Shift

Something shifted today. Well, in my life at least. The last few months and been difficult and discouraging. In all reality, some of the summer has been tough as well as the beginning of BSSM 2nd year. Turbulence picked up in December and I could feel life slipping away and anxiety increasing, while at the same time be a student, lead and juggle my life outside of school. Something shifted TODAY. Thank you Jeesus.! Gabe V spoke an amazing message and things just clicked. Thanks Gabe.! I see.! A lot unfolded in that instant. More to come.. 

Starting up again, again...

Hey, just another note to those that have already subscribed or those that are just subscribing.. I am starting up this blog again. I gave it a face lift and a new name. If you would like, review the blogs I have written in the past there are only like 4 or 5.. Please, I would love a lot of feedback, comments or at least for you to click the like, interesting and whatever the other button is.. I don't necessarily like to write, so to know someone is reading and I'm getting comments and likes It would greatly benefit and encourage me.. Thanks for taking the journey with me, I pray it blesses and encourages you greatly..

Starting up again...

As you can see, I haven't written in a while. I have a little catching up to do.. As you can see in my last post I was feeling the stirrings of change and transition. From Jan to now 2009 has been a huge transitional year. Ther are a lot of blanks to fill from March to now.. I hopefully will write a blog or a couple of blogs to catch up what has happened this last year bringing things current. If you are just joining this blog, then welcome. I invite you to read the blogs I previously posted. (there are only like 4) Feel free to comment, it's always fun..! :D Just to add to my "Hmmmmm" title description, I am going to be writing about all aspects of my life. From the very simple to the complex, from God to friends, short (maybe one word) to loooong thoughts and processes.. My goal is not to teach or preach, just to write, write, write because...I don't really like to write, I'm weak at it, but I know I need to devolop it.. I may talk about God and write some things like I did previously, but it's not my goal. I guess you can consider this blog an open journal of my life... Again to warn you, I may be raw, so if you lack grace and mercy, get angered easily or offended easily then you might not want to read my blogs.. I may have my moments... (not talking about me being angry or cussing) Anyways... Again, feel free to comment, I enjoy the dialog. Peace and love peeps.

Change...

My personality loves change... I'm not the type that likes monotony, it's get boring.. I am a person that has a great capacity to adapt and thrive in change and new places.. BUT, when change comes in the spirit or God changes my season, though it's exciting, it tends to be a little more difficult than change in the natural.... A lot of change is taking place in my life right now and it's exciting.. The down side to all of this is that when change comes by the hand of the Lord, though it's exciting it can be a little overwhelming... How..? Well, most of it has to do with discerning what it is and what it looks like.. When God changes things in my life it's not usually small and it entails a lot.. Sooo, sorting through it, hearing Him, seeing what He is doing and what He wants can be sometimes difficult. Well Joel... your very prophetic and you have a track record of consistently hearing from the Lord, whats the problem..? Well, hearing for others is much easier that hearing for yourself (a lot of the times) unless you have a high revelatory experience or encounter that clearly defines your next season... Why is it hard..? Well, I wouldn't say it is so much hard as it is time and energy consuming.. I have to say initially there is a little fear in missing what He wants or going the wrong direction.... I don't know, it just seems to be that way in prophetic peoples lives.. For the most part, I think it has to do with not being an island and sometimes leaning on others that God has placed in your life.. Also, I believe there's an invitation...an invitation for deeper intimacy. In the journey of finding the Lords heart and finding understanding for your next season; a new depth and level of intimacy is established that prepares you for this next season... I feel I am in the process right now, and I don't necessarily enjoy the process. I would much rather jump in or move to the next place rather than going through the process to get there.. I know Father is probably looking down on me right now and smiling..
I'm glad Your enjoying Yourself Daddy..! :-) I know it comes down to trust Papa... please give me grace to trust that Your are way bigger than me and everything is going to work out for the best and my faith be increased in this time... I only desire to live under the warmth of Your love, smile and approval... Direct my path and give me grace to mature, that I may be at rest in You when season changes come.. I think my thought, complete or incomplete is done for now....

A newer beginning

As I am writing this we are approaching the beginning of a new century, and new millennium. As this kind of change only comes every one thousand years, if there was ever a time to think of new beginnings this seems like a good one. I have been asked a few times lately what I think of New Year's resolutions. Since this seems to be on so many people's minds, let me address this first before going on to my main point. Ideally, I think that every day should be new for a Christian, and that we should not need such occasions to vow to make needed changes. I also know that "ideals" work only for a tiny percentage of people, and the rest of us usually need whatever help we can get from such things. I also believe that the Lord, in His abundant grace, allows, and may even appreciate, our attempts to do what is right (using whatever crutches we need), as long as we do not build laws, or principles of worship to Him out of them. Even so, the highest and ultimate purpose of every Christian should be to live by the power of the Holy Spirit, not human crutches. The cross is the power of God (see I Corinthians 1:18). The power to meet every human need or solve any human problem is found at the cross. Why should we seek power any place else? On New Year's Eve, at precisely the changing of the century, it was exactly one hundred years since the event that many mark as the true beginning of the modern Pentecostal Renewal—the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Topeka, Kansas. Now hundreds of millions of people have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The movement that this event sparked has been the fastest growing spiritual movement in history, and instead of diminishing, it is accelerating as we approach this new millennium. However, there is something coming that will mark the beginning of an even greater advance of the gospel, giving it more substance, depth, and power—the filling of the Holy Spirit. Of course, we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we receive the baptism of the Spirit, but, while trying not to get entangled in semantic terms, to be baptized in something is to be immersed in it. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is such a powerful, life-changing experience, that there has been a tendency to think that this is all we need. However, in the Book of Acts, long after the Day of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we have examples of the apostles doing extraordinary works when they were "filled with the Holy Spirit" anew (see Acts 4:8, 31, 13:9, 52). There is no question that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is an empowering that can radically change our lives, and result in much more fruitfulness for the gospel. D.L. Moody claimed to have had only a few conversions through his ministry until he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which at that time many referred to as "a second grace." This was also clear in the Book of Acts. The apostles were filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, but even after this profound and powerful change in their lives, they still had other experiences of being"filled with the Spirit." What is my point? I once heard a famous Pentecostal minister say that if Pentecostals and Charismatics were indeed Spirit-filled people, "we have somehow sprung a leak!" Is this why we see that repeated "fillings" were needed in the Book of Acts? Perhaps. Suppose that we really did esteem the Holy Spirit as the most valuable treasure we could ever possess on this earth. If we had a great deal of money to carry, but kept losing significant amounts of it, we would make every effort to find out where the hole is and close it. How much more should we be concerned about why we are not staying filled with the Holy Spirit? What are the things that cause us to drift from the manifest presence of the Lord in our lives? Are there holes in our lives that could even be so large as to call them "gates of hell," enabling the forces of hell to rob us almost completely of our inheritance in Christ? Of course, the primary things that are going to offend the Holy Spirit are the things that are unholy. When we think of unholy we usually think of sexual lusts and perversions first. Undoubtedly, these are offensive to God, and the Scriptures are clear that the wrath of God will come because of them. However, in Ephesians 4:30 we are exhorted, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Then we are told specifically how not to grieve Him in the next two verses: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." God is love, and anything that is not done in love does grieve Him. Sexual sin is a sin because lust is the counter-power to love. Sex was created for love, not love for sex. However, all of the counter-powers to love, such as bitterness, wrath, anger, slander, and malice, grieve and offend the Holy Spirit. If there is a resolution we could make for this coming New Year, let it be to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, and do nothing that would offend the Spirit. My prayer for you is that the prayer of the Apostle Paul would be fulfilled in your life: that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us (Ephesians 3:16-20). Before the end there will be a people who walk and abide in the Spirit. Because they walk in love, they will be entrusted with unprecedented power. In this way the kingdom of God will be demonstrated as the counter-power to all of the evil that perverts and destroys on earth. Ultimately this power will prevail so that even the lion will lie down next to the lamb, and no one will hurt anyone again. Why not now resolve that we are going to be a part of preparing the way for this great kingdom? It is at hand.

Thoughts for 08 and 09

Just a quick thought.... NOT thus sayeth the Lord....

2008... Year of consecration.. 8 besides meaning completion, also means consecration.

2009... Year of: another level of maturity, a year of maturity, or entering into maturity, however you want to say it.. 9 biblically meaning gestation or completion of development.. Soo, how do we get there..? The growing/taking on the "9" virtues of love in 1 Cor. 13 through accessing the grace of God..

I know 9 means more than just that, but I just wanted to give thought to what I feel is the main priority for 09.. Which is maturity.

I may go into this more a little deeper later expounding on what other meanings 9 carries and how it may pertain to this year..

How to move...

I feel there are times in my life where a culmination of thoughts, questions and emotions build internally. They build up to such point, they surface or come to the forefront of my life.. Most of the time this happens because change is coming in my life. The way I function, until I find some resolution to these internal stirrings, I usually am at a standstill. Along with the culmination of these things comes a discontentment on the inside. This is where I find myself as of the beginning of the new year. I feel there has been a big shift over me, which has caused all this stuff to come to the forefront. Soo this is where I find myself as I reflect on this Sabbath day. I sit at rest before Him and discontent to move from this posture of heart until He brings answers. I know the answers are just ahead. Until I get the answers, I don't feel I can move in a directive way in my life, for the answers to this stirring, I believe, will be the very path and bridge that will set the way for the change that the Lord has before me...