Tag: the prophetic

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.”

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!

Jesus’ Word to You When Dread Approaches

I love the living, active, grace (ability) that comes from the Holy Spirit to prophesy to each other. 1 Corinthians 14:3 reads, “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” For me, it’s all about building up, stirring up, and cheering up.
There is a dread creeping in on the world due to COVID-19. But, there was and is a MASSIVE network of people and communities united and connected in Jesus across that same space. We are one in the Spirit and we are united in Christ’s glory and love (John 17:20-26).

Today, I declare Jesus’ prophetic word to stir us up again. He still shows up when the thick clouds of dread creep in on our communities. He says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15)

We have a powerful advantage of hope with which we can bless people who come into our place and space today. We don’t need to hoard it. It actually increases the more we share it. That advantage is the living word of the Lord. The light that will drive away dread is actually the living presence of God released in us and through us as we choose a grateful, thankful attitude.
No matter what threats arise (real or just hype), Jesus’ word over us is, “You are the light of the world.” Be bold in love, genuinely encourage people, and trust Jesus to shine more and more through you.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Healing my Spiritual Vision in 2020

Every November I ask God to give me a word, a focus for the coming year. It stirred in me this morning that I would love for the Spirit of God to bring healing to the eyes of my heart in 2020. I know that seeing everything more clearly as he aligns my vision will call for greater courage and surrender.

Over the next week, I will be crafting my word from the Lord for my life as it relates to 2020. My tradition is to have it ready for my birthday on November 13. I then submit it to King Jesus and surrender it to him as I start on another trip around the sun.

Maybe you would like to ask the Lord about 2020? If you feel like it is a year for him to heal the eyes of your heart, your inner vision, you are welcome to join me in that focus.

As children of God in Christ, we are prophetic people. The Church is called to be a prophet to all nations. May we surrender our vision to King Jesus over and over again so that He will be happy in his Church and his heart will overflow with blessing!

Unlimited Provision… Unlimited Systems

In the middle of a conversation yesterday with an apostolic friend of mine, a word rose up in me… Unlimited provision is waiting for unlimited systems. Prophesying involves taking action, sending a text, making a phone call, saying hello to a stranger, telling someone that you are learning to listen to God for the sake of blessing others, etc.

A system is “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized scheme or method.” (Oxford Dictionary) For too long, the objective of our system for the prophetic has been to protect the exclusivity of who gets to prophesy. In other words, we approach prophesying as something reserved for those special ones among us. This has been so limiting to the kingdom of heaven being experienced on earth.

There is kinetic power in the prophetic. Kinetic energy is what a body possesses by virtue of being in motion.

This is what I have learned about being prophetic… the more outlets I create for prophesying, the more it flows from me. Prophecy is receiving AND declaring the living word of the Lord. The more you step forward and risk creating another outlet, the more results you will see.

We all have systems (ways that we operate on a daily basis). Do a gut check to see if you intend to release the kinetic power of the prophetic today. It could be as ordinary as choosing a name from your phone contacts, asking God to release an encouraging word through you to that person, and sending a short text to reflect what you received from the Father concerning his love for them.

Unlimited provision is waiting for unlimited systems. I am speaking that word into my own space today. Maybe that is a good word for you as well.

I truly believe that as your actions create more outlets for the prophetic, you will experience the kinetic energy of God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

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!

Heaven’s message… “Humble Yourself”!

I am captivated by the way Jesus always sided with the one who longed to communicate with God… to connect with heaven on earth. Have you noticed that throughout the story recorded in the Bible, the highest value is placed on our being quick to respond when God reaches out to us?

I love the prophetic because it is all about receiving and sharing the living word of God. God’s messages have power because they originate with him. When he sends a message, things change.

The deeper I trust and believe that God is always sending heaven’s message into earth, the better I will receive it. The whole point of the word becoming flesh in Jesus Christ was to make communion between God and humanity accessible. God’s plan is for the kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven in partnership with us.

There is a clear call to humble ourselves before God so that he can then lift us up in his time and his way. To all of us who long to see Jesus honored and worshipped in all nations and generations, heaven’s message is, “humble yourself”! If we will, I believe we will stand in awe of how loudly God is speaking into our world.

Prophetic voices are beginning to declare across the church that there is a coming together of the prophetic with people returning to Jesus as Lord around the world. We can be part of that movement! It begins with asking God to open us up once again to his voice and his living word.

It is incredible to imagine what could happen if we believe that God is pouring out his Spirit on all humanity in order for us to know him deeply. How would your day change if you knew God is sending a message of love to every person you meet? I believe he is doing just that.

The dream that God has put in my heart is that the Church will live overwhelmed by the living word of the Lord. There was a day that Jesus literally shouted out for everyone to hear, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:37-39) He is still making it loud and clear. How amazing that we get to partner with him through the prophetic!

May God help us to humble ourselves and rediscover his heart for every person to know his voice and experience his life. He is still writing the same story. He is still siding with the ones who long to communicate with him… to connect with heaven on earth in Jesus’ name.

You are a blessing!