DEFEATING THE WEB OF LIES

                During the last several years, our nation, our world, and our communities have suffered under an increasing fire storm of terror threats, terror acts, political cover ups, racial unrest, financial crisis, slanders, accusations, and character assassinations. Even in our small communities our news media, social media and our mouths are full of these things as we repeat what we hear and read. FEAR seems to be ruling everywhere and everything and those who have risen above the fear are still surrounded by those who are caught up in it, so that the wisdom and peace that could be had is rendered almost useless because the fearful are unable to comprehend it.

While in prayer, I perceived that the Lord was saying to me, 

          “I want you to declare My Goodness into the heart of My people so that they would have eyes to see and hearts to believe that My Goodness and Lovingkindness is powerful – a mighty weapon against the schemes of the devil, a silencer of falsehoods and a destroyer of violence. My perfect love casts out all fear.  Fear is a breeding ground for lies to grow; reproducing like flies on a dung heap – lies are birthed and launched into the atmosphere through the hearts of the fearful as they give voice to the lies.”

When I heard the word flies, I was reminded of the title Beelzebub – Lord of the Flies

As I continued to seek the Lord regarding his instruction, a picture began to develop in my spirit.

The Carcass, the Flies and the Works of the Flesh

          The dung heap had transformed into a carcass of rotting flesh and I knew in my spirit that the Lord was beginning to show me the correlation between a dung heap and the FLESH that works under the sway of the prince of the power of the air. The carcass was labeled FEAR and out of the carcass flies were reproducing and flying – swarming through the air. Again I understood that the flies represented the lies, falsehood, and arguments that were being raised up against the knowledge of the God of all peace [who will] crush Satan under your feet shortly,” Rom 16:20. The carcass was the FLESH that was empowered by FEAR to launch the FLIES of BEELZEBUB, the Lord of the Flies and Father of Lies.

          Now the works of the FLESH that are being empowered by this demonic activity are found in Gal 5:19-21 The works of the flesh: … idolatry (stubbornness)**, sorcery (witchcraft), hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders. Earlier in that same chapter (Gal 5:15-16), Paul warns the Galatians, “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”

          So then, through FEAR, the enemy of our soul is exposing our weakness, that we have not allowed the Spirit of God, who has been given to us, to perfect us in love (2 Tim 1:7  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”) Therefore we have succumbed to torment and have tried to defend ourselves in our own strength moving us from walking in the spirit to striving in the FLESH against people, rather than standing in the Spirit of Love and adoption, power and soundness of mind.

Leviathan, Children of Pride and the Tongue

          Next I saw a huge crocodile like creature labeled Leviathan. Leviathan is described in Job 41 in detail. But these are the scriptures that came to mind as I looked upon the image in my head.

Job 41:14 Who can open the doors of his face, with his terrible teeth all around?
     Gal 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another...

Job 41:19,21 Out of his mouth go burning lights: Sparks of fire shoot out... His breath kindles coals, And a flame goes out of his mouth.
     James 3:5-6 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

Job 41:24 His heart is as hard as stone...
     Heb 3:15 & 11 ...Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion...So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest.
     Heb 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

Job 41:33 On earth there is nothing like him which is made without fear.
     Rom 3:10, 11, 18 There is none righteous, no not one...there is none who seeks after God. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Job 41:34 He beholds every high thing; He is king over all the children of pride.
     1 Tim 6:3-5 If anyone...does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.

          This Leviathan represents another demonic entity that is empowering the FLESH and the lies by setting the lies on fire, backing the proud into corners and keeping them from humbling themselves before God, hardening their hearts and lifting the opinions of man above the knowledge of God. Baiting all to enter into the fray through disputes and arguments over words; where there is no rest, no peace, no solution; just strife, envy, evil suspicions and useless wranglings. Does this not describe our situation?

The Spider’s Webs

          The next image I saw was of spiders’ webs. As the flies swarmed, they were caught in the web and eaten by the spiders. The spiders were then empowered to expand their webs of lies, vain imaginings and arguments of falsehood. As the webs expanded, the minds of the people were trapped by the webs and minds were captured by chaos and confusion created by the webs of lies. 

Job 8:13-15 … the paths of all who forget God;

And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,

Whose confidence shall be cut off,

And whose trust is a spider’s web.

He leans on his house, but it does not stand.

He holds it fast, but it does not endure.

Is 59: 3 …Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.

         4 …No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth, they trust in empty words and speak lies

         5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web

       13 In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

       14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.

       15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

                 

          This chaos and confusion can be seen in the opposing cries for justice seen in our social media. i.e. A call for all to pray for France and the dismissal of a coach for praying after a football game; A cry against child hunger and abuse, while supporting an organization that makes money off the murder of babies still in the womb; A cry against human trafficking while excusing the sale of infant body parts; The belief that disagreement is an act of hate. The world seems to have gone crazy, we find ourselves at odds with our own family and members of our communities because a lie has been believed and there is no room to reason things out, because the lie, is woven into a web of many lies each strengthening the other and we are left with a sense of hopelessness and amazement at how quickly justice is turned back, truth has fallen and equity has no place to enter.

The Devour-er of Souls

          As I looked upon these images, each image having been added to the scene before me, the last image appeared above all the others. This was an image of a monstrous octopus, each of the eight arms empowering the above images, pulling strings, increasing the noise of the web of lies and encouraging pride and stirring up strife. There I also saw the political spirit that brought more fear and beckoned people to take sides, draw their swords and prepare to defend their opinions that were fashioned under the web of lies that had become like veils over their heads.  The word witchcraft came to mind, another work of the flesh listed in Gal 5 and 1 Sam 15:23 “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. “

Ezekiel 14: 18-23 “and say, “Thus says the Lord GOD; “Woe to the women who sew magic charms on their sleeves and make veils for the heads of people of every height to hunt souls!...killing people who should not die, and keeping people alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies? …I am against your magic charms by which you hunt souls there like birds…Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. … Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people out of your hand and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

Remember the Goodness of our God

Remember the words that God spoke in the beginning…

“I want you to declare My Goodness into the heart of My people so that they would have eyes to see and hearts to believe that My Goodness and Lovingkindness is powerful – a mighty weapon against the schemes of the devil, a silencer of falsehoods and a destroyer of violence. My perfect love casts out all fear.

Col 3:3 “… your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Col 3:12-16 “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another…even as Christ forgave you…But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts…Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Know Your Position In Christ

Eph 1:15-23 “ ….my prayers…that you may know…(19)…what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Eph 2:1-6  “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air … But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…made us alive together with Christ … And raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

          How then do we take a stand against such a great multitude of foes? This is the only important question and before the Lord began to show me these things, he gave us the answer

          “I want you to declare My Goodness into the heart of My people so that they would have eyes to see and hearts to believe that My Goodness and Lovingkindness is powerful – a mighty weapon against the schemes of the devil, a silencer of falsehoods and a destroyer of violence. My perfect love casts out all fear".

1.       Overcome unbelief in our own hearts. (Mark 9:24 Lord, I believe, help my unbelief; Heb 3&4; Rom 10:17)

2.       Declare, preach, teach and demonstrate the LORDS Goodness and His lovingkindness. 

3.       Remind one another that we sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus and it is from this heavenly realm that we proclaim the character of our God and release the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

4.       What must be released upon the earth and into the heart of every believer?

a.       The Spirit of Adoption (Rom 8:15, 23; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5) That we might receive the adoption as sons.

b.      Purity (1 John 3:1-3 …we are children of God…we shall be like Him…Everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as He is pure.)

c.       The Spirit of the Lord (Is 11:2 “The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”)

d.      The Spirit of Truth (John 15:26; John 13 The Comforter, the Spirit of truth shall testify of Jesus and He shall guide us into all truth)

e.      The Fire of God (Zech 2:5 The LORD shall be a wall of fire around us and the Glory in our midst. Col 1:27 Christ in you, the hope of glory)

f.        The Light of the World and the Light of Life and Light of the Gospel (Matt 5:14; John 8:12; 2 Cor 4:4)

g.       The Wisdom from above (James 3:17)

My Prayer and Declaration:

Holy Father,

                I confess that fear and unbelief reside in my heart. Forgive me and help me.  Lord, I surrender myself to you and lay down the walls of self-defense. I open my heart to Your perfect Love that fear may be driven out and in its place I might receive Your power, love and sound mind.

                Fill me with Your gift of faith, that I might have ears to hear what Your Spirit is saying. Let Your faith stir up in me the gift of prophecy that I might proclaim Your Goodness and Lovingkindness with all power and authority that is found in the name of Jesus.

In Faith, believing, I turn toward Your Bride and declare,

“Awake! Awake! O’ Bride of Christ, Your Father has given You ears to hear the Spirit of Adoption. Listen and hear the voice of Your Father and receive the hope of His calling. Arise! And Shine! Receive His perfect Love and hear the Spirit of Truth. Let Him sing over you and wash the web of lies away, let Him lead you out of darkness and return you to the light. Open your eyes and see His goodness and know the power of His lovingkindness. He has overcome the world and He has seated you in heavenly places that you might have victory over the prince of the power of the air. Do not despair for Your LORD has imparted to you His power and He has given you authority to tread upon the scorpion and the snake. He has declared to you the written judgments against the enemy of our soul and He has given you authority to execute them. Do not be afraid, but humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up.

Arise! And declare this day the gospel of His Kingdom and the hope of His calling and His goodness to the nations.

Hear O Coastlands, be not afraid, for I the LORD your God am in the midst of you. I shall free your souls from the web of lies, from the snares of witches’ spells that have hunted your souls and have tried to steal, kill and destroy you. I have overcome them and I have crushed them.  Believe me and stand in My Holy presence for I am a fire that surrounds you and I am the glory in your midst.

Hear Me, my children, do not be afraid, for though rejection has roared and abandonment has threatened, I have not left you. I am always with you and I alone sustain you. Arise and meet Me in the secret place, let Me love you as you have never been loved. In My zeal for you, I have fashioned you and you are radiant – I cannot turn away.  Look I am preparing you and adorning you with My glory, preparing you for My Son. Come into our Holy Place, sit with us and be transformed into the Glorious Bride of Christ.

Enter into My rest, crucify the flesh that keeps you from believing My love for you. Let go of your fear, let go of your strife, let go of the offenses that have weighed you down and come up higher, come into My heart, explore the mysteries of heaven and release them upon the earth from on high.”

The Conviction of Our Worth

........."It is a fiercely noble endeavor" I hear in my spirit. The words, thoughts and emotions continue.....,to attempt to grasp the passionate pursuit of humanity that gripped the heart of the Father of all creation; to apprehend the Love, the zeal, the conviction of our worth as something of great and unspeakable value, worth the sacrifice of torture, death and loss of a part of your own heart - Your very WORD which You spoke out of the abundance of Your heart – Jesus, being the manifestation of that abundance – You risked; You gave Him as a ransom for us, for me. It is incomprehensible, yet my heart longs to know the Love You have for me. Myy soul longs to see the glory of Your inheritance that you have placed within the very being of Your people. To grasp the value that you have given to each one of those You have chosen to set apart for Yourself is my heart’s desire and it cries out to You for that revelation and knowledge so that I might give honor to those you count as extravagant jewels in Your crown of glory.

As I write this, I hear in the air the temptations to make my own decisions regarding which people are those that You have set apart. There are evil people in this world, people who will acknowledge Your existence, but will actively rebel against Your love and kindness, people that will actually go to great lengths to bring disaster upon Your beloved and with evil intent they will fight against You and Yours because of they are not of You. But these evil ones are not my concern, for it is better to love my enemies and bless those who curse me. I know this, yet I know that I am unable to live this conviction without learning first how to yield to Your love.

I am convinced that in Christ Jesus, the penalty for sin was paid – in full. No one was left out and therefore all stand before You forgiven, yet they will not receive it until they acknowledge that they need it from Your hand alone – and no one else has what is necessary to give it.

But the issue that grips my heart at this moment is that with Your forgiveness, You extend wholeness restoring us to a place that is far greater than where Your creation began. To sit in heavenly places in Christ, at the right hand of the Father; to know the Love and Favor and great joy that explodes from His heart for us and is demonstrated in Your willingness to give us the Kingdom of Your Love through the adoption of all of us who yield to the surpassing greatness of Your joyous delight for us and in us.

My heart, my inner man, expands with radiant expectation of the continued unfolding of this revelation of Your Love, yet my physical body, this clay vessel that houses Your presence shakes with fear of exploding into nothingness in the face of this unbelievable reality.

Lord, let me remember this – let me apprehend the greatness of Your love for ALL the saints – those that have known You, those that do know You and those that will know You. O Lord God Almighty let me not sin against You looking upon the people of this earth as though they are of less value than You have declared in Your scriptures and in the sacrifice of Your WORD - in Jesus in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells.

God Glorious Love

1Jn 4:15-18
Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God.
And we have known and believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that as He is, so also we are in this world.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He who fears has not been perfected in love.

How can I express the joy that is welling up within my spirit?
How can I express the awe, the delight, the joy & love – it is unspeakable!
You my Lord and King are beyond comprehension.
You have accomplished an incomprehensible task;
You have set me high above all things.
In You, my Lord, I am found.

I turn my head to the left and there I see my Father,
too glorious in His splendor to describe.
His love radiates out from Him in showers of light and life,
sparkling with joy unspeakable,
dancing across space and time with purpose and great joy.
Over flowing floods of magnificent splendor pour from his head,
flooding my soul and the great expanse of heaven.

I sit within my Beloved.
I watch the Father through the eyes of my Lord,
Oh how great is the love of my Lord towards His Father!
Even He is awestruck by the glory of His Father,
great love and devotion is found in my Lord for the one whom He sacrificed himself.
Such love and devotion;
trust and admiration is exchanged between the Father and His beloved Son.

An explosion of joy erupts as the Holy Spirit joins in the celebration of such love!
He wraps Himself around the two
as a torrent of water jumping through the narrows of a white water rapid.
They all erupt in laughter that shakes the very fabric of heaven – joy unspeakable!
There is no fear here; there is only love, total undiluted, erupting, joyous, earth shattering joy that saturates every particle of heaven.

Oh my Lord, let this joy erupt within my soul!
Empower my mortality to receive this love that is so alive and powerful and earth shattering
that the very thought of it causes my flesh to quake in fear!
Let me embrace the overwhelming power of your love to shake the very core of my being;
that I might embrace and be embraced by the wonder; holiness;
beauty and power of your heavenly communion.
Flood my spirit, my soul and my body, oh Lord, my God
with the beauty of your all consuming Love –
the joyous spark of life that flows from your being, your presence, your face –
O’ Lord, let your face shine upon me!
Let me breathe the substance of your love!

Gratitude and Every Day Life

It has been almost 8 months since I made my last post to this blog. It isn’t because I have ignored it, though I have at times; I just have not been able to think of anything worth posting. My last post was more than just words, it was an experience I had with my God while writing. I actually saw myself within the body of Jesus, looking out of his eyes towards the Father of Heaven and Earth. My heart was actually touched by the emotions Jesus had for his Father and I could see the love the Father has for his son Jesus. I was actually caught up in the torrent of love that came with the presence of the Holy Spirit of God. What can compare to an experience like that?

Nothing! So in light of this realization, I have decided to post again; not to out do my last post – which I think must be the temptation of all new writers – but to just do something to move forward. Writing, I am learning, is much like life; we have high and glorious mountain top experiences and writing lows – those things that are written down that we forever regret we put to paper, and then there is that every day existence of life – getting up in the morning to get the kids off to school, going to work, cleaning the house and enjoying the life that God gives us every day. This is what writing is like. And I think this is one of those every day life thoughts that I have decided are just as valuable as those mountain top experiences.

Every day life is the place that I am learning gratitude. I must admit that I have not been very good at expressing my gratitude or even recognizing the need for gratitude. I have asked the Lord over a number of years to teach me how to be grateful. This has not been an easy task to accomplish, but because He is God and I am not, I think I am beginning to learn.

I am so grateful for the Love of God because I am beginning to understand that His love is truly unconditional. He loves so passionately, that He sent a part of himself (His Word – His Son, Jesus) to die for me – and He died for me so that I could know how much He loves me. That experiential knowledge of His love for me comes, not just in those mountain top experiences, but in my every day life and it is the only thing that gives purpose to my existence. I am learning to recognize the emotion of gratitude, now I realize that I need to learn how to express it in my every day life.

I am a great admirer of “being real” what ever that means. I have spent many years trying to express emotions and thoughts the way I thought others wanted me to express them (Are you confused? – I was!) So I am on this journey as an adult – how to express what is truly on my heart in a way that builds up, expresses honor toward those I am speaking with, and shows gratitude towards my Lord. It is a lot more difficult than I ever dreamed it could be, but this is my goal, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…speaking the truth in love...causes growth of the body [of Christ] for the edifying of itself in love.” Eph. 4:3, 11 – 16.

A Fruitful Garden is Waiting to Grow

From the beginning of the year, my pastors have been teaching from 2 Peter 1:1-8.

2 Peter 1: 1- 8 (NKJV)

1Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have been seeking the Lord concerning this section of scripture for several months as we have been studying it at church. The key phrases that I have been pondering are in verse 4, "you may be partakers of the divine nature," and in verse 5, "add to your faith."

When I first read this section of scripture I began asking myself and the Lord two things. One, "How can I add to my faith? I can't manufacture faith, so how can I add to it?" And two, "How can I add this list of things, since these things that we are instructed to diligently add to our faith are part of the divine nature of God?"

As I have looked upon these scriptures these last two days, I began to see the words of hard work fade away and I began to see these scriptures through the heart of God. I noticed that everything about this section of scripture was encouraging us to pursue a deeper relationship with the Lord. The very first sentence directed to us who have obtained like faith says,

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus."

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 6 it says that without faith (which we have obtained by the righteousness of God) it is impossible to please God because first we have to believe that God exists.

Then it says that we also have to believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. In order to believe that he is a "rewarder" we have to believe that He is good and as we diligently seek Him we gain knowledge of His character through the growth of our relationship with him.

These "character qualities" that are listed in verses 5, 6 & 7 are the rewards that are added to our lives as we diligently seek a deeper, experiential relationship with our God and Father and His Son Jesus Christ. These "character qualities" are a part of the divine nature that we have been invited to partake of through our knowledge of God.

As this revelation began to settle into my heart, I heard the Lord saying...

The winter is over my people,
It is time to tend the garden of your heart.
Inspect your garden my people,
How has it survived the winter?

Take Me with you into your garden,
Let Me see what is there.
If there are weeds I will remove them
If the soil has become hard,
I will water it from the river of My Life
And till it if you let Me.

If you allow the Fire of My Holy Spirit to come upon you
I will burn up the thorns and thistles.

I have planted in your garden before.
You have obtained the seeds of faith from my hand.
You have received My word in your heart.
Will you partake of My divine nature?
Will you let me cultivate your heart?

Open wide the gates to your gardens!
Open wide the doors of your heart!
Let me plant a garden of hope!
Let me plant a garden of spice!

How do you add to the faith you’ve been given?
Open wide the gates to your garden,
Let me till the soil of your heart,
Receive the seeds of My word,
Let Me water your heart from the river of Life.

Rejoice and do not fear.
Grow in knowledge as I come near.
Yes, I am gentle and faithful and true.
I am the gentle gardener, who sees the worth of you.
A fruitful garden is waiting to grow inside the heart of you.

Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus,

We open wide the gates of our gardens and invite you in. Holy Spirit inspect the state of our hearts. Lord, you are the master gardener, create a plan that will allow for the expansion of this garden. Prepare our hearts to receive the seeds of your word that through the power of your grace the seeds of your divine nature may not only find good soil, but it might also grow up into maturity producing fruit that will feed the nations. Let us be a fruitful garden planted by the shore of your river of Life.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of our God and of Jesus our Lord.

Sincerely
Renee

Author's Comment

Dear readers,

When I posted my last blog, “AND JESUS SAID, I AM”, a few people contacted me regarding various concerns over some of the statements in the post. Because I don’t have any idea how many people are actually reading my blog, I thought I would make a general statement that might help those who either can’t contact me or don’t feel it is their place to make a comment.

First, please remember that I am learning and I am subject to many frailties just as we all are. Writing in a way that places my heart out on the web for anyone to read is a huge risk, but I don’t want to harden my heart to the criticisms, I want to be able to receive the corrections I need to receive and allow the Lord to strengthen His character in me. Some of the things I write might expose places in my heart that need healing and some may expose attitudes that need adjusting so don’t get too up tight if I fall off the deep end now and again. I believe the Lord is faithful to bring correction to me through His Holy Spirit and through my church family.

If you know me and know how to contact me, you are more than welcome to ask me questions about what I right. If you don’t know how to contact me, forgive me, pray for me &/or ask questions of someone you trust.

I encourage you to read what is written, take everything (what you like and what you don’t like) before the Lord and ask Him what you are to do with it. We have a saying in our church, “Eat the chicken and spit out the bones.” In other words, learn how to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit from the other voices and receive from the Holy Spirit and give room for growth and maturity to occur in the one sharing. As hard as I do try to only print what is glorifying to the Lord, I am not always successful at filtering out the “bones.”

The other thing I try to do is give scripture references for much of what I write. I don’t always, but I do try. Please read these scriptures and ask the Lord if he is saying anything to you. They may bring clarity to your questions, they may confirm your thoughts, but it will never hurt to read the scriptures.

I really believe that the Lord was placing a test before us as I wrote this last posting. My test was whether or not I would be obedient and risk getting negative comments. He is also testing me in how I will respond to the comments I have received. How is He testing you?

As I have gone before the Lord regarding “AND JESUS SAID, I AM”, I have decided to remove some of the original post. I was concerned about a few of the lines when I posted the original article and the comments I received confirmed some of what I was sensing. Some of the lines I removed simply to honor the person who expressed concern.

In the end, I hope that this post encourages you and I hope that by tagging along with me through this process the Lord has taught you something of His grace and His ability to refine His children.

And Jesus said, "I AM."

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
I am the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega.
I am He who breathes life and I am he who swallows death.
I am the everlasting Father and I am the Prince of Peace.
My Kingdom is established from everlasting to everlasting and it will continue to grow into everlasting.
I am Jesus.
I am the Prince of Peace.
I am the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Lamb that was slain.
I am all that you need and I am all that can be had.
I am King.
I am victorious.
I have bound the strong man and I am plundering his house.
Speak to the nations my church!
I am a Warrior and I am the Lover of your soul.

Let Me be your Hope.
Let Me be the reason for your very existence.
My desire is this that I would be your sufficiency
and in that place of resting in My sufficiency Hope is born.
In that place purpose is achieved.
Pursue Me with your whole heart, with your whole mind, with your whole strength.
Live life through My eyes.
See life through My heart.
Reign in life through My strength.

(Mark 14:62) (John 1:1) (Rev 1:8; 21:6; 22:13) (Ps 119:25;1 Cor 15:54-55; Hos 13:14)
(Isa 9:1-7) (Rev 5:5) (2 Peter 1:1-4, Eph 1:23) (1 Tim 6:15, Rev 17:14)
(Luke 11:17-26; Eph 1:15-23) (2 Tim 2:3&4) (Eph 6:12; Rom 8:1-14, Gal 5:14-26)
(Jer 20:11) (Heb 11) (Col 3:1 & 2, Gal 6: 7&8)

Lord Jesus, you are my hope and you are the reason for my existence. Teach me, your Church, how to rest in your work. Let me, your Church, be rooted and grounded in your love so that Hope can be birthed in my heart, the heart of your Church. Help me, your Church, to live life through your life. Help me, your Church, to see Life through your heart and help me, your Church, to be an over-comer in this life through your strength.