What Do You See?

Tags

Christianity, Fake News, False Prophets, Gospel, Jeremiah, Kingdom, News, Prophecy, Truth, Vision

Jeremiah 1:11-12 says, “The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” (NIV)

We are living in a time in history where God is asking the question of His people, what do you see? If God were to come to you today and ask you, what do you see, what would you say? What answer would you give God? Some would say they see politics; others would say they see a world leader or leaders; still others would say they see a mighty move of God that is going to change history. What do you see? When you peer into the spirit realm, when you lean into the heart of God, when you take your seat in heavenly places and look upon the earth, what do you see? Do you see anything? Do you see darkness or light? Do you see destruction or construction? Do you see life or death? What do you see? This is the question of the hour and the answer is telling.

It is undeniable that we are living in the revived hour of the prophetic. Five minutes on Facebook and you know that many people are prophesying what they see, what they hear, what they believe. For some it is confusing, for others it is confirming, it just depends on what you see. The gift of prophecy, according to 1 Corinthians 14:3 says, “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” If this is what the gift of prophecy is biblically designed to do, does what you see strengthen the body of believers, encourage the believers or comfort the believers? If it does not, it may not be the gift of prophesy but rather a personal opinion based on what you are seeing.

In this season of seeing, it is imperative that we see clearly. When God asked Jeremiah what do you see, Jeremiah responded by saying, I see the branch of an almond tree and the Lord replied to him, you have seen correctly. My question to us is, are we seeing correctly? Pulpit or periscope, microphone or iPhone, face to face or Facebook, wherever you are speaking, what you believe God is saying, the questions must asked what are you seeing and are you seeing correctly? In an age where Facebook does not hold you accountable for what you say, where your opinions on Periscope can be deleted after 24 hours, and where people can share whatever they want whenever they want, we must seek out others to hold us accountable to see if what we are seeing is correct.

Now, with that said, I believe God is speaking through people who do not have a church they preach in weekly, who do not have a platform in which they are well known, who genuinely hear from God and post those words on open platforms, but there is a lot of people who are not seeing clearly so we must see clearly so we can eat the meat and spit out the bones. Freedom without responsibility and accountability is bondage and even though you love your freedom of speech, just like Gamaliel said to the religious leaders, if this move is not of God it will not succeed (Acts 5:39), but if it is of God, which many arising leaders are not recognized yet, it will be unstoppable.

The reason we are seeing so much fake prophecy, false teachings and self-promotion is because we are in the middle of a transition of historical proportions. We are going to see a move of God that is unprecedented in our generation and it is going to have one name that is lifted high: the name of Jesus, one man that is going to get all the glory: the man Jesus and one message that is going to be preached: the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, don’t be moved by all the negative, destructive, political, things you see. Desperate people go to desperate measures to be seen and heard, but honorable people wait their turn, knowing full well that it is God who lifts us up, and then no man can bring us down. The uprising has begun, can you see it?

Seismic Shift

Tags

Abundance, Body of Christ, Christianity, church, kingdom of God, life, Religion, Ressurection, Shift

seis·mic

relating to earthquakes or other vibrations of the earth and its crust.

• relating to or denoting geological surveying methods involving vibrations produced artificially by explosions.
• of enormous proportions or effect.

 

I see a seismic shift coming to the Body of Christ. It is a shift on a proportion not seen in our generation up to this point. It started that day Jesus died when the tectonic plates shifted and the earth began to quake (Matthew 27:50-52), it had its first manifestation with the sightings of the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:6), the outpouring of the spirit on the day of Pentecost and the birth of the church in Acts 2. It has been building momentum since Peter and John healed the man at the gate beautiful (Acts 3). It refused to be stopped at the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7, but gained momentum when Saul became Paul in Acts 9. Then it progressed with the planting of Apostolic Centers in Jerusalem, Caesarea, Antioch and beyond. Josephus wrote about it in his historical records of that day, the church fathers tried to describe it by making it a creed or a doctrine, but it is so much bigger than that. Tyndale and Guttenberg accelerated it when they took the Word of God out of the hand of certain people and put it into the hands of all people. Can you see how this has been building over the years. Setbacks became set ups; hindrances became hemi power; persecution became promotion of the gospel of the kingdom; Marie Woodworth-Etter carried it, William Seymour preached it, John G. Lake manifested it, John Wimber and Billy Graham advanced it, Kenneth Copeland and Myles Munroe promoted it, and many today are speaking it, but all of that was only is a glimpse, for what is coming is glory!

This seismic shift is going to do immeasurably more than you could ever ask for or even think (Ephesians 3:20); we are living in the days of Noah, yes there is water coming on a level that will blow your mind, and just like in the days of Noah it is going to wash away evil, but this time, this wave is not going to only save 8 people, it is going to save whole nations; this wave of glory has been building for over 2,000 years not to destroy us but to redeem us. This seismic shift is going to change the nations on a level that many cannot even dream of, it is going to change the way we think, it is going to wash away the ceilings of unbelief and launch you into realms of faith that you did not know existed. Small minded thinking is going to be washed away and believing that anything is possible will be released. The years of disappointment are going to be replaced with dreams and desires God has put in you are going to become a reality. We are going to shift from the evangelistic approach that tells people that they need Jesus to people coming to you and asking who is your God?

The seismic shift is going to reveal to us the reality of how much we possess and call us to increase our occupation. As children of Abraham, we were promised many things we have not occupied, but as you realize how much you have been given as a possession, but have yet to occupy, it will ignite a passion in you to occupy until He comes (Luke 19:13). Once you see how much God has for you, it will cause faith to arise in you and your desire to obey will come from His goodness, not from fear of punishment. When God reveals His goodness on you, it will soften your heart; give you the grace to surrender, knowing He is good, really good; and will draw you near to Him not push you away from Him; His generosity on you is going to break the spirit of lack, which is rooted in an orphan spirit; His goodness is going to propel you into your possession.

This seismic shift is going to start as a sound that comes out of me and you, then it will be seen on us, in and through us. I’m ready for the seismic shift, are you? Ready or not, here it comes!

Double Doors

Tags

Christianity, church, demonstration, Doors, glory, Kingdom, maturity, Revelation

Psalm 24:7-10 “Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—he is the King of glory.”

In Luke 1 we read about two women, one is older, married, barren and of the priestly line of Aaron; the other woman is young, a virgin, and engaged to someone of the kingly line of David. Two women, both childless, one older, the other younger, as I am reading about these two women, Elizabeth and Mary, the Lord speaks to me and says, “DOUBLE DOORS”. I had recently listened to a sermon where the Rabbi said, women are doors that open us to new dimensions, so the idea of women as doors was not uncommon to me. The story of Elizabeth as the future mother of John the Baptist and Mary the future mother of Jesus was not foreign to me either, but when the Lord put it all together in one phrase, double doors, I knew He was speaking something significant for this hour.

Throughout scripture we see pictures of people who could be considered double doors, such as: Deborah and Jael (Judges 4); Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 1); the 12-year-old girl and the woman with the 12-year issue of blood (Luke 8); so the idea of double doors is not rare, but rather common in scripture. Paul talks about a spirit of wisdom and revelation; Jesus spoke about the two greatest commandments and Moses came down the mountain with two tablets of stone. But, what I wanted to know is, what these double doors signify to us prophetically in this hour.

As I was in prayer about this phrase double doors, I began to think about what double doors represent. The first thought I had was they represent a wider entry way. If you have double doors on a house, the entry way to that house is double the size of a single door dwelling. The next thought I had was the types of houses that have double doors. In my mind, they are for wealthier neighborhoods, houses that are larger. I then began to think about William and Kate in England and the double doors that were opened as they stepped out on the balcony as husband and wife. This thought of the royal couple was the key to unlocking what I see as the prophetic significance for where we are with the idea of double doors.

I asked the Lord, what the double doors represent and who was going to come through those doors. Asking the right question, will unlock the right answer. The Lord began to share with me, that the double doors are revelation and demonstration. The Lord said, He is about to raise up leaders who carry the revelation of the Word of God and can demonstrate the power of God. The double doors are revelation and demonstration. This was incredible to hear, then the Lord went on to show me that when the doors of revelation and demonstration open, they will reveal the administration of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, because the King of Glory will come through the double doors of revelation and demonstration. I dropped my pen!

What we are about to see is the King of Glory, the Lord Almighty, come through the double doors of revelation and demonstration to reveal the administration of the kingdom of God. Get ready for the revealing and opening of the double doors.

Symphonic Service

Tags

Christianity, cybals, faith, love, relationships, Sound, Truth

1 Corinthians 13:1-4 “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

The kingdom of God is arising in a way that is creating distinction and separation. Distinction for the sound of the kingdom is love and the sound of the kingdom is service. Separation because those who are not of biblical love, which is actually service to others, is being not separated from the community, but separated from the distinct sound. The bible says, that if you have not love, you sound like a clanging symbol. As the sound of the kingdom, which is love, continues to increase, the lack of love is evidenced in the sound you produce.

In years, past, you could get away with being selfish in a service, whether in church or the community; in the past your selfishness was common, it was a choir of clashing symbols, so no one really noticed that you did not have love, for they did not have love either. But it is a new day, and there is a new way. No wonder Jesus said that new wine needs a new wineskin, for you must be a lover to release the sound of love. You cannot fake love in an atmosphere of love. The kingdom of God on earth, is an atmosphere of love, of service to one another, of 1 Corinthians 13 manifested.

While in a church service, I heard this separation of sounds, this new distinction that is upon us. Being in a service where there is liberty to be the community, means some can prophesy, others can speak, and many have to learn to follow the lead of the one who went before them in order to transition the service well. But when someone does not have love, they are selfish, they want to say their own thing, they want to have their own way, they do not want to join the symphony of sound that is being created in that service, by the Spirit, then they sound like a clanging cymbal or clashing brass. It is no wonder they do not have cymbals in the symphony, they are truly out of place.

The kingdom of God is like a symphony, with one conductor, Jesus, and many instruments, that have different sounds, but work in connection with the other pieces of the orchestra to create a symphonic sound that is pleasant to the ears of the hearers. If you have not love, in what is here and coming in greater influence, you truly will sound like a clanging cymbal. In order to operate like the kingdom of God on earth, we need love, we need to listen to one another and to the Spirit of God, so we can join the song that is being played in that situation. Selfishness, which is you saying what you want, spouting your agenda, passion or personal preference has no room in a symphonic service.

Our conductor, Jesus, will call for different instruments at different times, for He knows the song structure and style. For us to be a success in the kingdom, we must listen to one another, we must be willing to not be heard, we must follow the flow of the sound that is being created in that symphonic service.

What Are You Tapping

Tags

Christianity, faith, Family, Feelings, Image, Party, relationships, Society, Thoughts, Truth

Before I became a Christian, I used to go to parties at people’s houses. At those parties, you would pay for a cup, and then with that cup you could drink whatever beverage they had bought. But, to do this it required you going to the tap, which produces the beverage you were seeking to consume. Depending on the number of “tappers” the host had, would depend on the number of kegs that were tapped at a time. So, you would see kegs without a tap and know either that keg was empty or it was yet to be tapped. No matter how many kegs the host purchased, eventually, the beverage would run out, for those kegs, even though they were tapped, were temporary, there was an end to what was inside of them.

I share that experience because I was listening to a podcast on the way home from the gym today and the preacher, who is well known, very passionate and has a large church, was speaking on being planted in somewhere bigger than you are, so you can grow the greatness inside of you. He said, that small places grow small people, that is why many, despite their titles in small churches, left the small church, to come and sit in his church, because they knew they needed to be planted in something bigger in order to grow. His passion, makes you want to shout AMEN, but the spirit of God spoke to me and revealed that anything we tap other than God Himself is temporary and will eventually run out.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

God has planted eternity in our hearts, so anything you tap that is not God Himself is an idol and it will eventually run dry. Remember when you bought that new car, you were satisfied temporarily; remember when you got that new job with that big salary, then over time you began to want something more; do you recall when you got married, why over time did you long for a deeper love, more passion, something more in that relationship, that the other person was not capable of providing for you? The reason is because God has set eternity in our hearts, He has created us with an insatiable desire for more. Some may call it greed, but I call it eternity and I have learned that no matter the size of the church, no matter the amount of money you make, no matter how big the house is, or how amazing the marriage may be, there is something in our hearts that is eternal and only God can meet that need.

We tap so many temporary things and then wonder why we struggle, fight and compete with each other. James 4:1-3 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” You are tapping the temporal and it’s not satisfying!

God has created you to be an eternal being, but to tap into your identity, your design, your image, you must tap into the God of heaven and earth, the Lord of all creation, the Master of everything. Your battle is not with other people, it is with yourself and God. The Israelites rejected the invitation to tap into God Himself and instead chose someone temporal, Moses to tap into, which eventually led them into tapping into another temporal thing, the golden calf. We do the exact same thing, we tap into people, thinking they have what we are looking for, we tap into stuff, thinking it will satisfy our longing, we tap into a company or church, thinking that is the answer to my eternal itch. But the truth is, the only One who satisfies, the only Person who is lacking nothing, the only thing that can quench the insatiable need inside of you for more is God, Yahweh, Yeshua, because He alone is eternal. Until you tap into God, you will always be tapping something temporal and you will live a life of want, lack, or deficit.

The question I want to ask you, honestly, what are you tapping? If it’s something temporal, it will run out, but if you tap into God, He is eternal and to Him and His kingdom, there is no end, that is where I am tapping into and I am still hungry for more, but there is no end, so I can stay hungry, because I tapped Who I was made in the image of and so can you. When you tap into the temporary, it is like sugar, it will give you a spike of satisfaction, but it won’t be long until you are seeking something new to tap, but if you tap into the Lord, it is like tapping into the eternal in which there is no end.

Take the Land

Tags

Christianity, church, Jesus, kingdom of God, Land, leadership

In the Old Testament, Israel was commanded to take the physical land of Canaan and all the other lands the Lord was giving to them as their inheritance. Each tribe was given a section of land that was designated as theirs. They had to conquer kingdoms, fight giants, tear down walls and keep advancing in order to take the land that Yahweh was giving to them. The Lord even went as far as to say, wherever your foot treads, that land will be yours (Deuteronomy 11:24/Joshua 1:3). So, Israel marched in and took over land from other peoples who were enemies of Israel and were squatting on land that belonged to Israel, for the Psalmist tells us, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;” (Psalm 24:1, NIV). But when Jesus came to the earth, there was a significant change that took place, but that many, if not most have missed it.

In John 2, Jesus is having a discussion with some Jews after He turned over tables in the temple and this is what Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body” (NIV). Jesus makes a significant shift in understanding from the temple being brick and mortar to the temple being His body, He now was the temple. Then Paul takes the thought one step further when he says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?” (1 Cor. 6:19, NLT). So, there is a shift that takes place from that which used to be outside of them to it being inside of them.

As New Testament believers everything that Israel obtained in the natural or outside of them, like land, like defeating of enemies, like building temples, all of these things are what the Lord has placed inside of us. Think about this for a minute, Jesus prayed in Matthew 6, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. Who is the earth Jesus is referencing? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Is it possible, Jesus was praying that the kingdom of God would advance inside of us, that God is seeking to take ground in our hearts, in our lives, not in the earth, but in people? Think about this for a minute, Christ in you is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), then from what direction is the Lord seeking to advance His kingdom, outside of you or inside of you? Where is your real battle, is it outside of you or inside of you? James says, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:16, NIV). James, Paul, Jesus all say that everything is inside of us.

The land the Lord is calling us to take is inside of us, not outside of us. The battles we face are not outside of us, they are inside of us and inside of others. The only way anything is outside of us is if it comes out of our mouths (Luke 6:45) or our actions. The fruit of the spirit is inside of you, the spirit of God is inside of you, the kingdom of God is inside of you. Everything you need is inside of you, but it all starts with you allowing the Lord to advance the kingdom of God within you. Many people are not successful, not effective, not because they have not had a door open, or an opportunity arise, but because they have resisted the advancing of the kingdom of God in you. 3 John 2 says, “May you prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers” (NIV). The land the Lord is trying to take is inside of you, so who controls how much land is taken, you do. Let Jesus, Take the land!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How To Harness the Power of People 1.3.16

Tags

Christianity, church, kingdom of God, People, Powerful people, relationships, Teenage Rebellion

People are the most powerful people on the face of the earth. When we recognize we all carry power, we will realize that there are people, systems, institutions and organizations that will seek to stop you from being powerful. The only people that don’t want you powerful are people who want all the power for themselves. Most places are one big game of king of the hill. As kids we used to play king of the hill and the goal was to get to the top of the hill and reign as king. From that position on top of the hill you could throw people down the hill, so you could remain as the king. But it usually wasn’t a very long reign because all of our friends were coming for the one at the top of the hill, seeking to be the next king. As a kid, this was a fun game, as an adult this is problematic, because some people will do anything to maintain their status as king of the hill in business, politics, education, religion or even the home.

 

Jesus said to His disciples in Mark 10:42-43, “…You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant.” The disciples were concerned that James and John, who just prior to this statement by Jesus asked if they could sit at His right and left hand in glory, those two boys wanted to be the kings of the hill, but Jesus responded by saying, we don’t play king of the hill in My kingdom. As the world is jockeying for position, seeking to maintain hierarchy, control and dominance, the kingdom of God is operating with an underground movement of servants who are laying down their lives for one another, not trying to be the king of the hill, for we know there is only one King and His name is Jesus.

 

So, how do we harness the power of people? No matter your age or your gender, everyone is powerful. Few know how to harness their power, so they cause more problems than solutions, but people are powerful nonetheless. We come out of the womb with the power of our voice, we progress in our power by crawling, walking and talking. As people we are constantly testing the boundaries of our power, unless someone or some system has taught us we are powerless and we believed it. Words are powerful and they can empower you or silence you and cause you to believe you are powerless. So, be careful who you listen to, because they are either empowering you or seeking to silence you.

 

From babies to teenagers, from men to women, from college age to middle age, from youth to the wise, we are all powerful and I want to show you how to harness your power and how to help others harness their power.

 

1. Powerful people live within boundaries.

a. Rivers without banks become floods that destroy things, but rivers with banks give power to cities. Every major city in the world is built on a river. You are that river, you are powerful, but you must live within boundaries.

 

2. Powerful people can control their tongue.

a. Our words are powerful and we can use them to bless or curse others. Being able to control what you say and use your tongue to bless is a sign of being powerful.

 

3. Powerful people correct others up, they don’t put them down.

a. Everyone needs correction, this is how we grow, but being able to correct someone up and not shame them, condemn them or put them down is an indicator of someone that is powerful.

 

4. Powerful people are gold diggers.

a. Anyone can be critical, but powerful people find the gold in others and bring it to the surface so the person can see themselves as the treasure they are.

5. Powerful people are teachable.

a. Living with a constant understanding that what you know is limited at best is the sign of being powerful. Always being willing to listen and learn is how you remain powerful.

 

6. Powerful people are lovers.

a. The greatest invisible power is love, I Corinthians 13 tells us what love is, and if you want to be powerful, you must be a lover. Love will take you places money never could.

 

7. Powerful people are givers.

a. When you know who you are, you do not fear lack, for you know that you are an unending source of tangible and intangible gifts. Generosity is a telltale sign that you are powerful.

 

If we can begin to treat each other as powerful and help each other harness our power for the benefit of others, we will see ourselves gain favor with God and man. Our kids are powerful and if parents can learn how to harness their power, I believe we will see a decrease in teenage rebellion, for all they are trying to do is express their power. When husbands and wives see each other as powerful, we can begin to see that we are stronger together than we are apart, but we both must be allowed to be powerful. Finally, if the church can catch the vision of this, we will train, equip and deploy people to do the work of ministry, rather than just want them to come to church, so we feel powerful. This is how we harness the power of people!

Don’t Miss the Door

Tags

Believe, Christianity, faith, Journey, keep going, Open doors, Perseverance, Walk through

Mark 1:27 “They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, what is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”

If you have done any airline travel, you know that the gate is open long before the door to your airplane is open. Actually the airplane door is only open for about 15 minutes, just long enough for the waiting passengers to board the plane and get seated. Once the airline door is shut, there is no more getting on the airplane and if you miss your plane, you have to wait for the next available plane.

This analogy depicts a similar reality for us as believers, doors of opportunity open to us, but if we don’t enter when the door is open, that door will shut and we will need to wait for the next door to open. As I was meditating on this thought this morning, I heard in my spirit, don’t miss the door. It was repeating over and over again in my spirit, don’t miss the door. The door, when it opens, has to be walked through, or you will have to wait for the next door to open.

If you are one that has come through the wilderness, feel like you are in or have gone through the Jordan, but have not seen or heard the open door as of yet, it can be easier to miss the open door, for you have gotten so used to waiting. Waiting has stages just like anything else. When we first start waiting, we are checking in to see when our door is going to open, we are anxious, ready to go now, and for many we are in a hurry. As the waiting goes on, we start to get irritated, our attitude goes South, we blame someone or something for the delay and we try to force the door open. Then we come to the stage where we are just exhausted from waiting and resolve we have no control over how long this will take and we sit quietly and wait and wait and wait.

I hear in my spirit, don’t miss the door. You may have been waiting a long time, so long you have gotten complacent in waiting, thinking it may never open and have convinced yourself that is okay, and you may even believe this is contentment. But I hear the Spirit of God saying, don’t miss the door. The wait has been long, the journey has been tiring, and we are with you. Don’t miss the door.

When the people of Jesus’ day saw that He could cast out unclean spirits and teach with authority, they debated among themselves, what did they debate about? The scripture doesn’t say, but my thought is they debated if this was the long awaited Messiah. If we are not careful, we can debate ourselves out of going through the door. Jesus was right there and many missed the door, because they had waited so long and were busy debating whether this was the door. We do the same thing.

We have heard the prophecies, we know the promises God has spoken over us, but remember, it may come in a mustard seed form, so all I can share is what I hear, don’t miss the door.

An Unshakable Kingdom

Tags

Christianity, Christians, Conform, culture, Kingdom, kingdom of God

Hebrews 12:28 “Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty and pious care and godly fear and awe.”

One of the most challenging things to change in ourselves is the culture in which we were raised. Our culture is so much a part of our DNA, that we do not even recognize the strength of it until we live in another country, marry someone or try to understand those of another culture. Churches all over the world are predominantly of the same color, race or creed, because we struggle so much to change the culture in which we were raised.

I lived in Malaysia for 9 consecutive years. When I first got there, I did not realize how American I was; I did not recognize how law-abiding I was; how Christian I was; how much I wanted them to become like me, even though I was in their country, their culture. I chose to move to Malaysia, no one made me live there, yet I was so ingrained with my culture, that I wanted them to become like me and to do things my way. This lasted about 2 years, but it finally dawned on me, they were not going to change, this was their culture, their country and they had no intention of changing. So, for me, this was my first official culture clash.

American culture is not as well liked as we may think around the world. They see us as loud, opinionated, big, and immoral. They want our money, they want our power, they want our influence, but honestly, they do not want their people to adopt what they perceive as our bondage that we call freedom. To them to have a voice is dangerous, to speak out against your President is unacceptable, to elevate women is destructive, and to be democratic is undesirable. They want to keep their value systems, while they take over our land, our money, our influence.

This is true for other cultures and countries, but it is also true for Christians. Many Christians, who have voluntarily accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior did not realize how American they are, how Asian they are, how African they are, how Australian they are, how European they are. Until they came into the kingdom, they did not realize how anti-Christ they really are, for in this kingdom, there is only one King and there’s only one culture. No matter how much we try to change the kingdom of God to be American, African, Australian, European or Asian, we find that the kingdom demands us to conform to its image. But many are not willing to conform, so they seek to take the land, the money, the power, the influence of this kingdom, but they are not ready to adapt the values of this kingdom.

Many are in a battle, for no other reason than they refuse to conform to the kingdom culture.

The kingdom of God is not like America, it does not conform to other cultures, allow for sub cultures and change laws based on people’s personal values, whims or desires. The kingdom of God is an unshakable kingdom, if you do not want to conform to it, you will never succeed in it, and the truth is, no matter how hard you try you can’t have the blessing of it, unless you submit to it. Unless I was willing to learn to take on the Malaysian culture, I was not going to succeed in that culture, for it was not changing for me, I had to change for it. The same is true in the kingdom, you will never succeed as a Christian, until you conform to the kingdom culture, which is an unshakable kingdom.

Guard the Gates

Tags

Believers, Christianity, church, kingdom of God, Truth

Did you know your life is like a garden and you decide who and what is allowed to come inside? Did you know that you are the sole guardian of the gates of your life, no one can force themselves into your life? Did you know that as a gatekeeper of your own life, you have a responsibility to protect your life from things that would seek to destroy it? Many of us have been conditioned to blame others or the devil for things we have allowed through our gates. But today, is a great day to guard the gates and let the process of garden maintenance begin.

A gate is a movable barrier, usually on hinges, closing an opening in a fence, wall, or other enclosure; an opening permitting passage through an enclosure (Dictionary.com). We have three gates through which access is granted to our life, which scripture calls our garden. We have an eye gate, an ear gate and a mouth gate. The eye gate and the ear gate are entry only gates, the mouth gate is an entry and exit gate. With the mouth gate, food can go in and we need to watch what we eat, but words can come out and that is really what we need to guard. The bible says in Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. But things do not get in our heart through our mouths, for what goes in the mouth enters the stomach and then exits as refuse. So, how do things get into our hearts that come out of our mouth?

The ear gate and the eye gate are the only two entry points into our lives. What we see with our eyes and hear with our ears are what goes into our heart and then eventually comes out of our mouth. The Lord is calling us to guard our ear gate and eye gate, for in doing so we guard our heart and then we can guard our mouth gate. What we allow our eyes to see and our ears to hear either builds beauty in our garden or it brings destruction. The increase of evil we are seeing in the world, is predominantly due to the fact that we have not guarded the gates of our lives or the lives of our children. What comes through the television is destructive to our gardens. What we read in newspapers plants fear in us; music we listen to can “feel our pain” but does not help our situation.

We have not guarded our gates and now we have gardens that are neglected, destroyed or diseased. Many people’s lives are evidence of gates that have been left unguarded. But the truth is, the Lord is calling us to guard the gates again. We may have left them unguarded and our gardens may be in disarray, but today is a new day and His mercies are new every morning. We can heed the call to guard the gate today, by making godly choices about what we allow into our eye gate and ear gate and what comes out of our mouth gate. We are the most powerful agent on earth, but we render ourselves powerless when we don’t heed the call to guard the gates.