Bless 'Em Jesus

Romans 12:14-18 (ESV)  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

As the long wand swirled the brush around the toilet bowl, I was lost in deep thought. The cleaner and water mixing together like a soup being stirred on the stove. I was stewing. Literally on the inside, the audacity of the enemy rising up within me. Not the true enemy of our soul, but a perceived enemy in the form of a person. I began to share my discontent and disappointment regarding this person to the Lord as I would a close friend. Maybe cleanliness is next to godliness because it is a shared time of conversation every time I do it. The wrongness of his doings just bubbled and boiled deep within me now overflowing to my patient and loving Father as if He was unaware. I have prayed for this person. To forgive. To let go. To overcome my feelings of frustration and anger. Each time, I thought I was over it – the real adversary of peace and joy gladly would shove it right back in my face. As my tirade continue, I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit audibly – “Who are you to tell me how to bless you?” Shell-shocked into silence, I stopped. I had almost fallen into a carefully laid trap to be bound by the enemy again. Not today satan…

It is hard to overcome our feelings sometimes. To give them in a neat and tidy package with packing tape to God never to be thought, felt or considered again. But life doesn’t work that way and our rebellious thoughts lead us right into such a dungeon. The person who was wrong is still someone God loves and Jesus died for no matter how much I loathe them or downright angry I get. I sit in a form of judgment called bitterness and unforgiveness. It impacts me negatively. Bitterness will block the blessings of God in my life that are meant to come through my enemies. God decides where to bless us, how, when and how much and no human being can block the blessings of God for my life and will in fact become a conduit of such things if I learn to overcome bitterness and hurt altogether. To do so, removes my expectation for that person placing all my expectation in the Lord who can do more than I can think, ask or imagine according to His Word.

Deuteronomy 28:1 (ESV) “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.”

The Lord has clearly instructed me to bless those who curse me. To repay evil with no evil. Be honorable. Live peaceably with all. This means even when they have wronged me. Used me. Spitefully use me. Come on. We all have that person – you thought of them the moment you started reading this. A wall went up. However, in order to live in the blessings of God set forth according to Deuteronomy 28, I must faithfully obey the voice of the Lord my God. I must be diligent in obedience to every command. God has a place higher than wallowing in anger, resentment and unforgiveness. It is a place of blessing, freedom and joy.

Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Wow, that was close. To think I might have allowed the enemy to trick me into stealing my blessing is a true revelation. See I was saying things like “I don’t want a single thing from this person” and “I don’t ever want to see them again” and “they better not come and say sorry or they changed their mind”. Our confession is the declaration over our life. These words will block blessings from the Lord simply because we don’t like the source. Come on. You know exactly what I am talking about. The words of Jesus fill my soul with hope for the filthy wretch like me. His Grace is sufficient to endure the thorn in my flesh. I may walk with a limp but I will get the blessing of God like Jacob did. I must not trip over a bitter root allowed to slowly grow and overtake me. The only thing I sacrifice is my pride. The only thing I surrender is bitterness that I don’t want anyway. I can give up the rightness to forgive the wrongness because God is greater than my feelings and will bless me far more than anyone or anything on the earth. I do not want to forfeit the Grace of God given to me just to hate someone else. Friend, are you stewing over someone today. Let them go. Bless ‘em Jesus! I ask you to heal my heart and fill it love, peace and joy in exchange for bitterness. I invite You to do what only You can do in my life – Lord. I will leave all vengeance (or not) in your capable Sovereign Hands. I want what You have for me nothing more and nothing less. IN JESUS NAME – AMEN AND AMEN!

Dear To Dream Again

Joel 2:27-29 (AMP) “And you shall know [without any doubt] that I am in the midst of Israel [to protect and bless you], and that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other; My people will never be put to shame. “It shall come about after this that I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”

I am really not sure when I stopped dreaming. I did, though. I was a daydreamer as a child who grew up with an optimism in life that somehow over time became drowned in reality. How about you? Reality is a heavy weight on the human soul that will often cause us to ignore supernatural potential to just get through the day. Where are the dreamers? Like Joseph, many do not survive the pit of rejection or prison of reality to make it to the palace of true purpose. A few days ago, I realized that all my dead dreams blocked my view of new horizons. I embraced sleep as an opportunity of escape rather than an invitation to see visions and dreams of the Spirit that in the loud and chaotic world too quiet to comprehend. God wants to share His Mysteries and Secret with us. The busyness of life often makes it impossible to dream because survival becomes our goal. Surviving turns to thriving when dreams become a reality.

The relevance of dreaming is that it is often revelation from the Holy Spirit. Do you know Jesus as Savior? Have you made Him your Lord? Are you filled with His Spirit? Do you believe? If you meet these three criteria, you are invited to dream again. In Joel 2, it is clearly stated that God will pour out His Spirit on all mankind which will result in dreams. It is time for God’s People to dare to dream again. To make the connection with Heaven on earth as Jacob did when He clearly could see God moving between Heaven and earth. Jacob saw a stairway that rested on the earth and was reaching into Heaven with angels ascending and descending. (Genesis 28) God’s Divine Desire is that His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. There is no separation. God placed eternity in the human heart to go after such a thing as heaven on earth. This is what allows us to have faith, trust and hope in God’s Timing. (Ecclesiastes 3:11) It gives our life meaning and purpose. Our soul will not prosper without true revelation of the Kingdom. We were not made for this world but eternity.

Acts 2:14-16 (AMP) But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be explained to you; listen closely and pay attention to what I have to say. These people are not drunk, as you assume, since it is [only] the third hour of the day (9:00 a.m.); but this is [the beginning of] what was spoken of through the prophet Joel…

Why must I dream? According to Acts 2, the Holy Spirit indeed was poured out on God’s People. Peter addressed those in attendance that day reminding them of God’s Promise in Joel 2 and that in fact this was the realization. But look at verse 16: “but this is the beginning of what was spoken through the prophet Joel…” The beginning of a promise or purpose is to dream. It is part of God’s Plan for our life. It is of great importance that we do not shut down our dreams with ignorance, negativity and pessimism. Habakkuk encourages us to “Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write the vision and engrave it plainly on [clay] tablets So that the one who reads it will run.” (Habukkuk 2:2) Hope is found in our dreams beyond the reality of what is. The visions God gives us our fertile ground to sow seeds of faith. It can change the potential of “what if” from regret to true revelation when God permeates the time when our attention is solely on Him. Are you a dreamer?

I don’t know what sealed the tomb on your dreams. What shut down your dream machine? I have had two dreams in the past three days. God is beginning to stir me up in sleep. Though the dreams began occurring, it doesn’t mean I completely understand them. It just means I have allowed the Lord to enter my sleep and speak to my heart stirring up my soul. We must stop holding the stone over our dream like and invite the Lord to speak to us. Fear of failure keeps us from dreaming. What if God doesn’t? Oh friend, what if He does? Faith says that God will do exactly as He promised to do. Ask the Lord to stir up dreams and visions. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you mindful in those moments of His Potential. Put a journal and pen by your bed to write down even the craziest of dreams. God is good. He is not inviting you to fail but succeed. He is not challenging you to fall but to fly. He wants to move you from an ordinary life marked by reality to an extraordinary existence filled with divine revelation. Faith won’t make sense until it becomes the reality of our life which begins with our dreams. Hope becomes the substance of our life by putting some weight into it rather than pushing it aside for the comfort and convenience of what is. If you desire change and transformation of this life to be a new creation than you will need to tap into your dreams and visions. The Lord is inviting us to dare to dream again. I don’t know about you, but I’m in!

Ephesians 3:20-21 (AMP)  Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Five Years

Philippians 3:10-11 (AMP)  And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did]; so that I may attain to the resurrection [that will raise me] from the dead.

Five years. Five years ago, our son underwent the bone marrow transplant that ultimately saved his life. With a 2% chance of survival and a hope for just a couple more years, the doctors declared the five year mark a miracle. Well, miracles happen. He has successfully outlived every other person who entered the clinical trial which he also was enrolled in. The doctors will order one more set of scans before releasing him from care. We recently visited a new church. The guest speaker told the story of his home church as a child. He shared the miraculous stories of three saints in the church told over and over again. Funny how the Lord works because I had begun to thought the miraculous journey from five years ago obsolete. Old news. Yet the fact that our son is still living, breathing, working and thriving is a modern day miracle that should be shared over and over again. The pastor encouraged us to tell our story that message of a miracle and test turned to testimony until the whole world hears. Well…

The story of this journey began more than a decade ago. I had heard about trusting God and having faith of substance. I wanted real faith. I sought after God for the reality of His Resurrection Power because I did not want to waste my life on dead things. If God was real, He was being called to the carpet of my life to show Himself to be the faithful, loving, and kind and known God who He promised to be those who sought Him. Well I was seeking.  Within a few months, our daughter developed rapid onset asthma. The doctors struggled to keep her breathing literally. I was angry. Confused. Hurt. How could the God I set out to know allow such a terrible tragedy to befall us? Well, He was giving me exactly what I prayed for. An opportunity to sow faith and see a miracle. She was miraculously healed. I began to exercise faith in little things along the way. Yes, He continued to be faithful. Whether it was in a big purchase such as a house, ministry, or even crazy prophetic declarations like telling a close friend that God was giving her a baby when I had no idea if she wanted one. She did but her husband did not until their first child came into the world nine months later. He was preparing me for a battle to the death of me…

More than ten years ago, the Lord led me to this quiet place of listening and sharing His Word with others. Little did I know – it would be what sustained me through three years of cancer relapses, chemotherapy and near death. It was definitely an Abraham and Isaac moment to totally trust the Living God. I had to let God be God no matter what the outcome. I could not forfeit faith or give up on hope. The decision had to be made to continue to pursue the reality of faith and enter the realm of hope or keep living a dead life in a dark and dying world. These verses make sense to me today. I can feel them stirring up my soul again.

And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers]…

So that I may know Him. To know Christ is not enough – we are called to follow Him. We must be more than mere acquaintances but intimately aware of His Existence in us to allow His Power to work its way out of us. Resurrection Power is in you. It’s in me. However, fear, doubt and insecurity convolute our thinking to react to our feelings rather than respond to His Presence. We must be moved. Moved out of our comfort, convenience, control and complacency to interact with the reality of God and His Kingdom. We must experience His Power. Miracles require the impossible. The impossible wrecks us.

And [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did]; so that I may attain to the resurrection [that will raise me] from the dead.

In the last five years, God has moved us. Transitioned us. Replanted us. He has a new thing for us. However, when the “fellowship of His Sufferings” become a reality of faith – it is difficult to move ahead. I am asking the Lord to use me again. To do anything that He sees fit for His Glory. On this day five years ago, our son received bone marrow. It was a huge risk. Yet, without it, he would die. I wonder what might happen if believers truly realized that Resurrection Power requires something to die. Our flesh must move out of the way for faith to grow. Hope cannot be in our human expectation but Godly revelation of the reality of eternity. Suffering is required for the continual transformation and conformation into the inward likeness of Christ. Yet, today I am fully confident that He who has promised is faithful to the end. Whatever that looks like. I prayed for more faith. I wanted to know the Power of God. It came through suffering outwardly and inwardly. What about you? Are you desperate to attain the resurrection power that will raise you from the dead?

There is always a cost to knowing Christ. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the only way to the Father. It means giving up our way, stop living a lie, and give our life to Him fully trusting and believing that He is leading us to the Father and His Glory. Whether traversing mountains that did not move, groping in the darkness of the night, fearfully through the valleys, or wandering through the wilderness our faith greater than our fear, desire for Him greater than our doubt, and confidence in Christ greater than any insecurity. You have resurrection power inside of you trying to find a way out into your natural life to make it a supernatural existence. You must give up something to attain it. You must give up everything to endure to eternity. Sacrifice, surrender, submission, and suffering are all part of our flesh slowly dying but there is life after death for those who believe whether here or in heaven.

Today we celebrate our son’s new birthday of five years. We give all praise and glory to God for meeting us on the mountain and placing a “ram in the thicket”. My prayer for you today is that resurrection power will challenge your comfort, convenience and control. That a desire to know God more and follow Christ will overtake every fear, doubt and insecurity. Looking back, it was a very tough season. Cancer is a horrible disease but no match for the Living God. I cannot begin to express in words the preciousness of faith and hope that God has given me in the midst of my greatest fear coming to be a reality. His Love and Faithfulness allowed me to journey through a season of suffering and experience His Resurrection Power for real. Once you have seen the Face of God wrestling for your faith and struggling with hope – though you may walk away wounded – you will be changed for the better. Just ask our friends Jacob and Job…

Genesis 32:24-31 (ESV) And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Job 42:10-17 (ESV)  And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations. And Job died, an old man, and full of days.

I Corinthians 2:9 (ESV) But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

Amen and amen! Thank you Lord for five years – I know and believe that the best is yet to come!

Unveiled

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 (AMP) Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom]. And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

My girls love to take selfies. Before posting, they will take the image and blow it up to inspect every pixel of detail. There are a variety of filters to correct flawed images and enhance the image. In a matter of minutes, our appearance is altered to be more appealing. I personally love the filters that smooth out the wrinkles of time from my face. Yet every morning, flipping on the bathroom light, I am presented with reality staring right back at me. Father Time has left his mark on me. Moving in closer, it is more evident. Moving in is necessary as my eyesight is not what it used to be and therefore I miss things. In the assessment, a course of action to cleanse, moisturize and smooth to the best of my ability. There are parts of my appearance that as I have aged bear a stark resemblance to my grandparents. The two individuals now with the Lord who left indelible marks on my heart have made it to my face. Oh, how I want to be a wonderful grandparent to my grandson and future grandchildren as they were to me. There is welcoming familiarity to the imperfections that bear a resemblance to them.

Our true reflection and identity is see ourselves as Children of God. Are you a Child of God? When you see your reflection what is your response? Do you see someone who is to die for? A Child of God? Beloved? It is human weakness to only gaze on our appearance and limit our assessment to what is in the morning mirror. To change our image externally but avoid that messy part inside. I understand the struggle. Putting on the face that the world wants to see rather than reflecting the turmoil within so other Christians think you have it all together. It is in our weakness that the Power of God is manifested. Who wants to be the wreck? Eyes swollen shut from crying out to God. Mascara running with your tears. Your favorite blouse ruined. Nose red. People staring. No – I get it. For men it must be harder, after all to be the tough guy there can be no such vulnerability. There is a time and place for everything. Do you make time for true reflection?

And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.

It is all too easy to live in bondage to a countenance that is naturally appealing yet eternally condemning. The world doesn’t need perfect Christians but imperfect believers bent on being transformed by His Glory. Progressively. Age is no respecter of persons, but neither is God. He will begin whenever you are ready. In fact, He started without you. God created you in His Image. He thought you were to die for so sent His Son to die for you ahead of time. You are predestined. Chosen to be His Own Special Possession. He offers us the freedom to choose but all roads will lead back to Him if our heart is set on knowing, loving and trusting Him fully.

We must look to the Lord with an “unveiled face” which is the most revealing. A true reflection is only possible when our pursuit of Him is wholehearted and unmasked. In a world of great pretenders, the contenders will be the ones who go to God unfiltered and just as we are because we want to become who He promised.

I Corinthians 3:12 (AMP) For now [in this time of imperfection] we see in a mirror dimly [a blurred reflection, a riddle, an enigma], but then [when the time of perfection comes we will see reality] face to face. Now I know in part [just in fragments], but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known [by God]. 

In this time of imperfection, the only hope that I have to know God and become the person He created and called me to be is in His Word. His Word is the true reflection of who I am, what I am called to become, and how to be all that I can be. We see in a mirror dimly with blurred reflection, a riddle to be solved by God, and an enigma that is hard to understand and mysterious but can be fully exposed and explained by the Holy Spirit empowered by God’s Word as a sword that cuts away the dead weight for full release. Maybe in reality, we do not want to see what the inside looks like so by packing on war paint, slapping on a smile, and repeating trained responses – there is comfort in Christianity when God is looking to reveal His Children. I want to be fully known by God. To do so I must fully know Him. He is found in His Word. This is where we know who we are and what we are to become by love, faith and trust in the Father.

James 1:23-24 (AMP) For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it, he is like a man who looks very carefully at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he immediately forgets what he looked like.

What if true reflection in the Word reveals that doing is more than an action but rather assuming our full identity in God through Jesus Christ with the help of His Spirit? What if our need to “do” something has overshadowed our desire to become like Him? The mirror offers a reflection of what we look like. The Word of God offers a true reflection of who we are. I hate dressing room mirrors. The lighting is bad. I am convinced it is a carnival mirror and some cruel joke. The truth is it is not the mirror’s fault. My reflection is genetic, hereditary, time on the earth, or too many carbs staring back the vivid image of my personal appearance. When I look in God’s Word, it is harder to see because our reflection changes from what we look like to who we are. God touches our soul and stirs our heart to remove the polluted contents and release the beauty inside. The world doesn’t look in our heart, but evaluates our appearance at first glance. I wonder what might happen if believers decided to radiate God’s Glory. To spend time in the Word of God, talking to the Father and in close relationship with the Son until change of heart, mind and spirit reflect God’s Love, His Goodness and His Glory. Revival would come when our appearance reflects God’s Glory. It begins with our reflection. Not the one in the mirror, our body is dying day by day. It is our soul that will prosper and change our countenance to reflect His Glory.

3 John 1:2 (AMP) Beloved, I pray that in every way you may succeed and prosper and be in good health [physically], just as [I know] your soul prospers [spiritually].