Thursday, June 30, 2011

Joshua in Manitowoc

As I was journaling and praying about our upcoming trip this morning, God gave me an incredible picture. He is so amazingly faithful.


My prayer, was this: Father, prepare me for the trip ahead. Prepare my heart and my mind to only speak those things that You would have for me to speak. Let it be all about You Lord. Let our trip honor You and bring glory to You. I pray that You draw people to Your loving side. I pray for 15 salvations, and twice that added to the body of Your church. Go before us Lord. Prepare the lives to be ripe. Prepare the hearts to be tender. Prepare the minds for understanding the things of You. Prepare Your children to meet their Father face to face and give them willingness to act on the drawing of Your Holy Spirit. May they run into Your open arms. May they come to know You as both Savior and Lord. Bless me, my girls and our team with a fresh fire, a fresh anointing; fill us to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. Change us forever to never want to live our lives a single day without telling others of Your all-sufficient Grace, and the miracle of salvation in our own lives. Amen.

Then, a little later as I was looking for something different, He gave me Joshua 3:7-13. I had studied this earlier in the week, and he revealed something to me, but first, the application.

*God goes before His people and prepares the way, even when there seems to be no way.

*We are fixing to act as the priests here, in that we will be called to stand in the gap (the river) by the measure of faith He has given us, for the people we come in contact with in Manitowoc. (Symbolically speaking, not saying I am a priest, but priesthood of believers.)

*God will drive out excuses, religions, habits and wrong beliefs just as He promised to drive out all the “-ites” from before His people crossing the Jordan river in faith, from before the people He is calling us to go to.

*God will hold back the flood of words and conflicting thoughts in order for us to proclaim His truth by the blood of the lamb and the words of our testimonies, to His called children.

*He will deliver His people in Manitowoc to the salvation (Gilgal) that He alone is able to offer and complete.

If you jump ahead to Joshua 4:3-9, it talks of setting up stones. This is where I have been pondering the last couple of weeks that He just made so clear. Some of the men were to take stones out of the river as they crossed to set up at Gilgal as an altar, spiritual marker, to the Lord. Joshua, however set up 12 stones in the river before the priests left that place and the presence of the Lord was still staying the rivers. Why 2 different sets? What was the significance? For this application, there will be spiritual markers set up for both us and those we are going to serve. Those in Manitowoc who will meet Him when they get to the place of coming full circle with God (meaning of name Gilgal), and some spiritual markers will be set up in our remembrance before we leave that place by God Himself, to serve as spiritual markers in our lives and for the rest of our lives. Two sets of spiritual markers. One God giving His spirit and revelation to all. All lives changed forever.

Thank you Lord for Your promises to us.

Friday, June 17, 2011

What are we willing to fight for?

May I just say there is a right way and a wrong way to fight as a Christian, and just as importantly, there are right things and wrong things to fight over. Just this morning I read a headline about people actually BRAWLING to get into a courtroom to be a part of the hype of a murder trial. Really? Thankfully, no one in the crowd claimed to be acting out of a Holy duty or a Christian obligation!


There is one thing that I can say without hesitation we must fight for…our faith. We are so carnally predisposed to fighting against others, when what we truly need to be on guard and fight against is our very nature to act and react in ways that are not consistent with a living FAITH in Christ. In Romans 14:23 we read, “…and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” That lays the importance of fighting for our faith right at our feet. When we are asked what is sin the simple answer is anything not done in faith, not what our neighbor is doing, not what I am going to battle to correct, not what the other person said about me, not what I think of someone else’s spiritual maturity or lack thereof. What sin is … anytime you or I do or say anything that is not coming from faith.

2 Corinthians Chapter 10 reads, “3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” Doctrinal fights? No need. I in faith seek what the Word and the Holy Spirit reveal to me and act accordingly. Power struggles? No need. I through faith go where He leads me to and leave the results to Him. Evangelism? Sew the Seed in faith, and leave the responsibility for watering and harvesting to Him. Do not argue with the waterer as to your individual roles. If you are called to harvesting, harvest in faith, and do not worry about the responsibilities of the sewer and the waterer. Do what God calls you to do in faith, and leave the rest to Him.

I must keep my faith strong in order to be useful to my Lord and Savior, and that is one fight I am willing to battle with all due diligence, and it truly takes it. Negative thought? By faith I take it captive and speak the truth of the Word over it. Improper scene in move? By faith I turn it off claiming it is not needful for me to watch the rest. Improper language being spoken in your presence? Kindness to the person to please respect your desire not to listen, but mostly, prayer by faith that the Lord take that hearing of that filth out of my mind so that it does not remain in my mind and pop back out. Tough day ahead? Pray the armor of God on in the morning and continue to pray it over yourself throughout the day. Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

My prayer for myself today, as well as others, is that I will fight the fight of faith within myself, and against the strongholds that Satan attempts to set up against me, and with every word or deed claim it done in faith that the Lord has directed it, the Lord with multiply it, and the Lord will give His results to it. As for others? I will fight the fight of faith with and for them on my knees. I will speak into their lives as the Lord directs, I will be a willing vessel to be used of Him, and I will leave revelation and change up to Him. My job is simply to point my life toward Him in faith, and let Him use that as He wishes. I will not waste my God given time, talent, and strength on battles that are not mine to fight. I will however, fight for my faith in the everyday moments of life to live each one in Him, and draw on His strength in order to be able to stay in the faith He provides. You see, He does not expect us to have anything that He does not give to us first! If He requires it, He supplies it.

Go and fight for your faith in the power He supplies.