Thanks...

What to do in the pressure of life when everything seems to fall apart all at once...
1. Shut up.
Unfortunately, this is probably the hardest thing to do. By nature, we are bumbling idiots and speak exactly what we feel or negatively presume is going to take place in the future. I have heard of some wonderful faith people, quite prominent by today's standards, literally rolling in the floor to keep their minds clear and mouths shut from speaking the very obvious in the natural. Guess what... miracles happened for these people. No, not fortunate events, or something that was going to happen anyway, miracles. What if the Bible were really true? What if when the Author wrote "Death and Life are in the power of the tongue" really meant that? I guess we could measure that by looking around some time. I need to measure each word and ask myself, do I really want that to happen? I probably talk a lot less than I used to.
2. Sit down.
Why is it when things happen that appear to be catastrophic (I say that because as short sighted humans we think that tings are inevitable and beyond, or too difficult, to change. The truth is if it changed for the bad one way, then why can't it change for the good another way just as easily?) we run around like chickens with our heads cut off? We are determined to fix the problem, find the answer ourselves, or worry it to death, or wear ourselves out trying. It's a good idea when the car breaks to consult the owner's manual and a qualified mechanic... Those that wait on the Lord will renew their strength. Pressures will come to make you decide A or B!! A or B!!! Pick! Hurry up!!! but I am pretty certain that God has plans C, D, E, F... He did create everything and is currently maintaining it after all.
3. Thanks.
Peculiar thing about giving thanks. It somehow changes the heart and makes you feel better inside during times of distress. How? Don't know. Maybe it has something to do with focusing on something or somebody else that relieves the tensions in the human heart. I do know that the selfish people are the most miserable. Interestingly enough 'the manual' also has much o say about that too. "Thanks be to God which always causes me to triumph through our Lord Jesus Christ" and "Thanks be to God which always gives us the victory" and "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift (speaking of His grace)". Notice that it's the thanksgiving that causes the breakthrough... Interesting.

These are all mental notes for me. If you out there find relief in it, I am happy to be of assistance! :) Just make sure and do it rather than saying, "Boy, that's good" and then complaining... ;) That's what I'm still practicing!

Give Me Place

This morning while praying/studying, this word came to me from the Lord. He told me to publish it, post it, and send it everywhere that I can. Don't believe it as coming from me but as a Word from God (Joel 2:28). So in obedience to that, here it is. "Healing, salvation, the Word, the Kingdom of God are not hard, mysterious, or superspirtitual. In fact, most of the time it's so easy, so simple, so obvious it's trampled on because of simplicity. My burden is light and My yoke is easy. If I poured it all out, gave My all to give it, why then would I hide it, or make it impossible to achieve or receive? That is devilish thinking. I'm hiding nothing from you. the darkness you've allowed place (in you) blinds you, shields your eyes, darkens your heart and understanding to My light, wisdom, and ways. I'm not hiding anything! If you give place to Me, you'll see! I love you more than anything else in creation. It's My will and deepest desire to see you whole, wealthy, living the good life I have intended for you from the beginning in the garden of Blessing. You are My creation, not satans, and to prefer him over Me breaks My heart. Will you forfeit Me for yourself or a lust of your flesh? Why?! When I can deliver to you all the desires of your heart perfectly?! Give Me place and kick out satan. Behold I knock at the door, if you'll listen and let Me in, I'll save you, I'll heal you, I'll fulfill you in every way. I am jealous for My people, and the days of darkness are numbered now. My jealousy for them burns now and will soon be released into the earth upon those that hinder Me and them. Give Me place, and I'll give you a place, your rightful place here with Me and nothing by any means will harm you and your days will be spent with Me entirely, eternally. Give Me place."

blogs.

Well, it has been a year or two since I blogged last (not really), but as I finally got a moment to look at everybody else's, I didn't feel so bad cause everbody else is just slacking too. I think that is a good thing, however, because that means we are all being very productive.

Well, the move has been made without a whole lot of explanation or reason we up and move to Springfield, MO. What the... well, to be honest I knew we would not be in Texas long, it was a faith move for us that released us from an immense amount of debt and bondage that we were not supposed to have. It is good to sit here at my kitchen table and breathe the cool spring air, watching the sun go down and enjoying our family, home, and even the old black dog. Kids are laughing and playing outside, and life is good and Blessed. We are on a new plane now, I know it by the spirit, and enormous things are coming that I have been waiting and patiently waiting for in faith. I really believe that the Body is about to be ushered into a whole new thing. Two praise songs and three worship songs, followed by the announcements and all the rest is about to be traded in for extreme church. I really believe that the Holy Spirit is going to manifest Himself in a mightier way that we are unfamiliar with. I am ready. I want to run my race. There is such a limited amount of time on this earth, and we will never be here again. This life in so many ways is shorter than we know, and we will never have the opportunity to serve God in faith like this again. I'll be in heaven one day and all of this won't matter anymore, except for the speech that Jesus gave the day everything was wrapped up. When He recognizes me and you for our valiant service and the things that we did right for the kingom's and His sake. The time when He recognizes my name before many because I stood for His on this earth before people in the world, and He calls me His friend before billions of people. How can we thank Him adequately for pre thinking me into existence, saving me, and keeping me throughout earth and eternity? Maybe an ice cream cone? But then, it would be His ice cream... and His cone... made out of His stuff. No, just Love, I reckon. Just Love. Well, perhaps I will poke my friends and family to post on their blogs so I can secretly know what everybody else is doing.

Adios Amigos! Te Quiero Mucho...

p.s.

I passed the test...

Christmas Parade!!!!!!!!!!!

Well the family and I enjoyed our first big city parade in Dallas! It was cool! Here are the details... I couldn't put them all on however, so maybe more later...

Thankfullness

This morning when in my prayer time I was instructed to read Isaiah 40:2, which reads; "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8 "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you."

As I sit here thinking and praying about all the things that God has done for me, and the places that He delivered me out of, my heart burns for those that are sitiing today in the same place that I was years ago. Abba Father literally took me by the hand and led me out of a dungeon of fear, inferiority, and loneliness; abandoned by family, no friends, and full of bitterness and anger. I was sitting in the darkest prison, wallowing around in the cess pool of oppresion and death. Harsh? Yah, I know, I was there. I know He showed me this today to declare His goodness to me, and all those around me that are sitting in the once empty dungeon that I used to occupy. I am so thankful to God for loving me. Taking me out of death and translating me into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Col. 1: 12-14. I am thankful to be free. I am thankful to have enjoyed this marvelous holiday with my family. I could not have chosen a better wife, or chidren to love and share this freedom with. I also think and pray for those that are bound up today, that need that freedom that I have, and it is a sobering prayer. It is wonderful to worship the Lord in His liberty, and I do everyday for it is a right thing to do, but I also pray for those that have not found it yet.
Thank God for wholeness. Thank God for the church. Thank God for sending Jesus, His dearest possesion for us, so that we may enjoy His freedom now. I hope that Thanksgiving is just a prelude to Christmas, and that a prelude to Resurrection Sunday. I pray that beyond the football games and feasting that we all remember the Messiah, for it is He that has led us out by the hand, and made us a light to the gentiles to set the captive free. And after I have sat down and feasted on the best meal that I have ever had, thanks to my wonderful wife and her fabulous talent of cooking, I am reminded of the feast of prosperity and wholeness that the Master has given us. Thank you Daddy God!


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

How about Separation instead of Assimilation?

Recently I have had the witness inside that separation is in order. In the last days we are supposed to become more and more sanctified, but it seems as if the church is becoming more and more assimilated, or tolerant and even supportive of the world's views and practices. The Scripture says narrow is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. I see every day ignorance that turns into destruction and there is nothing that I can do about it. I minister daily to people that are in the very midst of destruction, and with a devilish pride and resilience they hold on to the religious foolishness of man and fight for their lives in a whirlwind of destruction resisting the freedom that is too easy to receive. I ministered daily to a woman going through breast cancer giving precise detailed instruction from the Word by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and to this day she still argues God "allowed" it (or in other words gave it to her). But then as a quiet fly on the wall, I heard all of the prejudice, hatred and foolishness come out of her mouth, and any further ministry short of praying for her was as pearls before the swine.

We are to offer our bodies to God as our reasonable sacrifice. Reasonable. Even God suggests that our separation is reasonable. I am embarrassed to say that I have known more Christian people this year take part in the dreaded Halloween holiday, citing that it is just for kids. We cannot be fooled any longer, any agreement with the enemy will spell destruction. ( I also must say that here in Ft. Worth I was happily surprised with the turn out for Christian alternative events) To be separate means to literally be cut off from a certain group or activity. That sounds a lot like translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son of His Love. There is a clear distinction, there must be now. I wondered how the very elect would be defeated and deceived by the enemy, it is a little word I call tolerance. What are you tolerating today? Just a little fear, or perhaps a little selfishness, or maybe a little addiction to something so menial that it isn't really an addiction. A little testimony of my own, since we moved we kept the satellite off, and since then I have grown dramatically closer to the Lord and don't even miss it. I guess tolerating a little lack is okay, especially since the world is in a recession...
We have such a greater covenant than the world. The covenant shared with the devil may be filled with the lusts of this world and feel good for a time, but the true pleasures and emotions, and love Divinely appointed from the Father of Lights is so incomparable there are no words to describe it. We must live post resurrection, it has all been fulfilled, and all has been fully supplied to us in Christ. I had the Spirit say to me a while back, 'the hardest thing that I will ever ask you to do is act on your faith'. Our part is to take the word and act out on faith. Here's the good part. It isn't our Word, it isn't our faith, and it has nothing to do with how goody goody we've been. We simply take the promise, put it into our mouth and believe Him.
How is it that the Creator can say I love you, and I will never leave you, then two people can tell you of some horrible thing and instantly you are tempted to question what the Lord has said. Or God says you are rich in Me, take it, and someone starts to talk about the economy in a worldy practical way and all the sudden God's Word is in jeopardy. Honestly folks, the three trillion voices in the world could disagree with the one voice of God, and His will always be right. I have been labeled an 'extreme' Christian, but I trust God. I believe what He said, He is also well able to perform it. That's why even when no immediate change came after praying in front of a group of people, you will never see me embarrassed of intimidated, the problem wasn't God my friend. Dare to separate. Dare to be different. Your very life may depend on it. You will love the life it produces.

The End of an Era

Well, it's an end of an era... the time has come and somewhat reluctantly, we finally traded in one of our family members. Yes, our old GMC truck has finally been put to rest. We have had that truck since before we were married and have had some good and life altering moments in that truck, it will be missed. Think that's pretty corny do you? Well, maybe it is, but it's like Fluffy being around for 20 years, you get used to her quirks and up's and down's, and when she finally gets eaten by the neighbor's rottweiler, hey, you miss her. Same thing here, I guess. We as humans tend to relate happenings and relevant things of our lives to inanimate objects, that are otherwise just tools to get us where we need to go. Well, I choose to honor the things that have served me well, so I make a tribute to the old GMC in this post (with pictures of our last moments together). I have to give God glory for the whole thing, however, (being the radical Christian that I am)I have plead the Blood of Jesus over that truck for at least 8 years and when the manager drove it as a trade in (all 264,000 miles of it)he came in astonished at the quality of it. He shook my hand and bragged on it for quite some time, of course I just smile and know it has been the Blessing of the Lord on all of our stuff. Naturally, we got an awesome deal on the new auto, and everything that we didn't know that we wanted in it, God knows our every desire altogether and supplies abundantly above and beyond all that we can ask or think...

So here's to you, our old friend.