How to Obtain Wisdom

Wisdom is needed more today than ever, so how does one become wise?
1. Careful observation

2. Study

3. Setting out proverbs

4. Being generous with knowledge

5. Share information

6. Search for the right words to bring hope and encouragement

7. Write honestly about the realities of life.
Wisdom is not out of our reach, but it does take discipline to obtain it. We need wisdom in order to navigate these current waters. Be blessed. #Ecclesiastes12

Opening Doors

Tags

Breakthrough, Doors, faith, Generation, Manifestation, Move of God, Opportunities

Proverbs 18:16 “The right gift at the right time can open up new opportunities and gains access to influential people.” (The Voice Translation)

We are on the verge of the greatest breakthrough our generation has ever seen, experienced or participated in. There are more people that we know who have been in a place of hiding, not out of fear, but out of preparation for what is coming. Since being in Redding, CA for the past two weeks the Lord has revealed things to me, that words cannot utter at this time, but what is coming is going to be visible to believers and unbelievers alike. This is not going to be a one nation, one region, one city, one church, one ministry event. This is going to be of global proportions and we are going to say with Job 42:5, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.” Yes my friends, it is going to be that big, that is why we have been learning, as Bill Johnson so eloquently said last night, “bold faith stands on the shoulders of quiet trust.” We have been learning to trust quietly, because our faith is going to be extremely bold.

Now that we can see in part what is coming, what do we need to be doing, what understanding is the Lord releasing to us as we press in just a little while longer? I believe we need to hear the truth once again that the right gift, at the right time, can open up new opportunities and gains access to influential people. But here is the unique twist on this that the Lord revealed to me in worship yesterday morning. He said, “a song is a gift; a tithe or offering is a gift; a word of encouragement is a gift; a kind word or gesture is a gift.” When we offer gifts to the Lord or to other people, one of those gifts is going to open doors for us. We have been taught a resume opens a door, the right network opens the door, but the Lord says, the right gift at the right time is going to open the door.

We need to listen to the songs we sing, because some songs are our gift; we need to pay attention to the offerings and tithes we sow, because some of them are gifts we give; and we need to listen carefully to the voice of God as He speaks through us to other people, because our words have the power to activate greatness in other people and this is our gift. I felt like the Lord said, we need to be prepared to give gifts in every situation, because the right gift at the right time is going to open doors and usher us before people of influence in the natural, but even more so in the spirit. Remember what the Psalmist said, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise! (Psalm 100:4). Your gift will usher you into places you only dreamt of going, so don’t leave home without your gift, for it is what will begin opening doors.

Lessons Learned at Shasta Dam

Tags

California, Dam, Life lessons, Living stones, Redding, Shasta Dam, World War II

Shasta Dam is located in Shasta County, near Redding, CA. A large edifice with spectacular scenery surrounding it, this dam held lessons that could only be learned by traversing the 43 stories down into the dam. On a tour led by an extremely funny scientist, who reminded us over and over again that he was retiring in 1299 days, I learned life lessons from this man made, government funded structure, that I did not expect to learn.

1. Popularity does not equal reality.
   1. We were told that the Shasta Dam is the second largest dam in the United States and then were asked to share what we believed was the first largest dam in the U.S. With boldness and confidence someone on the tour declared that Hoover dam was obviously the first largest dam, but to our surprise, though Hoover dam is the most popular dam in the US, it is not the largest. Truthfully, Hoover dam is the fourth largest dam in the US, even though it is an expensive dam to visit, paying $23 entry fee and $7 parking fees. The largest dam in the US is located in Eastern Washington and is called Cooley Dam. So despite its popularity with the American public, Hoover is not the largest dam in the US. In a world of social media where everyone is wondering how many likes they got on their status, or how many views they got on their latest YouTube video, it was a great lesson to learn that popularity does not equal reality. As believers the reality is, our value is determined by God alone, not by people’s opinion of us. Psalm 139:13-14 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that His works are wonderful and we can know that full well. You are a diamond, you are extremely value to the Lord.
2. Mortar restricts movement.
   1. During our tour, we were told that the blocks of cement, which are possibly the size of a homes foundation, are stacked side by side and one of top of the other, but not one of them is connected by mortar. Mortar is the adhesive, similar to grout that you find between kitchen or bathroom tiles that keeps them together. The reason these blocks of cement in the dam are not held together with mortar is because it restricts movement. When the water increases or decreases it expands or contracts the dam and the blocks needed to absorb those changes, so no mortar was used. When he said this, I immediately thought of I Peter 2:5 which says, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are like those blocks of cement, we are the living stones, set side by side and stacked one on top of the other, with Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone, but without mortar, for it restricts our movement as a body.
3. Histories Heave Ho
   1. The final thing that I learned was that the men who were building the Shasta Dam were doing so during the draft for WWII. The US Government decided that the work the men were doing on the Shasta Dam was so critical for us as a nation, they did not draft these men for war as soldiers, but granted them the same GI bill benefits of all the other soldiers, because their work assisted the war. Without the completion of the Shasta dam there would have been limited artillery for the soldiers, for the dam was a source of power, energy and production that resourced those that were going into battle for our nation. Everybody played a critical role, even though some looked on the outset as more important that others, each was needed for military success in WWII. This is so true for us as believers as well, Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 12, we all have different gifts, but we need that diversity in order to be effective as a body. So, history gives us a heave ho to remember, we all have a part to play and if one part is not as front and center as another part it does not make it any less significant.

My trip to the Shasta dam taught me life lessons I will never forget. I believe that every experience we are presented with has the potential to teach us things we do not know, if we are willing to listen to the lessons others learned while doing what they could when they could do it. We live in a time in history where the past is familiar, the now is here and the future is unknown, so lets allow history to be wind in our sails, to remind us we are not alone, there is a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on (Hebrews 11). So, don’t forget popularity does not equal reality; mortar restricts movement; and history is giving us a heave ho. Forward we go, as one!

Two Roads, One Choice

Tags

Advance, Apostles, Forward, kingdom of God, March, Move of God, Prophets

The body of Christ is in a paramount shift like one we who are alive today have not ever experienced. The Spirit realm is electric with anticipation of what is coming. Because we are in a place of such great transition, it is paramount that we are patient, not pushy, and we flow, not force our way into what is about to take place on the earth. What God has planned for ages will be manifest on the earth, for this is His idea, not ours, His plan, not ours, His way, not ours. Remember Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”

What God is about to do is so big, that many are sensing that something is coming, and with this sense comes a desire to be in control, not out of control. So, what I have noticed is two roads that the Lord is laying out before us. This is in line with scripture, for there were 2 trees in the garden; 2 choices in Deuteronomy 30:15; and two sons in Galatians 4; God always gives us a choice, He never forces us to do anything. So, we have two roads laid out before us in this unprecedented time in history, the road called familiar or the road called forward. In Luke 11:31-32 Jesus talks about how the people of God were so familiar with God they missed Jesus, but the outsiders traveled from far away to come and see this man who was greater than Solomon or Jonah. The outsiders took the road called forward, while the people of God preferred the road called familiar.

We are sitting at a crossroad, the choice is yours will you follow the road called familiar, which is low risk, low reward, or will you take the road called forward that is high risk, high reward. The road called forward is a walk of faith, it takes trust, you cannot always see what is ahead, but you have decided to put your hand to the plow and not look back. You may be afraid at times, but courage keeps you moving forward. You may not be able to identify what this move is going to look like, but you know it is like nothing we have ever seen before, so you press forward. Or are you going to choose the familiar. Looking back at past moves of God and trying to recycle what has already been done. Will you choose the familiar out of fear of missing the mark, believing a lie or out of sheer laziness. The familiar road is the easy road, the broad road, there will be many who take it. This is not a salvation issue, this is a traveling choice.

I see pioneers, apostles, prophets, leaders of the next move of God on the road called forward. They don’t have all the answers, but they do have a lot of questions that keep them moving forward. They are lovers of God and lovers of each other, not in competition, not trying to label what God is doing, not trying to be the first voice to speak the next move. They have their eyes fixed on Jesus and they follow His voice only. They know Who they are with, so what they do is inconsequential to them. Their marching orders are forward.

There are two roads laid out before us, one called familiar and the other called forward, the choice is yours as to which one you will take, but as for me and my house, we are going forward.

 

Bait and Switch

Tags

Abundance, grace, Intimacy, kingdom of God, Party, Surprise

Bait and Switch 6.1.16

 

In the truest definition of bait and switch the promised product is greater than its value therefore, giving the purchaser a sense of getting a deal. But when God does a bait and switch, the action of advertising goods that are an apparent bargain, is coupled with the intention of substituting inferior goods for more expensive goods. May I propose to you that many of us have been lured into the wilderness by a good good Father who has a bait and switch operation going on. He lured us in with the promise of a ministry, money, or a calling that resonated in our spirit, because we believed Psalm 37:4 that says, He gives us the desires of our hearts. We know who He made us to be, we know there is greatness inside of us, so we accepted the invitation to the wilderness with the intention of getting a promotion to showcase our gifting.

 

Jesus is a Master Teacher, He knows how to use the word of God to show what He has been and is doing in our lives. If you cannot locate yourself in the word of God, it is time to do some relocating. If we are walking by the spirit and not the flesh, we will locate ourselves in the word of God. As I was listening to Ron Carpenter from Redemption Church in Greenville, SC today, he said something that located me in the word of God and I jumped for joy. He was preaching on the story of Elijah and Elisha, when towards the end he unlocked the word of God and revealed me and I believe many of us that have been in the wildernesses’ location.

When Elijah threw his mantle on Elisha in 1 Kings 18, Elisha burned his job, fed the people and followed Elijah, with the desire for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. But in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha was not interested in a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, his hearts cry was my father, my father, not my portion, my portion. As Ron spoke these powerful words the Lord spoke to me and said, “it is my bait and switch. I called you into the wilderness with the promise of greatness and you followed, but during your wilderness training I showed you who I am and you fell in love with me, not your ministry”. (Selah)

 

I believe many of us, like Elisha, have discovered that what we came into this process for is not what we found, we found a gift of far greater worth than gold, we found a relationship with the King of Kings, our hearts our exploding with a love for the Lord that money cannot buy, we have found the pearl of great price, we have found that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him and that He is the reward. We found the lover of our souls, we found why we were made, we found a relationship with God that is honestly, indescribable in natural words, but seen in our love for Him and others.

 

Not realizing it upon entrance, God Himself was inviting us not into a ministry, money or any other material thing, He was inviting us into a relationship with Him. He was what our hearts desired, we just did not know it when we started. He was the one we were looking for, He has stripped away all the facades, preconceived ideas and premonitions and He has shown us the Father and we can honestly say, all we want is You! It was the best bait and switch that could have ever happened to us. He switched our shallow desires for our heart’s desire. He switched our desire to be something to a desire to know someone. He invited us into a relationship with Him and we could not have been given a better gift.

 

Once you see Him, know Him, walk with Him, you realize He is an all consuming fire (Hebrews 12:28), He is your heart’s desire and there is nothing that can compare to Him, for He is…I AM that I AM (Exodus 3:14-18). We used to think we were created to do something, but now we know we were created to be someone, someone who knows her God, someone who loves people, someone who is loved by Him. He always has been and always will be all about relationship that is why the word first, in Matthew 6:33 means only, in the Greek, Seek only the kingdom of God and all these things will be given unto you. The things we longed for and didn’t know it were the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22) and they all come from a relationship with Him. He did the best bait and switch and it was all for His glory and our enjoyment. Thanks a million Jesus!