Fresh Blogging 2026

This is Pastor Mark’s blog…  if you would like to sign up for his daily word,  please email us at prayerrequest@streetfireministries.faith

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June 20, 2026

Yesterday we spoke about fiery darts. We continue:

In ancient warfare, fiery darts (flaming arrows or javelins filled with combustible materials) accomplished four main things in battle:

• Igniting structures: They were primarily used during sieges to set fire to enemy wooden structures, siege engines, and tents.

• Forcing shield drops: By landing on soldiers’ shields, the flames forced troops to either abandon their defenses to put out the fire or risk being burned, creating vital openings.

• Causing panic: The sudden bursts of fire and smoke created psychological terror and disarray among enemy ranks.

• Deep piercing damage: Specialized darts (like hollow reeds filled with flammable liquids) were designed to shatter upon impact, splashing burning material onto a soldier’s armor.

Because these incendiary weapons were so common, armies adapted their armor. For example, Roman soldiers would soak their large wooden shields (scuta) in water before battle so that when a fiery dart made impact, the flames would immediately be extinguished.

Today, the phrase is most famously used as a metaphor originating from the biblical Armor of God passage in Ephesians 6:16. To learn more about how to defend against these metaphorical attacks, you can do some study with the help of the Holy Spirit – to see the spiritual applications.

 

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” – Ephesians 6:16 (Multiply this by a legion of demonic spirits – all wielding the fire and the power to steal, kill and destroy as described in John 10:10)

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June 19, 2026

There are two scriptures that you should pack for your daily journey. Which, no doubt will contain some battles if you are an intimidating Christian to the enemy. Hide them in your heart.

When?

Before the first step into the path. Before the first fiery dart is tossed your way. Before the snake comes out of the woodpile. Be prepared with ammunition. A word from God was enough to create a world and a universe. In the next few weeks we are going to talk about how important a spoken word can be. To bless. To worship. To encourage. To every moment of warfare.

And… it’s also a great time to begin to memorize and store up. 

“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” – Luke 10:19

“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” – Mark 16:18

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” – Ephesians 6:16

Jesus talks about power. Giving it to YOU. Power that is greater than all the power of the enemy. NOTHING shall hurt you.  You can “take up” serpents. In the Greek translation and then back to Hebrew, it means “to remove.” (Sorry to those who parade around holding snakes in church services…. I might advice a little more study of what the Word of God really says.)

Notice Paul doesn’t say “take up” the shield of faith. He says “taking the” Power to extinguish the enemy’s fiery darts. An arrow centers on a certain point. Fire has the power to spread beyond the arrow’s destination.

Tomorrow we will look at fiery darts. What they are. How and why they are used and more importantly – how to extinguish or “to quench” them. Think about it before we get there tomorrow morning.

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June 18, 2026

Wearing the colors

When you are a part of the army of God, you wear the colors. The color of integrity, honesty, faith, boldness, love, joy, peace, patience… and so many more in the coat of many colors. 

The spiritual armor of course going into battle array is found in Ephesians 6:11-18 and is described by the Apostle Paul as: ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; ¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: ¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

There are many articles of clothing that a Christian will wear and are proud to display the colors and the fact that they are soldiers in the army of God.

The same demonic spirits, however, that were found in the courts of the high priest the night that Jesus was taken are still hard at work in the world today. They are brutal and fight to make you embarrassed. They make you hide your colors. They make you betray your calling. They make you afraid. Remember Peter. Incognito in the courts of religion. And they follow you into the world. And suddenly you go incognito in the courts of your past, your pagan friends and family. 

Someone comes out of the woodwork when you have made a new commitment to Christ and that someone makes you want to change your garments. So many are afraid of a new Christianity that calls for them to burn bridges. Change your language. Change your colors.

All too soon, you bow to a tainted integrity, you lose your faith and you lose your voice and your love all the beautiful things that God has clothed you in. A man who has not bought into the whole “Christian walk” yet – and this may be a new Christian or an old veteran, may discreetly take off his wedding ring. It is a color of commitment. A color of the power of agreement. Certainly these circumstances come to change your colors… but look deeper – they come to eliminate your power.

The power of the agreement in marriage comes from a man and wife unafraid to love each other openly and also when nobody else can see. (Matthew 18:19) The night of the betrayal Peter’s power was stripped by guilt and embarrassment and fear. 

What comes out of your mouth about your spouse to a flirting friend or ex-girlfriend who has tried to come back into your life? Or to a family member who says, “Oh, so you’re one of those Holy Rollers now?” Or even as innocent as a text from a stranger that comes with praise and adoration for you?

Be careful, you may effectively hide your colors from the world, but you cannot hide them from God. You may think that it doesn’t make a difference if nobody sees, but you may be losing that power of covenant – and in fact, losing the relationship you have gone to extensive means to hide.

JD Vance, the Vice-president of the United States has been thrust into the public eye. He is in a fight for a political future. Some would tell him to keep his Christian colors hidden, but instead, he comes out to the world with a book called, “Communion. Finding my way back to faith.

As a Marine he was not ashamed to walk in the colors of the corps. As a husband he is not ashamed to walk in the colors of husband and father. As a Christian he is not afraid to tell the world of his love for Jesus Christ.

It doesn’t diminish his chances for advancement or success – but his colors close to his heart give him greater power. It’s not just wearing the colors when he is surrounded by Christians, but recently he has made his proclamation of faith in the company of some of the most vile people who call themselves Americans. 

Over the back fences and in back alleys where you meet your chance to speak against Christ, your wife, your family and your own dignity. Speak boldly. Speak powerfully. Wear your colors proudly.

If you do… your power will prevail.

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June 17, 2026

The Present… It’s a Gift

I received this one morning while in prayer an old familiar pair of scriptures. Very dear to my heart, they have visited me many times in my life and like an old friend, they came to call upon me again today:

Mat 6:33-34 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

They apply today in the light of where the church is heading. They come as a breathing of God, gently as a reminder of what His purposes are. The bottom line is that we can’t get the cart ahead of the horse, and we can’t look for the events of tomorrow without giving Him our today. We can’t live in the promises of tomorrow when we haven’t lived in the reality of today.

2Co 6:2 (For he said, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Many have been talking of and looking forward to an actual event of revival as promised of the Lord, but it is senseless to live in tomorrow’s revival when we have not labored in prayer today.

There is an earthquake coming in the diversity of the church. I can feel the fault line shifting and moving from underneath our feet – and there is coming a great separation in the church. There will be those who will be moved by the shaking and will run and they will panic. The others will me moved by the shaking and will fall to their knees and they will be broken. It is the brokenness that will usher this great move… a move that will cause the earth that is called man to quake and to break and to change and to move.

Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

God is again stressing here  this morning. Your week may be almost done. Have you instructed others to pray for you or have you taken the time to pray? Have you been found wanting or have you been found praying. Have you offered Him your complaining or have you offered Him your tears? Have you been found in the hardness of the earth or have you fallen on the stone in brokenness?   It’s time.

Not a long word today… but a sure word today. Today. It’s time. Today. It’s time. Seek ye first… today… the heart of your Father. He is speaking many things this week… have you taken the time to listen?

He that has an ear… hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Psalm 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

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June 16, 2026

Worship, Warfare, Word

God is about to send a new revelation concerning worship in this country and He is about to reveal the profane in the tribe of Judah… on the platforms of praise that have been tainted by the entertainment of the world and those seeking their own fortune through the holiness of what Judah was ordained to be.  Judah will be given a new discernment for what is holy and what is tainted and profane.  And the choices made will be critical changes.

I believe that in the world that God created that was ions before Earth, there was a huge creation of angels.  As we find in scripture, there were 3 archangels.  Satan – the archangel of Worship,  Michael – the archangel of Warfare, and Gabriel, the archangel of the Word.

I believe that these three beings were important in that they were created in the likeness of the trinity.  Certainly not in the same parallel, but isn’t it funny that somewhere along the line, Satan missed the memo and thought himself on that same latitude. 

Isaiah 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

Daniel 10:13  But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Luke 1:19  And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

There was a three fold cord in heaven…Ecc 4:12  And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Ezra 46:2  And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.

Worship opens a portal to the battlefield.   Warfare takes over so that the word can come forth and can be delivered from man to God. 

 It is process like everything else in scripture.

If the enemy can conquer or taint the worship,  then the warfare and the word beyond the portal are moot points. 

John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Revelation 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things says he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that opens, and no man shut; and shut, and no man opens;

In the old testament, the Prophet Oded prophesies restoration.

The king took courage from the Word, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah  (purifying the worship) 2Ch 15:8  And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.

The altar before the porch of the Lord was renewed.  This is of great significance.  If you go back to the fall of Satan himself,  it was because of his pride.  And when he left, I can imagine him flippantly asking God,  “Who are you going to get to worship you NOW?”

I believe that God paused only a moment and told the enemy… “If I desire,  I can have DUST worship me.”   As Satan walked away scoffing,  God went forth and created man from the DUST of the earth.   As this precious creation, we do in fact have the privilege to worship God.  And that is what it is – a privilege, not a duty or a law or a job.

And so men occupy that vacated office of an archangel.  And that is why the enemy fights worship so fervently.  He will do anything he can to taint it,  to make it a show, to use it to entertain or to build a platform upon which the singer can say, as Satan himself… “LOOK AT ME!” 

The very fact that the enemy hates it so much is not just because we have taken his place,  but we must realize that the place itself must be very powerful or the enemy would not bring such destruction against it.

2Chronicles 15:15-16  And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about. And also concerning Maachah (depression) the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

2Chronicles 16:1  In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

Jeremiah 7:2  Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

The enemy wants his position back.  His misses his office.  He wants you to worship him as he worships himself.  His worship is deluded. 

Matthew 4:9  And he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.  (open a portal to let the armies of Hell bring their word)

It can give you tingles and tears and fire and explosions, but in true worship – it is not the worship on the center stage, that is seen, but rather, the one who is being worshipped.

The music of the world has tremendous power to make you sentimental and emotional but only true worship can get take you safely home.

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June 15, 2026

Isn’t It About Time?

I can remember a night in prayer when God spoke something with sadness in His voice.  “I’ve taught my people to pray, but they won’t pray.”   From my perspective of a coach, when I’ve taught my team how to do something and they simply don’t do it – it not only infuriates me, but in their loss, I have sorrow because they didn’t do what I told them to do.

He’s given us teachers who taught us.  We have the teaching.  We have the tools.  But we don’t have the heart.  Oh God… create in us a clean heart and a right spirit. Touch our hearts and make us yearn and desire you above all things.

The following statement is from the Lord.  Your time belongs to Him.  When I heard this word this morning, I realized that the Christian that tore a garment back then (and today) was for the watching eyes of the people, but people that let their own heart break is something only He can see.  God looks upon the heart today.  It’s not just talking the talk. It’s walking the walk… and He’s waiting on you.

Joel 2:12  Therefore also now, says the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

Joel 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and reconsiders him of the evil.

Is this your week?   Have the weeks and months and years slipped away from you?  Isn’t it time to find that place of brokenness?  Is this your week…  is this your day?  Can you hear the Lord calling you to that secret place of thunder?  Will you ask Him for tears this week?  Will you let Him break your heart this week?  How about right now.  Ask Him to create a window… tell Him how much you desire Him.  Ask Him if you can come home right now to where He is.

Eph 5:16-17  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Mat 6:6  But thou, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.

Haven’t been home in a while?  Isn’t it about time you turn your heart back to Him?  Put your hand on your computer screen right now and touch the words found here… and plead with Him to give you the time… to give you the place… but most of all to give you the heart to find your way home.

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June 14, 2026

June 13, 2026

When God unleashed the devastating waters of the Great Flood to destroy a corrupted earth, He gave Noah highly specific architectural instructions to build the Ark. Genesis 6:14 commands: “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood… and cover it inside and out with pitch.”

To the modern reader, pitch is just waterproof tar. But the Holy Spirit hid a linguistic masterpiece in the text. The Hebrew word translated as “pitch” is Kopher. Everywhere else in the Old Testament, Kopher is translated as “Atonement,” “Ransom,” or “the price of a life.”

The Ark was the only safe haven from the terrifying wrath of God’s judgment. But the wood alone did not keep the deadly waters out; it was the Kopher (the Atonement) applied inside and out that sealed the vessel.

June 12, 2026

There is much to be said for perseverance.

Perseverance is the steadfast pursuit of a goal and the ability to maintain continued effort despite difficulties, delays, or setbacks. Often referred to as “grit,” it is the tenacity to keep trying until the end, even when a task is incredibly hard.

In my life I have had many fine ideas. I have had some great startups. Some great victories and some epic celebrations.

Unfortunately – like a starting pitcher in baseball who grew tired in the late innings, I haven’t been known as a legendary “finisher.” In education, in projects, in ministry and in relationships.

When God told Joshua and the children of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho for seven days; the first six days they marched around the city one time each day and were without seeing as much as a crack in the impenetrable walls.

On the seventh day they were to increase the aerobic activity to seven trips around the city followed by the blowing of trumpets and shouts of victory BEFORE the walls fell. And it’s when those “circumstances” yield silence and crickets that the enemy does his best work.

Now in Joshua 6:2-5 God gave a directive. Instructions. Ridiculous instructions if you are thinking with the logic and wisdom of man. It was here that God was going to introduce a spoken word ministry after great obedience and perseverance.

After God gives the directive, Joshua – knowing the people and what their reaction may be – said in verse 10: “And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.”

There is something to be said for a leader that says, “When the enemy lies to your mind, don’t parrot his words, don’t voice your impossibilities, don’t tell everyone how ‘stupid’ or ‘fruitless’ or how it’s just a waste of time.”

To finish a task given by God – speak only what He says – WHEN He says. Anything spoken out of time or anything negative in a realm of the impossible can shut down the work.

“This is stupid. Maybe I didn’t hear from God. It’s been so long and nothing has changed. I may as well quit and do something else. This is brutal and I’m tired. Why would God do it this way? Maybe I need to go and formulate a new plan. We’re going to lose all of our helpers.”

Those may be a few words that I have said in the heat of battle – that caused me to lose the war. Perhaps you have a few of your own. What should be resonating in your mind right now, is… “nor make any noise with your voice.”

Quitting with your words will cause you to quit with your actions. It’s a day to speak a positive word of God. Hebrews 12:24 – paraphrased… “His blood speaks a better word.”

When God tells you to speak into the impossible, and you do it without hesitation or questioning, the word from the throne will always come back as… “all things are possible if you only believe.” (Mark 9:23)

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June 11, 2026

When the former evangelist Jimmy Swaggart fell and then fell again, people who had him on a pedestal were shocked, wounded and many wanted to backslide. If people only knew the legions of the damned assigned to those preachers who had paid the price in prayer and who had been elevated to that kind of status, they would have had him on their prayer lists rather than their pedestals.

“Could you not stay awake and pray with me one hour?” – Matthew 26:40

I must admit, the good that Swaggart did was a bit tainted and many no longer listened to him. For a while I distanced myself, but after his return to the Father, I had to quit being the prodigal’s brother, repent, and come into the welcome home celebration.

With no judgment, no reminding him of his sins, no questions, no reservations and no guilty mud pies to his face or behind his back. I loved him unconditionally and was reminded by the Holy Spirit that “love covers a multitude of sins.” – I Peter 4:8.

And of course Peter would know just how good and how deep that verse ran through his veins – but coming to that point to receive that kind of love is not easy. Christ has a special ministry to those who are in His army. A ministry that self-righteous people or those who never walked in ministry will ever be able to feel.

It’s a fearful thing to stand again in front of an “old” crowd who have become skeptical because of sins committed while in ministry. When they do return – know that they face fears and scrutiny that most of us will never know.

How does the Father treat them? He comes running with arms wide open. He spreads the news to friends and family, He rejoices with a celebration and a time of communion, He puts the ring on his son’s finger to conduct family  business and/or ministry once again.

We would do well to read Luke 15:11-32 once again.

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June 10, 2026

It Must Be Personal

I had a chance to do something that a lot of preachers my age never get to do today.  I got to watch a man preach who spoke the words that were instrumental in getting me to Christ.   It was after a Billy Graham crusade in 1971 that I gave my heart to God.  It was a crusade that was surrounded by protests from a self proclaimed “hippie” culture and it was a crusade where Rev. Graham preached amongst boos from those protesters.   When the protesters that night tried to take a small gathering to the stage,  a group of “Jesus people” linked arms and caused the protesters to disseminate as their chant of “JESUS” caused the protesters to be overwhelmed and very powerless.  They just sort of “disappeared” back into shadows. 

“At a Chicago Graham crusade in the summer of 1971, Jesus People surrounded disruptive demonstrators, praying for them, and chanting the name of Jesus to drown out their blasphemies. Later in the crusade a young suburban Chicago discipleship-group leader, Ron Rendelman, passed along the message: “Tell Billy Graham the Jesus People love him.”  – Christ Armstrong; Christianity Today

It was a violent time in America – under that 60’s banner of “peace” was tremendous hatred and violence in a generational war that this country had never seen before.  I believe many young men and women were called from the midst of that conflict to become soldiers of the cross.  I was one of them.

It was early June, 1971.  My family and I took a church bus from Milwaukee to Chicago to attend the crusade.  Looking back now,  it was a defining point in my life.  I had gone on from there to teach vacation Bible School to elementary kids during the summers and we went to Elmbrook Church where Stuart and Jill Briscoe were just taking over what would eventually be one of Milwaukee’s first mega-churches. 

June 9^th.  Four years later –  just four short years later… and to the day…  I was having surgery to repair a broken neck which had almost and certainly should have taken my life.  It is amazing what time can do – with it we can grow in Christ or we can travel away from Him – but He always has a way of bringing us back to the exact place in time where we first started. I ran, but He came looking for me.

I heard Billy Graham preach a fiery message that morning about the cross – and how it’s an offense to the sinner because it reminds them that they are going to hell unless they yield to it.  The cross – in it’s day was filthy and wretched and symbolized one of the world’s most vile ways to punish, torture and take a man’s life.  Isaiah said of Christ on the cross… there “is no beauty that we should desire him.”  (Is 53:2) Contrary to popular belief,  the crucifixion was so nauseating that only those who were hired or those who were vile could even bear to watch it. 

It was not a place for public spectacle – and in fact the place of crucifixion was taken away from any public contact.  To have a family member crucified was of the utmost disgrace and if you came to watch, you wouldn’t want to get close due to the smells of the bodily fluids and wastes and rotting; the screams of pain and terror and the cursing of the demonic spirits that had inhabited those soon to be lifeless bodies.

The Bible said that “There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;   It was not a place where anyone would desire to be – and yet,  Christ went there willingly… for us.  

As I spoke about in a men’s conference a few years back, about Nehushtan, I feel that you must link the old testament snake on the staff to the new testament’s account of the crucifixion.

A very important message on facing and admitting our sin. We must attend our own trial and we must bring all the evidence that will fully convict us.  We must prove our own guilt.  We must be found completely guilt with our confession.  We must receive a death sentence because that is the wage of sin.  Finally the crucifixion… we must watch Him pay our price.   This should not be easy for you.  It should be an offense.  It should turn your stomach to the point of sickness.   It is a cross experience that makes what He did,  very personal.  We can’t just continually come and bring a garbage bag full of sin in a darkened back room and tell Him to just take care of it.

Go to your concordances and realize that nobody worshipped at the cross except the Lord…. And He became the sacrifice…  and we didn’t offer Him… He gave Himself, because we were guilty and someone needed to pay a price.  We need to again go to the cross not to offer Him – but to surrender our sins and to let Him offer Himself for us.  And we need to witness it with a burning ache in the pit of our stomachs that will bring true repentance and Godly sorrow.  It should never be portrayed as an “easy” place to go.  It will cost you something.

I gave Him the rights to my life in 1971 – but didn’t live for Him.  I begged Him to spare my life in 1975 – but I didn’t understand the price.  I preached one of the longest recorded revivals in Wisconsin history, and in the midst, on June 9, 1985…  10 years after I should have died, I was preaching. Grace is an amazing thing.  

Still I went from that place not fully understanding what it would take for me to get through this life without the ravages of sin.  Here I am having gone up a mountain called “70” – and I pray each morning that I never get too far from remembering my best friend who died in my place.  

Today, June 9^th came to visit me again as it does every year – and it’s my day for “inventory” and “reflection” and what will happen on that day will, I believe, be reflective on how I’ve proceeded to change my daily “reflections” and my time with Him. It’s been 51 years of trial and error, failing and retaking tests and learning more than my minute mind can handle at times.

The message of the cross is harsh.  It’s uncomfortable.  And it’s like someone buckling you in because of the amusement you’ve chosen to ride.  The tighter the “snug” – the safer the journey. 

It’s not just repeating the sinner’s prayer. It’s going to the cross and waiting there until He is finished. It’s watching every drop of blood fall to the earth and realizing that I am the reason He is there. And you are the reason He was there. He purchased a ticket home for you and for me.

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June 9, 2026

Psalm 41:11-12 By this I know that you favor me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, you uphold me in mine integrity, and set me before thy face for ever.

One thing that this scripture doesn’t promise.  That I will never have a battle.  It does say, however that IN THE BATTLE,  the enemy does NOT triumph over me… IF… IF… my life is in favor with the Lord…  and IF I have retained my integrity.

The secret is in my everyday life and not just the journey on Sunday.  I can remember that a pastor who preached a word that said, “you can’t dance with the devil in the daytime and expect him to leave you alone at night”.   What this says is very important to the question of why can’t I get the victory over the enemy?

There are certain things that “righteousness” requires.  It involves doing the right thing in a critical situation.   The enemy provides me many open doors to not only speak, but to work the works of the flesh.  If I am found speaking or acting on these things,  I can lose my favor with God – and the enemy can get a foothold to take me into deeper devastation.  And I have BEEN devastated. The tragedy comes when I don’t face the truth that it’s a lack of my integrity… rather than just flippantly stating that “it’s because I am a Christian and I have a target on my back”.

Rejoice in your battle today knowing that it won’t prove you to God… but will prove God to you. These are the times that will change your life, purify your soul and heal your spirit.

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June 8, 2026

“Let there be laughter.”

     And God Laughed…

 I said, “We need Fast Horses.” And God laughed.

Hear ye Oh FAT people in the army of Go God. It’s time to lose weight. Wow. That was insensitive! Or was it? God puts people on diets not to torture them or for them to look good, but to BE HEALTHY. You are not “fit” for battle.

When you do it your way in the battle… God says “The only thing that will be left of your army will be a flagpole on a hill.” What hill.” What a terrible picture that paints. God is so good at painting pictures with His words!

I came across in a further private study of the book of Isaiah some very interesting Scriptures that I believe someone needs to hear today. It deals with the present battle that we are in. Some are facing sickness, some are having trouble maintaining what God has given, some financial ruin, some the loss of loved ones to the world. Whatever the battle, I pray that this will bless you today.

First and foremost – this battle is the Lord’s. He has engaged the enemy and the enemy is trying to show himself strong. But here is a promise to those of us in the battle today:

Isaiah 30:20-21 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Notice that it tells us that the LORD puts us on a bread and water diet at times. This I believe is to humble the flesh and the spirit that are carrying too much weight. And remember that we are to “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,” (Heb. 12:1) God will 12:1) God will help us “get healthy” in Him.

It is the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, and like every diet, and food may look good on the brochures, but it tastes horrible. 

There is much to be gained when you enter into this diet. And the thing that is gained is the weight of His glory. Some of you are on this diet right now and don’t even know it. Some of you are on this diet and know it. In either case – it speaks of denial. When you deny something… something more important is gained.

It’s like being presented with the opportunity to sin when nobody is looking and you are assured that nobody will find out. If you practice denial here, there is great weight to be gained in your character. And character will give you strength to stand the test of time. This diet also yields great reward. When we enter into this denial of self – and go where He tells us to go, we are promised “sight” and “hearing” to stay our courses!

Oh the joy to hear a sermon or a message and not miss most of it because your minds have wandered off to another area of your life that has troubled you. Oh the joy to hear clearly the word of the Lord that specifically instructs each one of your next steps. These are the rewards of those who are on the bread-and-water diet.

Now… when I talk of listening to a message in church or on YouTube, there are many distractions in your mind. You can suddenly find yourself trying to figure out how to pay your mortgage or what you’d like to eat for dinner that day or any number of about a million mind trails. But God tells us the solution is in focus. Focus on Him. Coming “back” to Him and His teaching.

It’s not in panic of situation. The following I found to be extremely interesting because I have done this a million times. The battle shows itself strong and threatening and right away we try to calculate in our minds how we are going to counteract it. How we are going to fight it. And in some cases, how we are going to run from it!

Isa 30:15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

Isa 30:16 You say, “No, we need fast horses for battle.” That is true–you will need fast horses, but only to run away because your enemy will be faster than your horses.

Isa 30:17 One enemy soldier will make threats, and a thousand of your men will run away. And when five of them make threats, all of you will run away. The only thing that will be left of your army will be a flagpole on a hill.

God tells us that the solution is to return to Him in prayer, in fasting, in study, in hearing His voice.  He tells us that IN those things we will have confidence, and confidence will be the strength you need to defeat any foe.

But we tell God… “I have prayed and it doesn’t work. I have fasted and I am only hungry – not empowered. I have studied and the voice sounds like the grown-ups on the Charlie Brown specials.” And… because you either haven’t tried God’s diet or you haven’t given it time to process, you quickly jump to your own conclusions, solutions and implosions.

I love God’s solution. Return + Rest = listening, focus, faith, confidence and strength to be victorious. I mean… it’s God’s battle. Why would you counsel HIM as to the plan for victory. His plans are not carnal nor are they logical… and yet they are effective!

Some great words to live by WHILE you are dieting on adversity and affliction:

2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;)

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

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June 6, 2026

A morning word for that your path will be bright and encouraging today. Let the Holy Spirit deliver this with a personal touch and as you just… listen… Let Him speak into your heart.  

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the Lord your God…” – Isaiah 43: 1-3

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June 2, 2026

A very simple word on this second day of June… Brought to you by

Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

“His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” – John 2:5

There are times when we really must obey His voice. To understand that sentence, you must first and foremost be able to HEAR his voice. 

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” – John 10:27

So… stop saying… “I can’t hear his voice.” When you say that you play right into the devil’s hand. You are in essence speaking to the world, “I am not one of His sheep.”  

You just may not be listening.

And the moment you step out in faith, having heard Him, you are tested on every level. You begin making statements like, “Maybe I didn’t hear Him,” or perhaps, “If I would have really heard him, I would have seen a better outcome.”  When you obey – the battle begins. For your words, for your pride, for your reputation. 

“God hurt my feelings. God didn’t hear me and I certainly didn’t hear him. My pride is wounded.”  And… thus the problem. He doesn’t want your pride wounded –

He wants it eradicated. Oh… and He also wants your reputation.

 

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JUNE 1, 2026

A blast from the past. I believe that when you have lost something, you are always encouraged to retract your steps. We don’t look back to long to be there… it is gone. But we can look back and remember for perspective. As I look back and see something that I recorded alm0st 9 years ago – I remember. I catch some perspective on where I was was and now, knowing the path that ensued – I thank God that He brought me through. Perhaps you will glean a word from that day back in September of 2017.

And I challenge you today.  Look to the now. Plan for a future. I know He does.

Your word from Him today from Jeremiah 29 has special significance for me… just turning 70 years old. It was so encouraging. Lord help my unbelief.

For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.  Jeremiah 29: 10-14

For someone today… but not for everyone. Words from God should never give you direction, but confirmation as to what He’s spoken to you in a moment of prayer.

Now… this IS for everyone…. O taste and see that the Lord is good!

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Sunday May 31, 2026

 

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WHEN YOU SEE GOD FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME…. It WILL BE SIMILAR: Click:

 

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Thursday, May 28

The Battle For Holiness

We are getting to the point where we are learning to use the weapons of the Lord – and one of them is the dance. The enemy hates it. He’ll let you or, I should say… will encourage you to dance in the world at social gatherings – and then when we get to church, the enemy wants you to feel shame in the dance before the Lord.

But in Psalm 149:3, it says – “Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.” LET THEM. To the powers and naysayers of darkness – it’s time that we bust through the shame – eliminate the embarrassment and proclaim… LET THEM PRAISE HIS NAME IN THE DANCE!!!!

As a precious sister in the Lord read that yesterday – it bore witness to what the Spirit was saying to the church … The dance is a weapon of God’s vengeance – and it will put the enemy in chains and fetters of iron! We sing… “As the Spirit of the Lord moves in my heart, I’ll dance as David danced” – and it’s so funny because we sing it in churches where there are no feet moving. Dance is defined as something where movement of the body is performed. To move your feet. How many have seen dancers dance without moving their feet??? I love the song that says that the dancers will dance upon injustice. The injustice is the enemy bringing shame to those who praise in the dance!

When we do… (move our feet) – it is fulfilling prophecy in Genesis that we will “bruise Satan’s head”.   Oh Glory to God!!! 

Now… early this morning as I am watching and meditating on the Lord, I hear a clarion call from the throne of grace that there is a battle raging in the heavenlies. It is a battle for holiness. The enemy doesn’t care if the church is righteous – he just doesn’t want it holy. Righteousness and holiness are two very different things.

There is a difference between righteousness and holiness. As we study the church at Ephesus, we find a church that is staunchly practicing righteousness and performing righteous acts… but there is no holiness there. And without holiness they are in danger of losing their day. Their day to eat from the tree of life.

In some churches, holiness is defined as how one dresses or appears on the outward (categorized by the eyes of man) – but God is looking for holiness – and that is only found in the heart. “ … for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7

There was a king named Amaziah who ruled and reigned in Israel for 29 years, and his appearance was very good. His acts were in the right place. He did and said all the right things… being a righteous king … BUT – He lacked holiness which is of the heart.

2 Chronicles 25:2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart.

David referred to this area of a man’s maturity as “presumptuous sins” – hidden in the heart – and far from the eye of man.   Sins that hide there can be jealousy or bitterness or lust or gossip or perversion or anger … the hits just keep on comin’!

When God has you doing all the right things … that is a very good place to be – but not a place of a finished work. He will then go forth and deal with the hidden sin and the perverse thoughts and the illegal motives – the place of holiness. If you are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16) then the holy of holies… or “the place where holiness dwells” is deep within your heart.

And thus… the battle for your holiness. Definition of a “shame” is doing everything the right way but with an errant and hollow heart.

Now… this is an area that man cannot see or deal with. We can fool people with our actions, but our intents and motives and thoughts of the heart are only seen of the Lord. And trust me… He does see them. Whether you want to live in the denial or not… He does see them. 

Ask the Holy Ghost to come and reason with you concerning holiness. 

Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. 

1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

To accomplish and fulfill those Scriptures,  your prayer must be as David’s prayer: Psalm 19:13-14 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, transgression. Let my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

A watchman will warn you ahead of time… and the word that I hear so loud and so clear AGAIN is that there is a battle in the heavenlies for your holiness. Be alert and vigilant … the battle lines are forming and the enemy has long ago begun to engage in battle.

Ephesus had no light on its wick – and there was a real threat of losing their salvation. Blood needs to cover both your deeds and the thoughts of your heart. You may be angry and you may bite your tongue and feel proud of yourself that you didn’t say or do the wrong thing… but the very fact that it existed in your heart is a red flag that a presumptuous sin is lurking … and that a sin running rampant has not been covered with blood.

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Wednesday, May 27

I AM HEALED

Today’s blog is especially near and dear to my heart. I will start by asking you to listen to this worship song as it is my heart today.

For those who have not been a part of some of the more private moments of my life of late, suffice to say – I have been through some times when I felt like the devil’s punching bag in these last two years of a 10-year journey through returning to ministry.

I have had seven surgeries in the last 18 months which included knee surgery, hernia surgery, and stomach surgeries.

My stomach problems began getting really bad toward the end of March. By April I could not go a week without severe pain and vomiting. Finally, I could not keep anything down. My wife emptied vomit bags and cleaned up floors when I could not get to the bathroom in time. To say she was a kind of Florence Nightingale would be an understatement.

I asked her if she was my guardian angel and she said that she was my wife. A title that means so much more to her.

We finally set an appointment with a surgeon, Michael Valenti who has expertise in treating mastectomy, colonoscopy, upper GI endoscopy, among other conditions. I was scheduled for an endoscopy May 6, 2026, at 7 a.m.

The procedure did not take long and after it was over we had some disturbing news. There was a blockage and we were being sent to Raleigh, North Carolina to consult with Dr. Vitri who is a surgical oncologist. We were told that we most likely needed to have a partial gastrectomy which would entail the removal of half of my stomach, cutting away of some of the intestine and a rerouting of the food tube from the stomach to the small intestine.

That afternoon I was resting and recovering from the anesthesia. I really wanted to watch the 700 Club. It was more of a “nudge” from God. As I found it already in progress, I was interrupted by a phone call. By the time the call was finished, the program had ended.

I knew that they aired the program several times during the day and thought perhaps I could catch it at a later time. I scrolled through the channel guide and found that it was about to air again in a few minutes on another Christian television network.

The 700 Club is a show with a Christian perspective on world events, miracle stories and great encouragement – even going so far as to pray for the television audience – and many times being moved by the Holy Spirit to give a word of knowledge and healing.

I had been touched by the program many times in the last 40 years and it has always been a safe harbor for me.

Toward the end of the program Gordon Robertson and Ashley Key took time to pray for the audience. At first Gordon had a word from God for women who could not have babies and immediately I thought of one of our own family members who needed a miracle.

Then Ashley had a strong word for the Lord about someone who was having some “severe GI problems” and I began to tear up as I knew the word was coming from God just for me. From that moment on there was no nausea and I never again had food come back up.

We kept our appointments with the surgeon and the gastroenterologist, Dr. Praneet Korrapati. Yesterday was another endoscopy. To make a long story short, it was the confirmation we were waiting for. There would be no surgery. The small intestine opening was stretched, the one ulcer was nonexistent and the second was, as he said, “healing itself,” although we know that the change was immediate after the word from God and we knew we got our miracle.

God not only heals, but He loves us enough to restore our purpose, our calling and our ministry. To heal – we are also forgiven.

He also moves in us for His glory and to prove Himself to those around us who may not believe in a miracle-working God.

“Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.” – Matthew 9:4-6

Thank you to all who were praying for me. God heard you.

Here is the actual word given to me on May 6 from God through Ashley Key:

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Tuesday Today

I received this morning while in prayer an old familiar pair of scriptures. Very dear to my heart, they have visited me many times in my life and like an old friend, they came to call upon me again today:

Mat 6:33-34 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

They apply today in the light of where our nation is heading. They come as a breathing of God, gently as a reminder of what His purposes are. The bottom line is that we can’t get the cart ahead of the horse, and we can’t look for the events of tomorrow without giving Him our today. We can’t live in the promises of tomorrow when we haven’t lived in the reality of today.

2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

We have been talking of and looking forward to an actual event of revival as promised of the Lord, but it is senseless to live in tomorrow’s revival when we have not labored in prayer today.

There is an earthquake coming in the diversity of the church. I can feel the fault line shifting and moving from underneath our feet – and there is coming a great separation in the church. There will be those who will be moved by the shaking and will run and they will panic. The others will me moved by the shaking and will fall to their knees and they will be broken. It is the brokenness that will usher this great move… a move that will cause the earth that is called man to quake and to break and to change and to move.

Mat 21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Hos 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

God is again stressing here on this Tuesday morning. Your week is just begun. Have you instructed others to pray for you or have you taken the time to pray? Have you been found wanting or have you been found praying. Have you offered Him your complaining or have you offered Him your tears? Have you been found in the hardness of the earth or have you fallen on the stone in brokenness?   It’s time.

Not a long word today… but a sure word today. Today. It’s time. Today. It’s time. Seek ye first… today… the heart of your Father. He is speaking many things this week… have you taken the time to listen?

He that has an ear… hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Psa 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

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It’s Memorial Day 2026. So many thoughts flooding into my mind as I head to my Gethsemane.

Relatives and friends who served in battle this past 250+ years to defend us. From the Revolutionary War all the way to where we are in a very fragile world. Traditionally the beginning of summer.

But again – I head into my prayer room with one major thread running through my tapestry… Lord I just want to be broken in your presence – feeling your increase and my decrease. When I am broken at your feet and in that state… I don’t ask for anything stupid.

I have been hearing Psalm 37:4 as of late. A Scripture that was given to me early in my ministry that helped me with courage to face my fears and continue on toward a destiny that would at no point ever be easy.

So many failures – but also so much learning… and many more miles to go before I sleep. It all shaped me. I would like to mention this morning how important it is to have a wife that stands at my side and has not left when the challenges came.

When we found each other we were not really “perfect Christians,” – but really that is a misnomer anyway. All I know is that I saw her in a dream two times in three months – five years before I met her. And when I did see her the first time… goose bumps.

Now I don’t know the spirituality of those bumps, but something in me resonated with the Scripture found in Genesis 24 when Isaac and Rebecca first saw each other. In one translation it says, and I paraphrase, that Isaac was coming from Beer Lahai which translates out to well of the Living One who sees me.” He had been thinking and meditating and praying. He looked up and saw a camel train coming. Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; for she had said to the servant, “Who IS this man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife.

Much longer story to all of this but not today.

Suffice to say – this morning a lot of water has flowed under our bridge. This morning Thecia was up early as usual and heading up to our office/worship room/prayer room where she had to get some work done.

I told her that I could go and pray downstairs, but she insisted that I stay and pray. I don’t know if it helped her more – or me. As I got down to pray after three days of brutal battles to break through in prayer – I hit my knees and as Jack Hayford once told me… “There are some days when it feels as if you are hitting a brick wall in prayer, and other days – it’s like a gully-washer.”

It was a gullywasher with my incredible wife and faithful dog there in the “man cave.”

Now, the Bible says “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” – Matthew 6:6

In my spirit I could see her still huddled over her computer, tippy-tapping away, but it was as if her spirit came out of her body and came behind me, closed that spiritual door and stood guard there – acting as a prayer block so that I could find an unencumbered way as the Holy Spirit took my hand and he took me boldly to the throne of grace where I found mercy to help: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

She said – “I’m not afraid to battle in that realm anymore.”

The power of agreement between a man and a wife to accomplish a purpose, a destiny, a legacy … “I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 18:19.

That’s why the enemy hates a couple that faces their challenges together. That prayer of agreement is so powerful in defeating the devil. GOLDEN.

Anyway … I not only REALLY, REALLY like my wife, but I love her with my whole heart. We are not perfect people. Never have been – but we are perfect for each other. And in our time together we have seen some amazing transformations, and some incredible miracles.

Stay yoked. On this day when we remember those who fought shoulder to shoulder with their comrades-in-arms… remember how powerful the union that God puts together can be. If you let it.

Dedicated to my wife this morning… and don’t be afraid to read ALL the words in this YouTube video:

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Personal Pentecost

Has YOUR day of Pentecost fully come?

This morning I am not afraid to take a stand for the moving of the Holy Ghost. I will not feel embarrassed or guilty because He uses me for miracles, signs and wonders or performs them in me… me… only a sinner saved by grace.

I am not afraid to come against blasphemous teaching by the powerless preachers of the world who speak openly against the Holy Ghost and God’s people who have been labeled as “Pentecostal.”

It was prophesied by John the Baptist that the Holy Ghost would baptize with fire, and that prophecy came to pass in Acts the 2^nd chapter.   This fire that was kindled on the day of Pentecost still burns brightly in the churches that welcome the Holy Ghost to have His way.

And since God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are the same yesterday, today AND TOMORROW… that miracle working power has never ceased.

Are there excesses in the Pentecostal churches? Of course. Just as there are in the Baptist church and the Catholic church, to name just a few. But to attack an entire denomination because they have received the promise of Pentecost speaks to their ignorance.

Fire was sent from Heaven. It creates a warmth in the hearth of our hearts. It burns up the chaff in our lives. But these pompous, dead, teachers of the law hear the word “Pentecostal” and start showing slides of houses engulfed in flames and call an entire generation of people – “arsonists” of the devil.

Just as they said that Jesus cast out devils in the name of the Devil.  It’s preposterous.

There are those who are prone to excess, but it’s the focus upon these and damning an entire believing body that I believe is not pleasing to Jesus and what He promised us. And the promise was not only to those disciples at Pentecost. The Bible is clear that the promise was to “all who are called”.

And because someone has a chimney fire that destroys a home, it is not wisdom to eliminate all the fireplaces when they were, in fact given for our benefit.

A prophecy by John the Baptist. It was  a powerful Baptist who proclaimed the Holy Ghost and that there is certainly a baptism of fire.

Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Those modern day teachers of the law have a form of Godliness, but are denying the POWER of God. These men who are lacking the passion and the power, write a book and add to the scriptures the fact that the “sign gifts” have ceased. Do you know how dangerous it is and how profane it is to add and speak that to scripture that NEVER SAYS IT? Do you know how dangerous it is to take away the words of the book of prophecy… or, the promises given to His children?

Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

And when we speak of God doing great and mighty miracles in our lives and how God still fills us with the Holy Ghost and causes us to speak in tongues… oh, here we go… some theologians start screaming “GLOSSILALIA! GLOSSILALIA!”. First of all… if you attack this gift, you have to teach from the entire book of scripture. Mark 16:17, Acts 10:46, Acts 19:6, I Corinthians chapters 12, 13 and 14, Isaiah 28:11, Romans 8:26, and Jude 1:20.

Read them. The various types and circumstances where tongues are given as a gift to all who have received Christ as their savior – This gift is for you if you are a believer.

Act 2:13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.Those who are speaking out against the moving of the gifts today are numbering themselves with the same spirit that invaded the streets on the day of Pentecost. It hasn’t gone away… that spirit is still prevalent.

The explanation is that these 120 people in the upper room started going amongst and speaking to the crowd and that’s why this special one time gift was given… so that they could understand and be converted to Christianity.   That is false and anyone that teaches that is not only teaching a false doctrine, but is ignorant.

Let’s explore a few given facts from the scriptures.

First of all, there was a celebration that day in Jerusalem called “Shavuot”. This was one of the three pilgrimage festivals, this one in particular commemorating the day that God gave the Torah to Israel. On the day that the law was celebrated, God poured out a work of grace. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (2 Corinth 3:6)

The 120 were shut in, fearing the wrath of the Jews who were persecuting those who were proclaiming Christ. They were not out among the crowd. They were, however speaking so loudly that you could hear them from the street.

They were not prophesying. They were PRAYING. All in the prayer language that God gave them. They were not talking to the crowd, they were talking to God and God was talking through them – and some in the street over heard them. (They were hearing praise and prayer for the wonderful works God had done. They weren’t receiving individual salvation messages in their own tongue. That message would be delivered later by PETER IN HEBREW.)

It was, and I won’t apologize for this to those who preach against the power of God for our time, a Pentecostal prayer meeting. It was like the prayer meetings they had in the Old Testament, but now each had a different language – God was sending them forth to the nations!

Ezr 3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

Ezra 3:13 So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. (An early form of intercessory prayer – with groanings that can’t be understood through the ears or with the logic of men – but only by the Spirit of God.)

The men that gathered outside of that upper room were LIVING THERE. Act 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

These men were not only living in Jerusalem, but they were “devout” men who were religious and who could judge between the profane and the genuine. They were JEWS. They came back to Jerusalem to live after the Diaspora… after the Jews became independent within the reign of Rome.

Although they were part of the generations of Jews dispersed to foreign countries during the period of captivity in the intertestamental period, they were now back in Jerusalem.

All never gave up their national heritage NOR their national tongue which was Hebrew.

Although some were born in captivity of such places as Parthian, and Mede, and Elam, Mesopotamia, Judaea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya Cyrene, Crete and Arabia, they were JEWS. Yes, being raised in a strange culture and even being born into a strange culture, they never were allowed to forsake their tradition or their national language.

They spoke Hebrew. They didn’t need to hear the foreign language of their birthplace to hear the gospel. What WAS strange was that those in the upper room were NOT all praying in a Hebrew tongue. The meaning here was that God was a God upon all the Jews – wherever they were, wherever they grew up.

They weren’t given an understanding of the different languages being spoken, nor did they understand what the message was for that they heard in their birth tongue – again – different from their heritage tongue. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? (vs 12)

Peter stood up and delivered the message that day… IN HEBREW and they all understood. Peter was interpreting what was happening. An interpretation to the tongues that God had given. Tongues of men and angels.

Tongues are a spiritual gift. All of these received that spiritual gift that day. This gift was promised to ALL who received and ALL who were called. Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

God did not stop calling people after the death of the disciples. To speak or teach this is complete and utter nonsense.

This is what happened on the celebration of Shavuot. When the day of Pentecost had FULLY come:

Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now… I hear the different denominational preachers proclaiming that we are in the last days. Although I have heard that all my life… “Jesus is coming soon”, I look around at the signs of the times (yeah… the signs of the times… the signs that Jesus proclaimed – and NO they did NOT cease with the death of the apostles) and know for sure… we are. There are earthquakes, nation rising against nation, wars and rumors of wars… and…. THE HOLY GHOST. In exactly which chapter of scripture do you find that ANY of the signs will cease?

NOT ONE.

We are in agreement then that these are the last days.

So, ok, Mr. Obvious, let’s go back to Acts and find out when the signs, wonders and miracles will occur. It doesn’t say, “and it shall come to pass until the last disciple dies”.

Act 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Act 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

(Those who are afar off… translated out to: PLACE, TIME, OR PURPOSE.)

Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Being Born again is a miracle. If miracles have ceased, then how can men be saved? The stripes that Christ bore DID NOT HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE. The blood that He shed DID NOT HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE.

You don’t have signs, wonders and miracles because first of all you don’t know what they are – including each breath you are given. You have taken for granted the wonderful works of God and are so busy trying to fight against the moving of God’s Spirit that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. IF you are truly a man or woman, called of God, on your face, weeping between the porch and the altar – then truly the Holy Ghost will have his way.

If you are not witnessing and being a part of signs, wonders, and miracles of the Bible… you have fallen prey to a false spirit of unbelief. This scripture explains WHY they don’t happen to you. WHY the don’t happen in your church.

Mat 13:58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

As for me and my house… as for me and my church… we will not only seek the Lord, but we will BELIEVE what God has told us. We WILL be baptized in the HOLY GHOST. We will BELIEVE. These signs SHALL follow us.

Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

God is my Jehovah Jireh… HE WILL PROVIDE HEALING FOR ME. He has never ceased being Jehovah Rapha… The God who heals me.

As for trying to prove the existence of God and defend Him when He wants to move outside of some religious and powerless box, I have been called to better things. I pray that God does whatever He needs to change your heart… and as for me… I must follow the advice of the Apostle Paul.

1Co 14:38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

Feel free to share this with anyone who is minimizing all that God is doing and wanting to do here in these last days.

The Dove Came in the fire.  Let Him renew that in you today:

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Do You Know “About” Him?

 Religion or Relationship?

I feel like a roller coaster that is just cresting the first chute!  I feel an excitement in my spirit as we are heading into spring! Tomorrow is Penetecost Sund and it always speaks of a new beginning and a going forth of the reason and logic our our yesterdays.

Today in prayer, the Lord has given me this scripture to share with you for your day:

Act 9:1-5  But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.  And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”  And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Notice something interesting about the punctuation in the text?   It has quotation marks.  That means someone said it.  Someone was speaking.

I am going to tell you right now… if the only time you know about Jesus speaking is in the LOGOS or in written form,  then you do not have a full Christian walk – nor do you have a full Christian relationship.   True Christianity is based upon taking the quotation marks out of what you hear from Jesus.   If He speaks to you personally, you will not need the quotation marks.

Too many sit in churches and hear the stories of Jesus.  In holiday seasons – those who know Him and those who know “about” Him will sit in churches all over the world.  Quotation marks and listening to His stories may give you a warm and fuzzy feeling… but to hear His voice will be life changing.  How about it?  Shouldn’t THIS be the year where all the stories you’ve heard become true?

Haven’t you listened to stories about Him in church and mockers outside of church telling you who He is and isn’t???  Are you your own person today?  Why don’t you judge for yourself.  Instead of listening to others tell you about Him,  how about going directly “TO” Him.  Instead of using mediators in your life… how about approaching Him face to face.   Tis the year for special seasons.

If I walked into a room and everyone was telling “Mark DeLap” stories, some would be biased pro… some would be biased con.  If you would come just to listen to the stories about me, I would be disappointed.  I want to address you.  I want you to address me.   I want to tell you and show you WHO I am.  I need that interaction with you…  so it wouldn’t feel like I was at a memorial service, but a gathering together. Get my side of the stories.

Churches that gather and sing “ABOUT” Christ rather than “TO” Him… Bible studies that tell stories about Him instead of sharing with Him there gathered in the midst of two or three.  Those are funeral services. Memorials.  As I said a few weeks back,  Jesus is ALIVE and we must not only treat Him as such, but we need to LIVE in that ascension!

I dare you to be as Saul this morning.  “Lord if you are real… then speak to me”.    Speak to my heart Lord Jesus and then let me ask… “WHO ARE YOU?”   Saul was as many in Christianity today.  They are religious, but have no relationship.  If he is your friend that sticks closer than a brother, then why continue to live your days as if he were the white elephant in the room.

Who are you Lord?

Talk to Him. Give Him audience. Step into His presence. Let Him change your name… from Saul to Paul.

The answer you hear could change your life… and take your “awakening” to a “celebration”.

I always think of the angels as Realtors appointed by the Holy Spirit wanting to show us property in heaven that would be JUST PERFECT for us. Affordable – and the owner is a very giving God.

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On the 19th of May… God wants you to know that He certainly feels the pain from the wounds you have felt.

How King David got through it….

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.

For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:

But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

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Today is the National Day of Prayer and Rededication

IF My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ¹⁵ Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. II Chronicles 7:14-15

It’s going to take THIS kind of prayer…

^“And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”  – Luke 22:40-44

Will we pray as Jesus prayed?

Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;  – Hebrews 5:7

Stray or Pray

Can You Pray From The Comfort Zone

Brokenness in His presence involves a type of prayer that is not readily accepted in the church any more. Not broken because there is great sin, or because you are in great peril, but because a natural man standing in the presence of a supernatural God will bring a breaking up of the fountains of the deep within us. It will cause us to be broken.

When the apostle John was in His presence, he couldn’t stand up…. and felt as if his flesh was dead. (Rev. 1:14) Also in that presence, John was broken in Rev. 5:4 when he proclaimed… “I wept much…”   So much for those who say that there are no tears in heaven. If there weren’t tears, what is God wiping from our eyes?

Here on earth I am convinced that God is wiping not tears, but cobwebs from our eyes. The church has lost the ability to cry. It’s gotten too busy. It’s gotten too comfortable. It’s grown away from a relationship into a type of religion that fits it’s busy new millennium schedule.

Some younger people in the church that have been birthed into a lukewarm religion actually speak out against this type of prayer. They call it emotionalism. The say it’s not needed. They say that it’s a new time and a new generation and God certainly wouldn’t have us take that kind of time in our busy lives. It’s shocking how the enemy has come and deluded the word to the point where we can no longer believe scripture.

Now… don’t get me wrong… tears CAN come from and through great trial and affliction, but it’s a means to an end. That end is to be in the presence of God. When we are afflicted, when we need, when we hurt, when we are in crisis, we gravitate toward God.

Exo 1:12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

Psa 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

I told you last week of my early beginnings in ministry, and how it was launched through much prayer and intercession. We were a part of the old Minneapolis Evangelistic Auditorium. Pastor Russell Olson did not request prayer and intercession…. He demanded it.   The prayer room was amazing. It was huge… about 50 ft long by 50 ft wide, and all the walls were painted to look as if you were in the middle of the Garden of Gethsemane.

As I said, if you came out of the prayer room looking like you were ready for Prom, Brother Olson would say… “you didn’t get through” and would send us back down until we got through. Getting through was a term for being in the presence of God and being broken. Oh, the sounds were incredible coming from that basement sanctuary on 14^th and Nicollet.   People crying out to God. People coming out of there with red eyes, mussed hair, disheveled clothing. It looked like they had come out of a battle. And they did. There were people there that did battle in the realms of the supernatural.

We have to explain here in this generation what was “normal” to us back then. We knew the importance of being broken in His presence. We knew that lives depended upon it. We knew that God’s presence came in the midst of it. Today the churches are enamored with eating chili-dogs because they have never tasted steak.   What happened?

I got an insight to this while in prayer this morning. I went back in my mind and revisited the prayer room in Minneapolis. It was the place that God first spoke the name “Streetfire” to me. It was the place where I had first learned to weep until I had no more power to weep.

And in that place I was surrounded with old “pillar” saints – two of which came out of the Azusa revival.   Although they looked frail and old, their prayers were powerful and full of the thunder of tongues and I was amazed that THAT kind of noise could come out of those sweet little bodies.

When they sensed that I was having a hard time in the battle or breaking through into intercession, they would quietly make their way over to where I was laying on my face. As they began to pray, quietly at first, so as not to give me a sudden heart attack… and to reassure me that God had called in the reserves to help me.   Within a short time, they seemed as loud as freight trains next to me and my body would shake, and I would be ushered into the presence of God where I would weep and pray in the Spirit uncontrollably with the shaking.

Revivals come and go. Exciting when they come upon a group of saints, and sad when you feel that glory cloud moving on somewhere else. The epitaph of Azusa is recorded as follows: “By 1913, the revival at Azusa Street had lost momentum, and by 1915 most of the media attention and crowds had left. Seymour remained there with his wife, Jennie, for the rest of their lives as pastors of the small African American congregation, though he often made short trips to help establish other smaller revivals later in life. After Seymour died of a heart attack on September 28, 1922, Jennie led the church until 1931, when the congregation lost the building.”

I asked one of those precious saints why revival had ended at Azusa and she said with a sorrow in her voice, she said, “oh, you know… people just kinda went on with their lives and they let other things take the place of their prayers.”

These precious saints at Azusa never saw another revival like it. As one who has been in the middle of a God-ordained revival, I too grow sad when I think of it and how it ended way too soon; and I haven’t seen anything like it since.   It wasn’t that God didn’t want to stay – but it was the people who moved on and away from that closeness. And I am a part of that people that learned how to put God on a back burner.

When revival ends… it’s because Christians no longer need. Those who were instructed to pray are falling asleep, warm and comfortable and thinking that they have all of God that they need.

It reminds me of a rebuke to the church in Revelation 3: “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

I think of the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane the night that Jesus was taken. Jesus had come and implored them to pray, but eventually after Christ Himself witnessed that they had not realized the need any more to pray, He left them.   One of the scriptures that I think should chill the church to the bone is found both recorded by Matthew and Mark: Mat 26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Here were men that had been in extreme revival and had witnessed massive healings, deliverances, miracles.   They had seen it all. They had attained to “disciple” status and walked with the King. Certainly they had earned some “me time”. Certainly they deserved some “down time”.

As they took for granted that great gift of the Holy Ghost… as they took for granted the need to be in the Father’s presence… they grew lax in their calling.   I mean… they HAD ATTAINED. They learned how to pray! So, they could pretty much do it any time they wanted and they had plenty of time, so if they missed a day, big deal… it was in the cupboard if they needed it.

It’s hard to walk away from prayer for a day when prayer has been your daily lifestyle. The hardest day to go through is that first day when you justify why you need some time off. After that, it gets easier and you walk faster away from the labor. Pretty soon your creature comforts swallow the entire notion of needing to pray.

You no longer want to think about other lives in the balance when you quit. You no longer want to think about your children you’ve been covering. It is a very selfish spirit that comes to justify your run from the throne and your descent from the call. It is a very seducing spirit. It makes you promise God that you will find time later… and in that later time, has other plans for you.

And revival tarries as we are lulled to sleep by a seducing spirit that convinces you that God loves you anyway and He fully understands and excuses you from the discipline of prayer…. Much less the pressing in to brokenness.

Can we pray when we have everything we need? Can we pray effectively from the comfort zone? Can we pray when our secular world has worn us out?

2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,

Do you not feel this? Can you not look around at the churches lounging in the manmade lukewarm swimming pools? If you are falling away… you are ushering in “that day”… the day of the coming of the Lord.

He comes to us today as He did in Gethsemane and they took Him for granted. Their spirit was willing but their flesh was weak.

And just as He did in Gethsemane… He will, with no time left say to this sleeping church… “Sleep on now. Take your rest”.   The church of Jesus Christ that is still alive and well and on fire NEEDS NOT to Take their rest… but they need to take their stand.

I can’t explain to you how important it is to be one that is found broken in His presence every day. Prayer should not be a once a week work… but a lifestyle that you are dedicated to, in order to prove your calling.

2Pe 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

You may think that I am on a tangent… you may think that I have gone overboard in this area. But you need to realize that I am responsible to do everything in my power to get you to God. Not to build a church. Not to lift up a man or a ministry. Not to build a kingdom.

I simply need to get you to God. I simply need to get you into His presence because a moment in His presence can do more than all the moments I could give you.

Simply. A task that is overwhelming in a society that no longer calls for tears.

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“Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” – Psalm 37:4   And … YOU LORD are the desire of my heart. Let me get closer to you today.

What We Don’t See

There are more with us…

At times we may look and feel overwhelmed, but just recently, I remembered a  dream that reminded me that there was indeed a battle and though it looked like we were outnumbered, outmanned and out maneuvered,  we have nothing to fear IF we look with spiritual eyes.

2Ki 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.

And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

2Ki 6:16 And he answered, Fear not:

for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

2Ki 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Now… our spirit can see.  It has eyes, a mouth, ears, sensory touch, sensory discernment, and so much more.   If we can allow our spirits to control our movements,  we would be amazed at what we see God doing around us.

The first key in an overwhelming situation is to eliminate the fear.  In other words, shut down the function of the natural man.

You then you have to believe what God says and what you can’t see with natural eyes.  (Like the scripture that tells you that He is an ever present help)

The next step in the grand parade of spiritual warfare is prayer!  You have to make yourself available to pray.  It helps shut down the natural man and bring to life the spiritual man.  That same spirit that raised Christ from the dead… DWELLS IN YOU! (Romans 8:11)

Finally you need to believe in what God has shown you… and most important – you must not only speak about what you’ve seen,  but stand upon it when you return to the natural realm!  You see,  you can’t have visions and dreams from the Lord and then go to battle forgetting what you’ve seen and heard.  (“Yeah, I know what I’ve seen, but that was then and this is now and I can only see the problem”  –  PUUUHHHHHLLLLEEEEEAAASSSEEE!)   You can’t fight a supernatural battle with a natural outlook.

No matter what you are being overwhelmed with today…  follow the steps I’ve outlined and stand firm in the battle.

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Get up, get dressed and get ready for the battle.

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Just because you lose a battle doesn’t mean you lost the war. It doesn’t give you license to feel sorry for yourself; throw your arms in the air and give up. There is a real enemy out there and to find victory, you must find a supernatural presence to fight in this war.

You may have had a string of losses. It doesn’t matter. HE is an ever-present help.

From the sixth chapter of Ephesians today… a familiar passage of scripture:

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

^{Colossians 1:21} And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled

He has not only identified the enemy… but where he has set up an encampment for battle. Every day we battle it is an “evil day.”  And when we get beat – it is insult to injury.

I don’t care what the spirit of addition has in his bag of tricks… pride, anger, lust…

YOU CANNOT FIGHT HIM IN THE NATURAL REALM.

You can scream at him… swear at him… threaten him; it will make the enemy laugh as he takes an upper hand.

One thing to start with today. Praise. Worship. Thanksgiving.  Then follow that up with a right hook from the Holy Ghost.

Pray IN the Holy Ghost. Jude 1:20 – But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. – Romans 8:26

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Today was a good day in prayer. I felt a deeper intercessory and travail than I have for years. It is time to fight for your soul.  I was listening to the following prophetic worship with Jason Upton. Here are som highlights from a session that just completely wrecked me.

“He holds us with His heart. He’s a God that sees right where we are…”

“Sleep when He sleeps… (the boat in the storm) Arise when He arises. Pray when He prays.”

“You can believe He can raise dead bodies, but you can’t trust when everything begins to fall apart in your life – so He can make all things new.” So He can put you back on a potter’s wheel and heal the scars and the cracks.  Let it crack… let it break before Him.

“Change comes when we have enough confidence to let everything fall apart. Come into the only safe place when that happens… at the throne of grace to help in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16…. please read it – again and again.)

“We gotta let go. If He’s big enough to raise the dead, to heal the sick… why won’t you let Him be big enough to deal with your running or your failure.”

Let Him take that crutch of religion and replace it with real honest-to-goodness relationship. The kind where you come into His presence and hold you until the storm passes.

Here is that video. Keep it. Listen to it. And as many times as you listen… still you will find something new in it. Something new from the Holy Spirit. 

Do you want the peace you lack? Do you want to eliminate worry? Do you want real joy? Do you want to eliminate lonliness? Do you want to feel loved? Aren’t you hungry for a fresh crop of ripe fruit?

Galations 5:22-23 – ” ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

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Please go today to view our newest page: “The Well Where He Found Me.”

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It is more important than you know to get to Him TODAY… as quickly as you can.  

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Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I wanted to take a moment to honor my wife and as a strong woman of God. If you haven’t seen her lately, she’s changed and become empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. She is my ultimate picture of scripture come to life in Psam 31:10-31. And also to fulfill scripture, from Proverbs 31:28… “her husband praises her.” And… it is a good thing when a husband loves and praises God for his wife. One of the most powerful “agreements of two” as created by God.  It’s why the enemy hates marriage so much. We are better together and can accomplish so much for His glory. She is a man’s helper chosen to fit by his side. Thecia told me one time that she wanted me to learn a song by Ronan Keating entitled – “When You Say Nothing At All.” So… this is for you today and for always.

 

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Let the weak say I am strong

This morning I had a line from a song that came from a scripture…

 “… if I can see it, I can do it.”    Many times, even the secular comes from an influence of God’s hand and God’s word.

It is easy to say that God is doing great things when we can see the things He’s doing.  During the deliverance from captivity in around 539 BC, we see it written in the Psalm 126:1-3: When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

Today as we move farther and farther away from the literal cross and closer and closer to a literal eternity, the enemy really doesn’t want us to be able to tap into the spirit.  It must be a catch 22 for him.  He wants to be noticed and glorified, but at the same time, he doesn’t.   His glory comes through the flesh of man and through the fall of man.

As time has passed and science and logic have come to the forefront, there is a majority of people in the world who have a hard time believing in a supernatural realm.  They fail to realize that there are two worlds coinciding and that very soon these two worlds shall collide.

Because we are a people that are governed by our five senses and have learned to be comfortable with those senses, we have a sense of accomplishment in them.  We feel no need to go outside our realm…  until… a crisis arises which we cannot understand, nor do we have any answers for.  It is a crisis where our senses are keen to the problem, but there is no comfort from anything we are equipped with.

These limited senses do not have the capability of seeing into or believing into the future.  What have done, is mastered the art of hindsight.  We can see where God has been, how He’s worked, miracles that have occurred, things have been accomplished with no logic or reasoning – and when all reason and logic have been exhausted, then and only then do we

spout a statement like… “Maybe there really is a God”.

The children of Israel were standing before an impossible and angry sea in the middle of a dark night.  The cloud that was before them removed itself and went behind them as a protection from their past which was even then at the door.

I am very sure that those people who had seen miracle after miracle were saying, “yeah, I know what God did before, but what about this time?”  There it is.  The failure to walk in a supernatural realm until the miracle occurs.

Before the miracle occurs… be careful what comes from your mouth.

There was not one person standing before that sea proclaiming that they were going to go through it and not get their feet wet.  They were a huddled mass of wet mess – fearing for their lives and crying into the night air.

Suddenly Moses stretched forth his hand.  His bony old natural blood-filled hand over the sea.  At least, that’s what everyone saw.  But his hand, when moved by the word of God caused each and every one to move into a supernatural realm.

And they walked in the midst of a miracle.  Trouble on every side in the form of angry waves perhaps some 60 to 70 feet high. (that much water displaced for 6 million people had to stack at least that high) I don’t believe the Bible records one word from one of those millions of Jews.  Not one word of praise. Not one word of worship.  Silence.

And then… as the last Jew was coming to step into the land of Midian, the dawn broke and it was written: Exo 14:24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians.

They watched in the midst of silence as God replaced the water.  One thing you must know is that the enemy cannot walk in the midst of your miracle!

And what was really revealing to me happened not as this frightened band of senseless people who only relied upon their five senses walked through their silence, but what happened afterward.

In the 15^th chapter of Exodus and the first verse… look at the first word of the first verse.  The word is: “THEN”.   Then and only then did they begin to sing and praise and worship.  Oh, they had a Pentecostal praise gathering.  Dancing.  Singing. Telling of how God “had” triumphed gloriously. They said in the second verse… “The Lord IS my strength and song…”

Where was that dance in Egypt?  Where was that song during the long night of deliverance?  Where was that proclamation of God being called “LORD” as they crossed on to foreign soil?

Oh, we will cheer God on after the fact, but what about right now – when you are still in Egypt?  What about right now when you are in the longest walk of your life through a darkness that seems to span eternity?  What about the ability to jump your five senses and see into the five senses of the Spirit realm?  What about the ability to call those things which are not… as though they were?

We can jump all over those poor Israelites for not cheering in the midst of the miracle, but look in the mirror and see that we are related.  We have their eyes of fear.  We have their mouths of unbelief.  We have their hands that hang down.  We have their mouths that only taste the bitter.  We only hear the clanking of enemy armor.

Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickened the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Faith is still the substance of things HOPED FOR and the evidence of things NOT SEEN. (Hebrews 11:1)

Blessed are they who can believe before the miracle… 

in the midst of the miracle… and after the miracle.

(yes, it is important to believe AFTER the miracle – because there are those who attribute it to a logical circumstance)

Jesus, after He ascended to Heaven and spilled His blood on the mercy seat came back to let his disciples know that “the coast was clear”.   He wanted to rejoice with them that salvation had been secured and that one had crossed over on dry ground to Heaven… making a way for all others including them.

How His heart must have broken when He returned, just as He said, and Thomas was still speaking out of his five natural senses… “Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  (John 20:25)

Thomas did eventually believe.  He eventually got to the other side of his sea and saw the enemy destroyed.  He eventually believed it was true.  But not because of faith.  Not because of his ability to walk in the Spirit.

Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Yes, we can jump all over Thomas, but again… look in the mirror…

many of us are related to him too.

We are like the Jews in Psalm 126 – we rejoice after the deliverance. “Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing.”

I believe that God is looking for someone to bless.  Someone who will stand on the shores of their Egypt with the past and the darkness threatening them… who will be dancing… who will be singing…  who will be proclaiming WHO GOD IS.

God is working.  Whether you see Him or not.  Whether you see evidence or not.  He’s working and He is worthy of praise.  I know that I use this scripture many times,

but again, we must be people who can dance before the ark gets home. 

We must be able to sing from inside the prison. 

And we must be able to proclaim in the darkness that He is the Light.

There are five natural senses.  There are five books in the Pentateuch.  I believe it is no coincidence that God is telling us that we can escape our five senses that hold us captive and prevent us from the freedom we can experience in the parallel realm.

Hab 3:15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses,

through the heap of great waters.

Hab 3:16 When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops.

Hab 3:17 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

Hab 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.  Psalm 18:2

{~}

(A BLAST FROM THE PAST – Concerning GRACE… sometimes an uncomfortable place)

{~}

The Seventh Man at the Well

From broken covenant to the true Bridegroom, a pattern hidden in plain sight

By Lisa Bearinger – May, 2026

This morning, I was chatting with a dear friend, as we do every Friday. We have a standing Friday morning appointment, and included in that time is always a biblical reading of some kind. Currently, we are in John chapter 4, beginning around verse 16.

As we read through the passage, something began to stand out to me, and that was the presence of numbers woven into the text.

Now, I am not someone who focuses on numerology. However, I am someone who understands that there is nothing coincidental in the Word of God. Numbers, pictures, idioms, and patterns are all things our Father uses to draw our attention. When you begin to see this, you realize that there is nothing random in His story. There are no accidents.

The Word of God is powerful. It is sharper than any two edged sword, dividing between flesh and spirit. And so, when something stands out, it is worth pausing and asking why.

I want to share with you what we saw.

In the middle of John chapter 4, beginning in verse 16, we enter the account of the Samaritan woman. We step into the conversation already in progress. Messiah has already begun speaking with her. But what begins to unfold is the revelation of her life, specifically the number of men she has been joined to.

She has had five husbands, and the man she is now with is not her husband.

What struck me was the number six.

In my own journey and study, the number six consistently points to man, human effort, human striving, human incompleteness. And here we find a woman who has lived in that pattern. Broken covenant, mixture, idolatry, and searching, always searching, but never fulfilled.

At this point in the conversation, she is already surprised. She recognizes that Messiah is a Jew, and her response reflects that awareness. It is possible that something in His appearance identified Him, perhaps His garments, such as a tallit or tzitzit, which were visible markers of a Jewish man. Whether or not that detail is necessary to the text, what is clear is this. She knows He is different, and she is already questioning why He is speaking to her at all.

So Messiah says to the Samaritan woman, If you knew who was speaking to you, you would ask water of Him.

It is a complete reversal of everything she has experienced.

He is not asking anything of her. He is not requiring her to behave a certain way. There is nothing limiting her ability to speak freely and openly with Him. And it is such a beautiful picture when you pause and recognize what is happening.

She has just moved from six men to a seventh.

To a true Bridegroom who is standing in front of her.

As a result of their conversation, the Samaritan woman leaves her water jar, her pitcher, her bucket, whatever it may have been, and she runs back to her village. She goes straight to the men and says, Come and meet a man who has told me everything about my life.

And the Samaritans come out to Him, and they compel Him to stay with them.

Now here is another number.

It says that He stays with them for two days.

Again, my mind immediately goes to the book of Hosea, where Israel is described as being in mixture, idolatrous. We see this in the picture of Gomer, the harlot whom Hosea takes as a wife, and who continues to run after her lovers, chasing after what she believes are her pleasant things, playing the harlot again and again, until one day she is brought back and receives Hosea’s love.

It is a picture of Messiah, after divorce, able to reunite once again with His bride.

And the scripture that comes to mind is this.

After two days He will revive us. On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.

So when you listen carefully, the Samaritans, who are intermarried, intermingled, and despised by brother Judah, are in this moment being encountered by the Bridegroom Himself. The One who has come to ransom both Jew and Gentile.

Hosea also tells us that there would be such intermingling among the nations that identity itself would be lost. You will no longer know who you are.

And yet here, something remarkable happens.

As He speaks to the Samaritan woman, she recognizes Him.

She knows that He is the Messiah, the Christ.

A Gentile woman recognizes Him.

She runs and calls her village, and they too come, and they recognize Him as the Messiah, as the Christ.

You know, the Gospel of John is probably my favorite gospel.

As we continued reading in chapter 4, even more numbers began to emerge.

The next thing we encounter is a nobleman, likely a Jew, because Messiah responds to him with something along these lines. Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.

And yet, after the exchange, Messiah simply says to him, Go your way. Your son lives.

And the nobleman goes.

He leaves by faith, without needing to see a sign, without needing to witness the miracle with his own eyes. He believes the word that was spoken to him.

And that, in itself, is a picture of how we are called to live, by the Word of God, walking by faith.

This is the second miracle in Galilee. The first was in Cana, where water was turned to wine. Now we see this one.

And again, a number appears.

We are told that the boy was healed in the seventh hour.

I would love to spend more time over the next few days expounding on these things. But more than anything, I want to share this with you.

If we will slow down, if we will recognize that nothing in the Word of God is there by coincidence, and if we will meditate, we begin to see patterns, connections, and threads that weave together a much greater story.

It truly took my breath away today.

I have always believed that the Samaritan woman is a picture of the bride in need of restoration, a bride who broke covenant, never the Bridegroom.

And yet, in His faithfulness, the Bridegroom appears and calls her back.

And what moves my heart so deeply is this.

She responds immediately.

And as we have walked in this restoration, we have come to understand something difficult. Brother Judah has not always been able to recognize us or embrace what we are seeing.

Because even though many have recognized Messiah, not all have embraced restoration, a true return to Him and to His commandments.

So when brother Judah looks at us, at we who are like the Samaritans or the Gentiles, and hears a Torahless gospel, they cannot hear us.

There is a disconnect.

And later, we even see that the Samaritans resist going to Jerusalem. They want Messiah to remain with them. But He sets His face like flint toward Jerusalem.

And we remember what He said to the Samaritan woman.

You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.

That is a profound and weighty statement.

But equally profound is this.

The hour is coming when you will neither worship the Father on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, but the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Even so, His Torah is eternal. His Word is life.

Come home, prodigals.

Taste and see that He is good.

Every word He has spoken is more precious than silver or gold and sweeter than honey.

Taste and see, Yahweh is good.

Selah

{~}

LOOTING THE MERCY SEAT (or “DON’T wear my old T-shirts.”)

One morning I was awoken out of a dead sleep and I heard the voice of God telling me… “My church is wearing bloody garments. They have looted the mercy seat. They are heaping condemnation upon their own hearts and they are forsaking their own mercy.”

I was speechless.  To make a long story short, He explained and I do my best to explain it to you.

“Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? (Who does he think he is?) Is this not the carpenter’s son? (We know who he is and what he’s done.) Where then did THIS Man get all these things?” And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.” -paraphrased from a writer named Matthew.

You’ve changed. You are not that person you used be. You are certainly not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, nor do you claim to be, but you finally have the courage to go forward and start over. Perhaps you’ve fallen or failed more than just a few times… but remember that the blood COVERS it all. And to the gallery of critics, LOVE covers a multitude of sins.

And just about the time that you change your season, your purpose and your direction where you finally begin to move forward, mark it down, someone will come out of the crowd from your past who wants to “educate” everyone about who you are based on who you used to be, what you’ve done and how many times you’ve done it.

All to stop you from doing what you are supposed to be doing now… being with who you are supposed to be with now… working where you need to be working now….

When someone says “I want to know all about you.” Be careful what you divulge. I mean, Romans 14:22 – If you have faith… have it to yourself before God. 

Some things are meant to be buried in a mercy seat under a blood covering. Which means bringing it out and revealing it – BY ANYONE is not contestible. Who are you to dig that garment out and wear it again like a winter coat when the weather grows cold or you are bored for a new outfit?

And who is that one who pops out of the crowd in a moment of your new-found favor and success… carrying that garment that was covered in blood, forgiven and buried – shrieking to the crowd, “LOOK WHAT I FOUND!”

Don’t ask me about sins covered by blood. I refuse to loot the mercy seat. If God forgets, why should ANYONE bring it to remembrance? You are welcome to judge me as I am today, and as to who I am with you now. But sorry, my yesterday is off limits. Micah 7:19

“Oh my brother, he was in prison for…” “Oh my sister do you know how many divorces she has…” “Oh that man, you know what I heard about him…” “Oh that woman, I was there when she hurt that man…” “He has such a spirit of anger…” “She has a violent temper…” “He is a drunk…”

Stop. Just… STOP.

You can either choose to forgive or remit their sins, but what you are NOT, is the court of heaven appointed historian. (John 20:23 – If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained by you.”) Love COVERS a multitude of sins. It doesn’t “UNCOVER” them – especially when they are stained with blood.

And… do you realize what “remitting their sins” means? It means you wear them. You retain them. You don’t make THEM retain them. Go ahead and call a recovering alcoholic a drunk. You just put on the T-shirt proclaiming – “I am a drunk.” And what’s worse, if you are proclaiming it – it is not covered in your life… and you will pay the price for someone else’s sin simply because you CHOOSE to retain it.

Don’t ask me how many times I’ve lied. How many times I’ve been married (or divorced). How many times I abandoned someone. How many times I’ve lost my temper. How many times I’ve screamed in anger. How many times I’ve gossiped. How many times I’ve passed out on a sidewalk drunk out of my mind.

You will taint our friendship with that. Human nature has a hard time forgetting or storing things just in case you need ammunition to use against me someday.

You will make determinations about us based on what is dead and gone. Bad Choice. Based upon what someone else said. (A lazy choice) Be mature enough to make up your own mind and trust your own heart… and make your own determinations. And if you really want the truth, GO TO GOD and hear what he thinks of his redeemed.

Well… what if you want to bring it up for perspective? That’s a lie. You can tell someone you’ve been through a fire without describing it. They don’t need it described; they are being burned by it.

You don’t have to prove to me how badly you’ve been hurt to make me want to protect you. If I love you, I will stand guard at that burial site where your hurts and self-inflicted wounds were covered. I will not let anyone unbury those things.

When that one pops his head out of the crowd to try to educate everyone, I promise to shut him up. I’ve got your back. I’ll stand guard over your honor. I’ll remind you to keep your eyes forward. I’ll love you for who you are to me today… not who you were to someone else in your yesterday.

Watch your tongues. Are you looting the mercy seat trying to educate someone about someone else? How do you know if perhaps they have changed? How do you know if their past has been buried and forgotten by God Himself? Who are you and what have you appointed yourself to do?

If we would lift up rather than tear down. If we would look forward to our own futures instead of focusing on someone else’s past, we would be a healthier people.

{~}

Jesus said in Matthew 21:13 – And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

It’s a day when our nation is banding together and the mighty army of God is going to proclaim this year II Chronicles 7:13-15

¹³ When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, ¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ¹⁵ Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.

Now… there is so much more promise AND warning in this chapter. It carries great weight because God is speaking directly. When we grew up and your brother came to you as a “go-between” and told you… “Dad said…” it could have lost something in the translation, but when you looked up and Dad was standing there… you could take that direct word to the bank (or to the woodshed – depending on the message.)

So… Here is what came AFTER that 15th verse: From Dad directly.

¹⁶ For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. ¹⁷ As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, ¹⁸ then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

¹⁹ “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, ²⁰ then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have ^[g]sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

²¹ “And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ ²² Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

2026delap

From Scarlet to Snow

I came across a scripture from the Old Testament that promised and assured salvation. A loving God was speaking to one of his prophets that he loved. It was Isaiah.

But how could salvation be promised in the OT? To fully understand that, we must remember that He is not “I was” but is “I am.”

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18.

I think that there is a song brewing.

God is in the “reasoning” together when we are frustrated with sin. It is the thing that most Christians hate worse than anything – not being able to get the victory over it. He puts us in a place of grace and then tells us that His grace is sufficient until the process of deliverance has been accomplished.

And when we let Him faithfully complete that thing that he began in us, we yield with patience to process. We rest in the soft and quiet words of the “end of the story” which is simply and lovingly…

From scarlett to snow.

So… as for me as unperfect as unperfect can be … still in some “construction areas,” I wait inside the belly of that whale of Grace.

2026delap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IhUekpDNPo&list=RD0IhUekpDNPo&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HWTVk1_IiE

 

Is God Changing Your Season Without Notice or Reason?

How is your heart today? I know that in the natural, the weather is always changing in North Carolina. I know that God can change your “spiritual weather”.   Whatever it is that is troubling you today – God is fully awake and fully aware.

Psa 121:4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

I know that there are times when we want to question whether He understands or sees what we are going through, but rest assured – He can bring a warm rain in the midst of your winter… and He can change your seasons.

Dan 2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

The problem in any situation are thoughts of fear. The “what if” and the “what about” and the “what will happen” and the “what up”. They rob us of the peace that “surpasses” our own understanding. You see… it’s not enough to have you walk through something – we are humanity that needs to know why, for what reason, what is happening, what is going to happen.

Sometimes we need to be content to just keep walking when He has commanded us to go forward. WITHOUT His explanation or sharing with you the master plan or the architectural drawings.   That is walking by faith and not by sight.

Most of us though, will be willing to do what He’s planned for us ONLY if He tells us “why” and “when” and “how” and “who” and “what”.   That is where we fall short. That is where we stop short of our destiny and His desire. Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Many are willing, but won’t be obedient without a reason and unless they get some answers.

Do you know what? Sometimes there just simply ARE no answers.  And the reasons remain hidden in God. Why? There you go again with the questions… lol.

Exo 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

Here were the children of Israel – their backs against a wall. In a very precarious position as they were in the middle of a God ordained exodus from their yesterdays.   In Egypt they had schedules, they had organization, they knew why they were going to do what they were going to do. They were slaves, but at least they knew the reasons and the purposes.

Now it was different. God was teaching them something new. Walking without knowing why. Going without knowing where. Simple obedience. Without that as a foundational cornerstone, there would be no need to build the rest of the building.

God told Moses to tell the people to go without shining a light on the plan. Because Moses himself didn’t KNOW the plan.   And by faith… he went. And by faith… they followed.

These were not just mindless lemmings. They were children of God who could hear God just as clearly as Moses. I believe they had discernment. I believe that they too heard that voice of God telling them to “GO FORWARD”.

In the situation of your life right now… in the situations of my life right now as a leader – the prudent thing is to hearken diligently to the Lord. To listen carefully for His voice. To walk when He says to walk. To leave when He says to leave. To stop when He says to stop. To pray when He says to pray.   ALL without having to have a reason.

Do you know why I don’t have all the answers? Because He hasn’t given them to me. Do you know why we are all going through what we are going through right now? If you say “yes” – then good for you… because I don’t.

You may have been going through a dark night by faith. Just as some were angry with Moses because he didn’t have all the answers and all the reasons and all the purposes… some may have gotten angry with you.

Refuse to panic as Moses did and tell the people to “STAND STILL AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD”.   As he did that, he was rebuked by the Lord. What made sense to tell the children of Israel, didn’t make sense with God’s plan.   And God stepped in and said… “GO FORWARD”.

We are going forward without much light on this journey.   What we do have, though – is a promised land. A destination. An assurance that however we get there… as long as we’re obedient, we WILL get there.

And I would caution you – if you are offended that I don’t have the insight or the answers, then you are NOT seeking the Lord. If you are not happy with the direction we are heading, then again… SEEK THE LORD. Listen for His voice.   If He is telling you to move on with us – then move. If He is telling you to turn back, then turn back. If He is telling to you go somewhere else, then by all means…. Go somewhere else.

Abraham was another Patriarch that had to learn to walk by faith, and I assume that is what God is trying to teach me at this point in my life. To refine my faith, to test me to see if I am not just willing, but obedient.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Abraham WENT. Not knowing where he was going! Not knowing WHY he was going. He simply… went.

The promises get me through and the promises will see me through. I know that if I stay broken before the Lord and remain with a heart of humility – I will be able to go without fear.   He gives us the end of the story. He gives us a “book of Revelation” for whatever situation we are going through.

How we get through the journey to the end, can at times, be a mystery. Suffice to say, we need to be content to know that HE WILL GET US THROUGH…. Even without knowing how He’s going to do it… or why He’s doing it the way He is.

Psa 34:18-19 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

The last chapter of any book I go through is found in Psalm 34:19…   The last personal line of any story I walk through is: THE LORD DELIVERETH “MARK” OUT OF THEM ALL.

The bottom line to this current book of our Bible – we are His. We are walking through a great darkness. He has told us to keep walking and keep pressing in.   He has told us to go forward.   If He has told YOU something contrary to what He’s told me…. Then perhaps it is time that we part ways.

And finally… one last Patriarch… Joshua drew a line in the sand and told the people… “make your choice”.   If what God has told me to do is not in line with what you want to do… then make YOUR choice.   Joshua didn’t FORCE anyone to follow him or stay with him or worship as He worshipped. He told them… seek the Lord and make your choice.

When I have direction… I will let you in on it. When I have answers… I will let you know what they are. I will not, however make up something just because you are afraid of the journey. As God shares with me and He releases me to speak… rest assured – I will speak. Joshua finished with a strong statement… “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15.

He may be changing your season. He may be bringing rain in the middle of your unusual weather patterns. He may be changing your direction.   And…. He may not give you His reason for doing so.

 Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.

 

Worship with me today:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWZBTBeOpFs

 

********

Meekness and Weakness

The lion of Judah. The lamb of God. Notice that you will never see the possession change. It can not be found… The lion of God or the lamb of Judah.   Now, THIS has great significance in the story of redeemed creation.

Let’s review this a bit further. In the Old Testament, and the first time we see Christ as a lion is found coming forth from the mouth of the prophet Hosea when he is speaking a prophecy of the end times. It appears in the 5^th chapter – truly a book of grace. It speaks of a church and of a world who want to retain their sin and at the same time, retain their religion. A church that worships on Sunday and sins on Monday. (Hos 5:6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.) It is to this specific group that Christ appears as the lion.   And it speaks of the lion who departs as the trumpet sounds (Hos 5:8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin).

Hos 5:14 For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.

The above scripture is in direct reference to a catching away. It also then speaks of Christ as the lion in the Old Testament even though it is referring to a New Testament occurrence. You see, Christ sat on the throne with His Father from the foundations of the earth. He always was the lion of the tribe of Judah. The head of all worship – both receiving and the institution of offering.

He was seated upon His throne as the Lion when the following events occurred on the actual timeline of history:

Luk 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, and Luk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Jesus looked on with His Father from Heaven as their messenger delivered “word”.   Ah… a messenger delivering “word” as deity watches from a distance. That gives me chills.

These were recordings of actual historic events in Heaven and in earth. I want you to see carefully the next moments in the timeline…

Luk 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luk 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

Mary agreed to the purpose of her life. Agreement, however and willingness are not enough. She “arose” and “went” into a high place QUICKLY. A place of Judah (praise).   A place of worship.   A place where that “lion” of Judah received all the honor, all the glory and all of the praise. And in that place as the lion was receiving the worship from a lowly but chosen handmaiden, HE arose and went quickly to meet her in her very heart of hearts and literally to the womb that would hold redemption.

As she went into Judah… Judah came into her.

And in an instant… in a moment – can you see on that timeline of Heaven, the Father turning His head from the events of the earth to the throne of His son. And His Judah was gone. The throne for the first time… ever, was empty. The scepter and the crown of the lion were lying there motionless on the seat.

Christ laid down His lion to become The Lamb.

It was prophesied through another historical story in Genesis:   Gen 22:7-8 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

He came to earth and at his appearing, He wore the garments of a lamb: Luk 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Articles on Roman clothing and cloth towels state: “Typically, Roman garments and cloth were made of wool. Only the affluent would have garments of linen.”   Christ was wrapped in wool cloth. The garment of a lamb.

John the Baptist recognized Jesus as a lamb: Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

As He was preparing to leave this world and before His “departing” (Hos 5:15 I will go and return to my place) He was wearing the garments of a lamb and teaching His disciples that His entire life was purposed in the laying down of His Lion and taking up His lamb.

Joh 13:4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, (a Roman cloth most likely made of soft wool) and girded himself.

Joh 13:12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

Joh 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

In the end He was instructing them concerning their garments, their purpose and their character.

It is so intense to see that Jesus didn’t have to empty the armory of Heaven to defeat the enemy. He didn’t need to come to earth with guns blazing and all the power at His disposal. 1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men; (created beings… including angels).

The weakness of God. Now we know that there is no weakness in God… but this means – “the very least amount of energy and power that God could exercise.”   Jesus was teaching us this very valuable lesson in displacing and defeating the enemy.   It is not in our own strength or in the strength or presence of ten thousand angels or in the termination with extreme prejudice.

The enemy was not defeated by the Lion, but by the lamb.   The Apostle Paul said, “when I am weak, then am I strong.” II Corinth. 12:10.   And Jesus, perhaps in His most profound illustrated sermon, told them, “you should do as I have done to you.”

In the coming weeks I am going to be launching forth with some study and teaching on “weakness and meekness” to displace an immoveable foe. Together we will explore ways to get “us” out of the way… to remove ourselves from thrones of our own power… to lay down our lion in order to pick up our lamb.

Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

And… one last look today at the end of the book.

In the book of Revelation after Christ’s ascension we see that He once again takes the crown and scepter and majesty and power of the Lion. The Lion had prevailed even in the midst of taking on the office and purpose of a lamb.

Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And I find it interesting that in verse 5 He is seen by the elders as a Lion, but in the 6^th verse, John who was a part of that “tribe” would ever see Him as The Lamb. And from that point forward, Christ in the book of Revelation would no more be referred to as a Lion, but would be recorded 28 more times as “The Lamb”.

Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

And who are we?

Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

Lambs are not married (or joined to) lions.   They are with lambs.

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