Final Destination, Paradise!

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34:19

On a recent flight from Missouri to Hawaii, I was reminded of a message I recently heard Dr. Larry Ollison teach on living above the storm. I've weathered many storms, many without Jesus and many with Jesus. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivers us out of them all!

I can tell you from experience that weathering storms with Jesus is much more productive, peaceful and joy-filled. Jesus offers a peace that surpasses all understanding. (Philippians 4:7 NKJV) Thank You Jesus, I receive that by faith! He makes all things work together for my good! (Romans 8:28 NKJV)

I'm a sunshine girl and I had hoped for a bright sunny drive to the airport. However, when I opened the blinds that morning I could see it had been raining. The weather had caused the days to be very dark for quite some time. There was no sign of the dark clouds moving aside for a bright sunny day. But my faith did not waver. I did a happy dance and gave myself a high five because I knew my final destination!

While making the drive from the Lake of the Ozarks to St. Louis to catch our flight, the weather continued to be very cold, dark and rainy. But the condition of the weather didn't negatively affect me because I knew my final destination!

While at the airport, I had opportunity to minister light to many people.  Some were very tired, looking for their gates, and trying to check in using their e-tickets. Others were airport employees dealing with difficult customers. He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. (1John 4:4) I was able to shine light because I knew my final destination!

While sitting on the runway, I looked outside and all I could see was cold, rain and dark. I knew very soon I would be above the storm. Walking by faith not by sight, my anticipation grew because I knew my final destination!

All of a sudden, at over 30,000 feet, I saw it! I was finally above the storm and what an amazing sight! It looked like Heaven on earth! Darkness gave way to light. Light dispels darkness. Light is good! I thanked God for His majestic creation because I see Him in every good and perfect gift. (James 1:17) I was one step closer to my final destination!

Immediately, I thought of the choices that are set before us. We choose to shine forth light or give in to darkness. With every act, thought and deed we choose blessing or curses. During the storms of life, we can choose to stand on every promise in His precious Word. We can choose to weather every storm filled with joy and peace.  Why? Because as born again believers, we know our final destination!

True Worship

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. (John 4:23)

There was a time when I first started church that during worship service I could not enter in.  I was so broken and hurt, every time I tried, my heart was pierced with His love and I knew if I continued worshipping Him the ushers would have to scrape me off the floor.

If you are in a worship service and you see someone looking around instead of singing and “entering in”, pray for that person.  Understand it may not necessarily mean that individual is refusing to participate or viewing worship service as a spectator sport.  It may just be that person is being healed right where they stand even if their outer appearance doesn’t reflect it.

If you are one who cannot yet fully participate in worship as your hear desires, that’s ok. God meets us where we’re at.  Just know, He loves us too much to leave us there. Refuse to grow weary and give up, and you will reap. (Galatians 6:9)

During those early days, I prayed for freedom to worship Him. He has answered those prayers and now I freely worship Him and chains continue to be broken and I continue to be set free. And so can you. (Matthew 7:7)

Several weeks ago I was in a worship service and the worship team was amazing.  Every instrument was being played with excellence.  Every voice was singing in perfect harmony.  Every sound was phenomenal.

As odd as this may sound, it was a little distracting.  I had to fight against the distraction.  Everything was so beautiful I just wanted to stare at the musicians playing their instruments.  I wanted to take it all in and be blessed by it.

I fought against the distraction and pressed in to worship Him.  I was there to worship Him, not to be entertained.  God spoke to my heart, “Every part of every worship service is critical.  Worship service is worship, not entertainment.  Enter further in.  Minister to Me.  You are not in worship service in order for the worship team to minister to you.”  I pressed into worship further and He said, “Every word is critical.  Every note is critical.  Listen to every note.  Be carried on each note.”  I listened intently to every note I could distinguish.  I don’t mean every chord as I couldn’t tell you a c from a d sharp (if a d sharp even exists).  I’m talking about every sound bringing me to a place of Heaven on earth and changing my life!

I didn’t want to leave that place, but God said, “Open your eyes.”  I opened my eyes and looked at the keyboard player’s fingers.  I meditated on, “Every note is critical.”  God showed me if the keyboard player had missing fingers he wouldn’t be able to play every note.  Missing fingers would result in missing notes.  Missing notes would result in missing ministry.  Missing ministry would result in missing healings, revelation and people being set free.

About two weeks later, I was in a healing service. People were being healed where they stood while worshipping God.  Not one person was being prayed for and over 100 people left that service healed. Growths dissolved.  People were able to physically do what they weren’t able to do when they arrived.  One woman even removed her oxygen and testified she was healed!

This made me further understand how every word and every note is critical.  As these people entered in and were carried upward to a place of Heaven on earth, their physical bodies were being healed!  Every note and every word was obviously playing a critical part in each person’s life and the experience was life changing!

A quick search of the effects of music on the brain will result in findings so enormous one cannot read it all.  It is obvious now and has been for centuries that music profoundly affects people emotionally, physically and spiritually.  I’ve observed my children and the effects of music on them since they were small infants.  Children move to the flow of the music.  Music moves people, no pun intended. Numerous articles of research I found during this study suggested, “Music is the pathway to the soul.”  Wow, it behooves us to be watchful of what we listen to.

God knew exactly what He was doing when He created music.  He created the Hebrew Aleph Bet and attached over 70 layers to each letter.  One of those layers is a musical note attached to each letter.  The Word of God can literally be played on a musical instrument.  This is why David could play his harp for King Saul and the evil spirit that was tormenting him would flee.  More teachings on the Hebrew language can be found at www.faithman.org.   I’ve learned every minute I spend researching the Hebrew language is valuable time spent.

Over the past several weeks I’ve thought about sentences and how taking one word out changes the whole message.  For example, the sentence, “I love you.”  Remove “you” and we are left with, “I love.”   I love what?  Pizza?  My car?  My dog?  One word missing out of that sentence makes the sentence incomplete.  Every word is critical.  Every word we speak, meditate on or sing is critical.

We carry the power of life and death in our mouth.  One of my pastors, Dr. Larry Ollison, says it like this, “Your life and your death are in the power of your tongue.”  Since every word is critical, I believe we are to make every word count towards life, healing and wholeness for ourselves and everyone who comes into contact with us.  Blessings and curses are set before us, we must choose life!

On another note, (grin) clapping for the worship team during worship service after every song may be a nice gesture toward the worship team; however, worship service is not a show.  Worship is worship.

If you are on a worship team, please consider this.  Leading worship takes practice and preparation not only experience and/or education.  Since every note and every word is critical, is it critical for you to fully practice and prepare yourself to bring forth everything God has called you to bring forth in every worship service.  Not one note is insignificant.  Every note you play and every word you say in each and every service has the ability to set people free and change lives forever, through Christ Jesus!

Worship is a powerful tool!  Live a life of worship in everything you think, say and do!  Always have His praise on your lips!  “Worship the LORD your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. (Exodus 23:25)  This is a powerful promise!  Believe it and walk in it!  Be a true worshiper worshiping Him in spirit and in truth!  He is seeking you!

Elizabeth, mahalo nui loa for allowing us to share your heart.

This post is from a friend who is wise beyond her age.

One of the Rabbi's in Israel who actually knows God's full name says that it sounds like a person exhaling. He also says that it sounds like someone exhaling because when God created us He made it so that we couldn't live without the name of God constantly on our lips.

I find it funny that we survive on air that completely surrounds us and we’d die without it. I think it sort of parallels His love. It completely surrounds us and we can't survive without it. But at the same time we sometimes don't notice it as much or we don't fully understand how much we need it. I know I need air but I don't exactly know how much I need or what it does to my body. And sometimes I don't fully notice that I'm breathing, I just do.

I also find it funny that we can't see unless there's light. The Bible says that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. So the reason we can't see in complete darkness is because we were not created to live in the darkness! We were made to dwell in the light!

We are constantly taking the miracle out of everything! Hundreds of years ago they couldn't tell you correctly why the oceans had tides, they didn't really know. They couldn't tell you how human life was created in a womb because they didn't know. They were surrounded by miracles ad they knew it. But science has made us take the divinity and make it ordinary. Just because an arm is healed over and over again doesn't make it any less a miracle. Neither should we take the divine promise of a rainbow and the miracle of a newborn baby and make it into just another occurrence of daily life.

Instead of amazing us with a great and astounding miracle every now and then, He has completely surrounded us with His essence. We live in an art gallery of masterpieces and yet are content to gaze only at the carpet. What’s worse is we demand more, more signs, more wonders, more miracles. As if He's some magician we can call to entertain us. Look up; see the bright colors of a sunset. Set your gaze upon the fragile yet beautifully colored petals of a flower. Stare in amazement at the enormous mountain that just happens to point heavenward. For the first time, really take in the enormity and simplistic beauty of the star filled night sky. Created by a Daddy who loves you. And stop questioning His love or faithfulness. If you ever ask yourself if He really loves you, look at the beauty of nature and remember that God made it as a gift to you.

If you ever doubt His faithfulness, put a hand on your chest and feel the steady beat of your heart, remember that only He makes it beat. And if you ever wonder if you are really worth something, remember this, God said you are made in His image. You are the copy of your daddy and your daddy is the king of the universe. Your body may just be dust in the wind but your spirit is eternal. And, you are a Co-Heir in Christ. You are a child of the Most High. Your tongue can both kill and heal. You, as a righteous saint of God, are powerful, and wonderful. You are loved much more than you could ever think you are. Thanks for listening to my little rant. I’m done now! Bye! :D

Break Free!

“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (Mark 11:25 NLT)

Forgiveness…oh man…not many people enjoy that subject. But if you learn how to ask God for help in your weakness, you can overcome and walk in a higher level of freedom! (Romans 8:26)

Forgiveness…hmmm… what is the first thing one thinks of when seeing the word forgiveness? For me forgiveness always reminds me to pray. I couldn’t always say that. But now, at this stage of my life and after everything God has brought me through, I can honestly say prayer brings about forgiveness. Experience in my relationship with God has taught me that I overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. Prayer works!

Several years ago, someone came to spend some time at our house. Her identity and the details of what happened are irrelevant. What is relevant is the lesson God taught me during the experience. The visit was a train wreck from the time she walked through our door. I wondered, since this is not going well at all, why doesn’t she just cut all our losses and get out of my house? She did finally pack her things and leave...four days later!

In the moments immediately following her departure, I prayed. The very first thing God put into my heart was, “Forgive her and pray for her, Mark 11:25” And then He reminded me of  Matthew 5:44. I hung my head as I was so sad. I wanted Him to feel sorry for me! I wanted God to heal my broken heart. And He did but not the way I thought He would. I wanted Him to supernaturally touch my heart and make me all new and better than before! I didn’t want to have to pray for her. I had been very hurt, but God didn’t give me a loophole. He wasn’t going to give me another option. I didn’t want to be stuck in the offense. I didn’t want to stifle my spiritual growth. I picked up my head and said, “Father, in the name of Jesus, help me pray for her because You know on my own I can’t right now.” He is so faithful and just. (1 John 1:19) He gave me the words I needed to pray for her. It was an earnest, heartfelt prayer. Since then, I’ve used the experience for God’s glory.

I’ve been taught by great men and women of God that taking an offense is like swallowing poison thinking the person who hurt us will be the one who gets sick. And it is a taking or rejecting of the offense. Each of us has that decision to make. Offense is poison. Offense poisons almost everyone who comes into contact with the offended person also. Offense makes a person get“stuck” in a “zone” and their growth is stopped. There is much written about offense. My personal favorite is Breaking the Cycle of Offense by Dr. Larry Ollison found at www.faithman.org. I went into such great detail because I want to make sure all readers can easily find the book. I believe everyone should read the book. If you are not battling with an offense, you can use the book to minister to others who are.

I personally apply the information in Dr. Ollison’s book this way, every single time an offense is brought to my thoughts, I take every thought captive and I pray. I pray for the person who offended me. I don’t “pick up” the offense. I don’t “pat” it or “entertain” it. We are commanded to pray for those who spitefully use us (Matthew 5:44), so I simply pray and God does everything else for me. It isn’t a battle for me, the only battle I’m called to fight is the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12).Some may say not so simple. I say commit to it. Commit defined is to do, perform, or perpetuate. When I say commit, I mean commit in such a way that there are no other options. Really commit to crucify the flesh and allow obedience to override the natural. Galatians 5:16 promises us when we walk in the spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.

The blessing always comes when I follow through on my commitment to be obedient to His Word and crucify my flesh by praying for the person (when my flesh really just wants to scream!). In that simple, pure-hearted act of obedience, God causes something very supernatural to occur. The hurt in my heart is replaced with compassion.

God is always faithful to reveal to me why the person did what they did. Most of the time, their action is fear based. Fear is a result of not understanding God’s love. Not “ Hollywood ”love or any other incorrect definition of love, but true love. He causes me to pray that they have the power to understand, how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is for them! I also take time to pray that for myself! (Eph 3:18)

My Father has commanded me to forgive so that I don’t hold myself captive in a self-induced prison. I encourage you to follow His Word and experience the freedom of walking in forgiveness in His love too.

Praise God! Break free! Forgive!