An Approaching Moment of Singularity

I listened to an interview with a scientist describing the concept of Singularity. Singularity is a moment in history when seemingly disconnected events happen at the same time with such rapidity, they seem to the human mind as a single event. It would be like all the scientific and technological advancements made in the last 100 years happening in a single moment. It will be an overwhelming experience to a mind not accustomed to such rapid revelation.

A moment in human history is approaching that will challenge our understanding of life and how the future will unfold. When this time comes, the Lord will be the only safe harbor as these events unfold, seemingly out of control. 

This is not another end-times scenario. It is a moment of transition where the Church will be revived and reformed to engage culture with hope and offer solutions that will solve many of the struggles faced by humanity. The opportunity these events offer will become gateways into Ephesians 3:20 moments in human history where God will accomplish more than we could imagine. These events will lead us to a hope-filled future.

On the world stage, events are beginning to cluster into what will become a moment of singularity. The prophets have spoken of these events many times but as isolated revelations. A moment of singularity is being formed that will bring together the fulfillment of multiple prophecies that seemed wild and questionable at the time of their initial delivery. This single moment of mass fulfillment will create confusion and in some cases, delusion for many whose eyes are not focused on the Lord, even among those whose faith appeared strong in the past.

 

As this moment of singularity appears, there will be only one way to survive emotionally and spiritually. As the psalmist said, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). As the world shakes in a moment of unexpected singularity, we have an opportunity to live with an unshakeable faith in the One who is never shaken by the turmoil and transitions of humanity.

 

What Happens When a Bully Gets a Bloody Nose

There are times when a punch to the nose of a bully is all that will stop their quest for dominance. As a chubby insecure pre-puberty kid, I remember landing a punch on the nose of our playground bully after repeated calls for him to leave me and others alone. After that confrontation, he lost his place of dominance. Peace, laughter, and child-like joy returned to our playground.

A bully is prowling the playground of our culture. He is using fear to push people around. During this time, when the truth is being turned upside, redefined, and trampled under the hooves of a spirit of anarchy, it seems like the bully is getting his way. As this bullying spirit tries to gain a greater foothold, a group of David-like individuals is emerging. They will enter the fray and bring down the bullying spirit of deception with a single stone of truth. 

God’s mercy, justice, and compassion, all components of truth, will empower these men and women to execute a strategic punch that will stun and disempower the spirit of fear that motivates the bully.  God's truth will be the sword that beheads the false thinking of this bully. The bully of fear has had his way for far too long. It is time for peace and order to return to our playground. 

Have Our Prayers Been Answered?

For years, I've heard many of us pray for a return to the model of the Early Church, as seen in the book of Acts. In the first century, people moved in the power of the Spirit in the streets of their city in between daily appointments. They met in homes in small groups and shared the burdens of life - emotional, spiritual, and financial burdens. Large gatherings were not the norm after the dispersal that took place in Acts 8.  Those larger gatherings would emerge centuries later and become the norm of our day. 

The Early Church wasn’t yet a big event form of Christianity. It was local and organic, strengthened by dependence on God and a close connection and support from fellow believers. In some ways, that prayer for a return to the original model of the Early Church may have been answered to some degree in this time of social isolation. 

This is a time for all of us to reset our understanding of the Church. It is not an entirely negative time. Yes, it has been painful for many people for some very obvious reasons. That pain has offered us an opportunity to demonstrate how resilient and loving a genuine faith can be in times of crisis. 

What we had become accustomed to as an expression of the Church may not have the ability to accomplish the Great Commission without this needed adjustment in our perspective. That adjustment could be one of the reasons why this time of isolation has become an answer to our prayers.

Watch North Korea

If the news coming out North Korea about either the death or vegetative state of Kim Jung Un after a failed surgery is accurate, something significant is taking place in Asia. I wondered why the Lord had me hold a word for a few weeks to finally share it this morning on my Facebook wall about God keeping or removing leaders. That word, alongside something I wrote two years ago on this blog about North Korea titled "North Korea - History Will Fast-Forward and Prayers will be Answered." makes me hope for heavenly intervention in that nation. If the information regarding Kim Jong Un is correct, a significant shift will take place in the leadership of North Korea. Friends who are intercessors are beginning to gather tonight to pray into this developing story. The story of North Korea is not finished until God writes the last chapter.

Backfire!

This morning as Jan and I shared communion together, we were praying for some of you and for the institutions of our nation. During our communion prayer at 6:19 a.m., I heard the word, “Backfire!” 

Perverse political and religious spirits with unrighteous agendas have attached themselves to the opportunity offered by the coming of this hell-sent virus. They think this is their time to wreak havoc and introduce their agenda. 

The plans these spirits have tried to implement will soon begin to backfire. This backfiring will not be subtle. It will be heard and seen by all. Just as an engine backfires because of mistiming, so it will be with these plans for a cultural revolution. This is not their time. It is God’s time. 

When Prayer Finds Its Mark

In every spiritual conflict, there will be a single prayer that will be used by God to bring down the plans of hell. While many will be praying, one prayer from among the many will work its way through all the dark defenses and strike a fatal blow.

The death of Ahab, husband of Jezebel, reveals this principle. Ahab was a wicked king of Israel, and his death had been recently prophesied. Ahab disguised himself when going into battle in hopes of blending in with the other troops and not be a recognizable target. He had another man wear his royal robes into battle as a diversion. 

In the heat of battle, “An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor” (I Kings 22:34). The arrow was shot at the mass of enemy troops, but it found an intended target, a disguised target.

As we pray against dark agendas and evil strategies, we may not know how to pray with specificity. God understands that we don’t always have a clear understanding of what is taking place. He simply asks us to pray. We think our generic prayers are less significant than specific prayers. God is the one who directs our prayers, specific or not. He will be faithful to guide the flight of our prayers and help them find their intended mark. 

When that single Aramean soldier fired his arrow into the troops amassed before him, he was not aiming between the joints of Ahab’s armor. He was firing into a battle unaware of Ahab's presence. God guided the flight of the Aramean's arrow to find its distinct target just as He is guiding each prayer we fire today into our spiritual battles. 

Practicing Peace

We have entered a domino moment in history with the fear of a deadly virus spreading around the globe. If another significant domino falls, like the outbreak of a major war, a global financial collapse, or a natural disaster of national significance, our sense of cultural stability will vanish. What seemed so secure and lasting in one moment will fall in the next.

When we allow our emotions to have their way in times of peace, we will only have emotions to fight with when we engage in a real battle. Paul listed self-control as one of the fruits of the Spirit. It’s in the mix with the other fruit because the rest of them don’t have a chance to emerge if we don’t have control over our emotions. This is not living without emotions. It’s controlling their ability to form our response to the negative issues of life. Self-control is self-training ourselves in times of peace so that when a major conflict or global disaster comes, we will be led by spiritually wise battle tactics, not by crippling fear.

We have been called to practice the presence of Jesus at all times.  We do this so that when a dark and dire moment of human history does unfold, His peace will guide our actions and keep us from joining an unbridled emotional stampede that can lead an entire culture over the cliff edge of social and spiritual disaster. 

The Checkmate of God

This morning in prayer, I saw an image of the Lord seated at a chessboard. The chess pieces were ornate and represented the nations of the earth. I looked to see who His opponent was and realized he was so insignificant in comparison to God that I could not even see his head above the tabletop. It appeared as if no one was seated across from the Lord. The enemy’s lack of significance did not allow him to play the game with any hope of final victory.  Each move he made could not stand up against the wisdom and power of God’s strategy. Patiently and peacefully, the Lord continued to move each chess piece around the chessboard, according to a plan none of us can fully understand or comprehend the complexity of its design.

This life and the affairs of humanity are being orchestrated by the hand of God, not by evil. None of what we see taking place on the world stage is without a righteous and merciful outcome. When things make no sense or people issue warnings that the sky is falling, wait in expectation for the next move of God. His hand is always making a strategic play at just the right time that will checkmate the most elaborate plan of hell.

Heaven's Concierge

We are the keeper of the keys of heaven. The phrase “the keeper of the keys” has been used to describe someone who maintains, watches over and defends the interest of their employer. A modern-day hotel concierge - the keeper of the keys -  can trace the roots of their role back to France in the Middle Ages where the word was originally used. A concierge was given authority to lock and unlock the castle of the person they served.  

In Matthew 16: 13-20, an interesting dialogue takes place between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus asks, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The disciples gave a variety of responses revealing how the religious culture of the day viewed Jesus. Then the Lord pressed the disciples personally and asked, “But who do you say that I am?" In typical Peter fashion, he answered for the group, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said to him 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.'"

Jesus then told the disciples upon that revelation, He would build His church, and the gates of hell would not be able to stand against the advance of God’s Kingdom. To empower us to accomplish this task, Jesus went on to say “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

The revelation of Jesus Christ, who is seated above all things in a place of ultimate authority, is the Kingdom key that can unlock all gates of deception. The keys of our authority are cut to the profile of Jesus Christ. Only the revelation of Jesus has the power and authority to unlock doors of opportunity or opposition. We are not the source of that authority. We are the concierge of Jesus' authority. We open and close doors as directed by the Spirit.

Today, if you are called by God to advance, and you are confronted by a gate of hell, insert the revelation of Jesus Christ into the lock and turn the key by faith.  The tumblers of deception that formed the mechanism of hell's lock will give way to the authority of the Lord. This is the duty of someone who is employed as heaven's concierge on earth. 

Our Capacity To Do Battle

God is increasing your capacity for spiritual warfare. What worked in the past will not be sufficient to engage the battles in your future. This increased capacity is a work of God, not a capacity you can produce.

When I was a cop, one of my fellow officers got in a shootout with an armed robbery suspect. It was a hot July night, almost 100 degrees. My friend saw a man dressed in a heavy wool coat and a watch cap driving through town casing stores. The unusual attire caught the officer’s attention so he followed the vehicle. Like many criminals, the suspect provided a minor equipment violation that allowed the officer to legally make a car stop. 

When the officer approached the vehicle, the suspect bailed out of the car with a semi-auto 30-06 rifle and began shooting. The officer returned fire with his revolver as he ran backward, attempting to find cover behind his patrol unit. One of the suspect’s rounds hit the doorframe of the police vehicle fragmenting and wounding my friend. At that point in the gunfight, the officer had fired the last round in his six-shot revolver.  That last round hit the suspect in the upper thigh, and the gunfight was over. 

I was a department training officer so I grabbed some time to debrief my friend on the shooting. I asked him what he would do differently. His immediate response was, “I would want more bullets.” Back in those days, cops carried six-shot revolvers, not autoloading pistols that officers carry today with magazines holding almost three times the number of rounds as a revolver. The higher capacity of modern handguns is a far superior fighting weapon compared to the limited capacity of the revolvers we carried back in the day.

Having enough capacity to stay in the fight is critical, not just on the streets, but in our spiritual lives. When we put on our spiritual armor, we are actually putting on the Person of Jesus Christ, not a skill we learned at a workshop on spiritual warfare. When God increases our ability to fight the good fight, He is increasing our capacity to know and reveal Him in the challenging situations of life. He is our capacity.

The next time hell opens fire on you and those you love, ask the Lord to increase your understanding of His power and presence in your struggle. That is your most trustworthy battle weapon and defines your capacity to do battle. What God reveals to you at that moment will never run dry, leaving you facing the enemy alone and outgunned. 

Choosing to Recognize Dark Realities

Using words like witchcraft, demon possession, and spiritual warfare will cause some people to roll their intellectual eyes like they are talking to a mentally deficient hayseed. I’m glad the first followers of Jesus didn’t feel this way or leave those encounters out of the biblical text. They are real, no matter how they make us feel or how we choose to dismiss their reality. Perhaps one of hell’s most effective tactics is to have us dismiss these issues, maybe not in our theology placed somewhere on a distant bookshelf, but in how we choose to see and engage these battles in everyday life.

Just yesterday, I was reminded on a personal level about the reality of spiritual warfare. This morning I felt the freedom of God’s Spirit as a result of Spirit-directed prayer and communion with Jan last night. A subtle work of hell no longer has influence in an area of my thinking. I can feel the freedom. Yes, you can feel freedom.

If you are moving forward into relational or cultural strongholds held and protected by the enemy but destined to become part of God’s Kingdom, you will meet head-on the full force of hell. These are battles over spiritual territory, and they are not relinquished without a fight. For a person to have lived a life never contending over personal spiritual territory means some areas of that life are held in tolerable captivity, the kind of captivity a person learns to live with, in either ignorance or dismissal. 

In the pursuit of a hipster, need-to-be-cool-at-all-costs kind of faith, we can end up not entertaining the possibility of an encounter with dark strongholds because they are considered outside the realm of natural thinking. These unchallenged spiritual realities will continue to influence our lives and the world in significant ways until their right to stand in our way is challenged. Unchallenged, they will ride across generations of families and cultures on the back of a powerless expression of faith. It is too easy to dismiss these dark realities and just move on, thinking everything will eventually work out. That thinking itself is evidence that hell has been at work. As a result of faith without engagement, we can end up walking around the very encounters that would have resulted in our personal freedom and the freedom of our families, friends, and the institutions of culture.

The Embalming Fluid of the Spirit

I had a funny thing happen last night. Jan and I were asked to be part of a prayer team to pray over pastors at a conference in Bend, Oregon. Each of us on the prayer team was handed a small tin of anointing balm infused with frankincense and myrrh. The balm was a solid paste-like substance more convenient than oil that can be a bit messy when applying it to someone’s forehead. For any legalists reading this, the balm is actually an oil, just a solid version.

Jan and I had already prayed for several individuals when I said to the next person in line waiting to receive prayer, “I want to anoint you with this embalming fluid.” I had no idea what I said. The woman looked at me with a wry smile, and then I realized what I had said. We all broke out in laughter at my slip of the tongue. Then Jan said, “Where there is death, there is a resurrection.” 

That evening a lot of resurrection life was taking place during worship, from the conference speakers and in the prayer lines that wrapped around the front of the stage. There was a fourth Person with us when I tripped over my language. He was laughing with us. There are times when laughter is evidence that healing is taking place.

Blessing of Watching & Waiting

Isaiah 21:6-10 & Daniel 7:2, 13 & John 8:28 & Ephesians 1:18

Isaiah’s response to the vision of Babylon’s destruction is followed by a strong sense of divine revelation. Like him, we are called to be a watchman; to post a look-out; to stand on the “word of the Lord” rather than to lightly and thoughtlessly identify with the world system (which Babylon represents).

Garris wrote about a “high-definition” version of prophetic insight that God is releasing to accelerate the rate of the world’s transformation and reformation. “Just like high-definition photography and television provide cleaner lines of the image being portrayed, so it will be with you. Vaguely defined and blurry prophetic imagery will give way to profound clarity.”

In the name of Jesus Christ,

      I bless your spirit with high

      definition clarity.

Listen for what He says to you—

      look for what He shows you:

      

      Go! Be a watchman

      to declare what you see.

I pray that the eyes of your heart

      are enlightened.

Be a watchman and post a lookout:

      Stand on your guard post

      extremely alert; be still and wait

      patiently for God.

      Keep watch in order to see;

      keep looking—keep looking.

Without bending to intimidation,

      may you respond with resolute

      strength—persevering daily

      and all the nights.

Wait for God’s word to be given

      and speak it reliably without

      fabrication or falsity.

Tell only what you see and hear

      in order to get the right message

      and to get the message right.

May you speak with certainty,

      without skirting around the truth;

      no longer vague about the truth,

      delaying to give the truth,

      over-stretching the truth,

      or avoiding telling the whole truth.

I bless you with trustworthiness, reliable

      character and passion to speak

      His truth in love.

In the end, His sign will be fulfilled:

      watch for the signs, record

      and report what you see.

The Echo of Our Voice

Each time we speak the sound of our voice travels as an echo toward destinations beyond our initial audience. Our words do not fall to the ground and die. They are a powerful force that continues to echo an impact long after a conversation has ended or a statement has been made. When I wrote the book The Sound of Reformation, I unpacked some of the significance of that echo.

“These new, Spirit-indwelled disciples came to the Day of Pentecost in obedience to the marching orders Jesus had given them. On that day, a new sound was released: “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven…” (Acts 2:2).

"The word translated as sound here is ēchos: it means sound or noise (and is also the root of the English word “echo”). The same word was used in Luke 4 to describe the sound of a testimony created by the ministry of Jesus when a demon-possessed man was set free. It was also used in Hebrews 12 to describe the sound of a ram’s horn trumpeting the Israelites to attention to hear the word of the Lord. 

"That root word ēchos also forms the verb, ēchéō, which means to sound or roar and is found in I Corinthians 13:1 where Paul is defining love to the Corinthians: “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

The Church has been called to make the sound of love that will echo through each sphere of cultural influence. If love is not the motivator behind the words we speak then our righteous influence will diminish and we will be aligned with the sounds of another kingdom. 

Be wise in your choice of words, but even more importantly, catch those words in your heart before they fully form and escape to become a dark echo used by the enemy to show the world the sound made by the Church is no different than the sounds made by the surrounding unredeemed culture.

(Portions of this posting taken from the book, The Sound of Reformation. https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Reformation-Garris-Elkins/dp/0692884424/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BQY6JFDQWM5P&keywords=garris+elkins&qid=1555674542&s=gateway&sprefix=garris+elkins%2Caps%2C245&sr=8-1

The Return to Glory

When Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters golf tournament this weekend, CBS headlined his victory with the words, “The Return to Glory.” At age 43 and 11 years since his last major victory, along with a life filled with disappointment and injury, some sports announcers are calling Tiger’s comeback one of the greatest in golfing history.

As an 11-year old boy, I remember walking the 18^th hole at Pebble Beach with my father when he won the California State Championship for his handicap division. I still have the trophy handed to my father in front of the clubhouse on that day 58 years ago. What was unique about my father’s win was the fact that 9 months prior to his victory was the first time he ever held a golf club. He won the championship with a cheap set of ancient clubs he bought at a pawnshop. He was a natural.

Both Tiger and my father did something the doubters would say was not possible. I have come to realize, having walked with God for so many years, that He loves to do what seems impossible. For Tiger, he returned to former glory. For my father, he experienced golfing glory for the first time. 

The glory of God is different. It is available to all believers, not just those who stand in the winner’s circle. We carry the glory of God and in some instances of life that glory will become what has been termed the manifest glory of God. This is when the glory of God is released in a tangible way during worship or in the midst of human conflict and it becomes obvious that God is present and working beyond our natural ability or our wildest imagination. 

As I read the caption from CBS news about Tiger's return to glory, I sensed the Lord speaking to me about something more than a sporting victory. We are in a moment of history when God is calling, and in some cases calling back, believers who have been written off as too failed or too fragile to be trusted with a shot at victory. While the world, and unfortunately some in the Church look only at the rising stars, God has not forgotten those who failed or were never even considered as candidates for something new. 

When the glory returns, those who step forward in obedience to the call will experience unusual demonstrations of God’s presence. When this happens it will be obvious to all the glory has indeed returned. 

Parrot, Puppet or Prophet?

In each culture, we are offered the choice to become a parrot, a puppet or a prophet.  Parrots are trained to repeat prepared statements not knowing their actual meaning or the source of what they are parroting. Puppets respond to life at the whim and control of individuals and institutions that dictate their response to life and the venue of their cultural engagement. 

Prophets are different. They have learned to listen to the voice of God and respond only to the impulse of the Spirit. They refuse to parrot prepared statements or dance around like a puppet at the end of a puppetmaster’s string. 

God is raising up prophets who will address, in love, deeply embedded cultural issues that parrots and puppets will never see or consider. Accepting the call of a prophet is a courageous decision. It will cause your voice and your actions to stand out and stand alone in a culture filled with the sight and sound of flailing puppets and noisy parrots.     

Breaching Realms

I watched a video of a whale breaching the realm of water and entering the realm of air just before falling back into the ocean to continue his journey. Flying fish also breach the realm of water, as do Manta rays. When I trout fish, I know the fishing will be good when I see a trout breach the surface of a mountain stream.

Breaching is not limited to creatures that live underwater, Paul breached the limits of this realm and soared into the realm of Heaven. In II Corinthians 12:4 Paul described his experience, “I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.” Paul was caught up. He didn’t go there on his own initiative. These are God-appointed experiences, not something we schedule because we want them.

The purpose of spiritual breaching is to provide a revelation that does not exist in this realm. Some believers do not think this breaching is possible today. Still, others feel anyone who talks of such things should be viewed as suspect bordering on fanaticism. That would place Paul and most of the early Church in the same suspicious group.

Imagine how our lives would change if we lived in the expectation that something supernatural could take place at any moment. Embracing this expectant lifestyle will keep us looking up at the surface of this life realizing something exists above us - something that “cannot be expressed in words.” This kind of faith believes when the time is right, God will be faithful to catch us up in the Spirit to see what is described in this realm as impossible and unbelievable. All things are possible for those who believe - even breaching the separation between realms. 

The Thunder of God's Truth is Coming

A great confusion of the enemy and his message is beginning to take place. In the coming days, bizarre and insane-sounding agendas will be exposed and dismantled in the public square. This confusion will take place at a deeper level where the influence of a deluding spirit has worked undetected for generations. 

This confusion will begin to unravel the bonds of deception present within every worldview, no matter how strong and entrenched those worldviews may appear. God is no respecter of persons or agendas, nor does He have favorites. He unravels all forms of deception because He loves all people.

This is a moment in our history similar to the time when Israel felt abandoned by God because the Ark was no longer in their camp. They mourned its absence. In the absence of God’s presence, they began to worship false gods.

^“Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” So the Israelites got rid of their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the Lord” (I Samuel 7: 3-4).

The nation of Israel gathered at Mizpah to fast and confess their sins. The Philistines heard about the gathering and planned an assault. Mobilizing their army, they advanced on the Israelites. Hearing the Philistines were coming to do battle, the people became afraid. Samuel told the Israelites to continue praying to the Lord as he offered a sacrifice.

Right when it seemed all hope was lost and fear was mounting, the Lord intervened.

^“Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them. The men of Israel chased them from Mizpah to a place below Beth-car, slaughtering them all along the way” (I Samuel 7:10-11).

The Lord did not confuse the Philistines. It was the manifestation of His presence as a mighty thunder from Heaven that created the confusion.  Truth struck at the heart of the Philistine battle plan and dismantled its strategy. It was the deafening sound of truth carried by God's voice that created the confusion. The enemy did not know what to do when their plan of attack began to fall apart. The confusion allowed Israel to pursue and defeat a powerful foe.

We are living in a similar time. The Church has been called to live a life of absolute loyalty and reverence to God, a life motivated by obedience and worship. Anything less will be a compromise with evil. 

The people held captive by deception are not our enemy. This is an important distinction to make because the enemy wants us to see the faces of those held captive under a spirit of deception as our enemy, not the deceiver himself or the spirits who do his bidding. This misstep will keep us battling in a lesser realm of conflict where no victory is possible. 

It is critical once the confusion begins to take place that we make sure we are moving and speaking under the authority of love, not retribution, payback or succumbing to a lynch mob mentality. Some of those who are under the influence of an evil agenda will wake up when the confusion begins and cry out to God for help.

In that time of confusion, those who minister under a mandate from Heaven will speak the truth in love, not parrot a political party line or allow their voice to be molded by fear-based conversations around the latest hot-button cultural issue. If we are not speaking the truth in love, we need to stop what we are doing and disengage our voice from the cultural conversation. To continue on with an agenda other than the sound of love, we will end up doing more harm than good, all in the name of God.

As a follower of Jesus Christ we are not left, right or center on the political spectrum. We are from above. Our citizenship is in Heaven and so is the source of our message. Our passport to walk the Earth in the name of God has been issued from above – above petty and demeaning arguments, mocking statements and a never-ending series of gotcha pictures or comments taken out of context to prove our point. We are diplomats of another Kingdom. The solutions we bring to the table are not yet on the table. They will arrive in this realm as Kingdom solutions to complex issues that only love can solve. 

Today, reaffirm your spiritual passport. Reconfirm your identity and your place of ultimate allegiance. A message from above will not align with the demands of a religious or political spirit. Every alignment must be examined by love and this love will cause us to step away from assumption. We may be called to go and stand in places of opposition where our loyalty to a party line might be questioned. Speaking the truth in love is dangerous. It was so dangerous it got Jesus killed and most of His early followers. This happened while the Church was in its purest form and living in very corrupt times. 

The sound of God’s thunderous truth is coming. The enemy is about to enter a state of confusion because the truth of God will come and confuse his plan for our nation. Prepare your heart and God will prepare the way.

Your Life Will Become a Sign and a Wonder

I took the attached photo of an empty signpost while on a walk through the small town where Jan and I live. It looks like city workers planted the signpost in the ground with plans to attach a sign in the near future. After I walked past the bare signpost, I sensed a nudge from the Spirit to go back and capture its image knowing the Lord had something to say at a later date. Today is that later date.

Some of you have been planted in places, relationships and seasons of life you did not expect or see coming. At this time in your life, you look and feel like the solitary signpost in the photograph. You have a place, but not a message. A sign detailing why you have been put in this position is coming. The Lord is about to attach an explanatory sign to your life. Like the base of a signpost that needs time to become secure enough to support the weight of a sign, so has it been with you. God has been firming and seasoning your life in this place getting you ready to support the weight of your sign’s message once the Lord attaches the sign to your life.

When the Lord finally places His sign on your life it will all make sense – the reason for your placement, the why of this season of waiting, and the content of the message you will carry into the future. Your life will become a sign to others that God has been at work in your life all along even as people passed by and thought it odd that your life resembled a signpost without a sign. The sign upon your life will cause the doubters to wonder how it all happened. For the ones who believed in you and never gave up, your life will become yet another sign to celebrate the goodness and the faithfulness of God.

The Vanishing Remnants of a Painful Season

I walked out into our front yard and saw the remnant of a major snowstorm that hit our area last week. The storm was so severe and impacting that the governor of Oregon declared parts of western Oregon a disaster area. Tens of thousands of people were left without power. Many still have no electricity. Roads were closed because of downed trees and power lines. For a time, Interstate 5, the major north-south freeway connecting the west coast was shut down. It was a mess. As I stood over the last sliver of evidence from that storm in bright warmth of a spring day, it looked small, insignificant and melting. Later in the day, it was completely gone. 

A storm of a relationship or an exhausting season of life can be like the snowstorm. It was not planned and struck your life leaving devastation in its wake.  The remains of the trauma are still around even though the initial storm has passed. The Lord wants to remind you that like the sliver of snow on my front lawn, under the power and warmth of God’s presence even the remnants of what was such a devastating experience will soon be gone.

The physical evidence of your painful season will become only a memory if God is allowed to lead you out of the destructive aftermath. You might be standing knee deep in the snow of a personal storm. You are cold and it feels like the power to sustain your life has been cut off. You need to know this storm was a season, not a life sentence. Spring is coming. Your spiritual climate will change in the coming days.

As you experience this change of seasons, God will be faithful to melt the remaining painful evidence left behind by the storm. There will soon come a day when, in the Spirit, you will stand over the last remaining remnant of your life-storm. It will be for you like it was for me standing over the last remnant of our storm. You will see the remnant melting before your eyes. On that day the Lord will say, “Spiritual spring has come. Your winter is over. I have removed the last remnant of your devastation. A new season has arrived.”