Hosea 1 and 2

What are the types and shadows that speak to us of entering the presence of God.  We are stripped, washed, clothed with what God specifies anointed with oil and dipped in the sacrificial blood.

Psalm 51:8  "Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice."  If this verse does not line up with your theology, change your theology.

We have to get beyond the point of praying "about" people, to the point where we are praying in union with the heart of God "for" the person.

Verses like Hosea 1:6 are there to test our hearts, like Jesus when He basically called the Syro-Phonecian woman a dog,
"What are you going to do with this statement, run with the opportunity to pridefully REPLACE Israel in the plan of God, or press in and cry out for mercy for them too?

The lesson of Hosea is, "Watch the heart of God."  Watch what He chooses to do about their redemption.  Watch the price, the sacrificial cost of the work that He is doing.

If we are willing to become a dry empty place, THEN, HE will spring forth rivers in the desert.  (and all the glory will go to Him)

The revelation of Jesus Christ will not come through a single person, but through a body of believers. 

Paris and the Bride of Christ

Paging through people's thoughts on Paris to see what is out there because the "truth" is always deeper than the surface. This was posted by a woman named Victoria Boyd and it is a true word on many levels.." I see that the consequences of today's brutal actions are far reaching and ongoing. Remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Innocent blood shed will empower the principalities over this region. As always, political spirits will rise in response to political spirits. Leaders of nations will band together in some sort of 'solidarity' and pass laws that will restrict freedom for the average citizen, but make no difference to those that want to see Jews and Christians annihilated ...
Believers who move in the opposite spirit will see heaven move in response to our prayers. It's the goodness and kindness of the Lord that leads to repentance, and it's a move of goodness that we need to sweep Europe, both in words and in deed. I pray that this tragedy will stir the hearts of believers across the globe to put action to their 'outrage', and get our heads out of the sand, thinking that this will never come to our safe hometowns."

and this from Art Katz on the bride of Christ

"This is the thing to which you are called union with Christ, so that you might say with Paul, 'For me to live is Christ.'  This is the end of the whole colossal redemptive drama of God, a bride adorned for the bridegroom having the glory of God being like Him, as Him, with Him as one."

From this message    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrGGvYprWhI

The mercy seat is open

Prophetic!   Do you want to see it in action?   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tN29lfKMrk

These words are included, "The age we are in the mercy seat is open, God's sovereignty can make every bit of suffering redemptive as opposed to punitive."

Isaiah 58 the chosen fast is not about food

Highlights from our little Bible Study
Psalm 50 and Isaiah 58 were the scriptures.  I was convicted by Psalm 50:20 not to talk about
other Christians in a bad way.
50:14,23 spoke to us of having a thankful heart.
Is 58:4 We do not fast to make God hear us.  Help us God to gain understanding and trust You to know what is best for us and what we need in any given situation.  From that place of trust we can truly enter into the rest of God.  The Sabbath rest that gives everything over to God.
We follow the Lamb and in any given situation He may be calling us to be the Lamb in that situation, the one who is willing to be 'sacrificed' for the good of others.
Verse 6 came alive in a new way, WE have put on bonds of wickedness on others by our judgment and expectation and God is saying to repent and remove what we did to others.
The naked and homeless was speaking of a lot more than the physical and the salvation that we speak of is not "just a ticket out of here" but to BE HERE fully manifesting God.
God feels what we are feeling. He feels what the lost are feeling.  We can receive from Him the heart to truly know the lost and what they are burdened with. WE need to get God's view of the situation and see how He is bringing restoration and by the power of HIs life within join Him in what He is doing.  Not asking Him to bless what we are doing but taking the time to wait and hear what He is doing and join Him.
So the challenge was to look at Isaiah 58:6 and pray to God to show us where we have done this and then obey Him in whatever He tells us to do or not do about it.
We stop the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness.
Dane had an insight that when God is not leading us and we speak to someone in a way that their father (or someone who hurt them used to) then the past hurts block that person from hearing what we are saying.
Those were the highlights.

Where is the love?

True love has no expectations of the other.  Desires yes, desires for things that God would have for that individual, but absolutely no expectations, burdens that I put on another that I cannot help them to carry one bit.
Also true love has no "my"  I have been bought with a price and the next 2 seconds of my life are not "mine" may God free me from loving "my plan" more than the other.

The failure of the church

The "near miss" of institutional "churchianty" is partnering with the world to perpetuate the lie that we progress toward God through our efforts. No no a thousand times no. We are of a different seed and that seed produces life and revelation and power that can not be shaken, so the deep question is WHY are we falling so very short of being the kahal of God?

2 "Share's" worth sharing

Yeshua forewarned that just before the End of Days, “many shall be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matt. 24:10). What dreadful people, you might imagine... what terrible depravity will mark that time! And yet here we are today, with so many crusading for their own personal sense of victimhood, demanding special treatment, and threatening retaliation for being treated unfairly... It must be remembered, however, that whenever we find offen...ce in others, we are reflecting the evil within ourselves (Matt. 7:1-5). What is this evil within you ask? How about being intolerant toward those who differ from us? How about be impatient – refusing to allow others to share their perspectives? How about being quick to blame others and refusing to take responsibility for our lives? Indeed, how many of us make the demand that others be “perfect” but turn a blind eye to our own imperfections? And what about the sin of unforgiveness? What about our attitude of suspicion -- using the “evil eye” regarding others’ motives – looking for something impure – rather than extending to them the benefit of the doubt? Do you carry resentment with your heart? Do you hold on to a grudge over a real (or imagined) insult in the past? Do you harbor the desire to seek revenge? All of these evil attitudes are symptomatic of arrogant unforgiveness, and failing to remember that all that is good in your life you owe exclusively to the mercy of God alone... When you feel offended, look within and examine the assumptions at work in your thinking. Ask whether your indignation is based on the truth of God or something else. Are you demanding: "My will be done, in heaven as it is on earth?" Are you seeking your own vision, or surrendering to the truth of Reality? Are you (insanely) attempting to justify your hatred of others in the name of love?





 Very rich and full is the promise, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

It has been spoken of as an elastic promise. The word "sufficient" may not sound very great, but it stretches according to a man's necessity.
A Christian's need may be great today--and the word "sufficient" reaches it.
It may be ten times as great tomorrow--but the word "sufficient" reaches it still.
The grace is still sufficient for the greater need--as for the lesser.

The promise shows also that not until we are weak--does the Lord bestow His strength. We may be too strong for the Lord to help us. Gideon's army must be brought almost to nothing, before the Lord will use it to overthrow the Midianites. And until we are brought low in our own thoughts, until the discipline employed has thoroughly emptied us of all high imaginings as to what we can do, or we can effect, or we can bear--we cannot be strong in the Lord.

"When I am weak," and not before, "then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10.
When I have learned experimentally . . .
  that I am a bruised reed,
  that I have in myself no power to endure affliction,
  that left to myself I shall assuredly rebel against the rod, and murmur against the gracious Hand that holds it
--then the Lord draws near by the Spirit, and gives a joy and a peace that nothing can destroy!