A faith builder...........

On sickness and suffering.........

So I have been wrestling with the issue of suffering and sickness lately. I have been seeing so many people suffering with sickness and it's affecting me. And to be quite frank, I get a little tired of hearing the same old same old. You know, the typical christian response. I mean what else can we say. Not to be flippant or disrespectful by any means, but I guess I just long for more. I long to see the Gospel have it's full effect in people's lives, in every area. We know that the power of sin is gone thanks to the finality of the cross, and the curse of the law is gone, but do we realize sickness and poverty are dealt with as well.

Today I decided to pick up Bill Johnson's book, "Face to Face with God", and in it I found a wonderful response to the dilemma in my mind. 

" When we allow sickness, torment, and poverty to be thought of as the God-ordained tools He uses to make us more like Jesus, we have participated in a very shameful act. There is no doubt He can use them, as He is also known to be able to use the devil himself for His purposes. (He can win with a pair of twos.) But to think these things are released into our lives through His design, or that He approved such things, is to undermine the work at Calvary. To do so one must completely disregard the life of Christ and the purpose of the cross. None of us would say that He died for my sins but still intends that I should be bound by sin habits. Neither did He pay for my healing and deliverance so I could continue in torment and disease. His provision for such things is not figurative: it is actual. 

Furthermore, it dishonors the Lord to disregard His work in order to justify our difficulty to believe for the impossible. It is time to own up to the nature of the gospel and preach it for what it is. It is the answer for every dilemma, conflict, and affliction on the planet. Declare it with boldness, and watch Him invade Earth once again. (Acts 4:28-29)"  

That addressed the issue I hear come up all the time, that I think behavior driven christians come up with to comfort themselves. The issue is that some think God allows us to be sick to produce character in us. Another issue that bugs me is the one when christians are praying to heal someone only if it is God's will. That just shows that we really don't GET what happened at the cross. Where are we getting our theology from anyway? Bill Johnson says this;

"Jesus Christ is perfect theology. For anyone who wants to know the will of God, look at Jesus. He is the will of God. Some pray,  "If it be Thy will," as though God's will is unclear. You would have to ignore the life of Christ to come to such a conclusion. 

How many people came to Jesus for healing and left sick? None. How many came to Him for deliverance and left His presence still under torment? None. How many life threatening storms did Jesus bless? None. How many times did Jesus withhold a miracle because the person who came to Him had too little faith? Never. He often addressed their small faith or unbelief, but He always left them with a miracle as a way to greater faith. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, perfectly illustrates the will of God the Father. To think otherwise is to put the Father and Son at odds. And a house divided will fall. 

Why did Jesus raise the dead? Because not everyone dies in God's timing. We cannot have the Father choosing to do one thing and Jesus contradicting it with a miracle. Not everything that happens is God's will. God gets blamed for so much in the name of His sovereignty for long enough. Yes, God can use tragedy for His glory. But God's ability to rule over bad circumstances were His will. Instead it was to display that no matter what happens, He is in charge and will rework things to our advantage and to His glory. Our theology is not to be built on what God hasn't done. It is defined by what He does and is doing. The will of God is perfectly seen in the person of Jesus Christ. No one who ever came to Him was turned away." 

All that said, I believe that we will face trials in this life and even persecution, and they will be a means of refinement as by fire. But I don't think the trials were meant to include sickness, infirmity, disease or even poverty. Just as we can say, sin has no power over us because it was dealt with at the cross, sickness also has been dealt with. I just pray that more and more believers will come to know this truth and that it will set more and more free. Shalom. 

My heart wrenching thoughts on sickness..........

I'm frustrated I'll be honest. I hate to see people suffering. Today I heard yet another heartbreaking story about someone I know who has a debillitating sickness. It hurt my heart and made me mad at the same time. 

We are not meant to be sick like this folks! It's not our inheritance! But yet so many are suffering, so many christians are hurting!!

What upset me today when talking with this woman who's relative is very ill, is that she said "God allows this to happen, and it really is shaping her character and helping her to become more patient."  I said, "Now wait a minute that's like you 'allowing' a car to run over your child because you want her character to improve. Would you honestly do that? NO! You would get arrested for child abuse if you did that. And how much more of a good parent is God than you and I?!!" 

I just don't get how we get these mentalities. Is it because we want an answer and we don't have one? We cannot let these misconceptions about God continue in the church. These misconceptions halt faith right in their tracks and then we get stuck in bondage, to sin or sickness. Bill Johnson says this, " When I have misconceptions of who God is and what He is like, my faith is restricted by those misconception. For example, if I believe that God allows sickness in order to build character, I'll not have confidence in praying in most situations where healing is needed. But, if I believe that sickness is to the body what sin is to the soul, then no disease will intimidate me. Faith is much more free to develop when we truly see the heart of God as good."

 We have to stop thinking that an all loving Father is after our character more than anything else. Jesus did not die, deal with sin once and for all to then have us acting like he hasn't dealt with our sin issues. He has! Once and for all!!!

I think the problem is solely in our believing. If Jesus purchased our healing for us as the Bible says then it is a done deal. We have to believe He is good. We have to believe the truth so it can set us free. We have to look not to the seen, but to the unseen eternal truths of what Jesus truly did accomplish on our behalf on that cross!!! I love how Bill Johnson states this; "Unbelief is anchored in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. It honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible. The apostle Paul states that what you see is temporal, and what you can't see is eternal.  Unbelief is faith in the inferior." 

It reminds me of what Jamie and I were discussing the other day when she said this; "We are given the power to overcome only in as much as we trust Christ's overcoming."  Now this was referring to overcoming sin in life, but I think it applies just as much to healing. We have been given EVERYTHING in Christ, do we really believe that?!!

Honestly, I am so frustrated about all of this. The earth is waiting for the Sons of God to be revealed. We are the Sons of God, the inheritors of a great family estate and it's time we started managing the estate, it's got too many weeds and briars growing up and the foundation is crumbling!! 

But here's my problem that I struggle with, what do I do with someone who is all caught up in wrong believing about God's goodness and love. I so desperately want to help others get free!! All I can do is pray for them and speak truth to them. So that is what I will do, but in the meantime - this Gospel Paul preached has got to go global!! We need to nourish the sick with the truth of this rich powerful Gospel. How is the church going to impact the world if we are not even seeing most christians living in the freedom Christ purchased for them?!!! 

Anyway, just a rant really, but let me tell you something in me is gonna bust open with the inner turmoil I have over this issue. 

Reflecting.....

Today I was thinking a lot about my last post, "A confession" as well as my post, "I just want more of Jesus". Many thoughts came to mind, in fact my mind never shuts off and probably more like a million thoughts have swirled around and around in there. One thing I realized as I was reflecting on the post, "I just want more of Jesus" was , if I have Jesus, all of him in me - if I already have him how can I still need him. The reality is, I am His and He is mine. So what's my problem? I don't always live in that truth, I think I need more of Him, because I somehow need to get in His Presence and it be manifested to me. But the reality is, I am already in His presence, I am already seated in heavenly places. One of the benefits of the cross was that the curtain of the temple was torn in two, and I can now enter into His Presence. I have unlimited access to the throne room of grace. So, if I am seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, and I have an indwelling Christ living in me, and I am complete and whole in Him, what more do I need? Or should I say, why do I feel the need to have more of Jesus or more of His presence. He is always near, He is always present, His presence is always available to me. I am often not aware of it! When I don't sense His presence it's not because He isn't near, it's because I am somehow not allowing myself to be aware of Him. (or at least that is how I currently see it and understand it!)
The truth is, there is no striving, no need for longing - I am secure. However, my body and soul long to live in this unseen reality, this eternal truth. What I am saying is, that is my longing to experience him tangibly. To know Him more. To sense His nearness. I am finding that God is kind and He allows us to experience Him in a way our senses can get a hold of. Knowing that I am a carrier of His presence is an amazing truth. However, having my body and soul experience this reality here and now in this seen earthly realm is simply wonderful as well. I am grateful for both!
And as for my last post, "A Confession", I am still attempting to wrap my noisy whirlwind of a mind around who I am and how to live the life. I am complete in Christ, my identity is secure and it does not waver, nor does it depend on what I do. However, I find myself longing to see myself here on earth, the way God sees me. (Perfect forever!) I guess I am not as okay with being as messy as I really am. Maybe "messy" is how we see ourselves, but God doesn't. We compare ourselves to a set standard or right way of being. God is okay with me, accepting of me, always, despite my "mess". A couple thoughts encourage me on this. One is a Scripture in Proverbs, that I became aware of due to Bill Johnson's book, "There are no poopless cows." Proverbs 14:4 says, "Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of the ox." 

"Without the ox, who makes a mess, there won't be increase. If success is measured by a clean stall we create a system that removes risk and avoids discomfort. Those who have said an absolute "yes" of surrender to God, must go beyond the edge of comfort to attract breakthrough, revival, and increase we all long for, but be ready to endure rejection from the religious systems. God is looking for a people whose heart is entirely His, no matter the response of others. His glory will then be released through a display of power upon his people."

Awesome thoughts! Another thought, is the all familiar verse, His grace is sufficient for me, for His power is made perfect in weakness. He can shine more clearly through me, when I am the mess that I am, in soul and body. If I wasn't a mess, and had it all together, God couldn't use me, I would be self-righteous. Jesus came to minister to those who were sick, the needy and the broken, not those that didn't need fixing! (in their minds, I am supposing is what He meant!!) I think being broken and messy is a good thing! I think this way of being is valuable to God. He can use us, He can shine through us! When we are broken and contrite, He will not despise us! In otherwords -Humble! If I am not willing to admit my brokenness or declare that I am a mess - not in a woeful, I am a worm sort of way, but just honest, pure in heart, openness to the fact that I don't have it all right and so I am dependent on Him to live the life through me, sort of declaration- then I would be proud, self-righteous, opposed and despised by God. (unless of course I change my mind and repent, led into truth by the Spirit - it always seems God leaves a way out for us!!)
When we get to this place, of being okay with being broken and contrite and messy and long for Him to work in and through us by His Spirit, that when we can see fruitfulness. I guess this would be the same as relinquishing control through our flesh. The Spirit then begins to shine through us, by producing fruit through us. Wow!
So far, I have begun to experience the fruit of joy like never before. Thus the name of my blog! Joy is vibrant, contagious, explosive, wild, and wonderful! God wants us to live a joy filled life! Yahoo! Peace too, has come. Not the kind of peace that we often think of, the free from noise and conflict kind of peace. The shalom kind, the shalom of God kind of peace. Shalom means wholeness or salvation. This is the kind of peace that is a fruit the Spirit will produce in us! A peace with such depth! A peace that passes all understanding, because of the truth that I am in Him, and He is in me. He is my hope of glory!!
I can't say that these fruits are fully mature or that they won't ripen more, but these fruits are there I walk around with them, enjoying them! Whereas, before grace came to me as a revelation, I felt troubled, depressed, had longings that couldn't be satisfied and I didn't understand why.
Love also, is a fruit I am aware of being developed by the Spirit in me. I feel more capable of genuine love, not because of my own human abilities or disciplines to love. But, because I am living loved by my Father. I am finding myself awakened by my Lover and my own love is beginning to flow - it's His heart of love for others coming over me in a way I have never experienced before. And it's only just begun!!
Patience, this is a fruit I am starting to see slowly blossom. Part of me, in my flesh, often feels a sense of urgency in a lot of ways. That is often why I find myself weary and confused, like in my last post, "A Confession."
Another thing I am reflecting on, is the whole talk of "our position" in Christ versus "our condition". Perhaps this phrase has created a hang up for me. Let me try and explain. If I know my "positon" is secure, but I see myself or my "condition" differently than my "position", or should I say how God sees me, or how I am in the heavenly unseen realm, this creates a conflict in me as a whole. It's saying I believe the truth of how God sees me - but I don't see me or experience me this way. This, to me, creates confusion. This is ultimately what I have been wrestling with and I believe most Christians do as well.
The question is, should I believe God, or my experience or circumstances? If salvation, is sozo, or wholeness in spirit, soul and body. Then I am complete in Him! Complete, as a whole person in Him!! Do I have to wrestle with my flesh to get it to do things to make me look on earth as God already sees me in His eyes? These are questions I am trying to wrap my mind around.
What I do know, is I am an earthen vessel, a vehicle, that Christ possesses and chooses to live His life through. He chooses to use my unique person. I am an expression of Him and a carrier of His presence.
I suppose if you boil it all down to my part, it's this. Believe. Take these truths and renew my/your mind with them. Doing this will cause us to cooperate with the Spirit, because we know the truth. The truth is what sets us free and allows us to live this Christ life, this Spirit led life!!

A Confirming Word.....

"Never conform to those who canive and contrive in cunning craftiness in counterfeit religious authority to produce the result to which their selfish agendas aspire, for this is a form of witchcraft that will confuse and tire my people with false fire and enslave them to the liar. But seek my face, position your hearts in humility and let my true nature of goodness, righteousness, purity, the integrity of my holiness and my perfect love capture your hearts. Let my motives motivate you, my desires desire you and show kindness to you, to heal you of all pain, to soothe away all rejection by My absolute acceptance. Come surrender and yield all of yourself to me for you cannnot make your hearts pure and holy, but you can open your hearts and present your hearts to me, you can expose your hearts to the radiance of my glory, you can find in Me depths of pure kindness and you can position youself toward My presence and I will make your hearts pure and holy. Do not take matters into your own hands, do not defend yourself or fight for your vindication. I am your council for defense. I am your perfect High Priest. I am your justifier and defender and no evil can successfully stand against you. Trust me, come further into My glory, further than you have ever been before, there are realms and realities of revelation that I am about to open to you and am opening to you. I have allowed you to come through the periphereal fence that the cherubims guarded and protected my people from going into the glory before their time, before they were ready through the New Covenant. But in June 2007, I lifted that fence and my cherubims allowed you to come into that glory. You came in just but a few millimeters of a measure and now in this time since then I've allowed you to progress in the measure of a few feet or a few meters, but now suddenly I am advancing you in the measure of millimeters or feet but of miles and kilometers, a step at a time into My greater glory, into My presence. My presence will be so strong that it will softten your hearts and take out of you all forms of doubt and bitterness. I will cause you to deisre Me way beyond human recognition and the praises of men. I am in these days giving My people such opportunity to have pure hearts and those who prioritize My manifest presence as precious beyond all else, I will drop down upon them mantles - I do not say mantle, but I say mantles, mantles of My glory - of My miraculous, of my enabling, for I can trust the stewardship of these unprecendented mantles of My glory only to those who are pure in heart, who are willing to suffer persecution without becoming bitter or cynical, because they find their safety and their hiding place and their protection and their identity in My manifest presence alone."
This was a word that Rob Rufus heard from the Lord to share with during his latest message, for his church City Church International, Attitudes that attract the empowering grace of God, part 4. Although this word was for CCI, I find it applicable to all who feel fed and cared for through Rob's preaching, and to those who may sense a connection to this amazing church. I also found it so confirming in several ways. One the Lord started giving me a strong desire to be pure. I found myself just asking Him to get off all the filthy stuff, both inside and out of me. Knowing that it is a work He must do in me. This is not my usual prayer or hearts cry, but one that has become urgent of late. I was so blessed to hear Rob share that the Lord is purifying hearts, He longs to do it. And not only that but He will bless the pure in heart with mantles of His glory! Amazing! Another thing that was confirming to me, was something I picked up in Bill Johnson's latest message. Bill Johnson gave a tremendous message on grace and he stressed his resolve to not defend himself in the face of persecution and accusation. I believe this was the first message I have heard Bill do on grace, and I highly recommend checking it out! (JULIE) The testimonies alone are worth it!!! Bill also talked about purity and holiness. There was such correlation between these two messages, I was thrilled!
Also, I have to point out from earlier in Rob's message he shared about an amazing encounter he had with the Lord, on 8-8-08!!! Rob didn't even know that was the date and the Lord told him to go look at the calendar. He shared about the significance of 8, being the biblical number of new beginnings. How Jesus was born on the eighth day, and rose on the eighth day. And that three eights was significant, because of the trinity and three meaning perfect!! He also went on to share that God told him, that this would be the time that all the prophecies he had been given would start to happen. It is not a time for new prophecies, it is a time for fulfilled prophecies. Now this is awesome to me, because I heard the exact same words from Jim Goll about 8-8-08, and the same word about prophecies from Julie Meyer. How confirming is that!!! I just had to share it with you all!!!

Renewing the Mind.....

I am so inspired by a comment from my post, "The Luxury of His Presence, can you live without it?", that I decided to dedicate this post in response to it! I picked up Bill Johnson's book, "The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind", to read his amazing insight on renewing our minds. Here is a portion of his thoughts from the book; 

"The only way to consistently do Kingdom works is to view reality from God's perspective. That's what the Bible means when it talks about renewing our minds. The battle is in the mind. The mind is the essential tool in bringing the Kingdom reality to the problems and crisis people face. God has made it to be the gatekeeper of the supernatural. 

To be of any use to the Kingdom, our minds must be transformed. We find a clue to what that word means in the transfiguration of Jesus when He talked with Moses and Elijah. The reality of heaven radiated through Jesus, and He shone with incredible brilliance. His body revealed the reality of another world. The word transformed in that passage is the same word we find in Romans 12:2. The renewed mind, then, reflects the reality of another world in the same way Jesus shone with heaven's brilliance. It's not just that our thoughts are different, but that our way of thinking is transformed because we think from a different reality - from heaven toward earth! That is the transformed perspective. The renewed mind enables His co-laborers to prove the will of God. We prove the will of God when put on display the reality of heaven. The unrenewed mind, on the other hand, brings about a completely different manifestation: 'Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people - The fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words nor my law, but rejected it' (Jeremiah 6:19). 

I understand that there is often hesitancy when we talk about the mind as a tool of God. At times in church history the intellectual aspect of the mind has been so exalted that it has wiped out a real lifestyle of faith. Men of sincere faith have been lured into a mindset of skepticism and doubt. Theology has been exalted at the expense of belief. Academic assessment has replaced firsthand, supernatural experience. There is good reason not to let the mind dictate how we will believe. But Christians often react to error and create another error in the process. Pentecostals have often downplayed the mind's importance, implying that it has no value at all. 

Many Christians instinctively distrust the mind, thinking it is irredeemably corrupt and humanistic. They point to Harvard and Yale and other universities that were originally founded on Christian principles, but which today promulgate deception and lies. However, the mind is actually a powerful instrument of the Spirit of God. He made it to be the gatekeeper of the Kingdom activity on earth. The great tragedy when a mind goes astray is that God's freedom to establish His will on earth is limited. The mind is not to be tossed out; it is to be used for its original purpose. If the mind weren't vitally important to our walk with Christ and our commission, Paul wouldn't have urged us to "be transformed by the renewing of our minds." In fact, only a renewed mind can consistently bring Kingdom reality to earth. 

Yet many of us live with unrenewed minds, which are of little use to God. An unrenewed mind is like a discordant key on a piano. Once you discover that key, you don't use it anymore because it detracts from the music. You skip over it and work around it. In the same way, people who are out of sync with the mind of Christ seldom get used, no matter how available they are, because their thoughts conflict with the mind of Christ. They are self-appointed in their mission and are not in submission to the primary mission. As a result, they are working entirely outside God's intended commission. However, when we come into agreement with the primary mission, our minds become powerful tools in God's hands. This explains why there is such an intense war being waged for your mind and your mental agreement. Every thought and action in your life speaks of allegiance to God or to satan. Both are empowered by your agreement. Renewing your mind means learning to recognize what comes from hell, and what comes from heaven, and agreeing with heaven. That is the only way you will complete your divine assignment. God designed your mind to be one of the most supernaturally powerful tools in the universe, but it needs to be sanctified and yielded to the Holy Spirit so you can carry out His designs, creative ideas, and plans in your everyday life." 

Being transformed by the renewing of our minds will be an ongoing process and from that renewing comes revelation and understanding. Here's a bit more from the book out of the chapter on "Revelation and Understanding." 

"Revelation opens up new realms of living, of possibility, of faith. It is absolutely impossible to live the normal Christian life without receiving regular revelation from God. The Bible does not say, "My people perish for lack of miracles," or lack of money or because of bad relationships or bad worship leaders or insufficient nursery staff, or anything else we could list. It says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"(Hosea 4:6). Proverbs 29:18 says similarly, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint." A more correct and complete translation is: "Without a prophetic revelation, the people go unrestrained, walking in circles, having no certain destiny." 

The biblical word vision doesn't mean "goals." Goals are fine, but this vision is referring to the spirit of revelation coming upon you, giving you a vision of things that are unseen. Revelation is so essential in our lives that without it we perish. This is not a nice vitamin pill we can take or leave. This what we live by. Without unfolding prophetic revelation that expands your capacity to see life from God's perspective, you will perish. Without seeing your present circumstances through God's eyes, you will spiritually die. It is so vital that Paul wrote to the Ephesians -those who seemed to have their act together in every area, who experienced perhaps the greatest revival recorded in the New Testament - and said he prayed that God would, ...give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Ephesians 1:17b).

If the revival-steeped Ephesian church needed to be reminded of the importance of revelation, we need to hear it much more. Revelation is critical to the normal Christian life."

I suppose I could continue to quote from this book, it is so chockful of rich insight, from a man who's ministry is one I highly respect and is rapidly growing and continually bringing heaven to earth. But don't just take it from me, go check it out for yourself! 

In essence this post was a reply to a question of how to pursue God supernaturally, to which I replied first through renewing our minds and then through revelation and understanding. However, this is not something we can do apart from the Holy Spirit. I find for me, the more renewing and revelation that comes, the more hungry I get for more, leading me deeper into a relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit and deeper into a desire to truly bring Heaven to earth, my true destiny in Christ!! 

Check this out....

So, I just found Bill Johnson's message he gave on the 25th of May at Life Center, that Keith and I attended. You can view it here. Enjoy!

I also want to include a few more links of interest to me. On Bethel's website you can now watch some of the messages in video format...I thought that was kind of cool, it's sometimes helpful to observe the speaker, or even just fun! So check it out.

I have also had a chance to listen to Fini and Isi de Gersigny from Jubilee International Church in Australia. They are very in love with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and their messages are so precious and very life giving. Free too! So check them out!

All for now....Grace and Peace to all...!!!

Lovin' His Presence....

So, back to my amazing weekend......Saturday afternoon, Keith and the boys drove up to join in on the fun. We had a lot of fun watching our four boys playing with Mark and Amy's four girls, and just generally catching up. Mark and Amy generously offered to watch the kids so Keith and I could go freely enjoy the service.

Worship again was amazing. A whole different vibe going on, as the worship team was entirely different. I remember some of the songs.....we sang "How Great is our God" and "How Great Thou Art" and many many others.......I still experienced the tangible Presence of God....it was wonderful!! I know Keith was amazed by the worship, not just the musicians and their talent, but the genuine sense of free and lavish worship to God.....that really impressed him, the good kind of impressed that is......!!

When Bill got up to speak, he told us he didn't have a message, he just wanted to talk about the Holy Spirit. In the past, I have only heard teachings on the Holy Spirit, educational and as I now see it very impersonal. Bill spoke about the person of the Holy Spirit with such love and tenderness. It was really wonderful......I can't remember all the specifics of what he shared, and like I said in my last post, I hope to put notes up in the future.....but, it was so refreshing to hear a man in love with the Holy Spirit...he did teach a bit to clarify on how we have the Holy Spirit in us, but we don't always have the Holy Spirit resting on us...he talked about grieving, and quenching the Spirit ....

he also went to great lengths to show us how the Holy Spirit is like a dove, (using the example of when Jesus was baptized and a dove came from heaven to rest on him, which was to create a picture of the Holy Spirit)...and if we were to have a dove resting on our shoulder, how would we then go on, we would walk with great care to not cause him to fly away.....he spoke of many different Scriptures, some I had never even realized were in reference to the Holy Spirit.....it was just so good.....he also really impressed on us how important spending time in the Presence of the Lord really is, more so in our own private times with Him and how that carries with us into our lives and how we can just draw on it when we go out into the stores and in public and how we can affect people because we are carrrying His Presence with us....and it's His Presence that truly transforms lives......he talked about Peter and how in the book of Acts, he carried the Presence of the Lord on Him, I am assuming in the person of the Holy Spirit and everywhere he went, his shadow healed the sick....because he was so saturated in the Presence of God!! So cool!! I could probably go on, but all in all it was a very special message to me......Bill ended his message with having us sing, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus..." ....it was very precious!!

He had us all pray for someone nearby, to have sweet times in His Presence and that we would be carriers of His Presence into the workplace, the marketplace or wherever we would go and that we would change the atmosphere wherever we went....we would be carriers of His Glory..Oh so sweet....I prayed with a woman nearby and it was so precious and we hugged each other with such love and we had never met before.....there really was a strong spirit of love in that place let me tell you.....I think from there he went into ministering to people through healing, and like the night before he called out what he felt in His Spirit that the Lord wanted to heal and had everyone pray.....I know Keith was really looking forward to this part, because he has several health issues....one that really cleared up just during worship was a difficulty with his vision he had been having......he also received prayer for his pinched nerve in his back that has been causing him pain in his lower right leg, as well as a hernia he happens to have in his gut area....what was awesome to me was how the people around those who needed to be healed just hung in there and kept praying with them and talking with the ones being ministered to...it was just such a spirit of unity, like a true body working together for the good of the whole body...it was sweet!! We prayed for Keith a long time....he hasn't received healing yet....but, the Lord chose to do another type of work that night......after the "official" service was over, meaning Bill is done and the pastors are now ministering to various individuals and the worship is soft in the backdrop of all that is still going on.....Keith and I were talking with the guys from the row behind us that had been praying with Keith for so long....and one of them starting asking Keith if he was interested in missions.....so Keith sat down and began to tell him a story, as only Keith does....and basically gave a backdrop of his life, ha.....anyway, the guy said, the reason I asked is because I got this picture for you and you were carrying a red flag and forging across a river were there was no bridge, but you forged on anyway and each step you took the bridge just formed beneath you as you crossed the river, and there was a large group following you kind of like a flock of geese and you were the one in the front of the V, carrying your flag and he said at one point he felt like the flag turned in the flag of China.....

Whoa!! I thought that was a very powerful word....that the Lord will use Keith to forge ahead with people behind....then someone else sat with Keith and shared how he felt like because you have a hernia in the front and in the back and he put his hands on each area and said it's like you're torn from the front to the back, and that it's like a picture of your life since you had become a Christian and all the things that had happened to you over the years had been stealing your destiny, and that God wants to restore your destiny and heal you from front to back and everything in between, and then he said the Lord is your shield and your buckler with his hand on his front, and your rear guard with his hand on Keith's back and that he will restore to you your destiny....there was more to it, but we aren't remembering it ...he was essentially saying there has been a tear in Keith's life and that God was gonna heal him from the front to the back and all his organs in between as well as his destiny in Christ.... whew! ...then, I can't believe there is still more....someone asked us about our marriage, I honestly can't remember what, but he felt like the Lord told him to pray for our marriage to be strengthened...well, we both laughed because we knew it was the Lord, considering our situation of late...and we ended up receiving some powerful prayer time of blessings prayed over our marriage....I was laughing the whole time because I was so amazed all that God was doing in this one evening.....and there's still more....oh and by the way, I think we are gonna have a really amazing marriage......

yahoo!!!! ....so I was asked if I was interested in becoming more artistic by someone and they said they felt the Lord wanted to birth new creativity into me...he asked specifically about painting and dance, which honestly are hidden passions of mine...he also prayed powerfully regarding this very blog and how the Lord would use it and strengthen my clarity and ability to write......it was colorful and wonderful, I just laughed and laughed.....thank you Lord!! .......when they finished praying over me for the arts ...we discussed my name...Lydia, the woman who dyed purple cloth in the Bible, she was an artist and she worked with the color of royalty.....sweet, I just kept saying I know, I know and my middle name is Joy.....I love my name!!! (I haven't always by the way).....there is so much power and deeper meaning in our names...He knows our name....I think he hand picked it just for each one of us.......okay, one more word for Keith and it was something about how the Lord wants you to pay attention to your night seasons, because he's gonna start speaking to you, through dreams and visions.......

All in all.....we experienced so much love from our Father, he really spoke to us in such personal ways, it was so dear ...... I am still reeling and still quite full of joy I simply can't contain it all.....He really is all about a love relationship with us, He truly loves us and wants to show us that He cares about the intimate details of our lives......I am just so grateful for this and it leaves me so hungry for more amazing sweet times with Him.......!!

Lovin' His Presence....

So, back to my amazing weekend......Saturday afternoon, Keith and the boys drove up to join in on the fun. We had a lot of fun watching our four boys playing with Mark and Amy's four girls, and just generally catching up. Mark and Amy generously offered to watch the kids so Keith and I could go freely enjoy the service.

Worship again was amazing. A whole different vibe going on, as the worship team was entirely different. I remember some of the songs.....we sang "How Great is our God" and "How Great Thou Art" and many many others.......I still experienced the tangible Presence of God....it was wonderful!! I know Keith was amazed by the worship, not just the musicians and their talent, but the genuine sense of free and lavish worship to God.....that really impressed him, the good kind of impressed that is......!!

When Bill got up to speak, he told us he didn't have a message, he just wanted to talk about the Holy Spirit. In the past, I have only heard teachings on the Holy Spirit, educational and as I now see it very impersonal. Bill spoke about the person of the Holy Spirit with such love and tenderness. It was really wonderful......I can't remember all the specifics of what he shared, and like I said in my last post, I hope to put notes up in the future.....but, it was so refreshing to hear a man in love with the Holy Spirit...he did teach a bit to clarify on how we have the Holy Spirit in us, but we don't always have the Holy Spirit resting on us...he talked about grieving, and quenching the Spirit ....

he also went to great lengths to show us how the Holy Spirit is like a dove, (using the example of when Jesus was baptized and a dove came from heaven to rest on him, which was to create a picture of the Holy Spirit)...and if we were to have a dove resting on our shoulder, how would we then go on, we would walk with great care to not cause him to fly away.....he spoke of many different Scriptures, some I had never even realized were in reference to the Holy Spirit.....it was just so good.....he also really impressed on us how important spending time in the Presence of the Lord really is, more so in our own private times with Him and how that carries with us into our lives and how we can just draw on it when we go out into the stores and in public and how we can affect people because we are carrrying His Presence with us....and it's His Presence that truly transforms lives......he talked about Peter and how in the book of Acts, he carried the Presence of the Lord on Him, I am assuming in the person of the Holy Spirit and everywhere he went, his shadow healed the sick....because he was so saturated in the Presence of God!! So cool!! I could probably go on, but all in all it was a very special message to me......Bill ended his message with having us sing, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus..." ....it was very precious!!

He had us all pray for someone nearby, to have sweet times in His Presence and that we would be carriers of His Presence into the workplace, the marketplace or wherever we would go and that we would change the atmosphere wherever we went....we would be carriers of His Glory..Oh so sweet....I prayed with a woman nearby and it was so precious and we hugged each other with such love and we had never met before.....there really was a strong spirit of love in that place let me tell you.....I think from there he went into ministering to people through healing, and like the night before he called out what he felt in His Spirit that the Lord wanted to heal and had everyone pray.....I know Keith was really looking forward to this part, because he has several health issues....one that really cleared up just during worship was a difficulty with his vision he had been having......he also received prayer for his pinched nerve in his back that has been causing him pain in his lower right leg, as well as a hernia he happens to have in his gut area....what was awesome to me was how the people around those who needed to be healed just hung in there and kept praying with them and talking with the ones being ministered to...it was just such a spirit of unity, like a true body working together for the good of the whole body...it was sweet!! We prayed for Keith a long time....he hasn't received healing yet....but, the Lord chose to do another type of work that night......after the "official" service was over, meaning Bill is done and the pastors are now ministering to various individuals and the worship is soft in the backdrop of all that is still going on.....Keith and I were talking with the guys from the row behind us that had been praying with Keith for so long....and one of them starting asking Keith if he was interested in missions.....so Keith sat down and began to tell him a story, as only Keith does....and basically gave a backdrop of his life, ha.....anyway, the guy said, the reason I asked is because I got this picture for you and you were carrying a red flag and forging across a river were there was no bridge, but you forged on anyway and each step you took the bridge just formed beneath you as you crossed the river, and there was a large group following you kind of like a flock of geese and you were the one in the front of the V, carrying your flag and he said at one point he felt like the flag turned in the flag of China.....

Whoa!! I thought that was a very powerful word....that the Lord will use Keith to forge ahead with people behind....then someone else sat with Keith and shared how he felt like because you have a hernia in the front and in the back and he put his hands on each area and said it's like you're torn from the front to the back, and that it's like a picture of your life since you had become a Christian and all the things that had happened to you over the years had been stealing your destiny, and that God wants to restore your destiny and heal you from front to back and everything in between, and then he said the Lord is your shield and your buckler with his hand on his front, and your rear guard with his hand on Keith's back and that he will restore to you your destiny....there was more to it, but we aren't remembering it ...he was essentially saying there has been a tear in Keith's life and that God was gonna heal him from the front to the back and all his organs in between as well as his destiny in Christ.... whew! ...then, I can't believe there is still more....someone asked us about our marriage, I honestly can't remember what, but he felt like the Lord told him to pray for our marriage to be strengthened...well, we both laughed because we knew it was the Lord, considering our situation of late...and we ended up receiving some powerful prayer time of blessings prayed over our marriage....I was laughing the whole time because I was so amazed all that God was doing in this one evening.....and there's still more....oh and by the way, I think we are gonna have a really amazing marriage......

yahoo!!!! ....so I was asked if I was interested in becoming more artistic by someone and they said they felt the Lord wanted to birth new creativity into me...he asked specifically about painting and dance, which honestly are hidden passions of mine...he also prayed powerfully regarding this very blog and how the Lord would use it and strengthen my clarity and ability to write......it was colorful and wonderful, I just laughed and laughed.....thank you Lord!! .......when they finished praying over me for the arts ...we discussed my name...Lydia, the woman who dyed purple cloth in the Bible, she was an artist and she worked with the color of royalty.....sweet, I just kept saying I know, I know and my middle name is Joy.....I love my name!!! (I haven't always by the way).....there is so much power and deeper meaning in our names...He knows our name....I think he hand picked it just for each one of us.......okay, one more word for Keith and it was something about how the Lord wants you to pay attention to your night seasons, because he's gonna start speaking to you, through dreams and visions.......

All in all.....we experienced so much love from our Father, he really spoke to us in such personal ways, it was so dear ...... I am still reeling and still quite full of joy I simply can't contain it all.....He really is all about a love relationship with us, He truly loves us and wants to show us that He cares about the intimate details of our lives......I am just so grateful for this and it leaves me so hungry for more amazing sweet times with Him.......!!

Soaking it all in........

Wow!! I just got back from an awesome weekend...hanging with some awesome old friends, and some dear new friends, as well as having the privilege of attending an amazing church filled with freedom and liberty and on top of that, was able to be a part of Bill Johnson ministering.....!!!

On Friday afternoon I traveled by myself, a free woman (remember I have 4 young boys!) to my friends, Mark and Amy DeVita's house to stay and hang out, catch up and be able to go hear Bill Johnson at their church. There are numerous awesome intricate details that were so clearly the Lord, simply weaving together before our eyes, that it would take a small book to include....so I will simply just hit the highlights for me personally.

On Friday night, we arrived and got seated and waited for worship to kick off.....as we sat their I told Amy how I kept thinking something was on my head, I kept reaching up thinking it was my sunglasses but they weren't there and the feeling I was experiencing was like something encircling the top of my head and was really real. It was like a weight but I felt no uncomfortable pressure.... Amy and I concluded that it was my crown...!!! How sweet!!

Worship started and was wonderful...I can't remember a single song we sang and ended up just singing my own praises to the Lord from my heart, along with a sea of other voices worshipping our High and Mighty King and Father in Heaven....all the while I experienced such a weighty thick manifest Presence of the Lord, so real and so on me, I felt it difficult to stay standing and eventually had to go down to the floor, and spend some time before the Lord worshipping Him on my knees, just laughing and crying and soaking......there was a point in the worship that I could see a clear picture while I had my eyes closed worshipping, it was while we were singing the words, let your fire fall, let your wind blow let your glory come down and then sang ..let it rain down, over and over......I saw a picture of people holding up umbrellas.....I had never seen a clear picture like that before while worshipping.....awesome.....!! Worship went on for quite a long time and it truly was wonderful.....I was so grateful to be in a place of such hunger with no agendas to finish at a certain time, just go with the flow of the Spirit's leading......at some point during the worship we were lead to put our hand on the person's shoulder's next to us and pray, I honestly can't remember what we prayed for, sorry...fuzzy here, but the Lord met me in a way I honestly had been longing for, for quite some time.....I burst into hysterical ridiculous laughter, gut wrenching, snorting the whole works....it was so fun!!! Who says being a Christian isn't fun!!! It's just so amazing to me that the Holy Spirit really ministers to us in such random ways....but, it is so kind of God to give us the gift of spontaneous laughter, as laughter does one good like medicine....!!

Bill came to speak and to minister to us and it was like a friend walked up to the platform to preach. I have been listening to the podcast for some time now and have grown accustomed to him in a way I feel like I know him. But when he got up to speak I was so affected by how real and approachable he seemed...simple, no airs about him, no sense of hierarchy or fame whatsoever, just a real man, in love with God and passionate to bless others with the amazing gift to teach and unpack Scripture in a mind boggling manner.....it was simply refreshing!!!

I won't attempt to share on the message he brought, unfortunately I forgot to bring a notebook to take notes....but it was amazing, and maybe someday I will listen again and type up some notes. What I really loved was being able to firsthand be a part of his healing ministry. At the end of his message he began to prophesy healings that the Lord wanted to heal....he would call out the illness, disease or infirmity and have folks get involved, lay hands on the person and pray ..... this was very cool to be a part of....

I have never been in the midst of such ministry....anyway, a woman next to me needed prayer for her back from the base of her head to her tailbone she had experienced discomfort, and I am not sure of the reason, but several ladies, including myself all prayed over her.....we stayed with her for quite some time, praying everything we felt led and massaging her back for her while she tried to stretch it out and check it out....it was so precious to me to be a part of this....to me it felt like there was so much love and compassion in all the people in the room to see people set free from their afflictions...what a joy to see God's people operating in this way....she eventually was able to touch her toes without any pain and felt free....Hallelujah!! She said to me, "I feel awesome, isn't God so good, do you feel awesome too!!" Wow folks, if only church could always be like this.....at least it should be.....Jesus healed them all....he preached and healed!!!

Well, all this went on for some time and as it sort of officially ended, Amy, Toni, Chrissy and I spent some more time just praying for each other for different things......it was very precious to speak life and pray and encourage one another in the Presence of our Daddy! The unity we experienced was powerful!! This was only day one of an awesome weekend...so I will save Saturday's testimonies for another post. My heart is to share my life, my testimony....I believe in the power of testimony.....and I hope and pray to stir up hunger for others, as others have done and are doing still for me!! Grace and peace to all who read this!!! And God is Awesome and He Loves You more than you know!!!!!

(the photos above from left to right..Toni, Chrissy, Me, Amy.)

Soaking it all in........

Wow!! I just got back from an awesome weekend...hanging with some awesome old friends, and some dear new friends, as well as having the privilege of attending an amazing church filled with freedom and liberty and on top of that, was able to be a part of Bill Johnson ministering.....!!!

On Friday afternoon I traveled by myself, a free woman (remember I have 4 young boys!) to my friends, Mark and Amy DeVita's house to stay and hang out, catch up and be able to go hear Bill Johnson at their church. There are numerous awesome intricate details that were so clearly the Lord, simply weaving together before our eyes, that it would take a small book to include....so I will simply just hit the highlights for me personally.

On Friday night, we arrived and got seated and waited for worship to kick off.....as we sat their I told Amy how I kept thinking something was on my head, I kept reaching up thinking it was my sunglasses but they weren't there and the feeling I was experiencing was like something encircling the top of my head and was really real. It was like a weight but I felt no uncomfortable pressure.... Amy and I concluded that it was my crown...!!! How sweet!!

Worship started and was wonderful...I can't remember a single song we sang and ended up just singing my own praises to the Lord from my heart, along with a sea of other voices worshipping our High and Mighty King and Father in Heaven....all the while I experienced such a weighty thick manifest Presence of the Lord, so real and so on me, I felt it difficult to stay standing and eventually had to go down to the floor, and spend some time before the Lord worshipping Him on my knees, just laughing and crying and soaking......there was a point in the worship that I could see a clear picture while I had my eyes closed worshipping, it was while we were singing the words, let your fire fall, let your wind blow let your glory come down and then sang ..let it rain down, over and over......I saw a picture of people holding up umbrellas.....I had never seen a clear picture like that before while worshipping.....awesome.....!! Worship went on for quite a long time and it truly was wonderful.....I was so grateful to be in a place of such hunger with no agendas to finish at a certain time, just go with the flow of the Spirit's leading......at some point during the worship we were lead to put our hand on the person's shoulder's next to us and pray, I honestly can't remember what we prayed for, sorry...fuzzy here, but the Lord met me in a way I honestly had been longing for, for quite some time.....I burst into hysterical ridiculous laughter, gut wrenching, snorting the whole works....it was so fun!!! Who says being a Christian isn't fun!!! It's just so amazing to me that the Holy Spirit really ministers to us in such random ways....but, it is so kind of God to give us the gift of spontaneous laughter, as laughter does one good like medicine....!!

Bill came to speak and to minister to us and it was like a friend walked up to the platform to preach. I have been listening to the podcast for some time now and have grown accustomed to him in a way I feel like I know him. But when he got up to speak I was so affected by how real and approachable he seemed...simple, no airs about him, no sense of hierarchy or fame whatsoever, just a real man, in love with God and passionate to bless others with the amazing gift to teach and unpack Scripture in a mind boggling manner.....it was simply refreshing!!!

I won't attempt to share on the message he brought, unfortunately I forgot to bring a notebook to take notes....but it was amazing, and maybe someday I will listen again and type up some notes. What I really loved was being able to firsthand be a part of his healing ministry. At the end of his message he began to prophesy healings that the Lord wanted to heal....he would call out the illness, disease or infirmity and have folks get involved, lay hands on the person and pray ..... this was very cool to be a part of....

I have never been in the midst of such ministry....anyway, a woman next to me needed prayer for her back from the base of her head to her tailbone she had experienced discomfort, and I am not sure of the reason, but several ladies, including myself all prayed over her.....we stayed with her for quite some time, praying everything we felt led and massaging her back for her while she tried to stretch it out and check it out....it was so precious to me to be a part of this....to me it felt like there was so much love and compassion in all the people in the room to see people set free from their afflictions...what a joy to see God's people operating in this way....she eventually was able to touch her toes without any pain and felt free....Hallelujah!! She said to me, "I feel awesome, isn't God so good, do you feel awesome too!!" Wow folks, if only church could always be like this.....at least it should be.....Jesus healed them all....he preached and healed!!!

Well, all this went on for some time and as it sort of officially ended, Amy, Toni, Chrissy and I spent some more time just praying for each other for different things......it was very precious to speak life and pray and encourage one another in the Presence of our Daddy! The unity we experienced was powerful!! This was only day one of an awesome weekend...so I will save Saturday's testimonies for another post. My heart is to share my life, my testimony....I believe in the power of testimony.....and I hope and pray to stir up hunger for others, as others have done and are doing still for me!! Grace and peace to all who read this!!! And God is Awesome and He Loves You more than you know!!!!!

(the photos above from left to right..Toni, Chrissy, Me, Amy.)

Health, Healing and Miracles.....

So for the past 6 months or so, Keith and I have been experiencing a lot of sickness, and general unhealthiness. We each have had our health issues over the years, nothing major, but enough to be a complete drag.(asthma, allergies, chronic sinusitus, hernias, back pain, sciatica, migraines, excema, rosacea.)  Anyway...... Since  we have come to the revelation and  understanding  about who God is, truly, and His Awesome grace, we are questioning things like the miraculous and healing. I honestly believe we experienced a huge miracle in the restoration and healing of our marriage, and this has built my faith immensely. But what about healing of sickness? We have wrestled with this one, amongst ourselves and with God. We have prayed and prayed, for ourselves for each other and have had others pray for us. NO breakthrough yet. I do not plan to give up until I see the Lord heal us! 

That said, I want to bring up our latest enjoyment of Bill Johnson's ministry. A friend of ours many months ago told us about Bill Johnson, so I looked him up and checked out his website and an interview he did on TV.  I was really eager to learn more and read some of his books. So recently we have been listening to the podcasts from Bethel, Bill's home church in California, and are enjoying them very much. Bill has quite a healing ministry and people flock to his church to be healed. Every week he shares testimonies of healings and in the service they usually always pray for healing and for salvation, and people are getting saved and healed like crazy! This is so amazing, inspiring and faith building to me! This is what normal church should be like according to the Bible! ......

This past week I began reading Bill's first book, "When Heaven Invades Earth," although I haven't finished it yet, I must highly recommend it here. 

One of the things I am learning about healing is that is should be something every Christian walks in, either receiving or taking part in praying for others and seeing them healed. Jesus healed all who came to Him in faith. And the first church, in the book of Acts, healed and saw multitudes being saved and added to their numbers daily.  Healing and health is something that Christ death on the cross has purchased for us, not just cleansing from our sins, but cleansing from sickness and disease. By His stripes we are healed.

So, why don't we see more healing? Good question. One of the reasons is many Christians, myself included, live in unbelief, and accept sickness as normal. We say things like, well God is using this illness or whatever in my life to build my character. Bill Johnson says this, "When I have misconceptions of who God is and what He is like, my faith is restricted by those misconceptions. For example, if I believe that God allows sickness in order to build character, I'll not have confidence in praying in most situations where healing is needed. But, if I believe that sickness is to the body what sin is to the soul, then no disease will intimidate me. Faith is much more free to develop when we truly see the heart of God as good." 

Then he adds a little story, "The same misconceptions of God affect those who need to have faith for their own miracle. A woman who needed a miracle once told me that she felt God had allowed her sickness for a purpose. I told her that if I treated my children that way I'd be arrested for child abuse. She agreed and eventually allowed me to pray for her. After truth came into her heart, her healing came minutes later."

Wow, never thought of it like that! He goes on to say, "Unbelief is anchored in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. It honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible. The apostle Paul states that what you see is temporal, and what you can't see is eternal. Unbelief is faith in the inferior." 

Just because you or I may have never experienced a genuine healing or miracle does not mean we should settle or have a lack of faith that this is not possible. With God all things are possible, and if we are already living in His Kingdom, shouldn't we be living free from sickness, and from disease? 

I just want to finish with this verse, 2 Corinthians 4:18..."as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 

Health, Healing and Miracles.....

So for the past 6 months or so, Keith and I have been experiencing a lot of sickness, and general unhealthiness. We each have had our health issues over the years, nothing major, but enough to be a complete drag.(asthma, allergies, chronic sinusitus, hernias, back pain, sciatica, migraines, excema, rosacea.)  Anyway...... Since  we have come to the revelation and  understanding  about who God is, truly, and His Awesome grace, we are questioning things like the miraculous and healing. I honestly believe we experienced a huge miracle in the restoration and healing of our marriage, and this has built my faith immensely. But what about healing of sickness? We have wrestled with this one, amongst ourselves and with God. We have prayed and prayed, for ourselves for each other and have had others pray for us. NO breakthrough yet. I do not plan to give up until I see the Lord heal us! 

That said, I want to bring up our latest enjoyment of Bill Johnson's ministry. A friend of ours many months ago told us about Bill Johnson, so I looked him up and checked out his website and an interview he did on TV.  I was really eager to learn more and read some of his books. So recently we have been listening to the podcasts from Bethel, Bill's home church in California, and are enjoying them very much. Bill has quite a healing ministry and people flock to his church to be healed. Every week he shares testimonies of healings and in the service they usually always pray for healing and for salvation, and people are getting saved and healed like crazy! This is so amazing, inspiring and faith building to me! This is what normal church should be like according to the Bible! ......

This past week I began reading Bill's first book, "When Heaven Invades Earth," although I haven't finished it yet, I must highly recommend it here. 

One of the things I am learning about healing is that is should be something every Christian walks in, either receiving or taking part in praying for others and seeing them healed. Jesus healed all who came to Him in faith. And the first church, in the book of Acts, healed and saw multitudes being saved and added to their numbers daily.  Healing and health is something that Christ death on the cross has purchased for us, not just cleansing from our sins, but cleansing from sickness and disease. By His stripes we are healed.

So, why don't we see more healing? Good question. One of the reasons is many Christians, myself included, live in unbelief, and accept sickness as normal. We say things like, well God is using this illness or whatever in my life to build my character. Bill Johnson says this, "When I have misconceptions of who God is and what He is like, my faith is restricted by those misconceptions. For example, if I believe that God allows sickness in order to build character, I'll not have confidence in praying in most situations where healing is needed. But, if I believe that sickness is to the body what sin is to the soul, then no disease will intimidate me. Faith is much more free to develop when we truly see the heart of God as good." 

Then he adds a little story, "The same misconceptions of God affect those who need to have faith for their own miracle. A woman who needed a miracle once told me that she felt God had allowed her sickness for a purpose. I told her that if I treated my children that way I'd be arrested for child abuse. She agreed and eventually allowed me to pray for her. After truth came into her heart, her healing came minutes later."

Wow, never thought of it like that! He goes on to say, "Unbelief is anchored in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. It honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible. The apostle Paul states that what you see is temporal, and what you can't see is eternal. Unbelief is faith in the inferior." 

Just because you or I may have never experienced a genuine healing or miracle does not mean we should settle or have a lack of faith that this is not possible. With God all things are possible, and if we are already living in His Kingdom, shouldn't we be living free from sickness, and from disease? 

I just want to finish with this verse, 2 Corinthians 4:18..."as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 

Relaxing with my Father....

I had a mellow weekend. Peaceful, in my spirit, that is. Friday night I went to a meeting at my church to listen/discuss the vision the pastors have for this new local body. It was the most refreshing church meeting I have ever been to! I am excited for what God has done and will do in this church body!! Saturday was a low key day, I wasn't feeling so great! At one point I just sat on my couch talking to God, and he just washed over me with His peace. I just sensed His nearness and was so comforted! Sunday, well, I was up for hours in the night and somehow had the grace to get all my boys ready for church with ease. (usually it is quite tense, as I have to get me ready and 4 little ones alone as my hubby goes to church early to participate on the worship team.) It was just so nice, and to top it off my kids are getting better about making it through worship without too much fuss!! Praise God for small miracles! I missed the message due to serving in the toddler class. I heard it was a good one!! Anyway, despite my lack of sleep, the Lord sustained me through the day and I attempted to go to bed early. Went to bed with the Ipod on, listening to a Rob Rufus message, thinking I would drift off into la-la land. That didn't happen, after the message was over, the next message on there came on and I decided to listen to it. It was the first time I have listened to a Bill Johnson message and I most thoroughly enjoyed it. I was inspired and blessed greatly! Then another message came on that I had already listened to, so I fast forwarded it to the end and listened to Tony Johnson play his guitar and sing a very worshipful, heartfelt song he either had already written or possibly just made up on the spot. I just adored his playing and was so lifted up by his song and the words!!! Again, this whole time, I felt the peace of God wash over me, I literally sensed His Presence. This has been a heart's cry of late for me, to genuinely sense the tangible Presence of my Father. I really enjoyed hanging out with my Daddy this weekend!!! I am so grateful for the freedom to meet with Him and spend time with Him, and that He longs to be with me too, and spend time with me!!! Thank God we are in a New Covenant, where the veil has been torn in two and we now have total access to our Father all the time!

Relaxing with my Father....

I had a mellow weekend. Peaceful, in my spirit, that is. Friday night I went to a meeting at my church to listen/discuss the vision the pastors have for this new local body. It was the most refreshing church meeting I have ever been to! I am excited for what God has done and will do in this church body!! Saturday was a low key day, I wasn't feeling so great! At one point I just sat on my couch talking to God, and he just washed over me with His peace. I just sensed His nearness and was so comforted! Sunday, well, I was up for hours in the night and somehow had the grace to get all my boys ready for church with ease. (usually it is quite tense, as I have to get me ready and 4 little ones alone as my hubby goes to church early to participate on the worship team.) It was just so nice, and to top it off my kids are getting better about making it through worship without too much fuss!! Praise God for small miracles! I missed the message due to serving in the toddler class. I heard it was a good one!! Anyway, despite my lack of sleep, the Lord sustained me through the day and I attempted to go to bed early. Went to bed with the Ipod on, listening to a Rob Rufus message, thinking I would drift off into la-la land. That didn't happen, after the message was over, the next message on there came on and I decided to listen to it. It was the first time I have listened to a Bill Johnson message and I most thoroughly enjoyed it. I was inspired and blessed greatly! Then another message came on that I had already listened to, so I fast forwarded it to the end and listened to Tony Johnson play his guitar and sing a very worshipful, heartfelt song he either had already written or possibly just made up on the spot. I just adored his playing and was so lifted up by his song and the words!!! Again, this whole time, I felt the peace of God wash over me, I literally sensed His Presence. This has been a heart's cry of late for me, to genuinely sense the tangible Presence of my Father. I really enjoyed hanging out with my Daddy this weekend!!! I am so grateful for the freedom to meet with Him and spend time with Him, and that He longs to be with me too, and spend time with me!!! Thank God we are in a New Covenant, where the veil has been torn in two and we now have total access to our Father all the time!