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Thursday, November 14, 2013

The Coming Wave of Glory II





Since I have returned to the American workforce (at least for the holiday season), I haven't had time to write; but after seeing this confirming prophetic word I knew I had to MAKE TIME to blog! Here is Garris Elkins' article which has the same title as my July 10, 2012, blog--THE COMING WAVE OF GLORY:

A Vision of Waves and Lines Drawn in the Sand

Recently in worship the Lord revealed an image to me. The image was of a person standing on a beach looking out to sea. There was a sense of longing on his face. The scene changed where I could now look out through his eyes at the developing image.
Before me was the sloping sand of a shoreline that extended down to the ocean's edge. In the distant horizon I saw an approaching series of waves making their way toward the shore.

When I was a young man, I learned how to surf. I also learned how to read the ocean. The older surfers told me that waves move from the ocean to the shore in a series of waves called "sets". Many times the largest wave in the set comes at the end of one of these series of waves.

As I looked across the beach toward the shore, I saw lines that had been drawn in the sand. These lines looked like marks made by a stick, something many of us do when we visit a beach. As I pondered the image, I realized the lines were judgments made because of disappointments, assumptions, fear and unbelief. These lines had captions like, "I won't do that." "That is not of God!" "This is as far as I go!"

With each approaching wave some of the lines were erased by the water and foam that climbed up the beach toward where I stood. I knew the waves represented the different moves of God's Spirit that had taken place in the past. Each new wave that came onshore carried with it the power to erase these lines of judgment.

"Run Toward the Shore of My Presence..."
 
The Lord began to speak as I continued to look across the beach and out into the ocean:
"I see a sorrow in your heart – a sorrow of what could have been. I gave you revival to carry. What I gave you was dropped and broken through human failure and fear. This was not My plan. Why do you think I do not have another wave to break into your midst? I am not asking you to pick up the broken pieces from the past and try to reassemble them and call it "new." I always bring something new. What is coming is completely new and birthed in My presence.

"I will erase your unbelief, if you place your belief in Me, not in what you have demanded of Me. You have no idea what this wave will look like because it was created in a place outside of human fear and failure. When I move, it will not always be familiar. In that place of unfamiliarity I ask for your trust.
"I am asking you to leave behind a human wondering that is marked with unbelief – wondering if and when I will move again. I am calling you to a place of wonder where you will be like a child unwrapping a gift. My joy will become your joy and wonder.
 
"I will remove the pain of regret from among you. This regret has birthed a sorrow like a person who mourns a death. My joy is always before you. Only fear and disbelief would have you look and see death. Remove this blindness from your eyes and look up and out. See it! See what I have prepared. It is good and it is making its way toward you and it will break over your judgments if you run toward the shore of My presence and embrace the wave of My glory."
 
A Mighty Wave of God's Glory
 
As I looked out onto the ocean I saw the last wave in the set. This wave was huge and I knew immediately it represented a powerful move of God that was approaching our shores. The lesser waves that erased the lines of judgment were an opportunity to get our hearts ready in preparation to receive what God was sending our way.
Like a child would run toward an incoming wave and jump into it with joy and laughter, so will those who have allowed the lines of judgment in their hearts to be erased by God's presence.

Those who choose to continue to live trapped above the waterline, behind lines of judgment and disbelief, will not be able to run forward to embrace this new work of God. They will remain above the waterline immobilized in fear and judgment.

As this mighty wave of God's glory falls into our midst it will reshape the shoreline of our culture and more importantly, the boundaries of the Church itself.

Garris Elkins, Senior Leader
Living Waters Church – Medford, Oregon

Email:
info@prophetichorizons.com
Website: garriselkins.com

Click THE COMING WAVE OF GLORY to read the article I posted in 2012!

Glory to God in the Highest!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Troubled? You've Got a Friend!

Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water:
and they ceased, and there was a calm.
And he said unto them, Where is your faith? Lk 8:24-25 in part
One morning, a week or so ago, I was driving to the bank and fretting over our financial state and the state of our nation.

"Stop worrying!" I told myself. "Remember the promises God has made in His Word and trust Him." I decided to take a deep breath and turn on the car radio thinking how wonderful it would be if perhaps the Spirit of the Lord would bless me by having an uplifting tune play.

Immediately I heard the familiar voice of James Taylor singing...

When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand
and nothing, whoa, nothing is going right.

Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.

Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah,
you've got a friend.

If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds
and that old north wind should begin to blow,
keep your head together and call my name out loud.
Soon I will be knocking upon your door.

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there.

Hey, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend? People can be so cold.
They'll hurt you and desert you. Well, they'll take your soul if you let them,
oh yeah, but don't you let them.

You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call, Lord, I'll be there, yeah, yeah,
you've got a friend. You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend. Ain't it good to know you've got a friend.
Oh, yeah, yeah, you've got a friend.


By the end of the song tears of relief streaked my face and I thanked Him. "Thank you for loving me, Lord, and that you have not forgotten me but do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask or even think." Only my Heavenly Father could know how much those lyrics would minister to me.

Yeah, yeah,
Have WE got a FRIEND~

Saturday, August 3, 2013

THE RAPTURE & THE LAST DAYS



Earlier today I was inspired to take one of my favorite books down from the shelf to see what was written about Rosh HaShanah, the next festival on the calendar celebrated this year beginning sundown September 4.

"The gates of Heaven are opened on Rosh HaShanah so the righteous nation may enter (Isaiah 26:2; Psalm 118:19-20). Because the gates of Heaven are understood to be open on RoshHaShanah, this is further evidence that the rapture (natzal) of the believers in the Messiah Yeshua will take place on Rosh HaShanah. [Excerpt from Ed Chumney's The Seven Festivals of the Messiah, page 115.]

 

The English word 'rapture' is natzal in Hebrew or harpazo in the Greek language. Coincidentally (?) I stumbled upon this 15 minute youtube video [link], where Chuck Missler shares what his understanding is regarding the timing of the rapture (harpazo). He believes it could indeed occur at ANY TIME and is NOT CONTINGENT ON ANY OTHER EVENT. I love that he encourages people not to take his word for this, but to study it for themselves!

At this point, my understanding leans toward the Messianic belief that we will meet the Lord in the clouds on Rosh HaShanah, the Hebrew new year. This day is referred to as "the day no man knows" (Matthew 24:36) because the new moon marks the first day of the new year and is not known until the new moon is sighted.

As believers in the Messiah, our Jesus, we recognize the appointed seasons and are not in darkness.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. I Thessalonians 5:4


 Looking for that glorious hope~





P.S. If you are interested in understanding the difference between the RAPTURE and THE DAY OF THE LORD, Mr. Missler gives an excellent explanation at this site [link]. After clicking on the link, click on the audio presentation labeled 'The Rapture'.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

When a Woman Cries


You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8 NLT

There has been much written on the subject of suffering, but the simple truth is that if you stand for the true God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Yahshua, and live a holy life, you will experience pain and suffering. (2 Timothy 3:12; Romans 8:17; 1 Thessalonians 3:4; Hebrews 11:25)

Simply living in the world and not being of that world results in evil befalling us. Many times pain comes at the hands of our own brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Life can push the strongest follower of Christ into a pit of depression and despair. I know--I've been there. I refused to remain there and have continued to 'put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness' (Isaiah 61:3).

One recent morning I sat in my little office/guest room seeking His presence as some worship music played. I dropped into a place of deep, deep rest where my body and mind were at peace but I was still awake. The sensation was like being in a different realm while bodily on earth. I stayed in that place for over an hour.

I had experienced this before and breathed a prayer of thanks when I 'awoke'. Immediately I heard in my spirit, "I love you, Lyn. Rest in that."
 

As if to confirm His love to me, I then was led to read a message a friend had emailed that same day. It moved me to tears of joy so I'd like to share it with you...

 

The Ministries of Francis Frangipane
"This Time I Will Praise the Lord"(En Español)

We cannot pass through life without getting hurt. Pain and disappointment in this world are inevitable. How we handle our setbacks, though, shapes our character and prepares us for eternity. Our attitude is the pivotal factor determining the level of our protection from strife. Regardless of the hardships we have faced, and in spite of the mistakes we have made, the end of our lives can either be full of praise and thanksgiving or full of misery and complaint. In the final analysis, what we have experienced in life will be as rich as the desires we have had fulfilled or as painful as the things we regret.

The Bible tells us, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). Deep disappointments in life have a way of never leaving us; they enter our hearts like fire and then harden into our nature like lava. Setbacks can leave us cautious about new ventures and suspicious of new friends.

Our woundedness restrains our openness. We are fearful we will be hurt again by new relationships. Gradually, unless we learn to handle heartache correctly, we become embittered and resentful cynics. We lose the joy of being alive.
The Source of Fulfillment
It is our own desires and the degree of their fulfillment that produce either joy or sorrow in our lives. Even basic desires for marriage or friends can enslave us if they consume our attention. Are these desires evil? No, but if having our desires fulfilled is the main reason we have come to Christ, it is possible our lives simply will not improve until our priorities change.
The Lord is concerned about fulfilling our desires, but to do so He must pry our fingers off our lives and turn our hearts toward Him. Indeed, the reason we are alive is not to fulfill our desires but to become His worshipers.
Personal fulfillment can become an idol; it can develop into such an obsession that we are living for happiness more than living for God. Thus, part of our salvation includes having our desires prioritized by Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, He put it this way: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself " (Matt. 6:33-34). God wants to, and will, satisfy us beyond our dreams, but not before He is first in our hearts.
A wonderful example of this can be seen in the life of Leah, Jacob's first wife. Leah was unattractive, unwanted, and unloved by her husband. Jacob had served Laban, Leah's father, seven years for Rachel, who was Leah's younger sister. On their wedding night, however, Laban put Leah in the nuptial tent instead of Rachel. Although Jacob actually did marry Rachel a week later, he had to work another seven years for her. So Jacob had two wives who were sisters.
The Scriptures tell us that Rachel was loved by Jacob, but Leah was hated: "When the Lord saw that Leah was hated . . ." (Gen. 29:31 KJV). We must understand this about the nature of God: the Lord is drawn to those who hurt. "The Lord saw . . . Leah." What wonderful words! In the same way water descends and fills that which is lowest, so Christ reaches first to the afflicted, to fill the lowliest and comfort them.
The Lord saw that Leah was unloved. He saw her pain, loneliness, and heartache. Leah, though unloved by Jacob, was deeply loved by the Lord, and He gave her a son. Leah's reaction was predictable. She said, "Surely now my husband will love me" (v. 32).
Worse than living your life alone is to be married to someone who hates you, as was Leah. How Leah wished that Jacob would share the love he had for Rachel with her. Who could blame her? Leah's desires were justified. She had given him a firstborn son. In her mind, if the Lord could open her womb, He could also open Jacob's heart. But the time was not yet; Jacob still did not love her.
Twice more Leah gave birth to sons, and each time her desire was for her husband. She said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons" (v. 34). Yet, Jacob's heart still did not desire her.
For Leah, as well as for us, there is a lesson here: you cannot make another person love you. In fact, the more pressure you place upon others to accept you, the more likely they are to reject you instead. Leah's concept of fulfillment was based on attaining Jacob's love and now her problem was worsening. Not only was she unattractive to Jacob, but also her jealousies were adding to her lack of loveliness.
Three times we read in this text that the Lord saw and heard that Leah was unloved. He saw her affliction. Through all her striving for Jacob and her disappointment with her marital relationship, the Lord was tenderly wooing Leah to Himself.
As Leah became pregnant a fourth time, a miracle of grace occurred within her. She gradually became aware that, while she had not been the focus of her husband's love, she was loved by God. And as this fourth pregnancy drew near to completion, she drew nearer and nearer to God. She became a worshiper of the Almighty.
As she gave birth to another son, she said, "This time I will praise the Lord" (v. 35). She named that child Judah, which means, "praise." It was from the tribe of Judah that Christ was born.
Leah had been seeking self-fulfillment and found only heartache and pain. But as she became a worshiper of God, she entered life's highest fulfillment: she began to please God.
It is right here that the human soul truly begins to change and enter God's stronghold. As Leah found fulfillment in God, He began to remove from her the jealousies, insecurities, and heartaches that life had conveyed to her. A true inner beauty started growing in Leah; she became a woman at rest.
Likewise, we each have character defects that we are reluctant or unable to face. Others have seen these things in us, but they have lacked the courage to tell us. Both physically and personally, these flaws in our nature are what leave us anxious, threatened, and unfulfilled.
It is not counsel or classes on success or self-esteem that we need; we simply need to discover God's love for us. As we begin to praise Him in all things, we simultaneously put on the garments of salvation. We are actually being saved from that which would otherwise have destroyed us!
Disappointments and heartaches cannot cling to us, for we are worshipers of God! And "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God" (Rom. 8:28). If we continue to love God, nothing we experience can ultimately turn out harmful since God takes all we pass through and, in His redemptive power, works it for our good.
The Tree of Life
You will remember the verse we quoted, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Prov. 13:12). The verse concludes with, "But desire fulfilled is a tree of life." As our desires are fulfilled, we are fulfilled. Since it is the fulfillment of our desires that fills us with satisfaction, the secret to a rewarding life is to commit our desires to God.

Let Him choose the times and means of our fulfillment, allowing the Lord to prepare us for Himself along the way. The truth is that in ourselves we are incomplete; but in Christ we have been made complete (Col. 2:10).
You say, "That's easy for you to say. You have a wonderful wife and family. You are blessed. But you don't understand my problems." Yes, I do. My wonderful marriage was very difficult for the first few years. We struggled with many things in our relationship. My wife and I both came to the place where we were unfulfilled in each other. But, like Leah, we both looked to God and said, "This time I will praise the Lord." In fact, we named our second child the very name Leah gave to her fourth: Judah.
For us, as for Leah, our lives were turned around as we chose to delight in God in spite of being unfulfilled with each other. As we became His worshipers, He began to work on our hearts until we were not only more pleasing to Him, we were also pleasing to each other! What I am relating to you is the very thing that saved and blessed our marriage!
Psalm 37:4 reads, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." As you delight in God, you change. The negative effects of disappointment and grief fall off. As love and joy from God begin to fulfill us, our very souls are restored and beautified. Yes, delight yourself with Jesus and your self-destructive tendencies will actually begin to vanish. Christ will beautify your life from the inside out.
The Outcome of Leah's Life
What happened with Leah? Well, the long years came and went. In time, Rachel and then Leah died. Jacob, on his deathbed, spoke to his sons: "I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave . . . which Abraham bought . . . for a burial site. There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah" (Gen. 49:29-31).
Jacob had buried Leah in the ancestral place of honor! Oh how those words, though few, say so much! They tell us that God had, in some marvelous inner way, beautified this afflicted one with salvation. After Leah found fulfillment in God, God gave her fulfillment in Jacob. Over the years, inner peace and spiritual beauty shone forth from Leah; Jacob was knit to her in love. It is not hard to imagine that when Leah died, she left smiling, with the praises of God upon her lips.
Become a worshiper of God! As you surrender your desires to Him, as you put Him first, He will take what you give Him and make it beautiful in its time. He will take what has been bent and imbalanced within you and make you stand upright in His light and glory.
Therefore, this day speak to your soul. Tell the areas of unfulfillment within you that this time you will praise the Lord!

Lord, I am a Leah, unlovely and always seeking the love of those who have rejected me. How foolish I have been. How blind. There is no love, no fulfillment in this life apart from You. You are the Tree of Life that satisfies all desires; You are the Healer of my heart. I love You, Lord Jesus. Amen.

 
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Adapted from a chapter in Francis Frangipane's book And I Will Be Found By You, available at http://go.netatlantic.com/t/26858292/72654390/147514/75/
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
 

Resting in His love,



P.S. Cassandra Boyson had a powerful encounter with the Lord related to this subject. To read about it, go to Quest Unto Glory

Thursday, July 11, 2013

The Red, White and Blues

Blessed is the nation whose God is Yehovah; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Psalm 33:12

 
This past Fourth of July was a disaster instead of a celebration. My husband and I ended up shop-vacuuming several inches of water out of our basement. This went on for TWO AND A HALF DAYS. We could hear the fireworks being shot overhead even through the din of the shop vac, but the skies were so overcast we could not see one speck of light from them.

I couldn't help but think of it as a picture of where we as a nation are at. It was another national birthday hullabaloo complete with family gatherings, barbeques (where it was not raining), and pyrotechnics but the birthday girl was drowning. The U.S. is not only drowning in debt, unemployment, and division--it is drowning in national sin.

Recently I came across a Youtube video [Link] where a man shares not only how he came to Christ but how the Lord gave him visions pertaining to our nation and our President. As I watched it, I remembered how Christian friends of ours promoted Barack Obama for the 2008 Presidential Election and how the Lord dropped a prophetic word in me to share with them. I told them that Barack Obama would indeed become the next President of the United States but that this was not a blessing but a consequence to the U.S. for national sin.






Our basement did finally dry out due to our tireless efforts but mostly due to God's grace for the sun finally dissipated all the dark clouds. So too will we as a nation recover IF we turn our hearts to Father God and allow the SON to enlighten our thinking and shine through us. That is my prayer for the United States--that she will shine once more for the true and living God.

I am honored to pray for you and our nation~

Friday, June 21, 2013

DEADRAISER



Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

These are the words Jesus, our Yahshua, spoke to His disciples as recorded in Matthew Chapter 10, Verse 8. This directive is as true today as it was then!

If you consider yourself to be a disciple, a follower of Christ, YOU HAVE BEEN ENDUED WITH THE POWER TO RAISE THE DEAD!(John 14:19; Luke 24:49; Acts 2; 1 Cor. 12:7-11 and more...)

A couple of years ago my husband, along with myself and a team of other believers, were inspired to visit a local hospital once a week for about a two-month period and act on this authority we knew we had through Christ in us.

We simply went to the different waiting rooms and befriended relatives of the sick or dying and asked if they would allow us to pray for their loved one. We did not experience raising someone from the dead, BUT WE DID have the joy of seeing miracle after miracle. One woman had been told she was dying and that there was no hope for her recovery. What joy when we witnessed her healing after our team laid hands on her and prayed for her recovery!

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to learn that a group of enterprising young adults put together a movie they've titled, DEADRAISER. Although I have only seen a clip of this documentary film, I believe it will act as a dynamite catalyst resulting in a wave of healing and miracles. To learn more about it, go to this link.




But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 2 Corinthians 4:7


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Are You For or Against Women in Combat?

Are you for or against women in combat? Spiritual combat that is…

While meditating on my Lord as I trudged along on the mindless treadmill, I began to think on Deborah of the Old Testament. In my mind’s eye I saw her sitting under the palm tree in counsel with Barak.

As I pondered this, I heard in my spirit, “Women arising on the battleground is a sign that women are arising on the battleground of the spirit realm”.

As most of you are probably aware, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently announced the lifting of the longstanding ban on women serving in combat. This is not to say that I believe the Spirit of the Lord is necessarily condoning this change in America’s military policy, but I believe that it is one of the many signs that women are ARISING IN RECOGNITION of who they are in the Spirit.

Women have always served in combat but not on equal footing with men. “The recent policy change allowing women to fight in combat is a change not in job description but rather in recognition. [NEWS LINK]” Just as women have always served in physical combat, so have they always served in spiritual combat. This earthly policy change is a manifestation of what is happening within the spirits of God’s people.

This is not to say that women should be considered higher than or better than men, but in the Body of Christ they are finally going to be RECOGNIZED for who they are in Christ as they were always intended to be—ALONGSIDE MEN! It is not that one gender is better than the other. They were created with different strengths and weaknesses so they would need to work together!

What better place is there an example of this than in The Book of Judges in the account of Deborah and Barak:

And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, [saying], Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? - Judges 4:6 KJV

Deborah acknowledged the anointing of leadership on Barak. What is interesting, though, is that he insisted that she be AT HIS SIDE:

And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, [then] I will not go. - Judges 4:8 KJV

There are commentators who write that Barak was weak and nonheroic because he would not go into battle without this woman. I disagree. Hebrews 11:32 records that Barak is an example of a man of faith. I believe Barak was moved by faith by making this demand because he acknowledged the anointing on Deborah as a judge appointed by God (Judges 2:16; 4:4) and a military leader of Israel [Judges].

From the very beginning of creation, Elohiym created man and woman to have co-dominion over the earth.

So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. - Genesis 1:27-28 KJV

WHY would our God want women to be recognized on equal par spiritually with men? Besides the obvious answer that our loving Heavenly Father sees His children as having equal worth I believe the answer is in Judges 4:9 where Deborah reminds Barak that he will not receive honor even though he goes into battle BUT “the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Just as He told Gideon to choose only a small army to defeat the larger enemy army so that man would not get the glory for the victory, God chose Israel at this time to receive victory at the hands of a woman so that the Lord God would receive the glory!

We are living in a time of great urgency. It matters NOT whether you are for or against women serving in spiritual combat—they are already there! It is going to take ALL of us who are born of God’s spirit to arise and be who we are called to be in these last days.

Do you agree?






Another article I wrote on Deborah can be found here: To Beeeeeee