In Ruth 3 we read the story between Ruth and Boaz when he tells her that there is someone ahead of him to redeem her. What I love about this is that when Boaz said, "If he doesn't want to take you, I'll take you." (Ruth 3:13) What we see here is that, even though there's an obstacle, Boaz is completely occupied with Ruth's future. We have to realize that in applying it to our lives, Jesus is completely occupied with our future.
He's the Redeemer.
He wouldn't have come down to the earth and redeemed humanity if He wasn't occupied with all of humanity's future. It’s predominant in His heart and because of that, prophecy connects us to our future when we don't fully comprehend the Lord's ways. I could imagine that Ruth did not comprehend everything. "What do you mean someone's ahead of him? He's been so kind, he's in love with me..." I'm sure in that moment of not really understanding what's going on, one hasn't had a moment of questioning, "Well, wait, God, I don't understand what you're doing."
But what prophecy does, is
It seems we can easily forget what Christ has purchased for us. So we begin to live a much lower standard than what Jesus has called us to live. To reign as kings and queens means much more than monetary success, public recognition and thousands of likes on Facebook. To reign as kings means…
What we have discovered as the months have continued onward is that we are in a prolonged season that does not have a clear and definite end in sight. When God chooses to hide the end of a thing even from His prophets, it is because…
I wanted to share some keys on how to discern God's voice more clearly in this season. Below you will…
Jesus invites them to bring some of their catch to join him by the fire. I love how extra Peter is in this moment. The operating word that Jesus uses is “some fish” and yet Peter decides that he must with his own bare hands, drag an entire net of fish to the shore that took an entire boat and crew to reel in, to where Jesus is. You have to love Peter…
In this week’s writing about John 21 and the prophetic revelation and strategy that it holds for this season, we pick up the story of Peter, John and some of the other disciples as they return from a long, cold and ultimately unfruitful fishing trip.
Many will be deceived into selling their birthright in the marketplace of the familiar and the comfortable. We must be willing to step into a new level of discernment free of our own personal biases and opinions about ourselves and the situations brewing around us.
Over the next few weeks, I'm excited to share with you some key prophetic insights from John 21. It is a rich chapter especially in the context of where we are. The story in this chapter is after the death and resurrection of Jesus, however it is a scene where the disciples are still in a state of mourning and scattering. What happens in these verses serves as a prophetic strategy for us to be able to come out of 2020 as warriors and overcomers.
God’s rejection of Cain’s gift had nothing to do with the gift, but the attitude of the giver. One example is when Cain rejects divine counsel because of being so self absorbed by his emotions. Swayed by the anger that burns within his soul, Cain can no longer reason. He incorrectly believes that he is alone and is given the right to sabotage his brother. He fails to understand his responsibility to care for his brother’s life. What he chooses and what he pursues is in opposition to the Lord’s gracious leadership.
The prophet sees the Lord’s vision for humanity. Because they feel fiercely, tears flow from their eyes because many aren’t even conscious that the word of God is disregarded. The prophetic message that is spoken isn’t to be shunned because the Lord has concern for all of His creation. Prophets aren’t worried about if their the minority because they have learned to maintain their loyalty to the Lord over popular opinion. They seem to live out of a much different kind of value system.
God is not looking for our knowledge, He’s looking for our trust. By eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it would change the very nature of Adam and Eve. Meaning, what we eat spiritually changes our very nature. That is why we must eat right. A sense of vulnerability, shame, exploitation and exposure happens when we eat from the wrong source. Although the Lord prohibited Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the serpent told them “why forfeit your personal rights? Just eat whatever you want.” The serpent seemed to capitalize upon their love and loyalty.
I believe that religion without relationship is the biggest distortion of the image of God. I am also convinced that what drives us when no one is watching, tells us what we have a passion for. For instance, when we have a correct response to God we then, and only then, can correctly discern reality.
Adam had all his hearts desire yet something happened in Genesis three. I admit, although he had everything, those things couldn’t keep him safe from the onslaught of evil. Only having the Lord as his one desire could keep Adam for falling. This is why when relationships don’t operate appropriately, our ability to love the Lord effectively, is frustrated. Our lives are to be uniquely balanced however, we also need more passion for God.
The Hebrew prophets confronted the priests because the priests were dedicated to their ceremonies more than an inner attachment to the Lord. These leaders did not resolve to honor the Lord in their hearts. I believe that they fell into the trap of pleasing powerful people instead of pleasing the all powerful Lord. That is why the Lord began to speak through His servants. Because Israel needed individuals who ascended to the hill of Lord. God’s people needed the kind of prophets who would chose a pure heart over a successful ministry. Prophets who gave more thought about the love God felt for His people than a greater platform or more economic blessing. What set theses men and women apart was that they made mention what the Lord was in love with more than the religious agenda of the priests and politicians. They understood that the Spirit was able to beat the swords of men into plow-shears and give them the peace they longed for. Therefore, their message wasn’t just about punishment because punishment isn’t the greatest deterrent for humanity. They preached that if people saw the beauty of what was promised, then they would turn towards a loving God.
What we are filling our hearts with and what we are conceiving in our hearts, are the two most important questions we could ask. Because what we conceive in our hearts forms behaviors. This is why contentment is so vital to our emotional and spiritual livelihood. Contentment is when we tell Jesus that His presence is enough to meet our every need. It’s a sign of spiritual maturity, it isn’t being complacent with the ordinary because there isn’t anything ordinary about Jesus. It’s the call to be completely absorbed in a vision much higher than ourselves. This narrative is where He lives in absolute contentment, and the greatest news is that our Lord has given us an invitation to never thirst again. For in that place we discover what Jesus has a passion for.
Proverbs 18:21 (KJVA) Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
There is tremendous power in your words. Many scriptures speak of the power of the tongue and it’s for good reason. Your words are powerful because they have in it a capacity to build the future that you will live in. That’s why in this moment in time, it seems harder and harder to open your mouth and speak and I don’t mean words that others expect you to say or that prevent you from rocking the boat, I mean the words that are inside of you that speak to the purpose that is shouting inside of you to make an appearance into the reality of your surroundings.
Fear, doubt and unbelief produce horrible things. They can wreak havoc on our minds, emotions and, if allowed to fester unopposed, can derail our destiny and leave our potential undiscovered. We have to wage war against these things so that we can fully express who we were created to be and operate. The good news is that God doesn’t want us to have any of this in our lives. In fact, He has given us every tool imaginable to make sure that we can walk in total and complete victory.