The Holy of Holies: Our Eternal Dwelling Place

If the bible says "For He raised us with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms" (Eph 2:6 NLT) yet we are not experiencing this reality through the medium of our senses, can we then conclude that we in fact do not have a stake in the eternal realm?

Thoughts like these along with others have been swirling around in my mind as Holy Spirit has been schooling me on 'the presence of God.' I have come to realize that we live in a world that is a playground for the senses, so much so that it seems as if it's easy to neglect the most important 'sense' and component of our Christianity, that being Faith. If our eyes do not perceive it, it does not exist. If our ears cannot distinguish it, it is not real. If our hands cannot reach out and touch it, it isn't truly there.

"We live by faith and not by sight" is a verse that has been playing over in my mind for weeks and the more I meditate upon it, the more I realize that the best things in this Christian walk cannot be seen but must be perceived through the lenses of Faith. I hear it time and time again amongst believers how distant they feel from God during certain seasons or how they wish they could just draw near to Him and feel Him as they once have in the past. Could it be that we are searching for Him where he isn't instead of believing where we are (Seated in heavenly places. In the holy of holies. Hidden in him)?

Practicing the presence is a 'discipline' if you will, that Holy Spirit has been little by little showing me the ropes on. The constant and continual awareness of His presence by faith is what I want my every day to be based upon. He is always there, regardless of whether I perceive him or not. I am always in heavenly places regardless of whether I 'feel' it or not. We are always together, in the holy of holies, caught up in a each other's loving embrace, regardless of whether I deem this to be true or not.
I have been learning that my quiet times and blissful moments in the secret place need not differ from when I am taking out the trash, reading a novel or even fast asleep. The awareness of his presence is as simple as the shifting of your gaze and 'looking' to that which is unseen as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 4:18. Ancient mystic and author of "The Practice of the Presence of God" (A book I read on Tuesday) Brother Lawrence captured the essence of what a life in the presence was designed to be. This father of the faith knew God in the mundane just as well as he knew him in the secret place. He refused to let there be a distinction between the prayer closet and the workplace. God is in everything and so by faith he chose to see him in everything. Simple, yet profound.

I once carried around the theology that entertained the thought of it being possible to move in and out of God's presence at will, because my 5 senses seemed to support this idea. The thought of the presence being a continual state of being, an eternal habitation was slightly more elusive because my sensory perception could not grasp it, and so I dismissed it. He is bringing me back to a place of realizing that I don't have the ability to turn what Jesus accomplished on the cross on and off whenever I please. His work is an eternal work. He became as are so we could become as he is. Constant, continual abiding in the Holy of Holies, by faith.

God is as much in Heaven as he is upon the Earth, for we know that all things are held together by the word of his power. In science it is a known fact that tiny vibrations hold all particles of matter together. Could the very words of God spoken at the dawn of creation be the glue that holds it all together? Of course. As much as we are upon the earth, caught up in the realm of the senses, so we are positioned in a world, God's presence, that transcends this. Knowing him every millisecond of every day is as easy as taking a breath because it's no longer a place we are working to enter, but a place we live in and live from.

Exerts from "The Practice of the Presence of God" which I adore:

I began to live as if there was none but He and I in the

world.

{written about Brother Lawrence}
His very countenance was edifying; such

a sweet and calm devotion appearing in it, as could not but affect the beholders. And it was

observed, that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his recollection

and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its

season, with an even uninterrupted composure and tranquillity of spirit. “The time of

business,” said he, “does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and

clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things,

I possess GOD in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.”

And I make it my business only to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I keep myself

by a simple attention, and a general fond regard to GOD, which I may call an actual presence

of GOD; or, to speak better, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with

GOD, which often causes in me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly,

so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them, and prevent their appearance to

others.

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual

conversation with GOD: those only can comprehend it who practise and experience it; yet

I do not advise you to do it from that motive; it is not pleasure which we ought to seek in

this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because GOD would have us.

He is always near you and with

you; leave Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone, who came to

visit you: why then must GOD be neglected? Do not then forget Him, but think on Him

often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this is the glorious employment of a

Christian; in a word, this is our profession, if we do not know it we must learn it.

The Vision. The Army.

I found this on a blog called The Eden Hijack and later found out that it originated here. This struck my core so powerfully. It's so profound and speaks directly into so much that Jesus has already set ablaze in my heart. Enjoy. 

"The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons. They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday. They wouldn't even notice. They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won. They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence. They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying. What is the vision ? The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure.

Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation. It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games. This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause. A million times a day its soldiers choose to lose that they might one day win the great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"

And this is the sound of the underground The whisper of history in the making Foundations shaking Revolutionaries dreaming once again Mystery is scheming in whispers Conspiracy is breathing… This is the sound of the underground

And the army is discipl(in)ed.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms. The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".

Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ? Can hormones hold them back? Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?

And the generation prays like a dying man with groans beyond talking, with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and with great barrow loads of laughter! Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.

Whatever it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the cockerel cries.

They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside.

On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide. Would they surrender their image or their popularity? They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.) Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus. Their words make demons scream in shopping centres. Don't you hear them coming? Herald the weirdo's! Summon the losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.

And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon. How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed."

Under the shadow of His wings

I inhale Him. I exhale peace. I've lost myself. I am found hidden in the chamber of his heart.


If anyone is searching for me these holidays, I'll be nestled under the shadow of His wings. Resting under the apple tree of divine refreshment, where his fruits are ever sweet to my taste. The Prince of Peace is teaching me to rest. Abide. Linger.


Silent night. Peace on Earth. He is leading me by the hand, taking me back to the pure essence of the holidays that has been buried under the chaos of tradition. Forget the presents, I'll be delighting in the presence.


Looking over my shoulder, I see three months of holy, blessed chaos. Learning much. Getting to know many. Exploring myself. Letting go. Embracing change. Shifting paradigms. Redefining meaning. Question marks fade. Promises fulfilled. Flames kindled. Hope awakened. This is has been my daily reality as a ministry school student, and a partaker in a season of more bliss, enjoyment, and fulfillment than was ever painted on the canvas of my imagination.
But, whilst being swept away by the winds of change, He reminds me to keep breathing. Keep resting. Always abiding.


As the Christmas Holidays have embraced me with open arms, I realize that their timing couldn't have been more opportune. Like Adam, who knew nothing apart from day seven's sacred rest, woven into my DNA is a longing for Eden, a desire for ease, silence, stillness and ceasing to do anything but know that He is God and He is good. Busyness and chaos wasn't as much His idea as it was society's. I am a vessel of peace, I was born to lie down in green pastures, while his voice like rushing waters flows over me, flows through me. As the curtain tore, my Shepherd led me back to Eden, which is now within me. Rest is internal. The wellspring of life is in me. He has made himself at home in the tabernacle of my heart, and I recline on the sofa in His. My God designed rest, and then created me with the longing and ability to enjoy it. Adam knew peace outside of himself, I have the Prince of Peace abiding within. Adam walked with God at twilight's dawn. I walk with him unceasingly in my garden, my heart.
Rest is internal. Rest is His essence. As I sit under the shade of the Almighty, I feast on the fruit of his works, and my heart beats to the rhythm of the song singing "it has been done."


He calls me. "Come away my love." We sit beside the River of life. "Jump in," He calls. I trust. There is no fear in His love. We float in the colorful waters that flow from the throne. His embrace reminds me of what he has done. Those nail pierced hands testify of a better way. The way of peace. The way of life. "What could you do that my blood has not already done?" He whispers. "Rest my child. Lay your head on my chest, so I can sing salvation's lullaby over you once again."

Revelations on the Song of Songs {Part 1}

In studying the sermons of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux on ‘Solomon’s Song of Songs,’ it has been like the unveiling of great treasures as the dimensions behind this biblical poetry have unfolded. What lies beyond each sentence and each word, far surpasses anything my imagination could conceive, and has left me captivated and reveling in the mystery of the fierce force of love that the inspirer of this book has for the subject to which it was written.

Below are some of the revelations that have captured me whilst on this journey into the interpretive depths of this book:

On the title of the book:

There are many psalms, hymns and spiritual songs recorded throughout the length of the bible written by numerous authors on varying points in the timeline. However, there is one song that stands out from the rest, and who’s author has been so bold as to award it with the title of “The Song of Songs.” Even before moving into the luscious substance of the book, we already know that it’s subject matter is that of highest importance and to be valued above all other ’songs.’ This is a book of mystery, a book who’s words and phrases can induce a state of spiritual intoxication within the reader, and a love story that has been exhaled from the mouth of the source of love itself. As Saint Bernard so states, this is not merely a song of the lips, a harmony of voices or the resounding of a melody, but it is the music of the heart and a harmony of wills. “It is a tune you will not hear in the streets, these notes do not sound where crowds assemble; only the singer hears it and the one to whom he sings - the lover and the beloved. It is preeminently a marriage song telling of chaste souls in loving embrace, of their wills in sweet concord, of the mutual exchange of the heart's affections. “

On Chapter 1:1 - “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth”

This book tells the intimate tale of a flourishing romance between two virgin souls: a bridegroom and his bride. In reality, it was written about King Solomon and the Shulamite woman who captured his heart, but in essence, it reveals the heart of the King of Kings, our Lord Jesus Christ towards us, his church and his beloved. A bride and bridegroom have been carefully selected to depict Jesus and his church for many symbolic reasons that give us further understanding of our relationship with him. “A man must leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife,” and so Jesus, in leaving the Father and Spirit in heaven and coming to earth in the likeness of humanity, is much the same as a bridegroom coming for his bride. She, the beloved, then leaves the place of her birth, her native land and becomes one flesh with her husband. No longer separate entities, the two are joined together in perfect and inseparable union. They dwell together in the same house and feast at the same table. All he has belongs to her, and all she has belongs to him. So it is with us in relation to Christ. We have become flesh of his flesh, and in this place of union with the bridegroom King, we partake in the abundance of his house and dwell forever in his courts of luxury. 

The bride is the first to open her mouth and sing out the desires of her heart. Her words are the first recorded, and the book begins with a request that she has of her beloved. She does not name him, for she presumes that what her heart could not for a moment forget or cease to desire, must be plain to those with whom she speaks. She presumes that they must surely know his name, for He is all she ever cares to speak about. 

She is a bride, and she is a lover. One who seeks a reward is a worker. One who hungers for victory is a warrior. One who desires an inheritance is a son, but one who seeks a kiss a lover. She, certain that her beloved’s affections for her are true, does not attempt to seduce him or convince him of her worthiness to be loved, but out of the unquenchable overflow of her heart, she abruptly bursts into speech and boldly asks for a kiss. 

The bride does not desire Moses or the prophets, for what proceeds from their mouth only leaves her feeling unfulfilled and in search of the one of whom they speak. She doesn’t lust after dreams or visions, revelations or doctrines, nor does she peruse angels or heavenly delights, for she knows that Jesus, her beloved, far surpasses the entire combination of these, and therefore she asks of him what she asks of no man or angel, that he would kiss her with the kisses of his mouth. 

Now the kiss in itself is altogether a mystery. What is intriguing is that the bride does not merely ask him to kiss her, but she specifically asks to be kissed with the kisses of his mouth. A kiss is something that has it’s being in the coming together of the giver and the receiver. It is not something that is possessed entirely by one or the other, but as both draw close to each other, a kiss is formed. A kiss is something that unites two things together, in this case, God and man. A kiss is a symbol of both union and peace. Jesus, in his nature is representative of the kiss. He is an expression of the union between divinity and humanity, and he stood as the mediator and bond of peace between God and man. The mouth denotes The Word, which is God “In the beginning was the word, and the word was God.” In the same way, that which proceeds from the mouth of God, the very breath of God, symbolizes the nature of Holy Spirit. In the scriptures, when God breathed upon man, he was breathing his very spirit upon them. So here, in the bride’s request, we see the triune nature of God expressed. 

The bride’s desire is union and intimacy in it’s deepest form. She also yearns to know her beloved. As she asks to be ‘kissed with the kisses,’ she knows that she will be filled with both the love and the intimate three-fold knowledge of her beloved. “No one knows the Father except the son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him,” because of this, the bride knows that if she is kissed with the kiss (which is Christ), she will receive the knowledge of the Father, for she knows that if he will reveal himself to anybody it will  surely be her. 

These are just a few of my revelations on the first verse of the Song of Solomon, and as I continue to delve deeper into this book, I will be posting more of the treasures I find.

Thought for the day

Interdependency and not independency is the business of the Kingdom

Thought for the day

Happy is the soul that is drunk with divine love

Sweetly Broken, Wholly Surrendered

I felt it pressed strongly on my heart to document as much of my Bethel journey as I possibly can, and while my blog posts have been very and few and far between, my heart is that this would be a place that records my journey, not only to a foreign land, but a journey through ever changing spiritual seasons, and a journey into the depths of the father's heart. I want this to be a place where I write from the overflow of what God is doing in my heart, to both bless and encourage those who read. 

I began my first week of school at BSSM (Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry) just 4 weeks ago, yet the change in my life feels monumental, and the school year is only young. 

I have almost been reluctant to write a blog post regarding my school experience, because it seems as though I couldn't possibly begin to articulate my experiences well enough do them the justice that they deserve.  

This blog post is going to include my highlights thus far and things that have left the biggest mark on my heart.

Bethel to me is a place that has captured the essence of the Kingdom, and this is expressed not merely in words, but in authentic demonstration. What has ruined me the most thus far, apart from the the love of the Father, has been the Bethel culture. Before moving here and being a part of this movement, I listened to many teachings and podcasts, read many books that had been birthed in this place, and I thought that to some degree, I understood this culture. Upon arriving and experiencing it, I realized that knew so little of what the 'culture of honor' as they call it, is really all about. Some things cannot be articulated or conveyed using words and language but have to be felt. 

How would you describe the wind or the feeling of rain on your skin? These things are better left to be personally experienced, and so it is with the Bethel culture. As I walked into the sanctuary on my first day of school, I felt loved, accepted and honored without anyone having to say it or demonstrate it. It's in the air, and it dictates the way everything in this house is done. 

As Kris Vallotton shared with our class of 900 students, the core values of this house, I was undone. Before coming here, I was uncertain of what to expect and wasn't totally sure of what this year would encompass, but as we sat and heard what this movement is all about, it's vision and it's values, I knew that I was in safe hands. I walked into school that day feeling slightly apprehensive, and walked out feeling completely surrendered and yielded to the leadership of this house and all that God is doing in the midst of this group of people. I knew from the first day, that this was a place that I wanted to partner with and who's vision I wanted to support by allowing my gifts, calling and god-given talents to be a blessing to this house and ultimately this city. My heart has been, ever since, that this place and these people would be blessed by my having been here as I am blessed by the absolute privilege of being here at such a time as this. 

Every single day that I attend school, I sit in my chair, I look around me and think "I must be His favorite because surely life can't be this good on a daily basis."

I feel as though my life is enriched daily by the apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and leaders that are pouring into me, as well as the people I get to stand alongside and "do life" with this year. At any given moment, I can look around, and I know that I am looking upon revivalists and world changers. We are all told daily that we are destined for greatness, and we are all brave enough to believe it. I know that out of this year is going to emerge a group of history-shaping, revivalists that both know God intimately and walk in power and authority that are fruits of this union. I feel honored to be a member of this body of believers.

On a personal level, the Lord has been taking me on a journey of drawing me into himself, and in the secret place has been doing even more profound things than what he has been doing during our corporate gatherings. My prayer for this year has been that intimacy with him would be first and foremost, and that everything else would follow as a result of this deep, deep intimacy with the father. 

I desire to see miracles, I desire to change nations, I desire to see the dead raised, the sick healed and the broken made whole, but all of this counts for nothing if I do not know him intimately. I want my roots to go deeper into the ground than my branches go high above the ground. I want that which is secret, that which happens just between him and I, to be of far more value to me than that which the people around me get to see. I am a lover, it's in my DNA, and my prayer is that I would "know the love of God that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). One thing I ask and one thing I seek, now and for the rest of my life, that I would dwell in the house of the Lord and gaze upon his beauty all the days of my life.

Far be it from me that I should desire anything apart from him, for in him I find fullness of life. He is the fountainhead of all I could ever want and need, and in this season, I am swimming in the ocean of his presence. It's all around me. Everywhere. Every day. 

I am my beloved's and his desire is for me.

At the cross you beckon me

Draw me gently to my knees

I am lost for words

So lost in love

Sweetly broken

Wholly surrendered

- Sweetly Broken, Jeremy Riddle

Bethel, Bethel, Bethel

On Friday afternoon, I landed in Redding, California which marked that start of a year-long adventure into the plans that God has for my life.
It was a surreal moment to live out something I have been planning and dreaming of for months, and words cannot express how grateful I am to be here in the midst of a mighty move of God. I feel blessed beyond comprehension.

On Sunday I went to my first services at Bethel, the morning service at their Twinview campus, and the evening at the main Bethel building.
Twinview was incredible. Picture a room jam-packed full of young, passionate worshippers from all corners of the globe, wholeheartedly praising the King. Wow. I was in my element.
Most of the congregation at Twinview was made up of first year BSSM students (myself included) who have come here to Redding from all walks of life to take part in something we know will mark and change the rest of our lives. You could feel the excitement and the anticipation in the atmosphere.
We then watched Bill Johnson preach via iBethel TV, and to be sitting amongst fellow students under the ministry of an incredible father in the faith, was an amazing moment, and I'm sure the first of many.
We got to lay hands on each other throughout the service and pray for healing for specific mentioned bodily ailments, and I loved the sense of unity and family that has already developed and school does not start until next week. Yay God.

That evening I went to pre-service prayer at Bethel, and what an incredible meeting! The Glory of God was thick in the room as people were circling, praying, getting drunk, soaking etc etc. What a way to kick-start the evening.
Worship was led by Brian and Jenn Johnson, who are an incredibly anointed couple. I have been listening to their music for a while, but being there and being able to worship with them and thousands of other lovers of God, was beautiful.
Worship went on for ages, and getting lost in praise is something that I can't get enough of. I adored the worship session and being able to celebrate life and salvation. It was incredible.

Danny Silk then preached  a message on discernment, and I adore his gracious heart and sense of humor too. I feel so blessed to be here and to be able to experience and partake in this culture of honor that Bethel church has cultivated. It is such a free, loving and gracious environment that brings out the best in people. I am starting to feel very at home as a new member of the Bethel family.

So here's to adventures, change, fulfilled dreams and the best year of my life.
Thank you Jesus!

Unio Mystica

Some revelations I have had lately regarding "Christ in me, the hope of Glory" ...


The main part of what God has been revealing to me lately is centered around our union with Christ or 'Unio Mystica' that the blood of Christ bought for us. 
We were once separate from him, separate entities entirely, but have now been made one with our savior through the power of his death and resurrection. This not only means that the presence of Jesus is around us, but rather the fullness of God dwells within us. He is no longer someone we have the privilege of being "with" but rather we are now "in" him and he "in" us. 
An example to illustrate this coming together of two separate entities was the mixing of colours. When yellow and blue are mixed, the make an entirely new colour, green. When we look at the colour green, our eyes see no distinction in it's substance. We are not able to say where yellow ends and blue begins. So it is with us and Christ. In Galatians 2:20 it says "I have been co-crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." Not even the Father can tell where Christ begins and you end, for when he looks at you, he sees an entirely new creation full with all his fullness and holiness (2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!")

This was the plan of the father before the world began, that his people should be mystically untied to him, without the capability of ever being separate. When Jesus came to the earth, he came to fulfill this plan of the Father. Of course he too came to forgive the sins of mankind, but the forgiveness of sins was only one element of that plan, and the first step towards purchasing union. With human beings still possessing a sinful nature, union was impossible. He thus came to earth, bled, died and eradicated the sinful nature from those who would confess him as Lord, and then ushered these 'born again' (born from heaven, in the likeness of God, possessing no sinful nature whatsoever) believers into union with him. When Jesus prayed for us, the future believers in John 17, he didn't pray that we would be a moral people, but he prayed that we would be in union with him "that they may be one; even as you Father are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us." Jesus knew that morality would flow as a result of union and he knew that morality could not pull us into union, if it had power to do so, there would have been no need for his death.


So, as he climbed inside of us, he raised us up and seated us in the heavenly places (which are within him), and now as believers, we live from heaven towards earth, for that is where we are seated and our dwelling place is, within Christ. 
Before we came to Christ, we were under the Law, and our only hope of finding favor in the Father's eyes was through "doing" all kinds of good deeds prescribed in the Law, and climbing up each rung of the moral ladder in hope of escaping hell and making it into heaven.
The Father in his wisdom, knowing that the Law only aroused sin and did not empower a person to overcome it, sent his Son in the likeness of sinful man to condemn sin in the flesh and live the perfect human life on our behalf. Jesus did not come to show us how to live and he did not come so that we could try in our own might to imitate him. He came to give us a new nature, his nature, and to empower us to be just like Him through union. We "do" because we are. Good works are fruits of imtimacy and in themselves have no power to bring us into intimacy. The only way in which we could come to the Father was drenched in the blood of the Lamb. 
The bible speaks of the blood of bulls and goats being of no value. This is symbolic of human effort. No amount of human effort that we could muster up in our own strength could ever bring us into union. The blood of the Lamb is symbolic of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and only when we humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are powerless to fulfill the Law but need a savior to bring us into union, and accept the sacrifice of Jesus, do we enter into this uninterrupted union with the creator of heaven and earth. Our union is by grace through faith 100% and does not depend one iota on anything we ourselves could do.


I have found in my own life, that it is the supreme art of the devil to make a "Law" out of good works that are intended to be fruits of union and not prerequisites to it. In my life in the past, as well as in the lives of so many charismatic Christians, the enemy has warped these good works and turned them on us like fiery darts aimed at making us self-focused and introverted. Introversion is not a fruit of the spirit.
He will often take things like prayer, reading the word, healing the sick, bringing people to Christ etc, and try to make these into works of the Law. He will then get you to convert these practices into some form of moral ruler with which you daily measure yourself with. In turn, your security is no longer based on what Christ has accomplished, but what YOU are daily "doing for Christ." This takes the focus off him and his finished work and onto ourselves. The very reason Jesus came to this earth was to be the lifter of our heads so that we would ever gaze on him and no longer on ourselves as we once did when under the Law. Measuring yourself with any kind of moral ruler and failing to attain the perfection of Christ through your own efforts, gives you the illusion that your union with God and the favor that you have with him can be turned on and off at the flick of a switch, should you go one day without reading your bible (for example.) This is the Galatian bewitchment that Paul spoke of in his letter to the Galatian church, and is the largest known form of witchcraft infiltrating charismatic circles today. 

I am 100% for the reading of the word, the healing of the sick, prayer, fasting, bringing people to Christ and every other kind of good work that Jesus expressed when he walked the earth. However, I am 100% against the notion that these things can increase the father's approval of you and the favor you have in his eyes. The blood of bulls and goats (good works apart from Christ) are of no value, only the precious blood of the lamb that was slain (The acceptance Jesus' sacfrice on the cross).

Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

Yesterday I had the honor of preaching at my home church (Real Life Church) as it was my second last Sunday before I migrate north and start a new life in Redding, California.
The theme of my message was the Luke 6:45 text that says "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." I felt in the spirit not to prepare a hectic 5-point preach, but to rather allow my heart to spill out and it's contents encourage my spiritual 'family.' 

I shared some personal testimonies of the season that I have been through over the past few months, and although one of the toughest in my life thus far, definitely one of the most spiritually enriched. 
I also shared with my church some prophetic visions I have had for them as a corporate body.
It was such a beautiful morning, and having a heart-to-heart 'conversation' with all those wonderful people was such a blessing to me.
There is nothing that I would rather do than rave about the unending goodness of God in my life. As I was standing up there, I felt as though this is something I was created to do. 
I believe that this is just the first of many opportunities that I will get to preach and proclaim the good news, and I want nothing more than to allow what is in my heart to daily overflow into the heart's of others. 


After I spoke, my pastor felt to call up everone that is under 20 (due to the fact that I am under 20 myself) and stand proxy for the coming generation. I was able to release the Kingdom of God over many of the young ones in our church, and impart to them what I have been carrying in my heart, and what the Lord has placed within me. The yound children and teenagers were incredibly touched as the Holy Spirit came upon them. I love the fact that there is no junior Holy Spirit, but children get to experience the fullness of God just as we do. I am excited beyond words to see this radical generation of lovers rise up. I feel they will be a generation that know the voice of God above every other voice and every move they make will be a prophetic statement of the Kindgom. We live in exciting times, and being a part of what God is doing across the planet is the highest honor. 


As I will be leaving for the USA soon, many of the members of the church came and laid hands on me and we had a bit of a prophecy-a-thon at the front of the church. Everyone shared visions and words that they had for me, as well as just loved and honored me. The presence of the Kingdom was at hand and hung thick in the room. I have never felt such genuine love and honor anywhere outside of the church, and to me, this is what church is all about. It is far beyond schedules, meetings and programmes, and the core of what church should be founded upon is love, honor, encouragement and edification, and the genuine representation of these things do not originate in the earth's atmosphere but are substances of the eternal realm that collide with this realm. 


So I am off to Bethel in T-minus 10 days where I'll be enrolling in the School of Supernatural Ministry. If you are interested in Bethel and would like to know more of what goes on within the Supernatural School, I will be blogging regularly from Redding and keeping friends and family in the loop via this blog. I have added a sidebar link on the right-hand side of my blog called 'Bethel Notes,' and if you click this link it will take you through to all the Bethel related posts. 

Exciting times. Exciting seasons. 


Bliss and blessings,
Jessica

Thought for the day

If we believe that God only speaks to us when we are feeling spiritual or doing spirutual activities, then that's the only time we will hear his voice.

Heaven Is In His Eyes

The other day I had the most beautiful encounter with Jesus, and I really wanted to share it.

I was lying on my couch after a long day at work and was not feeling particularly 'spiritual' at that moment, but felt more exhausted than anything.
I was reading John Crowder's "7 Spirits Burning" {which is an excellent book that takes a Christ-centered approach to Holy Spirit. A definite must-read}, and as I lay there I became so aware of Holy Spirit, and it felt as though he was hovering over me. He likes to hover {Genesis 1:2}.
Often, before I have had certain spiritual encounters in the past, preceeding them I have felt a hightened awareness of the Spirit, as well as an excitement and stirring within me. That is exactly what I felt this time. So, as I recognised Holy Spirit's presence and became aware that he wanted to do something, I closed my eyes and just began to rest and allow him to sweep me away.

Next thing I knew, I went into a vision as my eyes were closed, and I saw the Lord's eyes.
It seems as though every time I have visions of his eyes, they appear different. Often times I have seen them as firey and ablaze with love and passion, but this time, they were so different.
The iris part of the eye was multicoloured, in fact, it looked like a rainbow that was encircling his pupils. It was spectacular. I felt in my spirit, that when we look into his eyes, there lies our promise, our life and our hope. As rainbows are symbolic of God's promise and his covenants in the scriptures, so the rainbows that are in his eyes remind us of his promises over us whenever we gaze into them.
There will sometime come times in my life when I will begin to doubt the promises that God has spoken over me because they have not yet been made manifest in my life, but looking into his eyes gives hope to the soul as you realise that he has not forgotten, and he is faithful to his word.
God made a covenant with his people in the book of Isaiah 54:10, "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed." When we look into his eyes and are reminded of his promise, we are also reminded of his covenant that his unfailing love for us will never be removed. His love is not contingent on our performance or even our 'sin' but his love for us is based on a promise he made, that will never be broken and the reminder of this is reflected in his very eyes.

I then began to gaze deep into his eyes, and just as the saying "the eyes are the window unto the soul" states, so I began to look into the depths of him. What I saw 'within' him was a sort of Promised Land which I now know to be Heaven.
Heaven is not somewhere off in the distance, but is the very substance of who God is. He is not merely in Heaven, for it alone cannot contain him, rather Heaven is within him.
There I saw life and vibrance. Colour and beauty. The Tree of Life and the River of Life that flows from within the Father. In him there is abundance. In him there is no lack. He is the source of all pleasure, for every so-called 'pleasure' that we experience upon this earth originated from him. Apart from him, there is no such thing as joy or pleasure or life.
In Ephesians 2:6 it says "We are seated in the Heavenly places IN Christ Jesus." Heaven is in him and we are in him, seated in the heavenlies.

All this time I had been so preoccupied with the eyes of Jesus that I did not even 'see' the enormous smile that was plastered across his face. When I say enormous, I mean enormous! I have never seen a bigger, happier smile anywhere on earth. He was literally grinning from ear to ear, his happiness and joy became so contagious that I started laughing with him, and could not stop.
I personally think that Jesus had been desperate to reveal to me this aspect of his character. Although I have never viewed  him as being angry or upset,  I can't say I've ever seen his face in this way before. He doesn't like being stereotyped as a troubled, solemn man. I'm sure he may have looked this way as he was led to the mount of crucifixion, but now, he is alive and has not an ounce of sadness whatsoever. The Lord Jesus is a laughing, smiling, happy God and although  he is 'all knowing,' this knowledge doesn't bother or burden him, because he knows that on Calvary his work was finished and all things have been placed beneath his feet and under his control. 

As I stood before the Lord, he was exuding light from every pore, and the whole area {within my vision} filled with light. I felt almost weightless as if gravity did not exist. The light of his countenance incinerates every worry and concern, and every burden of the world melts in his presence. Darkness flees and all that is left is love, light, joy and unspeakable peace.
His presence is so pure, so refined and is of a different substance than the Earth's atmosphere. I am battling to describe it or find a comparison in which to contrast it with. There is none.
There is such a purity about him. Purity in it's purest form, and although he possesses all knowledge and nothing is hidden from him, this knowledge does not defile his holiness but rather stands to compliment it. There is a childlikeness about him yet he is not naive. There is a rest in him, yet he still has everything under control. He is magnificent beyond what words could ever hope to articulate, and how anybody could crucify this Lord of Beauty is something my human mind cannot understand.

In ending off, I would like to encourage anyone who reads this by saying that if you feel weak, burdened or perplexed by life and it's happenings, do not allow your back to bend with the weight of these things, but rest in the fact that he bore those burdens 2000 years ago, and now you get to enter straight into his presence wherein no burden, fear or worry can exist.
The shoulders of human beings were not created to carry burdens of sin, worry, fear, condemnation, anxiety, and that is why God came to earth in the form of a man so that he could carry these things on our behalf. Rest in what he has done. 
Matthew 11:28-29  "Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest. Place my yoke on you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." {ISV}

In the words of Jesus

I died on the cross so that I could hold you. Do you think I'd ever let you go?

I gave up my life just to be near you. Do you think I'd ever leave you?

I suffered so that you could receive my love. Do you think I would ever hold it back from you?

Thought for the day

Viewing every circumstance through the lenses of the good nature of a happy God.

Thought for the day

The bigger my impossibility, the more fun I have watching it yield to the name of Jesus.

A torrential downpour of the goodness of God...

I have had the most incredible week and God's faithfulness and timing is astounding.
I wanted to share a personal testimony of the goodness of God because "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10), and by sharing about God's provision in my life, it releases faith for it to happen in yours too!

For quite some time now I have wanted to enroll in the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry run by Bethel church in Redding, California. I was contemplating doing it last year, but I felt the Spirit guide me to to take a trip to Australia, where I attended a few life-changing church conferences and met the most incredible salt-of-the-earth people who I absolutely adore. After arriving home from Australia, I couldn't help but feel unsettled because deep in my spirit I knew that my being home was only a temporary phase, yet due to no doors being open for me to travel again, I was unsure as to exactly when and where this would be. Resting in God was hard over this time because my Spirit knew something that my mind couldn't understand. I eventually decided to settle at home, I got a job and got my head around the fact that I was here to stay (despite my spirit feeling like a racehorse that knows it is about to be set free to run, yet knowing when that gate will open.)
Then, I felt the Lord remind me of my desire to go to Bethel, and  felt such a strong stirring and an awakening of that desire within me. Whenever I would think about Bethel I would feel excitement bubbling up in my spirit. So, being led by my peace, I made a very sudden and unexpected decision (by faith) to apply for the school.
With relocating overseas being such a great task and requiring so much, I knew that I would have to walk by faith every step of the way. With the financial requirements and realities, I would have to sell my car and give up my job, and while that may seem like a silly thing to do considering being so young yet having so much going for me, I knew that there was nothing that I wouldn't sacrifice if it meant I was able to follow my heart and my God-given dreams.
Being led to do something so huge by a force as seemingly wispy as inner peace or 'the still small voice'
wasn't easy. God never wrote it on the wall. Nobody came up to me out of the blue with a prophetic word. God didn't paint it in the sky. I had to discern what the Lord was saying in my spirit and make a choice to live within the confines of my comfort zone or to actively pursue that which he has placed in my heart. Being a person absolutely phobic of living a white-picket-fence life, I have always prayed that the Lord would make my life an adventure because I know that life in the Kingdom is destined to be anything but boring and mundane. I knew that when this opportunity popped up before me that I was not about to let it fly away.

Up until now my entire life hasn't been totally ordinary, and I haven't exactly gone with the flow. I have been an upstream swimmer, determined to follow my own dreams and my own God given desires instead of neatly slipping into any kind of one-size fits all folder that the world dishes out. It hasn't always been easy, but as best I know how, I have always tried to discern Holy Spirit's lead and follow his call over and above that which seems like the right thing to do according to the natural mind. Although living a spirit-led lifestyle is a challenge at times, I think that it is more habitual for believers than we even think, because we have a new nature and are new creations that not of the flesh but of the spirit (Romans 8).

Last week tuesday, I advertised my car on an online trading website. On Wednesday, I had my phone call interview with Bethel. On Thursday my car sold for the exact amount I needed. On Friday I received my Bethel acceptance letter. On Saturday I received the most accurate and powerful confirming prophetic word that didn't even slightly expect. On Sunday we had the most incredible glory and fire-filled church meeting and the power of God knocked me off my feet and quickened my spirit with so much heavenly voltage. Now that's what I call a good week!

The timing of God has been almost hilarious and he has made it so obvious that he has been at work in my situation.
With regards to the prophetic word I received on Saturday, we were away down the coast on our annual Church camp, and an incredible woman of God and sharp prophetess, Chanelle Russouw along with her prophetic friends Julie and Carla came away with us to minister in the prophetic.
I was sitting in the second row and the ladies asked me to come to the front so they could prophesy over me. The manifest presence of God was upon me as they began to fire off the most incredible prophecies. They said that I have been like a little eagle about to leave the nest. I have taken short flights up until now, but the time is coming when I will be taking that big flight. They felt that I had been asking God when I will be ready and when the right time will be (which I have been) and now the Lord is saying "Now is the time, you are ready." They felt that there was going to be a season of countries and airplanes and me going into a time of incredible training for ministry.
As these words were being spoken over me, every kind of emotion flowed and I am still gobsmacked at the detail and accuracy of the words. God is such a funny guy and knows EACTLY how to speak my language.
For me, I was just so relieved to know that my going to Bethel isn't just a good idea on my terms, but that it is a God-breathed desire. I felt relieved to know that I hadn't been going crazy all these months but that which I felt in my spirit was in fact correct.

In hindsight, if I look back over this past month, I have been in a number of meetings where I have sat under the ministry of highly prophetic people, who could have easily singled me out and 'told' me that I was to go overseas, to Bethel and enroll in the supernatural school. I know though that the Lord wanted me to make this decision on my own whilst seeking him for myself and not having to rely on a middle man. He wanted me to learn to follow the prompts of my spirit and hear his voice (even when it seems only like a whisper) and make decisions based upon that. Once I had made the decision, he came and brought such a beautiful confirmation that reduced me to tears and lots of hysterical laughter too. I love it when he graciously teaches us things by putting the ball in our court and showing us that we do in fact have complete free will to choose the direction of our lives. I love it when he builds character in us by allowing us to learn in a trial-and-error way. He loves watching us grow and he loves watching us come into the knowledge of that which he has already accomplished in us.

I am ridiculously excited for this season that lies ahead of me. I am still in faith for more provision and for the process to continue to go as smoothly as what it has, but when you know your daddy God, having faith is as easy as breathing.

Thought for the day

When you know the true nature of your daddy God, 

Having faith is as easy as breathing.

Papa Bear

One of the revelations the Lord keeps on bringing me back to is 'the father heart of God.' I can't seem to steer away from it, and to be honest, I never want to. Not ever.

Whilst reading the old testament lately, I've noticed how almost always, the people {God's people} always referred to themselves as servants and never sons. They would cry out "Oh Lord, have mercy on your servant" and there was a definite servant/master relationship between God and his people for that was the only title they were worthy to take on. This understanding puts into perspective why Jesus caused such a stir when he went around claiming to be the son of God and referring to the Lord Almighty as 'Abba' {a.k.a Papa bear or daddy}. Nobody ever elevated themselves {or should I say "been elevated"} to such a high position in relation to the Holy God. Some called him blasphemous, others cut straight to it and called him satan, while a small few caught a glimpse of something bigger than they'd ever been given the liberty to enter into; sonship.
Jesus knew his identity as a son which was spoken over him at his baptism in the Jordan river, and he carried this knowledge with him that empowered him and fueled his ministry. Jesus showed the world a facet of God that had never before been revealed, and then through his death and resurrection {and our death and resurrection alongside him}, made this same father/son relationship available between us and the Lord God. The old covenant says we are slaves, justified by our works under the law, and paid accordingly. The new covenant under which we live as followers of Jesus, says we are sons {and daughters in my case}, justified by our royal birth and made heirs of a glorious inheritance because of our daddy's goodness. We are invited to partake in the heavenly household just as sons and daughters do in the house of their father. He has set out a banqueting table before us and calls us unto himself so we can feast to our heart's content. Papa bear wants us to know him as a dad, and what a good dad he is. He has been inviting me to sit on his lap, lean into his chest and hear the rhythm of his heartbeat. The more my heart hears the beat of his, the more it begins to pulse to the very same rhythm.

What a day we are living in! Being alive in the father is as fun as it's ever been, and I am splashing around in the pool of his love, goodness and acceptance. Do join.

To end off, a guy that I met at Jubilee church in Sydney, Simon Mason, tweeted a really profound statement this week and I thought I'd share it because it really sums up what God has been revealing to me in terms of being a son {daughter} in his house.

"Until you approach the father as a son, you'll only ever receive the inheritance of a servant" 

- Simon Mason

(Profound isn't it?)

The whole is greater than the sum of parts

Lately I have been swept up in a whirlwind of the goodness of God and have been so preoccupied by all the wondrous things he is doing across the planet. My heart has been fixed on all the testimonies, all the prophetic words and all the powerful movements sweeping the earth that all point to the greatest reality; the goodness of our God and his true nature.
With this being said though, these past few days I have been slapped through the face with the reality of the war that is still being fought, not between the church and her enemies, but between the church and herself. It is like a dagger to my heart to know that the body of Christ is still 'cutting off its nose to spite its face' and  insists on stabbing and wounding itself repeatedly, hindering its overall performance as a unit and making it less effective on the earth. Rick Joyner's vision of the army at war with itself in the book 'The Final Quest' comes to mind, and I think we all as Christians and members of the beautiful body of Christ need to realise that we can only take this, and will only win this war if we are in radical unity with each other across ALL denominations. I believe that one of the first steps to getting to this place of unity and oneness we are called to is to lose the 'denominational titles' that hang over our entranceways and keep us reclusive and too inwardly focused on our little portion of the Kingdom. God is bigger than that and he can not and will not be confined to one group of people who think they've got all the right methods and have 'found the perfect balance and theology.' No, no and no.
Inclusivity and not exclusivity is the business of the Kingdom.
I know my dad in heaven and I know that he is into variety, he loves it. He didn't just create one type of dog, but multiple species of the same animal, he didn't just create one tree, but thousands of variations. His love for variety is even more evidently displayed in his finest creation, human beings. I'm sure you  have noticed by now that none of us are alike. Just when you think you've seen it all, another wild and wacky character pops out of the woodwork and shows you that the human race is a very colourful breed.
Did God create us and wire us all differently only to try and squash us into a mould? Were we free as birds before salvation and then upon coming to Christ, forced to slip into the 'one size fits all' glove that the church thinks it needs to wear? My knowledge of the person of God tells me otherwise.
Our God is the most vibrant and colourful being in all existence and we are just chips off the old block. He loves people who are conservative just as much as the extravagant 'fairy' that dances at the front of the church every Sunday. The same goes for churches and movements. When we realise that the Lord is not looking at us from a behavioral lens and not judging our every every move, but rather that he looks at the spirit of a believer for he is a spirit being himself and everything pertaining to the Kingdom is in fact spiritual. When we fully get a revelation of this, we learn to rejoice in wildly celebrate each other, and who we all are in spirit. I am a person that loves and appreciates art, creativity and colour, and when I think of the bride, I think of her as a multi-faceted, colourful, dancing bride that celebrates each of her parts and the different function they have, for she knows that an arm brings just as much joy to the heart of the father than a leg or a mouth. Imagine removing your ear because it couldn't speak, or amputating your arm because you couldn't walk on it. This is absurd, and so is persecuting fellow members of the body of christ because they don't 'play church' the way you do.
With all this being said, I have read the story and I know how it ends. The body of Christ comes out victoriously. Jesus is coming back for a bride who is unified and knows that 'the whole is greater than the sum of parts.' I am ridiculously excited to be alive at such an hour as this and get to play a part in this Kingdom. I love seeing the daily transformation of the bride as she begins to look more like the Song of Solomon portrayal each day.
I myself am on a journey of learning to see a different facet of the father in every single person I meet, and in every single church I visit. I am learning that in this Kingdom, it is vital relate to each other on a spiritual level for that is where our true identity lies. When we look at each other through the lenses of our actions and behavior we only set ourselves up to become cold and judgmental at the imperfections of those around us.
One thing I am wildly passionate about is the bride of Christ, and I can go from a peaceful dove to a fierce lioness in a moment, at the sight of anybody trying to persecute, condemn or put the bride into religious bondage. We are called to follow in the footsteps of our father who is the author of love. Walk in love, demonstrate love and abound in love. That is our commission and that is the force that binds us all together and will lead us into victory.

My Beloved

This morning as I was driving to work, I was listening to one of my favourite songs of prophetic psalmist Isi De Gersigny. What I love about Isi's music is that she writes prophetic songs and declarations for the nations almost all of which are inspired by divine encounter. They are full of the presence of God because that is where each of them have been birthed and breathed into existence. The lyrics to this song wreck me every time I hear them. A beautiful song that portrays a beautiful bride.

My Beloved

The King is approaching his beloved

Looking straight into her eyes

He is trembling with love

All of heaven shakes

The bride is radiant with grace

Her face is glowing from his light

He is lifting up her head

Hear her singing now

Hear her singing now

How long my love

How long my love

How long my love

How long

The spirit takes her down the aisle

She is running like a child

The longing of all time is there

Standing before her now

They are covered in the glory

There is no veil there is no fear

She is trembling with love

The whole earth shakes

The spirit and the bride say "come"

Rend the heavens and come down

The spirit and the bride say "come Jesus"

Rend the heavens and come down

Come away with me

Come away

Come away with me

Come away my love

The spirit and the bride say "come my beloved"

Jesus come

Rend the heavens and come down my beloved

For we are faint with love

Thought for the day

"If you're not free to abuse your freedom then you are not truly free." - Rob Rufus

Who's Your Daddy?

The heart of a father is something incredible to behold. The heart of the Father God, is something that wrecks me every time I encounter it. It is amazing beyond words.

For the past while, God has been revealing to me aspects of his heart as the father of many nations, tribes and tongues. He is a good and perfect dad, and knows how to give the most incredible gifts to his kids. Gifts of love, goodness, provision, acceptance and the gift of family. God designed family. Family was his idea. It is not an earthly concept, but originates in heaven based on the blueprint of the heavenly family (Ephesians 3:15). The entire book of Ephesians paints a beautiful picture of this idea of ‘family’ and with words like father, son, household, inheritance and heirs, we see that God has designed us to be members of his family, with him being our amazing father. This book shows that we are not islands or one-man bands, alone and misunderstood, but are members of the most loving, close-knit family in all creation; the family of God.

There is an orphan spirit at work in the world, but as believers in Jesus, we have been adopted into this heavenly family. It’s a rags to riches story, and we have been taken from nothing, and not only made into ‘something,’ but made into kings and co-heirs with Christ, with a great and glorious inheritance. He has clothed us with robes of righteousness, seated us with him in the heavenly places, and invited us to be members of his household and feast at the banqueting table of his goodness. So let me ask you, who’s you daddy? I know who mine is!

Thought for the day

Faith doesn't have a plan B

Harvest church visit

On Sunday night, I visited Harvest church and the prophet Julian Adams was there to minister. The highlight of my night was the incredible time of worship that we had. The weighty glory of God fell in the place, and I don’t think there was a person in the room that couldn’t sense the tangible presence of the Lord. Worship continued for so long that I lost complete track of time, and there is nothing I love more than losing myself in praise as I get caught up in the presence of the one I love.

During this blissful time of worship, I had a vision of an army. This was unlike any army I have seen before, and each member of the army was joined to one another, so that it resembled one unit rather than hundreds of thousands of individual parts as a normal army would. I felt the Lord say to me that this was an army of worship warriors who have worship as their weapons of warfare. This army was worshipping, yet there was no music being played. They were singing songs of praise to the Lord in complete harmony with each other, and it seemed as though it was just one voice, yet this ‘one voice’ was made up of many thousands of individual voices. This army was focused and their gaze was glued to the one they were worshipping; the King of Glory. Not an eye was wandering, but all were fixed on him. I felt as though the Lord show me that this army’s power lay in two things. Firstly, it’s unity, and secondly, it’s worship. I feel that the Lord is calling the body into a greater degree of unity of the spirit, where we realise that we are not separate entities, but we are parts of a whole. He is also calling us to live and dwell in the place of worship. When the battles come, worship. When the storms blow, praise him. When you feel at your lowest, sing songs to the Lord, and your praise will strengthen you in your spirit.

Thought for the day

Just because the world has changed, doesn’t mean the commission has.

Thought for the day

Hell is not the presence of evil, but the absence of God

Thought for the day

Love, which can be given and then taken away, is not real love. A love that has conditions and is based upon circumstances or behaviour is not even ‘love’ at all. Only love that is unconditional, permanent and eternal is true and authentic.

The Lord burns with real and true love for us; the most relentless, fierce love, and we are the objects of all of his affection. Oh. My.Word. 

Thought for the day

 “The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: ‘The person who believes God, is set right by God – and that’s the real life.’ Rule keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself into more and more rule keeping." 

Galatians 3 {The Message}

Where is the love?

Today the Lord has been speaking to me about “love.” He showed me that the reason this world is so “loveless” at times, and the reason we often don’t show, express or give love to each other is because we don’t have any to give. You cannot give what you don’t have (or what you don’t know you have.) However, this lack of love is actually rooted in deception, not knowing the Great Love with which the Lord loves us and gave himself up for us. When we know, by personal supernatural experience, the love of God, an automatic response to that is an overflow of love from our life into the lives of those that surround us.

Not only do we as humans lack the ability to redeem ourselves unto eternal life, but we lack the ability to truly love with a supernatural, Godly love. We need him to redeem us, and we even reply on him in order to love. Human nature can do no good and holy thing apart from him who enables us. We no longer need to strive and manufacture love, but sit under the waterfall of his great love every day and let ourselves effortless change in His presence, becoming like him as we behold him and gaze upon him.

Ah! What a freeing revelation.

I want to spend time in the secret place asking to really know his love on a deep, intimate level, not just for my sake, but for the sake of everyone around me that needs a touch of heaven’s love.

“Keep company with him and learn a life of love.” – Ephesians 5 (MSG)

The Rose Garden

This morning was a moment of deep spiritual nostalgia as my dad and I sat on a bench in The Rose Garden. This particular place carries huge significance in both my dad’s and my life, and this is the place where Jesus and I met for the first time. Today as we sat on a bench in the winter sun, talking about the Lord, I realised that so much has changed, yet so much has stayed the same; we’re both just as passionately in love with Jesus as we were back then {even more so now}.

Last time I was there, I was a little girl, and today, the progression of life and the Lord’s hand led me back there as an almost grown-up woman. If I look back over my shoulder, I see God’s fingerprints all over every single day of my life. I have stayed by his side all these years just as he has stayed by mine. Closest friend. Intimate lover. Teacher. Father. He has been everything and more to me throughout my eighteen years of life. The Rose Garden is to me a symbol of intimacy, fatherly affection, relationship, beauty, change, and the path of life, and I will never forget the day I met the one that I’ll be in love with forever. 

Thought for the day

Revelation doesn’t come in different formats according to your age.

No matter what your age, gender, race, spiritual background, heavenly revelation comes in just one format and we are all designed with the capacity to receive this. It is not reserved for a select few in ‘high places’ of leadership or authority. It is not strictly for the theologians or holders of degrees. Revelation is for all and available to all. That’s the goodness of our God.

Thought for the day

Plunging into his promise

The Glory of God is a man fully alive

Last night I had the privilege of sitting under the ministry of Greg Burson, a prophet from New Zealand who shared an incredibly impactful message about ‘becoming the Gospel,’ and I can still feel the vibrations of joy in the depths of my spirit.

In the Old Testament times, when a prophet was on his way into town, rumours of his coming swept through every home and social circle until the excited chatter of people eagerly awaiting the his arrival, filled every street corner. Similar rumours of excitement preceded Greg’s visit, as we heard that he is a man with a prophetic mantle that operates under the anointing to bring the words of God with sharp accuracy into the lives of individuals.

Last night’s service at Glenridge church was nothing short of amazing. As I walked into the building I could feel a thick atmosphere of expectancy that had begun to accumulate, and my spirit within me recognised the excitement in the hearts of the people that had come worship their King and hear the words freshly on his lips. Worship was glorious; it was a heaven-meets-earth experience. A large building full of passionate hearts lifted up fragrant offerings of praise to the enthroned God, and then experienced the atmosphere of heaven collide with that of the earth causing a sweet presence to settle over every person. Then Greg stood up and ministered in this atmosphere of expectancy and delivered one of the most gracious, freeing, spirit-filled yet simple messages I have heard in a while.

He spoke about becoming the Gospel message as Christians rather than preaching it at every person we encounter. ‘Conversation is the verbal act of hospitality,’ he said, and by simply saying hello or sparking off a real, down-to-earth conversation with a stranger, you are in fact,  through your life rather than your words, ushering the Kingdom of God into their lives and bringing the light of the Gospel to them. Gone are the days of reciting a memorised verse that tells a person what a rotten sinner they are and then leading them in the good old sinner’s prayer before walking off and patting yourself on the back for ‘winning a soul.’ God is not into stale religion, he is into conversation and he always meets us ‘where we are at’ and speaks to us in our language. God is a conversational God that likes to speak and is always speaking, after all, he isn’t called “the word” for nothing.  We as sons and daughters of the Most High, are invited with open arms to join in with the divine dialogue of heaven and the trinity. The Lord wants to share with us his deepest thoughts and vast mysteries, but he also wants to have a best friend relationship with his people whereby we are constantly and casually conversing with him always, not only when we are on our knees in prayer, for prayer is essentially about conversation not one-way commands and supplications. Greg then went on to fire off spot-on prophetic words into the lives of many people he had never met before and brought life, hope and the freshly spoken word of God into the lives of members of the body of Christ. Although I didn’t know many of the people he was prophesying over, I could help but gush forth excitement as I watched fellow brothers and sisters in Christ experience impartations of heaven into their lives. The gift of the prophetic is exactly that, a gift.

Over and above the preach and witnessing the Greg’s prophetic flair in action, I was truly blessed by his life. ‘The Glory of God is a man fully alive,’ and seeing an intimate lover and friend of the Lord share about his walk and let his love for the King overflow, was like a breath of fresh air. He struck me as a man ‘fully alive’ because he simply knows Christ and knows Christ unsurpassing love. I was so encouraged by this man’s life as he is not puffed up, pretentious or claiming to be something he isn’t, but through the knowledge of his identity that lies hidden in Christ, he is completely ‘himself’ as he is a man aware of his union with Jesus and has a beautiful ‘best friend’ relationship with the King of heaven and invited us all to partake with him in the divine conversation of heaven.

After the service, there was a buzz in the room, and I could see life, light and freedom in everyone’s countenance. Sometimes a harsh word is delivered and you can feel it in the air and see it upon people’s faces once the meeting is over, but last night’s word was beautifully adorned with the richness of Grace and freedom, not to mention being hysterically funny for 90% of the time, Greg is definitely a Kingdom comedian (Joy is the serious business of heaven.)

After the service last night, I truly feel as though my spirit has been enlarged with the atmosphere of heaven and I have received rich deposits into the depths of my being; deposits of freedom, encouragement and the love of God. I am once again in awe of the too-good-to-be-true message of the Kingdom and as I take a step back, I once again see that life as a Christian is full of excitement, fun, joy and supernatural activity every single day, and is everything but boring, stale, religious and condemning.

I cannot wait to see the fruit that is to be borne in the lives of everyone that was blessed by Sunday’s service as I feel as though it was a call of God back to the place of intimate relationship and conversation with him.

The fountain of joy has sprouted forth in my heart and I feel full of the goodness of my glorious God. 

Thought for the day

"He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for anything less."

- 2 Corinthians 5 {The Message}

The Kingdom of God {Part 1: Heaven and Earth}

This past week I feel as though the Lord has taken my brain and shaken it violently and caused a shift in all my paradigms and mindsets. He took my once ‘horizontal’ view on so many biblical truths and has elevated my perspective to a heavenly one, the kind of perspective I was created for…

 Sometimes I can go for weeks and I feel as though the revelation I get is so marginal that it hardly warrants a blog post, but this week has been far from average in the ‘revelation department.’

I have been listening to a series of teachings by Jason Westerfield who I had the privilege of getting to know whilst I was in Sydney last year. I can honestly say that I have never met a person who is as close to ‘doing the works that Jesus did and greater.’ In the four-or-so days that I spent with Jason and his team, I learnt more about the Kingdom of God than I had known my entire life, as they all just exude revelational truths that gush out of their mouths like a river. Being around these men of God was as refreshing as a glass of ice cold coke on a summer’s day.

The 3 part series that I worked through last week is entitled ‘The Kingdom of God.’

You know those sermons that you enjoy at the time, but as soon as the guy stops speaking you hardly remember one thing he said? Well this is not one of those sermons. The revelation I got whilst working through this series has revolutionised my way of thinking and my mind is still reeling, days later, with heavenly downloads and just sheer awe at the vastness of our God and his incomprehensible goodness.

I could potentially write a million word post on everything I have learnt about the Kingdom of God but I’ve decided to sum it up as best I can into one post (which is already looking quite long and I haven’t even got to the juicy bits.)

THE KINGDOM OF GOD {Part 1: Heaven and Earth}

If you want to know the first thing about the Kingdom of God, rewind back to the very beginning when it was founded, right in Genesis Chapter 1:1.The ESV says “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

It is so easy to jump past that verse in search of something more ‘life changing’, but if you dissect that very first verse like a skilled surgeon you will find life altering, fundamental truth about the Kingdom of God and the unseen realms.

We know that God is an uncreated God, not spoken into existence by anyone or anything. He is the God who was and is and is to come and through him and by him all things were created. In verse 1, we see that out of God, the heavens were created. The ‘heavens’ here refer to the unseen eternal realm. The Lord God made the heavens out of himself; he created them so that he could become a king, for what is a king without a kingdom to rule over?

Psalm 89:11 says “The heaven’s are yours,” so we see that first God made himself a Kingdom over which he had dominion and authority and he made this from himself. Out of the very being of God, heaven was made and it thus reflects his nature. Everything that happens in the unseen realm first happens in the person of God and nothing that happens in heaven happens without God himself allowing it, for he has complete rulership over this realm in which his everlasting throne is established.

First the heavenly sphere was made, and then the earth followed. Now earth was created second and it was created from the heavens. God created the heavens out of himself and then created the earth out of the heavenly unseen realm. We know that nothing happens in heaven unless first in the person of God as he is superior to it, likewise the heavens are superior to the earthly, seen realm in which we live, and nothing (and I mean nothing) happens upon the earth without first happening in the heavens. This is quite a vast truth to wrap your head around, but if you can get this revelation it will impact the way you view ‘life as you know it.’

In 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul clearly shows the superiority of the eternal realm over the temporal as he says “So we look not to the things that are seen but the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

As human beings that have to use our 5 natural senses to help us through each day, we are more than accustomed to how these work that we seldom realise that there are plains of existence that we cannot reach with our mere senses for they are spiritual spheres that must be spiritually discerned. This verse appears to be an oxymoron by nature as Paul is telling us to ‘look’ at something we cannot ‘see.’ However, he was not referring to a ‘looking’ with the eyes but rather with the spirit, for unseen things can be “seen” only with the spirit.

When God first started to open this up to me early last year, it took some major adjusting to, for the notion that there is an entire ‘world’ beyond what we can see, touch, hear is a bit much for the brain, let alone the fact that everything we know in ‘our’ world was created from another dimension that contains far more glory than anything we could conjure up in our human imagination. The Lord then showed me that in order to get a grasp on the unseen realms you have to discern these truths with your spirit first, letting your brain follow, for the things of the spirit (which make up the entirety of the heavens) can only be spiritually discerned.

Going back to what was established earlier, we know that like a Russian Doll, the different realms that exist have come from within each other and are ‘mirrors’ of one another (well at least that is how they are intended to be). First God, second the heavens and then the earth.

As believers, our mandate is to establish the Kingdom of God ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ When Jesus taught the disciples to pray by teaching them ‘The Lord’s prayer’ {Matthew 6:9} he demonstrated the heart of God and the priorities of heaven and then invited the disciples to position themselves through prayer to establish the father’s will which is ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ God’s desire is to see the merging of two Kingdoms take place. God wants earth to be a mirror of heaven which is a mirror of himself, so that in all things his Glory can be made manifest.

We are given the authority to “bind on earth what what has been bound in heaven and loose on earth what has been loosed in heaven.” {Matthew 18:18} This verse shows us that there are things that are upon earth that are not in the heavens and there are things that are in the heavens that are not upon the earth. God’s desire is for the DNA of the seen realm and the DNA of the unseen realm to be identical as he has called us to partner with him in the uniting of these two kingdoms. However, in order for this divine union to take place, we the workmanship of God are to know his will and know Him through personal experience and encounter in order to establish this will wherever the soles of our feet tread. If we want to see the will of God done on the earth, we first have to know what this will is. If we want to see the things of heaven loosed on the earth we are to first know what is in the heavenly realms.

I have often wondered why the Bible says that ‘whatever you ask in my name, this I will do’ {John 14:13} and then when people pray for Ferrari's and Jet planes their prayers return to them void. This is because we are called to know the will of the Father and then pray in accordance with this if we desire to see a manifestation on earth. Jesus was a man in right-relationship with his dad and out of this right-standing that he knew he possessed, signs, wonders and more miracles than the pages of the bible could record flowed from his life.  Jesus spent time with his dad, he saw what his dad was up to {John 5:19}, knew what was going on in the heavenly realms and then we he spoke these things into being, they materialised in the earthly realms for he knew that if it was not in heaven it was not supposed to be on earth, and if it was in heaven then he had the power to speak it into existence. Jesus knew that there was no sickness in heaven so he rebuked it on earth, he knew that instead of poverty there were storehouses of abundance in heaven and so he multiplied bread and fish. Jesus saw that no demonic power had a foothold in God’s Kingdom so he cast out every demon and took authority over every power of darkness. Jesus knew, through relationship, the rhythm of his father’s heart and through love, peace, joy and kindness he walked to the beat of heaven’s drum.

Jesus also did only what he saw the father doing for he knew that if he attempted to do anything else there would be no fruit{John 5:19}. He knew that if he prayed for something to happen on earth that wasn’t happening in heaven it would not manifest for the power that he displayed came out of knowing God’s will.

If Jesus needed to know the Father’s will in order to demonstrate his Kingdom, then we definitely do too. We as Christians can pray for anything we want, a new job, a mansion on the hill, etc etc, but if these things are not in God’s will for us, if they are not already stored up in the heavenly realms for us, then we can pray and fast and pray some more, but we will never see these things come to pass. So then, we are invited to dwell in the courts of the King, gaze upon his splendour, know his heart, his flow, his desires and then align our prayer life with these and see the world around us transformed as the Kingdom of God begins to flow through our lives. When we speak out God’s will, creative power travels on the vibrations of our sound and we can expect to see in this ‘seen’ realm the outpouring of the unseen, eternal realm. The key is abiding in the Lord, John 15:7 says “If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” From the secret place of intimacy with our creator, we will have his desires pressed on our hearts, we will have his will in mind and wherever we go, in whatever we do, his Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven, in our daily lives as it is in heaven.