Why Do You Do What You Do?

Tags

Christianity, giving, love

Have you ever slowed down long enough to analyze why you do what you do in any given situation? Most people are so busy doing whatever they do, they never stop long enough to hear their heart cry out, why are we doing this? The Lord has been speaking to me about doing things from love and how different it feels when I do it from love, rather than for something else. I was in Dallas this weekend and I went to Chuck Pierce’s Global Spheres Center, where I experienced so many things there that produced in me freedom and fire. One of those experiences was standing in line for 15 minutes to give my offering. I have never experienced so much joy, delight and desire to give in my whole life. I waved my offering, danced my way to the front and sang my heart out with over a 1000 other people as we moved toward the front to give our offerings. While I was doing this, the Lord’s still small voice said, this is how you give from love. It was so much fun, so freeing, so God.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

I have spent 25 years as a Christian wondering what is means to have your righteousness pass that of the Scribes and Pharisees, then in one experience, I realized how this happens. Love is what surpasses the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees. You see many people, myself included, do things out of obedience, duty, or an expectation someone has put on us, this is the law. It is not wrong to do it for these reasons. But there is a higher way, there is an easier way, there is a more fun way. It is the way of LOVE. When you do what you do from love, it looks different, for love is an attitude. When you worship, because you love to sing praises to God, it looks different than if you are doing it because it is right. If you love so much, you want to give, it looks different than if you are just squeezing out that 10%. When you say something or do something from love, it looks different, sounds different, comes across different, than if it is from ought to, duty, or have to.

The Bible says in I Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Love is far more powerful, liberating and enjoyable than the law, no wonder Jesus came to fulfill the law, now we can be lovers. So, why do you do what you do? Love Wins!

Dream House

Tags

Abraham, arise, Believers, bible, Blessings, Christianity, church, dream, dream house

I was riding the stationary bike at the gym today rocking out to my Catherine Mullins music and the Lord said to me, I am looking for those who have built a dream house. As I inquired of the Lord as to what exactly He meant, He said that He cannot pour out His glory on people who do not have a dream house, built to hold the glory (honor, wealth).

For some people this house has been in the attic of their lives, because they never thought they would be able to do it. Others have been bruised by disappointment for so many years that they struggle to talk about their dream house. Some don’t believe or should I say have been taught that their dream is not important, so they are trying to help someone else fulfill their dream, but don’t know how to dream. And still others have been building their dream house for days, weeks, months or even years, knowing ONE DAY this dream will become a reality.

No matter where you are in the process, it is time to build a dream house. Now this dream house has to be about others, not about you. Barbie’s dream house is all about Barbie, excess clothes, shoes, stuff that she just likes to have around so people ooohhh and ahhhh at her. But the dream house God has called you to build is for others through you. I have a friend that her dream house is to create safe houses for abused women; I have another friend who just got a dream house from God about 2 weeks ago to start a rehab center and dormitory for those who want out of their addictions; finally on Tuesday, a friend came over to talk to me and she shared about a brand new dream house God gave her for a teen center.

God is putting dreams in the hearts of people right now. Write down your dream house idea for He is about to pour out glory, but if you don’t have a plan that is bigger than you getting a nicer car or bigger house for yourself, He is not going to give you His glory. Not because He does not want to bless you, He does, but He always blesses those who are going to be a blessing. We are the seed of Abraham, so we have to do what Abraham did.

Genesis 12:2 “”I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing”

Romans 4:3 “What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Build God’s dream house and watch Him pour out His glory on that house. And if you want to write it down and send it to me, I will pray for it to become a reality for you and my faith will partner with your faith for this dream house.

Tipped Over Mountains Become Arrows

Tags

Christianity, mountains, moverments, The kingdom of God

Isaiah 49:2 “He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.”

Christianity has prided itself on the ability to make it to the top of the mountain and rule. We have been taught, trained and tricked into believing that God is after us ascending to the top of mountains. We go in hot pursuit of being “King of the Hill” or in biblical language, the head and not the tail, above and not beneath. Then when someone makes it to the top of the mountain, they sit up there and rule the people, reign over a church, a ministry, whatever and we believe it is the favor of God that got us there. We have used a lot to Christian jargon to justify the mountain mentality. Mountains are beautiful to look at, but very few climb them or make it to the top of them. They are massive structures that just stay stationary, they don’t move or go anywhere. Jesus even said,“Because of the littleness of your faith ; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move ; and nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17:20) As I have engaged with God and the operation of the kingdom of God, I have come to hear, see and understand that God is not about mountains. Actually, God is going to tip mountains over and make them arrows. Jesus never sought to ascend the mountain, to rule as King of the Hill, rather, He created a movement that headed in a direction, He was made a select arrow, hidden in the quiver of God. (Isaiah 49:2)

I believe God is tipping over mountains, He is removing people from being the king of the hill and making us into arrows that create a movement. We are going from sitting on top of a mountain, having one person in charge, to a leadership model that is more like a Martin Luther King Jr. style or William Wallace in Braveheart. We will still have leaders, but they will lead from within, not from above. We will be like arrows, that are moving in a direction together, not mountains that are standing still. In the kingdom of God there is no hierarchy, Jesus is the head and we are all the body. People that have been oppressed will come into to position; people who have been in power will be humbled until their identity is found in their relationship with the Father, not the job they do, ministry they built or the title they carry. The Lord is tipping over mountains and making them arrows. Arrows are all on the same level, moving in the same direction, seeking the same target, shot by the same archer, sitting in the same quiver, together.

The kingdom of God is a movement, not a mountain, it is about empowering people to do the work of ministry in the church and the marketplace. It is about leadership on the level of the people. Martin Luther King Jr. did not have a title, but they knew he was their leader, and he led a movement. He marched in the streets and people felt free to join in. William Wallace led on horseback and his men were right there on the same level as him, but they knew he was their leader. Jesus, Himself, came to earth and walked and lived as a man, He never sought to ascend a mountain, obtain a title, or place Himself over anyone, but everyone knew He was the leader. People who love power, who love position, who love the mountain, will be threatened by the arrow movement, because people will join in freely, feeling like they are part of this movement. This movement will build momentum and the kingdom of God will advance through streets in every city around the world. The banner leading this movement says, LOVE WINS!

You can keep trying to get to the top of the mountain, but that mountain is going to be tipped over and transformed into an arrow. There is a movement that is going to sweep across the world and the leaders will be on the level of the people because tipped over mountains become arrows and LOVE WINS!

The Bible is Not a Buffet

I have been taken to three different buffet’s in the past couple months and I am not a buffet eating kind of girl. I have been wondering why, people have felt the need, all the sudden to invite me to Golden Corral, Peach Tree and Cinzette’s, but they have and I am thankful. The thing about a buffet is there is something for everyone and you can eat as much as you want. If you don’t want vegetables, you don’t have to take any, if you just want to eat desert, it is there for the taking in abundance. Buffet’s are there to make everyone happy, at least in the moment, because after your time at the buffet, you will feel the effects for hours on end.

Here is my concern, people have taken the word of God and made it a buffet that makes everyone happy. If you want money, wealth, prosperity, you can find a verse for that. If you want a spouse, there is a verse for that, if you want to hear you are a good person, there is a verse for that. We pick and choose what we want from the word of God and leave the things we don’t want. Preachers have been doing this to people for years and now we have a bunch of spoiled rotten Christians, who think God is for them, no matter what they do, how they act, or what they say.

We make declarations we like, and act as though the verses that speak of judgment, correction, or discipline don’t apply to us. We pick and choose what applies to us. In doing this, we have created a culture of idolatry. We idolize men, marriage, ministry, money and many other things. If you don’t think you have an idol of one of these things, try to quit your job and let God support you financially, obey God over your spouse, or step down from your position in ministry and let someone else run the church.
If you are coming up with every scripture, argument, or reason why this is absurd, you have made an idol of one or a combination of these things. I know you don’t think it is true, but that is because you have convinced yourself that talking faith is the same as walking by faith.

Church, our idols are deafening our ears to hear God, our idols are blinding our eyes to see God, our idols have put us to sleep, in a time when God is calling us to wake up! The alarm is being sounded, the Lord is saying, cast down your idols, repent for the kingdom of heaven is here. We can change His mind about the judgment that is coming, but we have to cast down our idols, or He is going to cast them down for us.

I Samuel 5:1-4 “When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.”

Psalm 115:1-8  “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your loving kindness, because of Your truth. Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?” But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat.Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.

The Bible is not a buffet, we have to eat everything on our plate, even the things that don’t taste good, but our good for us.

America is Blessed

Tags

America, Blessed, grace, kingdom of God, Prophecy, Truth

Number 23:19-20 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it.”

God has blessed America, He has declared it blessed, so He cannot curse it. Judgment is not a curse, it is a blessing, for judgment brings us back into the original pronouncement of blessing. Israel experienced God’s judgment on more than one occasion, because they forsook the Lord their God and began to worship other gods. But the Lord never cursed Israel, nor did He remove His blessing from them.

Once a blessing has been pronounced it cannot be removed. So, judgment is not a curse, but a blessing to bring us back into our correct alignment as a nation. No one can curse us, for God has already blessed us.

Now, part of the judgment is going to reveal God’s thoughts about our value of materialism. We spent when we were supposed to save; we built buildings, when we were supposed to build people; we chose hierarchy, when God was asking for humility; we listened to man, when we knew we were supposed to listen to God; we have hurt people, rather than healed people; we refused to die to ourselves; this is why we are being judged. We have called the truth a lie; we have agreed with the enemy and we have created a problem that only God can fix.

Judgment is imminent, because most people are living as though God approves of them; they are leading like God is proud of them; actually they are unaware of what is really going on.

We watch the news, but we don’t see the signs or hear the warnings. We believe we are blessed, under grace, free from the law, so we can do whatever we want. Isaiah was right when he said in verses 9-10 of chapter 6, “Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” Our lack of repentance is the proof that we cannot see, hear, or understand. We honestly don’t believe we’re doing anything wrong.

It is going to feel like it came suddenly, out of the blue, but actually, the Lord has been wooing us for years, drawing us for decades, calling us for centuries, but there has been a refusal to repent. He will be justified in His judgment, but oh how I wish we would wake up before He has no other choice. I hear the alarm sounding, I see the people sleeping and I want to do something, say something, but most don’t want to hear, that is why He is keeping some hidden until they are ready to listen. God wastes nothing, He uses everything.

Judgment precedes restoration…weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning…in wrath, remember mercy.