A Christmas Promise for 2011

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

On this Christmas morning as we give thanks to our Savior and Lord for the precious gift of salvation I want to encourage you to embrace the wonderful gift that the Lord has placed in you for 2011. Let me ask you a question. Do you have dreams that God has placed in your heart? Do you have a promise or a hope that has lain dormant for years? Let this season become a season of transition. Between Christmas and the New Year I want to encourage you to rekindling your dreams.

Let this time be a time of reflection in which your stir up the words softly spoke to you from Poppa and embrace them. Let the words of Mary cry out in your heart – “May it be as you have said.” For Mary, when she heard the word of promise, she pondered them, and kept them in her heart.

Sounds of the Shofar

While driving to church a while back the Lord showed me a mountain (or large hill). A man dressed in white with a yellow sash around his waist was standing on the mountain with a shofar in his hand. He was looking at another man, dressed in the same apparel, on a mountain to his left – and he started to blow the shofar. Then the second man began to blow as he looked to a third on his left, and then the third blew, and the forth blew, and so on until the sound of their horns surrounded the valley and the Glory of the Lord filled the valley. The Lord had knit together the sound of their horns, like a battle cry. Each one was encamped around the valley, north, south, east, and west.

As I heard the sound I shouted “Hallelujah,” with rhythmic intensity, I would hear the sound, and shouted Hallelujah – over and over again. And I knew that these men on the mountains around the valley were outposts that God had planted across the country, and I continued to sing – Hallelujah – it was like a war cry – that had a sequence and a unity to it, a common call for common ground.

Then..., when I got to church and started to worship the Lord showed me the following:

The Shofar

The Lord again showed me the man on the mountain – only he did not have the horn, he standing there waiting with expectancy for something to happen. Suddenly, the wind began to blow around him like a tornado. It started at his feet and became larger and bigger until he was wrapped in the wind..., and the wind formed into a shofar in his hands and he began to blow – a shofar of holy wind. And the Lord said,

In times past my people would run to the fire, they would run here and run there, to Brownsville, to Toronto, to wherever my fire was burning. But today is a new day. In times past, your running only took you “so-far” but today, I am doing a new thing. I am raising your vision, I am changing your perspective, I am causing you to see at a higher level. No longer will you run here and there, for what I plan to do in your midst, is in your midst. Take off your shoes. Look at the ground you are standing on. For it is Holy.....

As I looked, I saw bare feet standing on dry ground and suddenly the ground became wet with his presence, the earth had yielded up its springs and the water was rising. Then the Lord said,

The very soil you are standing upon shall release my presence for it has been stored up for this day. For if the very rocks would cry out, how much more will the land give way to my servants. God said, You shall bloom where you are planted. For what I did in pockets across the land in the past, I will do to you..., here, today, for this is the season of the unity of my presence and my outpouring is not for the few, but for the many, and I shall cause you to climb higher – and see my endless possibilities for you in this region.

The Face of Change

I thought I would share with you what the Lord showed me a while back. I want to write out these moments of inspiration for reflection, as power points of meditation. Signposts if you will....

I was looking up at the heavens and I saw the sky stirring like the underside of a hurricane. Something was stirring in the heavens. As I watched the heavens stir I so the wind descending like a storm, stirring..., as it stirred the sky was filled with the wind and the wind became the face of Jesus.

I felt the Lord was saying that He was stirring the heavens to bring about a change in relationship. That no longer will His children strive to serve him but that he was drawing us into a season, from servant hood to friendship. That no longer will we be content with seeking from his hand, but we shall become His hand, for he is wooing us to the place of close friendship, where we will be able to rest our heads upon His shoulder, and He will whisper into our ears the secret things of the kingdom. He will lean on us and draw us into a new closeness.

Can we Sustain Revival?

As one who grew up in the Jesus people movement, my fear is that as we move on from generation to generation, the reality of what God birthed in those early days of revival would turn into a watered down version of His original intent. Before God breathed life into that young hippy generation, much of the church was living in black and white (like a black & white TV set with rabbit ears), never knowing that color existed – never knowing that the kingdom of Heaven is nothing but color. Then Jesus caused this awesome revival to take place and suddenly, there was a family of believers that saw the kingdom in HD Technicolor... and everywhere they went they painted their communities from the color pallet of the kingdom and God became a powerful living God, for the average Joe – and everybody got to play.

No more was the kingdom set apart for the chosen few – the gate to the city of God was open for all the sheep to come in. It was a priority! Advancement of the kingdom through the fresh breath and color of Jesus, through signs and wonders rooted in love, was our passion. There was no hype – it was new and it was refreshing. And it was available to all with no reservations. We were a church of trainers, constantly building up the body of Christ and equipping the Saints for the work of ministry.

My worship prayer, so often is... .

... Come Holy Spirit...

...Come Holy Spirit...,

Send your pow-er, oh Lord - Our God...

Send your pow-er, oh Lord , our God...,

and Light the Fire again..., and don’t let it go out.

You see the lyrical cry of our hearts is real – and we need to be revived again. We want it done to this new, young, generation – and more so.

Thoughts on Visionary Language

Visionary language is very important to the Holy Spirit. It is like shouting from the rooftop. God often uses this type of communication to stir us up and to raise our vision of how big and awesome He is.

It is like a father walking with his child through a crowded street. The child is clinging, grasping tight to his father’s hand as they weave in and out of the crowd.

The child knows that their on a mission but has no real idea where he is going or how they are going to get there. All he can see is belts and elbows..., he can’t see beyond the sea of bodies in front of him. Then suddenly, the father picks up his child and throws him upon His shoulders. And suddenly the child is brought into a new reality of clarity. The road has taken on a whole new dimension of direction.

God does not use visionary language because he is into drama or envious of Steven Spielberg. He uses it to plant seeds of direction, seeds of a deeper understanding, and seeds of faith in His mightiness. God uses visionary language to expand our way of thinking and to bring us into alignment with His kingdom purpose. God is dramatic! And what He desires to do is very extreme and very dramatic. But that is His very nature. He is just looking for someone to partner with Him and dream a bigger dream..., then align and co-labor with-him – so that His mission moves forward.

Grains of Wheat

A while back the Lord showed me a picture of wheat fields, golden wheat fields, far and wide. The Lord was walking the wheat fields and on His back was a massive bundle of wheat. And the Lord said, tell my people “I have walked the wheat fields, and have gathered each and every one of you from the harvest, and I have carried you, yes, carried you upon my back, through the wheat fields. Every grain has been counted. Every kernel is vital to me and to my kingdom, and I have purchased you, I have bought you for a price.

Then I saw the Lord sitting by a river next to a flat rock. He had in His hand a bundle of wheat. Slowly, He stood up and began to thrash the wheat upon the rock.... As he trashed the wheat, the wind rose and blew away the chaff from the kernels of wheat. He gathered the wheat with the palm of His hand and moved it into a pile in the center of the rock.

With His palm, he began to crush the wheat, grinding it into a fine powder..., into flour. As he worked the flour with His hand, he reached into river, scooped a palm full of water, and then stirred it into the flour. As He drizzled He worked the flour back and forth, back and forth, until a sticky mass was formed. He reached into His sash and pulled out a vile of golden olive oil and drizzled it in as he worked it.... Then He stopped – looking intently..., and said, “I knead you!” I need you!”

Mercy Drops are Falling

All week long, the Lord kept showing me a massive drop of golden liquid, it was translucent and glistening, it was rich like honey. As I walked into worship and began to sing and pray, the Lord gave me this picture.

I was looking up to the heavens and suddenly the sky above me was covered with a sheet of honeycomb. The honeycomb stretched from one end of heaven to the other and the pockets of honey were vibrating to the sound of worship. Then, as I was looking in anticipation, the Lord changed my perspective and I was watching the honeycomb from heaven’s side.

As I was looking at the throne room, I saw Jesus standing there in Kingly attire. The entire room was filled with His glory and draped in golden light, as if everything was made of translucent gold. Jesus was standing on the backside of the honeycomb, like a sea of honeycomb that stretched across the heavens. He had a golden staff in His hand and He took His staff and pounded the floor three times.