Beautiful Things

What a wonderful time of year!  It's the MOST WONDERFUL Time of the Year and we hear it playing as we shop and eat but then, is it?  I see broken people, hurting people, empty people, lost people and my spirit aches for them.  I receive calls, prayer request, messages on Facebook, emails, texts from dear friends who are drowning in doubt and I pray.  I pray,  I pray.  I wake up daily, hearing the Lord sing over me songs of peace and hope and joy and then I begin to pray again, to intercede, to lift up and tear down (strongholds) and bring situations before my amazing daddy, God!

Today I heard the words from Michael Gungor's song Beautiful Things replaying in my head, "You make beautiful things, beautiful things out of the dust."  (See entire song lyrics below.)  This song is a musical version of what God is doing, daily in us.  He is making us new!  He is working!  He is awake, alive, active, able, aware, among us, around us, upon us and in us and He is working; YES, He is making us new!

Cast all your doubt, discouragement, disappointment, people's disapproval, denial, depression, distraction and even the destruction that your sin may have caused in your life at His feet and give it to Him.  Ask Him to take it all and then watch and see how He will make beautiful things out of the dust of your life!  He is amazing and HE can do it!

I listened to this song over and over and over and over in the last 24 hours, letting it water me, refresh me, permeate through the thick junk of the world on me and I have listened at least five times in the last hour.  I keep listening as the Spirit of the Lord poured into me, refreshing me, rejuvenating me, reminding me that He is indeed working on my behalf; restoring me, revitalizing me, reworking my thinking and my heart.  He wants to rebuild us, equip us, heal us, commission us, empower us BUT He is limited by our choices.  Some of us choose sin.  We need to stop.  Some of us currently are not choosing sin, but we are beat us with our remembrance of our sin and that it is paralyzing us in the now.  He needs to make us new.  He needs to have the permission to go in and rewire us, refresh us, rework us, renew us!  Give Him that permission today; right now! ASK Holy Spirit to come in and make all things NEW in you!

Gungor writes, "Hope is springing up from this old ground, out of chaos life is being found in YOU!"  After hearing this over and over, the Lord brought me to that word, HOPE!  There is it, again.  I have been being infused with Hope since the outcome of our national election.  I needed HOPE and God has been faithful to provide it to me!  The spirit of the Lord then brought to my remembrance the song Hope's Anthem by Bethel Live.

God is preparing us.  He is pouring out Himself again, as a drink offering.  He is OFFERING you refreshment, renewing, water to your dry soul.  He is HOPE personified and He is pouring out what we need in these days of depression, mall shootings, economy crises, bankruptcy, wars and rumors of war, family disfunction, divorce, betrayal, eating disorders, cancer; what is your need?  He has poured out the solution and he is OFFERING it to you but you have to TAKE it, DRINK it and receive it!

A good place to start this act of faith would be to have some communion, right now.  YOU and God.  Grab a cracker, a hunk of bread, and some juice and REMEMBER what He did for you at the cross.  Take the bread, bless it and see Him on the cross for you and your sin.  Eat the bread and then drink the cup as you remember how he was beaten and bled and died for your sickness, your disease (habitual sin can be like a disease - eating at you, destroying you).  Confess your sin and your need for Him to take your place and then RECEIVE His finished work at the cross for you.  Ask Holy Spirit to come and FILL YOU, renew you, refresh you, and motivate you.  He is a fire, and all consuming fire (God is) and His spirit (one of the three parts of God) is the only entity of the God-head that is still moving here on this planet.  God the Father is in heaven and Jesus is sitting at His right hand but Jesus said,

"but the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26. 

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."  John 16:7

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever." John 14:16

You see, there are three baptisms; there is the baptism in water, the baptism of Holy Spirt and baptism of fire.  The English word "baptism" is a derivative of the Greek word "baptisma," which was a term used for a ritual washing. In the Old Testament, the term describes the ritual cleansing practices priests were supposed to perform for the congregation of Israel.

The baptism in water: By the baptism of water one experience in conversion to the faith in this life and a cleansing away of the old nature and as a consecration.  The baptism of water should happen AFTER your confession of faith to Jesus!  It's your outward sign to the world that something has changed or shifted in you.  It could also be understood as a typification of the judgement of God on the earth by means of water during the deluge of Noah, wherein God cleansed the world of wickedness.  The water WASHES us!  It is a sign that our sins have been washed away!

Which leads to the baptism of the Holy Spirit:  This is where you as a believer ask Holy Spirit to have His way in you and you give Him permission to "drive".  It is similar to what you did for salvation, when you asked Jesus to take your sin and save you.  Holy Spirit is IN you when you were saved but just as a guest in your home is not "welcomed" until YOU, the owner of your home, "RECEIVED" them, so Holy Spirit is waiting in the hallway or foyer of your "home" (your body) for your acknowledgment of His part in the Trinity.


In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was a privilege from God upon just a few categories of people.  These categories were mainly the Kings who were anointed to rule over Israel, the true Prophets of the living God and the Levitical Priests.  The Lord God also slightly extended this privilege of the Holy Spirit to afew other special people - for instance, the seventy elders who were to help Moses in leading the Israelites on their way towards Canaan (Exodus 11:16-26).


A look at the scriptures also reveals a few other people receiving this special privilege of the Holy Spirit.  A few of these examples include Mary who was espoused to Joseph (Luke 1:35) and Elizabeth and her unborn child John the Baptist (Luke 1:41).  However, the Holy Spirit did not indwell in them constantly, but instead came upon them to give special divine directions and revelations for some specific situation.


So, in the Old Testament days, the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out from heaven upon ALL those who believed in the living God.  We do find in many places in the Old Testament where prophets like Joel announce a big change is coming - that the Holy Spirit shall be poured out upon all flesh.  "And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind". (Joel 2:28).

Jesus had to leave and go back to the Father so the Gift of the Father would be released.  Jesus had to go up to heaven so Holy Spirit would come down to believers.  (John 16:7).  In Acts 1:4-5, the Lord Jesus Christ commands his disciples not to preach the gospel until they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit.  A few days later during Pentecost, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurred upon the 120 disciples who had obeyed the Lord's command to await this special Baptism at Jerusalem (John 24:49, Acts 2:1-4).

And so in the New Testament, the scenario changes. Here we find true believers receiving the Holy Spirit who now indwells in them constantly. This was the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers in the New Testament era. From that time up to this present time, the Holy Spirit's baptism is open to all believers who desire him, and who walk in holiness before God.


The baptism of fire: This is a purifying and sanctifying baptism.  It is the restoration of all things in Christ.  What is important to note is that the fire and water baptisms are symbolic and represent the purifying and cleansing power of Gods Judgment.  This baptism is ONLY for the saints of God and is given by Holy Spirit. Luke 12:50, Jesus says, "There is a terrible baptism ahead for me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished."  Jesus paved the way for us!  

Fire is a symbol of Holy Spirit and the purifying judgement of God. Believers need to walk in the Spirit of God. Holy Spirit will lead the saint in the ways of God. All ungodliness in the lives of the saints will have to be burned up by the fire of the Lord.  1 Corinthians 3:13 "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work."

As long as the believer is founded in the unshakeable word of God – by faith and obedience – they will always come out of the fire stronger. They will not fall apart. These hard times of fire baptism will also make the believer come out of the trials purified, just like gold is when it is passed through the hot furnace fire to be purified.

The Bible is full of men and women of God who went through this type of baptism – Job the man of God, the prophets of God in the old testament especially during the reign of King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel, David the King, Jesus Christ, Apostles Peter and Paul, and the persecutions of the saints of God in the early Church during the reign of a great many Roman kings. Jesus Christ talks frequently of this type of baptism upon all those believing in him. You must also keep in mind that our heavenly Father is faithful, He will not allow that which we can not bear. Instead he gives us the spiritual strength to endure what ever he allows to come into our lifes so that we are victorious to the glory of his name. It is written, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it," (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Jesus told us to wait for Him as He was giving another.  When did you acknowlege the "other" sent by Jesus to help you now?  If you need HOPE, you need Holy Spirit!  Come Holy Spirit, I Need Thee!

"Beautiful Things"

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us 

"Hope's Anthem"

He's awakening the hope in me

By calling forth my destiny

He's breathing life

Into my soul

I will thirst for

Him and Him alone

Pre Chorus

He has come like the rain

That showers on the barren plain

So my heart and tongue confess

Jesus, Christ the Hope of man

Chorus

My hope is in you, God

I am steadfast

I will not be moved

I'm anchored, never shaken

All my hope is in You

Bridge (2x)

He's bringing hope to the hopeless

And giving his heart to the broken

And sharing His home with the orphan

He is the joy, He is my joy

He is the hope of the nations

The father's heart we're embracing

He is the song we're declaring

He is the joy, He is my joy

COME HOLY SPIRIT, I NEED THEE 

CHORUS:

Come Holy spirit, I need You,
Come Holy Spirit, I pray,
Come in Thy strength and Thy power,
Come in Thine own gentle way.

Come as the wisdom to children,

Come as new sight for the blind

Come Lord as strength to my weakness

Take me, soul, body and mind

Come like the spring in the desert,
Come to this winner of souls,
Oh, let Thy sweet healing power,
Touch me and make me whole.

Come Lord as rest to the weary

Come as a balm for the soul

Come as a dew to my trials

Fill me with Joy evermore.

Come Holy Spirit I need You,
Come in Thine own gentle way,
Come as the rest to the weary,
Come fill me with joy today.

HOPE in this Season!

I woke up singing, "Holy Spirit you are welcome here.  Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.  Your glory God, is what my heart longs for.  To be overcome by your presence Lord."  It's called Holy Spirit by Brian and Katie Torwalt.  I have shared this song before but this morning the Lord was up to something, I could feel it in my bones, and the something was something GOOD!

Sunrise 12-11-12

After listening to the song about 5 times and singing it over my husband as he was shaving, I went to my computer to begin to seek the Lord as to who needed to be filled up. I posted it as my status on facebook and then saw a friend post about the moon and Venus up high in the morning sky.  She said it was beautiful so I had to go see.

This is the coldest morning we have had in about 10 months or so, it was 19 degrees according to my thermometer but I didn't care, I grabbed a blanket, and rushed out the front door.  Draped in this warmth while in my pj's, I was stunned. WOW - it was breathtaking and inspiring.  I ran back in for my camera as I knew I had to capture this treasure.  MAGNIFICENT, I thought! Here is exactly what the sky looked like, I just watermarked it and framed it.  The air was cold, the atmosphere was crisp and God was speaking!

While preparing the image for this post, I noticed another friend had just posted her photo of God's awesomeness to facebook.  Her's was of an evergreen branch with snow.  I was overcome with the magnitude of God's love for me in seeing her photo and all that God was already doing so I had to post to her wall.

2012 Snow by Corynn Flood

"How WONDERFUL our God is, from the detail of clusters of ice crystals clinging to a branch to the magnificence of the heavens. WOW - OUR GOD REIGNS and he LOVES us SO! Have a FABULOUS day my sister! You are a HOPE ambassador. Everywhere you go, you bring the HOPE of Glory that the world LONGS for! WOW- what a job you have!"

Did you catch that word of exhortation that the Lord gave me for her?  That WE are called to be "ambassadors of HOPE"!  My pastor has been teaching on HOPE (look for 12-09-12 Steve Fish HOPE Prophets part 4) for the last few weeks and he really wasn't planning on teaching on it again, but he did.  This message of HOPE has permeated my spirit and accosted me. He shared that in this hour, God is raising up "Ambassadors of HOPE" or "Hope Prophets".  See we are to be pouring out on to others the "Hope and Glory" that is in us but here's the deal; you can't give what you don't have.  

He went on to say that, "Hope is the seedbed for Faith.  Hebrews 11:1".  In my walk, God has always filled me with Faith and now my HOPE is being charged because my faith has been rising up!  Do you see?  We need to RISE up!  Hope is founded in Love so I encourage you to take time to be filled with LOVE from your daddy, your papa, your Lord and Savior, JESUS CHRIST!  Take time to let the Lord LOVE YOU!

Here are some of my favorite songs that minister life to me and some have ministered to me over the last 40 years.

I Need to be Still by BJ Thomas
I Met God in the Morning by Lydell (1970's)  I can't find a music track link that was to the tune that Lydell sang it but I did find the words. It was poem by Bishop Ralph Cushman

"I met God in the morning"

I met God in the morning
when the day was at its best,
And His Presence came like sunrise,
Like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered,
All day long He stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O'er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,
Other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them,
Brought to me a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings,
With a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the moorings,
With the presence left behind.

So, I think I know the secret,
Learned from many a troubled way:
You must seek Him in the morning
If you want Him through the day!
By Bishop Ralph Cushman

10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman
Hope's Anthem by Bethel Live

I then was messaged by a friend saying how much he has been encouraged by my family and me.  He stopped his message as he said tears were welling up in him.  I told him that I too cry easily because God is continually melting off the calluses on my heart and the tears are those shavings, pealing off like drops shedding out of my heart.

I then felt the Lord rising up in my spirit to pray for him.  As I was praying, I felt this come out of me for him,  "That God was to make a way where there seemed to be NO way because God is SO about...providing, guiding, teaching, releasing, positioning, reconstructing, healing, restoring...He's got this! Love you brother. May you FEEL the Lord WITH you as you enter this day! Amen!"

This is what happens when YOU get filled up with His love, you become a river that the Lord just begins to pour out onto others.  Be encouraged my friends and find your HOPE in the Lord.

Finally one more message came from a brother in the Lord seeking links and CD's to put into the hands of a dying relative who didn't believe.  I sent him to my favorites:

Pastor Thurman Scrivner
Louis Giglio - Laminin
Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (audio version)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I experienced a miracle today and have been rejoicing over the goodness of the Lord on my life all day. I was driving at 8:15AM this morning, to pick up my son from basketball practice, when on a back country road on oncoming car was IN my lane heading into a tight turn. I held down the horn as he quickly was approaching impact. I prayed and called on my God to protect me. I went as far to the right as I could without falling down the hill when he suddenly heard my horn sounding, looking up he saw me and while swerving away he turned quickly back into his lane, preventing our impact. God is SO faithful! Thank you angles of God for watching over me. I spent the next few minutes celebrating the miracle I just experienced and how quickly it all unfolded and how quickly the Lord rescued me.

What I didn't share on facebook were some details about the event that I would like to share here.  First was that my horn has been "broken" and really hasn't worked.  If it wouldn't have "sounded" today, this guy would have hit me! He would have impacted my car right into my side, HITTING ME, literally! My door would have taken the impact of his large SUV and I was sitting right behind it. I was traveling 30 MPH and he was doing at least 40 so that was a greatly increased combined speed. That full blow would have been tremendous BUT the Lord intervened and spared me GREAT pain and distress, if not my very life!

I then went on to pick up my son, came home and proceeded with my day.   I had an appointment for my hair (yes, I know...vanity) but this appointment I made back in August so this day truly was "picked" out by the Lord. (For-the-record,  I am only vain 4 days of the year...LOL.)  After spending a "fair" amount of time (about 4 hours) at the salon, God opened MANY doors.   It began with just hearing my stylist share her heart.

If you have ever been to the salon, you would know that conversation is a must and if you don't talk, your stylist will.  It is almost like going to a therapist.  People have quite the intimate conversations with their stylist.  Anyway, the salon owner was also on the floor and all the stylists would talk among themselves, asking questions, sharing tidbits of information and even teasing or joking with one another.  What was interesting today was that several of the stylists commented (under their breath) that the owner was not in the best of moods these past couple of days and each of them wondered what was going on in his life to bring such tension to the floor.

I knew just a bit about him, as he too was a Christian, even an elder in his church and he was quite open and direct in his discussions with all of us in the room.  The Lord began to give me "comments" and "questions" to ask him.  After about three of these statements by me to him, and the room, he looked at me and said, "Is this my own personal prophecy day today?"

I said, "yes!"

He looked backed, smiled and walked on and then I said another statement which stopped him in his tracks as he looked back at me and the other stylists watched and "ooowed".  It was all light-hearted but Holy Spirit was pricking his heart.

Finally he confessed that he was a "Scrooge" and that he hated Christmas because of what the world had turned it into, not, of course, because of the birth of Jesus.  I exploded with a HUGE smile and said questioning, "You hate this time of year?  Why?  This is the most WONDERFUL time of the year and the easiest time to witness as EVERYONE loves Christmas!  People are 'ripe' to hear the GOOD NEWS as they NEED Jesus and are looking for REAL joy!"

I reminded him of the fact that it is "GOOD NEWS" and we are the bringers of this news!  What a WONDERFUL opportunity the Lord has given us!

He looked at me puzzled as he stopped and then he went on.  I KNEW I would be praying over him before I left the salon this day.

Meanwhile, back to my stylist.  We had been in-and-out of our conversation that centered around her life growing-up and her experiences with meeting the Lord and churches and the total dysfunction of her personal home-life.  She was questioning the baptism in the Holy Spirit as she saw others have this gift at a couple of the churches she attended in her youth but she personally felt she never received the gift and wondered why.  Over the course of the next two hours, Holy Spirit began laying the roadwork for her to indeed receive and operate in that gift.  While paying, I prayed for her and she indeed received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and she also spoke in tongues!  It was beautiful.  She cried, I cried and the Holy Spirit fell!  AWESOME GOD!

Back to the owner; while I was still getting my hair cut and dried, I was able to pray for him.  He too was broken before the Lord and began to brush tears from his cheeks.  God was SO evident and moving in this salon.  What prompted the prayer for him was he re-entered the common area and my stylist questioned his changing of the music.  (I hadn't even noticed but she had.)  She said, "Is that Christmas music playing?" He said yes.  Laughter and excitement erupted as apparently the "old" Scrooge was not allowing Christmas music in the salon before this.  He came over toward my stylist to have this conversation about the music and I KNEW this was when we would pray and we did!

I left the salon rejoicing in ALL that God had done for these two people as they were BOTH impacted directly by the power of God, personally in their lives and they both were believers.  We need to be looking for opportunity to POUR into ALL that we meet in these great days we living in. It was such an amazing experience for me to see God move so greatly for each of them. I got in my car and just sat there praising God for what had just happened, totally forgetting the road event earlier in the day.

I went on to the dairy store to pick up some milk and the cashier hurried toward the counter as she saw me nearing the check out isle. She rang the items up, I paid and then I said, personally to her, that I wished for her day to be full of blessings. She responded and said, "I sure need that. I will always take blessings."

She rounded the counter to go back to stocking and had to pass by me.  I then reached out my hand and said to her, "Can I pray for you?" She said yes and handed me her "gloved" hands as she had been stocking the ice cream. I prayed over her for a few brief moments and she graciously thanked me saying how much she needed that.

I was again, REJOICING in the opportunities that God had allotted me this very special day and as I entered my car, I realized the assignment that had been sent against me, back on that curve this early AM. I began to thank God for the fruit of this day and the blessings of my very life. How things could have been SO different.

I post this as WE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. The first person I ministered to today was the owner of the salon, a Christian, who called Himself "Scrooge" as he just didn't "like" the holidays. Remember that this is the most WONDERFUL time of the year to share the "GOOD NEWS" because EVERYONE loves Christmas! It doesn't get any easier that sharing the Love of the Lord during this time of year. Even tho the media is making a "big deal" about Christmas, the average person still LOVES this time of year or at least they want to love it.  I can be a most difficult time for some and so again, a perfect opportunity to pray for someone!  People are SO open!  I pray that YOU will share the GOOD NEWS! Give yourself EXTRA time when you are shopping, eating, or going to the salon because YOU BRING the GOOD NEWS wherever YOU go.

We should be excited for the days that we live in. THESE ARE THE DAYS THAT THE PROPHETS HAVE LONGED FOR and YOU and ME have been CHOSEN to LIVE HERE, NOW , for SUCH A TIME AS THIS!

I love you dear brothers and sisters in Christ and I pray ALL is WELL with you and your SOUL this very joyous time of the year! I am REJOICING as this day, could have easily been my last on this planet, instead, God brought the Kingdom to three dear people where they needed Him most. WOW - we get to partake in this and get heaven too! Hallelujah!