Thank Who?

This morning as I was busy doing my webber net thing and copying down recipes for the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities, I happened upon this article.

It brought tears to my eyes...

The More Important Thing by John Paul Jackson

Several years ago, when Streams Ministries was still located in New Hampshire, I started hearing footsteps. Some of the time, it would be my editor coming into my office to tell me I had a phone call or something else, but at other times, no one would be there. I would hear someone enter, but the office would be empty.
Well, this is strange, I would think.

The Busy Body of Christ
All of us have experienced different seasons of busyness in life. I don't mean periods of time when we are swamped for a week or two; I mean entire months and years of busyness, when we don't have time for God because we are trying to do things for Him. In this story, I was in one of those seasons. I had not slowed down in a long time.
One day, I was in the office by myself. I heard someone come into the room and assumed that my staff had returned. I was on a roll, so I kept working, figuring they would tell me what they needed.

But no one said anything. The steps stopped right behind my chair, and the next thing I knew, I felt arms around me. The physical presence was so real that at first, I thought I was being hugged. But when I looked down, nothing was there.
I began to weep, overwhelmed by incredible love and compassion. Conviction dropped over me like a blanket. In a moment, I knew the Lord was showing me that I had gotten too busy for Him. I wasn't giving Him time to touch me.

No Substitutions
We can have phenomenal experiences in God: visitations, translations, transportations, trances, dreams, visions, etc. We can learn to recognize His voice and have angels bring us messages of profound revelation. We can have extreme prophetic gifting and direct the courses of nations. But none of these things can act as a substitute for Him. Doing what God has called you to do is an excellent thing-but not when it takes His place.
Obviously, walking in our calling is very important, but we can't ever forget why we are walking in our calling-why we wanted to take this road in the first place. Our focus can easily shift from God Himself to being busy with what He has given us to do.

Practice the Presence
Around the time of our move to New Hampshire, it seemed like everyone wanted a piece of my attention. I felt constantly pulled on. I love people and I want to help them, but that day in my office, I felt the Lord was letting me know, "John Paul Jackson, you've gotten so busy working for Me that you don't have room for Me to touch you. You don't make time for Me to touch you, like you used to."
It may seem like an oxymoron, but sometimes we are so busy going after Him that we fail to wait for Him. As Isaiah 30:18 declares, God moves and acts on the behalf of those who wait for Him. They give Him time, and He responds.
No matter what happens in our relationship with God, what level of gifting we have, where we feel God has placed us in His body, the influence we may or may not have-we need to keep our gaze on the more important thing: God Himself.
Throughout our lives, there will be times when God calls us to hard work and other times when God calls us to rest; in both seasons, He is here. Where are you? Learn to hear His voice. Seek Him out. Let Him touch you. Practice the presence of God and grant Him the desire of His heart.
From: identitynetwork.net jpj article
Oh, how He loves us!

Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better!

My mother loved musicals and it rubbed off on me.


As the eldest daughter, I was privileged to go to the movie theater with her when a new musical came out, so I have fond memories of that.(youtube.com/watch Anything You Can Do.)

Recently, I watched "Annie Get Your Gun" starring Betty Hutton and Howard Keel. I had forgotten all the wonderful songs in that musical--songs that my mother, sisters, and I would sing as we did dishes and danced around the kitchen!

I thoroughly enjoyed reliving this part of my life. (youtube.com/watch You Can't Get a Man With a Gun)

Today, though, I have that strange happy/sad emotion. Sad because I miss my mother who died five years ago; happy because I know with certainty that I will see her again...in eternity. So thank you, Father God, for my mother and for the promise of everlasting life!


Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words. - 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 KJV

Amazing Grace

While in prayer this morning, I was inspired to go to the book shelf to find William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation. The example of the Pilgrims as recorded in this book is very inspiring to me, and with it being our season of Thanksgiving I wanted to read again of them.

I was in wonder at how the healthy ones served those who were close to death:

...There was but six or seven sound persons who to their great commendations, be it spoken, spared no pains night nor day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed them meat, made their beds, washed their loathsome clothes, clothed and unclothed them. In a word, did all the homely and necessary offices for them which dainty and queasy stomachs cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly and cheerfully, without any gruding in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren; a rare example and worthy to be remembered. (p. 77)

A footnote on page 132 mentions that the Pilgrims never had a regular fall Thanksgiving Day. However, a law written on November 1, 1636, allowed the Governor and Assistants "to command solemn days of humiliation by fasting, etc., and also for thanksgiving as occasion shall be offered."

One of these particularly solemn days is recorded in a section entitled "More Semi-Starvation".
It records their pains to put in a great crop of corn only to see it wither in drought:

Yet at length it began to languish sore, and some of the drier grounds were parched like withered hay, part whereof was never recovered. Upon which they set apart a solemn day of humiliation, to seek the Lord by humble and fervent prayer, in this great distress. And He was pleased to give them a gracious and speedy answer...It came without either wind or thunder or any violence, and by degrees in that abundance as that the earth was thoroughly wet and soaked...which did so apparently revive and quicken the decayed corn and other fruits, as was wonderful to see, and made the Indians astonished to behold.

And afterwards the Lord sent them such seasonable showers, with interchange of fair warm weather as, through His blessing, caused a fruitful and liberal harvest, to their no small comfort and rejoicing. For which mercy, in time convenient, they also set apart a day of thanksgiving. (pp. 131-132)


Oh God! How amazing is Your grace! That You heard the humble prayers of our forefathers and sent the rain. Without You we are nothing!

Open Thy Mouth Wide

For years now I have been keeping a chronicle of my reflections while in the secret place. I have stacks of journals of all sizes and colors where I recorded these sacred moments. I spent almost an hour today trying to find a particular journal so as to recount the details of something fantastic Father God did for me and my family. Although I did not find it, I believe I can remember most of that day in 1999.

Now a month or so prior to this wonderful day, one of our old friends shared how the Lord had given her gold fillings. I had noticed that the amalgam in my aging fillings had turned black and that soon I would have to have them all replaced—something I truly dreaded. So I decided that I would pray and ask the Lord to do for me what He had done for her. Whenever I thought of it, I prayed for this miracle and reminded my Heavenly Father that He was no respecter of persons.

During the week of Pentecost, we invited some friends to come and worship with us and have a picnic. Later that week, I saw Tom off to work; and, as my manner was, went to the little room we used as a library/guest room and sought the Lord. Soon I heard the familiar small still voice within my spirit. “Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it.”

I did not understand why He was telling me to open my mouth; but I did as He commanded, not wanting to miss out on any good thing. I opened my mouth wide and as I breathed in deeply, I saw a brilliant gold throne high above me. I saw it in the spirit realm even though my physical eyes were open. A great golden ray emanated from the throne towards me. I knew something had happened, but what?

I found and read Psalm 81:10 KJV~I am the LORD thy God which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. Then I heard in my spirit, “Go to the mirror and look at your teeth.”

As I ran to the bathroom, I grabbed a flashlight because I was finally realizing what had happened. I shone the light on my bottom teeth and the fillings were no longer black but were shimmering with new fillings. They weren’t the yellow gold but were silvery gold!

I started to scream with joy and jump up and down. I had to tell somebody about it! I ran upstairs and pounced on my sleeping daughter Rachel. "Look at my teeth--what do you notice?!" I shrilled into her droopy face. "They'r-r-re shiny?" she sleepily answered for she was barely awake. "I have to call your father and tell him!" While I was downstairs on the phone, Rachel thought within herself, "It would be cool to have a gold filling.”

When Tom came home, the first thing he did was shine the flashlight into my mouth and rejoice with me. Rachel greeted her Dad and then reported to us that her one little filling had also changed to gold! “Well, I want gold fillings, too,” Tom said to himself.

After taking a much-needed nap, Tom came to me in the kitchen where I was preparing dinner. “Guess what, Honey?” he grinned. “YOU TOO?!” I squealed. Sure enough, the glorious Hand of the Lord had touched each one of us that day!

What caused me to recall this special time in our lives, was an email I received recently from Kathie Walters (kathiewaltersministry.com). She wanted to share what happened while ministering at a seminar recently:

Several people in the last couple of weeks have written to me or spoken to me about TURKEY. They smelled turkey cooking, or had a dream about roast turkey or a vision or felt they had the taste of turkey in their mouth.


I know Thanksgiving is coming but it's not entirely to do with that holiday. On Saturday I had a need in our ministry and I had a vision of myself and I was holding up an empty plate to the Lord and asking Him to give me something. Now the plate I had was an English blue and white china plate - it was pretty ( I have those plates) but it was small like a tea plate. The Lord said to me " That's a small plate" and right away I had a bigger dinner sized plate I was holding up to him. Next minute the plate was filled with a turkey ( roasty potatoes, carrots etc). Then the Lord filled the turkey with this wonderful smelling stuffing.

God said this to me: "If you keep a spirit of Thanksgiving in your mouth I will fill the turkey." So of course I started praising the Lord and thanking Him for everything I could think of, including all my wonderful friends He has put in my life.

During the break in the Saturday seminar a friend came up and said the Lord had told her to give me a chunk of $$ to help meet this need we had. We still have some needs but I am going to keep thanking Him. We have so much to be grateful for don't we? We just sometimes forget all His benefits. But thanksgiving is a key to release God's blessings in your life.
~~~

Let us all open our mouths wide! Not with worry, fear, and complaining, but WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING trusting that He is the God who supplies all our needs and does exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think!


Phl 4:19 KJV - But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Eph 3:20-21 KJV - Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.