He knows your name...

Happy Thursday, everyone! What a great day it is to be alive! What a great day to celebrate who God is and how much He loves you. He just gave me one line to share with you today and I hope that you will take it and run with it. He told me to remind you that He knows your name! Wow! I was recently involved in a prayer call series through the Faithwalkers movement that focused on the Names of God. It was powerful and life changing to be reminded, and in some cases, learn about the various names and characteristics of God. There’s nothing quite like calling on Jehovah Rapha when you are sick and in need of healing. Or if you are in a lonely place and you can reach out for Jehovah Shammah and know that He is with you. So when God switched it and reminded me that He knows MY name, it completely blessed me.

I was then led to the words that the Lord spoke in Isaiah 43 to the children of Israel as they lived in captivity. Though He had just chastised them in the previous chapter for being disobedient and not listening or paying attention, He speaks in this chapter of His very personal love for them and the lengths that He had gone for them. I thought it was interesting that the Lord would shine a light on this passage but I realized that He wanted you to know that the fact that He loves you and knows your name is not contingent upon your actions. When you are disobedient, you don’t lose God’s love but you create distance and you open yourself up to rebuke and correction. But even in the midst of that, He shows so much grace and mercy and He is still present in your life and your situation. I pray that you will receive these words as confirmation that though you may not be where you want to be in your life, God is still working on your behalf. I pray that you will understand that if you belong to Him, He will cover and protect you. I pray that you really feel what true love feels like. It isn’t a “sometimey” and conditional love but rather it is a love that meets you where you are. It’s a love that knows your name.

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
 For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
 Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life. (Isaiah 43:1-4 NKJV)

Woman of God! Man of God! The Lord knows your name. You are His…rejoice in that today!

Amen…

Your fruit is in the wait...

I feel like over the last several weeks, the Lord has been giving me these challenging words. He’s been pushing people out of their dry places and into destiny. He’s been calling on you to not be satisfied with what was and stretch for what He has called you to do. Today after prayer, He began to talk to me about those of you that have read those words and responded with, “I’m waiting but I haven’t seen results from my obedience.” He said something really simple yet I think very profound. He said, waiting produces fruit! He began to talk to me about the strawberry plant. He said so many people want the plump, sweet juicy strawberry but they don’t want the process, the maintenance, and the ripening that brings that result. Did you know that strawberries require full exposure to the sun and usually in the first year of starting a strawberry field, you don’t yield much fruit because the plant is using its reserves to develop healthy roots? I didn’t! I read an article in Wikipedia that said, “Strawberries are tough and will survive many conditions, but during fruit formation, moisture is vital, especially if growing in containers. Moreover, protection must be provided against slugs and snails which attack the ripe fruit.” That’s a sermon right there! Some of you to take some lessons from the strawberry!

But I hear you asking what any of this has to do with you. Well the Lord said to tell you, “Do not forsake the waiting process trying to speed up what I’m trying to cultivate. Don’t rush through it, trying to make things move because you are uncomfortable in the stillness.  Let me bring your vision, your ministry, your dream to the place where it is ready to be received.” He then reminded me what an unripened strawberry tastes like. It’s a little bitter and watery and never quite lives up to your expectation. Do you know why it’s like that? It’s because the fruit stops ripening the minute you remove it from the plant. That’s why you taste such a difference between store bought strawberries and those picked right out of the field. Some of us try to fix strawberries that aren’t ready with some sugar but it still doesn’t compare to when you get a strawberry that was picked at the right time. You cannot in your own power create what God has already laid out for you. Just like strawberries, you need to keep yourself watered in the word of God and protected from attack. When you stay close to the vine, you will have the abiding and protective love of Christ. He will ensure that when the time of manifestation comes, you are ready to go out under His strength.

Jesus said in John 15: 5- 8, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.” (MSG)

Trust that what God is doing is intentional and purposeful. Every, hour, day, month and even year that you have spent waiting has not been wasted. It’s being used to produce a fruit that is sweet and satisfying. Be sure that you aren’t looking at the wait as a torture but instead as a time of cultivation as God prepares that great harvest with your name on it. Your vision will benefit from the wait, if you stay connected and expectant.

Amen…

Get up!

This morning the Lord sent me to the book of Ezra, one that I can admit to not having studied much at all. He showed me that there came a point when Ezra had cried out for the people for long enough and it was time for him to take action. In chapter 9, he prayed and cried about the guilt and sin of the people for marrying foreigners and forsaking what The Lord had done for them. But in chapter 10, He showed me how he brought it to an end. While Ezra was weeping and praying in front of the Temple, a crowd of people surrounded him, watching his distress and they felt convicted. They began to weep with him when one of the leaders, Shecaniah came forward and acknowledged that Ezra was right for his despair and that the people needed help. He said, “We have been unfaithful to our God, for we have married these pagan women of the land. But in spite of this there is hope for Israel.  Let us now make a covenant with our God to divorce our pagan wives and to send them away with their children. We will follow the advice given by you and by the others who respect the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law of God. Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.” (Ezra 10:2-4 NLT) It is verse 4 that the Lord used to bring me to this chapter in the first place! Read it again!

“Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action.”

Do you see what happened? Shecaniah gave Ezra a wakeup call. He basically told him that while he was not responsible for the sins of the people, he was responsible for bringing them out of it.  Mam! Sir! You are responsible for bringing people out of the situations that God has been speaking to you about and showing you over the last few months and even years. You have a duty to stop crying over the generational cycle that your family has been in and do something about it. You have a duty to stop worrying about the young men that you’ve seen dying left and right and do something about it. You have a duty to stop watching people die under dead preaching and teaching and do something about it!

This is what the Lord said for me to share this morning and I will end with it. It’s time, folks!

Thus says the Lord: Rise up! Rise up, daughter! Rise up, son! It's time to stop weeping and worrying and do what I have said. There are people watching and waiting on you to go forward with what I have I said. You have wavered long enough, wondering if people would like you or agree with you if you did what I said. The time for that is over. It is now time to get up and be about My business. Rise up from your mourning bench! Rise up from your sick bed! Rise up from your hard place! Rise up from your depression! Rise up from your place of struggle! Rise up from your place of transition! I've moved you and now it's time to start acting like it."

Amen.

Take the Limits off!

God has been dealing with me about levels. Levels, levels, levels. Next level, higher level, level up. You name it, I’ve been thinking about it. You see, for too long, the body of Christ has been content to let the world advance while the church watches and reacts later. God is challenging us to go after our purpose and our destiny with roller skates on. I believe He is tired of giving His people fresh revelation and ideas, only to see them lay dormant because of limited thinking and fear. Well today, He showed me a vision of all of these faces and then a series of bubbles floating up to the sky. They just kept going higher and higher without popping. Then I heard the Lord say, “With Me, there are no limits.” I felt a leap in my spirit. You see, I’m ready to see some people break out of tradition, fear, and limitation. I’m ready to celebrate some book releases and some ministry launches. And God is saying today that its time to get moving because the sky isn’t even the limit.

As I was praying about this, I was led to 1 Kings 8. This chapter is special because it’s when the temple that God had told David about was completed, dedicated and filled with His glory. As I was reading the chapter, God showed me that sometimes He gives a vision to a generation or a person that is supposed to just lay the groundwork through prayer and faith but won’t be the ones to complete it. Sometimes the vision is so big that it requires the faith and participation of more than one person. How many of you are sitting on a vision that God had your grandparents praying for? Or worse, how many of you are sitting on a vision that your children are supposed to complete. I digress. So at King Solomon’s instructions, the Levitical priests bring the Ark of the Covenant to the temple and when they leave the Holy of Holies, a cloud of glory fills the temple that was so powerful, the priest couldn’t even stand up to serve. You see when you trust God to complete the assignment that He gave you, He will keep His promises and bless it. The key is that you have to believe that it can and will be accomplished. King Solomon told the people the words that had been spoken to His father before he was even born.  He told them that though David desired to build the temple and was given the vision, Solomon would complete it. King Solomon had to have next level vision to complete what He didn’t start. No limits…

So the Lord highlighted verse 27 for me and told me to share it with you. Solomon asks the Lord, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27 NKJV) Solomon was so in awe that God would come and dwell in this temple that He had built. I mean, who was he but a mere man compared to this big God. But God told me to tell you, as Solomon highlighted, that your vision is not the big thing, its Him. Maybe that’s not clear. Your vision is not the star of the show…it’s God. He is the one that has no limits. He is the one that cannot be contained but if you trust Him and walk this thing out, He will dwell there. He will come to your ministry. He will come to your business. He will come to your nonprofit. He will come to your daycare.  He will take the vision and make it great because He will dwell there! What He places inside of you, He has to birth. Isaiah 66:9 says, “Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?”, says the Lord. Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.” (NKJV) If He gave it to you, He is going to bring it to pass. You just have to be willing to go with Him. No limits…

I challenge you today to step out and step up. God is calling on you to go to the next level…in prayer, in your study, in your relationships, and in your faith. Release Him from the box that you have placed Him in and allow Him to be the limitless God that He is. The main reason a lot of people haven’t seen their lives go where they want them to is because they have only allowed God a small piece of their time, faith, and expectation. Take your hands off and watch God take your bubble far beyond the skyline.

Amen.

Order!

Happy June, Rhema readers! I got down on the floor today for some quiet time with the Lord and I asked Him what He wanted me to say to you. This is what He said and I’m literally going to type exactly what He tells me…no editing. Ready?

This is the 6 month and the 6^th year of the blog. If you add those together, you get 12, the number that represents order (the state of things when law or authority is obeyed). It is now time to get it together. It is time out for excuses (something offered as justification for not acting), fear (an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger) and stagnation (a state in which growth or development stops). Your destiny requires you to line up with My word. Why do you think I called you to preach? Why do you think I called you to evangelize? Why do you think I called you to love on people? Why do you think I called you to be a trailblazer? Was it to sit on the gifts? Was it to sit on the calling? Was it to keep to yourself? No! It was to change nations! It was to change cities! It was to change your family. Today, everything must get in order and it starts with YOU! I need you to stop playing games with what I have told you to do. I want you to push forward into the vision without one ounce of doubt or fear. I did not give you the spirit of fear and I have not given you cause to doubt. So let’s get going!

I know that you have been trying to figure out how your vision lines up with the reality of your family. Not an issue! When you obey, I will fix the issues of your family. I will cause people to come back to you that have caused you harm. I will heal your heart from the affect that it caused and make you more effective within your family. I will handle the harden hearts and bring forth the unchurched and the unsaved. Do you trust Me with your family? It’s time for order.

I know that you have been trying to figure out how your vision lines up with the reality of your finances. Not an issue! When you obey, I will provide for you. I will cause your enemies to ask how they can bless you. I will cause people to call and email you with reports of how they have been following your progress and want to know how they can help. I have cattle on a thousand hills and what I provide doesn’t have conditions except your obedience. Didn’t I say that I would provide all that you need, according to MY riches? Why do you question what I have said? It’s time for order.

There are so many facets to the visions and plans that I have given you. It’s not just the one dimension that I have showed you but you need to move in the first dimension so that you can see the next level. Don’t you want to see that bank you’ve been dreaming about come to pass? Don’t you want to see that daycare manifest? Don’t you want to see how far that ministry can go? I have the capacity, the ability and the heart to give it to you. The question is, do you have the faith to go after it? It’s time for order.

I’ve waited long enough for you to get your mind wrapped around what I’ve told you to do. It’s not really that hard. Do you know why it feels hard to you? Because you have been attempting to make things work with your own strength, wit and abilities. However, my creativity is unmatched and my resources are unending. Stop looking to man for your confirmation and affirmation, and try ME. I can do it. It’s time for order.”

The Lord then led me to Psalm 37: 23-24 as a closing. The VOICE translation says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.” Order is directly tied to God. If you are in line with Him, He is in the midst of everything you do. Even when you mess up, He won’t let you fall because He is right there with you. It’s time for order.

Amen.