Choosing Love
I believe that we are to cultivate a deep desire to prophesy, simply because of the spiritual healing and encouragement that the word of the Lord brings to individuals. Prophesy has the power to confirm, convict, empower and release unlike anything else. It dismantles religious and political systems that refuse to acknowledge God, so that the people will understand life from the Lord’s point of view.
What can take years to overcome, one prophetic word under the anointing can bring a person into complete freedom.
Recently I had a vision of two mountains, one of mountains was more like the foothills where I grew up in California. The other however was much higher and steeper. The first mountain had a dirt trail that went directly to the top, the second had a similar trail, however it was steep and had numerous switchbacks. What stood out to me was how straight the first mountain was and how easy it was to get to the top. On the top of each mountain was a flagpole, on the first mountain, the flag had the word “prophesy” on it. On the second mountain, the flag had the word “Love”, this flag was at half mast.
I believe that we are to cultivate a deep desire to prophesy, simply because of the spiritual healing and encouragement that the word of the Lord brings to individuals. Prophesy has the power to confirm, convict, empower and release unlike anything else. It dismantles religious and political systems that refuse to acknowledge God, so that the people will understand life from the Lord’s point of view.
What can take years to overcome, one prophetic word under the anointing can bring a person into complete freedom.
Recently I had a vision of two mountains, one of mountains was more like the foothills where I grew up in California. The other however was much higher and steeper. The first mountain had a dirt trail that went directly to the top, the second had a similar trail, however it was steep and had numerous switchbacks. What stood out to me was how straight the first mountain was and how easy it was to get to the top. On the top of each mountain was a flagpole, on the first mountain, the flag had the word “prophesy” on it. On the second mountain, the flag had the word “Love”, this flag was at half mast.
What stood out was that the first mountain was extremely populated, while the other mountain had hardly anyone on it. While looking at this mountain, I noticed that there were two people walking up the steep trail carrying a crown, one that would be given to a Queen or King on the day of their coronation. While I noticed thousands upon the mountain of prophecy and the ease in which it took to get there, on the mountain of love there were only two climbing, with no one at the top.
The Apostle Paul taught the church of Corinth to earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially prophesy ( 1 Corinthians 14:1) "Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." It's such a blessing to see thousands hungering after the prophetic, however the Lord was showing me that very few are actually pursuing love.
In the vision, no one was at the top simply because Love is a journey and it's very difficult to ascend. Love takes extreme stamina, it takes unmeasurable risks, but it pleases God, and it moves His heart.
I noticed that the two climbers on the mountain of Love were sweating profusely which showed me how physical Love is. But why was the flag of love at half mast? Anytime you see a flag at half mast it's because the nation is grieving over the loss of a fallen hero. I believe that the Lord is deeply longing for a people who will pursue love. Why were the two climbers carrying crowns? I believe that the climbers were believers walking in faith and hope and were totally committed to walk in love, because even though the Lord had crowned them with spiritual gifts, they knew that ultimately the gifts weren’t their crown, He was.
So I want to encourage you today to choose the mountain of love, regardless of what it looks like, or how long it takes. Keep climbing and keep pursuing.
Sincerely,
John
The heart of the Prophet
The prophet is a realist however at times their audience are idealists. The prophet pleads before the people to consider returning to God fully, instead of the stubborn alternative of their own ideas. For the prophet, callousness is an insult in the face of the Almighty God and shallowness is treason. The prophet is stigmatized but finds their peace in the presence of God. For the prophet there is no such thing as 'aloneness.' The recognition of God’s love for mankind has overcome their soul. They shock their audience, but weep for their salvation.
The tension of “consuming fire” and “everlasting love” burns in the heart of a prophet. The prophet both feels and sees the sufferings of the Lord’s heart, their passion is to fan the flame of love in the soul of humanity. To ask the same question the Lord asked Adam in the garden, “Where are you”?, and to repair the deep gulf of separation between God and mankind. The prophet feels a deep seated appreciation for what God loves in people. There is a tenderness and sensitivity to the plight of human suffering.
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The prophet is a realist however at times their audience are idealists. The prophet pleads before the people to consider returning to God fully, instead of the stubborn alternative of their own ideas. For the prophet, callousness is an insult in the face of the Almighty God and shallowness is treason. The prophet is stigmatized but finds their peace in the presence of God. For the prophet there is no such thing as 'aloneness.' The recognition of God’s love for mankind has overcome their soul. They shock their audience, but weep for their salvation.
The tension of “consuming fire” and “everlasting love” burns in the heart of a prophet. The prophet both feels and sees the sufferings of the Lord’s heart, their passion is to fan the flame of love in the soul of humanity. To ask the same question the Lord asked Adam in the garden, “Where are you”?, and to repair the deep gulf of separation between God and mankind. The prophet feels a deep seated appreciation for what God loves in people. There is a tenderness and sensitivity to the plight of human suffering. For some who haven’t any paradigm for the prophetic word seem to believe that the prophet is venting. However the prophet who has been seasoned knows that their emotions can’t be their own. Even in a rough and hostile environment with a burning passion for the oppressed, the prophet is the loud outcry for justice. Because the prophet not only see's the tears of the oppressed but they see the brokenness of the oppressors, they don’t have a sermon to preach but a burden to unload.
Their frame of reference is much different from the political and social reference points of the day. When they speak they seem to allude to a different world, a perspective that is quite peculiar. They seem to possess a constant hope in an inconstant world, their heart is apt to forgive because God is so willing to forgive. To the prophet, to be indifferent towards evil is preposterous, simply because the greatest evil is being indifferent towards evil. The content of their message is to tell the people who God really is, they are not social activists however, they do confront the establishment. The prophet has learned the significance of God’s word and calls the nations to sweep away every excuse. Even though he or she is not always taken seriously, they seem to love the people even more, because for a prophet, it's absolutely inconceivable to go on living without an awareness of God.
This is what gives them the mark of authenticity, not their desire to prophesy, but their desire to know God. Like Jesus, they weep for cities and nations because those cities and nations see the prophet as an enemy. However, that doesn’t detour them, it moves them to love more. Why? Because the prophet has come to know a person, not just a religious system. That person is God. They’ve come to know God’s burning passion for humanity.
Sincerely,
John Harke
The Harp
As I begin to write about this story today I can say will all earnestly that I wish this narrative didn’t have to be told. However, God tells it, but He tells it not to expose or humiliate, He discloses this information to instruct and redeem those in the middle of the saga, to put us in the storyline and to put us in the same shoes as David, Bathsheba and Uriah.
Sometimes we don’t like that because we can reduce this drama to their problems, but fail to see this as our problem too. This story is not a parable filled with symbolism, it’s real life. The dominative storyline isn’t adultery or murder, it’s how the Lord appraises the situation. What David’s actions are doing to God’s heart is the theme.
What happened to David? With that I have to ask this question. I have to ask where was David’s harp when he needed it the most? He didn’t just need the harp on the fields of Bethlehem, he needed it on the “roof of temptation” as well.
Every leader needs a harp because it represents a place of intimacy with the Lord. May the Lords sovereignty raise up prophets who pick up the harps that have been discarded by leaders.
Sometimes when a leader has too much time on their hands they disown their harp. When I say “David’s harp” I mean the place of intimacy, the place of worship, the place of peace before the presence of God. For David instead of honing his skill upon the harp he honed his skill to do evil. David could play the harp for others but as he got more successful he couldn’t play it for himself or before God. Years earlier David played before Saul with his harp in his hand, but now as a King without his harp he had absolutely no power to avoid the spear of lust. Captivity does that.
Prosperity doesn’t always bring freedom, but ministering to the Lord does. In a world where contemporary society is blood thirsty for revenge, may the Lord find prophets like Nathan who give Kings back their harp. God missed David which tells us the answer of why he stumbled in adultery and murder. So as we begin this new year let us remember not to lay down our harps and if we have let’s pick it back up and worship Him.
Psalms 137:1-2
By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.
Growing in Intimacy
When we overflow with love for God it energizes us and we become a people, even in times of loneliness, that are never held hostage by hopelessness. We seem to understand the one we love more deeply because isn’t that what intimacy is? The willingness to understand the one you love? Intimacy doesn’t come to control but to comfort. So we must pray that whatever is a hinderance to loving God fully would be completely removed from us. In today's post, I share a few things that we can do to increase our relationship with the Lord.
As I write this blog there seems to be the desire in many of us to grow in connection with the Lord, freeing ourselves from shallow relationships and knowing God’s will much more deeply. For some, this is a frustration particularly because others judge their character by what happens to them and not by who they really are. We all at times have the pain of rejection, however spending time in the presence of God seems to embolden us with this sense of holiness. An awareness that we are meant to be sitting before the Lord. Because humanity is most whole when they are attending to God.
What does it mean to attend to the Lord? I believe that concerning ourselves with the knowledge of God’s emotions, we feel what He feels, and this begins to heal our brokenness. Intimacy with God gives us the buoyancy to stay afloat in the middle of hostility. We all need physical touch from another person which is powerful, yet the physical touch from God is transforming.
Intimacy with the Lord has to become our storyline because it's our comfort. This kind of relationship never misuses the power of speech. Because love doesn’t desire to conquer, it desires to empower. And yet sometimes the Lord will displace us socially so that we can find Him in the place of intimacy. When we overflow with love for God it energizes us and we become a people, even in times of loneliness, that are never held hostage by hopelessness. We seem to understand the one we love more deeply because isn’t that what intimacy is? The willingness to understand the one you love? Intimacy doesn’t come to control but to comfort. So we must pray that whatever is a hinderance to loving God fully would be completely removed from us. Here are a few things that we can do to increase in our relationship with the Lord.
Eliminate as many distractions as possible, this will quit the soul so we can hear the voice of God.
Pray to serve, more than praying to be promoted
Self-denial is the way of authentic discipleship, it also is the way of true love. Look for ways to deny your flesh. Fasting being one of them.
Find your wellspring because this will keep you from spiritual apathy.
Realign your priorities by emphasizing spiritual growth over all other priorities.
Make it your primary passion to honor, respect and worship Him.
Daily present yourself to God and ask Him that you would have a life that reflects what He values.
Sincerely,
John
The Prophet
The word of the Lord is authenticated by signs, signs reinforce that God has really appeared to the prophet. More than any other ministry office, the prophet is under scrutiny and it should be, because authenticity is something the prophet will always have to fight. He or she is constantly battling rejection and despair and must not draw back from the place of their responsibility. The prophet must be absolutely gripped by the message they carry, their credentials aren’t denominational, their credentials are a deep compassion for humanity. They touch both the burden of the Lord and the burden of the people. When they act out the prophetic word or direct others to respond to a prophetic act, the atmosphere changes.
Euphemisms, metaphors and parables are their primary speech. Each of their words have been crafted with the ability to penetrate the spirit of the hearer. Their preaching emboldens a community to love God, and they refuse to pursue agendas and emotions that are counterproductive towards the first commandment.
The word of the Lord is authenticated by signs, signs reinforce that God has really appeared to the prophet. More than any other ministry office, the prophet is under scrutiny and it should be, because authenticity is something the prophet will always have to fight. He or she is constantly battling rejection and despair and must not draw back from the place of their responsibility. The prophet must be absolutely gripped by the message they carry, their credentials aren’t denominational, their credentials are a deep compassion for humanity. They touch both the burden of the Lord and the burden of the people. When they act out the prophetic word or direct others to respond to a prophetic act, the atmosphere changes.
Euphemisms, metaphors and parables are their primary speech. Each of their words have been crafted with the ability to penetrate the spirit of the hearer. Their preaching emboldens a community to love God, and they refuse to pursue agendas and emotions that are counterproductive towards the first commandment. The prophet intentionally removes every religious substitute and awakens the Lord’s people to the raw presence of God. They are untamed from political leaders who use words and pressure to control their actions. Intensity and zeal are the two prominent characteristics that describe their ministry, these prophets create a hunger, a sense of God, and they probe the heart and provoke the mind. Never forgetting or overlooking what is important to the Lord, because the Father expresses His care and love by sending a prophet.
In this generation the prophets that the Lord is raising up will make God’s presence accessible to those who are thirsty for it. They will possess a relentless commitment to their calling even in times of heightened resistance, because to despise prophecy is to neglect its relevance in church culture.
The voices of our generation who are anointed by the spirit of prophecy will bring the prophetic word back into cultural relevance. Capturing the hearts and minds of entire regions and nations. Cleansing the social corruption and religious manipulation that permeates the spiritually complacent. Their oracles confront the struggles of the soul which dominates the narrative in the lives of many.
For without a prophet people seem to waver between hope and fear, suspended by the events of their past and present. Like the Lord, the prophet carries the people of God close to his heart, desperately wanting them to feel the emotions of God. They prophesy who He really is, this good Father who wants to be treated like a good Father. Because the Lord has put Himself at risk of being marginalized by His own children. The prophet Jeremiah best describes the emotions of God when he said.
“I myself said, “‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.” Jeremiah 3:19
What He is saying is, “I’m not loved, I’m not wanted, I’m not valued by My own children”. Yet even in all these feelings of rejection God keeps pursuing us through His word, by His boundless compassion and generous love. This is why our most fundamental duty is to fall down in deep adoration.
Sincerely,
John
