I was glad that someone told me in the past that one reason Jesus launched out a bit on the water was because that besides being protected from being swamped by the crowd, it also afforded greater sound acoustics for His Voice to carry more.
Okay, the Lord keeps bringing this up to me today - There are many people who teach on "the power of your confession" and they can give good Bible verses about it too. But, here is what MUST be understood. The "power" of it is in your agreement with the Holy Spirit of God. God is not giving you the power to become Him. He is not making you a God along beside of Him like a "pal" or a "peer." He is not putting His Authority in you to be as Him except in a way that is under Him. Like Father, like son, yes. But even sons know they are not their father. There is an order, a chain of command, but in the Spirit of the Holy Spirit, there is no weakness or breakdown. The Spirit holds its or His own position. You can see all this even in Jesus.
When you are born again, you become a new creation. You are "born again" from the seed of the Holy Spirit inside your soul that begins to grow and manifest. As you feed on the Word of God and are nurtured around those who walk in the Spirit, you will begin to grow and thrive in the creation that God has ordained YOU to be! You will go through a number of transformation processes. What you start off as young is probably not what you will look like when you are older and more mature. You can easily see this in the natural world as well! There are phases from infant to adult. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:46, "However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual."
Luke 5:1-3 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
People are talking about "the shift" as if it is the latest new fad, but it is seriously more than that. Many things have changed, and many have cried out in the past for a grace of "a little more time" and God has granted that. But others know that things have changed and in many places the foundations have already shifted and there is really more to come. Many have been crying out that structures are not what they used to be, nor what they should be.
Have any of you felt sleepy a lot lately? I have been and I have blamed it on many different things, like health issues, and finally started praying about it in a serious way, rebuking it, and the Lord led me to an old article I wrote on the "spirit of slumber." In the article, it talked about believing in "words" that you had to "wait for." All these "words" talk about all the "good things" that are coming to you, just wait, confess and believe, like that is all that was required. Well, many of these words never come to pass and you feel guilty for "doubting" but it was a fake promise! They only shared part of the story and generalized it in such a way that it made it appear it was for anyone and everyone.
If you look at other churches and ministries that grow, you will see that they include the other 5 fold ministry gifts of the Spirit and not just their own. There can be a snare though if they just add them to increase their ministry but don't hear. If they favor one ministry over another, (and these things can be easy to do at times), it is like trying to drive with a square tire instead of a round one! But those who truly seek God will find these ministries drawn to them and they will find friends and messages that balance them and move the ministry forward.
I like the Holy because the Holy will take you ABOVE natural life into the supernatural. Many avoid the supernatural because they don't go, or know how to go there in real life. But if you work at learning it in God, (and you will make some mistakes, but He will see you through if you are sincere), but if you are working at learning it IN God, you will find a lot of treasures and helps! Of course the Bible is our foundation. Some of my biggest mistakes have put me on the solid ground to look up! Sometimes your number of friends may be less because not everyone around you wants to "go there," but you don't have to be "weird" to go there, or ritualistic. You just have to be real with God!
‹Is the party over? I saw the empty boxes piled sky high at the recycling bin by the grocery store yesterday. In some ways it can be a relief that all the pressures of the expectations from others for the holidays are over. But the stores are preparing - I saw Valentines Day supplies and St. Patrick supplies and even gardening seeds out for sale! Yes, the stores will keep the pressures on for the "expectations." To the point, that it's not about choice for what you want to do, but the idol worship of following the craze. If you are feeling a big relief, do a self-check on that. I have. And when I shot down the unrealistic expectations, I felt so much better! And I have gotten better at it over the years.
There is a good fire and a bad fire, and both are intense. And fire that can be used for good, can also be very destructive. This is one good reason WHY we need to have the honor, fear and respect of God. Many have a spooky or unnatural fear of God and this denying of reality is a burden to God. Who can face things head on and discern what is really going on, especially behind the scenes?
Like many of you, I have received attacks on my body at different times, and there have been some serious issues. But through prayer and faith, and practical helps, a lot has been overcome. There are appointed times for us, but while we are alive, we do want to give it our best! It's so good to pray the Scriptures and believe in the atoning grace of Jesus through His work on the Cross. He paid the price for us!
Follow Up
