MAKE SURE YOU PUT CUSTOMERSERVICE@IDENTITYNETWORK.NET INTO YOUR ADDRESSES IN YOUR EMAIL SERVER. IF NOT, YOUR EMAILS FROM US WILL GO TO YOUR SPAM FOLDER.
I tend to write three types of blogs. One, I fulfill my weekly commitment and offer an observation and lesson. Two, I actually hit a nerve but make sure the points are general enough to not be too personal. Three, I cut right to the core with less regard to social expectations. The third normally stays saved in the drafts. I know this about myself because I have an iPhone full of notes I've never shared. Many get deleted. Few get posted. Why? Because I'm afraid if I post the ones I wrote therapeutically, with no regards to audience or perception, it would be too much. It would fall outside the bounds of what you expect.
Luke 24:49 "And look, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high." God has called us to be a people who carry the substance of His Presence and have a live connection to the power of His Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they receive "power" from on high. Jesus knew the essentiality of that power to our lives and for the gospel to be fully demonstrated. If the disciples would have gone out without following the words Jesus had spoken to them, not waiting to be clothed with the power of the Spirit in Jerusalem, it would have been a flop – no Holy Spirit, no power.
Many are called, but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14 Billy Graham was definitely one of the chosen few. Like John the Baptist, Jeremiah and others, his destiny seemed to be sealed before he exited his mother's womb. There is a catch phrase that has become somewhat of a cliché among Christians, "In God's perfect timing." But I am convinced that everything does actually happen in God's perfect timing. The birth, life and passing of Billy Graham is perhaps one of the greatest examples in modern history. His simple message of personal salvation was probably the main catalyst that brought into existence a Christian mindset that transcended denominations, establishing a block of Christianity known as Evangelicals; who have not only been influential in the Church at large but also in the American political arena.
In this third chapter of Joel, we hear the prophet describe a time yet to come. It will be a time of great harvest on the earth, and this verse describes the catalyst. A plowshare is an agricultural instrument used to till the soil. At this point in history, it was a tool that spoke of one's vocation. However, the prophet was speaking of a time yet to come. The prophet described the plowshare as an instrument that will be turned into a sword. The sword is often used in the Bible to describe God's Word. The only way a plowshare can be turned into a sword is for it to go through extreme heat, and then the blacksmith must beat that plowshare into shape.
God's presence and the Word of God refines, purges sin, and purifies people, so they are able to receive and carry out the revelation knowledge they receive from angels. When we are planted in the house of the Lord, we will flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:13). Holiness enables people to enter spiritual gateways. A pure heart is able to enter the realms of the spirit, "For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness" (Psalm 84:10).
I like the Holy because the Holy will take you ABOVE natural life into the supernatural. Many avoid the supernatural because they don't go, or know how to go there in real life. But if you work at learning it in God, (and you will make some mistakes, but He will see you through if you are sincere), but if you are working at learning it IN God, you will find a lot of treasures and helps! Of course the Bible is our foundation. Some of my biggest mistakes have put me on the solid ground to look up! Sometimes your number of friends may be less because not everyone around you wants to "go there," but you don't have to be "weird" to go there, or ritualistic. You just have to be real with God!
Understanding the ministry of the prophetic scribe is a "game-changer" for the apostolic-prophetic community. It opens us a well of comprehension and resources that acts like glue among the body, bringing some critical foundation into focus. As we embrace this season, I want to identify 10 areas that I believe the office of the scribe is being used to open up in the earth today. Prophetic ministry is powerful, and it is the season of the scribe to have IMPACT as eyes are opened to this fresh anointing.
I'm hearing Jesus say: You're not sure about Me anymore. You thought you knew Me and what I'm all about but now you question everything. You've always been a person of faith but the hardships of this life have worn you down and taken a heavy toll. You're exhausted by what's happened and also by empty religion. You're thinking I must be done with you. So much has happened; so much has changed, and it's all taken a harsh, meaningless and almost hopeless tone. You say you can't hear Me speaking to you anymore and wonder why I'm so silent. You're even wondering if you have been a total fool for believing all that you once held to be true.
Not long ago I sat listening to someone speak about their relationship with God and the way He involved himself in this persons life. As I sat there I saw the face of yet another individual light up when he began to explain to me how God paid him from time to time, in an amazing way, a visit in his life. Inevitably every time I hear something like this I am led to ask the person where was God all those other times when he was supposedly not visiting them in an amazing way? And believe me that while I understand what people mean I see this picture as being the same as someone saying that within their marriage the only time they are aware of their partner is when they are having sex with them.
We need restoration today. A key area is in regard to honoring the Gifts Christ gave to the Church (see Ephesians 4:11). Many have either lost this understanding or abandoned this practice through neglect. Others were perhaps not taught, or have never seen it modeled in a Spiritual environment. Regardless, true honor must be restored as part of what it means to actually worship The Father "in Spirit and Truth" (John 4:24). God not only deserves and desires such honor; it is His condition for the Spirit to fully reveal Christ among us.
This page does not exist.