Surely it is not just Christians that have to deal with the constant barrage of criticism from each other… surely it is just human nature to be so critical of anyone who is earnestly and honestly just trying to do what they feel like they’re suppose to be doing - Yes, that is it - it is NOT unique to the Christian community to be so judgemental… I think I know what it is.

The apparent truth is this: EVERYONE* despises and rejects anyone who is trying to hear and do the will of the Father with their lives.  It doesn’t matter if they are Christians, atheists, of other religions, or pre-believers - the enemy, the accuser of the bretheren, the prince of the air does everything he can to distort our communications, whisper in our ears, and divide us.  Whether it is marriages, denominations, friendships, or the Bride of Christ as a whole, I believe it is one of the main focus points of the enemy: divide, divide, divide.

I hate throwing around terms, especially when they apply to people, like “spiritual” - but, let me quote a scripture as a part of the asterik note on “EVERYONE” above. 

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corithians 2:14)

Often this “everyone” includes many in the church, because they do not take the time to spiritually discern the actions, attitudes, statements, missions, etc, of their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.  And, like in the previous article, we too often feel like the main call the Lord has called us personally to focus on is somehow what ALL believers should be focused on, and we fail to see that the Body has many members, and that each must do its own, differing part. (1 Corinthians 12)   We erroneously end up thinking that all believers must be “balanced” in their priorities, giftings, and focii, instead of embracing the glorious diversity of gifts and wirings the Father purposed in His Body so that we could grow up together by what every joint supplies into Christ who is the one true Head. (Ephesians 4)

This also extends beyond callings and giftings and into simple practicalities.  Let’s look at the difficult example of an intercessory missionary.  There are many varieties of callings under this one head, but, let’s look at a musician who has felt the call to focus their time in the place of prayer and worship to help others cultivate a life of prayer, get grounded and familiar with the Scriptures, and connect to the thoughts, will, and emotions of the Lord.  And, for this example, they feel led to soley raise support by which to live.  And, for this example, they feel led to record and distribute some of the songs they have been given.

Many in the church would criticise them for living solely on support, and would quote a scripture or two out of Second Thessalonians out of context like, “if you don’t work you don’t eat.”  These folks would insist that the person should at very least be bivocational and working a “real job”.  These same people might be fine with a “pastor” of a church being full-time, but somehow overlook the office of teacher, evangelist, prophet, apostle, or just a believer being obedient to the Lord - who is not just sitting around, but devoting their life to the Lord and to the equipping of the saints.

So, the same intercessory missionary feels led to record and release an audio CD.  Well, now people will begin quoting scriptures like “use the gospel for their profit” or something about not selling things in the temple.  They forget all about the criticism from above, and that “a workman is worth his wage”, and that the musicians, the engineers, the graphic artists, and lots of people put a lot of time into the producing, recording, and distributing of the CD.

Seriously, it’s like they can’t win… we can’t be “beyond reproach” from everyone - especially not if you’re trying to do what the Father is telling you.  Jesus tells us that this will be the case in John 15:14-24.  If we are trying to be about the Father’s business, they will hate us, just like they hated Jesus.  But, there is no better place to be than in the will of the Father.  Be found faithful in Him to the end.  By found blameless in Him.  Be beyond reproach in life and doctrine according to HIM - not according to “them”.  Being beyond reproach doesn’t mean being beyond scrutiny or attack - it means that, when it comes down to righteous scriptural logos and discerning rhema, you are doing all that you can do to be obedient to the Lord.

This same concept could be applied to so many different things, but let me give you one other thing.  Take a prayer gathering, for example.  If you try to just gather people in the place of prayer, people will accuse you of trying to “be a church” and will be fearful of allowing their members to come, for fear that you may end up stealing them away and forming a congregation - even if you clearly state that everyone who comes should be plugged into a local church, and that it is not the intention of this gathering to become “a congregation” - and your actually praying for the congregations and ministries in the area to be strengthened and encouraged.

But, at the same time, the same gathering could be criticized for not doing enough evangelism, being in a ministry bubble, or not doing some other works - spiritual or practical.  They don’t want the gathering to “be a church”, but they turn around and expect them to do all of works of a local congregation, otherwise they aren’t balanced enough.

Although we haven’t (to our faces) actually experienced ANY of the above criticisms yet, I was remembering some stories from other folks in similar ministries, and some of the attacks and criticisms they’d received from other believers - and it just breaks my heart, and encourages me to be vigilant in prayer.  The Lord has specifically asked me to try my best to live up to the call that Paul gave Timothy, to “be beyond reproach in both life and doctrine, so that both myself and my listeners might be saved.”  To some, this call would be deadly.  They might be too much of a man-pleaser, or too much of a “I could care less what you think, non-conforming rebel.”  But, just like almost everything else in my life, I have somehow avoided too much of either, all without being (too) luke warm (at times). 
Read the Word, Listen to the Lord, Ask of the Lord, Seek a Multitude of Council, Go Back to the Word again, Walk in the Light, and Do His Will - then let the accusations fall where they may.  Be graced in the seeking, and blessed in the doing!

This week, during a daily lunch-time prayer gathering, the Lord showed me something in Song of Songs that broke my heart.  We see in chapter 3 that the “watchmen” do not impede the betrothed’s search for her Groom, and she is able to quickly find her love (”Good Cops”).  However, in chapter 5, the watchmen strike and wound the bride, and forcefully take her veil from her (”Bad Cops”).  The Lord had me weep over the sad fact, that too often, the watchmen on the walls, those who consider themselves spiritual (which, in and of itself is not a bad thing - see Galations 6:1) - the intercessors and such, too often impede and wound the Bride.

The Lord has asked us to rally the watchmen in the Fort Smith river valley - to call and equip believers in the place of corporately gathered prayer.  One of the main reasons the Lord has asked us to do this is to undergird the believers and their ministries in this area.  We pray and ask the Lord to release more laborers.  We ask the Holy Spirit to empower those already laboring, and to reveal Jesus through the testimony of the Holy Spirit (both divinely and through believers) to this entire geographic region.

During this prayer time, the Lord said in an intense fashion, “It is my right alone to remove the veil from my betrothed.”  Through all of our teachings and compulsion, we can not open anyones eyes to see the value of communion with the Lord or the glory and beauty of our promised Groom, Jesus.  Let us not be found guilty of trying to remove the veil, or awaken love, before He so desires.  Certianly we speak of our love, our personal testimonies, and of our revelations found through diligently studying the scriptures, but we can not try to rank the importance of varying types of christian service/ministry or elements of worship.  The Lord is raising up a diverse, yet unified Bride.

NOTE: I’m speaking of the heavy-handedness that many who are spiritual impress upon the Body of believers - NOT on the pre-believers.  By all means, let us compell the pre-believers to come in. [Luke 14]

Please join us this Saturday at Crossroads Church in Alma, Arkansas for a time of intercessory worship.  There will be a training time at 3:30 for anyone interested in participating on one of our teams, or who would like to receive the training to help grow their own prayer/worship ministries.  The full meeting starts at 6pm and will end around 9pm.  It is a drop-in type meeting, so come for any or all that you can.

I believe it was back in September during a solemn assembly hosted by the New Wineskins Prayer Room in downtown Ft Smith, when the Lord began to have us sing about “a cancer-free zone” in the Fort Smith river valley… that He was wanting to give the Church in this region authority over cancer, and that He would provide alternative occupations for oncologists if we would press-in and contend for this prophetic invitation He was offering us - so far, there are 4 confirmed “we’re positive it’s cancer because of it’s growth signatures, but we prayed, and the biopsies have come back completely cancer-free” and 2 (maybe 3) miraculous complete healings of people who were cancer-ridden and living on borrowed/prescribed time by their doctors… all in about 6 weeks time — the Lord is up to something in the river valley.

My point in writing this post this wonderful winter’s evening wasn’t to share the individual testimonies of these occurances so far, as much as it was to invite you to join us in this completely humiliating act of faith-stretching.  The Lord is asking us to ask for something, to pray things, and to claim things that run a high-risk of making us look like complete idiots - things we can not possibly fake or skirt.  He is asking us to ask for the “greater things than these, you will do” things.  He’s asking us to live like Jesus lived, where the world couldn’t contain the accounts of the miraculous things He did while walking the earth those 30-something years; where, like Him, we would go “town to town and village to village sharing the gospel of the kingdom and healing EVERY sickness and EVERY disease among the people there.”

Trying to imagine the hundreds of believers in Van Buren, Arkansas, plus the hundreds in Alma, plus the hundreds in Greenwood, plus the thousands in Ft Smith all walking in this faith, in this invitation, that the Lord will give us authority specifically and powerfully over cancer, is mind boggling.  Can you imagine the thousands of people who will begin to journey to our region to receive prayer when the word gets out?  Do we really believe that these kind of shear numbers of miraculous healings could even be possible?  Of course we don’t - not without “gifts of faith” that He gives us in order for us to be able to wrap our minds around the reality that is “His ways” instead of ours.

I received word last week from a faithful intercessor who has been praying over our region for, literally, decades.  About 15 years ago, they felt like the Lord wanted them to begin to pray for our region - that He was wanting to make it a “valley of refuge, healing, deliverance, equipping, and sending.”  This Word was echo’d (unknowingly, and we believe prophetically) by Rick Ridings (at one time from this area, but now running a 24/7 house of prayer in Jerusalem) at a visit to Grace Covenant Church in Alma, Arkansas some 12+ years ago.  The Lord was showing him a handful of “valleys of refuge”… places of power that the Lord was going to establish as the great and terrible day of the Lord gets closer and closer - the Fort Smith river valley was one of these valleys.

These faithful intercessors told me, too, that the Lord had moved them to begin praying for the civilian leaders of our region, that they would have foresight and wisdom to initiate and complete infrastructure projects that would allow our region to handle the torrents of people who will flock in-and-out of this valley of refuge.  I don’t know how much this “cancer-free zone” has to do with all of that, if anything… but, I’m excited and encouraged and fueled in my prayers.

Ask the Lord for gifts of faith to be able to wrestle with Him about His will to give YOU authority of cancer through your prayers for the sick.  Then start praying for people, with humility, with abandon.  You won’t make God look bad if the person isn’t healed - even if they end up using that excuse at some point in their life.  The Lord is not concerned with His reputation; nor should you be with His or yours.  “You have not because You ask not.”  Start Asking!

And, please, feel free to share any & all testimonies specifically regarding the healing/authority over cancer with us.

Over-cautious is not a word I would use to describe myself when it comes to my fingers and hands, despite how frequently I play my guitar and lead worship these days - but, I typically consider myself a fairly OSHA-compliant worker when it comes to proper lifting, and very Boy-Scout-compliant when it comes to how I handle knives, pass knives, etc.  Well a couple of days ago I made a pretty deep cut in my left index finger while constructing a weatherproof box for a wireless internet antenna - and that was about 3 hours before I was scheduled to play guitar for a men’s gathering at a local church building.  Needless to say, during the soundcheck and quick rehearsal EVERY chord was excrutiating, despite the liberal amounts of Superglue[tm] I had applied to my finger tip.

So, that’s dilemna number one.  Secondly, as I prayed about the song list, I felt like I was suppose to do a bunch of older songs that I hadn’t played in a long time.  I was glad I went through the songs as my soundcheck, because there were a lot of incorrect chords, they were in bad keys, etc.  I’m sure the people in the room during that time were thinking, “oh… wow… this guy is aweful.”

Probably motivated by how incredibly bad everything sounded, the leader and some other men decided to pray for my finger (hoping that it was that pain that was making everything else so bad.. hehe…).  Okay, so it’s normal for you to feel your heartbeat in an open wound, but I hadn’t up to that point… but when the guys were praying for me, my heartbeat got really intense there, and I was given the faith to believe it would not bother me during our worship time.

The worship time came, and there was no pain in the finger… the songs came together okay, but during every song I felt like I needed to stop playing my guitar, back off of the microphone, and just listen to the men sing out as much as possible.  As I pray for a song list, I ask the Lord questions like, “What is Your heart for the people who will be there?”  By the last song of the worship time, I realized, the desire I had to hear the men sing out WAS the desire of God’s heart.  HE wanted to hear the men fill the room in their simple, all-on-melody, deep voices all in unison.

“The Lord gives us the desires of our heart.”

I’ve had this revelation of this scripture for a while, but I just seem to forget about it.  It’s not that this scripture always means that the Lord will fulfill the desires that we, as humans, come up with in our own carnal minds; it can just as easily mean that The Lord GIVES us the very desires themselves.  i.e.  The Lord says, “I want Aaron to desire the thing that I desire right now… I want to give Aaron MY desires.”

So, I spoke that out during the last song, and encouraged the men to “fill the room” with their voices.  Turns out, it rang true and in-line with other thoughts and feelings and even plans for the night that were on several of the mens’ hearts.  Through that, the Lord built my faith, their faith, and in turn the faith of the others gathered in that room.  The Lord can always find a way to bring Himself glory through our frailty.  Truly, “His strength is made perfect in our weakness.”

I often share this testimony when I teach about prayer, faith, and hearing from the Lord - but it’s such a powerful testimony of how the Lord really works (versus how we’d like Him to work), that I really felt like I needed to post it today.

In the late nineties I got connected with a brother from Wales who flowed in the prophetic in such a specific way, to the likes I haven’t seen since, yet.  We got to hang out a few days at a time, but then we brought him in for about 10 days one summer and he stayed with me in a house that we were house-sitting for a couple from our church.  I can’t even begin to tell you some of the crazy things I saw in that time, just because we were willing to spend time in prayer and then go and do simple things like walk around the streets of downtown Ft Smith asking the Lord who He wanted us to speak to, and what He wanted us to say.  (You’ll probably hear me share one or two of these VERY specific prophetic words He gave to people, during another post, or during a teaching time.)

Anyway, this brother was on a mission trip and was asked to preach to a crowd of over 1000 who had gathered.  He, by his own admission, is not a gifted teacher, and this group they were ministering to was primarily from a particular denomination and had not yet embraced post-first-century prophetic ministry - but, he said yes anyway.  Here he was in his required black suit and tie, teaching about something in broken phrases as the translator did his job, when he heard the voice of the Lord.

“Steve, I want to heal someone who is blind, right now.”

Fear came over him - good and bad.  Would these people throw him and their whole team out for saying “he heard the voice of God” or for calling people up for “faith healing”?  Would it be “decently and in order”?  Could he just ignore what he knew was the voice of the Lord?  He wrestled with this for a while, between breaks in his message (since he had plenty of time between the translator.. hehe.. just imagine…).  He finally decided that his fear of the Lord was greater than his fear of man.

“I feel like the Lord told me that He wants to heal someone who is blind, in this place, today.  So, if you’re blind, please come up to the front and I will lay hands on you and ask the Lord to do what He said He would do.”

Over a hundred people came forward.  This is very difficult for me to fathom.  Over a hundred people out of around a thousand were blind?  Statistically you’d never see anything like this in the United States. (This is a side note that should move our hearts towards missions, the poor, and the needs of others.)  However, in many countries around the world, the lack of vacinations and other at-birth treatments that we in the U.S. are required at birth to receive, are not available to them, and the rate of infections and other complications that lead to blindness “from birth” are extremely high.  (End of side note.)

Over a hundred people came forward and lined up.  He went to the first one and prayed something like, “Lord, You said You wanted to heal the blind today, so I ask You to heal him now in the name of Jesus!”

…nothing.

So, he went to the next person in the line.  Similar prayer… nothing.

He remarked that the vast majority of these people were obviously, physically blind (sunken eye sockets, discoloration of the eyes, etc).  There was little opportunity for “just claim your healing, the Lord’s started a work, brother.”  The Lord said He wanted to heal someone “right now”.

So, he prayed for the next person in the line… nothing.  I don’t know about you, but I would have been seriously looking for an “exit strategy” - do these people know enough about the prophetic that they may decide to stone me?  Not to mention the sheer embarrasment for you, and the extreme disappointment for the people who came expecting to be healed.

He prayed for the next person… nothing… nothing… nothing… BUT, on about person number 40-something - complete and total restoration.  He witness the structure of the persons face change, their eyes clear-up, and the cries and shouts as the person began to see for the first time in their memory.  He witnessed the tears of joy from their surrounding family.  So, he kept on down the line… “Lord, You are at work here, I’m obeying Your word - heal this person now in the name of Jesus.”

Nothing… nothing… nothing… when the day was done, a handful of people had their site returned by the healing power of the Lord.  It’s so easy for us to say, “but what about the other 90 something.”  And, how many of us could have made it to person number 47, without having given up much earlier.  But, when it comes right down to it, “Several people who were blind CAN NOW SEE because of the healing power of God, and the obedience and humility of a man!!”  Praise the Lord!

Is the Lord asking you to pray and contend for something?  A cancer-free zone in your region? For the protection and restoration of marriages? For the health of a loved one?  For revival in your area that seems to be on a moral and spiritual down-slide?  We have to forget about the 99.  We have to forget questions like, “why did the Lord heal this person, but not that person? Why did the Lord supernatural provide for you but not me?”  The Lord is asking for our attention, and for our obedience.  We have to give Him opportunities, but leave the rest up to Him.

There is a “unity banquet” at the glass pavilion (”riverfront pavilion”) in Ft Smith this Friday night (Nov 9th) at either 6:30 or 7:00pm.  They will have meal, followed by some worship (which I will be helping with) and some discussion.  This has had me focusing a little more on unity in my prayers and thoughts this week, so here’s some ”Aaron backstory” for you: 

In probably the middle of 1996 I had a weird dream where a big holographic-looking face was up in the sky sharing the gospel and could be seen from all over the area.  It was teaching and exhorting from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:19-end where Jesus is asking the father desparately that “those who would believe” would come together “in perfect unity”.  I could then see people going outside of their church-buildings and tearing down the words on their signs.  They tore down their denominational affiliations, and they tore down their own names - read “identity”.  Unfortunately, my pendulum swung more towards “anti-denominational” than “non-denominational”.

It was summer in Colorado Springs, and I was gathered in the un-finished World Prayer Center at New Life Church, praying with other leaders from around the nation who had brought various groups (mostly youth and young adults) to three days of prayer and fasting called “Prayer Storm”.  During a time of prayer, the Lord spoke two distinct things to me that I feel the weight of to this day.  First, He asked my permission to be martyred for the sake of the salvation of others; He made me say the words, “Martyr Me.”  (I don’t even like typing that, for I do not take it lightly.)  Second, He told me to “never slander His Bride.”  The expressions of faith and love that have been cultivated in people through their local churches, family, and denominations is not something we should insult flippantly - because, although even now I find it hard to believe in a lot of instances, it is still these people’s expression of faith of love, and it is precious to the Lord.

 Why is it that we can embrace the phrase, “though I’m dark, I am lovely” for those of us struggling with our same thorns and lack of personal righteousness, but we give no grace to the person who feel is too religious or hypocritical or judgemental.  Though they are dark, He calls them lovely - and, if they are willing, He (and only He) will bring them from glory to glory as He desires.  The Lord put it into this perspective for me one time:

“Aaron, you despise the ‘religious’ because they are so unloving towards the ‘green-hairs’ and pierced - but in that SAME WAY you are unloving towards the ‘religious’.  The ‘unlovable’ in the phrase ‘love the unlovable’ is different for each person, but a necessity for everyone.”

Later that summer I was at a church camp serving and during one of my quiet times the Lord showed me my tombstone.  It read:

“…his obedience to God
   helped unify the Body of Christ.”

Let’s pray that the “eyes of our understanding would be enlightened” and that the Lord would “fill us with a knowledge of His will” and with “the hope of His calling” - because praying that humbly over all of us will do far more good than arguing or even intellectual debate or scholarly reasoning.  And you know what, this unity comes with a promise from Jesus Himself, prayed by Jesus Himself, and that we can agree with (by word and action) and with which we can make a claim of fruition:

“Let them be one, as You (Father) and I are one -
so that the world will believe.”

(emphasis added)

I am so encouraged by the amount of prayer and worship that is rising up from the Ft Smith river valley these days -  Yeah, many people might already be stumbling over “why can’t we all do ‘our things’ together in one place each week, month, or whatever,” but I am excited that the enemy is being confronted from so many different angles, and that the Lord is being glorified from so many different places, in so many different expressions.

If the Lord is being glorified, scripture is being sang and/or prayed, and we’re contending for the will, ways, presence, and power of the Lord, decently and in order, who cares if we’re in the same buildings or not.  Yeah, a “good turn-out” would be nice and encouraging sometimes - but an emerging army on many fronts, led by praise, worship, and prayer is good… goooooood.

So - don’t ever slander His Bride, or anyone’s biblical expression of love and devotion to Him.  Be encouraged that the Lord is gathering watchmen in the river valley. 

Even though the Lord has called us to “equip believers in effectual fervent prayer and worship”, He is actually about that work whether we’re even conscious of it or not - take a few weekends ago, for example.  My family jumped into our minivan and headed over to a friends house to have an impromptu prayer and worship time.  It ended up just being the Jackson Five (us), and this woman and one of her teenage daughters - no one else ended up making it.  So, we fellowshipped for a little while and then I broke out the guitar and just began to sing some worship songs, which turned into spontaneous singing, which turned into prophetic singing, which turn into intercessory singing, which led to spoken prayers from other folks in the room, and lots of scripture reading that was on topic for what the Lord was saying to us.

After probably an hour or so of this, we had quieted down and I was just playing some simple chord progression and listening to the Lord and thinking about all He’d just said through His written Word and His children, when I heard the teenage daughter singing spontaneously.  I got extra quiet trying to “make room for her”, and Robin saw what was going on and began exhorting her to sing out.  It started feeling a little too “high pressure” for me, so I picked the volume back up with some worship, hopin that she would pick her volume up to and gain some air speed, so then I could drop back down some and encourage her to keep singing out.  Well, along with Robin’s persistence and encouragement, the girl began to sing the song she had in her heart and some relevant scripture, and Robin began to intermingle with her with some prayer.

Her lyrics struck a prophetic chord that we began to revolve around and focus on - that the Lord would “take off the lid over Van Buren”.  Unbeknownst to me, this lined up with a prophetic vision shared with the believers at The River Fellowship in Alma a while back, that I’ll simply call “The Lid” that you can go and read here.

But, before you do that, I just want to point out the faithfulness of the Lord to do through us what He has asked us to do, even when we’re not completely aware of it.  He was equipping this thirteen-year-old daughter of the King in the prophetic, in prayer, and in vocal/musical worship all in one night.  “Thank you, Lord!  You are raising up those who will stand, contend, proclaim, and wait on You and Your will for our region.”

Even though Robin and I are having some difficulties adjusting to the time demands of all of the things we are committed to right now, I felt like I was suppose to say yes to a request for some emergency computer help for a believer from another country, who has basically been used by the Lord to start one of the most effective and wide-spread christian works (read ‘church’ - i.e. evangelizing, discipling, pastoring believers) in a muslim country (that shall remain nameless).

He desparately needs to get his computer functional again, because while he is in the states, he uses it to communicate with the leaders and believers in his home country (and a few others) so he can disciple and teach them one-on-one and via conference calls, the internet, etc.  (Which, to even his amazement, has been extremely effective, since the Lord has asked him to be here in the States and unable to meet with them face-to-face.)  As we’re working on his computer, we indulge in a sparse amount of small talk about his country, what the Lord has called Robin and I to do, the history of the work the Lord has been involved with, etc.  (I want to share the testimony of what the Lord has done recently in one of the largest cities in his country, through a group of students who found this brother, met with him and some of his leaders for 3 days of fasting and prayer, and the amazing break-in of the gospel taking the church in that city from 40 to 400 in a matter of weeks - but maybe some other time.)

Instead, he shares with me about how when he is traveling, he always asks the Lord about what He thinks about each city or region that he passes through.  One time, as he was driving into Arkansas from Oklahoma, he asked the Lord about our region.  Then, as he was about to cross the state line, the Lord showed him a simple, yet profound picture that lines up with so many other words and visions seen and spoken over our area.  He saw a heavy “lid” sitting on top of our entire region that was keeping our prayer in, and the full glory of the Lord out.  On the rim of the lid was written the word “reason”.  As he asked the Lord about it, he was confident that it meant intellectual-type reasoning, i.e. our own thoughts that exalt themselves against the thoughts of the Lord, and our excuses and “reasons” for why He isn’t moving in miraculous power in our region.

Immediately the Lord reminded him of a previous scripture that the Lord had taken him to weeks earlier about Ezekiel 47 and the depths of the river that flowed from the temple of God.  The Lord had highlighted to him that the river flowed from the throne, and that the throne was the place of constant intercession - where Jesus sits and continually makes intercession for us.  As the intercession continues to increase and rise, so does the water-level of the Lord’s glory and presence - a healing and renewing river like the one in Ezekiel.  (* see the note at the end of this post about literal translations versus types & shadows)

These two elements, “the lid” and “the water” are an amazing and beautifully confirming recurrance that happen in almost every prophetic word spoken over our region.  I’ve yet to encounter any of the people who have delivered these words that are in any way familiar with any of the previous words spoken.  One, because they have been kept as “word of mouth” more than anything (which I seek to rectify at some point soon) - so they’d have no access to them.  And two, because they’ve all been from different states or countries.

In this post, I just wanted to draw the connection between how the Lord is equipping His children to hear His voice and contend for what He speaks - namely, the thirteen-year-old He had sing about “the lid” a few weeks ago.  I will come back later and summarize some of the other words spoken over our region that line up with these elements and are wonderful fuel for intercession for our region.

* Note: I feel like the Lord does use His Word actively and alive in this way, to show us types of things He desires to do in different times and places.  However, I personally believe the river that Ezekiel saw is a literal river that will restore the waters, sea-life, and plant-life that are destroyed during the seals and bowl judgements of the Lord - but that doesn’t mean it’s not a example of something that is the will of the Lord, and is indeed something the Lord could use to illustrate another desire of His heart…. make sense?  There is a fine line between (A) guarding your doctrine closely, believing (like I do) that unless the Bible says something is an illustration, symbol, type, shadow, hyperbolic teaching tool, parable, etc, then it should be assumed to be literal; and (B) knowing that by studying the Bible and comparing all of our thoughts, dreams, visions, beliefs, etc, we can learn what the Lord “sounds like”, “looks like”, and “acts like”, and can then use it as the measuring stick with which we can “practice discernment through constant use” as Paul exhorts us.

The first few chapters of the book of Jeremiah are rocking my world - and I pray that they really rock “my world” - ya know, earth, but more specifically, the River Valley region… how much our nation reminds me of the nation of Judah during the reign of king Josiah.

During the reign of Josiah, there was a lot of religious and moral reform taking place.  The nation of Judah was tearing down the altars and outlawing the practices that previous generations established in honor of other gods and their immorality.  The priests and rulers must have been ecstatic over such a moral and religious victory - only “Godly” things were allowed to remain.  But the Lord knew that their changes were only exterior, corporate, cultural changes, and that He still did not have their hearts, souls, minds, and bodies.

It’s November 2000, and we made it through Y2K and the impeaching of our last president.  Christians the nation over were tickled pink by their role in the victory of a president who did not shy away from talks of faith and moral conservatism.  Finally, the nation would be headed back down the course our forefathers had placed us on - one based on the ‘freedom to express religion freely’ (not the ‘freedom FROM religion’).  Conservative judges would begin to tear-down the anti-christian laws and precepts established during the past reign of immoral judges and rulers.  STOP!

Disclaimer: I am not (at all) knocking our current president; I’m speaking in generalities - mostly about a perceived  consensus of thought in the christian majority of our land.

The age we are in, in our country is reminding me a whole lot of the reign of King Josiah of Judah.  Nationwide moral reform and consciousness seems to be the agenda of leaders (although the opinions of the nation itself doesn’t line up with these attempts - just like in the nation of Judah)… but, Hey, it’s a victory for the religion of Christianity itself, when a leader who can spearhead these reforms is in power, right?  But is it with “our whole heart”, or is it only in pretense?

“And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD.
- Jeremiah 3:10

What lept out to me in these first few chapters of Jeremiah was the content of the charges that the Lord brought against Judah, and a question that “the fathers” and “the priests” should have been asking.

“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns–broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
- Jeremiah 2:13

“Neither did (the fathers) say, ‘Where is the Lord…’” - Jeremiah 2:6
“The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ and those who handled the law did not know Me;” - Jeremiah 2:8

For too long entire denominations… too many of all of us… have tried to carve our own niche into christiandom.  Some through emphasis on doctrinal purity and simple living, and others through good music and cultural relevance.  Some through focusing on good works and charitable deeds, and others through evangelism and church growth.  But how many of us are truly asking that question?

“Where is the Lord?”

It is His desire to establish a dwelling place in and among His people.  It is His desire, the very purpose of our creation, to commune with us - daily.  It is His desire to have friends, not servants; people who would know His will and His heart, and partner with Him in it every day.  The answer to this question is not, “Look at His hand working on our behalf - we are blessed.  We are growing.  We are healthy.”  (Read Jeremiah Ch. 2)  The answer to this question is the question itself.

Let’s start asking Him… “Where are You, Lord? I don’t just want to see what You are doing.  I don’t just want to feel my emotions stirred.  I want You to come in as much as I can handle, and dwell with me.  Where are You, Lord?  You are my exceedingly great reward.”