benefits of having peace with God through Jesus and the closeness of our church family and the security of our religious traditions, there is a world all around us full of people who are uncertain and some even terrified about the future.

What are we doing to position ourselves to communicate the hope we have for stability in our VUCA world?

The hope we have is in the kingdom of God. You and I will not capture the attention of our world around us if we don’t seek God for wisdom and a plan that will provide hope and leadership to a culture that Jesus sees as sheep, helplessly wandering around in search of a shepherd.

I hope you are investing time in God’s word with new eyes searching out the principles of Jesus kingdom and his ways of living life and serving people. I am completely convinced that we need new methods, ideas, new revolutionary approaches to expressing the presence of God in our homes, friendships, businesses and culture. It is our world’s only hope.

There is a movement of people right now who are seeking God’s help as they deconstruct what they have become so accustomed to as “church life“. By His grace they are rebuilding lives and church families that are ready to lead in a revolution of love and service in Jesus’ name, in whatever community in which they live every day.

Changes are here and they won’t be easy. But the Holy Spirit knows what He is doing and He will lead us if we will stay humble, courageous and gracious toward each other.