Lawlessness

My last article spoke of learning how to deal with issues without putting ourselves under condemnation of the Law.  It has been on my mind to add a bit to that as I know it is a subject that is frequently misunderstood.

Today, Loren Sandford spoke about how important it is that we understand the Law of God. And it is easy for us to think that because I am "under grace" the Law no longer has value.  We live in a day where the man of lawlessness is arising and lawlessness is abounding.  A teenager was convicted of killing four people while driving drunk and he got 10 years probation considering that his wealthy parents never taught him right and wrong.

A friend and I were talking the other day and she is one who has grown so much in the Lord the last three or four month and I commented on that.  And in response somewhere she said, "But I will still stand up for what is Right."   Out of my mouth came the following. "I will excited to see when you will stand up for what is Life."

I have pondered this things the last few weeks understanding moral law is just that moral law.  The basic law of God never changes and is absolute. And I like to put it this way. It will absolutely KILL all of US.

As I write this, I must confess that as my kids grew up I taught them very strongly about right and wrong.  I disciplined them when they did wrong to teach them.   But I never tied that up with living Life in Christ Jesus.  Violating the law of God always kills us. It has always been made to teach us how imperfect we are and how great a need we have of a Saviour, Jesus the Christ who is Lord.   Listening to various ones preaching on these themes lately I realize how far I fell short in raising my four children in terms of leading them or directing their "wayward behavior" to the cross and giving them assurance of the freedom that "failure" brings us In Christ Jesus.  I never pointed the way to Him in my discipline so I didn't teach them missing the mark, or failure is just the opportunity to depend on Him as we are willing to change our ways, to receive the forgiveness that was paid for on the cross and to walk in newness of His life.

I know that scripture that says the law is our guardian until Christ.  Somehow I missed that....I never pointed to the Saviour as the place to run when we fail, miss the mark, sin. 

In this season I have worked with several dear brothers and sisters who are struggling with the whole forgiveness issue.  They know right and wrong, but like me, when they failed, or missed the mark, they weren't trained to receive all that is theirs in Christ Jesus. Instead the enemy pulls up scriptures to convince them that since they "knowingly sinned" they are lost.   We all knowingly sin. We all chose to sin. We all feel afraid. Some have more anxiety than others but we all deal with fear.  The key is not if we have these human emotions, but the question is when fear, and guilt and shame come into my mind what will I choose to do? Will I fall into the pit by condemning myself for being afraid, of having failed to be perfect, or of doing something I down right knew I shouldn't do and did it anyway as if the provision of God's grace poured out at Calvary was limited to "not so bad sins" but not willful sins as if there was a difference?  Sin separates me from God because it is my will meeting my own needs in some way instead of depending on Him who is the Supplier of ALL things, the Lord of ALL!!

I can't meet my own needs and let Holy Spirit well up within me and fill me up with the provision of the Lord God at the same time! We aren't made that was.  But if I am born of the Spirit of God, His Spirit awaits my trusting in Him to have made "eternal reconciliation" with the Father through the blood of Jesus and He isn't going to run away or forsake me because of any kind of failure, sin, screw up on my part or else he isn't Saviour.  We are eternally connected in spirit..spirit to Spirit.

We have been reconciled to the Father through the Son, who shed His blood for us, whose body was broken so that my brokenness could be filled up with His wholeness, holiness, righteousness...whatever you want to call what He is in me and what I am as I am in Him as I am  seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Much of this forgiveness issue is tied up with that foundational doctrine of "repentance of dead works" which so many of us as Christians don't seem to understand.  I can do NOTHING of myself.  As little children we do ask the Father to "help us do good things." As we grow in trust in the Father, we learn to trust the Father to show us what He is doing and to equip us to walk with HIM instead of  Him supporting what I am doing .  I am so glad He is a merciful Father and I am reconciled to Him in Christ Jesus, or else there would have been those waasted years that I spent trusting Him to get me out of the ditches only to get back in my vehicle and drive off down the road, praising Him for his deliverance....unaware, that  I had him as copilot instead of as Pilo where he would be leading  and directing and going HIS way with me along as a co-laborer.

Much of our sin consciousness as Christians come because we are still "sin conscious" instead of Life and Righteousness conscious. I am in right relationship with the Father because I am in Christ Jesus and He in me and He is the Righteousness of God, and He is that in me!

Beyond that, there is no "right behavior" or "right deeds."  Right in the scriptures is always about RIght eous ness.  Being in Right relationship with the Father.  Hurting my brother, calling him names is "wrong" and hurts us because my brother is the Father's son...and when I am in right relationship with the Father I don't call my brother or anyone else names (take heed you who love to refer to politicians by various names.)  

The man of Lawlessness is rising because there is no longer the preaching of the Good News or the Gospel of Jesus Christ which says...we have been reconciled to the Father....through Jesus Christ.  How the Father loves us!  It is the lovingkindness of the Father as revealed in Jesus Christ that brings people to repentance....where they change the way they think.  Romans makes it clear that it is our minds that must be renewed.  If I don't kill my brother but still call him names, I haven't repented, I have just modified my own ways of meeting my own needs for safety and revenge and hatred. Jesus calls name calling murder because they are the Father's children...and who are we to say of them anything but what the Father says. If we aren't reconciled to the Father and don't know Him and don't let him know how I feel, and think, and act, then of course I am not going to treat people right.

Right and wrong apart from the truth of the Law of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, will just make "better sinners of us."  I remember driving home one night and listening to one of the family programs on the radio. The guy said something like this. "You Dads out there: just because you have a moral son who does what you tell him doesn't make him righteous."

We are in a day when morality is seemingly lost....but the key is Right relationship with the Lord God....He then will equip us to keep the law even as He lives that law in all He does in and through me.

May we continue to seek Him as our Righteousness and turn from all that would dissuade us from Himself and all He has accomplished on the cross and in His resurrection.

Meri Ford

Changes for the rest of 2013-2014

Changes   

 November 23, 2013

After a couple of weeks of being stirred over some thoughts, this morning I am here to share them with you, to encourage you and strengthen you in the walk where with the Lord is walking with you.

To begin with, I have looked back this morning at some of the things that I received at the end of 2012 and the early weeks of 2013.  The first I share with you was a dream which while it seems to relate directly to the work situation I was in was just the first of things the Lord seemed to use to bring attention to what He was showing me of His plans for 2013.

~~~

A dream On December 29, 2012 

In the dream my boss Scott was telling me that he had changed four evaluations that were scheduled for me to do. There was a list of four that I saw that he referred to that he changed the times and who was doing them in the appointment book.

Along with seeing that I heard this:

“Take whatever Scott does as from my hand.  Accept the changes as “gifts from me.”  It is about you being a part of what I am doing.”

I went on to understand.

“Meri, the kingdom of God/heaven is not about what I do for you. It is about you being equipped to be part of what I AM DOING IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH.”

What I do for you doesn't change you. It is being equipped by the Holy Spirit, “changed” by Him to walk with Me, being a part of what I am doing.

I begin teaching you as you see I love you and that I am there in all you do.  That's a beginning not the goal.  When you learn I AM, it is not longer about you, but who I am and your beloved relationship in Me.

It was as if He repeated himself saying “again, it is who I AM, What I AM doing. You've always seen it as what I am doing for you rather than who I AM and what I AM doing because of who I AM. I walk with you because of who I AM not because of who you are."....

In a newsletter I ended my entry that day with this statement after commenting on the above:

Change...this year ends with a whole new way of looking at so many  aspects of my life in Christ Jesus and new ways of addressing things including changes that will take place in 2013.  The blood has never lost it's power because it is Holy...One, there is no sin in the blood of Jesus, no seed of man.

~~~

Many of you know that this year 2013 has been a year of major change for me and it came with the 'suddenlies" as I suddenly found myself retired, like in a 24 hour period without any warning except a handful of words from the Father of what He was doing in my life.

But the changes in my life aren't what this is about. It is about how we handle changes in our lives and how we as Christians deal with what I will call "corrective changes."  All change comes to bring a NEW pathway, something that deviates from the old or it wouldn't be a change.

One of my mentors recently said that one of the problems in the body of Christ today is that there is little "fear of the Lord."  As I have pondered this I realize that much of the resistance to change that we have in the Body of Christ is a lack of the fear of the Lord.  When we understand the "ways of the Lord" we come to know that our loving heavenly Father comes to direct us into paths of "more abundant life."  Yet, I see such resistance in His Body to such change rather than a welcoming of change as the opportunity to experience more of His abundant loving kindness and tender mercies. Ah ha...tender mercies...receiving what I don't deserve!!  Which means, that I probably have goofed up, acted out of my human nature and "need mercy" rather than punishment.  Part of the fear of the Lord is wanting what He has provided for us in Christ Jesus in light of what life without it would mean.  Like running to catch a bus and being more concerned with wanting to catch the bus to go where it going so I didn't miss out on what the plan was as opposed to being fearful of the consequences of not going or the paybacks.  The fear of the Lord in this illustration would include if I missed that bus after making effort to get on it I would loo for another way to get there, whether by walking, etc. rather than sit back and fear the consequences of offending the person who was holding the gathering I didn't go to.  I don't want to miss out on the LIFE that God has for me in Christ Jesus and if I miss it at one turn, HE is in me that Life and I will continue to seek after Him because Holy Spirit is in me and my Father IS a merciful God and continues to work with me to lead me and guide me.

So what does this have to do with change?

In the past year I have had relationship with a variety of prophetic friends and one of the things I have noticed is the "resistance to change" that I have encountered.  Note also that when a prophetic person is dealing with a prophetic person and the issue is about change, it is iron sharpening iron and is not at all like a mercy heart who is dealing with the sheep.  Often when the prophetic works with prophetic people, it is a matter of what I will call "urgency."  I have become to realize that in most of the situations I have been in that I was there for one of two reasons: one, a person was about to fall off a cliff and needed a safety net put out for them to walk in the opposite direction. OR  two: the person was stagnating in a foul but comfortable place and needed stirred to understanding of how to move out of that stuck place.  

I think of a recent video we watched of a drowning person and how the rescuer had to wait until the person was nearly drowned before rescuing them.  Otherwise the fight is too bad and the rescuer's life is at risk from the drowning person.

When you encounter people wanting to be saved from their circumstances, mercy and compassion are often not the solution. I have seen rescuers slap or knock out the one in need of rescuing in order to saving them from their own efforts to save themselves.  I have found that at times in working with prophetic people, it is necessary to say politely...SHUT UP...quiet...for what they were saying was winding the web of their destruction further in their ignorance. It is often like a "slap in the face" a drowning victim might get from his rescuer, because he comes with the ability to save the person out of that situation.

Yet, what I have often found is that particularly some  prophetic people are very resistant to being rescued! They want the mercy hearts to rescue them, to cajole them. On the other hand, often prophetic people and others have gotten "bad counsel.  They have been told what not to do instead of equipped to do what is before them.  Being told what "not to do" lays a load of guilt and shame on people because we basically know in our hearts what we aren't supposed to do, but being freed in Christ to do what He is doing and walk with Him takes revelation insight which often the prophetic is the only one who "has a sharp enough sword" to provide that.  OUCH...it hurts when the sharp point of the Word touches the place we have so protected with our reasonings and logic, often for a lifetime. 

 I remember one time I cried out to the Lord because  something someone said to me hurt me so deeply, I cried to Him saying I knew now what it meant to hurt in my bowels. And the Lord spoke so clearly to me and said, "How did it get in?"  I had a vulnerability that allow a weak spot to be made known."  I was weak, I was vulnerable and I needed HIM in that place in my life and it took a word from someone I loved that wasn't a "nice or loving word" to bring awareness to something in me that the Lord God wanted to change.

Another aspect of change that I have noticed in 2013 is our wonderful ability, particularly prophetic people, to justify, explain away and defend ourselves from change.  When the Lord opens a door to change through new understanding, it is not man's responsibility to "wrap his mind around it."  How often I heard this in the office when I counseled.  New understanding is to be received INTO the understanding and clearly it probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense with my old understanding which didn't have solutions for the life issues I was dealing with. DUH! 

Another favorite response to change is "The Holy Spirit isn't convicting me of this."   When we know something is wrong, has negative consequences, it is time to seek the Lord not justify our behaviors.  I heard a lady the other day tell how one lady was drinking a diet pepsi and another lady shared how she was learning how dangerous the asparatame and nutrisweet artificial sweeteners were.  How difficult it is for us to say to one who shares information with us that might invite a change in our behavior, how difficult it is to say," Hey, thanks for that information!" The lady that was telling me this basically criticized the lady who shared the information by saying we are all at different places and we need to be careful what we say.  I would say this: we are to welcome new information and are free in Christ to take it before the Lord.    If that lady were to say, Hey, there is nothing wrong with drinking this artificial sugar ladened pop, then she has resisted anything that the Lord might say to her about changing.  In a dealing with a dear friend recently, I heard the phrase again, Holy Spirit isn't convicting me of this....and the reason why?  He didn't consider what he was doing sin or wrong, so why would the Holy Spirit suggest to him that he ought to change? He had already 'resisted the truth."  Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and if we have resisted the Truth, He will let us reap the rewards of our behaviors until we are sufficiently broken and accepting of the discomfort of the error of our ways.  And if we are truly His children, we can expect His Pricks along the way, people coming to us and "reminding" us of Truth, even Truth we don't like and have already rejected.

Change always comes at a price, both making the change and resisting change.   

Nationally major change has taken place the last 5 years in our government and if God's people recognize this change and flow in what the Holy Spirit is saying, they will be empowered as never before. It doesn't make any difference if government is "right or wrong"....we are the people of God and He is not limited by what human beings in government do, or human beings any place else do.  The anger I see among God's people over what is happening in government is so revolting as it manifests a total lack of belief in the overshadowing power of the Lord God to rule the nations.  Our lives are being affected by what governments do, but our LIFE is in His Hands.  He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Again it is a change issue and will we live and move and have our being in Christ, the IAM in whom I dwell and who dwells in ME? As we remember these things when change comes to our doorstep, we will be equipped to continue to walk forth in newness of Life IN Christ Jesus. OR  we will assess blame on ourselves or others for the discomfort change brings.

This year, 2013, brought a lot of changes in my life and they continue and I am learning to welcome them.   I don't know why but I won't be going to see my grandkids in South Carolina for the holidays this year, meaning I miss my son-in-law's, my daughter's and their oldest daughter's birthday, all the two weeks before Christmas.  Change...staying home this December and not sharing with that family.   Change in friendships this past year. My closest daily Christian friend was suddenly out of my life with no freedom to contact her and it remains that way  9 months later. Yet I know we are still friends and sisters in Christ Jesus.  Retirement brought complete change in our eating habits and not responding with new dietary plans I now am working to get the 20 lbs I gained in the last 9 months off. Change....dependent on my husband, home with my husband 24/7, began a painting class and learning to paint and finding I actually have some painting skills to produce something of beauty, change in seasons from summer to fall and no longer any yard work to do to occupy my days, change in finances, no longer able to buy gifts as I did last year, no longer to as freely share with needs presented to me, and even extremely limited social contact as we live in a rural area.   Yet, our God is a God of change and works out all things to His praise and glory.  What abundance has come forth in the midst of these changes!!  And I expect the same as we close this year out and enter into another year in which I anticipate government changes and economic changes will not be to "my liking."  But in Christ we have the promise of abundance in the midst of change, IF we are willing to receive HIS correction, HIS new mind and cast aside our old mindset, which while maybe nothing wrong with it, isn't productive for the season or change He is walking us into.

We have choices....we can welcome change, we can welcome information that is extended to us, and be committed to what God is directing us according to His Word, or we can seek to try and "understand" all God is doing and find ourselves further drowning.  Or as many I have talked to  do....so seek more counsel!   Many years ago the Lord showed me the danger of seeking additional counsel when once He had given me counsel and direction that I didn't either understand or like. To do so is to walk the road of error and most often tragedy.   If I don't understand HIS counsel, I seek HIM, not another counselor.  I may ask another counselor to help me understand HIS COUNSEL but if I seek additional counsel when God has given me counsel, I am sure to walk into deception and further misunderstanding.  We get a "softer easier word" from a mercy heart, rather than dealing with the prick of His Word and accepting that there is a place of hurt and pain that He is addressing.

As change comes forth in December of 2013 and the year 2014, may we come to welcome Him even where it is painful, where we don't understand or dislike. And He teaches in His word...IN EVERYTHING give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus(and you and I are IN Christ Jesus).   We enter His presence with thanksgiving and go into his courts(very presence) with praise.   When all around me is change and change I don't like, I will praise HIm as HE is the Lord GOD, there is none other!! I am IN Him who is the I AM and the I AM is IN  me and keeping and equipping me through any change that comes. Change didn't catch Him by surprise!

Below are some quotes that I have gathered this past year that have encouraged me in the changes I have gone through and I trust as I gathered some of them together that they are here to instruct and encourage some of you in the year ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you going through a hard time? Watch and wait as God unfolds new plans and strategies over the next few weeks. Sometimes we need to battle, other times we need to let the storm pass. This is a time to do both: battle discouragement for a while but watch as the storm passes...............

We are in a time of radical transition. Watch. Take steps. Battle through discouragement. The God of surprises is going to turn things around. I know it and am pulling for you!

Blessings,

Doug Addison

www.dougaddison.com

april8

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS:

I am bringing you to another level of commitment, but you must abandon religious exercise and man's traditions to seek life in the Spirit.  I am opening the treasures of walking in the Spirit as you choose to be obedient to the revelation of spiritual reality being unveiled.  The blessings will be beyond what you could think or ask if you refuse to go back to what is familiar, says the Lord.
Luke 12:48b  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

April 11, 2013

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS: Don't give up!  Hold on to your faith.  Even though the path seems unfamiliar and even treacherous at times, you must continue on.  I have gone before you to make the crooked places straight and to remove dangerous obstacles from your way.  Be strong and unwavering in your belief that I will perfect those things that concern you, says the Lord.  Isaiah 45:2  I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.

april 29

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS:

Look up and out from where you now stand spiritually, for there is an expansion of insight and understanding underway.  Look beyond where you are and rise above those things that have been dark and gloomy.  There is no cause for discouragement or depression.  Rise up now to seek and to know My will and purposes.  What's done is done, and now you must change your mindset and position, says the Lord.  I am with you to guide you through the maze of emotions that have kept you in darkness.  Colossians 3:2  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth

Small Straws

You are going to find yourself feeling the final crunch of things that are coming into perfect order before you can move on, some of which will be somewhat unexpected.  But, you will know that you are in the flow of My Spirit when these things are not initiated by you.  You will be able to see divine intervention, mercy and grace as I give you wisdom in many areas of your life.  Trust Me, says the Lord.  Acts 17:29 "Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising."  Sept16

 

September 17, 2013. Navigate this challenge very carefully. Don't assume you know how to do this because of past victories. You could be in trouble very quickly if you think you can handle this the same way. This one is different.  You will learn a lot from handling this but don't get self-assured. Stay in an attitude of listening and learning. Remember you have asked Me for wisdom. Now don't get antsy and go ahead without My direction. I have a way of handling this that will astound all. I will be praised.

Isaiah 40:4-5. "Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!"  Bev Robinson

Scroll down and see what is happening in ministry to the children.

September 17, 2013. There is no place you can go to escape My presence. During times when you feel there is no way I could be present, I am in your midst. In the deepest depths of despair, I am beside you. When you feel all alone and in your darkest hour, I am with you. When you cannot get an answer to your most trying questions, I am with you. When you cannot see an end in sight to the situation you are in, I am the way.

Isaiah 43:2 (NLT) "When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you." Kevin Robinson

March 23, 2013. You are not stubborn like your forefathers. They put up a strong resistance to most of My instructions. Their hearts were not turned towards Me. The prophets I sent to them were refused, along with the messages and instructions I sent through them. Today, the devil would have you believe at times that you are just like your forefathers in this regard. This is not true and you should not believe the devil when he accuses you as having the stubbornness of your forefathers. Remember who you are in Christ now. Take your stand and remind the devil you belong to Jesus now and that you are covered in His righteousness. Refuse his accusations. Stand strong in Christ. You are mighty through Him.

Zechariah 7:11-12 (NLT) "Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the LORD of Heaven's Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the LORD of Heaven's Armies was so angry with them."  Ras Robinson

March 23, 2013. An unexpected encounter is coming. Don't let it throw you. At first it will seem like rejection and from the standpoint of another it is... in a way. But from My standpoint and way it isn't. No double talk here, but the fact is My plan will give you a greater blessing. Don' t spend any time and energy that this is My rejection. You will quickly see this is My plan. Others need to walk in grace and not in law. This is all about getting you started down the right path. Now that this has been accomplished, I will show the way and want you to continue My way.

Isaiah 30:20-21 (AMP) "And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes will constantly behold your Teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left."  Bev Robinson

from Joyce Meyer March 26, 2013

I really want you to get this revelation of who you are in Christ as a born-again believer so you won't be frustrated or discouraged or feel like you're always under attack and just trying to get through the day. God has more for us than that!

When you make a mistake and the devil comes and tells you "You're no good," you don't have to take on the guilt and condemnation he wants to put on you. No! You can immediately confess your mistake to God, thank Him for forgiving you and cleansing you with the blood of Jesus, and move forward in the victory of His grace and forgiveness.

I encourage you to learn who God really is. Get a deeper understanding of His character and His heart for you. Know that He loves you unconditionally. He is good. He wants to bless you and help you. When we know this truth, we don't have to be tormented by doubts about whether God cares or whether He will take care of us.

Whatever your situation is today, God knows about it. He sees you and hears the cry of your heart. And if you will give Him your problems and do what He tells you to do, you will access His overcoming love, grace and power and be more than a conqueror. Because in Christ, as He is, so are we in this world!

 March 19, 2013. Listen to what I am saying; it's not in words. It is by way of thoughts and impressions that come to your mind and spirit. Your spirit is communicating with My Spirit in a heightened measure because I am readying you to hear something important. It will come through something that has been rejected and thought not important. It will come through something you aren't usually drawn to. Don't reject it because others have. They are rejecting this for a reason. It is just that they are not quickened to follow in that way. But don't follow their lead because it isn't about them. I will be speaking straight to you. 

John 21:22 (NASB) "Jesus *said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!" Bev Robinson

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by MARSHA BURNS:  March 11, 2013

I am doing a work in you to reveal your true motivations in your interactions with other people.  I will show you the places where you manipulate people and situations to gain acceptance.  And, if you will allow it, I will purify your heart and re-establish innocence, for I will have a people whose only desire is to do My work and please Me, says the Lord. 

Psalms 32:2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

March 19, 2013. Listen to what I am saying; it's not in words. It is by way of thoughts and impressions that come to your mind and spirit. Your spirit is communicating with My Spirit in a heightened measure because I am readying you to hear something important. It will come through something that has been rejected and thought not important. It will come through something you aren't usually drawn to. Don't reject it because others have. They are rejecting this for a reason. It is just that they are not quickened to follow in that way. But don't follow their lead because it isn't about them. I will be speaking straight to you. 

John 21:22 (NASB) "Jesus *said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!" Bev Robinson

Then Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matthew 13:52)

When it comes to the things of God, I am a treasure hunter. It is my hope that you are a treasure hunter; one who searches the scriptures and seeks the Holy Spirit for the treasure (illumination, revelation, etc.) of the Kingdom. Unlike earthly treasure that can be hoarded or stuck in storage without being used, Kingdom treasure is meant to be put to work.

Jim Powell..Bread From The Oven

Word pictures from the scriptures for edification, exhortation and comfort.

Note:  Marsha and Bill Burns were overseers of the AP List for three and a half years, the list that preceded the RenewedHope List and  they continue to be voices that speak into my life and the relevancy of the body of Christ on a regular basis.

11 12 13 and Shaking

Tuesday  11/12/13

It started when I wrote down the date today  11/12/13   11,12,13.   And it was as if I heard one step after another. 

I didn't get any more understanding of this but somehow I knew this was significant.  This combination of dates will never happen again. Next year it will be 12/13/14  but that wasn't the focus of what I was seeing this morning.

Then I went to the scriptures that I have been reading in Deuteronomy ...hey, I spelled that right! And in Deuteronomy 8 I read how the Lord spoke to His people through Moses in verse 11.  Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping

His Commandments

His Precepts 

His Statutes  which I command you this day.

The Lord goes on to say in verse 12:

Beware lest you say in your heart, My Power and the might of my hand have gotten me wealth.

Remember earnestly the Lord God who gives power to get wealth that He may establish HIs covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day....

If you forget the Lord your God and walk after other gods, to serve and worship them, I testify that you shall surely perish like the nations before you which the Lord makes to perish before you. So shall you perish because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God....end of Deuteronomy 8.

Beneath this in my journal I wrote 11/12/13 and said each step, each day is towards the accomplishment......

About that time I was directed to attend to some logging into an accountability program that I have committed to.

Sometime later I opened my email, phone or something and found this article and the shaking began. I am not shaking as I write this but the stirring in my heart, like adrenalin, is still surging through my being as I think of this article.  I can honestly say I have NEVER had this response to anything ever in my life.  However, when the spire was put on the One World Trade Building, I had a horrible sinking feeling and it was as if I saw an idol being raised into the sky.  It wasn't pointing to the One God and Lord of All, but it was the arrogance of a nation who in our rebellion have said, whose leadership has said, and whose people say,  The bricks are fallen but we will rebuild bigger and better!

The word of the Lord today was as is listed above

Beware lest you say in your heart, My Power and the might of my hand have gotten me wealth.

Remember earnestly the Lord God who gives power to get wealth that He may establish HIs covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day....

Oh Lord, our God! We are a rebellious nation, a rebellious people!! We come before you knowing our pride has motivated us, our desire to lift our heads above the nations, to act as if we are all powerful and we bear before you the humiliation of our humanity and cry out to you for your mercy in the name of Jesus Christ who shed His blood for this our sin, the pride of our nature, the arrogance of our minds that we would lift ourselves up before You the Almighty God who reigns on earth and in Heaven, who is and was and is to come, The Lord God and there is none other!  We come in total need of the provision of Heaven, to stay alive this day, to have light, to have shelter, to have even have breath to breathe.  We confess our wealth and our poverty before you is dependent upon Your hand upon our lives and may we learn wealth and poverty are alike unto You that You alone sustain us, You alone give us breath as individuals and as the peoples of this nation, and a citizens of the earth which You O Lord God are Lord of!

We declare your name over the tallest spire in the USA  and declare that it is nothing!! It is an abomination and an idol even as the tower of Babel was. You are the One who is High and Lifted Up over the USA, You alone are the tallest Spire in the earth...and your name is Jesus!! Your name is Higher than any other. Your name is higher than this one world trade center spire. You are bigger than all concepts of One World Government. You are the Lord God of Heaven and Earth and there is NONE LIKE YOU!!  In you Lord, we find forgiveness, and call out for the mercy that you would pour out upon the USA, upon New York City, upon all aspects of this nation.  Whatever is designated for 11/13 and 11/14  we cover with your precious blood and declare YOU ALONE ARE WORTHY of all praise and honor and glory and unto You we give thanks and REJOICE...YOU ARE THE LORD GOD. JESUS IS LORD OF ALL, JESUS REIGNS ETERNALLY from the heavens now and forevermore!

Meri

12 Nov 2013 11:40:08 -0500

CHICAGO (AP) — The new World Trade Center tower in New York replaced Chicago's Willis Tower as the nation's tallest building when an international panel of architects announced Tuesday that the needle atop the skyscraper can be counted when measuring the structure's height.

The Height Committee of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat said the needle is not an antenna but a spire, and thus is a permanent part of the building.

The needle, measuring 408 feet tall, was more than enough to confirm Chicago is the Second City when it comes to tall buildings.

With the needle, 1 World Trade Center is a symbolically important 1,776 feet tall. Without it, the building would have been only 1,368 feet tall — well short of the 1,451-foot Willis Tower.

At stake was more than just bragging rights in two cities that feast on superlatives and the tourist dollars that might follow: 1 World Trade Center stands as a monument to those killed in the 9/11 attacks, and its architects had sought to capture the echo of America's founding year in the structure's height.

"The committee was well aware of the gravity of the situation," Antony Wood, the council's executive director, said during a news conference in Chicago.

The building's 1,368 feet height without the needle also holds symbolism; it is the height of the original World Trade Center.

The Height Committee comprises 30 industry professionals from all over the world and is widely recognized as the final arbiter of official building heights around the world. They conferred behind closed doors last week in Chicago, where the world's first skyscraper appeared in 1884.

The new World Trade Center tower remains under construction and is expected to open next year.

The designers originally had intended to enclose the mast's communications gear in decorative cladding made of fiberglass and steel. But the developer removed that exterior shell from the design, saying it would be impossible to properly maintain or repair. Without it, the question was whether the mast was now primarily just a broadcast antenna.

Under the council's current criteria, spires that are an integral part of a building's aesthetic design count. Broadcast antennas that can be added and removed do not.

Daniel Safarik, an architect and spokesman for the nonprofit council, said it might consider amending its height criteria. Such a move would have much broader implications that could force a reshuffle in the rankings of the tallest buildings in the world.

Meri Ford
516 Park Rd
Winlock, WA 98596
360 520 4503
blog http://meriford.blogspot.com/

The FIX an Indicator

As I was reading my morning mail, I saw something that is just another indicator of what we are seeing manifest in the natural in this hour.  This isn't to share any sense of blame or accusation, but to share an "indicator" which I saw this morning.

propose on Thursday an administrative fix to a central element of his signature health care law, allowing Americans 

As I read this, it spoke so clearly to me....something maybe some of you also have seen the importance of.   Today we are in a day of "executive orders" and "administrative fixes."

What does this mean and so what?

First, how many of us have tried to fix something that we screwed up from the beginning and maybe weren't even supposed to have done? 

We are in a day when the power to "fix" things both good and bad rests in "executive privilege" in a degree unlike anything this country has known.

And as never before even Congress who passed the bill in question, is looking to the administration to fix it, because it will get done faster.

Interestingly this "fix" is one more step in presidential authority into the daily operations of the whole insurance company and therefore our lives as citizens.  The administration can now tell the insurance company that they have to reinstate cancelled policies, policies that first told them weren't up to standard.

The significance of this issue: nothing new, just another "step" towards what we are seeing is the establishment of what the average citizen of this nation wants: someone to make their lives happier and solve their problems.  When we operate on this basis, which is the root basis of sin in our lives, wanting something from people, places, and things rather than from the Lord GOD, we will increasingly get more and more problems in the guise of making things better for the people.

Is this conspiracy? Not if you read the scriptures. It is the well written, explained plan of the enemy of our souls to bring forth his government over the lives of men before the coming of the Lord Jesus when the kingdoms of this world which he has reigned as prince of for a period of time, will become the Kingdoms of our GOD and King!

Our role....be wise as serpents and harmless as dove.  And what is "Wisdom" in this hour of 2013. It comes wholly and exclusively in and from the Spirit of GOD Himself as we rest in Him and seek Him.  There is no room for anger, and when we find ourselves seeing "things that we think shouldn't be" it is our choice and freedom to choose to trust in the fullness of the Lord GOD's plan from before the foundation of the world.  Lies and halftruths are to be expected rather than looked to as some abomination that caught us by surprise.  As the Sons of God begin to be formed upon the earth, it is essential that we understand the Plan of the Ages so we aren't caught up in the turmoil and whirlwind that will surround us as the end of the age comes and we are able to stay serene and at Peace with Peace Himself at our core.  

This means for many of us that we will be fervent to encourage one another in Christ, in the Anointing, to "return unto My Rest", to stay "still" before Him in quietness in the midst of the storm. We don't deny anger, but we move from that place where things are seen that "aren't as we think they should be" to that place of total acceptance that HE IS LORD and HE IS IN Charge.

Does this mean we do nothing?  Of course not! But it means as we are quiet in Him, we see what HE is doing and participate in it.  We as typical human beings, tend to want to deal with situations according to right and wrong and rise up against injustice and inhumanity, and we usually do so in our own human strength and power, often "asking God's assistance."  How then do we know what God is doing and how to walk as co-laborers with Him. It requires a personal walk and time spent with Him, being known of him, sharing the depth of our own deceitful hearts with Him so that we can be known of Him so that we can know Him in His righteousness.  Here is where we are uniquely lead by His Spirit in His Ways, by His empowerment, accomplishing with Him what He is doing upon the earth.

As I close this I see a message coming in saying that there is a presidential speech coming that will be directed towards this "fix" that is coming from the administration. Whether the administration fixes it or congress, we now know that the Lord GOD is in charge, that man can't do anything without the Lord GOD's permission and that it is a time for His children to seek Him, seek His righteousness and  begin to move out in what the Lord says He is doing in this hour in Is. 61:1-4.   Yes, there is the proclamation of the day of the Lord's vengeance and we will see vengeance upon the wicked  but we are also to preach the day of the Acceptance of the Lord.   Remember, that acceptance is the opposite of anger. Anger says...Things aren't as I think they ought to be...the opposite is Acceptance.....things are as they are, the I AM is in charge, we are accepted in the Beloved, just as we are because of the blood, all things work together for them that are the called according to His purposes.  

May you be strengthened and encouraged IN CHRIST JESUS in this day of national confusion as we see and know the day of the Lord is soon at hand and the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Meri

Meri Ford
516 Park Rd
Winlock, WA 98596
360 520 4503
blog http://meriford.blogspot.com/

My Cross

Tuesday November 5, 2013

My Cross        

As I talked with the Lord in the early morning, in my mind's eye I saw a tapestry hung on a wooden pole/rod. The tapestry was a beautiful deep forest green and the threads(fringes)  on the sides and at the end were gold. The pattern on the tapestry was indistinct and was more a molding of lighter and dark shades of the green.   I saw the rod as the cross bar that two hands were holding  up and I recognized them as Jesus hands and the rod/pole was MY cross.   And as I saw this I saw the dark threads being pulled out to the side of the tapestry and left behind were just the gold threads.  No distinct pattern was discernible but I knew it was pure gold.

I had been meditating on what the Lord had been showing me in the last few weeks out of the scripture.

Matt: 16 :24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.

Some weeks ago this scripture was referred to in a service I was in and it stirred me to seek the Lord as to what "my cross" was. I have heard so many messages about it being my calling, my mission, etc. and it didn't ring in my spirit as Truth.  I began to see this scripture as a three step process.  

1. Let him deny himself. 

2. Take up his cross, 

3. Follow me.  

 Now some places in scripture the #1 is left out and just the 2 and 3 are included. Some places Jesus calls to individuals with just aFollow me but in each instance it involves what is written in #1 and #2.

The denying himself is something so different from what I imagined for so many years.  I have come over the last 4-5 years to understand  how the power in my natural man or my adamic nature from birth seeks to take care of myself, to provide for things I have need of: my emotional needs, my spiritual needs and my physical needs and every other kind of need I could have.   This refers to the power I have to manipulate and control the circumstances of my life in order to meet my needs.  It is well known that a newborn learns within the first couple of weeks that when he cries his mom holds him and feeds him. So he learns quickly that if he cries even when he isn't hungry that his mom will pick him up.  We don't have to be taught how to manipulate to get our needs met. This is the very fiber and thread of our life tapestry from the time we were born.  When Adam and woman choose to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they choose to become personally responsible for their life needs as opposed to having been totally provided for by the Spirit of God as they walked with God.  And of that nature we were born.

So, the first step in following the Lord Jesus is to come to the awareness of our basic bent, the fabric of our nature which is  to take care of ourselves.

The second step, similar to the first, is taking up our cross.   This has come to have such new meaning to me and so different from what has been in my knowledge base over the years. And I don't know who I might have first heard teach on this, so I can't give credit to anyone specifically. Whoever it was, God by Holy Spirit has stirred and quickened my understanding and I have sought further to learn of Him what it meant for me.  What I have come to understand is that  "my cross" is the cross of MY humiliation.   My humiliation is in the fact that I am totally helpless to do anything but meet my own needs, and that it is the very essence of my humanity apart from the working of the Spirit of God in me. Humiliation comes from the word "human".  My humanity and the power in it to meet my own needs not only is greater than my ability to change it, it is totally destructive to me and to every other human being I contact. It leads to death!   So when I take up "my cross" it means owning my own humiliation, the total inability to change my nature.  

Jesus' cross was the cross of His humiliation.  All who hang on a tree are accursed.  I am accursed as I hang on my cross...dead, deserving of nothing but death. My cross represents my total inability to change myself, to change the manipulative nature that I have come to recognize.  Then and only then is my heart such to follow after the Lord Jesus. Then is when I am open to regeneration and rebirth, the resurrection Life of Jesus. Jesus who was perfect, who never sinned, who never partook of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, took on himself MY HUMILIATION, my human nature that was accursed, and He became a curse for me that I might share in His eternal life and fellowship with our Father in heaven.   This is why the cross of Jesus Christ is the center point of our faith. Without the cross, there is no relief from the burden of my humanity, no freedom from the curse, no freedom from the guilt and shame and condemnation of not being perfect. The shed blood of Jesus on the cross paid the price for my humanity and paved the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit to inhabit this "house of flesh." Guilt, shame, condemnation taken care of once for all at Calvary! And once for all provided for in the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, when we received in Him, resurrection life!!

As you read the scriptures you will see that Jesus invited a variety of individuals to follow him but they had other things they felt responsible for, bury their father, etc. One fellow came to Jesus whom he addressed as "good teacher" and was looking to be perfected as he had kept the law.  He had not yet come to the place to realize that his own efforts could never make him perfect. Under the law which is Holy and Perfect, he would always fall short.  Jesus added one more thing to the man's efforts to be perfected:  go sell all you have and come follow me.   Jesus was showing forth the truth that none of us are perfected under the law, that there will always be "one more thing" for us to do to be perfected, an impossibility considering our human nature.  This young rich ruler, as he is called, came to Jesus to learn how to be perfect. He missed Jesus, the Way the Truth the Life. He wanted something FROM Jesus.  This young rich ruler may have been the only person to leave Jesus sorrowing and disappointed.  Riches are not what keep us from the Kingdom. It is our inability to let go of the power that riches hold by which we can take care of ourselves and manipulate and control our circumstances.

When you look at the calling of the disciples, you see something different from the above people who were invited to follow Jesus.  They left everything. They left everything behind, their livelihoods by which their needs were met, representing their old nature.  And after Jesus was crucified, we well remember they went and picked up their nets again but until Jesus came to them they weren't very profitable.  Until the Resurrected Christ, the resurrection Life of Jesus Christ indwells us, we are powerless to do anything but yield to what Paul in Romans so aptly calls the sin principle within us. But Christ in us is our hope of being like Christ...hope of glory.  The only way God's nature can be in us and we can be like Him is as the very power and presence of Holy Spirit indwells us and endues us with Himself.

Many a time clients sat in front of me in my office and said, I can't wrap my mind around that (as we were talking about God.) And I used to kind of chuckle and say, there is no way your mind can wrap around God as he is just too big, too infinite, beyond comprehension. However, His mind is so big it can wrap around yours and fill it with Himself.  No man by his effort can comprehend God or provide for himself or deal with his own mindsets, his own desires. We are totally dependent on the power of God within us to even come to the awareness of Him. So it is as we come to recognize the power of our old nature and take up our cross. And we continually engage in this process throughout our time in this earthly coat.

When I saw the tapestry, I saw the dark threads being pulled out to the side. I knew it represented the recognition of our thoughts and desires being put off and recognizing the gold of His thoughts.  The dark green threads weren't kept....they appeared irrelevant once pulled out of the tapestry...only the gold of the main fabric of the tapestry shown forth.   

Part of the process of denying ourselves and taking up our cross is what Paul speaks of in Romans 4-12 and he points to the process of being "renewed in the spirit of your mind."   Another place he speaks of casting down every thought and imagination that exalts itself before the throne.   These are other ways of illustrating steps 1 and 2. For when we follow Jesus, we are yielding to His mind, to His heart, to His strength.I lay my way of thinking down, my way of feeling, my choices, my energy recognizing them to be limited, imperfect and leading to destruction. And by my will I yield to all that HE IS, the I AM working and flowing through me by Holy Spirit.

The image of Christ ultimately appears on that tapestry which is my life. It becomes a full reflection of Himself. He is the perfect one and while I am in this house of flesh,  His nature is being perfected in me...not my nature, but His nature is being perfected, for he alone is Perfect, the perfect embodiment of Father himself!

Meri Ford