On his journey, Benaiah is trudging through the thick snow laden ground. His skin, though tough and calloused, feels the stinging the cold has to offer. Tired, hungry, and thirsty he becomes eager to return to Jerusalem and his brothers, King David's mighty men. Suddenly, he hears a giant roar in the distance, and with goosebumps trickling up his spine his pace quickens. His Spirit only tastes a hint of fear, but he senses it. Made aware of this fear, he stops, seeks out the cave, slaughters the lion, then enjoys the cave for himself.
You see, Benaiah's course would not be diverted because of a sudden fear. He would not be controlled by it. It would not rule over him. He chose to act in direct contrast to Satan's bidding.
Too often our course is diverted because of the fears that reside within us. Discover the fears, anxieties, and worries in your life and immediately behind those are our areas of greatest strength and provision. Satan doesn't attack the areas that are irrelevant to the Kingdom. Rather, he chooses to attack and the destroy the areas that God has anointed and placed undiscovered authority over our lives; because, Satan knows that we're dangerous there. Even if we don't know it yet. For years Satan had attacked my sleep. Nights of insomnia with anxiety and worry. Going to bed became a huge battleground. I became fearful of going to sleep because I knew that's when anxiety would come, and that's when I stopped trusting the Lord. I would go through seasons of this and it wasn't until one great night of revelation where I discovered that sleep, the prophetic, and spiritual discernment awakened out of sleep were areas of God's authority and anointing over me. Greatest weaknesses become greatest strengths.
Why does Satan attack you there? Because you are called to move in it. There's a place of peace, rest, and warmth. We just have to go through the lion first.
with Bliss,
Wes
Monday, February 13, 2012
What am I supposed to be "Telling" again? and other Ramblings
Recently I've been extremely convicted towards certain habits, or lack there of, that I've been fostering in my walk with Jesus. One in particular. Ok not just one, but one more so convicting than the others lately. I would like to think that I love and honor people well around me. On rare occasions my actions don't match up well with that statement, but for the most part I think I do those two things well (and there's always much more room to grow in those areas). Ok so I want to love people and honor them where they're at. So let's say hypothetically I was worth a lot of money and I see a starving person on the street. If I love and honor people well then giving that man a meal would be my gut reaction. So if I have an infinite amount of grace on my life, an anointing by the Holy Spirit, authority given to me by Jesus, and a Father who wants to see himself manifest through salvation; where's the holdup? So if I possess all those things worth more than gold, and I know/meet a person dying and going to hell, and I'm a loving person, then proof is only in the pudding, per se. Right now I'm only speaking off the cuff so hopefully all of this will evolve and I'll get to some meat. Bear with me.
On many occasions, but two in particular Jesus gave affirmative commands towards those that followed him:
"And proclaim as you go, saying, 'the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'(which looks a little bit like) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. "
& the classic
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I with you always, to the end of the age."
There is this little hill I've been trying to climb over and realize and that is that the gospel of Jesus is only good news to those who already believe. To those who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, it's not good news. In fact when I share blatantly share Jesus with those around me the message (not my actions) is going to be offensive. Act in love but don't fear the offensiveness of the message. When the gospel is told it will offend spirit and soul, and then the beauty of it all kicks in.
What would it look like for an entire generation to live unencumbered by fear? Well as a leaders we reap what we sow. If our biggest fears are fear of man that places us into terrified positions of not sharing the gospel, not healing the sick, not casting out demons, and not raising the dead(because we're commanded to do all those things) then we reproduce disciples and children with the same fears that we have. But that is only a secondary reason to it. Jesus is calling each one of us to step outside of the 'comforts' of our fears and into the greatness of the provision He's providing through our obedience to Him.
Just do it, and do it everyday. And see God's kingdom fall by activating the faith inside of you by being blatant in the blessing. Get up. And go live like your supposed to. This includes myself.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. Isaiah 61:1-7
In areas of shame and disobedience God is not only restoring my portion but He is doubling it. He is giving beauty for ashes. Today is a new day, and with it comes new resolves. There will be so much more to 'tell' this season. There will be so much more to 'tell' today.
To grace under pressure,
Wes
On many occasions, but two in particular Jesus gave affirmative commands towards those that followed him:
"And proclaim as you go, saying, 'the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'(which looks a little bit like) Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. "
& the classic
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I with you always, to the end of the age."
There is this little hill I've been trying to climb over and realize and that is that the gospel of Jesus is only good news to those who already believe. To those who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, it's not good news. In fact when I share blatantly share Jesus with those around me the message (not my actions) is going to be offensive. Act in love but don't fear the offensiveness of the message. When the gospel is told it will offend spirit and soul, and then the beauty of it all kicks in.
What would it look like for an entire generation to live unencumbered by fear? Well as a leaders we reap what we sow. If our biggest fears are fear of man that places us into terrified positions of not sharing the gospel, not healing the sick, not casting out demons, and not raising the dead(because we're commanded to do all those things) then we reproduce disciples and children with the same fears that we have. But that is only a secondary reason to it. Jesus is calling each one of us to step outside of the 'comforts' of our fears and into the greatness of the provision He's providing through our obedience to Him.
Just do it, and do it everyday. And see God's kingdom fall by activating the faith inside of you by being blatant in the blessing. Get up. And go live like your supposed to. This includes myself.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. Isaiah 61:1-7
In areas of shame and disobedience God is not only restoring my portion but He is doubling it. He is giving beauty for ashes. Today is a new day, and with it comes new resolves. There will be so much more to 'tell' this season. There will be so much more to 'tell' today.
To grace under pressure,
Wes
Friday, February 10, 2012
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Mmmm, At His Right
A couple weeks ago during worship one Sunday I asked God to give me a picture of what perfect, true restoration looked like, and almost immediately I got a picture of myself standing next to God and of Him placing His right arm around me and pulling me tight into himself. Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." And deep in God's presence there is not only fullness of joy, but restoration. His presence heals every wound, every broken heart, cleanses every sin.
If you'll let me hijack something I blogged a couple of years ago, I said, "Shika Baba. It's a Swahili term for 'hold onto the Father.' How do we see, experience, feel, live revival? We shika baba. We hold onto the goodness of the Father and we don't let go." So let me take this a step further and ask how do I/we receive personal transformation? I press into my Father, my Jesus, and my Holy Spirit. I become found in the cleft of God's arm. Living in a ceaseless hug from God(oh that's good).
Just as I was meditating on this verse this morning God asked me about His right hand and why pleasures forevermore were found there, and then it occurred to me that that's where Jesus is. This moment. Right now. Jesus is sitting at God's right hand, and he has been for an eternity, pouring all his goodness and pleasures onto us. I love simple truths and revelations like that. So simple, but so good.
There's always been this huge significance of God's right arm and me, sounds funny, but it's true. For the longest time, and still today, during worship my left hand would get really hot and tingle like crazy and inch all the way up my arm and eventually to the entire left side of my body, but it was only during worship or when spending personal time with Him. So one day I asked God why that happened and he told me it was because I'm on His right. You see, Jesus is King who reigns forever, and one day we will worship Him face to face. We are no equals. He is at the Father's right hand. But what God was showing me was that He has placed all His children in a position of favor. On his right.
God expand my love for you so that I am always found in the cleft of Your right arm. Your presence. Where true restoration, healing of wounds and brokenness, pleasures forevermore, and fullness of joy begins and ends.
Bless you,
Wes
If you'll let me hijack something I blogged a couple of years ago, I said, "Shika Baba. It's a Swahili term for 'hold onto the Father.' How do we see, experience, feel, live revival? We shika baba. We hold onto the goodness of the Father and we don't let go." So let me take this a step further and ask how do I/we receive personal transformation? I press into my Father, my Jesus, and my Holy Spirit. I become found in the cleft of God's arm. Living in a ceaseless hug from God(oh that's good).
Just as I was meditating on this verse this morning God asked me about His right hand and why pleasures forevermore were found there, and then it occurred to me that that's where Jesus is. This moment. Right now. Jesus is sitting at God's right hand, and he has been for an eternity, pouring all his goodness and pleasures onto us. I love simple truths and revelations like that. So simple, but so good.
There's always been this huge significance of God's right arm and me, sounds funny, but it's true. For the longest time, and still today, during worship my left hand would get really hot and tingle like crazy and inch all the way up my arm and eventually to the entire left side of my body, but it was only during worship or when spending personal time with Him. So one day I asked God why that happened and he told me it was because I'm on His right. You see, Jesus is King who reigns forever, and one day we will worship Him face to face. We are no equals. He is at the Father's right hand. But what God was showing me was that He has placed all His children in a position of favor. On his right.
God expand my love for you so that I am always found in the cleft of Your right arm. Your presence. Where true restoration, healing of wounds and brokenness, pleasures forevermore, and fullness of joy begins and ends.
Bless you,
Wes
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Holding
So I've stepped into this brand new season of my life. And here I sit, and sit, and sit. Waiting for God's dreams for me to begin unfolding or at the very least to be vividly revealed. But no, I'm here waiting. It's a holding pattern. You know when you're waiting in a plane circling the airport for an appropriate moment to land, and your ready to be on the ground and anxiety kinda hits you. Something like that.
So a couple of days ago my wonderful mom sent me an incredibly encouraging scripture, Romans 8:24-28. I'll read the Message version because I really liked how it was put:
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Rom. 8:24-28)
So all of the waiting is soo good. It grows my spirit in faith and teaches it to continually press into the things of God. The anxiety I am feeling is soo bad. What it's saying is that I don't trust God's goodness in my life as much as I trust myself.
Bill Johnson said (I've been consistently reminding myself of this), "The renewing of your mind puts you in a position to see that there is an oak tree in an acorn." So here I sit in this acorn season, and I rest, and I press in for patience, waiting for revelation that is greater than I am. Holding in joy and bliss! One thing I love about God is waiting for His goodness and glory to fall is just an unexpected moment away. We're consistently reaping the benefits of God's goodness, but we're always just a moment and an encounter away from being changed forever, and that's something to press into!
As a friend told me it's easy to press in so much for the things and the promises of the future that you miss all the goodness being poured out that day. But with the renewing of the mind, you get to watch the beautiful growth of an acorn into an oak tree of righteousness!
Peace easy,
Wes
So a couple of days ago my wonderful mom sent me an incredibly encouraging scripture, Romans 8:24-28. I'll read the Message version because I really liked how it was put:
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy. Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Rom. 8:24-28)
So all of the waiting is soo good. It grows my spirit in faith and teaches it to continually press into the things of God. The anxiety I am feeling is soo bad. What it's saying is that I don't trust God's goodness in my life as much as I trust myself.
Bill Johnson said (I've been consistently reminding myself of this), "The renewing of your mind puts you in a position to see that there is an oak tree in an acorn." So here I sit in this acorn season, and I rest, and I press in for patience, waiting for revelation that is greater than I am. Holding in joy and bliss! One thing I love about God is waiting for His goodness and glory to fall is just an unexpected moment away. We're consistently reaping the benefits of God's goodness, but we're always just a moment and an encounter away from being changed forever, and that's something to press into!
As a friend told me it's easy to press in so much for the things and the promises of the future that you miss all the goodness being poured out that day. But with the renewing of the mind, you get to watch the beautiful growth of an acorn into an oak tree of righteousness!
Peace easy,
Wes
Saturday, February 4, 2012
hey
I'm back. This morning during my time with Jesus I reflected on Matthew 13:44-46:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy (i love joy) he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it."
After munching on this for about 24 hrs. I'll let you know how it goes.
with bliss,
Wes
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy (i love joy) he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it."
After munching on this for about 24 hrs. I'll let you know how it goes.
with bliss,
Wes
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)