Stone to Flesh/ Death to Life

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 
Ezekiel 36:26

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee Luke 24:2-6

This morning at our Resurrection Service (otherwise known as "Easter"), I had an revelation about, well, receiving revelation. Revelation comes from the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is gentle. He doesn't come unwelcomed or uninvited. In ancient times the dead were interred in caves, with disc-like stones rolled across the entrance,  stone sealing the tomb in permanence-in death.  Just as the stone was rolled away at the Resurrection, bringing revival and newness of  life, when a heart of stone is "rolled away" and changed into a heart of flesh, revelation can come forth. As the Holy Spirit fills us, we move from knowledge/ information to impartation. Not only can it come, but I  say with assurance that it does come, as those awakened can testify to!

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:19

Today is a new day, beloved.  Let us move forward, striving to apprehend that which has apprehended us.

The Acquisition/Sold Out

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Matthew 13:44

Imagine that you are an ordinary farmer, plowing the earth of an ordinary field, preparing the land for planting. You are working the land, having leased this property for years, doing what you've always done, just keeping both hands on the plow. The blade is carving through the ground as you concentrate to keep the furrows straight, then suddenly as a clod of earth is turned, you notice a glimmer, the rays of the sun reflecting something different, just for a moment. In all the time you've been tilling this land you have never seen anything like this before; stopping the plow you begin digging, sifting the dirt through your fingers. Then you find it: a huge diamond, and as you brush off the rest of the dirt even your untrained eyes can see its amazing color, clarity, and size.

Your mind is spinning, your heart is beating out of your chest. Looking about, you bury the diamond again, carefully marking the place, and acting nonchalant, you race home. As quickly as possible you liquidate every asset, selling off everything. Everyone close to you thinks you have lost your mind. There is nothing seemingly special about this property, those near and dear to you try to dissuade you, but you are determined. Approaching the land owner, you try not to be over eager and strike the deal of a lifetime, acquiring  the field, both the seller and buyer overjoyed at the outcome.

We sometimes use the term for a person who is on fire and focused on OneThing-Jesus our Messiah- as "sold out". When the Lord breaks through and plows things up, we find Him if we are seeking...  in the Spirit we catch a glimmer as the veil is parted. The sum value of  everything else is as dust on the scales, compared to the weight of glory found in Jesus, we strive to apprehend that which has apprehended us (Phil.3:12). 

Beloved, let's be "sell outs"...trade the good things in life for the best.

Staying Tender 310

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,”
so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
We have come to share in Christ,
if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Who were they who heard and rebelled?
Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?
And with whom was he angry for forty years?
Was it not with those who sinned,
whose bodies perished in the wilderness?
And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?
So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Hebrews 3:12-19

The above text is read at Passover (the Hagaddah, meaning literally "The Telling") from the book of Exodus recounts the amazing story of God delivering the entirety of the nation of Israel from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. The people saw the plagues, walked through a parted Red Sea, were led by a pillar of fire by night and cloud by day, drank water from a rock, ate manna from heaven, never had to deal with shoes or clothes wearing out, and saw Moses speaking directly to God. Can you imagine that? What would be our response to such things? Yet these people, including Moses and Aaron, all died without entering into the Land of Milk and Honey, their bones scattered in the deserts, their children being the ones who claimed the inheritance. Only Caleb and Joshua, totally believing the Lord, the only two of the twelve who had spied out the land choose to believe, and brought back the good report, entered in. Two out of millions.
As strangers and sojourners in a strange land, we need each other. We are to share our testimonies, being transparent about our struggles and triumphs, lifting each other up when we stumble, encouraging one other. Rebellion comes when we take our eyes off the Lord, and turn our focus inwards towards ourselves.
Deception is not detected by the deceived ones.
We are our brothers' and sisters' keepers.
We are responsible for each other, provoking and sharpening one another in love,
right up until we cross the Jordan and enter our rest.
Hear His voice today beloved. Stay tender.

Vision 229

“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”
― Aibileen Clark to toddler in The Help

When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? 
My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 
Judges 6:12, 14, 15 

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
Philippians 2:3, 4

How do you see yourself?
How do you see others?
How do you think our Father sees us?

In The Help,  Aibileen speaks life over her young charges, declaring that they are kind, smart, and that they matter (are important). I was reminded as I watched this that these are words not forgotten as we mature, just as words spoken that are hurtful are not forgotten.
They either nourish our lives or poison them.
Gideon is one of my favorite Bible personalities. In his self assessment to the angel, I see myself, and in my mind echo th words that were spoken over me by my mother that scarred me: " you'll never be half the man your father is."  Gideon grew up being reminded of what he couldn't do, as well as his family's diminutive position within Israel's tribe hierarchy. But God saw Gideon's heart, and He had a different plan.
Using our natural eyes we tend to see ourselves one of two ways: very low self esteem like Gideon, thinking they have nothing to offer, or an inflated ("legend in their own mind") conceited ego/mindset   as if  they're "God's gift", which causes them to look down on everyone else.
We can also look at others in their current state and see only their many faults, instead of seeing them the way God sees each of us-a work in progress. A vessel needing to be filled. A possibility. Worthy of receiving the same grace and mercy that our Heavenly Father has extended to us.  Revelation  comes from The Helper, the Holy Spirit, who creates a new mindset, revealing that all things are possible-for each of us- through and with Jesus.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 

Wrong in the Name of Righteousness 193

"When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him."
Luke 22:49-51

The disciples of Jesus were committed to their perception of righteousness.
The Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on them...they were zealous in their own minds,
and so they raised their swords, thinking that they were protecting their Master and themselves. But they misunderstood. They had somehow missed the message of the first and second greatest commandments: loving God first, and loving others secondly, and therefore what would flow outwards as such a response.
Jesus restored an injured man of the harm that a disciple acting wrongly had caused.

In the history of the Church, countless wars have been waged in the name of Jesus and a wrong sense of righteousness. In my humble opinion, the Church has been fragmented by doctrines and dogmas, the Body of Christ  dismembered, by a wrong sense of what the righteousness of God really is supposed to manifest, namely unity, restoration, renewal, and reconciliation:
"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:3-5, 10

Beloved, ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to extend the same grace to those we have previously judged, and probably misjudged, spoken against, or caused discord in the Body-just as our Father has extended so much undeserved grace and mercy on each of us. 

Father Knows Best

"The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil."
Isaiah 57:1

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8, 9

An amazing young man in Kansas City died this week, after being fatally injured in a terrible car accident.  The prayers  of thousands for his healing were going up to the heavens for 2 days as he lay in critical condition. He  loved the Lord with all his heart and he loved others as himself. He was actively involved in ministry, both locally and internationally. He was a worshipper, had a girlfriend he loved, and his whole life was before him, but the Father who had ordered his steps and the numbers of his days took his home. Why?
At least that is the way we, the creatures, see things. The good, the righteous are taken from among us, suddenly and without warning, and those who are left behind, find ourselves struggling to find answers to unanswerable questions. Why, God?
It is in this place, when there are no more tears left, when we are too exhausted to cry any longer, when we are finally quieted and still and falls into our Abba's comforting arms that we realize, yet again, that we are just the clay, and we must trust in a great truth: Father knows best. We can't not lean on our inadequate, shallow understanding.
Let us ask our Father to help us to see things from a heavenly perspective: "no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." John 12:24, 25

No mind can conceive what waits for us, but for those of us who have been caught up into heaven, who have been granted a brief glimpse into what is coming, we are rendered homesick and lovesick. The way time here is measured is changed, and everyday that passes is a day closer to going home,. Death has no sting-it has become a way-point, like changing planes at an airport.
So remember, beloved, Father knows best.

Shake Well Before Using 8

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat."
Luke 22:31

"Shake well before using".

These instructions are often on the labels of all sorts of products.
 It seems that when the container, or vessel,  sits for a while, the ingredients have a tendency to separate. The heavy, thick, and dense stuff settles to the bottom, the light stuff to the top.
The only way to reconstitute the ingredients and make it usable for what it is intended for is to follow the maker's directions: shake that container vigorously before using.
Similarly, our Maker knows that our "ingredients", especially our God- given gifts, have a tendency to settle.  As we sit , shelved and undisturbed or unchallenged, or perhaps frozen by a variety of fears- of man, failure, foolishness, rejection, discouragement, and more, we can become inert and ineffective. But the Lord in His omniscience knows that the very things we can often dread - upheaval, shaking, pruning, and refining- brings reconstitution and restoration to a vessel, as trials can stir our gifts. Instead of devastation, potency is restored, and the vessel (us) is no longer rendered inert but transformed into powerful and useful, each able to fulfill our destinies!
It is what we are created for.
So don't fear a shaking, beloved.
You are about to be used for His Glory.

The Greatest of These (Abridged)

Love suffers long  and  is  kind to me when I don't deserve kindness, but judgement;
Love  does not envy me but rejoices in my success;
Love does not parade itself nor does it flaunt or agonizingly tease me in my downfalls or failures,
it is not puffed up nor does it behave rudely, even when every right to do so exists,
Love does not seek its own, is not provoked, love thinks no evil nor ever wishes me any harm;
Love does not rejoice in iniquity, but  rejoices in the truth;
Love bears all things, turning the other cheek to me,  in the face of offensive or wreckless behavior,
Love believes all things, and hopes continually for all things to my benefit and goodness,
Love endures all things even when I am thoughtless, causing pain and injury.
Love never fails. Love never fails. Love never fails.
Tongues, knowledge, prophecy....it will all fade away, and what will remain?
Faith, hope, love, these three stand ; but the greatest of these is love.
Lord, let me go and do likewise.
I Corinthians 13