I was already tired when I entered the grocery store that evening. The cart I had selected had a noisy, wobbly wheel that had to be manhandled down the aisles as I searched for several things the store had run out of. This would mean another stop at another store on the way home. Then, there was a screaming toddler having a tantrum at the checkout.

When I finally finished loading the groceries into the back of the car, I sat down wearily in the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition. Immediately, the sounds of a really great dance band filled the car. I could see a dance floor, and there was Jesus grinning down at me! I was in His arms and we were dancing. He was wearing a black tuxedo and I was in an evening gown. The lights were low and He was holding me close and smiling down on me. Wow!

For awhile, I closed my eyes and sat there in the darkness, watching us dance. When the song was nearly finished, He guided me out onto the balcony, alone with Him. When the music stopped, we stepped off the balcony, into the night sky and danced away together.

That’s how close He is to us. At any moment He can manifest the reality of His presence. There is no need for striving or trying to get there. He is already within us and we are in Him. ( 1 Cor. 6:17, Gal. 2:20, Eph. 1:4, Eph. 2:6 ) We are also here in this realm, experiencing whatever is going on around us. We were created to be creatures of both realms, translocational beings – able to go back and forth from this realm into the Heavenly realms at will, by the process of thought and desire. It’s a matter of turning our hearts toward Him, ( 2 Cor. 3:16-18 The Message translation, Col. 3:1) of turning our thoughts toward Him.

This is the way things work in Heaven. What we desire just manifests. If we think of a friend we would like to see, suddenly we are there with them. If we see a place at a distance that we would like to explore, suddenly we are there. God created us in His image.

Then there are times, like the story above, when He just comes and takes us away with Him – because He knows that is our desire as well as His.

(For more on this subject, see the category on the blog called Creatures of Both Realms.)

The Harvest

The Harvest is upon us now! In many places, even here in North America, there are already many thousands of people coming to Christ. We are called to disciple these new believers, to disciple the nations. These truths are the first things they need to be taught. It must be their foundation:

‘I am IN Christ and He is IN me. I am accepted in the Beloved. I am my Beloved’s and He is mine. He will never leave me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’

This Intimacy with the Lord will naturally produce fruitfulness. Teach them to have that kind of relationship with Him. Then His life will automatically flow through them, to be and to do all He has called them to.

We have heard much over the past decade about the Harvest coming and how we need to be ready to gather it in, so that it is not lost. Often, in trying to imagine what that might look like, people think of building bigger churches and starting new programs. While some of that might be necessary as a framework, let’s not get side-tracked with busyness and lose sight of the goal. The goal is Him. It’s relationship with Him.

Once, in an extended time of waiting, the Lord kept telling me to ‘get ready’ for a much larger scope of ministry. I knew that would be international, but I could not imagine what it would really look like. When I questioned Him, saying “Lord, how do I prepare for the unknown?” He tenderly smiled at me and said , “Right here … in My arms.” I learned that it was not so much about getting specific instructions for the ministry itself, at least not at that point. It was about becoming one with Him, understanding that I am In Him and He is In me, so close, so strong that it’s unshakeable. Then, when the time was right, He would take me to the places and people He had prepared me to minister to, and I could simply pour out His love upon them. He would be the One to accomplish whatever was necessary in their lives, in their churches, in their nations. We must not get ahead of God. Intimacy must be first, as well as current and ongoing.

Many years ago, I used to try to find a ‘balance’ between ministry to others and intimacy alone with the Lord. I felt rather like a tool that had to be plugged in and charged for a time, so that it could be used for it’s purpose, then return to being charged again. But my perspective was completely off. I was looking at things horizontally; on one side you have intimacy and time alone with Him, and on the other side you have ministry to people. But the perspective is more vertical. He is in us and we are in Him. He is love and peace and joy and strength and power and all we need. He resides in us and we live in Him, so all that He is, is also within us. He flows into us in a never ending river and that same river flows out of our innermost being to those around us. Intimacy produces fruitfulness, like the branch that remains on the vine and automatically produces fruit.

Finally, He showed me the pattern, the rhythm of the bride in the Song of Solomon. She lives there with Him in the mountains. Then she goes with Him, leaning on His arm, into the villages to check on the fruit and into the fields to bring in the harvest. And when the day is done they return home together … always together.

Whatever we need for the times we are in, whatever we need for the great Harvest now, it is all found IN Christ. And we are IN Christ and He is IN us. There is no striving to try to gain any of these things, or to cry out to God to come down and help us. We are seated with Him in Heavenly realms. Let’s start from there, with that mindset and understanding. We are limitless IN Christ because He is limitless. This Harvest is His! It’s for Him. He longs to see the empty seats in the halls of Heaven filled with His children, called by Him from before the foundation of the world. It is our great privilege to be a part of this. The instructions will be clear as we move forward. But we move forward IN Him and with Him at all times, wrapped in His love.

*footnote – some helpful scriptures: Acts 17:28, 1 Cor. 6:17, Gal. 2:20, Eph. 1:4, Eph. 2:6 ,Col. 1:27, Col. 2: 10, 12,13, Col. 3:3

Recently I was watching a worship video by some of my favorite worship leaders that I have listened to for years. The sweet presence of the Lord was definitely there, but I felt a sadness as well. Listening carefully to the words, I was surprised to realize that most of it was crying out to God from a standpoint of us being down here and Him being far away up there! If you listen closely to the words of the music (or even to our own language) and check the roots, you may sometimes find that we have actually begun to believe separation theology. This can only be cured by the truth of the Word of God. He IS the Truth, and He tells us over and over again that He will never leave us or forsake us. (Heb. 13:5, Mt. 28:20, Isa.41:10, Deut. 31:8)

The Apostle Paul’s writings are full of these truths. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become joined to Him. Our spirit is joined to and entangled with His Spirit. (1 Cor. 6:17) We were co-crucified with Christ and we were raised up with Him. (Gal. 2:20) We are now co-seated with Him in Heavenly places IN Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:6) He chose us to be IN Him before the foundation of the world. (Eph.1:4) Recently I heard someone teaching this truth – ‘We are the only part of creation that bears His fingerprints. Everything else was created by His Word.’ Wow! He formed us from the ground of this earth and the wind of Heaven when He breathed His life into us. He literally gave us a part of His DNA when He created us in His image! We are one with Him. We are IN Him and He is IN us. All separation is merely a false illusion!

He IS within us. Start from there and don’t go back to the insecurity of whether He is there or not. Why do we ‘cry out to God’ as if He is far away from us? That sounds like Old Testament theology, but Jesus changed that at the cross. He died for us and as one of us to reconcile us to Himself forever. Please don’t misunderstand – of course there are times when we need to call on God for ourselves, our families, and corporately for our nations. But to do so from a mindset of separation is faulty theology and distinctly the opposite of what He has said – that He IS with us and will never leave us, that He is IN us and we are IN Him.

What I am emphasizing here is a faulty mindset more than a choice of words. But often our words, or the words to the music we sing, are signals of a problem with our thinking. We need to think about some of those words and say, “No, wait! That’s not even scriptural! That’s not what Jesus said about our relationship to Him!” If we buy into separation theology, it will tie us down to this realm and keep us from ascending in the Spirit. There is no need to be forever seeking and never finding fulfillment. Christ has accomplished much more on the cross than we give Him credit for. He has already given us all we need for life and godliness. (2Peter 1:3) We need to start from that basis. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. It’s already been accomplished.

I encourage you to go through Paul’s writings, especially Romans and Ephesians. Read them in different translations from somewhere like BibleGateway.com. Pull out those nuggets of gold that tell us what He has already accomplished for us, who we are in Him and where we reside (seated with Him in Heavenly places). Picture yourself literally sitting beside Jesus, on a throne next to His, as He locks gazes with you and instantly adjusts your mindset to the truth that He is bonded to you forever.

May this be our constant prayer. May this be our song.

I’m in You and You’re in me.
I’m in You and You’re in me.
Together we will always be
Forever

The events and challenges of the day we are living in can seem overwhelming. We have lived in this condition, with one thing added on top of another, for so long that our bodies are showing signs of extreme stress that our minds don’t even recognize on the surface. Stress has become the ‘new normal’. But it does affect us. It affects our peace, or the lack of it. It affects the way we react to people and circumstances, and even to God.

However, there is a secret place of peace in God that is so deep the enemy cannot find you there. Nothing can disturb that peace. It’s not about pretending there is no trouble. It’s a peace in the middle of the storm, because peace has authority over the storm. That’s why Jesus could sleep in the boat while the sea was tossing. (Mt. 8:23 – 27)

Looking at the raging storms around us now may cause us to cry out, “How can I survive this? How can I get to that place of peace? I don’t know the way!”

To this, Jesus replies the same way He replied to Thomas in John 14: 1-6. “I AM the way!”

He says to us now, ” I AM the way, the truth, the life, the door, the gate. I AM your peace. How can you say you don’t know the way? I AM the way. Do you know Me? I want you to know Me so deeply and intimately that you can trust me without question. You can simply know that I AM the Man I say I am. You can know that everything I have promised you is still true and I will still fulfill my Word to you, no matter what things look like in the natural to your eyes. I’m still God. I’m still in charge. I still love you and I always, always, always will. That never changes. I will protect you and your families and wrap you in my arms. I have sent hosts of powerful angels to surround you in this time of trouble. I AM your peace. You were never meant to simply survive, but to thrive and overcome.

“Quiet yourself and come into My presence. Look into My eyes and lock gazes with Me. I will cause My strength, and peace, and all you need, to be poured into you. I will transform you into My image. I will cause you to absorb and reflect my glory. (2 Cor. 3:18 – as we behold Him, we become like Him) Then, still wrapped safely in Me, I will place you into your society to transform it by My peace and power and love that now flows out through you.

“This secret place with Me is available to you at all times. It is where I want you to live and operate from. I created you from the dust of this earth and the very breath of God, the wind of Heaven. You are a creature of both realms, able to ascend into My realm with Me, then return to your realm and affect your atmosphere there. I AM the way!”

I felt it was a good time to re-post this from Feb. 2014.

This will be a great part of our testing in these last days: to overcome the lies of the enemy against God and His goodness.

We are entering times when mans own choices have lifted the restraining hand of God against evil in our nations.  In some cases those choices are bringing His righteous and holy judgment as His Word said.  Some things will be very clear.  When a nation is being judged or disciplined to bring it back to God, everyone in that nation will be affected in some way.

Other things will be far less easy to understand.  Why does disaster strike?  Why do our friends and loved ones die or experience such hard things when we have prayed and believed?  Once when I was questioning the Lord about many of these things He said to me,

“My bride will have to be so in love with Me that she trusts Me even when she does not understand.”

Of course He loves us individually and has our best interest at heart.  But this is not just about us as individuals.  It’s much bigger than that.  It’s about His eternal plan, of which we have a part.

Fundamentally, at heart level, we must believe that God is good and just and righteous at ALL times in ALL He does.  We must stop blaming God for the works of the enemy!  To misunderstand this could be fatal.  Since we are finite creatures, this will require an ever increasing depth of relationship with Him to bond us so closely that we cannot be separated. (Rom.8:38,39)  This will require much more love than we now possess.  We must ask Him for His love which cannot be shaken. ( Rom.8:35-37 )

Once in a vision the Lord encountered me on a seashore.  He pointed toward a beautiful ship and said to me “That’s my ship and I’m the Captain.  I make the decisions.  The question is, can you sail under My command?”

If this sounds hard and contrary to the nature of a loving God, we have only seen a part of the many facets of His character.  He is the lamb and He also is the lion.  In the midst of the battle you’ll want the lion on your side. All of those blog posts under “Intimacy with the Lord” are true.   In fact, it is that very depth of intimacy that will cause us to keep on holding tightly to Him no matter what happens.   You learn to trust the One you love and love the One you trust.  Because of His deep love for us and ours for Him, we know that we can trust Him and His leadership.  Incidentally, in the last part of the vision I spoke of, Jesus looked deeply into my eyes and opened His hand to reveal my name tattooed on His palm! ( Isa.49:16 )  I was undone once again by His love.

There were times in my life many years ago when I was just beginning to learn these lessons.  When things went from difficult to impossible I fell back into immaturity and began to blame God.  I had prayed and fasted and declared and believed but still He did not answer my prayers.  One day when I was literally yelling at Him He stopped me.  I could hear the pain in His voice as He said to me,

“It hurts Me when you publicly disgrace and dishonor Me in this way.”

Silence and shock!  What did He mean by that?  Quietly now He began to explain what I had absolutely no concept of.

“When you rail against Me and blame Me for your trouble it dishonors and disgraces Me.  And yes, it is very public.  You think you are alone here in your room.  But all those in Heaven and the realms below hear what you say.  You disgrace Me before the enemy and all of his hosts.   And you dishonor and accuse Me before all of Heaven, the angels and the great cloud of witnesses.”

That understanding solved something for me and I repented deeply.  When it hits us personally as it has so many times before, when our needs are not met or disaster strikes, the thing of absolute importance is our response to Him.  Will we trust that He loves us and His will is best even when we are hurting, even when we don’t understand?  There are only 2 choices here. The middle ground is running out.

Obviously I am not suggesting that we sit back and receive everything the enemy throws at us, presuming it is God’s will.   We do have authority given to us from the Lord over the evil one.  But what about the delays we don’t understand or the circumstances that we just cannot line up with God’s Word no matter how we try?  We need wisdom to separate these things properly.  However, when it comes down to the bottom line question of “Is God good or has He failed you?” our response must always be in allegiance to Him alone.  Otherwise we find ourselves on very dangerous ground and create much more trouble than we already had.

Help us God!  Give us Your grace to make it!  Strengthen us Oh God!

By the way, there are times when He does just give us strength that we did not possess before … His strength.  However, the #1 way that we gain strength is through testing and training!  Paul talks about exercising to strengthen our mortal bodies to run the race and then compares that to our spiritual life. (1 Cor.9:24-27, Phil. 2:16 )   He also refers to our being soldiers in the army of God.  ( 2 Tim.2:3,4,  2 Thess,1:4, Heb. 12:7 )   A General in the Army started out as a Private.  He became a General through rigorous, hard training and also the battles he fought in.

These last day battles will require God’s people to be high impact and low maintenance.  If we search our hearts and find that is not the case then let us run to the Lord and not away from Him.  Let us repent for our weakness and submit ourselves to Him for His training.  He is the only source of our strength.  He is the goal and He is the reward for those who overcome.

There have been so many exciting, prophetic words in the last few months. Many seem to be on a grander, more world-wide scale than ever before, challenging our faith to actually believe such astonishing prophecies. People often measure a prophetic word by their current circumstances. But that is backwards! The prophetic word comes to change us and our circumstances to line up with His Word and His plan for us. It will make a great difference in how we treat the prophecy. Will we judge it as impossible or simply not for us, because of our current circumstances? Or will we open our hearts to the open door God is offering us?

In regard to this, I had a rather humorous vision of myself and several other people standing around in a group, discussing some recent prophetic words. Some of the older people were saying things like “Well, what can I do at my age?” Others said, “If there was only an open door, I would walk through it”. Some wondered, “How can I do anything in these circumstances?” Some of the younger ones were excited about the possibility of ministry, but immature and wondering where to go and what to do.

Suddenly Jesus appeared and somehow lined everyone up, like a Father gently leading a group of children all into order. Then He produced a large and very long fire hose. While we were all still talking among each other and looking around, He simply handed me a section of the fire hose and said “Here, hold this.” As I took it, He handed the next section to the person beside me, until we were all holding the hose in a line in the proper way. Then He turned on the water. The blast was so great it knocked several of us down. But we got up and held onto the hose, pointing it in the direction He showed us. Although it could have easily put out any fire the enemy had started, this powerful blast seemed to be the ‘water of life’, a blast from Heaven to pour water on the dry ground and bring a flood of righteousness. On earth as it is in Heaven, Mt. 6:10

It is quite simply His power, not our own. He is getting us into line, and each of us will get a chance to help hold the hose.

Our lives are often cyclic or seasonal. There are times when it is natural and easy to enter into the presence of God, and there are other times when it is not. This can be influenced by outside circumstances, internal turmoil, or any number of different things. That’s one of the great things about Heaven. There is no sin there to hinder the flow of the Holy Spirit. There is no enemy to withstand us. But here in this realm … ah yes, here we must often press through in order to get there.

Recently I encountered one of those times, and the Lord reminded me of my own teachings. He invited me to remember, or even to imagine, being with Him in a very beautiful place. I closed my eyes and began to build a picture of us together. We were in a garden, and I could see Him putting His arm around me and drawing me close to Him. I was viewing this from a distance, watching the scene unfold.

Then Jesus encouraged me to use my zoom lenses, the spiritual ones He has equipped us with. Suddenly, I had stepped into the picture and was viewing it from there in His arms! I could see the weave of the threads in the fine linen garment He was wearing. I could see His beard and the pores in His skin. I could smell His fragrance. Tears ran down my face as His presence now flooded my heart and overflowed into the earth realm.

“This is real”, He smiled. “More real than the earth realm. And I am always available to you, My love.”

I have taught this many times. But it’s always worth repeating.  If you will just imagine that He is right there with you, one day you will realize it’s not just your imagination.  It is reality.

 

* See the archives from Jan. to May 2012 in this blog for more on Intimacy With the Lord. Also check the category called On-ramps Into Heavenly Realms, especially #5 and #5 cont. – A Godly Imagination. (Mar.19 and April 1, 2013)

I am happy to announce the publishing of my new book!

Face To Face, Encounters With Jesus, is a series of my individual visions and prophetic encounters, face to face with the Lord Jesus Himself, in Heavenly Realms. It is a progression into intimacy with Jesus, our Bridegroom King. The chapters are like photos from an engagement album, beginning with the early days of love’s first awakening and ending with the wedding day.

This relationship is available to all believers in Christ. I pray that as you read my experiences, you may be able to enter into them and ascend into Heavenly realms also. Once there, Jesus will take you on journeys of your own.

Come, He is waiting !

[All proceeds from this book will go to Iris Global, an International Mission founded by Rolland and Heidi Baker, with whom we have been privileged to minister.]

 

Worship had begun in the small home group meeting and the presence of Jesus was filling the room. I closed my eyes to focus on Him and He immediately surprised me by saying, “So, where shall we go?” Then He grinned and said, “Why don’t we just jump off the high diving board?”

I hardly had time to think. Instantly I saw myself climbing up a very high ladder and walking carefully out to the end of a diving board. By now I knew I was in the Spirit since I never would have done that in the natural. I stood there for a moment trying to get up the nerve to jump. Suddenly, from behind me, Jesus came running down the board, grabbed me in His arms, launching us into the air and we landed in the ocean below! It was so surprising and wild that I almost laughed out loud and had to cover my face with my hands! Laughing, He took my hand and we began to swim deeper and further out until the shoreline disappeared. I looked at Him and said, “You know I really can’t swim!” and He just laughed and said, “It’s o.k., you don’t need to. You’re with Me.” On and on we swam, further out and deeper still. The deeper we went, the lighter it became, not darker as I would have thought. And as the light increased, so did the glory.

At that point in the vision, the natural realm and the Heavenly realm began to overlap. I started to feel a great concern for Kevin, a young man in the group who was experiencing a great deal of trouble. I really wanted to just take him with me, out here in the ocean and let Jesus minister to him. I didn’t want to seem inappropriate but we were all close friends, so finally I got up and went to the other end of the room where he was sitting. I whispered to him, “I just want to lay my hand on your shoulder and try to be a sort of channel between you and Heaven. Is that o.k.?”

“Oh yes, that’s fine.” he said, ” I trust you.”

So I knelt behind his chair and just put my hand on his shoulder. I really wasn’t even praying for his needs but only asking Jesus to take him away and minister to him. At the same time, Jesus and I were still swimming in the ocean. The glory was so very deep.

Suddenly we began to swim upward to the surface. When we broke through the water, we were in the Throne Room, standing on the Sapphire Sea! There was so much light and so much glory that tears were pouring down my face. Jesus was so beautiful and bright with light streaming from Him in every direction.

When the light began to subside, I noticed that we had brought Kevin with us as well! He was lying nearby on the “sea” in a fetal position with his head down like a sleeping infant. Jesus looked at him with so much compassion. But it was interesting. There was compassion but not concern. He knew what He would do and that Kevin would be all right. He motioned to a large angel nearby who picked Kevin up like a baby and carried him right to the Father on the Throne. As Father saw him coming He had the same compassion in His voice as He said, “Come here, my son!” Then He took Kevin in His big arms like a baby and just held him close.

Jesus turned His attention back to me now as we began to dance on the Sapphire Sea. It was wonderful ball room dancing, on the sea and up in the air, turning and twirling and landing again. Then I heard the worship leader from our home group and I knew he must be there somewhere dancing as well. He was breathlessly laughing, playing his guitar and singing, “dancing with You, twirling and spinning”!

There are times when the 2 realms overlap. Since we were created from the dust of this earth and the very breath of God, we have the ability to walk in both realms, sometimes even simultaneously. There are also times when we can take others with us or when the Lord chooses to take a whole group away together in His presence as He did in Exodus 24: 9-11. He’s very creative!

Always remember – there are no limitations in the Spirit. And in the Spirit, you can fly. (Isa.40:31, 2 Cor.12: 2-4)

* For more on this subject, see the category Creatures Of Both Realms on this blog.

It was the end of January during one of the coldest winters I could remember, with more snow than I wanted to see and temperatures plummeting to -30 degrees F and staying there for days on end. I had just returned from my first missions trip to Mozambique and was still suffering from a bit of jet lag and more than a bit of culture shock – now reversed. The huge missions compound with 200 children was built on sand, as far as the eye could see and the weary sandaled feet could plod. Temperatures were 120 degrees F and higher indoors than out, unbearable but for the mercy of one beautiful shade tree.

Now I was suddenly plopped back into this Canadian deep freeze, plodding through snow instead of sand. The physical aspects alone were enough to produce culture shock. But that was the least of it. Everything was turned upside down – especially my heart. Pieces of it were left in the red dirt of Africa. I wondered now if I had even been of any help to anyone on this trip, thinking of others who had to care for me when I became ill.

On one of those dead-locked winter days I was driving past a favorite greenhouse that I loved to frequent in the summer. Remembering the scent of roses and wet dirt, of walking through aisles of hundreds of fragrant blooms with the sun coming through all the glass windows, I instinctively pulled into the parking lot. I needed to see something, anything alive and green. The sign on the door read “Open”!

Almost in shock, I turned the handle and the door opened with a creak. I had entered another world. Fog covered the bottom windows while sunlight streamed in from the glass above, melting the snow from my boots into little puddles of water on the concrete floor. The smell of moist earth brought tears to my eyes and the sight of aisle after aisle of green plants was almost dreamlike.

Closer inspection revealed that these were all starters – new, young plants grown from seed or cuttings from last season’s mature plants. Here they were lovingly fed, watered and nurtured to become beautiful, fruitful plants for the season ahead.

I picked up one of the small clay pots in my gloved hands, turning it around to view the tiniest geranium I had ever seen. It was as if a normal geranium had been shrunk to microscopic size. But each leaf was perfectly formed in miniature. Lifting it to my nose brought the same pungent fragrance that had perfumed my gardens for years. Imagine! Something so tiny it was barely identifiable, yet it already contained the true fragrance of the flower it would become next summer when the winter was over and gone.

Tiny tomato plants with the smell of ripe tomatoes brought fresh tears to my eyes and a prayer to my lips there in the midst of the damp earth and the promise of Spring. “Oh God, please let my life be like this tiny plant. Nurture me here in Your arms until all that You’ve placed within me comes into fullness and fruitfulness in the seasons ahead.”