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Good Morning,

    This week I accidently locked myself out of my house at 8:15 at night.  My daughter-in-law was leaving my house at the same time so I was able to use her cell phone.  I called around to see if I could get someone to come who had an extra house key.  I did!  Immediately I began to laugh at myself.  I was so busy trying to get a moth off of my door that I closed it barefoot and all.  There I was outside of my cozy familiar night time scene.

    After the laughter died down I sat down on the porch and looked up at the beautiful night skies.  The moon was full and there were soft puffy clouds moving across the sky.  I had been forced into a time of "change".  I actually sat down and enjoyed a moment in life.  I am usually busy all the time, even when I could be still and enjoy a quiet moment, I choose to stay revved up until exhaustion takes me down. 

    God loves to take every day living and reveal to us His Word.  Here is what was uncovered to me.  He said that in some cases in order for change or thansition to take place He literally has to "lock" us out of our familiar comfort zones to bring us into the "unfamiliar" surroundings where our change can proceed.  How will you respond when that happens?  Will you stomp, rant, rave and rage when change begins to demand you to transition?  Or will you stand and trust God to bring you out on the other side?  Phillipians 4:11 says, "..I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am."  State means circumstances, situations or conditions.  When you are taken outside of your "norm", do you remain calm and undisturbed?  Are you the person who "comes unglued"?  We must allow the Lord to have control, instead of feeling the need to be the one in control (or the one that regulates and directs the means and methods of operations, conditions, circumstances or situations).  I'll let you in on something; no matter how many people or things you may have controlled in your life before, you cannot control or manipulate God.

    In my mini transition, I was able to find the good in it.  I was able to look up and take delight in the beauty of God's night life.  It was a rare occurence.  The season of change is upon us, we must see the good that God is doing in our lives and appreciate the attention that He takes in detailing every aspect of the transition.  The old Debra would've cried, stomped and felt robbed of her important time that had been wasted and would have never sat down quietly and enjoyed the night.  Transition or change had been going on for awhile on the inside of me.  Romans 12:2 says "…but be transformed (changed) by the entire renewal of your mind, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."  He is requiring you to yield to the transition that He has in His plan for you.  Yielding is major!  Yield means to give your right to another, to give up possession of upon claim or demand, to surrender or relinquish to the control of another, to submit readily, to hand over as something owed, to bow, defer to, to relent willingly not by force.  Yield to transition!

    "Do not remember the former things; neither consider the things of old.  Behold I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it?  I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 41:18,19).  Will you give heed to the new thing (transition/change)?  Change is springing forth, will you even know it?  Has your change started?  Have you been resisting it all along?  Don't kick against the pricks.  Rest, rest in the arms of our omniscient Father, He knows what He is doing.

Love,

Pastor D.

The Spirit says:

Intimacy is what I long for from you.  Intimacy is born from worshipping Me.  Tender moments together breeds trust.  Trust causes Me to share My secrets.  As you come closer to Me, I desire to lavish you will of Me.  Intimate relationship brings revelations.  When you worship with an intimate heart, I take the written Word that you could not understand nor live and breathe life into it and you receive fresh bread from heaven, that lives through you.  John the beloved entered into a high place because he desired more and more of Me.  I brought him up higher to see and hear things whispered from an intimate time.  He knew insights to Me, he knew Me, just as We desire you to know.  Deep is calling unto deep, come stand under My waterfall, so that I can flow over you in intimate revelations.  I am open to those who draw close to Me.  The more you love Me, the more you will want to love me more.  I am that good.  I will take you to a high place where you are able to stand in the days of evil, you will be inaccessible to the schemes of the evil one, you will be hidden in my love.  The strongest force ever known, nothing can penetrate my loves here.  Come away to Me, my love is your covering, worship is what true lovers do.          

Transition in part means to "let go" of the old in order to get to the new.  Are you ready to let go of old hurts, disappointments, regrets, mistakes, misunderstandings, lies, abuses, habits and anything that you are still carrying around in your heart or memory?"  No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it but I focus on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead: I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us" (Phil 3:13).  All of those things in our past are hinderances, snares and obstacles.  If we don't cast them out like the garbage that it is, they will grow like cancer to form a "stronghold", a pattern of thinking, reasoning, responding and feeling that will hinder our walk with the "lover of our soul."  As He tries to get us to step up highter (where He will be able to reveal more to us) those "old things" will always prevent us.  This is demonstrated perfectly for us in the Song of Solomon, chapter 2, verse 15; "take for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards; for our vines have tender grapes."  As the "beloved" and the "lover" are going up higher places together, foxes try to attack her growth, which is new and tender (something that could easily be destroyed).  Foxes are burrowers, they snuggle up underground, they hide in passages underneath, tunneling in hidden places.  That is exactly what all of those things do that we keep holding on to in our minds and hearts.  They burrow down deep and pop out at the most unexpected time.  You know, like when you're trying to love, be kind, tender, forgiving, start fresh.  Any attempt to move up closer to God, up comes the flood of memories or maybe it's just that undesirable response that pops up. 

Well, we know what to do, so let's just do it!  It is for our good and our growing!  Let's toss out the trash!  Let's dig down and clear out the passageway of our hearts and minds.  Let us give the Word of God some ground to be rooted in.  2 Corinthians 10:4 and 5 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not physical (carnal), but they are mighty through God for the overthrow (pulling down) and destruction of strongholds, casting down imaginations (arguments, theories and reasoning's in our thought life) and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the knowledge of God; and bring every thought (all the little foxes) captive to the obedience of Christ."  Our first weapon that we will use against the "foxes" and the "old things" will be forgetting.  Forget is to lose the remembrance of, let go from from the memory, be unable to think or recall, to lose the power of use, to disregard intentionally, to become oblivious to.  Are you ready for transition?  Then let's forget the past, so that we can press on!

Love,

Pastor D.

Good Morning,

Today I will share a word that was spoken to me this Wednesday in prayer.  I thought as I wrote what the Spirit was saying that I would float out of the presence of the Lord and from that moment on everything would be super easy.  You can imagine what happened;  I was cursed at by someone behind me on the road because I didn't speed up so that they could get the light that was turning red, a loved one called me to give me a red-hot piece of their mind, I had to spend money on something that I had not planned on and I had to stand and believe the word of God for my healing.  This glorious word that I received that morning began to lose it's power and meaning, I'd almost forgotten the meaning of change and transition.  Change – making or becoming different; a departure from the norm, a deviation from established character, sequence or condition, a passing from one state to another marked by radically different makeup or operation.  Transition – a passage or movement from one state, mode, condition or place to another, in which a shift is gradually effected.  We are in a season of change and transition, but remember the enemy of our soul is still trying to prevent our change.  Mark 4:15-20 reminds us how the enemy tries to steal the word that was sown in our hearts, no seed, no production.  We must give more thought and attention to every word spoken by God if we are to yield to His changes in our lives.  Mark 4:24, "…the measure of thought and study you give to the truth your hear will be the measure (of power and knowledge) that comes back to you…".  For those who have ears to hear, listen up:

The Spirit says:

It has always been My desire that My children would allow Me to lead them.  They would find that I will always bring them beside the still and peaceful waters, even though the crushing waves would try to knock them over.  I would cause them to truly know peace as they go in and through the storms of life.  Instead of expecting Me to fit into their plans and purposes, they would find out how great and elaborate My plans are for them.  If only they will let Me lead.  They would find fresh new things going on in Me at all times.  For I am the quickening, you know, the life-giving, light-giving One.  I bring a fresh new expectancy to everything I touch.  You would never tire of Me.  I am so exciting!  I bring new surprises every morning, if you would open your eyes to behold my wonders.  Look around you at the world I made for your enjoyment.  There is always something new and fresh going on around you all the time, but very few catch it.  It is never "boring" or "uneventful".  Yet in My house My people have let their love and their relationship with Me become tedious, uneventful and sometimes boring.  I am not the one who others have portrayed Me as.  There is so much more to Me than your imagination could every conceive.  I have longed for you to desire to really get to know Me better than you do, crossing over the boundaries that was set to keep you from immeasurable pleasures and limitless joys.  I have longed for you to come up higher, so that you can hear and see better.  I want you to let Me train you how to flow with Me in the days that lie ahead.  I want to teach you how to effectively flow in My gifts that I have given to you, so that you would have clearer insight into Me and My best.  Thoroughly enjoying life and all that I have lavished upon you.  Get ready, for the process has begun to awaken you to life and living it fully to Me.  My church that will allow Me to lead are up for exciting times ahead!  My glorious church is straining their necks to hear and see.  Such singing and dancing in My house has never been heard to the degrees that are coming; chains breaking, healings breaking forth and restoration flowing like a river.  The times that were spent in weeping will be multiplied into great laughter.  Great peace and great joy will be known by all who stay in My house.  You will be taught how to enjoy to the fullest, all I have for you.  Yes, I am aware of all that you face in this life, challenges, trial and tests.  You will not grow weary through these things, you will find a new perspective from Me.  As you come up higher you will see things differently and obtain greater and clearer knowledge.  You will begin to know.  Come up higher!

Love,

Pastor D.

Scripture Reference: Ps. 126, Jn. 10:10, Eph. 3:20, Ps. 23, Is. 61:7

Good Morning,

Everything that is in our lives (who we are, how we respond to others in our lives, how we think and come to conclusions, even how and why we feel the way we do and when we feel it) has its’ foundation in our hearing clearly.  Before we go on to other things we want to get our hearing straight!  Proverbs 4:20 says; "My son (child), pay attention to My words; incline (which means to bend the ear, lean in to hear the speaker more clearly) your ear unto My sayings.  Let them (the words that is being said) not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst (center of your heart, which includes your mind, will and emotions) for they are life to those who find them (those who are listening clearly), and health to all their flesh.  Keep and guard your heart (we are the gatekeepers of what we hear clearly; we can let things in or keep things out) with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life (our life and our living springs from what we have let or allowed in).  See,what we hear or listen to intently will be allowed into our mind, will and emotions and that is where our thought life and our behavior life is formed.  We become what we give our attention to!

So, let’s just do it! Let’s change our ability to hear clearly.  "Understand this, my beloved brethren.  Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1:19).  Swift to hear, means to be prompt and more ready to hear.  It can be used to depict a runner who runs as fast as he can so he can reach the finish line before his competitors.  We could read the scripture this way; "Understand this, my beloved brethren, set your focus on becoming a good listener and do it with all your might, as if you are in a competiton to win the race of being a good listener".  James is telling us to become prize-winning listeners instead of prize-winning fighters or prize-winning talkers.  Well, we all know that this is going to take commitment and practice.  Even if we are quiet by nature that doesn’t necessarily mean that we are listening.  You know that’s right!  So let’s exercise our hearing.  1Timothy 4:7 & 8, tells us; "…exercise yourself unto godliness.  For bodily exercise profits a little; but godliness is profitable (useful and of value in everything and in everyway) for it holds promise for the present life and for the life which is to come".  Exercise in greek is the word gumnadzo and it means "radical discipline.  It is the word that ancient greeks used to portray the atheletes who exercised, trained and prepared for competing in their games, which were brutal and barbaric.  It is where we get our word gynasium.  Gumnadzo depicts a people who want to develop and change so much that they are willing to put themselves through vigorous, demanding and strenuous discipline in order to bring about that change.  Is that you and I?  Then all that is left to do, is just do it.  We can do anything we give ourselves to.  We are the gatekeepers, are we not?  Who controls what you think, who controls what you say? The answer is simple, I do.  I can strengthen myself right now.  How do I exercise myself into hearing clearly?  Well, I can answer that by asking you a question.  Do you know where you are ‘weak ‘ in listening?  Do you "check out", while others are talking?  Are you able to repeat exactly what has been spoken to you, without adding your own words?  Are you constantly being accused (by more than one person) of not understanding what has been said to you?  Do you usually interrupt while others are speaking?  If the answer to these questions are yes, then we need to start today in becoming prize-winning listeners.  Our exercise can begin by leaning in to hear when God and others speak today, stop all other thoughts and outside activity and give undivided attention to what is being said.  Practice repeating what you think you hear to the ear of the one who spoke.  We can do it!  We can do all things through Christ, which strenghtens us (Phil. 4:13).  Gumnadzo!!! Get to it!

Love,

Pastor D.

Good Morning,    Today, I was going to discuss the demonic forces that try to hinder our ability to hear, but I was talking to my daughter this morning about this very subject and she shed some revelation on the subject.  So, we are going to talk again about one of the deceptive devices that the enemy of our soul uses against us.  It is one of the  "greatest" obstacles or snares to our hearing clearly, it isn’t misinterpreting or misunderstanding (even though these are "biggies").  It still comes under the catergory of our dirty filter, it is plain ole’ selfishness.   What?  Yes, just wanting something said, ‘the way you want to hear it.’  You will find yourself staying on a ‘particular’ subject {that did not come across to you the way you wanted to hear it} and you will search high and low, trying to find someone, anyone who will speak ‘your’ truth to your hearing. So that everthing in your little world stays the same.  This is very dangerous, for it will keep you from growing and missing the opportunity to hear the voice of the Lord.  He requires you to get understanding of what He is saying to you, He will not compromise His word to satisfy our ‘selfish hearing’ ways.  There is a written warning in His word against this hearing problem: "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching.  They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.  They will reject the truth and go chasing their own myths" (2 Timothy 4:3).  Let’s not look for our own personal "Yes Men", that cater to our hearing desires.  Our hearing-aid is the Word of God and the person of the Holy Spirit (who leads and guides us into all truths).   So instead of allowing this type of hearing problem to continue, which will eventually lead to your own ‘spiritual deafness’, let’s put some seed in the ground of our hearts. "The Master God has given me a well-taught tongue, so I know how to encourage the weary.  He wakes me up in the morning, wakes me up, opens my ears to listen as one ready to take orders.  The Master God opens my ears, and I didn’t go back to sleep, I didn’t pull the covers over my ears, I followed orders" (Isaiah 50:4,5).  We as the people of God are developing ears to hear for we know He is talking to us.  With all of our getting we are getting understanding (discernment, comprehesion and interpretation).  So that we will grow from glory to glory in our ability to hear clearly.  This week plant Is. 50:4,5 in your heart with your mouth, say it until it is deeply rooted and brings clarity of hearing to you.  We will not close our ears, we listen and follow orders!                                                                                          Be blessed,                                                                                          Pastor D.

Good Morning,

There were two images that kept coming to my mind this morning, at the same time that this verse was bubbling in my heart, here is the verse: John 10:27, " My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me." Now the two images are as follows; the first one is of a song and the lyrics that say, "Earth people, this is God, please come in!" The second image is the commercial, where the man is on the cell phone and he keeps saying; " Can you hear me now?"

Well, God said very clearly through His Word that His sheep hear His voice.  If we are having difficulties hearing His voice and yet we’re saying that we are His sheep, we need to develop a sensitive ear to hear His voice.  The bad connection usually means that there is too much interference or a poor connection.  These things can affect our ability to hear and to hear clearly.  Are we hearing clearly, or, are there things that we allow to interfere with our ability to hear correctly?

Mark 4:12-20; gives us a list of things that could cause interference in our ability to hear.  Affliction, persecution, cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things: under this listing would go all other kinds of subtitles that touch our lives and affect our hearing the Shepherd of our soul. Verse 22 says," If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend, what he is hearing. Verse 24 ,says further," Be careful what you are hearing (in other words, pay attention to what you hear as well as to how you listen).  If we hear and listen through the ears that are filtered through our afflictions, persecutions, offenses, cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things, then we will end up intermingling a little of these things into how we perceive hearing from God.  These poor connections and interferences will only be multiplied back creating difficulties in our perception of the Good Shepherd.(read the rest of verse 24)

So, today we ask, Jesus, Shepherd of our soul to remove from our ears those things that hinder us from hearing clearly.  It is our desire to hear, obey and follow you. We say boldly that we are your sheep and now we do hear you. We recognize the things that try to block our hearing and we pull down all those strongholds.  It is so good to hear you so clearly, Lord. Thank you, Jesus.