It is time to gird up your loins and run supernaturally!

Ryan Wyatt:

It's Time to Birth Your Future

In my last writing, I talked about the necessity in this time to Turn Aside Into the Flame of God. If you missed reading that article click here to read it on the ElijahList. It is a key word for the Body of Christ right now. I want to follow up today with a continuation of that timely word.

God has been speaking to me about this being a season of germination or birthing of the things we have been contending for in the last season. As Believers, we are the birthing agents of the promises of God. Most everything God does in the earthly sphere, He will do through His people. There is a process that He takes us through in order to birth things from the Heavenly realm into the natural, earthly realm. It all starts with "a seed." God comes to us at different times in our lives and He "overshadows" us in some way. Sometimes it comes as a prophetic word. Sometimes it comes in a moment of intimate worship. However it comes, God's glory comes upon you and implants a seed of destiny and promise within you.

Within that seed is the full potential of your entire future! Within the seed of an oak tree is the entire potential of that tree. You could say that the full oak tree already exists within that seed. All that seed needs is to go through a process of time and be nurtured properly and then the time will come for that seed to break forth, or germinate, and begin to show signs of its future coming into visible reality.

The Process of Incubation

We could also use the analogy of a baby being conceived. A seed is planted and then there is a season where the seed is incubated and nurtured. Then the day comes for that baby to be born! The process many in the Body of Christ has been going through in the last season is the process of incubation or pregnancy. This is a season of great stretching and testing. You know you have a dream, a purpose, a destiny from God, but you see no visible fruit of it in your life. Instead, you find yourself being tested in every way and going through all sorts of tribulation.

Here is a key of the Kingdom for you today: God always plants seeds of incredible destiny into people who are nowhere near the person they need to be in order to actually fulfill that destiny at that moment when the seed is planted. God plants something in you that is so much bigger than who you currently are.

Joseph was given a true dream from God and suddenly he was cast into a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery, bound as a servant, accused of something he did not do, and went through years of testing before one day his day of destiny was upon him and God "revealed" him as a leader throughout the entire nation of Egypt! God gave Joseph a dream and in that moment something was conceived within him. A seed of divine destiny was planted. However, immediately God thrust Joseph into a turbulent season where he would be tested and transformed into the person he needed to be in order to fulfill this great destiny.

Many of you reading this can relate to this because this is exactly where you have been for years! I'm here today to tell you that the last season of your life was not in vain. You may have looked around and felt like there were no signs of destiny forming anywhere around you, but massive Kingdom growth has been happening in your life. It's been taking place within you! As you've gone through the fire, God has been shaping and forming you like a master potter. When you've been going through such a season of refinement, it can be very easy to lose hope and expectancy for your future to be born.

Destiny is At Hand

I want to tell you today that your destiny and your future are closer at hand today than ever before! It is time to put all lack of hope and expectation aside and make a decision today that you are going to believe in God and believe in your glorious future more than you ever have in your life. It is closer than ever before!

God has really been speaking to me recently about some things that we can do right now in this season to posture ourselves for this fresh release and birthing of those seeds that have been incubating within us for so long. God spoke to me from the story of Elijah on the mount of Carmel in 1 Kings 18:41-46:

And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the Heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Now read carefully because I want to give you some keys to birthing your future destiny right now in this season. It is so important that you understand here that there had been a severe drought in that land for three years! God remedied the situation by finding a man that believed in him. The Bible says that Elijah heard the sound of the abundance of rain. Some Bible versions say that Elijah heard the sound of a roar of a heavy shower! There was not one drop of rain in the natural. Elijah didn't see or hear anything in the natural that would cause him to believe for rain in the midst of a severe drought. Elijah heard the sound of abundance of rain in the spirit. He picked up on the heart of God—that it was time for the rain to be released.

What did Elijah do? Elijah realized that if God revealed a sound to him from the spirit, then God was wanting him to partner with Heaven to see it released. Elijah immediately went into a "birthing position" and began to call on Heaven and decree rain in the land. He did not give up when he didn't see any sign after a little bit of contending. Elijah sent his servant six times to look for a cloud and there was none. Even after all that contending, Elijah did not waver about what he heard in the spirit. He sent his servant a seventh time and he saw a cloud the size of a man's hand in the sky.

Don't Lose Your Expectancy

There are some valuable lessons we can learn here. When you get a promise from God, don't give up! Don't lose your expectancy for its birth and release! God spoke so clearly to me recently and said that it is time to assume a fresh birthing position and to begin to believe again that what He has prophesied will indeed come to pass. We are to co-labor with God to see His promises birthed from the spirit realm into the natural realm. Elijah saw a tiny little cloud that looked no bigger than the size of a man's hand and he believed that was the beginning of the promised release from Heaven.

What happened next is one of the biggest keys of this article and one of the biggest secrets to advancing into your next season with God. The Bible says that Elijah told his servant to go tell Ahab to get on his chariots and get his horses running full steam down the mountain so that the abundance of rain did not stop him from getting down. Elijah had only seen a little token of God's promise but he believed with incredible faith that the heavens were about to bust open and release the fullness and Elijah decreed and acted accordingly. Just as the prophesied release was coming upon him. Just as the heavens were opening and forming the clouds of outpouring, Elijah did something so important. Supernatural power and acceleration were about to come on Elijah like never before. So much supernatural power was going to come upon Elijah that he was going to outrun Ahab and his chariot of horses, on foot!

Here is the key! Just as this power and acceleration and the prophesied release was coming upon Elijah, it says that he girded up his loins. Now at first reading, this doesn't seem to be significant, but it really is huge. The Lord spoke to me not too long ago and gave me a word for the Church. He said, "I love you, but it's time to gird up your loins. In the past season of your life I allowed you to live a certain way and act a certain way, however, if you continue living in this new season like you have in the last season, you will not make it or advance. It's time to gird up your loins!"

When Elijah girded up his loins, it means that he reached down and pulled up his robe so that nothing would hinder him in this new season of running with supernatural power and acceleration. Elijah heard a sound that conceived and planted a seed within him. He began to co-labor with God and birth the seed. As the birth of the seed was taking place, Elijah had to change some things in order to advance into the next season.

Hear the Fresh Sound

This is a word for the Body of Christ today. It's time to hear the fresh sound from Heaven and begin to birth it in prayer with a fresh sense of hope and expectancy. It's time to decree the fullness of what God has prophesied. It is also time for us to gird up our loins. We can't live in the season of the birth of the seed like we did when we were incubating the seed. God is calling us higher! It's time to remove all those things from our lives that would hinder us from advancement.

I hear the Lord saying that He is simplifying the lives of His people. He is releasing fresh assignments in this time that are different from your last assignment. Tune in to the voice of God because so many people are continuing on with an old assignment because they didn't sense the shifting in the wind. This doesn't mean that we are to abandon the work that the Lord has had us doing. This simply means that for each season of your life, there are priorities that the Lord gives you for that season. It's time to tune in and receive the priority assignment from Heaven for this very season of your life and then begin to gird up your loins and make the adjustments necessary in order to run with efficiency and focus into your next level in God!

My last article was about turning aside into the flame of God and allowing Him to cause your heart to burn again! Once you turn aside and begin to burn again, God is going to speak fresh things to you for this time. Gird up your loins. Receive fresh focus from Heaven for this season. Reprioritize your life. Simplify your focus and receive fresh wind to advance into the divine purposes of God!

Kingdom Blessings!

Ryan Wyatt

Abiding Glory Ministries

Email: info@abidingglory.com

Website: www.abidingglory.com

Developing Our Spiritual Senses!

James W. Goll:

Discerning the Angelic Presence

I am bringing you some prophetic teachings on discerning the angelic presence which is an excerpt from my book Angelic Encounters. I have always loved making the supernatural understandable and obtainable to everyone, and I trust this will do just that for you!

With expectancy!

James W. Goll

Discerning the Angelic Presence

Have you ever seen or felt an angelic presence—or a demonic one? When we "see" or "sense" or "feel" a spiritual entity nearby, we have discerned its presence. This chapter is devoted to the topic of discerning the angelic presence, because it's vital to be able to distinguish spiritual origins and outcomes when you're dealing with supernatural realities. Both good and bad (fallen) angels are spiritual beings, and we need the gift of discerning of spirits when we encounter them.

In general, discernment always involves the evaluation of some kind of evidence. We can only accomplish this by using our five bodily senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. We notice something; then we start sifting quickly through the incoming data. We discriminate between the pieces of evidence and we detect patterns. Then we decide what to do, based in large part on what our discernment tells us.

Discerning (or distinguishing) of spirits is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:10). This gift is a little different from the gift of the word of knowledge, in which facts are simply dropped into our minds or hearts. With discernment, you have to consider what is happening around you. Did what just happened make your skin prickle? Did the room just get brighter or darker? Did you hear a noise? Did you perhaps smell or taste something? Is what happened from a good source—or a bad one?

To discern spiritual realities, we need spiritual perception. We need to know what we're dealing with. Is this thing just my imagination, or is it coming from someone else's human spirit? Is it demonic? Is it in fact an angel? Is it the Holy Spirit?

God doesn't just take the gift of discerning of spirits and plug it into you, fully developed. Normally, it takes a lot of practice to get good at it, and some of your "discernment lessons" will involve making mistakes. That's also true of the learning process for your general discernment, which is part of your maturation as a disciple and which stems from Bible study, experience, and discipline. You will need both kinds of discernment when you find yourself involved with supernatural happenings. It's important for each of us to want to be one of "the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14, NASB). Don't forget—you can always ask God to give you more ability to discern spirits and more mature discernment in general.

Discerning Spirits With Your Five Senses

In cooperation with the Word of God, the name and Blood of Jesus, etc., the other primary "discerning equipment" we possess is our Holy-Spirit-anointed human spirits (which can sometimes be called our "sixth sense"), consisting of our five bodily senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. None of us ends up using all of our senses to the same degree. We tend to "specialize" because of our God-given personalities and types of experiences. At the same time, we need to remember that if we find ourselves in the midst of an unusual spiritual experience, it might be one of our less-used senses that can best contribute to our discernment.

For example, for many people, sight is the biggie. What if, one day, one of these vision-oriented people begins to smell something. That's it, just a smell. Nothing else is happening. It's not a good smell; it's the acrid smell of ammonia. "Ah, a bad smell!" he thinks. "So therefore a bad spirit must be in the room." He scrutinizes the place, but his eyes tell him nothing. He does notice that he doesn't feel bad. On the contrary, he feels fine, merely curious, somewhat "prophetic."

Basically, discernment is perception. Sometimes it is as simple as an inner knowledge, a "gut feeling" that we cannot explain. That kind of spiritual perception is often so subtle that we can easily miss it or dismiss it as a mere hunch. But the more we yield our natural senses to the Lord, the more God can anoint them and make them more sensitive to discern. It's a progressive unfolding.

I Saw...

You see things with your two eyes wide open. You also can see things with your eyes closed, you know—visions are often seen this way. You also see things when you're sleeping—unless you are physically blind, almost 100% of your dreams will be memorable because of their visual content.

It's no wonder that, with so many ways of seeing, we so often rely on our sense of sight when we're discerning supernatural events. Our sight—both external and internal—is one of our most valuable senses. Sometimes it may be no more than a flash of light that brings a strong sense of a spiritual presence into the room. Other times, we may see an outline form or even a kind of fog of God's glory filling a room. We may observe a kind of shimmering presence or, of course, a fully defined vision, perceived in our mind's eye or with our wide-open physical eyes.

The prophet Ezekiel was overwhelmed with visual input. "In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the Heavens were opened and I saw visions of God" (Ezekiel 1:1, NIV). He goes on to describe in detail what he saw in Heaven: a fiery windstorm, four living creatures with four faces each and four wings and four hands, four wheels full of eyes, and much, much more (see Ezekiel 1-3).

Apparently, John the beloved disciple saw with his physical eyes what he received from the angel in his book of Revelation, although, interestingly, he first heard a voice like a trumpet, and...

...then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.—Revelation 1:12-14, NASB

In other words, John quite naturally looked with his eyes to see what had made the loud sound. And there was plenty to see, including a number of angels:

I saw another strong angel coming down out of Heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the rainbow was upon his head, and his face was like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.—Revelation 10:1-2, NASB

Seeing and hearing are often intertwined, aren't they? Let's look at some Scriptural examples of how people discern spirits through hearing.

I Heard...

Later in the New Testament, we read about how Cornelius, who "clearly saw in a vision an angel of God." Cornelius hadn't expected that. He was jolted even more when the angel spoke his name in a commanding voice, "Cornelius!"

And he said to him, "Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea."—Acts 10:3-6, NASB

Those were pretty specific directions. Cornelius didn't waste any time. He gathered his men and went to Joppa. No one had to teach him about discerning what he had heard. He knew he had received a message from God.

Even though hearing is one of the most common ways of receiving a heavenly message, it's not limited to hearing spoken words or sentences. People can hear the sound of wind, such as occurred on the day of Pentecost. That happened to Michal Ann and me that time when a supernatural wind came blowing through our closed bedroom window and woke us up to receive angelic visitors.

People hear bells, thunder, a telephone ringing, heavenly music. The variety of options is endless. I know a woman who was awakened from sleep by a small noise, only to overhear a short conversation between two angels, whose illuminated faces she could just make out as they stood next to her bed. "Is she really going to do it?" said one, referring to a very difficult undertaking that the woman was feeling led to initiate the next day. "Yes," said the other. That's all she saw or heard, but that snatch of conversation assured her that she could expect angelic help in the morning.

Keep looking, keep listening, and keep tuning in with all of your other senses to distinguish God's envoys from counterfeit messengers.

I Smelled...

As noted in an earlier example, spiritual discernment can sometimes come through our sense of smell. Many people have testified to sensing the presence of the Lord accompanied by the smell of roses.

At times, it is possible to identify the enemy's presence in the same way. A particular place just may not "smell right," even if we don't quite know why. Sometimes we can identify a rotten-egg odor or other noxious smell. If there is no logical, natural explanation for the unpleasant odor, it may be an indicator that an unclean spirit is present.

I have found that I am able to discern a certain form of addiction in a person's life by using my sense of smell. I can smell a type of smoke that I associate with the addiction, and then I know how to proceed in ministering to the person involved.

The sense of smell is not prominently portrayed in the Bible accounts of discernment, in spite of the fact that we ourselves, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, are described as carrying His "sweet savour" to the world around us:

But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph (as trophies of Christ's victory) and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere, for we are the sweet fragrance of Christ unto God, among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.—2 Corinthians 2:14-15, AMP

I Tasted...

What about discerning a spiritual presence through the sense of taste? Have you ever heard someone say, "That just leaves a bad taste in my mouth?"

The prophet Ezekiel (whose extensive experiences could be used to illustrate all five senses in overdrive) was treated to a spiritual tasting incident. Remember the scroll he was told to eat?

"But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe. And He said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He gave me the scroll to eat. Then He said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.—Ezekiel 2:8–3:3

Another supernatural scroll was consumed by John, who recorded what it tasted like:

So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour , but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.—Revelation 10:9-10, NIV

I Felt...

It's certainly true that we can feel or "sense" spirits, but here I want to refer strictly to physical touch, the kind of feeling that happens through the nerves in your skin. This is the area of sensitivity that is the strongest in my own life. And, yes, angels do touch people to get their attention, to communicate with them, and sometimes to hurt them, if they're bringing God's judgment. Here are a few Scriptural examples, with the "touch words" in italics:

Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.—Zechariah 4:1, NASB

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.—Acts 12:7, NIV

Your sense of touch comes into play when your skin or scalp tingles, and also when you feel pain that is meant to communicate a message to you. At times I receive physical pains in my heart that indicate to me that some kind of heart-wound has occurred in another person's life. These pains alert me to be ready to minister freedom and healing to the other person.

So we see that we can discern spirits (angelic, human, and demonic) by various means, if we are anointed with the Spirit of God. At different times, people see, hear, smell, taste, or feel the touch of another spirit. Our Holy-Spirit-filled spirits are our ultimate sensors, and we can continue to grow and mature in this realm for as long as we live here on earth.

Closing Prayer of Consecration

Holy Spirit, we present to You our eyes (our natural eyes and the eyes of our hearts) and we ask You to anoint them to perceive, to distinguish, to differentiate. We present all of our senses to You and we ask You to keep us on track. Anoint our senses to perceive heavenly realities. Help us to steer clear of counterfeit spiritual experiences. May complete access be given to the Word of the Lord in our lives. We are covered with Jesus' Blood, Amen.

Blessings to Each of You!

James W. Goll

Encounters Network • PrayerStorm • Compassion Acts

Email: info@encountersnetwork.com

Website: www.encountersnetwork.com

Set Yourself On Holy Fire!

Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda:

Get on Fire! Supernatural Fire is Falling!

John answered them all, saying, "I baptize you with water, but He who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."—Luke 3:16

As we've enter into 2010, the Lord is emphasizing the fire of His Spirit upon us. We often focus on the Holy Spirit as the Oil of anointing, the refreshing River we drink to quench our spiritual thirst, but we are sensing the Lord wants us to come into a greater revelation of His fire.

Acts 2:2-3 describes the fire that fell at Pentecost, "And suddenly there came from Heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them." Those 120 that were baptized in fire became blazing torches for the Gospel, turning the world upside down. Wherever they went the fire of Pentecost spread, and they were in revival.

God uses the natural to give us a connection point to the supernatural. Just as water is essential for life, the Living water of the Holy Spirit is essential for our spiritual well-being. Fire in the natural, brings light, warmth and power. Where there is the fire of the Holy Spirit, there is empowering, understanding, illumination and revelation. When God gave Moses that amazing, redeeming commission to deliver a nation from bondage, He came through fire: "And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed" (Exodus 3:2). God's fire is a supernatural fire—it purifies, heals, blesses, redeems, empowers, restores and creates.

Everyone who has experienced personal salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit has been ignited with the Fire of the Spirit. The Lord wants us to steward His fire so He can give us more. Abraham was a man who knew God. He walked in revelation and was a man on fire. But he teaches us something important. When God said, "Come worship Me on Mount Moriah," Abraham arose early and prepared to worship. He took the knife, the wood and his son. But he also took the fire with him. The whole action is called worship: "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you" (Genesis 22:5). Abraham went to Moriah to offer his son, knowing that God who had promised the Son was faithful to provide. But he carried the fire for the sacrifice with him. The Lord revealed Himself to Abraham as Jehovah Jireh. And the Lord will reveal Himself as our Provider again. But we need to bring the fire. Part of our worship is to kindle and fan the flame in our hearts. Catch the fire, and become carriers of His glory.

"I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn."—John Wesley

How Do We Stay Ablaze?

I (Mahesh) remember the Charismatic outpouring of the '60s and '70s. A fire came in California that set ablaze hundreds of thousands of people. It didn't just rest on one group or one denomination. It consumed and burned everywhere it went—Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians and Hippies were awakened to the Holy Spirit and filled with the fire and power of Pentecost. It was an amazing time. We were touched and transformed by the fire of God.

I had a friend who ministered with me during those years. He was a worship leader and was passionate about God. His heart burned to see the lost come into the Kingdom. I had not seen him for over thirty years, but on my recent trip to Dallas he was there. He is now 71 years old and is as passionate and on fire as he was back then! No one has put that fire out; it has only increased in his life.

We all need to be like this man. God sets us on fire, but we need to stay ablaze! How do we do this? There are three elements that are essential for fire:

1. Fuel

2. Kindling

3. Oxygen

If any one of these are missing, you don't have fire. What was the fuel of Pentecost? People—the substance that could burn. What was the kindling? It was a company of people in one place hungry for God, harmonizing with each other and Heaven in corporate prayer. What is the oxygen? The sound of the mighty rushing wind! The breath of God. We stay ablaze as we make room for the breath of God in our lives, living in daily communion with the Holy Spirit. When there is not enough oxygen, the fire dies down, but when you fan the flames, it blazes. We fan the flames by gathering with other Believers. Staying plugged into our local church, fellowship, prayer, communing with the Lord in our prayer language and immersing ourselves daily in His Word.

When we are on fire:

• Oppression and depression have to flee.

• We are consumed with love for Jesus that grows greater and greater and will never cease.

• We desire to be transformed and conformed into His image.

• We have evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

• It is easy to cooperate with the Lord in prayer, fasting and worship.

• We want more!

• We ignite others!

Revelation 3:15-16 says, "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth." God is clear—He is looking for burning men and women. If you are spiritually asleep or lukewarm, let the fire come. Are you hot? Fan the flames more. The more you welcome His fire, the more it drives you to burn brighter and hotter with prayer, thanksgiving and praise. Let us position ourselves in 2010—"Here we are. Set us on fire!" Let the breath of His Spirit blow on us so that we burn brightly.

...Our God is a consuming fire.—Hebrews 12:29

In the realm of the Spirit we see God putting a match to light a revival fire that is going to bring in a harvest of souls. We are not going to see isolated campfires, but a raging wildfire sweep across this nation and the nations. At Pentecost it did not matter their background, their education, their circumstances—it was the fire that made the difference, igniting and empowering a company of Believers to turn the world upside down. We see this pattern repeated again and again, more recently in the Welsh and Azusa revivals.

When God's fire comes, barriers come down, bigotry and racism are burned out, and liberty, joy, holiness and the revelation of Jesus Christ flourish. God pours out His Spirit on everyone who is hungry and thirsty for more. God is telling His Church—Get on fire!

Let us become living torches of revival in this hour!

Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda

Mahesh Chavda Ministries

Email: info@maheshchavda.com

Website: www.maheshchavda.com

You and I are Commanded to Love

Victoria Boyson:

Our Mission: To Love

You are My friend if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends...—John 15:14-15

Jesus wants to call us His friends.

I love being His friend; it's the greatest privilege and joy I'll ever have in this life. He is my joy and I love Him more than any words could say. I love Him and I want others to know Him as I do—to feel His love for them and not just wonder, but truly feel it. The Lord spoke to me and said this would be the year that would begin a time of incredible intimacy with the Him; it would be a honeymoon with His people.

It gives me great pleasure when God's children start to realize His love for them and find the joy of intimacy with Him. He has such love to give us and He wants only to love us and make us a part of His family.

Our Need of Him

One night, I needed Him desperately. I felt lonely in my spirit for Him. Soon I felt His presence near me and in my spirit I knew He was just as lonely for me as I was for Him. I then experienced the most intense spiritual experience I've ever had; it completely overwhelmed me. All I could do was cry. I love Him so much and my relationship with Him is truer than any relationship I have on this earth.

The love I feel for Him is what compels me to help others to truly know His love. There's so much in this life that is unbearably hard. Without God, it's even harder to deal with—almost impossible for some. But His love sets captives free, comforts the lonely and heals the sick. Life is hard, but without Him it's even harder.

It's easy to harden our hearts when we've been hurt—to shut it up with anger and pain or fear—even against God. But running from God isn't the answer. God understands our pain and loves us even when we are angry with Him. Sometimes, we can focus on forgiving all the people in life who have hurt us and yet, without realizing it, though God has done us no harm, we can harbor unforgiveness against Him too.

He wants you to let go of your pain, loneliness and despair and give it to Him. When we refuse to let go of offense, it can drive us even farther from Him. Living separated from God opens our hearts to deep darkness exploited by the enemy. It's a terrible place to be. In the darkness, we can end up doing things we'd never do in the light. And it's easy to strike out at what we can't really see because the darkness has blinded and deceived us.

Yet, if we are able to see even a tiny flicker of light through God's love, our conscience is able to feel again. The darkness is soon exposed, freeing us from our fear of God's light through the safety of His love.

God has always loved us, even if we've hated or rejected Him. Through His love, we can know that even when we refuse to believe in Him, He still believes in us. There have been so many wrongs committed against Him by those He loves, yet He hopes for us, because He can't stop loving His creation.

He knows your heart and what has caused you pain, blinded you and driven you to the darkness. He wants you to know that no matter how long you push Him away and hate Him, no matter how much you blame Him, no matter how much you try to forget about Him, He will never stop loving you. He can't stop.

God's Love for the Lost

I discovered there were two movies released in January 2010 depicting God as a harsh, unloving and even violent god. One is called Legion and the other is Creation (which is the story of Charles Darwin). Legion is the story of a group of people who fight against God and win when He gets fed up with mankind and wants to destroy it.

When I first heard about these movies, I was shocked and stunned. Then my shock turned to grief. I thought, "Have we failed to show the world the true nature of God?"

The synopsis of the movie Legion depicts God as someone who's angry and tired of our sin and has decided we are no longer worthy of Him. Thus, He's seeking our destruction. It's as if they are role playing Revelation 19:19, "Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathering together to fight against the One (Jesus) sitting on the horse and His army," with a twisted outcome. In essence, the message of the movie is: God doesn't love us anymore and He doesn't care about us so we're forced to join forces with a fallen angel and rebel against Him.

So, we see that this unseen war we've been fighting is not about the existence of God (you have to believe in Him in order to make a movie against Him), but is really about the nature of God. Is God love, or is He a harsh and hateful Creator who just wants to dominate us?

So we find our mission made much clearer: to show the world how much God loves them.

I asked the Lord to show me something that would prove His love for mankind. Immediately, I was shown the ark built by Noah. Yes, He did flood the earth because of its intense wickedness, but He made provision to save mankind. He flooded the earth to rescue mankind from the wickedness it had succumbed to.

If the lost could sense His love for them even for a moment, they would know there is more to life than what they've experienced. They feel the empty void in their soul—that's why they try so hard to rage against God. Sin has grabbed them and has tried to devour them. They feel the guilt of sin whether they admit it or not, and the enemy has exploited the darkness they're in to foster rebellion against God. They don't really need more condemnation. What they need is liberty through Christ.

Indeed, the lost may not always realize what they do is sin, but they sense the darkness in their separation from God. Jesus Christ came to the earth NOT to condemn it, but to save it (see John 3:17). He came to set men free from what enslaves them.

God is not full of anger and disgust for His creation. No! He hasn't given up on us. Even in the darkness of our sin, He hasn't stopped loving us. That's why our sin causes Him such pain, because He cannot stop loving us even in the midst of our sin.

He hates sin because of the affect it has on His creation. It causes Him great pain to watch the ones He created fall into sin that will damage and blacken their lives causing them to turn away from Him. No, as much as it hurts Him, God will not stop loving the world. He will not stop trying to save it.

For God so loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life—John 3:16

God so loved. He loved. He loved. God loved even the vilest sinner so much that He gave His Son to save them. Yes, there is redemption for every sinner who repents.

In Germany after the Holocaust of the Jewish people in WW2, how did He react toward those who tried to annihilate them? He did rescue the Jewish people and He did restore their nation to them, but His love went beyond thinking of the victims of this great evil. God's love continues to seek out those through whom this great evil came to be. He sent and is still sending His love into Germany to minister and save those who had perpetrated such atrocities against His people. His heart ached for those lost in darkness who, blinded by sin, tried to blacken out the apple of His eye (see Zechariah 2:8).

God sought out His children who had been wounded by the war—those who'd been victimized by the ruthlessness of their enemies, but also those who'd been held in the grip of an evil so terrifyingly dark they saw no light at all. His love saw what few are able to see. He saw an incredible evil was gripping their hearts and He fought to redeem them from it. Again, there's redemption for everyone who repents.

Hold on to God's Love

God sent His Son to seek and to save those who have lost their way, and through us this world will know His love. They will realize it's real as we cry out for God's mercy for them. Can our love go beyond judgment and plead for His mercy?

In John 8:1-11, the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. But He refused to judge her. Instead, He judged her accusers. Everyone has a story of why they made the choices they made—what has pushed them to the point they are at now—what incident started them on the path they are on. God knows all that they have endured and what's made them who they are. But He has made a commitment to love them through it for He alone can see them rightly. He sees us all as we truly are and He sees us through eyes of love.

We are called to love as God loved us. And He said "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone" (Mark 16:15); the news that He's purchased freedom for us, and redemption from the curse and bondage of sin. Satan has conspired to twist the world's view of God, making them believe God is cold and heartless. He's desperate to keep us from experiencing God's love. The enemy fights against true freedom found only in Christ. He tries to twist the minds of people making them feel as though it is God who is really their enemy.

For those of us who love God, our mission is clear: we must show the world by every means possible that God truly does love them. They will know His love by our love for them. They will know His love through forgiveness and mercy.

It's often so easy for Christians to fall in to the "Pharisaical" mindset of "destroy the sinner." Truly, that's what satan wants us to do. In fact, his plan quite often is to cause the lost to come against us, wound us and persecute us, trying to get us to hate them. He knows if we hammer them with anger and condemnation, they will run away from us as fast as they can, thereby losing the opportunity to show them God's love and mercy.

So, the enemy works at both ends causing us to hate those we are called to reach out to. And when we do, he uses their mistrust toward us to make them misunderstand God.

That is our war: to hold on to our love—to hold on to God's unconditional love. And truly, we can only be victorious if we know God's love for ourselves. Indeed, when we've experienced the captivating power of His unconditional love, we are compelled to forgive and release those who've wounded us and love them.

Our battle is to remember that God SO LOVED the world that He sacrificed His own Son to save them. Every offense is an opportunity for a miracle of His grace.

The abundance of sin in this age should not shock us, for "Where sin does abound, His grace does much more abound" (Romans 5:20). In the midst of great darkness, the light of Christ shines brighter through us to a very desperate world.

Victoria Boyson

Speaking Life Ministries

Email: victoria@boyson.org

Website: www.boyson.org

Living for the dream

The Day of the Dreamers! God Wants to Empower the Dreamers in 2010

God-given dreams carry the seed of Heaven's glory within them. We should pursue God in such a way that He is able to deposit the dreams hand-tailored for our lives within us. These dreams are key to our lives playing a part, being weaved into the beautiful tapestry of His Kingdom glory being revealed in the earth today.

Empowering Dreamers

God wants to empower the dreamers in 2010. Dreamers are those who many times have been shut down by having been too sensitive to the opinions of others. Sometimes they can pick the wrong friends, who cause the hindrance to the plans that the Lord has for their lives. But God loves dreamers and looks for opportunities to empower them.

Just as Joseph was a dreamer, God took him through a series of events to form character, stability and faith in his life. After several seasons of testing God found a priceless jewel of a heart in the life of Joseph. He found a person who was able to forgive, move on, trust in God and never give up. These are the qualities that God looks for in all of us. God also calls all of us to be dreamers. If we don't dream our lives are dead. There is no purpose to life without a dream. If you don't have a dream pursue God until you get one!

Holding On To Your Dreams

Whether big or small any dream has the potential to bring forth a life of faith, for it takes God to fulfill a dream. We should dream beyond the borders of what we can do so that God can be the one to get the glory when it comes to pass. We must hold on to our dreams, never cast them aside. I've had many ideas, good ones. But there are those that come from God that never leave. The voice of God calls into our spirit to awaken these dreams so that He may bring us into the promise land of His purposes.

We can never underestimate the potential of a dream and never overestimate the power of our God to fulfill them. We don't need faith for what is possible, but for what is impossible. If it is impossible then you know you will need someone beyond yourself to fulfill it. This is where our dependency upon God becomes reality. God wants to establish dreamers with confidence in His ability to fulfill the dream. He desires to cause them to come out of their shell to see His greatness and shun the doubt and unbelief of miserable people who are blinded to the truth. Misery loves company and miserable people desire to shut down a dreamer because it makes them feel inferior.

Dreamers have a superior quality because the seed and life of God is in the Heaven birthed dream. God will always provide the tests for the dreamer. But a dream gives hope and hopeless people have a hard time with dreams. Jesus is our hope. He is our dream come true. He is also the beginning of our dreams because all things are made new in Christ. In Him we are new creations where all things have become new. That means that everything is possible with God—all things! There is no dream that is too big for God to fulfill.

"Pie In The Sky"

The blessing is in the heavens with God. We must see it to take hold of it. God gave Joseph a "pie in the sky" dream where everyone was to bow down to him. It was a dream of prosperity where he would be the head and not the tail. He would be the steward and distributor of resources. But God also knew the price Joseph would pay to believe the dream. He knew what he would have to suffer, the rejection he would face from his own family and the prison time he would serve. His own family rejected his dreams telling him he was in pride. Maybe he did have a little pride but so did they. But he had a dream because he had been in touch with God.

God had visited him, giving him an invitation to believe in something that was beyond his own ability to perform. He chose to believe and the tests followed. Then the day of fulfillment came overnight. God is wanting to empower dreamers after His heart that have been through the process of His dealings. Those with dreams should align themselves with the heart of the Lord in such a way that He may bring them into their promised land this year. God is good. As Joseph said, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good."

Genesis 50:20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

All things are possible for them that believe and nothing is possible for those who don't.

His peace be yours,

John Belt

Live In His Presence Ministries

Email: admin@liveinhispresence.com

Website: www.liveinhispresence.com