Guard Your Gates!

Please receive this word as an encouragement in the place to which God has called you and in this season where you are currently carrying out your God given assignment! Several years ago, God began to teach me about the gates of our lives. Gates are those places of entry points whether it be in our families, our ministries and churches or our personal lives. The gates of our lives must be constantly guarded because I believe that they are places of intense battle. It's at the gates that the enemy aligns himself against you and your destiny. It's there that you find a constant barrage of the lies of the enemy as he attempts to gain entrance into that which is worth guarding.

Proverbs 4:23, tells us to "guard our hearts, for out of it flows the wellspring of life". As the Lord began to teach me about the gates, I specifically became aware of four gates that are actually gates of deception! They are: what you see, what you think, what you hear and what you feel. Those are four specific areas where the enemy specializes in "ripping" us off and disconnecting us from the truth and from the anointing. Everything you see, is not as it appears; what you hear and what you feel are not always the way that it really is and the arena of your thoughts can become a major battlefield where we must be careful not to allow to get out of control. Often, there is a distinct difference between truth and reality! Just because it is "reality" doesn't mean that it's the truth or even based on the truth. In fact, sometimes the reality of our existence can be anything but the truth. The reality may be that I'm sick in my body, but the truth is that I am the healed of God and that He has made full provision for my healing. At that point, I have a choice to make...I can either embrace and live by my reality or I can embrace and stand on the truth of God's declaration over me, no matter what the physical signs are that I may be seeing or feeling. My goal is to come to the place that my reality is also the truth!

I stand on this conviction and it is my confession over you as well..."my life, my ministry, my family... is not up for grabs"!! What God is doing in me and through me is too precious and valuable to not secure it. Everything that I don't secure is up for grabs and becomes vulnerable to the tactics of the enemy. So, how do I secure the gates? I secure it by the Word, and I secure it on a daily basis. My confession of faith must be consistent, biblical and based on an active and vital relationship with Christ. The degree of authority that you have in securing the gates of your life is always based on the degree of relationship that you have with Christ. I stand in agreement with you today that you are what the Word of God says you are, you have what the Word says you have and you can do what the Word says you can do. Your life and your ministry is valuable! Heaven is being changed because of your ministry. Nations are being affected because of your anointing. Communities are being shaped because of your obedience. God delights over you and His declaration over you is yes! and amen. You were born for such a time as this and He needs you to stand in faith, stand in righteousness and stand in authority. I encourage you to write a biblical confession over the primary areas of your life and ministry and make a daily habit of speaking and releasing the Word over your life and securing the gates of who you are!

Seeing through the eyes of faith!

"Do not look at the turmoil that surrounds you through the perspective of worldly eyes. There are two governing systems at work and thus two sources of informaton and two views.

Do you not kow that my covenant over you is one of peace? My covenant has never been and never will be based or predicated on the values or condition of the "other kingdom". Be very careful not to make my covenant relative to your personal experience or the experiences of others...though a thousand may fall at your right hand and ten thousand at your left, surely I will uphold you with my strong arm of righteousness.

The scepter that I hold in my hand is continually stretched out over my people. It is one of dominion and authority that breaks the dominance of the enemy - you WILL NOT be dominated! It is one of peace that overules the turmoil of the enemy's camp. It is one of prosperity that breaks the hand of poverty.

My Word is true and will not be shaken...do not put your trust in other kingdoms or their leaders. Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken, but my Word will stand the test of time as will those who stand on my Word.

Lift up your eyes, lift up your heads, press in to that which I have called you - this is the day of My kingdom - the lines are being drawn and the greatest season of the Body of Christ is now! Enter in, hear and know! Rise up in authority, faith and confidence - do not be moved by what you see or hear. Know me and be known of me, for I am the Lord your God who changes not!"

Is that my Ball?

I just couldn't let this get by...I had to blog it. As I was playing golf today with a friend of mine...we tee'd off a little par three and my drive apparently veered off to the right. From our perspective, it seemed to have gone into the woods. Okay, I've been there before and had every confidence that I could recover on my second shot. My partner had a fairly good shot, but his drifted to the right as well...just not as far as mine. When we got down to the green area...we immediately spotted his ball, and went to the woods to look for mine. We looked and looked and looked some more for my ball, but to no avail.

I dropped a second ball, took the penalty stroke and started to chip up onto the green. When my friend went to his ball...surprise, surprise! It wasn't his ball, it was mine! He found his ball in the sandtrap. Now, what does all of that have to do with anything? It dawned on me (and in fact, I commented on it) that we wasted alot of time wandering around in the woods, almost took a penalty stroke all because of an assumption. What was clearly before us, was overlooked and we assumed the worst because of how it "appeared" that my shot landed.

How many times in life do we do that? I have learned that not everything is as "it appears"...what I "assume" to be a bad shot, isn't always as bad as it seems. And how many times have I overlooked the obvious and "assumed" that it was something different than it really was? And...how many times have I wandered around in the "woods" because of those assumptions. How many times have I "wasted time" because of those assumptions, and what do I learn and apply to my life from these little life lessons learned on the golf course?

I must make a decision to not immediately assume that what looked "bad" is necessarily bad. We only see the external and even then through a "glass darkly"...I must also choose not to overlook the obvious based on my preconceived thoughts or notions. I have learned that making assumptions and jumping to conclusions can lead to either a lot of wasted time in the wilderness or a penalty...I have time for neither!

Am I Alone?

September 19, 2009

Traveling is tough...as I write this, I'm sitting at the Charlotte, NC airport, I just finished a meal by myself and I have a bit of a layover. Being alone in strange places really isn't my thing...I'm about connecting, hanging and chillin with family and friends. Yet, in some odd way; I have a sensing in my heart that this part of my new job is something that is ordained of the Lord. I have to believe that because I am the redeemed of the Lord, every aspect of who I am and what I do is also redeemed...my life isn't up for grabs, so all of a sudden, there is a new possibility that even times like this are not only ordained of the Lord, but are in fact; ordered of the Lord!

But how do I fit that in with who I am and with my personality...I have to consciously redeem the moments of my day and time. In other words, I can just travel, or I can travel redemptively...knowing that God has ordained and ordered supernatural appointments and moments in which He wants me to see His hand at work in my life. Can I learn to look for and appreciate the gifts that God brings into my life? Can I move through an airport and hear the word of the Lord over my life? Can I sit on an airplane and receive ministry or give ministry, whatever the case may be?

The connecting points between places of ministry are like a link in a chain...I just left Miami and I'm headed to High Point, NC...do I just go through whatever it might take to get from point A to point B, or do I walk in a place of authority and readiness, knowing that all of my steps, my time and even the disruptions of life are ordered of the Lord? Can I accept the fact that a canceled plane, forcing me to be in "travel mode" for eight hours is not as interruptive as I would naturally think? Could it just be possible that in the larger scheme of God's plans and purposes for my life, that He has orchestrated everything that concerns me and if I would be more open to the little moments, He could move me as He would like to do? Absolutely...and by the way, that would have to apply to every arena and event of my life...God really does have a plan and nothing catches Him off guard. I give Him room to take even the "disruptions" of my life or the "alone times" of my life and to breath His fresh breath of love and grace over them and to transform them into times of uniques blessing and usefulness for His glory over me!!!

He's Still Working on Me!

This morning, as I write this I am sitting in Chattanooga, Tennessee; getting ready to go over to Lookout Mountain for a day of R&R with the family! As a child, I remember going there with my folks and being absolutely overwhelmed by everything that I saw. Several years later, as an adult, returning there was somewhat humorous. While I still enjoy the attractions, the effect on me wasn't the same as it was when I was a small child. Everything seemed smaller, not as exciting or intriguing and definitely not as appealing. I guess you could attribute that to age, experience, maturity or all of the above. I would like to think that it's the same with life and our personal maturity. Those things that come at us when we are younger in the Lord or in the ministry, don't seem to have the same effect when we mature in certain areas...thank God! I also think that it's good for us to remember that lesson when dealing with junior associates or staff/team members. What seems to you to be a "mole hill", can be a mountain to them and they may need a little bit more understanding, patience or encouragement. Obviously, none of us have arrived at the place of maturity and growth to which God is taking us, but it's like the old saying..."I may not be where I'm going, but thank God that I'm not where I've been."

I remember an old southern gospel song that says, "He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be." All of us are "works in progress", and in fact, I recently visited the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina (if you haven't been there, you owe it to yourself and your ministry to take that trip) and went to the gravesite of Ruth Graham Bell. When I read the inscription "End of Construction, Thanks for your Patience.", I found it odd until I read the meaning behind it. While traveling with Dr. Graham one day, they came through a construction zone. At the end of the construction, that sign was there and Ruth commented that she wanted that on her tombstone, and that's exactly what they put on there. That speaks volumes to me and I hope to you. All of us are under construction and the job isn't quite finished. So, I'll make a deal with you...you pray for me and I'll pray for you, don't judge me and I won't judge you, have patience with me and I'll have patience with you, quickly forgive me and I'll quickly forgive you, give me some room to grow and I'll give you room to grow! In fact, let's make that a standard for all of our lives no matter who it is in regard to. Oh, one more thing that I would like to mention in this devotion...I live by the thought that from the last time I saw somebody, God has done something in their life to change them for the better. I always make room to accept them for who they have become, not for who they were.

ALIVE AND WELL!

In the last several weeks, I have been through a series of battles regarding my health. The result is that I have pushed in to become healthy and to learn how to live stress free. Two books have helped me immensely..."Leading on Empty" by Wayne Cordeiro and "The Anxiety Cure" by Archibald Hart. As I write this, I have been able to lose 16 pounds and I just took my blood pressure...it was 120/83. God has done some amazing things in my life during the past couple of months!

One of the struggles that resulted from the high blood pressure was a series of anxiety panic attacks. With the overwhelming emotion that you are having a heart attack, and then with my doctor telling me that he thought I had an aortic anuerysm (but the MRI came back good), I found myself believing that I was at the very edge and heaven was closer than ever. I am no longer having the physcial symptoms of the panic attacks, but still battle from time to time with some of the anxiety issues. It's apparent to me that I need to take several days off back to back to just give my body some rest.

When you feel like you are that close to death, it's easy to become consumed with all of the issues that accompany those battles. As I am coming out of this and hearing from the Lord on these issues, I want to share this word that the Lord gave to me. I thought it important to give you some background on what this word is about. It is deeply personal, but I believe that it will minister to you...enjoy!

Son, your life is my greatest gift to you on the earth..as you have walked through the challenges of life itself - you have contemplated what death is and what lies beyond death. Even as you read what Solomon said, that is wise, but TODAY - I call you to begin contemplating on life and living. You were not created to die, but to live! I have not called you to the dead, but to the living. My prosperity of life is upon you, I am the giver of long life and the day will come that you will leave your earthly tabernacle, but know this, as sure as the day you were born and had not one ounce of control or say so, so will that day be - it will not be a day of agony or alarm for you. So, leave that to me! Your job is to live and live abundantly...when I call you home, it will not be fearful or unexpected and you will be ready in every part of who you are. Your entire being will long to be with me, the reason the prospect of death now is so frightening is because it is not your time, day or season. So, don't let that consume you, in fact; contemplate life with me, but never be consumed with the aspect of death itself, for it is nothing more than a minute glitch in time. What the world and earthly creatures experience as death is not what it is about at all, for it is literally one second of your entire existence and then you explode into life and joy as you never have known. So, don't be distracted or consumed or get in fear. Your life...the very moments and minutes of your life are in my hand and in my heart. Pursue life, live life, enjoy life, honor life, be alive, be well - be pleasing to me and honor my word - for the best is yet to come!!